Sermon Central
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Book Of John
Contributed by Chris Appleby on Oct 18, 2000 (message contributor)
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1. Who's Your Father?
Contributed on Jan 23, 2017
In response to the Jews accusations, Jesus answers that his testimony is valid, because he knows where he has come from and where he is going. He is the Son of God. Those who believe in him will listen to his words and obey them.
Sermon by Rev George Hemmings Meet Peter. He’s an average, Aussie bloke. Not long after he got married, he left a career in Sydney to move to the country and raised a family. Nearly twenty years in, his marriage fell apart. After a few dark years and some soul searching, Peter emerged ...read more
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2. Christ Is Risen
Contributed on Mar 11, 2017
John wants us to believe. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”’ (John 11) The question is do you believe?
Sermon by Rev George Hemmings Before I begin this morning, there’s a little tradition that goes with Easter Sunday called the Easter Acclamation, or the Paschal greeting. Basically one person says ‘Christ is Risen,’ and then the response is, ‘He is Risen indeed!’ Given some of us might be a ...read more
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3. Behold The Lamb Of God
Contributed on Jan 19, 2011
John the Baptist is a great model of Christian ministry - he's willing to direct people away from himself to Jesus. he wants the glory to go to Jesus not himself and points others to Jesus even at his own cost.
I like John the Baptist. He’s such a contrast to the dominant model of the celebrity today. I assume you’ve noticed how important the cult of the celebrity is today. When celebrities speak it’s all about them. It’s just assumed that everyone is interested in what ...read more
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4. The Woman At The Well
Contributed on Mar 14, 2005
Keep your eyes open for opportunities in your everyday life to share the gospel with people, to offer them living water, so they too can worship God in spirit and in truth.
Well, I’m sure you’ve all heard a sermon on the woman at the well a number of times. I think I’ve probably preached on it here at least twice before, so what I want to do today is not to look at all the features of the story, but just two or three important things that come out that might be ...read more
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5. Jesus The Bread Of Life
Contributed on Jan 23, 2017
Do you believe in Jesus or not? Will you come to him or will you reject him? If you’re one who’s still deciding, then ask God to open your eyes so you can see the truth about Jesus and come to believe in him
You may have noticed that there’s been a significant revival of Atheism over the past few years. More and more people have begun to question the validity of the claims of religions, particularly Christianity, of a supernatural power being at work in the world. It’s like carbon in the ...read more
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6. A Man Born Blind
Contributed on Jan 23, 2017
Is seeing believing? Are you looking to see God at work in the world? Are you pointing out those works of God to others so they too can see? Jesus said : “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.”
Blindness is a terrible thing. Our sight is central to so much that we enjoy in the world. Whether it’s the beauty of nature, or the smile on a other person’s face when they see you coming; whether it’s the control it gives you over the world around you, or the freedom that it ...read more
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7. Opposition And The Work Of The Spirit
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
It's Jesus' final evening with his disciples, empty dishes are on the table, feet have been washed, and one of them has gone. But two things have kept recurring in Jesus' conversation. He's leaving. And they must remain connected to the Holy Spirit.
Sermon by Rev Ruth Newmarch After the happiness of Steph and Nic's wedding yesterday, its hard to hear about suffering for our faith. But if you think about it, hardship is mentioned even in the wedding service, 'for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health...'. In today's passage, it is ...read more
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8. The Anointed King
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
Mary gave up a lot to show her love for Jesus. It can be costly to be a disciple. To come before God the Father without fear, with our sins removed wiped clean to live forever in his presence far outweighs anything we might give up out of our love for him
We were discussing in our staff meeting this week the question of how you decide what to leave in your will, and to whom, when you die. As I was thinking about that I wondered how many of us have ever sat down and thought about what our priorities are in life; and when we come to write a will, to ...read more
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9. Jesus Is Risen
Contributed on Apr 14, 2001
Mary and the disciples discover true belief in Jesus and are sent out to proclaim his resurrection
It’s early Sunday morning, and she can’t wait any longer. Jesus had been taken down from the cross late on the Friday and buried in Joseph’s tomb, but the Jewish law prohibited them from travelling as far as the tomb on the Sabbath, particularly this Sabbath, being Passover. So they’d had to wait a ...read more
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10. Final Things
Contributed on Apr 21, 2001
Jesus last words to his disciples, reinstating Peter as the leader of the church.
