Christopher Alton serves the church in a pastoral-teaching role, and he and Ellie share a passion to see every member grow and mature in faith. Chris also oversees the youth and children’s ministries and coordinates the work of our Trustees.
As we conclude our three-part series, this time we consider our purpose and identity as God’s image-bearers. God created mankind, as male and female to reflect His nature, in similar and in differing ways from each other. Not only to enjoy a complimentary partnership with each other, but to relate to each other through Him, thus enjoying the joy of trinity!
As we continue our three-part series exploring how and why we’re made in God’s image (Ge 1:26), in this second part we explore the heavenly culture created by the relationships between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, including how their distinction determines their roles.
As we begin the first in a three-part series exploring how and why we’re made in God’s image (Ge 1:26), we start our journey with an understanding of who God is, in Himself. He is One (De 6:4) and yet He is also three Persons (Mt 3:16-17). In this message we consider God’s triune nature seen through the Scriptures, the three essential pillars of trinitarian truth, and why this matters if we’re to understand who we are.
In this message we spend some time considering the hallmarks of Biblical leadership, from the pattern set by Jesus before entrusting His continued work to His disciples (Mt 28:18-20). We also explore the gifts He gave from His ministry, when His returned to the Father (Eph 4:7-16), to equip all of us in the body of Christ to grow up into all we’re called to be, so that His body ‘builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.’
In this message we consider three important aspects of being Heavenly People (1 Co 15:48-49). Through His death and resurrection Christ has led us back into a trusting relationship with the Father, enabling us to live in the blessings of being under God’s arrangement. The Seed of Christ is now within us, transforming us from the inside out, from one degree of glory to another until the final transformation of our bodies at His return. And lastly, through Jesus, the last Adam, we’re no longer just living beings, but now life-giving spirits. As Heavenly People we’re able to reach down from the heavenlies to lift up the lost, with the life and power of His resurrection life within us.
In John’s story (Jn 5:1-17) of the man who had been disabled for 38 years, at the pool of Bethesda waiting for healing, we consider the enormous change that was headed his way, the day Jesus walked in. His whole way of life changed in an instant when he stopped looking to others, or to himself (if I could just move a bit faster …), and looked for the first time to Jesus, the Changemaker.
The Apostle Paul received a special revelation of the church, as God’s means through which He intends to display His wisdom in its rich variety (Eph 3:10, NLT). From his own revelation of God’s nature (vv.4-6), Paul shows us how each person’s unique expression can add to the rich tapestry on display in His church, instead of the Corinthian chaos. The Spirit empowers us, as He APPORTIONS His gifts (v.11). The Son embodies Himself in us, as He ARRANGES the members of His church (v.18). And the Father establishes His work, as He APPOINTS ministry in His house (v.28). Father, Son and Spirit working together in harmony through us … unity in diversity!
The ‘Parable of the Sower’ (Mt 13:1-9, 18-23) shows us the barriers which can prevent us receiving the Word of the Kingdom (v.19). We can all have places in our hearts which are closed to God’s Word, too shallow for it to take root, or simply find us too preoccupied with cares of this life to produce anything. In this message we consider Jesus’ call to each of us to prepare our hearts for His Word to go down deep, take root, find space in our lives, and by holding fast to it, see a harvest of abundance produced in us and others.
We consider how God’s attributes of Justice and Mercy are on full display and working together at the Cross.
In this message we consider the issue arising amongst the Corinthians about whether to eat meat which had been offered to idols in the pagan temples, but which was really about what they were to do with their newfound freedom in Christ. We consider the key differences between Love’s Freedom and the world’s freedom, and the implications for how we live out God’s Kingdom culture in this present age, to a watching world waiting for God’s children to be revealed (Ro 8:19).
As we continue our journey into 1 Corinthians, we consider what the big deal was about Greeks and their wisdom, why this formed the basis for much of western culture today, and how it stands in complete contrast to the culture of God’s Kingdom. Fresh from intellectual debate with the Athenians (Ac 17), Paul came to Corinth (Ac 18) determined to show the Corinthians what God’s true wisdom was all about (1 Co 1:30).
As we continue to consider Paul’s practical instructions to us (Eph 4:17 to 5:21), we take a look at what it means to ‘put on’ our new life in Christ (4:24), in this second part of a two part message. The apostle shows us how ‘all of God does all that God does’ in our salvation and sanctification. He points us to the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit (4:30) empowering us to change, the GRACE of the Father (4:32-5:1) enabling us to let go of self-orientated thoughts and feelings, and the LOVE of the Son (5:2) endowing us with the capacity to love God and His people, as we look outward instead of inward.
As we read Paul’s practical instructions about walking in our new life in Christ (Eph 4:17 to 5:21), we consider in this first part of a two part message, what it means to ‘put off’ our ‘former way of life’ (v.22). To do so, we’ll look at the difference between salvation and sanctification, and how as new creations (2 Co 5:17) the power balance has changed within us, enabling us to live as God created us to. No longer ruled by body and soul, our newly empowered spirit is able to take control of our thoughts and impulses, in order that we may be transformed through renewal (Ro 12:2), from the inside out.
