Category: Sermons

Sermon: Sunday, 14th December, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Luke 2:1-21

This morning, our theme is ‘Christmas joy’. Some of us like Christmas more than others. In the cold and dark winter months, it is good to have things to celebrate and remember. We can enjoy special family times, giving and receiving presents, eating turkey and all the trimmings, especially pigs in blankets and stuffing, and drinking mulled wine or a dram or two. And our children get 2 whole weeks off school, which is always a bonus for them. It is important to have times of celebration and not just to meet up with wider family and friends at funerals or a hospital bed. I genuinely enjoy all of these things. But (there’s always a but) many of us will experience the anticlimax of Boxing Day. Family has gone home, wrapping paper is everywhere and rather than feeling rested we feel exhausted. That warm, magical feeling of Christmas Day simply evaporates. The joy was real, but fragile, like a sparkler that burns bright and then fizzles out. Perhaps the image of a real Christmas tree captures it well; at first, the tree looks and smells great but a few weeks later the needles are falling off and the branches sag, even if we’ve watered it. Most earthly joys are a bit like that – even as we receive them, they are beginning to fade. But those who are united to Jesus draw from a living root that never withers. His joy is evergreen. The Christian content of Christmas offers us a lasting joy. Everlasting joy even! The angel who explains the meaning of Christmas to the shepherds (and to us) says this: v10 ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people’.

Christians believe that God speaks to us when we read the Bible. So, what is God saying to us through this event with the shepherds?

1. This joyful news from God is for ordinary people

It is for ‘have-nots’. We like to be the first to hear good news. We consider that an honour. ‘You’ll be the first to know,’ we tell our closest friends. And yet, when Jesus, the true king of the Jews and the Son of God is born, who is the first to know? It is not Caesar Augustas, the most powerful man in the world or the religious elite or King Herod or the wealthy businessmen. God deliberately chooses ordinary shepherds. Why shepherds? They were usually poor and uneducated and not highly thought of in society. God usually calls the weak things of the world before the mighty. Why? Because people who think they are ‘sorted’ often think they don’t need God. They are self-sufficient. They have money and good jobs and find it easy to forget God. Of course, none of these things will last, and they do need God. They just don’t realise it.

Mary’s song puts it well: class=”blu”>‘He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.’   (Luke 1:52) Those who proud and think they are really good people and don’t need God will not find lasting joy at Christmas. But those who come to God and realise their own mortality, frailty, need of forgiveness and their need for a solution to these universal problems will be more likely to cry out to God for help. Of course, the joyful news of Christmas is not just for the poor and ordinary. It is for everyone. Remember the angel’s words: ‘I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’   (Luke 2:10) All people can benefit from the birth of Jesus. Jesus comes for all, but not all will respond to him in faith and that’s the only way to benefit. God wants our faith. And the shepherds believe.

After the elation of beating Denmark on the 18th of November, and securing a place at the World Cup, it is sad that some of the tartan army will be excluded from seeing their team live due to the extortionate prices of tickets, flights and hotels. Jesus’ offer of Christmas joy is offered free of charge. All are invited. You don’t need money. In fact, the less you have the better. You don’t need to be a good person or have done charitable works. Come to God with nothing but your mistakes and sins and fears and concerns. Come as you are. Christianity is not about what you can do for God but about what God can do for you. Jesus pays your entry fee to Heaven with his own blood shed on the cross. But those who trust in themselves and their own resources will never receive this free offer.

2. This joyful news is supernatural

Imagine being one of the shepherds. You have driven your flock to be with the others for the night to keep watch. The fields near Bethlehem are inky black. Suddenly, an angel, a normally invisible heavenly being appears (verse 9). And the glory of God shines around them with intense brightness. God is sending them a message from Heaven. It is easy to be cynical about the supernatural. But 85% of the world believes in a higher power. Perhaps this world with all its design and laws of science happened by itself, with the earth just the right distance away from the sun for life by chance, and if so, we have no answer to the meaning of life or of our ultimate purpose (apart from passing on our genes) and no hope for life after death. Or, the design in this world speaks of a Designer who has always been there. What was in the beginning? Was it eternal matter? Was it nothing and something came from nothing? Or was it God? It had to be one of these, and if God then we must expect the supernatural. The Christmas story is full of the supernatural – angels and in Jesus God becoming a true human being and a special star and dreams. God is at work here. God is breaking into history to reveal to us who he is. That is so special. Jesus leaves Heaven and comes to earth so we can know God through him.

3. The joyful news in a nutshell – Jesus is the Christ, the LORD and the Saviour

The joyful news the angel delivers isn’t about an end to Roman occupation or lower taxes. What then? If God in Jesus is leaving Heaven and becoming a human baby, we need an explanation for this. Why does God become a true human? God does not leave us to guess why! The angel of God comes specifically to explain this to us. ‘Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord.’   (Luke 2:11) In a nutshell, Jesus comes to rescue us and give lasting joy and eternal life.

What qualifies Jesus to be the Rescuer and the one who brings peace? He is ‘the Christ’, which means the ‘anointed one’. In other words, Jesus is the special one, the chosen one, who alone can bring light to humanity. He is ‘the LORD’ which means he is God. He is deity. That’s why his death on the cross is powerful enough to wash the dirt from anyone’s life, no matter what you have done. His sacrifice has infinite worth because he is God. And he is called ‘the Saviour’. Many find this part offensive. A Saviour implies that we need to be ‘saved’. If my wife were to give me deodorant or mouthwash for Christmas, I might be offended. Does this mean I have bad B.O. and bad breath? This gift might be offensive. Well, God’s gift is offensive in a sense. The gift of a Saviour means that the truth is, all human beings need Rescuing from danger, sin and death. It’s either true or it’s not.

4. The joyful news brings glory to God and peace to us

We read that after the angel had spoken, a huge army of angels appeared, singing the first ever Christmas carol: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’   (Luke 1:13)

Why do the angels sing about God being magnified because of the birth of Jesus? Well, it’s not just about the birth. Jesus would grow up and live a perfect life- the lift we could never live. And then he would voluntarily give his life for others. It’s at the cross especially, at the other end of Jesus’ life on earth, that the justice, love, holiness and mercy of God would be shown as never before.

J C Ryle: ‘Creation glorified God but not so much as redemption’. The angels know that Jesus was born in order to die, to die on the cross for our sins. And they are gobsmacked. They sing ‘glory to God’. They must have thought: ‘God must really love those human beings to offer such a rescue’.

And this first Christmas carol also mentions ‘peace on earth’. But what kind of peace is this? There doesn’t seem to be much peace on earth now so has God failed? The peace the angels sing about is peace between God and human beings. Without Jesus we cannot know eternal peace with God, because he is perfectly clean and holy and we are not.

The wrong things we do and say and think are a barrier between us and God. And like the Grand Canyon, it a gulf we cannot cross without a bridge. Jesus is that bridge. His blood can wash us clean us from all that’s wrong, bringing peace with God.

In Roman times, there was a kind of peace between countries- called the pax Romana – Roman peace. A famous Greek philosopher of the first century called Epictetus recognised that Rome’s ability to bring peace was limited. He was not a Christian. But he had great insight: ‘While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief and envy. He cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearns more than even for outward peace’. This is profound. Epictetus longs for a deep and lasting peace. This is what Jesus offers. And once we taste this deep and lasting peace with God, we find that it also brings peace with ourselves in our souls and with other people too. It is the greatest Christmas gift.

O Holy night: ‘Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease’.

‘Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King: peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!” Joyful, all ye nations, rise, join the triumph of the skies…’

I wish Epictetus had known the source of peace he longed for was in Jesus. But we can know. I know this peace. No matter what happens to me in life – cancer, unemployment, the loss of loved ones, depression, anxiety, I can hold onto this amazing fact: I have peace with God forever and no one can take that from me. The sparkler soon burns out, and the Christmas trees are taken to the dump, but lasting joy at Christmas can be yours if you receive Jesus as your Saviour. Then you can know peace, forgiveness, the love of God, and know the security of having the security of a place in Heaven, paid for by Jesus.

I love the shepherds. They are the first to hear of Jesus’ birth. They believe God’s message through the angels. They go and see for themselves. Their simple faith is rewarded as they make their way to the house where Jesus was and apart from Mary and Joseph become the first to see the Saviour. They respond with joy and, like the angels, glorify God for this amazing gift. May the shepherd’s journey also be our journey. May God help us to go and see for ourselves what God has done in giving us his Son. May we respond like the angels and shepherds, with wonder and praise, giving glory to God.

Sermon: Sunday, 7th December, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Micah 5:1-5

Many of our Christmas carols stress the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Today we are singing ‘O Little town of Bethlehem.’ Another well-known carol,‘O come all ye faithful’ invites us to consider the importance of what happened in that place: ‘O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.’ And then, of course, there is the carol ‘Once in royal David’s City’, and that too is a reference to Bethlehem. I would like to zoom in on Bethlehem this morning, using a passage often read at carol services, Micah chapter 5:1-5. We will consider why the true King was born in Bethlehem, and why the birth of this King is so relevant for us, and indeed for the whole world, including those who don’t realise they need him.

Micah was a minor prophet. Minor just means small in size. It does not mean unimportant! He prophesied about 700 years before the birth of Jesus. Chapter 5 not only predicts the surprising location of this special king’s birth, but it also highlights many wonderful things which this King is able to provide for those who will submit to his good and wise rule. Have you submitted to his rule yet? Or are you still your own boss? I hope this morning we can see that there is no better King to rule over us than Jesus.

Micah was a prophet in Jerusalem in Judah. Remember that Israel split in two, with Israel in the north and Judah in the south. He prophesised during the reigns of kings such as Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. What was Micah’s main message? His message contained both good news and bad news. Most of us like hearing the bad news first, so we will consider the bad news first. Also, the good news does not make sense until we understand the bad news.

