Word of Salvation - December 2010   BEING PREPARED FOR BATTLE – PART 1, Peter Smit (Sermon 13 of a series on Ephesians, Series Title – Ephesians: Portraits of a living church   Text – Ephesians 6:10-12   It is a great day when people give themselves to God and profess their faith in Jesus Christ. It is a great day because God has been at work changing people’s lives. God is faithful to his promises. It can be a mountain-top experience when people profess faith in Christ.   But next to every mountain top you find a valley. Sometimes they’re...

Word of Salvation - November 2010   CHRIST-HONOURING WORK, Peter Smit (Sermon 12 of a series on Ephesians, Series Title – Ephesians: Portraits of a living church   Text – Ephesians 6:5-9   Industrial relations is a big issue in society today. The Howard government lost the election a few years ago because of their policy on it. People are concerned today about their rights at work. Relationships between employers and employees can be strained. Workers want better conditions and employers want better returns.   Today we’re going to think about what God says about Christ-honouring work. How should a Christian...

Word of Salvation - September 2010   A PORTRAIT OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE, Peter Smit (Sermon 10 of a series on Ephesians, Series Title – Ephesians: Portraits of a living church)   Text – Ephesians 5:21-33   I found some quotes on marriage that convey some very different views of marriage. Successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. Germain Greer You should "keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterwards" Benjamin Franklin   Socrates mused, "If you get a good wife you will become happy, and if you get a bad one you will...

Word of Salvation - September 2010   HONOURING YOUR PARENTS, John de Hoog (Sermon 6 in a series on the Ten Commandments)   Text: Exodus 20:12 Reading: Ephesians 5:22-6:9 Music: BOW 9, 369, “Have faith in God”, “Your grace is sufficient”   Many people see the fifth commandment about honouring your parents as the softest commandment. A sermon on this commandment is going to contain lots of warm fuzzies about family and good kids, and the preacher will tell us to get our act together with the way we are raising our kids, but generally speaking it will all be rather...

Word of Salvation - October 2010   CHRIST-HONOURING RELATIONSHIPS AT HOME, Peter Smit (Sermon 11 of a series on Ephesians, Series Title – Ephesians: Portraits of a living church   Text – Ephesians 6:1-4   Probably the most important relationships in life are your home relationships. How parents relate to children and how children relate to parents. If relationships at home work in the way God intends, that impacts children for the rest of their lives. But the flip side is that if home relationships are destructive, or if parents are too authoritarian or permissive, or if children don’t learn to...

Word of Salvation - August 2010   MOTIVATIONS FOR HOLY LIVING, Peter Smit (Sermon 9 of a series on Ephesians, Series title – Ephesians: Portraits of a living church)   Text – Ephesians 5:1-21   Motivation is the key to change. Without good motivation, change seems just too hard. Last time (Ephesians 4:17-32) God spoke to us about a new way of living. He called us to put off old ways and put on new ways. Now as we look at Chapter Five God gives you the reason why you should change. He gives you important truths to motivate you to...

Word of Salvation - Vol.52 No.33 - September 2007   What The Grace Of God Provides A Sermon by Rev Martin Geluk (Sermon 2 of 2 on "Grace Alone") Text: Ephesians 2: 5-10 Scripture reading: Ephesians 2: 1-10   Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, In the first sermon on sola gratia, 'by grace alone', we saw from the first three verses of Ephesians 2 that every human being is dead in transgressions and sins. The unsaved person follows the ways of the world. The Bible says that the whole world is under the control of the evil one [1 Jn.5:19]....

Word of Salvation - Vol.52 No.29 - August 2007   By Grace Alone A Sermon by Rev Martin Geluk on Ephesians 2:1-5 (Sermon 1 of 2, on Grace Alone) Scripture Reading:  Ephesians 2:1-10   Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have come to the fourth 'sola'. The word 'sola' is Latin for 'alone'. We use this word when we speak of the five solas of the Reformation. So far we have had sermons on Scripture alone, Christ alone and faith alone, and now it is the turn of 'by grace alone'. And after grace alone there is still the fifth...

Word of Salvation - July 2010   A NEW WAY OF LIVING, Peter Smit Text: Ephesians 4:17-32 (Sermon 8 of a series on Ephesians, Series title – Ephesians: Portraits of a living church)   (Show a bunch of old clothes that you need to throw out.) Do you enjoy cleaning out of your cupboard from time to time all those old clothes? Problem is you don’t normally like to throw old clothes out until you’ve got new ones. Today our portrait in Ephesians is about new clothes and a new way of living. As we go through this passage, take note...

Word of Salvation – May 2010   MARKS OF MATURITY, Peter Smit (Sermon 7 of a series in Ephesians, Series title – Ephesians: Portraits of the living church)   Text – Ephesians 4:1-16   There is a film called “Indescribable” that looks at space. Some of you may have seen it. One amazing constellation it looks at is called Pleiades . It is roughly 440 light years distance away… Remember light can travel around the earth 7 times in one second. A light year is the distance light travels over one year; it’s about 9.5 trillion kilometers. The radius of this...

