Sermons at St Aidan's

The church of Christ, which is only a few weeks old, will begin to suffer great persecution as allegiance to Christ leaves no room for any other belief system. With great boldness, Peter and John proclaim Jesus as the only name by which we can be saved.

We see an incredible act  of God's power in the healing of a crippled beggar, and not just in his body, but for his soul too. This brings an amazed crowd to hear Peter's explanations, followed by the gospel and calling sinners to repentance.. There is a great hope for all who turn to Jesus in repentance and faith.

The church in Jerusalem experienced great numerical growth in response to Peter's sermon, and in today's passage we see how they also grew into a community that was committed to the gospel and to one another, and they enjoyed the blessings belonging to the saviour. 

The strange events which accompanied the giving of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost caused many to be "amazed and perplexed". This leads to Peter explaining what was going on in the very first Christian sermon, and in it we'll hear the good news of salvation in Christ and the need to respond in repentance and faith.

No longer is God's presence limited to the Temple or a few leaders, rather, God's presence now dwells in all believers.

The 11 disciples must again become 12 as they replace the one who betrayed Jesus. To do this they rely on prayer, the scriptures and God's own leading as they continue to trust Him as he builds His church.

God has a big mission and vision to see the saving message of Jesus reach to the ends of the earth, a mission that we are called to be part of today.

Jesus is challenged by the religious leaders who refuse to believe in the basis of his authority. In response Jesus shares two parables that should leave no one with any doubt of who he is and what he has come to do

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem followed by his cleansing of the Temple and then a bit of strange run-in with a fig tree. In all of this we see Jesus being revealed as God's long-promised King, a King who comes humbly and who will bring about a great salvation as he establishes a new covenant at the cross.

Jesus speaks about the true way of discipleship, and he invites us to follow his example of sacrificial service to others.

The incredible grace of God is seen in our passage today as God freely give to those he has called.

As we come to the story of the rich young man, we see that salvation is a work of God’s divine mercy in our lives, and not based on what we do or what we ourselves possess. Rather, we are called to surrender all for the greater possession of having Jesus Christ as our great treasure.

As we continue to listen to Jesus’ teaching about life in his Kingdom in response to the Pharisees seeking to test him Jesus speaks about marriage, divorce, and singleness. Jesus highlights God’s original purposes for our relationships, and we are challenged to emulate little children in approaching and listening to Jesus’ words

Jesus continues his teaching about life in his Kingdom as he speaks about the centrality of forgiveness. Here is another example of a concept that is increasingly foreign to the world’s way of thinking, but central to the kingdom that Jesus has brought near. We consider not only the importance of forgiveness for those who are members of Jesus’ kingdom, but also what it is that enables us to forgiv...

This week we resume a series in Matthew’s gospel, and we pick it up in Matthew 18 as Jesus speaks about greatness and what that looks like in His Kingdom. His words are a challenge to us about how we view status and greatness, and a call to an attitude of humility toward one another as we recognise that we are all ‘little ones’ welcomed by a gracious and merciful God.

Today we see the commitments of God's people as they return to live in the city and commit to following God’s law, ending with a great celebration around the wall. All of this leads us to see God’s faithfulness to keep his promises and causes our eyes to look further to see his promises fulfilled through Jesus. We can commit to God because he first commits to us. 

As we continue in Nehemiah, ch 9 is a great summary of Israel's history teaching us that in order to see ourselves clearly we need to look closely at God. 

With the walls of Jerusalem completed it's time to celebrate, but the celebration of this chapter is not about the physical restoration it's all about the joy that is found in God's word. Because the joy of the Lord is to act with grace and compassion, we can be filled with joy in any and every circumstance.  

How will you face opposition in the Christian life? Many a time throughout the New Testament we are called to persevere in the face of strong opposition, whether it be through clear and apparent resistance and attack, or through the more insidious means of Satan and sin. In Nehemiah, we see perseverance in action as he stands firms, with God’s help, through the trials of opposition before him. We...

We see in Nehemiah that great progress has been made rebuilding the walls of the city, but what progress has taken place in the hearts of the people? Instead of obedience to God’s law, there is greed and injustice among some of the people. As Nehemiah calls them to respond to God’s word it’s an opportunity for us to consider what God desires most from his people.

As we continue in our series in Nehemiah we see how God’s kingdom advances against opposition. As we seek to serve God today we should be aware of the biblical expectation of opposition and persecution, and amid that we can find strength in knowing that God is with us and will ultimately be victorious as he builds his church through the proclamation of the good news about Jesus.

After the people of God said they would get to work on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, that’s what they did, they united together in the work of God’s kingdom. Today we have the great privilege of being called God’s fellow workers, he has saved us and it’s our joy to serve him in his kingdom work today.

Last week we were given a special insight into the prayer life of Nehemiah, and a great example for us to follow. He prayed God’s Word and trusted in His promises. Today we see that Nehemiah’s long planning to build the wall is seasoned with prayer and trust in God’s mighty hand. What God has said, he will do!

Nehemiah is well known for his leadership in building a wall against various opposition. We will see, however, that Nehemiah’s deeper concern was not a wall, but worship! In chapter 1, Nehemiah’s distress for his people is displayed in his deep commitment to God through prayer, a prayer of confession and repentance and a reliance on the promises of God found in his word.

Today we conclude our short series in 1 Peter considering God’s vision for his church. As God has given us new birth through the gospel, we are now God’s representatives in the world. This is a great privilege as God calls us his royal priesthood who now declare his praises to a watching world.