Community Church Edinburgh: Talks: Recent Episodes
Community Church Edinburgh
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 20th Aug 2023.
The initial sign of the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost was freedom to worship in unlearned languages. In a culture so focussed on human intelligence, this action of God in believers today challenges our usual assumptions about what worship is about. But a clue from the Genesis story of the origins of languages might help us understand what God is intending through this supernatural gift.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 6th Aug 2023.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 23rd Jul 2023.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 16th Jul 2023.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 2nd Jul 2023.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 25th Jun 2023.
Discovering the Holy Spirit’s power to heal and bring wholeness – today. Whether physically, spiritually, or relationally; even amidst difficult situations.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 18th Jun 2023.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 11th Jun 2023.
Abby continue our Breath of Life series by exploring how our inner most being can connect with God through beauty and worship.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 4th Dec 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 27th Nov 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 20th Nov 2022.
This talk comes near the end of our series of shame. Amy shares the story of the woman at the well. This story beautifully shows our compassionate Christ in action! Christ cultivates a connection to the woman; the woman feels seen and is promised her value without any judgement. We know the feeling of shame can be overwhelming and isolating. Jesus shows us in the story that we can live wholeheartedly without shame . Shame is an epidemic in our culture and the church has the key to freedom.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 13th Nov 2022.
Have you ever found yourself re-acting in aggressive and angry ways? Or maybe you’ve found yourself reacting but found that you are unable to express your anger and instead you’ve reacted in a passive aggressive way? Perhaps you’ve been left thinking ‘why did I react so strongly?’. Or maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of some of that anger and aggression and wondered what has been going on? This aggressive angry attacking behaviour is one of the four typical responses that shame can produce in us as human beings. Rupert explores this behaviour and looks deeper into how we can find Good News for the shame that we all live with.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 6th Nov 2022.
Malcolm continues our series on shame with a talk about ways in which we try ‘casting a spell’ on those around us. This (often unconscious) response to shame is more about what we can get from others as opposed to protecting ourselves (responses we have looked at previously in the series). We want to illicit positive affirmation, so we need to be seen as competent or successful, clever, attractive, rich, special, or even humble! Maintaining this persona can be exhausting and may even lead us to engineering certain situations (such as the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11).
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 30th Oct 2022.
This week Kirsty Hook continues our current series, with a talk titled ‘Shame on Jesus: Appease’. Kirsty looks at 1 Samuel 1v1-19, where Hannah, who is childless at this point, is in the temple being taunted about not being blessed with children. Kirsty talks about a number things that can cause us to feel shame, how we can recognise it and why we respond in certain ways, with a particular focus on the habit of putting ourselves down and reducing the expectation of our abilities.
But what is the good news that Jesus brings to our shame?
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 23rd Oct 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 16th Oct 2022.
This week, Naomi Entwistle continues our new series ‘Shame on Jesus’ with a talk titled ‘Run and Hide’ reflecting on our Scripture of the Week Acts 24:1-27. Naomi looks at what we do with our shame. In this series we will look at four recognised patterns of behaviour that helps us avoid the comfortableness of shame – the first in this sermon is “run and hide”, where we withdraw, isolate ourselves, or procrastinate. Behaviours like this feel protective, as they prevent our shame from being exposed. However, they come at a cost of losing connection with others and missing out on God – given opportunities for creativity and flourishing. But God is always looking for us. Even when we hide in shame, He moves towards the whole of us in love and blessing.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 9th Oct 2022.
Rupert Ward begins an eight-week series called ‘Shame on Jesus’. He looks at Genesis 2v25 to 3v10. The passage is a well-known one but Rupert draws our attention to aspects of the passage that we may have over-looked, primarily that this passage is about the experience of shame. We believe that God is calling us to be an unashamed community – join us as we learn to notice where shame is at work in our lives, and hear from Jesus the Good News of joy, hope and freedom
Here is a PDF document with a summary of the sermon and some suggested further resources. These can be used for reflection or discussion and suggest some ways to ‘put it into practise’.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 2nd Oct 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 25th Sep 2022.
