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"Come, let us kill him" (Matthew 21:38). This is the human story of Christ's crucifixion. He was "put to death by wicked men." There is also the divine story - "the deliberate plan and foreknowledge of God"(Acts 2:23). The wicked men thought that this was the end of Jesus. They were wrong! - "God raised Him from the dead." Could it have been any other way? Could the evil scheming of men have prevailed over God's plan of salvation? - No! "I t was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him" (Acts 2:24).

Each of the tribes had their part in the promised land. Each of Jesus' disciples, whom He called to Himself at the outset of His ministry, had his part in the work of the Lord. What God did with Israel and with Jesus' first disciples will be surpassed when Christ comes in glory: "You shall see greater things ... You shall see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (John 1:50-51). On that Day, there will be both salvation and judgment: "The righteous man is rescued from trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead" (Proverbs 11:8).

What's it all about - this Christianity? is it a form of religion or a code of ethics? The words, 'religion' and 'ethics' are well wide of the mark when it comes to describing what it means to be a Christian. The word, 'life' is the word used by Jesus: "I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" ( John 10:10 ). Jesus did not say, "I have come that they might have religion (or ethics)." Jesus came to give us life - the life of God. When we have received this life from Him, we come to understand that being a Christian is about a personal relationship with God. It's not just a matter of following a certain code of religious or moral behaviour. This personal relationship with God is entirely bound up with Jesus Christ. Apart from him, there is no life. There is only the emptiness of life without God, in this world and in the world to come. With Jesus Christ, there is life - a life given b

"John Wesley’s Forty-Four Sermons" (published by the Epworth Press in 1944:  reprinted in 1977) - These sermons were first published, as four volumes, in 1746, 1748, 1750 and 1760. The language will seem, to the modern reader, to be very old-fashioned. There is, however, a great deal, in what Wesley says, that we need to hear today. My basic observations in reading theses sermons is this: Here is preaching which is centred on Jesus Christ, who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). When Wesley speaks of our sin, he speaks with great directness. When he speaks of God’s grace, he speaks with great warmth. This is preaching which is centred on our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Wesley shows us that we are sinners who need the Saviour. He shows us that the Saviour is always ready to receive sinners. John Wesley on "The Righteousness of Faith" This sermon is based on Romans 10:5-8. It is found in John Wesley’s Forty-Four Sermons, (Epworth Press, 1977 edition). —– Com

Much modern preaching tends, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, to say to men and women, "Peace, peace" where there is, in fact, "no peace." The Gospel, on the other hand, to use the words of the prophet Joel, places "multitudes in the valley of decision." The Gospel places you and me crossroads between faith and unbelief. It is a crossroads at which you must make a decision - either to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour, or to trust in your own selves, your religion, your good works. Which will it be - Christ or or man-centred religion? When Jesus Christ preached the Word of God, His preaching had one of two effects on His hearers - either they believed and were saved, or they were antagonised, and they objected to Him, threatening Him, taunting Him and persecuting Him. When the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, simply and honestly, it is never comfortable to listen to. The Gospel never leaves people the way they were. Either, it thrills them, or it

Unbelievers have ridiculed “fire and brimstone” preaching. We cannot, however, allow their scornful attitude to lead us to dismiss “fire and brimstone” preaching. We dare not say that such preaching belongs to the past. We must note that the Bible preaches “fire and brimstone.” We must ask, “How does the Bible preach “fire and brimstone”?” The fact that the Bible preaches “fire and brimstone” means that this emphasis on divine judgment must not be excluded from our preaching in today’s world. The way that the Bible preaches “fire and brimstone” teaches us that we must always preach with a view to leading men and women to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Jesus Christ is the only way out of judgment. Jesus Christ is the only way into salvation. We hear the Gospel. we hear its promise. We hear its warning. The Gospel places us at a cross-roads. Each of us must decide. We must come to Christ. We must trust Him as our Saviour. We must come to Him, believing that He died on

“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). We must never forget Jesus Christ, He is our Saviour. Remembering Him will keep us from thinking too highly of ourselves. We are only servants. Jesus is the Saviour.

