Sermons – St Bart's Anglican Church (Toowoomba)

FOCUS Talk & Small Group Resources

This is the first talk from the St Bart’s Toowoomba FOCUS weekend. This talk is ‘God our Father’. Preacher: The Rev’d Dr Rhys Bezzant. Bible Reading: Psalm 121.

Download the FOCUS Weekend Study Guide (PDF)

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the sermon from St Bart’s Toowoomba on the FOCUS weekend. This sermon is ‘God our Refuge’. Preacher: The Rev’d Michael Calder. Bible Reading: Psalm 144

DOWNLOAD the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: Psalm 144

Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. LORD, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow. Part your heavens, LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them. Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. I will sing a new song to you, my God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you, to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David. From the deadly sword deliver me; rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: How could you show humility and demonstrate grace on your Frontline this week?

WARM-UP

1. When people of the world face troubles or hardships, where or what do they turn to?

Read Psalm 144:1-4

1. In hard times or struggles, what can be our first impulse? Where does David begin in this Psalm?

2. How does David describe the Lord in these verses? How does this give you comfort in times of trouble?

3. How are human beings described in these verses? In what ways can you see this in the world? What are God’s actions towards human beings?

Read Psalm 144:5-11

1. Is there any place or area in creation that God’s authority doesn’t reach? How is God’s authority described in these verses?

2. Why is God the most qualified person to save? Is there anything that we can do to save ourselves? How then can we receive God’s salvation?

3. How is God’s plan for salvation for us ultimately revealed? Who and what are the ultimate enemies? How are we saved from them?

4. What is the response to receiving God’s rescue?

Read Psalm 144:12-15

1. What are the covenant promises that God made to Abraham? Where can we see these in this Psalm?

2. Why don’t we experience these blessings in all their fullness right now? When will we?

3. How can the future hope of these things give us contentment in this life now? How can these promises help us when we face life’s uncertainties?

4. On your frontlines, where could you demonstrate this joy and contentment that comes from being in relationship with a faithful God?

APPLY:  How are you enjoying being in relationship with our sovereign and faithful God?

PRAYER

Gracious God, thank you that you care for us, that we find take refuge in you, and have hope in you forevermore. Help us in times of trouble and times of peace to rest in your unchanging and sure character and promises. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Who do you see quietly following Jesus on their frontline? It might be a great opportunity to encourage them.

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• Psalm 144 by Peter Orr

• God’s Sovereignty Brings Hope In Despair by Andrea Them

• Are you ‘Practising the Presence of God?’ by Peter Adam

• Psalm 107:1-150:6 by James Hely-Hutchinson

• Use to be Made of the Doctrine of Providence (Institutes of Christian Religion I.XVII) by John Calvin
  

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Chat, Do, and Pray

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions

Kids’ Talk: Watch the Kids’ Talk

eBook: Watch the eBook

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the fifth sermon in our series on God’s Church (1 Corinthians). This sermon is ‘Fools for Christ’. Preacher: The Rev’d Michael Calder. Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 4

DOWNLOAD the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 4

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: How is your life building on the foundation of Jesus? 

WARM-UP

1. What does our Australian culture do with people who are ‘full of themselves’ or show pride?

2. What happens to the church and church culture when people (especially leaders) don’t demonstrate humility?

Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

1. What does it mean to be a ‘steward’ of something given to you? Who is the owner? Who sets the terms and conditions of the ‘stewardship’ period?

2. What are Christian leaders called to be a servant of? How should this inform the way we view Christian leaders?

3. Why doesn’t Paul care about the judgement of the Corinthians or even judge himself? Who is the judge? How is this freeing for us?

4. What does it mean for us to be faithful stewards? How could you demonstrate this on your Frontline?

Read 1 Corinthians 4:6-21

1. How does a correct view of grace inform the way that we view ourselves? Where did the Corinthians go wrong in this? What was the result of this?

2. In what ways are the Apostles different to the Corinthians as in described in verses 8-13? What is Paul’s tone in this section?

3. What is it like for you to be a Christian in this cultural moment? How could we ensure that we don’t make the same mistake as the Corinthians?

