The audio from City Life Church’s community meeting on 14th November. You can find the slides here.
Our friend Peter Adams shared some reflections on Communion through the lens of tradition. You can find his slides here.
We start a three-part series looking at Communion. This week, Abby looks at Communion through the lens of scripture. Also, Rosie gives an update on the small group discernment process.
As we met together for the last time till September, Jamie shared some quick reflections on a couple of stories of Jesus, what they might be saying to our community at this time, and some further reflections following the recent AGM. He also shared the plan for the community moving forwards for the next few months. All in just a few minutes, strap in, folks!
At our AGM, Gry shares the financial status of the church, and Jamie and Anne shares candidly about where we are at as a community
An imaginative Contemplation on the story of the anointing of Jesus by the woman with the alabaster jar, led by Abby.
Neil unpacks the story of the woman who bled for 12 years and Abby leads us in an imaginative contemplation.
Jamie introduces the new term, looks at themes that feature in encounters with Jesus and spends a little time with the story of the Samaritan woman at the well.
Sam wraps up the Spring Term series by looking back on what has emerged for individuals over the last few months and reflecting on where we are heading as a church.
Liz speaks a little about the original aim of City Life Church in Luton, on vulnerability, and choosing to fully love one another despite the high cost.
Mark shares his story of coming to Luton to plant City Life Church 15 years ago, and why he is still here and part of this community today.
Hazel and Gry each shares the stories and experiences of Jesus that has kept them going in their lives and faith
Abby leads us in an Imaginative Contemplation on the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
Megan takes us through her experience of following Jesus when things gets hard, and why she keeps coming back to church
During this first week in our series on ‘Why Are We Here’ we hear from Roxanna, Neil and Naz on how they first came to know and understand Jesus.
Jamie explains a little about how the coming term will work and gives a brief update on the Church Leadership Team and church budget.
Although the state of our planet has been in dire straits for quite some time we were prompted by the COP26 summit to spend last Sunday’s gathering contemplating and reflecting on creation itself. Abby leads this powerful Creation Prayer.
A few weeks ago a number of church members attended the Retreat In Daily Life. The retreat included personal spiritual direction and group workshops that introduced various methods of praying. The Examen was one such method. This form of prayer involves reflecting on the events of the day, week, month or year and in doing so invites us to notice when, where and how we have experienced God's presence. So here is a rather raw walking Examen wonderfully led by Abby.
A few weeks ago a number of church members attended the Retreat In Daily Life. The retreat included personal spiritual direction and group workshops that introduced various methods of praying. Imaginative contemplation is one such method. As a particularly active way of praying that places the individual in to the centre of the story, imaginative contemplation engages both the heart and the mind. Abby leads this contemplation on the experience of pentecost, the events that took place in Acts 2:1-13.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 143, read by our friend Luke.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 142, read by our friend Mark.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 88, read by our friend Hazel.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 77, read by our friend Roxanna.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 55, read by our friend Ellis.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 38, read by our friend David.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 31, read by our friend Neil.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 22, read by our friend Gry.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 13, read by our friend Rach.
During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 5, read by our friend Liz.
Rounding up the series and reflecting on the last four weeks, Lucie and Neil takes us through their thoughts on how to approach the doubt and hope that may come from looking at the Bible in this manner.
Things we mentioned you might want to look up:
Heard the one about when the sons of God took human wives and had babies, immortal babies!? But God put a stop to that little episode (Gen 6:1-4). There are several seemingly weird vignettes like this in the Torah. In this episode, Neil and Helen have a look at a few of these, to see if they can make sense of them and, as always, add these snapshots to the bigger picture of Scripture.
Things we mentioned that you might want to look up:
25 But if in the countryside a man finds a young woman who is betrothed, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 You shall do nothing to the young woman; the young woman has not committed an offense punishable by death, because this case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbour.
28 If a man meets a virgin who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are caught in the act, 29 the man who lay with her shall give fifty shekels of silver to the young woman’s father, and she shall become his wife. Because he violated her he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives.
The first law seems to be about rape, the second about consensual sex (though ‘seizes’ (taphas) seems coercive). The Hebrew word translated ‘forces’ in 22:25 is ‘chazaq’ and that in 22:28 ‘seizes’ is ‘taphas’. The NIV translates both words as ‘rape’. No matter how we should understand these laws, it seems clear enough that we shouldn’t use the same word to translate the two different words. A lot more needs to be said about this, but those are the basic facts about the words used.
In the 3rd episode of the Red Thread Podcast, Neil and Harry take us on a fairly brisk but in depth look through some key moments in the creation stories, and thoughts about what this means for our ideas of Scripture.
Things we mentioned that you might want to look up:
If you want to understand a culture you have to understand its stories. What culture and what stories stand behind the text of Scripture as we have it? When we watch a film or read a book there will often be nods and references to other films or books. Getting these nods helps us/can be essential to get what’s going on. The same is true with the Bible. This episode, Neil talks to Roxanna about some of the older Mesopotamian myths we can hear the echoes of in our reading of the Hebrew Bible. Talking about the myths and stories of ancient Mesopotamia and a few other places where the biblical writers drew their stories from, they show a few places where the echoes are very clear, and what the Hebrew theologians do with them.
