But Servants

There is no doubt that praising with a joyful and thankful heart ought to lie very close to heart of the Christian experience. Christians serve a God who is worthy to be praised. Christians serve a God to whom they owe a debt of thanks. Christians serve a God who has done great things for them. And yet, we struggle in the Christian to put the experience of praise in its rightful place. Why do we praise? How do we praise? This morning we will take a fresh look at praise in Scripture.

Introduction: Praise the Lord!

Context

1. Blessing God’s People (1-3, 43)

2. Permanent Priestly Praise (4-7, 37-42)

3. The Substance of Praise (8-22)

a. God’s wondrous deeds (8-13)

b. God’s faithfulness to his covenant (14-18)

c. God’s loving protection (19-22)

4. The Scope of Praise (23-33)

5. The Source of Praise (34-36)

6. A Greater Reason To Praise

7. Application

a. Declare his praises universally

b. Declare his praises continually

c. Declare his praises eternally

God deserves the joyful proclamation of his praise among all nations.

This sermon was preached at St Mary's Cathedral, KL on 14th July 2019.

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What cause is great enough to give your life to it? What cause is great enough that you would look to it and it alone as the cause for your joy and celebration? Life in this world is tragically short. Whether we die in tragic circumstances at a young age, or whether we live to a “good old age”. Life is too short to be wasted on irrelevancies. We want our life to count. We want to live for something big. Something life-changing. Our passage this morning would have us see that there is one person, and one cause that is great enough to give our lives to. And that is God’s King and God’s Kingdom.

Introduction: What cause is great enough to give your life to?

Context

All God’s people must submit wholeheartedly to serving God’s great King

1. The Three (11:11-19)

a. The Chief (11)

b. The Second (12-14)

c. The third?

d. The three (15-19)

2. The Thirty (11:20-47)

a. Abishai (20-21)

b. Benaiah (22-25)

c. The rest (26-47)

3. The Mighty Men Join David (12:1-22)

a. Ziklag: Defectors from Saul join David (1-7)

b. The stronghold: Great warriors of Gad join David (8-15)

c. The Stronghold: Loyal Help Pledged to David (16-18)

d. Ziklag: Deserters from Saul help David (19-22)

4. Wholehearted Loyalty to the King (12:23-40)

a.  Strength

b. Allegiance

c. Celebration

5. The King of Kings (Lk. 1:32-33; Phil 2:9-11; Mt. 20:25-28)

All God’s people must submit wholeheartedly to serving God’s great King. Will you?

This sermon was preached at St Mary's Cathedral, KL on 30th June 2019.

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One of the challenges of living as a Christian is that we must live by faith not sight. We’re told our sins are forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross. But forgiveness is not something that you can see. We’re told that Christ has risen from the dead and ascended to the throne of heaven. But we can’t see his heavenly rule right now. We’re told that Christ will return one day, as the living and the dead, but we don’t know when it will be. We live by faith and not by sight. And in a world like ours, we can start to doubt – has God forgotten his plans for us? Is his Kingdom for real?

Introduction: Has God forgotten his plans for us?

Context

Written 450BC to the returned exiles

Motivational history (2 Chronicles 36:22-23)

Structure

1 Chron. 1:1-9:34 Genealogies

1 Chron. 9:44-29:30 The Ideal Kingdom of David

2 Chron. 1:1-9:31 The Ideal Temple of Solomon

2 Chron. 10:1-36:23 The divided Kingdom down to the exile

Genealogies of Chapters 1-9

1:1-53 Adam & the Nations > Abraham

2:1-4:23 The Tribe of Judah > David

4:24-5:26 The Transjordan tribes

6:1-81 The Tribe of Levi > Priests

7:1-40 Other Northern tribes

8:1-40 The Tribe of Benjamin

9:1-34 The Returned Exiles

1. God’s Plan for his elect (1:1-53)

Genesis 12:1-3

2. God’s King for His People (2:1-4:23)

1 Chronicles 17:11-14

Prayer of Jabez?

3. God’s Temple for His Presence (4:24-6:81)

a. Failure and exile

b. Sacrifice, forgiveness, and worship

4. God’s Hope for his returned exiles (7:1-9:34)

Conclusion

c. God’s King has come

d. God’s temple has come

e. Arise!

This sermon was preached at St Mary's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur on 16th June 2019.

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It’s not how you begin; it’s how you end that counts. In Genesis 46-47, we learn that wherever God may take us, and whatever situation he may put us, God is the faithful God, who always keeps his promises to the very end. That means that we too can live with a firm trust in God’s promises all the way to the end. Will you go on trusting in our faithful God?

Introduction: It’s not how you begin… it’s how you end!

