The Globe Church Sermons: Recent Episodes
The Globe Church
The Globe Church is all about Jesus. The Globe Church is made up of all sorts of people. The Globe Church is involved in the greatest mission.
God did not create us to run at a 100mph without stopping. We need to rest. And He loves us so much that He provides the rest that we need. Not as a reward for all our hard work – but as a gift that seals our identity and sets us up to work
We live our lives with the continual ticking of the clock. How do we make the most of the time God has given to us? Linda also shares some of her reflections on time and habits at the end of this sermon.
God has built into his creation the pattern of fruitfulness. His first command and his great intention is that we would be fruitful. But what does that look like and how do we pursue greater growth?
Ezra ends with a mixture of emotions. The people are called to return to the covenant faithfulness of God and to act together against sin. For us today, we do this in the power of the Spirit knowing our only hope in the fight against sin is with...
In Ezra Chs 1 & 2, God’s people are are invited to return to Jerusalem to build a temple so that God can be with them once again, everyone of them counted, everyone of them known and secure in the promises made to them by God. We have security in...
Despite how the world may seem, God is working through Kings, rulers, and ordinary people to bring about his purposes.
In the freedom we have in Christ, we can either gratify the desires of our flesh or walk by the Spirit. Indulging the flesh will only lead to being enslaved once more and not inheriting the kingdom of God. Instead we are called to walk by the Spirit...
The Gospel Story is a magnificent narrative that sweeps through human history. It is gloriously expansive in its scope. When Paul sees people trying to restrict that gospel and narrow it down, he is profoundly angry. In an extraordinary attack he...
Imagine a community not built on merit but built on grace. Where our value and worth does not come from conforming to what society values but instead comes from the unmerited, glorious and transforming promises of God. That would be a community where...
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Christ lives in us, which means we no longer live as imposters, or trying hard to prove ourselves, but we live in Christ and He in us.
As we begin our new series in Galatians we started our time in Galatians by reading through the whole book together. The big message; we are no longer slaves and Christ has set us free.
After Peter failed and denied Jesus, he now sits in his presence wondering whether Jesus might take him back. See how Jesus restores a broken and failed man and what that means for those who follow him.
We can easily find ourselves living in between two realities. Not fully living in the light of the resurrection life of Jesus we can begin to drift back to old patterns and behaviours. Come and see how we can embrace the full reality of what Jesus...
Jesus is the one we’ve been waiting for! In his resurrection he’s the Victorious King, with wounds that heal. He’s the Prince of Peace and the Son of God.
Through this encounter with Mary, Jesus shows how he breaks into the reality we live in, one of sorrow and death, into a new reality of life and joy!
One of Jesus’ friends, Mary, discovers that Jesus’ tomb is open, and runs to show some of his disciples. What they all see that day shows that not only has Jesus’ come back to life, but that God has begun his work to renew the whole of creation.
A one-off World Mission Sunday special, looking through the book of Acts to see our place now in God’s great drama.
In Jesus’ final moments at the Cross he cries out ‘It is finished!’ What does this mean for us? Why were these the last words recorded by John? John wants us to see Jesus cry out these words as the King who suffered for us, the Lamb who was...
Jesus is condemned, lifted up, and stripped. Yet what we are witnessing is the greatest display of God’s love we could ever possibly find.
What other King would wear a crown of thorns? What other King would embrace such suffering? Come and behold His meekness and majesty. Come and behold the Man.
Jesus is on trial. But He just doesn’t fit the categories that we want to impose on Him. Will we allow His to change our perspective or will we reject Him?
In John 18 we see Peter deny Jesus three times. How could he after all this time? As we see him fail Jesus, we see Jesus on trial who does not fail his disciples
In a garden, Jesus is betrayed by one of his closest friends. But through what happens we see that this is part of God's plan, a plan that Jesus follows willingly. Jesus will go on to drink the cup of judgement we deserve for our betrayal, and he will stand in the place of his people.
The book of Malachi ends with a group of people whose names are recorded in a scroll of remembrance. There are to be God's treasured possession. The remnant among the unfaithful people. They are not better than everyone else, but they fear God. They take His word seriously and know they need mercy. And so God counts them as righteous.
Is God fair? Is it worth it to follow Christ? God promises that he does not change in his faithfulness and so we can trust him, lean upon him and obey his call to return to Him.
Vertical unfaithfulness was leading the people of God to horizontal unfaithfulness in their hearts and in their marriages. Where might we be being unfaithful to God and to others?
Are we half-hearted in our worship? Do we treat God with contempt in our worship? Look to the promised high priest who brings us into whole-hearted, right worship
We cannot encounter God without Jesus. But we also cannot encounter God without the Holy Spirit. Where do we sometimes go wrong with that? How are to view and test the role of the Spirit as we come to encounter God?
God calls us to serve him, not just because it's a good thing to do but because it's a key way we encounter God in worship!
How do we approach the Lord's Supper when we gather as the church? Why did Jesus call us to do this regularly? How do we encounter God more deeply at the Lord's Table?
The Bible has a huge amount to say about the human heart. In this sermon we explore some of those big themes.
If God was silent then an encounter with Him would be impossible. But God is not silent. We look at what it means to encounter God in His Word
How do we encounter God personally and corporately in prayer? We look here at Paul's approach to prayer (not so much on his actual prayer), so the focus will be on Ephesians 3:14 which may seem odd but there are references to other passages to help us more.
