Everyday Church Sermons

Love gifts from the Holy Spirit that we are to eagerly desire! To operate in an atmosphere of love… "follow the way of love and eagerly desire". They are Gifts for a purpose. To build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:12) and empower the church to fulfil its commission.

we will unpack today, that if the love of God isn’t the underpinning of these gifts, then we are in danger of misusing or even abusing them, as appeared to be the case in the church in Corinth. As with all things that God entrusts to His people, if we are going to handle them well, the actual gift is not of primary importance, but the character of the one receiving it is.

As we will keep reminding ourselves when talking about Spiritual Gifts – they are gifts to give away for the blessing of others. Is the giver also blessed in the giving – often yes. But gifts and ministries exist for the good of the community, not the aggrandisement of the one ministering. I am not a big fan of the word “ministries” but in scripture, the root of this word is the word servant and t...

I've been asked to share my story with you today. And I am happy to do that, not because it is my story and I want people to know me - no, but because it is God's story in my life, and I love talking about God. And my prayer is also that while you're listening to me telling God's story in my life, God will encourage you about His story in your life. What He is doing, what He has been doing and wha...

Are you eagerly desiring God to do something in your life? Embracing spiritual gifts, learning about them, asking God for them, and being active in the way you’re practising them - is where purpose and faith flourish. It’s how the Church is equipped and built up. And most importantly, it’s one of the key ways that the glory of Jesus shines through our lives.

A healthy church is a church that experiences the full array of spiritual gifts. A church where everyone has something, and no one has everything. Where no gift is universal, and no gift is missing. When someone brings a spiritual gift, rather than thinking, “I wish I had that gift”, ask the Holy Spirit, “What complementary gift do you want me to grow in?”

We can say church is about many things: social action, community life, music, evangelistic outreach, emotional health, freedom. right living. They are all important, but we mustn’t make them idols. They are secondary, they are the consequence, not the cause. The focus and purpose of our gatherings above everything else is to encounter God to experience his presence amongst us – the fulfilment of t...

How do our vision and values and Jesus’ instruction to “seek first the Kingdom of God” work out in the busyness of life. One of the reasons that we get distracted from a Kingdom vision and onto the stuff of life, is because the stuff of life keeps coming at us. How do we hold on to the truth that Jesus reminded us of last week? We have to be intentional.

Our vision shapes how we live. How we spend our: Time, Talent, and Treasure. We recognise that we can be so easily distracted and deterred from our identity and Kingdom calling by the stuff of life. We looked at Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount in which he seeks to recalibrate us around our eternal identity as children of the living God. It is that identity which enables us to prioritise ou...

So we come to the final message in our tour of Colossians. We have: o Fixed our eyes on Jesus. o Unpacked biblical leadership. o Combatted the flesh. o Reminded ourselves that every area of life matters to God. Today we look at Prayer. We are going to look at prayer, because as we read through Colossians, there are multiple references to prayer. Using these verses as our source material we are goi...

Viewing these verses from our modern culture, it would be easy to miss the point. A modern reader can be distracted by concepts of submission in marriage based on gender and the concept of slavery. These are huge subjects and we do not have time to unpack them fully here. However, when approaching both subjects we must remember that biblical submission never gives licence for abuse or oppression –...

As we said in the first message of this series, Paul’s primary tactic in leading people out of, or away from the edge, of heresy is to fix their eyes on to the person and the work of Christ. This is exactly what he is doing here. When Paul says, “Therefore, do not let anyone judge you…” the inference is clear. They are being judged, and they are allowing themselves to be judged. It would appear th...

We continue our series on Colossians. Last time we looked at the fact that Paul writes his letter to the Colossians because he wants to draw them back to the centrality of Christ. In the midst of a complicated world, Paul reminds them of the uniqueness of Christ and the fullness of the gospel. If we try and add anything to the gospel, we have departed from the gospel. Today we are going to look at...

Although Paul is writing because his wider ministry is limited by imprisonment, he is not writing aimlessly. He writes with purpose. He has heard good reports about the faith of the believers in Colossae and he is broadly encouraged, but he also has some concerns about teaching they might be receiving and the impact it is having on the outworking of their faith. Hence, Paul speaks first to theolog...

The Exodus story points to the bigger story. It reveals patterns of redemption. A redemption pattern perfectly fulfilled in Jesus. But, the Exodus story and the metanarrative it points towards is not finished. This story is our story. The work of Christ is finished, but we are not yet finished.

God is giving Moses a blueprint for handling the Holy. You see, the presence of a holy God cannot be handled by sinful people and God is giving a pattern of how to handle the holy and how to be able to come into his presence as simple people. He is making a way, and this is the plan that is being unfolded to Moses. He writes it down in Exodus and we're going to look at that today and so the point...

Around the Tabernacle at the centre of the camps were arrayed the 12 tribes of Israel. The Tabernacle was always set up right at the centre of the camp. It would have been the focal point of their communal life. The centre of their worship. To come and worship at the Tabernacle would have been a deliberate gathering together of God’s people near to his presence to praise. As followers of Jesus, th...

Today we pick up the Exodus story in chapter 35, where Moses calls for a Special Offering to enable them to build the Tabernacle; a big, posh tent that God had instructed them to make. This turns out to be the most remarkable outpouring of generosity recorded in the Bible. You know it’s been a successful Special Offering when you’re told to stop giving as they have more than enough! That’s what ha...

It is hard to trust God. It is hard to relate to a God who is invisible. Idolatry is not the answer – worship is the answer. Those of you who have been following the Exodus reading plan we put together for this walk through Exodus will know why Moses was taking so much time up the mountain. God knows us – God knows that we need tangible ways to connect with him. God’s original plan was that we wou...

Moses knew that the presence of God was the vital thing that set the Israelites apart. He says to God ‘What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth.’ The presence of God is vital in our lives, it is what defines who we are and sets us apart. We often use the language at Everyday Church that we are image bearers and kingdom bringers - bringing the...

The why we do things is very important, they create a foundation to build on. God is calling us to be part of his family/part of his story. You are loved and cherished, he describes you as a treasured possession. He is calling you to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Priests are set apart by God to do his work and lead by example (no matter their age).

When our days are filled with His presence, our hearts see transformation; our homes and families see transformation; and our communities see transformation. What could possibly be more exciting and purpose-giving in this life? That’s why Jesus was absolutely right when He said to the disciples in John 16: I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the H...

The Sabbath is not about rule keeping, or point scoring. It's about a gift. Life in all its fullness. Observing the Sabbath forces us into a rhythm where being is more important than doing. Everyone is in a hurry; If it needs doing – do it now. If you want it – have it now! But God is never in a hurry! He is relentless – all his purposes come to pass, But he is never hasty. We need to watch the pa...

Exodus 20:1-7 - Commandments 1-3 - Elisabeth Radtke by Everyday Church

God hasn’t changed. If he will provide what his people need then he will provide for his people now. God looks on at your situation and he will provide exactly what you need. Life at the moment is particularly hard, what are you lacking? Does it feel impossible? Do you trust God? It can be hard to trust that God is providing and will provide. Does he know the intricate details of your situation? Y...