Liberti Church Carrara Sermons

The reality of suffering and evil has scraped and shaped every single one of us. Each of us has shaken our head at the state of the world and wondered, “Why, God?” And yet the problem of suffering and evil is not unique to Christianity; it demands an explanation from every worldview and religion. In this message we see that not only does Christianity give the best explanation of why there is suffering and evil, but that Christ alone gives the resources we most deeply need in order to face them without despair. While we are not always clearly shown the answer to our individual questions of ‘why?’ when suffering invades our lives, God does give to all who trust in Jesus a ‘what’, a ‘who’, and a ‘when.’

We all start things that we don’t end up being able to finish. But does God? Since the Bible makes clear over and over that “salvation is of the Lord,” the question is better framed, ‘Can Jesus lose a Christian?’ In response to this, God's people are given a wonderful promise: to the degree that Jesus is secure in the grip of the Father, the Christian is secure in the grip of the Son. So while it is true that only those persevere to the end will be saved, it is also true that God’s grace will preserve every genuine believer to the end. What God starts, He finishes.

Christians are to love those both inside and outside the household of faith, but we are called to a higher standard when caring for our Christian brothers and sisters. In Galatians 6, Christians are told to restore one another from sin and bear one another’s burdens. This cannot be done in isolation, but rather in community, under and according to the bible’s teaching. We do this because Christ has carried our burden for us and freed us to delightfully care for others through his strength.

Acts 13:13-52 | In Acts 13, Paul's first sermon demonstrates God's sovereign initiative in Salvation from Abraham all the way to Christ; to whom the Old Testament continually points. As Paul preaches the gospel of grace he urges his audience to continue in the grace of God. While the Jews initially seemed pleased in hearing Paul's presentation of the gospel, they became jealous as they saw multitudes of gentiles responding to the grace of God. As we consider the reviling response of the Jewish audience, we are invited to reflect on our own response to the gospel and to consider what may be hindering us from continuing in God's grace.

Acts 13:1-12 | Faithful mission means living with gospel-intentionality in our normal daily rhythms, while trusting God’s sovereign timing for gospel-opportunities. As Barnabas and Saul are sent out to preach good news across the Roman Empire, they collide with both great opportunities and great opposition. A dramatic encounter with a demonic sorcerer named Elymas ends with a Spirit-filled Saul preaching God’s Word, a blind and defeated Elymas, and the most powerful Roman official in the region becoming a follower of Jesus. As we learn to trust God’s timing and treasure the Holy Spirit, we will find that God can accomplish more through us in one day of Spirit-filled activity than we can in 10,000 lifetimes of self-reliant striving.

Acts 12:20-25

Acts 12:1-19 | In the face of imprisonment, the death of a fellow Apostle and an imminent execution of his own, the Apostle Peter displays a Holy Spirit empowered composure fuelled by a hope in the unshakeable promises of God. Through this passage we see the church model earnest prayer for their persecuted leaders. The reality of our faith is revealed in the presence of trials and suffering. When we know that our lives are held by Christ, we learn to trust in His goodness regardless of any outcome.

Acts 11:19-30 | As the gospel continues to spread, revival breaks out in the city of Antioch! It was here that the disciples were first labeled “Christians” (meaning, “little Christ’s”). They were filled with the Holy Spirit, captivated by the message of the gospel, and the surrounding city saw in them an otherworldly quality of life. While they were a spiritually young church, they were also a devoted church. Antioch gives us a picture of a healthy church that is devoted to God’s mission, led by servant-leaders, committed to God’s Word, and radically generous with their wealth and possessions.

Acts 10:44-11:18 | Bono famously (and rightly) quipped, “Religion is what happens when the Spirit has left the building.” There are few parts of biblical Christianity more misunderstood and yet more vital for our daily lives than the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force to be wielded or a genie to be conjured. He is the Sovereign God, who delights in putting the spotlight onto Jesus, and leading us into repentance and faith as the normal rhythms of the Christian life.

