YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER - VISION MONTH WEEK 1
October is Vision Month at One and our theme this year is taken from Hebrews 13:8 where Jesus is described as the same yesterday, today and forever.
Tim Horman kicked off this series with a powerful sermon which you’ll find below in both video and audio formats. We’ve also included a summary article of the sermon, some personal reflection and small group discussion questions and a full transcript of Tim’s message.
Yesterday, Today, and Forever: Reflecting on God’s Faithfulness and Our Future
At One Church, a recent series of sermons has sparked reflection on the past, present, and future of both the church community and individual faith journeys. The message, delivered by Senior Minister Tim, drew its theme from Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” This powerful verse not only served as a reminder of God’s unwavering faithfulness but also encouraged the church to look forward with confidence, faith, and hope.
The sermon began with a warm welcome, and Tim invited the congregation to reflect on the past year, acknowledging the ministry’s growth and the challenges faced along the way. With Vision Month underway, this message kicked off a series that would delve into what the future holds for One Church. But the heart of the sermon wasn’t just about what has been accomplished—it was a call to keep Christ at the centre of everything, ensuring that ministry remains focused on people and their relationship with Jesus.
Reflecting on the Past: God's Faithfulness
Throughout the sermon, Tim emphasised the importance of looking back, not for nostalgia’s sake but as a reminder of how God has moved in the life of the church. The message from Hebrews 13 began with a call to "keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” This reminder of God’s enduring presence set the tone for reflecting on both individual and collective journeys over the past year.
Tim encouraged the congregation to celebrate the “yesterday” of their faith journeys. He shared how the church had seen God’s faithfulness in many ways—whether through the expansion of ministries, the leadership that had emerged, or the tangible growth in people’s lives. Stories of baptisms, new ministries taking shape, and the growth of community among different age groups showcased how God had been moving powerfully in their midst.
This reflection wasn’t just about what had been achieved but about recognising God’s continuous hand in all the progress. Tim also pointed to specific highlights, such as the incredible work done in OneCare ministries and the increase in the number of people engaging with the church’s mission, both locally and globally. The church has been blessed with opportunities to serve others, and these opportunities remind them that God’s kingdom work is always advancing.
Today: Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
With the past as a foundation, Tim transitioned to talk about the present—the "today" of the sermon series theme. The core of the message was the importance of keeping the “main thing the main thing.” What is that main thing? Tim was clear: it’s all about helping people connect with Jesus and grow as His disciples.
Often, churches can become distracted by the business of running ministries, maintaining buildings, or raising money. While all these aspects are important for practical reasons, they must serve the ultimate purpose: leading people to Jesus and helping them on their journey of faith. As Tim shared, "Ministry is about people—people who need to know Jesus, people who need encouragement, and people who need to know that they are not alone on this journey."
Tim shared a powerful example of this, reflecting on the many ways the church had supported its youngest members, whether through children’s programs, youth camps, or family-focused ministries. The church had seen the fruits of investing in people’s lives, especially the young ones, and how God had used those investments to bring people closer to Him.
As the church community looked to what they are called to do today, they were reminded to trust in God’s provision and to live lives that reflect their hope in Christ. Just as Hebrews 13 reminds us to live without fear, trusting in God’s promise that He will never leave us, Tim encouraged the congregation to be bold in their faith. In today’s uncertain world, this call to stand firm in Christ is more relevant than ever.
Looking Forward: A Vision for the Future
Looking ahead, Tim’s message shifted towards the future—the "forever" aspect of the series. One of the key points he emphasised was the ongoing nature of God’s work in the world. While the past year had been one of growth and blessings, it was clear that God was not finished with the church yet. In fact, Tim shared that he believed they were only just getting started.
He reminded the congregation that, as followers of Christ, their future was not just about personal achievement or survival in an uncertain world. Rather, their future is rooted in the eternal Kingdom of God—a Kingdom that will outlast every earthly power or structure. Drawing from Hebrews 13:14, Tim echoed the sentiment that "we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come."
This eternal perspective gave the church a clear vision for what was next. Vision Month was not just about reflecting on the past but about asking God to guide their steps forward. The church was encouraged to be part of this forward movement by praying, serving, and giving, knowing that everything they do is part of a bigger picture—God’s eternal plan for His Kingdom on earth.
The Church’s Role in a Shifting World
As the sermon came to a close, Tim addressed the wider cultural changes happening in the world today. He acknowledged the fears and uncertainties that many people feel as Western society becomes increasingly post-Christian. However, rather than seeing this as a reason for despair, Tim saw it as a reason for hope. He believed that the church has a crucial role to play in this moment in history.
Tim reminded the congregation that, while empires and cities rise and fall, the church—Christ’s body—will endure forever. It is the only institution that has the promise of eternity. This perspective encouraged the church to remain steadfast in their mission, even in the face of cultural changes.