Three very important questions - questions that demand a personal answer: Who is Jesus? What can Jesus do for us? What will we do about Jesus? (1) Who is Jesus? Is he a mere man? or Is He somebody special? Every one of us must answer the question, "Who is Jesus?" - Jesus is the Word of God ( John 1:1 ). - Jesus is the Son of God ( John 1:34 ). Jesus does not merely speak God's Word. He is the Word of God. Jesus is more than a servant of God. He's the Son of God. (2) What can Jesus do for us? Could He do something wonderful for me? Could He change my life? Could He turn boredom into satisfaction? Could he turn confusion into certainty? Could He turn aimlessness into purpose? Could He turn cynicism into testimony? Could He ... ? - Yes! He can. Jesus is able to do great things for us. He can give satisfaction to the bored. He can give certainty to the confused. He can give purpose to the aimless. He can give a testimony to the cynical. Jesus can do

John 9 is a chapter that's full of questions and answers. (1) Question: " ... who sinned, this man or his parents ... ?" ( John 9:2 ). Answer: "Neither ,,, this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" ( John 9:3 ). (2) Question: "Isn't this the same man who used to ... beg?" ( John 9:8 ). Answer: "I am the man" ( John 9:9 ). Whatever we may have been, the grace of God is able to lift us up. Praise the Lord! (3) Question: The "How" question - "how were your eyes opened?" ( John 9:10 ). Answer: The "Jesus" answer - "The man called Jesus ... " ( John 9:11 ). May God help us to look away from ourselves and say, "This is what the Lord has done for me. (4) Question: "Where is this man?" ( John 9:12 ). Answer: "I don't know" ( John 9:12 ). When, at first, you don't find Jesus, keep looking for Him. he has given us His prom

John 8:34-36 Sin is our greatest problem. What are we to do about it? We ask the question, "What are we to do about sin?" We ask this question, and, then, we ask another question, "What can we do about it?" When we realize how big a problem sin is, we became aware that we need help. We need more than self-help. We need salvation. This cannot come from ourselves. Salvation must be given to us. It must come from outside of ourselves. It must come from above. It must come to us from our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We have a problem with the idea that salvation must come to us from outside. The problem is ourselves. Here, we come to the heart of sin. What is sin? It's self-centredness. G K Chesterton hit the nail on the head when he said, "What's wrong with the world? I am." Sin is our problem. Salvation is God's solution. What is sin? Sin is self-will: "I did it my way" Sin is self-indulgence: "Looking after No. 1" Si

"One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see" ( John 9:25 ). Every believer can share his /her personal experience of Christ. Many people say, "I don't know very much." They use this as an excuse for their failure to speak a word for Jesus. The man, who received his sight, didn't use his lack of knowledge as an excuse for not speaking for Jesus. He said, "I don't know." Then, he said, "One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see" ( John 9:25 ). To help us learn the lesson that every believer can and should share his / her personal testimony, when the opportunity, let's look at the context in which these words were spoken. There are three factors which contribute significantly to this context: the relation between Jesus and the man; the relation between the man and his world; the man himself. (1) Jesus and the man There are two moments of contact between Jesus and the man: the healing ( John

“Anyone who comes to Me, I will never cast out” ( John 6:37 ). Often, it seems like we’re living in an earthbound existence. We look out beyond ourselves, and we see nothing but an enormous iceberg that keeps us from getting through to the God who loves us with a warm-hearted love. Then, Jesus comes along. He’s the Ice-Breaker. He breaks the ice, which separates us from God. He enables us to see that God is much more than just, “There must be something somewhere.” He’s much more than “the unknown God.” He’s the God who loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins so that we, through faith in the Saviour, might come to know God as our Father. Jesus is the Ice-Breaker How does He break the ice? How does He melt away our coldness towards God? He does this in the same way that we break the ice with other people. He speaks to us. He speaks to us in ways that we can understand. He speaks to us His words of love. Here’s a great icebreaker that comes to us from Je

Psalm 136:1-26   ‘His love endures for ever’. This is the great message contained in every single verse of this Psalm. It’s a message worth repeating – over and over again! God’s love is an everlasting love – ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ ( Jeremiah 31:3 ). God’s love is an unfailing love – ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’ ( Isaiah 54:10 ). Let us ‘give thanks’ to God for His love ( Psalm 136:1-3 , 26 ). In His love, the Lord has provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. His ‘salvation will last for ever’ ( Isaiah 45:17 ; Isaiah 51:6 ). We must not be like those who refuse to love the Lord – ‘Pharaoh… great kings… mighty kings …’ ( Psalm 136:15 , 17-20 ). Those who reject God’s love will not receive ‘eternal life’. Their future will be very different – the ‘raging fire that will consume the enemies of God’ ( John 3:16-18 ; Hebrews 10:26-27 ).

What we cannot do for ourselves, You do for us. Thank You, Lord. You forgive our sins. You give us new life. You're leading us on to Your eternal glory. Thank You, Lord.