Sermons by Murray Lean
Murray Lean
Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is Good!
Today is the day of our Annual Church Members meeting, and what better day of the year to pause and thank God for His love and faithfulness to us! We thank Him for His grace in saving us from our sin and the joy of being in His family. We thank Him for spiritual growth in our lives and in many of the church’s ministries. We thank Him for gospel seeds planted, watered and growing in people’s lives. And we…
Distinctives of true disciples of Jesus
The disciples of Jesus were slow learners. But are we any better? We can know the theory of Christian living yet struggle to put it into practice. In today’s passage Jesus exposes several important areas where His disciples have much to learn about what it actually looks like to live in God’s kingdom. Things like how we view ourselves, how we treat “little people”, how we deal with our own sinfulness, and how we help our straying Christian friends. This…
The secret of true wisdom
There are many people these days who are seriously smart (or think they’re smart!). But there’s a big difference between being smart and being wise. In the previous chapter, Paul has been making the case that true wisdom can only be found by believing in Jesus Christ and the message of the cross, which many apparently intelligent people think is plain foolishness. So how does a a skeptic become a convinced Christian? Today’s passage provides the answer. It is only…
God’s power through weak people
The way that God works has always challenged and contradicted the expectations of human beings. In our pride we expect God to conform to our expectations. So qualities like power and wisdom become our way of impressing God. How totally wrong we are! God’s salvation is for those who know they are weak and helpless and utterly dependent on Christ to save them. And to go with this, God uses people who are weak and humble to be His gospel…
Some lessons about faith
The question – “What does it mean to have faith” – is crucial to understanding what it means to be a Christian. As the Bible says, the opposite of walking by faith is to walk by sight. Faith by its very nature requires an element of risk. And that’s where the rubber hits the road when a person becomes a Christian. It means being willing to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, for life today and tomorrow, and for eternity. …
Unity in the church
Unity among Christians and within churches is a precious thing, but too often misunderstanding and friction push us apart. With the temptation to become followers of different personalities, different brands of teaching, and different causes (not to mention our tendency to link ourselves to people we “like”), the risk of factions forming is very real. Today’s message looks at the key to establishing and maintaining true unity. Put simply, it’s all centred on our common faith in Jesus Christ. The…
God’s Grand Design
Churches come in many different styles and sizes. Some are strong and healthy. Others are struggling. The church in Corinth was one of these broken churches. But the apostle Paul could write to them and positively affirm several great truths that ought to be true of every genuine church. We need to remind ourselves often that the church, including “our church” with all it’s faults and failings, really belongs to God. And He will still work through it for His…
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…
No compromise
Living as a Christian requires that we engage in a Christlike way with people who may or may not appreciate our faith. But that’s nearly always harder than we would like. What do your unbelieving friends and colleagues really think of you? How credible and consistent is your witness? Do you make compromises to avoid trouble? In today’s message we are challenged to remain faithful to Christ in the heat of opposition, being willing to suffer if necessary. Suffering was…
Radical marriage
The Bible is often viewed as politically incorrect when measured by modern cultural norms. And one of the most extreme instances of this is the teaching Peter gives in these verses. Sadly some men, including some pastors, have caused Christian women unnecessary suffering by using them to justify chauvinism and turn a blind eye to abuse. But what does it really mean for a Christian woman to submit to her husband, even an unbelieving husband? And how should a Christian…