1. The bad news: a message of judgment

Why did Micah come to the people with a message of judgment? This is not boring history. Actually, Judah back then sounds a bit like Scotland today. Judah was doing very well in many respects. Economically, things were going well. The harvests were good and business was brisk. The army was strong and so they enjoyed days of peace and prosperity. The UK in 2025 is rich by global standards: its economy is large, and living standards are high compared to the global average. We are in times of peace on our own shores.

However, there is one measure of a country far more important than financial or military strength, and that is how they were doing spiritually. Were they listening to the voice of God? Was God and what God wants in their thinking? Let’s hear a few verses from earlier chapters of Micah.

‘They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance.’   (Micah 2:2)

‘Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.’   (Micah 3:11)

Here we have a prosperous people who are oppressing the poor and seizing fields from the weak, just because they want them. I don’t think we appreciate just how much the LORD detests the oppression of the poor and the vulnerable and the foreigner. And they wrongly think God is like a benign grandfather figure in the sky who will just ignore all their wrongdoings and still support them no matter what they do. As if God is a lucky mascot. They are so naïve about God saying, ‘No disaster will come upon us.’ As if God will just ignore what they are doing. Here’s the truth: God did not ignore what they did and will not ignore what we do either. He is a just God who sees and acts.

What will God do to his covenant people? They had been warned so clearly how to treat the poor and needy and had been told that God looks to our hearts and wants us to trust and obey him. ‘Therefore because of you, Zion will be ploughed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’   ( Micah 3:12)

So, by the time we reach our passage in chapter 5, the first verse will make more sense to us: ‘Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.’   (Micah 5:1) This is probably a prediction of those in Judah being captured by the Babylonians, as a punishment for their ungodliness and greed. They are under siege, and their ruler is struck in the face, unable to defend himself. Their king is totally humiliated, and it looks like the David’s dynasty of kings in Judah is coming to an end. The rod which should have been a symbol of the king of Judah’s authority is snatched from him and used to beat him.

This is the bad part of Micah’s prophecy. Today in Scotland in 2025, we would do well to understand that God is paying close attention to how we live our lives and will hold us accountable, just as he did back then. If we in our wealth care little for the poor and if we exploit or mistreat others, the LORD sees. If we treat God like an idiot, as if we can live largely ignoring him and doing what we want and wrongly assuming no disaster will come upon us, then our thinking is as wrong-headed as those in Judah all those years ago. God will not be mocked. We will reap what we sow.

2. The good news: the birth of the true King

‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.’ (Micah 5:2)

After their time of judgment is over, God in his love and mercy promises to send a Deliverer to restore his people and bring in a new Kingdom – the Kingdom of God. This is such a beautiful and significant prophecy for us today because this King promises to bring unity, security and provision, not just for Israel, but the whole world. He is the King who is also the good shepherd (verse 4). And most of all (verse 5) he will bring peace. Don’t you want to be led by a King who can bring you unity and peace and who can shepherd you in this life and in the life to come? That’s what the one born in Bethlehem can do.

Let’s enjoy some of the details of this prophecy. We should see just how surprising it is that the Messiah, this shepherd-king, would be born in such an insignificant place as Bethlehem. You expect prime ministers to go to Eton or Fettes and then Oxford or Cambridge. You expect great kings to be born in Jerusalem. Bethlehem is pretty obscure. It would not even make the top 115 towns of Israel mentioned in Joshua chapter 15. What is God saying through this? God does not usually choose the gifted and well-known people or places to accomplish his will. Again and again, he chooses the weak and insignificant. ‘But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.’   (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) Bethlehem’s significance is her insignificance!

For us in Kirkcaldy Free Church, our numbers and small and we are not a well-known church. In the eyes of the world, we are totally insignificant. Let me ask you a question. Can God use ordinary people like us to do extraordinary things? Can he answer the prayers in our small and seemingly insignificant prayer meetings? Can he use our stumbling words and explanations as we tell others about Jesus. Not only can he use us in our weakness, but he is more likely to use us in our weakness, if we depend on him and ask for his strength.

What does Bethlehem mean? It means house of bread. What does Ephrathah mean (verse 2)? It means fruitful. Surely God is telling us that the one born King will be the bread of life and his body will be broken on the cross. He will be fruitful like a fruitful vine. His blood shed on the cross will save as many as the stars in the sky. His loving death on our behalf will be wonderfully fruitful.

Bethlehem does have one claim to fame, however. It is significant as the place King David was born. And so, Jesus being born in Bethlehem links him to King David. Why is that link important? Because God promised way back in the days of King David that a king would come from David’s line whose rule would last forever. The prophet Nathan said to David in, ‘Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’   (2 Samuel 7:16)

When those in Judah were punished by God and taken into exile, it would have seemed that God’s promise in 2 Samuel 7 would be a promise God could no longer keep. But God always keeps his promises. This one in the line of David, born in the city of David, Bethlehem, would fulfil the promises of God in every way. In Jesus, there is an endless dynasty of love and peace. ‘Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness — and I will not lie to David — that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun.’   (Psalm 89:35-36) The true and better David will deliver the things which ordinary people like us need: forgiveness, eternal security and the power to be our true selves.

What qualifies King Jesus to meet our deepest human needs? This one to be born is mysteriously described in verse 2 as one ‘whose origins are from of old, from ancient times…’ I believe this is more than a hint for us that this baby is a supernatural figure. In fact, ‘from ancient times’ can also be translated ‘from eternity’. Jesus is qualified to meet our needs as he is God-come-in-the-flesh. Jesus, who is God, leaves Heaven in order to come and rescue us.

Although Israel will be abandoned for a time in their deserved time of judgment, it will just be for a time: ‘Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labour bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.’   (Micah 5:3) The brothers returning speaks of Israel being unified once more. And this will include people from all the ends of the earth. (Verse 4) Jesus will be a king who will unite people and bring reconciliation amongst the people of the world. This is our future. Heaven will be a renewed earth where there will be no broken relationships.

What king of Ruler will Jesus be? ‘He will stand and shepherd his flock…’   (Micah 5:4) Jesus says,‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’   (John 10:11) Let’s relish the picture of Jesus as our Shepherd. It means he will protect and guide and provide for us all the days of our lives and into eternity. He is a shepherd who wants to look after us.

Dane Ortlund: ‘Consider Jesus in Revelation 3. There, he says to a group of Christians who are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door…’ what will Jesus do? ‘I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.’   (Revelation 3:20). Jesus wants to be with you. He wants to come in to you — wretched, pitiable, poor you – and enjoy meals together. Spend time with you. Deepen the relationship. He enjoys your presence, as you are. In Jesus Christ, we are given a friend who will always enjoy rather than refuse our presence.’

That’s the kind of Ruler I want and need!

Listen to how good this King’s eternal reign will be: ‘And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace…’   (Micah 5:4-5) What a glorious promise. Without Jesus, there is no true peace with God. There is no security or hope beyond the grave. But if we trust he died for us and give him his rightful place as the King over our lives, if we bow before him, he promises us peace and security forever. This is our Christmas hope. This is the true significance of the one born in insignificant Bethlehem.

How should you respond to Jesus? O Little Town of Bethlehem tell us: ‘No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.’ Are you willing to receive Jesus as your king?

Sermon: Sunday, 30th November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30

As we continue the most famous sermon ever preached, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we have reached the section dealing with adultery and lust. I hope that all of us can see that Jesus’ teaching is much-needed in our churches today. This is a sensitive area. Many of us will have committed sexual sin and some of us will have been victims of adultery. All of us will have experienced problems in our hearts with lust. Some of us might be addicted to sexual sin. From the outset, it is important to say that no matter what we have done in the past, in Jesus we can always find forgiveness and the power to change. The mistakes of our past do not need to define us forever. There is hope for those caught up in sexual sin. ‘I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’   (Luke 5:32)

Let’s start off by saying that when Jesus speaks to us about the boundaries of sexual behaviour, both in physical acts and also in our thought lives, he does so as the Creator of the world, whose boundaries are wise and given because he loves us. God invented sex. It sometimes feels like all the church ever says about sex is that it is negative. But that is not true. The Bible is extremely positive about sex. It is God’s gift to us. In its proper context, it is a wonderful expression of love to another person. There’s a whole book of the Bible, Songs of Solomon, devoted to the topic. Jesus is not old-fashioned or prudish when it comes to sex. It’s just that as our Creator, he sets the boundaries for sex, not us as individuals (doing what we like) and not society, whose values change over time.

The early chapters of Genesis give us the original context for sexual intercourse and show that God has designed this wonderful gift to be expressed within a lifelong marital relationship between one man and one woman. As they are joined together as husband and wife their unity and diversity is expressed: ‘So a man will leave his father and his mother and be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh.’ (Genesis 2:24) God has made us as sexual beings, and so in that sense it is a natural appetite. The problem is, our human appetites are now distorted by sin, and so now we sometimes use for evil what God created for good. We want to go our own way. We want to escape from God’s loving boundaries. Our sexual desires can be distorted, and when they are, they need to be resisted.

Amy Orr-Ewing: ‘What is wrong with sex before marriage? How about: ‘What is wrong with anything?’ In other words, where do you get the moral code by which you live your life? There may be a whole number of different responses: ‘I do what I feel is right’ – my morals are entirely personal and arbitrary. Or: ‘Society decides what is right and wrong’ – laws are made and as long as I stick within them everything is OK. Or anything in between those two responses. For us as Christians, right and wrong are not purely up to the individual; after all, what you feel is good for you may hurt me. It is not only up to society either; lots of societies have allowed things to be ‘legal’ that you or I might take issue with. Right and wrong for the Christian come from a higher standard than any individual or group of humans – they come from God. The creator is also the moral lawgiver. So, when I say that I believe that sex is designed to be expressed within marriage, I am not setting myself up as judge and jury and deciding to make life difficult for single people – I am trying to follow the maker’s instructions.’

