Past Preaching Programme

Very often it is the Old Testament that is seen as containing all of the parts of the Bible that are most difficult for Christians. However there are a number of passages within the New Testament that are equally problematic. Often our response can simply be to ignore such passages. However when we hold our nerve and seek to grapple with their meaning a great deal of value will often follow – even if it is usually extremely challenging! During July we will seek to do this across all of our three services at Christ Church looking at a number of the trickiest passages contained within the New Testament and trying to understand the challenge that they are bringing us both as a church and in our daily lives.

Very often it is the Old Testament that is seen as containing all of the parts of the Bible that are most difficult for Christians. However there are a number of passages within the New Testament that are equally problematic. Often our response can simply be to ignore such passages. However when we hold our nerve and seek to grapple with their meaning a great deal of value will often follow – even if it is usually extremely challenging! During July we will seek to do this across all of our three services at Christ Church looking at a number of the trickiest passages contained within the New Testament and trying to understand the challenge that they are bringing us both as a church and in our daily lives.

One of the foremost marks of the Holy Spirit is the way in which he gives God’s people gifts to do his work within the world. St Paul’s writings contain four lists of such gifts – two in 1 Corinthians 12 and another two in Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. The lists are not exhaustive but grouping similar gifts together, we will use these lists in this series to understand further the gifts that God has given us to continue his work.

Romans 8 is one of the greatest chapters in the whole of the Bible as St Paul speaks of the range of blessings that the Holy Spirit brings to Christian believers. Much of it is very dense but packed with wonderful truths and during this series we will look at how the Spirit brings us the power to meet the law’s requirements, the assurance that we are children of God, the power to pray and confidence of the ultimate victory God will bring us.

Pentecost is the time when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit to equip the church to continue the work of Jesus within the world. This emphasis should continue beyond Pentecost Sunday and during this short series (interrupted by Father’s Day on 21st June) we will use the Acts of the Apostles to consider certain distinctive marks of a Spirit-filled church in the power that the Holy Spirit gives us to heal, to stand firm and be a people who radically share with one another the things that we possess.

At the heart of the Christian faith are a number of historical events and truths that we confess our belief in. But what practical difference should it make to believe in these truths? During this series we will look at a number of these – the resurrection appearances of Jesus, the belief in our future resurrection, the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the coming of the Holy Spirit and understanding God as Trinity – and ask what difference these truths both should and can make to our everyday lives.

Famously there is not one single mention of God in the story of Esther. This, however, is precisely because its writer wants us to do the hard work of discerning God’s presence behind the events that it narrates. During this series we will use this exciting and disturbing story to try and see further where God is to be found within our current lives and those situations where he can sometimes appear to be to be just as noticeably absent.

Easter is the most important festival within the Christian year because we are celebrating is God’s new creation and resurrection life breaking into this world and changing it forever. The truth of Easter should therefore change everything about our lives from the way in which we approach our work, recreation and relationships to the way in which we consider how to vote in May’s General Election.

During all of our April services from Easter onwards – 9.30, 11.00 and six30 @ ccnm – we will be considering how Easter should change our approach to life. The aim of these series is that both our individual and family lives and our life as a church community will be further transformed by the truth of Easter.

Easter is the most important festival within the Christian year because we are celebrating is God’s new creation and resurrection life breaking into this world and changing it forever. The truth of Easter should therefore change everything about our lives from the way in which we approach our work, recreation and relationships to the way in which we consider how to vote in May’s General Election.

During all of our April services from Easter onwards – 9.30, 11.00 and six30 @ ccnm – we will be considering how Easter should change our approach to life. The aim of these series is that both our individual and family lives and our life as a church community will be further transformed by the truth of Easter.

Easter is the most important festival within the Christian year because we are celebrating is God’s new creation and resurrection life breaking into this world and changing it forever. The truth of Easter should therefore change everything about our lives from the way in which we approach our work, recreation and relationships to the way in which we consider how to vote in May’s General Election.

During all of our April services from Easter onwards – 9.30, 11.00 and six30 @ ccnm – we will be considering how Easter should change our approach to life. The aim of these series is that both our individual and family lives and our life as a church community will be further transformed by the truth of Easter.

One of the greatest Christian virtues is joy. Gaining joy is about reaching a sense of internal well-being that is not dependent on outward circumstances. When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Philippi he was in prison and yet every aspect of the epistle reflects the joy that he had found through his faith in Jesus Christ. During this series we will look the different ways in which Paul’s faith in Jesus contributed to this joy with the aim of discovering more about how our Christian faith can produce something similar within our lives.

