The book of the Acts of the Apostles could be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The spread of the Church documented in its pages is undergirded by ‘signs and wonders’; miracles of healing in particular. How normal should sign and wonders be in our Church life?
Works are the visible good deeds that a Christian community does in response to their faith in Christ; not dead works of religion, but live works of faith.
Words have power. Jesus speaks of his own words as ‘works of the father’ (John 14:10) as much as other ‘miracles’. Paul (Rom 10:14-15) asks how people can believe without a preacher.
But Words can get us into trouble. And Witness requires boldness, as well as sensitivity. How do we find the right words to be witnesses? How do we prepare, take opportunities, know God’s empowering?
The Psalms is the worship book of the bible and many of them are songs of lament, coming to God with grief and hard questions. The challenge of suffering is that very often our grief and our questions cause us to move away from God rather than closer to him.
How and when can we incorporate lament into our worship diet? What songs of longing and lament are there? How do we find a God who grieves with us and over us when we bring our griefs to him.
Who hopes for what they already have? Longing seems to be part of the human psyche, ‘God has set eternity in the hearts of men’ says the writer of Ecclesiastes. What part has longing played in your spiritual journey?
Loss is inevitable. What does the Bible have to say about how we face life's losses? Is there such a thing as good grief?
A glimpse of God at work in the city and region.
God's rescue plan came to fruition as Jesus is raised from the grave, defeating the power of sin and death!
Wasn’t there another way God could have acted other than Jesus dying? Why did there have to be a sacrifice? What did Jesus’ death actually achieve?
For some people, the truth of who Jesus is offends them. To others, the truth doesn’t make any sense. This has been the case ever since Jesus walked the earth and is demonstrated in this passage. What is the truth about Jesus? Who did he claim he was?
What can we do when God seems silent? In the garden Jesus prays to his Father, seemingly with no reply, and yet he still obeys. What can we learn from Jesus’ reaction to God’s seeming silence, and how can we engage with God in those times when he doesn’t seem to be speaking?
Why did Jesus give us communion? This is a chance to teach about the symbolism of the bread and wine, the importance of the new covenant and the links to the Passover and Jesus being our sacrifice.
Application - what purpose does communion have in the modern, global church, and what impact does it have on us as individuals?
As the saying goes, ‘dress for the job you want, not for the job you have.’
How often do you try to do everything in your own strength and fall flat on your face? The good news from Colossians is, we can step into a new set of clothes.
Colossians 3:1-17
'The world says we can have everything now; but is it truly everything?'
In a world that promises instant gratification, can we have everything we want now? Paul encourages the Colossians to put down roots. When we give Jesus everything, he doesn’t give us back religion, tradition, or teaching. When we give ourselves to Jesus, we receive Jesus Christ himself. He is everything now.
In the book of Colossians, Paul addresses problems the Church faces and encourages believers to remain devoted to the exalted Jesus. In Jesus, the hope of heaven has already broken into earth. It’s all about Jesus - it always has been, is now and always will be.
‘Live a life that brings pleasure to God. That’s how we can truly thrive.’
How does knowing God more, and staying connected to Jesus, allows us to live a life where we can thrive and impact those around us?
It’s been said that ‘we are what we read’. What we fill our minds with will inevitably affect the way we write the story of our lives. What’s on your reading list?
Giving is at the heart of what it is to be a follower of Jesus. Why give and how should we go about it? Watch out for the cracking mother-in-law joke!
Prayer is key to a Christian life. How can we prioritise it more and how can we get better at it? Are we as good at listening as we are at talking?
Matthew 6:5-15
What are your priorities at the start of this New Year? In Matthew 6, Jesus talked of three priorities for believers and they are ones for us to embrace in 2018. What role does fasting have in modern day discipleship? And hear about Sam's plans to fast from clothes during Prayer Week!