Jesus' final words in Matthew's Gospel is that he will be with them right to the very end. Come and find confidence and comfort in the words of Immanuel.
The way to make disciples is in two parts. Baptising them and teaching them. This pattern is seen in Israel's history. The water (crossing the red sea) then the mountain (God teaching them His law). It is that order. Saving then teaching. Water then mountain.
Due to technical difficulties, we were unable to upload the start of the sermon.
Jesus places baptism at the heart of the great task of making disciples. Why is it so significant? And could it be that we have a blindspot when it comes to this beautiful sign?
Taking a step back to survey some of the lessons we have been learning about God and what it means to live by faith from the life of Abraham. Four big lessons.
On the night before Jesus died, his friends fled and left him all alone; he was confronted by an angry mob carrying weapons. Humanly speaking it was a painful time for Jesus and yet this displayed God's glory all the more fully to show that it is only Jesus, Jesus alone who is the Messiah. It is Jesus ALONE who saves. It is not 'I' but 'HE'.
When God calls Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering it raises so many questions. But perhaps the most important of all is the simple question Isaac asked, 'Where is the Lamb?'
God is the great protector of his promise and his people. He steps into the messiness of the world and our hearts to make sure his promises are unfailing and invites us to be a part of them.
In these chapters God reveals to us what He is really like. The perfect Judge who punishes sin with outstanding mercy.
Sarah is 90 and there is still no sign of the promised child. She can only laugh at her situation only to find the Lord comes with an I WILL that will bring her real laughter.
This is a foundational chapter where God establishes the covenant with Abraham and his descendants and seals it with a costly, permanent sign which points forward to the seed that is Christ.
This is an ugly chapter where Abram and Sarai behave in very wrong ways. We will find our own hearts exposed. And we will find that Jesus shines brightly as the only hero who can be truly trusted.
Explore a beautiful example of what meekness looks like in action. Where it starts, how it acts, what it sees and why it matters.
Starting a new series in the book of Genesis we are exploring the life of Abraham and all that we learn about God and what it means to live by faith
As Jesus prays in John 17 we discover His deep ambition for His people to experience the sort of unity that He has always enjoyed in relationship with His Father. We explore that unity and discuss what that might look like in practice.
As we listen in to Jesus' prayer we get an unrestricted view of what really matters. It will expose our obsession with the trivial and temporary things of this world and get a clearer sight of the things of eternal glory
The Spirit comes to testify about Jesus, to convict us of sin and to guide us into all truth. It is that guiding work that is in view in this passage. What vital work it is.
As Jesus prepares His disciples for His departure, He teaches them the precious work that the Holy Spirit will do. It is vital and life changing for us.
Jesus is honest with His disciples about the struggles they will face - but provides them with great encouragement to persevere
It is painful to read but Jesus prepares his disciples for the reality of betrayal, so that when it comes they will be ready.
What does someone sound like who belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven? What words might come out of their mouths?
It can be easier to have a very flat and one dimensional view of the cross. The reality is so much bigger and more glorious. As Jesus continues to prepare His disciples for His upcoming death He speaks to them about five different dimensions of His cross
It looks like a great moment of glory. The crowds are cheering, Jesus is arriving. But don't be fooled. This is not glory. You will only understand this after Jesus has been truly glorified.
After the raising of Lazarus - Jesus has become the central reality in the lives of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. This study will challenge us to think carefully about whether Jesus is just a spoke in our wheel - or whether He is at the centre
At first it seems this is just tying up some loose ends after the big miracle of raising Lazarus. But in reality John is unravelling key truths to help us see what is happening.
It is easy for us to believe the right things - but for that not always to check out in the way we then live. In this section we are confronted with the sheer power and glory of Jesus and challenged to think about how we respond.
Jesus wept. Just two simple words. But in these words there is a depth of reality that can begin to make sense of our tears and give us hope.
Jesus responds to Martha with powerful words that drag the dim and distant future hope of resurrection right into the present reality. What is the life Jesus speaks of? And how can we experience it?
John 11 showed us Jesus as the one who loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha – and as the one who shows us his glory so that we may believe.
Our world has changed fast in the previous 20 years. We now inhabit a digital world and the way that we love one another needs to be carefully thought through. How do we use our online presence to make helpful, godly and loving connections with one another?
How do we love one another in the church family as brothers and sisters? Relationships with men and women can so often be slightly awkward to navigate and in some circumstances become toxic. We explore some of these complicated issues in more depth.
A number of times in the New Testament we are told to love one another as God has loved us. His love is the model.
Hosea reaches his crescendo with a great call to return to God. He shows us where we turn from, how we return and what we return to.
We might have all sorts of questions we would love to ask God. But He has a question for us. And it could not be more important.
In Hosea Chapter 11 God paints a stunning self portrait. So often we can paint a distorted picture of God and it leads to unfaithfulness. Will you allow God to reveal what He is truly like?
In these chapters of Hosea, God warns His people that if they continue to sow to the wind (self-reliant, DIY religion) they will reap a whirlwind. The big call is to sow righteousness by seeking the LORD so that they might reap unfailing love.
God's ambition for His people is not an external form of religion. Rather, it is a transformed heart that is devoted to Him. This is the radical work Jesus came to do in us.
