On Sunday we celebrated Christmas at Oxford Community Church, and I gave a short talk on the miracle of God coming into the chaos of a family scene, to bring hope, joy and peace. You can check out the talk (or the whole service) below. I hope you enjoy it, and that you have a…
Glorious Generosity (1 Tim 6.17–19)
On Sunday I spoke at Witney Community Church, as part of their Heartbeat series, looking at key values of the church. I spoke from 1 Timothy 6 on the theme of financial generosity. We considered three mindset shifts about generosity, a few thoughts about tithing under the New Covenant, and someone threw chocolate at the…
Freedom (Romans 6)
On Sunday I spoke at Wantage Community Church as part of their series on Romans. We looked at chapter 6 and considered the subject of freedom. What difference does the gospel make to our lives? And can we truly be free from sin? If you fancy catching up, here’s the video: For more on Romans…
My favourite ‘celeb’ preacher: why I guarantee you can’t name him
If I asked you to name your favourite preacher, I wonder who you might choose? I would probably struggle to limit it to one. I could possibly give you a top five. There are various men and women from whom I’ve learned enormous amounts, and who have influenced different aspects of my own preaching. Some…
A United Witness (John 17)
Jesus prayed for his church, that they would be one, even as the Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit – are one. In this talk, we consider the call and challenge of unity, and how a unified church can be a powerful witness in a divided world.
Rooted Podcast: Decoding the Parables
I recently got to sit down with friends from Bible Society and talk about the parables. Here’s our conversation on the Rooted Podcast: In this episode we discuss how Jesus used simple illustrations to convey profound truths about the kingdom of heaven, emphasising the hidden yet transformative nature of these teachings. Looking at the parable…
Stand Firm: Four talks on Daniel
Back in the summer, I had the opportunity to speak at the Dreaming the Impossible youth festival on behalf of Bible Society. Every morning, we led a Bible Study based in the book of Daniel and connected to the overall theme of the conference, ‘Stand Firm’. Given that this was the first year they’d run…
Abraham: Faith and Blessing (Genesis 12)
On Sunday I had the privilege of preaching at Carterton Community Church, continuing their new series on the life of Abraham. We considered the theme of blessing, which I argued is both a gift and a responsibility, and I encouraged the church to respond to the blessing of God wisely, not with pride, nor false…
God’s Manifold Wisdom (Ephesians 3)
On Sunday I kicked off a new sermon series at Oxford Community Church, looking at biblical images of the church. We considered Paul’s conversion, and what that taught him about Christ and the church, before turning to Ephesians 3 and thinking about how the wisdom of God is made known through the mystery of the…
Faith and Wisdom (James 3.13–18)
On Sunday, I preached at Oxford Community Church, as part of our series in the book of James. We looked the subject of faith and wisdom, considering what it means to be truly wise, and contrasting the Wisdom of Heaven with the Wisdom of Earth. If you’d like to catch up, you can find the…