The WIN UK Pod: Recent Episodes
Word International Ministries UK
Welcome to the WIN UK Pod where you'll find audio recordings of our weekly Sunday sermons and monthly interview specials with people from all across our community. We hope this podcast encourages you in your journey with God, with people and the world.
This is the second episode of our new 4-part podcast series “Got Hope?” Which explores the experiences, challenges and stories of young adults discovering hope in new ways throughout these unique and uncertain times. In this episode some of our young Young Adults - Joshua Fernandez, Christine Inciong, and Kim Ramos - go deep into discussion with the intent of conveying an honest picture of how their personal lives and faith have been impacted by the pandemic, and how God is continually able to give us Hope even in such an unprecedented season.
This will be a 2-part discussion where they will be exploring the very important topic of Mental Health, sharing their opinions and experiences on the matter and what it means to them as Young Adults and as Christians living in the modern world.
If you want to get connected with our panel, add them on Instagram - Joshua Fernandez @G1olo, Christine Inciong @cjaii_ and Kim Ramos @winayyouth.
If you’ve been affected or deeply stirred by any points raised in this episode, please reach out to us on e-mail at support@wordinternationalministries.org.uk - we want to talk with you.
In the first service of October, Pastor Stefan Tiran continues our Exodus series with a particular look at The Day of Atonement, exploring the end of Exodus and the book of Leviticus. He talks us through the Day of Atonement - what it is, what its purpose is and what its significance is for us; and how it was ultimately fulfilled through the death of Christ on the cross.
"Sin has but two places where it may be; either it may be with you, so that it lies upon your neck, or upon Christ, the Lamb of God. If now it lies upon your neck, you are lost; if, however, it lies upon Christ, you are free and will be saved. Take now whichever you prefer." - Martin Luther
Scripture:
Exodus 40:38
Reflection:
1) In what way is the new covenant better than the former one made between God and Israel?
2) Think back over what Jesus has done for us. How will it guide you in the way you live your life?
Our second special episode kicks off our new 4-part podcast series "Got Hope?" which explores the experiences, challenges and stories of young adults discovering Hope in new ways throughout these unique and uncertain times. In this episode some of our Young Adults - Sarah Nepomuceno, Cloyd Abejar and Christine Madla - go deep into discussion with the intention of conveying an honest picture of how their personal lives and faith have been impacted by the pandemic, and how God is continually able to give us Hope even in such an unprecedented season.
If you want to get connected with our panel, add them on Instagram - Sarah Nepomuceno @sarrrabi,Christine Madla @cm.mdl and Cloyd Abejar @kuloloyd (also has a podcast called ‘The Sense Up’ - check it out!).
If you’ve been affected or deeply stirred by any points raised in this episode, please reach out to us on email at support@wordinternationalministries.org.uk - we want to walk with you.
The last service of the month sees Pastor Rene Nepomuceno continue our sermon series "A Journey through the Book of Exodus" looking particularly at difficult introspective realities, and how God's character and commitment to us works to liberate us from our old realities into a new Covenantal one. Pastor Rene explores the role of Israel in their commitment to God and response to the New Covenant and thus, how relevant that is to us even now.
Scripture:
Exodus 34:5-9
Reflection:
1) God's Commandments were given to liberate us from former stifling habits and behaviours. Think of a specific commandment that has changed you.
2) What do you see as the main difference between the Lord's renewed Covenant with Moses and the New Covenant the Lord made with His Son?
This episode of our Journey through the Book of Exodus series sees Pastor Stefan Tiran exploring God's Covenant with Israel highlighting God's purposes for them to be a "kingdom of priests" expressing His holiness, glory and His presence amongst His people, which Pastor Stefan will summarise through explaining the purpose, uniqueness, paradox and climax of this Covenant. Pastor Stefan talks through the events that followed Moses' time on Mount Sinai when Israel break the newly made covenant with God through idolatry and how God responds, thus revealing His character not only in terms of love and compassion but also in authority, holiness and mercy.
Scripture:
Exodus 19:4-6
Reflection:
1)What can we learn from God's covenant with Israel in Exodus about the kind of relationship He wants to have with us?
2) Do you tend to view your relationship with God more in terms of law or with love? How will you ensure neither aspect is neglected?
Week 3 of our Journey through the Book of Exodus sees Pastor Rene Nepomuceno talk about the liberation of Israel from Egypt and the bondage of slavery. He relates this to the things in modern day that we need to be liberated from and looks at cultural and societal perspectives that have shaped our thinking and the way we perceive our own identities - and how these things may act as mental bondage for us. He talks about how our hearts are revealed in our thoughts - in terms of biases, perceptions and preconceptions - and looks at the Bible's focus on the renewing of our minds being pivotal in our faith and in turn, the process by which God liberates of our hearts.
