Past Preaching Programme

The Motto Verse for Christ Church in 2014 is Colossians 3.16 which declares: ‘Let the message about Christ in all its richness fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts’. One of the reasons that this verse has been chosen is to inspire us in 2014 to get to know the book of Psalms much better. Psalms is the hymn book of the Bible and yet is often rather neglected during those frequent discussions and disagreements about the form which our sung worship in church should have. Jesus, however, quoted from the Psalms more than any other Old Testament book and his familiarity with its contents was crucial to the development of his calling as well as that of Paul and other early Christians. During 2014 we will therefore freshly examine as many of the Psalms as possible and look to use them to refresh our approach to worship both within in church services and in our daily lives.

During the first three weeks of our services in March, the sermons across all of our services at Christ Church will focus on the subject of our financial giving. Unsurprisingly this is often a less than popular subject but it is also a vital one for a number of reasons. The Bible is clear that Christian giving is both act of obedience to God and an accurate guide to our response to his love and all that he given to us. But it is also very necessary in its response to the needs of the church and its mission and ministry. This very much includes the wider church with a good deal of this money supporting other churches within Southwark Diocese. 85% of the income of Christ Church is raised from the direct giving of its members, an amount which is currently very unevenly distributed. Our prayer is that these talks on different aspects of our responsibility to give, will inspire every member of Christ Church to review our giving and consider how God wants us to respond to the challenge to give back to him.

During the first three weeks of our services in March, the sermons across all of our services at Christ Church will focus on the subject of our financial giving. Unsurprisingly this is often a less than popular subject but it is also a vital one for a number of reasons. The Bible is clear that Christian giving is both act of obedience to God and an accurate guide to our response to his love and all that he given to us. But it is also very necessary in its response to the needs of the church and its mission and ministry. This very much includes the wider church with a good deal of this money supporting other churches within Southwark Diocese. 85% of the income of Christ Church is raised from the direct giving of its members, an amount which is currently very unevenly distributed. Our prayer is that these talks on different aspects of our responsibility to give, will inspire every member of Christ Church to review our giving and consider how God wants us to respond to the challenge to give back to him.

During the first three weeks of our services in March, the sermons across all of our services at Christ Church will focus on the subject of our financial giving. Unsurprisingly this is often a less than popular subject but it is also a vital one for a number of reasons. The Bible is clear that Christian giving is both act of obedience to God and an accurate guide to our response to his love and all that he given to us. But it is also very necessary in its response to the needs of the church and its mission and ministry. This very much includes the wider church with a good deal of this money supporting other churches within Southwark Diocese. 85% of the income of Christ Church is raised from the direct giving of its members, an amount which is currently very unevenly distributed. Our prayer is that these talks on different aspects of our responsibility to give, will inspire every member of Christ Church to review our giving and consider how God wants us to respond to the challenge to give back to him.

In a year in which we are seeking to get to know the Psalms better, it is particularly appropriate to be using them during Lent and Easter. This is because both Jesus and the Gospel writers constantly quote from the Psalms to express their understanding of what was going on when Jesus died. Written hundreds of years earlier, these ancients hymns express truths about the suffering followed by vindication that were clearly crucial to Jesus’ understanding of his vocation to suffer and die for those he came to save. Psalm 22 is the most obvious of these but we will also look at Psalm 40, which Jesus echoed in Gethsemane and Psalm 31, which he also quoted from the cross. Psalm 2 also has much to say on the kingship of Jesus and after Easter we will use Psalm 16 to reflect upon the resurrection.

As we approach Easter, we will complete our study of John’s Gospel by focusing on the chapters within which it deals with the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John’s Gospel is all about God’s glory being revealed in Jesus and as the book moves towards its climax we see this glory revealed most fully through his suffering and death. Other themes of John’s final sections are the way in which Jesus was revealed through his death to be Israel’s king and the new creation that began with his resurrection.

In a year in which we are seeking to get to know the Psalms better, it is particularly appropriate to be using them during Lent and Easter. This is because both Jesus and the Gospel writers constantly quote from the Psalms to express their understanding of what was going on when Jesus died. Written hundreds of years earlier, these ancients hymns express truths about the suffering followed by vindication that were clearly crucial to Jesus’ understanding of his vocation to suffer and die for those he came to save. Psalm 22 is the most obvious of these but we will also look at Psalm 40, which Jesus echoed in Gethsemane and Psalm 31, which he also quoted from the cross. Psalm 2 also has much to say on the kingship of Jesus and after Easter we will use Psalm 16 to reflect upon the resurrection.

