Towards the end of Ephesians 2 we read some familiar verses that describe Jesus as the cornerstone. In this message we unpack what this means and go through verses 19-22 phrase-by-phrase. We see how Jesus the Cornerstone is placed at the very centre of both the church and our lives individually, providing a strong and stable foundation that everything else can line up to.
Continuing our series in Ephesians, Paul turns his attention at the start of chapter 4 to the practical day to day living of the transformed in-Christ life he has described in chapters 1 to 3. He urges us to walk worthy of our calling together as the One New People of God, guarding our oneness in Christ. And he gives us just the right tools to help… a new wardrobe of designer-label garments. Dare to wear!
Scripture tells us that ‘God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church’. In this All-Together gathering we think about how this truth can enable us to approach God in prayer, full of confidence!
Jumping out of Ephesians chapters 2 & 4, in this episode, we think again about the contrast in the life of the believer before and after encountering Jesus. We explore how that change happened and then how in the church we work hard together to preserve the unity that Christ has won.
When God declared “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26) He was expressing not only His own ’three-in-one’ togetherness, but also His great purpose in creating men and women who would join together in unity and reproduce His image in all the earth! The story of the miraculous catch and the calling of the first disciples (Luke 5) is a powerful example of what can happen when we prepare for a new day, make ourselves wholly available, go deeper, join together, and help each other handle the great increase He wants to give us! This is the power and potential of churches working in partnership with one another…
“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.
In part 2 of this message we are introduced to God as the master architect, who has a master plan – for his Kingdom be be extended and established on earth. How does he choose to do this? Through his people, the Church. We therefore learn that God’s plan for our lives is never independent of the Church. Actually we can only fully outwork his plan for our life in the context of church, because it’s the church that is his master plan. When we realise what the church is (which we find in the book of Ephesians), and who fills it, it stops being something that we attend. It starts to become part of our everyday lives, as we see His Kingdom established.
Luke 15. The widow searched everywhere for the lost coin, and she celebrated when she found it. This is God’s nature for us, and He rejoices when we turn to Him. We are God’s treasure.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God’s ‘masterpiece’ – the pinnacle of creation, made in the image of God himself, declared to be “very good”. But this can sometimes be difficult to hear and believe. There are many lies that we hear about ourselves which are designed to stop us living in our true identity as God’s masterpieces. In this message we look at some of those lies and what the Word of God says about us instead.
The Bible has much lots to say about baptism! We explore its meaning, and the implications and power it has for us individually and corporately.
The resurrection of Jesus on that first Easter Sunday is the centrepiece of the Christian message. In this all-age Easter gathering, Phil describes how the resurrection of Jesus allows people with no hope, no value and no power to know hope, know value and know power.
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!
As we continue to discover more about our identity as followers of Christ, now that we are new creations, we see that thankfulness is something that we can now have, and can see more of, in our lives. Colossians 2:6-7 tells us that thankfulness is actively grateful language, an act of worship, and something that can overflow in our lives, in order that we come into the fulness of Jesus! In this message Benj unpacks this and highlights 7 things that thankfulness does in our lives.
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
Together around tables we take a further look at the ‘envelope’ and start of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, uncovering some of the heart of the author and the nature of this young church; seeing that we too are a holy family, in Market Harborough, in Christ, set apart for God and specially useful to Him for such a time as this. We are qualified by the Father, secured in the Son and equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit!
In Colossians 1:27 we read that God wants everyone to know an amazing secret – if we choose to follow Jesus, He comes to live inside us and comes to transform us so that we are more like him every day. In this message we look at what it means for Christ to live in us; the same Jesus Christ who was there at the very beginning of the bible, the Jesus who is God and desires to be with us! We look at how he raises us to life and how we can experience his presence, his purpose, his provision, his peace and his power.
As we kick off a new series looking at the books of Colossians and Ephesians, Stephen takes time to read through the 4 chapters of Colossians. We look at the major themes that we find in the book and discover some of the things that will help shape our lives as we dive deeper into the series!
In the latest Meet The Family message Steve shares all about his journey to finding Jesus and how he has discovered his true identity as a child of God.
In this podcast, Phil gives some personal reflections on what it is about the church that should make our hearts beat a little faster and fill us with a genuine sense of excitement every time we gather!