Dromore RP Church - Sermons

Matthew lays out the evidence for Jesus' authority to teach and preach in the Sermon on the Mount (chs 5-7). He now lays out the evidence for Jesus' authority over sickness, evil and death. Jesus both speaks and acts as the Messiah promised in the Old Testament Scriptures.

The Christian life is a journey. No matter our age or stage, a healthy believer's attitude must always be to 'press on' - more of Christ to know, more scope for faith to grow!

'Fret not,' says the psalmist. Easy for him to say? Not necessarily. King David faced a world of threats and trials, as did his greater son, the Lord Jesus. They minister to us in this psalm, explaining how it is that we can avoid fretting and worrying at the state our world is in.

'Fret not,' says the psalmist. Easy for him to say? Not necessarily. King David faced a world of threats and trials, as did his greater son, the Lord Jesus. They minister to us in this psalm, explaining how it is that we can avoid fretting and worrying at the state our world is in.

Strictly speaking, parts of Exodus 5-7 don't move the story on. We know what's coming; why haven't we gotten to it?! Yet, build-up anticipates deliverance. These passages make unmistakably clear who God is and why he is about to do what he will do for his people.

After Moses' initial disappointment at Pharaoh's refusal to let the people go, the LORD God reassures Moses that he will act to deliver his people - just as he had promised long ago to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, centuries beforehand. The Exodus is powerful proof that our God keeps his covenant promises, and is also a sign-post to the greater fulfilment of those promises in the coming of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Moses obeys God - and everything seems to get worse. In this chapter we consider three questions, one each asked by Pharaoh, the Israelites and Moses. Like each of them we're often left asking, 'Why?'

God surprisingly sends Philip from Samaria - where there are new converts, the coming of the Holy Spirit and conflict with evil - to the desert. Yet there, in the desert, God had a single soul to whom Philip brought the gospel. God is sovereign over every single soul in salvation.

The death of Stephen, the first martyr, is a pivotal moment for the fledgling New Testament Church. it would have been a moment of heartache and concern - and yet, the mission Jesus had given his church must and does continue. In fact, through the death of Stephen, a new phase of the mission begins.

Stephen was the first New Testament believer to lose his life for preaching the gospel. What was it about his preaching that so infuriated his opponents? And what possible good does God bring about in the death of his saints?

What should we take away from the treatment Stephen received for his gospel witness? Even if we never find ourselves in his exact position, we ought to consider carefully his experience.

Stephen deserves our respect and admiration. Before giving us the record of what he said when on trial, Luke draws our attention to how Stephen was filled with the Spirit - and the impact it had on his character and witness.

Problems in the church don't have to finish the church; in God's providence, they might actually lead to pivotal progress.

Guest Preacher: Mr Raymond Gamble (student for gospel ministry)

Is it even possible? To suffer, and yet rejoice? Acts 5:41 tells us that it is. It's exactly how the apostles are described, and is something described elsewhere in the New Testament too. Here we consider how joyful suffering is possible.

We all like to know what we can expect in any undertaking or commitment, even those that we are excited for. Acts lays out what we can expect if we are Christians on the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus' disciples, worried about what the future holds a few hours before Jesus will go to the cross, hear one of the most wonderful statements anyone could hear. Yet Jesus was not simply providing comfort for his friends; he was declaring himself to be the only way for anyone, anywhere, to enjoy everlasting life.

Satan's first attack on the believers in Jerusalem was via persecution, outside the church. His next comes from within the church. This solemn passage reminds us of the threat Satan poses to Christ's people, but also of the fact that Christ is greater than our enemy.

Jesus' words in John 11 were spoken at a wake. They are far from mere condolence or wishful thinking. Jesus promises that those who belong to him by faith will, as he has been already, be raised up to everlasting life! What better news could there be in a world of sin and death!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is good news for all people! But preaching that message also attracts opposition from Satan, sometimes in the form of persecution. Christians need to be ready for this, and to preach boldly even in the face of it.

We live in a hungry world - in more ways than one. In describing for us who he is, Jesus uses a picture to emphasise that life in him is full and satisfying. Hungry hearts: come to Jesus!

Peter takes the opportunity to witness following a miraculous healing in Jerusalem. He directs the attention of the Jewish people present to Jesus of Nazareth, crucified in Jerusalem, but risen from the dead, in fulfilment of their own Scriptures!