Acts 10:36-43 | In Peter’s sermon to Cornelius and his household, Jesus is preached as a great saviour! Like Peter, every single Christian has a story to tell of what Jesus has done historically (the gospel!) and what Jesus has done for them personally (your testimony!). But Peter also proclaims Jesus as a great and just judge. The only event in history that answers the ultimate questions of evil, justice, love, and forgiveness is the cross of Jesus Christ. Not only is Jesus the judge we need to make sense of the evil around us; He is the only Judge who left His bench and was judged for the evil inside of us.

Acts 10:1-36 | Heaven will not be middle-class white people singing in English (thank God). The multitudes around the throne will be a diverse, global, family of men and women from every tribe and language and culture of the earth, with the name of Jesus on their lips! Yet in order for the good news to penetrate the Gentile world, some walls were going to have to supernaturally come down in the hearts of the early Jewish Christians. In Acts 10, we see the collision of two very different worlds – Jew and Gentile – being confronted with the gospel and being made one in Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria declares the main theme of all the “Solas”- that God has done all the work of faith, grace, Christ, and Scripture - so all glory is due to him, not us. He has chosen and blessed us, not because of anything we have done, but because of who He is. As we come to understand God’s unconditional love for us, we are moved to obedience, worship, and evangelism out of a thankful heart.

In contrast to our culture of religious pluralism, Christianity holds to the exclusive claim that Salvation is found in Christ Alone. The reformers contended that the person and work of Jesus was both necessary for salvation, and sufficient for our sanctification. Sadly, we are often tempted to add to the finished work of Jesus. The truth is that Jesus + Nothing = Everything; and Jesus + anything else... ruins everything.

On what are you leaning the weight of your life? To possess saving faith means that the weight and hope of our lives has been transferred off of ourselves, and onto Jesus alone. The great Reformer Martin Luther said that this doctrine – justification by faith alone – is the article by which the Church stands or falls. To be saved by grace alone ‘through faith alone’ means salvation cannot be earned or worked for; only received as a gift by shifting the weight of our lives onto the work that Jesus accomplished on the cross, for all who trust in Him.

Grace is sheer gift. To say that we are saved by ‘grace alone’ is to admit the humbling reality that God owes us nothing (except just punishment for sin), and yet in Christ lavishes the undeserving with the immeasurable riches of His kindness! Not because of anything admirable about us or any good work done by us, but because of Jesus’ work on the cross for us. It can never be earned, only received as a gift.

Is the Bible a book that people wrote about God, or a book that God wrote through people? In this message, we look at why the Bible alone stands as trustworthy, sufficient, and authoritative for all of life. The Holy Scriptures are not man’s speculation about God, but God’s revelation about Himself. While there are many books that may inform us, only God’s Word has the power to transform us. Our prayer is that we would choose to build our lives, each day, upon the Word of God.

In the parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard, Jesus shows us that heaven is not a reward for the deserving or a trophy for the moral-achievers. The Christian life, from beginning to end, is one of undeserved grace. Only when we get our eyes off what we think God owes us and onto what He has given us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, will our lives overflow with gratitude instead of being bound by entitlement.

God's delight in saving people is infinitely greater than our delight in being saved. Far from being a cosmic killjoy, Jesus shows us in Luke 15 that the He is seeking, saving, rejoicing God who compassionately draws near to both rebels and rule-keepers. True freedom and happiness will not be found in 'having more' or 'doing better,' but in the security of the Father's embrace.

Forgiveness is nothing less than the gospel on display in our relationships. It cannot be earned, only given as a gift. Only when we see the enormity of our debt before God that Jesus absorbed for us on the cross, will we find the power to live free from bitterness and unforgiveness when others sin against us.

Jesus' return will come suddenly and unexpected, so we should be found ready. According to this parable, being ready means being profitable with the work of advancing the gospel. Each person has this privilege of seeking to maximise the master’s assets where one day we may hear those sweet words, “Well done good and faithful servant”.