In successive weeks we will see how joy is produced by seeing how God can bring good out of bad situations (Philippians 1), developing an attitude similar to that of Jesus (Philippians 2), sitting lightly to the human status markers (Philippians 3.1-11), being clear about the Christian hope (Philippians 3.12-21) and learning to relate well to others (Philippians 4.1-23).

One of the greatest needs that we have as human beings is the strength to face up to our hardships and those things that we fear. One of the ways through which this can come to us is through encouragement when we receive words and support from others that quite literally give us the courage to face up to our fears and become more fully the people that God made us to be. During this series we will consider both the encouragement that God wants us to receive in various aspects of our lives and the ways in which we can, in turn, be part of passing this encouragement onto others.

The Ten Commandments within Exodus and Deuteronomy are perhaps the most famous part of the Old Testament. During this series we will look at the first five of these commandments and, in the light of the teaching within the New Testament, consider how they reveal God’s will for our lives today. Rather than simply considering the individual application of the Ten Commandments to our lives, we will also consider the ways in which they were intended to shape the communal life of God’s people and the implications of this for our life together at Christ Church.

The stories within Genesis are foundational for understanding what our Christian faith is all about. During 2014 we looked at the first eleven chapters of Genesis which seek to teach us foundational truths about the nature of the world in which we live. From chapter 12, Genesis starts to reveal the nature of God’s rescue plan which begins with the call of Abram/Abraham. Abraham is depicted in the New Testament as a great hero of faith but many of his actions recorded within Genesis appear to show a man who had as much that was flawed about him as faithful. During this series we will look at the key episodes in Abraham’s life and seek to understand how all of their elements played a role in the development of God’s plan of salvation.

The Old Testament can sometimes seem rather strange to us, particularly the book of Genesis with its seemingly bizarre and off-putting stories. The role of this very first book of the Bible, however, is to teach us foundational truths about both the nature of the world in which we live and the nature of God’s rescue plan for it. During this series we will study Genesis through the key characters presented within it and seek to understand what God has to say to us today through this ancient book and its relevance to our everyday lives.

One of the things that prevents the Christmas stories becoming dulled by familiarity is when we keep asking questions about their nature. During this series we will seek to do precisely this by asking why the Christmas stories make so much mention of angels, the Old Testament prophets and both Herod and Augustus. In each case the answers reveal crucial aspects of the Christmas story which are central to grasping their full significance.

Much of our time at the 11.00 service recently has been spent looking at the stories of David in 1 and 2 Samuel. David is an enormously important figure within the Bible, not least because of the way in which he points us to Jesus. During this Advent series we will look at four New Testament books – Matthew, Luke, Romans and Revelation – and consider how each of them understands David to point us to Jesus.

One of our aims at Christ Church is to resist any sacred/secular divide and see how God can be found in every aspect of the world in which we live. The run up to Christmas can often be a deeply secular time but during this Advent series we will look at three common aspects of Christmas – the parties, the decorations and the food and drink – and consider where the God revealed in Jesus can be found within them.

Anything which creates resonance tends to do so because it reflects what is true or because it reflects what people want to be true. This is particularly true of great literature meaning that a great deal of Christian theology can be drawn from it. During this series we will look at three famous and successful novels - Jane Eyre, The Great Gatsby and Gone with the Wind and consider the way in which these books reflect truths revealed within the Bible.

Perhaps the biggest spiritual challenge we face is confronting our fears and the destructive affects that it can have upon our behaviour. During this series we will look at three threats that are particularly feared within our society at the moment – the threat of failure, the threat of terrorism and the threat of Ebola – and consider how God is calling us to respond to these fears.

By the middle of 2 Samuel the reign of King David appears to have reached its height of success with Israel’s enemies defeated and a major empire established. From that point on, however, this starts to unravel as David’s adultery with Bathsheba initiates a series of events which bring more and more disaster upon his kingdom. During this series we will conclude our study of 2 Samuel by looking at the rebellion of David’s son Absalom and the further misfortunes that befell Israel during the reign of her greatest king. As we study these stories, we’ll seek to understand more of the way in which, with all their bloodshed, folly and treachery, the events they record nonetheless formed part of building for the arrival for ‘Great David’s greater son’ in Jesus Christ.

