Read the text – Isaiah 63:15-65:5, Isaiah 65:17-25
Nick Lindeback speaks on finding satisfaction in this life, and what truly fulfills us. The tension and yearning of Isaiah 64 is met by the promise of Isaiah 65. This sermon recognises our pain and longing, pointing forward to God’s perfect promise. This sermon is part of the Isaiah “Will God help his people” sermon series, and was given at Lower Mountains Anglican Church, Glenbrook Evening service.
Read the text – Psalm 46, Luke 7:11-22
This is the first sermon in the sermon series ‘Jesus Transforms’. In this sermon, Joshua Schroder speaks on the hope we can find in Jesus, and how he can transform hopelessness to hope, fear into courage, and death to life.
Read the text – Psalm 139; Genesis 1:26-2:4; Colossians 1:15-23; Revelation 21:1-4
We see ourselves as choosing individuals. Our strength is measured by our ability to stand on our own two feet and make decisions (we value agency). And we live in a society which views the autonomy of the individual as sacrosanct and defining, and that any challenge to that autonomy is regarded as a threat (we value choice). In addition, we live in a consumer culture, which tells us that we deserve to have whatever it is we want (we value entitlement). Yet, Christians hold to the biblical view that God makes men and women in his image. He gives life, shapes life, and takes life – and we experience that life both individually and collectively.
This ‘God & Life’ series looks at some of those key and ethical life matters where we, as choosing individuals, are now able to make decisions that will impact our life or another’s life: Abortion, Disability, Euthanasia (to pick three examples).
In this first talk, Ken Noakes sets the scene which help us think theologically about life matters over the next three talks. The purpose: to start a conversation – how can we value humanity as created by God and so in our care for ourselves and others, how do we think Christianly?
Read the text – Mark 8:22-9:1
How do we identify ourselves? Is it our looks, hobbies, gender, social standing? In this sermon, Ken Noakes talks on what we use to identify ourselves (and in our individualistic society, there are many different ways we can identify ourselves), and whether it would be better to lose yourself in order to find yourself.
Read the text – John 8:12-18
Christmas is a time. The season when we deck our houses with lights and a season when Christians proclaim Jesus as the ‘Light of the World’. In this Christmas Day talk, Gary Haddon looks at the wonderful claim of Jesus that he is the “Light of the World’ and that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness. It is time to worship him.
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.
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.
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.
As a society, we have become somewhat immune to hearing outrageous claims. They are issued, capture some newsworthy attention, and then are fairly quickly ignored or pushed aside. Jesus issued some outrageous claims, in fact, claims that were far beyond what we hear today. In this Bible Talk series, we look at the “I AM…” statements from the gospel of John. Newsworthy – yes. Ignored – yes. Pushed aside – yes. Yet, to look into them we will see the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. It would be to our loss to be immune.
This talk investigates one of Jesus’ boldest claims – he is the way, he is the truth, he is the life. Jesus invites us into his Father’s house with plenty of rooms – the best house we could ever imagine.
Read the text – John 14:1-14
As a society, we have become somewhat immune to hearing outrageous claims. They are issued, capture some newsworthy attention, and then are fairly quickly ignored or pushed aside. Jesus issued some outrageous claims, in fact, claims that were far beyond what we hear today. In this Bible Talk series, we look at the “I AM…” statements from the gospel of John. Newsworthy – yes. Ignored – yes. Pushed aside – yes. Yet, to look into them we will see the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. It would be to our loss to be immune.
This talk investigates Jesus claim to be “the resurrection and the life,” bringing new life as the solution for death.
Read the text – John 11:1-44 Ezekiel 37:1-14
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