In our lives, we will encounter all kinds of weather. Most of us look forward to the sunny days and clear skies because those are the days where we find the most enjoyment. But just like the weather, life is unpredictable and sometimes frustrating – as the author of Ecclesiastes points out. Today we’re going to explore this perplexing book to find the key to happiness in our days “under the sun.”
Bad weather, storms, and hardships happen! What can we do to prepare for these? This sermon uses the lens of weather to show two foundational spiritual principles that can be applied to all types of storms in your life.
We each bring a vibe to every situation we’re in. People often adapt to your very presence. They become more at ease, more uptight, more nervous, more joyful. Knowing your vibe, and managing it, can be a great blessing to every circle you enter.
Enoch is a character that has scant biblical presence. We know very little about him, but what we do know is noteworthy: He walked with God.
Humility is easier said than done. Sometimes our pride creeps in subconsciously and we don’t even know it. How can we rethink the concept of humility in a way that would be attainable and practical? This message explores the idea of “walking humbly” by breaking down the text of Micah 6:8.
You can’t love something you are not familiar with. So when we are told that we are to “love mercy”, we need to make sure we are well-acquainted with it in our own lives.
As we continue in our What’s Good series from Micah 6:8, we’ll continue to build our foundation by complimenting our growing understanding of justice with a fresh look at mercy. What better way to celebrate Father’s Day than by celebrating the Father of mercies.
The prophet Micah reminds us succinctly what the natural response should be to a God who has been gracious and kind: a life that is purposed on justice, mercy, and walking with God.
Micah 6:8 is an inspirational verse about justice and mercy. It inspired a mellow, folksy worship song in the 80’s. But the actual tone is more of a kick in the butt: don’t pretend to be ignorant of injustice around us. Justice matters to God and therefore it should matter to us.
Greed creeps. Studies show that the more we have, the more we want to keep. We become enslaved to worldly wealth unless we choose to be shrewdly generous
Sometimes before we can find contentment and joy, we must become aware of our flimsy approaches to life.
Sun Tse famously said, “Know your enemy.” Jesus would agree. The key to standing strong in your faith is knowing how your enemy is plotting your destruction.
We continue to look into insights from the book of Ephesians about our identity as Christ-followers. This message turns to Chapter 5 with an emphasis on how God has gifted us, as His beloved children, to be light in the midst of darkness.
If you don’t know how you are made, you won’t know how to manage your life. Self-leadership is the hardest, but most important.
What is the church supposed to be about? If there is one target for the church to hit, what would that target be? This sermon from the book of Ephesians will define what the church is supposed to be doing.
What is the church supposed to be about? If there is one target for the church to hit, what would that target be? This sermon from the book of Ephesians will define what the church is supposed to be doing.
In spite of our deep flaws, we are still described as God’s “workmanship”.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ has never been more relevant. For it alone provides credibility for Christianity, but more than that, it provides confident hope for all who follow.
One of the last people to encounter Jesus during His final week in Jerusalem was Simon of Cyrene, a man conscripted from the crowd to carry Jesus’s crossbeam to Golgotha. Recorded briefly in all three Synoptic gospels, there is much we can learn from his eventful interaction with Christ.
As one of Jesus’s disciples, Peter was bold, loyal, and devoted. But, like all of us, he made mistakes. On the night before Christ’s death, we see multiple encounters that Jesus had with Peter that showed how even a disciple of Christ can fail. But as we’ll learn from Peter’s example, God uses our weaknesses to show His power.
Everyone has an opinion, but opinions don’t have the power to set you free. Only truth does that – and Jesus offers a life based on the counterintuitive notion that truth, like it or not, is actually the source of real freedom.
Judas is known as the worst traitor the world has ever known. He is so villainised that many can’t find any way of relating to him. What could have possibly motivated him to betray Jesus in the manner that he did? How might we learn from his mistakes?
We all tend to prop up little gods in our lives – “must haves” we cling tightly to for fear that losing them would devastate us. But our resistance is futile. Eventually, these counterfeit idols prove not to be harmless or neutral, but destructive to the very stability we thought they would bring. Surrendering to God is surely frightening but it is the only thing that opens us to the freedom and stability our insecure selves crave.
Blessings and the “fei chun” calligraphy are everywhere at Chinese New Year as they are an essential part of the holiday. But what is the biblical meaning of “blessing”? And what is the secret to living the “blessed life”?
There is a time for everything. As we begin the Year of the Ox, God is calling us to focus on sowing seeds and trust Him to bring us a joyful harvest in His time.
We are all desperate for approval and recognition, but this misdirected craving is exhausting and unfulfilled. Life with Christ offers a truly satiating alternative.
Spiritual scarcity is a real problem today. Unaware or ungrateful for our spiritual wealth, we settle for a spiritual life that is dumbed down, reduced, and anything but vibrant. Though our experience is common (thank God for those disciples!), it is far from what God desires. Living in abundance is a beautiful and available alternative.
God often uses the people around us to speak wisdom, correction and care. Thus, cultivating a teachable spirit is key to unlocking the voice of God.
Doubt is something that every person must deal with. It is a normal part of the human experience and can be a great tool to propel us towards seeking truth, yet unfortunately it is something that fills us with fear and dread. In this sermon, we will study the life of John the Baptist to see how we are to deal with our doubt.
Our natural tendency is to resist change in order to find comfort from predictable control, but real freedom comes through a Gospel-centred life that is constantly in flux.
