Outline Biblical examples of ministering to the sick Historical examples of ministering to the sick Introduction Today we are not going to have a traditional sermon but a topical sermon. We are going to launch a ministry to the sick in our church. For want of a better name we are calling it the Samaritan prayer ministry. The churches ministry to the sick is an ongoing ministry that belongs to the whole body and the time has come for us to be more deliberate in our ministrations. The Samaritan Prayer Ministry is being launched not because there is no ministry to the sick in our church, there is. There are those who visit the sick, who buy their groceries for them, drive them around, mow their lawns and pray for them. But as our church grows we need more organisation so that no one is neglected in their need. We want to invite more people to be more deliberate and more organised in this area. One of the reasons why I feel this is necessary is because there are often needs that are not brought to my attention. For example, one dear lady was away from church for three weeks before I was informed that she was at home sick. I am often on the lookout for new comers and am not able to see if everyone is here on a Sunday so I will need someone to inform me that so and so is sick. Not only that prayer is powerful and we need to multiply prayer for those who are sick. Awareness for the purpose of prayer is most important for we are dependent upon God for everything and He has appointed prayer as the means by which He brings His will to pass. We know that there...

Read More

Introduction “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. I have been thinking recently about what this parable means. The standard interpretation is that this relates to the correct human response to salvation and the Christian life. This means that Christians are supposed to place the Kingdom of heaven as their highest priority and give up everything for it. Matthew earlier in his Gospel in chapter 6 and verse 33 instructs his readers to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” which at first glance seems to line up with this way of thinking. But there is a difference between seeking first the kingdom of God and selling all that you have for the kingdom of God.

Outline Saul is given three signs Saul is given the Spirit Saul is given the Kingdom Introduction Don’t judge a book by its cover is the key lesson of Saul’s life. His good looks, His height, that fact of his apparent humility and even the fact that he appears to have the Spirit all warn us a king, a leader, a fighter, a follower of God is more and must be more than just these things. God is giving Israel the king they want and the king they deserve. God will use this king despite himself to accomplish His purposes, He will even use a bad king to a good end in defeating some of Israel’s enemies. God is good and God is merciful, but just because God in His kindness and power does and can draw a straight line with a crooked stick does not mean the stick is okay. In this chapter Saul is anointed King, but please notice that God is going to a lot of trouble to give Israel something that is a chastening act from Him. You might come away from this chapter seeing Saul humility, God’s miraculous providence on His behalf and the Spirit being poured out upon Saul as a good beginning and forget that God is not giving them what they need but what they want. The success, and the spirituality, it is all skin deep and we need to keep this in mind in order to properly understand what God is doing here.

Outline NT interpreting the OT Eschatology interpreting protology Fulfilment interpreting prophecy Introduction Is Israel the Holy Land today? Is there an unconditional promise to Abraham that must see its fulfilment in blood descendants of Abraham, living in the literal land of Israel and enjoying political, agricultural and social blessings under a revived worship system? Can we justify any atrocities committed by the Israeli armed forces as part and parcel of holy war and justified as Joshua and Caleb were in the OT? The land of Israel has a special place in the heart of every Christian because it is where so much of our spiritual history takes place, and where Jesus Himself walked and spilled His blood. The desire to see the place and be able to visualise more accurately some of the places we hear of in the Bible sets our hearts on pilgrimage. Add to this deep desire some more modern views on how prophecy should be interpreted and you get Christians who are fixated on the land of Israel and God’s plan for the Jews. I have feared to preach more on Romans 11 and God’s plan for Israel than Romans 9 and the reality of unconditional election because we are so invested and certain views of Israel that a person’s Christianity hangs in the balance if you don’t have a certain view of prophecy. Today we are going to have our third and final look at Romans 11:28-32. We have been looking at the gifts and calling of God that are irrevocable. We have highlighted that there are those who believe that these gifts and callings are to be seen as the literal fulfilment of all the OT prophecies which usually come from a Dispensational position. We have highlighted that in the book of Romans the...