4. What drives Paul to write so passionately and emphatically to the Corinthians?

5. Why does Paul urge the church to imitate him? Is he being prideful? Why/Why not?

6. What are the differences between something that is a nice idea and something that is powerful? Which one is the Kingdom of God? How should this inform the way we prioritise our lives?

APPLY:  How could you show humility and demonstrate grace on your Frontline this week?

PRAYER

Father, thank you for your love and grace shown to us in Jesus. Please keep us from pride, keep us from boasting, and help us to steward, live out, and be diligent in the gospel. Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: How can you practically care for someone on your frontline this week?

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• You are So Wise by Gerard O’Brien

• Question about Ministry by Dick Lucas:

• Trustworthy Stewards by Daniel Gifford:

• Now and Not Yet by Ray Galea:
  

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• Series Overview Published by St Bart’s

• Website: “First Corinthians” by the Bible Project

• Course: “1 Corinthians” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Chat, Do, and Pray

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions

Kids’ Talk:

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the fourth sermon in our series on God’s Church (1 Corinthians). This sermon is ‘God's Fellow Workers’. Preacher: The Rev’d Adam Lowe. Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

DOWNLOAD the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: How can you seek the Holy Spirit’s wisdom this week on one of your frontlines?

WARM-UP

1. Do people in our culture have a longing to belong? How do you think people satisfy this longing?

2. Can you remember a time when you didn’t feel like you belonged? How does belonging to Christ bring comfort (even) in times such as these?

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

1. Why could Paul only give ‘milk’ to the Corinthians rather than ‘solid food’? What does he mean?

2. What does Paul mean by them being ‘babies in the faith’? Is he questioning their salvation?

3. How is the Corinthian’s worldliness evident in their community? Is this a challenge for us today?

4. Why does maturity in Christ matter? How are we active as a church in our intention to both make and mature disciples of Jesus?

5. Why is it important for the Corinthians to recognise that their leaders are only servants? Who ultimately is the master and is also the one who causes the growth? How can we remember this?

6. In what sense are we co-workers with God? How does this look on one of your frontlines?

Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-23

1. What was the foundation that Paul laid? How do we dedicate our lives to building on Jesus?

2. How are leaders in God’s church important? How are leaders in God’s church only ultimately building on and for Jesus? What does this mean for St Bart’s as we think about the next 30-50 years?

3. What will happen to the things which are not sincerely built upon Jesus? What does this say about the longevity of the mission in which we participate?

4. What is our role in judgment? Whose judgment should we be ultimately mindful of?

5. What was the temple? In what way (now) are God’s people his temple?

6. If we are God’s temple, how should this transform the way we treat one another? What is the consequence (especially being mindful of leaders) of mistreating God’s temple?

7. What belongs to us? To whom do we ultimately belong? How does this change your life?

APPLY:  How is your life building on the foundation of Jesus?

PRAYER

Father, we thank you for the extraordinary privilege of building our lives on Jesus. Please help us to make him the focus of our lives, that we might seek to serve him alone. Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: How can you trust and depend on the Holy Spirit in all your plans and conversations this week?

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• Blessed Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller

• Christian Workers - Heroes or Servants by Vaughn Roberts

• You make things grow by Dick Lucas

• Church Growth that Stands the Test by Hugh Palmer

• What our search for belonging reveals by Jeremy Linneman (Article)
  

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• Series Overview Published by St Bart’s

• Website: “First Corinthians” by the Bible Project

• Course: “1 Corinthians” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families:

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the third sermon in our series on God’s Church (1 Corinthians). This sermon is ‘Mind of Christ’. Preacher: The Rev’d Adam Lowe. Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

DOWNLOAD the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived” —

the things God has prepared for those who love him—

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: How can we keep the cross central to all that we do?

WARM-UP

1. What do you think is the most common pieces of wisdom that our culture offers?

2. Where were many in the church in Corinth seeking their wisdom from? How can we sometimes be tempted to do the same?

Read 1 Corinthians 2:6-9 - The True Nature of Wisdom

1. What and who are not the source of true wisdom? Who are rulers of this age that Paul describes?

2. What is the ultimate trajectory of a worldly type of wisdom (devoid of God)? How can you see this as true - perhaps considering examples from your frontline?

