Sermons

Making disciples is not separate from preaching the Gospel - they are one and the same process. The evidence from Matthew and Mark's Great Commission accounts reveals that genuine discipleship occurs through deep, sustained exposure to Gospel truth rather than through a shallow initial conversion followed by different teaching. When churches focus on teaching the Gospel thoroughly and repeatedly, rather than seeing it merely as an entry point, their converts are far more likely to remain strong in their faith. This understanding shaped the early Church's approach and remains the Biblical pattern for creating lasting disciples.

The Christian life was never meant to be an easy path needing only minimal commitment. Jesus taught that the gate to true discipleship is narrow, and few find it. While salvation is freely given through Christ's work on the cross, and not based on one's own good works, it leads nonetheless to rigorous training and transformation resulting in upright living. Many churches today have widened the entrance to attract the crowds, but this compromises the deep discipleship that Jesus and the Apostles established which is aimed to produce righteous living. The Lord's design involves both grace for salvation and training for godly living—a narrow but life-giving path that produces lasting spiritual fruit.

True Christian witness flows not from memorised doctrine or intellectual knowledge alone, but from a heart overflowing with love for Jesus Christ. Just as a person in love cannot help speaking about their beloved, those who spend time with Christ and worship Him deeply will speak of Him to others naturally and authentically. This principle is demonstrated through Scripture and live examples. Authentic spiritual authority and effective witness come not through eloquence or education alone, but through a genuine, heart-level relationship with the Lord Jesus. When others recognise that we have "been with Jesus," our words carry His authority and power.

The eternal Son of God emptied Himself of His heavenly glory to take on Divine identity and reputation. This is called His "kenosis" – His self-emptying of His status and reputation! On taking on humanity He established a model of how a human being can relate to the Father establishing a new model for people to know God as Father. Through Christ's perfect obedience and sacrificial death, He dealt with the human failure of original sin. He opened the door for believers to share in His own relationship with the Father. When we receive Jesus as Saviour, we receive both the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, who teaches our hearts to cry "Father" and enables us to pray with the confidence of beloved children. This intimate relationship with God as Father represents the heart of New Covenant Christian experience and surpasses what was possible under the Old Covenant. Summing up: by His need to cry "My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?" which is a cry of a human under Divine punishment for our sins, He has enabled us to share His privilege of calling the Father as "Our Father".

True Christianity requires more than correct doctrine—it produces a burning heart for Christ. The Lord's letter to Laodicea speaks against spiritual complacency, where believers are neither cold nor hot in their devotion. When we grow lukewarm, Jesus stands at the door of His own Church, knocking and seeking renewed fellowship. Although Christ owns the Church, He pictures Himself outside of it and knocking to come in. The path to spiritual fervency comes through an individual hearing His voice and responding to let Him come in to His own Church. When an individual responds to the call of Christ, the Lord answers by coming up to that one and creating fellowship with him or her and deepening their relationship with Himself, allowing His presence to rekindle their first love.

The restoration of Israel as a nation in 1948 fulfilled the first part of God's prophecy through Ezekiel, but a second step follows the just previous restoration of them to their original land of the Old Testament. This remains yet to happen - their spiritual awakening. Just as God acted to restore physical Israel as told in Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37, then He has a second action as Chapters 37 and 38 describe a day when He will breathe spiritual life into their 'dry bones'. He can and will bring about spiritual revival to the nation. They won't stop being Jewish, but they will become Christians. The Jewish people's future conversion to Christ will come through a time of crisis, when nations from the north attack Israel. This pattern of the Holy Spirit's awakening work - bringing conviction of sin followed by spiritual life - applies not only to Israel but to all peoples and individuals who come under conviction to turn to God. There can be a "personal awakening" in the individual or "national awakening" as a nation to God. The threat of invasion from the North by a team of enemy nations will cause the Israeli people to repent of their sinful ways and cry out to God.

God's judgment operates in two distinct ways: His interventions in present history and His final Judgment at the end of time. While He sometimes brings immediate judgment upon nations and churches in this life, as seen in the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah, He also has a formal Judgment moment! At the end of the age. Christians will face the Judgment Seat (Bema) of Christ where their works will be tested by fire and non-Christians similarly face final Judgment in the Lake of Fire of the Book of Revelation. Those who reject God's free offer of righteousness given through the Gospel face an eternal judgment, precisely because they have left themselves "in their sins". Christ's forgiveness through Christ's sacrifice offers complete cleansing from all unrighteousness for those who come by faith to Christ, confessing their sins. The severity of both God's judgment and His forgiveness are both the outworking of His perfect righteousness and justice.

God has placed within human nature a natural capacity to believe in Him—what theologian John Calvin called the "sensus divinitatis." This innate ability to believe is most clearly seen in children, who trust God naturally without needing evidence or proof. When Jesus truly loves someone, as He did the rich young ruler, He offers them not just forgiveness or blessings, but the invitation to follow Him personally. The greatest expression of Christ's love is His desire to share Himself and His mission with those who trust Him like children.

The principle of uniformity—the idea that natural processes have always operated as they do today—stands in direct opposition to the Christian understanding of a God who actively intervenes in His creation. From the very beginning in Genesis, through to Christ's incarnation and sacrifice, to the promised new heavens and new earth, God demonstrates His supernatural involvement in human history. This truth forms the foundation of Christian faith and experience, where God continues to step into individual lives, offering forgiveness and relationship through His Son Jesus Christ.

The Biblical doctrine of Hell develops from the Old Testament's limited understanding of Sheol to the New Testament's clear teaching of eternal punishment. While many attempt to soften this teaching to cater for modern sensibilities, the strongest warnings about Hell's eternal nature come from Scripture's most loving figures - Jesus, Paul, and John. Their love for humanity compelled them to speak truthfully about Hell's reality rather than offer comfortable compromises. The Holy Spirit continues to awaken people to this reality, not to terrorise them, but to lead them to salvation in Christ.