But Servants

Choosing a good role model is very important. Get caught up in the wrong crowd and you can be pressured into all kinds of wrong things. But find yourself a good role model it can have a huge impact for good. In our passage we’re presented with two models of ministry:

· A worldly ministry (in verses 1-9) filled with ungodliness and compromise, and

· A godly ministry (in verses 10-17), embodied by Paul, a ministry of the word and good character.

Like Timothy, we’ll need to make a choice about which model to embrace: to continue in faithful ministry of the word or  conform to worldly desires.

This sermon was preached at Penang International Church on 7th August 2022.

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As those saved by Christ, we ought to long to be approved by him and found faithful in our ministry. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul shows what does an approved gospel worker look like. We’re challenged to be such people, and to look for such people to lead our churches.

This sermon was preached at Penang International Church on 24th July 2022.

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The gospel is only ever one generation from being lost. It’s crucial that we not only believe the gospel ourselves, but that we pass it on to others. It's good to ask: What will happen to the gospel when we’re gone? Will our children keep believing it? Will the next generation keep believing it? Or will it be lost? In 2 Timothy 1, Paul writes to his spiritual child Timothy to exhort him to guard the gospel.

This sermon was preached at Penang International Church on 17th July 2022.

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Do your words reflect a heart that loves God? Often we don't think about our speech. We simply say the first thing that comes to our minds. We underestimate the power and destructiveness of our words. But James warns us the the gospel must not only transform our head and hearts, but transform the way we speak. 

Introduction: Underestimating Speech

Context

1. Our speech is powerful (1-5a)

2. Our speech is dangerous (5b-8)

3. Our speech reflects our hearts (9-12)

Conclusion: Gospel Transformation

This sermon was preached at St Nicholas Home, Penang on 22nd July 2022.

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How should we pray when in times of trouble, when we’re in urgent need? Psalm 70 is a short but precious Psalm which teaches us to urgently cry to the Lord for help, seeking his glory above all things, confident that he will hear and answer.

Introduction: Urgent Needs Require Urgent Requests

Context

1. David’s Urgent Plea for Deliverance (1-3)

2. David’s Joyful Praise To The God Of Salvation (4-5)

3. The Psalm Fulfilled In Christ

4. The Psalm Applied To Us

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What is the decisive factor in someone becoming a Christian? Why it is that some can read the Bible, and be convinced that it’s God’s word, and live their lives for King Jesus to God’s glory, whilst others read the very same words, and find them to be offensive, mythical, or irrelevant to their lives? It’s a crucial question to answer, for it will affect our message, manner and method in evangelism.

This sermon was preached at Covenant Grace Church on 9th January 2022.

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Gospel-centred resources, God gives the growth

The cross has become the symbol of the Christian faith. Every church will be decorated with crosses. Christians wear crosses. At Easter we remember and celebrate the cross. Yet for all this, for many Christians – the cross is no longer the centrepiece of the Christian faith or the defining reality of our life. Sure we believe in the cross, but instead of preaching of the crucified King and allowing the cross to shape our vision for the church, and priorities in life, the cross has been relegated to the sidelines. But such a cross-less Christianity is devoid of real power to save and to change.

This sermon was preached at Covenant Grace Church, Penang on 19th December 2021.

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Gospel-centred resources, God gives the growth

What are the marks that someone has been changed by God’s Spirit? The Spirit’s work is often equated with a supernatural experience or our emotions when we go to church. But such a focus can easily distract us from the far more important and foundational work of the Spirit in our lives: the work of changing our hearts to believe in Christ and leading us into holiness.  

Introduction

Context

1. Freedom from the law doesn’t mean freedom to sin (13-15)

2. There is an inner battle between the flesh and the Spirit (16-18)

3. True believers will crucify the flesh and produce the Spirit’s fruit (19-26)

Conclusion

This sermon was preached at St George's Church, Penang on 26th June 2022.

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It’s essential in life that we choose our path wisely. In Matthew 7:13-27 at the end of Jesus' famous "Sermon on the Mount", Jesus tells three parables which challenge us:

· Will we choose the right path, which leads to life?

· Or the wrong path, which leads to destruction?

· Will we obey what he has said?

· Or will we be hearers only, who do not put his word into practice?

Introduction

Context

1. The Narrow & Wide Path (13-14)

2. The Good & Bad Tree (15-23)

3. The Wise & Foolish Builder (24-27)

Conclusion

This sermon was preached at St George's Church, Penang on 22nd June 2022.

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No matter who we are - we all treasure things. Our treasure is the thing that we value the most. The thing we love, cherish, and would give up anything to keep. In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus challenges us to treasure the right thing: not earthly things that won’t last, but heavenly treasures that last forever. He wants to treasure the right thing, so that we pursue God's Kingdom with all our heart as our first priority.

Introduction: What do you treasure?

1. Seek heavenly treasures that last, not temporary earthly treasures (19-24)

2. Instead of being anxious, let God worry about your needs (25-30)

3. Seek first God’s Kingdom and righteousness as your first priority (31-34)

Conclusion

This sermon was preached at St Nicholas' Home, Penang on 17th June 2022.

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