Sunday 21st April

This week’s gospel reading from John focuses on Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. When Jesus spoke these words his audience were familiar with the image of a shepherd and these eight verses contain so much. In his sermon this week Richard will focus on the first five words of verse 11 and explore the meaning and significance of each one.

Just as a shepherd leads his sheep at different times of the day we can say Jesus the Good Shepherd leads us throughout our days. Christ the Good Shepherd promises to lead, guide and protect us throughout our life’s journey and to bring us safely into his home above. So we must know this good shepherd, for it is only by knowing and following and believing in this shepherd that we hope to receive eternal life. 

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• 1 John 3: 16-24

• Acts 4: 5-12

• John 10: 11-18

Sunday 14th April

The Third Sunday of Easter.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Zephaniah 3: 14-20

• Acts 3: 12-19

• Luke 24: 36-48

Sunday 7th April

This weekend we are in the aftermath of Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

In the intergenerational service on Sunday, Dawn will show us some weird and unbelievable things and we will explore how it felt for Thomas when faced with an equally unexpected and unbelievable report!

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Acts 4: 32-35

• John 20: 19-31

Sunday 31st March

This weekend sees the culmination of our journey through Lent as we move through the pain and suffering of Good Friday, the waiting and then the joy and celebration of Jesus, our Risen Lord on Easter Sunday! 

In his sermon Richard will look at the theme of ‘Empty Promises - The Easter Story.’  Whilst the world is  full of empty promises God is different. Instead of promises full of emptiness, on Easter Sunday morning he gave us three empty things that were full of promises -  the Empty Cross,  the Empty Tomb and The Empty Grave Clothes. The very fact that each of these is empty assures us that God’s promises are real.  In the story of Easter we are promised these three things, though there is much more in it. We are promised the forgiveness of sins, the promise of eternal life and the promise of a personal fellowship with Jesus as well as love, joy, peace and a place in heaven.  

May we all experience the joy of the resurrection of Christ this Easter and in the days to come. The tomb is empty, he is not there  - he is risen and will always be there when we call out to him. HAPPY EASTER! 

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Acts 10: 34-43

• John 20: 1-18

Sunday 24th March

This week, Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem with people waving palm branches and laying them on the ground as they shouted hosanna and praised God. Jesus came as a King and came openly and in humility. He came in peace and brought peace riding on a borrowed donkey. The word ‘Hosanna’ means Lord Save Us - he came to save us from sin, death and the devil and the victory belongs to Jesus. He is a king that we can count on. 

The events of the next days in this Holy Week remind us that he is the One who died on the cross for us so that we might live under Him in His Kingdom. As we walk with Jesus  through this next week, with all its pain and suffering that is to come,  we are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice made for us. There is no other king like Jesus that deserves our complete love and devotion. 

Please join us for some of the special services next week as we move through the passion of Jesus and look forward to the joy that is to come on Easter Day. 

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Philippians 2: 5-11

• Mark 11: 1-11  

As there is no audio version of this service available, please click the button below for a pdf version.

Sunday 17th March

A small grain of wheat may seem very insignificant but, as this week’s gospel reading shows, it can have a dramatic impact both for ourselves and the wider community. Richard’s sermon this week will explore what it means in the farming world, what it meant for Jesus and finally what it means for us. 

We hope that anyone wanting to see Jesus will see him in us - walking, talking and doing great things. Our fruit is to help others learn about the love of God and we will help others learn by the way we live our lives. The words we speak and the actions we take can help others see not only Jesus but also that we are part of a wonderful Christian community.  In the week ahead may we strive to bear fruit for Jesus in the conversations and encounters we have as we share the good news and love of Jesus with others.  

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Jeremiah 31: 31-34

• Hebrews 5: 5-10

• John 12: 20-33

As there is no audio version of this service available, please click the button below for a pdf version.

Sunday 10th March

This Sunday is Mothering Sunday - a day when we honour, respect and admire those who not only gave us life but who formed us by their teaching and example into what we are today. The reading from the Old Testament this week focuses on Hannah, the mother of Samuel, Israel’s first major prophet. 

Richard will explore the motherly qualities that Hannah had that made her the kind of mother she was and how, from each of these qualities, we can learn a lesson for ourselves. The fact that she was a woman of prayer and faith, she was a woman of her word and she trained her son to love and serve the Lord. Hannah also had a sacrificial love and heart and so this Lent, as we continue our journey towards Easter, may we also be reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us through his death on the cross for our sakes.

Sunday 3rd March

At this week’s Intergenerational Service, Dawn is looking at John 2: 13-22 - a time when Jesus really ‘saw red’! We will be reflecting on the kinds of things that make us angry (using our “anger scale”) and the type of anger that we should be cultivating.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• John 2: 13-22

• James 1: 19

As there is no audio version of this service available, please click the button below for a pdf version.

Sunday 18th February

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent which is one of the most important seasons of the Christian year. Lent offers us all a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and to deepen our commitment to a way of life, rooted in our baptism. Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our lives to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we've done and failed to do and be generous to those in need. 

