Watch and listen:
The New Testament Podcast
As a church we are going deeper in scripture; we want to read The Word and be transformed by it. So, join us as a member of our community takes us through a chapter of the New Testament and a short reflection, every weekday.
Where to Listen
Teaching Series
Listen back to our previous teaching series:
︎︎︎Spirit-Led Lives
Summer 2023
As disciples of Christ, we want to become more like him. As children of God, we want to grow in the love of the Father. And as a new humanity, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live Spirit-led lives. The purpose of this series is to learn about the person and works of the Spirit so that we might keep in step with the Spirit.
︎︎︎Revelation: A Beginner's Guide to the Apocalypse
Spring 2023
The Book of Revelation is one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. For this reason, many have feared reading its pages and relegated it to academics or eccentrics. And yet this was a gift God gave to the author, John the Apostle, to help serve, comfort, challenge, and bring hope to Christians in peril. In the upheaval, confusion and fear of the days in which we live, this gift must be discovered and received again for us today.
︎︎︎Doors Wide Open
Weekend Away 2023
In Loughborough, there will be open heavens for open doors. At Wildfires Festival, we received these words from John Scott, a prophetic leader. At our 2023 Weekend Away, we explored the possibilities of heaven breaking out, illustrated by the image of an open door. Under an open heaven, prayer is unbroken, justice is possible, and salvation is shared. Our homes become places of transformation and reconciliation, where our open doors illustrate our open hearts.
︎︎︎James: Faith in Action
Autumn 2022
Actions speak louder than words. This is the mantra of the letter of James, a letter of faith, patience, and wisdom. James was the half-brother of Jesus. He was the leader of the mother church of Jerusalem, out of which the worldwide church was born. The Bible Project says that James was a peacemaker who led with wisdom and courage.
︎︎︎At the Table
Summer 2022
In Luke’s Gospel, it is said that Jesus was often either on the way to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal. For Jesus, discipleship and mission happened around a table, where strangers, enemies and friends joined him. So likewise, our tables are places of hospitality and fellowship, where announcements, confessions and revelations often occur. As we journey through this new teaching series, we will understand our tables as places of transformation and reconciliation, where our open doors illustrate our open hearts.
︎︎︎Justice: Heaven’s Perspective
Spring / Summer 2022
'Let justice roll on like a river.' 'Seek first His kingdom and his righteousness.' From Amos through to Matthew, justice is a core message of the Bible. So how do we open our eyes to see God's perspective of justice? From March through to June, we'll hold up a different lens over the light of 'Justice', asking how it looks with a heavenly perspective.
︎︎︎Your Kingdom Come
Weekend Away 2022
At our 2022 Weekend Away, we were excited to welcome our friend Martin Young from Rising Brook Church in Stafford to speak on our theme ‘Your Kingdom Come’. We gathered again as a church to fix our eyes on Jesus, the King of the Kingdom, looking at how we establish Heaven’s reality on Earth.
︎︎︎The Gospel of Mark: Living the Way of Jesus in the World
Spring 2022
The Gospel of Mark invites you to immerse yourself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and to consider his life-changing announcement that the kingdom of God has come. Hope-filled and healing, disruptive and demanding, love-growing and fear-beating, this is the way of King Jesus we’re called to live, Monday through Sunday.
︎︎︎ Faith & Hope: Running With Perseverance
Autumn 2021
The Book of Hebrews tells us to 'run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith'. Jesus is the first cause of our faith. He blazed the trail of faith, showing us what it means to trust our heavenly Father with our whole lives. Faith is precisely what sets us apart from the world. Faith lifts our eyes heavenward and onto the Kingdom of God. It sees what's possible, not what's impossible. It's the source of hope and the fuel for advancement.
︎︎︎ One Another: Living in Community
Summer 2021
There is a little Greek word that has a lot to teach us about how we treat others. It is the word “allelon” which is usually translated “one another”. This phrase occurs 100 times in the New Testament, but these aren’t just words on a page. These words command us to treat others as Christ treated those around Him. How could we experience greater peace and joy if we followed these commands? How might the world see the church if we lived these ‘one another’ verses out? All the ‘one anothers’ flow from this central command Jesus gave; to be kind, compassionate and to love one another.
