The Cross sermon series

Go to “The Cross” sermon audio files here.

Jesus died upon the cross. He was crucified, died and was buried. This is a central part of the Christian faith. It is the high point of all four gospels, included in the Apostles Creed and in an early statement of faith recorded in 1 Corinthians 15, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

While on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” and then gave up his spirit (John 19:30). What was finished?

We need clarity about what happened at the cross.

Penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) is a technical way of describing what took place on the cross. The penalty for sin was dealt with. A substitution was made so that an innocent man died in place of the guilty. What was achieved through this act was the peace of God toward repentant sinners (atonement) who put their trust in what Jesus did and who he is. The consequences of this great exchange are what we will study in this five week sermon series.

We will look at four words which illustrate what has been achieved for us on the cross: substitutionary atonement. They are not four alternative theories but the fruit of penal substitutionary atonement. If God in Christ did not die in our place, there could be no propitiation, redemption, justification or reconciliation. The meaning and importance of these words, as described in the bible, will be the focus of our study on The Cross.

“Moved by the perfection of his holy love, God in Christ substituted himself for us sinners. That is the heart of the cross of Christ.” (John Stott, The Cross of Christ)

2 Thessalonians – Persevere Today – August-October 2016

2Thess-PersevereTodayPrintWelcome to the Second Letter to the church in Thessalonica. It should be stressed that this is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to people in Thessalonica whom he knew and had brought them to faith in Christ himself (see Acts 17). It is, therefore, a somewhat personal letter with some details we are not privy to.

We will be listening in on Paul’s conversation to a church he knew and loved.

As we read through this letter in our Sunday services you will notice the phrase ‘brothers’ (and sisters) occurring several times in the letter (in 1:3, 2:1, 2:13, 3:1, 3:6, 3:13). We will use these as section markers in the book but the real significance is the relationship that Paul has with this church. He sees them as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Sermons from this 2 Thessalonians series will be uploaded to the sermon lounge for anyone to listen to.

Proverbs – The Way of Wisdom – May-June 2016

Proverbs - the way of wisdom

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Proverbs chapter 4 verse 7 says, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.” Doesn’t that sound childish? Like when you ask a child, “Why do you like that?” And their response is, “Because I like it!”

But the verse continues and says, “Though it cost you all you have, get understanding.” The message becomes a little clearer. Wisdom is not so much about reaching the end of a long journey, but about starting out on that journey. Wisdom is right at our doorstep and our starting point for wisdom is to choose that door. Wisdom will be hard to grasp because it will be costly. But it is worth it.

We will be looking at wisdom this term as we journey through the book of Proverbs together at St Peter’s Anglican Church and St Andrew’s Anglican Church. Each Sunday, at our regular services, we will look at a section of the book and get understanding together. Our mid-week Growth Groups will also look together at the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament and see how this ancient text is very much a living document for us today.

You can also join us this term to read through the book of Proverbs in your own bible reading time. Use this PDF to read through Proverbs daily this term (April25 to July17). Before reading, pray briefly that God would give you wisdom. Then read the small section for each day. Talk to God again about what the words have said and mean. Ask Him for help to understand and put His word into practice. Then get on with you day and do it all again tomorrow! Read, pray and get on with your day.

Everyone is welcome to our Sunday church services. We love seeing new faces and do try to make everybody feel welcome.

Fight on in 2016

Fight on in 2016Another year swings round and what will we put our energy into? As God’s children who have come to know Jesus, the risen Lord, we are encouraged to fight on in the faith.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” These words are from 1 Corinthians 16:13. We’ll be looking at what it looks like to stand firm, being courageous and strong.

Our summer series commences on December 27th and right through January 2016. Romans 8; Ephesians 6; Hebrews 4; 1 Peter 5 and Hebrews 10 will each contribute to this thematic sermon series.

Sermons from this series will be added to our Sermon Lounge.

What Are We Doing Here?

What are we doing here? - Magnification, Membership, Maturity, Ministry, MissionIt’s a basic question of life: what are we doing here? We all resolve this question in our minds one way or another but is your answer satisfactory? We apply this question to our church as we spend five weeks in 2015 to see what the bible says about what we are made for. This sermon series underscores the vision for our church. We invite you to listen to each of the sermons in this series to investigate what our church is doing here and ultimately what you are here for.

There is a “What Are We Doing Here?” study book associated with this sermon series along with Growth Group material.

