Christchurch Sermons

You think you know what you need. Jesus says you might be wrong. Four friends drop a paralysed man at the feet of Jesus, fully expecting a miracle. What they get is something far more surprising, and far more costly. In this message Lewis Roderick takes us to chapter 5: 17 - 26 as learn what it tells us about the identity of Jesus, the nature of our deepest need, and why the cross is where these two realities collide.

In Luke 5:12–16, Jesus encounters a man suffering from leprosy—a disease that had left him isolated, excluded, and declared unclean. Desperate and out of options, the man throws himself at Jesus' feet and pleads for mercy. What follows is one of the most beautiful pictures of the gospel in Luke's Gospel. Jesus reaches out and touches the untouchable. He doesn't simply heal the man; he restores him. In doing so, Jesus reveals himself as the one who can deal with our deepest uncleanness—not just the things wrong around us, but the sin within us. This sermon, Lewis Roderick explores the leper's desperate plea, Jesus' healing touch, and how this encounter points us to the cross, where Christ takes our place so that we can be welcomed into God's presence. Whatever shame, failure, or guilt we carry, Jesus is able to make us clean.

At Pentecost, the Spirit of God descended in wind and fire, as the risen Jesus poured out his Spirit and his people went proclaiming the gospel to all nations. As Christchurch Newport celebrates this momentous occasion, we consider what it all means, and how the Spirit is leading us today to make Christ known to all people. "Let the nations be glad!"

When Jesus stood up in Nazareth and proclaimed liberty for the captives, did he really have the power to deliver on that proclamation? Listen in as Luke sends us a battlefield report from Capernaum to answer that very question!

"How are you feeling?" As we continue 'Human: Dust and Glory', Lewis Roderick unpacks the role emotions play in our humanity; where the come from, why they're good and why they shouldn't be obeyed. And shows us how a right vision of Jesus can lead to emotional health.

What is a human body? A shell that houses the real you? Or is it the sum total of all we are; just matter, molecules and mucus? In Genesis 2 we glimpse a glorious picture and a profound reality: every person is both an embodied soul and ensouled body. Listen in as Lewis Roderick shows us why the human body is so good (even in all its brokenness) and how the gospel leads us to a truly embodied life.

What does it mean to be human? In the lead up to Spring at Christchurch Newport, we'll be considering that question in light of Genesis 1 and 2, reflecting on the significance of our being created, imaged, physical, commissioned, emotional, communal, limited, gendered, sexual and dust. As we begin our series, Lewis Roderick takes us to our origin story and shows us what it means for us to 'created'.

As we begin 2026, no one but God knows what lays ahead, globally, nationally or personally. What will be the state of my soul if my 'lot' this year is not favourable, or worse, what I most dread? Bob reminds us of the glorious Gospel found in these two verses in order to ground us in the finished work of Christ, so that come what may, we can still say with absolute confidence in Christ that "It is well with my soul".