Although God's covenant love starts with Him and finds its source in Him - it has the goal of transforming us to be His devoted and loyal people.
When God chose how to relate to His people He did not establish a demand/reward relationship. Instead He established a covenant. He made promises that He unfailingly and unswervingly holds to. Even in the face of the most intense unfaithfulness.
It is always important to take specific time to examine our hearts and seek to restore and renew our relationship with God
Immanuel. It means God with us. But it is not just a nice, sentimental Christmas thought. As we dig into what this name is all about we will see why we desperately need Him this Christmas.
John 10 has already shown us that Jesus is the Gate and Jesus is the Shepherd. That just leaves the sheep. What does it mean to be one of His sheep?
Jesus takes this beautiful image of a the Shepherd and applies it to Himself. A Shepherd is precisely what we need - and Jesus is that good Shepherd
Jesus speaks of Himself as the Gate. It is a rich and powerful image that will lead us to a deeper appreciation of Jesus.
When anyone meets Jesus they are confronted with a choice. Two roads. They either step on to the road of belief. Or the road of unbelief. In this chapter we watch these two roads in action.
Jesus came to do the great work of opening the eyes of the blind. But there are some puzzling details here that take us deeper into the eye-opening work of Jesus.
A focus on Psalm 117 reveals its two main themes of The Enormity of God's Love (v2) and The Response of God's People (v1).
Jesus tells us that whoever obeys his word will never see death - but what does that mean? And how can he possibly make such a claim?
We all long to be free. But what does that really look like in practice? Jesus shows us the nature of true freedom and the danger or walking a different path.
Jesus is the greatest teacher who has ever lived. As the crowd try to put Him on trial, He shows them theological connections that change everything about how we understand this world.
Jesus does not dance to the tune of this world. Instead, he is wonderfully free to speak the truth in love.
Peter lays a buffet of mercies before us (v.1-12) which then lead to and land on a command in verse 13. With minds that are alert and sober, we are to set our hope in the fact that Jesus is coming and that He's bringing blessing.
Stephen preached one of the greatest sermons ever. We have it recorded in Acts 7. But what was it about this sermon that made Luke (and the Holy Spirit!) include it in the book of Acts?
Stephen is repeatedly described as a man who was "full of the Spirit". But what does that mean?
The early church is growing - but there is a danger. Some in the church are getting overlooked. Here we learn some principles about how churches can operate.
There are times we might feel like God is distant, but in the Psalms we often find comforting words that bring hope in every circumstance.
The answer to selfish ambition is not to forget about ambition all together. Rather it is to develop a healthy sense of gospel ambition. In Paul we get a glimpse of what that might look like.
What does the world need the church to be at this time? What is God's ambition for us as His people? You get a glimpse in this passage today.
God's mercy does not bring into an existence a herd of people who are all the same. Rather, He creates a beautiful family.
A closer look at this command in the light of the issue of racism and injustice that we see around us in the world.
"All you need is love". But what exactly does it look like to live this life of love. Come and explore the debt, the law and a new set of clothes.
A whole heap of commands that are here for our joy. Describing a vision for life that is magnificent.
What does it mean to offer our bodies as Living Sacrifices? Well, it means serving the church with the gifts God has given.
Two commands that flow from one awesome reality. The commands will only make sense when we get the mercy of God clear in our hearts.
The resurrection of Jesus is far bigger than we often imagine with implications that run deep and far. This Easter let's enjoy the majesty of Easter.
Christians are described as 'justified'. This means that God's verdict on our lives is that we are right and pleasing to Him. This verdict is not sealed by our behaviour but by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Our lives can be interrupted by so many different things; from the unwelcome interruption to sleep with the alarm clock going off, through the necessary interruption of a fire alarm breaking into our concentration. In Romans 1 we see the biggest interruption - God interrupting human history.
All of us know what it is to feel afraid. In the last few days it is felt close. As covid-19 has spread we worry about the future. In the story that we read from Mark's Gospel we find a man facing these same fears for the future.
Tears are part of our everyday lives - and yet we find them so hard to handle. The Bible models for us what it means to lament - and how learning to lament can transform our experience of tears.
John 6 ends with many of Jesus' followers walking away. The words Jesus speaks are hard for us to accept. But they are also the only words that can ever bring life. Will we stay or will we go?
The more you look at Jesus, and the more you listen to his teaching the more simple it becomes, but also the more complex! The illustrations that Jesus uses have so much depth to them, and his teaching on 'the bread of life' is no different…
When Jesus walked on the water it was a sign that is brimming with meaning. Against the backdrop of the Old Testament we see Jesus once again 'doing whatever His Father does'. And all of it so that we would trust Him.
We've seen several signs so far in John's Gospel, signs that John tells us reveals Jesus' glory. We often fall into the trap of reading ourselves into one of the roles of the signs… What if the feeding of the 5,000 is about more than us bringing our loaves and fishes to Jesus, but Jesus teaching us so much more about who he is?
In this sermon we look back at where we have been. And we challenge one another to learn the events of John's gospel and to think over them through out the week?
How can we ever be sure that Jesus is truly the Son of God? Jesus points us to the weightiest testimony possible, His Father. When we feel the wight of evidence we will be able to have confidence in Jesus no matter what life throws at us.
Jesus unpacks His equality with the Father as He expresses the relationship between them. The Father loves the Son, so the Father wants all people to honour the Son, so the Father entrusts His work to the Son.