Things we mentioned that you might want to look up:
In the first episode of our Red Thread podcast series, Neil introduces the series and talks to Lucie about their thoughts and attitudes to the Bible.
A few words on method:
Things we mentioned you might want to look up:
Claire helps us start a conversation on what it looks like to be an upstander in the face of racial injustice instead of a bystander
Liz explores what it might look like to love and be loved by God and neighbours in the present moment in time
A recording of the content Tiffany and Robbie prepared for us for this week’s Reflection in the Wild.
“A Spotless Rose” sung by Robbie
A spotless Rose is blowing
Sprung from a tender root,
Of ancient seers' foreshowing,
Of Jesse promised fruit;
Its fairest bud unfolds to light
Amid the cold, cold winter
And in the dark midnight.
The Rose which I am singing,
Whereof Isaiah said,
Is from its sweet root springing
In Mary, purest Maid;
For through our God's great love and might
The blessed babe she bare us
In a cold, cold winter's night.
Instrumental: Song Sparrow Serenade by Chad Crouch
Liz explores what it might look like to love and be loved by God and neighbours in the present moment in time
John talks about the similarities between Judas and Peter, and what it looks like when we bring our expectations into a situation.
Laura and Lucie reflects on the material from Session 2 of Radical Presence which we based our conversation on when we met together in smaller groups on a Sunday evening.
John reflects on the moment in time we find ourselves in, with all the turmoil it has brought, and how we might be church in the midst of it.
Using her gap year as an example of feeling trapped, Roxanna explores the various things Jesus came to set us free from, and what that means to her.
This week the other Liz (Liz P) is doing her version of The Gospel According to: Liz - just to make it confusing! Using the greek word “Splagchnizomai”, meaning “gut-wrenching compassion”, she explores her experience of God as Emmanuel (God with us) in the midst of suffering.
As our series on “the Gospel According to: …” Liz HW explores the idea that God is our friend.
Laura takes us on a whistle stop tour through the history of small groups in City Life Church, before delving into exploring what they might look like going forward.
John presents what the good news means to him, in the midst of the suffering and perceived meaninglessness of life.
Lucie summarises our “The Gospel According to… Romans” series from last term, and moves us into a new series on “The Gospel According to…You” in which we will have various people in our community share what the good news looks like to them.
As we come to a close on our series on “The Gospel According to… Romans” Laura talks us through how we can contribute through our gifts, our presence and belonging, and even through our shadow side and faults.
Sam takes us on a journey of the necessity of judgement for human society throughout history
This week Laura goes deep, talking about our human instinct to ignore our own mortality, and how part of learning to not be scared of death, is to allowing ourselves to come face to face with it.
John summarises our series on Romans so far, and invites us to reflect on the gift as communicated throughout the themes we have talked about.
Plodding along through the themes of Romans in our series “The Gospel According to… Romans” John P shares about the difficulty of accepting the gift of grace.
As we continue the series on “The Gospel According to… Romans” Andrew shares about his experience of allowing himself to not always be put together, and how God does not demand us to be. Rather He shows up in our weakness.
Lucie continues our series on “The Gospel According to… Romans” by thinking through what it looks like for God to be judging God, yet still being good.
John recaps and summarises our year-long series on Acts, whilst looking ahead to the year to come.
John P explores the part of Acts that is most often used to talk about Mission, and helps us see it in a slightly new light.
Our friend Pete explores traditions of Discernment throughout church history, and talks about how we might experience Discernment in our lives.
Jamie takes us through what discernment is, and how the early church used acts to discernment in different ways in order to figure out the course of action for different situations.
Lucie helps us think about how we might live out the radical inclusion Jesus modelled in our everyday lives. What does it mean for someone to feel on the outside of our church community, and how can we bring them in? What are practical steps we can take to being a more inclusive community?
Lahna explores how the early church wrestled with who was in and who was out, and what we, the church today, can learn from that.
For those of you unable to join us on the Friday night of our weekend away because of childcare or traffic, we’ve pre-recorded much of what’s going to happen in that time and made it available for you to download and enjoy in your own time. Hopefully this will allow you some space to reflect on our theme of reconciliation before our time together on Saturday and Sunday.
We begin to look at what Scripture says about Liberation in terms of socio, political and economic aspects, as explained by our friend Elizabeth.
Lucie makes an introduction of the day the Holy Spirit made Its appearance and changed the world, through the eyes of Scripture. Powerful!
Why do we worship God? What did Church tradition say about worship over time? How do we recognise our lives as worship today? In this talk, Jane helps us answer these questions in great detail.
Here’s our first episode of our new series, where John explores the meaning of ‘worship and doubt’ through the lenses of Scripture.
Enjoy!
A new term, a new series. John W gives us an exciting overview of the year ahead, of what is the spiritual aftermaths of Jesus' life.
On our last gathering before the summer break, Jeremy concludes our series about the Resurrection, bringing forth its relationship with the elements of the Earth. Enjoy!
