Chatswood Baptist Church

Have you already decided that someone in your life will never change? Sometimes it’s not such a serious matter. Maybe you know someone who’s almost always late to events and meetings.  Maybe you know someone who takes things a bit …

Good morning church, today we are carrying on with our look through the book of Jonah and to help us think about Jonah and where I want us to start is thinking about the way children act when they do …

1. Introduction In world war 2 there was one action that meant almost certain jail time and in some cases death by execution. It didn’t matter whether you were in the US Army, the Soviet Army, the Germany Army or …

1. Easily Deceived At times people are so easily deceived. 1.1 We can easily be deceived by others According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, last financial year, an estimated 596,000 people fell victim to scams. According to the Sydney …

Galatians 5:16-26 Keeping in step Growing up in Australia in the 1970’s one of the rituals that we went through when I was in primary school was to line up before school began. The bell would ring and we would …

I have been looking over the past week at a bit of American history around slavery. Specifically those who had gained their freedom and how they held on to it. One example that has stuck with me is the story …

Galatians 4:8-5:1 No Brainers There are some choices that ought to be “no brainers”. A “no-brainer” is a decision or a choice that you are given where one option is so obviously that much better than the other that you …

1. Our Identity Where do you find your identity? How do you see yourself? Some find it in what they do Many seek to establish their identity in what they do in life. It’s the things that we do or …

Where do you think self-help books rank in terms of popularity in Australia? Top 10? Top 5? Top 3? Well, if Google is correct, it’s in the top 5! They’re very popular, and some of them are very helpful! Deep …

1. Hypocrisy At times, I think we can all be hypocritical. Hypocrisy is when you pretend to be something that you are not. It is to play a part for the benefit of others that doesn’t really align with either …

1. Being a parent I’ve been a parent now for over 33 years and a grandparent for the last year. Being a father or a mother is a unique privilege and a responsibility. It really is a high and holy …

Introduction How do we know that something is the truth? Many years ago Larissa and I were in Fiji. This was before we had children. And we were staying at the fijian which has a wonderful lagoon that heads out …

Galatians 1:1-10 Letter writing When was the last time you got a letter from someone? I don’t mean an email or even a bill or bank statement that got in the post or even a birthday card from your grandma, …

When you run a race, you get a medal. But Daniel 12 holds out something far greater than that. I’ve done the Sydney Marathon a few times, but last year was the most significant. That race was the result of …

Daniel 9 More than we ask for Sometimes God answers our prayers in ways we are not expecting or would have ever dreamed of. Of course, sometime we are asking for the wrong things. At times we ask for things …

Introduction Hope is such a powerful emotion. When hopes are realised, our joy can be monumental. I remember the day of our wedding, my wife was walking down the aisle and at that moment I was overwhelmed with joy and …

2 Corinthians 5:14- 6:2 Deaths that had a profound impact on others When some people die, their death has a profound effect on a great many people around the world. People all around the world seem to be impacted heavily …

1. What’s up ahead Don’t you wish that sometimes we knew what was up ahead of us? ● None of us know what’s up ahead of us If you knew that the war in the middle east was going to …

1. Turbulent times We are living in turbulent and chaotic times. There seems to be a level of instability in our world that we haven’t seen for some time. At present two of the three most powerful nations in the …

Introduction With such a well known story there is often the tendency to think that we might have nothing new to learn here. But friends, God’s word is living and active. So let’s together look at what this passage has …

1. The writing was on the wall “The writing was on the wall”. This is a common idiom/expression that people use all the time. For instance, after another round of retrenchment at work some might remark that, once they brought …

1.    The problem with pride In one of my favourite novels, “Pride and Prejudice, the author Jane Austen makes a distinction between ‘pride’ and ‘vanity’. Mary Bennett, one of the characters in the book, makes the point that there is …

Introduction Today’s passage in Daniel 3 is written in the context of Babylon and its King from 2600 years ago. But there is a country today in 2026 that has many of the hallmarks of what we see in today’s …

1. Dreams We all dream dreams – sometimes we remember them and sometimes we don’t. a. Dreams are strange things Dreams are odd things. They can be bizarre and strange. We can be dreaming that we are sitting at home …

1. Taken to Babylon Today we begin a series of talks looking at the book of Daniel. This book is largely about Daniel and three other Jewish young men from Jerusalem. They were taken from Jerusalem as captives and led …

