Newmarket Alliance Sermon Podcast

In this most famous message of Jesus... the sermon on the mount... He asks us to assess what we TRULY treasure. What do we most value? Is anything more important than God in your life? We often take this to be a passage strictly about money (and money or "mammon" is certainly a big part of it) but what if your treasure was even a good thing... like your spouse? Your kids? Your church? What if we a...

Apart from the new diet trend of "intermittent fasting", the concept of fasting for spiritual purposes isn't really something that fits our 21st century "Uber Eats" culture. And yet Jesus says "WHEN you fast..." Not "IF you fast..." It seems he expected this to be a normative part of the Christ followers life. We talked a few weeks ago about the wrong motivations we can have for fasting (along wit...

The most famous prayer ever... the prayer that Jesus taught his followers to pray. So much is packed into this brevity of words. Come to the "Lord's prayer" today with fresh eyes and fresh ears and hear how Elizabeth - someone who truly practices the discipline of prayer - is living this out herself

Today is a unique service of not just TALKING ABOUT prayer but actually DOING it! You can use and re-use this service video for your own prayer practices - a toolkit of some creative prayer ideas that may give you some new intimacy with Jesus. Pray along.

Christians have to be especially careful that their acts of worship and obedience to God don't become "spiritual theatre" for the applause and approval of other people. Jesus call these folks "hypocrites". Instead of looking for the "applause of heaven" many want the affirmaiton of men and Jesus says, "If that's what you're looking for, that's all the reward you'll get". See how this applies parti...

In our continuing series on the greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus now calls us to perhaps the hardest characteristic of a disciple... not just to love people who love us (that's easy) but to love people who are mean, antagonistic, working against us... in short, our enemies. As relevant in 2021 as it ever was

What if Jesus was serious about being a person of truth? Once again, the so-called most religous people of the day - the Pharisees - had found a loophole to get out of their oaths and promises. Jesus says "How about instead of swearing on a Bible or your Mother's Grave or any other performative trick, just be a person whose word is rock solid".

Continuing with our series on the sermon on the mount: "What if Jesus Was Serious?" and Jesus has already addressed all kinds of cultural landmines and controversial issues but this one hits close to home, perhaps because sexuality is so intrinsic to our humanity. Jesus calls out the pious who thought their sexual ethic begins and ends with obeying a strict definition of adultery. Jesus comes alon...

Have you ever seen a more angry culture? Even a time where CHRISTIANS seem more identified as angry people? Me neither. The Pharisees were deeply concerned about the external... good behavior. For instance... "Do Not Murder!" Easy-peasy, right? Well, Jesus comes along and says "Hey, could we have a conversation about your anger? You think your hiding it but God knows and you seem to have a murdero...

In our continuing series on the sermon on the mount, "What if Jesus was serious?", one could make the argument that this verse (Matt. 5:17) may be the most stupendous claims of Jesus. He didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets but to FULFILL them. Understanding this verse may unlock the understanding of the entire sermon on the mount if not the New Testament. Seriously.

Jesus makes an unusual statement, calling his followers "salt and light". What does that mean? Salt adds flavour, it preserves and it heals. The light exposes and illuminates. Listen to how these analogies are a call to action for the believer to be "good news" in the world today with our very own Peter Elford

The upside-down, counter-cultural, counter-intuitive wisdom of Jesus continues in this Sermon on the Mount series. Each beatitude seems to build on the other... each one a challenge to our notion of who is truly "lucky" or "blessed" So what if Jesus WAS serious?

As Jesus begins the sermon on the mount, he makes the audacious claim that he is actually blessing the ones the world feels sorry for. If you are lamenting today, may you also know that the Father is blessing you

This might be the ideal season to "steap" in the words of Jesus. This Sermon on the Mount is more than the "random wisdom" or "greatest hits" of Jesus. It's more than a glorified "Ted Talk". This is the manifesto of sorts. The glorious essence of his message of what it means to be a follower. More than a message to hear or read or admire, it's a message to be LIVED!

COVID is bringing out lots of fear these days - sometimes in the form of anger. There seems to be an underlying fear of the answer to that existential question; "What happens after I die?" "Have I been good enough?" "Am I in good standing with God". Even many Christians go to bed wondering "If I should die before I wake, WILL the Lord, my soul to take?" For the Christian and Non-Christian today yo...

Has there ever been a time where we are more concerned with the opinions people have of us? I wonder if social media has hurt or helped that? Joseph's response to a vision could've been to do the culturally easier thing but instead, he said "yes" to God and the world was forever changed. Being obsessed with what GOD thinks of you is the quickest way to stop being obsessed with what PEOPLE think of...

What are you afraid of? There are all kinds of legit reasons to feel fear in 2020 ... not the least of which is a global pandemic! Fears attack the most precious parts of our being and keep us from living the life meant for us. It's repeated throughout the Christmas story and God wants to help YOU overcome your darkest fears as we learn to ... FEAR NOT!

This "One-Anothering" command is not part of a smorgasbord we can ignore, even if the culture has increasingly moved away from it... even if there are all kinds of reasons it makes us uncomfortable... even if there is a global pandemic! So how do we obey Jesus by keeping the spirit of this command? How do we get creative and "one-another" each other well... and not just our spiritual brothers and...

NAC's own David Klauke, a registered psychotherapist shares from Galatians 6:2 wherein we are told to carry or "bear" each other's burdens. David quotes another therapist, Larry Crabb who says "If the church was doing it's job, we wouldn't need therapists". It will take a loving community willing to CARE, LOOK, ASK and just DO IT

Most of the 59 New Testament "one-anothering" verses are commands to DO something; LOVE one another, ENCOURAGE one another, ACCEPT one another etc. But there are 5 or 6 verses that are explicitly "do NOT" verses. These are so important (do NOT judge one another, do NOT lie to one another, do NOT slander one another) because they are church KILLERS and actually destroys our witness to a lost and wa...

"Pray for one another". Seems obvious, right? But we seem hampered by misconceptions and baggage and hang-ups. Every believer can do this! YOU can do this. Discover some practical and creative ways to include praying for each other as a regular and integral part of our community life.

As part of our "One Another" series, Steve Briggs unpacks through personal stories and even a "Joey and Ross" illustration, how our call as Christians is a lot more than just to "tolerate" other people. And guess what... you don't have to wait until you FEEL like accepting someone you don't like or agree with... you can just CHOOSE to do it because Christ commands it.

The second most repeated "One Another" verse is to "Greet each other with a holy kiss" (??) Now before you are grateful for Covid masks because "you ain't kissin' nobody, no-how at church", let's look at how this one another applies to us in 2020 and maybe even gives us insight into our cultural epidemic of disconnectedness. (oh... and Seinfeld too)

Encouragement: The origins of the word can be translated as "to put courage into the heart". Doesn't that just sum it up? And while there are those with the GIFT of encouragement, it is something we ALL can do for one another.

The weight of unforgiveness is a heavy burden to bear. You may not even realize you've been carrying it for as long as you have. As Glenn quotes "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the one who hurt you to die". Jesus shows us a better way