Rev Dr Jim Gibson – Salisbury Baptist Church

God With Us

8th March 2026

God's plan from the beginning has been to dwell with His people. From the Old Testament sanctuary where His presence rested, through David's longing to gaze upon His beauty, to the promise of Emmanuel, God with us, He has continually drawn nearer. In Christ, believers now become the living temple of His Spirit, both individually and collectively as the Church. One day this purpose will be completed in glory, when He will dwell with His people forever, wiping away every tear and making all things new.

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.

Let Scripture Interpret Scripture

1st February 2026

Christ, though equal with Father God, willingly emptied Himself of all authority as His own to take on human form and the life of a servant, demonstrating the true nature of humility. In this role He has the authority of being the Christ, in submission to the Father's will. The message calls believers to let Scripture interpret Scripture, to read commentaries carefully, and to recognise that God uses humility as the means of lifting His people in the right time. Christ's descent from heaven to earth began as a self-chosen act of love, teaching that genuine greatness is found in surrender and obedience to God. Jesus as the eternal Son demonstrated how we should live out being the sons and daughters of God.

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 Star and the King

25th December 2025

The account of the wise men in Matthew 2 reveals that God reaches into human understanding to reveal His Son. Their journey, prompted by a star and perhaps strengthened by Scripture, illustrates both natural and special revelation working together. The story is not a seasonal legend but evidence of God's purposeful action in history, calling all people to acknowledge Jesus as King and Saviour. Christmas invites us to move beyond tradition and culture towards personal faith in the One who came to bring forgiveness and everlasting life.

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.