Cleanse me from my sin, Lord.

Joshua 8:1-9:15; Luke 22:63-23:25; Psalm 51:1-9 In their opposition to Christ, “Herod and Pilate became friends – before they had been enemies” (Luke 23:12). The people of Israel had to battle against many nations – different from each other, yet having one thing in common: their opposition to the Lord. Everything which is displeasing to …

We must learn from those who fell from the Lord.

1 Samuel 13:1-14:23; John 13:18-38; Psalm 66:13-20 We must never be proud, taking the grace and power of God for granted. We must learn from those who fell from the Lord: (a) Saul did “a foolish thing” – he did not keep the command which had been given to him by the Lord his God …

God calls all nations to worship Him.

1 Kings 7:23-8:21; Acts 13:42-14:7; Psalm 76:1-12 The Temple is built. The glory goes to God: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel" (1 Kings 8:15). God's purpose was not, however, to be limited to Israel: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the …

Times of trouble can turn out to be times of great blessing.

2 Corinthians 1:1-2:11  -  Times of trouble can turn out to be times of great blessing - ‘God… comforts us in all our affliction’ (1:3-4). Whether good things or bad things are happening to you, don’t forget this: God loves you. His Word is ‘not Yes and No’ - ‘Yes, I love you. No, I …

Before there can be true rejoicing in the Lord, there must be real dedication to the Lord.

2 CHRONICLES 29:1-36 - God is calling us to be holy - ‘Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the House of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the holy place’ (5). Before there can be true rejoicing in the Lord - ‘they sang praises with gladness’ - , there …

“Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Do we stop believing this just because it comes to us from a long time ago? No! We keep on saying, “Praise the Lord! It’s true!” We keep on singing the song of our Saviour.

1 Thessalonians

1:1-2:20 - If God is to be glorified through the preaching of His Word, there needs to be more than the ‘words’ of the preacher. There needs to be ‘the power of the Holy Spirit’ (1:5). Good preaching is not a matter of ‘plausible words of wisdom’. We must look for ‘a demonstration of the …

When we witness for our Lord

"In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). It's not about how important we are. It's about how wonderful Jesus is. We are to …

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." This is what the ancients were commended for" (Hebrews 11:1-2). We're going through a hard time. We wonder if things are ever going to get any better. By faith - we have confidence that our suffering will not be …

Help us, Lord, to give ourselves, whole-heartedly, to You.

2 Kings 6:24-7:20 We read, Lord, about “windows in heaven” – and we read about “a day of good news” (2 Kings 7:2,9). What a wonderful day of good news it was when You opened the windows of heaven and sent Your Son, Jesus, to this earth (Luke 2:10-11). Help us, Lord, to give ourselves, …

God is with us – all the time!

Genesis 10:1-32 So many names and so many years - What are we to say about all this? All of this is part of the history of God's salvation. We read the many names. We read about the many years. We wonder - "Where is God is all of this?" It seems like nothing is …

Learning From Psalm 23

Turning to 'the Shepherd Psalm' (Psalm 23), we focus our attention on verse 5: 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows'. We are to feast on God's Word. We are to be filled with God's Spirit. The 'table' is the place …

Some Thoughts for Remembrance Day (3)

Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79 The prophet calls us to worship the Lord and walk with Him.Micah speaks to those ‘who hate good and love evil’ (Micah 3:2).– He calls upon them to change their way of living.– He calls upon them to worship the Lord …

Some thoughts for Remembrance Day (2)

Remembrance Day: Deuteronomy 4:9-14; Psalm 46; Romans 8:31-35; John 15:9-17 The Lord has saved us. We are to serve Him.The people of Israel were involved in the work of the Lord. The work was based on God – not Moses. Moses would not be in the promised land. God would be there. Moses would ‘not …

Some thoughts for Remembrance Day (1)

Remembrance Day: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 20; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 5:38-48 Looking back and looking forward ‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name… You have done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what God has done for us. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. We …

Setting God’s Servants On A Pedestal Is A Dangerous Thing.

2 Samuel 19:1-39 ‘My lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil’(27;14:17). Setting God’s servants on a pedestal is a dangerous thing. Don’t imagine that they will always get it right. They won’t. They have their faults and failings as well as everyone else. They need forgiveness just as …

Learning to Follow Jesus

"Jesus was going to Jerusalem"  - to be "betrayed", "condemned to death" and to "come back to life" (Mark 10:32-34). Hallelujah! What a Saviour! "Teacher, we want you to do us a favour" (Mark 10:35) - This sounds so self-centred. What does Jesus say about this? - "Whoever wants to be great among you will …

Lord, we thank You that Your way is the best way.

Lord, we thank You that Your way is the best way. It’s ‘make up your mind’ time. Every day, we must make up our mind – Will it be the way of the world? Will it be the way of the Word? It cannot be both. It must be one or the other. Lord, help …

The laughter of unbelief and the laughter of rejoicing

Genesis 18:1-19 Abraham's three visitors - This was an appearance of the Lord to Abraham" (1). Abraham bowed down and sought favour from the Lord. He asked that the blessing would not pass him by. Everything about this visit indicates that the Lord was in it. He was preparing Abraham for the next stage in …

God comes to us with grace and power.

Third Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12 or Hosea 5:15-6:6; Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 God comes to us with grace and power. Let us rejoice in His faithfulness. This is a divine Story, carried forward by God’s grace and power. God’s very great promises (Genesis 12:1-3) find their ultimate fulfilment in …

Up on the mountaintop with God, and back down to the valley with God

Genesis 22:1-19 From verse 2 - "Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you" - we look ahead to God's words concerning Jesus: "my beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17 & 17:5). The second time …

How much is our life worth?

How much is our life worth? At the cross of Christ, we learn how much we matter to God. His Son died for us so that we might have eternal life. "God showed his love for us in this: Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Wars and rumours of wars

This sermon was preached on 11th November 2018 - the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The Bible reading was 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5. --- On 11th November, David Lloyd George announced the Armistice - the ending of hostilities, the truce which, it was hoped, would lead to a better and brighter …

Reconciliation And Peace

On Remembrance Sunday, we remember many millions who suffered violent deaths. We consider the meaning of their deaths. We think about the purpose of their deaths. "We will remember them." We remember not only the fact of their deaths. We remember also the meaning and purpose of their deaths. They died so that we might …

The Importance Of Prayer In The Advance Of The Gospel

Notice the importance of prayer in the advance of the Gospel. They were looking for a prayer meeting when Lydia was saved (Acts 16:13-14). They were going to a prayer meeting when the girl was saved (Acts 16:16-18). They were having a prayer meeting when the jailer was saved (Acts 16:25-34). They had gone to …

Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

1 Kings 9:10-11:13; Acts 15:1-21; Psalm 77:1-9 "We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved" (Acts 15:11). Once we have been saved, we are to live a godly life (Acts 15:20). This is the way in which God's blessing is to remain and increase in our lives (1 …

Enough understanding to change our way of thinking and our way of living

"The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about" (Luke 18:34). The disciples didn't know what Jesus was talking about. Jesus did know what he was talking about. There are many things that we don't understand - this is when …

Let us not forget the Lord our God – the God of our salvation.

In our remembering, let us not forget the Lord our God, the God of our salvation, the God whose “steadfast love endures for ever” (2 Chronicles 20:21). — Before we can understand what it means to be a peacemaker, we must understand what peace is and what it is not. There is a ‘peace’ that …