Daniel Macleod

Are you thirsty for more of God? For more of the Kingdom breaking out in London and the nations? This morning on Vision Sunday Daniel reflects on the development of our church and mission, and leads us into a new season as a church, where he helps prepare us to expect great things from God.

This week Daniel shares two mistakes he made when he got baptised as a teenager. Firstly, a superficial view of his own sin. And secondly, a superficial view of Jesus’ work in saving us. Here we learn how deep our problem goes and how great Jesus’ work really is.

We cannot separate our relationship with Jesus from our relationship with the church. In this sermon, Daniel reminds us that the main reason we gather as a church is so we may go deeper into the presence of God and come to a greater understanding of who He is. Secondly, gathering sharpens and grows us; the gathering of God’s people is His design for human flourishing. There are riches and depth and spiritual power found in the physical gathering of God’s people.

To paraphrase C.S Lewis, ‘we are all hope based creatures’. For all of us, our outlook on life heavily depends on where we put our hope. Do we put our hope in material things thinking that they will fulfill us? In this sermon Daniel reminds us that the lack of feeling fulfilled in this life is because we were created for something better. We were created to finally be fulfilled when we meet our God and Savior face to face, when we finally seat in eternity, at the table that He has prepared for us.

Do you often feel anxious, worrying about the future, not able to have peace and rest because you often give in to fear? This is a common human experience, yet the most common command in the bible is, ‘ do not fear’. In this sermon, Daniel reminds us that God know’s what it’s like to be human. He understands our worries and fears, and so He calls us to put our trust in Him because He is a good God who is with us in every circumstance.

Giving thanks is a foundational attitude of being a Christian. Our gracious Father is worthy of receiving our thanks for all He has done and continues to do for us. In this sermon Daniel gives us some practical ways in which we can incorporate thanksgiving into our lives.

Confession can often be a scary prospect, yet it has the ability to be one of the most liberating practice. In this sermon Daniel speaks about the importance of this spiritual discipline, reminding us that if we fail to confess our sins it erodes our relationship with God and others.

In a culture of ‘busyness’ how do we find sabbath rest? in this sermon Daniel speaks about the main obstacle to sabbath rest. He explains that the main problem is not in the activities we do, but a restlessness in our hearts.

When it comes to spiritual disciplines, fasting is probably one of the most difficult, especially in the western church. Yet it is a much needed practice, it is a means to know God better. In fasting we declare that Jesus is more satisfying than life itself.