Sermons – Carryduff Baptist Church
Sermons – Carryduff Baptist Church
Carryduff Baptist Church is an evangelical church that acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord. We believe in the gospel and the need for individuals to be born again by the Spirit of God, in order to be made ready for heaven. We are part of a wider fellowship of churches known as the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland. We are made up of people from all backgrounds and ages who have a common desire to know more of God’s love in their own lives and to show His love in the community of which we are a part.
The Bi...
A Better Master
In Romans 6 Paul address misunderstandings that come from not understanding …
What Happened When we Came to Christ
What was Happening Before we Came to Christ
No Man is and Island
In Romans 5:11-21 Paul addresses something he has not discussed yet: how Christ’s death can change our fate. The answer is through a real union with those who put their faith in him. This is how the human race fell into sin in the first place, through a real union with Adam. And so Paul here describes:
How God Justified Us
Why God Justified Us, and
The Confidence God Gives Us
United in Hope
Romans 5:1-11 demonstrates that, far from being a lesser justification, fake justification, justification by faith is far superior to any status we might ever have earned for ourselves. Justification is not just the satisfaction of our legal responsibilities, it is also …
The Restoration of a Relationship, and
The Relocation of our Confidence
We boast in God…
United in Abraham
To demonstrate the deep roots of this gospel of justification by faith, Paul takes us to the very beginning of God’s work to bless – to Abraham, “the father of us all” (Rom 4:16). He takes the received wisdom of the Jewish believers and goes about:
Redefining History
Redefining Israel
Redefining Hope
True Religion
Zechariah 7-8 forms a kind of review of what the prophet has revealed so far in the form of opposing pictures of:
Our Coldness, and
God’s Jealousy
King for All the World
The record of the visit of the Magi provides us with …
A False King
The True King
Some Unexpected Subjects
But now …
Romans 3:21 is the turning point, the thing that changes everything, where Paul introduces us to …
God’s Declaration – Justification
God’s Goal – Redemption
God’s Means – Propitiation
Who are you trying to impress?
In Romans 2:17-29 Paul makes a personal challenge to those resting on their inherited advantages and reminds them that,
Keeping the Law is an inward thing, not an ourward
Keeping the Law requires an outward power, not an inward resolve
Keeping the Law is for God’s praise, not people’s
Assisted Dying
Friday 29th November will see the House of Common giving a second reading to a bill intended to legalise assisted suicide for adults who are terminally ill. What, if anything, does the Bible say about this issue?
Jesus of the Scars
On this Remembrance Sunday we reflect on the scars of Christ, inspired by Edward Shillito’s poem Jesus of the Scars
If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow,We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.
The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;In all the universe we have no place.Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars, we claim Thy grace.
If, when the doors are shut, Thou
Last Words
On our college Sunday we are joined by third year student Andrew Gray
Jude
On our college Sunday we have New Testament tutor, Peter Firth
The Danger Within
In Romans 2 Paul turns from the condition of all humanity, to the specific dangers that those who have been forgiven are prone to.
It begins with wrath
In Romans 1:18-32 we find the first elements of Paul’s argument for salvation by faith alone. But he begins in a very shocking and disturbing way, he begins with wrath. Before the gospel can be about demonstrating God’s love it must first be about God’s wrath – what to do with the furious, devastating, and entirely justified wrath of God?That is the problem to which the gospel is the only possible answer.
United in Purpose
Paul has many important, and weighty, things to say to the believers in Rome, but before he says any of them he has something that he needs to say first
Why Write to Rome?
Before delving into the glorious detail of Paul’s letters to the Romans it’s important to take our bearings and consider:
What Paul wrote? That Justification is by Faith alone
Why Paul wrote that? Because their unity was in danger and justification by faith is what makes us one
Why Lifegroups?
Our Lifegroups begin again at the end of the month and so this morning we are addressing why we have them, and what we hope to achieve from them.
The Perfect Wife
Proverbs begins and ends with a woman. The first is the personification of Wisdom, the last is the Perfect Wife, who is more than simply a domestic figure, but a way of showing us what every wife is supposed to be a picture of – the True Wife, the Bride of Christ.
Wisdom and the Gospel
Wisdom can help us to avoid calamity … but can do nothing to recover us from calamity. So, if it’s too late, if you didn’t listen, if wisdom and all its clarity about what you should have done can only mock you now … where will you turn?