Following on from last week Rupert looks again at Mark 14;27-50. Last week we looked at how the disciples reacted (with defensiveness, withdrawal or attack), but this week we look at the response of Jesus. Rupert explores how Jesus offers us a different way we can respond, a way that is hopeful and life-giving during the complex and pressured times in our lives.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 18th Sep 2022.
This week Rupert looks at the way in which Jesus’ disciples behaved when they were under extreme pressure. The passage is Mark 14; 27-50, where Jesus predicts his death, is deeply distressed at Gethsemane and is then arrested. We see the disciples reacting in a defensive manner, withdrawing from Jesus and then attacking (the servant of the High Priest). Are such behaviours (defensiveness, withdrawal and attack) ones that are actually familiar to us? The disciples have clearly demonstrated that when under pressure, ‘We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.’ (Archilochus)
But there is hope. And next week Rupert will look at what we can learn from Jesus to help us develop a more life-giving response to the pressured times in our lives.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 11th Sep 2022.
This week Stan Lyth uncovers how God can use the very things that we want to hide – the disagreeable, shameful and difficult things in our lives…. how He can use them for his purposes, to bless us and others.
In this passage (Exodus 4v1-5), God uses the staff which is in Moses’ hand as a sign to both his people and Pharaoh that God was with him. The shepherd’s staff that Moses had was a clear sign of his profession as a shepherd, not a great job for a man raised in the royal household.
The shepherd’s staff, a symbol of his shame and failure, was the one thing Moses would have loved to leave behind as God called him into this great exodus mission. However, it becomes a central symbol of God’s presence with Moses.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 4th Sep 2022.
Malcolm Calvert concludes our series Visible Women with a talk about Rizpah from 2 Samuel 21:1-14. The brutal back drop to this story is one where King Saul has caused great devastation to the Gibeonites, despite a promise not to harm them. Now that David is King he wants to offer atonement for Saul’s actions. The result is that seven of Saul’s descendants, are killed and hung out for all to see. Rizpah is the mother of two of these men and in her grief, keeps vigil over the bodies for six months. Malcolm uncovers how Rizpah’s response affected David and what her actions tell us about the nature, character and heart of God.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 28th Aug 2022.
This week Rupert Ward continues our summer series ‘Visible Women’ and looks at Job’s relationship with his wife and daughters (Job 1:1 – 2: 10). Rupert examines the text and encourages us to notice things that are rather unexpected. For example, why are Job’s daughters named at the end of this passage, when his sons aren’t? In a male dominated and patriarchal society this would indeed have caused readers to sit up and take note. Rupert uncovers something deep and transformational that has happened to Job during his journey through trauma, loss, suffering and grief.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 21st Aug 2022.
This week Amy Milligan continues our summer series ‘Visible Women’ and looks at two women called Shiphrah and Puah found in Exodus 1. Please note that this talk contains a sensitive topic. These women prevented mass murder of children – a whole generation. As midwives they were asked to by the new king to remove the threat of a perceived uprising of the Israelites. But they stood their ground, they disobeyed and defied the king and followed their conviction in God – they feared God more than man. Amy challenges us to activate our faith and face the difficulties and disappointments of life by leaning into God.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 7th Aug 2022.
Bella and Roman Tanzer continue our ‘Visible Woman’ series with a talk titled ‘Woman of Great Faith’ looking at the story of the Canaanite woman who didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer (Scripture of the Week: Matthew 15v21-28). In this passage Jesus teaches his disciples about persevering faith and about faith in God’s abundance. Bella and Roman left us with a couple of questions to consider:
- How does the Canaanite woman inspire you to persevere when it comes to your own life?
- In what areas of your life is Jesus inviting you to develop an abundance mindset rather than a poverty mindset?
Apologies for the sound quality.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 10th Jul 2022.
