Sermon – Word & Life (1 John 1:1-4; 2:12-17)

Read the text – 1 John1:1-4 & 1 John 2:12-17

The little letter of 1 John packs a punch. It is rich with ideas we love to debate:  truth and error, love and hate, forgiveness and sin, individualism and community, life and death. These ideas are not simple, yet we can be very simplistic in how we think about them for we don’t always consider how one may affect the other. 1 John works hard to draw these ideas and concepts into an integrated Christian worldview. And in the process helps us see the value of having the Word of Life to guide us in how we live.

In this first talk of six, Ken Noakes introduces the Letter of 1 John and its overlapping themes. In doing so he wants to make clear that believers have the Word of Life: Jesus. And life with him looks different to life without. 1 John has a lot to say to help Christians today live confidently for Christ.

Sermon – The Wisdom of Living for Eternity (1 Corinthians 15:35-16:24)

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 15:35-16:24

This is not the age for the self-fulfilment and glory of human beings – there is an eternity for that (we will be changed and given a new resurrection body). This is the age for the work of the LORD – our labour in the Lord, though it looks weak now, is not vain (like the death of Jesus and like our bodies).

In this talk Dave Swan, warns us from the last section in the first letter to the Corinthians, to not be driven by the present age and by what we see. For now is not the time for the work of the gospel to look splendid, it is the time for gospel work and that work will look weak (v58).

Listen to this world, have your life shaped by the resurrection, so that when you do experience death you might also know the wonder of the resurrection.

Sermon – The Foolishness of Living for Now (1 Corinthians 15:12-34)

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 15:12-34

The Corinthians live for the ‘now’ as they deny the resurrection, so they have always focused on looking good now, but the Apostle Paul shows how foolish this is. Paul shows instead that our glory comes through weakness, just as life comes through death, so his ministry is marked by weakness and death. As Paul commands in 1 Corinthians 15:33-34, Christians we must be careful of being led astray by those who would have us focus on living for now.

In this talk Dave Swan, wants to help the listener fix their eyes on eternity. To have a life shaped by the resurrection, so that you don’t live for the now, but for eternity, and so that you can take steps to encourage others to live for eternity as well.

Sermon – Easter: Transforming Life (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

The resurrection really happened – it changed Paul’s life and it changes us, because it changes death itself. In this Easter Sunday Bible Talk, Gary Haddon, helps the listener to see the transforming power of the resurrection so they can choose to accept and in turn live out their resurrection hope. Listen to hear the gospel preached, the gospel received and the gospel upon which Christians are called to take a stand.

Sermon –  How to go to Church: Chaos and Order (1 Cor 14:1-40)

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 14:1-40

What is prophecy? What is ‘speaking in tongues’? What does it mean to be an interpreter? How do we order ourselves when we meet in church? In this talk Ken Noakes, carefully steps through this passage from 1 Corinthians 14 (which is the end of a sustained argument starting back in Chapter 12). The matter and manner of what the church of Corinth were doing when meeting is clearly in view. Once established, a method to how to do that in Corinth is explained.

Outline for this talkDownload

Sermon – How to go to Church: Loving ALL the Church (1 Cor 12:12-31)

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

This Bible talk is about how the church is like a body – it has many parts with different gifts that all act to serve each other, where a missing part affects every other part. As a church in unity under Christ, do not let our selfishness exclude others and bring division. Instead let us all care for one another, suffer together, and rejoice together.

Bible Talk OutlineDownload

Sermon – How to go to Church: Gospel Gifts (1 Cor 12:1-11)

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

In this Bible talk, Ken Noakes look at what is written to the church of Corinth about how spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit for a purpose. Misused, these gifts and our attitude toward those who don’t seem to have the same gifts, can cause us to become prideful and feel superior to others spiritually. That should not be. We are reminded that each gift from the Holy Spirit is used for serving each other, for the common good, while glorifying the Lord. It is not for ranking each other spiritually.

Talk OutlineDownload

Sermon – How to go to Church: Trouble caused by Division (1 Cor 11:17-34)

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

In the letter of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul has been addressing numerous matters to help the Christians in Corinth consider how they live for Christ – both before the world, and within the church family.

In this talk Ken Noakes looks at the rebuke that is written to the church of Corinth because of their selfishness has hurt their fellowship. He focuses on the way that they share in the Lord’s Supper. There are lessons for the church today. The Lord’s Supper should humble us as we remember Christ’s death and proclaim his coming again. When you remember Christ’s death, and where he is taking us, there is no room for a pecking order, or being concerned with social status, or competing with each other. As a result, we must examine ourselves (11:28) and wait for one another (11:34).

This talk will also help us thing about how we deal with division within the church family.

Sermon – How to go to Church: Men and Women (1 Cor 11:2-16)

This post, we offer two different (yet complementary) sermons on the same passage – 1 Corinthians 11:2-16…

Preacher: Ken D Noakes
Talk Outline: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 (Ken D Noakes)Download
Preacher: Nick Lindeback
Talk Outline: 1 Cor 11:2-16 (Nick Lindeback)Download

Read the text – 1 Corinthians 11:2-16

In the letter of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul has been addressing numerous matters to help the Christians in Corinth consider how they live for Christ – both before the world, and within the church family.

Previously in this series we have considered what Paul has said about Christian freedoms as taught in chapters 8-10. In this talk we turn our attention to how Christians should live together as a church family – and there are several matters which will be addressed from Chapters 11 through to 14 which all relate to what happening in a specific church gathering. We start with the first half of chapter 11 which speaks in particular to those who are married within a church family.