Jesus makes the most audacious claim - and then backs it up with stunning words about His relationship with His Father. Our security and joy rests, not in us, but in this magnificent God.
Jesus demonstrates His great work in this miracle. He exposes the empty hope of the world and the only hope found in Him. Will you let Jesus make you well this week?
Jesus gives us a glimpse into what matters most to him. We see the way he views this world and the things that matter most to him. He calls us to join his mission by praying that more workers would be sent to join in the harvest.
Paul is praying for the church in Colossae and he is asking just one thing. He is praying that their thinking would be radically and completely changed so that their whole lives become increasingly pleasing to God. Here is the key to real change for the coming new year. Not will power, but God filling us with His thinking.
It isn’t the first picture we would associate with Christmas - but Revelation 5 points us to a remarkable truth about our world. There is one who is worthy to bring about God’s plan. He is the Lion and he is the Lamb. And at Christmas he was born and laid in a manger.
Joseph was confronted with a situation that completely shook his world. Mary was pregnant. It seemed so wrong and shameful. But then he learned the truth.
Is it ever appropriate for a Christian to feast? The answer is gloriously YES! But we need to be careful how we feast.
There are all sorts of ways that we can pray or fast in a way that does not please God. But when we see clearly the beauty of Jesus, the Bridegroom, our prayer and fasting can be transformed.
We were not designed to be lone rangers, but rather to live in partnership with others. The church is to be marked by these kinds of relationships. This sermon explores the foundations and nature of that partnership.
You can't read about Jesus for some mindless, spiritual entertainment. He demands a response from us. The thing is, he knows what we believe- there's no hiding our hearts from him. But while calling out our unbelief and demands of him, he is gracious. Jesus helps us believe! We see this all play out in an encounter back in Jesus' home country of Galilee...
Jesus has come to gather in a great harvest. People from every nation coming to be His people. Even enemies are welcome to come to this Saviour. We need to know what time it is - open our eyes and get ready to join the harvest.
An unlikely conversation leads to massive spiritual truth. We need to learn the link between thirst and worship and ask God to satisfy us with living water.
In a fuzzy and muddled world, the message of Jesus bring such clarity. Here we find the truth about God, the truth about ourselves and truth that brings us freedom.
Jesus speaks five words that spell out the only way to enter His Kingdom. He puts is very bluntly. 'You must be born again'. We explore those words and the profound impact that they should have on every human heart
In John 2 Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem and exposes the wrong worship that he finds there. Then he says the most mind-blowing things as he points to himself as the new and true temple on earth
We like to be entertained by something that will distract us and take us away from reality. Jesus is not interested in playing that game. He has some far bigger for us. He is not putting on a show so that we will applaud. He is revealing glory so that we will trust Him. Come and glimpse the glory for yourself
John tells us of one week. A strange week where Jesus is presented in all of his greatness and yet at the same time in all of his nearness. Here is the gospel John wants us to understand: The Great God of Heaven has come so near to us. Will we come and see him?
John the Baptist is the first testimony we hear about Jesus. John is not interested in talking about himself - he wants to talk about Jesus. He shows us that Jesus is the Lord of Glory and also the Lamb who will die. It sounds so strange to our ears - but here is the true glory of God.
Jonah gets angry. Twice. But his anger reveals a deeper problem in his heart. He is way out of line with God's heart and concerns. God deals with his prophet, and through him challenges his people.
Israel is malfunctioning - they are God's people, but they're not living like it. They assume that God will continue to bless them while they live a life that rejects Him. Chapter three of Jonah is a shocking call for them to wake up.
Jonah outlines his experience of God's salvation. He sank about as deep as you could sink but everything changed when he finally called out to God. If this is the God who saves then why would we cling to anything else?
Jonah is a prophet to God's people Israel. God's plan was always that he would bless the world through Israel. But they are in rebellion and Jonah is a picture of Israel. God is calling them back to be what they were always meant to be.
Peter, James, and the others fade out of sight and our focus in these final chapter is on a solitary figure: Paul. As Jesus promised, he testifies before kings and authorities about Christ. How has Christianity survived centuries of political opposition like this? The answer: courage that comes from Christ.
The church in Antioch takes centre stage in Gods plan for advancing the gospel. It is a remarkable church that has much to teach us.
The brand new, thousands strong church in Jerusalem is hit with three things that were not part of their plan: persecution, the salvation of Saul, and the inclusion of Gentiles into the Kingdom. But in the plan of the risen and reigning Lord Jesus, each of these things are part of His plan to spread the word and spread the joy of the gospel.
The book of Acts charts the thrilling spread of the gospel. No matter what obstacles are put in the way, this word if unstoppable. Here is what the church really need to know in a world that is so full of trends that come and go. Let's be confidence and clear that the name of Jesus is the greatest.
Have you had that question after praying… has anything actually happened? Did that do anything? Perhaps one of the biggest reasons we don't pray is because it doesn't seem to do anything. Today we're going to see three pictures to encourage us that when we pray something incredible is happening…
Jesus knows that we are in danger. He loves us too much to leave us unprotected. So he gives us the most powerful weapon possible to arm us for the battle. He gives us this prayer, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one." The question is, will we use it?
