This week in our Summer Stories series, Kirk brings us one of Jesus' many parables from the book of Matthew, in which he points out the hypocrisy of the religious elite and the importance of repentance.

This week, Jack Joynson debuts his first talk as he explores a story from the book of Acts and how we might relate in many different ways to some very different characters.

If you were the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present creator of absolutely everything, and you wanted to reveal yourself to the human race, how would you do it? God chose to do it by becoming a human himself. Sending Jesus down to earth, to live and breath and one of us.

This Christmas, Kirk looks at how God speaks to us, initially through the prophets of the Old Testament in the Bible, then through Jesus. 

The Sunday before Christmas, Tim concludes our series O Come O Come Emmanuel. This talk looks at the verse of the carol calling Jesus "Rod of Jesse", as seen in the prophecy from Isaiah. Images of despair and destruction precede the passage read in this episode, a prophecy which ultimately came to pass in 722 BC, and in 587 BC, with foreign armies destroying Israel and capturing their people. 

But the beginning of this passage encourages Israel to look for a shoot coming from the stump of Jesse - a new king from the line of Jesse and of David. That King is who we celebrate at Christmas - and who we look forward to his coming again - Jesus.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer

The carol O Come O Come features names of Jesus from prophecies hundreds of years before his birth. This week, Delle looks at the verse and name - Dayspring.

The Christmas Carol O Come O Come features different names of Jesus from prophecies 200 years before his birth. Andi looks at the verse "Lord of Might", the future hope of a just lord, ruling over all the nations.

Advent is again upon us, and this year, these four Sundays leading us to Christmas will be spent exploring the various names given to Jesus in the popular Christmas carol: O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

This week, Kirk kicks off our Advent series by looking at the first name Jesus is given: Emmanuel - "God with us" - and what it means when Isaiah receives the name in a prophesy over 400 years before the first Christmas.

How would you want to be captured in a portrait? What would you include? What would you omit? And when that portrait was finished, would you still be recognised by those who knew you?

In the wake of three baptisms, special guest Bishop Kate Prowd brings us this week's talk on the nearness of God even in the darkness of life and how we can reflect who Jesus is just as he reflects us in the suffering that he faced.

This week, Julie brings us a story from the book of Mark, of the freedom that comes through mission, and invites three guests to talk about their experiences with different parts of local mission.