Scripture:
Exodus 32:1-20
Reflection:
1) Think of a bias you have realised you have that needs to be renewed before God.
2) Reflect on a mind bondage that God has freed you from.
3) On self-identity, do you tend to compare yourself to others? Are you affected by rating yourself as better, the same or worse than others?
In the second episode of our Journey through the Book of Exodus series, Pastor Stefan Tiran explores one of the most fundamental texts in the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments. Pastor Stefan takes a theological look at the commandments explaining how that relates and is still relevant to Christians in modern day, and how it affects our lives holistically and in terms of our relationships - with God and with others.
"When the Lord's People cannot rise to His requirements he doesn't lower his standards, He lifts up His people." - Alex Motyer
Scripture:
Exodus 20:1-19
Reflection:
1) How do the Ten Commandments fit in with wholeheartedly loving God and our neighbour?
2) How could you explain to a friend that although we are not saved by the law that the Ten Commandments are still relevant for Christian believers?
Welcome to the first episode of the special segment of the WIN-UK Pod entitled Word in the World. Our very first episode has one of our young adults and member of the Podcast team, Chryston Montenegro, interviewing WIN London's Head Pastor Stefan Tiran. In this conversation, we talk about Pastor Stefan's journey in his faith, the decisions that led him to become a Pastor, challenges faced growing up, his experiences in leading a church in lockdown and some final remarks on the recently finished Fruit of the Spirit series.
We end August in starting our new sermon series "A Journey through the Book of Exodus" in which our Pastors will take us through the forming of Israel as a nation after God had liberated the children of Abraham from Egypt. In the first part of this series, Pastor Rene Nepomuceno focuses on the story of Moses and the burning bush - how God reveals Himself, His commandments and the aspects of His character that display His faithfulness, power and love for us, and how in turn we can respond in reverence to His holy name.
Scripture:
Exodus 3:13-15
Reflection:
1) What strikes you most about the revealed Name of the Lord? (I AM what I AM, I will BE what i will BE)
2) We learned today that the Name of Jesus deserves the same glory and honour attributed to Yahweh. How does this affect your walk and your worship as a follower of Jesus?
Rounding off the end of our Fruit in the Spirit series, Pastor Stefan looks at Self-Control. He ends the series how we started it by looking at the main text of the entire series, Galatians 5, and talks us through how the Fruit of the Spirit isn't 9 individual disciplines but rather 9 interdependent sides of one fruit that work hand in hand in cultivating the life of Christ within us. Pastor Stefan discusses the importance of self-control, how we cultivate it and how it quells the constant conflict between the spirit of God within us, and our sinful flesh.
We hope you've been encouraged and challenged by this sermon series and continue to cultivate the Fruit of the Spirit in your lives through Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.
Scripture:
Galatians 5:16-25
Reflection:
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In which areas of your life would you like to have greater self-control?
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How will you remind yourself of the superior preciousness of God’s grace to undermine ‘over-desires’ in your life?
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What are your most important takeaways from the sermon series on cultivating the fruit of the Spirit?
In the penultimate episode of our Fruit of the Spirit series, Pastor Rene Nepomuceno talks us through Gentleness and how it particularly addresses so much of our struggle and uncertainty in the midst of the pandemic. Pastor Rene explores Psalms 23 and focuses on the depiction of the Lord as our Shepherd and His examples of gentleness through His hands, voice, words and presence; how they affect us and how we should respond by expressing gentleness in like manner towards those around us.
Scripture:
Psalm 23
Reflection:
1) Who is the shepherd of your life?
2) Gentleness is power and strength used tenderly to lift up and help the powerless and the week. How have you used your status and the resources God has given you to help others?
3) In what way can you practically show gentleness to others this coming week?
Pastor Stefan Tiran opens this episode with an update on our church’s plans in regards to the current pandemic and lockdown rules (the Word begins at the 6:05 mark) then continues our Fruit of the Spirit series speaking about Faithfulness. He’ll explore what faithfulness is, how it works and develops hand in hand with friendship, and the importance of friendship in our cultivation of our faith. Pastor Stefan examines the book of Proverbs to highlight the facets of friendship that reflect and cultivate faithfulness in us.
Scripture:
Proverbs 17:7, 18:24, 20:6, 27:5-6, 29:5
Reflection:
1. How have your best friends shaped over the years? Who are your best friends now (other than your spouse), who are close, loyal and candid?
2. Are your friendships growing (in quality and quantity) or are you letting the busyness of life keep you from growing in faithfulness and friendship?
3. How does Jesus help us become better friends?
4. How can you be more intentional this month about deepening the friendships that you have?
Ringing in the first Sunday of August, we take a pause from the Fruit of the Spirit series as Pastor Rene Nepomuceno discusses the continued and wondrous work of God in the midst of the current pandemic and its effects on our lives and our society. He takes us through Psalms 86 and talks about how God is greater than the frightening uncertainty and how God's work in our lives first unsettles then amazes us and points to the life of Christ as the greatest example of this.
