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Stephen Russell

Stephen and his wife, Mandy, primarily give their time and attention to caring for the congregation in Market Harborough. Together they want to support and encourage the church family there.

Clearing The House

By Market Harborough, Signposts

As we continue our mini-series “Signposts” we look at the account of Jesus clearing the temple. We consider some areas of our own lives that may need clearing in order that Jesus can fill the space, bring order, and lead us in His Kingdom. We are the temple of The Lord and we can make sure that his temple is in good order.

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The Centurion

By Market Harborough, Walk This Way

Watch/listen again to this Sunday message from Stephen Russell in Market Harborough. You can find more messages and other videos at youtube.com/livingrockchurch. You can also follow our Sunday Messages podcast on your preferred podcast platform. For more information about Living Rock Church visit www.livingrock.church.

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Are You Well Kneaded?

By Market Harborough, Walk This Way

God Wants you to have Kingdom Yeast! Without the yeast the flour cannot be made to rise. Without Jesus and His Kingdom the world cannot be saved, cannot be changed – Both work silently and unseen. The power of the Kingdom is not physical and yet it produces definite results. The same applies to our own lives – the Kingdom (and all it’s teachings) needs to rise, invade and permeate every part of our lives. Through the parable of the yeast, Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of Heaven is alive, it’s everywhere, it takes attention and patience to grow, and it transforms everything it touches. Yeast is microscopic in size, and only a little is kneaded (and a only a little is needed!) into the dough. Yet, given time, the yeast will spread through all the dough. In the same way, Jesus started with twelve men in an obscure corner of Galilee, but it has spread throughout the world.  We need to “knead the dough” of our lives making sure it reaches, permeates, and touches every part of our lives.It takes effort and technique – it is hard work sometimes! He wants our characters and walk with Him to rise evenly, with no flat spots, no section that are unleavened.

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Kingdom Family

By Market Harborough, Walk This Way

We have all heard the expression – “He is his father’s son” or  “they are a chip off the old block” or “the apple didn’t fall far from the tree!”. This morning I’m not going to discuss methods on how to bring up your children, but I am going to show you how to influence them. It is about leadership and example – because it is more a case of our children, young folk and those around us are watching you as opposed to us instructing them! Paul says in Philippians 4:9 “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” The best training is demonstration, not instruction. How many times have we heard folk say to their children, “do as a say, not as I do!”? When really we should be saying, “do as I do!”. Demonstration has more impact than instruction. As the people of God we have the opportunity to influence those around us, the unsaved, work colleagues, friends, our children and young people, all those in our sphere of influence. That we become imitators of Christ,  influencing the world and advancing the Kingdom.

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Seek And Add

By Market Harborough, Walk This Way

What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God? (above all else) What does everything “added” look like? (everything added) The Kingdom of God, is simply God’s redemptive rule and reign on the earth. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. The word kingdom points directly to God’s Kingship, or His rule, action, and sovereign governance over all created things. To seek the Kingdom is not some sort of “Quest” or “Trek”. It is a journey, but more than a physical journey it is a journey of faith, obedience, learning and sacrifice in our day to day lives. God wants us to seek Him. He wants to “add” things to our lives that are eternal not temporal. Yes when we seek him first (above all else) He will add “things” to your life but above all we seek Him – and all these things will be added to us.

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Immanuel Is Not Just For Christmas

By Market Harborough

Immanuel is a term or word that we tend to use only at Christmas, we see it on Christmas cards and sing it in carols. God has always been with his people, but in Jesus, there was and is freedom from the law and the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And if we believe all we have preached over this year regarding God having know the plans for us, knowing us before the foundations of the world, and seeing us in the dark place before we were born – then He has always been with us. “God is with us” – was the promise the fulfilment of that personal relationship, and why Jesus came, was crucified and rose from the dead. He wants us to be with Him, He wants more than an “association.”

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Armour of God

By Ephesians, For Such a Time As This, Market Harborough

Paul the apostle was held in prison many times, he was possibly chained to a Roman soldier and his mind may have turned his thoughts to the fact that he also was a soldier, a soldier of Christ. The armour of God is an illustration in the word that reminds us about the reality of spiritual battle and describes the protection available to us. It is not a convenient scripture that lends itself to Sunday school classes! Each piece of armour has a distinct purpose and means of defence against temptation and evil. Daily “suiting up” in the armour of God can feel abstract but with prayer and practice, believers can better understand and implement the habit of putting on the full armour of God everyday.

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Work – What Is It Good For?

By Ephesians, For Such a Time As This, Market Harborough

God is interested in our work lives, and he wants to be involved in it. Your work can make an eternal difference in the lives of those you work with, those you work for, those you manage, and those you serve through your work. Change the way you look at and do your work, in the light of His gospel and grace. We are redeemed by grace, let’s live out that grace in the context of your work. You may never look at work the same way again.

