This week we held our All Age Service for March and start a new series looking at the parables that Jesus told. We begin with probably the most famous of them all! Chris speaks on the context surrounding Jesus’ telling of the parable and reveals to us that it’s not really about what you might…
This week we held our covenant service for 2025, an opportunity to renew the covenant we have made to God and to each other and also commission our leaders for the coming year. We pray for the deacons, elders and leaders of our other church activities.
As a part of this Chris continues our study of Acts, this week looking at the splitting of the partnership of Paul and Barnabas after a sharp disagreement regarding the role of Mark in the visits Paul proposes to the churches he and Barnabas planted together in their earlier journeys. Paul then partners with Silas and Timothy for the first time. We once again see that disagreements are not unusual amongst believers and that there will always be debate surrounding the interpretation of God’s plans. The church is made up of imperfect people, which is good because it means we’re all in the same boat!
Lynne and Dave lead our sung worship this week.
Last week in our Acts series we saw the church in Jerusalem discussing whether the Gentile believers should have to conform to Jewish Law. This week Chris looks the letter they sent to Antioch in response. Alongside their response Paul, Barnabas, Silas and Judas were also sent to vouch for its authenticity. In the letter, and in the rest of the New Testament, we see that through Jesus’ fulfilment of the purpose of the Law the non-Jewish believers are not required to conform to the Laws of the Old Testament. Instead we are given the ability (through the words of the Bible and the Holy Spirit) to discern and cast off the things that, as individuals and as a community, separate us from God.
Ant leads the rest of the service, speaking a little about trusting in God whilst Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.
We return to our series in Acts, with Chris this week focussing on Paul and Barnabas’ return to Jerusalem and the discussion in the early church as to whether Gentile believers should have to conform to the Jewish Law of the Old Testament. It is clear that disagreements in church governance are nothing new! We see the Apostles listening to both sides of the argument and together the church ultimately discerning God’s way forwards, giving us a model that we still strive to follow today.
Karen leads the rest of the service as James brings an update on our mission of the month, Asia Link, and Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.
This week we return to our semi-regular series in Acts, looking at the conclusion of Paul and Barnabas’ missionary journeys through Galatia. In this passage we see them re-tracing the steps that they had taken over the previous 2 years and revisiting many of the churches they planted, before returning to Antioch and reuniting with…
After the brief interlude last Sunday where we met at St Mary’s Chris resumes his look at our year text for 2025. This time we look at the verse in its original context in the book of Hebrews, where the writer is linking all that Jesus achieved to the Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament. Chris highlights in particular the first half of verse 1 (the second half of which contains our year text) and verses 14 to 16 as things that can help us to achieve that perserverence in the race marked out before us.
Andy leads the rest of the service as Pete brings a powerful update on our mission of the month, CSW, and we join together as a community to share Communion. Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.
Happy New Year! This week we held our vision service for 2025, a chance to look back at the events that happened in our Church family over the last year and look ahead to what God wants to do through us in the coming months. Chris also reveals our year text for 2025, taken from Hebrews 12 verse 1.
Ant leads the rest of the service as we start the year in prayer, Pete and Nick lead our sung worship this week.
We continue on the journey towards Christmas by lighting the forth candle on our advent wreath, this year representing love. Chris speaks on the word given to Joseph by the angel of the Lord in a dream leading to his decision to marry Mary. We discover the love of Joseph, Mary and most of all,…
We continue on the journey towards Christmas by lighting the third candle on our advent wreath, this year representing joy. Chris speaks on the word given to Mary by Gabriel and her subsequent visit to see Zechariah and Elizabeth. In this we see the three aspects of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all present, working as one and inviting Mary to participate in God’s great plan. He then contrasts it with the act of communion, the Lord’s Supper, where at the other end of Jesus’ earthly life we are all now invited to participate in that great plan of God.
Andy leads the rest of the service thinking about the origin of the word joy and its importance in the Bible whilst Lynne and Dave lead our sung worship.
This Sunday we celebrated the baptism of Freya Griffiths. Freya gives a powerful testimony on how God has helped her in her life and follows the example of Jesus by going through the waters of baptism to symbolise the inner change that God has made and affirm her commitment to him. Chris speaks on the place that baptism has in God’s plan for the world and gives an opportunity for those that have not yet fully accepted Jesus to take that tentative first step in trusting God.
James leads the service whilst Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.