Song of Solomon 2:15 — “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” The Song of Solomon is the Bible’s great poem describing and extolling marital love. It tells the story of a young Solomon and his bride as they begin their life together. In this text,…
Judges 12:1-7 — “There fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand…” 42,000 dead Israelites. Why? What happened to cause this terrible loss of life? This is the final chapter in Jephthah’s story and it’s awful. A small grievance turned into violence and violence into civil war. As we work through this story,…
I Corinthians 13:4 — What does it mean when the Bible says that “love is kind?” How would we know if we were truly being kind to those we claim to love? These are important questions that this sermon endeavours to answer by considering the kindness of God. We might think we are a great…
Ephesians 6:4 & Colossians 3:21 — This is sermon focuses on the positive commands that Paul gives to fathers in these verses. We think about what it means to “bring up” children in the “nurture” and “admonition” of the Lord. These are terms rich with meaning and they help us understand what makes for a…
Ephesians 6:4 & Colossians 3:21 — In these two verses the Apostle Paul addresses fathers directly and he tells them not to “provoke” their children and not to “discourage” them. What was Paul talking about? In what ways can a father do this to his kids? In this sermon we consider eight ways that fathers…
James 4:1 — “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” Last week we saw an extraordinary series of events in our nation’s capital. The political party that governs our country descended into a morass of bitter infighting and yet another Prime…
John 19:25-27 — As Jesus hung upon the cross He turned His attention to His mother. She was standing close-by witnessing His suffering and no doubt heartbroken. Out of love and concern for her wellbeing, Jesus spoke to her and then to John. In this Mother’s Day sermon we consider what Jesus said, why He said…
II Timothy 3:12-15 — Today we learned that a majority of Australians are in favour of changing the marriage laws to allow for same-sex marriage. How should we as Christians think about this result? How should we respond to the legal redefinition of marriage that is about to occur? In this short talk we consider these…
Colossians 3:21 — “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” How can we as parents provoke our children? What happens when they are discouraged? Are we raising discouraged children? These are serious questions that this text causes us to ask. In this short Bible study there is a vitally important message for…
Colossians 3:20 — As we continue our study of the Household Code we come to the command addressed to children. In this short lesson we consider Paul’s instruction in light of God’s Law and the example of God’s Son. Jesus “learned obedience” and it was difficult, just as it is for children today!