Sermons on Owen Bourgaize:

Christmas Without Christ Is Meaningless

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Dec 6, 2000

Christmas without Christ is a contradiction in terms but the antidote is to hear the Word of the Angel and the Worship of the Heavenly Choir, to follow the Witness of the hepherds and ponder the Wonder of Mary.

Many of us have had more Christmases than we care to remember! We half dread it’s coming because of the superficial spirit brought on by the build up of publicity to enter into the spirit of the festive season. The business world, it has to be said, with an eye on the cash till, seizes upon the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Denomination: Baptist

Voices By The River

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Dec 8, 2000

John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah appearing at the River Jordan where crowds gathered to hear the Voice of the Prophet announcing Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Voice of God confirming him as his beloved Son

VOICES BY THE RIVER JORDAN Quite frequently we read in the papers of sightings of unidentified flying objects - UFOs. Quite probably they don’t exist, but just suppose they did. What would those people from outer space make of planet Earth? Well, for sure, they would think it was very noisy. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 3:3-22

Denomination: Baptist

The Advent Hymn To Christ Series

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Dec 10, 2000

We need to see the real person of Christ , not a stained-glass window version, for he was the Eternal Son becoming the Emptied Servant and is now the Exalted Lord.

THE ADVENT HYMN TO CHRIST The Advent season has come around again. What does it all mean? To the world in general and to us? For those in the marketplace of commerce, it’s a time of expectation of the cash till ringing, with everyone who can buying presents. For the man and woman in the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Denomination: Baptist

New Year Assurance In Paul's Triumph Song

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jan 6, 2001

The Christians in Rome were apprehensive as to the future so Paul diagnoses the Problem and finds the Solution in Christ which gives us assurance in entering the New Year.

NEW YEAR ASSURANCE IN PAUL’S TRIUMPH SONG "What will this year bring?" I expect that all of us in our private thoughts, or even spoken, have wondered what’s in store for us. I can’t tell you what will happen, but I suspect that 2008 will be much like 2007. The Earth has been circling the sun a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28-39

Denomination: Baptist

Two Contrasting Cities - Babylon And Jerusalem

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jan 13, 2001

The two cities symbolise diametrically opposed principles, Jerusalem represents the eternal while Babylon depicts the earthly having no abiding value.

TWO CONTRASTING CITIES - BABYLON AND JERUSALM Books which outlive the generation in which they were written are called “classics”. On e of these which I remember from my schooldays is Charles Dickens’ story of the French Revolution, "A Tale of Two Cities". It concerned a family caught up in those ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

The Parable Of The Wedding Garment Series

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jul 29, 2003

A personal account of a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace illustrating Jesus’ parable of the Wedding Garment.

My message is a reflection on the combination of a parable (Matt 22:1-14) and a rather special visit to Buckingham Palace which I trust will act as an illustration. When I partially retired I was asked to take on the task of the honorary treasurer of Welfare Service Charity. I found it quite ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Our Blessed Hope - The Second Coming Of Christ

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 3, 2001

Paul reassures the believers in Thessalonica who were afraid that those who had died would miss the Second Coming as he writes of the Return, the Resurrection, the Rapture and the Reunion.

OUR BLESSED HOPE - THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS There’s often an interesting background to what we read in Paul’s letters to the young churches he had founded. The verses we’ve just read (1 Thess 4:13-17) are his response to a misunderstanding that had caused grief to the new Christians at ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Denomination: Baptist

The Tower Of Babel

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Aug 25, 2003

The Tower of Babel is a life parable telling of the dangers of the Spirit of the Age - Poverty of Spirituality and Pride of Life - and the chaos it brings which only Christ’s redemption can right.

The story of the Tower of Babel is a sad description of breakdown of fellowship, growing isolation and confusion. It all results from human beings’ failing to live in dependence on God, becoming proud of their achievements and determined to be the source of their own security. That was the root ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9

Denomination: Baptist

The Yellow Ribbon

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Aug 25, 2003

A modern story of the Prodigal Son from the song: ’Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree’

Jesus told a story of a man who had two sons. The younger son was discontented with life at home and he said to his father, ’Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’ So the father divided the property between his sons and the younger packed his bags and left for a distant country. He was a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:18-24

Denomination: Baptist

Ichthys - The Symbol Of A Fish

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Aug 25, 2003

The symbol of a fish - <>< - was a code message to tell a stranger that the person who drew it was a Christian.

ICHTHYS - THE CHRISTIAN FISH SYMBOL I’ve got a picture here - <><. Do you know what it is? Yes, it’s a symbol of a fish. But it’s more than that, it’s a Christian symbol going back to the time of the first years of the Christian church. In the first century Christians were a persecuted ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:17-18

Denomination: Baptist

Festival Of Lights For Jews And Christians

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 6, 2002

Christians celebrate a Festival of Lights at Christmas and the Jews have Hanukkah, both pictures of the Spirit of God shining out in a dark world - see picture of Menorah.

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS FOR JEWS AND CHRISTIANS This Christmas the lights in town and on houses have been better than ever. I expect you had Advent candles in church to remind you of the Christmas festival. But it’s not only Christians who celebrate with lights - the Jews do so as well. I’ve got ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 4:1-6, Revelation 1:12-20

Denomination: Baptist

Don't Be Like The Chameleon

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 6, 2002

The chameleon is an unclean creature. Christians should avoid its characteristic of changing opinions to suite our environment.

THE CHAMELEON When the new nation of Israel was getting ready to go into the land that God had promised them, their leader, Moses, gave them instructions on how they should live as God’s people. God wanted them to prosper, but for this to happen, they had to avoid certain animals that could harm ...read more

Scripture: Leviticus 11:30

Denomination: Baptist

New Year - Fresh Start

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 10, 2002

The Roman god Janus - a man with two faces - has given the first month of the year the name of January, from whom we can learn much - see picture

JANUS A few days ago we entered a New Year. Who can tell me the name of the month that starts the year? January. Do you know how it got its name? It comes from the Roman god, Janus. Look at his picture. Isn’t it strange - he’s got two faces! He’s looking both forward and backwards - at the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:13-14

Denomination: Baptist

Passport To Heaven

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 11, 2002

A passport and a visa are vital documents in travelling on Earth but so is the need for a "passport" to heaven.

PASSPORT TO HEAVEN A passport is a very important document if you want to travel from one country to another. It’s a command from one country’s government to the country you want to visit, to allow you to enter its territory and look after you while you are there. It’s almost impossible to enter ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:27, Matthew 25:21-46

Denomination: Baptist

The Cross Anticipated

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 22, 2001

The Cross of Jesus is anticipated in the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, telling of The Father’s Sacrifice, The Son’s Submission and the Lord’s Substitute.

THE CROSS ANTICIPATED If I had to give this message a title it would be "The Cross Anticipated in Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac" (Genesis 22:1-19. The story has three characters - there’s the Father: Abraham; there’s the Son: Isaac and there’s the Voice from heaven. The story revolves around three ...read more

Denomination: Baptist