And so, at the start of Lent, we reflect on this passage from Mark’s gospel  which speaks about the baptism and the temptations of Christ in the wilderness. The life of a Christian is not characterised by a long series of high moments, but a time of experiencing mountains and valleys.                                                 

Jesus’ baptism is a grand moment but is followed immediately by the testing in the wilderness. So, it is for us. Our  lives will have its ups and downs. We shouldn’t anticipate a bed of roses, lest we invite disappointment. Jesus faced temptation and so shall we.  If we remain faithful to God in all our trials, testing and temptations, God will say to us you’re my beloved son or daughter with whom I am well pleased.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Genesis 9: 8-17

• 1 Peter 3: 18-22

• Mark 1: 9-15

Sunday 11th February

The Sunday before Lent.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• 2 Kings 2: 1-12

• 2 Corinthians 4: 3-6

• Mark 9: 2-9

Sunday 28th January

This Sunday we celebrate Candlemas which marks the end of the Christmas season. Candlemas is a turning point in the church year; it marks the point at which we take a last look back at Christmas and then turn our minds firmly towards the Easter cross.

Simeon and Anna are very much part of the Christmas story even though you never see them on Christmas cards. They are presented as faithful servants of the Lord. After arriving in the Temple they become the focus of St Luke’s attention. Simeon held Jesus, praised God, blessed the family and prophesied in the Holy Spirit about Jesus. Anna, a prophetess, saw Christ at the Temple and she also gave thanks to God and spoke about the child. Their witness reminds us that the feast of Candlemas is an invitation to encounter the God whose birth as one of us we celebrated at Christmas. Like Simeon, we are invited to encounter him amid the business of our daily lives. Where is the Spirit leading us? Like Anna, we are invited to encounter him amid our vulnerability, in the pain of our suffering and loneliness, in a world which leaves us unnoticed. Where do we depend solely on God? How do we respond to his call amid the darkness of our lives? In Christ, we encounter the light to which both Simeon and Anna point. Their example challenges us to do like them. Candlemas reflects Simeon’s testimony that Jesus will be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles”.

May God help us to carry his light to those around us so that they too may come into the light of Christ. This celebration isn’t just for Christmas, but for the whole of the Christian year, and the whole of our Christian lives.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Malachi 3: 1-5

• Hebrews 2: 14-18

• Luke 2: 22-40

Sunday 21st January

This week’s gospel reading from Luke focuses on Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine. From this account we will see that there are several key things we can learn from and apply to our own faith journey.

It is important to make sure Jesus is invited to all that we do and invite him into our lives, our hearts and as our personal Lord and Saviour. At the wedding the wine ran out and so Mary turned to the only person she knew could solve this problem, her son, by bringing this immediate need to him. We must do the same - not trying to solve things in our own strength but to pray and ask Jesus to help us. We must also give Jesus what we have, not what we don’t have. In the story only the six empty ordinary stone jars for ceremonial washing were available and so these had to be used. But Jesus was able to turn something very ordinary into something else. In the same way he can take our ordinary lives and turn them into something wonderful. Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus said and they did so trusting and believing that his words would be fulfilled and they were. Miracles will happen if we too step out in faith and obedience for Jesus has saved the best for last.

The miracle at Cana is, among other things, a preview of the Last Supper, the hour when Jesus transforms not water into wine but wine into blood, his blood given for all humanity. The best wine is saved for the last, the wine of salvation. When we receive Communion, may we open our lives afresh to God's gifts of grace and give thanks that the best is yet to come and it will come when we reach heaven.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Genesis 14: 17-20

• Revelation 19: 6-10

• John 2: 1-11

Sunday 14th January

Our gospel reading this week focuses on the theme of Evangelism - the process by which we can share our faith and tell other people about the gospel and the good news of Christ. It is probably the thing that Christians feel least capable or comfortable doing.

A key part of this is the giving of an invitation - inviting the person to come and see for themselves just as Philip did with his friend Nathanael. Through this we’re trying to create a spiritual atmosphere in our community and in our church where all who come can worship and experience God for themselves. In his sermon this week Richard will identify how we can all evangelise in some way and how, as part of this, we can become a blessing to those we meet - showing God’s love and good will to others. One way that we can be blessed ourselves and bless others is by inviting them to church and inviting them to meet with Christ.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to see the empty seats in our church filled with people! In the week ahead may God equip us to be bold and be ready to share this very special invitation with those we meet.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• 1 Samuel 3: 1-10

• Revelation 5: 1-10

• John 1: 43-51

Sunday 7th January

Happy New Year! Welcome to our first Worship from Home page of 2024! It was lovely to see so many people at our different Christmas services - from the Christingle and Crib Service to the morning and midnight services. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard in so many different ways for these services. We pray that those who attended, perhaps for the first time, experienced the warm welcome of our church family and will feel drawn to join us again in the coming year.

In our Intergenerational service this week Dawn will look at how both the Baptism of Jesus and the Epiphany are related and how this gives us a real reason to celebrate! There will also be the opportunity to take part in a chalk blessing - a traditional ritual to welcome the new year and commit it to the service of God within our community.

As we move into this New Year we are making a slight change to the pattern of services which starts this Sunday. Following discussion by the PCC it was proposed, and unanimously carried, that the first Sunday of each month will be an Intergenerational Service with no Holy Communion. This will also be an opportunity to welcome to our church family those who have recently been baptized. However, on that Sunday there will be Communion at the 8.00am service. This means that Wild Church will now take place on the 4th Sunday of the month.

Bible Readings (Click to Read)

• Jeremiah 31: 12-14

• John 1: 1-18