︎︎︎ Gentle & Lowly: The Heart of Christ
Summer 2021
Jesus is always inviting us to come closer. We want to respond to the invitation to draw near to Jesus, knowing that His heart towards us is always good, always kind and always loving. This might feel like a recalibration for many after a year and a half apart and we want our compasses to point as one to Jesus. We’ll be digging into teaching inspired by Dane Ortlund’s book of the same name. This book reflects on Jesus' words that he is 'gentle and lowly in heart' and what it means for sinners and sufferers today.
︎︎︎ God’s Grace: Our Values
Spring 2021
Open Heaven has five values together spelling out the word grace. These are; growth, relevance, authenticity, community and empowerment. We will unpack these values to root us into the calling we feel God has given us as a church. We want to be a community characterised by the grace God has shown us.
︎︎︎ Frontlines: Everyday Mission
Spring 2021
Imagine the difference we could make in the world. Imagine if we looked around at the people we spend our days with and asked God: how do you want me to be good news to the people here today? Our new teaching series ‘Frontline’ looks to affirm, celebrate, and inspire our community for everyday mission, wherever we find ourselves.
︎︎︎ Nehemiah: Rebuilders
Spring 2021
In this series we'll work through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah chapter by chapter. We'll examine the process from conception to completion of the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem by the people of God. We'll see how the Israelites work with each other and with God to achieve this feat and how they deal with sorrow, persecution, fear along the way. And we'll draw parallels to our need to rebuild our lives and our society.
︎︎︎ Jesus Is: The Names of Christ
Winter 2020
Jesus is the centre of it all. The centrepiece of creation, the heart of our faith, the author of life. He is the Way to God, the Truth wrapped in skin and bones, and He is Life in all its fullness. Our faith hinges on a single man, known by many names: Son of God, Saviour, Healer, Teacher, Friend, King. As we uncover the names and character of Christ, we are drawn closer to Him. As we listen, learn and follow his Way; his lifestyle, his words and his actions, we are made more and more into His image.
︎︎︎ The Way to Wellbeing: The Fruit of the Spirit
Autumn 2020
The priority and goal for the Christian is not wellbeing itself but seeking the being who makes us well. It is the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit of wellbeing in our lives, they are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
︎︎︎ Conversations About Race
Summer 2020
A series of discussions with members of Open Heaven Church about racism in the UK, their experiences, and how we can be an inclusive church community.
︎︎︎ The Book of Acts: A New Reality
Spring / Summer 2020
The years of the early church were a time of extreme growth, but also internal resistance. Believers met in homes, modelling community in a pure and powerful way. But Christians become settled and comfortable. The disruption of the early church came in the form of persecution, forcing believers out of the temple courts and out onto the Roman roads to other nations.
︎︎︎ Unchartered Territory
Spring 2020
We live in a culture that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. We live in a world where anxiety, illness and death feel close. We live in a time in which community is scattered, isolation is the new normal and rhythms of life are being rethought. Cutting through all this is the Word of God, an ever present help in times of trouble, a great shining beam of light in the darkest of moments.
︎︎︎ Awaken: Revival & Renewal
Weekend Away 2020
A barren fig tree bearing fruit. A river that brings gladness. A net being strengthened. These are all metaphors for a greater reality that we experienced at the Weekend Away. As Simon Ponsonby and Ness Wilson spoke to us we journeyed through the darkness of a national church in decline into the new dawn of revival.
︎︎︎ Stewardship: The Earth is the Lord’s & Everything In It
Winter 2019 / 2020
Stewardship; the job of supervising or taking care of something. Jesus understood that everything he had belonged to the Father. One passage puts it like this; ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it’ Psalm 24:1.
︎︎︎ The Book of Esther: For Such a Time as This
Autumn 2019
Written in the same time period as Ezra and Nehemiah, the events in the Book of Esther took place in Persia under the reign of King Xerxes. The Book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that doesn’t mention God by name but His activity is seen throughout.
