Advertise on podcast: Open House Church Sermons

Life is complicated. Parenting, money, conflict, work: all of it needs skill, not just information. Proverbs says that skill starts somewhere specific, with the fear of the Lord. That fear is not running away in terror but drawing near in awe to the God who made and governs reality. Clever people who reject Him still end up fools. Only Jesus lived in that reverence perfectly, and after the cross He poured out His Spirit, so wisdom comes as a gift rather than an achievement. Bible References: Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, 10:27, 14:2, 26, 15:16, 16:6, 22:4 Preacher: Ben Fien

Faith fades in one generation, morals in the next. Micah, a prophet in Judah, spoke to people who had dropped both, and God warned that He was coming down to deal with their sin. Samaria and Jerusalem became rubble, yet Micah also promised a ruler born in Bethlehem who would shepherd His people and be their peace. God pardons sin, treads it underfoot, and hurls it into the depths of the sea. Forgiven people stop trying to earn favour and instead act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. Bible References: Micah 1:1–7, 7:14–20 Preacher: John Westendorp

Edom lived high in the rock cliffs and thought nobody could bring them down. Through Obadiah, God says otherwise, and pride is only half the charge. When invaders ransacked Jerusalem, Edom stood by, gloated, and hunted down the escaping survivors of their brother nation. God brought Edom down, and that nation is gone. The last line carries the hope: the kingdom will be the Lord's, so bow to Jesus now and stand on the winning side. Bible Reference: Obadiah Preacher: John Westendorp

Amos bred sheep and tended fig trees. God took him from the flock and sent him to prosperous Israel, where fine houses and busy worship hid cheating, bribes and abuse. God held a builder's plumb line against that nation and showed a wall too crooked to keep. Amos means one who bears a burden, and Jesus carried the burden of judgement to the cross. Ordinary workers still speak for God where preachers cannot reach, calling for repentance and real change before Jesus returns. Bible References: Matthew 16:21–28; Amos 7 Preacher: John Westendorp

A man bangs on his neighbour's door at midnight until he gets bread, not because they are friends but because he will not stop asking. That, Jesus says, is how to pray. The point is not that God is reluctant; it is that God has made His people children in His own family. Only a child tugs at a father's sleeve again and again and still trusts him. So keep asking, and take a no or a not yet as your Father's care. Bible References: Luke 11:1–13, 18:1–8 Preacher: Tony Van Drimmelen

A 69 year old Dutchman asked a court to lower his legal age to 49, because that is how he felt. The judges refused, but never told him he was wrong. Our culture says the same thing: look inside, define yourself, and happiness follows. Yet desires keep shifting, and turning inward strains relationships and steals joy. Jesus says deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him; He lost His life first so that those who lose theirs for Him find it. Bible Reference: Matthew 16:24–25 Preacher: Ben Fien

The first four chapters of Lamentations put grief in alphabetical order. In chapter five that order collapses, because the pain is too great to keep tidy. Short, punchy verses list famine, forced labour and lost joy, and then confess, we have sinned. Still the people declare that God reigns, and they ask Him to turn them back to Himself, since even repentance is His gift. Jesus answered that request by rebuilding God's people as a renewed city, though the book itself ends unresolved. Bible Reference: Lamentations 5 Preacher: Ben Fien

Everyone wants better leaders. In Lamentations 4, Jerusalem's princes, once dressed in purple, pick through ash heaps after an eighteen-month siege. The prophets and priests who should have warned the people joined the evil instead, and the people leaned on their king as if he were their breath. The deeper problem is sin running through every heart. Jesus drank the cup of judgement, said it is finished, and now leads as the one who never runs away. Bible Reference: Lamentations 4 Preacher: Ben Fien

Jerusalem lies in ruins after God's judgement, and Jeremiah writes as a man crushed under it. He does not deny the pain, but he will not call God cruel either, because the destruction came from real, deserved justice. Then he names God as Yahweh and remembers His steadfast love, mercies new every morning. That same unchanging character which guaranteed judgement also guarantees compassion, fully shown when Jesus bore the punishment His people deserved on the cross. Bible Reference: Lamentations 3 Preacher: Ben Fien

When God’s justice feels unbearable, why pray to Him at all? Jerusalem’s destruction came as judgement for long, unrepentant evil, and Jeremiah endured its horror although God was not his enemy. Lament gives suffering people words to turn towards God, complain honestly, ask for help, and trust His goodness without pretending their pain is resolved. Jesus bore the judgement sin deserves and cried out when forsaken, so those who belong to Him approach God as a tender Father. Bible Reference: Lamentations 2 Preacher: Ben Fien

When suffering leaves people speechless, even prayer can feel impossible. Lament gives their deepest pain an honest voice before God. Ruined Jerusalem asks God to see her lonely grief, yet she admits that generations of rebellion and trust in false gods brought His just judgement. Not every heartbreak directly follows personal sin, but Jesus bore His people's judgement, so they can seek comfort, leave revenge to God, and await a city that will never be destroyed. Bible Reference: Lamentations 1 Preacher: Ben Fien

When disaster strikes, people often either blame particular sins or push God out of the picture. Joel treats Judah’s locust plague as a warning of final judgement, yet neither Joel nor Jesus permits linking one tragedy to one specific sin. Such warnings call everyone to heartfelt, daily repentance. God is slow to anger, gracious and rich in faithful love. Jesus’ cross grounds this mercy, and the poured-out Spirit equips God’s people to warn others while trusting His promise of salvation and a new creation. Bible Reference: Joel 2:11–32 Preacher: John Westendorp

One slip can make a mountain journey feel deadly. Psalm 121 directs the frightened traveller beyond the hills to their Maker, the faithful God who never sleeps and stays close. His keeping does not promise freedom from pain, illness, or loss; it means evil cannot separate His people from His purposes and love. Jesus endured judgement without shelter at the cross, breaking sin's curse so those who trust Him will never be forsaken and will reach God's new creation. Bible Reference: Psalm 121 Preacher: Ben Fien

Onesimus fled Philemon's household and wronged him. He now returns as a brother in Christ. Paul asks Philemon to welcome him as he would welcome Paul, freely rather than under pressure, and offers to repay any debt. Jesus grounds this new way of relating: the Lord became a servant and paid His people's debt on the cross. His grace creates a family where old power structures yield to forgiveness, honour, and peace between former enemies. Bible Reference: Philemon Preacher: Ben Fien

People from different cultures, classes and histories often struggle to stay united, especially after disappointment or betrayal. Colossians 4 names a diverse group serving together, including Onesimus, a runaway slave called a beloved brother, and Mark, once rejected by Paul. Christ makes such partnership possible. His love, shown at the cross and poured into His people by the Holy Spirit, creates one new family. Together they help God's people mature and spread the gospel for God's glory. Bible Reference: Colossians 4:7–18 Preacher: Ben Fien