Context

1. God will be faithful to his promises even in Egypt (46:1-27)

a. God’s promises for his people (46:1-4)

b. Jacob trusts God’s promise (46:5-7)

c. God is already keeping his promise (46:8-27)

2. God provides for his people through his Saviour-King (46:28-47:12)

a. The emotional reunion (46:28-30)

b. Joseph’s plan to settle in Goshen (46:31-34)

c. The plan succeeds (47:1-6)

d. Jacob blesses Pharaoh (47:7-10)

e. Joseph provides for his people (47:11-12)

3. God can be trusted to the end (47:13-31)

a. Egypt saved, but enslaved (47:13-26)

b. God’s faithfulness to Jacob to the end (47:27-28)

c. Jacob’s faith in God to the end (47:29-31)

Conclusion

This sermon was preached at Cross & Crown Penang on 6th February 2022.

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This sermon was preached at St Mary's Cathedral KL on 25th March 2018.

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Justice is something that we all care about. We want a just society, that is fair for all. But true justice is often very difficult to find. We are used to living with injustice, so much so that we may not even know what constitutes real justice. We may ask, “Is God committed to justice? Will he do anything about the injustice of this world?" Deuteronomy 16-21 tells us that God is committed to bringing Just Leadership for his people.

Introduction: The Need For Just Leadership

Context

#1 Deut 12 – Worship God

1. Justice For God’s People

a. Just judges (16:18-20)

b. Just witnesses (16:21-17:7; :19:15-20)

c. Just process (17:8-13)

d. Just punishment (17:7; 17:12; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21; 22:22; 22:24; 24:7)

e. Just protection (19:1-13; 21:1-17))

Application

2. Leadership For God’s People (17:14-18:20)

a. Kings (17:14-20)

b. Priests (18:1-8)

c. Prophets (18:9-20)

Application

3. Fighting for God’s People (20:1-21:23)

a. God’s empowerment (20:1-4)

b. God’s mercy (20:5-9)

c. God’s judgement (20:10-18)

d. God’s purpose (20:19-20; 21:22-23)

Application

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If you went out on the streets and asked people what God might demand of his people, I wonder what answers you might receive? Jesus explains using Deuteronomy, what God demands is our love: total, undivided allegiance expressed in willing, wholehearted obedience. And so these chapters are absolutely foundational to understanding what it means to be the people of God, who truly love him.

Introduction: What does God demand of his people?

Context (4:44-49)

1. God demands that we ____________ him (6:1-9)

a. Hear and do (6:1-4)

b. Because of who he is (6:4)

c. All of our being (6:5)

d. All of the time (6:6-9)

2. How To Love God (5:1-21)

a. Grace before law (1-6)

b. Loving God (7-15)

I. No other gods

II. No idols

III. No dishonouring God’s name

IV. Observe the Sabbath

c. Loving our neighbour (16-21)

V. Honour your parents

VI. No murder

VII. No adultery

VIII. No stealing

IX. No false witness

X. No coveting

3. The failure to love God

a. The danger of hearing (5:22-33)

b. The danger of forgetting (6:10-25)

4. The Fulfilment of the Law of Love

a. The law fulfilled in Christ (Mt. 3:13-4-11; 5:17-18)

b. The law fulfilled in us (Gal. 5:13-15; Rom. 13:8-10)

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Few of us would have predicted that this year would have been as challenging as it has been. As Christmas approaches, hope and joy may not be our dominant emotions. We may instead feel anxious, tired, insecure, or even hopeless. So, where can we find real hope and joy this Christmas? In Luke 1, we see Mary's heartfelt joyous response to the angel’s announcement of Christ’s birth. It's a song that Luke intends we make our song.

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James wants us to have an undivided faith. A single-minded faith, where what is on the inside matches what is on the outside. In James 1:1-12, he wants to us to be undivided in trials, to have a distinctively different perspective on suffering, that imitates our Lord Jesus.

Introduction: What difference does Jesus make?

1.  Context (1)

a. Who is James?

b. Why does he write?

2. Joy in suffering (2-4)

3. Wisdom from God (5-8)

4. Eternal perspective (9-12)

5. Implications

There’s something wonderful about coming to a new year. Whether it has been a good year or a bad year, there is the chance to look back and reflect, but there is also the chance to look forward in hope:

· The promise of a fresh start

· The hope of moving forward.

· To succeed where we’ve failed

As we turn to the book of Deuteronomy, that is very much the experience of the people of Israel.

The book of Deuteronomy is God’s offer of a second chance for his people. A last-ditch plea for his people learn from their past, to respond rightly in present, so that they be prepared to enter their promised future.

Introduction: Hoping for a fresh start

1. Israel at the place of decision (1-5)

a. A significant place

b. A significant time

2. The word of God through the mouth of Moses

a. Inspiration & authority

b. The structure of Deuteronomy

3. A second chance at the Journey of Obedience (6-8)

4. The faithfulness of God & the justice of God (9-18)

a. The faithfulness of God (9-11)

b. The justice of God (12-17)

c. Obedience expected (18)

Conclusion: The God of second chances

a. God’s gracious offer

b. God’s expected response

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