︎︎︎ The Book of Acts: Ten Lessons from the Early Church
Summer 2019
The Book of Acts, written by the gospel author Luke, is the record of the Acts of the Apostles, or in simple terms what the early followers of Jesus did after His death, resurrection and ascension. Luke’s primary aim of writing the book was actually set out by the words of Jesus: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
︎︎︎ Stand Firm: The Armour of God
Spring 2019
Gear up. Get ready for training as we explore what it means to journey well as followers of Christ. In Ephesians 6 Paul gives us an explanation of what it takes to stand firm through the rigours of life. The items of the armour can produce confidence, longevity and other fruits in our lives. Paul saw fit to put these subjects together and present them as some kind of toolkit for journeying well for the long haul. There's no reason we shouldn't do the same.
︎︎︎ All Things New
Weekend Away 2019
What does it means to play our part in God's redemption plan to renew all things? Following on from our Gospel of Matthew series, we explored the theme of ‘All Things New’ at our 2019 Weekend Away.
︎︎︎ 1 Corinthians: One Church
Winter 2018 / 2019
In a time of polarised opinions, what does it mean for followers of Jesus to be unified? As we leaf through the pages of 1 Corinthians we uncover God's blueprint for a church marked by both diversity and unity. Estimated as being written in AD 53-57, 1 Corinthians is one of Paul's many letters to the early church found in the the back of the New Testament.
︎︎︎ The Gospel of Matthew: The Kingdom of God
Autumn 2018
The vast majority of New Testament scholars today, whether evangelical or liberal, agree that the central aspect of Jesus’ teaching was the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Jesus preached that all of creation would be restored. A central part of that restoration was Jesus’ death on the cross, but that isn’t the end of the story. The story ends when Jesus returns to fully bring in his Kingdom and restore the fullness of creation in all its entirety.
︎︎︎ The Psalms of Ascent: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Summer 2018
The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of lyrics, a dog-earred songbook at the back of the Book of Psalms. These songs were sung by the Israelites on their pilgrimages to the temple or to national festivals. Eugene Peterson unpacks these scriptures in his book 'A Long Obedience In The Same Direction'. Discipleship to Jesus is a lifelong process; it cannot be short cut or fast tracked. When we say yes to Jesus and discipleship, we are in essence signing up for a long obedience in the same direction.
︎︎︎ Song of Songs: Holy Passion
Spring / Summer 2018
The Bible Project describes the Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs as a collection of ancient Israelite love poems that celebrate the beauty and power of God's gift of love and sexual desire. Often the Bible seems at odds with our own cultures seemingly progressive views on sex and relationships. Yet as we dig into this wisdom book, combined with the teachings of Jesus and the letters of the New Testament we find that this conversation is in fact an age-old conflict. The Song of Solomon is strange, erotic and unusual and yet its message still holds sway in a culture longing for meaningful sex and relationships.
︎︎︎ Holiness that Hurts the Eyes
Weekend Away 2018
At our 2018 church Weekend Away, our guest speaker James Aladiran, founder of Prayer Storm, raised the bar around holiness and the call on us as the church to be set apart. We want to push into this some more, drawing out exactly what it means to be holy; speaking into it on a discipleship level and raising a generation who are set apart for the things of God.
︎︎︎ On Earth as in Heaven: The Lord’s Prayer
Winter 2017 / 2018
In this series we'll unpack the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. We'll see what it means for us to partner with God as kingdom builders, to talk with our Father in heaven from a place of deep intimacy, and to seek Him in order to meet our daily needs as a community.
︎︎︎ Imagine Heaven
Autumn 2017
As we examine scripture we find that our understanding of heaven as a future destination has an impact in the here and now, changing our approach to worship, our hunger for justice, our awareness of beauty and our desire for healing.
︎︎︎ Revival Town: Restoring Culture
Weekend Away 2017
At our 2017 Weekend Away we were joined by Tre Sheppard. Tre Sheppard talked about becoming a restoration people who shape and change the culture of our towns and cities.