1.The act of adultery is wrong

We all know the seventh commandment: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’   (Exodus 20:14) Most of the Pharisees believed they managed to keep this commandment. It’s probably true that most of them had not committed the outward act, though many of them facilitated easy divorces so that men could indulge their desires for other women but still be viewed as righteous. This was, of course, total hypocrisy. It is good for us to remind ourselves of how devastating adultery can be to families. One of the most famous adulterers in the Bible is King David. His story reminds us that adultery breaks several of the 10 commandments at once, not just the 7th. David steals the wife of another breaking the 8th commandment. He covets his neighbour’s wife breaking the 10th commandment and this leads him to murder, having Uriah the Hittite killed, breaking the 6th commandment. Lust, left unchecked, can lead to absolute disaster.

A Christian man committed adultery and eventually met up with his pastor. He defended his act. He wasn’t looking to have an affair. He and his secretary just fell in love. How can that be wrong? They couldn’t help themselves. It just happened. ‘Pastor, I know it was wrong. But really—nobody got hurt. It was a private matter.’ The pastor quietly listened and then replied: ‘Nobody got hurt? Thirty people have already come to me in tears because of what you did.’

He went on to list the kinds of people affected: the man’s wife, broken and humiliated. His children, confused and wounded. The children of the woman involved. The man’s extended family. The church leaders, shaken and grieved. The friends who felt betrayed. members of the church who struggled with trust. New believers whose faith was unsettled. Unbelievers who mocked the name of Christ. Sin always has ripples far beyond what the sinner imagines. In other words, God forbids adultery because it wrecks families and scars our children and emotionally and psychologically damages our spouse and others. It leaves people broken-hearted.

Before we move to lust, let’s be clear: Jesus says marriage is the only context for sexual activity. So, if any of you are breaking that command, then if you want to take following Jesus seriously, you need to stop. Wait until you are married. This is God’s boundary for true joy in sexual relationships – a context of life-long commitment and love. Is there something you need to stop doing?

2. Adultery in our thoughts is also wrong

Over the last 60 years, since the 1960s, the sexual ethics of most people have radically changed, drifting further and further from what the Bible says. We all know this. Many people think it is ridiculous to confine sex to the context of marriage. For many people, anything goes, as long as you don’t harm anyone. But here, Jesus swims against the tide of our culture. He goes in the opposite direction. Jesus does not limit the reach of the 7th commandment to just the act of adultery but explains to us that it also includes the lustful look: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’   (Matthew 5:27-28)

What is Jesus doing here? Jesus is pointing out that the root of adultery lies in the lust in our hearts. Jesus has already explained that unrighteous anger breaks the 6th commandment – do not murder. In the same way, Jesus deepens and widens the reach of the 7th commandment. Lustful thoughts in our minds break the spirit of this command. Lustful thoughts are wrong. It is not wrong to look at someone and admire them but when we look in a lustful way, we begin to desire what is not ours to have, and we allow our imaginations to run riot. Which of us is a stranger to such thoughts?

Friends, lust has always been a massive problem in the human heart. We need to be honest about that. And in 2025, if anything it is becoming harder to remain pure in the sexual arena. We are bombarded with sexual images on films, adverts, the internet and in fact, almost everywhere. Here are some shocking facts to underline this. The average age children see pornography in the UK is 13. It is accessed 1.4 million times per month by British children. The UK has one of the highest rates of visiting pornographic sites in the world. This means that porn is often the starting point for young people when it comes to sex. 25% of search engine requests are pornography related. 30% of church leaders access porn more than once a month. 75% of Christian men view pornography on a monthly basis (figures from CARE). Why? They might feel it is private, that it does not hurt others, and that it gives them freedom. The opposite is actually the case.

3. Jesus tells us to get practical – have a plan to counter lust

‘If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.’   (Matthew 5:29-30)

Jesus’ warning is graphic because he knows where lust can lead. David’s lustful look at Bathsheba on the roof of his palace led to mayhem. Our lustful look at a person or a person on a screen can also lead to mayhem. Never think, ‘This will never happen to me,’ Lust and sexual sin are highly addictive and always leave us wanting more. They promise much but deliver pain ultimately. Of course, Jesus is speaking in hyperbole here – he does not want us to cut off any body parts. His point is this: take immediate and urgent action against lust before it gets out of control. Lust is not your friend but your enemy. Have a plan to counter lust.

So, for us, to gouge out an eye might mean that we refuse to watch certain movies or TV programmes. We might decide against reading a novel if its erotic content leads us to lustful thoughts. We might need to install software on our laptop, phone or tablet, so prevent us from seeing certain things. We might need to stop clicking on certain things we come across on the internet. We might have to say, ‘No.’ to someone we like who wants to meet us for a drink, because we or they are already married.

And here’s a really hard but important practical step. We might need to admit to a friend in the church or another Christian that actually we do have a problem with lust and porn, and ask them to help you keep accountable to them. If someone asks you regularly about these things it is so helpful, because it is so hard to break the patterns on your own. And I hope it goes without saying that we need to confess our sins in this area and ask for the Holy Spirit to give us power to resist temptation. This is basic Lord’s Prayer stuff – ‘Lead us not into temptation.’   (Matthew 6:13)

When someone goes to the gym in order to strengthen their muscles, what do they do? They have to resist the force of the weights they push against. As they resist, they get stronger. The same is true spiritually. Expect the temptations still to come but be ready to resist them.

Here’s the thing – we are all fallen human beings and that means many of our desires must be resisted. If I often have the desire to eat far more food than I need, I need to resist this wrong desire, otherwise I will develop significant health issues. Sometimes we have lazy desires and might not bother doing the work we need to do. We need to fight this desire. If we have enough resources but have a love of money, with an unhealthy desire for getting more and more, we need to resist these selfish and destructive desires. The truth is that we have many desires which lead us away from loving God and loving our neighbours. We need to resist them all. Lust is another of these desires.

Vaughan Roberts: ‘The modern idea is that we have to affirm the feelings we have and that we can only be authentic as we fulfil our desires. But the Bible teaches that some of our desires should be resisted. We are to measure our desires and feelings against the will of God, as the Spirit through the Bible makes us sensitive to those things that grieve him, and helps is to want to live in the ways that please God.’

In other words, part of being a disciple of Jesus is this tug-of-war experience. Sometimes the good we want to do we do not do and the things we don’t want to do we end up doing. So, we need to pray for help, and we need to resist wrong desires. We need to understand that lust never delivers what it promises. And we need to believe that true and lasting joy and satisfaction only come through living within our Maker’s boundaries. Jesus himself is the water of life who can satisfy our deepest desires.

And if you carry the burden and guilt of sexual sin, then take it now to God in prayer. Remember what happened to the prodigal son who returned to his father – he was welcomed with open arms.

Sermon: Sunday, 16th November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26

Sometimes we can think something is relatively easy to do when actually it is difficult. For example, when the KFC creche room was being plastered I was watching Darren the plasterer at work. He said to me, ‘D0 you want to try?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ I took hold of the hawk in one hand (what the plaster is held on) and a trowel in the other and had a go. I was terrible. It was much harder than it looked. The 10 commandments are a bit like that. At first, they might seem manageable and relatively easy to keep. That’s what the rich young ruler thought of the commandments when he said to Jesus: ‘All these I have kept since my youth.’   (Mark 10:20) How wrong he was. The Pharisees were also wrong about God’s commandments. They had a superficial and external attitude to the law.

1. True or false? The 6th commandment is easy to keep.

Have you ever murdered someone? Have you kept this particular commandment? The Pharisees thought they successfully kept the 6th commandment, thou shalt not murder, as long as they did not spill any blood. Jesus comes to them and corrects this false understanding. The commands of God are so deep that they concern the heart as well as our actions. And so, if we are angry with someone in a wrong way then we have broken the spirit of this command: ‘ class=”blu”You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.’   (Matthew 5:21-22) In other words, murder is not only a crime of the hand but also of the heart. You don’t have to commit physical murder to have the heart of a murderer. You can have murderous thoughts and break this command.

The 6th commandment not only prohibits the act of murder, but also an attitude towards people which hates, resents, is embittered, is angry, despises and wishes someone dead. Which of us has kept the 6th commandment? None of us. That is the truth of the matter.

How big of a problem is anger? Surely Christians will have got a handle on ‘anger management’!

Jerry Bridges: ‘It permeates each person and spoils our most intimate relationships. Anger is a given part of our fallen human fabric. Sadly, this is true even in our Christian homes and churches… our anger is often directed towards those we should love most: our spouse, children, parents, or siblings in our human families, and those who are our true brothers and sisters in Christ in our church families.’

What is anger? It is a strong feeling of displeasure, and usually of antagonism. It is usually accompanied by sinful emotions, words and actions hurtful to those who are the objects of our anger.

‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’   (Ephesians 4:31-32) Here we see Christian discipleship is like gardening. Both the weeding out (get rid of) and the planting (be kind and compassionate) are necessary in the Christian life.

‘My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.’ (James 1:19-20)

‘Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.’   (Proverbs 29:11)

‘An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.’   (Proverbs 29:22) Anger leads to other sins: bitterness, resentment, church splits, divorce, rudeness and violence.

Can we ever say, ‘Yes I’m angry, but that’s because someone else has made me angry’? Or, is this just blame-shifting for our own reactions? ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’   (Mark 7:20-23) Even when we are wronged, we can still choose how we will respond to the sinful actions of others towards us.

Jerry Bridges: ‘Someone else’s words or actions may be the occasion of our anger, but the cause lies deep within us – usually our pride, or selfishness, or desire to control.’

