Citygate Church

About this series:

We've spent so much time at home this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic! Home has been a safe haven, refuge and stability but perhaps also a restrictor, a frustration, even a prison! This Christmas we'll be looking at what the Bible says about our final home.

The message of Christmas is the gospel - the good news about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. One of the places where the extraordinary implications of the gospel are spelled out is in Romans 8, so we're also taking a look there to see how, in the gospel, God is for us, with us and in us.

About this talk:

Scripture: Romans 8:2-4

The way God has rescued us and the reason he can now announce "no condemnation" is through sending his Son to be born, live, die, rise and ascend. As one of us - "in the likeness of sinful flesh" - he can represent us, and as God - "his own Son" - he can pay the penalty of sin, bear God's wrath and rise again. Yet this is a costly thing - "to be a sin offering."  As Immanuel (Matthew 1:23) he came to be with us and remains with us.

About this series:

We've spent so much time at home this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic! Home has been a safe haven, refuge and stability but perhaps also a restrictor, a frustration, even a prison! This Christmas we'll be looking at what the Bible says about our final home.

The message of Christmas is the gospel - the good news about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. One of the places where the extraordinary implications of the gospel are spelled out is in Romans 8, so we're also taking a look there to see how, in the gospel, God is for us, with us and in us.

About this talk:

Scripture: Romans 8:1; cf. 31-39

Outside Christ, we are under condemnation because of our sin - the beauty of the gospel and what God has done for us is seen most brightly against the darkness of sin. The Christmas message is so wonderful because we were in such a terrible situation - condemned, subject to God's wrath - and because in it God has demonstrated just how far he will go for us!

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed.

We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: Acts 2:22-33

Being a witness is to bear testimony to what we have experienced. It is that way that the early disciples made more disciples - speaking of what they had seen and heard (Acts 4:20, 22:15). Being a witness is about living a Spirit-saturated life (personally and corporately) in the world that demonstrates to all that we have encountered the risen Jesus and are submitting all of life to him. We are witnesses not only to historic events in the life of Jesus, but to our own personal experience of his life-changing power as Lord and Saviour.

It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us for witness (Luke 24:45-49; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8), so keeping full of his presence and connected to the vine is vital for effective witness.

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20

At Citygate we talk about ‘Seeing lives transformed every day across the Bay.’ By which we mean seeing lives transformed to become disciples of Jesus and then to go on being transformed as disciples of Jesus. It is this mission that Jesus gave to his first followers: "Go and make disciples of all nations." It's a clear and concise statement to those who are already engaged in the dynamic process of following Jesus, calling them to make him known to others, helping them to become disciples too. The purpose is to make disciples; the plan is to witness to what we have seen and heard; the power comes from the Holy Spirit.

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: Acts 11:26

The term ‘disciple’ means follower, trainee, apprentice, someone in the process of learning to become more like their teacher. It is disciples that Jesus has called us to go and make - a quality of follower, not simply a believer or attender. Today, the usual term for a follower of Jesus is ‘Christian,’ but the original term ‘disciple’ has a far greater dynamism about it - bearing in mind that Acts 11:26 records the use of ‘Christian’ originally as a bit of a nickname, even a mickey-taking term, in wider society. Disciples take personal responsibility, under their teacher’s instruction, for their own growth and for doing life together as a community of disciples. For each of us the question then becomes: How well am I pursuing Jesus? What do I need to do to become more like him?

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

The image of the body is not just an analogy; it’s a theological fact. We are not just like a body, we are his body. This means, of course, that though we are a diverse group of people, each playing our unique part, we are essentially a unity; which also touches on the things we looked at in our Many Nations, One Family mini- series. And also that we, the body, are carrying out his (the head’s) will in the earth, just as Jesus said that his food was to do the Father’s will (John 4:32,34).

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: John 17:20-26

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is reflected in various NT passages, such as Ephesians 4, where our unity in practice comes out of the fact that we are already united in Christ - unity is a fact before it is a feeling. The practical questions that then arise include: What does unity look like? How do we keep the unity of the Spirit? What do I do when I am wronged? How can I promote unity? We also talk about multisite, as an expression of being one church, though in multiple locations - touching on multisite principles such as one leadership and evangelism and Life Groups happening locally while other things (training, Connect, prayer) happen centrally.

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: Ephesians 2:19-22

The tabernacle/temple was the place where God manifested his presence and met with mankind through sacrifice. Jesus then said that he was the new temple where God and man meet through his sacrifice (John 2:18-22). The church, and each believer, is now the dwelling place of God, declaring his sacrifice for sin, making him known to the world and enjoying life together in his presence. This is both a privilege - God with/in us - and a responsibility - the holy God himself dwells with us and therefore our conduct should reflect this. Our life of worship has both corporate and personal aspects, the personal side having become all the more important during this time when we are unable to praise God in song together. Creative ways to still declare God’s praise need to be found.

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47 & Acts 4:32-37

These two famous passages (along with the rest of the NT!) are a challenging reminder that new life in Christ leads to new life with one another. For all the individualism in UK culture (though there are many others represented in Citygate too) and the way church has developed online, we are built for community and will only grow to maturity in community. God is looking for a people to be glorified in and it’s in the church that people will see what community can truly look like.

How do we balance the Bible’s value of every individual life (a feature of early Christianity in comparison to other worldviews) with one’s primary identity not arising from individuality. What does it mean, in the UK today, to express the principles found in Acts 2 and 4? What does it look like for our faith to be personal, but not private.

About this series:

In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.

About this talk:

Scripture: Hebrews 2:5-18

The most common word the New Testament writers use (over 100 times) to refer to fellow Christians is "brothers” (meaning “brothers and sisters"). Because God is our Father, all his children are therefore siblings in his family. Being a child of God, his son (or daughter) is the primary mark of our new identity as God’s adopted children. Jesus, the perfect Son, is the way we enter the family and the model for relationships in the family. This radically affects how we see ourselves, God’s people collectively and each individual we are in the family with. For Jesus not to be ashamed to call us brothers and sisters is a remarkable thing. What does it mean, in practice, to be family? What does it not mean (some of the unbiblical ideas we may have)? What does it mean to people from different cultural backgrounds?