Sermon Archive

Sermon Date: December 25, 2022

A Christian analogy based on Charles Dickens Christmas Carol. Bible references are included in the message.

Sermon Date: December 18, 2022

Lyrics to Stand By Me (Ben E. King, 1962)

1. When the night has come
   And the land is dark
   And the moon is the only light we’ll see
   No, I won’t be afraid
   No, I won’t be afraid
   Just as long as you stand
   Stand by me
2. Stand by me, stand by me
   If the sky that we look upon
   Should tumble and fall
   Or the mountains should crumble to the sea
   I won’t cry, I won’t cry
   No I won’t shed a tear
   Just as long as you stand
   Stand by me

Matthew 1:21-23
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).”

Matthew 28:20
“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Revelation 21:3
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

Sermon Date: December 11, 2022

Psalm 146
“¹ Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. ² I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. ³ Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. ⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. ⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. ⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — he remains faithful for ever. ⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, ⁸ the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. ⁹ The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. ¹⁰ The Lord reigns for ever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.”

Sermon Date: December 4, 2022

Matthew 3:1-6
“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” ’ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan.”

Isaiah 11:2
“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him —
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord —”

St. Paul shows the pattern the Spirit dresses us as he did Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jesus and us:

1 Corinthians 15:53; 2 Corinthians 5:2-4
“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

Galatians 3:27
“… for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Ephesians 4:22-24
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Colossians 3:9-12
“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Sermon Date: November 27, 2022

Matthew 24:36-44
“³⁶ But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴² Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Philippians 3:14
“I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.”

Sermon Date: November 20, 2022

Psalm 21
¹ The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! ² You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. ³ You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. ⁴ He asked you for life, and you gave it to him — length of days, for ever and ever. ⁵ Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendour and majesty. ⁶ Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. ⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. ⁸ Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. ⁹ When you appear for battle, you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and his fire will consume them. ¹⁰ You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. ¹¹ Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. ¹² You will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow. ¹³ Be exalted in your strength, Lord; we will sing and praise your might.

Sermon Date: November 13, 2022

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
“¹ Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you,

² and that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people; for not all have faith.

³ But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

⁴ And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will go on doing the things that we command.

⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

Acts 14:22 (Paul and Barnabas) “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”

Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Sermon Date: November 6, 2022
All Saints Day

2 Corinthians 5:17
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

1 Peter 2:10
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

Isaiah 41:10
do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Sermon Date: October 30, 2022

Grace Alone: Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Faith Alone: Romans 1:16a-17
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is God’s saving power for everyone who believes. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’ ”

Scripture Alone: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”

Jesus Alone: John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ “