The Bible is PLAIN, POWERFUL, it's for PASSING ON, and it PRESENTS JESUS.
Category: sermons
Lent Course – Session 2: The Christ-like God
Handout...
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RECAP:
We become like what we worship (Psalm 115:8)
The trouble is, our minds are endless factories of idols (John Calvin)
Understanding the living God is the very stuff of life (John 17:3; 2 Peter 1:2-3)
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Everyone has a god – we all look to sources of meaning / protection / satisfaction
The question is not: Do you believe in God? The question is: "Which God do you believe in?"
It’s a god eat god world out there and it’s every god for himself!
So which God do we believe in? That’s our topic for tonight...
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THOUGHT EXPERIMENT:
When you imagine God what do you picture?
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When you imagine Jesus, what do you picture?
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When God imagines you, what does He picture?
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Colossians 1:15-23
When you imagine God what do you picture?
Verse 15 – He’s invisible.
Verse 21 – We’ve been alienated
But He does have an Image!
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We think “God” is obvious, we’re uncertain of Jesus.
In the Bible it’s the other way around: God is unknown unless Jesus reveals Him.
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Tom Torrance: The biggest question soldiers asked: “Is God really like Jesus?”
Lord Byron: “If God isn’t like Jesus, He ought to be.”
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When you imagine Jesus, what do you picture?
Verses 15-20 – the Cosmic Christ!
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Sometimes people think of Christ alone as narrow, is it narrow?
It’s only as narrow as Christ is. And He is vast!
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When God imagines you, what does He picture?
We imagine a dimmer switch. Actually it’s on or off...
OFF: v21 – alienated, enemy, evil
ON: v22 – holy, without blemish, free from accusation.
Verse 23: Keep returning to verse 22!!
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SUMMARY: Jesus is God-sized. God is Jesus-shaped. Every day we need to re-imagine God according to His true Image: Jesus! When we see who He is, then we understand our true position, loved by God, clothed in Christ, filled by His Spirit.
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Sermon: Romans 3:9-26 – What is a Christian?
Put yourself in the passage: You had been in the dock awaiting a terrifying sentence. Now the verdict is delivered for all time: "Justified." How do you feel?
Or put yourself in the slave market. You had been shackled and owned by a terrible master. Now you’re freed and the Son of God is given to you. How do you feel?
Or put yourself in the queue at the temple. You deserved to shed your own blood. But Christ died in your place, as your Lamb. How do you feel?
What is a Christian? We are JUSTIFIED, FREED, and FORGIVEN and we don’t deserve it for a second. Our Christian lives are NOTHING to do with ourselves, and EVERYTHING to do with Jesus our LORD...
Come Dine With Me – Jesus, the Sinner and the Pharisee
Sermon: Luke 7:36-50
When we think of Jesus, we expect a Teacher, and we get a Saviour. We expect a loan-shark and He forgives us freely. We expect that He’ll burden us, instead He says “This is my body which is given for you... This is my blood which is shed for you.” We expect that He’ll take from us, instead He gives Himself to us – even to the point of death. We expect a throne of judgement, instead He takes the judgement on the cross and, to us, He opens up a banqueting hall. He says, "Welcome! Come in, come one, come all, come sinners and feast with me.
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Luke 19:1-10 Sermon
Mission talks
I spoke at this mission to Plymouth University last week.
The students were wonderful. They prayed for 100 hours solid the week before. We saw many answers to prayer. Non-Christians invited. Seed sown. Christians and non-Christians alike seeing the grace of Jesus afresh. Please pray for those who are now following up on their interest in Christ as the Christian Union runs an Alpha course for them.
Unfortunately only two of the talks recorded in a listenable form:
3 in 1 - Have Christians got God right?
Aren’t all religions basically the same?
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"Different paths up the same mountain" is arrogant and ignorant.
It's arrogant because only someone with a God's eye view could make that judgement
It's ignorant because world religions are saying vastly different things.
Only Jesus saves. Only Jesus is a self-giving Lord.
Jeremiah 2 - He is a Fountain of living waters.
Every other god is empty. And leaves its followers empty.
John 4 - here is Jesus approaching someone who's dug a lot of broken wells.
Jesus goes thirsty so that we can drink
If we see His self-giving, we'll be won back to the Fountain again.
Why does God allow suffering?
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John 11 is the problem of suffering in miniature:
Jesus could prevent the suffering (v1-6)
Instead He allows it
It's more glorious this way.
When we turn to darkness, the Lord does not prevent us, He pursues us.
Martha doesn't understand - she's comforted with doctrine. (v20-27)
Mary doesn't understand - she's comforted with tears. (v32-35)
But Jesus doesn't just weep, His word is incredibly powerful. (v38-44)
Jesus raises and sets free - this is His glory.
The first sight Lazarus would see is the tear-stained face of Christ.
The Resurrection suffers to bring life.
He could heal but doesn't
His ultimate purpose is not to patch up the old creation
His glory is resurrection and the world is invited.
Some receive it, some stand against it. (v45-46)