Chosen People
In our series Chosen People, we are looking at the Bible book of 1 Peter, a letter to a people who are finding life difficult. The people Peter are writing to are living in an increasingly hostile environment. In this series we look at Peter’s encouragement to the church, his reminder of the gospel and his reminder that they are chosen people. We’ll look at how these reminders apply to us today.
Reading the Bible like a son
Marcellus looked at Jesus’ famous words in John 5 v19 ‘he can do only what he sees his father doing’ and found he had a strange reaction to those verses. This led to looking deeper into the wonderful relationship between Jesus the Son and God the Father and how that shapes the way we read the Bible and live our lives.
A powerful ending
In the final sermon from Peter's epic letter to the churches in Turkey, we take a look at the last few verses. At first glance they look like Peter is simply signing off the letter. Instead we discover a power packed ending with Peter reminding us and encouraging us to remember that there is a father in heaven in who loves us and chose us.
Come suffer and die
The Bible says that ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’. Humbling ourselves, putting others first, is hard and can feel a bit like suffering and even death! However that is what God did for us through Jesus and he invites us to do the same. Marcellus looks at what humbling ourselves really looks like.
Why do we need to submit?
Joel continues our series in 1 Peter looking at submission. It sounds like an old fashioned way of thinking so why do Christians talk about submission and the need to submit? Joel looks at what the Bible says and shares some thoughts on how we do it.
Learn how to live rested and burden free
Richard looks at the prophetic book of Jeremiah in the Bible where he reminds God's people that taking a sabbath rest was part of God's plan for their good.
Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 21 says "take care for the sake of your lives"
The end of all things is at hand
Peter starts the next section of his letter in dramatic style but explains that God is wonderfully at work in the small, everyday, normal things of life.
The rest of my earthly life…
How should we live the rest of our lives? Martin unpacks Peter’s teaching and looks at the one attitude Peter says should mark how we live the rest of our lives.
How to be the church God wants
Often we can want to build or at least be part of a church that serves our needs and wishes. However by looking at the Apostle Peter’s first letter in the Bible, we see that God has his own very clear plan for his church and instead invites us to join him on that adventure.
Beautiful or sexist submission?
Sami talks about the battle of the sexes, and looks at God's idea about men and women and how they can both flourish together in their relationships.
Honouring the Emperor
In the Bible, Peter tells us that the church is a holy temple that is meant to offer spiritual sacrifices to please God, but what are those spiritual sacrifices?
Marcellus explores what it looks like to offer spiritual sacrifices. He looks at what it means to be a humble and submitted people and how that pleases God.
An invitation from Jesus
In 1Peter 2 v 4-10 there is an invitation to come to Jesus and be completely secure in Him. The Bible describes Jesus as precious to God. As Richard looks at the passage this week he challenges us to consider how precious Jesus is to us?
Let's go deeper
In Peter’s letter he encourages us to go deeper with God in our day to day life, our church life and in our experience of Him. Martin looks at the promises and the encouragements we have to leave the shallows and know God more deeply.
A story of suffering and glory
In the Bible we read that hundreds of years before the event, Prophets foresaw that Jesus would come to suffer and die on a cross for us. Looking at 1 Peter 1: 10-12, Chris explores what they saw and how his death and resurrection is so relevant to us today.
Rejoicing in Suffering
Marcellus starts our new sermon series in 1 Peter by calling the church to be a people who rejoice in our difficulties and trials. He shows us how God is (trying) to make us maturedisciples who deal well with disappointment, setback and rejection.