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Summary of Nick's Sermon: A Time for Every Purpose

This sermon is based on Genesis 21, which tells the story of the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah.

Key Points:

God is Faithful: Even though it took 25 years for the promise of a child to be fulfilled, God remained faithful to his word.

The Importance of Holding On: We can easily get discouraged when our prayers seem unanswered, but the story of Abraham and Sarah reminds us to hold onto faith.

Laughter in the Midst of Difficulty: Laughter is a gift from God that can help us see challenges in perspective.

God Uses Our Mess-Ups: Even when we make mistakes (like Sarah suggesting Hagar), God can still work through them for good.

God Blesses Our Mess: We may regret our past actions, but God is gracious and can still bless us.

God Works Across Divides: While there is division in the world, God seeks to bring people together and show his grace to all.

Biblical References:

Genesis 21:1-7 - Birth of Isaac

Scripture about laughter (not mentioned but referenced in sermon): unreferenced

Additional Points:

The sermon references the story of doubting Thomas (John 20:24-29).

The importance of looking for God working in the lives of people from different backgrounds is mentioned.

Transcript

Thank you, good morning. Am I on? I think I am. Can you hear me yet? Great.

We are still in Genesis, you may be surprised to hear.

Genesis 21 already, and just been fascinated reading these passages, hearing what people have

said through different aspects of God's Word in Genesis, and it is God's Word. Let's remember that

when God gives us something on a Sunday morning it's because we need to hear it, and I need to

hear it. There are challenges for me in the preparation of this Word. We need to hear what

God is saying. It's quite a long passage, Genesis 21, it's quite involved, there's different elements

to it, and we're just going to take a wander, a wander through it, deeper than our feet could ever

wander. And we're going to, yeah, just have a table. The title on the screen is A Time for

Every Purpose. It's not there, it doesn't matter, but it seems like we've been following, we've

arrived, the subtitle in my Bible of Genesis 21 is The Birth of Isaac, and we've been following this

story of Isaac, it seems like, for as long as Sarah was. It's just been going on and on and on.

You know, God said, I'm going to give you a son, and then there's the whole Ishmael story,

and there's all of that, and then years pass into years, and I think we've said, wasn't it 25 years

from the time of the promise up to the time of the fulfillment, and yet we've arrived. Genesis 21,

the birth of Isaac. So much drama has been generated since God made that simple promise.

Like we've been on the edge of the fulfillment, week on week on week. It's around every corner,

it could even be today, but today, finally, the time has come, and there is a beautiful

rhythm to the first few verses of Genesis 21. I don't know what version I'm using here,

English standard version. It's quite good in places and quite old-fashioned in others,

but we're going to read it from here. The Lord visited Sarah as He had said,

and the Lord did to Sarah as He had promised, and Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old

age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born

to him, whom Sarah bore him, that's true, in case we've missed it, Isaac, and Abraham circumcised

his son Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded him. Makes the life of faith look

very simple, doesn't it? The Lord visited Sarah as He had said and did to Sarah as He had promised,

obviously, but it's not that obvious, is it? Because we're 25 years into the story,

and there's been a whole load of stuff that has happened, and yet we come to this culmination,

simply the Lord visited Sarah as He had said. All the years of waiting, hoping, doubting,

trying to manipu

Summary of Sermon: The Danger of Underestimating

This sermon explores Genesis chapter 20, a story where Abraham repeats a mistake from his past.

The key takeaways are:

Abraham's character: Despite being portrayed as a man of faith, Abraham acts out of fear, lying about Sarah being his sister to protect himself.

God's character: Even though Abraham makes mistakes, God remains committed to his promises. God protects Abimelech, the king who unknowingly takes Sarah, from further sinning.

God's faithfulness: The story emphasizes God's unwavering commitment to the covenant he made with Abraham, ensuring his offspring will bring blessings.

