Birmingham Church

About Birmingham Church

Sermons of the Birmingham International Church of Christ

Publisher

Birmingham Church

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Jan 2012

Latest episode

1 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

326 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Nov 2026

   The God of Second Chances

   Sermon by Scott Wakefield on Sunday, 1st November 2026 🔀 A Fitting Story It’s no irony that the sermon is on Jonah, an Old Testament prophet who runs away from his responsibility to God. Background: Jonah preached around the time of King Jeroboam II. Israel and Judah were later taken into captivity separately, one captor being the ruthless, cruel Assyrians. Their capital was Nineveh, and the Jews and Ninevites were enemies. The book has four chapters in four sections: narrative, Jonah’s prayer in the fish, more narrative, and Jonah in dialogue with God. ⬇️ Running Down (Jonah 1) God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh, hundreds of miles inland, but he boards a ship heading the opposite way to Tarshish. He goes down to Joppa and pays the fare. When we run from God, we often go down in our standards, our morals, our comfort. Running from God’s call costs us, and Jonah never reaches Tarshish. Even when the storm hits, Jonah sleeps below deck. Asked what to do, he says to throw him into the sea instead of jumping himself, putting the blame on the sailors’ hands and still avoiding Nineveh. ⛵ Jonah and Jesus Both sleep through a storm and both calm it (Matthew 8:23-27), but the situations are very different. Jonah says “I worship the Lord”, but it’s lip service. Jesus trusts completely that God will take care of him. Jonah could have trusted that Nineveh might repent and that this would be good. 🎓 Taking Responsibility At university I was committed to church activities, and academics took a hit. At a graduate job interview I was told, “You’ve got to take responsibility. It’s your degree.” I didn’t get the job and walked away with a pit in the heart. There were circumstances, but I couldn’t blame the church or leaders. Ownership was hard and necessary. 🔄 Second Chances (Jonah 3) Jonah’s prayer in the fish, in short: “God, I’m sorry, you’re right, I’m wrong.” The fish then vomits him onto dry land. God gives Jonah a second chance and then gives cruel, violent Nineveh one too. Jonah covers only one day of a three-day city, and his message is very short. It’s five words in Hebrew, with no instructions and no mention of God. “Overturned” (haphak, H2015) can also mean transformed. Whether they humbled themselves or were destroyed, the prophecy would come true. 👁️ Vision Jonah never had a vision for what Nineveh could become. He wanted to see them burn. The Ninevites, even if from fear of punishment, got a vision: if we change, God may relent. The question for us: do I have a vision, or am I just getting by and surviving? What’s your vision for your work colleagues, your home, your schoolwork? Roy Carter recently remembered an amazing service at the theatre in town and suggested doing something like it again. 😠 Does God’s Forgiveness Disgust You? (Jonah 4) Jonah is angry: “I knew you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love.” He’d rather die than see Nineveh forgiven. God provides a vine for shade, then a worm, then a scorching wind. Jonah is angry enough to die over the vine, but God asks whether he shouldn’t be concerned about a city of 120,000 people who can’t tell their right hand from their left. Are there people who have hurt you whom you don’t want to see forgiven? None of us deserves God’s unwarranted forgiveness, yet we can resent it. Is our anger justified? 🔚 An Open Ending The book ends on God’s question, not Jonah’s answer. The story doesn’t end there for us either: we are God’s instrument to people who need compassion. Are you running from something? God always gives a second chance. As Walter shared at communion, we are cleansed and free through the blood of Jesus, however long ago or recent. Closing challenge: get a vision and have forgiveness in your hearts.

2. 

