Sermons

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.

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?

“…We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

In our final sermon on the Nicene Creed, Luke helps us to understand what the final words of the Creed mean. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 21:1-5, Luke helps his listeners to see that the resurrection of the dead is a part of God’s plan and that with it in mind we gain purpose. In revelation we get a taste of the world to come and the hope we can experience now as we look for these events.

What we believe matters, if we believe what the word of the Nicene Creed encapsulate, we will find hope, encouragement and purpose in our lives.

“…We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human…”

In the second sermon in our series on the Nicene Creed, Luke Prentice helps us come to a deeper understanding of the hypostatic union of Jesus the 100% divine and Jesus the 100% human. This concept is a common challenge for many people exploring Christianity, and yet it is a crucial duality that made Jesus life, death and resurection effective for us.

Luke gently helps his listeners to come to a deeper understanding of this part of Chirstian faith with the aid of John 1:1-14 and Hebrews 2:14-18

“We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.”

These are the first lines of the Nicene Creed, and the focus of our first sermon in a new series that dives deep into this beautiful and thorough summary of Christian belief.

Luke Prentice (preaching at our combined service) guides us through these opening lines and draws from scripture, in particular Mark 12:28-34 and Acts 17:22-28, and helps his listeners to consider what it means to believe in one God, the maker of everything, and how it might shape our lives.

Many people today trust that they have some value due to what they have achieved or the merits of their family and others they are connected to. Other people may feel undeserving of any blessing.

Luke Prentice addresses both groups, showing how Philippians 3:1-11 can challenge some and encourage others. As Paul says, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

Will we put aside the things in our lives that we believe make us valuable to cling to Christ?

The final sermon in our four part series on the key events around the first kings of Israel. Luke walks us through 1 Kings 11:1-13 showing how Solomon lost sight of the Lord and was swayed by his many wives to worship other gods.

Luke encourages all Christians to be aware of their responsibility to be fully devoted to God and warns us all to be careful to avoid losing sight of God.

In the context of a funeral, Luke engages with the freedom of forgiveness. Roger's story, Psalm 32 and Matthew 11 help us see this powerful freedom that Jesus brings, which was lived out in this Christian man's life and faith.

The second part in our series on the pivotal points around the first three kings of Israel.
Saul as king was called to rule in obedience to the Lord, but let his fear of his men result in disobedience. Luke unpacks this 1 Samuel 15:7-26, where Saul is rejected by God as king, to help us consider how we can best live in obedience and avoid the lies, blaming and self justification that can lead us astray.

This sermon includes a short Q & A afterwards.

The first in our series looking at the first Kings of Israel. Luke points to the fact that God is capable of using our mistakes for his purposes as a reason to have hope.

1 Samuel 8:1-22 is one such mistake, the people of Israel knowingly choose to reject their God and be like the other nations, despite this God will give them what they want, ultimately the world will receive its greatest king - Christ.

Jesus warns his disciples that the road to life is hard pressed and the gate narrow, to beware of false prophets, and to be a true disciple.

Matthew 7:13-23 has much to teach us and Luke Prentice guides us through this passage to understand what is being said and how we can approach scripture ourselves.

Luke unpacks Jesus' teaching in Mathew chapter 7, encouraging believers to have true sight; to see themselves truly, to see gospel opponents truly, and to see our Father truly.

True sight produces kingdom joy. This sermon includes the post-sermon Q&A.

Luke guides us through Matthew 6:1-15, ensuring we hear the hard words of Jesus. Too often, our prayers are focused on ourselves, and too often, we withhold forgiveness from others.

Luke helps us to dwell on the need to put God first and forgive others whilst reminding us that we can only do this in the power and forgiveness we have already received from God.

With one day to go before Christmas, Luke unpacks the implications of the birth of John the Baptist, encouraging us to look past the presents and to seek Jesus as our lifeline this Christmas.

The passage for this sermon is Luke 1:57-80 (NIRV)

Our advent series continues, Luke unpacks Luke 1:5-25, showing the ways that God is at work, challenging Christians to ask God to work in them and change their hearts.

Luke Prentice concludes our series on Habakkuk with chapter 3 by encouraging us to maintain Godly emotions in a broken world and reflecting on the challenges that can stop us from doing so.

Luke begins our short series through Habakkuk encouraging us to be real with God, especially when we struggle to see how God can be at work in the world.

Habakkuk 1

Words have power and how we use them matters. Luke unpacks what Proverbs has to say on the way we use words.

Proverbs 10:17-21; 12:18; 13:3; 15:1; 18:20-21; 28:23-24

The way we run our church services, the traditions we follow in our congregations, these can be good, yet Luke encourages us that none of these are necessary for the freedom found in Christ! Luke unpacks Colossains 2:6-23, showing the warning present as well as the hope on offer.