He left the congregation with a challenge: to continue to live out their faith boldly, trusting that God is still at work, and that He is calling His people to be a light in the darkness. There may be challenges ahead, but with Christ as their foundation, the church has a future full of hope.
Questions for Personal Reflection
How has God shown His faithfulness in your life over the past year?
What are some ways you can keep the "main thing" (helping others connect with Jesus) at the centre of your daily life?
What fears or uncertainties are you carrying right now, and how can you trust God more fully in those areas?
Small Group Discussion Questions
Looking back over the past year, where have you seen God at work in your life or in the life of the church?
How do you personally keep Jesus at the centre of your life, even when distractions arise?
What does it mean to you to live without fear, trusting in God’s promise to never leave or forsake us?
In what ways can we as a church community better support each other on our journey of faith?
How can we as a small group be more intentional about helping others connect with Jesus?
How does the idea of an eternal Kingdom shape the way you think about your future?
As society becomes more post-Christian, what role do you think the church should play in responding to these changes?
The message of Yesterday, Today, and Forever offers both a look back and a challenge to look forward. As One Church reflects on its past and present, it is clear that God has been faithful and will continue to lead His people. The future is not something to fear, but something to embrace with hope, knowing that God’s Kingdom is eternal, and His work in this world is not yet finished.
As the church continues its journey, the call is clear: keep Christ at the centre, live boldly without fear, and trust that the best is yet to come. Through it all, Jesus Christ remains the same—yesterday, today, and forever.
Full Sermon Transcript
Well, good morning everyone. My name is Tim, and for those of you who don’t know me, I’m the Senior Minister here at One. If you’re visiting, a very warm welcome to you, and I hope we can connect with you after the service.
Today, we are kicking off a new series, a new vision series for Vision Month, which we’ve called from Hebrews 13:8: Yesterday, Today, and Forever. And it comes from Hebrews 13 as I mentioned, and I’m going to read that in just a moment. Part of what we want to do during this month is to celebrate and give thanks to God for the year that we’ve had together as a church community. So we’re going to look back—and we’re going to be doing that mostly today—and then in the coming weeks, we’re going to be looking forward to explore what it is that God has ahead for us, what’s coming in the future, what we believe He is calling us to do in the coming year and beyond.
So Yesterday, Today, and Forever—why don’t we say that together? Yesterday, Today, and Forever.
Hebrews 13:
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said:
‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me?’"
Let’s say that together:
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me?"
"Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat."
In other words, we have an altar, a table in the Lord—the communion table He’s referring to—which is so much greater than the ministry of the temple, of what was before. We have something so much greater that we share in together, and that strengthens us in grace.
"For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased."
Let me pray:
Father, thank You for this time that we get to share together in Your presence, celebrating together as we have in Your house. I thank You, Lord, for all that You are doing among us and all that You are going to do. And as we contemplate these things over the next few weeks, I pray that You’ll strengthen us, bring unity to us as a family, and propel us forward in Your Spirit for what lies ahead for us. In Jesus’ name, amen. Amen.
Now, if I sound a bit throaty this morning, I apologise—I’ve just, uh, I’m sort of getting over a bout of pneumonia, so if I start coughing during the service, we’ll just take a little bit of a praise break, and I’ll gather myself. But just a heads-up—that could happen.
Looking Back: Yesterday
Today, we are focusing on the Yesterday component of this—looking back a little bit over the last 12 months of ministry. And next week, we’ll shift to looking at some of the exciting things that are coming, and we actually have some very cool things that we’re going to announce and reveal next week. So get ready for that—it’s going to be fantastic.
Week 3, we’re going to be focusing on our OneCare ministries, our international and our national mission partners. K will be speaking, our missions minister, which is going to be exciting, and after that, we’re going to have a missions expo. So that’s going to be Week 3.
And then on Week 4, we’re going to hear from some of the staff, myself and others, about what we believe God is stirring in us for the coming year. We’ll be taking up our Vision Offering for 2024, so we’re asking you to consider, to pray about what you might be able to give, to contribute to this. As you hear about what God is doing among us, I do hope and pray that that will inspire you to pray about how you might get involved, either in terms of ministry or financially.
And on Sunday, the 27th, the last week of this vision month, we’re going to take up an offering on that Sunday, and we really do ask that you pray about what you might be able to give, if you’re able. Now, you can give throughout the whole month, but that Sunday is going to be a special focus around that offering. And it’s not an obligation, we don’t want anyone to feel pressured to give in any way, but we do ask that you pray about it.
We are believing God for an offering of $150,000. Some of that will go to our OneCare ministry. As you probably know, most of you know, usually in October, we focus on our OneCare ministries, and we are still going to be giving a large portion of that offering towards OneCare ministries. But also, we want to set aside some of the offering toward current and future ministry projects, which we’ll be talking about over the next few weeks.