Read More

Outline A handsome man A sovereign God Introduction Living by sight and not by faith is the perennial challenge for the Christian. We often live as if God as revealed in the Scriptures is not real. Living by sight will look different depending on when and where you live. If you are a tribal person living in animistic Africa before the age of modern science and medicine, living by sight means looks like forsaking trusting in God for health and fertility and turning to the witch doctor and your ancestors for blessing. You interpret the world not through the lens of the teachings of scripture but the lens of your non-Christian worldview. To live by faith is to take that unbelieving worldview and conform it to the teachings of the bible. In our modern age the challenge to live by faith and not sight is harder than if you were living in animistic Africa. We live in the age of scientism and verificationism where the material is seen to be the only thing that is real because it is testable. The modern man no longer thinks in terms of angels and demons, of heaven and hell, of God and the devil, or of having a soul. Self-help, techniques, formulas, not prayer is the answer to our problems. So the portion that we have before us is very helpful in terms of reminding us of God’s involvement in the universe and what we hold to by faith. We are taught by this portion to interpret the events of our lives not as random chance events that are inconsequential and have no author or purpose. Instead we are reminded of a sovereign God whose providence reigns over every aspect of creation. God is granting selfish Israel’s sinful request and giving them the...

Read More

Outline Disunity in Corinth Baptism in Corinth Introduction Once again we have the wonderful opportunity to baptise believers. Today we will be looking for some instruction on Baptism from 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. Lets remind ourselves of the situation in Corinth and then look at how this text by implication teaches us how baptism was practised in Corinth. The Corinthian Church was born on Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul started out in Philippi where he was beaten and imprisoned, then went on to Thessalonica where he was chased out by the Jews. Paul went on to Athens where there was small success, and then he came to Corinth. Corinth was a large wealthy port town, which was the capital of the province of Achaia, and although not a major centre of culture like Athens, it did boast wealth and intellectual pride. Corinth’s biggest boast was it’s temple to Aphrodite, with a thousand temple prostitutes. Corinth was also infamous for immorality. The birth of the Church there is found in Acts 18:1-17. Paul joined up with two other Jewish Christian tentmakers, Aquila and Priscilla. And he began his ministry, in Pauline style, by starting in the local synagogue. The Jews resisted him and so he started to preach to the Gentiles. God appeared to Paul in a vision, to encourage Paul, and tell him that he had many people in this town that he was going to save (18:9). This resulted in Paul staying in Corinth for a year and a half, until the Church there was established. Acts 18:12-17 also gives us an account of the Jews attempt to try and take legal action against Paul, but the Lord delivered him. The account ends with Sosthenes the synagogue ruler who had converted to Christianity being beaten, this is likely the same...

Read More

Outline The desire for a king The burden of a king Introduction Many people struggle to read the OT and profit from it, but you can always learn something about God, Christ and yourselves from the OT. In the text that we have before us we are confronted with the stupidity and stubbornness of our sinfulness. Last week we saw Israel on one of her best days, she was repenting and prayerful, full of faith and humility. This is the opposite side of the coin, here we see Israel in her sins as she demands a king. Various characteristics of our sins stand out to us, things that are true of all of us.

Thanks to Sandala Mwanje for preaching this morning; he is Lead Pastor at South Dunedin Baptist Church. Read Romans 9:30-10:4 online

Outline Penitent prayer Deliverance prayer Answered prayer Introduction Living by faith and living by the flesh, these are the two themes of chapters 7 and 8. In chapter 7 we see Israel with a faithful judge and God blessing the nation with obedience as they follow the godly leadership of the judge; in the next chapter we have a dramatic contrast, Israel wants a king so that they can be ‘like all the nations,’ 8:5. Our attention is brought to God’s goodness to Israel as they live by faith by the repeated mention of prayer. A life of faith is a life of prayer; it is a life of looking to God not man for relief. The life of flesh has its eye on man and seeks external conformity as a short cut to success and relief. The chapter before us has a summarising feel to it, it portrays Samuel in the role of a faithful judge, the people of Israel as repentant and trusting and we see God fulfilling His covenant to bless Israel and protect her against her enemies. And the chapter ends with a number of observations about Samuel’s rule as judge remarking on the success of this arrangement. We see the Philistines, although they would continue to be a thorn in the side, essentially subdued; we see real estate returned; and even peace with long-time enemies, v13-14. We are even given insights into his methods where he regularly preached God’s word on a circuit and faithfully worshipped God, v15-17. Chapter 8 will rise up as a dramatic contrast. So today we have the opportunity of looking into Israel at their best, at a time when they are doing as they ought to do, when they make their spiritual problems their primary ones and their main strategies...

Read More

Outline Christ and the priesthood Introduction We are talking about what many people think will happen to Israel in the future. There are many who think that there will be a literal temple with literal priests and literal sacrifices. We have begun to show that this is impossible. Using our key for interpretation that all the promises are yes in Christ, and a view of God’s promises that sees their fulfilment as larger than anticipated we have shown that the church is the foretold temple of Ezekiel. Today we continue to address these matters and will be looking at the question of a revived priesthood.