Gateway Church - Sermon Podcast

Neil Bartlett, lead elder at The King's Church, High Wycombe, speaks on Isaiah 6:1-8. To explain more fully Isaiah's vision of the Lord, Neil explains what Isaiah sees, what he says and what he does. He explains how the glory of God is something of substance, how the holiness of God is a threat to sinners but how God makes the unclean clean through his grace. Isaiah, who calls himself a 'man of unclean lips' has his guilt taken away and says 'Here I am! Send me.'

Matt Ashworth continues the series on prayer with James 5:13-18. The passage is James' exhortation (emphatic/strong urge) to his readers to pray, Matt explains, before splitting the sermon into two parts: 1) That they are exhorted to believe in prayer and 2) That they are exhorted to act out their lives in prayer. Firstly, Matt explains the glorious picture of prayer the Bible gives, as well as the importance of praying in faith and being in right relationship with God to see mighty miracles. Matt challenges the church to look seriously at what God wants us to believe about prayer. Secondly, Matt shows how James strongly urges the Church to put their belief into action, with the comfort of knowing that God knows our weaknesses and the Holy Spirit is given that we may have an almighty prayer life.

Foundation morning: A look at woman from creation to today. What was in God's original design? How was and is this affected by the fall? And, what does femininity look like for the Church today?

Foundation morning: A look at one of Jesus' most radical but most often down-played promises. We'll look at what it means, how it can possibly be true, and the exciting potential if we choose to believe it!

Foundation morning: We will look verse by verse through Acts 2:42-47 particularly at the early believers’ generosity and how we can also be that generous...and maybe even more!

Foundation morning: I believe prayer can bring healing, revival and ultimately can change a nation. In this seminar I aim to explore prayers in the Word that lead to breakthrough, how we can model our prayer-life using the 'keys' given to us, discuss what it means to travail in prayer in the face of adversity and touch on the joy of developing an intimate relationship with Jesus through prayer.

Looking again at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, Tony Smith answers six questions about prayer, our personal communication with God. Firstly 'What is prayer?', dealing with what our role in prayer is and God's role too: our relationship. Secondly 'What does God want us to pray?' shows us that we do not pray to inform God but to show our dependency on Him. Thirdly 'Is prayer effective?', in which Tony gives examples of powerful prayers and talks about prayers from Christians and those who are not Christians. Fourthly Tony answers 'What is praying in Jesus' name?' and what it means to say "in Jesus' name" at the end of a prayer. Fifthly 'Should we pray to Jesus and the Holy Spirit?', in which Tony answers whether it is Biblical to pray to a member of the Trinity other than the Father. Finally, Tony answers 'What is the Holy Spirit's role in our praying?', showing His energising power.

Chris Clifton-Brown carries on looking at John 17:20-26, focusing on unity within the Church. Explaining Jesus' confidence for a Church that would grow, Chris shows Jesus' emphasis on unity within the Church as key. Showing how this unity is a reflection of the Trinity and how that unity could be misinterpreted, Chris emphasises unity in diversity. The emphasis on glory in the passage is explained as well, and what this means for the Church, and where we as Christians fit into the redemption plan of the cross. Chris finally encourages the Church to put one another first and the missional and evangelistic importance of unity.

From Exodus 2:1-10, Chris Clifton-Brown talks about Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses. Chris shows that they had a vision for their child and his life and saw the beauty of God's creation in him. Secondly he explains why parents should protect their children and how parents sometimes fail to do so. Finally he shows how they committed themselves to God-centred parenting and the need of parents to accept responsibility.