He is in Control
In Genesis 37 it would seem that Joseph’s life fell apart, but – as events would show – God was in control throughout it all
How to Waste Wisdom
Looking at Proverbs 24:23-34 we look at what Proverbs has to say about laziness – the best way to waste wisdom
How to Share Wisdom
How should a Christian share wisdom with others? The simple answer is with words – but through words used well. From Proverbs we find two first principles
Words are Power (so use with care!)
You are helping, not doing
This leads to three practical guidelines
Wise speaking begins with careful listening
We are in the business of persuasion
Persuasiveness begins in the heart
How to be Wise
Wisdom is the art of asking the right questions and understanding the implications of the answers that we give – so how do we become wise? The Book of Proverbs has an answer which it reiterates over and over and over, throughout the book – welcome, and be grateful, for correction and rebuke, no matter where it comes from.
What is foolishness?
Foolishness is portrayed in Proverbs not simply as a lack of intelligence but as an unfaithfulness to the wisdom on which the creation itself rests. It is a kind of adultery.
What is Wisdom?
Before we study the books of wisdom we must understand what wisdom is. The book of Proverbs offers two principles
Hope
Micah, who has so clearly foretold both Jerusalem’s overthrow and her elevation, ends with a message of Hope – but a hope that is costly
What is good?
We are often very poor judges of what is good, which is why we often resist, or mistrust, God. Micah calls us to relearn what is good for us.
A Lion Among the Beasts
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The Kingdom of the Lame
In Micah 4:6-5:6 the prophet begins to describe the kingdom of which the Jerusalem to come will be the capital. He tells us about:
The Kingdom he will build
The King he will give
The Scattering to come
The Comfort which will sustain
The Harvest to be gathered
Keep Going
David Cameron joins us this morning as a pulpit swap for Association Sunday
Building Zion with Bloodshed
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Engraved with Iron
In chapter 2 we have the reason why God is threatening the judgement described in chapter 1. We have,
God’s Diagnosis
Israel’s Denial
Christ’s Deliverance
Welcome to Micah
At the outset of our studies in Micah we start by asking why we need to read the prophets at all, and what this prophet has to say.
Hard to Believe
The resurrection is hard to believe, it always has been, it was for those who were there. But every single person who was there ended up utterly convinced that it had happened
Baptism
Easter has always been associated with baptism and so, on this Palm Sunday, we are considering the importance and significance of Christian baptism
Draw Near to His Disgrace
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The Need for One Another
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The Path to Holiness
We are called to be at peace with everyone – which is not simply the absence of war. So we need to …
Think about how we live together
Think about where we will live together
Think about what will endure
The Need for Suffering
There are many things which will hinder us in Drawing Near to God – guilt and doubt but also suffering. In Hebrews 12 we come to the issue of the struggles that believers face which we are challenged to understand as discipline. Doing so requires us to understand,
The Difference between Punishment and Discipline
The Difference between Growth and Despair
An Unseen Foundation
The message behind the various figures listed in Hebrews 11 as exemplars of faith is simply,
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised
Heb. 11:39
The rested their hope on An Unseen Foundation, which is what we are called to when we fix our eyes on Jesus
Don’t throw away your confidence
In 10:19 Hebrews turns from several chapters of instruction about the priesthood of Christ to practical application of these truths. This passages makes clear:
What to do
What will happen if we don’t
What we should want to do it
Draw Near to be Changed
Hebrews 10 focuses our attention on the profound changes which death of Christ brought about for everyone. This morning we think about,
The Death of Christ changes the shape of our relationship to God
The Death of Christ changes the experience of drawing near to God
The Question of the Conscience
Hebrews 9 addresses the question of what it is that Christ, as a priest in the order of Melchizedek, will offer in the heavenly tabernacle by highlighting …
The Problem in Essence
The Point of Failure
The Power of the Blood
The Next Step
Paul’s approach to planning teach us the importance of …
Commitment
Teamwork
Obedience
The Genesis of Christmas
The first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel presents:
The Impossible Promise
The Impossible Answer
Born under law
The presentation of Christ by Mary and Joseph make clear,
The Humiliation of Christmas
The Personal Touch of Christmas
The True Significance of Christmas
The Real World
the main point of what we are saying is this: we do have such a high priest
Hebrews 8:1
Hebrews declares that that main point the book is intended to make, the reality that sluggish believers find difficult to really grasp is that we do have a high priest who is very different to the familiar priests of the Old Testament. We easily fall back into old habits and this passages serves as a call to wake.
