Hertford Baptist Church
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Sermon Notes May 2010
Sunday 2 May
am Getting inside the Great Commission Matthew 28: 16-20
Alastair Curry
These verses may be familiar to some of us, but they contain powerful truth for all of us about God’s mission, and the God of mission - whether He calls us to cross the world or simply cross the street for Him. Six principles:
· the glory and sovereignty of Christ is the basis of mission;
· the people God uses (ordinary and weak, but obedient and available) are the vulnerability of mission;
· the everyday, witnessing lifestyle is the way of mission;
· all the people groups are the breadth of mission;
· the making of disciples is the depth of mission; and
· the presence of God is the partnership of mission.
These verses may be familiar to some of us, but they contain powerful truth for all of us about God’s mission, and the God of mission -
· the people God uses (ordinary and weak, but obedient and available) are the vulnerability of mission;
· the everyday, witnessing lifestyle is the way of mission;
· all the people groups are the breadth of mission;
· the making of disciples is the depth of mission; and
· the presence of God is the partnership of mission.
pm How long, O Lord? Psalm 13
Dan Foster
Have you ever felt God is absent, your heart is in turmoil and that life is getting you down? Have you wondered how long it will go on for? The writer of Psalm 13 felt this too, a long time ago, but found his way through to a place of trust and praise, and can help us in our journey.
Sunday 9 May
am An appeal to faithfulness in relationships Proverbs 5 and 2 Timothy 2:14-26
V J Samkutty
Proverbs 5 deals with persuasion, seduction and ethic of sexual morality; it lists the consequences of lust and yielding to temptations. The appeal here is to understand the dangers of adultery and keep ourselves holy. It is also an appeal to marital faithfulness. The sayings in Proverbs 5 can be summed up in Paul’s words to Timothy: ‘Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart’ (2 Timothy 2:22).
Dan Foster
Have you ever felt God is absent, your heart is in turmoil and that life is getting you down? Have you wondered how long it will go on for? The writer of Psalm 13 felt this too, a long time ago, but found his way through to a place of trust and praise, and can help us in our journey.
Sunday 9 May
am An appeal to faithfulness in relationships Proverbs 5 and 2 Timothy 2:14-
Proverbs 5 deals with persuasion, seduction and ethic of sexual morality; it lists the consequences of lust and yielding to temptations. The appeal here is to understand the dangers of adultery and keep ourselves holy. It is also an appeal to marital faithfulness. The sayings in Proverbs 5 can be summed up in Paul’s words to Timothy: ‘Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart’ (2 Timothy 2:22).
pm A Tale of Two Vineyards - of Judgement and Forgiveness Isaiah 5:1-7 & 27:2-6, 12
Ed Daniels
Ed Daniels
The prophet Isaiah came to ancient Israel with a message that is deeply disturbing, even shocking, containing graphic scenes of judgement and destruction. This was due to Israel’s continual refusal to “do it God’s way” and the spiritual corruption which mired its society. Yet, against these dark scenes, are promises of hope: exhilarating, joyful scenes of a future bounty! How do we make sense of these opposite extremes? Isaiah explained it by, ultimately, pointing to the coming Messiah, as the One who will bring about reconciliation and usher in a new kingdom of peace and restoration. As Christians, with the privilege of hindsight, we clearly recognise Jesus in Isaiah’s prophecies, so these messages of redemption from judgement should resonate with us all the more.
Sunday 16 May
Sunday 16 May
am Care and compassion in Proverbs Proverbs 21.3-10, 13, 15
Paul Davies
Today we are looking at the theme of care and compassion in the book of Proverbs. There are many verses that we could examine. As we read through the passages we can “read a direction” of the teaching of Proverbs. The teaching is analysed under the following four headings: (1) God and the poor; (2) Justice not religion; (3) The blessings of generosity and the curses of stinginess: and (4) Wisdom and justice.
Today we are looking at the theme of care and compassion in the book of Proverbs. There are many verses that we could examine. As we read through the passages we can “read a direction” of the teaching of Proverbs. The teaching is analysed under the following four headings: (1) God and the poor; (2) Justice not religion; (3) The blessings of generosity and the curses of stinginess: and (4) Wisdom and justice.
Sunday 23 May
am The meaning of Pentecost Acts 2: 1-41
am The meaning of Pentecost Acts 2: 1-
Alastair Curry
In Jesus’ day, the Jewish festival of Pentecost celebrated the gathering of the harvest first fruits, and God’s giving the Law to Moses at Sinai. In Acts 2, God’s Spirit is given for all God’s people, for witness, anticipating the ‘harvest’ of those who will worship Christ, from all nations and languages. In his sermon, Peter explains the meaning of the Pentecost phenomena:
In Jesus’ day, the Jewish festival of Pentecost celebrated the gathering of the harvest first fruits, and God’s giving the Law to Moses at Sinai. In Acts 2, God’s Spirit is given for all God’s people, for witness, anticipating the ‘harvest’ of those who will worship Christ, from all nations and languages. In his sermon, Peter explains the meaning of the Pentecost phenomena:
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a new era has arrived -
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a mighty King has come -
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an urgent message is to be obeyed -
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pm The best thing in life is free 1 Timothy 1: 12-17
Andy King
Andy King
We often hear a lot about God’s mercy and grace, but what do those words really mean? And what impact should it have on my life? Here, Paul openly and honestly shares with Timothy his position before God and the difference that God’s mercy and grace have had on him and the way he has chosen to respond to that outrageous gift from God. How will we respond?
Sunday 30 May
am How to catch a monkey Proverbs 23:4-8 & 30:7-9
am How to catch a monkey Proverbs 23:4-
David Lockwood
The Bible and the book of Proverbs in particular, speak a great deal about various issues surrounding how we interact with wealth. Ranging from social justice as a people, not associating oneself with ‘stingy people’ at individual meal times, and learning to be content, Proverbs gives plenty of advice as to how we should prioritize our actions as well as our thinking.
pm Encouragement from the Son of Encouragement or Being like Barny Acts 4:32-37 & 9:26-30
The Bible and the book of Proverbs in particular, speak a great deal about various issues surrounding how we interact with wealth. Ranging from social justice as a people, not associating oneself with ‘stingy people’ at individual meal times, and learning to be content, Proverbs gives plenty of advice as to how we should prioritize our actions as well as our thinking.
pm Encouragement from the Son of Encouragement or Being like Barny Acts 4:32-
Paul Davies
It is not often that we make a character study of a biblical character, so I thought it would be fun and instructive to do so. Our hero’s real name is Joseph, but his nickname tells us a great deal about the man. His name is Barnabas - Acts 4:36 says that this means “son of encouragement” (huios paracletos). We will see some admirable characteristics - he was generous, inclusive, discerning, humble and forgiving. Would that we could be nicknamed the same!
It is not often that we make a character study of a biblical character, so I thought it would be fun and instructive to do so. Our hero’s real name is Joseph, but his nickname tells us a great deal about the man. His name is Barnabas -