Sermons on Simon On Cyrene:

God's Great Compassion

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 19, 2021

Jesus calls us to be merciful as God is merciful, and in the way God acted towards the people of Nineveh, he set the bar very high. The Assyrians were among the cruellest people in history.

INTRODUCTION Jonah is one of the shortest books in the Bible. It’s just 48 verses long. That’s shorter than a lot of chapters in the New Testament. Because it’s such a short book, when Bible translators begin work translating the Bible into other languages they’ll often start with Jonah. They ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-3

Denomination: Baptist

God Of Salvation

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 11, 2021

God wanted to spare the people of Nineveh. He didn't want them to face his judgement. But first, he had to save his servant Jonah. Being inside a big fish in the depths of the sea wasn't Jonah's real problem.

Today we’re continuing our series in Jonah. My first talk was titled ‘God of compassion’. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was wicked. God described it as wicked and historians tell us that Assyria was wicked. It wasn’t just a little bit wicked. One historian of the Middle East wrote that ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

An Attitude Of Gratitude

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 26, 2020

When we look at how God instructed the Israelites to celebrate TWO harvest festivals we find there is a lot we can apply to how we thank God for his goodness to us. There are some surprises!

Today we’re celebrating Harvest Festival. This year, coronavirus restrictions have resulted in a rather muted celebration. We aren’t meeting at church and we don’t have the usual piles of food to give to the food bank, or a beautiful harvest loaf. I’m going to take a look at some passages and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 65:9-13, Exodus 23:16, Deuteronomy 16:13, Deuteronomy 16:16

Denomination: Baptist

The Gospel. Part 1: The Problem

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 9, 2020

To understand why the gospel is such great news (the very best news, in fact!) we need to understand why the problem that the gospel solves is such bad news.

INTRODUCTION Today we’re starting a series of four talks titled ‘the gospel.’ The word ‘gospel’ means ‘Good News.’ We like good news! People complain about the press and say that the press really prefers bad news to good news. But I think most of us like good news. • Your friends have a ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Gospel. Part 2: The Solution

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 25, 2020

Jesus deals with our debt and with God's anger. He makes it possible for our relationship with God to be restored. But there is something we have to do. We have to repent.

Two weeks ago, I gave the first of four talks titled ‘the gospel.’ I said that the word ‘gospel’ means ‘good news.’ What is this good news? We looked at a passage in John 6 in which Jesus said, absolutely clearly, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes HAS ETERNAL LIFE.’ Jesus then ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

Overcoming Fear

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Nov 6, 2020

Before his crucifixion Jesus gave his disciples some instruction on how to overcome fear. His instruction to them is applicable to us too.

[Note, this series started to follow the SermonCentral ‘Fear Not’ series, but this week I went in a different direction.] Today we have the second talk in our series ‘Fear Not.’ Last week we started by thinking about healthy and unhealthy fears. [This talk was given by someone else.] A healthy ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

1 The Good Samaritan, Part 1 Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 17, 2020

Doing is essential for our salvation. Doing means keeping God’s law. But we can’t be justified by doing!

N.B. This talk is in two parts. This is the first. The second talk is uploaded as '3 The Good Samaritan, Part 2'. Also, I can email you the slides I used - simon@roseberypark.org INTRODUCTION [Slide 1] This is my first talk as minister of Rosebery Park Baptist Church – or as minister of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-29

Denomination: Baptist

2 A Cup Of Coffee

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 28, 2020

Jesus sees what we’re doing; he values our service to him, even in things that might seem very small to us; and he will reward our service.

A cup of coffee *** Background: my second service as minister; the interim minister is leaving. At the start of the service I make a cappuccino coffee and cut a piece of cake. I invite Jo, the church secretary, to come to the front and then serve the coffee and cake, explaining that it is a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:41-44, Luke 12:35-37

Denomination: Baptist

3 The Good Samaritan, Part 2

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 30, 2020

The lawyer asks, 'Who is my neighbour?' We should not take 'neighbour' to include everyone! But Jesus' parable warns us against excluding people from the group of people we regard as 'neighbour'.

3 The Good Samaritan, Part 2 Note: this talk is the continuation of ‘1 The Good Samaritan, Part 1’, which is also available on Sermon Central. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the expert in the law in the story had two questions. His first question was, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Denomination: Baptist

4 The Parable Of The Talents

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 30, 2020

What does this parable mean? Who is the man with the servants who goes on a journey? What are the talents he gives his servants? And how does the parable apply to us?

Matthew 25:14-30 What does this parable mean? Who is the man with the servants who goes on a journey? What are the talents he gives his servants? And how does the parable apply to us? What does the parable mean? An important rule when we’re looking at Scripture is to look at the context. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

Denomination: Baptist

5. Is Baptism Important?

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 30, 2020

We often don't give baptism the importance we should. We look at why baptism is important.

5 Is Baptism important? Mark 1:1-13 Mark's gospel starts with John the Baptist baptising and then goes straight onto Jesus being baptised. So, it’s natural to talk about baptism! Baptism is a somewhat controversial subject as different churches and denominations hold different views on ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:1-12

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

Joshua And The Walls Of Jericho

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 22, 2020

This is a great children's story. But as adults, it prompts some difficult questions. Is it even true? How could God destroy an entire city? It's also a wonderful example of God's people overcoming a seemingly-insurmountable obstacle through faith and obedience.

JOSHUA AND THE WALLS OF JERICHO INTRODUCTION We’re moving from our series on prayer to a new series called ‘Bible Stories for Grown-Ups.’ There are some famous stories in the Old Testament which we may have heard as children, perhaps at home or at Sunday School. In this series the idea is to ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 6:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

God Restores Elijah / Preparation

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 3, 2020

In this first-of-two talks we look at some of the initial things that helped Elijah recover from depression. They are things we can also do. They paved the way for God to address the root cause of the problem: Elijah's sense of failure.

INTRODUCTION We’re now onto the second talk in our series called ‘Bible Stories for Grown-Ups.’ In these talks we’re going back to some of the famous stories in the Old Testament which we may have heard as children, perhaps at home or at Sunday School. The idea is to take a fresh look at them as ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

God Restores Elijah / The Heart Of The Problem

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 15, 2020

To help Elijah out of his depression God needs to reach a point where Elijah is willing to listen to him. He then needs to resolve Elijah's sense of failure and hopelessness. We see how God did that.

1 KINGS 19, GOD RESTORES ELIJAH INTRODUCTION Today we’re returning to the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19. 1 Kings 18 tells us about Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. In 1 Kings 19, we find that Elijah has become very depressed. He thinks he’s a failure, but God ...read more

Denomination: Baptist