Tag Archives: Obedience

Sermon – Joshua – Promise & Purpose: Helping Themselves! (7:1-8:35)

Joshua: Promise & Purpose - Bible Talk Series

What is the value of a promise? For one, a promise can give direction as you look forward to the fulfillment of the promise. And as such it gives purpose to how we conduct ourselves as we move closer to the day that the promise is fulfilled. God’s people Israel acted on the strength of the promise that they would be delivered into a new and good land – a home. Joshua leads them by the hand of God – home. In our Bible talks, we are looking at the extraordinary book of Joshua – a book of promise and purpose. A book that points us forward to the fulfillment of the gospel promise, that in Jesus we will delivered – home. In the meantime, it gives us a clear purpose.

This talk investigates the consequences of even one small act of disobedience. Disobedience effects more than one person – obedience to God is a must. Thankfully, Jesus has taken the consequences of our sin.

Read the text – Joshua 7:1-8:1

Sermon – Obeying the Word of the LORD (Jonah 3-4)

We love satire when it comes to political cartoons. Often we see our national leaders’ faults comically exaggerated. But what about satire when it comes to God’s prophets? Jonah is a famed biblical story where we find God’s hero, the prophet Jonah, neglect his responsibility and flee from God. Meanwhile, the city of Nineveh, famed for their evil, turn to God after a surprisingly short sermon!

This is not a story about a giant fish, but rather a God who shows grace and mercy to wicked people, despite his prophet’s rebellion.

This talk will focus on God’s faithfulness in saving Nineveh, despite Jonah’s begrudging obedience. The question remains… are you glad to see God save evil people?

Read the Bible texts – Jonah 3-4; Luke 11:29-32

Talk – Obeying the Word of the LORD: Jonah 3-4 (Outline)Download
Speaker: Josh Ord

Obedience (Part 5 of 6)

Love, Truth, ObedienceWhat is love that is pleasing first to God? It has something to do with obedience in the context of truth. We have considered ‘Love’ (Part 3 of this series) and ‘Truth’ (Part 4 of this series), so this time let’s focus on ‘Obedience’.

 

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.  And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them (1 John 3:21-24)

A love that is pleasing to God is a love that obediently follows his commands.

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Truth (Part 4 of 6)

Love, Truth, Obedience

What does it look like for Christians to love the other? It has something to do with that which is true and something to do with obedience. We considered ‘Love’ last time (Part 3 of this series), so this time let’s focus on ‘Truth’.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?  Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:  If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:16-20)

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Love (Part 3 of 6)

Without love, truth will not be valued. Without truth, it is difficult to know how to obey. Without obedience, it is impossible to demonstrate true love.

To understand Love, it will help to understand how it is integrally connected to Truth and to Obedience, such that you cannot separate the three. These three ideas intersect with one another at almost every point. Love, Truth, Obedience

Taking our lead from the letter of 1 John, we have looked at Perfect Love (Part 2 of this series). We turn our attention now to the relationships between Love, Truth and Obedience.

Let’s consider ‘Love’.

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Sermon – The Sceptre Comes to Judah (2 Sam 7:1-29)

2 Samuel Artwork

In the sermon King David demonstrates how to be successful as a king in Israel by obeying God fully.  He humbly and lavishly celebrates the presence of God as he brings the ark into the new capital of Israel.  Yet it is God who will bless David through his promise to build his “house” into an everlasting kingship bringing blessing to his people. David’s ensuing strength, wisdom and justice give prompt testimony to the faithfulness of God’s promises.

Read the Bible Text – 2 Samuel 7

– Dave Swan

Perfect Love (Part 2 of 6)

Love is a many splendored thing,

Love lifts us up where we belong,

All you need is love!

 

Love is just a game.

I was made for loving you baby,

You were made for loving me.

 

You’d think that people would’ve had enough of silly love songs…

So goes the lyrics of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge (2001). It is a mash-up of love songs that highlight how confusing ‘love’ can be and captures many of the different ideas that exist about that wonderful little thing called ‘Love’.

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Uncomfortable Love (Part 1 of 6)

I remember the call. Nothing seemed right about what I was being asked to do!

I was in Damascus. The gospel work there had been growing as more and more became followers of Jesus. The rumour was that Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus. This was unsettling.

Saul had led the charge against many followers of the Way. He had issued murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples and had arranged permission from the High Priest to travel around the synagogues seeking out Christians to imprison for their faith. He was a piece of work. We all knew the threat he posed.

And then the Lord called out to me in a vision:

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