Sermons on Simon On Cyrene:

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

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

God Of Mission

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 17, 2021

Talk 2 in my five-talk series on Jonah. Mission is God's mission. In the story of Jonah - and especially in view of what Jesus says about Jonah - we recognize that God is the master strategist in mission and he's breathtakingly creative.

Jonah Talk 2: God of Mission Last week I started a new series on Jonah. My major theme last week was how compassionate God is. At the time of Jonah, the Assyrian Empire was expanding. Historians of the Middle East tell us how cruel the Assyrian rulers were. I spared you the grizzly details. ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 3:1-5, Matthew 12:38-41, Luke 11:29-30

Denomination: Baptist

The Greatest Conversion In History

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 19, 2021

We can make a case for Nineveh's conversion being the greatest conversion in history. But whether it was or not, Jesus was clearly impressed. It shows us what genuine repentance looks like.

When I was a child people would sometimes give me a book called ‘the Guinness Book of Records’ as a Christmas present. I guess many of us have come across it. I remember as a kid browsing through the records. You can now find most of the records online and it’s now called simply ‘Guinness World ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 3:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

God Of Restoration

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 24, 2021

Jonah is angry; God helps him to deal with it. God's action is a great example to us in how to help someone who's hurting. We also see how God sometimes speaks to Jonah. We should be aware that God may speak in this way.

Over the past four weeks we’ve been following a series on Jonah. Today we move on to the last chapter in the book of Jonah and the last talk in our series. Since some of you haven’t been with us as we’ve gone through the book of Jonah, I’d like to fill you in on what’s been happening. The prophet ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

"Is Not Life More Than Food And The Body More Than Clothing?” Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 2, 2021

Anxiety is a huge issue today. Jesus shows us how to deal with it – by asking key questions!

For the last two Sundays we’ve looked at two questions a lawyer asked Jesus: ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ and ‘And who is my neighbour?’ They’re both really important questions. The two questions are connected. In order to be saved we need to love our neighbour – so we need to know ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-30

Denomination: Baptist

Gathering For Encouragement Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 2, 2021

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to 'run with endurance'. Only long races need endurance - marathons, for example. In a marathon, encouragement makes all the difference. The Christian life can be tough. We need encouragement and we need to encourage others.

Today we’re starting a new series. We will have four talks on the theme of ‘Why we gather’. Last Sunday we met back at church after sixteen months of having our morning services online. That’s a significant moment. But something else has been happening. About four months ago we started a new ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Denomination: Baptist

Why We Gather, No.2, Rhythm

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 15, 2021

God wants human life to have a rhythm to it and meeting together on Sunday helps us to establish that rhythm.

INTRODUCTION Two weeks ago we started a new four-talk series titled ‘Why we gather?’ I got the idea for the series from a website called SermonCentral. For the past 16 months most of us haven’t been gathering, or at least, not in person. Two weeks ago we started to meet again. So I think ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:14, Genesis 2:1-3, Isaiah 58:13-14

Denomination: Baptist

What King Is Announced By A Star? Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Dec 4, 2021

Stars cause us to wonder. What was the star that appeared when Jesus was born? Was it a comet from a remote part of the solar system which happened to arrive at just the right time? Or was the universe itself acknowledging the coming of its creator and king?

Last Sunday we started our Christmas series of talks. I’ve given the series the title ‘NOT YOUR USUAL KING’. There are lots of ways in which Jesus is NOT your usual king. Last week we looked at some prophecies in the Old Testament that gave us the when, where and who of Jesus’ birth. No king ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Three Big Reasons To Rejoice At Christmas

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Dec 24, 2021

Jesus' birth was cause for lots of rejoicing. But wasn't it a long time ago? Is it still cause for rejoicing for us? It certainly is!

[This is a short sermon / reflection for a short Christmas Day service.] Earlier in the service we reminded ourselves of the Christmas story. Perhaps we thought: that’s a nice story. But does it really affect me? In the Christmas story in the Bible there’s a constant note of joy. Elizabeth ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:7, Luke 1:32-33, Matthew 2:10

Denomination: Baptist

A Great Message Of Encouragement

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 8, 2022

At the start of 2022 most of us probably feel that the future looks very uncertain. We want to hear God's message of encouragement. As the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, God had a great message of encouragement for them.

THE SCENE I’d like you to imagine a scene. It’s about 1500 B.C. We’re in a wilderness a little to the south of the Dead Sea in what was then Moab and is now Jordan. Around us there are people, tents, and animals. The people look tough, weather-beaten. For forty years they’ve been living as ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Great Messages Of Encouragement #2: Strength To The Weary

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 15, 2022

In Isaiah's day Judah was invaded by Assyria, threatened by Babylon and ridden with sin. And yet, Isaiah offers a wonderful message of encouragement: 'they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.' How is that possible?

Last week we started a series on ‘Great Messages of Encouragement’ in Scripture. Today we’re going to look at a great message of encouragement in Isaiah. It’s at the end of Isaiah 40. Isaiah writes: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31

Denomination: Baptist

The Glory To Be Revealed Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 22, 2022

Paul tells believers in Rome that ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us’. But what is this glory?

PRE-TALK OR CHILDREN’S TALK Before Priscilla and I got married I used to keep a scrap book. In 1988 I cut out this picture from a newspaper. It’s of Linford Christie at the Seoul Olympics. He had never before competed in the Olympics but at Seoul, he won the silver medal. Four years later, he ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18-25

Denomination: Baptist

The Journey Of The Christian Life

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jan 2, 2021

The Christian life is much more than a single decision to follow Jesus. It's a lifelong journey with Jesus. Jesus is with us on this journey. The journey is his classroom; it provides the context in which we learn to be like him.

Today we’re just about at the end of the Christmas season and we’re going to move on from our Christmas themes. We’re starting a new series in the gospel of Luke and we’ll mostly continue in Luke until Easter. But before we start to look at our passage I want to explain why it’s so important that ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:51-62

Denomination: Baptist