︎︎︎ Colossians: The Supremacy of Christ
Winter 2016 / 2017
To the west of modern day Turkey lie the ruins of the small city of Colossae. Written just after Jesus's death and resurrection and at the time of the explosion and expansion of the early church the letter to the Colossians speaks to a group of fired up evangelists and calls them to a life of holiness.
︎︎︎ The Glorious Gospel
Autumn 2016
We've been hearing stories of God moving across the UK. In Redding, Liverpool and Southampton we've seen many people turn back to God. God is giving His church a renewed confidence in the gospel, our gospel of good news. The gospel is the heart of the Bible - everything in scripture is either preparation, presentation or participation in the gospel. We'll be looking at these messages and metaphors across the Bible, in turn helping us give words to the hope that we profess.
︎︎︎ Emotionally Healthy Lives
Summer 2016
Our 'Emotionally Healthy Lives' series is inspired by New York pastor Peter Scazzero's transformative roadmap for discipleship with Jesus. Scazzero learned the hard way: you can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. In this series we examine a model of spirituality that leads us towards an authentic faith and hunger for God.
︎︎︎ Proclaim the Kingdom: Prayer, Mission & Justice
Weekend Away 2016
At our 2016 Weekend Away we were joined by Philip and Alain Emerson. Philip Emerson is one of the lead pastors at Emmanuel Church in Lurgan, a church that was birthed in his living room, over 20 years ago.
︎︎︎ I Am Sent: Being an Apostolic Community
Winter 2015 / 2016
Throughout this series we look at what it means for us to be ‘sent ones’, as individuals and as a community which is set apart with a God defined purpose. We explore how this plays out in our relationships with others through mission, community and discipleship. We are commissioned and sent, propelled and encouraged through our experience and understanding of His presence, His equipping, and the power of the cross.
︎︎︎ Romans: Life in Christ
Autumn 2015
In the Book of Romans the author, the apostle Paul, paints a stunning picture of what life with Christ looks like. We learn what we were like without Christ and who we are when we trust in Christ. In this series we will look at challenging our cultural norms around how we use our bodies, how we relate to the government and to others, and how we treat our time.
︎︎︎Spirit-Led Lives
Summer 2023
As disciples of Christ, we want to become more like him. As children of God, we want to grow in the love of the Father. And as a new humanity, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live Spirit-led lives. The purpose of this series is to learn about the person and works of the Spirit so that we might keep in step with the Spirit.
︎︎︎Revelation: A Beginner's Guide to the Apocalypse
Spring 2023
The Book of Revelation is one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. For this reason, many have feared reading its pages and relegated it to academics or eccentrics. And yet this was a gift God gave to the author, John the Apostle, to help serve, comfort, challenge, and bring hope to Christians in peril. In the upheaval, confusion and fear of the days in which we live, this gift must be discovered and received again for us today.
︎︎︎Doors Wide Open
Weekend Away 2023
In Loughborough, there will be open heavens for open doors. At Wildfires Festival, we received these words from John Scott, a prophetic leader. At our 2023 Weekend Away, we explored the possibilities of heaven breaking out, illustrated by the image of an open door. Under an open heaven, prayer is unbroken, justice is possible, and salvation is shared. Our homes become places of transformation and reconciliation, where our open doors illustrate our open hearts.
︎︎︎James: Faith in Action
Autumn 2022
Actions speak louder than words. This is the mantra of the letter of James, a letter of faith, patience, and wisdom. James was the half-brother of Jesus. He was the leader of the mother church of Jerusalem, out of which the worldwide church was born. The Bible Project says that James was a peacemaker who led with wisdom and courage.
︎︎︎At the Table
Summer 2022
In Luke’s Gospel, it is said that Jesus was often either on the way to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal. For Jesus, discipleship and mission happened around a table, where strangers, enemies and friends joined him. So likewise, our tables are places of hospitality and fellowship, where announcements, confessions and revelations often occur. As we journey through this new teaching series, we will understand our tables as places of transformation and reconciliation, where our open doors illustrate our open hearts.
