Sermons on Simon On Cyrene:

Maundy Thursday Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Apr 14, 2022

Maundy Thursday reminds us of Jesus 'mandate' - his new commandment. Not just to love one another, but to love one another as he has loved us. It can be humiliating, demeaning and messy. But it brings blessing.

The Friday when Jesus was crucified is called Good Friday. On Good Friday we remember that Jesus offered himself as the final, complete sacrifice for our sins, freeing us from a slavery we could never have freed ourselves from. The day before Good Friday is called Maundy Thursday. That Thursday, ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34, John 13:14-15, John 13:17

Denomination: Baptist

Stand Firm And Work Hard Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Apr 16, 2022

'Stand firm and work hard' might seem a very strange Easter message. But it's Paul's key message in 1 Corinthians 15 - the longest passage on the resurrection in the Bible. The resurrection gives us hope - and that hope gives us reason to stand firm and work hard.

Easter Sunday is the day when we celebrate the fact that God raised Jesus from death. When I say WE celebrate the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, I mean, WE IN THIS CHURCH celebrate it. Clearly, a lot of other people DON'T celebrate it. A few years ago the Daily Telegraph conducted ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 1 Peter 1:3

Denomination: Baptist

God's Power Towards Us Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 2, 2022

In Ephesians 1, Paul compares God's power towards us who believe with the power he used to raise Christ from the dead. It's hard to conceive! But we should believe it - and live in a way that's consistent with it.

INTRODUCTION Two weeks ago it was Easter Sunday. So, do you suppose that we’ve now said goodbye to Easter until next year? Well, we haven’t! The season of Easter doesn’t FINISH on Easter Sunday! It actually STARTS on Easter Sunday and continues for seven weeks after that. That means that it’s ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23

Denomination: Baptist

How Do We Respond To Easter? Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 7, 2022

John tells us that we respond to God's agape-love by loving one another with agape-love.

How do we respond to Easter? (THIS WAS A TALK FOR A FAMILY SERVICE. IT HAS SOME POWERPOINT SLIDES TO GO WITH IT. IF YOU’D LIKE THEM, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT SIMON.BARTLETT@VIRTUALITY.CO) Two weeks ago was Easter Sunday and some of us were on holiday. But Easter Sunday wasn’t the END of Easter. It ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12

Denomination: Baptist

You Are The Salt Of The Earth Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2022

Jesus calls us to be the salt - the preservative - of the earth. He warns us against losing our sense of mission. Or, considering the Greek, perhaps he is warning us against being pushed off course. But either way, his message is: stick with it.

Today, after a bit of a break, we’re returning to Jesus’ longest recorded sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. Can you remember how Jesus starts his sermon? What was his first WORD? Jesus’ first word is ‘blessed’. ‘Blessed’ means happy or fortunate. Jesus wants us to be blessed. He is going to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13

Denomination: Baptist

Acknowledging God In The Harvest Festival

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 5, 2024

Why MUST we celebrate harvest? What should we thank God for? When and how should we mark it. And what did David think about it?

Today is our harvest festival. It’s the time of year when we formally thank God for the harvest. I’d like to tell you a couple of little stories as a lead in to the subject of thanking God. The first story is about Christmas when I was a child. A pile of presents would build up under the ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 23:16, Hosea 6:6

Denomination: Baptist

David The King Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 19, 2024

We look at David as king. We see that the foundational qualities he needed were justice and righteousness - and he showed them. And we see in David as king a foreshadowing of what Jesus will be like when he fully takes up his rule.

INTRODUCTION We’re in a series titled ‘Learning from David.’ Today’s talk is on David the king. I think today’s talk is the most important talk in this series. That might seem surprising to you. We’ve had ‘David: man of prayer.’ We all hopefully pray. We can relate to that. We’ve had David ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 89:14, Psalm 97:2, Isaiah 9:7, Jeremiah 23:5, Luke 19:11-27  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

David The Judge: Justice In A Messy World Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 28, 2024

Many people see David as a failure as a judge. But the world of David's time was a messy place. There were reasons why David couldn't do all that he would have liked to do or, we might think, should have done. The Bible doesn't see David as a failure as a judge.