Here's a breakdown of the sermon:

Introduction: The sermon starts with an anecdote about accidentally popping confetti balloons and highlights the theme of underestimating situations.

Scripture reading: Genesis chapter 20 is read, detailing how Abraham pretends Sarah is his sister, leading to her being taken by Abimelech.

Connection to previous chapters: The story is linked to a similar incident in Genesis chapter 12, where Abraham makes the same claim about Sarah.

Abraham's behavior: We delve into Abraham's motivations, driven by fear for his safety in a foreign land.

God's intervention: God protects Abimelech from sinning further and reveals his commitment to the covenant with Abraham. Abimelech returns Sarah and is blessed.

Difficulties in understanding God: The sermon acknowledges the challenges in reconciling God's actions with our expectations.

God's unwavering promises: Despite Abraham's mistakes, God's commitment to his promises is the core message. This is reinforced by referencing Romans 4:18, which describes Abraham as the "father of many nations" due to his faith.

Conclusion: The sermon emphasizes the importance of reading the Bible critically, even when it challenges our understanding of God. It highlights God's enduring love and commitment to his promises, even amidst human flaws.

Biblical references:

* Genesis 12:10-20

* Genesis 15

* Genesis 16

* Genesis 17

* Genesis 19:9

* Genesis 20

* Romans 4:18-23

Transcript

Mm-hmm.

Can you all hear me okay?

Hello?

Yes, it's great.

Good morning, everyone.

Over in 146 as well.

Great to have you with us too.

Um, has anyone here ever made the same mistake twice?

You don't have to raise your hand.

So just this week I was helping doing some tidy up.

And there was a bit of a party going on around here this week.

And there were some balloons that needed tidying away.

I ended up helping out.

There were some a whole big pile of balloons

that were starting to look a little bit sad and sorry

for themselves.

And I was on the tidy up task and the easiest way

to tidy up a whole big like bin bag full of balloons.

Just get a pair of scissors and pop, pop, pop away.

And I was happily popping away going,

this is going to be such a quick and easy job.

This is so easy.

Unbeknownst to me, two of the balloons had confetti inside.

And I realized when pop, pop, pop, one of them

created a beautiful circle of little golden disks

that all just appeared around me.

And I thought, this job's not quite as easy

as I thought it might be.

And it was also around this time.

I noticed there was a second one.

And I thought to myself, when I pop the second one,

I'm going to be really careful this time.

Really careful, because this is just too much work, isn't it?

This is such a lot of effort.

I'm going to be sweeping all these up for the next five minutes.

So when I pop the second one, I'm going to be really gentle,

like really gentle.

I'm going to make the tiniest, tiniest hole

right near the top so that pop, it went.

It just exploded.

There was a second giant confetti circle around me.

As I was thinking to myself, this is going

to go way better than last time.

I had even more sweeping up to do.

And I had five minutes of sweeping up little golden circles

bits, thinking to myself, there's a sermon in Alginess.

Al

Summary of the Sermon "The Significance of Sodom"

This sermon explores the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis 19,

focusing on the tension between God's love and holiness.

Key Points:

The passage in Genesis 19 is a difficult one, describing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness.

We should hold two things in tension about God:

He is loving (John 3:16).

He is holy (Isaiah 6:3).

His holiness makes his love meaningful.

If we only focus on God's love, we might think our actions don't matter.

God's holiness establishes boundaries and reminds us of our sin.

Why were Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed?

The sermon argues the sin wasn't just sexual immorality (though it is present).

They were also:

Arrogant (Ezekiel 16:49)

Overfed

Unconcerned with the poor and needy (Ezekiel 16:49)

This focus on themselves led them to do "detestable things" (Ezekiel 16:49).

The Call to Action:

We should examine ourselves:

Are we arrogant?

Do we consider ourselves above others?

Are we too focused on ourselves and our possessions?

Do we help those in need?

The passage is a call to be more like Christ:

Let him transform our hearts.

