Ellen Green, our Communications Director, explores Jesus's impact on John the Baptist, a compelling figure who kicks off the Gospel of John (1:19-28).

John the Baptist always remembers why he's practicing his bizarre customs in the desert: to herald the coming of Christ. Do we always remember why we're doing what we do?

This is the first of our four week series 'Jesus and...',exploring the impact of Jesus on those around him.

Kevin Glazebrook unpacks the difficult passage of Luke 19:11-27: The Parable of the Ten Minas. He shows how it prophesies Jesus' coming Kingship of Heaven and Earth, and how it delivers Christ's expectation that we will work in our time to further the Kingdom of God - not towards money, but towards goodness and love in the world around us.

This is a real challenge. Take time today to ask God to fill you with spiritual riches that you may share with those around you for His glory.

This is the first of four 11am sermons on the parables & miracles of Jesus.

Nina - our Youth Placement Student - shows that loving God's creation is linked to loving God himself. And she shares simple ideas for how you can do good for His planet.

How can you make small, lasting changes in your life today to do some good for God's Earth?

Matt, our Curate, combines Mark 8:27-29 ('Who do you say I am?'), Matthew 22:34-40 (The Greatest Commandment), and Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission) to prompt us to think what it means to know, follow and go with Jesus. Doing these things involves Christ-centred change, which is exactly how we want to be as a Church.

--

Ruth, our Discipleship Coordinator, shares the truth of Haggai 2. Discouragement is frequent as the Israelites try to rebuild the temple, but Haggai reminds them that the glory of the Lord is their strength!, should they reach for it.

--

Claire Cooke explores the Parable of the Prodigal Son - a familiar story that reveals more of God every time we hear it.

Claire focuses on how the son's relationship with his father changes through the story from a contract-based relationship to a loving relationship. We can retreat into the safety of a contractual, cause-and-effect understanding of God, but at the cost of vulnerability, joy, and celebration. And we need to trust that God will not leave us.

As Haggai implores the people to restore the temple, he captures how our lives can feel scattered and empty. Matt shares his own current sense of disorientation and how we can drift away from God. But God is a restorer. God is a greater builder of our lives than us or anyone around us.

Why not take time today to thank God for this truth!

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or look at our website to find out more about sharing God's love from the heart of the city!

Ruth, our Discipleship Coordinator, ends our series on Knowing the Heart of God, as seen through the life of David. She explores David's psalm of worship in 2 Samuel 22, and how it reveals 2 truths:

1) God hears and saves those who call out to him;

2) God sets out a path for David - and for us!

So, God is already our waiting rock and stronghold, we simply have to step towards him.

Take time today to consider whether you really trust God in these truths, and ask him for the faith to step towards him.

--

Sarah, our Children & Families Pastor, reminds us of the constancy of Christ through the constancy of change in our lives. Let us build our foundations on him.

Take time to consider today - how is change distracting or hurting you at the moment, and how are your life's foundations in Christ?

--

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or look at our website to find out more about sharing God's love from the heart of the city!

A Priest, a Promise, and a Pool.

'What happens to the holy sacrifices now we're Christians?' wondered the early Church. The author of Hebrews shows that Jesus is our eternal High Priest and our eternal sacrifice - our Melchizedek. That's His promise: that the sacrifice on the cross is enough for all, for all time. And the baptism pool is a place where we can embrace that sacrifice and believe that promise.

Why not take time today to thank God that he is a High Priest who doesn't demand more and more from us, but has saved us once and for all.

Readings: Hebrews 5:1-10 & 6:10-15