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baptist church
baptist church
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
At Open Icon Baptist Church, we value great preaching — 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. Click here to meet the inspirational preachers depicted in the gallery above, none of whom have preached for us!
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Pastor
Nathan Nettleton
Nathan Nettleton has served as pastor of this congregation since 1994. He was ordained as a Baptist pastor that same year and completed an honours degree in theology at Whitley College in 1995, followed by a Master of Theology in Liturgical Studies from the University of Divinity in 2001. In our church, he carries particular responsibilities for the preaching, teaching, and ordering of worship and prayer, and for pastoral care. He also writes liturgical resources for a global audience through LaughingBird.net, and serves as a board member of Open Baptists. Nathan is married to Margie, and they have an adult daughter, Acacia, and two dogs.
Sermons by Nathan Nettleton
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15 March, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Discipleship, Fear, Hope, Hospitality, Jesus, Lent, Prayer, Resurrection, Service
The COVID-19 scare can reinforce our Lenten call to prepare our hearts by facing up to our mortality and the real limits of our control over the world.
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1 March, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Scripture: Matthew
The forgiveness encountered in Jesus is extravagant and all-inclusive, but those who determinedly reject and demonise the Spirit’s winds of change can cut off their own access to it.
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23 February, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Gifts, Holy Spirit, Love, Prayer, Worship
Scripture: 1 Corinthians
The gift of tongues can be a valuable part of our private spirituality, but the needs of public worship require something more than the private intimacies of our spirituality.
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16 February, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Scripture: Matthew
Our generation is very good at identifying evils and calling them out, but if our hearts are not occupied by God’s love and mercy, the results can be disastrous.
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9 February, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Communion, Discernment, Jesus, Reconciliation, Sin, Unity
Scripture: 1 Corinthians
Jesus calls us to unite as his body around his table, and if we come to the table without seeking that unity, we dishonour Jesus.
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2 February, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Children, Discipleship, Faithfulness, Formation, Healing, Humility, Jesus, judgement, Leadership, Unity
Scripture: Matthew
Jesus calls us to follow his lead in bringing healing, hope and positive leadership to others, and not to be too worried about anxious and vexatious criticism.
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26 January, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Culture, Discipleship, Faithfulness, Hope, Jesus, Reconciliation
Scripture: 1 Corinthians, Isaiah, Matthew
Jesus calls us to neither conservatism nor iconoclasm, but to a faithful reckoning with the gifts and the sins of the past as we welcome and adapt to the new.
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19 January, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Humility, Law, peace, Reconciliation
Scripture: 1 Corinthians, Matthew
Godly love and respect doesn’t prevent disagreements in the church community, but it should enable us to address them without having to call in the lawyers.
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5 January, 2020
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Apocalypse, Christmas, Fear, Grief, Hope, Incarnation, Suffering
In the face of monumental devastation and suffering, God speaks a word, and the word becomes flesh.
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29 December, 2019
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Scripture: 1 2 & 3 John, Joshua, 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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24 December, 2019
The Christmas stories assure us that Jesus is the one who brings light into our darkness.
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22 December, 2019
Faithful waiting for for the fulfilment of God’s promises can leave us feeling compromised and alienated in the world around us.
