Sermons by Nathan Ward
Mustard-Seed Faith in a Broken World
This week we have been shaken by the news of the attack on a synagogue in Manchester. On Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish year, people gathered to pray. A man drove a car into worshippers and then attacked with a knife. Lives were lost, people were injured, and an entire community has been left grieving and fearful. When we hear of such violence, it is natural to ask: how do we respond as Christians? What…
Deeds in Jars: Hope for the Future
It’s a strange story for Harvest. Jeremiah is told to buy a field. Not when the land is flourishing, not when the market is booming, but when the city is under siege. It makes no sense. Why invest in land that you will never see grow? Yet Jeremiah obeys. He weighs out the silver, signs the deed, and has it sealed up in a jar so it will last. It isn’t really about the field. It’s about the future. Jeremiah…
“Is there no balm in Gilead?”
Jeremiah asks a question that cuts across the centuries: “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” He looks at a nation in turmoil, a people hurting, and wonders whether there is any remedy deep enough for such wounds. It is not hard for us to hear his cry today. We look around our world and see wars that seem endless, nations bristling with weapons, refugees on the move, economies straining, cyber-attacks that bring airports to a…
The Gospel in One Sentence
John 3:16 has been called the gospel in a single sentence. If you ever wanted to know what Christianity is really about, it’s all here. It begins with God. Not with us, not with our trying, or failing, or doubting, but with God. And what is said of him? Not that he was angry. Not that he was distant. But that he loved. And not just the nice bits. Not just the good people. Not just the ones who look…