3. What is the content of the ‘message of wisdom’ which Paul speaks about here?

4. In what way was this message hidden but is now revealed? How does this contrast with the secret knowledge that some of the Corinthians longed for?

5. How is it evident that the rulers of Paul’s age did not understand the wisdom of the cross?

6. What is the trajectory of God’s wisdom compared to the wisdom of the world?

7. What has God prepared for those who love him? How should this good news spur us on amidst our daily lives across the whole spectrum of frontlines?

8. How can we encourage and remind one another of the promise of the glory that God has prepared?

Read 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 - Received in the Power of God’s Spirit

1. Who were the Apostles? How was the Holy Spirit particularly at work in the lives of the Apostles?

2. How is the Holy Spirit at work in us in order to bring about an understanding of the cross?

3. How does the Holy Spirit make a way for phenomenal intimacy between every believer and God?

4. As you seek to show and share the Good News, how is the Holy Spirit involved? How should we be greatly encouraged that it is ultimately the work of God’s Spirit that brings about conversion?

5. How are you dependent on the Holy Spirit in seeking to follow Jesus on your frontline?

APPLY:  How can you seek the Holy Spirit’s wisdom this week on one of your frontlines? 

PRAYER

Gracious Lord, thank you for the gift of your Spirit! Please help us to understand the Gospel, live responsively to your Spirit, and participate in the proclamation of your Son. Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Amongst holidays, what new opportunities do you have to visit, love, or listen to someone? 

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• The Power of the Spirit by Peter Adam:

• The Spirit and Revelation by Christopher Wright:

• Grow UP! By Richard Coombs:

• Understanding God’s Wisdom by Alistair Begg:
  

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• Website: “First Corinthians” by the Bible Project

• Course: “1 Corinthians” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Chat, Do, and Pray

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions

Kids’ Talk: Watch the Kids’ Talk

eBook: Watch the eBook

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the second sermon in our series on God’s Church (1 Corinthians). This sermon is ‘Preach Christ Crucified’. Preacher: The Rev’d Michael Calder. Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-2:5

DOWNLOAD the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT:How would others recognise that your identity is shaped by your relationship with Jesus?

WARM-UP

1. How would the world define wisdom? Where do the people on your frontlines search for wisdom?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-25 - God’s Power

1. What does it look like for God’s church to be unified? What is it that ultimately unites us?

2. Can we ever be tempted to follow church leaders? How can we avoid this temptation?

3. How does the world react to the message of the cross?

4. How does God’s wisdom make the wisdom of this world foolish? What does this tell us about the type of wisdom we should pursue?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 - God’s People

1. How does Paul describe the Corinthians in these verses? How is this a source of great comfort for us?

2. Throughout the whole of God’s story, what type of people does God work through and choose?

3. Is there anything that we can boast in when it comes to our salvation?

4. What does it look like to boast in the Lord? How could you demonstrate and show your confidence in the gospel on your frontlines?

Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - God’s Messengers

1. In what way did Paul come to the Corinthians? What was the centre of his message? How did he communicate this?

2. What should be our constant message as a church? How should we communicate this?

3. How can we ensure that our faith relies on the power of God and not the wisdom of people?

APPLY:  How can we keep the cross central to all that we do?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for your phenomenal grace, love, mercy, and power shown to us in Jesus’ death. Please keep us from resting in worldly wisdom but only in you. Help us to keep the cross firmly in our sights and minds all the days of our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Amongst holidays, what new opportunities do you have to visit, love, or listen to someone? 

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• Things to Remember by Simon Manchester

• Jesus Christ and Him Crucified by Alistair Begg

• The Message of the Cross in a Secular World by Mike Raiter

• 1 Corinthians 1 by Peter Adam

• The Cross an Electric Chair? by Glenn Stanton
  

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• Website: “First Corinthians” by the Bible Project

• Course: “1 Corinthians” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Chat, Do, and Pray

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions

Kids’ Talk: Watch the Kids’ Talk

eBook: Watch the eBook

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the first sermon in our series on God’s Church (1 Corinthians). This sermon is ‘to the church in Corinth’. Preacher: The Rev’d Adam Lowe. Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

DOWNLOAD the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge — God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT:What is one way this week that you can demonstrate that Jesus has sent you? 

