Sermons from October 2015

Sermons from October 2015

King my heart

David was God’s chosen king in waiting. Everyone knew this. You’d expect that everyone would have treated him with honour and respect. Well today we meet two people who treat David in very different ways. One of them is Nabal, a fool who treats David with contempt, and pays the price. The other is Nabal’s wise wife, Abigail, who honours David as a king. The question for us is this: when it comes to responding to God’s chosen King, who will I be like, Nabal or Abigail?

God’s Man – Trained & Promoted

Life is never as straight forward as we would like it to be. For some people it can be really tough. This was certainly the case for Joseph as a young man – sold as a slave by his brothers, falsely accused by his master’s wife, then thrown into prison. For 13 long years life was a battle and seemed so unfair. But “the Lord was with him” throughout this phase of his life, and though he didn’t realize it at the time, God was training Joseph for what lay ahead. One day, literally, his life was totally turned around as God used him to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. At 30 years of age he became the second most important man in all of Egypt, the man who not only saved the nation from starvation, but many other nations, including his very own family in Israel. Joseph trusted God, and His ways, and His timing, and God was able to use him in a wonderful way. Will we trust God and stand for Him in our day?

A truth for the journey

Life is journey full of ups and downs. Our circumstances are always changing. Joseph knew this all too well. As we read Genesis 39, we can’t help but note that in all the circumstances he faced, one thing never changed. God was always with him, both in his times of success and in his times of difficulty. How important it it that we understand this truth for our own lives!

Living Under Gods Authority

The story of David’s life is full of drama – real, believable and sometimes jaw-dropping! What we sometimes don’t realise is that behind the events of his life God is actually shaping a man, preparing him for the day when he would lead his nation politically, militarily and also spiritually. David was not just a good man. He was God’s man! And in today’s message Pastor Murray looks at some specific ways in which David submitted to God’s authority, and how God enabled David to grow personally through these experiences. Issues like knowing what to do in tricky situations, relying on God for protection, waiting patiently for God’s timing, and being prepared to accept God’s justice are common to us all. Jesus perfectly lived under the authority of His Father. Now he invites us to submit to His authority. Let’s be straight: Is Jesus really LORD of your life?

Joseph

Tune in as Pastor Dave shares from the extraordinary story of Joseph and God’s Master Plan for him.

Growing Through Adversity

1 Samuel is a story about three men – Samuel, Saul and David – and how God used them in shaping a nation that had lost its way politically, socially and spiritually. It desperately needed godly leadership. In many respects we see parallels in Australia today. In this message the young future king, David, is on the run from an irrational, jealous King Saul. This is the beginning of years of life as a fugitive for David. Life was hard. He made mistakes. He also learned many important lessons along the way. But through it all God was shaping him and preparing him for his future role as the godly king his nation needed. Like David, we also learn to trust God as we face opposition, difficulties and even enemies. And God intentionally uses these times as part of His greater plan for our lives. He also provides the perfect leader for us to follow in David’s descendant, Jesus Christ, who offers to save us from our greatest enemies, sin and death!

Childlike Faith

How do we enter the kingdom of God? Jesus says that to answer this question, we need to look at a little child. Listen as we consider what it means for us to have a childlike faith.