We have a huge burden of debt that needs lifting- our debt of sin against God. And this daily prayer refreshes us in the reality of our cancelled debt and lets us stand tall as children of the Father. But it doesn't stop there. A heart that's repented will bear the fruit of forgiveness, releasing our grip on those who are our debtors. What a liberating life Jesus has for us of being forgiven and forgiving!
Sometimes we make prayer very complicated. But Jesus teaches us that when we pray we need to learn to 'just ask' God for what we need. We are designed to be dependent receivers rather than independent takers.
Many of us love to be in control. We have our plans and hope that God might help us out. Jesus teaches us to pray differently. He teaches us to pray that we might play our part in His great plan. He knows what He is doing - even when humanity is opposed to him. Prayer is how we get involved.
Prayer is weird. Prayer feels weak. Until we see that this prayer is given as instructions from the King in the middle of a war zone. The Kingdom of Heaven has invaded earth to liberate us. To pray "your Kingdom come" is to pick up the red telephone and use our direct line to heaven to call on God to advance his Kingdom in the nations, winning on heart at a time.
Here is a prayer designed to shape and change us. We find that our priorities are so often out of line with God's priorities. As we learn to pray for the honour of His name we will find our lives transformed. The start of a great adventure...
Jesus came so that we could call God, 'Father'. It is the highest and deepest revelation of who God is. It the great climax of the storyline of the Bible. Israel were God's child but, due to their rebellion, never knew God as Father. Jesus came to be the true Israel, to deal with our sin and to invite us to share in his relationship with God.
Before we can think about prayer we need to understand what it means to be a disciple. Throughout the sermon on the Mount Jesus is teaching what it means to follow Him. He contrasts those who live as if their tank is full and those who know their tank is empty. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Learning to pray starts here.
"To you who believe, this stone is precious…" Jesus is precious to the Christian, He is precious because the Father has put Jesus at the beginning and end of creation, and also in the middle as the cornerstone of our faith. How does this reality change how we live?
Meet Abram and Sarai, and their ordinary, settled, but not pain-free life. In this we have the ingredients for a crisis of faith when the call of God intrudes with a huge promise. The crisis of faith is this: will they/won't they have faith in God? The call seems undesirable, the promise impossible. The call of Jesus on us to follow him is a crisis of faith moment- will we/won't we believe his way is better and that he's faithful to his promises?
Humanity is united in language and works together to build. Sounds idyllic - except they are building to make a name for themselves not to worship God. It is desperately wicked - and the echoes lurk in every human heart.
God has a plan that involves every nation on earth. It is a glorious and captivating plan and you begin to get a sense of it as you read the beginnings of the nations in Genesis 10.,
Here is the biggest question facing humanity: Is there any way that we can go home? We were created to live at home with God, but our sin means we live away from home. Jesus speaks about his Father's house and makes it very clear that He is the only way we can return there.
With the flood behind them, a new start & the next generation, how will humanity get on? There's the bad news: nothing's changed. But then again there's the good news: nothing's changed! While humanity today remains fundamentally flawed, God's plan to rescue us through Jesus is unchanged and won't fail.
The sheer scope of God's covenant with Noah is breathtaking. It is not just Noah and his family but extends to all life on earth. Here is the guarantee that life will not be destroyed - God has promised. Faith rests on the faithfulness of God to his great promise.
"By faith", Hebrews tells us, Noah built the ark and was saved. But what is faith? And how should faith respond to God's warnings and rescue plans as we look from the judgement of the flood to the judgement of Jesus? The answer is that faith hears, fears, and gets on board.
Noah is described as righteous and blameless. That is a huge thing to say. We trace through Noah's life to understand how that came about and how we can follow in his footsteps.
Genesis 5 is a list of names. For every beginning, there is an ending. The beginnings give us hope, the endings remind us of reality. But in Enoch we see something different… and he points us to a beginning that has no end.
Christianity didn't stop at the cross. Though physically absent, Jesus is actively present in his church in his leadership of it. Our active king gives us a strengthening, greater confidence and a deeper reliance all built on himself- someone who will not falter.
The idea of God becoming human to save us just sounds complicated. But Hebrews tells us Jesus had to, if he was going to save us. He became like us in every way, the whole shebang. Why? So he could 'get us' as our understanding high priest and so he could free us from the fear of death by dying our truly human death for us. What a saviour!
God introduces us to the Servant - a figure who will be utterly extraordinary. We explore his work and identity and discover that there is great news for those of us feel weak and frail.
Everyone is searching for joy. Not just the fuzzy happiness of Christmas time, or the things in life which disappoint and melt like snow, but something more lasting, something that endures the tears of life. Where can we find it? Baby John, jumping in the womb for joy at the presence of Jesus tells us to call off the search: Jesus is real joy. And he brings us real, lasting, death defying joy by being our saviour.
Goliath stands against Israel and casts a shadow of fear. This burden needs to be shattered and the people set free. What we really need is a burden shattering Warrior King who will fight on our behalf.
When we trace back the idea of Kingship to its source we find a contrast of two kings. There is Saul, the King the people wanted and there is David, the King the people needed. This Christmas, let's not try and squeeze Jesus into the king we want, rather let's worship Him as the King we need.
It all looks pretty bad. The offspring of the snake (Cain) seems to have crushed the offspring of the woman (Abel). Now he sets about building a city. Here is the City of Man and it really doesn’t look great. But the hope of the world is to be found in the baby born at the end of the chapter.
