Sermons At St Aidan's

As we continue this week in Isaiah, God's people receive a wake-up call. As they are reminded of God's power and promises fulfilled in the past, they are called to wake up to these realities and confidently rejoice and proclaim what the Lord has done.

Those who hope in the Lord will not be disappointed because God has sent his suffering servant, Jesus, to save his people. Therefore, we can trust God in hopeless situations because of his faithfulness to Jesus and the future promise where God will make all things new.

The challenge of this section is that God will use a pagan idolater, the Persian King Cyrus the Great, as his instrument to rescue His people from captivity. Many of God's people will be outraged at this, but God maintains His complete sovereignty in these events and will ensure that every knee will bow to Him.

Today in Isaiah, we continue to hear words of comfort for God's people living as exiles. God speaks of his great love and tender care for his people, and the price he will pay to redeem them and bring them home. Isaiah contrasts the character of the true God with the nature of idolatry so that we might see the absurdity of false saviours, and find our fulfillment in the God who redeems.

As we continue in Isaiah, we are told that God's promises involve establishing a worldwide justice and a renewal of creation, and that all of this will come through the work of a mysterious servant.

There is a dramatic change in the Book of Isaiah at this point as Isaiah's message of judgement culminating in exile, turns to a message of hope and renewal after exile. But, how will this come about? And what will it mean for God's weary people caught up in a world of sin?

In John's Gospel chapter 9, we hear Jesus' claim to be the light of the world, and he gives sight to a blind man as a sign to prove his claims. We also see varying responses from those who meet Jesus, denial, avoidance, opposition, worship. As we meet Jesus in his word, we too must decide how we will respond to him?

Jesus saves and sustains God's people. He is where true life is found. His death means life for us.

Can't get no satisfaction? Satisfaction is more than a feeling, it's a way of life, and if we can't find it we often feel like we haven't found ourselves. But what if satisfaction was not about finding ourselves, but meeting someone else altogether? That's what we'll find today as we meet Jesus by the well outside ancient Samaria.

put on the Gospel put on the G As we wrap up our journey through Ephesians, all the themes of the letter come together with the call to equip ourselves with the armour we need to stand firm against all the attacks of the devil.

Continuing in Ephesians, it addresses our relationship with one another. The apostle Paul places the example of Christ's self-giving love at the heart of all our relationships, and shows how this shapes our attitudes and actions as God's people.

Today we continue to explore the new identity that we have been given in Christ, and what it means to live as God's dearly loved children. We are called to initate our Father as we live in his love, light, and wisdom. At the centre of this is to live in grateful joy for God's grace toward is in Jesus.

Christians are to live according to their new identities in Christ, by taking off the old self which is self-orientated, and putting on the new self, which is God-orientated and focused on building others up in love.

Having been united in one new body in Christ, we now see how the body grows into maturity through the proper working of all its parts. The diversity of the body is essential for its ongoing unity and growth. What this means is that you are needed and have an essential part to play if God's church is to grow into what he intends it to be.

Now that the momentous mystery of the gospel grafting the Gentiles to Christ has been revealed, what is Paul's prayer for the Ephesians? It boils down to the basics: pray, read your Bible, go to church. But, we still see that these are not arbitrary actions, rather they are powerful proof of the glory of the gospel.

Paul now outlines his own role as the one called by God to announce God's good news to the gentiles. We see God's great plan of salvation revealed, and his wisdom displayed as he gathers his church.

Having been reconciled to God by his grace, we now see how we are also reconciled to one another. No longer are there any insiders or outsiders, all are united in one new family through faith in Christ Jesus.

As we continue in Ephesians we come to an amazing passage about the Grace of God toward us in Jesus. It begins with a diagnosis that we may not like to hear, that we are by nature spiritually dead. But from this bleak state God intervenes to lift us out of the grave to live a new life in his grace. 

As we continue in our series in Ephesians, we hear Paul's prayer for the Ephesian churches. He is filled with thanksgiving for their faith and love, and as he prays for them he asks for the greater blessings of a deeper knowledge of God and his promises. As we explore Paul's prayer points, we will learn a lot about priorities in prayer and God's plan for us.

Today we start the Book of Ephesians. God's people are blessed in Christ by being chosen by God, redeemed through Jesus, and selected by the Spirit to bring God glory.