Sermons | City Church Wolverhampton

Jehovah-Qadesh: In Exodus 19, having redeemed Israel out of Egypt, provided for and protected them in the wilderness, the Lord now tells Israel they are his treasured possession among the peoples - a holy nation. He is Jehovah Qadesh - the Lord who sanctifies - Israel, and us. He sets us apart for relationship with himself and for priestly ministry towards the world.

Jehovah-Nissi: In Exodus 17 Israel was being hounded by an enemy, and the odds didn't look good. At God's instruction Moses stood on a hill with the 'staff of God' - the symbol of God's power and presence - held high. There was a great victory. Moses declared 'Jehovah-Nissi' - the Lord is my banner. The Lord fought for Israel - and us. Jehovah-Nissi is the banner of victory. The banner under which we stand.

In John 18-19v16, Jesus is condemned to death in a sham trial concocted by the religious and political authorities who collude against him. Knowing all that was to come, Jesus confidently and willingly walks into the situation for the glory of the Father and for the sake of all those the Father had given him out of the world. Join us this Sunday as we look at what it means to follow Jesus as he is sent into the world that it might believe that Jesus came from the Father.

We often call the outline for prayer Jesus gives his disciples in Matthew 6 ‘the Lord’s Prayer’, but it would be more accurate to call John 17 ‘the Lord’s Prayer’. Here Jesus intercedes for his disciples on the eve of his death. It’s a wonderfully intimate moment where we get the opportunity to listen in as Jesus talks to his Father about the glorious master plan and our part in it - both present and future.

In John 16, Jesus concludes his teaching to the disciples on the eve of the cross. They are confused and fearful, but Jesus encourages them that the Holy Spirit will be at work in the World, that their joy will far outpace their sorrow because they will see him again, and that ultimately they will have everything they need because they will be able to ask the Father directly in Jesus’ name.

On the night before Jesus died, he teaches his disciple what they will need to know as He leaves them and sends His Spirit for the next part of God's plan for the world to hear about Jesus. We’ve looked at how we as his followers are to forgive as we have been forgiven, how the Spirit of Jesus will work in his disciples. Now in chapter 15, using the picture of a vine, we will see how we need to live in relation with Jesus, and how the Holy Spirit will enable us to be countercultural now in the world and how he will himself work in the world.

There are times when you need to share bad news. Jesus knew he had little time left before his betrayal, trial and crucifixion. So, although he was letting his disciples know some bad / sad news, he also wanted them to know the good news that would result from this. John 14 contains not just some good news, but some GREAT NEWS.

Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord is perfectly righteous. None compares to him in his wisdom and holiness. But Jehovah-Tsidkenu means “the Lord is MY righteousness”. Yes, he’s my shepherd. Yes, he’s my provider and my healer, but how does he provide me with righteousness? How do I take hold of it? Join us as we look at what it means to follow our Good Shepherd as he leads us along paths of righteousness.

Jehovah-Rapha means the Lord, my Healer. He deals with the curse and cancer of sin. He binds up the wounds of the broken hearted and tends to the hurts of his people. Similarly, Jesus is the wounded healer by whose stripes we are healed and the Great Physician who skillfully and deftly removes sin from our hearts and makes us whole.

Jehovah-Shalom: Headlines this week about the potential for full-on war with Russia made Jehovah-Shalom (the Lord, My Peace) seem highly relevant and appropriate. In a world full of chaos, confusion, and conflict, those around us need to know the God of Peace who has called us and given us the ministry of reconciliation.

The Rolling Stones famously sang: “you can’t always get what you want…but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get why you need.” We serve the God who not only cares about needs, but also our desires. He’s the one who not only takes care of our greatest need in death with sin, but is able to satisfy every need and desire we have. Join us this Sunday as we looked to Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord my Provider.

Jehovah Rohe - The Lord, my Shepherd

At the start of the New year we want to see how God progressively reveals Himself though His names in the OT. His names represent His character and of course ultimately all of Himself is revealed in Jesus who as the ‘The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature…’ (Heb 1:3) and ‘is the image of the invisible God…’ (Col 1:15). The first name is simply the Hebrew word for ‘God’ – Elohim, El and Eloah, (and in Greek is the word ‘Theos’, ) which is used of the one who is the Creator God in Genesis 1:1. God is known as the Creator, The Almighty and the Only one.

Jesus’ Genealogy is fascinating because it encompasses all the History of the Old Testament. That in itself is a Master Class in God's ability as the ‘Master Weaver’. Then, as we saw last week we see God using all kinds of people to bring his planned redemption into being. This week we want to look at 3 characters who are ‘types’ in terms of Jesus ministry, he is the fulfilment of Covenants which are named after Abraham, David and Moses: faith, kingship and Temple.

Genealogies are funny and interesting things. To some a boring list of of names, but scratch the surface and you find a treasure trove of fascinating insights. From this perspective, we dive into Jesus’ own genealogy in Matthew 1 over the next four weeks as we meditate on Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham and the God who does, and doesn’t, have a birthday.

When far from home, in exile and surrounded by the enemy, David works out how to keep faithful to his calling. Maybe there are lessons about how we, too, can keep close to God when in ‘hostile territory’, at work or home?

As we look at 1 Samuel 26, we see a David who has learned the lessons of authority and responsibility before the Lord. He confronts Saul again and shows us what a godly authority looks like, even in submission to king Saul.

1 Samuel 25 - David has learnt an important lesson concerning the Lord’s anointed and now faces a test that will reveal what kind of king he will be. Will he go the way of the fool or heed the voice of wisdom?

This Sunday, we look at the story of David and Goliath. Like David, we need to understand the true nature of the battles that lie before us so that we can fight them properly with the courage that comes from knowing the battle is the Lord's!

This week we begin a new series of messages entitled, “The Making of the King”. Following the period of the Judges in the leading of the Israelites there’s a transition taking place, from Judges to Kings. Within this transition there are three characters, and in 1 Samuel 16 we see some insights into how they do, or do not, finish or start well. God shows clearly how his approach to selecting a suitable leader is so different to our usual criteria. It goes right to the heart of the matter.