Have we been trying to live the Christian life in our own strength, while God is offering something deeper and stronger within us? Jason describes Pentecost as the moment that changed everything: not just a new religious idea, but God placing his Spirit within ordinary people so they could live with new power, new desires, and new courage. Instead of carrying faith like a heavy weight on the outside, God writes his ways on our hearts and works in us from the inside out. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is still at work today, empowering us to bring hope, healing, and freedom into a hurting world. Pentecost is an invitation to stop relying only on ourselves and step into all that God wants to do in us and through us.

In this passionate and deeply personal sermon, Praxi encourages the church not to lose hope in seasons of suffering, uncertainty, or disappointment. Drawing on her own testimony of surviving a devastating house fire in Kenya, she reflects on how God’s faithfulness carried her through loss and reminded her that “God is still writing your story.” The sermon explores Paul’s teaching that present sufferings cannot compare with the glory to come, and that the Holy Spirit helps believers in their weakness and prayer. Through examples from the lives of Paul, Joseph, and others in Scripture, Praxi reminds listeners that God can bring purpose and transformation even through painful circumstances. With a strong emphasis on prayer, worship, perseverance, and dependence on the Holy Spirit, the message calls the church to trust God wholeheartedly and support one another through life’s struggles. Above all, the sermon is an invitation to keep believing that God is still at work, even when the journey feels unfinished.

What voice has been shaping our lives — condemnation, fear and shame, or the voice that says we are loved, forgiven and free? Stephen speaks from Romans 8 about the difference the Holy Spirit makes: bringing freedom instead of guilt, peace instead of fear, and a new identity as children of God. The Holy Spirit does not just comfort us for a moment, but changes us, leads us and gives power to live differently. Stephen keeps returning to two questions: whose voice are we listening to, and whose are we? The invitation is to stop listening to the voices that drag us down and start living from the truth that we belong to God.

Do we recognise the constant tug inside between what we know is right and what we actually do?Steve explains Romans 7 as a clear picture of the inner conflict in human life, where even knowing the right thing does not always lead to doing it. He argues that the real issue is not the moral framework around us, but the divided nature within us that pulls in different directions. The message is honest about how this struggle continues even for those trying to live well, but it points to Jesus as the one who brings rescue and real freedom through grace and ongoing help. We are invited to stop self-justification, face this inner reality, and live each day depending on Christ’s transforming power.

Sermon Notes:

- Slides: https://www.goldhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Sun-3-May-SG-Romans-7v7-25.pptx

What if our relationship with God isn’t meant to feel like ticking boxes, but like belonging to someone who already loves us?

Jude explains that living by rules as a way to earn acceptance traps us in a cycle of pressure and comparison, where everything depends on how well we perform. Instead, we are set free because Jesus has already done what we cannot, and we now belong to him rather than to a system of rules. This changes our motivation: we still act and make effort, but not to earn love—rather, because we already have it. The invitation is to step off the treadmill of proving ourselves and rediscover a relationship marked by freedom, trust, and genuine love.

Jude uses this story to illustrated her message:

A young woman joins a Christian dating app and writes a profile describing herself and what she values in a relationship: good communication, praying together, and clear boundaries around intimacy before marriage. A man sees her profile, likes her, and decides to pursue her—but instead of simply getting to know her, he turns her three values into detailed rules, like calling her every evening at 7pm and sending a set number of messages each day. Sometimes he gets it right, sometimes he fails, but he measures everything by how well he keeps these rules.

They eventually get married, and things take a strange turn. When they set up their new home, he decorates the walls not with wedding photos but with her original “rules” and a large checklist to track his performance. Even when they’re sitting in the same room, he calls her at 7pm because “that’s the rule,” and when they go to bed, he insists on separate rooms to keep the boundary she’d set for dating. On good days, he feels proud of how well he’s doing; on bad days, he spirals, convinced she’ll leave him.

She, however, is left puzzled and disappointed. What she had offered were healthy guidelines for a dating relationship, not a system to control a marriage. His focus on ticking boxes has replaced the relationship itself, and in trying so hard to follow the rules, he has actually lost sight of her.

Sermon Notes:

- Slides: https://www.goldhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Romans-7v1-6.pdf

Are we living as free people, or slipping back into old chains without noticing?

Stephen shows that grace is not permission to drift back into old patterns, but power to live differently, because something deep in us has changed. We all end up serving whatever we repeatedly give ourselves to, and our habits quietly shape the direction of our lives toward either life or loss. The invitation is to recognise who or what holds our allegiance and to step fully into the freedom already given, choosing a new path day by day.

Are we living as if the struggle inside us is normal—or as if something has fundamentally changed?Terry says there is still a real inner conflict, but the old patterns no longer have authority unless we revive them by believing lies and acting on them. The turning point is recognising the fight, trusting what is true over what we feel, and seeing ourselves in light of who we are now rather than who we were. Instead of running away when we fail, we move toward grace, where we find the strength to start again without shame. Practical steps—staying connected, being honest with others, shaping our thinking, and watching our words—help us stay grounded in that new reality. So the invitation is clear: stop going back to what’s been left behind, and choose each day to live as the person we’ve already become.

Sermon Notes:

- Slides: https://www.goldhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Victory-over-sin-Romans-6v1-14.pdf

What if the problem isn’t trying harder, but missing the gift already offered? Terry explains that at the heart of everything is an exchange: where human failure is met with undeserved love, acceptance, and a fresh start, not because of effort but because of what has already been done. The story of Adam shows how things went wrong, but the story of Jesus shows how things are put right again, inviting us to live free rather than stuck trying to prove ourselves. The challenge is to stop slipping back into earning approval and instead live from a place of being already accepted—and to choose that way of living today.

Sermon Notes:

- Slides: https://www.goldhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Romans-5-presentation-slides.pdf

What if we are more broken than we realise, yet more loved than we ever imagined?

Maria paints a picture of lives like neglected houses—damaged and worn—yet deeply valued, and says that real change begins when we face that truth honestly. We cannot fix ourselves, but we can be restored because love has already stepped in and made a way for us, even at our worst. Hard times don’t mean we’ve been abandoned; they can shape us, strengthen us, and prove what’s real in us. So the invitation is to open the door, let that restoring work begin, and trust that we can become more than we are now.

Are we trying to earn what can’t be earned, rather than trusting in God's grace? Julia shows that just as Abraham trusted God against all odds, we cannot earn God’s approval through effort or good deeds; it is a gift that comes freely, complete and spotless. She reminds us that faith means looking beyond our circumstances, even when hope seems lost, and trusting in a power greater than ourselves to bring life from what seems impossible. This challenges us to stop striving for approval we already have and to live with confidence in the promises that have been fulfilled for us.

Sermon Notes:

- Slides: https://www.goldhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Romans-4.pdf