9.1e Becoming a Christian and joining a Church is a serious and life changing commitment, and should not be undertaken lightly. Commitment to a Church as a member involves: iii) giving priority to being present at (and taking part in)
Be different
5.4 Because Christians live for God. we should stand out from the rest of the world. Often this will lead to opposition, but God promises to enable us to remain faithful. The Holy Spirit assures us of our standing as
Happy Christmas, World!
This is the first in a series of five sermons for Christmas 2023 which come under the general title: “What is a Happy Christmas?” This sermon links especially to John 3:16-17 in the Bible. Photos by Sarah Evans and Nasa
Playing politics
Jerusalem’s first century leaders are ready to kill Jesus. But they can’t do it; it has to be the Roman authorities. So they drag him off to the governor, looking to manipulate Pilate into doing their dirty work for them.
You ask too much!
Though his disciples know Jesus is God’s anointed king, they do not understand the implications. God’s kingdom is built by God’s power, not human strength. So Jesus must die, trusting his father to raise him. The disciples, however, cannot see
Beware the yeast!
Jesus has come home but it’s not so welcoming any more. Opposition tests him, demanding evidence that God is with him. Israel has always been like this, wanting God to prove himself before they’ll trust him. Jesus will have none
An act of kindness
Still outside of Israel, Jesus’ behaviour is not like at home. He is not yet these people’s king. Nonetheless, he has compassion on a large crowd of them after 3 days together. He has food but they do not, so
He has done all things well
Jesus continues his quiet trip outside of his homeland’s borders. However, his reputation precedes him and a disabled man is brought for healing. Jesus deals with him personally, showing gracious understanding for his needs as one who is deaf and
Muffled voices
As Jesus’ popularity grows, he has to take care with the crowds since they could easily try to fit him into their expectations and ideas rather than listen to his teaching about God’s will. So Jesus uses parables to find
Christmas Sermon 2020
Sin is the virus which has gone throughout the world. It has created fear in human hearts, especially the fear of death. As a result of our bad behaviour, God has had to put the the world into a form