WARM-UP

1. Can you remember a funny example of a time when you made a bit of a mess of things?

2. How had the church in Corinth made a mess of things? Yet, how does Paul speak of it?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-4 - Called by God

1. What was the city of Corinth like? What was the history of Paul’s connection with Corinth?

2. Whose church was it? Whose church is St Bart’s? Why is it so important to recognise this?

3. For what reason does Paul give thanks for the church? Does this surprise you at all?

4. How can you give thanks for the same in our life together at St Bart’s? Can you think of examples?

5. How is being called by God to be his church fundamental to our ultimate identity?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:5-7 - Supplied with Gifts

1. In what way does Paul say that the Corinthian church (and us!) have been enriched?

2. What were some of the issues for the Corinthian church when it came to gifts? Can we be similar?

3. When it comes to God’s gifts, do you usually have a view of scarcity or abundance? Why or why not?

4. How do you see God’s gifts at work in our life together at St Bart’s? Is there anyone you could encourage or enable to use their gifts in the life of God’s church at St Bart’s?

5. For what reasons should our gifts never be a source of boasting?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 - Kept Blameless

1. What does it mean for God to keep us firm? In what way will we be blameless? On what basis?

2. Does this guarantee give us freedom to obey rather than freedom to rebel?

3. How does belonging to Jesus shape your identity on one of your frontlines?

APPLY:  How would others recognise that your identity is shaped by your relationship with Jesus?

PRAYER

Gracious Father, thank you for the grace, gifts, and guarantee of a secure future that we have in Jesus. Please shape the identity of our lives and church on the basis of who you are and what you have done in the Lord Jesus. Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Amongst holidays, what new opportunities do you have to visit, love, or listen to someone? 

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• Summoned by Grace by Andrew Each

• 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 by Andy Gemmill

• Our Confidence by Grahame Johnson

• 1 Corinthians 1 by Peter Adam

• 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 by John Stott

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• Website: “First Corinthians” by the Bible Project

• Course: “1 Corinthians” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Chat, Do, and Pray

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions

Kids’ Talk: Watch the Kids’ Talk

eBook: Watch the eBook

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the final sermon in our series on God’s Kingdom. This sermon is ‘Sending King’. Preacher: The Rev’d Adam Lowe. Bible Reading: Acts 1:1-11

Download the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: Acts 1:1-11

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: What could help you see Jesus more clearly and continually worship him as Lord of all?

WARM-UP

1. What is the connection between the end of Luke and the beginning of Acts?

2. Have you ever considered the ascension of Jesus to be critical? Why or why not?

READ Acts 1:1-11

1. Why does Luke both finish Luke and commence Acts with the ascension account? If the ascension didn’t happen, what are the implications?

2. What further evidence does Luke supply at the beginning of Acts to support the claim that Jesus had risen? What are the implications of Jesus being alive?

3. What do you most love about being able to know Jesus? What most helps you in this relationship?

4. If one of your friends knew quite a lot about Jesus, how would you encourage them to actually know Jesus personally? How could you grow in your personal relationship with Jesus?

READ Luke 24:45-53

1. What is the significance of the disciples worshipping Jesus immediately after the ascension? How could you grow in wonder of Jesus as your exalted King?

2. What is different about Jesus’ assumption into heaven compared to Enoch’s or Elijah’s?

3. What does it look like to recognise Jesus as Lord on all of your frontlines and of every aspect of your life, identity, and activity?

4. According to Jesus, who is the Good News for? What does this mean for us and our proclamation?

5. What was now at the heart of the mission of the disciples? How are they empowered for mission?

6. How do we in some way share in this same mission? How are we empowered for mission?

7. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus living between his ascension and his return? What do you find most challenging about waiting for Jesus’ return?

8. How should Jesus’ return motivate us to go into the world as witnesses of Jesus?

9. What are the most important details about God’s Kingdom that you have learnt or been reminded of during this series? What has stood out for you the most?

APPLY:  What is one way this week that you can demonstrate that Jesus has sent you?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have enjoined us in your mission to the world as part of your church and empowered by your Spirit. Please embolden us to live in the reality of Jesus’ Lordship and every frontline, proclaiming the Good News that he is the risen, exalted, and returning King. Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Amongst holidays, what new opportunities do you have to visit, love, or listen to someone?