︎︎︎Justice: Heaven’s Perspective
Spring / Summer 2022
'Let justice roll on like a river.' 'Seek first His kingdom and his righteousness.' From Amos through to Matthew, justice is a core message of the Bible. So how do we open our eyes to see God's perspective of justice? From March through to June, we'll hold up a different lens over the light of 'Justice', asking how it looks with a heavenly perspective.
︎︎︎Your Kingdom Come
Weekend Away 2022
At our 2022 Weekend Away, we were excited to welcome our friend Martin Young from Rising Brook Church in Stafford to speak on our theme ‘Your Kingdom Come’. We gathered again as a church to fix our eyes on Jesus, the King of the Kingdom, looking at how we establish Heaven’s reality on Earth.
︎︎︎The Gospel of Mark: Living the Way of Jesus in the World
Spring 2022
The Gospel of Mark invites you to immerse yourself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and to consider his life-changing announcement that the kingdom of God has come. Hope-filled and healing, disruptive and demanding, love-growing and fear-beating, this is the way of King Jesus we’re called to live, Monday through Sunday.
︎︎︎ Faith & Hope: Running With Perseverance
Autumn 2021
The Book of Hebrews tells us to 'run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith'. Jesus is the first cause of our faith. He blazed the trail of faith, showing us what it means to trust our heavenly Father with our whole lives. Faith is precisely what sets us apart from the world. Faith lifts our eyes heavenward and onto the Kingdom of God. It sees what's possible, not what's impossible. It's the source of hope and the fuel for advancement.
︎︎︎ One Another: Living in Community
Summer 2021
There is a little Greek word that has a lot to teach us about how we treat others. It is the word “allelon” which is usually translated “one another”. This phrase occurs 100 times in the New Testament, but these aren’t just words on a page. These words command us to treat others as Christ treated those around Him. How could we experience greater peace and joy if we followed these commands? How might the world see the church if we lived these ‘one another’ verses out? All the ‘one anothers’ flow from this central command Jesus gave; to be kind, compassionate and to love one another.
︎︎︎ Gentle & Lowly: The Heart of Christ
Summer 2021
Jesus is always inviting us to come closer. We want to respond to the invitation to draw near to Jesus, knowing that His heart towards us is always good, always kind and always loving. This might feel like a recalibration for many after a year and a half apart and we want our compasses to point as one to Jesus. We’ll be digging into teaching inspired by Dane Ortlund’s book of the same name. This book reflects on Jesus' words that he is 'gentle and lowly in heart' and what it means for sinners and sufferers today.
︎︎︎ God’s Grace: Our Values
Spring 2021
Open Heaven has five values together spelling out the word grace. These are; growth, relevance, authenticity, community and empowerment. We will unpack these values to root us into the calling we feel God has given us as a church. We want to be a community characterised by the grace God has shown us.
︎︎︎ Frontlines: Everyday Mission
Spring 2021
Imagine the difference we could make in the world. Imagine if we looked around at the people we spend our days with and asked God: how do you want me to be good news to the people here today? Our new teaching series ‘Frontline’ looks to affirm, celebrate, and inspire our community for everyday mission, wherever we find ourselves.
︎︎︎ Nehemiah: Rebuilders
Spring 2021
In this series we'll work through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah chapter by chapter. We'll examine the process from conception to completion of the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem by the people of God. We'll see how the Israelites work with each other and with God to achieve this feat and how they deal with sorrow, persecution, fear along the way. And we'll draw parallels to our need to rebuild our lives and our society.
︎︎︎ Jesus Is: The Names of Christ
Winter 2020
Jesus is the centre of it all. The centrepiece of creation, the heart of our faith, the author of life. He is the Way to God, the Truth wrapped in skin and bones, and He is Life in all its fullness. Our faith hinges on a single man, known by many names: Son of God, Saviour, Healer, Teacher, Friend, King. As we uncover the names and character of Christ, we are drawn closer to Him. As we listen, learn and follow his Way; his lifestyle, his words and his actions, we are made more and more into His image.
