In the storms of life, it’s easy to wonder if Jesus has forgotten you. This message reminds us that even when obedience feels costly and progress seems slow, Jesus sees every act of faith, every struggle, and every prayer. Discover how true success is found not in visible results, but in faithful obedience, trusting that Jesus will come at just the right time and lead you safely through.

We explore the difference between seeking what Jesus can give and seeking Jesus Himself. Through the feeding of the five thousand, we see that God can multiply what feels small, provide abundantly, and use every part of our lives. Yet the deeper invitation is not simply to receive the bread, but to know the One who alone can satisfy our deepest hunger.

Jamie and Dwaine both preached the same passage — John 5:1-15 — at different services, and now they sit down to unpack what happened when the sermon became an encounter. Fresh off week five of St Michael's "Encounters with Jesus" series, they explore the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda: thirty-eight years of waiting, one question from Jesus, and a healing that came with a challenge.

You can catch up on the talks on this channel or here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwZVgOUjAOg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgABWLCljkA

Dwaine opens up about preaching from experience rather than just information, and why he set up communion as a response — creating space for people to come forward vulnerably, publicly, and wait on God together. Dwaine and Jamie go into John’s prologue and how the same creative power that spoke the universe into being is standing in front of this man, offering to make him new.

But the episode doesn't stop at the miracle. They dig into what happens after: Jesus finds the man again in the temple and warns him, "Go and sin no more, lest something worse happen to you." Why the confrontation? Why the deeper cut?

What does it mean to give Jesus the whole of your life — not 99%, but the whole? How do you stop looking to everything else to fix the problem, and finally turn to the One who can actually heal? And why is waiting on God one of the hardest things we're ever asked to do — especially when we've been waiting thirty-eight years?

This episode is for:

--Anyone who's been waiting a long time for breakthrough, healing, or freedom — and wondering if God really sees them

--Believers who've been trying to fix their own problems and are exhausted from holding everything together

--Those wrestling with the gap between God's power and their own unbelief

--Worship leaders and church leaders learning to create space for genuine encounter, not just information

--Christians who know they're holding something back from Jesus — and don't know how to let it go

--Anyone asking: if Jesus heals me, what comes next? What does he actually want from me?

Make sure to subscribe, and we'd love to see you on a Sunday soon.

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Jesus sees us in our deepest need and meets us with mercy before we have everything figured out. Through the healing at Bethesda, we are challenged to leave behind the excuses, identities and patterns that have kept us stuck. Jesus does not only want to address the problems on the surface, but to bring healing and freedom to our whole lives. Because He gave the whole of Himself for us, we can trust Him with the whole of who we are.

Dwaine Morgan unpacks the story of the man Jesus healed at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5. What does it look like for us to come to Jesus in humility, with no mask on, acknowleding that we need him to heal us?

The tables turn this week: Jamie Mulvaney takes the hot seat while Dwaine leads the questions. Fresh off week four of St Michael's “Encounters with Jesus” series — the healing of the official's son in John 4:46-54 — they dig into the single, disarming challenge running underneath every encounter in John's Gospel: will you take Jesus at his word? Even when his words feel harsh, countercultural, or far bigger than we can grasp.

You can catch up on the ‘Sovereign’ talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl1u9y21zPs

Jamie unpacks the ‘Cana sandwich’ — the way John brackets two miracles at Cana around the encounters with Nicodemus, the woman at the well and the temple — and what that deliberate structure tells us about who Jesus is. In this second sign, Jesus heals a dying boy twenty miles away without ever making the journey, revealing himself as sovereign over time, space, geography and death itself. If he can reach into a situation with nothing but a word, what does that mean for the situations we can't control?

From there the conversation turns practical and honest: what do you do when scripture points one way and your emotions pull hard the other? Why is the gospel ‘done’ rather than ‘do more’ — and how does knowing who Jesus says you are reshape the way you strive, react and protect yourself? Jamie and Dwaine also talk about the fertile ground of the dry seasons, why signs are only ever signposts to the real reward (Jesus himself), and how to honour a searching friend's faith — however small the first step.

This episode is for:

--anyone who has asked God for something specific — and been surprised by the answer he gave instead

--believers wrestling with scripture that points one way while their emotions pull the other

--those learning to hold scripture and experience together through dry seasons and dark nights of the soul

--Christians wanting to help searching friends, and to honour even the smallest, most fledgling faith

--anyone struggling to trust that Jesus is truly sovereign over the situations they can't control

Mentioned in this episode: Wendy Mann's Equip talk from the previous week, the earlier episode with Miles Toulmin, and Professor John Lennox's interview with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO.

Make sure to subscribe, and we'd love to see you on a Sunday soon.

https://stmichaelschestersquare.org/

https://www.instagram.com/stmichaelschestersquare/

https://www.tiktok.com/@st.michaels.chester.sqr

Encounters with Jesus: Sovereign | Jamie Mulvaney | 05.06.26 by St Michael's Chester Square

In this talk, Wendy shares her own journey of growing in friendship with the Holy Spirit, and explores what Scripture has to say about the Spirit's role in our lives. She also offers practical wisdom on engaging with the Holy Spirit in everyday life.

We look at Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well and the living water He offers. Her story reminds us that Jesus seeks out the overlooked, speaks into our deepest longings, and meets us with truth and grace. What begins with a simple request for a drink becomes a powerful revelation of who Jesus is and the life He gives. Through Him, our thirst is met by the presence of God that never runs dry.

From our 11am service, David Munns explores the story of Nicodemus in John 3 and what it looks like for us to be born again by both the water and the Spirit.