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Colossians: Living At Peace.

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Peace is at the heart of any community that thrives. It is no surprise therefore that it is integral to the community of Jesus. It should dictate how we treat all relationships, particularly those which have an imbalance of power at their heart - in Paul’s day these were between husbands and wives, slaves and masters and parents and children.

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Colossians: Keep With Him & Embrace The Life He Offers

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We are meant to be God’s close friends — the temptation to add on to Jesus or climb the ladder of spiritual hierarchy is a mirage with false promises. We’re most full when we take Jesus for all that he is and trust He’s taken care of the details. So let’s keep on with Him and embrace the life He offers.

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Colossians: Not Just The Way In, But Also The Way On

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Jesus doesn’t save us, then it’s ‘up to us’. He saves us and then it’s up to Him. So we don’t need to live in fear. He backs his investments and He has invested everything into us. So He is not just the way into the good life He is the way on, in that good life. Our job is to open ourselves to and cooperate with His redeeming and reforming work in our lives.

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Colossians: The Center Of The Universe

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Colossians is jam packed with Paul’s intricate theological weaving technique. If we want to understand this letter for all its worth, we must start at the starting point. Jesus is Lord and he has been made known, to this ancient church plant in Colosse, and to bread in Los Angeles.

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Giving Pt.2

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The light side of money. Throughout the bible we are told of not just the dangers of money but also of the potential it has to do huge good. God made a bountiful creation for us to enjoy. Using money as Jesus intends not only establishes and strengthens human relationship and experience of life, it also brings us closer to God and deepens our experiences of him. So let us not be scared of or greedy with money, but free and generous.

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Giving Pt.1

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Jesus tells us to be shrewd with our money. But that isn’t always easy. The reason for this is because money exerts some serious power and control over us. But when we treat it as it should be treated we can be free and generous and encumbered by it. That’s the goal for all of us. And it is entirely possible to live out this goal when we allow the power of Jesus, not money, to govern us.

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Baptism Service

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It is often at significant times in people’s lives; getting married, grieving a loved one or having children, that we ask some bigger questions about life. So what are we going to believe in? What is big enough to carry the weight of our faith? The Christian gospel doesn’t ask us to put our faith in doctrines or moral codes, but in the possibility for reconnection. Jesus says ‘believe that I can restore anyone to relationships with me and my Father by the power of my Spirit’. It is this that we’re all made for and would be incomplete without.

Introducing People To The One Who Knows Them Best

Jesus is in the business of breaking through every barrier. Every division and wall put up. He reaches through social barriers, gender barriers, ethnic, moral and religious barriers. What would happen if we allowed Jesus’ living water, His barrier breaking living water, to revolutionize our hearts?

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The Life of Bread: Community

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Community - we’re made for it, we crave it, it’s good for us, it changes us, it restores us, the list goes on… but why can it be so hard to find or create? In the final talk in our life of bread series, we look at what it means to be part of the community Jesus creates.

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The Life of Bread: Social Justice

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Social Justice. A potentially emotionally and politically triggering phrase for many of us (not least if we’re feeling like we’re just keeping our own head above the water)… but there’s no denying that since he gives his people instruction, God’s way is a socially just one.

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The Life of Bread: Prayer

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Jesus spent a lot of time praying. So, it seems clear - if we want to develop a devoted and dependent relationship on God, if we want to see the power of the Spirit bring forth signs and wonders similar to those we read about in Jesus’ ministry and in the ministry of the early church - we must also pray. But - prayer often feels a little more complex and mysterious than that, right? Prayer brings up a lot of questions - how do you do it? Does it actually change anything? What about unanswered prayer?

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The Life Of Bread: Intro

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To live our Christian life to the full, we’re all called to do two things; fully step into our identity as God’s children & fulfill our calling in the world and in His church. We’re human beings and human doings in equal measure. This is an intro into how what we’re individually called to do can impact the whole church and the whole world.

 
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Psalms: Praising

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We finish up this series on the Psalms with an absolute beaut: Psalm 103. This is the genre’s ‘How to praise when you don’t feel like praising’ at its best. Remember what it is that you are part of: love as high as the heavens, grace that knows no limit, a parent that holds you and fights for you, and a God who wants to hear all about how you really feel.

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Psalms: Being Blessed

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Psalm 146. Sometimes it feels as though God doesn’t care - but the Bible is full of encouragements that He isn’t just able to care for us, but it is His calling card. He wants us all to experience what the Bible calls being blessed. Being blessed isn’t to do with financial or social or career success, but rather about being close to God, in His presence and in step with His spirit.

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Psalms: Gods Closeness

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If you’ve ever doubted Gods closeness - so has the author of Psalm 27. In this prayer-song of confidence we’re reminded of God’s closeness and promise to stick with us. We can freely dwell with Him and experience His love and goodness even in our less than ideal circumstances. How do we respond in the unfamiliar, when we’re waiting, when promises feel far from fulfilled?