Foundation Church Belfast

How (and how not) to enter the Kingdom of God

Sermon by David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast.

Sex, Marriage, and the Kingdom of God

Sex possesses huge power. It can be used constructively to express and deepen the most fundamental human relationship. But its power can be used destructively and be a source of great pain and breakdown.
In this message we hear Jesus’ teaching on sex, marriage and see how it all connects to his overall vision of the kingdom of God. We see:
The Controversy of Sex and MarriageThe Vision of Sex and MarriageThe Reality of Sex and MarriageThe Gospel of Sex and MarriageMain Text
Mark 10:1-12
Preacher
David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

3 Values That Advance the Kingdom

No sooner had Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection the disciples began debating between themselves: Who is the greatest?
Greatness in the kingdom of God is not what they thought. Sitting down, Jesus took the opportunity to teach three values that advance the kingdom:
GreatnessUnityInfluenceAll three can be used powerfully to advance the kingdom of God. Yet each one is understood very differently by the world. This is especially important for us as a church in Belfast if we are to see God’s kingdom advance in our generation.
Our vision at Foundation Church Belfast is to catalyse gospel transformation in our city and beyond through resourcing, renewal, and replication.
Main Text
Mark 9:33-50
Preacher
David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast.
Check out these related resources:
Our vision at Foundation Church BelfastThree Qualities of an Extraordinarily Effective Kingdom Builder

Demons Flee in Jesus’ Name

In this talk we tackle a challenging topic – the presence and reality of evil spiritual entities, namely demons. It’s a challenging topic, not because the Bible has nothing to say about it. Rather it’s a challenge because we don’t talk much about it in our Western context. We don’t possess a category for evil spirits, far less acknowledge their presence.
Outside of the cultural West this is not the case. Many, if not most non-Western cultures readily accept the presence of the spirit world, a world that exists and interacts with our own.
When the Kingdom of God advances we observe a clash with the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of darkness. Yet the Kingdom of God is supreme because Jesus the king is victorious over all his enemies – sin, death and the devil.
Yet the Bible equips us with wisdom about how we can recognise the presence of the demonic and how to deal with it when we are exposed to it, particularly when praying with others.
In this message we see:
The Kingdom of God ClashesThe Kingdom of God PushesThe Kingdom of God ReceivedThe Kingdom of God AppliedMain Text
Mark 9:14-29
Preacher
David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

Jesus: Son of God and Son of Man

The disciples were having a difficult time accepting the totality of Jesus’ teaching. They like bits of it, but not all of it.
So the inner circle of followers were invited up a mountain with Jesus and there they witnessed a clear revelation from God – Jesus is the Son of God – listen to him.
Yet on their way down to normality they continued to grapple with all that the Hebrew Bible taught about Jesus – he is the glorious Son but also the suffering Son of Man. His divine status and his humble suffering on the cross were united in one person.
Too often in religion people adopt a pick and choose approach. They embrace the ‘good bits’ for themselves but fail to see that Jesus cannot be split into two. He is either as the Bible tells us – Son of Man and Son of God – or he is none of these things.
In this message we think through the implications that Jesus is both Son of God and Son of Man and renew our vision of him in line with the Bible’s message.
Main Text
Mark 9:2-13
Preacher
David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

How Salvation Works

Message by Jamie Bambrick, part of our Summer at Foundation series.
Main Text
Mark 10:17-22

Being Church in the Contemporary World

Message by David Smyth as part of our Summers at Foundation teaching series. David leads the team at Evangelical Alliance NI.

Following Jesus

Message by Chris McBurney at Foundation Church Belfast.
Part of our series The Gospel According to Mark.