The early chapters of Genesis are foundational to the Christian faith setting out much of how we are called to understand the world in which we live. Its two accounts of creation are especially important in setting out God’s intentions for the world which were not swept aside once sin entered it through disobedience of human beings. As such, they form an important corrective to any tendency within Christianity to ‘super-spiritualise’ our faith by sitting lightly to creation. During this series we will look at the first five chapters of Genesis and consider what they are seeking to teach us about the nature of the world – both in God’s original creation and after the arrival of sin caused it to go so badly wrong.

One our aims at Christ Church during 2014 is to learn to use the Psalms more effectively as a resource for encountering God. The Book of Psalms is the Bible’s hymn book and within its 150 individual psalms we see an amazing mixture of praise, petition, lament and complaint. What unites all of this seemingly diverse material, however, is the conviction that God is not a remote deity but actively involved in every aspect of the world’s existence.

Learning to read, pray and perhaps even sing through the content of the Psalms can therefore lead us a far more active engagement with the presence of God within the time, space and matter that are part of our everyday lives. They also encourage us to be honest and pour out to God the things that we struggle with rather than assuming than he is distant and unconcerned. It is for this reason that the Psalms were totally central to Jesus’ understanding of his calling and why he quoted them so often. During May and June various psalms will be preached on at the 9.30 and 11.00 with the aim of encouraging all of us to engage more fully with this amazing resource that we have been given for encountering the living God.

One our aims at Christ Church during 2014 is to learn to use the Psalms more effectively as a resource for encountering God. The Book of Psalms is the Bible’s hymn book and within its 150 individual psalms we see an amazing mixture of praise, petition, lament and complaint. What unites all of this seemingly diverse material, however, is the conviction that God is not a remote deity but actively involved in every aspect of the world’s existence.

Learning to read, pray and perhaps even sing through the content of the Psalms can therefore lead us a far more active engagement with the presence of God within the time, space and matter that are part of our everyday lives. They also encourage us to be honest and pour out to God the things that we struggle with rather than assuming than he is distant and unconcerned. It is for this reason that the Psalms were totally central to Jesus’ understanding of his calling and why he quoted them so often. During May and June various psalms will be preached on at the 9.30 and 11.00 with the aim of encouraging all of us to engage more fully with this amazing resource that we have been given for encountering the living God.

The Shack was written in 2007 by Paul Young and tells the story of a Christian called Mack called to meet with God following his despair at the horrific murder of his beloved daughter Missy. Almost a modern equivalent of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, The Shack deals in story form with the most profound reflections upon the issue of suffering but also the nature of God as Trinity and a number of other themes as well. The help which a number of Christ Church members have already received from the book has prompted this sermon series during which we will seek to reflect upon the biblical truths that The Shack is seeking to present.

One of the reasons for the enduring popularity fairy stories is the level of resonance that they create. This is particularly true of the numerous film versions of fairy stories that have been made and at the heart of the most of these stories is the conquest of evil by the power of love. The deeply Christian nature of this theme means that there is often a surprising amount of really good theology presented in these stories which can then be analysed and used to probe deeper in the message of Jesus Christ and its relevance to our lives. During this series we will look in turn at three of the most successful recent film depictions of fairy stories – Frozen, Beauty and the Beast and Shrek – and try to discern and unpack the biblical truths that they can convey to us.

Christians are called by Jesus to be ‘Salt and Light’ within the world that we live and a large part of that is making a difference to the suffering of those around us. During this series we will look at three pressing and current areas where Christians are being called by God to make a difference – to the issue of Human Trafficking which results in over 30 million people in the world today being enslaved, to people with mental health issues and to people who are lonely. In each of these areas it is easy to ignore these problems but then collude with them getting worse. The aim of this series is to show us the very practical things that we can be doing – both as individuals and as a church community – to make a difference and bring God’s love and justice closer to those who so desperately need it.

