Sermons on Simon On Cyrene:

God's Awesome Plan

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Mar 16, 2024

At Easter we think of how Jesus, by dying on the cross, freed us from our slavery to sin. But we can't think, 'I'm saved and that's all that matters to me.' God saves us for a purpose. We need to grasp God's purpose and engage with it.

Do any of you like watching movies? Do you like action movies? How about prison escapes? There are two kinds of prison-escape movies. There are movies like Escape from Alcatraz or The Great Escape. In these movies the hero’s goal is to escape. There is no bigger goal. Then there are movies ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:2, John 8:34, Romans 7:6, John 1:29, Revelation 19:9, 1 Corinthians 2:9  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

A Warning And A Promise

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Mar 23, 2024

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he wept. His coming to Jerusalem would be a 'career-ending moment' for Jerusalem. There's a serious warning here for us. But there's also a promise. Jesus fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy - and Zechariah has more prophecies.

Today is Palm Sunday. It’s the Sunday in the year when we remember that a week before Jesus was crucified, he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. People took palm branches and shouted out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ It seems like a very ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:41-44, Zechariah 9:9

Denomination: Baptist

Our Greatest Passion

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Apr 13, 2024

Are we clear on what our greatest passion must be?

NOTE: This was a family service. Early in the service I tell the children’s story ‘Wherever you go, I want you to know’ by Melissa Kruger. You can download the images for the story free from the Good Book Company. I made them into a PowerPoint to accompany the story. EARLY IN THE SERVICE: Today ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-38

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

Paul’s Charge To The Ephesian Elders Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 14, 2023

Paul sees the elders of the Ephesian church for the last time. He gives them a charge: 'Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock.' It's a message the church needs to hear today.

Today’s passage has a lot to tell us about the job of a minister or pastor or elder. Maybe you think, ‘I’m not a minister or pastor or elder. This doesn’t apply to me’! But all of us have responsibilities towards other people. This passage has something to say to all of us. Before I get ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:17-38

Denomination: Baptist

Would You Have Gone? Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Oct 29, 2023

God leads Paul to Jerusalem. It doesn't seem to make sense. It will be costly. Friends advise against. Would you have gone? We see God's priority is mission.

INTRODUCTION Have you ever been in a situation where you felt that God was asking you to do… Something that DIDN’T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE to you? Something that was COSTLY? Something that all your friends URGE YOU NOT TO DO? That was the situation the apostle Paul was in. Many years previously ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

How To Survive A Storm Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Nov 25, 2023

Three important strategies for surviving a storm. They're all not-so-common common-sense.

The book of Acts is 28 chapters long. In Chapter 28, Paul finally gets to Rome. But chapter 27 is the chapter where the last major drama of the book of Acts happens. It’s the story of Paul in a storm. Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, gave a lot of space to this story. He must think it’s ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus On Adultery And Lust

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Feb 10, 2024

Jesus teaches on lust. It isn't something preachers generally like to speak about but it's really important. Jesus shows how God's commandment on adultery needs to be practised and he tells us how we can do it.

Western society is completely comfortable talking about sex. Most people think a lot about sex. Especially men. The Bible talks a lot about sex too. Most preachers, however, do not like to talk about sex. When preachers preach on the Sermon on the Mount, they talk about the Beatitudes. There ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30

Denomination: Baptist

David: Man Of Prayer Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 30, 2024

In this talk we look at how David prayed when he faced enemies or storms in his life. He cried out to God. But he also remembered vital things about God - things that enabled him to overcome his enemies and stand firm in the storms.

INTRODUCTION How do we pray? Could we pray better? If I asked you, who in the Bible is an expert in prayer, who would you say? You might say David. The psalms are prayers and at least 75 of the 150 psalms in the Book of Psalms were written by David. We’re in a series on David, the shepherd ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 56:3-4

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus, The Bread Of Life Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 31, 2024

Jesus is the bread of life. He is our daily sustenance and this bread gives eternal life. And although his claim sounds unbelievable, too good to be true, we have reason to believe it. Jesus had just fed 5,000 people.

INTRODUCTION We’re doing a series on ‘Titles of Jesus.’ We’ve done two so far. My first talk was on Jesus the Good Shepherd. Then, last week, we looked at Jesus the Rock. It’s wonderful to know that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and our rock. Both of those descriptions of Jesus have their roots in ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

David The Musician Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 7, 2024

In this talk we look at why music and song are so important for Christians.

Note: this was a family service in which children stay in the service. We have a ‘main’ children’s item earlier in the service but also a short talk later in the service. This is to give something for the adults but which is hopefully not too difficult for children. Because it was about music ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 105:2

Denomination: Baptist

The Armour Of God, Part 2

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Sep 27, 2025

We're in a war. God has provided us with armour. We need to think about it carefully if we're going to use it correctly. This second talk looks at the last four pieces of armour.

I’d like to start by reading two short passages from Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe is set in the 12th century, a time when soldiers fought with swords and arrows and knights wore chain mail armour. Ivanhoe is a young Saxon knight. He’s fighting alongside Sir Robin Locksley, who turns ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:13-20

Denomination: Baptist

Why David Is So Important Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 18, 2024

David is a hugely important figure in the Bible. But if we're going to learn from him we need to have an understanding of why he is so important.

Part 1: Is David important? Over the next few months, we’re going to have eight studies on David, the shepherd who became king. We could easily give David much more time than that – he’s such an important person in the Bible, but we can’t fit in more than eight studies between now and December ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:1, Revelation 22:16, Acts 13:22

Denomination: Baptist

The Good Shepherd Series

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 18, 2024

Jesus said 'I am the Good Shepherd.' This is one of Jesus' most famous descriptions of himself. It gives us a lot of encouragement. But there are some things he calls us to do: follow, listen and flee.

INTRODUCTION A couple of weeks ago, we started a new series for the afternoon services, looking at WHO JESUS IS. In the Bible, God the Father and Jesus have many titles and descriptions. They tell us something about God the Father or Jesus. When Jesus was crucified, Pilate had a notice prepared ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-17

Denomination: Baptist