Sermons

“The character of the leader sets the culture of the team”

Mike guides us through Ezekiel 34, showing God’s heart for his people and his judgement upon the leaders who have abused their position and authority as well as those who make the lives of others harder.

As Mike observes, we all have some area of leadership, and we are all sheep. The challenge for us is what sort of leader will we be, will we consider the ramifications of our actions, will we be shepherds under the true shepherd Jesus Christ?

In our fifth sermon covering Ezekiel, Luke Prentice guides us through Chapter 17.

For Ezekiel, and his listeners, their circumstances and the judgment from God would have been cause of discouragement, but God’s message through Ezekiel is that he is in control, he remembers his promises, he will work things to his ends. Luke helps us to see the clear focus and big vision of God on display in this passage is not only for the original hearers but for us too who despite the many reasons for discouragement we may have.

God commands Ezekiel to act out the message given by the Lord, he is to pack his bags dig through the city wall as if he is entering Exile. Why does God command this? What does an acted out exile mean?

For the those in exile, their hope was in the ongoing survival of Jerusalem, but God wants them to put their hopes in him not a city falling to idolotry.

Today, Ezekiel 12:1-20 can seem to be a distant story for a far off people in a different time but Mike helps his listeners to understand that no matter how disaster can shake us to our core, God remains in control of it all and that perhaps we can learn from this story the importance of turning to the LORD and seeking him first.

Third in our series in Ezekiel, Michael guides us through Ezekiel 11, helping his listeners to understand the context of Ezekiel’s world and our need for God’s judgment and mercy.

For Ezekiel, the desire for God’s judgment is real, but upon seeing it, he also realizes that no one is truly innocent. God’s promise to Ezekiel in verses 19 and 20 looks forward to the work Jesus will do on the cross.

Our second sermon in our series on Ezekiel, focusing on Ezekiel 2:1-3:15.

Old Testament scripture can be difficult to understand and apply to our lives. Luke Prentice equips his listeners to hear these words and make sense of them, sharing some simple tools to help discover the value in Old Testament scripture.

For Ezekiel, the words of lament and mourning from God tasted sweet, and yet he felt bitterness, anger, and distress at God’s calling upon his life. Luke challenges us to consider the ways we can be tempted to curate what bits of God’s word we will share with others.

Will we speak all God’s words unafraid, in a faithful and sensitive way?

Mike kicks off our new series diving into the Old Testament book of Ezekiel.

In a world where many things are liable to keep you up at night, it can be comforting to know that God is aware and not afraid to address the realities of life.

In this first sermon of this series, Mike helps us to step into the context of Ezekiel the prophet and to be in awe of the Lord as he presents himself to the prophet. In the passage today, Ezekiel 1:1-2:5, God shows his people:

• That he is still on the throne, even as their world crumbles.

• That in a world of chaos and evil, he is still glorious

• To a people who have rebelled against him, God is still speaking.

Ezekiel is a book that can be confronting for people, even today, and yet it’s message can still comfort us now.