Sermon: Sunday, 2nd June, 2024 Speaker: John Johnstone Scripture: Ephesians 4 The gifts of teaching and of ministry Today we’re continuing our mini-series on spiritual
Author: John Johnstone
Psalm 51
Perhaps you are a Christian whose heart has grown cold. You seldom pray and seldom read the Bible. Oftentimes, the way of the world seems more attractive. You might even be living a double life. What should you do? You must confess your sins to God in prayer. You must plead for mercy, based on the death of Christ. And you must ask for God’s power to create a pure heart within.
Spiritual gifts (2)
Christianity is not something private between you and Jesus; rather, it’s something between you, Jesus, and the other Christians around you. In a culture of severe individualism, God is reminding us today that we belong to one another and so we should serve and support one another accordingly.
Spiritual gifts (1)
God wants us to be devoted to the fellowship of the church. He wants us to know and serve one another in meaningful ways. All believers have been given one or more spiritual gifts by Jesus. Are you using your gifts?
Real power and true change
Life is full of hard mysteries, but we can trust that God knows what he is doing. And when you see circumstances which look bleak, instinctively get on your knees and pray with faith and fervour. This is where true change comes from.
Breaking down barriers
Sin is a barrier between God and us. Only Jesus can remove the barrier between us and God and bring us eternal peace with God. Why not admit to Jesus today that, morally speaking, you are drowning. Ask Jesus, in prayer, to pull you to the shore and he will. He invites everyone to call out to him promising to save.
New life, new hope, new security
This Easter, let’s grip onto this fact: Jesus has died for us and has been raised for us. This gives us a living hope. We don’t have to live grasping, selfish lives. We have a glorious inheritance to look forward to. May this set us free to live for others, and ultimately to live for God himself.
The effect of true change
True conversion is evidenced by true and demonstrable change. Let’s pray that the Lord would give us courage in our families, and amongst friends, as well as work colleagues. Witnessing will be costly so we need God-given boldness.
An unlikely candidate
As Christians, may we reflect on our own lives and share something of the people we used to be before we knew Jesus. May we remember the time when we met with the risen Jesus and became Christians. And may we consider, imperfect though we are, the new people God has made us.
Suffering and evangelism
We’re called to spread the Gospel in good times and in bad. As we do so, we’ll see true conversions – authentic change – but we’ll also be disappointed by those who appeared to believe and said all the right things, but they had no root – no saving faith in Jesus. We must examine also our own hearts to ensure that, yes, we have admitted our sinfulness to God and cast ourselves on Jesus alone to save us.