The Freedom of Saying No - by Guy Hammond

April 26, 2026

Sermon recap:

Saying “yes” often comes naturally—but without boundaries, it can lead us into places we never intended to go. Following Jesus Christ calls for something deeper: the courage to say “no” to what falls outside of God’s will.

True freedom isn’t found in doing whatever we feel like; it’s found in surrender. As Luke 9:23 reminds us, denying ourselves is neither easy nor popular—but it is essential to discipleship. Faith doesn’t remove life’s storms; it sustains us through them. This journey isn’t a cruise ship—it’s a battleship, requiring discipline, training, and daily choices.

Scripture is clear: we become slaves to what we obey (Romans 6:16). But every “no” to sin is a “yes” to freedom. Holiness—being set apart for God—is not optional (1 Peter 3:13–21). Through intentional discipline (1 Corinthians 9:27), time in the Word, prayer, and honesty about our struggles, we grow stronger. Each act of resistance becomes training, shaping us for a life that honours God.

Yet this call is not about perfection. God’s grace teaches and sustains us (Titus 2:11). When we stumble, we don’t stay down—we rise again, knowing that failure does not erase faithfulness. Jesus Christ values mercy and compassion over empty sacrifice (Matthew 9:13).

Practical Response:
Recognise sin quickly and bring it to God in prayer. Seek support. Be faithful, not flawless. Extend grace to yourself as God does, and keep moving forward with courage.

Reflection:
What have you been saying “yes” to that leads you away from God’s best? Identify it. Choose to say “no.” Each small act of obedience is a step toward lasting freedom.


If you missed the sermon, you can watch it on our YouTube channel (the lesson starts at 52 mins.)

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By Justin Renton • September 2, 2026
The physics of the pendulum Picture an old grandfather clock in a quiet hallway. Its long brass pendulum swings steadily: tick, tock, tick, tock. Now give that pendulum a hard shove to the right. It does not simply glide back to the center and stop. It races right past the middle and sways just as far to the left. Left to its own momentum, a pendulum never rests at either extreme; it finds peace only when it hangs still at the center, held by gravity and its fixed point. The church behaves in much the same way. Push her too far toward one side of a truth and she does not gently settle into balance, she swings. Often for a whole generation toward the opposite error, and then back again, wounding people at both ends of the arc. And here is the crucial thing the clock teaches us: the pendulum comes to rest not by being frozen in place, but by being held. Balance is not the absence of force; it is the fixed point that keeps opposing pulls in tension so that the weight can finally hang still.
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