St Andrews Church Geraldine‘s Podcast

149: 17-11-2024 "Christ Focused Church"

This sermon explores what it means to live a Christ-focused life, grounded in Colossians 3:1-17. A Christ-centered focus transforms our lives by helping us recognize what to let go of and what to take on as part of our new nature in Christ.
Living a Christ-focused life isn’t about duty or performance but a response to God’s overwhelming love. As we set our hearts on Him, we shed anger, greed, and impurity and put on mercy, patience, and forgiveness. This transformation, inspired by a higher love, allows us to reflect Christ in all we do and say.Colossians 3:1-17

148: 10-11-2024 "Bible Based Church"

Today, we're exploring the first of our church’s guiding values: being Bible-based. At Bible Based Church, we believe wholeheartedly that the entire Bible is God's inspired Word, guiding us in what is true and showing us when we’re off track. Scripture isn’t just a historical text; it's reliable, divinely authoritative, and as alive today as when it was first written. The Bible’s reliability is evidenced through accounts that would have been unlikely to be fabricated in the first century. Key moments, like the testimony of women as the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, reveal the Bible's authenticity—challenging cultural norms of the time and showing that its authors recorded events as they happened. The Bible’s authority comes from its divine inspiration. Early church leaders, even those who lived only decades after Christ, revered the New Testament writings as inspired, alongside the Old Testament. This wasn’t an invention of later church councils or emperors; early Christians saw these texts as God-breathed and equal in authority. While some writings like The Shepherd of Hermas were valuable for devotion, only the apostolic works that aligned with core truths were accepted. With this foundation, the Bible became a reliable guide, rooted not in human authority but in divine direction. Finally, the Bible is living and active, powerful to transform our lives when we approach it with humility. It’s not merely a rule book but a pathway to know God deeply. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we can experience heart-burning moments as we encounter God’s Word. As we submit to its truth, the Bible can reshape our hearts, redirect our paths, and anchor us in faith, giving us a dependable compass in a world of shifting values.2 Timothy 3:16-17

147: 03-11-2024 Romans (Part 73) The Only One Worth Glorifying

God is in control so we ought to be humble because he is the only thing worth glorifyingRomans 11:33-36

146: 27-10-2024 Romans (Part 72) Divine reversal

Romans 11: 28-32 & Matthew 20:1-16

145: 20-10-2024 Romans (Part 71) Themes of Romans 9-11 God's Word Has Not Failed

144: 13-10-2024 Romans (Part 70) All Israel will be saved

In Romans 11:25-27 Paul introduces the concept that "all Israel will be saved," emphasizing God's continued plan for the Jewish people. This passage has been the subject of much debate within Christian circles, particularly about whether it refers to a future turning of ethnic Israel to Christ or if it has already been fulfilled spiritually through the church. Today, we'll explore why this interpretation points to a future event for ethnic Israel, prophetic insights into how this might occur, and the comfort we can find in knowing that God orchestrates human history. Romans 11:25-27 & Zechariah 12:9-11

143: 06-10-2024 Romans (Part 69) God's Greater Plans

As we draw towards the end of Romans 11, we build up to the climatic doxology, praising God for all his wonder and awe.  We get a taste of His greater plans by how he has set us apart to be holy for him, how he overturns human logic (and the logic of an arborist) by grafting the gentiles (a wild olive tree) into the covenant he made to Abraham.  We also see that part of God's greater plan in drawing the gentiles into his salvation plans, is also to call back his chosen people of Israel.  How might we see God's greater plans in the call he has given us today?Romans 11:16-24 and Romans 11:33-36

142: 29-09-2024 Romans (Part 68) Do We Make People Jealous?

Jealousy, often seen as a negative emotion, is something most of us don’t want to embody. Yet in today’s passage, we see God’s intent for making the Jewish people "jealous" through the salvation of the Gentiles. It’s a strange idea, but one with a divine purpose.Romans 11:11-15 & Matthew 21:33-46