Jonathon speaks to us about the physicality of the Resurrection, not in Jesus' terms but in terms of our own.
With reference to historical and theological views, our panel (consisting of John W and Neil O) have given us an incredible insight of what the Resurrection meant in the controversial context of Heaven and Hell. It's intense!
What is church and its importance in light of Jesus' death and resurrection? In this talk, John talks to us about it in correlation with his life experiences.
Laura shares her deep thoughts on the Life that can be found between Death and Resurrection, with reference to the poetic picture that Jesus draws about Hope...
In this talk, Lucie helps us understand what Baptism is, delving into its spiritual meaning and importance.
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Jamie gives us great insight on what the meaning of 'righteousness' means, by explaining the transformation of Saul's life, from being the persecutor of Christians, to becoming a Christian himself.
A special guest from the 24/7 Prayer, Roger Ellis, was interviewed regarding his role in the 24/4 Prayer movement and what they have been up to.
In this talk, John helps us reflect on what the Resurrection meant to the people in Jesus' time, and what it means to us.
John starts our series on the resurrection by helping us know "What was Jesus taught happens when you die".
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Lucie begins this new term with the view of Jesus within the four gospels. Enjoy!
Hello, World!
John P talks us through the last 'episode' of our series about the Death of Jesus. Upon reading a few Bible passages, John also invites us to share our thoughts on why Jesus is closer to us than we think.
In anticipation of Easter and Jesus' last days on Earth, Jamie helps us unfold why the night of the Last Supper was different from the other nights...
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John P briefly and straightforwardly talks us though the triumphant entry of Jesus, the One who people were not expecting...
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"What if Jesus did not embrace his death?". Sam shares his challenging thoughts on death and how, in some ways, it's linked to the joy and positivity of life...
Enjoy!
On this special Communion Sunday, little Ezra is dedicated to our God Almighty, and Sam shares the significance of 'dedicating one's life onto God'.
Laura talks us through another of the many reasons why Jesus was killed, bringing to light the shadows of Judas' envy that led him to betray the Christ.
We continue to discover the reasons behind Jesus' killing, as John explains the role of the ancient sects during Jesus' lifetime.
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Jane and Lucie help us explore what it means to give, what it entails, and its importance to God's Kingdom.
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After celebrating Jesus' birth, on the first talk of 2018, we are looking at the first why of His death. Enjoy!
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It is the season to be merry, but most importantly, it is the season to celebrate Christ's birth and wonders. And Rachel helps us rediscover one essence of Jesus's arrival - His power to heal the blind.
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Jesus' keenness to set the captives free is talked about by Rosie, in anticipation of His Holy birth...
Our friend Luke shares his view on the message of Luke the disciple in Scripture. It's powerful, it's true. It's Good News. Enjoy!
"It is the Year of the Lord's Favour, and not of vengeance". Stephen Hoyland speaks about Jesus' grace on and acknowledgement of work and rest.
On the last part of our 10th Practice, our individual experiences on forgiveness were put together and reflected back to us in form of visual liturgy. Enjoy!
On the second part of the Forgiving Evil Practice, Sally Hitchiner shares her thoughts on forgiveness in Scripture, which she describes as an "activeness, drivenness that goes beyond feelings".
Jamie talks us through the Biblical narrative which invites us to scheme for a better world. Enjoy!
In the first part of our 8th Practice, John shares his thoughts on the differences between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament, by underlining the important concept of serving God, and others, generously.
Our friend, trustee and former CLC Luton member, Rich, shares his reflections on the Practice of Giving Our Lives to God through the lens of the Bible.
Sam introduces Eunice and Lahna sharing their experiences of what it means to give our lives over to God. The questions they were asked to reflect on (and that followed in the discussion) were as below:
There's no audio from this, but here is the liturgy that was used over the course of the weekend.
Good Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Laura facilitates some reflection on creating spaces to encounter God through the lens of experience. There's also a copy of the Examen we used at the bottom - enjoy!
Our friend Andy Freeman shares his reflections on the tradition of prayer. The group reflections on the four 'soundtracks' that Andy talked about are also posted below.
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Jane leads some reflection on Bible stories where people encountered God. This is followed by an Imaginative Contemplation from the Gospel.
John P shares his reflections and experience on Learning and Changing through the lens of experience.
Lucie and Dan talk about two different models of Learning and Changing in the Methodist and the Twelve Steps movements.
Sam takes a look at examples of learning and changing in the Bible: what are the marks of Jesus-centred change?
Lucie shares some short reflections on Jesus' birth at our Christmas meeting. Unfortunately, we didn't get Lucie's talk recorded but here are her notes.
Fiona takes a look at the story of Naomi and Ruth in exploring what intentional community looks like in the Bible.
Our friend Stephen Hoyland takes a look at the Christian tradition of intentional community. Enjoy!
Our good friend Luke takes a look at a variety of examples of a shared life from the history of Christian tradition and asks some provocative questions.
On this particular Sunday we asked members to bring along an object that spoke of the experience of sharing life (either as part of CLC or elsewhere). Here is the audio of members' contributions.