Waiting for a Leader
The audio recording failed this Sunday. The following is a transcript of the sermon notes: Malachi 2:1-9 We live in a very sensitive society that is becoming more and more sensitive. We have developed into a people with a very strong culture of unspoken social norms of political correctness and doing everything to avoid offending someone else. In some instances this can be really good because it can protect vulnerable people from bearing the brunt of the insults of the…
Waiting for Worship
Worship is something that is assumed in the church. You turn up on Sunday and you kind of expect it to happen. During the week you open your bible or bow your head in prayer and you think somehow you will feel something. But all too often worship can seem incredibly dry. As we continue to follow the story of God’s people in the book of Malachi, we will see that worship for them was something that looked alive on…
Waiting for Love
This week we begin our Christmas series by looking at the book of Malachi. Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament and therefore the last prophetic voice before the coming of Jesus at the first Christmas and therefore gives us a unique look at why we needed Christmas. The week we start by looking at the fact that all of us are waiting to be loved by God. The love of God is one of the simplest of…
The Gospel is Victorious
As we come to the end of Acts, we find Paul finally makes it to Rome where he continues to preach the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. Here Acts leaves Paul, preaching the gospel in Rome, living at his own expense, with the world coming to hear him. Luke finishes his account of the early church here to show us something that is stunning that should grip our hearts and embolden our mission.
The Gospel Seeks Welfare
Many people distance themselves from Christianity because they feel it is a lost cause. In a world that values tolerance and hates narrow-mindedness, Christianity often appears as divisive and bigoted. The Apostle Paul is often viewed as the epitome of this unattractive way of life… single-focused, blunt, divisive, and a trouble-maker. However, in the passage we look at today we see the faith of Paul at work in a way that shatters these misconceptions and we will be challenged to…
A Public Defence of the Gospel
Paul’s decision to return to Jerusalem and go to the Temple to worship thrust him into a set of circumstances that were outside of his control. He was bounced from one official to another as the Romans struggled to know what to do with him. But in this season of captivity Paul is given 3 significant chances to publicly defend the gospel before these various rulers. In this defence we see some truths that can help frame our public defence…
The Gospel as #lifegoal
Having journeyed with Paul over the last few months of our Acts series we have come to know him fairly well; to the point where we might be able to predict what he will do. But as he arrives back in Jerusalem he will make 3 decisions that seem bizarre to us. He will act against Spirit-filled advice, embrace the Jewish Law again, and deliberately place himself in danger. But as we uncover his motives behind these 3 decisions we…
The Gospel Forges Bonds
Many of us long for deep, intimate and meaningful friendship. However, we often look to fill this need by finding people with whom we share a common interest. As we look at the stunning level of friendship Paul shared with the Ephesian elders we see that there is something that forms a stronger bond than any common interest. Join Pastor Joe as he unpacks what it means to have lasting gospel friendship.
The Gospel Satisfies Every Longing
Ministering the gospel in the synagogues had come fairly easy to Paul. There he had the perfect foothold to start conversations that would lead to the gospel. He simply had to teach Jesus was the Christ from the Jewish Scriptures and people understood what he was getting at. But this week we find Paul in Athens, the epicentre of Greek intellectualism, philosophy and arts. Here he would not have had the easy foothold of the Law. So As we observe…
Fighting for the Gospel
After the wondrous joys of their first missionary journey Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch where they soon encounter a new group of teachers who have begun to spread a nuanced gospel. Upon hearing their message Paul & Barnabas are quick to refute their teaching to the point where they head off to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles and elders of the church in order to sort the matter out once and for all. Pastor Joe takes us through…