Our sermons on the topic of church
30
May
What is the church?
This Sunday, we are starting with a new series called “Why Church?”. We have been meeting together for the last 7 years as a community. We started as a bible study group with just 6 to 8 people meeting at a home and then moved to a hall where we grew in numbers. For all these 7 years, it has been our joy to serve you. In recent months, as Jane and I were travelling, meeting, and connecting with people from other countries, we had several occasions to talk about you all. And honestly, every time I think or talk […]
6
Jun
What is a healthy church?
Good morning church! Hope you had a good last week but even if you’re here thinking that the last week wasn’t great, I hope you see this as something that will bring rest and refreshment to your heart as you hear from God this morning. If you’ve been tracking with us, you would be aware that we’ve started a new series titled “Why Church?”. And that’s an interesting & challenging question for all of us here. For many of us, we’ve heard the phrase “Go to Church” several times but rarely have we wondered “But why church?” Maybe it’s because […]
15
Jan
Why Church?
Last Sunday Jinson preached from 1 Peter 2:9-10 and shared with us the vision and goals for the Church in the year 2019. As mentioned, the three goals we want to focus in 2019 are Neighbourhood Ministries – Reaching out to our neighbours with the gospel and planting new Gospel Communities. One-on-one Discipleship – Where everyone is sharing life with at least one person. Establish Covenant membership – Committing to church life and fulfilling the vision as a family. Jinson also highlighted that the responsibility of fulfilling this vision of the Kingdom of God is not just upon the elders […]
23
Mar
Mark of a Healthy Church – 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
We are currently doing a sermon series called ‘Abiding Faith’ as we are going through Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. The passage we will be looking at today is 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16, and if you have your bible or an app you can open and read with me. And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became […]
23
Mar
Mark of a Healthy Church – 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
We are currently doing a sermon series called ‘Abiding Faith’ as we are going through Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. The passage we will be looking at today is 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16, and if you have your bible or an app you can open and read with me. And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became […]
31
Aug
The Importance of Preaching the Word in Church Life – 2 Timothy 4:1-4
The historical context to this passage is that this is the last recorded instruction that Paul gives Timothy before his execution. We know that Paul is alone in a cold dungeon and these are the final commands for his close friend and disciple in the Lord. He has spoken a lot about suffering in this whole letter. What marked and highlighted Paul’s life and ministry after he believed in Jesus was not a bed of roses but suffering and persecution. However, this emphasis on suffering was meant to encourage Timothy and the church and also remind them that suffering is […]
7
Jun
5 Signs of a Healthy Church Life – 1 Timothy 5:1-16
Last Sunday we learned how to discern whether we are listening to right biblical teaching by applying the 4 principles i.e right teaching, right living, right community & right scrutiny. Right biblical teaching will always lead our hearts to sound teaching of the scripture pointing our hearts to Christ and the Gospel, help us live godly lives, join us with godly community and convict our hearts of sin. In our passage today which is 1 Timothy 5:1-16 I believe Paul is getting into the practical aspects of church life. After addressing false doctrine and rebuking false teachers, pruning the church […]
25
May
Here’s how the Church builds itself in Christ – Ephesians 4:7-16
I was 14 years old when a family friend of ours looked at me and said, “You’ve got broad shoulders. All you need is some muscle around it and you’ll look great.” I still don’t know if he was joking or not but I took his advice seriously. Over the course of the next few years I worked hard on building some muscle. At that point I was really skinny and so it took me a while before I saw any impact of the workouts. But that made me think and wonder…how does the body of Christ get built up? […]
4
May
This is what Gospel centered Church Discipline looks like – 1 Tim 3:14-16
[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/saju-new-message-2.mp3″] Good Morning We’re doing a series called “God Alive Church – a journey through 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus” and last Sunday Jinson preached on the topic “The call to serve faithfully” from 1 Timothy 3:8-13 (Read and Listen) and helped us understand the role and qualifications of a Deacon. What really stands out from that passage is for all of us to remember that we all are called to serve the church, serve one another, the bride of Christ. Whether you are an ordained elder/deacon or not, you are called to serve. And you don’t have […]
12
Apr
1 Tim 2:8-15 – Complementary Roles of Men and Women in the church
[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/jinson-9-4-2017.mp3″] The passage we are going to cover today has been a fascinating one for the church over the ages. More so in recent times this has been a reason for a lot of fascination because it deals with the different roles that men and women have within the church. And the goal of the sermon is not to make it a more fascinating topic but to recognize God as absolutely fantastic due to His wisdom and ways! I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also […]
14
Feb
1 Timothy 1:3-7 – Addressing False Christian teachings in our Churches
[audioplayer file=http://thegatheringcommunity.in/sermons/false-christian-teaching.mp3] Last Sunday we began a new series called ‘The God Alive Church’ – a journey through 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. 1 Timothy is a letter written by Apostle Paul who was once a persecutor of Christians, a Jew and a Roman citizen. He would kill everyone who professed the name of Jesus and followed him. He became a Christian after a real time encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, and since then he’s been involved in the Kingdom work planting churches all over. Paul is writing this letter to a young man called Timothy whom he […]
16
Jan
Christ’s Expectations from his Church – Part 1
[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/christs-expection-from-his-church.mp3″] Last week we started a four-week series on ‘The Church’ and we unpacked our true identity as the Church community from the book of Hebrews chapter 8. Like I said everything starts on a right note when we know and understand our true identity as a Church. We learnt that we are a covenant community knit together as a body of Christ, not on the basis of the old testament laws but because our faith in Christ Jesus. In Hebrews 8:6 the author points to Christ as the one who obtained a ministry that is as more excellent […]
22
Jan
Christ’s Expectations from his Church – Part 2
As you all know that we are doing a series on ‘The Church’. We started the series by discovering our Identity as a Church Community – We learnt that we are a Covenant people, redeemed by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, holy and blameless in the sight of God because of Christ, a people with a purpose to glorify God in our words, deeds and actions. And the bible says that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from this love of Christ. Last Sunday we stopped at the Book of Revelation chapter 2 and 3 […]
8
Feb
Church History & Selective Heresies
[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/church-history.mp3″] IS CHURCH HISTORY IMPORTANT? Definition: History is the branch of knowledge that records and explains past events. Do you think that it is important to have an understanding of Church History? Why learn Church history? 1. To be obedient Job 8:8-10 “Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? “ 2. To understand God Psalms 44:1 “We have heard with […]
9
Jan
Our Identity as a Church Community. (Hebrews 8)
2016 was an exciting and adventurous year for all of us and I believe this year will also bring a lot of surprises. I’m personally hoping and praying to see some more marriages happen this year and the possibility of planting a new church as the Lord leads us. Coming to today’s sermon as you all know that we love to do expository preaching through the books of the bible which we believe to be most beneficial for the body of Christ. Last year we studied and preached through the book of Nehemiah for 7 months (April to October) followed […]