We’re coming towards the end of our series, ‘Learning from David’. Last week, we looked at David the king. We saw that in the Bible, the foundation of God’s throne is righteousness and justice. I suggested that if righteousness and justice are the foundation of GOD’S throne – the key ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus The Bridegroom

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Nov 9, 2024

We don't talk enough about Jesus the bridegroom. It's one of Jesus' most wonderful titles. It helps us to understand who he is, the kind of relationship he wants with us, and who we are.

Some of us have been Christians for a long time and we’ve heard that Jesus is sometimes called the bridegroom. But perhaps some of us have never heard this title of Jesus. I don’t think churches talk about it often enough. It’s one of the most important and wonderful titles of Jesus. When we ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 54:5-6, Isaiah 62:5, Hosea 2:16, Mark 2:18-22, John 3:25-29, Revelation 19:6-7, Revelation 21:9  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Remembrance Sunday - What We Should Remember

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Nov 9, 2024

On Remembrance Sunday let's remember, first, that there are things to SACRIFICE for. Second, that there are things to FIGHT for. And third, that there are things to HOPE for.

INTRODUCTION EARLIER IN THE SERVICE Today is Remembrance Sunday. It’s a time for remembering. In Britain, I think we’re good at remembering the people in the armed forces who gave their lives in conflicts over the past century or so. Yesterday, the Royal British Legion held Festivals of ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13, Micah 6:8, Micah 4:1-4, Hebrews 6:19

Denomination: Baptist

David: Zealot For God's House Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Nov 16, 2024

David and Jesus were both zealots for God's house. What did that look like in practice for David? And are WE willing to be zealots for God's house?

INTRODUCTION Earlier in today’s service I showed the video, ‘David the worshipper’ [Angel Studios]. I’ve really liked all the videos in this series but I especially liked this one. Young David in the video loves to sing praise to God! He’s joyful, exuberant! His joy and exuberance are ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 69:9, John 2:17

Denomination: Baptist

Philemon

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Nov 22, 2024

Paul's letter to Philemon is short but it has some wonderful lessons for us, especially about how we address something that's wrong.

I’d like you to imagine a scene. It’s about 60 A.D. We’re in the home of a wealthy man named Philemon. Philemon lives in the city of Colossae, in the south-east of what is now Turkey. Some time back, he met the apostle Paul and became a Christian, and he’s now one of the leaders of a church. ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:1-25

Denomination: Baptist

Do Not Resist Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 25, 2022

Many Christians believe that in Matthew 5:39 Jesus is calling us to pacifism. If that was the case, he would be negating the Old Testament! Jesus does call us to nonresistance, but in certain situations only - as his examples show. He isn't pacifist and he doesn't call us to to pacifism.

INTRODUCTION I trained to become a Baptist minister at Bristol Baptist College. While I was there, a Canadian couple called Tom and Rebecca Yoder Neufeld gave a talk. The Yoder Neufelds are Mennonites. Mennonites trace their origins to the Anabaptists, and the Yoder Neufelds were at Bristol ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42

Denomination: Baptist

"Be Perfect” Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 9, 2022

Jesus said, 'You therefore must be perfect'. What an unreasonable demand! And yet, there are so many reasons to strive for it.

INTRODUCTION We’re continuing in our series in the Sermon on the Mount. In our passage for today, Jesus starts by saying, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ What do you think of that!? Back in March I told you about an interview I heard on Radio 4. The reporter was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Denomination: Baptist

Using Money To Direct Our Hearts Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jul 25, 2022

Jesus tells us not to store up treasure on earth but to store up treasure in heaven. Doing that is certainly a much better investment! But an even bigger reason to do that is that where we put out treasure directs our hearts.

We’re continuing in our series in the Sermon on the Mount and today we’re having the last talk in the series for the time being. Today, I’m going to focus on the first three verses of today’s passage, verses 19-21, and one phrase in particular. In v.19, Jesus says, ‘DON’T store up treasure on ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24

Denomination: Baptist