Returning to our First Love (Revelation 2.1–7)

“What if Jesus’ definition of thriving leaders and thriving churches is different to ours?” Last weekend I had the privilege of speaking at Thrive – a conference for the Salt and Light Advance churches of which Oxford Community Church is a part. It was a fantastic event – with powerful times of worship, great speakers, and some…

Listening to the Spirit (Revelation 1)

On Sunday, I finished our sermon series at Oxford Community Church, by preaching from Revelation 1, on the subject of listening to the Spirit. We consider the significance of the church being depicted as a lamp stand, and looked at how Jesus loves to speak to his church, and through his church. If you’d like…

The Image of God (Genesis 1.26–31)

‘There are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God. One day we will learn that.’  Martin Luther King Jr. On Sunday I spoke at Aston and Cote Community Church,…

Hosting the Spirit

“The reason the church is in crisis today is because we have settled for the omnipresence rather than for the manifest presence of God.” Fred Hartley On Sunday, I started a new series at Oxford Community Church, by preaching on worship and the presence of God. We talked about the difference between God’s omnipresence and…

God With Us

On Sunday I spoke at Oxford Community Church’s Carol Service – a short talk exploring the message of light breaking into the darkness, and the wonder of knowing Immanuel: God with us. If you fancy catching up on the whole service, or the talk – or just getting a glimpse of my Christmas jumper –…

The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5)

On Sunday I spoke at Oxford Community Church, as part of our series on Galatians, and I talked about the Fruit of the Spirit. We looked at Paul’s instructions in Galatians 5, and I considered the questions: You can catch up on the audio or video here. (On the video, the talk starts at about…

Jesus the Healer (Matthew 8)

On Sunday I had the privilege of speaking at Christ Church Manchester’s CCM Day, where they gathered all their services together for a joint celebration. It was so much fun. We sang in English and Spanish, ate a lot of cake, and I got to speak on the subject of healing, and pray for people….

How to Interpret the Bible

On Saturday I had the privilege of kicking off the new year at Manchester School of Theology. I’ve taught here many times over the years, but this was by far the biggest cohort I’ve seen, and it was so much fun helping them dig into the Bible, wrestling with a few of their questions, and…

The Lord’s Supper (Luke 22.7–20)

What is your most vivid food memory? What is the taste or aroma that you experience and it’s like “ah, that takes me back…” Food has an amazing ability to transport us across lands and through time, evoking memories that take us back to a particular place; a holiday; specific meal; a moment in time….

Slow Mercy

What if what feels like the slowness of God is actually his mercy? What if what feels like the unnecessarily long route is actually him protecting us from battles we are not yet ready to fight? Here’s a short reflection on Exodus 13 If you’re not familiar with Jubilee + I’d highly recommend checking them…