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.
One of the dangers of a service like six30 @ ccnm is that it can easily become inward looking rather than focused upon how God wants us to serve him. During this series in January we will look at four very practical areas in which we can serve him by responding to the needs of Africans with HIV, our Mission Partners, ‘unchurched’ young people and our non-Christian friends.
One of the biggest themes of the Old Testament is the struggle which the people of Israel had with idolatry. Particularly once they entered the land of Canaan, the Israelites were constantly tempted to turn from God to worship of the things he created. During this series we will look at the different perspectives on idolatry offered by different parts of the Old Testament and see how much it has to say to a modern day culture in which idolatry is still our major problem.
Having looked at areas in which we can serve God, we turn in February to look at some of the resources that he has given to help us do this. Again seeking to be practical, we will look at the ways in which receiving God’s Word, Prayer, Worship and the Sacraments can both renew and equip us to become part of God’s mission to the world.
Following January’s series on idolatry, the talks in this series will focus upon making a positive response to those things we are tempted to make into idols. Place things like our friendships, homes, achievement and money above their creator and they rapidly become negative and dehumanising in their affect upon us. Place these things below God and, like all of his created order, they can become a rich source of the blessing he intends for us.
The new Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun recently announced a call to mission across the diocese entitled ‘Faith, Hope and Love’. This will take place in three stages. The first of these, over the season of Lent in 2012, is the encouragement of individuals within each church to think about the ways in which they could show more of these virtues.
In response to this call, all of our sermons across the first three weeks of March will focus on the themes of ‘Living by Faith’, ‘Sharing Hope’ and ‘Showing Love’. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul speaks of ‘Faith, Hope and Love’ as the things that, when everything else has passed away, will continue into the new creation that God will one day bring. These sermons will therefore seek to be practical and encourage us all to think about very concrete and specific ways in which we could develop these virtues more in our everyday lives.
25th March will then be slightly different with a focus on two very specific examples of mission to the outside world. During the three morning services that day we will focus on ‘World Water Day’ becoming better informed on this crucial issue and thinking about how we might respond. At six30@ccnm that day we will focus upon ‘The Night Shelter as Gospel’ as Christ Church hosts a special service for all those who were involved in the KCAH (Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness) Shelter this year.
The new Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun recently announced a call to mission across the diocese entitled ‘Faith, Hope and Love’. This will take place in three stages. The first of these, over the season of Lent in 2012, is the encouragement of individuals within each church to think about the ways in which they could show more of these virtues.
In response to this call, all of our sermons across the first three weeks of March will focus on the themes of ‘Living by Faith’, ‘Sharing Hope’ and ‘Showing Love’. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul speaks of ‘Faith, Hope and Love’ as the things that, when everything else has passed away, will continue into the new creation that God will one day bring. These sermons will therefore seek to be practical and encourage us all to think about very concrete and specific ways in which we could develop these virtues more in our everyday lives.
25th March will then be slightly different with a focus on two very specific examples of mission to the outside world. During the three morning services that day we will focus on ‘World Water Day’ becoming better informed on this crucial issue and thinking about how we might respond. At six30@ccnm that day we will focus upon ‘The Night Shelter as Gospel’ as Christ Church hosts a special service for all those who were involved in the KCAH (Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness) Shelter this year.
The new Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun recently announced a call to mission across the diocese entitled ‘Faith, Hope and Love’. This will take place in three stages. The first of these, over the season of Lent in 2012, is the encouragement of individuals within each church to think about the ways in which they could show more of these virtues.
In response to this call, all of our sermons across the first three weeks of March will focus on the themes of ‘Living by Faith’, ‘Sharing Hope’ and ‘Showing Love’. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul speaks of ‘Faith, Hope and Love’ as the things that, when everything else has passed away, will continue into the new creation that God will one day bring. These sermons will therefore seek to be practical and encourage us all to think about very concrete and specific ways in which we could develop these virtues more in our everyday lives.