Respond to God's love by helping others.

Other Points:

The story is also a reminder that God is just.

He has shown mercy to us, but there is a time limit on his patience.

We should pray for our nation and communities.

Bible References:

Genesis 13:10

Genesis 18

Genesis 19

Exodus 20

John 3:16

Isaiah 6:3

Ezekiel 16:49

Acts 17

Matthew 10

Matthew 11

Jude



Transcript

So we have reached Genesis chapter 19 this morning. It's actually

great if you want to put up the first slide, okay? So you get the drift, right?

So this is, by any stretch of the imagination, this is a very challenging

chapter of the Bible. It's one of those chapters that, and we'll

probably come to a few, depending on how far we carry on through the Old Testament,

that are a bit, kind of like, you know, x-rated, bit 18 rated in terms of the

content. And what I want to do is, I'm just, I'm not going to read it, I'm just

going to summarize it, and then when you get home, if you haven't read it already,

you can read it and see if what I've said is right or not. But in summary, so

you remember last week Chris was speaking from Genesis 18, and now the

second half of that chapter Abraham was chatting with the three visitors, and

actually he ended up debating with God and asking God, if you can find so many

people that are righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, will you not save it? And there

was this ding-dong going on, and then God draws a line under the conversation at

10, and that's it. And so when we get to chapter 19, what we find is two of those

three people that were with Abraham are angels, and they go to Sodom, and they're

going to spend the night in the town square, and Lot comes out and finds them,

and says, no, no, don't spend the night here, come back to my house. And so he

gives them a meal, they have an evening meal together, and then after the meal we

read that all the men of the town, young and old, gather outside Lot's house and

say, bring out those men because we want to have sex with them. And Lot calls out

and comes out and says, don't do this wicked thing, instead here are my

daughters. Okay, I don't think laughing is quite appropriate, but it only calls

that out. And there's this argument, and the men of the town say to Lot, who are

you to tell us what to do? And the angels reach out through the door and pull Lot

back inside the house and rescue him just in the nick of time, and then they

strike the eyes of those outside the house with blindness so they can't see

and find their way. And then what happens is the two angels in Lot's

house tell him that God is going to destroy this city, it's time for you and

your family to leave. And so he goes out and he finds his two daughters are both

engaged to be married, and he finds the fiancees and tells them that God is

g

Summary of Sermon: Big Questions About God

This sermon explores the story of Abraham and Sarah from Genesis 18, focusing on the themes of faith, prayer, and God's character.

The passage: Abraham is visited by three strangers who turn out to be angels. They tell him Sarah will have a son despite her old age. Sarah laughs in disbelief, but God hears her and questions her lack of faith.

Key Points:

God's Immensity:

- We can't limit God by our understanding.

- Even when things seem impossible, God can do more than we imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Truth and Grace:

- God desires truthfulness, but He also offers forgiveness (shown by Sarah's lie and God's continued presence).

Imposter Syndrome and God's Love:

- We may feel like frauds, but God's love is unconditional.

Prayer as Invitation:

- Prayer is a conversation, an opportunity to participate in God's plans.

- Like a parent including a child in a task, God invites us to be involved.

Abraham's Intercession:

- Abraham prays for Sodom and Gomorrah, arguing for justice and the preservation of the righteous.

- This act highlights the power of prayer and our ability to intercede for others.

God's Justice and Mercy:

- The story raises the question: Can God be both Just and Merciful?

- The sermon suggests the answer is found in Jesus, who satisfies both by paying the penalty for our sins.

Does Prayer Change God's Mind?:

- The sermon argues that prayer doesn't change God's ultimate plan, but it can change how He accomplishes it.

- In this case, God rescues Lot from Sodom showing a different, better outcome than Abraham anticipated.

**Ending**:

The sermon concludes with a prayer thanking God for His love and mercy,

acknowledging Jesus' sacrifice,

and asking for the continued work of God's word in the listener's life.