You should see on your seats, or near you, there are some cards that explain a little bit about what this month is going to look like. There’s a link there, a QR code you can scan—it’ll take you to a page on our website with more information.
Focusing on What Really Matters
Now, we do have some exciting—and I believe—faith-stretching vision ahead of us, but at the end of the day, what we need to keep in mind, and what we need to stay focused on, is the main thing. We want to keep the main thing, the main thing.
And that is, that ministry—the ministry of the church—is about people. It’s about helping people connect with Jesus and helping each other on this journey of being disciples. Buildings, budgets, finance, programs—even vision—those things might be necessary, and they might even be helpful, as long as they serve the main point. And the main point is that what we do as a church is about helping people.
And we’ve done some of that today already by praying for and blessing our children and supporting our families. We’re saying that we’re in this together—that this is about all of us. It’s not just each of us with our own personal relationship with Jesus, but we are a family together, and we’re called to pursue the Kingdom of God together. And we need to help each other in this.
And I’ll be explaining a little bit more about that in just a minute. But if we lose sight of that, then we lose sight of what the heart of the church is meant to be about—helping people connect with Jesus and helping each other on this journey of discipleship.
Celebrating What God Has Done
But today is about celebrating what we have seen God do in our midst over the last 12 months. And so to help us do that, what we’ve put together is a video that we’re going to watch in just a moment, that is a snapshot of some of the ministry that’s happened around this church. Definitely not all, but some of the ministry that has been going on around this church in the last 12 months. We haven’t included some of our OneCare ministries in this because we’ll be talking about that in a couple of weeks’ time, but I think this video will help you get a feel, an overview, a sense of what is going on around the church, which you may or may not be aware of.
We’re all involved in different places and spaces, and we have different relationships, and we’re a fairly large church, so not everyone knows about everything else that’s going on across the church. So what we’ve done is put this video together, and a huge thank you to Dan Hammond and Darren Rouse who have put this together, and a huge thank you to all the people who are involved in it.
So we’re now going to turn to the screen, and I’m going to turn to myself because I’m introducing this, as we look at what has been going on these last 12 months. Let’s watch together.
The video is shown.
Reflections on the Year
Hey One Church. I am so glad that you can join us for October Vision Month, a month we’ve set aside to celebrate God’s faithfulness in the past, His faithfulness to us now, and to dream together about the future. And we’ve called this month from Hebrews 13:8, Yesterday, Today, and Forever.
This is an amazing church. I’ve been privileged to be part of the team here for the last four years, and this has been such a blessing to me because I get to work alongside some of the most incredible, gifted, passionate leaders, who are honestly just wonderful people who, day after day, show me what Jesus is like. And the truth is, they reflect the people around them—people like you, our amazing church community.
As we take some time today to look back over the last year, we’ve asked some of our staff and ministry leaders to share their favourite moments. And I hope this will encourage and inspire you, because none of this happens without you. The stories you’re about to hear in this video are your stories too—your prayers, your generosity, your love, your service, the way you show up for each other and for those Jesus is seeking. This is who we are.
Testimonies from Ministry Areas
Jess Hammond Worship Pastor
I think one of the big highlights was the Holy Spirit series we did back in March. It was just a great way to start the year and to see our congregation willing to explore some of the ways that God is wanting us to go deeper, in being aware of His presence and the gifts of the Spirit, and seeing the overflow of that in our worship times as well. I think there’s a real sense that God is really moving in our midst and doing something special in our gathered times. It’s great to see a real openness to that, and our worship teams and our worship leaders have been working on ways to keep gently pushing into that space, so that’s been amazing.
I just really want to brag on our worship team and our worship leaders because they’re an amazing bunch, and they are so committed to who every Sunday, regardless of what they’re facing in their own lives, they turn up and they give their all. They choose to worship, and they choose to put themselves in a place where they can lead us, lead our people in worship and to be able to encounter God. So, yeah, they are my highlight.
Jazz Brewis - Children’s and Families Pastor
So, my highlights for 2024 have been many. It’s so wonderful to see so many people connect with the programs that we run here at One. We’ve got the playgroup, we have Mainly Music, and seeing new families connect with that has been awesome. As well, with Bring a Friend Days on Sundays, seeing new children come and experience church for the first time has been really awesome.
It’s been great to see staffing changes and what that looks like. Having new staff members come on board with us, just allowing space and time and resources so that we can actually grow our ministry, both on a Sunday and our midweek ministry as well.
Bruce and Robyn Armstrong - Leadership Institute
Probably the biggest highlight has been seeing God bring the Leadership Institute up out of nothing. It was only ever going to happen through the Holy Spirit bringing it about, so we’re incredibly grateful to the people of God at One who have prayed, who have practically and financially supported us. We’ve just really loved being with this passionate cohort of 14 young adults, and I think if you’d speak to them, they’d talk pretty quickly about the world-class teaching that Tim delivered, and how that’s deepened their understanding of Scripture and where they fit into God’s story.
