(SERMON) Isaiah 41:1-20 Overcoming the Enemy

 In Isaiah 41.1-20 we learn how to face our enemies, whatever they may be.  It starts with silence and then seeing that God is in control of all things.  Then we must reject the ways of the world in seeking to survive by our own strength and instead trust in the strength of the Lord who calls us His own.  When we place our trust in Him we become the very thing which crushes the enemy and new life awaits.

This prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus--and if it was true for Him facing the greatest enemies of all (our sin and sentence of death) then it is true for us His people.

Revd Adam Young · Isaiah 41:1-20 Overcoming the Enemy

(SERMON) John 12:37-50 Isaiah saw Jesus -- we should too!

 The revelation that Isaiah saw Jesus upon the throne in the Temple should transform how we read the Bible.  Seeing Jesus on every page sets our hearts ablaze with joy and love.  What Jesus goes on to explain though is just as amazing--the whole reason why He appeared in the Old Testament and became human in the New was to save us; to allow us to see the Father, to be in the presence of the Father, and have eternal life.

Revd Adam Young · John 12.37-50 Isaiah saw Jesus, we should too!

(SERMON) John 12:12-35 Seeking and Serving Jesus

 In this passage the crowds DECLARE Jesus as Saviour, Lord, and King but they don't understand what they are declaring. Instead it is the Greeks who actually SEEK to see the real Jesus and know Him as He is.  Through this seeking Jesus tells them the hard TRUTH: He is all the crowd said and so much more but that means dying on a Roman cross and rising to new life.  Even harder--we too much die to sin, self, and the world and rise to new life if we are to know peace and joy eternal.  This truth leads to a simple CHOICE: will you believe in the Light or be lost in darkness?

Revd Adam Young · John 12.12-36 Seeking and Serving Jesus

(SERMON) Lamentations 3:1-27 When you don't feel God's love and Presence...

 Often it feels like God doesn't hear our prayers, God isn't there--in fact often it can feel like He is purposefully against us.  Even God's great prophet Jeremiah felt this way.  The beauty of Lamentations as a book is that it gives us permission to be real and honest about when we just lose hope and God seems absent in our lives.

But though we feel dejected and broken, feel that God is against us or absent, feel as though our prayers go unheard, the truth is that facts don't care about feelings.  God does hear our prayers, God is not out to get us, God is right there and in Christ Jesus has been through all that you are going through.  Great is His faithfulness and His mercies are new each morning.  

We are not to be Christians because we think it will make us happy, we are to be Christians because of who the unchanging God is and what He has done.  When we see this we find the hope that carries us through the dark spiritual deserts.

Revd Adam Young · Lamentations 3.1-27 When you don't feel God's love and Presence...

(SERMON) Matthew 2.1-12 The Magi and Mission: Being Stars to Lead All Nations to Christ

 Matthew's Gospel starts with the Nations coming to worship Jesus as the New King and ends with the Great Commission calling us to bring Jesus to the Nations. As Christians we must understand that God's vision is to see all nations gathered in worship and joy around Jesus. This happens when the church keeps its focus on the local area, its own nation, and the world.

Lord willing I will be going to Japan with OMF later in 2022 to take part in missionary work, church planting, and training ministers. This sermon outlines the great need for the gospel in Japan and invites us all to participate in what God is doing in Japan through prayer, support, and even going ourselves.

The sermon ends with some words of challenge and encouragement from Geoff Bland who was a missionary in Thailand for many years.

Revd Adam Young · Matthew 2.1-12 The Magi and Mission: Being Stars to Lead All Nations to Christ