After our all-age service last week we now start our Advent series for 2023 in earnest with Chris looking at the interconnected nature of hope, faith, joy and peace. This week he looks at faith, the nature of the faith we have in God, how faith comes out of hope, and how faith must inevitably lead to action: otherwise we might as well not have it at all.
Susan leads the rest of our service whilst Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.
This week is the final part of our series in Isaiah 61, with Chris looking at verse 7. We see the last exchanges that Isaiah is prophecying about: that through God’s Spirit our shame and disgrace will turn into an inheritance of joy. Thanks to Jesus’ unthinkable sacrifice on the cross we don’t need to bear any more shame for the sins we have comitted and can exchange those for joy in God, which is our strength.
Andy leads the rest of the service as we get an update from Trevor about our mission of the month Mercy Ships, whilst Lynne and Mike lead our sung worship.
This week Chris continues our series in Isaiah 61, looking at verses 5 and 6 and asking one of the oldest questions in civilisation: what is our purpose? Thankfully the Bible has the answer, through the grace of Jesus our ultimate purpose is to be a priesthood for God. To teach and show His ways to others in the hope that they might also become part of the mighty and royal priesthood. How can we carry this out?
Ant leads the rest of our service for Remembrance Sunday as we join with the rest of the country to pause and remember those who have served and died for our peace and freedom. Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.
It’s the first week of November which we usually reserve for our all age services. However, this week we’re trying something different: tying in our all age service with our ongoing series in Isaiah 61. Chris leads us through looking at verse 4 and thinks about all of the damaged and destroyed things that God can rebuild through His Spirit and through us ourselves.
Lynne and Dave lead our sung worship for this week.
We continue our series in Isaiah 61 looking at the second part of verse 3 where Isaiah makes the astonishing promises that God can take the situations in our lives where we are in mourning or dispair and turn them around to give us beauty, joy and praise. Chris challenges us to bring our pain and grief to God and allow him to transform our lives. Stephanie also brings us her testimony of how God has worked this verse through her life over the last few years.
Susan leads the rest of the service and Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.
We continue our new series in Isaiah 61 with Chris this time focussing on verses 2 and 3. Isaiah is very clear in his writing that alongside the year of the Lord’s favour also comes the day of his vengeance and judgement. There will be tough times for everyone and in the end we need to make sure that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Thankfully through Jesus there is an easy route to have our names in the Book – keep our faith in him! Isaiah also prophecies that the spirit of the Lord can bring comfort to those who mourn and grieve. Sometimes we are not even aware of our need to grieve until it is pointed out to us, but come to God and he will give you comfort and rest.
Andy leads the rest of the service with prayers for the ongoing situation in the Middle East, whilst Lynne and Dave lead our sung worship.
Today we begin our new series looking at Isaiah 61. Isaiah prophecies to Israel in verse 1 that one will come who can say: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me” and Chris uses that as the overarching title of the new series. This week he looks in depth at the promises made in verse 1 that the Spirit will allow the promised servant to proclaim good news, bind the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom to the captives and release prisoners from their darkness. Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of this prophecy, and he delegates his power to us so that we also may be able to fulfil the prophecy. What a gift!
Karen leads the rest of the service as we share communion together and pray for the various situations around the world that badly need God’s intervention. Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.
In the final part of our first look at Acts (don’t worry, we won’t be pausing for long!) Chris ends with the second half of Acts 8 where Philip encounters the Ethiopian eunuch. Starting with the passage from Isaiah that the eunuch “happened” to be reading Philip explains the whole of the good news about Jesus and, having heard this, the eunuch is so filled with the Holy Spirit that he asks to be baptised there and then. As Philip was led to the eunuch that day, how is God guiding us in our journeys today?
Chris also leads us through a guided prayer to help us in our understanding of the scripture, whilst Mike and Lynne lead our sung worship.
The story of Acts continues this week with the recounting of Stephen’s vision of Jesus being welcomed into heaven and his subsequent execution by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy. These events trigger a great persecution of the early church and scattering of the believers from Jerusalem. However as Chris explains, this is not a defeat! It is stage 1 of God’s great plan to start spreading the message of the Gospel beyond Judea. Philip, Peter and John travel to Samaria where the Holy Spirit breaks out in a powerful way. How are we to reflect the power of the Spirit in our lives? And how did all of these events affect a young Pharisee named Saul?
Andy leads the rest of the service, speaking about his experience of God in recent travels whilst Mike leads our sung worship.
We left the story of Acts last time with Stephen, one of the most Spirit-filled disciples encountered so far, arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin to stand trial. This week Chris looks at what he says in his defence, his sermon before the ruling officials. Stephen takes the accusations levelled at him and systematically demolishes every single one, showing that God’s Spirit was behind everything in the Law that the Sanhedrin profess to follow and also that the Spirit cannot be contained behind legalism and restraint. God’s power is active everywhere! What does that mean for us today?
Susan leads the rest of the service with prayers for the developing situation in Morocco, whilst Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.