As with the Woman at the Well, Jesus is the one who takes the initiative in this story to engage in discipling Zacchaeus. I’m sure there are many people who would never expect us to want to know them, let alone honour them and want to build an intimate friendship with them, but if we are willing to take the first step with those people it may well give us incredible opportunities to call them into a different way of life. Christianity is seen in the world as a religion that rejects anyone who doesn’t believ

In challenging this young man’s claim that he had kept all of the law, Jesus asks him questions that penetrate to the heart, helping him to understand that idols still exist there. We can only help people to understand themselves if we take time to learn about them, what they love, enjoy, invest in, so that we might ask them the right questions to help them understand that they have given their worship to those things instead of the Jesus who loves them.

When Jesus is asked how people might gain eternal life, this would seem like the perfect moment to preach a 3-point gospel sermon, but Jesus does the complete opposite, posing a number of questions to the man that mean he leaves without a clear answer to the question he was asking. How quick are we to try and answer all the questions our non-Christian contacts have, rather than trying to ask them questions that might help them to seek and find the truth for themselves?

Jesus was intentional about when and where he discipled others, even taking a diversion into ‘enemy territory’ so that he would meet this Samaritan lady. In their conversation Jesus uses his own weakness/lack to gain the woman’s confidence. This then gives him the opportunity to move the conversation onto deeper issues, showing grace and gentleness in the light of the woman’s story, leading her to faith, and then sending her out on mission into her own community. How can we learn to approach non-believers i

In Jesus’ interaction with this woman we see some challenging responses to the sinful lives of those we would call non-Christians. Jesus is not condemning but instead uses this as an opportunity to provoke those wanting to judge the woman, including us, to consider instead their own sinfulness and in so doing grow in mercy and love for others. Doing this then gives Jesus the opportunity to call the woman into a life of obedience to him. Maybe if we made a greater effort to communicate love and acceptance to

In the two stories in Luke 5:1-11 and Luke 9:57-62 we see summarized the ‘high invitation/high challenge’ discipleship method Jesus used, calling men like Peter to a life of great fruitfulness as one of his chosen disciples whilst a few chapters later making very clear to those wanting to follow him that there was a very high cost. Have you understood that being a Christian involves both wonderful blessing through communion with Christ and incredible challenge as he calls you to lay down everything you have

John brings us the vision for the coming term, encouraging us to come back to the river by pushing in to praying more, and explaining our new preaching series "Disciple Maker", where we will be looking at the one-on-one interactions Jesus has with people throughout the gospels.

We were excited to have Helen back preaching again, after having taken some time off preaching due to illness...

As we finish out series in Acts we see Paul setting out on his final journey, one that would eventually lead to his death. But Paul is not afraid or filled with regret because he knows that he has run his race well (something he refers to again in his letters to both the Galatian and Corinthian churches). What sort of race are we running? Are we satisfied with what we have done for Jesus, or c

This short story highlights to us that not everything in Acts is supernatural and powerful and life changing, but not much has to happen for the Kingdom to break through. Paul is clearly talking too much and it’s not that interesting as Eutychus goes to sleep and falls to his death! Paul’s response is to raise him back to life. We need to understand that a lot of our lives may feel ordinary and a bit boring, in fact, even church might feel like that some weeks, but that doesn’t mean that in a moment God can

Almost two years to the day since she visited last, to help in sending a group of us out from Jubilee to plant River City, Angela Kemm is back. Bringing words of encouragement, and showing us that we are all carriers of revival, and that we are to be vessels through which God can bring his blessings and new life to those around us.