"joy" Tagged Sermons
The Gospel Won’t Be Stopped
The passion, power & and generosity of the church was winning the favour of so many people in Jerusalem that it was growing exponentially. It seemed as though everybody was captivated by this new movement. Well everybody it seems except the High Priest and the leaders of Israel. Instead of being captivated by the new church and their gospel, they were filled with jealousy. This morning we see this jealousy overflow to action… and as it does we will learn…
Ultimate Treasure
The parables of “The Hidden Treasure” and “The Pearl of Great Price” remind us not only that Jesus is a great treasure worth our giving up everything for, but also of the good news that he first sought and purchased us at great cost to himself. The dire warning of “The Parable of the Net”, however, encourages us to put ourselves to the test: do we really know the treasure that Jesus is, or do we simply try to use…
They never told you God gives ultimate joy
So many people view the Christian life like they do weight-loss… as a slow and grueling journey of restriction and discomfort based on the premise that if something feels pleasurable or joyful that it probably is sinful and should be avoided. But this morning we are going to hear a song that David wrote which will challenge a preconceived ideas about pleasure and joy. In this song we will see that not only does God want us to experience true…
God of the Outsiders
In each social circle in which we move we can very quickly determine who are the in-crowd and who are the not-so-in-crowd. The reality is that some people find themselves on the outside fringes of society never really fitting in with the cultural elites of their day. Maybe you feel like this? Well if you do then there is some wonderful news for you in the message of Christmas. At Christmas we can’t hide from the fact that God sent…
Christmas sets us Free
Back at the start of chapter 1 of Luke and that start of our journey to understand the impact of the Christmas story on the lives of people at the time we met an old forgotten priest named Zechariah. He was depressed and isolated but God grabbed a hold of his life and promised him that his prayers (and the prayers of the nation) would be answered. The last words Zechariah spoke before being struck silent were words of unbelief……
Why We Sing
Week by week we come to church and we stand and sing. It is something we assume will be part of our church experience and therefore it is something we often take for granted. How regularly do you think about why we sing in church? Pastor Joe begins this new series and seeks to answer this question by investigating one of the most important songs in Israel’s history. In this song we discover why it is that God wants His…