"Sunday Morning" Tagged Sermons (Page 41)
Sunday Morning
Living Under Gods Authority
The story of David’s life is full of drama – real, believable and sometimes jaw-dropping! What we sometimes don’t realise is that behind the events of his life God is actually shaping a man, preparing him for the day when he would lead his nation politically, militarily and also spiritually. David was not just a good man. He was God’s man! And in today’s message Pastor Murray looks at some specific ways in which David submitted to God’s authority, and how God enabled David to grow personally through these experiences. Issues like knowing what to do in tricky situations, relying on God for protection, waiting patiently for God’s timing, and being prepared to accept God’s justice are common to us all. Jesus perfectly lived under the authority of His Father. Now he invites us to submit to His authority. Let’s be straight: Is Jesus really LORD of your life?
Growing Through Adversity
1 Samuel is a story about three men – Samuel, Saul and David – and how God used them in shaping a nation that had lost its way politically, socially and spiritually. It desperately needed godly leadership. In many respects we see parallels in Australia today. In this message the young future king, David, is on the run from an irrational, jealous King Saul. This is the beginning of years of life as a fugitive for David. Life was hard. He made mistakes. He also learned many important lessons along the way. But through it all God was shaping him and preparing him for his future role as the godly king his nation needed. Like David, we also learn to trust God as we face opposition, difficulties and even enemies. And God intentionally uses these times as part of His greater plan for our lives. He also provides the perfect leader for us to follow in David’s descendant, Jesus Christ, who offers to save us from our greatest enemies, sin and death!
Childlike Faith
How do we enter the kingdom of God? Jesus says that to answer this question, we need to look at a little child. Listen as we consider what it means for us to have a childlike faith.
True thankfulness
Listen as we explore the story of the healing of the ten lepers and consider what it has to teach us about being truly thankful for what God has done for us.
Trusting God…no strings attached
Faith is more than a mental belief in God. As one writer put it, it’s “trusting God in the dark”. Faith shows its true colours when life throws up difficulties and even tragedies. And no one in the Bible illustrates this better than Job. Tested to the limits of human endurance, this man clung tenaciously to his faith despite incredible personal pain and suffering: the loss of his wealth and family, the cruel accusations of those closest to him, and even the apparent silence of God. Would our faith survive under this pressure? Where is God in times like these? In today’s message Pastor Murray unpacks the key teaching points of the book of Job and helps us see that though we may lose everything this world considers important, God does not abandon us. His is still with us, He is still in control, His character doesn’t change, His love and promises are still true, and we do have an eternal hope and confidence through His Son, Jesus Christ. Listen in and be encouraged!
The Final Perfect Sacrifice
To understand the Christian faith we need to understand its core teaching. Today’s message takes to that place. At the very centre we find the one, final, perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the only way sin and guilt can be removed, so we can “draw near” to God. Any other way to God is a fallacy, or at best, only a shadow of this reality. By willingly sacrificing His life for us, Jesus has perfectly fulfilled all God’s demands and promises, removed the curse of all our sins, and opened the way us to have a whole new life under the control of the Holy Spirit. It’s an offer too good to refuse! Is your hope in Jesus Christ? Why not commit your life to Him today?
The Goal of Christian Parenting
When it comes to raising our kids there are a great number of ideas about what is important for us as parents to aim for. Listen as Pastor Dave shares from Deut 6:1-9 about hat the Bible says should be the goal of Christian Parenting.
The perfect sacrifice of blood
Jews were very familiar with animal sacrifices. Sin required a sacrifice, and mostly this meant the death of an animal, which involved the draining of blood from that animal. The blood was a perpetual reminder of the seriousness of sin and also the cost in dealing with that sin …. the death of an animal substitute. Though animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant have now been replaced in the New Covenant, the cost was even greater …. the death of Jesus Christ as our substitute. In today’s message Pastor Murray points out five important implications that flow to us because of the perfect sacrifice Jesus offered on our behalf.
God’s Cure For A Guilty Conscience
Most of us, including most Christians, have a limited understanding of the Old Testament sacrificial system. While a detailed understanding of these things may not be essential to the Christian faith, it certainly adds great richness if we do. The fundamentals of God’s great salvation plan were established in that OT system, but they were only ever meant to be temporary. Animal sacrifices and flawed human priests would never be adequate. In today’s message Pastor Murray explains how the old system worked, what it shows us about how we should approach God, why it was insufficient, and how Jesus replaces it by His own death on our behalf.
God’s free offer of a new heart
Sometimes we like holding on to old things. But there are also times when we have to be ruthless and replace old, worn out things that are no longer doing the job. The old priesthood, sacrifices and covenant that God had established with the Israelites at Mt Sinai 1400 years earlier had failed. A whole new way of coming to God was required. The prophet Jeremiah announced around 600BC that a day would come when God would introduce a new covenant, based on grace, in which God would forgive people’s sins, change their hearts, and relate to them personally. Jesus has made this possible. We all need this inward change of heart, and Jesus it offering it to each of us today. Have you experienced this miracle?
What Melchizedek teaches us about Jesus
Many of us find Hebrews 7 a hard chapter of the Bible to understand. In the terms of Hebrews 5:14, it’s “solid food”! But a little effort is richly rewarded. In this message Pastor Murray works through the passage explaining who Melchizedek is and how God uses him as a model for a whole new way of “drawing near” to Him. No longer do we come to God through a complex system of priests and sacrifices. We come through the one perfect high priest who has offered Himself as the “once for all” sacrifice for sins – Jesus Christ. In every way Jesus is better! He guarantees to “save completely” those who trust in Him. Are you looking for a Saviour? Why not look to Jesus today?
Warnings to Believers
A 5 year old taking a baby’s bottle to school suggests that there is something wrong! Under normal circumstances we expect babies to keep growing and maturing year by year. So it is meant to be with a Christian’s spiritual progress. In the first big challenge from today’s passage the question is asked: Are you growing ? In particular, are you growing in your understanding and living out of God’s word? Because every Christian should be! The second big challenge is to unbelievers, especially to the person who may think he or she is a Christian, yet their life clearly does not reflect this. This is to “fall away” from Christ and face God’s permanent rejection. Is it time to “examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5)?