Sermons from September 2015
What’s wrong with the world
If you are a Christian today, you soon realise how different your morals and values are from many of those around you. The Bible even tells us that we should expect to feel like “strangers” and “foreigners” in the secular culture in which we live. But why does this gap exist, and why does it seem to be getting wider? Romans 1 is devastating expose of what goes wrong when people reject God and live without any reference to Him. Supposedly intelligent people become fools, they worship idols, and God lets them experience fully the consequences of their deliberate choice to live in sin. Rebellion towards God and freedom to live without restraint are a lethal cocktail, as this message explains. People who live this way face the terrible prospect of the wrath of God. But there is hope! The “good news” is that those who sincerely turn from their sinful ways and trust in Jesus Christ can be saved. This “gospel” is God’s power, and it’s available today!
True thankfulness
Listen as we explore the story of the healing of the ten lepers and consider what it has to teach us about being truly thankful for what God has done for us.
Wresting with Self-Sufficiency
Listen as Pastor Dave shares form Genesis 32 about what Jacob’s wrestling with God teaches us about self-sufficiency and depending on God’s grace.
Trusting God…no strings attached
Faith is more than a mental belief in God. As one writer put it, it’s “trusting God in the dark”. Faith shows its true colours when life throws up difficulties and even tragedies. And no one in the Bible illustrates this better than Job. Tested to the limits of human endurance, this man clung tenaciously to his faith despite incredible personal pain and suffering: the loss of his wealth and family, the cruel accusations of those closest to him, and even the apparent silence of God. Would our faith survive under this pressure? Where is God in times like these? In today’s message Pastor Murray unpacks the key teaching points of the book of Job and helps us see that though we may lose everything this world considers important, God does not abandon us. His is still with us, He is still in control, His character doesn’t change, His love and promises are still true, and we do have an eternal hope and confidence through His Son, Jesus Christ. Listen in and be encouraged!
A Healthy View of Prosperity
Jacob fled from Esau with nothing. In tonight’s passage we see Jacob, twenty years later, described as exceedingly prosperous (30:43). It’s very obvious that God is the giver of all of Jacob’s prosperity. But how does this passage relate to us?
Listen as we consider the connections between Jacob’s prosperity and the God who gives that prosperity. Let us be reminded of how we as Christians, ought to understand our own prosperity in light of what Christ has done.
The Final Perfect Sacrifice
To understand the Christian faith we need to understand its core teaching. Today’s message takes to that place. At the very centre we find the one, final, perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the only way sin and guilt can be removed, so we can “draw near” to God. Any other way to God is a fallacy, or at best, only a shadow of this reality. By willingly sacrificing His life for us, Jesus has perfectly fulfilled all God’s demands and promises, removed the curse of all our sins, and opened the way us to have a whole new life under the control of the Holy Spirit. It’s an offer too good to refuse! Is your hope in Jesus Christ? Why not commit your life to Him today?
A Love Tale With A Twist
Complicated and messed-up marriages and families are almost “normal” today. And Christians are definitely not immune. But where does God fit into the complexities of our relationships? The story of Jacob is a fascinating case study showing that things haven’t changed much over the past 3000 years. In unpacking this passage Pastor Murray shows that despite all the deception and sinful choices made by Jacob and his wives, God continued to remain faithful and show grace to them, and fulfil His bigger purposes for Jacob’s life. The same God is wanting to deal with us like that today, especially through the saving work of Jesus, the promised descendant of Jacob himself.
The Goal of Christian Parenting
When it comes to raising our kids there are a great number of ideas about what is important for us as parents to aim for. Listen as Pastor Dave shares from Deut 6:1-9 about hat the Bible says should be the goal of Christian Parenting.