After nine years as minister of Hearsall Baptist Church, Rev David Sutcliffe is moving on to Kings Stanley Baptist Church in Gloucestershire.

This weeks podcast has been recorded live at the Sunday service at Hearsall Baptist Church.

The service was led by Rev. David Sutcliffe, the bible passage was read by Cynthia Baker.

This weeks sermon is written by church member, and our own

Nick has chosen to address how we might approach the

He explores Biblical examples of a faith community on the

The concepts behind the Greek words, used in the Bible,

Is now a Kairos Moment for Hearsall?

Did you watch the Lionesses’ valiant performances down under?

I am delighted to say that this week our sermon is from our

We are grateful to Sandra for her ministry. I hope you enjoy her message.

I hope you are well, and am pleased to introduce our service for 20th August.

Prayer can be a perplexing experience. We may be asking God for something and don’t seem to get what we want. We might be looking for guidance, but God remains silent. We may feel we have been going round in circles for too long, and feel desperate for divine intervention.

The gospels include a perplexing story in which Jesus seems very reluctant to help a Gentile woman. She shouts and begs and argues, and only through her persistence persuades Jesus to act. What can we learn from this story? Why does God sometimes seem so slow to step in?

Could it be that he has some lesson for us to learn? We consider these questions this week.

You can download a copy of my Message on this link.

With very warm wishes

Rev.David Sutcliffe.

Hello again and welcome to our podcast for Sunday 6th August.

We look at a very well-known story: the feeding of the five thousand. Was this a miracle in which Jesus created food from thin air, or was it one in which he inspired a crowd to share with each other?

I suggest in my talk that society has become more selfish over the years. Would you agree? Of course there are still many examples of sharing and caring in the world all around us, and I hope, also, in our church. But what is it that stops us from being as caring and sharing as we might want to be?

You can download a copy of my Message on this link.

With very warm wishes

Rev.David Sutcliffe.

I wonder whether you ever use the Psalms in your prayers. There are Psalms for every moment: jubilation, lament, requests or confessions.

There are some classic Psalms that would make it into a Psalms Greatest Hits album. One of these would be Psalm 139, with its exploration of the perpetual presence of God. When we feel alone or abandoned, the Psalm affirms that there is no place, no condition and no time in which God is absent from us.

Part of my talk today is a reflection on this lovely Psalm. I hope you have the assurance this week that the Lord remains with you, whatever you may be going through.

You can download a copy of my Message on this link.

With very warm wishes

Rev.David Sutcliffe.

How come some people accept Jesus as their Saviour and others reject him? Is it just that some are ‘religious’ by temperament? Is it that they have never heard convincing arguments for the gospel? Is it that they’ve seen Christians behave badly?

There are some Bible passages that make an astonishing claim, namely that God chose the ones who would be saved before the world was created. Some thinkers say that this implies that people have no free choice in the matter. Others think that God simply foresees who will respond to Christ, and who won’t.

As you look at your own life, what do you think about these matters? If you’re a believer, was that your own free choice, or was there a sense that you were simply uncovering who you really were - one called to follow Christ?

You can download a copy of my Message on this link.

With very warm wishes

Rev.David Sutcliffe.

We are hearing a great deal about artificial intelligence these days. Chat GPT is writing text for all sorts of people, and some think that the nature of work is going to change drastically in the coming years.

What would human life be like if we had to do little or no work? How would we manage to keep the world fair, if that were to happen?

Computers have brought us so many blessings over the last few decades. Artificial intelligence recently designed an antibiotic. Technology enables us to video chat with friends and family all over the world.

This week I’m feeling either brave or foolhardy as I attempt to connect these sorts of questions with our bible readings. Let me know how you think I got on!

You can download a copy of my Message on this link.

With very warm wishes

Rev.David Sutcliffe.

Today’s podcast has a one word title: Rest!

Some might have too much of this commodity and need more activity in their lives. But many feel overburdened and long to lay a few things down and recuperate a little.

In our bible reading today, Jesus promises rest for our souls. He doesn’t say he’ll make all the daily demands disappear, but, at some inner level, he does promise rest. If we know that deep soul-rest from Jesus, we’ll be better-equipped to handle life's burdens. But if those burdens are so heavy that it seems impossible to find rest of our soul, well, maybe it’s time to lay some burdens down.

At that deep inner level, Jesus invites us all to lay our burdens down and leave them with him. He asks us to carry his light burden instead. What is the light burden? You’ll have to listen if you want to know that.

You can download a copy of my Message on this link.

With very warm wishes

Rev.David Sutcliffe.