Disciples Church Sermons

If there is one thing that we have seen over and over in the Book of Daniel it is that God is in control of all things, and that He is working out His plans and purposes in the course of world history. And we see it again in Daniel 11 as God gives Daniel a fairly detailed vision of who will have earthly control over the land of Israel in the intertestamental period. It's good to know that even whe...

The Word of God has many purposes. One of them is to strengthen us. When we become Christians, we are not instantly zapped to Heaven, we remain living in this broken fallen world until we die, or Jesus returns. Often in the journey of faith we can grow weary. We are tired of the struggle with our own sin, tired of living in a cursed world, tired of how long it all seems to be taking. When we go to...

Our studies in the book of Daniel have shown us that Daniel is a great example of a life of faith - trusting God and obeying His commands. This week, his example to us is with regards to prayer. Chapter Nine details a prayer that Daniel prayed at the beginning of the Persian Empire. It is model prayer. And it is one that God responded to immediately, although the answer didn't come until many year...

The eighth chapter of Daniel sees us move into the next of the apocalyptic visions that God gave him. It features a ram, a goat, and more horns. Understanding this vision is slightly more straight forward because this time, the Lord also sends the angel Gabriel to do the explaining. Once again, God gives Daniel, and us, a window into what is to come.

Well, we've finished the Daniel stories everyone knows, so now we move on to the chapters that are not quite so straight forward. That's because they include apocalyptic dreams and visions. What is apocalyptic language? What do the four beasts teach us? Is there a connection between what we read in Daniel and what we read in Revelation? Pastor Greg will seek to address these questions and more as...

We are finally up to probably the most famous chapter in the book of Daniel - the one about the lions' den. It's a Sunday School classic. It pits the cunning and conniving of man against godly faith and obedience. And we all know who comes out on top. Even though Daniel is now well into his eighties, God still has lessons he wants to teach us through the life of this faithful servant.

There's a famous quote (and no, apparently it's not by Albert Einstein) that define's insanity as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. Whoever said it first, the principle still holds. And yet, in the thousands of years of human existence, we still fall into the same sin struggles as our predecessors. You'd think we'd wise up a bit. Given Nebuchadnezzar's ex...

Walking in faith when your life is on the line - that's when you really know if you are trusting in the Lord! That was the experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in the chapter we are looking at this week in the book of Daniel. But does their experience easily translate to us? Was this a one-off, or does it give us guidance for how we should live out our faith here in the 21st Century.

Apparently we all dream to some extent while we are asleep - it's just that some people remember their dreams better than others. And sometimes our dreams can be so vivid that we wonder for a moment if they really happened! This Sunday, we study a dream that the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had. It wasn't just any dream. It really did foretell the future. A future that we have the privilege of s...

This Sunday we begin our study of the Old Testament book of Daniel. Around 600 years before the coming of Christ, Daniel is the story of a young Jewish man who served in the courts of a number of foreign kings. There was pressure all around him to compromise on what he knew to be right and true, and yet he remained faithful. And God opened his eyes to envision an even grander Kingdom - one that wo...

We have made it to the end of our study of Matthew's Gospel - and what an ending! Jesus didn't stay in the grave, but He rose from the dead - Hallelujah! And He immediately got to work on spreading the Good News of His wonderful victory over Satan, sin and death. He commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and tell this Good News, and He gave them a promise - I Will Be With You Always.

While the Jewish leadership could condemn Jesus to death, they actually didn't have the authority to execute Him. For that, they would need the involvement of the Roman Governor, Pontus Pilate. This Sunday we will look at the passage where Jesus is given the death sentence by the Romans - a sentence that will be carried out within hours of it being handed down. A sentence that, in reality, should...

The word Gethsemane is a combination of two Hebrew words which mean "oil press". But it wasn't the olives that were under pressure the night before Jesus' death. The anguish and suffering that Jesus felt as He knelt in prayer before His Father was very real. He knew what was coming, and He knew how bad it would be. The physical suffering would be one thing, but the emotional suffering of being des...

This Sunday, we begin Matthew's Passion account - the last days of Jesus' earthly ministry, culminating in His crucifixion and then resurrection. But there are a few crucial events along the way. One of them was the very last meal that Jesus shared with His disciples. We've come to know this as "The Last Supper," because Jesus told His disciples that they should replicate this meal often to rememb...

This Sunday, Pastor Greg will finish our study of the "Olivet Discourse," with a look at what is going to go down on Judgment Day - the day that Jesus returns. It's the classic illustration of the sheep and the goats, with some surprising explanations by Jesus as to the attitude His followers should have.

It's been 2,000 years, and we are still to see the return of Christ. Was Jesus really meaning that it would take this long? And what does "being ready" for the return of Jesus look like? This Sunday we will look at two parables Jesus told that address these questions. Of course we need to be believing the right things. But we also need to be doing the right things, to receive a "well done, good an...

This Sunday's sermon will complete our study of Matthew 24 as we look at what Jesus says will happen in the Last Days. Christians should not look at this topic with fear and dread. Instead, we should rejoice that we have nothing to fear at the end of the world because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

As Christians, what are we to make of the world's rush to embrace the idea of gender fluidity? This is a sensitive issue for many people, and can be hurtful if not handled with grace and kindness. This Sunday, we are privileged to have Pastor Dan Paterson from RZIM to preach at DC services on this complex subject.

When it comes to tricky Scripture passages to understand, Matthew 22 is usually up towards the top of the list. How do we understand what Jesus says to His disciples about the end times? This Sunday Pastor Greg will endeavour to unpack this chapter in the first of two sermons looking at Jesus' teaching on this subject. The key to getting a handle on what He says is noticing that the disciples actu...

Before a judge reads out the sentence, they list the offences for which the defendant has been found guilty. That pretty much sums up Chapter 23 of Matthew's Gospel. After the Jewish leaders withdraw from interacting with Jesus any further, He details God's indictment against them. They are found guilty of being hypocrites - attempting to give the impression they were godly, when in fact they were...