25th March will then be slightly different with a focus on two very specific examples of mission to the outside world. During the three morning services that day we will focus on ‘World Water Day’ becoming better informed on this crucial issue and thinking about how we might respond. At six30@ccnm that day we will focus upon ‘The Night Shelter as Gospel’ as Christ Church hosts a special service for all those who were involved in the KCAH (Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness) Shelter this year.
When Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Day it changed the world forever. Within the stories contained in the New Testament we see a number of examples of this transformation within the lives of people who encountered the risen Jesus. During this series we will look at a number of these stories and consider the ways in which the power of the resurrection can transform sorrow, doubt, guilt and hatred. But rather than just seeing how this was true for Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Peter and Paul, it is intended to be an opportunity for us to consider how the resurrection might further transform such characteristics within our own lives as well.
During Holy Week and then into Easter we will take a fresh look at the stories in the gospels and what they are trying to emphasise. Before Easter this will involve looking at some of the details contained within the Easter stories, thinking about why they are there and pondering what the Gospels mean when they proclaim that ‘God became King’. After Easter Day we will then look at two of the key characters in the Easter stories – Mary Magdalene and Peter – and try to learn more about the relevance of the Resurrection from the way in which it transformed their lives.
During Holy Week and then into Easter we will take a fresh look at the stories in the gospels and what they are trying to emphasise. Before Easter this will involve looking at some of the details contained within the Easter stories, thinking about why they are there and pondering what the Gospels mean when they proclaim that ‘God became King’. After Easter Day we will then look at two of the key characters in the Easter stories – Mary Magdalene and Peter – and try to learn more about the relevance of the Resurrection from the way in which it transformed their lives.
It is one thing to sing and speak of certain Christian truths in our church services and quite another to let these truths change the way in which we live. During this series we will in look in turn at a number of key Christian beliefs and ask how and why we should live differently in the light of them. These will begin with truths connected with Easter before proceeding to those celebrated on Ascension Day, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. We will then do the same with beliefs about the Church and Eschatology (Christian beliefs about ‘how it will all end up’). The aim of the series is to help us learn more about how practical these doctrines are and how living in the light of them can and should make a genuine difference to our lives.
When people start coming to church it is usually the community that they experience that makes the most obvious difference. Much of what is sung and spoken about in the services makes rather less sense to them. During this series we will therefore be asking why it is that Christians attach such importance to certain beliefs. Why is belief in God and Jesus so important? At a slightly deeper level, why are the specific beliefs about them celebrated at Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday seen as so critical? The series will conclude by asking the same question of Christian beliefs about other aspects of life. Hopefully the series will help us see with clarity the connection between the community that we encounter at Christ Church and the beliefs underlying this.
1 Samuel narrates the journey that Israel made towards the establishment of a monarchy. As it tells this story, however, the book is extremely frank about the flaws present within God’s people and their leaders, both before and after this point. During this series, which will continue in the autumn, we will look to see what the book has to teach us about human frailty and the way in which God interacts with and uses this weakness to enable his plan of salvation to move forward.
Once of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to bring further unity amongst Christians. Sadly the very opposite has often occurred with many denominations and churches dividing over issues such as how open they should be to gifts of the Holy Spirit such as prophecy, healing and speaking in tongues. These issues have very much arisen at six30 recently with some keen for the service to become more ‘charismatic’ whilst others are wary of this. During this series we will look at what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit and some of the services will be followed by discussion in the lounge. In August this will then be followed by different people telling stories of the work of the Holy Spirit. The hope is that all this focus upon the Holy Spirit will form an important part of the development of the worship and life of Christ Church.
At the first and last Sundays of July, we will have two celebratory services – the first to celebrate the life of Christ Church School and the second to mark the end of Holiday Club. For the three Sundays inbetween, we will look at Paul’s letter to the Galatians and its perspective upon the Gospel or Good News of Jesus Christ. Galatians is by some way Paul’s fiercest letter because of his staunch opposition to the segregation that some were suggesting should be present between Jewish and Gentile Christians. The letter has as much to say to us today about the radical unity across boundaries that normally divide the world that lies at the heart of the Christian faith.
