Willingdon Church Sermons

What About Those Who Have Never Heard?

This is a very significant and profound question. This is also a stormy question because the answer stands in direct conflict with world views of most people. The answer to this question also comes...

Are Christians Intolerant?

The Christian response to homosexuality is a hot button. As attitudes in our culture toward homosexuality are changing, Christians are finding themselves portrayed as homophobic and heterosexist....

Can I Trust the Bible’s Version of Jesus?

Peter claimed that when they proclaimed Jesus, they did not follow cleverly devised myths. But that is precisely what some people are saying about the Bible’s story of Jesus. People like Robert...

Getting Prepared to Give an Answer

The Christian faith is intended to operate in a non-Christian world. The Christian faith was born in a world that was largely hostile to its claims.

What Matters On Judgment Day

The greatest sermon ever preached ends with the theme of judgment day. It is possible, says Jesus, to be greatly confident about our outcome, and to be completely deceived.

An Invitation into the Kingdom of God

Like all great sermons, the Sermon on the Mount ends with an invitation, or the need to make choices. Having described life in the Kingdom of God, Jesus invites his followers in. Of course, the...

Kingdom Living

If the Sermon on the Mount provides a glimpse into Kingdom living and what it means to be a follower of Jesus, then Jesus in our passage in Matthew 7:7 reveals to us how we live out our faith.

Living as Jesus Did

We are told to follow all the teachings of Christ: Obey this; do this; or don’t do this. Under the Old Covenant, the Pharisees were told that if you do ‘this’, God will bless you. If you don’t, you...

Wise and Foolish Judgement

Jesus’ words, “Judge not”, or “Do not judge”, are among the most misunderstood words in the Bible. For some, these words justify moral relativism. For others, these words give them an excuse not to...

Don’t Worry, Be Trusting

In 1988, musician Bobby McFerrin sang a song that became an instant hit. It was entitled, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Part of the intrigue of that song was in its seeming impossibility. It is a nice,...

Wise Financial Management

The term is “mammon”. It refers to any and every form of wealth, including money, property and assets. It refers to the material thing that we trust in.

The Disciple’s Prayer

The passage we will be studying has often been called, “The Lord’s Prayer.” But in fact, the prayer of Jesus best called the “Lord’s Prayer” is found in John 17. It is the prayer that Jesus prayed...

Gold Diggers and True Lovers

Sometimes there are people who marry others, not out of love, but so that they can get that person’s money. We refer to these people as “gold diggers” because we rightly see their motives as crass...

Living the Grace Filled Life

We have come today to the most difficult and misunderstood teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Christians often ask, how can I give everything to the one who sues me, offer my cheek to the...

Which Jesus Do I Embrace?

It’s very common in today’s world to hear people say, “I like Jesus, but I don’t like the church.” Most people “like Jesus,” or at least their conception of Jesus. Liking Jesus, though, will not lead...

Truth, Lies, and The Words We Use

Most of us tell the truth most of the time. But then come those very inconvenient times, when telling the truth will cause us trouble. In those times, we find out about our character. Most people...

Honouring God with your Body

We live in a day in which traditional marriage, and our understanding of sexual union is undergoing profound changes. Marriage rates are down, common law rates are up, age of marriage is up, divorce...

Murder vs. Reconciliation

I am often puzzled with the way in which murder is treated in Canadian courts. We make a distinction between three different degrees of murder. For one, I have often wondered whether the victim...

Genuine Righteousness

We live in an exceptionally permissive society. The right for every individual to choose whatever they wish, and the obligation of the rest to be tolerant and accepting of that choice is bedrock to...

Salt and Light

The “salt and light” passage is a famous one and is often quoted in Christian circles. It has been used to urge Christians to a wide range of things including works of social justice, gaining visible...

Just Like Jesus

To be just like Jesus – that should be the goal for our lives as Christians; to watch what he does, to listen to what he says, and then to try to live the same way. The second half of the beatitudes...

An Invitation to Enduring Joy

The fact that everyone complains reminds us that everyone yearns for something better. We are not satisfied, but long to be satisfied. When Jesus began the greatest sermon ever preached, he began...

Come Follow Me

When Jesus calls a man or woman, he calls him or her unto himself. The great difficulty is that there are many kinds of followers. As we all know, the crowds that followed Jesus were often fickle,...

The Message of The Kingdom of Heaven

It is tragic, that most people have little understanding of what Jesus taught. Most non-Christians are confused, but sadly, many Christians are as well. For many, they are interested in Christ...

The Greatest Temptations

What do you think are your greatest temptations? It is quite possible we misunderstand the very nature of temptation. For many, temptation surrounds itself with the big “red stop signs”. And so we...

The Significance of Baptism

I remember my baptism as if it were yesterday. I was fourteen years old and it was a beautiful April afternoon out in a river called Nagurigawa in the country of Japan. It was there that I stepped...

The Gift of the Kingdom

Forgiven

As we begin a new year, it is vital to approach that New Year with clean hands and a pure heart, as David teaches us in Psalm 24:4. It is important to know that our relationship with God is right,...

The Darkness Will Never Extinguish The Light

Light in the Darkness

Christmas is a great time of year but at times it can also be a very difficult time of year for many people. The story of the wise men who followed the star to Bethlehem is all about finding light...

The Significance of The Conception of Jesus

Most of us are very familiar with the Christmas story from Luke’s gospel. That is because Luke tells the story of Jesus’ birth in a manger. The account of the angels and the visit of the shepherds...

The Story of the King

Christmas, at least the way it is celebrated in our culture, has always seemed like a paradox to me. On the one hand, it trumpets the turning point of human history. On the other hand, it is so...

Finishing Well

Every single believer knows that our time of service to Christ on earth will one day be over. It is possible to finish life well, or to finish life poorly.

The First Calling of Christian Leaders - Preach the World

Biblical Convictions

Difficult Times in the Last Days

The Calling to Noble Purposes

Defeating the Danger From Within

Safely or Courageously

Reasons for Thanksgiving in a Fallen World

A Work of Grace!

What To Do With The Gospel

Courageous Enthusiasm

Make it Count

His Story (and ours)

I have noticed that everyone has a story. Some stories are interesting, and some stories are life defining. God also has a story, a story that so few know. Only when we fully understand His story,...

Injustice and a Righteous God

To God Be the Glory

Confidence in God

How God Will Rule the Human Race

We live at a time in which almost every conceivable form of human government has been tried and found wanting. Winston Churchill, speaking of democracy thought that it was the worst form of...

Dealing with Ongoing Sin