︎︎︎ The Way to Wellbeing: The Fruit of the Spirit
Autumn 2020
The priority and goal for the Christian is not wellbeing itself but seeking the being who makes us well. It is the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit of wellbeing in our lives, they are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
︎︎︎ Conversations About Race
Summer 2020
A series of discussions with members of Open Heaven Church about racism in the UK, their experiences, and how we can be an inclusive church community.
︎︎︎ The Book of Acts: A New Reality
Spring / Summer 2020
The years of the early church were a time of extreme growth, but also internal resistance. Believers met in homes, modelling community in a pure and powerful way. But Christians become settled and comfortable. The disruption of the early church came in the form of persecution, forcing believers out of the temple courts and out onto the Roman roads to other nations.
︎︎︎ Unchartered Territory
Spring 2020
We live in a culture that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. We live in a world where anxiety, illness and death feel close. We live in a time in which community is scattered, isolation is the new normal and rhythms of life are being rethought. Cutting through all this is the Word of God, an ever present help in times of trouble, a great shining beam of light in the darkest of moments.
︎︎︎ Awaken: Revival & Renewal
Weekend Away 2020
A barren fig tree bearing fruit. A river that brings gladness. A net being strengthened. These are all metaphors for a greater reality that we experienced at the Weekend Away. As Simon Ponsonby and Ness Wilson spoke to us we journeyed through the darkness of a national church in decline into the new dawn of revival.
︎︎︎ Stewardship: The Earth is the Lord’s & Everything In It
Winter 2019 / 2020
Stewardship; the job of supervising or taking care of something. Jesus understood that everything he had belonged to the Father. One passage puts it like this; ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it’ Psalm 24:1.
︎︎︎ The Book of Esther: For Such a Time as This
Autumn 2019
Written in the same time period as Ezra and Nehemiah, the events in the Book of Esther took place in Persia under the reign of King Xerxes. The Book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that doesn’t mention God by name but His activity is seen throughout.
︎︎︎ The Book of Acts: Ten Lessons from the Early Church
Summer 2019
The Book of Acts, written by the gospel author Luke, is the record of the Acts of the Apostles, or in simple terms what the early followers of Jesus did after His death, resurrection and ascension. Luke’s primary aim of writing the book was actually set out by the words of Jesus: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
︎︎︎ Stand Firm: The Armour of God
Spring 2019
Gear up. Get ready for training as we explore what it means to journey well as followers of Christ. In Ephesians 6 Paul gives us an explanation of what it takes to stand firm through the rigours of life. The items of the armour can produce confidence, longevity and other fruits in our lives. Paul saw fit to put these subjects together and present them as some kind of toolkit for journeying well for the long haul. There's no reason we shouldn't do the same.
︎︎︎ All Things New
Weekend Away 2019
What does it means to play our part in God's redemption plan to renew all things? Following on from our Gospel of Matthew series, we explored the theme of ‘All Things New’ at our 2019 Weekend Away.
︎︎︎ 1 Corinthians: One Church
Winter 2018 / 2019
In a time of polarised opinions, what does it mean for followers of Jesus to be unified? As we leaf through the pages of 1 Corinthians we uncover God's blueprint for a church marked by both diversity and unity. Estimated as being written in AD 53-57, 1 Corinthians is one of Paul's many letters to the early church found in the the back of the New Testament.
︎︎︎ The Gospel of Matthew: The Kingdom of God
Autumn 2018
The vast majority of New Testament scholars today, whether evangelical or liberal, agree that the central aspect of Jesus’ teaching was the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Jesus preached that all of creation would be restored. A central part of that restoration was Jesus’ death on the cross, but that isn’t the end of the story. The story ends when Jesus returns to fully bring in his Kingdom and restore the fullness of creation in all its entirety.
︎︎︎ The Psalms of Ascent: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Summer 2018
The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of lyrics, a dog-earred songbook at the back of the Book of Psalms. These songs were sung by the Israelites on their pilgrimages to the temple or to national festivals. Eugene Peterson unpacks these scriptures in his book 'A Long Obedience In The Same Direction'. Discipleship to Jesus is a lifelong process; it cannot be short cut or fast tracked. When we say yes to Jesus and discipleship, we are in essence signing up for a long obedience in the same direction.
