Category: Sermons

Nehemiah is not a priest, nor a prophet, nor a governor. He is ‘just’ a cupbearer to a foreign king, working for the ‘civil service’. So what can we learn from his response to hearing some bad news?

There is often a cynicism about religion and money. How can we be known for our generosity rather than always looking like we are begging for money?

And how do we shape our own lives so that we are not gripped by financial fears, but learn a different way of approaching our personal financial affairs?

If we are to be pastors to those around us, how can we make sure that we show what a full life looks like, rather than allowing people to believe that Christianity leads to a reduced, limited life?

In other words, how do we make the good news look like good news?

Timothy is given extensive guidance about what Christian maturity looks like, and how the mature folks can lead in church.

These are the people we are becoming, so how do we grow in those characteristics?

Gender, sex and identity. Knowing what to say and do can be a problem for all of us. Does Paul’s advice to Timothy help us in any way today?

Paul has left Timothy in Ephesus, a place where there are people who love controversy & arguments, to be a man who can make a difference…

Like most true stories, the book of Ezra has no happy ending – in fact, quite the opposite.

It also leaves us with questions, such as what lengths are we prepared to go to in order to stay faithful to God?

The people are gathering ready for their return to Jerusalem. However they can’t commence their journey until everything, or maybe more appropriately everyone, is in place.

There’s more to being a Christian than just some sort of personal religious experience. It’s about a way of life that is shaped in a certain way – a cross shaped way.

It’s why after the prophets have spoken we need the teachers.

The work of rebuilding the temple had stalled for 16 years and it seemed like the work that God might not get finished.

It’s into this situation that two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, come to share a message from God to the Jews.

What can we learn from this for our situations today?