Jesus has risen. He’s appeared twice to his disciples as a group. The second time he tells Thomas that those who believe in Jesus without having seen him are blessed, and John concludes chapter 20 with the statement that the things he’s written are here so that we who read them later may believe ...read more
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11. The Anointed King
Contributed on Nov 26, 2000
Jesus anointing at Bethany followed by the triumphal entry to Jerusalem
One of the things the gospel writers do as they present their accounts of the life and words of Jesus, is to describe the wide range of responses to Jesus. That’s very apparent in today’s reading from John 12. Here we see a range of responses to Jesus, ranging from Mary’s loving devotion to the ...read more
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12. Jesus The Light Of The World
Contributed on Oct 18, 2000
Jesus brings light to the world by revealing the truth about God because he is the Truth of God.
I guess you could say that there have been 2 great quests of the 20th century. Those are the quest for truth and the quest for freedom. The quest for truth in fact goes back to the last century or beyond, to a search for truth through scientific discovery. There was a belief then that we could ...read more
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13. The Raising Of Lazarus
Contributed on Jan 29, 2017
Jesus is the resurrection and the life because he’ll pass through death to life as the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead. Those who die in him will rise in him. Those who believe in him, even though they die, will live and will never die.
How are you at reading the signs? I don’t mean street signs or advertising signs, I mean the signs of God’s kingdom? Over the last few months we’ve been looking at how John draws out sign after sign from Jesus’ life; signs of who Jesus is and signs of what he came to do; ...read more
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14. Jesus The Good Shepherd
Contributed on Jan 23, 2017
Jesus says he is the good shepherd, the one who’s come to lay his life down for the sheep.
Sermon by the Rev George Hemmings I wonder how close you’ve ever come to a sheep? Is it only the lamb chops that you ate yesterday on Australia day? Or have you seen one in a painting or on TV? Maybe you’ve touched one at a petting zoo, or a children’s farm? What kind of ...read more
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15. Bread For Life
Contributed on Jan 23, 2017
John doesn’t use the language of miracles, or wonders, because he wants us to understand that these things point beyond themselves. They’re signs of God’s kingdom. It’s just as important that we pay attention to them, and that we understand them.
Sermon by Rev George Hemmings I want to start this morning with a quick quiz. What do these signs mean? The first is easy. What about this one? Easy again. The great thing about signs is that they’re universal. No matter where you are you know what this sign is telling you. Signs are ...read more
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16. Hope For The Future
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
Jesus gives his disciples hope. A sure, certain promise for the future. He’s telling them that their pain will turn to joy.
Sermon by Rev George Hemmings I wonder how you felt last night as you were winding your clocks back? As you contemplated how great an extra hour of sleep would be. After I’d adjusted the clock on the oven, and the microwave, after Sarah fixed the clock-radio by our bed, as we thought ...read more
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17. A Man Born Blind
Contributed on Nov 13, 2000
Jesus encounter with the man born blind. Seeing as a metaphor of judgement
Blindness is a terrible thing isn’t it? We rely on our eyes so much for experiencing the world, for enjoying life, for perceiving reality. After all, seeing is believing. Di and I went to the Opera in New York when we were there. We decided we could just afford seats in the Family Circle. What we ...read more
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18. The Time Has Come
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
Turning to Christ involves repenting of sins, rejecting selfish living and all that is unjust, renouncing Satan and all evil. It’s living every day as a disciple of Christ, loving God with our whole heart, and our neighbour as our self, until life's end.
Sermon by Rev George Hemmings ‘1, 2, 4, 7, 9, Here we come.’ That’s how my sons, Micah and Joshua, like to count down when we play hide and seek. There’s usually not much time to get ready! Actually every time they count down differently. One moment they’re ...read more
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19. The Source Of True Comfort
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
Jesus preparies the disciples for his imminent departure. The final betrayal has begun and the Cross is inevitable. ll that remains is to prepare the disciples for what’s coming.
Sermon by Rev George Hemmings Sarah & I have learnt that we need to give our boys Micah and Joshua plenty of warning before we leave somewhere, especially if they’re having a good time. If we try to just say, ‘OK, it’s time to go,’ without any warning, they’re ...read more
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20. New Life- The Raising Of Lazarus
Contributed on Nov 26, 2000
The raising of Lazarus - the centrality of belief in Jesus - how far does it go?
