Sermons on Judah Bar Simon: showing 1,711-1,725 of 31,539

Reflection B.18 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / "Are These Questions Really Necessary?”

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

Someone may ask, 'Why do who even need to think about whether God might be behind coronavirus?' Here's part of the answer, at least.

I’ve often mentioned that I’m asking three difficult questions. In reality, there are two main questions: ‘Is coronavirus a judgement from God?’ and ‘Are we living in end times?’ But are these important questions to ask? Suppose you don’t feel well and go to the doctor. The doctor checks your ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:12

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.19 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Summary So Far. Do We Imagine God Has Something To Say?

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

This is a summary of the Reflections on coronavirus so far (series A and B). I will follow with a series based on the New Testament excluding Revelation, and then another on Revelation, in the coming weeks.

Today we’re at a milestone in our Reflections. We’ll be leaving the Old Testament! Do I hear ‘hooray’? 🙂 After a short break we’ll move on to the New Testament. A milestone is a good place to take stock. It’s probably impossible to summarise 23 Reflections in a short space but I’m ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:12

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.1 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Two Wrong Goblets

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

There is a danger of prematurely imagining that we are in ‘End Times’. There is also a danger of failing to recognize ‘End Times’ when they are on us.

There’s a great family film called ‘The Princess Bride’. It’s definitely worth watching if you enjoy a romance with lots of action and humour. A farmhand, Westley, is in love with a beautiful young woman called Buttercup. A Sicilian named Vizzini kidnaps Buttercup; Westley, wearing a mask, goes ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:4

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.2 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? End Times Will Be Tough

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

Jesus' disciples asked a question about 'End Times'. But before answering, Jesus warns them that 'End Times' will be tough.

We want to know if God could be behind coronavirus. Could it be connected to God’s judgement or to ‘End Times’? To answer that we want to know what judgement from God looks like and what ‘End Times’ will be like. We started in the Old Testament and we’ve now moved on to the New Testament – ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:9-11

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.3 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? The Gospel Reaching All Nations

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

Has the gospel reached all nations? I think so!

Today we continue to look at Matthew 24. On Monday we noted Jesus’ warning of the danger of ‘premature eschatological excitement’. (‘Eschatology’ is another word for ‘End Times’.) Yesterday we noted Jesus’ warning that ‘End Times’ will be tough. As part of his warning, Jesus said this: ‘…you ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:14

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.4 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Destruction Of Jerusalem By The Romans – Still Relevant To Us

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

Jesus' prophecy regarding the abomination of desolation relates to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. However that event is still relevant to our enquiry about 'End Times'.

We have two more Reflections to do on Matthew 24. Today, we look at verses 15-22. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:15-22

Denomination: Baptist

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

God Heals Naaman

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 23, 2020

The story of God healing Naaman is full of lessons, for example, about opportunity, courtesy, humility, and greed. But the key message must be the one Jesus drew from it. That is, that if we wish to see God's miracles, we must accept his word.

NAAMAN’S HEALING We’re continuing in our series ‘Bible Stories for Grown-Ups.’ Today we’re looking at one of the most famous stories in the Book of Kings. It’s the story of the healing of the Syrian general, Naaman. It’s a great story for Sunday School, because one of the key characters is a ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

God Saves Jonah, Nineveh, And Us.

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 29, 2020

The story of Jonah tells the story of God rescuing Jonah, not FROM a whale, but BY a whale. It tells of God reaching out to one of the cruellest people in history, the Assyrians. And it prefigures the story of God reaching out to us, through Christ.

GOD SAVES JONAH, NINEVEH, AND US We’re in a series ‘Bible Stories for Grown-Ups.’ Today, we’re looking at the story of Jonah. I’m going to assume most of us are fairly familiar with the story of Jonah and not spend time revisiting it. I’m going to look at the story under three headings: the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Guaranteed Return

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 19, 2021

Some investments give good returns. Others completely fail. Is there any investment which gives a guaranteed return? Yes, there is.

I expect some of us invest money, maybe in property or in shares in companies. Perhaps some of us ‘invest’ in other ways. We invest in our future by studying and passing exams. We invest time in people. When we invest, we hope for a return. What do you suppose is the best investment of all? ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:26-29

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