The initial passion and devotion we experience when first meeting Christ can gradually dim as worldly pressures and responsibilities crowd our lives. Like the church at Ephesus, many believers maintain good works and sound doctrine while losing their burning love for the Lord. The solution lies not in mere activity but in genuine repentance and returning to those practices that marked our early walk with God - earnest prayer, hunger for His Word, and wholehearted worship. Our invitation into the King's garden demands nothing less than our first love restored.
Christmas requires more than planning meals and wrapping gifts - it demands spiritual preparation to truly receive Christ. Just as John the Baptist called people to repentance before Jesus's ministry, we need to ready our hearts to meet the grown-up Jesus, not just celebrate the baby in the manger. This preparation involves reading Scripture, developing consistent prayer habits, and actively sharing the Gospel with others. The joy of Christmas becomes complete when we prepare room in our hearts for the King.
God's love and grace extend to all, even those who have strayed far from Him. The parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son illustrate God's relentless pursuit of the lost and His joy when they return. While we may identify with the prodigal son in our need for forgiveness, we must also guard against the self-righteous attitude of the older brother. God's grace is abundant, and He invites us to rejoice with Him when others turn to Him, remembering our own salvation and seeking to share this good news with those around us.
This sermon explores the story of Jonah, highlighting his initial disobedience and following repentance. It emphasises the grace of God, who offers such second chances to those who stray. By drawing parallels between Jonah’s experience in the belly of the great fish and our own moments of failure and despair, the sermon encourages listeners to trust in God’s gracious and forgiving character to hear and answer our cries for help. Ultimately, it underscores the joy and fulfillment experienced when we, partly because of His magnanimous enablement of His divine grace, live out an obedience to the divine call.
The sermon intricately weaves through the concepts of “Kenosis” and “Plerosis” (emptying and then returning to fullness) in the life, incarnation and exaltation of Jesus. The message highlights Jesus' journey from self-emptying humility to being exalted by the Father as Lord of all. It focuses on Christ's ascension, His ultimate authority, and the impact of His humility, then exaltation on our understandings of salvation and discipleship. The preacher calls for repentance, urging believers to reverse their verdict on Jesus — moving from being outside the Divine favour to acceptance within the “Beloved” — in the salvation that Christ has achieved. This message not only recounts the theological significance of Jesus' actions, but also emphasizes the practical implications for believers, calling them to a life of humility, repentance, and a deeper dedication to the exalted Christ as Lord and Savior.