Luke – Salisbury Baptist Church

Relationship, Not the Fold

1st March 2026

Being part of a church is not the totality of what it means to belong to Christ. The ninety nine sheep left in the open country were still the Shepherd's own; the lost one was separated not by location only from participating in religion. When the Shepherd finds the lost, He carries them close and will not let them go. True discipleship flows from surrender to Christ's leading, allowing Him to shape decisions, ambitions, and life itself. Being in the fold of the Church is where He wants you to be but that is secondary to being across His shoulders as He saves you from being lost.

The Son of God and yet the Son of Man

22nd February 2026

To be at peace within one's soul comes only through the life found in Christ. Jesus, the Son of God who called Himself the Son of Man, came to restore humanity's lost representation of God caused by the fall of Adam. True salvation is not achieved through human effort, churchgoing, or rituals, but through receiving Christ Himself, for He alone is the Life. When a person comes to Jesus in faith, sins are forgiven, identity as a child of God is renewed, and the life of God begins to shine through them.

The Salvation of God is in Jesus alone

1st February 2026

All salvation is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. To see Him is to see the very salvation of God, for He is Himself the message from Heaven. Scripture declares that all flesh shall see the salvation of God, revealing that rescue and forgiveness are offered to every person through Christ alone. Without Him there is no life, but with Him there is eternal life, the beginning of a transformation to be completed at His return. At that moment our salvation will have progressed and we shall realize that we have been made like Him.

Moving on from general faith in God to Personal Trust in Jesus

25th January 2026

John the Baptist stands at the turning point between the Old Covenant and the New, calling people to repentance but also pointing beyond himself to Christ. The true greatness of John lies not in any miracles or the drama of his message, but in closeness of his message to the coming of Jesus, the One who fulfils all that the Old Covenant anticipated. Religion, repentance, and good works, though valuable, cannot save; only faith in Jesus can make a person new. The challenge is clear: do not remain in the shallows of the old religion, but go on to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dedication and New Birth

11th January 2026

Christian dedication involves more than ceremony; it anticipates the personal moment when one truly comes to know the Lord. The message contrasts Old Testament dedication, seen in Samuel's childhood, with the New Covenant promise that all who are born again will know God personally. Jesus' blessing of the children teaches that entry into His Kingdom requires the simple, trusting faith of a child. Genuine faith does not rest on ritual or inherited religion but on receiving the Kingdom through trust in God's Word and His gracious promise.

The Missing Mother of Mary

28th December 2025

Faith is the underpinning fabric of blessing when God speaks and a person believes what He has said. In Mary's story, her journey to Elizabeth not only affirms the truth of God's Word but shows how belief brings the assurance of divine fulfilment. The contrast between those who did not believe in Jesus and the one who trusted the promise reveals that the Lord's purposes come alive through obedience and faith. Blessed indeed is the one who believes that what was spoken by the Lord will be accomplished.

The Meaning of Christmas

21st December 2025

Christmas is the account of God entering the human story in the Person of Jesus Christ, "Jesus" and "Emmanuel" both "God saves," and "God with us". Through the obedience of Joseph, the faith of Mary, and the worship of the wise men, we learn that God still meets individuals who open their hearts to Him. To receive Christ is to find forgiveness, new life through the Holy Spirit, and the assurance that God Himself can dwell within the individual just as His birth and life fulfilled those things for the human race.

Joseph’s Quiet Obedience

14th December 2025

The Father's generosity is not limited to earthly good things but extends to the giving to us of the Holy Spirit Himself. There is no second blessing, for the Spirit's coming is part of the one great blessing heralded by the gospel given to all who trust in Christ. Luke's wording reminds us that the Spirit is both the gift and the means through which the Father answers prayer. Obedience, as seen in Joseph's silent faithfulness, proves more valuable than words or status, for God's purposes unfold through Joseph's immediate and humble trust evidenced in simple obedience.

Christmas and the Holy Spirit

14th December 2025

Christmas is more than a cultural celebration of gifts and gatherings: a Christmas tree and gifts waiting to be opened under it. It is the reminder of when God Himself came in the Person of His Son to take on humanity and be one with us in a brand new way. The act of the Spirit of God to bring about the conception of Jesus as He overshadowed the womb of Mary gave a humanity to the Christ who already was eternally and totally divine, but now was also "one with us" a member of the human race. Yet the message does not end there. The Father now offers that same Holy Spirit to all who ask Him, not just for spiritual power as experienced in the Old Testament (Saul and Samson etc) but the indwelling of the Spirit within the New Testament believer bringing Christ's indwelling permanently into our very persons. To grasp the true meaning of Christmas is to receive not only the knowledge that God came to earth, but the Spirit is now given to each person who is born again through Christ bringing His presence and salvation into their hearts.

When You Have Turned Again

7th December 2025

Faith can falter without finally failing, because Christ intercedes for His own to hold them firm. As Christians we can be so glad that it is an issue of how His hold on us is what counts and not that our strength is our only hope to survive in Him. Despite Peter's denial of knowing Christ, the Lord has confidence in His prayers for him and later restoration. Nonetheless the need for true turning (conversion) is also very apparent in the story line. The interesting accompanying mention is that the Lord's call was not only for Peter to be converted, but also to then strengthen those led away with them. Jesus had prayed that Peter's faith would not fail, and He still prays for His people today to be strengthened. When we return to Him in repentance, He restores us to service and calls us to join Him in bringing back others.