St Luke's Thurnby: Recent Episodes
St Luke's Church
Jesus challenges the Pharisees about the reality of their inner lives and the experts in the law about the burdens they weigh people down with. In Jesus we come to one who gives us new hearts and takes our burdens.
There are plenty of times when we can feel a bit ashamed of the gospel so we hide away, keep our heads down, or hold back. Paul in Romans 1 shows us that the gospel is God's power to rescue people no matter who they are.
Jesus challenges those asking him for a sign by revealing it's really an avoidance strategy. Jesus gives a warning that what matters is hearing God's word proclaimed and responding in repentance, and for that repentance to be an ongoing mark of the Christian life.
When Jesus appears to his disciples in the locked room that first Easter Sunday he speaks four words that make all the difference in the world, "peace be with you". They are four words that deflate fear, bring us joy, and send us out.
Luke's account of Easter with the resurrection of Jesus giving to his followers peace, hope, and a certain future.
Even when life feels a bit empty there is fullness of life because the tomb was empty and Jesus is alive. There is a fresh start for you, whoever you are whatever has happened in your life, death no longer has the final say and you can be totally certain of your future.
Jesus teaching on prayer invites us to pray boldly. We can pray boldly because Jesus prays, he gives us a prayer to pray, he says to be shamelessly audacious, and he he tells us to be expectant of God’s generosity.
Weary people can look to the Servant and see how He perfectly obeyed God, even to the point of suffering, so that we might be free of condemnation and, in turn, follow in his footsteps.
What, or who, does hope look like in the midst of despair? As we look at distressing events - in Isaiah, in Ukraine, and in our own lives, how does our trust in the faithfulness of God help us to be light in a world of darkness? Following Jesus means that we have a hope which goes beyond our current circumstances, but demands that we embody that hope in a hopeless world.
Jesus’ story of the good Samaritan shows us that the Christian life is not about minimum effort but instead it’s about maximum mercy. To live lives of maximum mercy we first need to experience the extraordinary mercy God shows us in Jesus.
Disciples of Jesus are sent to bring in the harvest by healing and helping those most in need and telling people that the Kingdom of God is near in Jesus. Ultimately this is God’s work that we do together knowing that while it is difficult work it is a work that brings peace and results in joy.
What is it that God wants to say to us. In the words of Isaiah 42 it is “here is my servant” the one who will put all things right. These verses give us a wonderful promised picture of Jesus to bring hope to anyone and that strengthen God’s people to serve.
Saved by the cross behind us, and with the hope of heaven ahead, we're called to follow in Jesus' footsteps in the here and now - knowing that it will be costly.
Bishop Martyn's sermon from our Baptism and Confirmation service, encouraging us to be a people who truly listen to Jesus.
Mary's generosity in anointing Jesus highlights the generosity Jesus shows to us and invites us to be generous too, whether with our time and attention, our wealth, and our reputations.
God is the God with his hands on the floodgates of heaven ready to pour out blessing on his people. When it comes to our giving the question is not how much should I give but how much of what God has given to me do I really need to hold on to?
God loves a cheerful giver because he is the most cheerful giver of all. When we are generous we are sowing with what God has given us so that there is an overflow of thanks to God.
A generous gift should never leaves us unmoved. The transformation that Jesus turns being unclean into being clean, having to keep our distance to drawing near, turning our cries of pity into cries of praising God with great thankfulness in our hearts.
Titus chapter 3 gives a stunning picture of the gospel message and it's impact on people's lives. Church planting, whether you are sent or stay is about going and making disciples knowing that it is Jesus who builds the church.
Paul writes to Timothy to give a confidence boost in sticking with the message we have in our Bibles. We need to stick with the Bible because it is what bring us to Jesus and it totally equips us for life following Jesus.
The claim of the Bible is that it is understandable to all kinds of people. We might have to work hard at understanding but there are a number of different tools we can use to help us.
Our lives and our life together put Jesus on display for a watching world to see. This is true for us at St Luke's but also as for the new church plant. The source of living differently and distinctive is the grace God has shown us.
To live in God's world we need God's word. We can only make sense of Jesus through the scriptures and we can only make sense of life and how to live it through the scriptures.
Paul's words to Titus show us that church planting is nothing new, that there is a need to send godly and faithful leaders and people, and that we are to hold firmly to the gospel message while expecting opposition.
Paul's priorities at the start of his letter to Titus give us four priorities for church planting - planting a local church, knowing the truth of the gospel, living out the gospel in godly living, and rooted in certain hope
The Scriptures for Jesus were the most important voice in his life, because he recognised they were God's voice. God's word to us, the Bible, is to be the most important voice in our lives.