Check out the sermons in the “What Are We Doing Here?” series now.

Ezekiel: Heart of Stone – Heart of Flesh

EZEKIEL 600x600Ezekiel is one of those rarely explored books of the bible. It’s a shame really since it contains some literally awesome imagery. The reader may get tired from chapter after chapter of doom and gloom, but it is worth sticking with it to listen to the amazing power of the gospel right here in this Old Testament treasure. For our middle series of 2015 we looked at all 48 chapters of this book – overviewing some sections and focusing in detail on others. It will take a miracle for the heart of man to be undivided toward our God. It will take radical surgery to remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.

Check out the online sermon series on the book of Ezekiel here…

Acts 1-8: Gospel Explosion – a sermon series in 2015

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From February 2015, we’ll be reading through the book of Acts chapters 1 to 8 in church and in our Growth Groups. This historic book describes the formation and growth of the Christian church from the first century A.D.

The book of Acts follows the account written by Luke of the resurrected Jesus who left his eleven eye-witnesses to tell everybody the good news that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and he is LORD! The apostles started in Jerusalem where Jesus left them and they proceeded to do exactly what Jesus had commanded them: to take the gospel to the ends of the earth!

The online sermons from this series can be accessed here.

Summer Series 2014-15 – The 7 Letters to the 7 Churches in Revelation 2-3

It’s a mouthful of a series title! But what the seven churches in Revelation received from the Lord Jesus Christ was quite a mouthful too! Watch this 8 minute intro from our Senior Minister on how the letters in the final book of the bible are about Warming and Warning – the encouragement from Jesus to persevere and the reminder to repent and stay true to the faith of the one who has saved them.

Check out the 7 sermons right here – The Seven Le77ers to the Seven Churches in Revelation

The Word of God – All Scripture is God-Breathed

The Word of God

The Word of GodWe read the bible every week at our church services. We encourage every member of our church to be reading the bible as often as possible. We plan for a bible reading and a bible talk to occur at almost all of our events and activities organised by the church community. So why is it so important to us? Is it from God? Is it trustworthy? Are there other books just as important? How far should we go when applying it’s content to our lives? Does it have any significance for us today?

These are questions – and more – that we’ll be covering in our Sermon Series through November. As we lead into our Christmas season we ask – what is the word of God?

John 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us!”

Listen online or subscribe to our podcast here.

Does God Really…?

This short series held over the summer of 2013-14 covered some of the basic questions about God: does he really speak to us…does he really listen…does he really forgive and does he really heal? These questions ask more than whether God speaks, listens, forgives and heals but does he REALLY say anything to my world, does he REALLY listen to my problems, does he REALLY forgive the things that I have done – all of them, and does he REALLY heal – a healing that really works!

Check out the responses to these questions here…

End of 2013 Sermon Series: 2 Timothy – The Word and the Workers

2 Timothy Sermon Series - The Word and the Workers

2 Timothy - the Word and the WorkersCome and hear Rev Nigel Fortescue teach from 2 Timothy at each of our major church services. This sermon series will cover the four chapters of this second letter from Paul to Timothy – two great saints of the early church. Paul, the gospel warrior writes to Timothy, a timid Christian who is instructed to fan into flames, the mission of preaching and teaching the word of God.

Listen to 2 Timothy: The Word and the Worker at the sermon lounge

Spring sermon series: John 8 to 13

The gospel of John - I am the resurrection and the life - that's what Jesus said - Spring sermon series 2013 Campbelltown Anglican Churches

John 8 to 13Across most of our church services, we will be hearing readings from the gospel according to John chapters 8 to 13 along with our ministry staff discussing major themes from this section of the bible.

John opens his gospel with the news that Jesus, who is God the one and only, has come to earth in the flesh to bring light into the world. John closes his gospel to explain that he wrote all that he did so that we might know and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing in him we can have eternal life. This makes the content of his book very profound.

If this eyewitness to all that Jesus said and did has written an account that we can trust, then we have every reason to believe that Jesus has some important things to teach us. Chapters 8 to 13 reveal some very remarkable claims that Jesus made of himself, such as: ‘I am the light of the world’, ‘I am the good shepherd’, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’, and most remarkably, ‘I am!’ – a claim to being God himself!

Join us each Sunday to hear his words for yourself.

Catch-up on this sermon series at our Sermon Lounge…