Service Standard

Mark 6:30-44

The feeding of the 5,000 is the only one of Jesus' many miracles that is recorded in all 4 Gospels. This week, we will take a very different look at the narrative. We will not focus on the miracle, nor the boy who offered the loaves and fish. Instead, we will delve into how Jesus uses the situation to teach the disciples a lesson about the service standard he expects of them. This same service standard he expects of us also.  

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Luke - Ethics of the Kingdom

Luke 6:17-49

In Luke 6 Jesus delivers his 'Sermon on the Plain' where he gives much of his ethical teaching in this gospel. Jesus describes for his listeners some of what it looks like to be his disciple. Not surprisingly, much of what he says runs counter to what his audience would have expected (and what we might want to hear), leaving us with the challenge to love others in the same way God has loved us in Christ.  

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Luke - Let Down Your Nets

Luke 5:1-11

As Jesus embarks on his formal ministry in, he quickly gains a following by people drawn to his teaching and miraculous healings and works. In this passage Jesus begins to call his first disciples and we see how their encounter with him, experiencing both his mighty power and gracious provision, changed the purpose and direction of their lives.  

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Luke - Common Temptations

Luke 3:21-22, 4:1-13

Just before beginning his public ministry, two significant events occur in Jesus's life: his baptism and his time in the wilderness. Both are important in preparing him for ministry, and both continue to reveal to us just who this Jesus is.  

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Luke - Growing in Wisdom

Luke 2:41-52

As we continue to look at Luke's gospel, we come to a passage this week that is unique in all of the accounts of Jesus's life as it shares an episode from his boyhood. As the young Jesus attends the passover with his parents, we catch a glimpse of the ways he already understands who he truly is and what he has come to do.  

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Waiting for Good News

 Luke 1:5-45

As we begin the season of Advent this Sunday we turn to a well known passage from the prophet Isaiah.  Isaiah 61 tells about the mission of the coming Messiah and the great liberation he will bring to God's people.  It raises the question of how Israel would have received it so long ago, and how do we receive it as God's people today? It's a passage that gives us great hope in this life, and one that Jesus claims for himself in the Gospel of Luke. 

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Waiting for Good News

IsAiah 61

As we begin the season of Advent this Sunday we turn to a well known passage from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 61 tells about the mission of the coming Messiah and the great liberation he will bring to God's people. It raises the question of how Israel would have received it so long ago, and how do we receive it as God's people today? It's a passage that gives us great hope in this life, and one that Jesus claims for himself in the Gospel of Luke. 

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The Living Church: Summing It Up

Acts 2:42-47, 1 Timothy 6:11-12

We finish our sermon series this week on The Living Church, considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?  This Sunday we'll look back over what we've covered, along with some instructions Paul gave to Timothy regarding the life of discipleship that remain relevant to Christ's followers today. 

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The Living Church: Prayer

Luke 18:1-14

We continue in our sermon series this week on The Living Church, considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?  This Sunday we'll be looking at two of Jesus's parables as we consider prayer and it's importance in the life of the church. 

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The Living Church: God's Word

2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5

We continue in our sermon series this week on The Living Church, considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?  This Sunday we'll be considering the importance of God's Word in the life of the church, both hearing and proclaiming it. 

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The Living Church: Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

We continue in our sermon series this week on The Living Church, considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?  This Sunday we will consider the way God uses his Church to influence the world around us. What does it mean to be "salt and light" as he describes us in the Sermon on the Mount? 

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Marks of a Healthy Church

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

How do we know if we have a healthy church? What factors nurture a healthy church? What kinds of things happen when a church is spiritually healthy? We’ll discover answers to these questions when we explore the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. 

This week we welcome to the pulpit Mike Tilley. A long time staff member with Cru, Mike now serves as Pastor Emeritus and elder at Lake Baldwin Church in Orlando, Florida, USA and as pastor at large for International Christian Community (ICC) Eurasia.

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The Living Church - Gospel Centered Conduct in Difficult Days

Philippians 1:27-30

We live in challenging times marked by spiritual and moral rebellion and confusion that appear to threaten the church. The church at Philippi lived in similar times, and Paul’s instruction to them points us to what we as a local church need to conduct ourselves consistently with the gospel. 

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The Living Church: Giving

Matthew 6:19-21, 24
2 Corinthians 9:6-15


We continue in our sermon series this week on The Living Church, considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ.  What are the qualities of a church that is alive?  This week we are talking about giving and the importance of being generous in our lives together.  

In the sermon on 25 September, the Lausanne Covenant was mentioned as being an important statement on the priority of evangelism in the Church.  It is a good resource and worth reading and studying.  You can find it at this link - https://lausanne.org/content/covenant/lausanne-covenant#languages (it is available in different languages at the top of the page).

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The Living Church: Evangelism

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

 

We continue in our sermon series this week on The Living Church, considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?  This week we are talking about evangelism - sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  .

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The Living Church: Worship

Psalm 96

Revelation 7:9-11

Last Sunday we began a new sermon series for the autumn - The Living Church. Throughout the series we will be considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?   

This week we will talk about our main task as God's people - Worship.

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The Living Church: A People for God's Possession

1 Peter 2:4-10

This Sunday we begin a new sermon series for the autumn - The Living Church. Throughout the series we will be considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?   We will start by looking at God's vision for his people found throughout scripture as we seek to better understand our unique identity and calling as God's people.

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The Life of David: The Lord Looks at the Heart - David's Last Song

2 Samuel 22

This week we wrap up our series on the life of David looking at 2 Samuel 22 (which also appears as Psalm 18) in which David looks back over his life, with all of its ups and downs, and offers back to God in a prayer of thanksgiving and praise.

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The Life of David: The Lord Looks at the Heart - King David, Fallen and Restored

2 Samuel 13-20

The sin in David's life eventually catches up to him, with dire consequences for his family and all of Israel. David's life gives us the opportunity to consider sin's destructive nature, which points us back to the one who took our sin upon himself.

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Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5-2:2

 

What does a “real Christian” look like? You can find all kinds of answers to that question. This text tells us that one of the first ways genuine faith in Christ shows itself in our lives is in our response to who God is. This in turn changes our relationships with others and our posture toward sin.

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