Often it is our words which reveal our murderous thoughts. In verse 22, Jesus mentions this word ‘raca’ which means ‘empty’ and is probably similar to when we might call someone an ‘airhead’ or a ‘blockhead’. You are insulting their intelligence. Or you might call someone a ‘fool’, which seems in this context to be close to calling him a scoundrel. In other words, we are engaging in the character assassination of another person, which is a serious business. Of course, insulting words may never lead to murder, but they are serious in the sight of God. That is why there is a warning of divine judgement in verse 22.

‘Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.’ (1 John 3:15)

John Stott: ‘Anger and insult are ugly symptoms of a desire to get rid of someone who stands in our way. Our thoughts, looks and words all indicate that, as we sometimes dare to say, we ‘wish he were dead.’

I hope we are all more sensitised to just how serious anger is in the sight of God and how destructive it can be.

Jerry Bridges: ‘Anger held on to, is not only sin, it is spiritually dangerous. Anger is never static. If it is not dealt with, it will grow into bitterness, hostility and revenge-minded grudges.’

And because it is so serious, we should do anything to avoid it and do all we can to limit its effects as quickly as possible. Jesus stresses the urgency of dealing with anger in the two illustrations he gives in vs 23-26.

2. Christian disciples: sort our disagreements speedily.

Jesus’ teaching on the immediate action anger requires is quite shocking: ‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.’   (Matthew 5:23-24)

For us in 2025, we might picture ourselves in church listening to a sermon, but then realise there is a relationship which has become bitter, leave church there and then and go and sort it out. Did Jesus mean this literally? Certainly, it gets the point across emphatically – sort it out as soon as is humanly possible. If we don’t, the issue is likely to get bigger and bigger. Paul says a similar thing ‘In your anger do not sin’: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.’   (Ephesians 4:26-27) Paul is urging us not to hold onto our anger.

Notice something else. I would have expected Jesus to say something like: ‘If you are in church and you are angry with someone in your heart then go and sort it out.’ But that is not what Jesus says. Jesus says that if you realise someone else is angry with you, rightly or wrongly, get it sorted. Scotrail don’t want unidentified baggage lying around on trains or in train stations. They tell us: ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ That’s what we must do with our anger, whether it comes from our own hearts or from someone else’s heart to us. We have to identify that ‘dangerous baggage’ and have it removed.

Let’s be honest. Most of us are not good at keeping ‘short accounts’ with one another. Nor are we very good at going to someone and saying the words, ‘I’m sorry’. We might wait for them to make the first move. Don’t do that. Remember how important it is to God to deal with anger speedily. Are you willing to take the initiative with a family member, friend, someone in the church family or someone else and sort out resentment? Are there people we refuse to speak to? It should not be.

In a church context, we can see from this passage that God would rather you leave church and sort out a relationship that stay in worship when your worship is contaminated by a damaged relationship. God would rather you worship here with your brothers and sisters in Christ from a place of unity of heart and not from a place of bitterness and division. Such divisions go against the gospel of grace.

In Jesus’ second example (verse 25), there is once again a stress on the urgency of personal reconciliation. This is a legal image. In Jesus’ day, a person who defaulted in his debts could be thrown into a debtors’ prison.

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘Jesus says the two men should settle the matter now, before they are in the courtroom with the judge. It may be costly to settle it now; it will certainly be humbling. But if it continues, one man may find himself in prison, and unable to get out until he has paid the last penny.’

Let me quote Sinclair Ferguson again in his brilliant summary of these two illustrations: ‘Animosity is a time bomb; we do not know when it will ‘go off’. We must deal with I quickly before the consequences of our bitterness get completely out of control. Most human relationships that are destroyed could have been preserved if there had been communication and action at the right time. Jesus says that the right time is as soon as we are conscious that we are at enmity with our brother.

There is another obvious reason why anger ought to be dealt with speedily in a church. Unchecked, it is a terrible witness. We are meant to be pointing others to how they can be reconciled to God, and so if we cannot reconcile with one another, it is just an awful witness. That’s why as far as it depends on us, we should live at peace with all people. ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’   (John 13:35)

Let us take a moment to pause and think: is there someone we need to put things right with? Do we have to stay stuck in our anger? Is there a way back? Even after years?

Mature Christian disciples will acknowledge that their anger is very likely to be sinful. They will then try and think about what lies behind that anger. Is it our pride, our selfishness or our desire to be in control? Repent of whatever is feeding your anger and pray to God for a godly attitude towards the person who has wronged you.

‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ (  (Ephesians 4:32)

Sermon: Sunday, 9th November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:17-20

If we want to grow and develop as Christians, is it important that we understand the place of God’s law in our lives. God’s law is summarised in the 10 commandments, and these commandments are summarised by Jesus in one words – love.

‘Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’   (Matthew 22:4-40)

So, Jesus reminds us that the law is good and is really concerned with how we can love God and love one another. We can also see just how good the law is by understanding that it reflects the character of God himself. For example, God tells us not to lie as he is the God of truth and he tells is not to commit adultery because he is a faithful God. The problem all human beings have is not that the law is bad or irrelevant. It is good and extremely relevant. The problem is that we are unable to keep the law in our own strength. In that sense, the law is like an x-ray, which shows all the moral failures we have inside our hearts. So, when we hear the simply command not to be jealous of what other people have- do not covet- we begin to realise that we are experts in coveting, and that is a serious problem.

When it comes to the commandments of God, Christians often fall into two dangerous extremes. Some wrongly believe that the law no longer applies to the Christian. They say things like, ‘We are now no longer under law but grace.’ or ‘I don’t need to keep the law – Jesus has forgiven me.’ This is wrong. They will twist a few New Testament verses to try and justify this position. Yes, we know that we cannot be justified or get to Heaven through keeping the law, but nonetheless it still has an important place in our lives. This view is called antinomianism, which just means ‘against the law’. I hope none of us here thinks that the 10 commandments or the beatitudes no longer apply.

The other extreme when it comes to the law is legalism. Legalists focus on keeping the law outwardly but often ignore the need to keep the law in our hearts. By doing this they try and ‘domesticate’ the law, reducing its power and making it something manageable, something that they can keep really easily. This too is wrong. Legalists sometimes think they can earn God’s favour by rule-keeping and they also have a tendency to add human traditions on top of God’s law.

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘The legal spirit is not to be confused with the Spirit of holiness. It is a subtle distortion that leads us to think that God’s approval of us is conditioned upon our obedience rather than upon Christ’s obedience.’

Our passage today, just 4 verses, is extremely helpful because here Jesus explains what his relationship is to God’s law, and then teaches us what our relationship with the law ought to be.

1. Jesus’ relationship with the law of God

This section begins with Jesus saying, ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets…‘   (Matthew 5:17) Clearly, for Jesus to have said this, some people did think, wrongly, that Jesus was against the law. Why did they think that? Well, when Jesus picked ears of corn on the Sabbath or healed the sick on the Sabbath the Pharisees and teachers of the law got extremely angry with him. They thought Jesus was breaking the Sabbath commandment. However, he was not. Jesus was only breaking the human traditions they had added to the Bible, but he would never have broken a commandment. He was perfect. It was their made-up rules which were wrong, not Jesus! Or when Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors or prostitutes, the religious leaders thought Jesus was breaking the commandments. But again, they were wrong. He was only breaking their human traditions and false interpretations of the law. In any case, Jesus knows some people have been claiming that he is against the law.

And Jesus wants to make his relationship to the law crystal clear. He says, ‘I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’   (Matthew 5:17) What does he mean?

Before we consider how Jesus fulfils the God’s law, let’s first just hear his plain and powerful affirmation of the moral law in the Old Testament. He says it has not been abolished. It still stands. So, as we continue in our studies on discipleship, know that Jesus expects all his followers, in God’s strength, to keep his law. We must try to honour our parents and keep his day and not tell lies. Those people (antinomians) who claim we are no longer obliged to keep the law are wrong.

How does Jesus fulfil the law and the prophets? This is a wonderful thing to consider. The phrase ‘the law and the prophets’ is just another way of speaking about the whole of the Old Testament. Jesus fulfils the Old Testament as he fulfils the many predicative prophecies there made about him. What was predicted would happen to the Messiah, predictions made hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, came to pass in Jesus. It was prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, but would go down into Egypt for a time. All of this happened to Jesus. He fulfilled these prophesies. Throughout Matthew’s gospel, as things happen to Jesus, he reminds us of this by saying: ‘This happened to fulfil what was written in the prophet so and so.’

Let’s just pause here. How do we know the Bible is a supernatural book coming straight from the mouth of God? How do we know we can trust what is written there? One massive reason is this – there are hundreds of predictions about Jesus written hundreds of years before his birth and they all came true. All of them. It was predicted that he would be crucified with criminals, be offered wine vinegar to drink, be buried in a rich man’s tomb and then rise from the dead. All of these things came to pass. Let’s have confidence in the Bible. It is not a book where God explains everything to us exhaustively. He does not answer all our questions. However, in his wisdom, he has revealed so much to us- all that he wants us to know. Even conservatively speaking, Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies.

But Jesus also fulfils the law in another sense – he shows us how deep God’s law really is. It is not just a matter of something external but it is a matter of the heart. If you think of God’s law as a bike tyre, the Pharisees had actually deflated the law of its power by only keeping it on the surface. Jesus comes and puts air back into the tyre, filling up the law so that we can see its true significance. For example, the Pharisees thought they could keep the 7th commandment – do not commit adultery. They thought they were good people and that this law was manageable. Jesus smashes this falsehood by saying: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.   (Matthew 5:27-28) This is crucial to grasp. Jesus shows the law concerns our motives and thought -lives and hearts and not just outward appearance. Man looks to the outward appearance but God looks to the heart.

Ironically, the religious leaders had accused Jesus of abolishing or weakening the law. In fact, it was they who had weakened it, by ignoring our need to have our hearts right with God.