   18 Oct 2026

   Anxious About Anxiety

   🎙️ Sermon by Pradeep Kutty based on Matthew 6:25-34, Sunday, 18th October 2026 😰 Anxious About Anxiety Pradeep admits he was anxious while preparing a lesson on anxiety. Familiarity can drive away the sense of wonder in passages like “seek first the Kingdom”. Recap: any pain or tension we don’t transform, we transmit. What happens when evil comes to me? 🏠 Questions to Ponder How would you describe your parents’ marriage and family life? How were conflict, anger, feelings, money, God and church handled at home? A lot of what we are today comes from these. Our deepest needs are to be seen, safe, secure and soothed. The “you-ares” of childhood become the “I-ams” of adulthood (David Seamands). God invites us into re-parenting. The church’s foundation isn’t how many people come, but who we are becoming. 🔤 Structure & “Therefore” Three “don’t worry”s (vv. 25, 31, 34), with birds and flowers in between. “Therefore” points back to two masters, the generous eye and treasure. The moment we think of giving away money or forgiveness, worry arrives. Even doing the right thing can cause anxiety, so Jesus says, "Take a breath." 💔 Pradeep’s Story: Kuwait, 2004 Pradeep and Jesse landed with zero money, no savings or home, and two small boys, having left their careers for full-time ministry. Pradeep attended 150+ interviews in nine months, taking his baby son along, and was rejected every time. He then took a sales job he hated, feeling small and ashamed. Jesse’s “What’s the plan, honey?” landed on Pradeep as an accusation. The arguments weren’t really about money but about old wounds and fears of safety, identity and security. Jesse’s sister and Pradeep’s dad both died. “Don’t worry” made no sense to him. Pradeep acted spiritual while struggling to believe what he preached. 🧠 What Anxiety Is Stress is anxiety, so don’t paint nice words on it. Jesus doesn’t deny it. Merimnao (G3309) carries the idea of being split into two minds. The mind is our directed attention. Worry divides it, and Jesus is training our attention. Rick Hanson: fear and negativity stick like Velcro, while gratitude slides off like Teflon unless savoured for 15 seconds. 👀 The Father Knows (vv. 32-33) Pagans (ethnos, G1484) don’t know Yahweh and run after (epizeteo, G1934) things with intense desire. We know our Father knows what we need. Pradeep says it took him 15 years to grasp that; he had lived as if God didn’t know. If we know God sees us, we can attend to His Kingdom. Otherwise, the church becomes only a place where needs are met. Pradeep and Jesse have needs too: “We need you as much as you need us.” “Seek” (zeteo, G2212) “first” echoes Genesis 1, “in the beginning God”. “First” means singular aim, not chronological order. Pradeep notes many seek the Kingdom and leave righteousness out, becoming controlling, harsh and legalistic. Righteousness is tsedaqah (H6666): generous eyes, mercy and justice, deeper than the Pharisees’. It’s a trap: when we don’t seek first we worry, and when we worry we don’t seek first. “All these things will be added” isn’t a guarantee of everything we want. Moving to Birmingham cost Pradeep and Jesse their savings. Yet when we take care of God’s business, he takes care of ours. ⛪ The Anxious Church Change begins by regulating oneself, not controlling others. We all bring our families of origin. Illustration: one missed hug becomes ten anxious people trying to fix each other’s anxiety and a completely anxious church. Edwin Friedman: Jesus is a non-anxious presence. Check in gently, trust the Father knows, and don’t let everyone freak out. 🧵 Closing Pradeep reads the poem “The Weaver”: we see the underside while God weaves, and the dark threads are as needful as the gold and silver. Prayer: Help me process my anxiety so I can seek your Kingdom and righteousness first.

3. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Treasures, Eyes and Masters

   🎙️ Sermon by Pradeep Kutty on Sunday, 11th October 2026 Matthew 6:19-24 👑 The Kingdom Within Reach “Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand” — the King’s rule, power, and wisdom are now within reach. The question Jesus poses: if the King is near, how should life look? Translating the Lord’s Prayer locally: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done” in our homes, conversations, finances, decisions, and hearts — not just one day in heaven. ⛪ Church Isn’t the Kingdom Referenced an author (Leith Anderson, paraphrased): the New Testament is surprisingly silent on buildings, pulpits, sermon length, music style — those who seek to be New Testament churches should live its principles, not reproduce surface details. The church doesn’t represent itself as the Kingdom — it announces and displays God’s kingly rule, with Jesus as King. 💛 Loving God “With All Your Very Much” The Hebrew ahava (love) originally meant loyalty, not affection — in ancient treaties, a king “loving” another king meant pledging loyalty, not warm feelings. “With all your strength” (Hebrew me’od, “very much”) meant loving God with all your increase — your resources, money, land, possessions. 💰 Treasures (Matt 6:19-21) “Don’t store up treasures” — Greek thesaurizo (→ “thesaurus”): don’t treasure your treasures. Where your treasure is, your heart follows — not the other way around; what we invest in shapes our hearts. Addressed the guilt many working Christians feel about their 8-hour workday — the workplace is God’s space too; our work is part of worship. 🎭 Masters (Matt 6:24) Mammon’s root means “to trust” or “rely on” — Jesus isn’t just talking about money but anything we trust as a rival god. Cited a brain-imaging study (Martin Lindstrom) showing strong brands triggered the same neural activity as religious imagery — illustrating how status symbols can function as rival gods without us realizing it. Challenged the instinct to define ourselves by what we do rather than who we are — proposing we ask each other “who are you?” instead of “what do you do?” A personal, vulnerable note: refusing the label “church leader,” insisting he and his wife are fellow followers, inviting the church to hold them accountable and ask to step down if they’re not leading toward Jesus. 👁️ The Eye (Matt 6:22-23) Eyes recur throughout the Sermon on the Mount (pure in heart, lustful looks, doing deeds to be seen, the speck in the eye) — a deliberate thread. Greek haplous (“single/good eye”) connects to singleness, wholehearted devotion, and the words tamim/teleios (“perfect,” “wholesome”) used elsewhere in the sermon. A “good eye” means generosity; an “evil eye” means stinginess — traced back to Genesis: God’s generous eye in creation (ch. 1-2) versus the loss of generosity after the fall (ch. 3), culminating in the first murder. Giving (not “tithing,” a term absent from the NT) is a discipline acknowledging God owns our money — if we’re not generous, Jesus implies we don’t truly see Him as generous. 💎 Matthew 19 — The Rich Young Man Jesus lists the Ten Commandments to the rich man but deliberately omits “do not covet” — then adds a new instruction Jesus himself supplies: “if you wish to be perfect” (teleios, same word as Matthew 5:48), sell everything and follow. The more possessions we cling to, the further from wholeness — not because wealth is evil, but because of what it reveals about trust and identity. Kingdom living means receiving material things as gifts, holding them as temporary trusts, not deriving identity from them, and using them generously. 🙏 Closing Thought A practice shared: “Sit in your sin and let God love you” — not permission to keep sinning without guilt, but bringing sin before God with total vulnerability, no excuses, and letting His love shape who we’re becoming. Closing challenge to the whole community, especially men: how can I have a “good eye” and bring God’s Kingdom here, now, in Birmingham?

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