Welcome to the City North Baptist sermon archive! We offer most sermons online within a week of the message being given.
The Parable of the Soils
The Parable of the Soils reminds us that there are many ways that people will respond to the gospel. It challenges us to think about how we respond to the gospel. Do we have hard hearts, shallow hearts, strangled hearts…or fertile hearts which produce much fruit? Matthew 13:1-23
Affluent, Comfortable and Destitute – the church at Laodicea
Churches come in many different shapes and sizes. Some are growing, some are not. Some are alive, some are dead. Some are healthy, some are not. But whatever we may think about our churches, there is one opinion that does matter, and that’s what Jesus thinks. The church at Laodicea gave every appearance of being a successful church but what Jesus said was devastating. In this message Pastor Murray looks more closely at Jesus’ diagnosis and the warnings it contains…
Small, weak and faithful – the church at Philadelphia
With so much attention these days on mega-churches, it’s easy to forget that the vast majority of churches around the world are actually quite small, and many of them are actually struggling for existence from week to week (like the church at Philadelphia). In today’s passage we see what Christ has to say to these dear people, and His words are filled with love and encouragement. It is a clear reminder that ‘church’ is not all about size, numbers, budgets…
Living out our purpose
The people of Israel finally get their act together, getting to work on building the tabernacle. They show us what it looks like when a community of God’s people are living out their special purpose in the world. Exodus 35-39
Redeemed: The Book of Ruth
Ruth 4
Mercy for Sinners
After the golden calf incident, Israel’s only hope is that God would show them mercy. In the chapters that follow, Moses pleads with God and God shows his mercy to Israel in three ways. We are reminded that we have a mediator who pleads for mercy on our behalf and that we ourselves are sinners who have received the incredible mercy of God. Exodus 33-34
Risk, Righteousness and Rest
As we have been journeying through the book of Ruth we have starting to see two things: God is both sovereign – he is in control of all things and he is also kind. In Ruth 3, we see how an understanding of God’s sovereign kindness leads to Naomi seeking rest for Ruth by coming up with a risky plan. And as this plan plays out, just as we think that things couldn’t be more out of control and dangerous,…
Life without God is not life at all
As we look into Israel’s sin with the golden calf, we notice that we are not so different to them, because the problem of sin is universal. Like Israel, people today still fail to trust God. But though we are like Israel and fail, God can treat us differently. He does this because where we fail, Jesus succeeds. Exodus 32:1-33:6
Finding Refuge in God
When life is hard, where do you take refuge? In Ruth chapter 2, Ruth takes refuge under the wings of Yahweh, the God of Israel and in his loving-kindness he generously and extravagantly provides all that she needs. By trusting Christ’s death and resurrection for us, we can take refuge from sin. As God’s people, we can also be the extension of God’s refuge to the world. Ruth 2:1-23
Going away, coming home
Ruth 1 tells a story of going away and coming home. It reminds us that some have gone away from God to “Moab”, to places far from Him. Our Moab might be sex, wealth, lifestyle, comfort or something else. But while we are living far from God, we inevitably experience emptiness. The good news of what God has done for us in Jesus calls us back home to God, where we find hope and true filling.
The Priest we need
God has promised to dwell among his people. But there’s a problem. God is holy and his people aren’t. Israel needs a priest to enable them to come close to God. Let us consider how Israel’s priests point us to Jesus, our great High Priest who enables us to draw near to God. Exodus 28-30