What will Adam and Eve's children be like? Will they just repeat their failure? In Cain and Abel we see the two paths humanity can take. With Cain there's the tragic repeating of rebellion against God, generation after generation. But there is a choice for another way, the way of Abel. His is the way of faith in God which leads to acceptance. His blood cried out about the guilt of Cain. But the blood of Jesus cries out something better- our innocence and acceptance before God. The question is, will we let the blood do the talking?
One verse contains the whole Bible story. It is a story of conflict, a story of battle, and ultimately a story of glorious victory. Come and understand your part in the great plans of God.
Here is the first ever judgment day. A crime has been committed and now God acts to judge. He reveals that He is not some distant deity who doesn’t care. He is the immanent Judge who passes sentence on sin. There is a seriousness about this moment that cannot be ignored. But there is also hope that shines brightly...
Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit from the tree. What next? They instantly hide in shame. Hiding from each other and hiding from God is something we do to this day. What does God do? God seeks. And as he seeks us out in our shame we should be terrified of his judgement- we can't really hide. But we can come out of our hiding because Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
The beautiful world that God made is threatened as another voice enters the drama. This is the voice of the Deceiver. He comes and speaks lies to the people that God has made. It is crucial for us to understand that at the heart of sin is a great deception. That is followed by a terrible rebellion.
Human beings are not designed to live alone. We are made for relationship. So, God establishes the first marriage and sets out His good plan for human relationships. But here is the genius. Even as He establishes marriage, we discover He is actually paving the way for something far better.
God prepares the perfect home for His people. As we read about it our hearts will ache for what has been lost. But it doesn’t stop there; it will also make our hearts long for the home that is in store.
These three verses answer life's biggest question: why does everything exist? What's God's end game in creating everything? Here we discover that God has finished the world so that he can rest in it with his people; like a theatre where God takes centre stage. And the whole Bible story leads us back to day 7- eternal rest with God through Christ.
Here is a stunning view of humanity. Not simply a highly evolved animal - but an image bearer of God. That is our purpose, our meaning, our significance. Our worth is tied not to the image we can build for ourselves - but rather the One whose image we bear.
God makes everything. From nothing, He brings it all into being. And then He takes the dark, formless, empty canvas and begins to work His powerful, ordered, beautiful creation. Why would we worship anything other than Him?
We may have all sorts of questions as we approach the Bible account of creation. But before we let our questions come crashing in we first need to find out the questions that God is asking us.
When God does something new, it isn’t just new like we mean new. It means something that has never been seen or done before. It brings into existence that which did not exist. And therefore He is the one place where true satisfaction for our craving for ‘new’ can really be found.
Most people would agree that what our world needs is love. If we could just love each other everything would be OK. Yet we struggle so much to love! Proverbs draws us to a life of love and faithfulness by showing us that by being loving we'll become more loveable to others. And love deals with our unloveliness- as we cling on to Jesus who lovingly paid for our sins and as we treat each other with that same, forgiving love.
Two thousand years on Jesus' words are still relevant; the things that held Jesus' followers back are the things that will keep us from following Jesus- looking to find fulfilment in other people, ourselves or in materialism. We're not made to find fulfilment in any of these things; we're made find fulfilment in Jesus.
We are surrounded with the message that we can achieve anything we want if we simply believe in ourselves. Paul has a much better message for us. Rather than believing in ourselves and our limited resources, we can trust in Christ in whom God has placed all the riches of His glory for us.
Many Christians experience an inferiority complex that means they feel rubbish. As Paul writes to the Philippian church he wants to point them to Christ and help them see what it means to be righteous by faith. It is much more than an abstract concept - it means to be found in Christ with the perfect status of a child.
How exactly can we cultivate praise in God? Sometimes we're on fire, delighting in God. Sometimes the our praise is more like dying embers. Psalm 103 teaches us how to grow our praise. David shows us that our soul is the fire of our praise and that's where we need to focus. He then teaches us to breathe truth about God into our souls to grow the fire of praise.
Praise God! Sounds easy, but somehow we find it so hard to freely praise God and give him glory in all our life. Paul gets down the one of the root causes of our lifeless praise: our desire to boast in ourselves, forgetting that all of our salvation comes from Christ as a gift of grace. We'll be free to praise God wholeheartedly when we come down off the stage and join in the singing to God.
As the book of 1 Corinthians comes to an end we discover that there is a work to get involved in. We will face pressure to give ourselves to other work, the pursuit of achievement, or of pleasure, or of spiritual experience. But instead this Chapter spells out what it will mean to give ourselves to the work of the Lord.
Paul finished off his great chapter on the resurrection by showing us that we will all be changed and death will be utterly defeated. Our whole standing with death is changed by the work of Jesus. Although we still face death - there is no sting anymore because of Jesus. It sets us free to live lives that are completely dedicated to making a name for Jesus and not ourselves.
It is essential that we know what God has in store for us. At the resurrection of the dead, our bodies will be transformed like a seed to a plant. What is earthly becomes heavenly. What is natural becomes spiritual. And what is like Adam becomes like Christ. We will have bodies fit for God’s Kingdom.
We thought that being a Christian would mean being on the winning side. Why is life so hard? Why is our mission so unsuccessful? Just like Daniel and the exiles we cry out: "God, what are you up to?" God's answer is that Jesus, the Son of Man is sitting on the throne of heaven. He's been given divine authority, is worshipped by the nations, and has an eternal throne. That's what Jesus is up to, and that changes everything for us now.