God is too great to keep quiet about. Are we singing? Are we leading others to sing? We're doing that in 2022 through having three big priorities - planting in Thurmaston, building the HUB community centre and cafe, and growing our work with families, young people, and children.
We pray for God's blessing so that we might be a blessing to others. As St Luke's in 2022 we seek to be a blessing by having three priorities for the year - to plant in Thurmaston, to build the HUB community centre and cafe, and to grow our ministry with families, young people, and children.
The actions of Herod might be a grizzly episode but is one that demands our attention. Jesus is the promised messiah bringing in God's kingdom. He is a threat to Herod and following him will bring us into conflict with the world around us.
The angels tell the shepherds that the birth of Jesus is good news that will cause great joy. Even when lots of things try and steal our joy, you can have unstealable joy because the baby born is a saviour, the messiah, the Lord.
Jesus is a baby none of us can ignore. His name Jesus tells us that he is God come to save us from our sin and that he is the promised Emmanuel, God come to be with us.
The hope spoken of at the end of Zephaniah is a striking contrast to what's come before. In it we are given an extraordinarily amazing description of the hope Christians have - that God purifies us, he takes great delight in us, and he restores us.
The final in the 'You Choose' series. With the book of Job as our guide we explore the question of why God allows pain and suffering and along the way pick up practical helps of how to walk with God through the pain and suffering we experience.
An overview of who the Holy Spirit is - that he is personal, eternal, for all believers. Our experience of the Spirit comes him giving us understanding, gifts, and bearing fruit in our lives.
Creation care is built into the Christian life. Jesus is the creator who calls us friends, the one who has reconciled all things include us to himself, and is the one who should have supremacy in our lives.
Jeremiah gives us a snapshot of God's promised king. We get to see the kind of person he will be like - a righteous saviour but also we are given confidence to know God will keep his promises about his king
The Bible speaks of Christians praying for one another and yet it can often be hard to do, or find time to do. There is a whole range of encouragements in how to pray for each other - it flowing out of praise of God, having a passion for people, and using the Bible to direct us in how to pray.
The final chapter of Acts gives us reasons to trust in Jesus and a longing to be part of the story. We see the Holy Spirit at work, that God keeps his promises, and he provides for his people. The invitation is to join in and be part of the adventure of reaching the ends of the earth with the message of Jesus Christ.
The ending of the book of Kings seems like a massive disappointment with almost no hope. And yet there is a glimmer of light of a king who would come out of the exiled people of God.
In the sacrifices we remember we catch sight of a much deeper sacrifice, of a greater love that Jesus has. He lays down his life for us and offers to call us friend. It something worth laying down our lives and lifestyles for.
The Christian life is often far from easy and we can be left asking where is God? In these times we are called to take courage, not pretending everything is ok, but cultivating a habit of thankfulness in the midst of the storms.
Josiah gives us a great example of someone who heart is soft and responsive to God's word and trusts what God says because it is the right thing to do even when it feels like it will make difference at all.
The resurrection of Jesus gives Paul the confidence even when he is innocent yet in prison, to speak up about Jesus, and to know that God is fully in control.
Everything comes to an end for the Northern Kingdom - it's God's punishment to fit their crimes. The story of Israel is closer to home than we might think but also part of God's great story of rescue and forgiveness.
Apologies for the quality of the recording!
Through some desperate, bizarre, and tragic events God shows that he is a God who always keeps his word. It means we are a people who wait for the Lord and tell of a day of good news.
Jesus is not a dead man or a dead message but a is alive and the gospel is a life changing living message. Stay connected to the risen Jesus and put him on display in your life.
Following Jesus is about being counted righteous when he comes to judge. It is a message that is coming to a wider and wider audience but there's a warning that the gospel message is not convenient but it is a message that brings joy and hope.
In a story where there is deep injustice and integrity we are shown that when we lose sight of God's purposes we end up hopelessly compromised. While God should judge and bring justice he in Jesus first comes in mercy.
Paul describes his encounter with the risen Jesus and finds Jesus to be the light of the world and the word of God.
God restores a discouraged and drained Elijah by reminding him that it is God who is God but he is also a God of grace. It's heard in the silent whisper but also in our experiences of sleep, eating, exercising, praying, and reading the Bible
Apologies for the poor audio recording. If the Lord is God, follow him. Only God is personal, gracious, and powerful - anything else is distant, demanding, powerless, and just doesn't care.
Follow Paul as he follows Jesus - both as he responds to hard things with confidence and in wisdom on what to insist on and what to leave alone.
