Practising Righteousness while still growing in Sanctification

14th April 2024
The sermon focuses on the Christian journey of righteousness, beginning with the gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ and leading into a life of sanctification. The preacher emphasises the need for living out our righteousness not for human approval but as a reflection of divine standards set by Jesus. Through the Beatitudes, believers are guided on how to align their lives with God’s expectations, progressing towards perfection in heaven. The concept of apologetics is also explored, highlighting the importance of defending one’s faith with reason and respect, while living in a way that genuinely reflects Christ's teachings. This sermon invites listeners to delve deeper into their faith, understanding it not just as a belief system but as a transformative journey shaped by divine grace and sustained through personal growth in holiness.
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Passage: Matthew 5-6, 1 Peter 3:15-17
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From Shadow to Reality

29th March 2024
This sermon delves into the central theme of Christianity: the significance of Jesus Christ's once for all time sacrifice on the cross. The sermon emphasises how the Gospels march us on to arrive at the scene of the crucifixion, highlighting its pivotal role in our faith. The narrative slows down, almost to a full stop leaving us gazing up at the cross as Christ shouts “It is finished!” We are brought to a profound understanding that Christ's death is not just an event but the culmination of God's ongoing redemptive plan. The sermon illustrates how this singular act of love and sacrifice serves as the foundation for our sanctification, offering a path from the shadows of the Old Testament laws to the reality of a new covenant fulfilled in Jesus. It calls believers to recognize the completeness of this sacrifice — how it not only absolves us of our sins but also perfects us for all time, ushering us into a life of ongoing sanctification empowered by the Holy Spirit. Through this message, the listener is invited to embrace the full assurance of faith that comes from trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
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Passage: John 19:28-30, Matthew 5:48, Hebrews 10:1-14
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God’s “agape” love lifting other types of love higher

24th March 2024
This sermon explores the transformational journey from adhering to the Old Covenant and Pharisaical interpretations of the law to embracing Jesus' teachings of unconditional, divine love (agape). It highlights Jesus' call for His followers to love not just their neighbours but also their enemies, reflecting God's perfect love and progressing in personal sanctification. Through the exploration of key biblical texts, the sermon underscores the importance of letting God's love extend beyond familial or brotherly love to include even strangers, showcasing a radical hospitality rooted in divine love. It challenges believers to rely not on their strength but on God's, to live out this high calling of perfect love in their daily lives, involving a sanctification process that moulds them to be more like the Father.
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Passage: Matthew 5:43-48, Hebrews 13:1-7, John 21:15-17, Psalm 18:30-31
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Forced to be Happy or Happy to be happy

17th March 2024
This sermon delves into the Beatitudes, focusing on Jesus' call for Christians to respond with grace and patience to those who wrong them, as a part of their sanctification journey toward perfection. Drawing on the metaphor of going the extra mile, as instructed in Matthew 5:41, the preacher emphasises the importance of not being reactionary but rather embodying Christ's teachings in everyday interactions. The sermon highlights the story of Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled to carry Jesus' cross, as an ultimate example of serving without expectation of recognition, embodying the essence of Christian sacrifice and humility. Through these teachings, listeners are encouraged to embrace a life of non-retaliation, patience, and grace, aligning closer with the perfection of the Heavenly Father.
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Passage: Matthew 5:38-42, 27:32-39, Mark 15:21
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Nathanael – The First Elite with no Guile

10th March 2024
This sermon dives deep into the Beatitudes within the context of Matthew chapters 5 and 6, emphasising Jesus' call for a higher standard of righteousness that goes beyond mere legalism to a heart transformed by sanctification. It explores the nuanced biblical understanding of murder versus manslaughter, underlining the importance of intention and malice in defining wrongful acts. Moreover, it discusses the significance of truthfulness and honesty in our dealings, as exemplified by Jesus' interaction with Nathanael in the Gospel of John. Jesus references the fact of God's moulding the character of the original Jacob to be named "Israel". The changes have sanctified his guile such that he can well represent being an Israelite. The key point revolves around the parallel New Covenant Christian journey toward sanctification, not just avoiding outward sins but cultivating an inward purity of heart and intention, striving towards perfection as our Heavenly Father is perfect.
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Passage: John 1:43-51, Matthew 5:33-37
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The Path to Perfection

3rd March 2024
Matthew 5:48 spells out Jesus' intention of his raising the standard of the Beatitudes in order to have us aim at the "teleios ", the final result of our sanctification. It is that we arrive at the perfection of the Father. This is God's aim in having you become a Christian in the first place. And what we were learning in the morning service as well as tonight in the 5'00 o'clock Service. Particularly Jesus is lifting our eyesight to aim at the standard for God to be happy with you to be in his Kingdom!" Paul's personal journey on this purpose is a good example for us in Romans, chapters 6 through to 8.
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Passage: Romans 6:15-23, 7:7-25, 8:1-8
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Anger and Murder

3rd March 2024
"In our passage today in Matthew's Gospel, it is about anger and murder. And so that's what we're talking about today."
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Passage: Matthew 5:21-22
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Back to the Beatitudes? No, Forward to become More Like the Father

25th February 2024
"In our studies of in the beatitudes, Jesus has been speaking against the backdrop of the ideas of traditions coming from the teaching of the Pharisees, coming from the background of the history of the Jewish religion, and he presents himself as an authority. One of the things we found as we went through the beatitudes is just how much the folk listening were amazed how much authority Jesus had and how different that was from the normal teaching they were used to hearing."
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Passage: Matthew 5:27-32, 5:48
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Grace in the New Covenant

4th February 2024
"We have been talking about the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. And we've been talking about in the New Covenant begins for us, the moment we come to Christ and we're justified. And then followed by our sanctification, a process that the Holy Spirit pushes us along in and calls on our cooperation to help. And then finally there is that glorification when we get to heaven or some people refer to it as going to glory. And in that middle step of sanctification, a part of the agenda of the Lord is that he wants us to grow more and more to be like him."
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Passage: 1 John 1:8-9, 2:1-2, Galatians 3:1-29
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