Sermons – Carryduff Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Sermons – Carryduff Baptist Church
On this Remembrance Sunday we reflect on the scars of Christ, inspired by Edward Shillito’s poem Jesus of the Scars
If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow,
We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.
The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars, we claim Thy grace.
If, when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know to-day what wounds are, have no fear,
Show us Thy Scars, we know the countersign.
The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak;
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.
In Romans 2 Paul turns from the condition of all humanity, to the specific dangers that those who have been forgiven are prone to.
In Romans 1:18-32 we find the first elements of Paul’s argument for salvation by faith alone. But he begins in a very shocking and disturbing way, he begins with wrath. Before the gospel can be about demonstrating God’s love it must first be about God’s wrath – what to do with the furious, devastating, and entirely justified wrath of God?
That is the problem to which the gospel is the only possible answer.
Paul has many important, and weighty, things to say to the believers in Rome, but before he says any of them he has something that he needs to say first
Before delving into the glorious detail of Paul’s letters to the Romans it’s important to take our bearings and consider:
- What Paul wrote? That Justification is by Faith alone
- Why Paul wrote that? Because their unity was in danger and justification by faith is what makes us one
Our Lifegroups begin again at the end of the month and so this morning we are addressing why we have them, and what we hope to achieve from them.
Proverbs begins and ends with a woman. The first is the personification of Wisdom, the last is the Perfect Wife, who is more than simply a domestic figure, but a way of showing us what every wife is supposed to be a picture of – the True Wife, the Bride of Christ.
Wisdom can help us to avoid calamity … but can do nothing to recover us from calamity. So, if it’s too late, if you didn’t listen, if wisdom and all its clarity about what you should have done can only mock you now … where will you turn?
In Genesis 37 it would seem that Joseph’s life fell apart, but – as events would show – God was in control throughout it all
Looking at Proverbs 24:23-34 we look at what Proverbs has to say about laziness – the best way to waste wisdom
How should a Christian share wisdom with others? The simple answer is with words – but through words used well. From Proverbs we find two first principles
- Words are Power (so use with care!)
- You are helping, not doing
This leads to three practical guidelines
- Wise speaking begins with careful listening
- We are in the business of persuasion
- Persuasiveness begins in the heart
Wisdom is the art of asking the right questions and understanding the implications of the answers that we give – so how do we become wise? The Book of Proverbs has an answer which it reiterates over and over and over, throughout the book – welcome, and be grateful, for correction and rebuke, no matter where it comes from.
Foolishness is portrayed in Proverbs not simply as a lack of intelligence but as an unfaithfulness to the wisdom on which the creation itself rests. It is a kind of adultery.
Before we study the books of wisdom we must understand what wisdom is. The book of Proverbs offers two principles
- Wisdom is something that can be learned
- Wisdom offers questions not answers
Micah, who has so clearly foretold both Jerusalem’s overthrow and her elevation, ends with a message of Hope – but a hope that is costly
We are often very poor judges of what is good, which is why we often resist, or mistrust, God. Micah calls us to relearn what is good for us.
In Micah 4:6-5:6 the prophet begins to describe the kingdom of which the Jerusalem to come will be the capital. He tells us about:
- The Kingdom he will build
- The King he will give
- The Scattering to come
- The Comfort which will sustain
- The Harvest to be gathered
In chapter 2 we have the reason why God is threatening the judgement described in chapter 1. We have,
- God’s Diagnosis
- Israel’s Denial
- Christ’s Deliverance
At the outset of our studies in Micah we start by asking why we need to read the prophets at all, and what this prophet has to say.
