Here are the previous sermon series that we have run at Christ Church. You can follow the links to see details of the sermons from each series.
The first birthday of the new 6.30 service provides a very good moment to consider the marks of an authentic church. Using Luke's summary of the early church in Acts chapter 2 we will therefore consider the vital role that apostolic teaching, fellowship, Holy Communion and prayer must have if we are to be a properly radical church.
The earliest chapters of Genesis are foundational to the Bible containing both positives and negatives that need to be appreciated if the rest of its story is to be properly understood. During this series, we will therefore work through the first eleven chapters of Genesis seeking to understand the truths that they present and apply these to our lives as we try to live as part of God's new creation.
With so many negative associations surrounding Christianity, it's not surprising that many of us feel slightly insecure about admitting our faith amongst our friends, colleagues and even family. In this series we will therefore consider seven of the most negative associations that people have with Christianity, why these have come about and the positive response that can be made to them.
All Christians face the temptation to construct a 'comfortable' Jesus who simply emphasises those things that we already consider to be important. Within this series, therefore, we will look at four strong but often neglected themes within Jesus' ministry and seek to grapple with their important implications for our life and mission at Christ Church.
All of us face temptation and in the first of our two series in Lent we look at the three temptations of Jesus as recorded in Matthew's Gospel, consider their modern day equivalents and how we might respond to them.
As we go through Lent and approach Easter at the 11.00 service we will follow the central section of Mark’s gospel as Jesus heads for Jerusalem and his death and resurrection. Stories and teaching often considered in isolation are grouped together in most of the sermons in this series and we will be asking what Mark intends us to learn about Jesus and discipleship by presenting this material in the way that he does.
One of the most exciting aspects of the 9.30 service is the number of new people who are currently joining the congregation. In this series we will be thinking about the elements present in a great church with the hope that as we grow numerically we would also grow in the depth of our commitment to genuine community and the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Lent is traditionally a time of preparation for Easter and during this series we will think about what a commitment to this preparation this might mean in terms of engagement with ourselves, the church and the world.
John's Gospel lays a particular emphasis on the personal nature of the encounters that Jesus had with individuals after his resurrection. Looking at three passages from John 20 we will seek to learn more about the nature of the resurrection of Jesus and how God would have us respond to it.
In our busy lives we are surrounded by loads of things that can trouble and perplex us. Some of these concerns are very specific to our situations such as stress over exams and friendships whilst others relate to events occurring on a more national or global level. What we do ‘at church’ can often seem quite irrelevant to these areas and the things that ‘ordinary people’ are really concerned about or interested in. In this series we will therefore seek to explore some of these issues and look for where God can be found in them.
Many of the Psalms combine great honesty about the difficulties that occur in life with a strong desire to seek God’s presence. In the first part of this series we will seek to reflect this balance as we use some of the psalms to reflect on finding God within depression, anxiety and sickness. Recognising that it is also very possible to lose sight of God in the good times of life, we will then use some of the other psalms to reflect on finding God within deliverance, surprise and praise.
Partly due to the success of the musical (and our recent ‘sing-a-long’!) the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 is fairly well known. However, as well as entertaining us, ‘Joseph’ is a story with a great deal to say about how God can work through events that occur in the world and our lives. In this series we will retrace the ups and downs within Joseph’s story, look for where God is present within them and hopefully be encouraged to look for a similar presence within our own lives.
Much of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives can be understood in terms of what it means for God to make us part of his family. In these three sermons we will think about the Spirit’s role in initiating our membership of God’s family, deepening this relationship and producing the family likeness within us.
With the recent ordination of Helen Hancock and Carolyn Lucas as well as Katy Loffman training as a Lay Reader, we need to remember that God calls all Christians to ministry. In the light of this, the talks in the series will look at different aspects of God’s calling and how he wants us to respond.
One of the things that might surprise us is how many characters in the Bible finish less well than they began. With all of us growing older how we respond to this change is therefore a crucial spiritual issue. Looking at both both negative and positive examples (sometimes from the same character!) this series of sermons will therefore be seeking to challenge all of us on how to allow God’s grace to shape us as we grow older.
With so many children in the congregation we get used to seeing lots of baptisms or christenings at Christ Church. Many of us, however, probably have lots of unanswered questions about this ceremony and its meaning. During this series, therefore, we will have the chance to think more about baptism and its crucial significance – both for our lives and that of our church.
This sermon series 1 Kings chapters 12 to 16 - a section that is very rarely looked at, let alone preached on. It covers the period between the end of King Solomon's reign and the arival of the prophet Elijah. By looking at the history within these chapters, we hope to reflect a little bit more on the God who has worked through history, and will continue to do so.
During the summer it is good to unwind and what better way than with some of the best stories contained in the Bible! So during August, sit back and relax as we follow the ups and downs of one of the most important figures in the Old Testament – the prophet Elijah.
One of the most important things we should be seeking to do, as Christians and as a church, is to relate our faith to contemporary issues. During this series in September we will therefore be thinking about how we respond as Christians to the current issues of ‘Alcohol’, ‘Parliamentary Corruption’, The ‘Pick ‘n Mix’ culture and ‘Swine Flu’.
Written in the early days of Christianity, the ‘Apostles' Creed’ is a summary of the central elements of Christian belief. It contains a number of vital truths about God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit but also the Church and our future hope. During this series (which will continue into November), we will take a different line of the Creed each week, unpack its meaning and look for its application as we seek to follow Jesus today.
Written to a fairly new church, Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians focuses on the ways in which ‘the Gospel’ or ‘Good News’ of Jesus Christ should shape everything about the life of the church. After a couple of introductory sermons asking ‘What is the Gospel?’ and how it first arrived at Thessalonica, we will then go through 1 Thessalonians seeking to apply its truths to our context at Christ Church.
Having completed the study on 1 Thessalonians, during November we looked at a number of practical ways in which we need to relate ‘the gospel’ to further aspects of our church life together.
Written to Christians that he hadn’t personally met, Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae concentrates on the ‘fullness’ that we can find by keeping our focus on Jesus. During this series we will seek to apply its important truths both to our individual lives and our life as a church.
With much of the emphasis within the evangelical and charismatic traditions placed upon our personal relationship with God, we can sometimes end up having a much ‘lower’ doctrine of Church than the Bible possesses. In this series will be therefore look at a number of very practical ways in which we can both ‘do church’ and ‘be church’ better.
As well as thinking about the first coming of Jesus, Christmas is a time when we focus on the future coming of Jesus. In this series we will therefore look at a number of questions and issues connected with this.
After years of celebrating Christmas, its stories can sometimes be dulled by over familiarity. During this series we will therefore seek to uncover some of those elements that make these stories deeply shocking and challenging.
In all the business surrounding Christmas, we can often find it extremely hard to prepare in any way for what its celebration of Jesus’ coming should bring to our lives. This series will seek to help us to look for those things that God wants to bring us in the way of comfort and challenge this Christmas.
