Bethesda Shalom

Matthew 26:36-46 It is my conviction, that it is in Gethsemane more than in any other place, that light is cast upon the full humanity of God our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In Bethlehem we see His birth, in Gethsemane we see His travail of His soul; in the manger we hear the cries of the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes but in the garden we hear the groans of the anguish of agonising prayer.  Consider with me, the great sorrows that His soul endured that night.  If the name Gethsemane (Lit. oil press), means anything historically, it was for this hour that it was named!  This message is a call for God’s people to watch and pray in the hour of their vulnerability.

John 6:60-69 When our Lord walked the earth, some 2000 years ago, without apology, He  laid down the cost to any potential would-be disciple!!  You see, it’s one thing to have intent and it’s another thing to follow through on that intent with an well-informed decision.  Both of these together will carry a man a long way, but these alone will never keep the disciple in the day of trouble.  There has to be something MORE!!!  What’s the more you ask?  A decision wrought in conviction born out of divine revelation.

Hebrews 12:1-2  I’ve watched a number of races in my time from 100m to 10,000m. I’ve seen runners fall unexpectedly and get back up to win gold!  I’ve seen runners have their dreams shattered by an injury mid-way through the race — I’ve seen them get back up and hobble the final lap to cross the finish line.  For sure, I’ve seen disappointments and setbacks on the track, but there’s one thing that I’ve never yet witnessed and that is a runner running back to the starting line!!  Yet what is considered an absurdity in the natural is sadly a common reality in the spiritual.  I see Christian athletes turning back all the time.  Running in the wrong direction!!  This sermon is a call to self-denial, to pick the cross and to follow Christ!

2 Timothy 2:3-4 No amount of preparation or training can fully prepare a soldier for war.  He’ll see and experience things on that battlefield that no college classroom or training expedition can ever replicate!  In the classroom, he’ll learn about tactical strategies and the theory of war; on the training expeditions, he’ll be given the necessary tools and skills to equip him for combat. But when the first shot is fired in a real life battle scenario, there’s no training or simulation that can adequately foresee how someone will react.  It’s one thing being in a mock exercise, your fellow soldiers are not trying to kill you!  On the battlefield, there’s an enemy that’s shooting to kill!!  This sermon is a call to battle!  A call to stand firm as a soldier of Jesus Christ.  May you be mightily encouraged!!

1 Samuel 16:1-7 Of all the many things that God can do that we humans cannot, the one that I have been pondering this week in preparing for this sermon is the omniscience of God!  Man is limited in his knowledge, he has present knowledge and past knowledge based on what he can and has observed and experienced around Him.  Much of this knowledge I dare say, he’s gleaned from other men.  God on the other hand has limitless knowledge — He knows all things past, present and future.  No one has ever had to teach God anything, He has all knowledge! He doesn’t have to take a stab in the dark based on mathematical probabilities as to what may be, He has absolute foreknowledge of every single thing that will ever happen under the sun.  As one ponders the omniscience of Almighty God, it ought to both sober us and to encourage us. May this sermon be a means of both to your dear soul. 

Hebrews 5:12 The clear command and expectation for us as believers, is that having been saved, we ought to grow up unto a place of Christian maturity!  What does Christian maturity look like?  In part, it looks like maturity in our understanding of doctrine!  This is no small matter.  Paul rebuked the Hebrew believers because he had truths to impart to them concerning the person of Christ that they were not able to receive due to their immaturity!!  One cannot blame a child for not being able to understand adult concepts, it’s not their fault, they’re a child.  However, this is not Paul’s complaint.  Paul’s complaint is this; “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat” (Heb. 5:12).   

1 Peter 5:7 In Peter’s first epistle, he writes; “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”.  One might ask the question, how do I throw my care upon the Lord?  Of course, the language here is metaphorical!  Peter doesn’t mean that we are to physically do this, that would be an impossibility.  His language is figurative.  We are to cast our care/burdens upon Him by committing them into His care by faith.  We are to TRUST Him with our fears and anxieties, and when we do that, we don’t have to be anxious anymore because Father has got them.  He cares for me!!!  Oh, we’re awfully good at casting “some” of our cares upon Him, but that is not what the text says.  It says for us to cast ALL our care upon Him — IT’S ALL OR NOTHING!!!!  We are to cast all our care upon Him and to LEAVE them upon Him!!!  

Psalm 94:17-18 Hear the Word of God to your heart and take comfort O ye saints of His!  Maybe you’ve never been to rock bottom avenue, but when you get there and every crutch of support has been taken away such that you’re left with only one option, to cast yourself upon the mercy of God and to make Him your support; then, you’ll be able to say as the Psalmist said; “Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up" (Ps. 94:17-18).