The highlight has been that formation of an intentional community that has come together around a meal. As we’ve gotten to know each other, to see the trust grow and the openness to the work of the Holy Spirit through the teaching, as Robyn said, but also praying for one another deeply, and then being able to celebrate and acknowledge the work of God in each of our lives. It’s just been really great to be with young adults wanting to press in to know Jesus more. This is not our Institute—it’s everyone at One, and we need you in partnership with us, and we thank you for that.
Michael Smith - Men’s Monday
Highlights from 2024: There’s a good community there of regulars who come every, or at least most of the Mondays, and newer faces as well, including people who are maybe new to the church, and in some cases, people who struggle to come on Sundays, and therefore are really struggling to connect with the church in our regular gatherings, but they’re free on Monday nights. It’s also been great to see those connections spilling out beyond the Monday night sessions as well. We have one member of the community who this year has been struggling with a significant illness, and he’s been able to reach out to other men in the church community to share that, and we could share that journey with him for support, for prayer.
Dawn Penney - Seniors Ministry
Yeah, my highlights for 2024 involved in seniors ministry is seeing our seniors come together in a safe space where they feel connected and whole, but where they actually enjoy worshipping God, and the fellowship that they enjoy with each other has just been amazing. Another highlight that comes to mind is key milestones like 80, 90 years of age, and we even had this year a couple who’ve been married for 60 years. And that is such affirmation to what marriage looks like in the long term, and that excites me.
One special highlight for me was having our seniors pray for our youth when they went on SYG camp. Just amazing. They felt like they had a purpose to the bigger vision of One community, and that they still were capable of doing really positive ministry.
Darren Rowse - Associate Minister
So, 2024 has been a great year for young adults. We had a really growing and vibrant community, particularly in our 5:30 service. We’ve got over 100 young adults showing up every week, and they’re not just showing up to see each other. They’re sitting there taking notes in the teaching, they’re worshipping, they’re really engaging in what we’re doing in that service.
We’ve done a few creative things this year, giving our young adults a little bit more ownership over the service, doing panels and storytelling as part of that service as well. We’ve also run some social activities for the young adults too, with some dinners after the 5:30 service and also recently an unplugged night, which was a big success as well. So it’s a growing community, and they’re also being a part of various other parts of our church in leadership positions as well. So we want to continue to resource that.
John and Linda Rowe - Encore Ministry
Three words which encapsulate what we’re on about as Encore: connection, conversation, and community. We provide activities where people can connect with one another. There are two particular events that we’ve held—the New Year’s Eve picnic at Ruffey Lake Park and the lawn bowling—where people had fun connecting with one another.
Two highlights this year have been the walk through the Dandenong Botanic Gardens, which was followed by lunch, and then also a walk from the station up to the Shrine and a guided tour around the Shrine, followed by lunch. Our monthly walks are a great opportunity for conversations, and these may be about shared experiences or often deeper matters, and sometimes matters related to faith journeys. Someone said after one walk, “Well, I thought I was just coming for a walk, but well, I’ve had a fantastic talk about faith. It’s been a really good time.”
Cathy Bentley - Healing Towards Wholeness Ministry
I think the highlights for Healing Towards Wholeness ministry this year have been God’s faithfulness in bringing clients, and the way that He equips and guides us as we’re working together. God is always faithful in wanting to build the relationship and restore the relationship between Himself and the client. The highlight is in witnessing the different ways in which God heals us. He knows how to heal what needs to be healed, and He knows when to heal it.
Another role that I have at church is to train the Sunday morning prayer team. Highlights for me there is when the congregation comes forward for prayer, we often hear back the ways in which God has answered those prayers. Another highlight is to see the team growing, just the way that God is teaching us different ways to be more effective in how we pray and how we can just be with people to be able to love them and hold them in those spaces. The team are very experienced, and they’re very open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so please come and be encouraged.
Lauren Croxford - Midweek Kids Ministries
It’s been a big year of midweek ministries—it’s just about creating space for families to come, create craft, and of course have delicious morning teas and very welcoming leaders. I think that’s been the highlight of the year—just creating space for families to come, just to be, and having those conversations in a time where they can feel really lonely and vulnerable, and need a place to get out of the house and just enjoy.
Another highlight is just watching little kiddies then become really confident, and little groups that just want to dance and sing to all of the different music. Yeah, it’s a real joy.
Melissa Horman - Unite Women
So, women’s ministry this year, we had our launch night which was so exciting. We’ve called ourselves Unite Women—that sort of has two meanings. We want to unite the women at One and the broader community, and we’re also looking to give a night back to the women of One Church, where they can feel ignited, filled up, inspired, and energised so that they can go back into their community, back into their family life, and bless others.