The resurrection is hard to believe, it always has been, it was for those who were there. But every single person who was there ended up utterly convinced that it had happened
Easter has always been associated with baptism and so, on this Palm Sunday, we are considering the importance and significance of Christian baptism
We are called to be at peace with everyone – which is not simply the absence of war. So we need to …
- Think about how we live together
- Think about where we will live together
- Think about what will endure
There are many things which will hinder us in Drawing Near to God – guilt and doubt but also suffering. In Hebrews 12 we come to the issue of the struggles that believers face which we are challenged to understand as discipline. Doing so requires us to understand,
- The Difference between Punishment and Discipline
- The Difference between Growth and Despair
The message behind the various figures listed in Hebrews 11 as exemplars of faith is simply,
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised
Heb. 11:39
The rested their hope on An Unseen Foundation, which is what we are called to when we fix our eyes on Jesus
Mission is not an optional extra for ‘advanced Christians’, nor is it simply a department of the Church, it is much more important than that. To fully understand the part of the local church in missions we need to ask:
Hear his voice – “the crowds were amazed at his teaching” (v 28) Make it real – “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man” (v 24)
Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ emphasised how we can trust our heavenly Father, for he knows how to give good gifts to his children. Now, as we approach the end of chapter 7, he makes clear that we must trust him, even if it seems impossible, because all other alternatives lead to destruction
Far from a blanket ban on making any judgements, this is a warning not to judge badly, because we desperately need to be part of …
Matthew 6 begins with a warning against reducing our righteousness to a performance to be seen by men. The end of that chapter is about the thing that makes us play a part instead of pleasing God – worry
Having issued the ominous warning, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven Matt. 5:20 Jesus now poses six piercing challenges to what we think righteousness really is, and whether what we’re actually looking for is the absolute least we…
After the beatitudes Jesus says two profound things to his hearers, ‘You are the salt of the earth You are the light of the world Matt. 5:13-14 Two assertions which imply two requirements of Christ’s followers,
In John 4 a woman despised and excluded from her community encountered Jesus by a well. He didn’t even have a bucket to draw water for himself but he advised her to ask him for water.
The book of Numbers finishes with a final collection of laws, both related to the inheritance Israel is about to receive. The lessons Moses leaves with them are:
Numbers 33’s careful enumeration of all the stages in Israel’s journey from slavery to their promised land, followed by a clarion call to drive out the people’s living there completely, serve to issue two challenges
On the verge of entering the long awaited promised land, two of the twelve tribes who made up the people of Israel said to Moses,
Do not make us cross the Jordan
Num. 32:5
They had found what they thought was a better home in Gilead. Meanwhile, half of another tribe were so committing to fighting a war that everyone else knew was over, that they stayed behind too.
Their example forces us to ask ourselves, are we Fighting for the wrong thing?
The last battle Moses would fight before his death on this side of the Jordan was to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. And that terrible task would show that,
- No-one is innocent
- No-one is untouched
- No-one is alone
- Nothing is finished
After the offerings detailed in Numbers 28-29 which maintain the relationship between God and his people, chapter 30 turns to the relationships among the people, specifically those between Men and Women
In Numbers 28-29 Moses offers a summary, not simply of the sacred days and seasons Israel were to observe, but the Offerings they were to present as a fundamental part of the rhythm of their lives.
Two challenging events – the loss of the inheritance of a man with no sons and only daughters, and the need for a leader to succeed Moses – cause Israel to face their fears for the future
- The Fear of Loss
- The Fear of Abandonment
Christ bore more than our sins, according to Isaiah, he also bore our pain and those who saw him do so responded in many ways. There were,
- The Gawkers
- The Fearers
- The Wonderers
- And those who heard and believed the Truth
He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you
Matt. 28:7
After God’s glorious defence of Israel against the ploys of Balak and Balaam it is tragic that what happens next is an utter betray of God by Israel. In Numbers 25-26 we encounter,
- Faithless People
- Faithful God
- Fearful Sacrifice
- The Futility of Trying to Overthrow God’s Blessing
- The Nature of God’s Blessing
- The Purpose of God’s Blessing
- Balaam’s Greed is Condemned
- Balaam’s Humiliation is Engineered
- Balaam’s Madness is Confronted
After forty years in the wilderness Moses is within sight of the Promised Land. But, tragically, it is here, within sight of his life’s goal, Moses reaches his breaking point and is barred from entering Canaan
As we begin a study of Christ’s parables we begin with the fundamental question of, why did he use them at all?
What has been at the root of all Israel’s troubles has been a habit of defiance, and in Numbers 16-17 we see that the answer to that habit isn’t more legislation, but a priest – a mediator who can stand in the gap and made peace. In these chapters we see,
- What the priest does
- Why we need the priest
- What the priest can give us
Numbers 15 inserts a groups of laws into the aftermath of Israel’s refusal to enter the promised land. But there’s nothing random about them – they are designed to introduce into Israel’s daily life over the next forty years three truths:
- Salvation is a Relationship
- Defiance Destroys Relationship
- Remembrance Preserves Relationship
There comes a point in some stories – indeed, in some lives – where everything changes. It becomes the definining moment of that story or of that life. In the life of the newly born nation of Israel that defining moment is described in Numbers 13-14.
