Sermons from 2014 (Page 5)

Sermons from 2014 (Page 5)

Who Are You Following?

By nature most of us are followers. Just look at the number of Twitter and Facebook ‘followers’ some celebrities have these days. Whether it’s fashion, lifestyle, secrets of success, or even religion, we have an intuitive desire to copy others. So who are you following? Have you considered Jesus? In today’s passage Jesus presents Himself as the good shepherd who loves, leads, cares for, protects and even dies for His sheep. He offers them life ‘to the full’. Can there be a better life than the one Jesus wants to give us? Why not respond to His personal call and start following Him today?

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

What limits do you impose on the way you forgive others? Is it easier for you to forgive some people, but not others? Are you able to forgive people for “minor” things, but not for “serious” things they do to you? Is there a maximum number of times you will forgive someone before you decide you can’t forgive them any longer? Peter had a question about the “limits” of forgiveness. He wanted to know how many times he needed to forgive a brother who had sinned against him (Matthew 18:21). Jesus answered by telling a story that challenges any limits we might place on the way we forgive others. Listen as we consider what God has done for us and what it looks like for us to “forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

The Parable of the Talents

Think about the ways God has blessed you. With money? With time? With certain talents or opportunities? Now ask this question; “Are you a faithful steward of these things?” Jesus told a parable that shows why it is so important for us to be faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us. He is our Master, and he wants us to make the most of the things he has given to us. One day each one of us will be called to account for how we have used what we have been given. Jesus wants us to be faithful stewards and to persevere in that until we hear the words of the Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant! (Matthew 25:21). Listen as we consider what it might look like to be faithful stewards in the world we live in today.

The Miracle of Sight

It’s extremely difficult for someone who has never been blind to understand what it must be like to receive the gift of sight. A world of darkness is suddenly transformed into a world of colour, faces and light! And that’s what happened when Jesus miraculously healed a congenitally blind man. Why was he born blind? Only God knows. But we do know that Jesus performed an even greater miracle soon after, which had an even more profound impact upon this man’s life. Listen in as Pastor Murray unpacks this passage and shows how Jesus backs up His claim to be “the light of the world”, giving spiritual sight to everyone who believes in Him.

The Rich Fool

The phrase “greed is good” was made famous by the fictional character Gordon Gecko in the 1987 Hollywood movie Wall Street. Is greed really good? Certainly, most people would say that they disagree with this saying, yet with our actions, we say something different. Our lives are bound up in the endless pursuit for more. We want more stuff. Better stuff. More money. Greater security and comfort. Our economy, our homes and our lives are built on the notion that we need more in order to be satisfied and secure. But Jesus did not think that greed was good! Rather, he had a warning about greed; “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). “Greed is dangerous,” he said. He wanted people to know how seriously they should view the issue of greed. So he told them a parable, a story about a rich man who allows greed to consume him. And even though he feels that he has everything that he needs – life, security, comfort – the story shows that eventually he will be seen as he really is, a fool. Listen as we explore Jesus’ teaching and consider the danger of greed and what it would mean to live a life where instead of storing up things for ourselves, we focused on being “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).

It Matters What You Believe About Jesus

For most people Jesus is either irrelevant or simply an option in the spectrum of religious gurus. And He has always had His share of knockers. It’s always been that way, as today’s passage makes clear. But in these verses we see Jesus engaging His opponents in a full-on debate. Firstly He points out some truths that every one of us needs to know about ourselves. Amazing how the truth sometimes hurts! But He then spells out some truths that we need to know about Jesus. These truths are essential to a proper understanding of the Christian faith, and if we believe them, as Jesus put it, they will ‘set you free’. What an offer!

Desperate Prayer

Many Christians find praying a struggle, and the disciples of Jesus , so it seems, were in the same boat. But they weren’t quite prepared for the parable Jesus taught them in Luke 11 (and a related parable in Luke 18). When praying for specific needs we must pray with real conviction ……. boldly, stubbornly, even desperately! These are the kind of prayers God loves to hear and answer. Yet so often we give up too easily, and often this reflects a weak view of God and the gospel. So why do we have to keep on wrestling with God in our prayers? Listen in as Pastor Murray challenges us in this hard-hitting messag

The Vineyard Workers

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’ve done a lot for God. What reward will he give me for all I’ve done?” Well one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, asked a question a little like this. He said to Jesus, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” (Matthew 19:27 NIV). Beneath this question lay an assumption. That assumption was that in God’s kingdom, people are rewarded according to their merit, their effort and their ability. But Jesus wanted to break down that assumption. So he answered Peter’s question by telling him a story. A parable that demonstrated that the way things are in God’s kingdom, is totally different from how we expect them to be. So different that it is possible in God’s kingdom for “the first to be last and the last to be first.” How can this be!? Listen as we explore this parable and consider the implications of it’s message for us, servants in God’s kingdom.

Showing Grace To An Immoral World

There is very little shame these days when it comes to sexual immorality. Promiscuity is taken for granted as a legitimate lifestyle choice. But how should Christians react? In today’s message Pastor Murray addresses this question as he unpacks the story of Jesus’ encounter with an adulterous woman. Rather than throw the legal book at her, as the religious ‘police’ wanted, Jesus chose to forgive her. Even though totally undeserving, she heard those amazing words of Jesus: “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more”. That’s grace! Have you responded to that grace personally? If so, are you passing it on to others?