Philip Burns

Rev Philip Burns is the minister of Bendigo Presbyterian Church.

‘Meet the discipline needed at the church in Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

AudioPhilip

It’s hard to be a parent when the time comes to discipline your children. You need wisdom, persistence and a strong love, knowing that discipline, (though painful at the time) when applied in the right measure will produce the desired outcome. As far as we know, the Apostle Paul wasn’t a parent, but he knew a thing or two about parenting believers in fledgling churches, and sad to say, the believers at Corinth were desperately in need of a good dose of it. In 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, we see how Paul did just that and how he did it for the health and growth of the people at Corinth he loved.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:45 Prayer
Song: 10,000 Reasons
05:00 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #16)
Song: Titus 3:5
09:30 Ministry Focus
12:54 Bible reading: Matthew 13:24-33
Song: O Lord My Rock and My Redeemer
14:28 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
16:43 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
Song: Amazing Grace
38:34 Closing

‘Meet the humility needed at the Church in Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 4:6-21)

AudioPhilip

So far in his letter to these Corinthian believers, the Apostle Paul has had to tackle many things head on. The church was clearly divided with a party spirit and wrongly paid too much emphasis to the flashy skills of gospel preachers at the expense of the gospel itself. But at the root of all this was the sin of pride. In 1 Corinthians 4:6-21, Paul seeks to expose this lack of humility for what it is – as something that would continue to cause the church to unravel and something that needed to be urgently dealt with. There is no antidote for pride like the cross. It’s only when we come back to the cross that pride gets put back into place.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:49 Prayer
Song: Beautiful Saviour (All My Days)
04:33 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: Tax Collector & the Pharisee
09:53 Ministry Focus: Canavans
12:00 Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
15:25 PYV Spring Camp
Song: This Life I Live
16:30 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 4:6-21
19:40 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 4:6-21
Song: When I Survey
43:41 Closing

‘Meet the perspective needed at the church in Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)

AudioPhilip

After the Apostle Paul took time to dismantle the false edifice that the Corinthians were putting in place around gospel preachers in 1 Corinthians 3, in the next few verses of the 4th chapter, (1 Corinthians 4:1-5), the Apostle took time to correct their perspective. Gospel preachers aren’t everything. In fact, they are just servants and stewards, lowly ranked while the One they serve – well that’s a different story! The Lord Jesus is everything! The Corinthians ought not confuse the gospel preachers with the gospel message. One comes and goes. The other is eternal!

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:44 Prayer
Song: At the Name of Jesus
04:54 Children’s talk (see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #63)
Song: More Like Jesus
8:49 PIM Ministry
12:47 Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 5
Song: Worthy of All Praise
14:21 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
15:22 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Song: In Christ Alone
38:43 Closing

‘Meet the dangers facing the church at Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 3:18-23)

AudioPhilip

No church is perfect. The work of sanctification of God’s people is an ongoing process. Every church falls short of the ideal of ‘what we should be’ in Christ. However, not all churches, like the one in Corinth, had the benefit of having the Apostle Paul tell them where they were going wrong. Paul does this a few times in his first letter to them and in this section of the letter, 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Paul makes it clear of some of the dangers they were facing – dangers that any church could face and also, must deal with.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:41 Prayer
Song: Jerusalem
04:08 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #72)
Song: Build Your Life on the Rock
08:24 PIM Ministry
Song: We Preach Christ
11:41 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Song: Marvellous Grace
13:23 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
14:22 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Song: Nothing Can I Boast In
36:35 Closing

‘Meet the balance needed at the Church in Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 3:5-17)

AudioPhilip

The Church in Corinth was in a bit of a mess. It was out of balance. Too much emphasis on one thing at the expense of another. Sometime churches can get like that. Out of balance. In these verses, 1 Corinthians 3:5-17, the Apostle Paul seeks to correct that balance and get the Corinthians back on the right track of serving and following their Saviour.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:37 Prayer
Song: Christ is Mine Forevermore
03:58 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: The Apostles Were Jesus’ Witnesses
7:45 PIM Ministry
11:59 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
Song: Blessed Be Your Name
14:16 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 3:5-17
15:57 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 3:5-17
Song: My Hope is Built
40:39 Closing

‘Elijah, the mountain and the whisper’ (1 Kings 19:1-18)

