Sermons from 2019
Bill Black’s Testimony of Salvation (40 mins)
Bill Black grew up in a religious home in Northern Ireland but knew nothing about God’s way of salvation. Moving to Perth, Scotland (photo above), to work in the Health Service, he met a young lady called Anna who was later to become his wife (whose godly mother was praying daily for the salvation of both of them). The Lord answered those prayers when Bill met a young man called Jim Legge who preached the gospel to him (Jim would…
Witnessing to the “Religious but Lost” (43 mins)
Jonathan Black gives guidance on effective ways to reach people who are “religious but lost” – the kinds of people who respond to a gospel approach with “No thanks, I have my own religion/church”, or “I’ve always been a Christian”, or “I was born a Christian”. After looking at the UK religious scene statistically, Jonathan outlines scriptural evangelistic responses to give to those who may profess a belief in God and the Bible, but who know nothing of God’s salvation…
The Catch of Fish (38 mins)
John Salisbury preaches on the 8th sign in John’s gospel – the miraculous catch of 153 fish. After some introductory remarks about the setting and pairing of the final sign, John divides his remarks into four: the importance of 1. obedience, 2. love for Christ, 3. shepherding and 4. following. He gives an explanation for the counting of the 153 fish, as well as discussing the interplay between two Greek verbs for love (agapao and phileo) in the Lord’s restorative…
The Raising of Lazarus (44 mins)
Gordon Stewart preaches on the 6th sign in John’s gospel – the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This was the pivotal climactic sign that led quickly to the Lord’s crucifixion. After some helpful introductory remarks about the “delays of Christ” in Scripture, Gordon outlines 7 lessons from John Ch 11 in connection with this mighty sign: about Christ’s glory, His promise, His sympathy, His troubled soul, His prayer, His shout of authority, and His worthiness of trust and worship…
Witnessing to Hindus (48 mins)
Josh Jacob begins by looking at how the West has been infiltrated by Hindu philosophy repackaged as visualisation, yoga, quantum healing and much else. He traces the history of this phenomenon back to the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1893, up through the Beatles in the 1960’s, through to today. He explains Hindu concepts such as Karma, Moksha, Nirvana and Maya and exposes the deception through the prism of Genesis Ch 3. Finally he explains certain features of Indian/Hindu culture…
The Blind Man (39 mins)
Peter Scarsbrook preaches on the 5th sign in John’s gospel; the giving of sight to the blind man at the Pool of Siloam in Ch 9. Why did the Lord deal differently with this man, compared to how He dealt with Bartimaeus? Why was he sent to the pool of Siloam, not the pool of Bethesda? After answering these two related questions, Peter looks at a number of theological and practical issues thrown up by this remarkable sign and the…
Witnessing to Muslims (40 mins)
Andrew Mullan gives guidance, from some years of experience, on witnessing to Muslims. He approaches the topic under 4 headings: 1. Building relationships, 2. Engaging the conscience, 3. Preparing responses, 4. Understanding the Islamic mindset. We need to overcome our fear of engaging Islam and with patience seek to bring the truth of God’s word to this needy audience. Andrew explains how Muslims think, and gives ideas and strategies for how to effectively evangelise them (Readings: 2 Cor 5:14, Rom…
The Feeding of the 5,000 (45 mins)
Jonathan Black preaches on the 4th sign in John’s gospel, the feeding of the 5,000. He highlights the significance of the location, the provision and much else about the event. As with all the signs, this one proves the deity of Christ – that He is the Son of God. The sign reveals the One who can fill those who come to Him. Are you satisfied and filled or are you “running on empty”? Jonathan also extracts a number of…
The Lame Man at the Pool (49 mins)
Dan Rudge preaches on the third sign in John’s gospel, the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day. Dan looks at this sign historically, thematically, dispensationally and practically. The man is a picture of Israel, in his 38 years of weakness and his expressions of unbelief. The act of the Lord in healing the man on the Sabbath was hugely significant and led to the persecution of the Lord and a discourse about…
Water Into Wine (51 mins)
Gordon McCracken preaches on the first sign that the Lord Jesus performed – turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. He starts in v11 where John explains that this first sign “manifested the Lord’s glory”. But in what way? It manifested the 1. Lord’s creatorial supremacy, 2. His perfect humanity, 3. His sonship and 4. His grace. Gordon then works through the passage verse by verse drawing out some practical lessons for his audience (Message preached…
One to One Witnessing (42 mins)
Eric Baijal encourages all believers to be personal witnesses. We have not fulfilled the great commission by merely attending a Sunday evening gospel meeting! We should be personally bringing the gospel into our street, our workplace and our circle of friends and contacts. We can do this by using opportunities (Acts 11:19-21), using hospitality (Acts 18:24-28) and using “prophecy” (Acts 8:26-39). In doing so we should be prayerful, intentional and walking in fellowship with the Lord – so that we…
The Nobleman’s Son (37 mins)
David West preaches on the second sign in John’s gospel, the “healing at a distance” of the nobleman’s son (4:43-54). After some introductory remarks about the fact that the 8 signs in John’s gospel are written as an inversion of 4 pairs, David points out the main features of the sign. David believes 1. the nobleman was a Gentile, and 2. all Gentiles are healed at a distance (Centurion’s servant, Syrophenician’s daughter etc.). The sign is a powerful challenge to…
Crossing, Conquering and Claiming
PART 6 – Eugene Higgins closes the series of messages on Egypt to Canaan with a look at crossing the Jordan (and what that event typifies); conquering the land (overcoming intimidation, temptation, deception ad amalgamation); and claiming the land (with examples from Caleb, Achsah, the daughters of Zelophehad and Levi). Readings: Josh 3:14-17, 4:6-9, 5:10-6:2, 13:14, 33, 14:6-12, 17:3-4. (Preached: 6th October 2019)
Surprised by Salvation (33 mins)
“Salvation was completely different to how I imagined it would be.” Eugene Higgins explains the way of salvation from the last verse of John’s Gospel chapter 3, which reads: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (Jn 3.36). He develops his presentation of the gospel around 4 contrasts in this verse: “Whom”, not “How” “Him”, not “you” “Having”,…
Faithfulness and Failure in the Wilderness
PART 5 – Eugene Higgins preaches on 4 stand-out instances of Israel’s failure in the wilderness, each of which sees some individuals marked by faithfulness instead. A failure in obedience (the spies), a failure in submission (Korah), a failure in separation (Baal-Peor), and a failure in wholeheartedness (the 2.5 tribes who stayed east of Jordan). Some challenging lessons lie in these things that were “written for our learning”. Readings: Num 13:33, 14:1-9, 16:1-7, 25:1-5, 26:9-11, 32:1-8. (Preached: 5th October 2019)