In preparation for our new series, ‘Love Builds Up’, during which we’ll be exploring Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians together, we consider in this message the City of Corinth, the Church in Corinth, and (Paul’s) Correspondence with Corinth. Strategically located as a trading gateway between east and west, this city was a bustling metropolis, full of people from many different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. Into this melting pot the church was established by Paul (Acts 18) and quickly grew in number and gift (1:7). But with growth came some significant challenges. As we look at the different sections in this letter, Paul deals with each issue in turn, identifying the underlying issue at work. He encourages them to embrace the ‘folly’ of the Cross instead of revering the ‘wisdom’ of this world (1:18), to see the church is a beautiful temple of the Holy Spirit and not a marketplace (3:16, 6:19), to embrace service instead self-interest (10:23-24), and to learn each time they gathered how to flow together as a body of many parts, not parties (11:18, 12:7). Paul was strengthening the Apostolic foundation which he had laid, encouraging the church to hold fast to the gospel they had received (15:1-2)!
In Part 1 we looked at the Holy’s Spirit’s work of Sanctification in our lives. In Part 2, we consider how the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to show us who God has made us to be, and what aspects of our personalities are influenced by sin. We also look at what it means for us to be transformed from one degree of glory to another through a growing REVELATION of Jesus (2 Co 3:18), by REFLECTING His image, and REFRACTING His glory through our lives. The key to surrendering to the sanctifying work of the Spirit is VALIDATION and VULNERABILITY – drawing our value and worth from Him, and being willing to let the Holy Spirit strip away sin’s influence on our personalities. What remains is the true person, created and designed by God to individually refract His glorious light – a unique and precious Living Stone!
God’s House is built with Living Stones (1 Pe 2:5), each carefully selected and put in place by the Holy Spirit. In Part 1 we consider how the Holy Spirit shapes each stone – that great work of the Spirit in the Sanctification of believers, shaping us into the likeness of Christ (Ro 8:29). We’ll also discuss how our new birth into God’s kingdom, restores God’s original design for His tripartite humanity, by which our spirits are promoted to the driving seat of our lives (the proper seat for righteous decision making!). Through His work of Sanctification, the Spirit helps us to bring our souls and bodies into line with God’s restored special arrangement within us (Ro 12:1-2). In Part 2 we’ll consider what unique aspects of ourselves are preserved, in the process of the Spirit making us more like Jesus, and how they might diversely and richly display God’s glory.
Being Spirit-filled is fundamental (who we are) and foundational (how we build and grow together) for us as God’s people. The House of the Spirit is being built by the Holy Spirit, using living stones, each of whom He wants to fill with the fulness of Christ. In this message we look at the practical implications of this for us all, and each of us personally, by considering the three main aspects of the ‘fellowship of the Holy Spirit’ (2 Co 13:14) – communion, community, and contribution.
As part of our series ‘For Such a Time as This’, we consider the first generation of Christians. In Acts 1, Luke tells us that as the risen Jesus prepares to return to His Father, He shows them what the Kingdom of God means, He tells them to do nothing without the Holy Spirit, and it quickly becomes apparent that every single one of their small number was necessary for the Mission which lay ahead. As our world today finds itself in a state of ‘permacrisis’, God’s unshakeable Kingdom arises, and He is calling us to embrace the moment for which He has shaped us!
‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.’ (Pr 13:12). In this message we consider those things which we had hoped would come to pass, or which we’re sure we’ve been promised, but seem to remain out of our reach, or delayed in their coming. It can have a huge impact on our lives. And in this message, we consider why we experience deferred hope, how it happens, and what God can achieve in our lives through these times. King David knew all about this process, and his confession can also be ours – ‘I would have despaired, had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Ps 27:13, Amplified)
The apostle Paul commended the Thessalonians for their work of Faith, labour of Love and steadfastness of Hope (1 Thess 1.3). In this message we’ll start to build on our existing definitions for these three great aspects of our life in God’s Kingdom. And we’ll also consider how together, working in unison, they can prove to be a cord of three strands for us all (Eccl 4.12).
If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. (1 Peter 3:15, NLT)
We’re living in days where hope is in short supply, or just in the wrong things. In such days, God’s people are called to hold out rock solid hope, which is based on the person and work of Christ, rooted in eternity, guaranteed with the seal of the Holy Spirit, evidenced by lives full of Jesus’ resurrection power; and from which none are excluded. In this message, we consider why these five essential reasons explain the glorious hope we have.
In this third instalment of our ‘His House, Our Home’ series, we look at the foundational matter of STEWARDSHIP – why and how we invest our lives, and all that God has placed in our hands. We consider Kingdom Principles, which are inherent in our nature as new creations; and how God uses stewardship to show us what’s in our hearts, grow our faith in Him, and ultimately, to prepare us to be entrusted with the true riches of heaven (Lk 16:11). We also discuss Kingdom Practices, considering the purpose of tithes and offerings in the outworking of these Kingdom Principles in our lives. And to finish … 10 Myth-busters!
We begin our series covering our corporate foundations. This introduction takes a look at the nature and mission of the Church and the importance of the Bible.
The continual refrain of Christ in His letters to the churches, is “I know”. He knew each church and its members intimately. Not as one who had simply left them behind as He returned to the Father. The letters of Revelation are personal and passionate correspondence from Jesus to those whom He loved dearly. As we consider what He knows of each church, much of what Jesus says will resonate with each of us in different ways. This is because He knows us intimately as well – our passions, desires, plans, struggles and weaknesses. He came not only to understand us, but to fill us with His very own fulness and empower us. He knows the beautiful design God has for each of us, and has sent His Spirit to repair and restore, shape and to set us back on track.
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