"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" - James 5:16. We all want to pray with power. But what does it mean, to be "righteous"? Do we have to reach a certain moral standard? Or are we automatically "powerful", without needing to do anything at all? Is there some way we need to outwork our "righteousness" so that our prayer is indeed powerful and effective?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You have a unique "deposit" from God - your faith, your knowledge of his Word, your testimony and experiences of Him, as well as special gifts he has given you. As Paul the apostle encouraged Timothy, in the letter we call "2 Timothy", God wants you to "guard" that deposit and to "fan into flame" the gifts you have received, for the benefit of others. Listen, and find out how to do that...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friendship is one of the main ways God shapes us, and uses us to help shape others. But in order to do so, it needs to be touched by the cross. True friendship with one another must be modelled after and enabled by what God has done in Jesus. And of course, the biggest friendship of all is that of God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, the "called-alongside-One", who lives with and encourages us every day.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Presence of God is what marks out and distinguishes God's people. As a believer in Jesus, you have God's presence with you at all times, whether you feel it or not. But something even more powerful happens when the people of God gather. When we honour his presence among us, and allow the Holy Spirit room to express what he wants to say and do, people will be drawn to him and have their lives impacted and changed as a result.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

God’s presence in your life unlocks the possibility of a victorious cycle of joy and blessing and purpose, called “generosity”! It is more blessed to give than to receive, so why not develop the "muscle" of generosity in your life, and see what amazing results will flow from it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Special guest speaker Andrew Scotland, Pastor of New Life Church Rugby, asks us, "Where do you find meaning?" It is not found by following your heart, because the heart can deceive. But finding your worth in God brings real meaning - far beyond anything the world around you has to offer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The eternal destination God has in store for you is not a disembodied "heaven", but a resurrected life on a transformed physical earth! In this concluding episode of our Isaiah series, Paul describes how, as a believer in Jesus, you are an inheritor of a new heaven AND a new earth. This does not make what you do now, in this world, irrelevant. In fact, it matters even more - because your "labour in the Lord" will carry through into God's wonderful new creation!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first of a two-part conclusion to our Isaiah series. In the closing chapters of Isaiah, we find God's "Endgame" - a dramatic foretelling of the final victory of God over evil and the establishment of his kingdom. Isaiah expected this to happen in one single great event, but the unexpected "twist" was that the kingdom, which burst into the world through the cross and resurrection of Jesus, will only be finally consummated when Jesus returns. Meanwhile, you live in an "unfinished story" in the overlap of two "ages". Victory is assured, but God is using the interim to shape you and to use you to help implement the victory of his cross in lives and communities, whilst awaiting the triumphant and decisive return of Christ when he will sweep away the old age for ever.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Isaiah chapter 62, God promises his beleaguered people that he will give them a new name when he brings them back from exile. The name he calls them describes his love for them and the delight he takes in them. As a believer in Jesus, rescued from the "exile" caused by sin, you too are given a new name and a new identity as someone God loves, cares for and delights in.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

God wants you to "think his thoughts after him", to allow your mind to be governed by the Holy Spirit, rather than by the old "flesh" nature. In this teaching, Paul outlines practical ways to train your mind to align with God's thought patterns, resulting in healthy and wise living, together with emotional stability.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.