Trustworthy Witnesses
Right throughout this letter we have seen that John has been prosecuting a case against the false teachers who were trying to win the hearts and minds of the people away from Jesus. Well as we come to the final chapter of the letter John is mounting his closing argument and he calls three witnesses for us to hear… witnesses who will radically confirm the most wonderful truth ever known.
Two Ways to Love
Whether it is love songs, love stories or the classic Disney Princess movies we are very familiar with what the world thinks of love. Unfortunately love in the world rarely works out the way that the songs and movies seem to suggest that it will. When John speaks of love he speaks of something far more satisfying and powerful than any image that Hollywood can conjure up… He speaks of a love that empowered by Jesus Christ through His gospel;…
The Voice of Truth
In life there are so many voices that all promise to give us something true. Even when it comes to church and our faith there are many different people who preach many different ideas about Jesus and salvation. In John’s day there were numerous false teachers who were vying for the hearts and minds of the church so in this passage he outlines how they can be sure that a message is true. Pastor Joe looks at John’s test and…
Easter Sunday: No Condemnation
This life constantly casts burdens upon our shoulders… the burdens of trying to get everything in our life right… to measure up to the demands of those around us. But in the story of the empty tomb there is a stunning truth that offers us hope and freedom. On Resurrection Sunday Pastor Joe reveals the amazing word that God spoke over humanity when He raised Jesus from the dead and how it gives us true freedom!
Good Friday: Mockery & Shame
On Good Friday it is pretty common knowledge that Jesus died on the cross, but I wonder how often we remember the manner in which He was punished. Because Jesus did not just embrace death on Good Friday, but the culmination of everything that is wrong with human hearts. This Good Friday Pastor Joe examines the mockery and shame that Jesus encountered and reveals how it impacts on our understanding of what Jesus did for us.
Gospel Empowered Love
As we continue in John’s letter to the churches we have to remember that he is writing to people who are plagued by false teachers who were trying to capture their hearts and minds. John has been constantly calling for the people to see the flaws in these teachers and see the hope and assurance in the gospel of Jesus. Today he unpacks how the gospel changes our relationships with one another and how the love that it empowers can…
SMBC Team: Hope in Confession
A team from Sydney Missionary and Bible College joined us for a week of ministry and one of the students Brian shared with us from Psalm 32.
In the Father’s Footsteps
Fatherlessness is such a huge problem in our society because without a father, especially young boys, have no tangible example of how the ethics and values of their family get lived out in the world. This is the unique contribution that fathers make to society and in so many ways we long to follow in our fathers’ footsteps. John continues on with the theme of the fatherhood of God we looked at last week to show us that how we…
The Love of the Father
A lot of people think that Christianity gives you nothing but a boring life of rules and restrictions now and offers you nothing but a boring life of halo-wearing and harp-playing after death. As we continue to walk our way through John’s letter to the churches we will see that it is nothing of the sort. John outlines one of the greatest truths of all time and how it gives us a glorious hope.
Functional Antichrists
Hearing words like “end times” or Antichrist” can send us into a bit of a spin; we either have visions of apocalyptic horror movies or visions of confusing theological debates. Either way I think John would say that we are missing the point. When John speaks of “the last hour” and “antichrist”, he is not speaking about fearsome future events but a shocking present reality. So join us as we try to see past preconceived ideas that we might have…