Sermons from 2020 (Page 3)
Rejoicing with God-given Joy
Nehemiah 12:27-47 We live in a society starved of real joy, and in a time which presents lots of challenges to our ability to rejoice. But Nehemiah 12:27-47 presents a climactic scene of Israel gathering to worship, give thanks and celebrate God’s faithful, covenant love for his people. A time when Israel was full of rejoicing. We can learn a lot about the basis of real joy and the effect it can have on us and others, and about how…
Promises, promises…
Nehemiah 9:38 – 10:39 In the preceding chapters, the people of Jerusalem have listened to God’s word, they have confessed their sin to God, and now they repent – they make a firm and public commitment not to repeat the sins of the past. From now on they promise to be wholly and exclusively devoted to the Lord. But can they change? Can we really change? Can we hope to see real and lasting change in our lives? And if…
Setting things right with God
Nehemiah 9:1-38 After hearing the Book of the Law read to them, the Israelites were deeply affected. So they gathered once again to humble themselves before God and confess their sin. Time and again God had forgiven Israel and revived them in the past. Perhaps He would do it one more time? It’s never easy to face the truth about our sin. But we are all guilty sinners in need of the forgiving grace of God. The whole purpose of…
Listen Up!
Nehemiah 8 Now that the wall has been rebuilt, it’s time for a different kind of building project – a spiritual rebuilding. In Nehemiah 8, the people gather to hear God’s word read and explained. The way that they listen to and respond to God’s word challenges us to think about how we do the same.
Discord Among God’s People
Nehemiah 5:1-19 Whenever God is at work, the enemy will never be far behind. Nehemiah always seemed to be facing new problems and challenges. But in today’s passage the difference is that the problem came from within his own people. Jews were exploiting fellow Jews resulting in poverty, resentment and disunity between them. So serious was the problem that Nehemiah stopped work on the wall to address it. People matter more than building programmes and institutional structures. Unless Christians genuinely…
Building and Battling
Nehemiah 4 Whenever God’s people do God’s work in the world, they are sure to encounter opposition. Nehemiah 4 shows us the forms this opposition can take and how we, as those called to live for and proclaim Christ in this world, should respond when we face it.
The People of God at Work
Nehemiah 3:1-32 Nehemiah chapter 3 gives us a long list of names of those who were involved in re-building the wall around Jerusalem. Doing the work of God in Nehemiah’s generation meant re-building the wall. Today, as Christians, building the people of God together means pointing people to Christ – both believers and unbelievers. But how we engage in God’s work is much the same today as it was then – every Christian has a role to play, and we…
Time for action
Nehemiah 2 After months of desperate prayer and seeking God, Nehemiah steps into action. As those who are, like Nehemiah, called to do God’s work, Nehemiah’s actions have much to teach us. Above all, Nehemiah’s going to Jerusalem points us to Christ, the one who went from the comfort and privilege of heaven to the brokenness and disgrace of our world, in order to accomplish the redemptive purposes of God.
Broken walls and a broken heart
Nehemiah 1:1-11 This message begins a new series on the book of Nehemiah, with a look into the heart of this great leader. Sad news from Jerusalem moved him to tears, then to prayer, and then into the presence of King Artaxerxes, at that time the most powerful man on the planet. How do we respond in the face of sad news? Nehemiah has much to teach us still today.
A Task Unfinished
Acts 28:17-30
The story of a radically changed life
Acts 25:23-26:32 Everyone has a personal story to tell, and every story is different. Called before the governor, king, military hierarchy and civic leaders of Caesarea, the apostle Paul told his story – the story of how he went from being a fanatical persecutor of Christians to becoming arguably the greatest campaigner for the gospel the world has ever known. What happened? He had a profound personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. Do you have a story of meeting…
Last Words
Acts 20:17-38 As Paul farewells the elders of the Ephesian church, he presents his own ministry as an example for them to follow and reminds them of the task to which God has called them. Church leaders must heed Paul’s words here. They have been entrusted with the responsibility of caring for those who have been purchased by God with his own blood – a weighty responsibility indeed!