Wake up to a better Temple
Wake up to a better Ministry
Wake up to a better Covenant
The Hero we Need
Hebrews 7 begins to focus on the strange character of Melchizedek, his unusual priesthood, and the promise of another priest like him. All of which reveal:
The Surprising Dignity of Melchizedek
The Shocking Powerlessness of the Old Covenant
The Incomparable Superiority of the New Covenant
Take Hold!
Hebrews has much to tell us about the new kind of priesthood which Christ embodies, but for it’s first readers (and perhaps for us) there is something which will make it hard for us to grasp – the sluggishness of our faith. And so Hebrews 5:11-6:20 constitutes an aside in which he calls us to face that truth and confess,
It’s not you, it’s me
It’s not ok
Get your eyes on the prize
A Sympathetic Saviour
C. S. Lewis wrote,
Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is
Mere Christianity
Which means that no-one knows more completely how strong temptation is, than the only man who never gave in to it – Jesus Christ. And it is that which makes him able to sympathise with those who fall before it.
A Christian Response
Christ’s Olivet Discourse provides us with two clear elements of a Christian’s response to war:
Do not be frightened
Bear Testimony to Christ
Enter his Rest
Hebrews 3:6-4:13 issues a solemn warning,
do not harden your hearts
Hebrews 3:8
But, like all good warnings, it’s intent is not to fill us with anxiety, but to ensure that we are safe.
Lifted up with Him
Hebrews 2:5-3:6 introduce us to God’s solution to a problem of our making, the problem of why the world is as it is, of why – although God put everything under our feet – we have become the victims, instead of the masters, of creation.
The Angels our Servants
Hebrews begins by addressing an issue whereby, in the minds of its recipients, the angels had become so important that they threatened to displace Christ. It is a particular example of a more general danger, that of allowing a true but secondary matter to mean more to them than Jesus did. When that happens, no matter what the secondary matter might be, we face the danger of drifting.
The New World
Broadly speaking the book of Hebrews presents us with two major themes:
The Danger against which it warns
The Appeal which it makes
Mervyn Scott – Baptist Missions
We were delighted to have had the director of Baptist Missions, Mervyn Scott, with us this Sunday
Missions and the Local Church
Mission is not an optional extra for ‘advanced Christians’, nor is it simply a department of the Church, it is much more important than that. To fully understand the part of the local church in missions we need to ask:
What is Mission?
What is involved in Mission?
Who is involved in Mission
Built on Rock
Hear his voice – “the crowds were amazed at his teaching” (v 28)
Make it real – “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man” (v 24)
Stay the Course
Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ emphasised how we can trust our heavenly Father, for he knows how to give good gifts to his children. Now, as we approach the end of chapter 7, he makes clear that we must trust him, even if it seems impossible, because all other alternatives lead to destruction
Don’t Judge
Far from a blanket ban on making any judgements, this is a warning not to judge badly, because we desperately need to be part of …
A Community of Compassionate Judgement
A Community of Prepared Hearts
A Community of Believing Seekers
Don’t Worry
Matthew 6 begins with a warning against reducing our righteousness to a performance to be seen by men. The end of that chapter is about the thing that makes us play a part instead of pleasing God – worry
When righteousness goes wrong
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Wholehearted
Having issued the ominous warning,
unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven
Matt. 5:20
Jesus now poses six piercing challenges to what we think righteousness really is, and whether what we’re actually looking for is the absolute least we can do.
Do your job
After the beatitudes Jesus says two profound things to his hearers,
‘You are the salt of the earth
You are the light of the world
Matt. 5:13-14
Two assertions which imply two requirements of Christ’s followers,
Don’t Blend in
Don’t Hide
The Man with No Bucket
In John 4 a woman despised and excluded from her community encountered Jesus by a well. He didn’t even have a bucket to draw water for himself but he advised her to ask him for water.
Why doesn’t politics work?
When it comes to simply living together … why can’t we do better?
