NCF Sunday Talks John Stephenson

Jesus tells a Parable to His Disciples about an unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. His debt, that was totally impossible to pay, was cleared by his master. However, he didn't show kindness to a fellow servant who owed him considerably less. Peter and the rest of the Disciples learned about forgiveness through this and so do we! God often gives unexpected answers in our conversations with us. He doesn't measure or count the same way as we do. Let's decide to not only allow God to build th...

We look at the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49) in this Talk. Will we choose to obey what God says as the foundation in our lives or will rebel, defy or disregard God and His commands? Just like practising to learn a piece of music on an instrument, so we need to practice our obedience towards God. Sometimes we'll get a setback as something unexpected happens, but let's keep being determined to honour and please God. Let's put effort and energy into ...

Considering what Jesus said in Mark 4:1-20, we are reminded that God plants seed in our lives. We need to personally cultivate the soil of our lives. God's Word won't return to Him void. Sit close to Jesus!You can read the script for the whole Service here.

We first hear a short statement about our good friend Margaret who had died on the Wednesday before this Service.This Talk is based on John 10:1-18. Jesus talked in ways that made people sit up and listen. He had authority, but His delivery was also different from the other teachers around Him.Sheep are clever and recognise many voices. A sheepfold is good for protection at night, but they need to go out during the day to get fed. Let us too, follow the voice of our Shepherd - Jesus. We will ...

This Parable is told in all the Synoptic Gospels, at Matthew 9:16,16, Mark 2:21,22 and Luke 5:33-39. God has given us all an Invitation to come to Him. How do we make sure that our regular activities and current ideas don't get in the way of what God wants to say to us and do with us? We can't pick and mix with a bit of God and a bit of us in our lives - it needs to be all of God! Once we've accepted God's Invitation, let's pass it on to other people. Heaven is going to be populated wit...

When Jesus spoke in Parables, He was helping us to remember what He was saying so that we could ultimately change as a result of what He was speaking about.The possibility of not understanding what Jesus was saying in His mini-stories in Luke 14:25-33 is small. He is telling us that we need to give everything we have and are to Him. How will we live sacrificially for Him? God might be calling you to do something specific, so start off small and grow in that sacrifice over time. God demands ev...