Paul's final moments and final words to the Ephesian elders tell us that it is the message of Jesus that really matters and that it is the people who belong to Jesus who are what's really precious.
The people of God go from being united to being divided with kings who disappointed. Ultimately we are pointed to Jesus who does not disappoint. He is the one who can unite us, bring rest, serves, and gives life.
In these verses we see committed Christian leaders who take the opportunity to encourage Christians from God's word and committed young Christians taking the opportunity to be encouraged from God's word.
A happy life is a life living under the wisdom of God's king. That was what the queen of Sheba saw when she visited Solomon. Only it wasn't to last because Solomon's heart was redirected away from the source of real wisdom
A brief introduction to the books of 1 & 2 Kings that we'll be looking at in our 6:30pm services in the autumn term 2021
Following Jesus is not about getting Jesus to fit into our agenda but for him to be disrupting and redirecting our lives and there finding our worth and meaning.
In Corinth we find Paul trying to persuade others about Jesus, something the Holy Spirit continues to call his people to do. In weakness, fear and trembling Paul is given a promise of Jesus' presence, protection, and that God has many people. How do we make Jesus known? We do it with others, sharing our lives, and by being reasonable.
The good news that Jesus is risen from the dead was good news in Athens and it is good news in Thurnby and beyond. Are we distressed at what we see i the world around us and are we taking the opportunities we have to declare who God is?
You can't be indifferent to the gospel - it's a Marmite message. How do we handle opposition and rejection of the gospel? Recognise we follow a suffering King and trust that God is sovereign.
We have a God who works miracles that change peoples lives - belief in the Lord Jesus that leads to salvation. We are to speak to people about Jesus trusting that the miracle working God is at work.
Jesus said "I will build my church". In this part of Acts we see how Jesus builds his church even through sharp disagreements, when church leaders seem to do some strange things, and through changed plans.
The message at the heart of Acts 15 is that salvation is through faith in Jesus alone. There is nothing more that needs to be added to Jesus for salvation.
On his missionary journey's Paul always expected the best - that God through the Spirit would be at work and there would be people ready to hear the gospel. Paul was also ready for the worst.
Jesus is the one who gathers a team and sends out a team so that God's word is proclaimed for all to hear.
The reality and consequences of the fall are unpacked and explain why the world is as it is. A life of blessing has become a life under curse but God story isn't over, He makes a way back into his blessing.
How do we hold on to the tension of this world and our lives being beautifully brilliant and badly broken. Genesis 3:1-7 helps explain our experience of life in this world, enlarges our experience of God's grace, and equips us to face temptation.
God's design for marriage - a lifelong relationship between a man and a woman that is also a picture that points beyond itself to the one relationship that can truly satisfy - the relationship between Jesus and his people, the church.
How is the Holy Spirit at work in your life and the life of our church? If you want to see evidence of the Spirit at work look to the way we love one another.
Who are we? We are created for relationship, it is not good to be alone. We are created male and female, equal yet different.
God is a life-giving generous God. God has created us to be a life living people who work, who care, and who are free.
If humanity is the highpoint of creation the goal of creation is rest. The day of rest gives hope that God will keep his promises and it shows us what life is for.
To be human means being made in the image of God and made for a purpose. Our experience is this image is marred and purpose frustrated but in Jesus we are renewed to a life of knowing and experiencing God as Father and a life of fruitfulness.
In the beginning we are introduced to God who is eternal, loving, powerful and is the God to be worshipped.
Jesus' body was not stolen away by his friends but really is alive. This is good news to go and take to all people
Easter means hope. The resurrection gives us new life into a living hope which brings unending, unsquashable, and unsealable joy
A Good Friday reflection looking at Matthew's account of Jesus' crucifixion and focusing in on his cry from the cross - a cry in the darkness, a cry of obedience, and a cry that brings hope.
Facing a crisis. Hezekiah desires to be the man who walks humbly but in the end his pride outweighs his faith leading to compromise. Sound familiar? We need a better king.
Who will you trust? Hezekiah turns to the Lord in the of challenges. How does God answer prayer? How can we learn to pray?
What it looks like to persevere in our faith in Jesus by living rightly, fixing our eyes on Jesus, and depending on each other.
Which way? Chapters 34 and 35 zoom out to a future still to come where there's is judgement and joy. God's judgement takes place so that there can be everlasting joy.
God the consuming fire. God's fire consumers his enemies and all that is evil - we need to trust in him, walk with him, and wait for him.
God's Perspective. God gives sight of what the future holds so that we might live our lives in light of it - trusting God's promises with soft hearts.
Following our good shepherd in caring for the lost, seeking the young, healing the injured, feeding the healthy, shunning status