We would love to see more people join our rich community. We had an amazing launch, and we’ve had some other events happen, and from that, we’ve also had smaller groups develop—they’re reaching new people and different groups, and we’re looking to see more of that happen.
Kathleen Mathew - Small Groups
This has been a real joy of mine, to actually get to know the role, the ministry team, and also with that, getting to know all of our small group leaders and some of the small group members. And then in that, I’ve seen the needs—and the needs have been a bit more definition in what small group leadership is, and what small groups are, and then developing a bit of a small group leaders’ guide, which is almost finished.
Another highlight for small groups, which came out of a need that we saw to help bring everyone together, we found a software that we already have—Planning Centre. Planning Centre has an add-on for small groups, and it helps us facilitate small groups online, keeping them connected and then helping us to share resources, just gathering our groups together in a more succinct way. I feel like that has really helped our church in general to connect, so it’s been a really great win this year for us.
Jesse Morgan and Liam Jarrott - One Youth
We kicked off with Summer Camp, and that was a massive highlight for us, seeing over 100 young people come attend camp—15 of those on the free tickets that we rolled out—and ultimately at the end of that, we saw plenty of decisions for Jesus, which ended in baptisms, which was really, really exciting to see.
And SYG was the biggest it’s ever been. We had a team of almost 250 people—parents, youth, young adults—all coming and having a great time. And we had yet more free tickets, a few decisions for Jesus as well, so SYG was incredible. And then going back to our weekly programs, that’s just been going from strength to strength, numerically as well as kind of the depth in which we were intending to meet. And so small groups have been growing, our worship space and our worship team have put a lot of effort in, and so we’re just seeing new leaders rise to ranks of leadership, which has been exciting, including our Year 12s, which has been so cool.
Linda Bailey - Senior Associate Minister
How incredible is our God that we’re able to partner with Him and His people in all these different ministries? We hope this has given you just a small glimpse into the many things that happen in and through One Church.
My highlights have been people taking the next step in their faith. The Alpha course has shown us that people are still open to explore who God is, and that God is still the answer that people are searching for. The number of baptisms we’ve had recently has also been a real highlight—to hear how God has moved in someone’s life in a significant way is wonderful to hear for that individual, but also such an incredible encouragement to us as the whole community, witnessing their profession of faith and being reminded of our own commitment to God.
And then parents dedicating their children to God as part of our faith community is also one of my favourite experiences, knowing that God cares for even the smallest child, and seeing parents trust God with their precious children is an important part of how God created us and sees us to live in Christian community.
None of these ministries would be possible without the whole church behind us. Thank you to all those who serve, who give financially, and who pray. If you’d like to play a bigger role in the life of One Church, then I encourage you over this next month—talk to any of the people you’ve seen in the video, and prayerfully consider what you can do to join in with God’s work through One Church.
Awesome. It’s been such a joy this year to be able to witness God working among so many of the generations of our church—across all the generations of our church, which I hope that video captured for you. And I think a real highlight for me was just the fact that we’ve had 16 baptisms this year, and we have some more to come. So that is amazing—God is at work among us, and we can give thanks to God for that.
Now, thank you. Now, what you may not know is that this year marks 120 years that One Church has existed, in various forms, and in various buildings, and in various locations. This church has been serving Jesus for the last 120 years. And as I was praying about this last night, I really felt like the Lord said to me that we are only just getting started, and that if we trust Him and we walk with Him, we will be amazed at what He is going to do among us.
I had a really strong sense, in fact, that those 16 baptisms that we’ve had this year so far are just the beginning—just the seeds of a much greater harvest that is to come. And I felt like the Spirit said to me, "Follow me, walk with me, and you will be amazed at what I’m going to do."
Yesterday, Today and Forever
So, I’m really encouraged by that, I thank God for that, and that’s why we’ve called this series Yesterday, Today, and Forever. For in the Kingdom of God, friends, there is always more. There is always more to do. God is always doing more, and His work is not yet finished among us. As Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is forcefully advancing, and faithful men and women lay hold of it."
Now, to set this in context, Hebrews 13 is the last chapter of Hebrews. If you’ve read Hebrews lately, you’ll know that it’s the last chapter in the book of Hebrews. And the writer is making some comments about what it means for us to be a disciple, to follow Jesus in a pagan world, what it’s going to look like for us to follow Jesus in a pagan context—a world that’s actually not unlike our own culture right now, full of competing ideas, competing systems of belief. The Roman world was a world full of many different kinds of gods, and temptations, and distractions, and desires, and all of those things can lure us away from trusting in the Risen Jesus, if we’ll let them.
Living in a Changing Culture
So the writer tells us that in the midst of all the noise going on around us in our culture, we must strive to keep our lives free of the things that will entangle us. And he makes some comments earlier in the chapter about avoiding sexual immorality, and then in verse 5 he goes on to talk about avoiding the love of money, pursuing more and more possessions. But instead, what we need to do is learn to trust God, and to be content with what we have.