Word of Salvation – May 2010   PRAYERS FOR A POWERFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE, Peter Smit (Sermon 6 of a series on Ephesians, Series title – Ephesians: Portraits of the living church)   Ephesians 3   How’s your prayer life? Are you too busy to pray? Do you prefer action rather than talking to God? Is prayer a routine ritual that does little to fan your spirit into flame? Do you wonder what to pray? Do you feel your prayers lack vitality?   Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote: “Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at...

Word of Salvation – Vol.50 No.15 – April 2005   To Him Be Glory Sermon by Rev R Adams on Ephesians 3:14-21   Scripture Readings:  Philippians 2:1-11; Ephesians 3:14-21 Suggested Hymns:  BoW: 48; 51a; 138; 116a; 92; 150b; or                                PsH: 89; 94; 286; 230; 180; 310   Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we come to this passage we are hit by the words, "For this reason..." And it's a bit like a footy match... the player with the ball has slid over the try line to score... and all eyes are on him... he has everyone's attention. In...

Word of Salvation - January 2010   SAVED BY GRACE, Peter Smit Sermon 3 of a series on Ephesians (Series title – “Ephesians: Portraits of the living church”)   Text – Ephesians 2:1-10   Reality shows: Biggest Loser, Survivor, Australian Idol, Big Brother, so you think you can dance, Dancing with the stars, the amazing race, America’s next top model, and on and on they go. The one factor that turns them from loser to winner = what you do. Work a bit harder, strive a bit longer, work, negotiate, do what you need to do.   Many people approach faith...

Word of Salvation - March 2010   BECOMING A SERVANT OF THE GOSPEL, Peter Smit (Sermon 5 of a series on Ephesians (Series title – “Ephesians: Portraits of the living church)   Text – Ephesians 3:1-13   Murray Capill, the principal of the RTC wrote an article recently about the changes in the last fifty years that have impacted every part of life. He said,   “People think differently from 50 years ago: modernist to a postmodernist mindset. Now a person under the age of 40 is not that committed to institutions, is suspicious of authority figures, likes to experiment but...

Word of Salvation – February 2010   JESUS, THE BUILDER AND DESTROYER, Peter Smit Sermon 4 of a series on Ephesians (Series title – “Ephesians: Portraits of the living church”) (Could also be used on Easter Sunday)   Text – Ephesians 2:11-22   After the Second World War, defeated Germany was divided up into 4 parts: an American, British, French and Soviet occupation zone. Berlin was also divided into 4 sectors. In 1948, the Soviet authorities tried to annex the whole city but failed. That same year, the Soviet part of Germany became the German Democratic Republic (GDR) with East Berlin...

Word of Salvation - September 2017   We've Got It All By Rev. Craig Van Echten On Ephesians 1:1-6   Textual Theme (what): Paul begins the letter with a doxology and praises God for the Spiritual blessings that believers enjoy through Christ which are given on the basis of God’s grace and for the purpose of God’s worship. Original Purpose (why): To encourage the believers by showing them the blessings they have in Christ. Proposition (what and so what): Let the Church praise God because in Christ we’ve got it all!   Ephesians 1:1-6   Brothers and sisters, How good is...

Word of Salvation - April 2018   The Ascended Christ's Authority By Rev. John Westendorp Text: Eph. 1:20-23 & H.C. LD 19 [Q/A 50,51]   Theme: Jesus’ ascension reminds us that Christ has honour and power now over all things for the church.   Introd:  How relevant is Ascension Day in our society? The whole world celebrates Christmas – the coming of Jesus into the world. And Good Friday is a crucial day in the Christian calendar.    We remember that Jesus died for the sins of the world. And of course Easter Sunday couldn’t possibly be ignored.    On that...

Word of Salvation - April 2018   Blessed is a God-fearing Family By Rev. John Westendorp Text: Psalm 128 Scripture Readings: Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4 and Psalm 128   Theme: Blessing for the family is found in the fear of the Lord... and that blesses God’s Church and Kingdom.   Introd:  You may be tempted this morning to dismiss this Psalm as irrelevant.  For several reasons. For starters... it’s a song about families... and you’re sitting here as a single person.. The unmarried, the widowed and the divorced seem to be bypassed in this Psalm. But that’s not true.  Take another...

Word of Salvation – Vol.17 No.23 - June 1971   Bringing Up Children   Sermon by Rev. W. Wiersma, Th.Grad. on Eph.6:4. Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 6:1-12 Psalm 115 Suggested Hymns: Psalter Hymnal  264; 272; 414; 45; 493   Dear Congregation, When the Lord commands children to honour and obey their father and mother, this clearly implies that parents are placed in authority over their children.  However, this does not give the parents the right to treat their children as they like or see fit.  Every authority that anyone has over others is an authority given him by the Lord.  So that...

Word of Salvation – Vol.14 No.40 - September 1968   Preparing Children For Heaven   Sermon by Rev. P.J. Berghouse, Th. Grad., on Ephesians 6:4. Scripture Readings:  1Samuel 2:22-26; Hebrews 12:4-13 Suggested Hymns: Psalter Hymnal:  89 (New); 235:2,3; 272: 2,3 (Law); 443 (Creed); 311; 298:2; 493   Beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ, Many children like this text!  Especially the first part of it: "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger". The story is told of one youngster who was due again for a spanking one day.  This particular time, it was not long after he had read our text.  Of...