Category: Features

Why is the World Upside Down? | Sermon on Lamentations 4

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Why does it feel like everything is falling apart? In this powerful sermon on Lamentations 4, we explore the deep parallels between the moral and spiritual collapse of ancient Jerusalem and the confusion, injustice, and chaos we see in our world today.

Why are those who do good often punished, while those who do evil are celebrated or excused? Why does society seem to reward wickedness and ignore righteousness? This message reveals how turning away from God leads to societal breakdown—and how even the church is not exempt. Join us as we dig into Scripture to understand:

  • The spiritual decline described in Lamentations 4
  • How our modern world reflects similar patterns of sin and judgment
  • Why the rejection of God’s ways leads to confusion and injustice
  • The urgent need for repentance, especially within the church
  • How we can realign our lives with God’s truth and righteousness
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Lamentations 3: The Path Back to God Through Repentance

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Have you ever done something so bad to someone else that you’ve thought, “there’s no way back from this”? Tragically, some relationships do end with people never speaking to one another again. But if that’s the case with human relationships, how much more so with a holy God? In this passage from Lamentations we’re going to think about the way back called repentance.

Thomas Watson’s book on repentance can be downloaded here (PDF).

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“Surely God couldn’t be angry with me?!” – Lamentations 2 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Most of us by nature don’t like to think of God’s anger (or ‘wrath’). But sometimes we are forced to confront it, as in this passage from Lamentations. What is God’s anger, and why is it important for us to think about in our lives as Christians?

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Whatever became of sin? – Lamentations 1 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

It’s human nature to want to blame everybody else for our problems. This is doubly true in our society today, where everything is psychologised. However, the Bible says that we need to take sin seriously — we need to take personal responsibility seriously. In the first of this sermon series on Lamentations, we take a look into the darkest moment in Israel’s history to see what we can learn.

You can find the Bible Project’s summary of Lamentations here.

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How should we then live? – Hebrews 13 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

All through Hebrews we have been hearing about the wonderful truths of the gospel – Christ the mediator of a new covenant, and so on. But the final chapter moves on to focus us on what difference these truths should make to our lives — especially on loving one another and honouring our leaders.

The organisations I mentioned were Open Doors and Christian Concern.

You can read more about my book, Confused by Grace (including about where to buy it), here on the website.

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Worshipping God with reverence – Hebrews 12:18-29 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

People sometimes accuse the church of turning ‘God Almighty’ into ‘God all-matey’. Christians often struggle to reconcile the holiness of God with the access we have to him through Christ Jesus. This passage from Hebrews helps us to understand how we should approach God.

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Why being Christian is a struggle – Hebrews 12:4-17 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Being a Christian is not a walk in the park: in fact, it can feel like a real struggle — whether the opposition is within us or outside of us. This passage helps us to see our struggles in perspective, to help us understand them, and encourage us to carry on the straight and narrow path.

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What it means to live by faith – Hebrews 11:1-12:3 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

A lot of people talk about “living by faith” — but what does it really mean? This passage from Hebrews is all about living by faith. It shows us how important it is, what it looks like, and encourages to carry on despite the fact that it’s hard.

The session I did on science and faith can be found on my website.

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Drawing near to God with a clear conscience – Hebrews 10:19-39 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Every preacher knows that they have to answer the question ‘so what’ — what relevance do these truths have to do with my life? The author of Hebrews is no exception, and in this passage we turn to how the teaching about Jesus’ sacrifice and ministry as high priest should make a difference to us. He focusses on drawing near to God, persevering despite sin and persecution, and the importance of meeting together.

You can find a free copy of John Owen’s book On the Mortification of Sin here (modernised edition).

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Holiness is found only in Jesus – Hebrews 10:1-18 Sermon

Posted on by Phill Sacre

Why did God give the Law, and why did God send Jesus? We can’t understand how Jesus fulfils the old covenant unless we understand what God wants from us in the first place. The answer is summed up in one word – holiness. In this sermon we think about holiness and how Jesus is the fulfilment of everything that God promised for us.

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