Return to Glory Part 4

The Battle for Faithfulness

The Battle for Faithfulness Series: The Jesus We Need to Know Preacher: Kevin Smith, Senior Pastor Sunday Morning Date: 21st June 2026 Passage: 1 Samuel 15:1-33 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+15%3A1-33&version=ESV] ------------------- Faithfulness to God is not about perfection. It is about a heart of obedience rooted in love for Him. In 1 Samuel 15, Saul's failure reveals what happens when the fear of man replaces the fear of God. He disobeyed a clear command, made excuses, and ultimately used God's blessings to promote his own glory. Samuel, by contrast, feared God above all else, and that fear gave him the courage to speak hard truth to a powerful king. True faithfulness is fueled not by fear of consequences but by a heart captured by the love of God. Because God set His love on us before the foundation of the world and sent His Son for sinners, our obedience flows from gratitude rather than obligation. Faithfulness is a heart that keeps returning to God, keeps trusting His love, and keeps choosing Him because He is worth it.

Ambassadors for Christ

Ambassadors for Christ Series: The Jesus We Need to Know Preacher: Kevin Smith, Senior Pastor Sunday Morning Date: 14th June 2026 Passage: John 17:17-19 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A17-19&version=ESV] ------------------- As believers, we are Christ's ambassadors - both sanctified and sent into the world with a divine mission. Unlike earthly kingdoms that choose the wealthy and influential, God chooses ordinary people and equips them for His service. Jesus prays for our sanctification through truth, which protects us from worldly deception and transforms our minds. Being sanctified means we are set apart as holy, belonging exclusively to God. We are also sent people, placed strategically in our communities, workplaces, and neighborhoods to represent Christ's kingdom. This ambassadorial role is a 24/7 reality that requires spiritual training and conscious awareness of our primary identity as kingdom representatives.

Kingdom Commission

Kingdom Commission Series: Miscellaneous Preacher: Lloyd Kim Sunday Morning Date: 7th June 2026 Passage: Matthew 28:16-20 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A16-20&version=ESV] ------------------- The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 reveals three crucial truths about following Christ. Despite the disciples' recent failures and abandonment of Jesus, He met them with pure grace rather than rebuke. Jesus declared that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to Him, providing the foundation for mission work. Every follower of Christ is called to make disciples through baptism and teaching, not just pastors or missionaries. The motivation for mission springs from love for the King who first loved us, not from guilt or manipulation.

Divine Witness Protection #3

Divine Witness Protection #3 Series: The Jesus We Need to Know Preacher: Kevin Smith, Senior Pastor Sunday Morning Date: 31st May 2026 Passage: John 17:12-16 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A12-16&version=ESV] ------------------- In John 17:12-16, Jesus prays to the Father about His disciples, revealing our divine witness protection through His intercession. While Judas fell away as a disciple of convenience rather than conversion, true believers like Peter are kept secure through Christ's prayers. Jesus acknowledges that the world hates His followers because they are no longer of the world, yet He gives them His joy even amid persecution. Rather than removing us from the world, Jesus prays for our protection from the evil one while we remain as lights in the darkness. The key difference between those who fall away and those who persevere is that true disciples have been genuinely converted and are continually upheld by Christ's intercession.

Gospel Freedom Breaking Down Walls

Gospel Freedom Breaking Down Walls Series: Miscellaneous Preacher: Billy McKillop, Executive Pastor Sunday Morning Date: 24th May 2026 ------------------- The Gospel message stands in stark contrast to the world's performance-based system of earning acceptance. In Galatians 2:1-10, Paul demonstrates this radical difference by bringing Titus, an uncircumcised Greek, to Jerusalem as living proof of grace. When the influential apostles Peter, James, and John meet Titus, they recognize God's work and add no requirements to Paul's Gospel message. Paul's repeated reference to these leaders as those who seemed influential makes a crucial theological point: human status, spiritual pedigree, and religious effort contribute nothing to our standing before God, who shows no partiality. This freedom from works-based religion transforms our daily lives in profound ways. We no longer need to compare ourselves to others or compete for righteousness through rule-following. Gospel security changes how we handle disagreements, whether political, social, or cultural, because we don't need to elevate ourselves through self-righteous arguments. Instead of defending our record or proving our worth through performance, we can extend grace to others from a place of security in Christ. The danger lies in adding human requirements to the cross, which poisons the entire Gospel message. Jesus fulfilled the impossible standard of perfect righteousness that we could never meet, serving as our substitute and absorbing the penalty for every failure. This transforms our relationship with God from exhausting religious performance to delightful rest in His completed work, producing genuine humility and Spirit-empowered self-forgetfulness that others can recognize.