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘Jesus did not weaken the law. On the contrary, he let it out of the cage in which the Pharisees had imprisoned it, allowing it to pounce on our secret thoughts and motives and tear to pieces our bland assumption that we are able to keep it in our own strength.’

What’s the practical lesson here to take away this morning? When we read the Old Testament, there are some laws that no longer apply, and for good reason. For example, the ceremonial laws for priests concerning how to sacrifice animals no longer apply today because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and has fulfilled the ceremonial law. It is no longer required. And there are also Old Testament laws which were specifically for Israel as a nation. For example, the food laws, not to eat pork. These laws are no longer in force as God’s people no longer constitute a nation. But all the other Old Testament laws are still in force for us, and Jesus’ followers must seek to obey these moral laws.

Jesus is so strong on this. He says that the moral law is as enduring as the universe itself. ‘For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.‘   (Matthew 5:18) God’s law remains in force.

Imagine you are reading through Deuteronomy and you read in chapter 15: ‘If among you, one of your brothers should become poor… you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him.’   (Deuteronomy 15:7-8) Friends, these moral principles of open-handed compassion still apply to me and to you. The same goes for laws about justice, and care for the vulnerable, especially widows, orphans and foreigners.

2. The Christian and the law of God

Let’s start by considering Jesus’ shocking statement: ‘For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.’   (Matthew 5:20) Most ordinary Jews regarded the Pharisees and the teachers of the law as the most righteous people on the planet. If anyone would get into Heaven, they wrongly thought, it would be them. They were the experts. The knew the law inside out and seemed to keep the 248 commands and 365 prohibitions. Please understand how flabbergasted the people would have been to hear the standard of righteousness must exceed theirs. Does this mean that we need almost perfection to be good in God’s eyes? No!

The truth is, as we have seen, that the quality of the Pharisees’ rule-keeping was so surface-level that they were not righteous at all. They actually distorted God’s commands, twisted them, and like everyone else failed to keep them. To help us understand this, remember the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. Jesus reads him the commands, and the ruler says: ‘All these I have kept’. He looked like a good person externally but inwardly he loved money more than God. Jesus tells him to go and sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. He cannot do it. Money is his God. He cannot even keep the first commandment. He is not righteous. Our righteousness must be greater than his.

How can we do this? How can our righteousness be greater than that of the Pharisees? Some must have thought that Jesus was joking! Here is the answer. We can only do this by having a heart-righteousness. And a deeper heart-righteousness is impossible for us unless we are given a new heart by God himself. And we only get a new heart following a new spiritual birth- being ‘born again’.

Here’s the wonderful process – when we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus for our salvation and follow him, God gives us a new heart, and this heart begins to want to keep God’s laws, not to earn his love, but because of our gratitude to him. Our new heart obeys God out of gratitude. This is the opposite of why the Pharisees tried to keep the law. This should not be a surprise to us. We read in Ezekiel, ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.’   (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

For all of Jesus disciples here this morning, our righteousness does exceed that of the Pharisees. Is this something we can boast about? Absolutely not. It is God who gave us new hearts and it is God who gave us his Spirit who helps us to love and keep the law. Without God’s help, without conversion, no one is able to keep God’s law out of gratitude to God. We need God’s help to keep the beatitudes and the 10 commandments and any other aspect of the moral law.

We also see this clearly in Jeremiah, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’   (Jeremiah 31:33)

Here’s the before and after. Before salvation, God’s law is something external and burdensome. After salvation, we understand more of its depth and we have a God-given desire to keep it, fuelled by our love for Jesus and motivated to please him.

Sermon: Sunday, 2nd November, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

We return to Jesus’ most famous sermon – the Sermon on the Mount. We spent four weeks in the beatitudes as Jesus described what the character of a Christian must be like. We must be those who are poor in spirit, not thinking too highly of ourselves. We must mourn our sin and the fact we have all let God down, and broken his rules. We are to hunger for the ways of God and be peacemakers, and so on. We cannot ‘whip up’ these characteristics on our own strength, so must be praying that the Holy Spirit would empower us and enlarge our hearts. Jesus is honest with us. In v11, he tells us plainly that living in this different, counter-cultural way will result in being persecuted by others. We must be aware that the Christian life was never meant to be easy. It is, in fact, a battle.

Next, Jesus moves on to consider the influence Christians who live out the beatitudes will have on the rest of the world. Last week, we focused on the image of salt. Salt prevents meat and fish from rotting. Likewise, as Christians follow the ways of Jesus closely, we hinder those around us falling into deeper decay. Last week we thought of some examples of this. As men have been converted in outer Mongolia, and as Jesus has changed their lives, they no longer waste their wages on alcohol and neglect and abuse their families in drunkenness. This widespread practice is not as prevalent there as it used to be. Christians are acting as salt. And we also saw how it was following British revivals in the 19th century that ‘salty Christians’ spearheaded the abolition of the slave trade, the end of child labour, the rise of the nursing movement, prison reform, the building of hospitals and schools and formation of labour unions. When a church is strong in a country, it hinders decay and when the church is weak, the decay happens more quickly. But the influence of Christians is not just about slowing decay. There’s a more positive side.

Jesus makes this wonderful statement: ‘You are the light of the world.’   (Matthew 5:14) Light dispels the darkness and brings life. It exposes falsehood and brings truth and love. It guides and reveals. Light is something precious and beautiful and positive. Remember who Jesus is talking to – Galilean peasants, who were ‘nobodies’ in the eyes of the world. They were not rich or influential or powerful. They did not have political connections. And yet because they were the people who trusted in Jesus and had a relationship with him, Jesus says emphatically: ‘You are the light of the world.’ He says the same to us this morning. If Jesus is your King and Saviour and you are his apprentice, then you too are the light of the world. You have a massively important role to play in this world. You will be a bearer of truth and a guide and one who dispels darkness. Society might look at the church as irrelevant or inconsequential. Jesus invests us with this marvellous responsibility. Is it arrogant for Christians to see themselves as the light of the world? Who do we think we are?

1. Jesus is the ultimate light; our light derives from him

‘Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’   (John 8:12)

Who is the ultimate light? Jesus! But listen closely to what Jesus says – it is as we follow him and his ways that we too will emit his light. As we remain united to Jesus in faith and as we nurture our relationship with Jesus through the Bible and prayer, and as we obey his ways, his light will flow into us and be seen by others. One excellent illustration of this is to think about the moon. Think of a beautiful full moon in a dark sky. It shines and breaks into the darkness. But where does its light come from? It comes from the sun. It is a derivative light. The moon reflects the light of the sun. In the same way, our light comes from Jesus. Our light is but a reflection of his. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the source of truth and love and life we all desperately need.

‘… people living in darkness have seen a great light…’   (Matthew 4:16) So, we are not arrogant as Christians. We know we don’t deserve to be lights. This is the work of God’s grace within us.

‘… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’   (Colossians 1 vs 12-14)

2. The world is in darkness

It is obvious that the world is in great darkness. It is easy to see this all over the world when we consider crime, war, greed, exploitation, drugs, abortion, the worship of self and gossip and lies and pride and lust and laziness. But Jesus is keen for us to look closer to home, and understand that these things also lurk in our own hearts.

Jesus said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’   (Mark 7:20-23) Perhaps you have a more optimistic view of the human race than Jesus. But I know these things lurk in my heart.

The renowned author GK Chesterton once entered a newspaper essay competition. Essays had to answer the question – what is wrong with the world. He wrote: ‘Dear Sir, I am. Yours Sincerely, GK Chesterton’

The darkness of the world is more than a moral darkness. It is also a spiritual darkness and a darkness of understanding. Most people in Scotland do not know the meaning and purpose of life. They do not know about God or what he is like or how he wants us to live. They do not know what will happen to them when they die. They have no hope beyond the grave. Most people wrongly think they are basically good people, and don’t need Jesus or the forgiveness he offers. Friends, this is a thick black darkness. Many do not know we are more than just animals. We are made in God’s image. We are made to live for God and to enjoy a relationship with God. This world desperately needs our light. And God in his wisdom has chosen to shed his light into the world through his church – through ordinary people like us. The world likes to think it is enlightened. But it cannot even answer basic questions on purpose and meaning.

3. The purpose of our identity as lights

Jesus has given his church and the individuals with his church a huge privilege and responsibility – to be light bearers for God. We might feel inadequate for such a task. But Jesus is encouraging us. He’s not saying this is what you could be, but this is what you are. You are the light of the world. The more closely we follow Jesus, the brighter our light will shine. But even a small amount of light can make a huge difference in the darkness.

Many years ago, I went to a Hungarian national park called Aggtelek. They have an incredible network of caves there. You go down into the cave system in Hungary and can come out on the other side of the border, in Slovakia. Deep in this cave system, our guide turned off all the electric light. It was the darkest darkness I have ever experienced. Then he turned on a small torch, and that made a huge different. We did not feel so disorientated any more. That’s the impact the church can have in the world. That’s why Leven Free Church is so important in Fife, for example.

One of the functions of light is to show people the way. It acts as a guide. We know why the world is the way it is. We know its Creator. We know his Word. We know what he wants. We know how to get into Heaven. As we tell others this wonderful message, we act as lights in the darkness.

When we considered being the salt of the earth, we were reminded of how salt must be rubbed into the meat or fish to have an impact. Likewise, for light to have an impact, it must shine in places of darkness. If a room is already well lit during a summer’s day, turning on a light will have no impact whatsoever. Likewise, without compromising, Christians must be involved in society, even when it is dark, and in so doing act as lights. We need to be involved in ordinary things, clubs and societies and neighbourhoods and the social structures of the workplace, where possible.

What does it really mean for us to shine as lights in the darkness. As we’ve already heard, it does involve pointing people to Jesus and showing them the way. But in this passage, the focus is on our ‘good deeds’. Wherever the Lord places us, in school, at work, in the family, in church and in the community, we must never grow tired of doing good.

‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.’   (Acts 10:38) Like Jesus before us, we must go around helping others, loving others and working hard. Our workplace ought to be all the better for us being there. We should not be the moaners and complainers or the gossips or the lazy.

‘Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.‘   (1 Peter 2:12)

‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…’   (Philippians 2:14-15)

Think back to the last week, in your workplace, in the community, at the shops, meeting other people in any context, were these places better because you were there encouraging others, helping others, listening to others, and promoting their welfare? Jesus wants other people to be blessed by our words and actions and see the light within us. And that light within us should not point to ourselves but our Father in Heaven. Light is not meant to point to itself. A spotlight shines on a person on the stage. Our light is meant to spotlight God. People are meant to be attracted to God because they see God within us!

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘The regeneration of men’s lives is a sovereign work of God’s grace. We cannot bring anyone to newness of life. But it is our responsibility to live the new life in order that others may be challenged by it. It is our responsibility to shine for Jesus Christ so that others will see his salvation expressed in the flesh-and-blood reality of our daily lives. This is the point Jesus is making: we have a responsibility to show the Christ-like life of light to those around us. We cannot hide it under a cover.’

As we have already heard, light is meant to be placed in the darkness and meant to be seen, not covered. If you think of a one room Scottish black house or one room home in Jesus’ day, a lamp would be put on a stand to light up the whole room. It would be ridiculous to cover that lamp with a bowl. We are not to be lights hidden away in Christian bubbles. And if you lived in Jesus’ day, before electric streetlights, travellers would be delighted to see the light of a city shining in the distance, breaking the darkness and showing them the way. That city on a hill is meant to be seen. Let me be more personal- you are meant to be seen. Whether you like it or not, Jesus’ plan is that his light will be shown to the world through his people. What a privilege and what a responsibility. One of the main ways God in his wisdom chooses to reveal himself to others is through his transformed people, people now living out the beatitudes. We are, in this sense, being watched all the time. And if our light is shining, we are living proof that Jesus Christ is alive and is a great Saviour who forgives and transforms his people. That’s what happened in Outer Mongolia. People could see the power of God in the change taking place in the people of God and this, in turn, changed more lives.

We are God’s ambassadors. In his providence, he has placed us in a variety of families and communities and workplaces. The question is this, will you pray for God to help you to love and care for those around you, that you would shine brightly for him? If we have not been in this mindset, then we need to repent of our careless discipleship. This is basic Christianity.

Will you go into the rest of this week determined to love those around you and to help them? You might be in a time of stress and trouble. You are still watched at such times as to how you will react. If you can maintain a love for others at such times, your light will be powerful and impactful. May the Lord help us all to shine for him as we do good to others.

Sermon: Sunday, 31st August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Mathew 11:28-30

What’s the best invitation you have ever had? It’s lovely to receive an invitation. Perhaps it was a wedding invitation to celebrate the ‘big day’ of close friends and to share in their joy. Or perhaps you were invited on holiday to a beautiful area to explore all kinds of new places with your friends. You might be invited to apply for a job and that feels like a great boost – people appreciate your efforts in the workplace. We are inviting people to come to Meal with a Message; they might accept or decline the invitation. You might receive a handwritten note from your spouse, inviting you for a special picnic and walk; sometimes these personal invitations are the most touching. Or it could be a surprise milestone birthday party you are asked to. Roger is inviting us all to a musical concert on the 1st of November. As we know, when invitations arrive then we have a decision to make, to accept or politely decline. A response is required. But the best and most important invitation you have ever received comes here in Matthew chapter 11. Make no mistake, you are invited and you are invited by Jesus himself. Let’s explore what it is exactly that Jesus is inviting us to and what the implications are if we accept or reject the invitation.

1. An astonishing invitation

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’   (Matthew 11:28)

What is astonishing about this invitation? It is staggering for one man, Jesus, to invite the whole world to come to him to receive all the things that they need most. Can Jesus really deliver that? Does he have the resources to meet all our needs? This is the kind of invitation that only God could extend. We read in the book of Isaiah; ‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.’   (Isaiah 45:22) God is saying that only he is qualified to rescue us. That would be arrogant were it not true. Likewise, Jesus’ claim to the only one in whom the deepest needs of the world can be satisfied is either some kind of foolish arrogance or it is the truth. We know that Jesus is far more than a human being; he both God and man in one person. That is why he is able to make this amazing invitation. Jesus is, in effect, inviting us to have a relationship with him. It is one where we trust and obey and follow him. And it is through this relationship alone that we can find rest for our souls. It is a relationship where we talk to him in prayer and listen to his voice as we read the Bible.

No politician can say to us, ‘Follow our party and we will meet the deepest needs of your soul.’ No scientist can point to a discovery which will give us peace, meaning and direction. No false prophet in other religions can accomplish this. Only Jesus can. And the good news is that he actually invites you to come to him to receive all you need and more. The question is, will you come?

But it’s also an astonishing invitation because it is an invitation made to those who have rejected him. Jesus has been denouncing the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida. They had seen his miracles and heard his teaching first-hand and yet still rejected him. The Apostle John was right when he wrote: ‘He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.’   (John ch 1 v11)

Today in Fife, the vast majority of people have no time for God or for the things of eternity. Even though these are the critical areas of life, we just focus on what we can see and touch instead. We conveniently forget about the big questions of life: what happens when we die? What will God do about all the wrong things I have done personally? What is the meaning of life? Does God love me? Even though the human race refuses to thank God for his goodness to us and to live our lives for him, Jesus still invites us into a relationship with him. Jesus is here opening his arms to receive the whole world, even a world which has ignored him. It is an invitation we really don’t deserve. Instead of condemnation, we receive an invitation.

2. Who specifically is invited?

We have already seen that the whole world is invited. But Jesus is more specific. He is inviting the ‘weary and the burdened’ He is inviting those who labour and are heavy laden. But does this not describe the whole world without Christ?

Augustine said: ‘You have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in You.’

It’s hard for people to be satisfied without knowing life’s true purpose, even if their family and work circumstances are positive. And it’s no wonder people are weary in a world full of pain and suffering when that pain and suffering seems random and pointless. Is life really meaningless? Life is not a level playing field. Some carry more burdens than others. However, life is hard for everyone. Sometimes we are burdened by guilt weighing us down. We know we have hurt others, but we don’t really know what to do about that. Our consciences begin to bother us. Sometimes we’re crushed by rejection, or bad relationships or an addiction. We are just so worn down by life. Are you loaded down by your sin, or sorrow or regret this morning? You are invited to come to Jesus.

In Jesus’ day, many were weighed down trying to earn God’s favour keeping all kinds of rules. Not just rules in the Bible, but many man-made rules as well. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus describes the actions of the Pharisees: ‘They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.’   (Matthew 23:4) In other words, they falsely teach that people must earn their place in Heaven by ensuring that their good outweighs their bad. But we cannot earn our salvation. We cannot rescue ourselves. We cannot even keep God’s laws, but break them on a daily basis. What a massive burden to place on people – telling them they must, in their own strength, be good enough for God. And even if we do go down this false road, we would never know if what we have done has been enough. We would always be in a state of spiritual anxiety.

It’s not just back in Jesus’ day that people were over-burdened trying to earn God’s favour. This happens just as much today. In fact, every religion teaches this false path and in so doing places burden after burden on people. Jesus invites us to come to him and have this burden removed from our backs. He is able to keep the law on our behalf. And he is able to pay the price for the wrongs we have committed by dying on the cross for us.

3. What does Jesus promise those who come to him?

In a word, rest! There is rest for our souls and it is found in a relationship with Jesus. There is rest for our conscience as in Jesus our sins can be totally forgiven and we no longer carry the burden of shame and guilt. There is rest in our hearts because in Jesus we know who we are, why we are here, what our true purpose is and what will happen to us at death. There is rest in Jesus because our Creator specifically designed us to have a relationship with him.

Most of us know what it is like to be exhausted and burnt out but then to have a proper rest. We might just need time away from work, or a parent might need a break from the relentless task of watching young children. To those trying to earn God’s favour, Jesus tells us that he has done everything necessary for us to be saved and to enter Heaven. We can rest in what he has done. It is not restful to live life running away from God and just doing our own thing. How can we know spiritual rest doing that?

What does coming to Jesus for rest involve in practical terms? It means coming to him in prayer, and asking him for his forgiveness and his help. It means coming to him with empty hands and asking him for all that we need. It means giving up trying to go it alone and receiving his love and grace. It means entering into a relationship with King Jesus.

4. A life-long apprenticeship

But the rest Jesus offers us is not a life of idleness. We are not called to do nothing. And it’s not an easy life but one full of battles and difficulties and temptations. Can that still be restful? Yes, it can. He says: ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’   (Matthew 11:29-30)

What does it mean to take Jesus’ yoke on us? We don’t often think about animal yokes in our culture. A yoke is a wooden collar that runs across the shoulders of a pair of oxen, helping them to pull huge weights. When we become Christians, giving our allegiance to Jesus, this is just the first day of a whole life of serving him. To take Jesus’ yoke on our shoulders means to follow him, serve him and learn from him. In other words, we become Jesus disciples, or apprentices. In the Bible, a yoke speaks of submission to authority. He is in charge of all areas of our lives. We submit to his authority about forgiving others, relationships, our use of money and time, and in terms of our attitudes and desires. Does that sound restful to you? Submitting to Jesus’ authority? The amazing thing is this- it actually is restful to give up trying to live any way we please. Doing as we please is not how we were designed and leads to frustration and hurt and emptiness. In contrast, living according to the ways of Jesus gives us true rest and freedom and peace.