Our current series is called ‘Visible women’, where we are exploring the stories of women in the Bible – rediscovering forgotten stories and seeing familiar ones through different eyes. This week Simon Milligan looks at Phoebe, who comes highly recommended by Paul in Romans 16v1-2. Phoebe was a deaconess in the church and also a benefactor to the church. Simon explores what little we know of Phoebe.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 17th Jul 2022.
This week Nicki Newell continues our ‘Visible Women’ series and looks at the Scripture of the Week found in Mark 5. In the story we see a woman who has had an issue with bleeding for 12 years, she has been to every doctor and quack – exhausting every option to become well. She is seen as unclean and a social outcast by community. Jesus is surrounded by the crowd, she fights her way through thinking ‘if I can only touch the hem of his clothes’. Nicki unpacks the story and leaves us with the question ‘What can we learn about faith from this woman?
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 26th Jun 2022.
This week Rupert Ward and Naomi Entwistle have a conversation to introduce our upcoming series ‘Visible Women’. During this series we will be exploring the stories of women in the Bible; rediscovering forgotten stories and seeing familiar ones through different eyes. Rupert and Naomi discuss how we will be looking at the stories of various women who have been influential, from Eve in the garden of Eden to the Mary’s and Martha of the New Testament. However, we want to approach these stories, not only asking what do they mean for women today, but what do these stories teach all of us about God, faith, character development or discipleship?
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 19th Jun 2022.
Rupert starts this Sunday with a short talk from Ezra 3, and then follows up with an outline of what to expect for the next few months in CCE. Ezra 3: 11-13 describes the time when the people of God are celebrating the laying of the temple’s foundation. Rupert uses this passage to illustrate our need to build firm foundations and offers some suggestions about how we can do this. Kirsty Hook re-introduces the Local Connect Areas, highlighting the importance of community. Ashleigh Dunn introduces a Growth Group – Transforming Work, a tool we can use in the workplace. Rupert draws our attention to a book for personal enrichment called “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality’ by Peter Scazzero.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 12th Jun 2022.
Resting from work or working from rest? We live in a time where, as Christians, we are assimilating to culture of busyness, hurry and overload, which leads to God becoming more marginalised which results in a deteriorating relationship with God. But in Genesis 1vs31-2v3 we see how God sets a model for humankind – to rest before work. How can we adopt this approach into our lives? How can we resist the temptation to spend our lives busy, hurried and overloaded? Rupert looks at some practices that have helped him and shares some personal experiences of how his life has been changed by learning to approach life from a place of rest.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 5th Jun 2022.
This week Naomi Entwistle, Malcolm Calvert and Rupert Ward have a conversation around the ‘Raising the Sail’ series. They share which practices they each have personally found useful and encourage us to explore new ways of experiencing God. In the series we have looked at the spiritual practices of; being in community (‘contagious stories’), worship (‘kissing the face of God’), engaging with scripture, slowing down and listening to God in our daily lives (‘repenting together’).
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 29th May 2022.
Naomi suggests that ‘we can understand something and know something – but it only becomes meaningful when it affects the way that we live.’ Spiritual practices can help us get the Good News of Jesus ‘into our muscle’, and shape who we are. Naomi offers a tool to help us think about what spiritual practises God is inviting us into individually. This involves taking note of our emotions, taking time to try and understand them (what they reveal about truths we might be believing), receiving the Good News of Jesus and finding practices that will help us to deeply believe it. Naomi goes onto explain the word repentance – the act of turning around, changing course or move in a different direction – and how life-giving this can be for us.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 22nd May 2022.
‘Consider the wild flowers, look how they grow: slowing down and our internal noise’. Life is busy, and there is little time to put on the brakes and slow down. When we do have 5 minutes or half and hour, we often tend to worry; what’s next on the agenda or where’s the next meal coming from. Perhaps keeping busy leaves us with less time to worry? Kirsty and Andrew look at Luke 12v27 and give some practical guidance on how we can put the brakes on. We discover that slowing down can bring us into the presence of God, where we can experience a sense of freedom. Following the talk we hear from a few people within CCE sharing what helps them to slow down and be present to the presence of God.
