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Starting With God

Starting With God: The Cross

In first century Judea a cross was not generally something talked about in polite conversation, let alone boasted about. Yet through Jesus’ victory Paul says that he (and by extension we) can boast in the achievement of the cross. As we continue our starting with God series Chris examines Jesus’ victory, the turning of a symbol of terror and oppression into a symbol of hope and how we can still see God’s glory through the cross.

Karen leads the rest of the service as we have our first update from May’s mission of the month, AIM, and Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.

Starting With God: Exile

When we make a decision, conscious or unconscious, to not follow God wholeheartedly we can be sent into exile from Him. Not a physical exile like those experienced in the Old Testament but a spiritual exile where it feels like our connection with God is frayed or even totally broken. In the next in our…

Starting With God: Dead Ends

After a short Easter break this week we’re back in our series Starting With God. The writer of Ecclesiastes examines the whole of existence in his book and comes to the conclusion that “everything is meaningless”. But with one proviso: “everything is meaningless” without God. Chris looks at the dead ends that can occur in our lives if we try to exist without God directing us and how He gently but firmly brings us back to the path to life if we allow Him to.

Andy leads the rest of the service as Susan brings us prayers for Home Mission, our mission of the month for April, and Mike and Lynne lead our sung worship.

Starting With God: Wrong Choices

This week Chris continues looking at his series in Starting with God, this week looking at the choices we make. There is a difference between fate and destiny. Fate (which is not real, by the way) gives you no choices in life, you’re restricted to the train tracks laid out in front of you. Destiny is different, where God gives us the choice to follow His way which leads to life or the other ways which…. don’t. But whichever path we choose God always gives us the opportunity to turn towards His way.

Susan leads the rest of the service whilst Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.

Starting With God: Worthless Idols

Chris continues his series in Starting With God by looking at all of those things that we contstruct for ourselves to replace God or to divert our attention away from Him. The Bible has a word for those things: idols. Idols can even be things that make us think that God approves of what we’re…

Starting with God: Intimacy

Chris continues our journey in Starting with God by this week looking at having intimacy with God. At the foot of Mount Sinai God spoke to His people who he had guided out of slavery in Egypt. They were so afraid that none of them wanted to go up the mountain and seek true intimacy with Him, they rejected God’s true purpose for them because of fear. We now, through Jesus, recieve that same invitation to experience the fulness of God. Will we accept or will we – like the Israelites – be content with holding God at arm’s length?

Ant leads the rest of the service whilst Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.

Starting With God: Wrestling With God

This week we held our annual Covenant Service for 2026 where we re-commission our leaders and renew our covenant with each other and with God. Chris also continues our new series “Starting with God”, looking the story from Genesis where Jacob wrestles with God. Until this point Jacob has tried to fit God into his own worldview, mould God into what he thinks God should be. It’s only when God reaches deep and humbles Jacob that he sees the error of his ways and learns to surrender. How often do we act the same?

Susan leads the rest of the service and our sung worship is led by Mike and Lynne.

Starting With God: Introduction

This week we begin a new series focussing on re-setting our relationship with God. In the introduction Chris lays out what the series will encompass using the illustration of a jigsaw puzzle. The final piece that completes the puzzle is Jesus, but how do we ensure that we don’t lose him in the noise of life?

Karen leads the rest of the service with sung worship this week led by Pete and Nick.