By Grace Through Faith

Salvation is received through faith.  Faith is both a gift of God and an activity/attitude that we are called to exercise. It involves an belief in the truth claims of the bible, but also a personal trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.  The fact that works do not play a role as the basis for salvation means that it is rooted in the grace of God.

Read Ephesians 2:8-9

Daniel’s Prayer

This passage provides us with instruction about prayer.  The fact that Daniel prays for something that God had promised gives us insight into the relationship between prayer and the plan of God.  Daniel’s prayer shows us the importance of having a Biblical understanding of the God to whom we pray, confession of sin and asking for forgiveness and praying for the glory of God.

Read Daniel 9:1-19

Made Alive in Christ

This sermon examines the teaching of this passage that believers have been made alive with Christ.  In the light of the biblical story of redemption this granting of new life must be seen as part of the beginning of the renewal of the cosmos.  The reason that believers are made alive with Christ is that they are united to Christ.  Other passages show that this union with Christ happens through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Read Ephesians 2:4-7

A Vision of Persecution

This vision centers on a period of extreme persecution of God’s people that would take place in the future.  The point of this vision is that God is in control even when his people must go through persecution.  It also teaches that the persecution will last only as long as God permits and that in the end the persecutors of God’s people will be punished.  Daniel’s response to the vision reminds us that we are called to show concern for brothers and sisters who are being persecuted today.

Read Daniel 8:1-27

You Were Dead in Sin

This second sermon of the series consider a another part of the biblical teaching about human sin and that is the fact that apart from salvation humans have a sinful nature.  In this passage the key point is that apart from God’s saving grace, everyone is dead in transgressions and sins.  This condition is described with reference to the world, the devil and our own sinful nature.  The verses that follow this text show how God brings dead sinners to life with Christ.

Read Ephesians 2:1-3

Beast, Horns and the Kingdom of God

This is the first chapter in Daniel of what is called apocalyptic literature.  The purpose of this kind of writing in the Bible is to describe the struggle between God and his enemies using very colourful imagery. In this chapter the beasts, and the horns stand for evil kingdoms which seek to harm and destroy the people of God.  The message of the chapter is that God will judge the evil kingdoms and that the son of man will have an everlasting dominion.

Read Daniel 7:1-28