Transcription

I'm going to read the first part now then I'll talk about it and then she'll come back

and read the second part.

And I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the Oak Grove belonging to Marmory.

On Sunday Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the

day and he looked up and he noticed three men standing nearby.

Well when he saw them he ran to meet them and welcomed them bowing low to the ground.

My Lord he said, if it pleases you stop here awhile rest in the shade of this tree while

water is brought to wash your feet and since you've honoured your servant with this visit

let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.

All right he said, do as you have said.

So Abraham ran back to the tent and he said to Sarah,

hurry get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough and bake some bread.

Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant who

quickly prepared it and when the food was ready Abraham took some yogurt and milk

and the roasted meat and he served it to the men and as they ate Abraham waited on them

in the shade of the trees.

Where is your, Sarah your wife the visitors asked. Oh she's inside the tent Abraham replied

and then one of them said, I will return to you about this time next year

and your wife Sarah will have a son.

Well Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent and Abraham and Sarah were both

very old by this time and Sarah was long past the age of having children

so she laughed silently to herself and said, how could a worn out woman like me

enjoy such pleasure especially when my master my husband is also so old

and then the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh?

Why did she say can an old woman like me have a baby?

Is anything too hard for the Lord and I will return about this time next year

and Sarah will have a son and Sarah was afraid so she denied it saying, I didn't laugh

but the Lord said, no you did laugh.

Thank you and let's have the first slide up about it, we can go on to the second slide.

I don't know if som

Transcript

have the word. It's been hearing this weekend and reading online and the amazing things that are

happening. You know we talk about how bad the world is and how difficult things are getting

and how challenging they are and it's easy to get despondent but on the flip side we always,

in those moments, we've always got to look to see what God is doing and his power at work

is changing people and is doing amazing things and we do live in exciting times, challenging

times certainly and even as God moves more in power there'll be more challenges ahead

but we are seeing, you know, in our own lives, in our own community, in our own church what

God is doing and beginning and continuing to do and a few weeks ago, I'm going to take a break

today from our genesis journey and a few weeks or months ago at the edge on a Thursday morning

we had a visit from a whole team of people from Matasey Hall, Green Pastures, which is a community

of people. Some of you will remember Pete Kavanagh who came to preach here,

powerful word but funny guy, remember him? Yeah, but he's, I don't even know, maybe we'll find out

low, you know, he's involved in that. I don't know if he's in charge or whatever he is but he's,

and he brought a team over on a Thursday morning and we were just blown away by the life and the

faith and the energy and the excitement that these guys and girls had from very,

very difficult backgrounds and challenging situations and yet the power of God had changed

lives and they were just so full of the life and just, and you just see again, just renew, just the

gospel is a wonderful, wonderful thing that changes people's lives from the inside out.

And so what we said we'd do is we would invite some of the people from Matasey Hall to come and

speak on a Sunday morning and so that's what we've got. So I'm going to introduce them and leave them

to whatever they've got for us but we've got Darren and Wayne and Christina, that's right,

and I'm going to invite Darren to come and speak now. Darren is

one of the leaders of the whole setup and he'll be able to explain more clearly what he does

than I can and he's going to speak for a while and then Wayne and Christina are going to share

some of their story and trust that you're going to be really encouraged and blessed by what we

hear this morning. So thank you, now let me pray for you and we'll go. Father, we thank you that

your power at work is changing lives and we want to thank you for real life testimony and I want

to pray for Darren and now as he speaks, Lord God, I pray that you're filling with your Holy Spirit

for Wayne and Christina, give them confidence and boldness to speak all that is in their hearts,

all that they've seen you do, Lord God, and we just want to share with them in the celebration

of the power of God that changes and transforms lives, not just today but forever, in Jesus name,

Amen. Thank you so much.

So blessed. We have been so blessed this morning, just been lost in worship, it's just wonderful.

Something special happening here and you are so right, something is happening across the nation.