John 12:20-26 Many will gladly come to receive of the benefits of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice so long as it doesn’t require any sacrifice on their part. They’ll gladly own Him as their Saviour but deny Him the right to be Lord.  As I understand the language of the New Testament, the full name of our Saviour is not Jesus Christ — there’s a inseparable title that’s missing!  Do you know what it is?  Mr. Jesus Christ? Sir Jesus Christ? “LORD” Jesus Christ!!  “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9). Oh to hear confessions on this wise again!!  It’s the only confession that saves!!

1 Corinthians 13 Dr. David Donovan brings an update on the precious work of New Foundations, a medical mission to the Niger Delta. Following the update, David brings a word from Scripture to the hearts of God’s people.

Of all the chapters in the NT, Romans 6-8a, are amongst the most misunderstood. Yet, when properly understood, these same three chapters become some of the most liberating in all the Word of God! For so many professing Christians, Romans chapter 7 offers a supporting crutch for them to continue living in sin — after all, didn’t Paul struggle in the battle against sin, failing miserably every time?  “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Rom. 7:19).  If that was the personal testimony of the mighty Apostle Paul, what chance this side of eternity have I got?! In this second sermon part, we seek to shed valuable light on this misunderstood chapter and to bring forth the liberation of Romans chapter 8!  

The doctrine of justification by faith (the imputed righteousness of Christ) is the cardinal pillar upon which Christianity stands. Take this pillar away, and the whole faith comes crashing down in ruin. Positionally, we stand righteousness before a holy God, not on the basis of our works (plural), but because of HIS work (singular), and our faith in that finished work, and in His son the Lord Jesus Christ whom He raised form the dead! Now for many Christians, this is where it begins and ends. Ask the average Christian what the difference is between them and those who know not the Lord and you will be told; “The only difference between us and them, is we’re forgiven and they are not!” In this first part of a two-part sermon series, we shall examine this statement and seek to understand the life-changing truths contained in Romans 6.

Isaiah 31:1 If I was to ask you this morning to tell me where the strength of the Church lies at this critical juncture in history, I wonder what you’d say?  Ah, I know what you’d like to say, you’d like to say the strength of the Church lies in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!  However, if the Evangelical Church in Britain was to answer this question by her actions alone, I fear that it would contradict this answer entirely. They tell me, actions speak louder than words and I’m inclined to believe it.  It’s not so much what we say that counts as a pose to what we do.  I remember vividly that when my son was a baby, before ever he could speak a word of English, when he wanted the attention of his daddy and mommy he had ways and means of getting it A cry from the heart spoke a thousand word!!  Yet as I survey the Evangelical landscape of the Church this present hour; as I put my ear to the ground, I listen in vain to hear the same heartfelt cry! The first Church was birthed in prayer and the last century

Psalm 78:23-32 I’ve had the joy over the years of tasting a number of delicious world cuisines.  Greek and Italian, Chinese and Cantonese, Indian and Himalayan, Jamaican and of course English — the flavours and the tastes are enough to make your mouth water!  Yet of all the dishes I’ve ever had the privilege of eating, there’s one dish that to date I’ve yet to try, and that’s angels’ food.  You say what!? Angels’ food!  I’ve never seen a restaurant serving that on the menu! No, and I don’t suppose you ever will.  But did you know that for 40 years straight, heavenly corn was freshly served on a daily basis to the Israelites every single morning except for on the Sabbath?  Man did eat angels’ food.  Israel had it made! You’d think so, wouldn’t you? The problem was, they didn’t quite see things that way.  Novelty wears thin quickly you know, and when it does, it inevitably gives way to familiarity which in turn breeds contempt!!   This sermon is a challenging message to the Body of Christ not to despise the W

Luke 19:11-27 We have great need to remember that we no longer belong in this world, we are citizens of another Kingdom.  We live in an age and a generation where living is all about living for me!  My ambitions, my dreams, my desires!  We’re so taken up with self and self’s things.  Yet, when we get our hearts right, we’ll get our priorities right; and when we get our priorities right, the fruit of the Master’s basket will once again be full!! It WILL come at cost and it will also come at a loss.  Are you ready and willing to pay that price? 

1 Kings 13:1-10 As one peruses the pages of the New Testament, there stands on record a clear and visible warning to believers against the dangers of deception.  When asked by His disciples, “...what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world” (Mt. 24:3); before ever our Lord made mention of wars and rumours of wars, before ever He spoke of famines, pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places, He first gave warning against the dangers of deception.  In a day of great spiritual deception, we need more now than ever to be vigilant against the smooth infiltration of imposters into the Body of Christ.  May this sermon serve as a reminder and a warning for us to take heed.

Sermon 4 of 4  Preached @ 10th Anniversary of Bethesda Shalom 14th April 2024

Sermon 3 of 4  Preached @ 10th Anniversary of Bethesda Shalom 14th April 2024

Sermon 2 of 4 Preached @ 10th Anniversary of Bethesda Shalom 13th April 2024

Sermon 1 of 4  Preached @ 10th Anniversary of Bethesda Shalom 13th April 2024