Category Archives: Sermon Notes

1 Pet 4 – The end is near – sermon notes

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1 Peter 4

The letter begins: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.

Peter deals with the very practical tension between the dignity of being God’s chosen people and the struggle of living as Christians in an alien and often hostile world.

4:19 provides a summary of what has gone before:- So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.…

Eph 4:1-16 – Aim high, dig deep, build together – sermon notes

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Ephesians 4:1-16

Ephesians the Switzerland of the NT.

But Switzerland isn’t all mountain peaks, and Ephesians isn’t all lofty doctrine.

We move from belief to behaviour, from principles to practice, from our wealth in Christ to our walk in Christ, from doctrine to duty, from exposition to exhortation, from the indicative to the imperative, from what God has done to what we must do, from the credenda to the agenda

Yet the two parts of Ephesians are closely connected. …

1 Tim 6:3-21 – Apostolic concerns – sermon notes

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1 Timothy 6:3-21

Parents can love their children too much – or so they are sometimes tempted to think.

Here are some apostolic concerns, for Timothy, ‘my true son in the faith,’ (1:2).

1. A concern about belief

Cf. 1 Tim 1:3-11; 1 Tim 6:1 ,3,5,11,12,14,20,21.

We know that mere head-knowledge does not make a Christian.  Indeed, it’s a menace.  The devil is a better theologian than any of us, but still a devil.

I’d might even be willing to concede that Christian belief is less important than Christian behaviour. …

Heb 10:23 – The hope we profess – sermon notes

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Hebrews 10:23

With v19 we come to the great turning-point of this epistle.  Up until now the writer has been dealing with matters mainly doctrinal.  Now he turns to things primarily practical.  Verses 19-21 are transitional: bridging the gap between these two sections of the epistle.  Then follow three urgent exhortations: ‘let us draw near to God’, v22; ‘let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess’, v23; ‘let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds’, v24.…

Psalm 92:12-15 – Still fruitful in old age – sermon notes

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The last in a series on work.  Various angles: –

Statistical.  In NT times the average life expectancy was 35-40.  This didn’t change much until about the year 1850.  By 1950 it had risen to 65.  Now it’s around 80.  Somewhere in the world a person has been born who will live to the age of 150.  Over half the people born today will live to the age of 100.

Economic.  Things will be very different when today’s young people reach retirement age. …

Mk 14:32-42 – The shadow of Calvary – sermon notes

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Mark 14:32-42

It took place in Gethsemane, an olive grove at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

It happened after supper, and before Judas identified Jesus with a kiss and the soldiers arrested him.

Jesus had a few short hours in which to pour out his soul to his heavenly Father.

‘The shadow of Calvary’.  A place of

1. Anguish

V33 – ‘He began to be deeply distressed and troubled.’  To the point of death, v34.…

Mk 14:27-31 – Three words of warning – sermon notes

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Text: Mark 14:27-31.

Everyday life is full of warnings:- health, flood, gale.  Fire hazard, trip hazard, bio hazard, radiation hazard.  May contain nuts, may cause offence.  We will prosecute if you exceed the speed limit, park illegally, drink in a public place.  No photography, no mobile phones, no noise after 11 pm…

We come to church to get away from all that!  To be inspired, uplifted, encouraged, – not warned.

But ‘these things were written down as warnings for us…So, if you think you’re standing firm, be careful you don’t fall!’…

Rom 15:1-13 – When Christians disagree – sermon notes

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Romans 15:1-13

I’ve sometimes thought nursing might be OK without patients, teaching without students, and Christianity without Christians!

However, ‘There is no way of belonging to Christ except by belonging gladly and irrevocably to that marvellous and extraordinary ragbag of saints and fatheads who make up the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.’ (Geoffrey Paul)

Unity: prayed for in the Gospels, modelled in Acts, urged and encouraged in the epistles.

Conclusion of the section beginning at 14:1, about the weak and the strong. …

Rom 13:1-7 – Hurrah for politicians and taxes! – sermon notes

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Romans 13:1-7

I wonder how many of us muttered, ‘Thanks be to God’ through gritted teeth after this passage was read?  Thanks be to God for politicians and taxes?  You must be joking!

  • Perhaps Paul didn’t know that modern opinion polls would show that of all professionals, politicians are the least trusted.
  • Maybe he never anticipated the scandal exposed by the Panama Papers, which seem to suggest that the rich and powerful are engaging in tax evasion on an industrial scale.
…

Mk 10:52 – “Your faith has healed you” – sermon notes

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Text: Mark 10:52

An effect: ‘healed’

‘Sozo’ = to save.

We tend to think of salvation as

  • accepting Jesus into our hearts
  • experiencing the love of God
  • going to heaven when we die

Clearly, salvation for Bartimaeus involved physical healing.  But there is a hint in the word itself that something more than physical healing is going on here: he received his sight; and he became a disciple (v52)

Mark 10 – ‘to inherit eternal life’ (v17), ‘to enter the kingdom of God’ (vv23-26), and ‘to be saved’ (v26) are used synonymously.…