Faith Speaks — Reverend Neil Taylor — Sermon Podcast

Read Exodus 20.1-17

Is God No.1 In Your Life?

This is part one of a three-part teaching series called “10 - The Decalogue,”; an exploration through the Ten Commandments. And the idea we will be exploring is that God desires a special relationship with us, as His people, and this union is distinguished by living according to His ways. When we follow the commands God gives us, we honour Him and invite His blessing and protection over our lives.

Read Philippians 4

Pentecost +19A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four-part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

Read Philippians 3

Pentecost +18A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four-part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

Read Philippians 2

Pentecost +17A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four-part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

Read Philippians 1

Pentecost +16A

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, by all accounts, is one of the most beloved books in the whole New Testament, and one of the main reasons the book is so loved is because it’s the happiest letter the apostle Paul ever wrote. Its main premise is JOY, and the apostle Paul uses that word JOY frequently.

Join me as we will discover, over this four part sermon series, the needed resource of JOY―an eternal perspective that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ.

Read Matthew 18.21-35

Pentecost +15

How many times are we REALLY supposed to forgive someone who has wronged us? Is it 77 times (as the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible has it)? Or is it “unto seventy times seven” as my trusty King James Bible has it? Which are 490 pronouncements of forgiveness.

This question seems to infiltrate the hearts of so many Christians, it’s a kind of hawkishness that approaches faith, not as a relationship with Jesus, but as a task that has a checklist of dos and don’ts. And so long as we stick with the dos we’ll be fine.

Such a posture hears Jesus’ words, and they figure they’ve got it figured out. Jesus says to forgive 77 times— or 490 — so that’s what I’ll do. And I’ll keep a running count just to make sure I get the number right. Sorry, my friends, but it isn’t about the math!

Read Matthew 18.10-20

Pentecost +14

So what do you think? Is Jesus talking about a set of rules or the development of healthy relationships?

This is the central question to answer from this passage in Matthew, is Jesus giving us rules to live by? Or is he favouring healthy relationships over everything else in our lives as Christians?

Read Matthew 16.21-28

Pentecost +13

Can you imagine? One moment, Jesus is saying you’re “the rock on which I will build my church” and the next he’s calling you “a stumbling block.” That’s not just great wordplay – from cornerstone to stumbling block, but it’s also such a massive reversal of relational fortune, and because of that it had to be incredibly painful for Peter.

Can you imagine? And perhaps that’s the difficulty, Peter couldn’t imagine. He couldn’t imagine that Jesus had come not just to comfort people but to free them.

Read Isaiah 51.1-6 & Matthew 16.13-20

Pentecost +12

There’s a lot of nuance in our scripture readings. Isaiah 51:1-6 references Abraham and Sarah as the rock out of which God’s people are fashioned. This matches the rock metaphor for Peter in the Gospel.

The promise of salvation and deliverance at the end of Isaiah 51:1-6 is extraordinary; this promise goes far beyond any temporal salvation. Isaiah is prophesying a salvation and deliverance that will survive even the decay of creation; it promises deliverance even in the face of death.

Isaiah’s prophesy looks ahead to our Gospel lesson. To a Messiah who establishes His church, not as a beachhead of political deliverance against the Romans or any other dominant world power. But as one which will prevail against the “gates of Hades” — or, less literally, the powers of death. Jesus will build a church,  that will not only prevail against the final horizon, but against the Satanic powers of death in our present age.

Read Matthew 14.22-36

Pentecost +10

In the Gospel reading, Jesus indeed calls to his disciples in the midst of the wild and restless sea, but Jesus does not beckon them away from the storm. Instead, Jesus’ voice calls them into the storm.