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Knowledge & Understanding

By For Such a Time As This, Market Harborough

God wants us to receive revelation! In fact the word says that He wants us to be continually receiving revelation. To understand the great mysteries of the word, to be empowered and to ultimately become more and more like Him. This morning we look at 5 keys and challenges to attain this goal here are the Five Challenges – that will develop revelation! People, books, experience, observation & thinking and pondering.

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The Father Heart of God

By Ephesians, Market Harborough

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” It encompasses all that God is about, all that God feels about us, all that God feels towards us, all that God is. Because God is love. He is a father that loves you! This morning it is vitally important to know this: He is filled with “love and compassion” towards us, even if we are a “long way off”. We have a loving Father; He “sees” us, He is filled with love and compassion towards us, He will come to us – we walk, but He “runs” to us.

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Time To Get Off This Planet

By Market Harborough

In Colossians 1:13 we read “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son”. We often talk about “Kingdom”, and “the Kingdom of God”, but what does it mean and how does it affect us as children of God? The Kingdom of God is the fulfilment of God’s will on earth. We know this because Jesus prayed – “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) In other words, it is His will to bring heaven to earth. For all of us we have the ability to get off this planet, to be free from the past, and the issues that so easily pull us off track. We are all ready for launch!

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Better, Stronger, Faster

By For Such a Time As This, Market Harborough

God doesn’t want us to be barely alive – He wants us to be “fully” alive. We read in Colossians 2:13, you were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. We can achieve this by Let (ting) your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:7)

Are you alive this morning? We don’t need to, and must not keep having “an event” to be barely alive  – an occasional shot in the arm, the occasional defib! God doesn’t want us to be “roller Coaster Christians. But instead to put on your new nature, and be renewed “as you learn” to know your Creator and become like him. (Colossians 3:10) “As we learn – it is a process and a journey, to become better, stronger, faster

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Community With No Mention of Acts

By Faith, Hope, Love, Market Harborough

In Acts 2:42 we read about  “The Fellowship of the Believers”, and whilst this teaches us valuable lessons concerning how the community of believers should operate it is important to remember that a doctrine cannot be taken from one passage of scripture, and that the bible interprets itself and has numerous themes running through it

This morning we are going to discover how community, being together and fellowship are vital to the life of the chirch and that this theme and purpose runs through scripture starting at Genesis

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I So Hope So?

By Faith, Hope, Love, Market Harborough

Hope, often gets side-lined, it’s a little ambiguous to some it is often misinterpreted as the opposite to faith, “I wasn’t in faith, or I don’t have faith for that, but I can just hope?”. Just to be clear the opposite of faith is fear. The opposite of hope is doubt and confusion – a lack of direction or focus. Hope is important! Hope is not wishing for something to happen. The Bible describes hope much differently. The world is full of people hoping:

Their children’s future
Their own futures
Will their money last?
Will they stay in health?
Will they win the lottery?

So, this morning I want to get straight into the definition and unpack hope, to see how it strengthen our lives.

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Breaking Bread – Feed On Me

By Central

As we come around the table this morning – it is important to remember that Jesus said this “Anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.” There is something in “taking in Christ” in “feeding on Him” Normal bread doesn’t fill us in the same way. The children of Israel eat the bread in the wilderness – but eventually they all died! But this bread – the body of Jesus – brings eternal life!

It is a strange expression – “feed on me!” But we have all heard the expressions “He was feeding him the lines”, “He feed him a load of lies”, “People just seem to feed on this situation or rubbish”. But God doesn’t want us to feed on rubbish, lies, bad situations or be drawn along by the political or devious will of others. He wants us to follow Christ – to believe in Him. He wants the things “we feed” on to be of Him.

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Strength for Today and a Bright Hope for Tomorrow

By Market Harborough

If I asked you what you think “strength” is – what would your answer be? What do you think it means to be “strong in the Lord?”Your strength is the energy that you have, which gives you more than the ability to just perform various actions, such as lifting or moving things. But is it easy to say my strength is in God, when we are feeling weak in the mist of problems and issues?! Real strength comes from the Lord and is in the Lord. In life we don’t rely on our own strength and ability – we look to the Lord to supply His strength and attributes in our lives.

We may be in a place of fear or feel weak, but today God wants to teach us something – God wants our faith to be strong all the time! What is this secret? We all need to get into training! He wants us to be strong, full of life, living victoriously despite the challenges that we may face, that we will indeed rule and reign in life!
If desire is to seek first God’s presence and his Kingdom then Moses has some great attitudes to take on board!

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Going The Distance

By Central, Market Harborough, Numbers: Making Your Life Count

As we come towards the end of our series on Numbers, Stephen shares from Numbers 33 about how we are on a journey, and God is with us! Even during difficult stages of the journey there is a provision and refreshing for us. God wants to fill every aspect of our lives whilst we are on this journey, and despite set backs and, sometimes, failures, we are called to press on and finish the race.

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