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• Luke 24 by Gary Millar

• ACTS Series by Gary Millar

• “The Ascension of Jesus” by Tim Keller (Redeemer, New York)

• Acts 1:1-11 part of the “To the ends of the earth” series at St Helen’s Bishopsgate
  

Next Series Resources (1 Corinthians):

• Website: “First Corinthians” by the Bible Project

• Course: “1 Corinthians” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course):
  

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• OUTLINE: for Series with key verses, big ideas, and reflection questions:
  https://bit.ly/39w5Ggk

• FOR FAMILIES: Download the St Bart’s Kids Lego Devotional Guide: https://bit.ly/2YrP3Mf

• WEBSITE: “Gospel of the Kingdom of God” by the Bible Project: https://bit.ly/2NFP2SJ

• BOOK: “Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel & Kingdom, Gospel & Wisdom, the Gospel in Revelation” by Graeme Goldsworthy

• BOOK: “Luke for Everyone” by Tom Wright

• Course: “The Bible Overview” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course).
  https://bit.ly/3pGDVH7 (We’ll also be offering this in Term 3 of 2021 at St Bart’s.)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Ch...

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the eleventh sermon in our series on God’s Kingdom. This sermon is ‘Ascended King’. Preacher: The Rev’d Michael Calder. Bible Reading: Luke 24:36-53

Download the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: Luke 24:36-53

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 6 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: What is something about your Easter that you could share with someone on your frontline this week? Who could you invite to Alpha?

WARM-UP

1. What do you think your friends who aren’t Christians yet think about Jesus’ resurrection?

2. Before this passage, who has Jesus appeared to?

READ Luke 24:36-43

1. Why were the disciples frightened at the sight of Jesus? What does this tell us about their expectations or hope of resurrection?

2. What type of body does Jesus have here? What type of body will we have in our resurrection?

3. Why did Jesus eat in front of them? How were the disciples reacting at this point?

4. How is the resurrection of Jesus foundational to the hope that we have? What would be the point of our faith if Jesus didn’t rise?

READ Luke 24:44-53

1. What does it mean for Jesus to fulfil what was written about him?

2. Read Hebrews 10:5-10. How has Jesus fulfilled the law of the Old Testament?

3. Read Isaiah 11:1-3 and 53:7-9. How has Jesus fulfilled these prophesies? Do any other passages come to mind?

4. Read Psalm 22:1; 6-8 and Psalm 23. How is Jesus the fulfilment of these Psalms?

5. How should this principle of a ‘Christ-centred’ reading of the bible shape the way that we read and/or teach the word?

6. In what way does Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament give us assurance and confidence in our relationship with God? How could we incorporate this when we tell others about our faith?

7. How does V45 inform the way that we read God’s Word? What should we always do before doing so?

8. What caused the disciples doubt and fear to turn to joy and worship?

9. Why is it important that Jesus ascended? Where is Jesus now? How is this good news for us?

10. What does this passage tell us about the identity, role and victory of Jesus? What role should he have in our lives?

APPLY:  What could help you see Jesus more clearly and continually worship him as Lord of all?

PRAYER

Gracious God, thank you that Jesus is alive! Thank you that you always had a plan for salvation for the whole world and that you didn’t leave humanity in its mess. Help us to continually grow in this knowledge, to grow in our love for you, to grow in our dependance on you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Amongst holidays, what new opportunities do you have to visit, love, or listen to someone?

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• AUDIO: “The Plan and Purpose of God” by Alistair Begg

• AUDIO: “Grasping the Truth” by William Taylor

• AUDIO: “Luke 23:50-24:53” by Gary Millar

• ARTICLE: “Recovering the Forgotten Doctrine of Christ’s Ascension” by Patrick Schreiner
  

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• OUTLINE: for Series with key verses, big ideas, and reflection questions:
  https://bit.ly/39w5Ggk

• FOR FAMILIES: Download the St Bart’s Kids Lego Devotional Guide: https://bit.ly/2YrP3Mf

• WEBSITE: “Gospel of the Kingdom of God” by the Bible Project: https://bit.ly/2NFP2SJ

• BOOK: “Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel & Kingdom, Gospel & Wisdom, the Gospel in Revelation” by Graeme Goldsworthy

• BOOK: “Luke for Everyone” by Tom Wright

• Course: “The Bible Overview” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course).
  https://bit.ly/3pGDVH7 (We’ll also be offering this in Term 3 of 2021 at St Bart’s.)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Chat, Do, and Pray

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions

Kids’ Talk: Watch the Kids’ Talk

eBook: W...

Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the tenth sermon in our series on God’s Kingdom and also our message for Easter Day. This sermon is ‘Risen King’. Preacher: The Rev’d Adam Lowe. Bible Reading: Luke 24

Download the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: How can you both demonstrate and tell others about the peace that Jesus brings on your frontlines this week?

WARM-UP

1. Did you do anything different to celebrate Easter this year? How was it?

2. What was most significant, or helpful, in your celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection this year?

READ Luke 23:26-49

1. How does verse 34 point to Jesus’ ultimate purpose? How has it been fulfilled?

2. What was the irony in the mocking of Jesus, “he saved others, let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah the Chosen One”? Do you think we can ever mock Jesus with our lives?

3. How do the responses of the two criminals hanging alongside Jesus contrast? What is amazing about the insight that the criminal shows about the nature of Jesus’ Kingdom?

4. What is significant about darkness coming over the land? How about the curtain being torn in two?

5. All throughout the Gospel of Luke people have been confused about who Jesus is. Do you have confidence about who Jesus is? What is your response to this?

READ Luke 24:1-12

1. Other than Jesus’ resurrection, what is the most outrageous claim you have ever heard?

2. What is the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection? (Try to brainstorm as a group.)

3. How is Jesus’ resurrection the defeat of death and the beginning of life? When will death be destroyed?

4. What’s significant about the declaration of the messengers in verses 5-7? Why do you you think the women were afraid? Why did Jesus’ words then make sense?

5. How does Jesus’ resurrection secure our future? As we trust in Jesus, what sort of future do we have?

6. How does Jesus’ resurrection change how you live today? In priorities, trouble, and joy?

7. The disciples were not “poised on the brink of belief”, but utterly sceptical. It took some of them time to believe. What changed their hearts and minds? Who do you know that is sceptical? How can you invite them to ‘come and see’?

8. The women go and tell all they had seen. How is this a great model for us? Who can you tell this week?

APPLY:  What is something about your Easter that you could share with someone on your frontline this week? Who could you invite to Alpha?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the Good News of Easter. Thank you for your phenomenal love poured out for us, and for your defeat of sin and death. Help us to never take the Gospel for granted but to revel in it, proclaim it, and be transformed and renewed in it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Who on your frontline could you invite to Alpha?

Listen, Watch, and Read:

• “The Evidence of Resurrection” by Dick Lucas

• “The Resurrection” by Alistair Begg

• “Lifting the Lid on Easter” by Centre for Public Christianity

• AUDIO: Remember Me… by William Taylor

• AUDIO: John Lennox on where to find God amidst crisis

• AUDIO: John Dickson on debunking Easter myths

Series Resources:

Some helpful resources for our Series:

• OUTLINE: for Series with key verses, big ideas, and reflection questions:
  https://bit.ly/39w5Ggk

• FOR FAMILIES: Download the St Bart’s Kids Lego Devotional Guide: https://bit.ly/2YrP3Mf

• WEBSITE: “Gospel of the Kingdom of God” by the Bible Project: https://bit.ly/2NFP2SJ

• BOOK: “Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel & Kingdom, Gospel & Wisdom, the Gospel in Revelation” by Graeme Goldsworthy

• BOOK: “Luke for Everyone” by Tom Wright

• Course: “The Bible Overview” as part of the Ridley Certificate (6-week online course).
  https://bit.ly/3pGDVH7 (We’ll also be offering this in Term 3 of 2021 at St Bart’s.)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families

Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home. Join the livestream and then spend 30 minutes to work through these together.

Families: Read, Chat, Do, and Pray

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions

Kids’ Talk: Watch...