Pastor BJ finishes his series on 3 John today. For many at Stonebridge this was the first time they have heard a series on 3 John; it was so meaningful and helpful. St John is really emphasizing the value of “the personal touch”. And Pastor BJ confirmed the value of picking up the phone or meeting in person rather than defaulting to an email, or SMS message, or Messaging. Some things are simply to valuable or important to communicated in any other way other than face-to-face.
Authority Over The Environment
In Sunday’ sermon St Matthew wants his readers to grasp that Jesus is the promised King; the king who would rule over God’s promised kingdom; and that as such he has authority over all of creation, including the environment. When mankind rebelled against God, not only was mankind affected by the consequences of that rebellion (sin) but all of physical creation was also subjected to negative effects. And the king is coming to make all that right. The account in Matthew 8 is a demonstration of the authority of the king.
Letter to Gaius Pt. 3
It’s not uncommon for Christians today to look back romantically to the early church in New Testament times as being this wonderful, loving organization. John 3, as Pastor BJ explains, is written explicitly addressing what seems to be a bit of a power struggle in a church. Sounds familiar. The Apostle John is gently, yet firmly, addressing the situation, and Pastor BJ wants us to learn from it.
A Growing Church
Jim Scullion starts a new series on the short letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians- his second letter to this church. Perhaps surprising to us, St Paul indicated that persecution was evidence that the church was growing! Maybe not what we want to hear? But maybe its what we need to hear in these days.
Letter to Gaius
Pastor BJ continues his series in 3 John. A wonderful letter from St John to a disciple, a leader, an elder (?) with some encouraging words. Words that can encourage and instruct us today.
God’s Sovereignty, Our Confidence
In today’s sermon Pastor Jeff pulls together events from Genesis and Revelation with a text out of The Acts of the Apostles. What an amazing story of God creating many languages to “separate” peoples, but at the right time bringing the good news of the gospel to all these languages.
Walking in Truth
The third letter of St John is not often preached. This might be the first time it has been preached at Stonebridge Church! We are delighted that Pastor BJ Newman is preaching a 4-sermon series on this short letter. By this first sermon we know we will be helped, encouraged and we will learn about this special letter.
I Will Follow You
Are we really ready to follow Jesus? Or are we simply enthused about the wonderful things he has done for us or our family? Jesus is really asking for total commitment: to follow where he goes; to go where he sends us; to put him before our families, our clan, or clubs, etc.