The notes are taken from the weekly Newssheet
Sunday 1 March Return to Sermon details page . . .
am Dying to tell the truth Acts 6:8-15 & 7:1, 51-60
Steve Fenton
So far in Acts we have seen opposition to the gospel growing, but in Acts 7 things take a sinister turn resulting in the death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen. Stephen is described as full of faith and the Holy Spirit, full of grace, power and wisdom. Yet his accusers bring false charges against him resulting in his death - but not before Stephen demonstrated that God is at work to redeem the world and that they, not him, are opposing this new move of redemptive grace in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
pm A celebration of “Mission Accomplished” Nehemiah 8
Margaret Colville
Celebration - the reading of the Law
The effect - conviction of sin
The result - a festival to remember their dependence on God and the value of community
We go on to remember that we “live under grace, not law”; our “festival” is the Communion table; our “mission accomplished” comes through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Sunday 8 March
am The Word Scattered Acts 8
Steve Fenton
After the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7) the believers scattered from Jerusalem and preached the word wherever they went (8:4). Philip preached to crowds who paid attention to what he said (v7), believed and were baptised (v12). He also shared the gospel one-to-one with an Ethiopian official who also believed and was baptised (30-36). There is much encouragement here for us to share our faith wherever we go, in different ways, in different contexts, with different people, and to see God at work changing lives.
pm Choices Jonah 1
Steve Fenton
God said to Jonah, “Get up, go to Nineveh!” So Jonah gets up (great!), he goes (brilliant!), to Tarshish, which is in completely the opposite direction! God gave Jonah a second chance but Jonah could have saved himself, and others, a lot of heartache if he had made good choices in the first place. God is the God of the second chance, so it’s never too late to put things right. What lessons will we choose to implement from the story of Jonah?
Sunday 15 March
am Full of Courage 2 Corinthians 4:16 - 5:10
John Low
We feel weary, our bodies are gradually weakening and the world around us is decaying with transitory uncertainty, yet spiritually we are renewed day after day under God’s grace. Paul looks forward full of courage to being at home with the Lord, sure of the future, because God gave us his Spirit as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
As God prepares us for the ultimate life change that lies ahead, are we truly getting stronger and fitter each day as we live by faith and seek to please him?
Sunday 22 March
am Saul’s Conversion Acts 9
Steve Fenton
No conversion is as dramatic as that of Saul of Tarsus. Saul had approved Stephen’s death then embarked on a campaign to destroy the church. He pursued believers to prison, and even death. Until, that is, his dramatic encounter with the risen Jesus turned his whole life around. Throughout the centuries since, every genuine believer has had a personal encounter with Jesus, turned to him in faith and repentance and received a call to serve Christ and his church . . . and it is no different today.
pm To worship and be led by God Nehemiah 12 & 13
Derek Jones
In the last in our series on Nehemiah our thoughts are turned towards what is acceptable worship and how crucial is the role of a gifted leader.
Sunday 29 March
am The Conversion of Cornelius Acts 10:1-23 (page 160)
In this passage we discover that Peter’s prejudices and blind spots were hampering the spread of the Gospel. God needed to re-educate him in order to break down barriers of discrimination and personal preference that were working against God’s Kingdom values of equality and unity. This particular episode in Peter’s life begs the question, “To what extent do we practice complete equality as members of the church of Christ?”
Return to Sermon details page . . .
