Sermons by Clayton Ryan

Fullness in Christ: Proclaim Christ Jesus

Colossians 1:24-2:5 This is all about ‘proclaiming the gospel’. In v23 and again in v25 we learn it was because of Christ Jesus and his gospel that Paul does what he does. There is power in the gospel, and the mystery is revealed that the gospel is available to all! God is the one who reveals mysteries and truth, and God has revealed his plan for salvation to the Gentiles – through Jesus, we can be his children. And this message is spread when those who hear the gospel, tell others the gospel.

When we consider our own lives, whether we’re working, studying, staying at home, retired, unemployed, we are servants of Jesus Christ – are we proclaiming the gospel?

Challenge Accepted: Don’t compromise

Daniel 6 When God calls us to live distinctively, he’s also calling us to live consistently. This is by no means an easy task! It’s important to have role models that we can look to for encouragement, and the book of Daniel provides us with many lessons in how to live in a world that rejects God. Daniel, by chapter 6, is in his 80s, having served for at least 65 years in the Babylonian Empire. But it isn’t until now that, as an old man, he is faced with his biggest challenge to his faith! And he faced this challenge in ways we might not expect – Daniel did exactly what he had always done!

A Sting in the Tale: 2 of 3: The Prodigal Son

I wonder how would you react if you saw a church leader having lunch with a group of people who were guilty of fraud? Or maybe a Bible study leader hanging out with known drug addicts? Would you be a bit shocked, perhaps even judgmental, that they would even consider associating with such people? This is how Jesus was treated by the religious people of his day. We can distance ourselves from God not only in obvious rejection of him, but also in our religious morality – and this can be the more dangerous if it goes undetected…

A Sting in the Tale: 1 of 3: The Good Samaritan

A lawyer asks Jesus “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This is one of the most fundamental questions that everybody at some point asks, about what will happen when we die – we might phrase this question today something like “How can I be sure I’ll be saved in the end?” If we profess to be God’s people, then this will show in how we live our lives – not only in how we love God, but also in how we love others. Jesus challenges us not to think about who we are to love, but to be loving…