Sermons on Simon On Cyrene:

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

Prayer (2) The Lord's Prayer, Part 1

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 14, 2020

Before giving us a model of how we should pray, in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches us about two ways we should not pray - not hypocritically, and not babbling.

14 June 2020 Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Boscombe, Bournemouth, UK ** PRE-TALK I think most of us have been following the news about the racial conflict in the United States following the death of George Floyd in police custody. Yesterday, there was a large ‘Black Lives Matter’ demonstration ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-9

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Is Stronger

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 25, 2021

The story of Jesus casting out a demon in Luke 11 teaches us that Jesus has the power to release us from the power of Satan and indeed from everything that enslaves us. The story also shows us how Jesus deals with reproach and the necessity of positively choosing Jesus.

INTRODUCTION We are continuing our series in Luke. Today, we have the story of Jesus casting out a demon. I suspect that this story might not be the first choice of many preachers. Casting out demons probably seems very alien to many of us. But this story appears in Matthew, Mark and Luke and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:14-26, Luke 9:39-42, Psalm 69:19-21

Denomination: Baptist

A Passion For The Lost

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Feb 8, 2021

Jesus welcomed those who others rejected. The Pharisees and scribes pushed them away. The crowd just watched. Who will we be like?

We’re continuing our journey with Jesus and his disciples from Galilee to Jerusalem. This week we’re taking a big hop from Luke 12 to Luke 15. As Jesus and his disciples travelled, Jesus has been teaching [picture on slide]. He and his disciples have been healing and casting out demons. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-7, John 10:1-4

Denomination: Baptist

Therefore, Do Not Be Anxious!

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Feb 11, 2021

Jesus isn't simply telling us not to be anxious. He's calling us to have a completely different attitude towards material possessions and material needs from the rich fool; to be confident in God and in that confidence, to be rich towards God and others.

‘Do not be anxious.’ That’s what Jesus told his disciples. If only! we might think. Can we banish anxiety from our hearts simply because Jesus tells us to? We’re in a series in Luke, following Jesus and his disciples on their journey from Galilee down to Jerusalem. Their journey starts in Luke ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-34, Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 18:22, Luke 19:8-9, Matthew 10:29  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Parable Of The Prodigal Son

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Feb 20, 2021

The parable explains why Jesus received tax collectors and sinners and why we need to too. It's all about God's grace!

Today we’re going to look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s Jesus’ longest parable and one of the most famous. We can look at this story from several perspectives. We could reflect on the father in the story and what he shows us of God’s extraordinary grace. We could think about the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:33, Proverbs 12:26

Denomination: Baptist

Not The Prodigal Son

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Feb 28, 2021

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger son squandered his inheritance. And yet, his father received him back. So, is what we do with our money not important?!’ The Parable of the Dishonest Manager is Jesus' answer.

"Not the prodigal son" Today we’re looking at what is often called the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, or the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, or similar. A rich man entrusts his manager with stewardship of his assets. The manager wastes his master’s wealth. The rich man demands an ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Good News And A Warning

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Mar 10, 2021

Jesus will come again and establish his kingdom. Great news! But when he does, 'one will be taken and the other left.' It's a sombre warning. For one group, the result is death. We need to understand this message to understand why Jesus had to go the cross.

We’re following Jesus and his disciples on their journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. As Jesus travelled, he taught about ‘the kingdom of God.’ But the Pharisees don’t see much sign of it. So they ask Jesus when it will come. It’s a sensible question! Jesus tells them that the kingdom of God ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:20-37

Denomination: Baptist

Psalm 69. From Sinking To Singing.

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Mar 12, 2021

This is an outline for a Bible study. Psalm 69 describes David's experience. It contains remarkable prophecies concerning Jesus and his ministry. And it presents a picture of the Christian life that is true for many of us.

‘FROM SINKING TO SINGING’ Read Psalm 69 Q: General impressions? INTRODUCTION Psalm 22 and Psalm 69 are the two most-quoted psalms in the New Testament. Both ‘messianic’ psalms Both psalms of David. Both psalms of lament. Psalm 22 more popular with preachers. Psalm 69 contains curses ...read more

Denomination: Baptist