Sermons from Pastor Nathan Hedt

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us

Is this the hardest prayer we can sincerely pray? Certainly Jesus recognised that forgiveness is difficult, that it is hard and costly. Yet it is ultimately freeing for us as we release the bitterness, hurt, anger and revenge into the gracious hands of God.

This sermon examines what forgiveness is and is not, explores stories of forgiveness - God's and ours - and helps us to find freedom from the past.

This sermon was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 14th April (Palm Sunday) 2019. 

It can be enhanced by viewing the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!

Give us today our daily bread

'Give us today our daily bread.'

What a deep, rich and inviting prayer this is! Of course we are not just praying for our sliced hi-fibre multigrain. As Martin Luther reminds us, 'Daily bread includes everything needed for daily life, including home and family, work and income, food and clothing, and all we need from day to day.'

In teaching us this prayer and praying it with us, Jesus invites us to leave behind anxiety and acquisitiveness, to trust deeply in God, and to ask 'What do I need? What do I want? What do I crave? What can I give?'

This sermon was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 7th April, 2019. 

It can be enhanced by viewing the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!

(Photo by Bruno Thethe on Unsplash)

Your will be done on earth as in heaven (the Lord's prayer part 4)

'Your will be done on earth as in heaven.'

What IS God's will?

Can God's will be resisted?

How do I know God's will for my life?

These are common questions to do with the will of God.

In the Lord's prayer, Jesus teaches us to ask for God's will to be done here on the earth as it is in heaven. God's will for us is GOOD and it is for us to enjoy reconciled relationships with him through what Jesus has done for us.

This sermon was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 31st March, 2019. 

It can be enhanced by viewing the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!

Your Kingdom Come (The prayer that changes the world part 3)

How can we keep praying 'Your Kingdom Come' in the dark depths of a broken world in which God's kingdom is far from evident?

What is God's kingdom? What does its coming look like and how does it change the world?

God's kingdom comes near in the person and work of Jesus. Even in the darkest of circumstances we can pray - because the King was crowned on the cross, and as he was enthroned he dared to pray, 'Father, forgive them.'

This sermon was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 24th March, 2019. 

It can be enhanced by viewing the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!

 

The prayer that changes the world part 2 - hallowed be your name

'Hallowed be your name.' What does that even mean? How can we understand it? And why is this short petition full of both challenge and good news for us?

This is part 2 of a sermon series on the Lord's prayer.

It was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 17th March, 2019.

It can be enhanced by viewing the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!

The Prayer that changes the world - Part 1 - Our Father in Heaven

The Lord's Prayer is a great gift to us, full of promise, hope and good news.

When Jesus' disciples ask him, 'Lord, teach us to pray,' he doesn't give them 'Seven Signs that your Supplication will be Super Successful.' He doesn't give them 'Perfect  Principles for Powerful Prayer.' He gives them a prayer - his very own prayer.

We learn to pray by praying - with Jesus!

In the first part of the prayer Jesus gives us the gift of his own identity as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father.

This sermon is part 1 in a series on the Lord's prayer.

It was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 10th March 2019.

It can be enhanced by viewing the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!

Luke 9 Up on the mountain, down in the valley Transfiguration sermon

When Jesus appears in his heavenly glory in what is called the Transfiguration, what does it really mean for us?

Jesus is glorious - he is God in the flesh.

Jesus doesn't stay on the mountain - he comes down into the valley to be God with us.

There is more to life than what we normally see - we are destined for glory.

This sermon was preached on Sunday 3rd March at Pakenham Lakeside Church by Pastor Nathan Hedt.

Enjoy!

Luke 6 The ethics of Jesus

In Luke 6 and the parallel passage in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presents the clearest outline and highest standard of ethics ever proposed. He explicates the 'Golden Rule' ' - 'Do to others as you would have them do to you' - in a powerful and practical way that means we are called to do active good even to those who do us active harm.

But has Jesus raised the bar of ethics impossibly high? Can we live up to this standard - and what if we don't?

This sermon was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 24th February 2019.

Enjoy!

Fishermen, Fear, Forgiveness and Following Luke 5:1-11

When Jesus calls his first disciples, they are amazed and fearful at a miraculous catch of fish. Ordinary people who encounter Jesus are transformed by him. We too are called - and equipped! by Jesus to become 'fishers for people' and to see amazing things happen as we follow him.

This sermon was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday February 10th, 2019.

Enjoy!

John 2 The Wedding Party

What's the most lavish wedding you've ever been to?

When Jesus and his disciples go to a wedding party in Cana, the wine runs out. What happens next removes shame and brings honour...and shows that God is the God of celebration.

This sermon was preached at Pakenham Lakeside Church on Sunday 20th January 2019.

Enjoy!