Inheritance
The book of Numbers finishes with a final collection of laws, both related to the inheritance Israel is about to receive. The lessons Moses leaves with them are:
Do not defile your inheritance
Your inheritance can never be taken away
Taking Jesus at his word
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Remember the Journey
Numbers 33’s careful enumeration of all the stages in Israel’s journey from slavery to their promised land, followed by a clarion call to drive out the people’s living there completely, serve to issue two challenges
Remember how you got here
Remember why you came
Fighting for the wrong thing
On the verge of entering the long awaited promised land, two of the twelve tribes who made up the people of Israel said to Moses,
Do not make us cross the Jordan
Num. 32:5
They had found what they thought was a better home in Gilead. Meanwhile, half of another tribe were so committing to fighting a war that everyone else knew was over, that they stayed behind too.
Their example forces us to ask ourselves, are we Fighting for the wrong thing?
His Last Battle
The last battle Moses would fight before his death on this side of the Jordan was to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. And that terrible task would show that,
No-one is innocent
No-one is untouched
No-one is alone
Nothing is finished
Men and Women
After the offerings detailed in Numbers 28-29 which maintain the relationship between God and his people, chapter 30 turns to the relationships among the people, specifically those between Men and Women
Offerings
In Numbers 28-29 Moses offers a summary, not simply of the sacred days and seasons Israel were to observe, but the Offerings they were to present as a fundamental part of the rhythm of their lives.
Make Ready
Two challenging events – the loss of the inheritance of a man with no sons and only daughters, and the need for a leader to succeed Moses – cause Israel to face their fears for the future
The Fear of Loss
The Fear of Abandonment
He is Faithful
We consider Psalm 20 as a psalm for David and a psalm for Jesus
Surely he bore our pain
Christ bore more than our sins, according to Isaiah, he also bore our pain and those who saw him do so responded in many ways. There were,
The Gawkers
The Fearers
The Wonderers
And those who heard and believed the Truth
He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you
Matt. 28:7
The Blind Spot
After God’s glorious defence of Israel against the ploys of Balak and Balaam it is tragic that what happens next is an utter betray of God by Israel. In Numbers 25-26 we encounter,
Faithless People
Faithful God
Fearful Sacrifice
God’s Invincible Blessing
The Futility of Trying to Overthrow God's Blessing
The Nature of God's Blessing
The Purpose of God's Blessing
The Blind Prophet
Balaam's Greed is Condemned
Balaam's Humiliation is Engineered
Balaam's Madness is Confronted
Ends and Beginnings
A Story without an End
A War without Mercy
A Solution without Cost
The Breaking Point
After forty years in the wilderness Moses is within sight of the Promised Land. But, tragically, it is here, within sight of his life’s goal, Moses reaches his breaking point and is barred from entering Canaan
“Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
As we begin a study of Christ’s parables we begin with the fundamental question of, why did he use them at all?
This is not a drill
What has been at the root of all Israel’s troubles has been a habit of defiance, and in Numbers 16-17 we see that the answer to that habit isn’t more legislation, but a priest – a mediator who can stand in the gap and made peace. In these chapters we see,
What the priest does
Why we need the priest
What the priest can give us
How then should we live?
Numbers 15 inserts a groups of laws into the aftermath of Israel’s refusal to enter the promised land. But there’s nothing random about them – they are designed to introduce into Israel’s daily life over the next forty years three truths:
Salvation is a Relationship
Defiance Destroys Relationship
Remembrance Preserves Relationship
Minority Report
There comes a point in some stories – indeed, in some lives – where everything changes. It becomes the definining moment of that story or of that life. In the life of the newly born nation of Israel that defining moment is described in Numbers 13-14.
Their moment of truth results in a spiral of Discover, Disinformation, and Disobedience – but what does it mean?
Don’t watch Israel, watch God and see …
The sin of not wanting to try
The need to face our failure
The provision of a man to pray fo
Blessed are the Peacemakers
Matt 5:1-12
The Graves of Craving
As Israel are on their way – quite literally – to the promised land, they stumble over the same thing that so often causes us to stumble … the things we crave. The thing we crave can destroy us, or lead us to salvation.
