Sermon – Pictures of Judgement and Grace: The Angel of the LORD (Isaiah 36:1-37:38)

Read the text – Isaiah 36:1-37:38

The people of Judah face a number of crises from within (their own sin) and without (the alliance of Israel and Syria, the power of Assyria). Who will they trust to rescue them? Themselves? Foreign Nations? or God Almighty?

This is the culmination of everything so far. Jerusalem is under siege, and the situation, humanly speaking, is hopeless. In this sermon, Stephen Hawkins outlines the historical context and explains the choice that the people in Jerusalem are faced with: Who will they trust? There is only salvation when they trust in God for deliverance, and that salvation may be unexpected and beyond belief.

Sermon Series – Joel: The Day of the Lord

The book of Joel is probably best known to Christians because of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost in the Book of Acts, where he quotes Joel to explain the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all people. But the main emphasis in this book is the Day of the Lord, a day when the powerful presence of the Lord God will bring judgement – meaning deserved punishment for some or deliverance and blessing for others. What will that Day bring for you?

Talk 1 – A Clear and Present Danger (Joel 1:1-20)

Read the text – Joel 1:1-20

What grabs your attention? The natural events and the voice of the prophet are what God used to grab the attention of his people.

In Talk 1, Gary Haddon looks at the lament over Israel’s poor situation – a lament which leads not to a complaint against God, but a call to repentance in the light of the coming Day of the Lord.

Talk 2 – Sound the Alarm (Joel 2:1-17)

Read the text – Joel 2:1-17

Throughout history, we find all sorts of ways that societies have ‘sounded the alarm’ to alert their people to a serious and immediate danger.

In Talk 2, Dave Swan looks at Joel 2:12-13 as the key to the final question of verse 11 – ‘who can endure the Day of the Lord?’

God offers the way to endure the Day of the Lord: return to him “with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning”. That is, in true repentance and faith.

Talk 3 – The Lord Responds (Joel 2:18-32)

Read the text – Joel 2:18-32

Life is full of uncertainties, but even in the midst of it all there is a constant: Gods’ voice and his promises in his word.

In Talk 3, Dave Swan shows us the way the Apostle Peter uses this part in his Pentecost speech – to point people to Jesus as the answer!

The Day of the Lord is about the presence of God. Which for some will spell disaster, but for those who call on His name and seek refuge in Him, will be the day of blessing – the day of a permanently restored and renewed relationship with their God.

For Bible Studies to accompany this series see Bible Studies – Joel: The Day of the Lord

Sermon – A Festal Garment (Esther)

Esther Talk Graphic Do you love a good party? Go back a millennium and you may have found yourself at an Israelite party – or ‘festival’ to be more accurate. Israel as the people for God conducted festivals which celebrated or reminded them of what God had done for his people. At these festivals they would read out one of their (Old Testament) scrolls – Ruth at Pentecost, Song of Songs and Passover, Ecclesiastes at the Feast of Tabernacles, Esther at Purim and Lamentations at the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem. This custom was not continued by the Christian church.

Yet these little books exist in our Bible and it is not often that you hear them preached. So, in our Five Festal Garments series we are going to look at these little biblical treasure troves and see what Christians can learn today as we get dressed to live godly lives.

Let’s look at the Book of Esther

Read the Bible text – Esther

– Dave Swan

Watch the Video – here

Sermon – The Lord Who Delivers (Psalm 31)

Sermon ‘The Lord Who Delivers’ (Psalm 31) by David Smith is now available to stream or download: http://bit.ly/2aXoIOi

Read the Bible text: http://bit.ly/2blnGhM

English Support Handout: http://bit.ly/2aWMTwE

Sermon Outline:

1. A Psalm of Lament:

a. Relationship with the Lord who delivers

b. Relationship with the world to be delivered from

c. Relationship with the lamenter who needs deliverance

2. What the deliverance meant:

a. To David

b. To the first readers

c. To Jesus (Luke 23:46)

d. To Stephen (Acts 7:59)

e. To Us (1 Peter 4:19)

3. How to make the most of this Psalm

a. “I trust in you O Lord. I say “You are my God.”

b. What am I learning about God when times are not desperate?