Liberti Church Carrara Sermons

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”.

The kingdom of heaven is so valuable that losing everything in this world to have it would be a joyful exchange. However we often find ourselves undervaluing the kingdom and its ways. When we see the value of the kingdom, we are positioned to experience that value through joy-filled sacrifice. We long for the kingdom to come and partake of the most costly bargain on offer.

Jesus often taught through practical stories that gave glimpses into what the kingdom of God is like. Earthly kingdoms come and go by the force of the sword. Yet the kingdom of God continues to advance subversively, gradually, and globally through the sowing of seeds. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a parable that helps us see the four different ways people will respond to the Word of God.

Generosity has marked the people of God for centuries and we bear the image of a generous God. Our approach to wealth and finances is: love them the most, need them the least, and give them away most freely. When we recognise that God has richly provided all things for us to enjoy, we are then free to share those provisions with others for their enjoyment. With our eyes on God, our hands ready at the pocket, and our hearts aimed at heaven, we will be a generous people.

God is a sending God, and Christians are a sent people. Mission is not a program of the church; the Church is the product of God’s mission! When you have assurance that is born of God’s sovereignty, boldness that is born of God’s presence, and compassion that is born of God’s grace toward you, then you have everything you need to live creatively and fruitfully on God’s mission.

The good news is that when Jesus saves us, he doesn't save us to isolation but rather to a family. In this context of new community, we begin to grow more like Christ. We become what we behold, and together we continue to look at God's grace and goodness to transform us into his image. It's only in community that blind-spots are joyfully exposed and the beauty of the gospel is expressed.

What we most deeply desire and what calls forth our strongest loves, reveals what we worship. Because we’ve been liberated through Jesus’ death and resurrection, our entire reality is essentially an unrelenting ‘thank-you’ to God for what He has given us through the gospel. Our speaking, our singing, our praying, our giving, and our serving are all acts of joy-fueled worship. The more deeply the gospel sinks into our hearts, the more joyfully worship comes out!

We want to be known as a church that is centred on the gospel in everything we do. The gospel is not good advice about how to live, but the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. Only this sin destroying, affection-transforming message of the cross has the power to transform hearts and fuel God’s people to live fruitfully on His mission.

Marriage is a glorious oneness between one man and one woman, ordained by God with a glorious design, to proclaim a glorious gospel. It is when husbands lead with sacrificial love and wives respond with affectionate respect, that Christian marriages become a living sermon to the world.

While the Bible doesn’t speak directly to our modern phenomena called ‘dating’, it is far from silent when it comes to romantic relationships. The direction of dating – marriage – needs to inform how we approach dating today. This will take the form of being distinct from the world, walking in integrity, holiness and community.

The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself. A neighbour is not just those we share a fence with, but those with whom we share office desks, footpaths, shopping aisles, and streets. In the second greatest commandment we are called to love others with the same passion, energy, and commitment as we show to ourselves.

What is a true friend? Our friends are one of the most powerful shaping influences on our lives. In fact, over and over the Bible shows us that the true wealth of our lives is measured by the quality of our relationships. It is when we understand that Jesus endured the cross to restore us into friendship with God, that we will begin to become the kind of friends to others that we ourselves desire to have.

If Jesus is God, then He must be treasured above all else. And yet, if Jesus is God–in–the–flesh, He can be trusted above anyone else. He is not disconnected from our humanity. He is not a stranger to our suffering. He is near. This is the miracle of Christmas: Jesus is God with us.

Everyone is looking for salvation somewhere. Everyone is building their identity on something. To be a Christian, is to live in the freedom of no longer being defined by our best day or our worst, what we do or what we've done, what we've achieved or what we have. Christmas is the celebration of the Almighty God coming into human history in the person of Jesus Christ to adopt us into His family. To restore us to our true identity: children of God. To know God as 'Father.' As Aloysius of Gonzaga said, "It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world!”

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The more we feel the weight of the darkness in our world and in our hearts, the more we will rejoice in the life and light that Jesus shines into the darkness. This is the hope that we have this Christmas Season.