AudioPhilip

The onset of Elijah’s spiritual depression in 1 Kings 19:1-18 is well documented. From being on a spiritual high on Mt Carmel, Elijah very quickly was running for his life and yet praying that he might die. There were many kinds of factors involved in this, not the least being his sense of failure and being alone ‘the only one left’. On Mt Horeb (Sinai), Elijah met with God, but not in the way God appeared on Mt Carmel. This was different and this was designed to woo Elijah back into the Lord’s way and the knowledge of His presence, so that Elijah might continue to serve Him.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:51 Prayer
Song: By Faith
06:08 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: The Joy of Following Jesus
11:35 PIM Ministry
15:39 Bible reading: Psalm 42
Song: He Will Hold Me Fast
17:23 Bible reading: 1 Kings 19:1-18
21:00 Sermon: 1 Kings 19:1-18
Song: Dear Lord and Father
47:53 Closing

‘Elijah, the king and the cloud’ (1 Kings 18:41-46)

AudioPhilip

After the showdown on the top of Mt Carmel, the text of 1 Kings 18:41-46, tells us of Elijah’s prayers that broke the drought. Given that the drought had begun through the prayers of Elijah 3 years earlier, it is a helpful things for us to read of Elijah at prayer – even though we are not told what he prayed. The picture of Elijah at prayer stands in great contrast in this text to King Ahab who didn’t pray but ate. Compare the pair. Elijah and Ahab. But don’t stop at Elijah. See another – Jesus – whose prayers did more than end God’s judgement via the drought, but guaranteed the salvation of the people of God!

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:50 Prayer
Song: And Can It Be
04:07 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #76)
Song: On the Mountain of Transfiguration
06:53 PIM Ministry
11:08 Bible reading: Luke 9:18-27
Song: O the Mercy of God
12:31 Bible reading: 1 Kings 18:41-46
13:56 Sermon: 1 Kings 18:41-46
Song: Consider Christ
38:04 Closing

‘Elijah, the prophets and the sacrifice’ (1 Kings 18:20-40)

AudioAndrew

In 1 Kings 18:20-40, the rubber really ‘hits the road’. All that Elijah has been through in chapter 17 and all his interactions with King Ahab have been leading up to the showdown that these verses describe – fittingly, upon the top of a mountain (Carmel). Lots of important events happen on mountain tops in the Scriptures and this event is no less important in pointing us to the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29).

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:45 Prayer
Song: Behold Our God
05:17 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #40)
Song: My God is So Big
09:42 Indigenous Ministries
14:49 Bible reading: Matthew 11:1-15
Song: How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
16:33 Bible reading: 1 Kings 18:20-40
20:28 Sermon: 1 Kings 18:20-40
Song: The Power of the Cross
44:50 Closing

‘Elijah, Ahab and Obadiah’ (1 Kings 18:1-19)

AudioPhilip

After the miracle of raising the widow of Zarephath’s son from death, Elijah was instructed by the Lord to go back and present himself to King Ahab. As the events unfold, the story then introduces us to one of Ahab’s servants, Obadiah, who turns out to be a faithful servant of the Lord also. In these verses of 1 Kings 18:1-19 which are just before the showdown on the top of Mount Carmel began, the story revolves around these three characters, Elijah, Ahab and Obadiah, and something that we from each of them about the state of their hearts… and ours too.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:42 Prayer
Song: See Him Coming
04:46 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #70)
Song: The Ballad of Farmer Phil
07:24 Indigenous Ministries
10:51 Bible reading: Luke 8:4-15
Song: Amazing Grace
13:11 Bible reading: 1 Kings 18:1-19
17:06 Sermon: 1 Kings 18:1-19
Song: Take My Life
39:53 Closing

‘Elijah, the widow and her son’ (part 2) (1 Kings 17:17-24)

AudioPhilip

In 1 Kings 17:17-24, a further piece of a strange puzzle becomes clear for Elijah, even though for the widow with whom he was staying, this puzzle piece must have been quite a puzzle. After keeping Elijah and the widow and her son alive through God’s miraculous provision, the widow’s son suddenly died. This drove the woman to grief and to blame the Lord God of Israel that this was a form of punishment ‘for her sins’. However, this was not the case, and the miracle of the resurrection of her son (the first in the Bible) once more would prove God’s ways to be right and his servant a true man of God.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
Song: Come Praise and Glorify
00:41 Prayer
04:56 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #67)
Song: Jesus is the Hero
07:28 Indigenous Ministries
11:42 Bible reading: Mark 5:21-45
Song: O Great God
14:46 Bible reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24
16:17 Sermon: 1 Kings 17:17-24
Song: My Hope is Built
41:51 Closing