South West Sermons

What are God's people to do while in exile? How are they supposed to live? What should they do as God's people? Steve Withington shows us what God said to his people in exile through Jeremiah and how they were to "seek the welfare of the city."

Examining the confrontation between God's prophet Jeremiah and the false prophet Hananiah, Sandy Hector discusses how we hear God's voice and truly and accurately discern what he is saying to us.

Amelia Smith looks at the messages of Jeremiah and Hananiah - the one with a hard but real message from God, the other with an easy message of false comfort.

God told Jeremiah he was going to pour out his cup of Wrath upon the nations. Sam Young investigates what this means, specifically: How can a loving, compassionate, patient God act in such a way that seems to contradict his very nature?

Jo Robertson and Sam Young team up on this Pentecost weekend to look at God's promises to Israel, even in exile, and his promise to be with them and deliver them.

Guest speaker Tim Piesse shares about the importance of listening for, hearing and obeying God's voice, and how to ensure we always hear it, hear it clearly, and know that it is actually God speaking.

Our journey through Jeremiah continues as Amelia Smith shares with us Jeremiah's call to draw people back to God relationally, and back to God's mission of justice and peace. At the centre of this text is the prophet's (and God's) warning about how Israel had exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols and the destruction they will surely follow if the Israelites do not turn back to God. 

John Robertson begins our journey through the book of Jeremiah, beginning with God's calling of the prophet, the tasks God set for him, and stresses the vital importance of God's people being agents of hope and change and rescue in our troubled world today.

Duane Major takes us through Psalm 116, in particular our need to heed the psalmist's call to "return to your rest, my soul."

Our Lent series continues with Jesus in Gethsemane, wrestling with himself and his impending sacrifice. Jo Robertson looks at the wrestle between the human side of Jesus and the divine and how these two sides come together to see the purpose of God come into being. 

Our Lent series continues with a look how to live a life of service to others, through the example of Jesus washing his disciples' feet.

Duane Major takes us through Jesus's encounter with the rich young ruler and the barrier that wealth was to this young ruler to following Jesus further.

For our "All In" Lent service Erin, Jesse and Andy take us through the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, looking at the three lies Satan tried to convince Jesus of and how we can resist succumbing to those same lies.

Alex Absalom preaches from the story of the blind man Bartimaeus and what we can learn about being audacious, persisting, pushing on and being obedient.

Duane Major begins Lent by introducing our series on "From Death to Life" with the episode of Jesus's baptism by John the Baptist. Starting with his baptism, we see how Jesus's life is a model - a life-long model - for our discipleship transformation from Death to Life.

Sam Young concludes our series on Redemptive Community with a look at a biblical theology of redemption: what is redemption and what does it look like?

Antony Nihoniho, lecturer at Laidlaw college, investigates the nature of redemptive community in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and how the diversity of who we are as a nation and people, and God's guiding hand, contribute to how we live as God's redemptive community today.

In the next of our summer series, Amelia looks at the parable of the wise and foolish builders; encouraging us, whether for the first time or once again, to look towards Jesus, the ultimate Cornerstone so that we may continue to build our lives upon His firm foundation.

"Look to Him and get to work". In the third of our summer series, guest speaker Michael Rhodes looks at a passage from the book of Isaiah; encouraging us to draw towards God, towards repentance, and ask: what does it look like to take the next step in producing just and righteous fruit?

In the second of our summer series, Colin Burt poses some key questions that arise from the parable of the Sower. Are we ready? Are we listening? What can I do to make sure I am ready soil?

In the first of our summer series, Bruce looks at the parable of the friend knocking at midnight and how we are called to pray boldly and unceasingly.

For our All-In service Amelia Smith brings us the message of the good news of the coming of Jesus - of Emmanuel, God with us.

Our Advent series continues with Steve Withington explaining how Jesus came to show us what true humanity looks like and how, through his Spirit, we can be transformed into the new humanity that was always meant to be like him.

Who is the true king? And what does it mean to worship and follow the true king? Our Advent series continues with Amelia Smith examining the differences between how the magi and Herod responded to the birth of Jesus and what it means for us.

Jo Robertson kicks off our Advent series with a segue between the Exodus story we have recently been through - God hearing the cries of his people and setting them free - and the coming of Jesus as the ultimate fulfilment of God hearing the cries of his people and coming to set them free.

Sam Young concludes our Exodus series as the Israelites approach Mount Sinai, where God calls them to be a holy people, a kingdom of priests. How does this affect us today? What does this mean for followers of Jesus?

Sam Young takes us through the passage where Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, gives him some very good advice about sharing the load together with others, and how the call to Israel to be God's people is a call to invite all others to join the community of God's people - together.

Our Exodus series continues with Duane Major taking us through the episode when the Israelites battled the Amalekites - a key event that showed the (until recently grumbling) people and (the always faithful) God working successfully together.

The people grumble against Moses because of a lack of water, and question why he has brought them into this desert wilderness. Moses asks God for help and God miraculously comes through yet again. Amelia Smith takes us through the passage.

Newly freed from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites must now become God's people, moved and shaped by him. God miraculously provides for them in the desert but admonishes them not to hoard the manna and quail he has provided. Jo Robertson shows how this passage informs the call of Jesus to trust in God's provision and not remain trapped in the lifestyle of greed that our society pushes on us.

Our Exodus series continues with Sam Young taking us through the tenth plague visited upon the Egyptians - the death of the firstborn - and asks what does this confronting passage reveal to us about God?

Erin White brings the message for our "All-in" service, about Moses confronting Pharaoh and demanding the Israelites' release - and the plagues that hit the Egyptians when Pharoah refuses to heed God's message.

We continue through the book of Exodus, moving onto the second part of our series looking at "Following God into Freedom." Moses goes before Pharaoh demanding that he set the Israelites free. Claire Russell looks at the importance - and implications - of speaking truth to power.

God heard the cries of his people and called Moses to go and rescue them. Moses said no....several times, giving several excuses. God sent him anyway. Amelia Smith examines Moses's responses and explains how Moses was looking at things the wrong way. It's not about what Moses can't do but about what God can do.

Concluding our Global Week, Duane Major returns to the passage in Exodus where God appeared to Moses and uses it to look back over the previous week's message to challenge us and question us about how we are going to respond to what God is saying to us.

Jo Robertson begins our series on Exodus with a look at the way God hears the cries of his people and uses ordinary people to transform the world.

Amelia Smith concludes our Te Paipera Tapu series by leading us through the importance of the Prophetic books and how best to read them.

Our series continues as Amelia Smith shares her wisdom on the nature of the bible's wisdom literature and its importance for us.

How do we read the laws and commands contained in the Hebrew bible? And why should we continue to do so today, 3,000 years later. Sam Young explains why these laws still have much to teach about both the wisdom of God and the love of God.

Continuing our series on the bible, Te Paipera Tapu, Sam Young examines the genre of narrative through the lens of the story of Gideon, looking at common mistakes we can make when reading narratives and what to do to avoid them.

Our Te Paipera Tapu series continues as Amelia Smith shows us the entire scope of scripture, leading us through the entire story of the bible, from first page to last.

Our new series on the bible, and how to read it effectively, opens with Sam Young looking at what Jesus's attitude towards scripture was.

Our songwriting team brings our Psalms series to a close by sharing several songs they have written while reflecting on the Psalms.

Our Psalms series continues with Amelia Smith taking us through Psalm 95.

Sam Young continues our Psalms series with Psalm 73, looking at the doubts we can sometimes have about God, and uses the psalm as a guide to how we can address these doubts.