in Malachi
Malachi 2:13-16: Divorce: Part One
Introduction Marriage in NZ is under attack. 2020 saw some of the lowest amounts of marriages in NZ recent history. There were only 16 380 marriages.1 The statisticians add a further 403 same sex...
in Luke
18:35-43: The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus
OUTLINE The knowledge of faith The desperation of faith The asking of faith The consequences of faith INTRODUCTION It has been said that Christ’s miracles of healing various disabilities is a deliberate illustration of how...
in Malachi
Malachi 2:10-12: Unequally Yoked
OUTLINE The sin in Israel The sin in the Bible The sin in our experience INTRODUCTION Marriage is an institution created by God and as sinners we reject God’s institutions and sin against them just...
in Luke
Luke 18:31-34: ‘Everything…Written…Will be Accomplished.’
OUTLINE Birth Nature Ministry Death, burial and resurrection INTRODUCTION I am a fan of science fiction and fantasy, and a common theme in many these genres is the issue of prophecy. Modern fiction thinking reflects...
in Malachi
Malachi 2:1-9 Holding Leadership Accountable
OUTLINE The unheeding Levite The ideal Levite The wayward Levite INTRODUCTION Robert Murray McCheyne said once that his people’s greatest need was his personal holiness. Why is it that a church’s greatest need is for...
in Luke
Luke 18;18-30 The Young Ruler
OUTLINE Salvation is impossible with man Salvation is possible for God INTRODUCTION I want you to picture the best human being alive on earth right now. Think of a person who is virtuous, successful, lauded,...
in Malachi
Malachi 1:6-14 The Worship God Hates
OUTLINE Dishonoring worship Minimalistic worship Lukewarm worship Compromised worship INTRODUCTION How much worship does God deserve? How much honor, reverence, fear, awe, love, obedience, and sacrifice? The truth is we can never worship, honor or...
in Luke
Luke 18:15-17: Receiving the Kingdom like a Child
INTRODUCTION We come to a new section in Luke, 18:15-17, which is of great interest to us because Jesus talks about children. Children play a large part in our lives and are very important to...
in Christmas
Luke 2:10-12: Joy to the World
INTRODUCTION Christmas time is supposed to be a time of great joy. But many people are sad. You have heard of S.A.D., seasonally affected disorder. This usually describes people who react badly to winter weather...
in Luke
Luke 18:9-14: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
INTRODUCTION Jeremiah 17:9 says of our hearts, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?’ Our hearts are self-deceiving, in other words we lie to ourselves. We deceive ourselves...
in Malachi
Malachi 1:1-5: Doubting the Love of God
INTRODUCTION The Puritan Samuel Rutherford, in a letter to a man who doubted whether he was a Christian wrote this: ‘We being born in atheism, and bairns (children) of the house we are come of,...
in Luke
Luke 18:1-8: The Parable of the Persistent Widow
INTRODUCTION Prayer is something that every Christian does, but nobody does well. Prayer is the native tongue of faith, but we trend towards doubt. Prayer is the hearts’ expression of love to God, but we...
in Ephesians
Ephesians 6:21-24: Final Encouragement
Overview We come now to the end of the book of Ephesians. This is one of Paul’s denser letters as it focused us on God’s work of building the church. Where Romans is a tour...
in Ephesians
Ephesians 6:18-20: The Armour of God: Part six
INTRODUCTION We come to the last message on spiritual warfare. We have spoken about the strength that God gives us by His Spirit; and we have looked at the pieces of the armour as the...
Being the Local Church and the Government Restrictions
Introduction It has been announced that on the 3rd of December all of NZ will enter the new Traffic Light situation. Along with many mandates affecting all areas of society, the church has not been...
in Ephesians
Ephesians 6:18: The Armour of God: Part Five
INTRODUCTION The greatest spiritual warrior to have walked the earth is Christ. He never gave in to one temptation; He faced greater temptations than anyone will ever face, and He is our teacher as we...