Saul’s life was totally changed after meeting with Jesus – but he wasn’t accepted by other believers who feared and mistrusted him. It took Barnabas to come alongside him, to speak for him to the others and to help him become accepted. Are we prepared to do that for those who are on “the outside”? […]
We’ll be looking at the story of Naomi and Ruth – and how Ruth was determined to stay with and support her mother-in-law even when Naomi tried to send her away. Ruth was a real encouragement to her through times of real hardship and loss and can be an example to us all. And as […]
This morning we bring our Paraclesis thoughts to a close – for now – and will be particularly thinking about brokenness and healing. We’ll be recognising that we all experience times of brokenness and suffering – and often know people close to us who are going through them as well – and thinking about where […]
This morning we will be doing a recap of the main points we explored during our Paraclesis series – thinking about how we can encourage and support each other. An opportunity to reflect, to think, to commit to change. We’ll also have Brian and Lydia with us – BMS missionaries from Thailand – who will […]
In a challenging story Jesus speaks about how he will judge people when he returns to this world – which he has promised to do. And the criteria he uses here is how much we have cared for others in need and he makes the amazing statement that when we care for others it is […]
On their way into the Temple to pray Peter and John saw a lame man begging. Instead of ignoring him and moving on they stopped, spoke with him, connected with him. While they couldn’t help with the problem he was focused on (they didn’t have any money to give him) they were able to help […]
Why do God’s people – even when living in good relationship with each other and with God – sometimes find themselves suffering and going through a lot of pain? Here Peter reminds us that we should expect it and it may not be because of anything we have done wrong. But he also speaks about […]
Today’s teaching is looking at the ways in which life can wound our spirits, and how sometimes a physical illness can have an underlying spiritual cause. “Strong in the broken places” shows how healing our spiritual wounds can help us journey with others bringing comfort, strength and healing to those who are suffering the pain […]
Paraclesis Week 5 – sermon notesPaul speaks about us living in an evil world and the need to be very careful about how we live – not foolishly but wisely. Do we recognise this description, do we experience the challenge of making wise choices? And, if so, do we recognise the need for God’s wisdom […]
We are faced with life choices every day – many of them trivial but some really important. How do we make the important decisions about life, how do we choose what we should do, how do we help others who are struggling with the same questions? In today’s story, Jesus meets a man who had […]