It is crucial for us as Christians to know the future. We aren’t there yet. There is so much more that God has promised and that we need to understand. Five events that spell out the great future God has for this world. Christ has been raised (this one sets off the chain reaction). Christ returns then Christ’s people are raised to be like Christ. Then Christ defeats all the enemies. Finally Christ hands over the Kingdom to His Father and takes His rightful place. This is what lies ahead. It changes everything.
Paul unleashes compelling logic to demonstrate that if Christ has been raised from the dead, that gives hope that all who trust in Him will be raised from death. It is breathtakingly good news. It is worth pinning everything on this.
We have a gospel longing in our bones, to have something to raise us "above the black dirt" of life and death. Whatever we think can do that is our gospel. The gospel that Paul preached and the Corinthians stood on is the good news we all need. There is a man who went into the black dirt for us, there is a man who was raised above the black dirt and who can raise us too.
It is good to step back and take a look at where we have been. The church in Corinth is a mess - but the root problem is that the message of Christ Crucified has been pushed out. When that gets lost then wisdom becomes impressiveness (chapters 1-4), freedom becomes immorality and idolatry (chapter 5-10) and spirituality becomes individuality (chapters 11-14).
We all have our idea of the perfect church service. But the reality of church life is that it doesn’t work like that. The chapter explores what it looks like to be a church that reflects the character of God. It is far less about style - and far more about relationship. Hardly surprising given all we have seen in these chapters so far.
Paul now picks up where he left off at the end of Chapter 12. But it should tell us something that before he launched into a discussion of the ‘greater gifts’ he needed to write chapter 13. Love matters more than anything. But, with that in place, we are now in a position to understand how prophesying can be deeply loving. He really wants us to be eager to prophesy. That means we need a clear definition...
We can struggle to value love as "the most excellent way" in church. Like the Corinthians, we can be so focussed on gifts and spiritual experience now that we have no room to love. Why is this? Paul exposes the attitude of "everything now" and shows us how loves is the greatest because love lasts forever.
We are keen to find out what Paul means when he talks about the greatest gifts. We like the sound of those. But Paul deliberately leaves us hanging. A massive change needs to happen in our thinking. The Corinthians were constantly shouting, “Look at what we are doing”. Paul responds, “But look at the way you are doing it”. The way of love matters more than any gift you can imagine.
The danger is that we define spirituality very tightly and end up trying to make every Christian into a clone. But in this passage Paul gives a radical and new way to define the church. Not a bunch of people all trying to be the same. But a body delighting to be different.
In these chapters Paul is teaching what it means to be truly spiritual. Although the Corinthians would claim to be experts - in fact they are completely wrong. True spirituality is not about gifts and performances. Instead it all starts with the Holy Spirit of God and His work within us.
“The gospel” is something we talk about a lot as Christians. But what is it? If the gospel is so important, it’s especially important we’re clear on what it is. Paul helps us out with a powerful summary: Jesus Christ our Lord.
The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. We need to learn what Jesus meant when He said, ‘Apart from me you can do nothing.’ In this sermon we explore what it means to relate to the risen Jesus and find all our hope in Him.
We all experience status anxiety. We fear being shut out and excluded. That is true in society. How much more should that be true with the Creator God? In Mark 1:40-45 we meet a man who is very clear on his status. He is unclean. But then he meets the man with the power to change his status completely.
Sometimes something comes along that changes things forever. We ask: what is this?! That's what the people asked of Jesus' when he turned up on the scene. Jesus' wake up words and real deal power mean we can't just walk away from him as if he doesn't matter. He changes everything.
Jesus launched His mission with these words: 'The time has come'. It would be easy to miss the significance. They are words that speak of revolution. A revolution of love. A revolution that our world desperately needs.
Do you ever find it hard to walk into church? What are the ways in which we behave that might serve ourselves and exclude and harm others? Jesus has given us a meal to set that straight. It is a stunning foundation for the life of a church.
Paul unpacks how we are to relate to one another as a church family. In particular, as men and women. Headship is good - not in an authoritarian way - but as a responsibility to be used for the good of others. Of course, in a church like Corinth who say, ‘I have the right to do anything’ of course things are going to go wrong.
So often we find ourselves with a mirror pointed at ourselves; whatever you do, in whatever interaction you have the mirror just shows you. As we continue on in our journey through 1 Corinthians we're going to see Paul challenge us to turn the mirror around and tilt it. Turn it to face other people and tilt it to God.
Paul is very clear that we are to flee from idolatry. He's really clear - don't mess around, instead run in the opposite direction. In this section he has one more reason to show us why idolatry is so dangerous to us. And it all has to do with participation… that is who we are connected to.
Your security as a Christian depends on a realistic view of the danger we are in. If the gospel produces complacency something has gone badly wrong. In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul sounds a strong warning to the church. He wants to snap them out of their complacency. He wants them to see the danger. But his ultimate goal is not anxious paranoia - but a deep and joyful confidence in God. Don’t flirt with crocodiles.
Our lifestyles are full of so many different things- what we eat, where we live, who we spend time with. What is the one big thing that drives those parts of our lives? For the Corinthians that was easy- 'me'. They lived every part of their lives for personal happiness. Paul had a greater one big thing for his life- saving as many people as possible. He made himself a slave, handcuffing his lifestyle to anyone who needed the gospel. This is our great calling too. Let's ask this one big thing of all the little parts of our lives: how can I maximise as many people as possible hearing about Jesus?
