We've heard the Christmas story many times before, but we've missed a few things: how it is a true story from the past, how it is a story of prophesy, and how it is a personal story.Listen to the story again, and decide which role you wi...

Without effective mentoring, people fail.That's true in the world, in the Bible, in history, in our own lives, and in the Great Commission.The problem is not that we don't want to be effective  mentors, but rather we don't kn...

Winter is just around the corner and you know what that means: the common cold.We're going to get one, and we're going to spread it around to those near us. Not cool.But, what if I were to tell you that there is something else that you ...

When preaching on the book of Philemon, John MacArthur said “No one is ever more like God than when they forgive.”I think there is a lot of support for his claim, but I also think 'being forgiving' is easier said than done. Why ...

We want grace to be at work in our lives; the first sign of this according to Philemon is our love for other believers.Some people are very loveable, others not so much.What do we need to know to ensure we love the saints like Jes...

Martin Luther was right when he said about believers ‘we are all Onesimuses!’Today, we are going to see what exactly makes us 'Onesimuses'. We'll see that his life story is a picture of our life story, which will give us the big fat remi...

There are some great books in our New Testament: Acts is the first book of church history; Romans the backbone of Christianity, full of the power of the gospel & loaded with doctrine. We then have x8 church epistles, which instr...

Believers are not called to a pleasure cruise but to a prize fight. Not only are we to go, but we are to fight, and we are to win.Where does the power come from for this fight? How can I make sure I pack a punch?Let's

There are team sports and there are individual sports. Some individual sports include: boxing, swimming, running. Some team ones include: football, hockey, rugby, netball.What are the differences between the two?With individual sp...

As we reach (almost) the end of our series, we’ll see something extraordinary play out in Paul’s life. He's pretty old, alone, imprisoned, and he has to stand before an absolute tyrant of a ruler - a lion according to verse 17…But at the sa...

It’s important to be ready. If I want to get the bus to school, I have to be ready in time. If I want to succeed in that job interview, I need to be ready for it.There are many incidences in life where it is important to be ready, but no...

One thing we did a lot in my family growing up was huddle round the TV on a Saturday night for a TV show called Gladiators. An entertaining show, where contestants faced off against 'gladiators' in a range of events designed to test speed, agil...

Today we begin chapter 4 and the final obstacle: finishing strong. Based on chapters 3, 2 and 1… chapter 4 begins with an urgent charge from Paul to Timothy.What is that urgent charge?Part one: Timothy has to finish strong ...

The last days are perilous, but it is possible to be victorious in them. Here's the big secret as to how, ready... the big reveal... read the Bible.We've heard that before, but what we sometimes miss is the impact 'continuing in the scri...

Travelling overseas once, I got myself in a little pickle in Asia.The mix of travelling and the heat and quite a bit of physical exercise… plus the food that my body wasn’t used too… I actually became quite unwell on an overnight train…...

In policing terms, a good Safer Neighbourhood Team has (at least) two main responsibilities.They have to deal generally with the challenges of the area. This means keeping an eye on particular areas of concern, like outside the fast food...

Key to being successful in any endeavour is understanding what you’re up against. The sailor studies the weather before they set out, the boxer watches hours and hours of their opponent in the ring to see how they fight, the football team not o...

In Acts 2, before people get saved, and before Peter shares the gospel, God sets the stage...Today, we want to see people get saved, and we want to share the gospel, but what needs to happen in our lives first?Let's j...

What does a servant of the Lord do? What does it look like when someone today is completely submitted to the will of God?That can seem like an unattainable position, but let me share with you two very real, very practical things we need ...

I have here two balloons that are the same. Same colour, same material, from the same shop, the same packet, even the same writing on them.Here’s one - I’ll throw it to this side of the room and let’s see what it does… full of air, it do...

Having all been in school/education in some way, one thing we will have all experienced is different kind of students… lazy ones, hardworking ones, some like to sit right at the front near the teacher, some at the back, some students are always...

...us believers are in an impossible spot then, because we know following Christ involves suffering, but we hate suffering.How do we get past that?The answer might be in these 3 things that the Apostle Paul believes are worth suff...

How I used to wash cars as a kid... that is an example of someone not working smart. I was working, but I wasn't working smart. There was some endeavour, but it did not achieve the fruit that my effort may have led to...This brings us to ou...

Last week, we started our exploration of how to be useful to the Lord. This is the second of our 4 obstacles - and we cannot finish our course if we are not meet for the master’s use.We can and will finish our lives, i.e. get to the end of ...

In this study of Finishing Our Obstacle Course, we have left behind obstacle 1 in chapter 1 (fear/shame) and are now sizing up obstacle 2: being useful.We are going to hang our study of chapter 2 on this phrase:…meet for the master’s us...