In verse 29, Jesus says: ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…’ Christian disciples are to be life-long learners. We must always have our Bibles open so that we are learning from Jesus. When we are learning to drive, we display the red L-plates. When we pass our test we have the option of displaying a green P which stands for probationary. We still have a lot to learn. As Christians, I think it’s useful to think of ourselves as always keeping the L-plate on. We never reach a stage where we no longer have to follow Jesus. We need to be committed each day to the process of learning from Jesus.

If you learn a language from the app Duolingo, you aim to complete at least one lesson every day. The number of continuous days you have is called a streak. Keen language learners become quite obsessed with making their streak as long as possible. Christians must do the same with our Bibles. We need a healthy obsession to ensure each day we are learning from the attitudes of Jesus and the actions of Jesus and the commands of Jesus. And because Christians are now filled with the Holy Spirit and because we do so with gratitude in our hearts to the one who died for us, this should not be a burden. Following and obeying Jesus should bring us rest. ‘In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…’   (1 John 5:3) Friends, is this your attitude?

5. Is there anyone better to follow?

I love the answer Peter gives to Jesus when Jesus asks if the twelve want to stop following him, as many from the large crowds had done. ‘Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’   (John 6:68-69) This is so true.

There’s another reason for following Jesus. ‘I am gentle and humble in heart…’   (Matthew 11:29) This is the only time in the whole Bible when Jesus describes his own heart. When Peter denied Jesus, eventually he was able to come to Jesus and what did he find? One who was gentle with him and humble and who would restore him to usefulness once again. For us who are Christians but have made a right mess of something or other, be assured that we can come to Jesus and he will be gentle with us. Is that not a precious truth? The religious leaders of Jesus day were uncaring and harsh and critical and proud. You wouldn’t want to have gone to them for help. But Jesus’ arms are always wide open to receive us and bless us. If you come to Jesus he will meet you with kindness and gentleness. So, come!

And if you are not yet a Christian, I would urge you to stop carrying the heavy load of sin and guilt and meaninglessness and rebellion. Instead, come to Jesus in prayer. Ask for forgiveness. Ask him to be in charge. Become his disciple. Learn from him. And you will know rest.

Sermon: Sunday, 24th August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Revelations 8:1-5

It’s been several weeks since we were last in Revelation, so let’s recap. In chapter 5, we saw a scroll with writing on both sides in the hand of God the Father. This scroll symbolises God’s plans for human history. At first, no one could be found worthy to open the scroll, and bring God’s plans to fulfilment. However, there is a lion-like Saviour who is going to put things right! This lion is also a Lamb who has been slain.

In chapter 6, we were introduced to the four riders of the apocalypse. Through these coloured horses, and the opening of the first four seals, God is telling us what must take place between the first coming and second coming of Jesus, which includes right now. God wants us to be prepared for the great suffering on the earth from the time of Jesus’ ascension, until the day he returns, at the end of the world. God says to expect a world of military conquest (the white horse), war (the red horse), famine (the black horse) and death (the pale horse). And this is exactly our experience of life. God’s warning is exactly right. The fifth seal transported us from the earth up into Heaven, where the martyrs ask God how long the suffering of Christians on earth must last for; God tells them it will be until he has finished gathering in all the saints. Then, most soberingly, we saw that the opening of the sixth seal marks the Day of Judgement. A great shaking and destroying of all evil will take place. The sun turns black and the stars fall from the sky. The universe is being dismantled. The end has come. Those who have rejected God in this life will have nowhere to hide from God’s justice on that day. They will have missed their opportunity to receive God’s mercy. They must now face the consequences of their own failures.

If the opening of the sixth seal seemed too climatic, with the whole universe being dismantled, what is going to happen when Jesus opens the seventh seal? Will the earth melt with fire? After the action-packed descriptions of seals 1-6, the last seal might seem to arrive with a sense of anti-climax: ‘When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.’   (Revelation 5:1) There is not much silence in the book of Revelation; usually we hear loud cries of praise on the sound of war or a loud voice speaking, but not silence. What are we to make of it? The silence is deafening. It is an intense and overwhelming silence, like the calm before a storm.

1. Evil will be punished

As we have seen again and again, the best key to unlock the imagery in Revelation is the Old Testament. What does silence signify there? There are many Old Testament passages which link silence to the righteous judgment of God. For example, in Isaiah 23 v2, when Tyre is being judged by the Lord, we read: ‘Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon…’   (Isaiah 23:2) And in the book of Zephaniah, God gives a prophecy about judging the whole earth on the day of the Lord: ‘Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near.’   (Zephaniah 1:7) This is a holy and reverent silence before divine judgment takes place.

The silence, then, signals to us here this morning that there will be a day when we are all brought to account for how we have lived. We cannot live any way we please and ignore God with impunity. Why does this silence last for half an hour? I am not sure. Perhaps it signals how suddenly this judgment will come upon us. We need to be ready for it, by becoming followers of Jesus.

Many Christians today struggle with the truth of God’s judgment. Some are emotionally troubled by it and others might feel even stronger and be morally outraged by it. The fear is that hell will be an unfair punishment and that it does not square with a loving God. These are genuine concerns people wrestle with. I’ve got several questions about hell myself which I don’t know the answer to. I leave these things with the most loving, just and fair being in the universe – God himself.

Recently, I read a helpful article by Rebecca McLaughlin about the link between love and anger:

‘The idea of the wrath of God seems alien to us a psychologically damaging relic from a bygone era. But just as we cannot absolve people of moral accountability without also erasing their ability to love, so God’s love and God’s judgment cannot be pulled apart. Think of the anger you feel when you see school children shot, women raped, or people beaten because of the colour of their skin. Think of your anger at the slave trade, the Holocaust, and global sex trafficking. When you analyse that anger, its root is love. No one who regards those of other races as subhuman cares about racial exploitation. No one who believes that women or children are property cares about sexual abuse. And the more we love, the more easily our anger is kindled. We rush to defend our children from the least attack because we love them: anyone who harms them inspires our fury.

Imagine that this kind of love-motivated anger is so deeply entrenched in the heart of God that your own commitment to justice is like a drop in the ocean, like the justice of a child dressing up in a police outfit compared with a high-court judge.’

In 2014, it came to light that Jimmy Savile was not the man we might have thought he was. Yes, he raised 40 million for charity. But the truth is that he was a sexual predator who never received punishment for his decades of criminal activity. Did he get away with it? No. He will be brought to account by God. We all will.

Earlier in the month, the Steadfast Global prayer notes told us about Nigeria: ‘Violent attacks against Christian communities are continuing across Plateau state with a further 17 Christians killed by suspected Fulani Muslims since 15 July’. From a human point of view, these attackers got away with it. But have they? Do you want to live in a world where evil actions do not matter? Yes, for many hell is a tough truth to wrestle with. But a universe without justice is also an awful thought. And we can be sure that God will never over-react when meting out punishments. It will be done with absolute fairness. Jesus says, ‘But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.’   (Matthew 11 v 24:) In other words, there will be different levels of punishment in hell.

What will we say to the Lord when we stand before him in judgment? What will Savile say? What will the Fulani herdsman say? Will we be complaining to God about how unfair the punishment is going to be? ‘Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.’   (Romans 1:19) Every mouth will be silenced because God will be judging us and not the other way round. Evil will not remain unpunished forever.

2. The power of prayer

Is there really any point in praying to God? What difference does it make? If we look closely at these few verses it ought to be a massive encouragement to us to pray more. Prayer makes all the difference. Who exactly is praying here? Verse 3 says it is the prayers of ‘all of God’s people’. It is the prayers of all the saints. That includes the prayers of us here this morning, if we are Jesus’ disciples. And what happens to our prayers when they are uttered? They do not bounce of the ceiling and get lost. They do not enter a black hole. Rather, they reach the front of the throne of God. In other words, God hears them. The King of the Universe listens to us personally.

If we all wrote letters to Keir Starmer expressing our various concerns and needs, I very much doubt we would get a personal reply. The letters will go through a screening process at his office with many being ignored. Probably, one of his secretaries will send us a generic reply to some people. How many letters does the prime minister get each day? How many does he read and respond to and take action on personally? A very small number. God is the opposite.

Notice that our prayers are mixed with incense. What does this tell us? That our prayers are like a sweet smelling aroma to our heavenly Father. Do you believe that? That’s why we sang from Psalm 141: ‘May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice’. Even when we do not know what to pray for and we cry out to God, and even when our prayers are mixed with wrong motives and faltering faith, because Jesus is our perfect sacrifice and we are united to him in faith, he makes our prayers acceptable to the Father. When we pray in Jesus’ name, our prayers are covered by Christ’s blood and ascend clean and beautiful and bring joy to our Father. Isn’t that wonderful?

There’s the story of a very young girl picking flowers for her mother. An older woman sees what she has gathered and says ‘let me help you – I’ll take out the weeds and the dirt’. And she does. And the girl gives this beautiful bouquet of flowers to her mother. This is what Jesus does with our prayers. He perfects them for us. He intercedes for us.

Here’s the most exciting part – God not only hears our prayers but he responds by taking action. Our prayers are influential. Far from being a waste of time, they result in the action of God.

Kevin Deyoung: ‘God has ordered the world so that our prayers make a difference. He has sovereignly ordered the world so that he responds to prayer. His sovereign purposes are accomplished through his people praying. The hands that fold in prayer move the hands of him who made the world.’

We see the truth of this as the Lord responds to the prayers of the persecuted church by finally bringing judgment on those who have attacked his church: ‘Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.’   (Revelation 5:5)

Remember what happened when the 5th seal was opened. The martyred saints in Heaven pray: ‘They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.’ (Revelation 6:10-11) God answers their prayers at the end of time.

