Sermons on Simon On Cyrene:

Is It Worth It?

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 13, 2023

This week it's 'Christian Aid Week' (in the UK). Christian Aid calls on Christians to 'give, act and pray.' All good things to do. But we might wonder, is it worth it? Isn't the situation for Planet Earth hopeless?

This week is ‘Christian Aid Week.’ Once a year, Christian Aid especially encourages us as Christians to think about how we respond to a great sea of need in the world. Since this is Christian Aid Week, I thought I should tell you what Christian Aid want to tell us. Christian Aid has prepared ...read more

Scripture: Joel 1:10-12, Joel 2:12-13, Joel 2:20-23

Denomination: Baptist

Not Ashamed Of The Gospel

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 15, 2021

Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel. Christians today can also face that temptation. Paul then gives some solid arguments why Timothy shouldn't be ashamed of the gospel, and they help us too!

‘So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord’ Today we’re starting a new four-week series on 2 Timothy. I’m looking forward to this short series! Over the years I’ve studied a number of the New Testament letters but I’ve never really studied 2 Timothy. I’m interested to find out what ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:8-14

Denomination: Baptist

Be A Good Soldier

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 16, 2021

'Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus', Paul tells Timothy. We look at the story of three men who did just that: Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer and ask why.

Last week we started a new series on 2 Timothy. We looked at chapter 1 and I suggested that Paul’s central message to Timothy was, ‘Don’t be ashamed of the gospel’. Today we’re moving on to chapter 2. But I’m going to approach the passage by a different route. I’m going to take a look at three ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-13

Denomination: Baptist

When Problems Come

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 2, 2023

Problems come. It's part of life. What are some general principles we need to follow when they do? We look at one of the greatest problems / difficulties / challenges in the history of God's people - the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians and the exile - for lessons.

Everyone faces problems from time to time. Churches also face problems. For example, a church might unexpectedly lose its pastor and some other key members of its leadership at around the same time. If that happened, how would you view it? Perhaps some of you would say that it’s a CHALLENGE, ...read more

Scripture: Amos 4:7-8, Daniel 9:5, Nehemiah 1:7, Ezra 9:6

Denomination: Baptist

The Fruit Of The Spirit: Patience, Kindness

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 15, 2023

We look at two fruit of the spirit: patience and kindness. We need patience! People are difficult. Other Christians can be difficult. Ministry takes time to bear fruit. And we need to show kindness. We may not realise what a fundamental quality it is for a Christian.

RUCKSACK ILLUSTRATION, EARLIER IN THE SERVICE. Narrator: ‘Today, Sam, Gifty, Vanessa and Cyril are going camping. Vanessa and Cyril are very excited about it. Vanessa gets to work packing two rucksacks. She is very thoughtful; she doesn’t want Cyril’s rucksack to be too heavy for him. She ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22, 1 Timothy 1:16, Romans 8:29, Galatians 6:9, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 3:12-17, Ephesians 4:32  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Fruit Of The Spirit: Goodness

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 22, 2023

The Holy Spirit wants us to grow in the quality of goodness. But what is goodness? How can we find the path of goodness?

For the past three weeks we’ve been focusing on two verses in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Paul wrote, ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law’ [Galatians 5:22-23] In these famous ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Denomination: Baptist

The Last Three 'fruit Of The Spirit': Faithfulness, Gentleness And Self-Control

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 5, 2023

How can we be more like God? By demonstrating God's character. We look at three more wonderful qualities of God that the Holy Spirit wants to produce in us.

INTRODUCTION Today, we’re having the last in our series on the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. We’re going to look at the last three fruit in Paul’s list: faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I thought I’d do something a bit different to usual today. I’m going to look at three true ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Denomination: Baptist

Saul's Conversion Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 27, 2023

Saul's conversion shows us that God can reach anyone and change anyone. Ananias' acceptance of Saul is a wonderful example. And Paul's reflection on the event reminds us of just how important it is to be baptized.

I don’t often think about Nottingham. I can’t remember ever visiting it. It’s 200 miles away and we haven’t had reason to go there. But Nottingham is an up-and-coming city. A few years ago, The Times newspaper named it as the most improved city in its survey of the best places to live. ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-19

Denomination: Baptist

The First People The Church Sent Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 2, 2023

Jesus sent his disciples out on mission. But Acts 13 is the first time THE CHURCH sent people out on mission. They were Barnabas and Saul. It wasn't all plain sailing. But it was still totally worthwhile.

INTRODUCTION / LEAD IN I wonder if you’ve read The Lord of the Rings. In the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins throws a party. Then, he suddenly vanishes! Gandalf the wizard knows how he’s done it: Bilbo has a ring with very special power, a ring that is gradually gaining ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

God's Power At Work Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 18, 2023

Luke starts Acts with, 'In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus BEGAN to do and teach...' Now he's going to talk about what Jesus CONTINUED to do. In Acts 16 we have a great example of Jesus witnessing to himself - and Paul and Silas fitting in.

Acts 16 God’s power at work Let’s suppose you hear God speaking to you, telling you to do something. You do what God tells you. But then, within a short time, the situation looks a complete mess. What would you think? Did you hear wrong? Has God let you down? Let’s suppose God calls you to ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

What Motivated Paul Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 23, 2023

Paul was extraordinarily determined to take the gospel to the Gentile world. He was full of passion and drive. He got knocked down but he got up and kept going. Why? What motivated him?

WHAT MOTIVATED PAUL We live in a world where a lot of people don’t believe in God. But not only that, many people who do believe in God are not exactly passionate about telling those who don’t believe in God about him. What will motivate us to tell people about Jesus? That’s our subject ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:16-21

Denomination: Baptist

The King Of Glory Comes In

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 12, 2020

The earth is the Lord's. The Lord will return and enter our world as king of glory and mighty warrior. Ancient doors should lift up their heads in anticipation, and so should we.

Psalm 24 INTRODUCTION This month I’m going to take a look at three psalms: Psalms 24, 69 and 119. Today, we’ll look at Psalm 24. The words of the psalm are really moving: ‘Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in…’ We can ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.1 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / How To Approach The Question

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

We should ask whether God has a purpose in coronavirus. It's a logical and reasonable question to ask. But we first need to think about how to even approach the question.

In my second Reflection I wrote: “Some Christians are asking why we’re experiencing this pandemic. Is coronavirus a judgement from God? Are we living in end times?” In my fifth Reflection I noted that the Daily Express [an English newspaper] had asked another question: “What does the Bible say ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:10-11

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.2 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / God Responds To Sin And Oppression

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

The title is 'God responds to sin and oppression'. That's a very basic thing to understand in our process of thinking about coronavirus! Not only that, God responds to sin and oppression in an appropriate way. The plagues of Egypt show us this.

We’re looking at three questions. Is coronavirus a judgement from God? Are we living in end times? And, what does the Bible say about COVID-19? Today we’ll look at some general principles about how God responds to a situation he doesn’t like. 1 Kings 6:1 tells us that ‘In the four hundred and ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:7

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.3 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Pestilence Is One Of God’s ‘standard’ Ways Of Judging

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

We are asking if God might be behind coronavirus. Is sending a plague the kind of thing God might do? Yes, it is.

Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels – Habakkuk 3:5, speaking of God We’re looking at three questions. Is coronavirus a judgement from God? Are we living in end times? And, what does the Bible say about COVID-19? These are hard questions! Today I will think about ...read more

Scripture: Habakkuk 3:5

Denomination: Baptist