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The Right King (Matthew 1:1-17)
Sunday 02/08/2020
When everything is out of control, where do you look for leadership? Who can you trust?
We see bad things happening all around us. And we wonder if God is in control.
Or we say, ‘If God is in control, He mustn’t really care about us!’
Maybe you’re worried about the big problems facing the world: the pandemic, economic problems, tensions between countries. Or maybe the suffering is closer to home.
‘Does God really care about me?’ Maybe you’re not religious. Maybe you’re not from a Christian family, or even from a Christian country. Maybe you don’t think God would ever want someone who has thought or done what you have.
So, where do you look for leadership? When bad things are happening, who can you trust?
The problem is that every leader will let us down eventually. Even if there isn’t a career-ending scandal, eventually they die and we’re left to carry on without them.
But even when our world has been turned upside down, even if God seems distant, His message to you is this: ‘I have come to you and I won’t let you down!’
Well, how can we know that for sure? We need to meet God’s king. That’s the message right from the start of Matthew’s Gospel. It’s much more than a biography of Jesus. It’s meant to persuade us that “Jesus has all authority so that all nations might obey all He has commanded” (as Douglas O’Donnell writes).
Where should we look for leadership? Who can we trust? Meet Jesus.
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Where Are We Going? (Matthew 25:31-46)
Sunday 26/07/2020
Where are we going? Where we think we’re going determines how we prepare for getting there! You don’t pack swimmers for when you’re going to work, or wear a hiking gear to a wedding.
It’s the same with our world and ourselves. If we think that our world is always going to go well, we won’t prepare for trouble. And if we think we’ll go until we stop and that’s all there is, we won’t prepare for the life to come.
Maybe you don’t expect the world to end. It’ll just keep going, surely? That means you can live like this universe is all there is.
Or perhaps you think the world will end, but it’ll fizzle out like a sparkler. There won’t be any great crisis. It’ll just grind to a halt.
Or maybe you do expect the world to explode, with a war or an environmental catastrophe making the planet uninhabitable.
But what comes next? Not just with the planet, but with us?
If you believe that there’s nothing next, then ultimately you and I and everyone who has ever lived is not accountable for what we do here. Even the people who destroy the planet or the people on it will get away with it in the end.
We like to live like we’ll never have to answer to anybody. But Jesus says that we will answer to Him.
This is God’s message to you and me: One day the world will end and you will be held to account. Either you will receive eternal life or eternal punishment. Which will it be?
What are we going to do about that? We’ve got to realize how serious the situation is!
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What Can Fix the World? (1 Corinthians 1:17-31)
Sunday 19/07/2020
What can fix the world? Is there a force powerful enough, or an idea convincing enough to bring real change?
Movements and religions tell us what to do to change the world. But Christianity is different: where religion says “Do”, Jesus says, “Done” (John 19:30).
Philosophies and life coaches tell us what to think to change our world. But Christianity is different. Where philosophy says, “Discover the truth”, Jesus says, “I am the truth” (John 14:6).
But do we really believe that? Do we live like what Jesus reveals about God is true? Do we live like what Jesus did is enough to change the world?
Maybe you think that the Christian message is too foolish to believe. It just doesn’t add up. Maybe you’ve read some of the Bible, but it didn’t make sense. So, you look for a more reasonable solution for ourselves and our world (v22).
Sometimes Christians do this. We think that the idea of God coming to earth to die for sinners is too unbelievable. So, we look for something more convincing to get people interested in Jesus.
Or maybe you think that the Christian message is too weak to believe. It doesn’t wow you. Maybe going to church wasn’t the most interesting experience you’ve had. So, you look for something more compelling (v22).
Sometimes Christians do this too. We think that the idea of Jesus dying for sinners will put people off. So, we look for something powerful that will really get their attention (v22)!
The problem is: God made the cross the pivotal event of our universe! We can’t overlook or sweep aside the death of Jesus Christ. That only shows that we haven’t understood it.
God’s message for me and you today is this: Don’t underestimate Jesus’ death on the cross; trust it to save you and others (v23).
So, what will convince us that the cross makes sense, and that it can do what God says?
Here in 1 Corinthians 1:17-31, God tells us two truths we need to believe about the death of Jesus on the cross:
- Trust that the Cross is wise and powerful (v17-25), and
- Trust Christ to save you and others (v26-31)
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What’s Wrong with the World? (Jeremiah 17:5-14)
Sunday 12/07/2020
What’s wrong with the world? Well, where to start! Everyone has an answer. And you don’t have to listen for long to get some hints at what someone’s answer is!
See, when we complain about this politician or that issue in our society, we’re diagnosing what’s wrong with the world. Now, of course, we realize that the problem is deeper than an individual or issue.
How often have you heard that education is the solution to the world’s problems? It’s certainly true that education has improved life for large numbers of people. But it has also created more opportunities to do more harm to people. We’ve made amazing advances in science, engineering, and medicine. But we’ve also made great advances in killing people. Albert Einstein once said something like this: “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” Being well educated doesn’t stop people from destroying others.
But maybe that’s a problem with our system. Perhaps what people need isn’t just education but freedom and better opportunities.
Yet, time and again, the revolutionaries who tear down the system set up themselves as the new rulers and prosper at the expense of the very people they promised to set free. As the Pigs paint on the side of the barn in George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Freedom and opportunity can make the world better for me but are often twisted to make it worse for others.
So the deeper problem, surely, is injustice then? Someone must hold the powerful to account!
But do we really want to be held to account for our actions? If a government wanted to know everything we did so it could deliver perfect justice, we’d call it an invasion of privacy! And when God says that He’ll give us exactly what our deeds deserve (v10), we suddenly get very uncomfortable!
The other issue with all of these answers to “What’s wrong with the world?” is that the factors we diagnose are different in different places and different times. Yet, the problems with the world are universal. So, what is the real problem with the world?
The problem isn’t that people lack of education, opportunity, justice, or freedom. The problem is people. The problem is us!
So what can we do about it?
- First: Diagnose Your heart (v5-9)
- Second: Hear God’s Judgement (v9-10)
- Third: Receive a New Heart (v7-14)
That’s the only way our world will ever change: when we change.
Video Playlist (with songs)
Video (Sermon only)
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*Sermons can be downloaded by clicking on the three dots at top right.
Please let us know that you’re joining us for church online today
Download the Kids’ Sheet
For Family Devotions
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For Kids 4-8 years
For Kids 9-12 years
Craft & Game Ideas
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