In this encouraging message visiting speaker Stephen Mawhinney unpacks the story of  the healing of the man who was lame from birth recorded in Acts 3. The man was looking for money but Jesus was looking for him & through Peter & John he received healing in the name of Jesus! His life was never the same again. In the message Stephen also testifies to the power of Jesus transforming his own life after many years away from God. 

We all love a good underdog story. No one wants to watch a movie were the Goliath characters win, no neutral sports fan wants the favourites to thrash the underdogs! There is just something in us that loves to see the underdog beat the odds. Maybe it’s because we can identify more with being the underdog. The Bible is full of underdog stories, yet the big difference in the Bible’s stories is not luck or sheer determination, but God – God is the hero of every underdog story in the Bible! Psalm 124 encapsulates this so well. Psalm 124 is a song for God-trusting underdogs everywhere who find help & victory in the name of the LORD against all the odds! 

​Songs for the Journey: Sermons on the Psalms of Ascents
Reading: Psalm 123

Christians are worshiping servants of the Most High. Psalm 123 helps remind us of this as it encourages us to look up to God for mercy, mercy in the sense of help. The Psalmist was living in a time when God's people were suffering contempt & scorn, things we can experience as Christians in this present world. Like the Psalmist we can express our frustration to God & look to him for help. This will help us remain patient amidst scorn, contempt or persecution.  

In this message visiting speaker Paul Cullen unpacks & applies Psalm 126. The Psalm is a lament that recalls a previous time of God's mercy on his people while asking for fresh mercy today. The Psalmist desires to be like a stream bed, that while dry for a season is restored to its original purpose & fruitfulness by God's intervention. That as God's people sow in tears they will reap with shouts of joy as God answers their prayers for restoration.  

Have you ever experienced the joy being somewhere you've always wanted to be & the surreal excitement of knowing you’re actually there? That will help you understand how Jewish pilgrims felt when they arrived in Jerusalem! What we essentially have in Psalm 122 is a song expressing the sheer joy of being in Jerusalem & the unity experienced there, as well as prayer for the peace & security of Jerusalem. From a whole Bible perspective such joy & unity will be fully realised, & this prayer fully answered, when as God’s people we stand within New Jerusalem with all the redeemed of every nation, tribe & tongue to worship under Christ our eternal King!

Songs for the Journey: Sermons on the Psalms of Ascents
Reading: Psalm 120

Psalm 120 is the first of a collection of Psalms known as the Songs of Ascents (Psalm 120-134). This group of Psalms, written at different times by different artists, became the songs Jewish pilgrims sang on their way up to Jerusalem for major festivals. Psalm 120 was originally written by someone a long way from Jerusalem, likely in the time of the exile, so it's fitting this Psalm begins this collection. The author is clearly distressed with lies & deceit & has had his fill of residing among those opposed to God’s way of peace, he expresses all this very strongly. It’s okay for us to feel like this & express it to God in prayer. However, like the Psalmist we also need to trust in God's deliverance, leave justice with him & remain committed to peace! This Psalm helps us remember as Christians we do not fit comfortably in the present world because we are resident aliens, pilgrims on our way to the New Jerusalem! 

This message talks of how the Gospel is of first importance to the Christian, a Gospel which calls us to have faith in Jesus' saving power. Central to the Gospel is the truth of Christ's resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus strengthens our faith through our struggles & as we live out our lives in his strength. It also brings much needed hope & shows us the goal of our faith! The Christian is born again to a living hope, has an inheritance kept in heaven, is shielded by God's power & can know inexpressible & glorious joy all because of the hope of the resurrection! 

​If you were stuck on a desert Island & were only allowed three things with you what three things would you choose? Paul wasn’t stuck on a desert Island, but he was in prison for his faith & if you were to ask him what three things he would want he would say Timothy, his cloak & his books. This closing section of 2 Timothy shows us Paul was no superhuman, he had the same basic needs that we all have. He knows the time of his departure has come (4:6) & he is longing for human company even though he has known the profound reality of Jesus standing by him. In these verses we also see his commitment to his Christ-given mission right to the end, that “the message might be fully proclaimed & all the Gentiles might hear it.”  

​Timothy’s charge to “preach the word” comes just after Paul reminds him of the power & sufficiency of Scripture. The Scriptures are God’s central means for leading us to saving faith in Christ & discipling us towards maturity in Christ! So much so that Paul told Timothy the Scriptures ‘super-equip’ him for ministry! This is why Paul charged Timothy to preach the word in season & out of season & this is why preaching the word is such a vital aspect of Christian worship. 

In this section of 2 Timothy Paul is telling Timothy how he can be thoroughly equipped for every good work God has called him to! Paul points Timothy to the power & sufficiency of Scripture to not only make him wise for salvation but to completely equip him to be God's man in difficult times. Paul wants Timothy to see that Scripture ‘super-equips’ him for the work of the Gospel! This is why it is so vital ‘the man of God’ be a man of the Bible! For when combined with faith in Christ, the Bible is sufficient for leading people to both salvation & maturity in Christ.

​When the New Testament talks about “the last days” it’s talking about the whole period between the first & second comings of Christ. In other words, it is talking about the period every Christian lives in. At the beginning of the third chapter of 2 Timothy Paul writes “that in the last days there will be times of difficulty”! The phrase “times of difficulty” literally means times of darkness & distress. Paul then goes on to give a shocking portrait of such times. Church leaders like Timothy need to especially be prepared for such times, so they can lead church in & through them! 

​Do you desire to be a useful Christian? Do you long to be used for God’s special purposes? If so then this message is for you. In 2 Timothy 2 Paul has provided six analogies which help define the who, what & how of Christian ministry – solider, athlete, farmer, worker, vessel & servant. Together these analogies help paint a picture of the perspective, priorities & character church leaders especially should exhibit. This sermon focuses on the last two analogies which underline the purity & people skills needed for useful gospel ministry, qualities that describe what a useful Christian looks like!  

As Christian’s we find strength in unity…brothers & sisters dwelling in peace, & knowing the joy of the LORD (Psalm 133:1). Unity is important for those who believe in the God of the Bible: we are called to be united with each other and with the Lord. The Letter to the Ephesians was written to a newly established church. Paul shows that Christians worship a redemptive & trinitarian God. These are two important facets of what it means to worship One God together with our brothers & sisters in Christ. Unity in the Church is also important for the mission of the Gospel on the earth and for the expansion of God’s kingdom, and ultimately for His glory. These drives should outweigh hangs-up we might have about working with and being united with God’s people.

Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6