Paul is still addressing the issue of food sacrificed to idols. It is a massive issue. It represents the desire for the church in Corinth to simply indulge themselves in all that the culture has to offer. Paul points to his own example to help this church get clear in their thinking on the nature of true freedom. It doesn’t mean demanding all I entitled to. Instead it means giving up my rights for the sake of the glorious gospel.
In Acts 15 the church council takes one verse to cover the answer to the question 'should I eat food sacrificed to idols?' Paul takes a whole section in his letter! But the difference is that Paul is driving at a much bigger issue which the church needs to face into; they have become puffed up on their knowledge, and have forgotten how to love…
If we're honest with ourselves; culture does influence us. But as Christians our ultimate shaping comes from the word of God. In our city, nation and the world the Bible is under attack, and we're encouraged just to blend in with that prevalent culture, the culture which shifts and changes like the wind. Paul writes to Timothy not to fall into that trap; don't be ashamed of the scriptures because nothing gives life like they do. They are God breathed, and all we need.
In Numbers 5, the God of the universe gives the Israelites a health warning. At first glance it seems a somewhat harsh to put people outside the camp for a skin condition... but God has three purposes in this instruction.
The idea of being invisible is simultaneously one of our biggest desires, but also one of our biggest fears. On one hand we love the idea of a Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak, there is something compelling about being able to do stuff that no one else can see. But from another angle it is more scary… going through your whole life where no one ever sees you. In Genesis 16 we meet a woman who is invisible to the people around her, she is someone who is so mistreated, but then she is met by a messenger of the Lord.
"Stay where you are" is Paul's call to the Corinthian church. For both them and us this call feels very alien; being discontent is encouraged- get a new job, move to a new place, get a new partner… We're discontent with these things because we place our identity in these things. Paul's message to the Corinthian church is a simple one– stay where you are, remain in the situation that God has put you in because you are not defined by your circumstances, but in Christ.
We've seen that the church in Corinth is in a mess, in fact Paul calls their situation a crisis. The issue of sexual immorality is threatening their existence, it's tearing the church apart– that's why Paul's tone is so serious. As we hear from 1 Corinthians 7 we're not going to see the sum total of what the bible says about sex, singleness or marriage, but we are going to see Paul write into a culture that has made sex an idol, and the consequences of that.
There are still so many places where the gospel of Jesus Christ has not been heard and Paul's ministry is focused on reaching them. But if he is going to get there he's going to need a gospel ambition and a costly initiative…
We have a tendency to think that God is just interested in our souls. Yet David writes in Psalm 63; "I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you…" God is interested in what we do with our bodies, because it's not our bodies, they're his…
You can feel the shock in Paul's letter here… "You can't be serious?! You're taking each other to court?" He isn't surprised that there is conflict, it's about how the conflict is dealt with in the church. Conflict that is handled poorly will cause disaster to the church, but we're going to see that there is an antidote to it.
In 1 Corinthians, God is getting the church to think straight in three areas; wisdom, freedom and spirituality. In chapter 5 Paul starts to address topics of sexual immorality and the seriousness of sin. Both the Corinthian church and our church in London are in a culture which parades and celebrates tolerance, Paul starts by warning the church that tolerance to sin is not loving.
Proverbs 24:26 says 'An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips'. Criticism is hard, we don't like it, but Paul is writing honestly to the church, calling them to repentance. He isn't interested in making them like him. He is going to correct them when they go wrong… he's going to speak truth.
1 Corinthians has been about what is impressive, this church Paul is writing to is longing towards the popular, the celebrity. It's become intoxicating to them. In 1 Kings we meet a man called Micaiah, a prophet of the Lord. His dilemma is– should he go with the popular vote, 400 people saying one thing, or being on his own saying what the Lord has given him to say? In Corinth they were facing the same dilemma, and we face it too.
Over the past few weeks we've been seeing the Corinthian church trying to be impressive; one of the big discussions has been who is best leader. They want someone who the rest of the city can look in and say 'wow, they are good'. In this chapter Paul points them away from themselves and their leaders to God who says 'If only you knew who you are, if only you knew what you have, it would change everything'.
With a good idea, you would think that people would just accept it straight away… But it doesn't always work out like that. A good idea can be understood by people, but isn't always accepted. The same is true with Christ crucified in the Corinthian church; they comprehended the message, but they didn't accept it. In this section of Paul's letter to the church we're going to see that on our own we're never going to be able to understand, we need the mind of Christ to help.
Last week we saw that the gospel isn't just unimpressive, it confronts the philosophies of the world. As we conclude looking at 1 Corinthians 1:10-2:5 we're going to see how Paul holds the unimpressive gospel of Christ crucified to stand against the teaching of the world and to embrace unimpressiveness.
We want everything to be spectacular, for it to be big and showy, and that doesn't stop when we come to God and his gospel. But when you read the first chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul makes it very clear; at first glance the gospel looks more than unimpressive- Christ crucified, it looks like a failure.
An introduction to the book of 1 Corinthians as we see how a church gets messed up when Jesus gets pushed out. In the first nine verses Paul reminds the Corinthians (and us) of just how much we need Jesus.