St Paul’s conversion story is very dramatic and it is tempting to think that it a story to wonder at and marvel at. But actually in that story are the clues to how were too can live a life like his. We may not be able to have his conversions tory but we can live his converted life.
Read MoreHow deep has the gospel gone in your life? How you and I respond to the stuff of life, our actions, attitudes, and words, reveal how deeply grace and the gospel have got a hold of us, which points us once again to our need for Jesus.
Read MoreThroughout the Bible it is possible to see God’s plan running through it, but along with God’s plan come God’s people, the ones involved in the plan. It’s not always easy to stick to the plan God has, and in the book of Acts we see just how hard it was for the early church.
Read MoreAre you with the Magi or Herod? You may think the answer’s obvious; you may even be offended by the question. The Magi journeyed to worship Jesus, Herod wanted to find him for other reasons. What about you?
Read MoreHave you ever been surprised by an invitation to an event? Or maybe you haven’t been invited when you think you should have been. The strangest combination of people were invited to Jesus’ birth and today, this Christmas, everyone’s invited (and that includes you)!
Read MoreWhat defines our level of excitement for any given thing, is how we feel about that thing, whether it’s Christmas, a birthday, a house move, a wedding or funeral. Disappointment happens when we don’t get what we were anticipating. Christmas is never a disappointment, and it's always super-exciting!
Read MoreThe Bible is a complex (and quite long!) book made up of many different parts from a great breadth of history. Mike Fuller takes us through the story of the entire Bible in just fifty minutes (with a bit of leeway either side) to give us the bigger picture of God’s plan within it.
Read MoreIn the second half of Acts 5, we begin to see the power of the gospel working beyond the obedience of the church. This is the unstoppable force of the gospel, to which there were and still are a variety of reactions. What’s your reaction to the gospel? What would you like it to be?
Read MoreSetting up opposition is well-worn track to telling a classic good vs. evil story. This passage depicts two completely opposite behaviours, the model behaviour of Barnabas and the united sharing community of the early church vs. the deceptive and selfish behaviour of Ananias and Sapphira.
Read MoreWhy do Jesus’ followers start their prayer with, “Sovereign Lord…”? They were rooted in the certainty of God’s plan for their lives and His sovereignty over all things. This knowledge gave them great boldness, can you be bold?
Read MoreIf you were asked, “Who are you?” What would your answer be? Would you choose to tell them your name, your job, your hometown? When the Jewish religious leaders asked the Apostle Peter who he was he had a very different answer, could it be yours too?
Read MoreAfter spending three weeks in Acts 4, we hosted a conversation between two of our preaching team, Fiona Dorman and James Stevenson. What does it mean to live out the belief that ‘Salvation is found in no other name under heaven except Jesus’.
Read MoreThis is such an important passage as we think about what it means to be witnesses to Jesus in a world where so many people think that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you keep it to yourself.
Read More“Societies become secular not when they dispense with religion altogether, but when they are no longer especially agitated by it.” The early church found themselves amongst people who were agitated by them. “By what power and in whose name do you do these things?” They were asked. How can we be like them, how can we speak into, shape and agitate our culture.
Read MoreDon’t miss out on all Jesus could do in and through you. Every generation of the church finds itself in a broken and fragile world. And every generation of the church finds itself trying to work out how best to respond to that brokenness. Is it possible in our response we may miss out on the very fullness of Good and all He is doing? Acts 3 teaches us what to do in order not to be those who miss out.
Read MoreIn Acts 2, the Apostle Peter gives the first public talk in the early church. As he explains the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost, Peter turns to the Old Testament and to the writings of the Prophet Joel. How can we be part of God’s unfolding plan from the Old Testament to today and into the future?
Read MoreOne key way the early church had fellowship with one another was through sharing meals – breaking bread – together. They learnt that the Christian life isn’t just about what God wants to do for us, but what he wants to do through us for the blessing of people. How can we eat with great love like the first Christians?
Read MoreThe central claim of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost is that the new life that came to the dead body of Jesus of Nazareth at the point of his resurrection from the dead to eternal life has now been breathed into those who confess that Jesus is Lord. This claim is the claim of the church through the ages and is an invitation for everyone to consider: do you believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
Read MoreIn the history of the Church, people being amazed and perplexed is normal, because things happen and people change in a way that others can't quite work out. What causes that change and what does it mean for all of us?
Read MoreWith everything that’s going on in the world we may be approaching a significant point in human history, but how do we, as Christians approach it? In the days before Pentecost, we have some clues from the history of the church in Jerusalem that can help shape our response.
Read More