Sermons on Comfort
A New Year’s Prayer
A New Year’s Prayer – Hebrews 13:20-21 We all have hopes for the new year. The basis of the prayer Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep… Hebrews 13:20 “May the God of peace….” He is the one who enables all good things. Who enables, best of all, our eternal redemption, and a clear conscience. He, Jesus, is the great…
Grief and the Lord’s Comfort
Grief and the Lord’s Comfort – John’s Gospel chapter 11 verses 17 to 37 Do you feel the world is broken? Horror and grief surround us, and Christians are not exempt. Yet get this: you have a God who understands and comforts you, and so you can then comfort others. The Lord comforts his own by drawing near to them. 17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than…
Light in the Darkness
Light in the Darkness: The Excellencies of God’s Love – Psalm 63 The true Christian is driven by adversity TO God and not away from Him. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 Christians feel they have a right to turn to God at such times On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the…
Strong Hands
Strong Hands – John’s Gospel chapter 10 verses 22 to 30 3 Scenarios Previously we saw how we become Jesus’ “sheep”. Here we see how we stay being Jesus’ sheep. A question of identity 22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us…
Growing in Grace-Fuelled Holiness, Part 2
Growing in Grace-Fuelled Holiness, Part 2 – 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 5 to 11 God’s work in making godly people I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put…
Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ
Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ – Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 11 How not to come: Offended 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.’ Matthew 11:6 Looking to find fault 16 ‘To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the market-places and calling out to others: 17 ‘“We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance;we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.” 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say,…
Suffering and the Works of God
Suffering and the Works of God – John’s Gospel, chapter 9 verses 1 to 12 Suffering is always with us. 3 ways people think about it: The reality of suffering. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. John 9:1 An even more hopeless case (than the lame man at the pool in chapter 5). He saw a man blind from birth. Jesus knows, feels, understands. Heb 4:14-16He “gets” our suffering. God sends his son, fitted to…
The Believer’s Tug-o-War
The Believer’s Tug-o-War – Romans chapter 7 verses 14-25 21 So I find this law at work: although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from…
Hope in the Love of God
Hope in the Love of God – Romans chapter 5, verses 6 to 11 There is something missing in the lives of many Christians, and it stunts their growth. What is it that’s missing? It is failing to grasp the greatness of the Love of God. The Greatness of God’s Love, Roman’s 5:6-8 To understand it we need to see ourselves through God’s eyes: Weak, helpless, sinful. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ…
Where Do We Turn?
Where Do We Turn? Psalm 3 A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom. Where do we run when trouble comes? Prince Absalom had rebelled against his father, KIng David, had raised an army and wanted to kill him. People were saying “Even God won’t save him!” 1 Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!2 Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” Psalm 3:1-2 But David through his tears still trusts…
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…