Sermon Notes (Page 4)

Morning Service 23 August 2009 I doubt that there is one of us here who know the Lord who would say that prayer is unimportant. The very beginning of our Christian faith is marked by prayer as we turn to God for forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. Prayer to us is not merely the means of…

Evening Service 9 August 2009 What upsets sports fans more than anything else –a part form their team loosing I mean? Is it not inconsistent calls by the Umpire or Ref, decisions that always seem to favour the other side? We don’t like it in the classroom either do we, seeing someone who seems to…

Morning Service 9 August 2009 Ezekiel had confronted the people of Israel with the two basic alternatives that shape life, calling them to decision: God or Baal. Today it may not be Baal, it may be another out of the smorgasbord of deities promoted in the modern world, it may be something you have…

Morning Service 2nd August 2009 Elijah calls Ahab to organise not a religious convention but a religious confrontation – ‘the Battle of the Gods’, one writer calls it. It was a Promoter’s Dream: ‘The ultimate power struggle between Yahweh and Baal!’ But it would prove Ahab’s nightmare, and that of…

Evening Service, 16 August 2009 You’ve just been accused of sin – and in particular of a sin that strikes at the very heart of the precedent and practice of your Lord Jesus Christ. How do you react? Is not the immediate human reaction one of defending yourself? James is a student of human…

What is the secret of the good life? Is it having ‘x’ amount of dollars in the bank so you can do what you like whenever you like? Is it having not merely job security but a realisation that your work matters, or perhaps better still that it not only brings satisfaction to you as well as benefit…

Have you noticed, even within this congregation, that God does not deal with us all in exactly the same way? One He matures through this trial, another through that trial, and yet another through no apparent trial. One He calls to serve in this way, another in that way; and of course connected to that is the distribution of gifts. It is important that we bear this in…

Have you ever seen drought-affected lands? We read about it, are very conscious that areas of our state are still gripped by drought. But have you ever seen it? Driven for mile after mile and all you see is drought stricken lands void of any crops? Many years ago I remember flying from Melbourne to…

Last week we noted that every circumstance in our lives can be the means of a test or a temptation. That God in His sovereign providence orchestrates things, including those that challenge us and our faith at its very core, to make us more like Jesus. Just like fire purifies when appropriately…

As we left chapter 17 we did so with the wonderful testimony of faith of the nameless widow who benefited from Elijah’s ministry (v.24), which reminded us of the importance of confessing with the mouth as well as believing with the heart. Turning to chapter 18 we see that this testimony was not…