Sermons by Murray Lean
Murray Lean
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…
Evangelizing a Pagan Culture
Acts 17:16-34 Today’s world is full of idols that people ‘worship’ … things like money, possesions, power, sex and drugs. But do they satisfy? In the first century AD, Paul found himself in Athens, the intellectual and cultural capital of the world at that time. What he found was a city full of idols to the Greek gods. But the only true God was missing. So he took the opportunity to tell them, even getting an invitation to the Areopagus,…
The Spark that Ignited the Church’s Mission
Acts 6:8-8:3 Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin shows just how clearly he understood that the Old Testament points to Jesus. For this, very sadly, he became the first martyr of the early church. But his death was not in vain. In this message we see how God used this event in a wonderful way to scatter Christians beyond Jerusalem, and in the process spread the gospel and grow the church. And the ripples of that day are still being felt…
When the Spirit Comes in Power
Acts 2:1-41 Today we begin a new series on the main sermons/speeches in the book of Acts. Peter’s message to the crowds in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost takes us to the heart of all the public speeches in the book as he fearlessly and powerfully preached the Lord Jesus – His life, death, resurrection and ascension, and how He fulfilled the OT prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. The result? 3000 people repented of their sin, believed…
Big Questions About Death and Eternity
1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11 What happens beyond death raises all sorts of unanswered questions. But while death always hurts, Christians face it differently. We “don’t grieve like those who have no hope”. But on what is our hope based? Our passage teaches us what will happen to dead believers at the second coming of Jesus, and how we who are still alive should live as we prepare to meet the Lord on that day. Who knows when we might…
Gospel-Motivated Caring for Others
1 Thessalonians 2:17 – 3:13 How much do we as Christians care for one another? In these verses we see how much Paul cared about the the new believers at Thessalonica. Most of all he wanted to know whether they were ‘standing firm in the Lord’. While he cared about their physical well-being, he cared even more about their faith. May our care for one another have this kind of focus. If so, the question we should be asking each…
Motives and Methods of Gospel Ministry
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 The credibility of Christians in Australia is being seriously challenged today, and this is causing churches and gospel-centred ministries to defend themselves. In our passage today Paul defends himself against attacks which were being made against him and his team. In particular he reassures the believers at Thessalonica that his motives are pure, and his methods are driven by a genuine love for them. There is absolutely no room for hypocrisy in genuine gospel ministry. I wonder…
Jesus – the perfect sacrifice
Hebrews 10:1-18 Like many religions still today, the ancient Israelites showed remorse for their sins by approaching God through a complex system of animal sacrifices. Year after year they sacrificed an animal at the temple to symbolise their repentance. But this was a never-ending ritual that could never truly expunge their sin. What was needed was a perfect sacrifice. Finally God provided that sacrifice Himself by sending His sinless Son, Jesus, who willingly gave Himself for us on the cross.…
Faithful to the End
2 Peter 3:1-14 Today’s message marks the end of our 8-part series on the end times. We are currently in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are disorientated by the speed with which our way of life has been turned upside down. All over the world people are isolated, anxious and fearful. Could this be a foretaste of life in the end times? While cannot escape much of the chaos around us, the strategy given in our passage today…