Dissatisfaction creates craving
Craving is Contagious
Do not be silent
Acts 18 gives us an insight into how Paul was able to situate himself in unexpected situations, and react to unforeseen opposition. He avoided both the crushing weight of thinking the whole future of the Church rested on him, and the despiriting idea that what he did was irrelevant by recognising that he was,
Necessary but not Sufficient
Necessary but not Vulnerable
Necessary but Replaceable
The Dark Night of Christmas
Much of the Christmas story takes place at night, and for good reason. There is a darkness in these events that exemplifies the very thing Christ was born to save us from. It teaches us that,
Humanity doesn’t want to be saved
God still wants humanity
He has come to confront our darkness
Carol Service
The 17th century poet Richard Herrick wrote,
The darling of the world is come,And fit it is, we find a roomTo welcome him. To welcome him.
And what Mary and Joseph’s arrival in Bethlehem teaches us is that, if we do welcome Christ we will find that we are not welcoming a stranger, you may have never met him before but he’s your family, your true family.
Veiled in Flesh
God did the impossible at Christmas – the omnipotent God becomes a helpless child. And yet he did it …
Because we are blind to what we long for
That we might see his glory
To bring us grace from God
Elders – Servants of the Word
There are two offices, given by Christ for the good of the Church – Deacons and Elders. This morning we look at Elders, Servants of the Word
Love and Law
Throughout 1 John, John has emphasised the need for Christians to love one another. But where does that leave the obligations of the Law? Is there a tension between the two? In the final chapter he addresses both, and brings the letter to a surprising conclusion.
Shaken by Lies
The community John is writing to has been shaken, not only by people denying Christ and leaving the church, but also by people staying and lying to the church. And he shows us, in 1 John 4:1-6 …
How to Recognise the FakesHow to Defeat the Fakers
Remember his Love
In his opening chapters John has been at pains to call us to remain in Christ, to remain in the light. Chapter 3 begins to address what it looks like to do that and the heart of it is this appeal,
See what great love the Father has lavished on us1 John 3:1
In the chapter he warns us of two things that will distract us from his love, and one consequence that will follow if we focus on his love
Do not be deceivedDo not be surprisedDo set your hearts at rest in his presence
Shaken by Divisions
In 1 John 2:15-29 we come to an event which has profoundly shaken the confidence of the believers, and which may well be the reason why John wrote. Some of their number had left them, denying Christ and trying to lead them astray. And the question they are facing is, What does this mean?
John offers several answers:
It means that they allowed themselves to love the world instead of GodIt means that they were following an invented JesusIt means that it is God who holds on to us, and not we to hi
You can do it!
In 1 John 2:7-14, having called on his readers to walk in the light, John assures them that they can do exactly that because – in Christ – something has changed.
Jesus has changed our capacity to keep the lawJesus has changed the signs by which God’s people are knownJesus has changed all our defeats into victories
Light and Dark
In 1 John 1:5-2:6 we are presented with a spiritual catch-22, we cannot claim to have fellowship with God while we are walking in the dark, but if claim to be without sin we are lying … so how can we come to God. John’s answer is Christ, because Christ is …
A LightA SacrificeAn Advocate
What it’s all about
John begins his letter, discussing How to Know, by making three simple points
Something has happenedWhat has happened has made us oneOur joy depends on what has happened
That you may know
John explains his motivation in writing 1 John towards the end of the letter, and he says it was …
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.1 John 5:13
But one of his dominant themes isn’t a reassurance, but a command, “love one another”. The key to understanding the letter is seeing the connection between the two.
Go with God
In Numbers 9:15-10:36 Israel are finally ready to leave Mount Sinai. The time for preparation has ended and their final directions relate how they are to come and go as they travel. This is unfolded in:
The CloudThe TrumpetsThe Invitation
Worth Remembering
It’s one thing to set people free, but how do they stay free? Numbers seems to present the Passover in Numbers 9 as the answer, that the way they’ll stay free is by remembering how they were delivered. The regulations given here highlight:
The Importance of RemembranceThe Indispensability of RemembranceThe Universality of Remembrance
To Walk in the Light
Numbers 8 presents, rather unexpectedly, specific instructions for one item of furniture in the Tabernacle – the lampstand. It is clear that, with the dedication of the Tabernacle, the privilege of being able to walk in its light has profound significance. This is only underscored by the fact that the next thing narrated is the cleansing of those who would walk in that light. It presents to us:
The Promise of LightThe Promise of Cleanness