In both Luke's Gospel and Acts we read repeatedly about the kingdom of God. What is it? What does it look like? This passage gives us part of the answer. The miracles (or 'signs') done in the days of Jesus and his apostles point us forward to the full coming of his kingdom - when there will be no sickness, suffering or death. New life to the full is what the risen Jesus offers the world.

Following the remarkable events of the day of Pentecost, Luke describes what life began to look like for this new community of Jesus' followers in Jerusalem. Here we see marks of an 'ordinary,' local Christian church.

Moses had attempted to save his people at his own time, in his own strength. Decades later, when he felt completely incapable, God called him to that very task! God has a calling for all his people and we need to avoid excuses in fulfilling it. Moses' reluctance to serve is a striking contrast with the willingness of the Lord Jesus to carry out a far more demanding form of deliverance.

The story of Moses' birth and adoption into the Egyptian palace is well-known. But our familiarity with it might blind us to some of the crucial details. Exodus 2 actually tells us about Moses attempting deliver God's people on his own strength - and God over-ruling in his sovereign good purposes.

Exodus picks up where Genesis left off - but all of a sudden, God's people need saving from a terrible change of circumstances. God raises up unlikely saviours who bring deliverance. His covenant promises are unchanging, even in our changing world.

Saul would remain the official king of Israel for many years to come, but in the eyes of God, his kingship comes to an end in this passage. Saul fails once again to obey the commands of God. He then fails to truly repent. This is a heart-searching passage that challenges us to consider what truly turning from sin looks like.

The mission of Jesus' Church is fuelled by the Spirit whom Jesus has sent, as he promised. Whilst there can be much confusion and controversy over the person and work of the Holy Spirit, here we see clearly one of the main purposes of his empowering Christ's followers: so that we can be witnesses of the risen Jesus!

King Saul had everything he needed to be a successful king, and the summary of his kingship is positive in many ways; but he failed in the most important area, that of obedience to God's Word and cultivating a heart inclined to Him. Here we consider three questions to diagnose a straying heart.

The risen Jesus has left his apostles with a wonderful mission to accomplish. But before it begins, they are commanded to wait in Jerusalem. As they do so they important foundations for church life that still apply today: obedience, prayerfulness and unity. These foundations enable them to deal with a serious problem that could have derailed their witness before it got started.

Jonathan was the prince who would never be king. He provides a stark contrast with his faltering father, King Saul. Where Saul was full of fear in the face of the Philistine threat, Jonathan was full of faith. We learn here the importance of looking to our one pioneer in the faith, who raises us up with him to enjoy his victory - just as Jesus does for all his people.

Acts is the greatest sequel ever written, the follow-up to the Gospel of Luke. Acts is about what Jesus Christ is continuing to do in the world today, by his Word, Spirit and people, the Church. Amid all that the Christian Church could do today, Jesus tells us what we must do: be his witnesses!

Saul's time as God's chosen king is over almost as soon as it begins - because he fails to obey the commands of the Lord. Though we may sympathise with the pressure Saul faced, we must heed the lesson that in times of fear, we must call upon God in faith.

Saul was Israel's ideal choice of king - but their motives in demanding a king were wrong from the start. After a great victory, Samuel calls the people - and their king - to renew their allegiance to God, the sovereign Lord who had always provided everything they needed, and their true King.

The people have demanded a king - rejecting the kingship of God in the process. Yet, God graciously provides them with one. More accurately he provides them with another deliverer, a saviour - Saul. Here we see how God specially empowers his king for service.

The people demanded a king, and God provides one - but in the way and at the time that he deems best. His guiding and providing of Saul shows that God's King subverts our expectations - as does his providing of King Jesus!

Psalm 102 describes both the hardships of a believer's existence and the assurance of the believer's future. Hebrews 1 explicitly states that the words of this psalm are fulfilled in Christ, the one who took on our human frailty but who has secured for us life in eternity! At the turn of the year we reflect on the comfort of resting in an unchanging God.

Jacob's prophetic, parting words to his son, Judah, foreshadow the coming of the King of kings, Jesus Christ.

God's everlasting covenant with Abraham included the promise of a son. In this passage we see clear parallels with the coming of a promised son in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1).