Sermons on Bartlett:

Reflection C.5 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Israel Is An Important Indicator

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

When Jesus refers to a fig tree in Matthew 24, he is thinking of Israel. Israel is relevant to 'End Times'.

Today, we’re on to our last Reflection on Matthew 24! This Reflection contains some relatively complex arguments. I just can’t make it shorter. Sorry. If you’re in the mood for something stretching, read on! As Jesus starts to wind up his answer to his disciples’ question, he says this: 32 ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:32-34

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.6 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Waves?!

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 27, 2020

Matthew, Mark and Luke have a lot in common. But only Luke mentions waves in connection with 'End Times'. It sounds strange. But perhaps it isn't.

Luke 21:25 says the following: And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves… The first part of the verse has a parallel in Matthew and Mark: ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:25

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.7 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Antichrist

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 27, 2020

Antichrist is a mysterious figure. But scripture gives us some important pointers regarding antichrists in the past and the future antichrist.

Today we are going to look at the mysterious figure of ‘antichrist’. The word ‘antichrist’ only comes in John’s letters. However, there are other passages of scripture which seem to be about antichrist even though they don’t use the word ‘antichrist’. Historically, there have been many views ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:18-27

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.8 Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Summary Of New Testament So Far...

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 3, 2020

In the previous seven 'Reflections' I've looked at what the New Testament, excluding Revelation, says about 'End Times'. In this Reflection I try to draw the threads together and show how they are relevant to our question.

Today is a milestone – the end of the second stage of my study. At the end of March, I decided to try to answer the question, ‘Could God be behind coronavirus?’ I knew that people were asking the question and it seemed like a good question. I decided to split the task into three parts. I would ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:25, 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection D.1 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Starting To Look At Revelation

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 3, 2020

If we think coronavirus might be God's judgement or a part of 'End Times' then we need to know what God's judgement and 'End Times' look like. We now turn to Revelation. This Reflection provides an introduction.

Today we start on Revelation. However, before diving in I’d like to do a quick introduction. When we start to talk about Revelation we quickly find that there are a lot of different views. The main views are ‘preterist’, ‘historicist’, ‘idealist’ and ‘futurist’. Preterists believe that most of ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel 7:27-28

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection D.2 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Revelation. Checking Our Orientation; The Court Sits.

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 5, 2020

There are four main ways people approach Revelation. We need to get our initial orientation right. The start of the process to bring in Jesus' kingdom - the court sits.

When I was in my twenties I worked as an engineer on power station construction projects. On one occasion a colleague was overseeing the construction of a concrete foundation for a very large fan. The foundation was many metres long and approximately rectangular. Unfortunately, after pouring the ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 7:26, Luke 19:27

Denomination: Baptist

Prayer (1) Gideon’s Prayer Regarding A Fleece

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 7, 2020

Most commentators criticise Gideon, feeling that his prayer demonstrates a lack of faith. But given how positively the New Testament views Gideon, we should be inclined to take a positive view of his prayer. It's a very sensible prayer, and a great example to us.

Today we’re starting a short series on prayer, and looking at a prayer which Gideon prayed. It’s in Judges 6:36-40. Introduction First, let’s look at the situation Gideon was in before we look at his prayer. We may think, ‘We pray, God answers. Simple.’ But when we look at what was going on at ...read more

Scripture: Judges 6:36-40

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection D.3 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Revelation. The Rider On The White Horse.

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 8, 2020

Who is the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6? Some say Jesus, some say the antichrist! And there are many other suggestions. We look at the possibilities.

Today we meet ‘the four horsemen’. The first of the horsemen is described as follows (Rev. 6:2): And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. Who is this? Why is he conquering? When will it happen? ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 6:2

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection D.4 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Revelation. The Rider On The White Horse.

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 12, 2020

Could the rider on the white horse be 'a spirit of conquest' which has been with us for the past 2000 years? The correspondence between Matthew 24 and Revelation 6:1-8 might lead us to think so.

I started this enquiry in response to the question, could God be behind coronavirus? Could coronavirus be some form of judgement from God or a sign of ‘End Times’? To answer that in relation to ‘End Times’ we want to know what ‘End Times’ will look like. A decision we make at this point will ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 6:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection D.5 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Revelation. The Four Horsemen.

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 12, 2020

When did the four horsemen in Revelation 6 set out? After Christ's ascension? In the future? Or, conceivably, in our time? Our view on this question makes a big difference to how we view 'End Times'.

At this point I feel as though I’m at a fork-in-the-road moment. We’re in Revelation 6. I have to keep reminding myself of why I am doing these Reflections. My goal is to ‘diagnose’ coronavirus. I am considering two possible ‘diagnoses.’ The first ‘diagnosis’ is that coronavirus is a random ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 6:8

Denomination: Baptist

6. The First Preacher And The First Sermon

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Feb 6, 2020

The message Jesus drew from the story of Noah is that his coming will be as unexpected as the flood was for the people of Noah’s day. But most people don't believe his coming will be like the flood.

6. The first preacher and the first sermon Sermon on 29 Sept 2019 PM, at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Bournemouth, UK. According to the Bible, who was the world’s first preacher? And what was his sermon? The answer is Noah! We know Noah was a preacher from this verse in 2 Peter: ‘…if he did ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:36-39

Denomination: Baptist

Lessons In Courage Part 6 Series

Contributed by Thomas Bartlett on Oct 25, 2019

In Acts 25, Paul is once again on trial for his faith. A new governor has come and old enemies see this as a chance to rekindle the now dying flame of accusations against Paul. From all this, I think we can see some clear principles to live by.

ACTS Lessons in Courage Part 6 Dr. Tom Bartlett October 27, 2019 Acts 25 (ESV) OUTLINE When you set out to live for God . . . Be careful in the times of transition Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the ...read more

Denomination: Other

Lessons In Courage Part 5 Series

Contributed by Thomas Bartlett on Oct 25, 2019

In Acts 24, he finds himself in a Roman court, defending himself from false charges made by the leaders of what amounted to the Jewish Supreme Court.

ACTS Lessons in Courage Part 5 Dr. Tom Bartlett October 20, 2019 Acts 24:1-27 (ESV) OUTLINE When you’re misunderstood, lied about, plotted against, and falsely charged • LISTEN IN PEACE WITH PATIENCE And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one ...read more

Denomination: Other

Lessons In Courage Part 2 Series

Contributed by Thomas Bartlett on Oct 25, 2019

From Paul’s interactions with the opposition, we can see no less than 6 key ways to respond to opposition.

ACTS Lessons in Courage Dr. Tom Bartlett September 29, 2019 Acts 22 OUTLINE A Faith That Is D.A.R.I.N.G. Dignified respect for opposition “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even ...read more

Denomination: Other

Pursuing The Call Part 1 Series

Contributed by Thomas Bartlett on Oct 26, 2019

As we resume the study of the book of Acts, The Apostle Paul is in the spotlight for most of the remainder of the book. In Acts 16 we meet some new and key figures for the church, Timothy, Lyddia and we learn about the need in Macedonia. At each turn we see Paul pursuing the call.

ACTS Pursuing The Call – Part 1 JUNE 9, 2019 Acts 16:1-15 How To Pursue The Call of Jesus OUTLINE YOU MUST. . . Know the cost Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken ...read more

Denomination: Other