Their moment of truth results in a spiral of Discover, Disinformation, and Disobedience – but what does it mean?
Don’t watch Israel, watch God and see …
- The sin of not wanting to try
- The need to face our failure
- The provision of a man to pray for us
As Israel are on their way – quite literally – to the promised land, they stumble over the same thing that so often causes us to stumble … the things we crave. The thing we crave can destroy us, or lead us to salvation.
- Dissatisfaction creates craving
- Craving is Contagious
Acts 18 gives us an insight into how Paul was able to situate himself in unexpected situations, and react to unforeseen opposition. He avoided both the crushing weight of thinking the whole future of the Church rested on him, and the despiriting idea that what he did was irrelevant by recognising that he was,
- Necessary but not Sufficient
- Necessary but not Vulnerable
- Necessary but Replaceable
Much of the Christmas story takes place at night, and for good reason. There is a darkness in these events that exemplifies the very thing Christ was born to save us from. It teaches us that,
- Humanity doesn’t want to be saved
- God still wants humanity
- He has come to confront our darkness
The 17th century poet Richard Herrick wrote,
The darling of the world is come,
And fit it is, we find a room
To welcome him. To welcome him.
And what Mary and Joseph’s arrival in Bethlehem teaches us is that, if we do welcome Christ we will find that we are not welcoming a stranger, you may have never met him before but he’s your family, your true family.
God did the impossible at Christmas – the omnipotent God becomes a helpless child. And yet he did it …
- Because we are blind to what we long for
- That we might see his glory
- To bring us grace from God
There are two offices, given by Christ for the good of the Church – Deacons and Elders. This morning we look at Elders, Servants of the Word
Throughout 1 John, John has emphasised the need for Christians to love one another. But where does that leave the obligations of the Law? Is there a tension between the two? In the final chapter he addresses both, and brings the letter to a surprising conclusion.
In the way he constructs his letter, John seems to be telling us that the opposite of being deceived by some antichrist, indeed the strongest protection against being deceived, is to love one another. So, in 4:7-21 he answers three questions: Where does love come from? What is love? Why should we love?
The community John is writing to has been shaken, not only by people denying Christ and leaving the church, but also by people staying and lying to the church. And he shows us, in 1 John 4:1-6 … How to Recognise the Fakes How to Defeat the Fakers
In his opening chapters John has been at pains to call us to remain in Christ, to remain in the light. Chapter 3 begins to address what it looks like to do that and the heart of it is this appeal, See what great love the Father has lavished on us 1 John 3:1 In…
In 1 John 2:15-29 we come to an event which has profoundly shaken the confidence of the believers, and which may well be the reason why John wrote. Some of their number had left them, denying Christ and trying to lead them astray. And the question they are facing is, What does this mean? John…
In 1 John 2:7-14, having called on his readers to walk in the light, John assures them that they can do exactly that because – in Christ – something has changed. Jesus has changed our capacity to keep the law Jesus has changed the signs by which God’s people are known Jesus has changed all…
In 1 John 1:5-2:6 we are presented with a spiritual catch-22, we cannot claim to have fellowship with God while we are walking in the dark, but if claim to be without sin we are lying … so how can we come to God. John’s answer is Christ, because Christ is … A Light A…
John begins his letter, discussing How to Know, by making three simple points Something has happened What has happened has made us one Our joy depends on what has happened
John explains his motivation in writing 1 John towards the end of the letter, and he says it was … I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 But one of his dominant themes…
In Numbers 9:15-10:36 Israel are finally ready to leave Mount Sinai. The time for preparation has ended and their final directions relate how they are to come and go as they travel. This is unfolded in: The Cloud The Trumpets The Invitation
It’s one thing to set people free, but how do they stay free? Numbers seems to present the Passover in Numbers 9 as the answer, that the way they’ll stay free is by remembering how they were delivered. The regulations given here highlight: The Importance of Remembrance The Indispensability of Remembrance The Universality of Remembrance
Numbers 8 presents, rather unexpectedly, specific instructions for one item of furniture in the Tabernacle – the lampstand. It is clear that, with the dedication of the Tabernacle, the privilege of being able to walk in its light has profound significance. This is only underscored by the fact that the next thing narrated is the…
Having focused on how God numbered the Israelites In the Wilderness, arranging them around his Tent – the Tabernacle – the way an army encamps around their general, in Numbers 7 we go back in time a month to see how that Tabernacle was prepared. And it becomes clear that it wasn’t just the priests…
Numbers is punctuated by five sections detailing the laws under which Israel was to live. The first, in chapters 5-6, responds the fact that God is Among Them, his Tabernacle is in the heart of the camp. The camp must therefore be clean. These chapters outline: Three things which defile the camp Two things which…
In the Wilderness the holy God living among an unholy people, the Levites were called to maintain the sacrifices and the tabernacle that protected the one from the other. In order to maintain the vertical relationship between each Israelite and his holy God, a great, horizontal network of relationships among the Israelites was necessary, with…
Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12) but what is forgiveness? And how can true forgiveness ever be obtained?
