South West Sermons

How do we read the laws and commands contained in the Hebrew bible? And why should we continue to do so today, 3,000 years later. Sam Young explains why these laws still have much to teach about both the wisdom of God and the love of God.

Continuing our series on the bible, Te Paipera Tapu, Sam Young examines the genre of narrative through the lens of the story of Gideon, looking at common mistakes we can make when reading narratives and what to do to avoid them.

Our Te Paipera Tapu series continues as Amelia Smith shows us the entire scope of scripture, leading us through the entire story of the bible, from first page to last.

Our new series on the bible, and how to read it effectively, opens with Sam Young looking at what Jesus's attitude towards scripture was.

Our songwriting team brings our Psalms series to a close by sharing several songs they have written while reflecting on the Psalms.

Our Psalms series continues with Amelia Smith taking us through Psalm 95.

Sam Young continues our Psalms series with Psalm 73, looking at the doubts we can sometimes have about God, and uses the psalm as a guide to how we can address these doubts.

Jo Robertson looks at the hope we have, how we can always be completely honest and open with God about our feelings and circumstances, and the way Jesus was the ultimate expression of the hope we have in God.

Sam Young brings our Acts of Jesus series to a close by sharing how the book of Acts, despite ending with Paul under house arrest and no mention of his ultimate fate, ends perfectly as a record of the powerful acts of the Holy Spirit, and a promise that the Spirit is with us still.

Amelia Smith shares about the freedom Jesus can bring people and our role in bringing it by looking at three very different encounters Paul and Silas had with three very different people that resulted in freedom.

Erin White introduces us to Saul, zealous Pharisee, and persecutor of the church - and tells us about the life-changing encounter he had with Jesus that completely transformed him and altered the entire direction of his life.

Things weren't always easy for the early church. Today Claire Russell looks at what we can do when we face opposition, and the importance of discerning where opposition is coming from and what it means.

Duane Major continues our Acts of Jesus series with a look at the early church and how they were (and we continue to be) the body of Christ on earth. What does that mean in reality for us today?

This is the first in a new series looking at what we are calling the “Acts of Jesus” – all about the book of Acts. This is about what happened to his followers after Jesus ascended to heaven. We begin with Jesus's ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

We bring our 2025 Easter series to a close with a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Sam Young leads us through Good Friday by looking at the Jesus the Son of God and Jesus Barabbas, one innocent, one guilty, one executed, one set free, and asks whose side are we on?

As we enter the week leading up to Easter, Duane Major takes us to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prays and agonises, and the disciples face the temptation to turn away and fall asleep rather than comfort and support their friend - the type of temptation we all face at some point.

We move from betrayal to denial. After vehemently protesting he would ever deny Jesus, Peter proceeds to do just that not once, not twice, but three times. Amelia Smith shows us how Peter's Easter experience is a mirror of the very rhythm of life and creation that we all experience.

Amelia Smith continues our Innocent series with a look at the person of Judas and the reasons why despite everything he saw and heard of Jesus, he still betrayed him.

In the lead up to Easter this year we are walking through the week leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection, focusing on the experiences of the ‘innocent Jesus’ through this final week. To open this series we begin with the questions with which the religious leaders tried to trap him.

Jo Robertson brings our series on Jesus's Call to Community to an end with a look at how God's people are called to be peacemakers: to resolve conflict rather than perpetuate it or ignore it, and to help bring about the conditions for peace to grow and develop.

Duane Major looks at the nestled layers of community that Jesus experienced and made himself apart of with those who gathered around him, from the 3, to the 12, to the 72 and to the crowds. What type of redemptive community do these layers entail?

Jesus calls people to follow him together. But what sort of people does he call? Sam Young looks at who Jesus called as his first disciples.