Because verse 5: God has said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
"Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
So we say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
Can we do that again? Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
One more time for the preacher: The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
Do we believe that? (Response from Craig) Thank you, Craig.
So the writer says in verse 7, then: If you believe this, if you trust this, then look at those who have gone before you, who have set an example for you, and follow their way of life.
Now he’s talking about Hebrews 11, a couple of chapters before, where the writer outlines all those great and amazing faithful women and men of God throughout history who have faithfully followed the Lord, even at great personal cost—that great cloud of witnesses, the great cloud of witnesses that surround us.
So the writer says: Consider them, who laid down their lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Consider their way of life, and imitate their faith.
Why? Because in verse 8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So, yesterday, throughout history, God has been faithful to His promises, and He will not stop His work among us until it has all been accomplished. That’s what God has promised to us. He has said to us that He will not stop working until He has accomplished everything that He has set out to do. He will accomplish His will. That is guaranteed.
And our task, then, our call, is to join Him in that, because as Jesus said at the end of Revelation: Behold, I am making all things new. And at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, He said: I will be with you always, even to the very end.
Trusting in God’s Promises
So that’s the promise of Jesus to us. And our task, then, is to say yes and amen—Jesus, we will follow You to the very end.
And that means that today, therefore, we can say with confidence, as we’ve just confessed: The Lord is our helper, and we will not be afraid. The Lord is our helper, and we will not be afraid.
Does anyone here feel afraid at the moment about what’s going on in their lives or what’s going on in the world? There’s a lot going on in the world right now, which is quite fear-inducing.
But our task, then, as the people of God, is not to be distracted by that fear, but to set our hope on Christ, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and who alone is going to direct history toward its true end. So we can trust this promise: I will not leave you as orphans, I will be with you, and the Lord is my helper, therefore I will not be afraid.
Living in Light of Eternity
And that means, then, forever, we have an eternal hope, a hope greater than death. As the writer of Hebrews goes on to say: For here in this world, we do not have an enduring city.
One day, Melbourne will not exist. One day, Paris will not exist. One day, New York will not exist. One day, Barcelona will not exist. None of these cities will endure. Rome was the greatest city in the world for a time—the Eternal City, they called it. Where is Rome now? I mean, there’s a version of Rome, but not the ancient Rome that the writer of Hebrews was talking about. And that’s the city he really has in mind here—the great city that loomed over all others at that time was the Roman city.
And he’s saying to his people: We do not have an enduring city here in this world, but we are looking for a city that is to come, which he said earlier in chapter 11, that those great clouds of witnesses were longing for—a better country, a heavenly one—and God is not ashamed to be called their God, and He has prepared a city for them, a city whose architect and builder is God.
And if that is our hope, then friends, we will not be shaken. Because we have a home waiting for us that will endure forever, so we do not need to be afraid. As Jesus said: I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Living Generously and Fearlessly
So with all that in mind, Hebrews goes on to say that because we have such a great hope, we can afford to live lives that are sacrificial, that are a sacrifice of praise, and we can be generous, and we can live and love with a costly, overflowing goodness. Because if our hope, friends, is in something greater than this world, then we can live in this world without fear. Because life in Christ is not a life of competition for resources. Do I get an amen? Life in Christ is not a competition for resources, because we have a kingdom and a King who has infinite abundance. He has everything that we need in His right hand.
And that’s why Paul says in Ephesians 1 that those of us who are in Christ know that Jesus has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. We have everything we need in Christ. We lack nothing in Christ. There is always enough.
Ephesians 3:20 says: Christ is able to do—does anyone know how this ends?—Christ is able to do immeasurably more. I love how the New King James puts it: Christ is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or imagine, according to His power that’s at work within us. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations. That is a verse you can build your life on.
The same Jesus who defeated death, who poured out the Spirit on Pentecost, who led His people through the horrors of persecution under the Roman Empire is with us now, and His Kingdom is prevailing.
A Church Confident in God’s Promises
And that is what we need to remember as the body of Christ. We need to remember this, I think, more than ever right now. We need churches that are confident in the promises of God, that trust in the Lordship of Jesus and in the eternal endurance of His Kingdom, who can say with all their hearts: The Lord is our helper; we will not be afraid.
I think that’s needed more than ever right now, because as I’m sure you all know, the world is going through a period of significant shaking. Western culture, which I don’t by any means equate with the Kingdom of God, but was born up out of Christian values, is being tested and challenged like never before. We’ve spoken about this a lot through our Jesus and Culture series.
We are rapidly becoming post-Christian. We all know this. And as Western societies shift from a Christian framework to something else, it’s unclear what we are becoming—what our cultures are actually transforming into yet. We’re not quite sure where this is leading. There is no question that we are losing our reason to exist, like we no longer know, as Westerners—I don’t think, generally speaking—we don’t know anymore who we are or what we’re for.
