All Nations Presbyterian Church: Morning Sermon Series

On Sunday morning, we looked at Psalm 41 together. David wrote this psalm while he was unwell with an illness that he might not recover from. He was abandoned by friends and had enemies plotting against him. Even in the midst of his isolation, he cried out to God. He knew God heard him and cared for him. We need to know that whatever happens to us, God loves us. We can bring anything to him in prayer. We can even praise in the midd...

On Sunday morning, we looked at Psalm 40 together. While it sounds like all was going well for David, it was written in a hard time. When in deep trouble, he reflected on how God had saved him in the past. He recounted God's love for him, and told other people about it. Only then did he cry for God's help, realising that God getting the glory was the ultimate aim. This is a very practical psalm. It is easy for us to wallow in feeli...

On Christmas Day, we looked at the account of the magi who came to worship the newborn king Jesus. These odd men had seen a star and come from far away, at great expense in terms of money and time, to honour Jesus. Yet they encountered a local ruler who feared Jesus as a rival and religious people who knew about the Christ yet did not care for him. Jesus is the real king, yet a different king to what many expected. He came to rule ...

We looked at the birth of Jesus from Matthew 1 on Sunday morning. From God's perspective, the birth of Jesus is the climax of so many promises and patterns. God brings about the birth of this impossible baby, and all of the details line up with ancient prophecies. From Joseph's perspective, while so much of this was confusing, he trusted God when all seemed difficult and impossible. We're also told the reason for Jesus' coming: to ...

On Sunday morning, we looked at the first part of the flood account in Genesis 6 and 7 together. We saw that the world had become a terrible place, with sin not being the exception but what defined everyone. Everyone did what was right to themselves and not to God. God's response was a devastating flood that killed almost everyone. This was the fair response to sin. Sin deserves death; here we see that illustrated. Amid all the des...

On Sunday morning, we looked at the family line of Seth from Genesis 5. We saw that God blessed the line of Seth, with many children and long life spans. We also saw the results of the fall played out with the repeated chorus: "and then he died". Yet this family line was quite different from Cain's in the previous chapter. People were named with God in mind, and their relationship with God was more prominent than their achievements...

On Sunday morning, we looked at the account of Cain and Abel from Genesis 4. The birth of these boys was a great act of grace and hope after sin and the curse. Yet it led to tragedy with Cain killing his brother. This was a progression in sin from his parents; God warned him in advance and he did it anyway. He failed to confess and take any responsibility. Cain was both punished and shown grace. His family line went on to great thi...

Last Sunday morning, we heard from Acts 7:54-8:8 together. In this passage, Stephen is killed for his faith in Jesus. A widespread persecution then breaks out against the church, and believers are scattered across Judea and Samaria, where they carry the gospel into a new region. We especially saw that as Christians, we and the worldwide church will eventually suffer for our faith. Yet, even in the midst of suffering and persecution...

On Sunday morning, we looked at the curse that God put on the world as a punishment for sin. This explains so much of what our world is like. Conflict between good and evil, difficulty in child-raising, conflict in male-female relationships, and frustration with work are all part of God's curse. And, of course, death was now a reality. Life, in many ways, is hard now. We feel the challenges and the futility of living in this world....

On Sunday morning, we looked at the terrible fall into sin in Genesis 3. The man and woman, tempted by the serpent, decided to do what God had told them not to do. This led to all of us being like them, choosing what we wanted instead of what God has for us. This led to awful outcomes for them, conflict between them, the reality of shame, and hiding from God. This passage is helpful for us in at least two ways. One if that it shows...

On Sunday morning, we looked at the relationship between men and women from the end of Genesis 2. We already knew that men and women are equal in God's sight, both made in God's image - we saw that in chapter 1. This passage described the creation of woman as a way of helping with the issue of man being alone. People need one another. We need to have relationships with the opposite gender from ourselves. There is difference in role...