Ministry or service towards our young people is one of the most important aspects of Christ Church with every adult member of the church needing to carry responsibility for this. As with every other part of church life, being really clear about what we are doing in youth ministry and why we are doing it is critical to its effectiveness. During this series we will seek to become clearer about the theology (understanding of God and his purposes) that needs to underpin our ministry to young people. This will hopefully result in us serving our young people more effectively and the church receiving more from the gifts and insights which they bring.

2 Samuel tells the story of the reign of Israel’s greatest ruler in King David. During this period the nation of Israel was at its strongest with God’s blessing and presence amongst his people seeming to be fully established. The Ark of the Covenant, and therefore God’s presence, being established in Jerusalem is a crucial part of this story together with the specific covenant God made with David. In this series we will look at the first half of 2 Samuel and what these blessings reveal about God and his relationship with his people ahead of a later series looking at the second half of 2 Samuel and the darker theme of ‘David under the curse’.

One of the greatest Christian virtues is joy. Gaining joy is about reaching a sense of internal well-being that is not dependant on outward circumstances. When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Philippi he was in prison and yet every aspect of the epistle reflects the joy that he had found through his faith in Jesus Christ. During this series we will look the different ways in which Paul’s faith in Jesus contributed to this joy with the aim of discovering more about how our Christian faith can produce something similar within our lives. In successive weeks we will see how joy is produced by seeing how God can bring good out of bad situations, developing an attitude similar to that of Jesus, sitting lightly to the human status markers, being clear about the Christian hope and learning to relate well to others.

Ministry means service and all Christians are called to ministry by God with this service taking many different forms. Ordained ministry is just one form but there are many others forms of ministry taking place both inside and outside the structures of the church. Hearing people’s story of their ministries can be very inspiring and during this series we will hear five members of Christ Church telling the story of how their ministry has developed.

One of the reasons for the enduring popularity fairy stories is the level of resonance that they create. This is particularly true of the numerous film versions of fairy stories that have been made and at the heart of the most of these stories is the conquest of evil by the power of love. The deeply Christian nature of this theme means that there is often a surprising amount of really good theology presented in these stories which can then be analysed and used to probe deeper in the message of Jesus Christ and its relevance to our lives. During this series we will look in turn at three of the most successful recent film depictions of fairy stories – Frozen, Beauty and the Beast and Shrek – and try to discern and unpack the biblical truths that they can convey to us.

Christians are called by Jesus to be ‘Salt and Light’ within the world that we live and a large part of that is making a difference to the suffering of those around us. During this series we will look at three pressing and current areas where Christians are being called by God to make a difference – to the issue of Human Trafficking which results in over 30 million people in the world today being enslaved, to people with mental health issues and to people who are lonely. In each of these areas it is easy to ignore these problems but then collude with them getting worse. The aim of this series is to show us the very practical things that we can be doing – both as individuals and as a church community – to make a difference and bring God’s love and justice closer to those who so desperately need it.

The early chapters of Genesis are foundational to setting out both the nature of the world in which we live and the beginning of God’s rescue plan. This plan in many ways begins with Noah and the important concept of the covenant which occurs for the first time in Genesis 6.18. Noah’s Ark is in some ways so familiar to us that we can miss much of the valuable theology contained within the four chapters that deal with the Flood and its aftermath. Much of this material, however, is crucial for understanding the subsequent development of the covenant idea through the Old Testament ahead of it reaching its climax in the coming of Jesus Christ. The recent film starring Russell Crowe shows how popular the story of Noah remains but much of the nature of this film also reveals how important it is to think clearly about the true message of such stories if we are go on and understand the full nature of the good news of Jesus Christ.

The Shack was written in 2007 by Paul Young and tells the story of a Christian called Mack called to meet with God following his despair at the horrific murder of his beloved daughter Missy. Almost a modern equivalent of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, The Shack deals in story form with the most profound reflections upon the issue of suffering but also the nature of God as Trinity and a number of other themes as well. The help which a number of Christ Church members have already received from the book has prompted this sermon series during which we will seek to reflect upon the biblical truths that The Shack is seeking to present.

The early chapters of Genesis are foundational to the Christian faith setting out much of how we are called to understand the world in which we live. Its two accounts of creation are especially important in setting out God’s intentions for the world which were not swept aside once sin entered it through disobedience of human beings. As such, they form an important corrective to any tendency within Christianity to ‘super-spiritualise’ our faith by sitting lightly to creation. During this series we will look at the first five chapters of Genesis and consider what they are seeking to teach us about the nature of the world – both in God’s original creation and after the arrival of sin caused it to go so badly wrong.