Introduction I want you to imagine that all through school you love science and your favourite subject is biology. You are completely enamoured with the way in which the human body is structured. The cells, DNA, biodiversity, infectious diseases. You …

Introduction I am naturally nearsighted. I remember in around year 11 at school that the whiteboard at the front of the classroom (this was way before smart boards were invented) started to become a little blurry from time to time …

As we carry on our journey through Habakkuk, this morning I want to talk about faith. The idea of living by faith is central to this passage and so I want us to think about the people and things that …

Habakkuk 1:1-2:1 Overhearing a conversation Have you ever accidentally listened into a private conversation that others were having? Maybe they were on the phone, and they were using the phone on speaker, and you could hear both sides of the …

Philippians 1:21 The new year Just a few days ago we celebrated the new year. New Year is a strange thing. I was thinking about this the other day when trying to think about how you would explain it to …

Devoted, Distinct & Together Colossians 4:2-18 This morning, we are looking at Colossians 4 and the second half of the chapter reads like the credits at the end of the movie. And at this time of year every different platform …

Every year in wonderful nativity scenes and plays the Christmas story is told. These wonderful passages from Matthew and Luke’s Gospels are brought to life by kids and adults in churches around the world. We have Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, …

1. Lost As a child did you ever wander away either from your parents or where you were supposed to be and end up getting lost? 1.1 In a shopping centre I only remember it happening to me once. I …

Introduction Who makes up your household? If we look at our church there are many different households. There are families where there is mum and dad and 6 children, there are families where there is just a mum and a …

1. Too heavenly minded? There is a saying that sometimes gets pulled out and, I believe, misused, that someone can be “too heavenly minded to be any earthly good”. But can you ever be too heavenly minded? Can heavenly mindedness …

Working in the healthcare industry means you meet many different types of people with interesting personalities and also very interesting background stories. By me using the word ‘interesting’, you know what I really mean to say is ‘strange’ and ‘weird’. …

1. You can lead a horse to water… We have all probably heard the saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”. The saying highlights the fact that you can do everything you can …

Over the last 25 years I have watched my wife fight, watched her contend for the health and medical care of our family members with every fibre of her being. She has fought with doctors to treat family members when …

1.   Value unappreciated   Sometimes we don’t recognise the value of what we have. We have something valuable but don’t realise just how precious it really is. There are numerous stories of people owning something valuable without ever understanding its …

1. Home Where do you call home? Where is your sense of place? If people, ask me where I’m from I still refer to myself as a Novacastrian – someone from Newcastle. 1.1 Newcastle Originally the word “Novacastrian” was used …

This morning, I want you to think about problem solving and how we go about fixing the problems we have in our lives. I’m sure we’ve all had moments where you’re walking around your house trying to find your keys …

Jesus was in the right place and the right time because God is in perfect control and his plans are perfect. With all scripture it is important to remember what has come before in the book as well as the …

1.    Taking a back seat How are you at taking a back seat to someone else?  The expression “taking a back seat” means to intentionally step back allowing someone else to have more prominence or control than you. Do you …

Introduction One of the memorable parts of our lives are long road trip holidays, although if you’re a parent, you could sometimes more accurately call it a dreaded part, if you know what I mean! Even just driving from Chatswood …

Introduction On Father’s day we want to acknowledge the wonderful gift that Father’s are, friends there are so many things that we learn from our fathers and we can be thankful for that. Perhaps your father is good at sport …

1.   Signs Do you pay attention to the signs on the road?  Or do you ignore them? If the sign says 110, do you set your speed to 112 or 113. Road signs point to what lies ahead Road signs …

1. Word of mouth At the end of July Kylie and I went to the “MJ the musical” in the city. It’s finished yesterday and so if you were planning to see it then you are too late. You will …

Today, the passage we are looking at carries on from last week where John the gospel author introduces the Word who was in the beginning, active in all creation, the light, and the life of man and importantly, has dwelt …

1.     What you need to know 1.1           For the flight When you board a plane before the plane takes off to wherever it is heading the flight attendant tells you what you need to know before the journey …

1. Leaders who loomed large Throughout history there have been leaders who have loomed large on the stage of history. Men and women have arisen who’ve shaped events and changed the course of history for their people or for a …