Here is the link to a range of contemplative practices that were mentioned during this talk along with a list of selected websites and books.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 15th May 2022.
Bella Tanzer continues our ‘Raising the Sail’ series, looking at the spiritual practice of engaging with scripture. Bella speaks honestly about how reading the bible can be a challenge, but ultimately, engaging with God’s word is deeply rewarding, feeding our mind and our soul. Bella looks closely at Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and discusses practical ways to engage with scripture; how we can reflect on it, how we can teach it to those around us (especially our children) and ways we can remember it. This talk is full of practical ideas and finishes with contributions from a few people in CCE about ways they engage with scripture.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 8th May 2022.
Have you ever been asked about what you believe? Why you have faith? Our scripture this week (1 Peter 3:15) says “always be prepared to give an explanation for our hope”, which can be a scary thought! But have you considered that you may be the only Christian that some people know, or even come into contact with. Amy Milligan continues the series ‘Raising the Sail’, looking at ‘Community’ – where we can be a light in the darkness. Amy also brings us some encouraging stories from her experience of sharing the Good News, passing on the message there is hope to those that need it.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 1st May 2022.
This week we start a new series called ‘Raising the Sail’. Abby Lanyon-olver starts with a talk titled ‘Kissing the Face of God – the spiritual, relational practice of worship’, looking at Psalm 22v1-11. When we talk about a ‘time of worship’, we often think primarily of the act of singing. Abby dispels this view to include times of silence, prayer and reading God’s word amongst other things. We may find it easy to worship some of the time, but at other times it is difficult and uncomfortable. As we look at Psalm 22, we see that David was in a hard place but still cried out to God in worship. This reminds and encourages us that worship is two-way relationship with our Heavenly Father.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 24th Apr 2022.
Keith looks at is Acts 14;15, where Paul speaks healing to a crippled man (who had been crippled from birth). Keith then goes on to share inspiring stories of how God can bring healing to us over time as we walk with Jesus. This may not mean that we are healed of an affliction or lifted out of a situation – sometimes it may, but as we walk with Jesus even our struggles take us deeper into God. We can trust God because he loves us deeply and knowing this brings us hope.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 17th Apr 2022.
Globally we have experienced a pandemic, Afghanistan, George Floyd and now a war in Ukraine – we need a gospel that is big enough for all that and more. In the reading (Matthew 9v30-32), Jesus is predicting his death and resurrection – but the disciples did not understand. The expectation was that that a king would rise up and overthrow the Roman empire. Yet, defeating violence with violence, only begets more violence – and this wasn’t Jesus’ way. He did something unexpected and beautiful – a once for all time. Jesus takes on death and even the grave couldn’t keep him. He defeated even death itself with resurrection! Beauty might just save the world.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 10th Apr 2022.
This week Allan and Lizzie Cox speak on ‘Staying Fruitful’ with reference to Matthew 11v28-30. We all live busy lives and we may ask ourselves; how can we have rest when everything around us is chaotic, frantic and unsettling? Lizzie explores the spiritual, emotional and physical benefits of keeping the Sabbath. She gives some practical ideas about how we can do this, whilst keeping in mind that it may look different for each of us.
Allan shares his heart for the spiritual practice of mission, with reference to churches in Nepal, and how they have grown over the last century. He encourages us to discover God’s heart for our world and to develop a missional approach to our everyday lives and our walk with Jesus.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 3rd Apr 2022.
Dust – A chance to share together; Reflection and Response – 3rd April 2022
Over the last eleven weeks we have been exploring various aspects of how we can follow in the footsteps of Jesus and how our discipleship to Him flows into mission. We have looked at practices which we can adopt into our lives, how our attitudes can be transformed and how we can affect those around us. This week Naomi Entwistle and Rupert Ward invite us into a time of reflection and response. We hear from several people within CCE, what practices they have implemented, what has challenged them, blessed them and how Jesus is bringing about change in their lives.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 27th Mar 2022.
