Sermons by Murray Lean
Murray Lean
God’s personal invitation
Matthew 22:1-14 Everyone loves a good wedding … or do they? It seems not, especially when it comes to the heavenly wedding banquet God has planned. The parable Jesus told about this wedding reveals three particular responses to God’s invitation. Some are outright rejecters. Some are grateful (if undeserving) accepters. Others are self-righteous impostors. The invitation is clear and very gracious, but we must all respond personally. What is your response?
Partners together in Christ
Philippians 1:3-11 In today’s message Pastor Murray farewells the City North church he has pastored for the past 19 years. Using Paul’s heartfelt words to the Philippians, he urges us to see the vital importance of the gospel in defining the character and ministry of the church. He also expresses his confidence that God will continue to complete the work He has been doing in our lives. And like Paul, he prays that we might always keep growing in our…
The Worthy Pastor
1 Peter 5:1-4 Churches need godly leaders, especially when times are tough. But what makes a good pastor or elder? What should we look for when choosing our leaders? The words of the old apostle Peter in today’s passage are urgently necessary for us today … men who understand their calling to spiritually shepherd God’s people, men whose character and motives are pure, and men who are not seeking earthly recognition or reward. May God in His kindness raise up…
Persevering in Christ
Hebrews 12:1-13 Trials and troubles are a normal part of the Christian life. We should expect them. In fact, they are good for us! Really? In today’s message we explore how we are to persevere through our pain as we press on in Christ. But we also wrestle with the question of why God allows us to go through difficulties in our lives. Ultimately His goal is “that we may share in His holiness”. Be encouraged as Pastor Murray also…
Crucified with Christ
2 Corinthians 5:11 – 6:1 “Come to Jesus and find the good life”! Well …. that depends what you mean? For the apostle Paul, his whole life revolved around two great realities: Christ’s death for him on the cross and the desperate need to reach lost people with the gospel. With these clear in his mind, he gave himself totally to Christ, regardless of the cost. He discovered what it meant to be crucified with Christ, take up his cross…
Transformed through Christ
1 Peter 1:13 – 2:3 If you are a Christian, are you a growing Christian? No matter how old we may be, God wants us to be continually growing in holiness. But spiritual change requires spiritual means. Firstly it begins as we are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Only God can do this for us. But secondly, we need to keep feeding our souls on the living word of God. The Bible is our spiritual food like milk…
Satisfied in Christ
John 4:1-15 There is a hole in every human heart which only God can fill. The woman in today’s passage was desperately longing to have that hole filled. Her longing for love had led her into serial marriages and other relationships which only left her empty and rejected. That day Jesus offered to quench her spiritual thirst with “living water”. Our world is full of people like this. Some realize that their lives are empty. Others don’t. Some are trying…
Broken promises
Nehemiah 13:1-31 If only the book of Nehemiah could have finished at the end of chapter 12! So much good had been accomplished under Nehemiah’s leadership. With the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt, national morale lifted, spiritual life revived … after centuries of decline Israel was back on track. Or was it? After 12 years in Jerusalem, Nehemiah went back to Persia to report to King Artaxerxes. On his return some years later he was devastated by what he found. How…
Setting things right with God
Nehemiah 9:1-38 After hearing the Book of the Law read to them, the Israelites were deeply affected. So they gathered once again to humble themselves before God and confess their sin. Time and again God had forgiven Israel and revived them in the past. Perhaps He would do it one more time? It’s never easy to face the truth about our sin. But we are all guilty sinners in need of the forgiving grace of God. The whole purpose of…
Discord Among God’s People
Nehemiah 5:1-19 Whenever God is at work, the enemy will never be far behind. Nehemiah always seemed to be facing new problems and challenges. But in today’s passage the difference is that the problem came from within his own people. Jews were exploiting fellow Jews resulting in poverty, resentment and disunity between them. So serious was the problem that Nehemiah stopped work on the wall to address it. People matter more than building programmes and institutional structures. Unless Christians genuinely…
Broken walls and a broken heart
Nehemiah 1:1-11 This message begins a new series on the book of Nehemiah, with a look into the heart of this great leader. Sad news from Jerusalem moved him to tears, then to prayer, and then into the presence of King Artaxerxes, at that time the most powerful man on the planet. How do we respond in the face of sad news? Nehemiah has much to teach us still today.
The story of a radically changed life
Acts 25:23-26:32 Everyone has a personal story to tell, and every story is different. Called before the governor, king, military hierarchy and civic leaders of Caesarea, the apostle Paul told his story – the story of how he went from being a fanatical persecutor of Christians to becoming arguably the greatest campaigner for the gospel the world has ever known. What happened? He had a profound personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. Do you have a story of meeting…