A Sunday morning sermon by Pastor David Singh.And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15). This is God’s promise to Israel and Judah at a time when they were being unfaithful. Imagine how much more God is going to bless the faithfulness of Eternity Church with good pastors after God’s own heart. The key thing we have to ask is whether the man or woman is a person after God’s own heart. Let us remember how God instructed the prophet Samuel in the time of transition from Saul to David: “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature …, For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7In this time of transition let us receive this as a promise from God. He will provide pastors that are not only after God’s heart but who can feed the church with the knowledge and understanding of God. Let us get prepared for God’s blessing over us!

A Sunday morning sermon by Pastor David Singh.How does the Church speak into your life? I am not talking of the Sunday sermon. I am talking of the church as God’s key instrument to speak into a believer’s life. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20 We are bound together in Jesus. This is the work of God: “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” Eph 3:10God’s wisdom is displayed in the church. Wisdom is the capacity to take knowledge and apply it to life. Do you have a sense of anticipation when you come to church that God’s wisdom is here. Do you come with a spirit of learning and humility to let the community call you into a deeper relationship with God and with others?The Lord is in our midst!

A Sunday morning sermon by Pastor David Singh.St Paul in writing to the Philippian Church says, “I hold you in my heart.”  Brother Roger of the Taize movement said, “if people weigh you down, don’t carry them on your shoulders, carry them in your heart.”  What does it mean to hold people in your heart?The heart can hear much more than our ears perceive. We are not called to focus on words and their meanings alone. We communicate best when we can learn a different language. It is the language of the heart – the language of love.  This is the common language we share with each other and with God.  The language of love transcends all barriers. This is the cement that holds people together and brings them closer. The more we can speak in love the more we will be heard and love becomes irresistible. Lord, teach us love like you love!

A Sunday sermon by Pastor David Singh.As we begin Lent, I want us to put a priority on Listening.  Most of us think that we are good listeners. We want others to listen to us, but seldom do we do the work of learning to listen. Listening does not come automatically. Listening is a disciplined and learned behavior. It is not our unwillingness to listen, rather it is our inability to listen that gets in the way. We lead with our emotions and as others are speaking to us, we are already creating our own story or response to what is being said. Over the span of our lives, we learn a pattern of listening and making meaning. This learned behavior bleeds into our spiritual lives as well. Often it is the way you listen to others which can give you a clue as to how you listen to God. The one who listens to me the most is God. It is only in God’s presence that I can relax and not have to pre-think my response or defense. When you are heard, you can learn to listen.This is one of the most healing experiences in life: to be in the presence of the One who listens. Make this Lent a season to learn how to listen!

A Sunday sermon by Pastor David Singh.We are somewhat familiar with the individual soul. Does Eternity Church have a soul?  Our Sunday and midweek gatherings foster a collective experience of God. Each church develops a culture of its own.  Visitors experience this ethos and unspoken sense in each church.  A church can be welcoming and friendly or cold and distant, formal or informal. Only a visitor can tell us how they experience us. Equally there is an experience of God. Not just our experience of God but God’s experience of us. In all our worship, relationships, and activities, what is God’s sense of us? God has something to say about this, for example, when Jesus speaks to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. He is not speaking to individuals. Jesus is talking to the collective body of the church. The church is the lampstand. To each of the seven churches, Jesus has a word of commendation and a warning.  What do you think Jesus will say to Eternity Church? How will Jesus praise Eternity Church? Can we hear the warning as well? Our future existence depends on this ability to hear Jesus clearly.“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” Rev 2:7.

A Sunday sermon by Pastor David Singh.Our family relationships are what make us. Our very identity emerges, and it is shaped by how we are nurtured and loved or neglected. Families provide the soil that creates our sense of self and individuality. Many of us have counselors who help us become more aware of who we are and how we can embrace who we are and learn to respond differently to life’s challenges. While there is much healthy emphasis on the self, are we paying enough attention to the soul? The integration between my sense of self and developing fully as a child of God is where the soul emerges.  The soul is the shape of who I am, and it comes through our relationship with God and with family. We often say that the Church is a family. Is the church the primary place where the soul can be nurtured?  The church cannot nurture our soul in just the hour or two we spend on Sunday morning.  If we create a daily rhythm in our family life and cultivate habitual disciplines of remembering God, only then can we hope to nurture the soul.   Let us include God in our daily activity and learn afresh to nurture the soul!

A Sunday morning sermon Pastor David Singh.Matthew 2:11 tells us that the wisemen from the East fell down and worshiped Jesus. Then, opening their bags of treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.  To worship is to bring.  Many come to church to hear good music, listen to an inspiring sermon, to find a community where they can belong, a place where children can be nurtured, or a place where they can do something.  While these are all legitimate needs with which people come, the invitation to worship is an invitation to bring. To bring yourself and your gifts. When you come to church, what do you bring?  Do you come ready to offer a prayer, a testimony, a shout of praise, a song, a thank offering? Remember the words of Jesus in Acts 20:35: “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Come and receive the blessing that comes from giving!

A Sunday morning sermon by Pastor David Singh.Why did Moses need Elders to assist? Why did the Apostles appoint Deacons? Read Numbers 11:16-17 & Acts 6:1-7Church growth and increase in numbers brings its own peculiar problem. Some people are going to feel neglected or ignored. The load on the leader increases. This is a normal problem with growth. The greatest danger with growth is that the energy, time and focus of the leader is drained by pastoral needs of the people. Growth can easily sabotage the apostolic call. Therefore, Elders are called and ordained with the laying of hands.  The Spirit that is upon Moses and the Apostles is the Spirit that is imparted to the elders and deacons. To maintain growth and avoid stagnation, we need spirit-filled people. This is what the Apostles decided in Acts 6:3: “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.”   Elders are there to relieve the load of the Apostolic leaders in the Church and help keep the priority and focus on preaching the word. Only this can maintain continued growth. God has been blessing us with growth, so let us pray that God will anoint and set apart more and more people filled with the Spirit to share the work of ministry in the church.And together we will sing of the goodness of God!

A Sunday sermon by Pastor David Singh.Zeph 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”  This image of God’s goodness is one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture.  It reveals the heart of God’s love, how much he enjoys rejoices and exults over us. What is our response to such amazing goodness?  How can we as a church respond to this love and goodness? One of my favorite songs is “I will sing of the goodness of God.”  Let our love and joy burst forth in praise.Let us make this year a year of singing of the goodness of God!

A Sunday morning sermon by Pastor Keith Hill.I had the privilege of worshiping with you and preaching last June.  It will be a joy to be back with you this Sunday.  Our scripture passage will be Luke 2:40-52.  To aid you in your preparation, consider these thoughts and questions:We don’t come into this world fully grown. Neither did Jesus. He grew as we grow, which stations him well to help each of us grow into the one God made us to be.It’s an amazing claim: God became man. In fact, it’s more amazing than that: God became boy!  We don’t have many stories about Jesus’ boyhood – just a few in Matthew 2 and Luke 1 and 2.  Scan through these stories, including this story, and see what we can know from them. What do we know about Jesus’ boyhood?  And think of some examples of things we do not know.Jesus lived without sin, but he was a real person, who had to mature.  What signs of that process do you see in this story?Jesus was “identified” by his parents, but he also had to come into a self-understanding, and that involved refining his parents’ understanding of him.  How did your parents “identify” you?  And in what ways did you “identify” yourself over against them?What other influences have “identified” you? How do they sync up or contrast with the gospel?I’m eager to see what the Lord does among us as we gather this Sunday!