Sermons
At Open Icon Baptist Church, we value preaching that engages deeply, humbly and honestly with Jesus, the Bible, and the pain and joy of living in the real world. And since going permanently online, we have been able to welcome great preachers from all over the world without having to wait for them to visit our shores.
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26 January, 2014
The “fishing for people” to which we are called is not about being pushy and manipulative marketers, but being open and generous in our sharing of the light that has brought us life and healing.
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19 January, 2014
Jesus is the “Lamb of God”, a sacrifice offered by God to appease and expose the sin of the world – the sacrificial monster of human blame-shifting and scapegoating.
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12 January, 2014
The ‘death of the self’ in baptism, modelled in Jesus, enables us to live openly and generously instead of fearfully and defensively.
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6 January, 2014
Preacher: Richard Treloar
Topic: Hospitality, Reconciliation, Service, Unity
How might the biblical witness and the Eucharistic meal set before us shed light on our sense of vocation, on the offerings we seek to bring, individually and collectively?
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5 January, 2014
The experience of the living Christ keeps pushing us to think even bigger in our attempts to explain him.
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29 December, 2013
The Christmas story includes a message of God’s solidarity with and care for children and families who live in fear and who flee to seek refuge. We corrupt the message if we make it about our children and not all children.
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24 December, 2013
The Christ child is the light who enlightens the world and as his love takes root in our hearts and lives, it causes us to light up the darkness.
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22 December, 2013
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Hope, Hospitality, Purity, Reputation, Righteousness, Scandal, Virtues
Scripture: Matthew
When God is moving to do something new among us, it almost always seems scandalous, immoral and offensive to many, and is just as likely to involve those who are regarded as morally suspect.
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15 December, 2013
Jesus probably won’t meet our expectations, but will instead set out to convert our expectations and lead us into a new world that exceeds anything we could have expected.
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17 November, 2013
The “things” we so readily put our trust in, or find our identity in, will all fall, and only God’s love and care for us will remain.
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10 November, 2013
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Church, Fear, Fullness of Life, Humility, Mission
Scripture: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Haggai, Luke
God’s mission is much bigger than us, and to play our part in it, we need to live freely and fearlessly and maintain a humble and faithful connection with the traditions and wisdom of the wider Church.
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3 November, 2013
Jesus doesn’t come looking for ready-made heroes, but for the small, damaged and fragile people we are, so that in the company of Jesus, we can become the giants we always dreamed of.