Are we the foolish?

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Are we the Foolish?

Lincon Hardouin

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The human mind is a fickle thing sometimes. We can be so convinced of something specific, so convicted of what we believe to be true, sometimes we can have that same conviction for most of our lives… we hold onto these convictions with everything that we have and at times, we will even fight to defend them tooth and nail. But then something happens, something that we don’t necessarily see coming, something that we don’t plan for, maybe a unique, different or unexpected experience, or maybe someone comes along with the most fine sounding argument and eloquent speech, and all of a sudden, we find that our convictions change. It may not always be an instantaneous change, sometimes it takes weeks, maybe months or even years, until we find ourselves facing some kind of division and disconnect.

 Our passage this morning highlights just one of the many concerns faced by Paul when it comes to the church in Corinth. Obviously, amongst other issues, what Paul was dealing with and what he addresses here in the very first chapter of this letter, was the issue of division within the church. This issue extended farther than a simple dispute over what colour the carpets should be, what type of music should be sung, whether there should be chairs as we have them now or whether we should stick to the classic pew look. No! This issue pierced the heart of what can only describe, in my opinion, as a fundamental to our faith.

The Word of the Lord

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Psalm 33:6-11 and Acts 10:34-43

The Word of the Lord

Lincon Hardouin

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One of the things I think every single Christian wishes for at least once during their faith journey, is to hear the voice of the Lord, to hear Him speaking to us, to know that His word is not just something far off or just words on paper. I believe that every single Christian has a deep desire to know that the Word of the Lord is real and that it is something powerful. Well let’s be honest here, how much more real and powerful can this book be? It is such a spectacular collection of historical, poetic, prophetic and basically all round profound writings ever.

I also believe that we all, at one point or another, have taken this profound book for granted. We have times, looked at this as simply words on paper, maybe not intentionally, but because we are not sure on how we should understand what it says, or we don’t understand how it applies to us or even how we, ourselves, should apply it. We sometimes look at the word of the Lord as simply being ancient documents… and while there are definitely things that we can value, things that we can take to heart, we still have this idea that scripture is something that was relevant for them, at that specific time and serving that specific purpose. I’m sure we have all experienced moments like this. But it is so vital that we understand exactly what we have in front of us, what a privilege it is to have it and the profound role it plays in our lives.

The Revealing of Jesus

Preacher: Gordon Hay

Verses: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 and John 1:29-42

The Revealing of Jesus

Gordon Hay

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What is the gospel message? Mark Dever has summarised it like this[1]:

        God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge;

        we have all sinned against Him, offending His holy character, alienating ourselves from Him, and exposing ourselves to His righteous anger;

        He has sent Christ to die the death that we deserved for our sins;

        that Christ’s death and resurrection is the only way to be reconciled to the one true God;

        we must respond to this Good News by repenting of our sins and believing in the Gospel if we would be forgiven by God, reconciled to Him, and saved from the wrath to come.

Last Sunday Lincon preached a powerful sermon on God’s amazing grace, drawing on Ephesians 3. How the mystery of Christ had been revealed by the Spirit and how, in Christ and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. How God’s grace is revealed in the Scriptures.

[1] “So how do we begin positively? For starters, put yourself in the background, and preach Christ crucified. Clarify what the true Gospel; is, what the required response is, and what it means to be a Christian. Make sure people know that God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge; that we have all sinned against Him, offending His holy character, alienating ourselves from Him, and exposing ourselves to His righteous anger; that He has sent Christ to die the death that we deserved for our sins; that Christ’s death and resurrection is the only way to be reconciled to the one true God; and that we must respond to this Good News by repenting of our sins and believing in the Gospel if we would be forgiven by God, reconciled to Him, and saved from the wrath to come. Make sure people know that they must persevere in a lifestyle of repentance and belief, displaying an increasingly loving and holy lifestyle that proves that we are His disciples. (John 15:8; cf. Matt 7:15-23; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 1 John 3:14; 4:8)” Extract from: The Deliberate Church: Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. P44, middle paragraph. 

The Mystery of Grace

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Isaiah 60:1-6 and Ephesians 3:1-12

We speak about grace on a regular basis, often in everyday conversation… I for one, know that it is one thing I truly hope for, for all people. It is the deepest longing and desire of my heart that all peoples would come to know and experience God’s grace. It is something I speak about often, something I pray for daily, yet there is one question which seems to come up all the time… What is grace? I am sure that we all look at grace in many different ways, defining grace as something specific depending on our own interpretations of scripture, on how it has been defined by others for us or possibly, depending on our own personal experiences. Some of the definitions I have come across include: 

·         Grace is the unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification – Ephesians 2:6, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves. It is a gift of God.” or 1 Peter 5:10, “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 

·         Grace is the equivalent of mercy or pardon from ones sins – Ephesians 1:7-8, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.”