Dromore RP Church - Sermons

Guest Preacher: Rev. Robert Robb

Guest Preacher: Rev. Robert Robb

After the big event come the reactions. Our world loves to hear from everyone about what they think when there's an election, a great team victory, an incident that has an impact on society. This passage tells us about the reactions of King Saul, his family and his nation to the rising star, David. How do you respond to God's King?

David vs Goliath - a story well-loved the world over. But is it well-known, really?! The surprising truth of this passage is: you CAN'T face your giants; but there is a Saviour who has faced them for you.

The Spirit of God rushes on David, equipping him for his service as king; meanwhile the Spirit departs from Saul. Here we see a contrast between those filled with God's Spirit and those who, sadly, are without him.

We don't approach heads of state or VIPs any way we like; nor can we approach Jesus that way. There is a right way and a wrong way to come making demands of the King of kings.

What the people of Israel looked for in a king - a handsome warrior, like all the other nations - led them to disaster, with King Saul. Now, God chooses his King - and he does so by looking on the heart. It's the heart that matters most!

'Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.' So says Jesus, the uncompromising Messiah. Our world is often too polarised about too many issues, but Jesus makes clear here that when it comes to him and his kingdom, there can be no sitting on the fence.

As the crowds and religious leaders give their verdict on Jesus and his ministry, Matthew reminds us of the verdict of heaven. We are to see Jesus as the Father sees him:

1. Chosen, Perfect Servant

2. Spirit-Filled Preacher

3. Compassionate Shepherd

4. Hope of the Nations

Two ditches to be avoided when it comes to observing the Sabbath. Ditch Number 1 is legalism: adding on our own rules and restrictions, and expecting everyone else to comply with them, to the point of making this commandment a burden. Ditch Number 2 is liberalism: treating this one, holy day as though it were just like any other. Jesus helps us to avoid both. He is the Lord of the Sabbath!

This short passage includes some of the most important, and the most precious, words of Jesus in the whole Bible.

Some of the most serious, solemn words in all Scripture are spoken here, by the Lord Jesus Christ, to people who had the privilege of seeing and hearing him preach right in front of them - but who did not repent.

Jesus calls John the Baptist the greatest man who ever lived - but then says there are many more who are greater than him! What does this mean? And is it ok to be a Christian and have doubts?

The conclusion of Jesus' sermon is not exactly a gentle one. In no uncertain terms, he spells out the cost of serving him. However, he also makes clear that those following him on his mission will be rewarded in the end.

So many of the psalms describe periods of great hardship in the psalmist's life. Here, some of David's hardest experiences serve as a prophecy of what the Lord Jesus himself would endure for poor, needy sinners to received salvation.

"Nobody said it was easy; no one ever said it would be this hard." We are sometimes tempted to think that when the going gets tough. But it is not a complaint we can make if we are on mission for the Lord Jesus; he has told us exactly how hard it will be, even that we will face persecution for proclaiming him. Yet, he also gives us good reasons not to fear, and to endure.

Christ himself needed deliverance, from death and hell on the cross. Because he was the perfect, sinless but sin-bearing servant of God, he has been delivered! He now offers deliverance to all who call on him. Like Christ, once we have experienced deliverance, we ought to declare it.

1. The Personnel on Messiah's Mission

2. The Purpose of Messiah's Mission

3. The Pressing Urgency of Messiah's Mission

4. The Peace Offered - and Warning Given - of Messiah's Mission

Sometimes we get so caught up in the enjoyment and good things of life that we forget how fleeting and brief our existence is. Equally, times of sorrow and pain can feel never-ending - and again, we forget that our days are numbered. This psalm helps us to regain the right perspective, and to call to the God of eternity to give us hope beyond this fleeting life.

In Matthew 10 the Lord Jesus will speak at length to his twelve disciples/apostles about the short-term mission he is about to send them on. Before that we consider three requirements or anyone preparing to serve him on mission.

Matthew concludes this mini section of his gospel, in which he gives examples of Jesus' miraculous healings, with two final, particularly dramatic examples: Jesus raises a dead girl to life and gives sight to the blind. These miracles, even more than the others, would have had thoughtful Jewish onlookers recalling the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Has he opened your eyes, and given you new life?

Matthew continues laying out the evidence of Jesus' unique authority. As he does so, we are confronted with a question, one that Matthew himself was confronted with: will we follow this Messiah?

Psalm 38 takes us to the cross. It powerfully describes the experience of Christ, bearing our sin on the cross. It also warns us of the torment awaiting any who do not trust in Christ to bear their sin, and so have to bear it themselves in eternity.

Matthew continues laying out the evidence of Jesus' unique authority - over his followers, over nature and over evil.

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.