Introduction: Belief Do you believe in Jesus? Do you BELIEVE in Jesus? Do you really believe in Jesus? That I think is the compelling question that we’re faced with as we read this passage today. What does it mean for you to believe in Jesus? As an abstract question it’s probably easy enough to ...read more
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21. Opposition And The Gift Of The Spirit
Contributed on Mar 12, 2001
Christians will meet opposition today justas they did in Jesus day. The Holy Spirit is given to help them meet that opposition.
There’s no doubt that for the early Christians, opposition and persecution were a fact of life. We only have to read a few chapters into the history of the early Church, as we find it in Acts and we discover Peter and John being arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin to explain why they’re ...read more
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22. The Vine And The Branches
Contributed on Mar 3, 2001
The role of branches is to ebar fruit. The key to bearing fruit is to remain firmly attached to the vine, relying on the power of God to bring forth fruit.
What does it mean for you to be a Christian? Does it mean, perhaps, the comfort of knowing that your on God’s side? Does it mean being part of a wider community of people who are mutually dependent and supportive? Does it mean being part of a world-wide community of people who share a love for and ...read more
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23. The Promise Of The Spirit - New Relationships
Contributed on Feb 25, 2001
Jesus Promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples to come and bring them into a whole new relationship with himself and the father
I was talking to someone this week about prayer and in the course of the conversation we got around to the subject of praying for ourselves. The trouble was, this person had great difficulty with the thought of praying for themselves, because there were so many more worthy people in the world to ...read more
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24. The Meaning Of The Incarnation
Contributed on Dec 30, 2000
Jesus’ coming as a servant is highlighted in his washing the disciples feet at the last supper
Well, it’s the day before Christmas. Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of God’s only Son who came to live among us. As the first chapter of John tells us: (John 1:14 NRSV) "the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and ...read more
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25. The Prayer Of Jesus
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
Jesus' prayer affirms his obedience to the Father; the father's glorification; the revelation of God in Jesus Christ; the choosing of the disciples; their unity; and the promise that their final destiny is to share in the glory of the Father
The Prayer of Jesus audio (5MB) John 17:1-26 The moment of Jesus arrest, trial and execution is fast approaching. Jesus has finished his teaching of the disciples. The hour has come. His work on earth is complete. So complete in fact that he can say with confidence at the end of ch16: ...read more
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26. The Feast Of Tabernacles
Contributed on Jan 23, 2017
Jesus is the Messiah, the promised one who would rule over an everlasting kingdom as God’s anointed king. We are called on to make a response to Jesus. Do we acclaim him as our king or reject him because he doesn’t meet our expectations?
You probably won’t be surprised to discover that there’s a link between this chapter and the previous one. Last week we saw how some people find it hard to believe in Jesus, because faith is a spiritual activity and they’re basically materialists, or because they don’t ...read more
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27. The Vine And The Branches
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
We’re called not as servants, but as friends of Christ to bear much fruit to the glory of God. To do that we’ll need to be firmly grafted into the life of Christ and the life of his Church; we’ll need to be committed to obeying him in everything we do.
Today is the first anniversary of the opening of St Thomas’. A lot’s happened in the last year hasn’t it? We’ve had a number of people join us. We’ve seen lots of new programs starting up, taking advantage of these great facilities. It makes you feel good to be part of ...read more
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28. An Anatomy Of Unbelief
Contributed on Dec 30, 2000
What is the difference between belief in Jesus and unbelief? What is the sign for Jesus that his task is finished?
One of the things that was quite striking when we were in Canada recently was the change of colours in the trees. We found that as the 3 weeks we had there went by we saw more and more red and yellow. Now of course we have leaves changing colour here in Australia in autumn, but I don’t think it has ...read more
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29. Disappointing Disciples
Contributed on Feb 6, 2001
Jesus had to deal with disappointing disciples. So do we. How do we deal with them? By applying the new Law of Love.
John 13 begins with the wonderful statement: ’Having loved his own who were in the world, [Jesus] now showed them the full extent of his love.’ It’s a picture of an intimate relationship with his disciples, like that of a loving parent who will do anything for their children. Yet even as he’s ...read more
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30. The Promise Of The Spirit
Contributed on Feb 5, 2017
The Holy Spirit is given to all who love Jesus Christ, to empower us for his work, to teach us all things, and to give us a real and lasting peace in the knowledge that Jesus has overcome the world.
It seems to me that there are 2 issues that Christians face today that Jesus addresses here in this passage. The first is the question as to how we’re rating as a Christian. That is are we good enough for God to be happy with us? Are we good enough that God would listen to our prayers? How ...read more