Western culture is running out of steam. People no longer trust our democratic institutions, let alone our political aims. In fact, I was thinking about this as I was preparing—it was hard for me to think of any kind of actual vision of what our cultures are for being articulated by any of our Western leaders right now. Can you think of anyone who’s standing up saying, “This is what our cultures are for”? I can’t think of any of them. Justin Trudeau, our own Prime Minister, Biden, the new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer—I can’t think of anyone who’s actually articulating a positive and compelling vision of what our cultures are for. We’re running out of steam. It’s hard to discern where this is leading, and the signs of resignation are everywhere if you care to look.
Paul Kingsnorth's Insights
And I think the most obvious sign is the fragmentation we’re seeing in our culture from—along all kinds of lines: political, religious, sexual, social, family breakdown—it all just seems like we are fighting each other all the time. Does it feel like that to you, that we’re in a constant state of heightened conflict? We’re not meant to live that way. We can’t live that way. And no amount of diversity, equity, and inclusion training is going to save us.
And there’s a reason for this. One of my favourite new authors that I’ve discovered recently is the UK-based Paul Kingsnorth, who was an atheist until very recently. He had a quite dramatic conversion—a quite miraculous conversion—to Christ, and has now become what I think is one of the leading prophetic voices in the church. Now, I’ve been reading a little bit of his stuff, and I’m amazed at the insight that he has. I mean, he comes at it from someone who’s grown up outside the church and is now kind of in the church, looking back, and his insights are incredible.
And he was recently, in an essay, thinking about how it is that cultures become captive to demonic spiritual powers. And so he was talking about what happened in Germany, for example—that it went almost, it felt like overnight, from a Christian country to one that had been taken captive by Nazism. How did that happen?
And he asks this question: Can a culture become possessed?
Today’s West, while obviously no longer Christian, is not really pagan either, if by pagan we mean a kind of alternative spirituality which is taken seriously by its worshippers. Instead, we are living in a void. We’re living in a nowhere place. We believe in nothing at all, at least with any conviction.
That’s not to say that individuals or collectives within the West do not have religious beliefs or practices—obviously they do—but there is no spiritual core to this West as a whole, assuming it can even be said to exist anymore. Nature abhors a vacuum. A void will, in the end, be filled. All cultures must have a set of spiritual beliefs and practices undergirding them if they’re to survive. This, in fact, is what a culture is at root—to use the old word, ‘cult’. And that’s just a Latin term to describe—don’t think of it in the modern sense that we use it. It’s just a Latin term to describe a set of religious practices.
Culture is, at root, a cult. Social norms, architectural styles, family arrangements, legal systems, moral frameworks, even the shape and nature of nations and states—these are by-products of the religious systems they grow out of, which is itself a product of religious experience.
And this is what he says: Culture is downstream from faith, and faith is downstream from mysticism, or what he means, an experience of God.
And I have this summary. This is what he says—the summary:
If we have no cult, no faith, we have no culture, and there is no point whining about the fact. It is better to simply face it. This is where we are. The ongoing culture war is thus the equivalent of two bald men fighting over a comb. The important question now is what or who will rush into the void? Who will come to sit on our empty throne?
A Prophetic Moment for the Church
Feels very prophetic to me. When I read his writing, it feels like I’m reading the prophets. Who indeed is going to sit on our empty throne?
And this is where we are. And he’s right—we need to face it.
And friends, I’m going to finish in just a moment—I unashamedly believe, unashamedly believe there is only one institution and one vision of life that will turn this around, that can fill the void with life instead of death, and that is the church, and the message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Absolutely unashamedly. And I think we need churches to rise up—our church and all those around us seeking to be faithful to Jesus—who will say with all their hearts: I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation.
Now, salvation, defined by the Bible, is not that we each have our own personal experience of God. Salvation, defined by the Scriptures, if we go right back to the beginning in Genesis, is that we need to bring our lives and the whole of creation under the rule of God, which brings shalom, which in turn brings peace and healing to all things. That’s why Jesus came and died—not so that you could just have a private relationship with Him, but so that you could be joined to Him, joined to His body, the church, and be part of God’s worldwide creational work to restore and renew all things under the lordship of Jesus, our ascended King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That’s what we’re about.
A Vision for the Church
And so as a church, we need to begin to pray with our hearts set on fire for God, that we might begin to see the kind of vision that John had in Revelation 5, when he looked at the church, and what did he see? He saw an amazing vision, and he cried out: Lord Jesus, with Your blood, You have purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.
That’s his vision of the church. And that’s not something that’s future-oriented. He was seeing what was going on right now. We are called, as men and women of God, to be filled with His Spirit so that we know what it looks like to reign on the earth alongside Jesus. It is not power over people. It is about learning to serve others with love, so that they might encounter Jesus and be joined to this incredible community that we call the church.
