Today our church held its first services for four months. Instead of one, we had two. They were short, limited, with few people (as many members are waiting to see how we manage services safely to limit the risk of spreading Covid-19). We were unable to sing, I had to preach a shorter sermon so … More Ezra 3 – Firm foundations and mixed feelings (17 July 2020)
I concluded the series of sermons for Lansdowne Evangelical Free Church today. The links to all 13 sermon videos are below for ease of reference. I will gradually be publishing my notes for each message (these will be available backdated to the date of each message). You can search for them here. Message 1 – … More 1 Thessalonians series – links to all the sermons
This is the final message in the 1 Thessalonians series, and is called “God is faithful.” It was the final message sent out exclusively online. The following Sunday, our church was going to reopen for services, although online messages would continue to be recorded. God has shown His faithfulness to His people by bringing us … More 1 Thessalonians series message 13 – 1 Thessalonians 5v23-28
This message continues to look through the “final instructions” in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. The message is called, “The Worship of the Waiting Church.” Introduction Last week, we looked at how the church waits for the coming of Christ – the life of the waiting church. This is part of worship in the … More 1 Thessalonians series message 12 – 1 Thessalonians 5v16-22
After 11 weeks, it was easy to think that we were winding down the series on 1 Thessalonians, but there is much in these final verses. The message was called “The Life of the Waiting Church” (although, having preached it, I would probably now call it “The Work of the Waiting Church.”) Introduction It is … More 1 Thessalonians series -Message 11 – 28 June 2020 – 1 Thessalonians 5v12-15
This is the next message recorded during the closure of churches in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic. The title of this message is “Be ready.” What does that look like? One thing this passage doesn’t speak about is speculation about the time and debating theories about the millennium. Instead, it has a lot of … More 1 Thessalonians series -message 10 – 21 June 2020 – 1 Thessalonians 5v1-11
1 Thessalonians 4v13-18 are often used by opposing sides of the “secret rapture” debate among believers. However, to focus in on that one point is to miss the main point of this passage, which is to encourage the church because members have died before Christ’s coming. As Christians how should we respond when fellow believers … More 1 Thessalonians series – Message 9 – 14 June 2020 – 1 Thessalonians 4v13-18
The eighth message in the 1 Thessalonians series is called “Honouring Him in ordinary life.” We do not live in isolation, but in society. We have colleagues, neighbours, family, as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Most of the time we are simply engaged in ordinary things. Yet we honour Him in the … More 1 Thessalonians series – Message 8 – 7 June 2020 – 1 Thessalonians 4v9-12
This message is called “Longing for fellowship.” As this time of being “torn away” from fellowship due to lockdown, this message looks at the importance and nature of Christian fellowship. The video is below followed by the notes that are prepared for those who cannot watch the video. Introduction Lansdowne’s bank has us registered as … More 1 Thessalonians series message 5 – 17th May 2020 – 1 Thessalonians 2v17-3v10
This fourth message in the series on 1 Thessalonians looks at the power and importance of the word of God. The message was recorded on VE Sunday, hence the references to that at the beginning. The video is below, followed by the notes that I prepared for those without internet access. Introduction This weekend, we … More 1 Thessalonians series message 4 – Sunday 10th May 2020 – 1 Thessalonians 2v13-16
The best is yet to come 