The Bethel - Old Trafford Christadelphian Church

This morning Alex takes us back to the days of the reign of David, a man who's faith was strong, but parenting skills were weak. One of David's sons kills another son and in so doing banishes himself. Alex uses this to illustrate that we banish ourselves from God, and it is up to us to allow ourselves to let God draw us closer to him again.

This morning Malcolm brings into focus the life and work of Isaiah. With lots of lovely one-line wisdoms from Malcolm and poetry from the Prince of Prophets, Isaiah, we are taught to seek God, endure change, and look to a bright and glorious future centred around the wondrous example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Charles walks us through the parable of the bad stewards, reminding us the we have the same forces at work in us as in the bad stewards. If we can combat those forces and nurture the fresh branches, we will look after the Jesus connection to the rest of our lives.

Reading the bible without open hearts and minds will inevitably lead to a dulling of the experience of God's presence in our lives. When did the bible last set your heart racing? Opening up to God and looking for the surprises he has for us will sharpen our sense of God's personal involvement.

In a special Sunday morning following our Bethel 2017 fellowship day, Charles Crawford finishes the title verse and words of Jesus: “Always at His work… to this very day, and I too am working.” In this service, Charles helps us consider the presence of Jesus in our lives now, the role of the Comforter, and the significance of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension.

Jesus said 'Why seek the living among the dead'. Andrew drew thoughts FROM the beginning of Luke 24, considering where the focus of our lives lie.

There are so many perspectives on the death and resurrection of Jesus in the bible accounts, but one thread runs through them all. David tells the redemption story that binds all the varied people and their interactions with Jesus together.

A Journey through Good Friday with some of the characters in the story.

Pete has a problem that he thinks he shares with other people. It boils down to how we react when we see other people doing things that we think are wrong. In unpacking the ideas, Pete encouraged us to see everyone as made in God's image and afford the same generosity of judgement as we would wish extended to us. If 'neither death nor life, angels nor rulers, things present nor things to come, hostile powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord'... Then that is true of the person we want to correct as well.

Joe has spoken before about the yearning of God to connect with Man, as depicted by Michaelangelo's painting on the ceiling of the Cisteen chapel. Today, inspiration in the form of Holman Hunt’s painting, 'Jesus Knocking at the Door'. The knocking of Jesus is happening and real, what are we going to do? Do we respond or not? Some insightful thoughts from Joe about the picture help us to explore our response.