When I think back over the last 30 years, I should have been more politically involved. I could have written more letters to MPs to both encourage and challenge. But there’s something much more powerful I could have done more of – and that’s pray. Because our prayers are more powerful than we realise. God uses them for the outworking of his purposes. I believe God pays more attention to our prayers and uses our prayers more than he does with the political structures we have. Political structures are important and we ought to be involved in them, but the power of prayer is more important than politics. May this remind us to pray for our politicians.

If we take this passage seriously, and if we really believe that God uses our prayers to fulfil his eternal decree then we won’t need to have our arm twisted to come to the prayer meeting or to pray more at home. If we trust prayer makes a difference it is likely we shall do it.

Sermon: Sunday, 17th August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Acts 16:11-40

This is a thrilling part of the Bible. It describes the first three people who were converted in Europe. We find them all in a place called Philippi, which today is in the north east of Greece. You could not find three people with less in common: a wealthy business woman from Asia called Lydia; a slave girl who is a double-slave, both to her owners and an evil spirit; and a tough, cruel jailer. However, by the end of the chapter, none of those differences matter because they all become followers of Jesus, and end up in the same church together. In verse 40, we find them all gathering in Lydia’s house for a house church. And they are now called ‘brothers and sisters’. Jesus transforms the lives of all these characters. He forgives their sins and gives them the certain hope of eternal life. He brings them into the same family. So, you have men and women, slaves and free, Asians and Europeans, lower class, middle class and upper class. None of these differences matter any more. The good news of Jesus is for everyone. It doesn’t matter what country you were born in, who your people are, what gender you are, how much education or money you have, we all need Jesus to save us. And when he does, we become a church family and the differences no longer matter.

This morning, I’d like us to focus on the jailer. I hope you are all prayerfully thinking about who you can invite along to our next ‘Meal with a message’. If you had known this jailer, you probably would not have invited him. We don’t know too much of his background, but it’s likely that he is a retired Roman soldier, as many Roman soldiers retired to Philippi where they received money, land and Roman citizenship. If so, he would have been a hard man, used to bloodshed and death. We can see that he is cruel as, even though Paul and Silas had been severely flogged, he does nothing to relieve their pain. In fact, he makes their situation worse by putting them in the inner cell, the worst and darkest place to be, and then putting them in stocks, which in Roman times were also designed to inflict pain and misery. Then the jailer went off to bed to sleep. But God is going to work a miracle in his life and bring him to a place where he sees his need of Jesus.

This should be a reminder to all of us that we have no idea who God is going to save next. He saves the slave girl. Today, he might next save an addict or a religious person or someone who seems so materialistic and more interested in cars and holidays and houses than God. What does this mean for us? It means we should invite all kinds of people along to church and to church events and to our homes. It means we should get to know all kinds of different people, whoever the Lord places in our paths. And it means that God specialises in converting the most unlikely people at the most unlikely times. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. If you are here this morning and are not yet a follower of Jesus, God is able to save you too, just as he saves the jailer here.

1. God alone saves, but he uses the witness of Christians

The witness of Paul and Silas is remarkable here. They have been unlawfully arrested on false charges and severely flogged even though this was illegal as Paul is a Roman citizen. You might have expected them to be cursing and swearing at the jailer, or that they would suffer in silence, wondering why God had abandoned them in such an awful place. What we actually hear is a sound probably never heard in this inner cell before – it’s the sound of men singing praises to God. Now let’s be clear – these men do not know what is round the corner. Perhaps they will be executed. They don’t know deliverance is coming. And yet, even in these dark circumstances, they continue to trust that God is in control and that God knows what he is doing even if they do not know. These are Christian men who rejoice in knowing Jesus no matter what kind of circumstances they are in, good or bad.

Keddie: ‘To the outward view their situation was grim – flogged and imprisoned, they perhaps faced even death on the morrow. But God was in all their thoughts and as they poured out their deepest petitions before the Lord, their sense of being in his everlasting arms evoked lively singing of his praises. They had been beaten up, but they were not beaten down.’

We read in verse 25 that the other prisoners were listening to them. I think it more than likely the jailer was also listening. This is a picture of what we saw last Sunday morning, that those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up with wings like eagles. This is supernatural strength in a time of great vulnerability.

Next, the jailer is about to commit suicide, probably because he will be put to death for allowing his prisoners to escape. We see this earlier in Acts after Peter’s miraculous escape from prison: ‘After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.’   (Acts 12:19) How do Paul and Silas respond to the jailer in this extreme situation? Paul shouts: ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’   (Acts 16:28) Sometimes we come across people who are suicidal or engaging in self-harm, and we ought to lovingly say to them ‘Don’t harm yourself’. There is hope in Jesus Christ. Who knows what situations we will come across in the coming months.

What Paul is doing for this man is a powerful witness. Paul is saying kind and loving words to the very man who had hurt him and had hurt Silas and had showed no compassion to them whatsoever. Here is a picture of loving your enemies. The prisoners make no attempt to escape. And please notice this – who does the jailer turn to when he wants to know how to be saved? Paul and Silas.

Here’s a challenge for all of us today – we are always being watched by those who know us. They notice how we react to circumstances, especially when things go wrong for us. But if we make an effort to get to know people and to show kindness to all people, even those who wrong us, then when God is at work they might well just come to us and ask us why we can be calm in the face of sickness and tragedy and even death. How we treat one another in our church and how we treat those at work and in our communities matters a great deal. God uses our witness. We are called to let our lights shine before others. Paul and Silas are not aloof from others but are among the people. They are not bitter and angry in their reactions but full of hope and love. May God help us to be the same. What a powerful witness it is when we live like that.

2. God alone saves, but he uses the words of Christians

Don’t listen to people who say: Preach the gospel at all times ad, if necessary, use words’. Christians are called to witness both with their actions and their words. You need both. You could be an amazingly kind neighbour or colleague but if you never point people to Jesus then your witness will be truncated. We need actions and words. How can someone be saved unless we tell them how?

In verse 30, we see that the jailer is beginning to think about God and his great need to get right with him. He genuinely does not know how to do this and so earnestly asks Paul and Silas the most important question in all the world: ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ The jailer might have seemed an unlikely candidate for conversion, but God is pursuing him. God sends Paul and Silas to the jail in order to witness to him and to explain the way of salvation. And God even sends an earthquake in order to bring this man to his senses. God moves heaven and earth as he goes after his lost sheep. What an encouraging fact this is. God is orchestrating events in order save the jailer from his sins.

He asks such a great question. He knows for the first time that he needs to be saved as he is lost, without God and without hope in the world. If you are not yet a Christian, do you appreciate that? Does it trouble you that you are lost and without eternal hope? Suicide was not the answer for this man. He might have escaped the judgement of his bosses but he would not and could not escape the appointment which we all have with almighty God. When we die, each one of us must stand before God and give an account for our lives. And because each one of us has broken God’s good and holy rules so many times, we urgently need to be saved.

I think Paul and Silas’ answer to his question would have greatly surprised the jailer. Notice that he asks, ‘What must I do’ to be saved. Perhaps he expected to have to make a huge financial or animal sacrifice to Jesus. Or perhaps he thought he might have to go on a long journey to a holy place or turn his life around by trying much harder to be a kind man. But none of this can save us. The answer given is much simpler: ‘They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’   (Acts 16:31) It’s crucial that we understand this- this man could not save himself. However, there is something God wants him to do. There is a step he needs to take. And it’s the same thing he wants from each one of us in this room today. He wants us to believe in Jesus. He wants our faith. There is no other way to Heaven. God wants us to receive salvation as a free gift – we cannot earn it. Faith is that receiving of the gift – accepting that Jesus died in our place on the cross.

Becoming a Christian is marked by simplicity. All that is needed is believing in Jesus. However, we must understand what it means to believe in Jesus. It is much more than just believing that he was a historical figure – that he existed. Even the Devil believes in Jesus in that sense. Faith in Jesus means accepting that there is nothing you can do to make up for breaking God’s rules. There is no programme of doing good deeds that can undo our sin. However, although we cannot make up for our wrongdoing, Jesus can. That’s why he died. And that is what we come to believe in – that Jesus, the Son of God, lived the perfect life we could never live and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Salvation is not about what we can do for God to make up for things, but the other way round, what God in Christ has done on the cross so that we can be forgiven. Through his death on the cross, Jesus accomplished salvation for all who would trust in him.

So, as we speak to people about Jesus, we must explain to them that salvation comes through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, we need to unpack that by explaining who Jesus is and why he needed to die on the cross. We cannot just give people one sentence sound-bites. And that’s exactly what Paul and Silas do – they unpack the gospel: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.’   (Acts 16:31-32)

3. When God saves, we always see the good fruit of a changed life

What evidence is there that the jailor was truly a changed man. ‘At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds…’   (Acts 16:33) Isn’t that such a clear and practical evidence of change? It’s not that the jailer suddenly had an amazing grasp of deep theology. Nor would all of his wrong living and wrong thinking have disappeared in an instant. That would take a lifetime of work. But he had love for other followers of Jesus. The test of a living faith is faithful living, and we see that here. We also see the reality of his change in his hospitality and in the newly found joy which fills his heart.

4. When God saves, it has an impact on a whole family

‘At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptised.’   (Acts 16:33-34) Why baptise all the members of his family? The covenant sign being placed on our households goes back to the book of Genesis: ‘I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.’   (Genesis 17 v 7) God tells Abraham to place the sign of the covenant on all the males in the household. Because in conversion God embraces households. This is no guarantee that everyone will be saved all of the time in the family, but it does mean the household is now a special one. This principle is repeated on the Day of Pentecost: ‘The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’   (Acts 2:39)

Let’s consider these verses again and listen out for the way in which the jailer’s conversion impact his whole house: ‘They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’ Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.  At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptised. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God – he and his whole household.’   (Acts 16:31-34) Today, as we say goodbye to a number in our church family (the Youngs and Daniel), I doubt that God has finished working in their families. What an encouragement it is to know our God cares for the spiritual well-being of our families.