There sometimes seem to be as many different opinions about what Christ Church should be like as there are members of it! Particularly at six30 @ ccnm! One possibility is that God will reveal the way in which all these perspectives can somehow be reconciled. Another is that he will reveal more of his vision for what the church should be like and we become obedient to this. During this series we will use Paul’s letter to the Ephesians to seek to grasp more of God’s vision for the church. Within this letter (probably sent to a wider group of churches than just the one at Ephesus), crucial themes concerning the church are unpacked. These include the Church’s purpose within God’s overall plan of salvation, the vital nature of its oneness and the radically different way of living that its members are called to in the light of this. Much of the challenge to Christ Church lies in us being clearer about the first two of these which will then help us to make much greater sense of the third.
1 Samuel tells the story of the establishment of Israel’s monarchy and reflects considerable ambivalence about this because of the spirit of independence from God that Israel’s desire for a king represented. Ultimately this development nonetheless became part of God’s plan of salvation, with God’s covenant with King David becoming a vital part of this. Before this, however, Saul was the first king of Israel and during this series we will follow the events of his reign from his anointing to his rejection as king. Deeply realistic about human flaws and their consequences, these stories have much to teach us about sin and its effects whilst also providing the vital groundwork for the further revelation of God’s grace that they lead onto.
Even if we haven’t been church-goers for long, it is very easy for our Christianity to become rather dulled by overfamiliarity. One of the challenges of the Christian life is to be constantly open to those fresh insights that the Holy Spirit is looking to reveal to us. During this series, we will seek to do this by looking at a number of features of church life and also stories from the Bible which are, at one level, extremely familiar to many of us. However, with the help of some of our newer preachers, we will particularly focus upon the exciting new insights that can be drawn from looking at them afresh and the challenge they present to us today.
Like the rest of our society, Christ Church is facing an economic crisis. We do receive a small amount of money from renting out our buildings to other users. But the overwhelming amount of the income that we have to raise to keep the church going has to come from the direct giving of our members. This giving is relatively low and unevenly spread which is a major problem.
At six30 we will look in more detail at the teaching that Paul gives on the subject in his second letter to the church at Corinth. All of this is with the very practical aim of improving the finance (and therefore the ministry and mission) of Christ Church!
During November at the 11.00 service we will continue our look at 1 Samuel and those chapters where David rises to greater prominence. The period between David’s anointing as Israel's king and the death of Saul was a time of danger and temptation for David and one with valuable lessons about how covenant loyalty to God is worked out within the day to day challenges we face.
Like the rest of our society, Christ Church is facing an economic crisis. We do receive a small amount of money from renting out our buildings to other users. But the overwhelming amount of the income that we have to raise to keep the church going has to come from the direct giving of our members. This giving is relatively low and unevenly spread which is a major problem.
During the 9.30 series we will look at some of the different ‘takes’ that the Bible presents us with on giving. At six30 we will look in more detail at the teaching that Paul gives on the subject in his second letter to the church at Corinth. All of this is with the very practical aim of improving the finance (and therefore the ministry and mission) of Christ Church!
The ministry of Isaiah of Jerusalem began around 742 BC and continued during a time of decline and danger for Judah. Isaiah combined words of judgement upon the nation for its sin with the belief that God would still fulfil the promises that he had made to David. The New Testament understands many of these prophecies to have been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. During this Advent series we will seek to unpack Isaiah 1-12 further, focusing on the light that it sheds on the significance of Jesus.
Luke’s Gospel spends a good amount of time building up to the birth of Jesus. During this Advent series, we will focus upon the significance of the stories that Luke records about Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary and what they have to teach us about the significance of the coming of Jesus into the world.
Once of the key ambitions many children have is to land a key role in their Nativity play with ‘Mary’ perhaps most coveted! During Advent our sermons at the 9.30 service will look the key roles of Mary and Joseph but also the character generally absent from our children’s Nativity plays – Herod! At our Children’s Carol Service on 23rd December, children and adults will then have the opportunity to come in costume for the role they want to play.
