Sermons | City Church Wolverhampton

Jehovah-Qadesh: In Exodus 19, having redeemed Israel out of Egypt, provided for and protected them in the wilderness, the Lord now tells Israel they are his treasured possession among the peoples - a holy nation. He is Jehovah Qadesh - the Lord who sanctifies - Israel, and us. He sets us apart for relationship with himself and for priestly ministry towards the world.

In John 18-19v16, Jesus is condemned to death in a sham trial concocted by the religious and political authorities who collude against him. Knowing all that was to come, Jesus confidently and willingly walks into the situation for the glory of the Father and for the sake of all those the Father had given him out of the world. Join us this Sunday as we look at what it means to follow Jesus as he is sent into the world that it might believe that Jesus came from the Father.

In John 16, Jesus concludes his teaching to the disciples on the eve of the cross. They are confused and fearful, but Jesus encourages them that the Holy Spirit will be at work in the World, that their joy will far outpace their sorrow because they will see him again, and that ultimately they will have everything they need because they will be able to ask the Father directly in Jesus’ name.

There are times when you need to share bad news. Jesus knew he had little time left before his betrayal, trial and crucifixion. So, although he was letting his disciples know some bad / sad news, he also wanted them to know the good news that would result from this. John 14 contains not just some good news, but some GREAT NEWS.

Jehovah-Rapha means the Lord, my Healer. He deals with the curse and cancer of sin. He binds up the wounds of the broken hearted and tends to the hurts of his people. Similarly, Jesus is the wounded healer by whose stripes we are healed and the Great Physician who skillfully and deftly removes sin from our hearts and makes us whole.

The Rolling Stones famously sang: “you can’t always get what you want…but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get why you need.” We serve the God who not only cares about needs, but also our desires. He’s the one who not only takes care of our greatest need in death with sin, but is able to satisfy every need and desire we have. Join us this Sunday as we looked to Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord my Provider.

At the start of the New year we want to see how God progressively reveals Himself though His names in the OT. His names represent His character and of course ultimately all of Himself is revealed in Jesus who as the ‘The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature…’ (Heb 1:3) and ‘is the image of the invisible God…’ (Col 1:15). The first name is simply the Hebrew word for ‘God’ – Elohim, El and Eloah, (and in Greek is the word ‘Theos’, ) which is used of the one who is the Creator God in Genesis 1:1. God is known as the Creator, The Almighty and the Only one.

Genealogies are funny and interesting things. To some a boring list of of names, but scratch the surface and you find a treasure trove of fascinating insights. From this perspective, we dive into Jesus’ own genealogy in Matthew 1 over the next four weeks as we meditate on Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham and the God who does, and doesn’t, have a birthday.

As we look at 1 Samuel 26, we see a David who has learned the lessons of authority and responsibility before the Lord. He confronts Saul again and shows us what a godly authority looks like, even in submission to king Saul.

This Sunday, we look at the story of David and Goliath. Like David, we need to understand the true nature of the battles that lie before us so that we can fight them properly with the courage that comes from knowing the battle is the Lord's!

A psalm that outlines the psalmist’s personal relationship with God. A relationship that recognises the wonder of God’s detailed knowledge of us, and his intimate involvement in our lives, that produces spontaneous worship; that causes us to run to him, not from him.

There's a natural and human tendency to look over the fence at others - what they do, what they have - and compare our situation with them. In Psalm 73, this is what the writer does. Do you know what he finds and concludes? When all is stacked up side by side, when we appreciate what we have in Jesus, and the promises and provision of God, there is no comparison. There is no doubt about it. GOD IS GOOD!

In our summer journey though the Psalms – literally the ‘songs we sing’. We find in Psalm 23, a song of desire – of needs and wants that are satisfied in Jesus, Our Lord. Join with us on Sunday as we explore and apply it to our lives in very practical ways. This Journey starts with being able to proclaim that the Lord is MY shepherd….