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In the movie Liar, Liar, Max Reede is having maybe his 10th birthday party... but he’s waiting very nervously for his Dad to show up. His father is both a compulsive liar and successful lawyer, and he has promised... promised that he will not miss Max’s birthday. But Max has heard all of this before.…

Paul’s suffering… and serenity! Friends it gives me great pleasure today to induct two more men to the office of elder in the NRPC. Out of the many quality people in this church, people who are mature and godly, people who serve others and have a good and growing understanding of the Scriptures… these…

Praying is difficult! It’s difficult because it reminds us that we’re not in control of our lives or our world. it’s difficult because so many other things from hobbies to reading to TV and even our work seem to be more enticing or at least more pressing. It’s difficult because it takes time… and it’s…

Counter-Cultural Hope It seems to me that we Christians have, over the last century or so, robbed ourselves of one of the greatest and most desirable joys that we can have in life and in our witnessing to non-believers. Something that, rightly understood, sets us apart from the world around us and should…

Messiah in Salvation History Mt 1:1-17 ; Gen 12:1-3 ; 2 Sam 7:4-17 (HPC 6 Dec 20) Confidence in God and his Promises! The old missionary had reached her final day on earth. She had spent time overseas in the past as a cross-cultural, overseas missionary. But for the last several decades had been a faithful…

The Chief End of God.... Let’s start off with the easy question… at least for Presbyterians… The chief end of man is … to glorify God and/by enjoying him forever. Now try something a little more controversial: The chief end of God is … what is it that motivates God to do the things he does? Love for…

Superficial Christianity only works superficially! Superficial Christianity only gets people messed up. Sure… it’s all fine… while it’s all fine. The type Christianity that says “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” . Some people even go around sharing their “faith” along those lines.…

Encountering the God who sends his people! Last Sunday I argued that our world was a dark, suffering, painful place. Yes, at times it is beautiful… and it contains promises of glory. A beach scene, mountain lakes and crystal clear rivers; a young couple vowing to love, honour and obey each other as long…

To the people living in great darkness, a Saviour is born, Ex 1:22- 2:10 ! The threats we face Maybe it was from growing up on a country property surrounded by other properties and attending a primary school also somewhat isolated from the world around us. Maybe it was partly just growing up in rural…

The Symbol of the Cross Long before the cross was a symbol of Christianity it was a symbol for another group: the almighty power of Rome! Rome was the superpower of the day in the time of Jesus . And the cross was their favourite form of law enforcement for foreigners. It said to all who would challenge…

Open your Bibles at Is 52 ( Rom 8 ) The myth of progress Do you believe in the myth of human progress? Some people believe that human ingenuity can solve the world’s problems. Mind you they have some substance to their beliefs in some areas if you look back through history… In the 1700’s most parents…

A Glimpse into the Mission of God So many people see the world as beginning with a big bang that lead to various periods or epochs down through the millennia. B/Millions of years before there is human habitation; then the stone age, the bronze age, the iron age, the classical period, middle ages and…

Ageing is mandatory; Maturity is optional! It has been well said that every single 24 hour period, every single one of us adds a day to our age. It’s mandatory. However... how much emotional and spiritual maturity is added to us in any given period is very much optional. Growth in emotional and spiritual…

The God of the Cosmos The Christian God is a wonderfully attractive being. He created the cosmos, not merely universe but cosmos (as in Cosmo magazine… beauty, fashion, love)… the cosmos is the beautifully ordered harmonious universe born from a God of beauty, order and harmony. When God rescued Israel…

Big Idea: To be a leader of God’s holy and dearly beloved people a man must be gripped by the gospel, transformed by the gospel and competent to instruct others in the gospel. Holy Ambition - A target for all God’s people I’m not sure how your ambitions have changed as the years have gone by. Someone…

When are they “elding”? You can tell when a plumber is plumbing… s/he probably got pipes in his hands, cutting and gluing or brazing or just pushing them together it seems these days. You can tell when a teacher is teaching… he (she) has a concept in their heads that they are using their skills to get…

Introduction What are some thing that you highly value? I think that it is probably true to say that everyone has a few things that they value highly… and they protect and care for them and they try to grow not diminish those things. Now it is true that for some people that may simply be the three cigarettes…

My church exists to… : 35 years ago a US church consultant surveyed the members of almost 1000 churches asking them “why does your church exist?” 89% of members responded that “The church’s purpose is to take care of my family’s and my needs.” Almost 90% of members believed that churches exist to keep…

In 2002 when the supermarket chains got together with the dairy suppliers in Britain to increase the price of dairy products in supermarkets, the customers had to pay more to buy their milk and the farmers didn’t get one penny extra when they sold their milk. It only benefited the supermarkets and dairy…

Consider the following scenario: I think there are still some banks with a physical presence here in the Nambucca valley. Just imagine that recently there have been a spate of bank robberies. Bank Robbery slide The police have made some arrests and two men have come up for trial at the Coffs Harbour…

Spiritual Warfare If I just ask a simple question without clarification, what answer would you give: “How many people here today have engaged in or been aware of spiritual warfare in their lives? If I clarified spiritual warfare with one example from my own life as regular and foreseeable opposition…

The Way Life Shapes Us Every one of us are shaped by a combination of our nature, how we were hard wired by God before birth and nurture… the events that have happened to us since then. Especially powerful in shaping us are things like our parents, (and their attitude to God and money and what life is…

Let’s Talk About God’s Church Because after all, Our sign says “Inter-Community Church of God.” Connected with Association of the Church of God in Southern California and Southern Nevada Take part in the activities of the Interstate Association of the Church of God And the National Association of the…

What took us 21 sermons to get through, takes less than 20 minutes to read, beginning to end. The churches which initially received this letter in the 1st Century likely read this aloud before the congregation. From beginning to end. And they would have beat us to lunch. This morning, we conclude our…

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Who am I obeying? leaders, in charge obey with the idea that the course of action…