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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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16 February, 2014
Jesus calls us to model ourselves on him to embrace a new pattern of full humanity rather than just constrain the worst excesses of an old failed humanity.
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9 February, 2014
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Bible, Discipleship, Formation, Righteousness
The righteousness give to us in Christ, and which we grow into in our following of him, fulfils and exceeds the trajectory set by the biblical law and prophets.
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2 February, 2014
Preacher: Nathan Nettleton
Topic: Ethics, Faithfulness, Virtues, Vocation, Weakness
Scripture: Matthew
Jesus honours, commends and models a set of attitudes, or stances toward the world, which can and will change the world, but embracing them is no small challenge.
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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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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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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.