We are living in times which are uncertain, the increased cost of living, an ongoing pandemic and more recently the war in Ukraine. These significant challenges can, unsurprisingly, bring a sense of anxiety to our everyday lives. This week Rupert looks at the story of Mary and Martha, from Luke 10 vs 38-42. It is a well-known passage where Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus whilst Martha is anxious and distracted. Rupert focuses on just two words from this passage; Anxious and Distracted. How can we, as followers of Jesus be less anxious and distracted? Rupert looks at this in detail and gives us five practical ideas that can help us maintain our focus on Jesus amidst all that is going on in our lives.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 20th Mar 2022.
Relationships and Community (Dust 10) – Naomi Entwistle – 20/03/22
Relationships can be difficult, bring two strong headed people together and watch the sparks fly! How do we respond to someone who we find difficult and have to work with? How do we create a Jesus community from strained relationships? Looking at Matthew 17vs 24- 18 vs 5, we can see that Jesus’ disciples also struggled with difficult relationships. Naomi explores how we can pick our way through our differences and keep community at the heart of our response to one another.
Here is a PDF summary of the sermon, which includes more resources and offers ways in which we can put this into practice.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 13th Mar 2022.
This service is a special day for two of our youth who are committing to a life with Jesus through the act of baptism. Simon Milligan speaks to these young people and to the rest of us – with a talk titled ‘Uncomfortable Adventures’. He refers to Numbers 27v18-20, looking at two of the great people in the Bible, Moses and Joshua. Both these young people, like ourselves have a unique relationship with Jesus and being able to take time out and listen to Him is essential to our walk with him. Simon encourages us to anticipate great adventures as followers Jesus!
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 6th Mar 2022.
This week Rupert Ward continues the series ‘Dust: the art of followership’ with a talk called ‘Catching the wind’. Throughout this series we have looked at what practices we can put in place to follow Jesus more closely. But how is it that we actually change and become more like Jesus? How do we become more patient, kind, loving people who truly reflect the character of Jesus? Is change sudden and dramatic or is it incremental? Is this change up to us? Rupert explores all these questions and gives us some very practical ways in which we can connect with the Holy Spirit.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 27th Feb 2022.
Naomi Entwistle continues with the ‘Dust: the art of follower-ship’ with a talk entitled ‘Good News Community’. With reference to Luke 1, Naomi looks at three characters – Mary, Elizabeth and Zechariah. Their circumstances and responses are very different, and Naomi asks us to think about the following questions: – Which of these three people am I this morning? Who are the people in your life who will speak good news to you, be with you on the journey? – Who are you supporting? Have you been ‘struck mute’ by painful experiences (some of your healing may well come from small groups, serving etc).
Here is a PDF document with a summary of the talk, some further resources and ways in which we could put this in practice, which is where real change happens.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 20th Feb 2022.
Rupert Ward continues the Dust: the art of follower-ship series with a talk entitled ‘Training or Trying’. Our scripture this week is 1 Corinthians 9 v24-27. Have you ever tried running a marathon without training? How about sitting down at a piano and knocking out some Mozart or Coldplay without practice? Rupert explains that following Jesus takes effort, practise and patience. To run a race, we would have to build up our stamina with training over weeks and months. Likewise, to play the piano well, hours of practise is required over years. God’s grace is not opposed to action and effort, there is nothing we can do to stop Him loving us. We have to put the time and effort in, to train, to transform and become like Jesus.
Here is a PDF document with a summary of the talk, with some further resources and ways in which we could put this into practice.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 13th Feb 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 6th Feb 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 30th Jan 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 23rd Jan 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 16th Jan 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 9th Jan 2022.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 19th Dec 2021.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 12th Dec 2021.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 5th Dec 2021.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 28th Nov 2021.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 21st Nov 2021.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 14th Nov 2021.
The weekly message from Community Church Edinburgh. This talk is from Sunday, 7th Nov 2021.