The careful detail of Numbers 2-3 concerning the layout of the Israelite camp focuses our attention on three things: The Place of the Levites The Service of the Levites The Substitution of the Levites
Easter is celebrated globally as a holiday, it’s recognised as a central part of the church calendar, but is it personal. Paul could say, “thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). Is it that personal for us? Is this Our Easter?
The first chapter of Numbers is a census of the Israelite people, but not the kind of census we might expect. It counts only men, and of the men it counts only the men able to fight in the army. This isn’t a simple numbering of the population, this is a preparation for war, this…
The book of Numbers stands in the Old Testament both as a warning and as a source of hope.
Towards the close of 2 Corinthians Paul, talking about his upcoming visit to the church, confesses that he is afraid: afraid that he will not find the church as he wants to find it, afraid that they will have been led astray from a sincere devotion to Christ, afraid that if he is forced to…
In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul’s ‘boasting’ takes another turn as he asks, Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? 2 Cor. 12:19 Because what Paul has been doing hasn’t been about protecting his own position or reputation but helping the Corinthian church. His parody of boasting is about…
For the Corinthian church, which has succumbed to the temptation to wage war as the world does, with the world’s weapons, in chapter 11 Paul describes A Real Warrior – taking for his example … himself. But his boasting has a sting in its tale as he shows them that … A Real Warrior takes…
There are a few seconds missing from the beginning of the recording
2 Corinthians 10 marks a significant shift in tone in the letter. Up to here Paul has dealt with a difficult situation with the church but seemed genuinely pleased with their progress. Now however he feels compelled to address a fundamental issue that threatens to undermine everything they’ve achieved.
[You] think that we live by the standards of this world
2 Cor. 10:2
This means that they are approaching the great war they are called to in Christ, in entirely the wrong way. To engage in that spiritual conflict successfully, they need to …
- Use the right weapons (vv 3-6)
- Fight the right enemy (vv 7-11)
- Measure the right things (vv 12-18)
The practice of making New Year’s resolutions seems to be fading away, and yet the Bible is full of resolutions. However those resolutions are often very different to the resolutions we might adopt. So we reflect, this morning on …
- What
- How
- And Why
… we should resolve to face this new year.
Isaiah 11 is a prophecy of Christ’s birth at Christmas. It is a prophecy about a king, and not just a new king, it foretells the coming of a new kind of king, because our salvation …
- is something no ordinary king could create
- can only be established by judgement
- means a world made new
We take the presence of the shepherds at the birth of Christ for granted, but why where they were? Because the truth is …
- There was no-one less qualified to understand what they saw
- There was no-one less convincing as a witnesses to what had happened
Why is financial giving a part of our Christian worship? Is it an unfortunate practical necessity, imposed on our, otherwise, spiritual focus, or, is it an essentially spiritual act? To help us understand why we give, Paul walks us through three questions:
- What should we give?
- How should we give
- Why should we give?
It’s significant that, having focused on the way the Corinthians have confronted, and dealt with their sin, the First Steps Paul recommends immediately afterwards are not introspection or self-examination, but the service of others. He draws their attention to the power of God’s grace for,
- Grace made Visible
- Intentions made Real
- Needs made Clear
2 Corinthians 7 is the most encouraging part of the letter so far, and yet Paul feels he has to preface it with this appeal,
Make room for us in your hearts
2 Cor. 7:2
Because this is a Turning Point, and turning points are hopeful but also fragile and Paul’s words here offer us some guidance in navigating turning points:
- The Proper Source of Hope
- The Power and Peril of Sorrow
- The Proof of True Repentance