Sermons by James Stone

Sermons by James Stone

God Dwelling Securely with Us

God Dwelling Securely with Us – Psalm 16 We live in insecure times. Money, house, things and even relationships are never wholly secure. God is for us, yes. But He is also with us. With Him we will not be shaken. Seeking refuge in God, v1-8He is ultimately all we need, “the overflowing source of all good” Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;    you make my lot secure.6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;    surely I…

Dwelling Securely with God

Dwelling Securely with God – Psalm 15 Security in insecure times? Wealth, health, youth and relationships are all fragile, and easily shaken. A Crucial Question. The things we think matter the most end up not mattering at all. Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?    Who may live on your holy mountain? Psalm 15:1 The Searching Answer – always truthful, always kind, always generous, always honest, always reliable, always honours God. Oops! Doesn’t sound like me 🙁 Only one Man…
Nativity, Christmas Gerrit-Von-Honthurs

Christmas Day – 2023

Christmas Day – 2023 – John’s Gospel chapter 1, verse 14 to 18 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.”’) 16 Out of his…

Jesus, the God Revealer

Jesus, the God Revealer – John’s Gospel chapter 1, verses 6 to 18 The search for God What would it be like if He did show up before our eyes? The Witness to the Light 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the…

Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost – Genesis chapter 3 verses 1 to 13 The Temptation Here in Genesis we see real history where things fall apart. 3 Now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ 2 The woman said to the snake, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, “You…

The Goal of Creation

The Goal of Creation – Genesis chapter 2, verses 1 to 3 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:1-3 New…

The Pinnacle of Creation

The Pinnacle of Creation – Genesis chapter 1, verses 24 to 31 “Being human” – what does it mean? The greatest wonder in the world, striding across it like a god? Or just a vanishing footnote on the record of history? So God created mankind in his own image,    in the image of God he created them;    male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 Day 6 – Similar but different: the pattern is the same – the method (“God said”), the…

Church Discipline

Church Discipline – 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 1 to 8 Discipline – the Dirty ‘D’ Word? – at home, at work, at church? Responding to Sin: verses 1-2 – How NOT to do it, and how it should be done. Love for the Individual: verses 3-5 – for their everlasting good. Love for the Church: verses 6-8 – for whom Jesus our good Lord died. Living out Church Discipline: – 5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality…

Evangelism and the Great Commission

Evangelism and the Great Commission – 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 New International Version –…

Saving the Lost (Good Friday)

Saving the Lost (Good Friday) – Luke’s Gospel chapter 19 verses 1 to 10 Zacchaeus the tax collector 19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.…

Topsy-Turvy Christianity 3 – Least is Greatest

Topsy-Turvy Christianity – Least is Greatest – Luke’s Gospel chapter 9, verses 46 to 48 Christianity says the cross is a symbol of the powerless triumphing over the powerful.  It’s the symbol of the slave triumphing over the master; of the victim triumphing over the torturer.  This is such a radical notion that it’s hard to adequately express how radical it is.  The idea that the last shall be first, that there is an inherent dignity and value and indeed power in being…