And it is the church that will endure. Empires have come and gone, but the church will endure forever, because it is Christ’s body, and that is indestructible.
You know, if you go to Rome now, if you visit the Colosseum in central Rome, you will see something quite amazing. You see this ruined building, but in the year 2000, Pope John Paul II established a gigantic cross in the middle of the Colosseum to commemorate the thousands of Christians who were martyred there.
Now, you might not know that the Colosseum was actually built by Jewish slaves who’d been taken from Jerusalem when the Roman Empire destroyed the city. They enslaved thousands of Jewish people, took them to Rome, and the emperors Vespasian and Titus forced those slaves to build the Colosseum, which would end up becoming a place of torture and death. At the heart of the Roman Empire was an emblem to death.
And I just think it’s one of the great ironies of history, one of the great signs of the immensity of God’s Kingdom, that now, in that building, which is a ruin, which was dedicated to the worship of false gods through the sacrifice of humans, stands a cross, where the true human willingly sacrificed Himself in order to save the whole of creation, as a testament to those powers that once wanted to rule and subjugate and destroy, that life will overcome. Because God has given everything for our sake in order that we might be redeemed.
So in the heart of the Colosseum is a sign of the victory of God’s Kingdom over all the powers of death. They called the Roman Empire—they called the city of Rome—the Eternal City. Friends, where is the true Eternal City? It is with our Father in heaven, and that is what we are a part of as the body of Christ.
A Call to Action
It’s easy to look around and feel pessimistic about the future. Certainly in the West, things don’t look great. And yeah, I have my moments when I feel quite concerned about where we’re headed. But on the other hand, I hear these stories from time to time that give me a great deal of hope. I mean, from a global perspective, the church is the largest it has ever been in human history. Do you know, in 1900, there were 10 million African Christians? Do you want to know how many there are today worshipping Jesus? 734 million. Praise God for that! God is at work. He is redeeming all things. Over half a billion Christians in Africa—that just blows my mind.
And that’s true across the whole Global South. The church is growing like wildfire. It doesn’t seem to be the case in the West, and yet there are signs of hope.
I was listening to someone recently who pointed out that in Finland, they just had their census, and some very interesting data emerged that showed a huge spike in young men returning to church in Finland. And then in France, over the Easter weekend, something happened that may not have happened since the Revolution. Over 12,000 people, mostly young people, were baptised on Easter Sunday morning. 12,000 people in one day. In France. In France, friends! If it can happen in France, it can happen anywhere.
And you may have heard that Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who was a Muslim, who then deconverted from Islam and became an atheist, has recently given her heart to Jesus, and is talking about her faith openly. And she had a conversation with Richard Dawkins—you can look it up on YouTube—where she talks about this, and he is just flabbergasted. Like, he has no words. He’s just like, “Why have you done this?” And all she can say is, “Because I had an encounter with Jesus. I believe it’s true.”
And Russell Brand—whatever you might think of him—was recently baptised, and he’s become a brother in Christ. And Nick Cave was recently on the Stephen Colbert show, talking openly about his faith in the midst of grief, the grief of losing two of his sons to early deaths. Incredible.
Like, just when we think things can’t get worse, and that it’s at its darkest, we see the signs of the light of God’s Kingdom breaking through all the time. Jesus isn’t finished with us yet. He’s not finished with the West. He’s not finished with the world. He’s not finished with our church. He’s definitely not finished with you, and I can tell you, He’s definitely not finished with me.
And this is the beautiful irony of life in Christ—it’s only when we have our vision set on the Kingdom of God, and we have that Kingdom clear in our minds, when our hope is firmly set on something greater than this world, that we can actually be of use and blessing to this world. Because we can offer ourselves in love and in service without expecting anything in return, because our hope and our reward is with Christ, not with whatever we may get from other people.
And so, it’s only when our vision is on the Kingdom of God, when we love Jesus with all our hearts and we’re focused on Him with hope, with faith, and with love, that we’re then able to be of use to those around us.
Closing Prayer and Benediction
And I believe that’s what we’re being called to as a church—a real season of renewing our hearts, renewing our faith, putting our hope in Jesus again, and setting our hearts, our minds, and our vision on the Kingdom of God. Because that is what it’s all about.
Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Let’s stand, and I want to pray.
Father, thank You for this morning, and for the celebration we’ve had of all the things You have been doing in our midst. To be able to dedicate children to You, to worship, and to open up Your Word—Father, I pray that You’ll strengthen each person here. Give them courage, give them hope, give them faith. And Lord, I pray that You’d begin to really stir in us over these next few weeks to get a hold, to grasp a sense, a vision of what You have ahead for us as a church community. It’s not my vision, it’s not the vision of the elders, it’s not the vision of the staff. We really do believe, Lord, that we’re just simply looking to You and asking You to place that vision in our hearts—a vision of Your Kingdom breaking in, breaking through, and ruling and reigning over all things forever.
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.