︎︎︎ Song of Songs: Holy Passion
Spring / Summer 2018
The Bible Project describes the Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs as a collection of ancient Israelite love poems that celebrate the beauty and power of God's gift of love and sexual desire. Often the Bible seems at odds with our own cultures seemingly progressive views on sex and relationships. Yet as we dig into this wisdom book, combined with the teachings of Jesus and the letters of the New Testament we find that this conversation is in fact an age-old conflict. The Song of Solomon is strange, erotic and unusual and yet its message still holds sway in a culture longing for meaningful sex and relationships.
︎︎︎ Holiness that Hurts the Eyes
Weekend Away 2018
At our 2018 church Weekend Away, our guest speaker James Aladiran, founder of Prayer Storm, raised the bar around holiness and the call on us as the church to be set apart. We want to push into this some more, drawing out exactly what it means to be holy; speaking into it on a discipleship level and raising a generation who are set apart for the things of God.
︎︎︎ On Earth as in Heaven: The Lord’s Prayer
Winter 2017 / 2018
In this series we'll unpack the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. We'll see what it means for us to partner with God as kingdom builders, to talk with our Father in heaven from a place of deep intimacy, and to seek Him in order to meet our daily needs as a community.
︎︎︎ Imagine Heaven
Autumn 2017
As we examine scripture we find that our understanding of heaven as a future destination has an impact in the here and now, changing our approach to worship, our hunger for justice, our awareness of beauty and our desire for healing.
︎︎︎ Revival Town: Restoring Culture
Weekend Away 2017
At our 2017 Weekend Away we were joined by Tre Sheppard. Tre Sheppard talked about becoming a restoration people who shape and change the culture of our towns and cities.
︎︎︎ Colossians: The Supremacy of Christ
Winter 2016 / 2017
To the west of modern day Turkey lie the ruins of the small city of Colossae. Written just after Jesus's death and resurrection and at the time of the explosion and expansion of the early church the letter to the Colossians speaks to a group of fired up evangelists and calls them to a life of holiness.
︎︎︎ The Glorious Gospel
Autumn 2016
We've been hearing stories of God moving across the UK. In Redding, Liverpool and Southampton we've seen many people turn back to God. God is giving His church a renewed confidence in the gospel, our gospel of good news. The gospel is the heart of the Bible - everything in scripture is either preparation, presentation or participation in the gospel. We'll be looking at these messages and metaphors across the Bible, in turn helping us give words to the hope that we profess.
︎︎︎ Emotionally Healthy Lives
Summer 2016
Our 'Emotionally Healthy Lives' series is inspired by New York pastor Peter Scazzero's transformative roadmap for discipleship with Jesus. Scazzero learned the hard way: you can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. In this series we examine a model of spirituality that leads us towards an authentic faith and hunger for God.
︎︎︎ Proclaim the Kingdom: Prayer, Mission & Justice
Weekend Away 2016
At our 2016 Weekend Away we were joined by Philip and Alain Emerson. Philip Emerson is one of the lead pastors at Emmanuel Church in Lurgan, a church that was birthed in his living room, over 20 years ago.
︎︎︎ I Am Sent: Being an Apostolic Community
Winter 2015 / 2016
Throughout this series we look at what it means for us to be ‘sent ones’, as individuals and as a community which is set apart with a God defined purpose. We explore how this plays out in our relationships with others through mission, community and discipleship. We are commissioned and sent, propelled and encouraged through our experience and understanding of His presence, His equipping, and the power of the cross.
︎︎︎ Romans: Life in Christ
Autumn 2015
In the Book of Romans the author, the apostle Paul, paints a stunning picture of what life with Christ looks like. We learn what we were like without Christ and who we are when we trust in Christ. In this series we will look at challenging our cultural norms around how we use our bodies, how we relate to the government and to others, and how we treat our time.
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