Role: Pastor |
Hi my name is Phil Irvine and I’m the Pastor at Emu Plains Community Baptist Church. My family and I moved all the way from the Blue Mountains and to live in the community here in Emu Plains. Jesus said “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” Sometimes we find that our lives are so full with things to do, but we don’t seem to be fulfilled. I enjoy running, spending time with my family, playing Xbox and a good coffee. But what fills my life is Jesus. If you are wanting your life full, the best it can be, why not check out Jesus and take him up on this promise?
Sunday, 06 March 2022
Duration: 34 mins 36 secs
Jesus’ non-legalistic attitude towards righteousness has led some to regard him as a rebel and a lawbreaker. However, Jesus declares that he didn’t come to abolish or break God’s Law, but to completely uphold it and fulfil it. As with every seed of sin, we must constantly be uprooting any form of bitterness before it grows into something worse. Then we must go even further and replace this sin with the fruit of love, even for our enemies. In this passage, the challenge for us is where in Jesus’ sermon He commands us to, “Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”.
Sunday, 27 February 2022
Duration: 34 mins 16 secs
Jesus took six important Old Testament laws and interpreted them for His people in the light of the new life He came to give. He made a fundamental change without altering God’s standards. Jesus dealt with the attitudes and intents of the heart and not simply with the external action. The Pharisees said that righteousness consisted of performing certain actions, but Jesus said it centred in the attitudes of the heart. Likewise, with sin, the Pharisees had a list of external actions that were sinful, but Jesus explained that sin came from the attitudes of the heart. Anger is murder in the heart, lust is adultery in the heart. It is these sinful attitudes of the heart that we must cut off now, not just let them fade away slowly.
Sunday, 13 February 2022
Duration: 27 mins 40 secs
The Sermon on the Mount describes what human life and human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God. Jesus emphasises that his true followers, the citizens of God’s kingdom, were to be entirely different from others. They were not to take their cue from the people around them, but from Him, and so prove to be genuine children of their heavenly Father. They were to shine like lights in the prevailing darkness. Their righteousness was to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, both in ethical behaviour and religious devotion, while their love was to be greater and their ambition nobler than those of their pagan neighbours.
Sunday, 06 February 2022
From the high and holy experience of the blessing at the Jordan, Jesus was led into the wilderness for testing. Jesus was not tempted so that the Father could learn anything about His Son, for the Father had already given Jesus His divine approval. Jesus was tempted so that every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might know that Jesus Christ is the Conqueror. He exposed Satan and his tactics, and He defeated Satan. Because of His victory, we can have victory over the tempter.
Sunday, 30 January 2022
Duration: 32 mins 57 secs
Some thirty years have passed between chapters 2 and 3 of Matthew, during which Jesus lived in Nazareth and worked as a carpenter (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). But the time had come for Him to begin His public ministry, which would culminate at the cross. Was He still qualified to be King? Had anything taken place that would disqualify Him? In this passage we see how John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit and the Father attest to the person of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, 19 December 2021
Duration: 26 mins 53 secs
Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous, in the line of Aaron. Zechariah's doubt resulted in him being unable to speak for the length of Elizabeth's pregnancy, but the silence is not wasted. Zechariah grows in his relationship with God and God reveals to Zechariah a picture of salvation, what He is doing in this world. There is only one way to be right with God and that is to experience forgiveness in our lives through God's Son. Jesus was to shine a light on those living in darkness and show the path of peace. This is also our mission.
Sunday, 12 December 2021
Duration: 22 mins 47 secs
In verse 38, we see that Mary was obedient to God. Jesus himself was obedient to God, which is why we meet together today. The course of Mary's life was changed by God. She would have faced hard circumstances but she trusts the Word of God and is joyful that He is using her to bring the Saviour into the world. When we follow God, His plans will bring joy when we are obedient to Him.
Sunday, 28 November 2021
Duration: 30 mins 23 secs
Ezra demonstrates humility and the people follow suit. The large crowd that gathers are convicted of their sin, also mourning and weeping bitterly. Ezra waited on God and continued to pray, fast and mourn for the people. The people obey and, trusting themselves to God, they gather distressed before God. The mixed marriages have to be dissolved, the faithful must separate themselves from the people around them. True confession involves genuine regret and takes personal responsibility. God is holy and righteous.
Sunday, 14 November 2021
Duration: 26 mins 13 secs
Ezra has been in Babylon but has now come to Jerusalem. The Temple is built, but the worship seems ritualistic and not from the heart. Is our experience of faith just routine or a deep and growing relationship with God? Ezra is devoted to the Law but also devoted to God. The Pharisees were devoted to the Law but not God. What makes up our lives? Are we consumed by God's Word?
Sunday, 07 November 2021
Duration: 32 mins 36 secs
The Jews got back to work on the temple after 16 years stoppage due to opposition. Tattenai's letter is full of suspicion, a blockage of red tape. Our lives, relationships or work may have frustration and disappointment. Doing God's will can be hard, not easy. We'll never know how God's plan fits together this side of glory but we get glimpses of it in our lives. It's natural for us to see the worst, the impossible, the obstacles, but we need to look beyond to see God's work in all situations.
