Regent Hall Sermons: Espresso Yourself

It is great to know the will of God, but what we are taught in Scripture is to do the will of God. Scripture is full of it. Not so much knowing, but in doing the will of God.

In this final message, I would like to give you a series of short thoughts about Jesus Coming Soon. The promise continues to be fulfilled as Jesus enters into your life. Jesus came - and he has not stopped coming! Graham Mizon

This is the third message in our Coming Soon series. This phrase is more often used with anticipated Second Coming of Christ, but I am using it here for the first advent. The coming of Christ is an ongoing reality for those believers who open their hearts and surrender their will to God. We consider one of the characters in the Christmas narrative - Joseph.

In this second message – on this first Sunday in Advent – I want us to get closer to the earthly scene that Jesus entered as he brought heaven to earth. We are now into Advent. The carols have started to be played, the Christmas trees are up, cards have started to be written and presents are being bought. So let us also get into that Christmas scene in Bethlehem as we once again celebrate God’s gift to us and as a result Christ will be born again in the hearts of believers and, in that sense, Jesus is coming soon. Major Graham Mizon

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus prays that God’s kingdom might come so that the will of God might be revealed on earth in the same way that it manifests itself in heaven. I want to especially focus today on this phrase: On Earth as it is in Heaven. God has become King and his kingdom is with us and in us. Christ is coming soon. He wants his dwelling place to be in heaven – the heaven of our hearts. Graham Mizon

This morning I want to continue from where I left off last Sunday on the subject of transformation. Firstly, Jesus was transformed when he left Heaven and became a God/man and dwelt among us. Secondly, the presence of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit transforms us into Christians. And thirdly, as Christians, now empowered and engaged with the will and purposes of God we become agents of transformation. We, too, do Christ’s work in this world and become transformers in our own right. Major Graham Mizon

Jesus has been in the transforming business for 2,000 years – beginning with himself. Jesus was both man and God. And Jesus transforms lives. Jesus came in transformation in order that we might be transformed by his Spirit. Graham Mizon

This morning we come to the final message in this series called Espresso Yourself. And the final shot of espresso that I want to serve to you is all about enthusiasm. Enthusiasm – as we shall see – is a powerful, caffeinated God-thing that is worth striving for. The enthusiasm I want to talk about this morning is not something that is dependent upon everything going right for us in the world, but it’s more about us being right with God – us being “in God” - “en Theos”. Major Graham Mizon

Thank you — two powerful words. Thank you — two trajectory —changing words. Thank you — two words that can be like two shots of espresso. I believe that God wants us to live lives of true and deep appreciation. He wants our lives to be so caffeinated with God’s love that we adopt a spirit of gratitude. And this is what I want to talk about in this third message in this caffeinated series – Espresso Yourself. Graham Mizon

1 Corinthians 13 Espresso provides a theme and a backdrop for this series of sermons: Espresso Yourself. Christian’s need to be caffeinated with God and be a powerful punch for Him. I have another message this morning that packs a powerful caffeinated punch. I am going to talk to you about some of the strongest stuff, and, like espresso, some of the bitterest stuff that we as Christian’s have to swallow. Graham Mizon

Starting this morning is a new four-week series called Espresso Yourself. At Regent Hall, we have recently opened our refurbished Oasis Café, and in doing so, we have introduced real espresso coffee. Suddenly, we have become caffeinated with this strong coffee that packs a real punch for serious coffee drinkers. In much the same way our lives can make a powerful impact on those around us. This series promises to caffeinated your Christianity as you understand what it means to Espresso Yourself in ways that glorify God and build up others. Major Graham Mizon