The Lord spoke to us prophetically through Isaiah 43 18, behold I'm doing a new thing,

can't you see the green shoots of revival happening, behold I'm going to bring life

into the wilderness and the hyenas are going to worship me. You are in revival,

we all think revival is you're going to turn up here and suddenly heaven's open,

but when winter turns to April, it's the green shoots that show you're in the new season,

look for the green shoots, that is the evidence you're in a new season, it is happening everywhere

I'm going, I'm seeing green shoots moves of the Holy Spirit, like nothing in history is seen,

behold I'm doing a new thing, it's going to move the spirit, I'm telling you that's going to

transform our nation, I'm telling you and I also have a word maybe, I've only got 10 minutes of me

which is absolutely fine, I'm goin

Summary of Sermon: Covenant by Nick

This sermon explores the story of Abraham and Sarah from Genesis 17, focusing on the concept of God's covenant and its enduring promises.

Key Points:

God's timing: The passage highlights the vast amount of time that can pass between God's promises and their fulfillment. We can get discouraged by waiting, but God's faithfulness endures. (Genesis 16 & 17)

Resilient Faith: The long wait for a child teaches us about the importance of holding onto faith and God's promises even when there seems to be no progress. (Romans 4:17-21)

God initiates the relationship: God is the one who pursues a relationship with us, revealing Himself and offering His blessings. (Genesis 17:1)

God's Sovereignty: We are not God. There's a healthy reverence and humility required in our relationship with Him. (Genesis 17:3)

The Power of Names: Names and labels can influence our perception. God changes Abram's name to Abraham signifying a shift in his identity and future. (Genesis 17:5)

Transformation: God desires to transform us from the inside out. We can hold ourselves back by clinging to past limitations. (Gideon - Judges 6:11-16)

Promises vs. Feelings: God's promises are not contingent on our emotions. We can rely on His faithfulness even when we doubt or feel discouraged. (Genesis 17:1-8)

Signs of the Covenant: Circumcision served as a physical reminder of God's covenant with Abraham. God gives us various signs to bolster our faith. (Genesis 17:11)

Illustrations:

The author uses contemporary examples like service awards and long-term friendships to illustrate God's faithfulness despite the passage of time.

The story of Zacchaeus from the Gospels demonstrates how God takes the initiative in relationships.

Applications:

We are encouraged to develop a resilient faith that trusts in God's promises even when facing challenges.

We should acknowledge God's sovereignty and majesty in our worship.

The sermon challenges us to examine the labels we place on ourselves and be open to God's transformative work.

We can rely on God's enduring promises regardless of our emotional state.

Verses Referenced:

Genesis 16:1-16

Genesis 17:1-27

Romans 4:17-21

Judges 6:11-16



Transcript

Thank you very much and excellent foundation this morning to what I want to say from the

team so thank you Stephen team as well for leading us in worship that way we've already

we've raced to Genesis chapter 17. So right into the heart of the story of Abram and

Sarah I and remember Karen spoke very challenging last week about the birth of Ishmael and

how that came about. And so if you do have a Bible or a phone or iPad or whatever it

is figured up to Genesis 17 and we'll read it so we get some context into what I want

to say this morning. So Genesis 17 from verse 1. When Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared

to him and said I am El Shaddai God almighty serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

I will make a covenant with you by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.

At this Abram fell face down on the ground then God said to him this is my covenant with you

I will make you the father of a multitude of nations what's more I am changing your name

it will no longer be Abram instead you will be called Abraham for you will be the father of

many nations I will make you extremely fruitful your descendants will become many nations and kings

will be among them I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you from

generation to generation this is the everlasting covenant I will always be your God and the God

of your descendants after you and I will give the entire land of Canaan where you now live as a

foreigner to you and your descendants it will be their possession forever and I will be their God

then God said to Abraham your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant

you and all your descendants have this continual responsibility thi