Scripture:
Psalms 86:1-13
Reflection:
1. What about our current situation unsettles you?
2. What do you believe God is doing in your life in spite of this?
3. What wondrous work of God has amazed you in the past week? Take the time to thank Him.
Pastor Stefan Tiran takes us through Goodness in this episode of the Fruit of the Spirit series, explaining through it our calling to live out goodness beyond just our words and actions and how we experience God's goodness reflected in His purposes and desires for our lives. Pastor Stefan looks at Galatians to explore how Paul calls for Christians to continue to make the great sacrifices to expressing goodness for the even greater harvest it will assuredly produce.
Scripture:
Galatians 6:7-10
Reflection:
1) How has God been good to you over the past week?
2) What opportunities did you have over the past week to be good in your daily work, at home, to another believer or to an unbeliever?
3) How does self-interest prevent goodness developing in our lives?
"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate." - Albert Schweitzer
Pastor Rene Nepomuceno recalls the story of the condemned woman who was to be stoned to death in the book of John where Jesus says the famously known line "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" where we see Jesus set the ultimate example of kindness. Pastor Rene talks about the source of kindness, 3 ways to express it and its transformative power to those who need it.
Scripture:
John 8:8-12
Reflection:
1) Can you recall a word or act of kindness that someone did to you? What impact did that have on your life?
2) List 3 people to whom you can be kind to.
3) How does Jesus’ response in John 8:8-12 help you see kindness differently?
In this episode, Pastor Stefan Tiran continues our Fruit of the Spirit sermon series in sharing about Patience. He examines the book of James to explain what Patience is, how it works hand in hand with perseverance and how the Spirit develops this Fruit in us. He also touches upon the culture of instant gratification in our society and how it takes away from the importance of patience, and points to how we can look to the examples of Jesus and Job in the Bible to better appreciate the cultivation of Patience.
Scripture:
James 5:7-11
Reflection:
1) How would you finish the sentence, 'It annoys me when people _____'?
2) Think back over the past week. How have you dealt with the shortcomings of other people? What would help you become more patient?
3) Think about your own circumstances. Where do you need more endurance today? How does the endurance of Job and of Christ encourage you to remain faithful?
The first Sunday of July marks WIN London's 17th Anniversary and in this episode, Pastor Rene Nepomuceno takes a break from our Fruit of the Spirit series to discuss Spiritual Maturity and walking worthy of the Lord. He goes into Colossians to explore the "old self" we turn away from when we accept Christ into our lives and shares Paul's warnings about the things that get in the way between us and our "new self", and God's truth in our lives.
Scripture:
Colossians 1:9-14
Reflection
1) Are there any desires or practices that keep pulling you back to your old self?
2) What truth about Christ do you need to remember today?
3) Talk about one change you’ve experienced in your new life through the help of the Holy Spirit.
Rolling in our Fruit of the Spirit Series, Pastor Stefan Tiran talks us through Peace and its 3 expressions that the Spirit provides. He'll be going through Philippians 4 discussing the aspects of having Peace with God, with ourselves and with others, and what each of these mean for us and how we could address them.
Scripture
Philippians 4:5-9 10-13
Reflection:
1. On a scale of 0-5, how would you assess your...
- Peace with God?
- Peace within yourself?
- Peace with others?
What is currently disturbing your peace?
2. If you have wronged someone or have been wronged by someone, what can you do to restore peace?
3. Bring your anxieties to God in prayer with thanksgiving. If it’s hard to focus your mind, you could write your prayer.
In the second part of our Fruit of the Spirit series, Pastor Rene Nepomuceno explores Joy and its role in how God meets our needs, directs us towards His purpose in our lives and how we should respond to this inexpressible joy. Pastor Rene warns of the blockers that get in the way of experiencing true Joy and the ways in which we can avoid letting our joy dry out.
Scripture:
1 Peter 1:8-9
Reflection:
1) Are there joy blockers in your life? Can you name and reflect on one?
2) Pray for one another as you turn away from that blocker that gets in the way of the inexpressible joy Christ has given you.
3) Praise and thank God for giving you the Holy Spirit to produce God's inexpressible joy in you.
Pastor Stefan Tiran introduces the Fruit of the Spirit sermon series by discussing their importance and how they lead to God changing us, as well as the relevance of this particular series to current events in the world involving prejudice and discrimination. You'll hear him speak about the context of the book of Galatians, why Paul, the author of the book, mentions Love first and its importance if we want to experience change.
Scripture:
Galatians 5:22-23
Reflection:
1) If you've been a Christian for a few years, has the fruit been growing in your life?
2) How can you reflect the love of Christ this coming week?
3) How can we, as a church and as individuals, show that the Gospel has the power to overcome prejudice, discrimination and racism?