The early chapters of Genesis are foundational to setting out both the nature of the world in which we live and the beginning of God’s rescue plan. This plan in many ways begins with Noah and the important concept of the covenant which occurs for the first time in Genesis 6.18. Noah’s Ark is in some ways so familiar to us that we can miss much of the valuable theology contained within the four chapters that deal with the Flood and its aftermath. Much of this material, however, is crucial for understanding the subsequent development of the covenant idea through the Old Testament ahead of it reaching its climax in the coming of Jesus Christ. The recent film starring Russell Crowe shows how popular the story of Noah remains but much of the nature of this film also reveals how important it is to think clearly about the true message of such stories if we are go on and understand the full nature of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Ministry means service and all Christians are called to ministry by God with this service taking many different forms. Ordained ministry is just one form but there are many others forms of ministry taking place both inside and outside the structures of the church. Hearing people’s story of their ministries can be very inspiring and during this series we will hear five members of Christ Church telling the story of how their ministry has developed.

2 Samuel tells the story of the reign of Israel’s greatest ruler in King David. During this period the nation of Israel was at its strongest with God’s blessing and presence amongst his people seeming to be fully established. The Ark of the Covenant, and therefore God’s presence, being established in Jerusalem is a crucial part of this story together with the specific covenant God made with David. In this series we will look at the first half of 2 Samuel and what these blessings reveal about God and his relationship with his people ahead of a later series looking at the second half of 2 Samuel and the darker theme of ‘David under the curse’.

One of the greatest Christian virtues is joy. Gaining joy is about reaching a sense of internal well-being that is not dependant on outward circumstances. When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Philippi he was in prison and yet every aspect of the epistle reflects the joy that he had found through his faith in Jesus Christ. During this series we will look the different ways in which Paul’s faith in Jesus contributed to this joy with the aim of discovering more about how our Christian faith can produce something similar within our lives. In successive weeks we will see how joy is produced by seeing how God can bring good out of bad situations, developing an attitude similar to that of Jesus, sitting lightly to the human status markers, being clear about the Christian hope and learning to relate well to others.

Ministry or service towards our young people is one of the most important aspects of Christ Church with every adult member of the church needing to carry responsibility for this. As with every other part of church life, being really clear about what we are doing in youth ministry and why we are doing it is critical to its effectiveness. During this series we will seek to become clearer about the theology (understanding of God and his purposes) that needs to underpin our ministry to young people. This will hopefully result in us serving our young people more effectively and the church receiving more from the gifts and insights which they bring.

Anything which creates resonance tends to do so because it reflects what is true or because it reflects what people want to be true. This is particularly true of great literature meaning that a great deal of Christian theology can be drawn from it. During this series we will look at three famous and successful novels - Jane Eyre, The Great Gatsby and Gone with the Wind and consider the way in which these books reflect truths revealed within the Bible.

Perhaps the biggest spiritual challenge we face is confronting our fears and the destructive affects that it can have upon our behaviour. During this series we will look at three threats that are particularly feared within our society at the moment – the threat of failure, the threat of terrorism and the threat of Ebola – and consider how God is calling us to respond to these fears.

By the middle of 2 Samuel the reign of King David appears to have reached its height of success with Israel’s enemies defeated and a major empire established. From that point on, however, this starts to unravel as David’s adultery with Bathsheba initiates a series of events which bring more and more disaster upon his kingdom. During this series we will conclude our study of 2 Samuel by looking at the rebellion of David’s son Absalom and the further misfortunes that befell Israel during the reign of her greatest king. As we study these stories, we’ll seek to understand more of the way in which, with all their bloodshed, folly and treachery, the events they record nonetheless formed part of building for the arrival for ‘Great David’s greater son’ in Jesus Christ.

One of the things that prevents the Christmas stories becoming dulled by familiarity is when we keep asking questions about their nature. During this series we will seek to do precisely this by asking why the Christmas stories make so much mention of angels, the Old Testament prophets and both Herod and Augustus. In each case the answers reveal crucial aspects of the Christmas story which are central to grasping their full significance.

Much of our time at the 11.00 service recently has been spent looking at the stories of David in 1 and 2 Samuel. David is an enormously important figure within the Bible, not least because of the way in which he points us to Jesus. During this Advent series we will look at four New Testament books – Matthew, Luke, Romans and Revelation – and consider how each of them understands David to point us to Jesus.

One of our aims at Christ Church is to resist any sacred/secular divide and see how God can be found in every aspect of the world in which we live. The run up to Christmas can often be a deeply secular time but during this Advent series we will look at three common aspects of Christmas – the parties, the decorations and the food and drink – and consider where the God revealed in Jesus can be found within them.