Living Rock Podcast

It can be easy to let the busyness of life (and our long todo lists!) distract us from the most important thing - spending time with Jesus and listening to his word. Luke 10:38-42 describes the encounter Jesus had with Mary and Martha. Mary spent time with Jesus whilst Martha busied herself... do we identify with either of these women? God wants us to start 'in rest'; to be in a place of peace, stillness and quiet. We don't confuse rest with inactivity, but we know that The Lord 'leads us beside peaceful streams' and renews our strength as we rest in Him.

One of the things we can expect to receive when we take the bread and the wine at the Lord's table is healing. In this message Nick shares his own testimony of seeing healing power as he regularly took the bread and wine. Although his life group, friends, family and the elders of the church prayed, it was when Nick regularly took bread and wine that he started to see his breakthrough. Why? Here's 10 declarations that Nick confessed at the time, and shared with us: I was a sinner and have been redeemed by Jesus blood that was shed as he died for me on the cross. (Romans 3:23) I have been bought with a price. I am not my own. (1 Peter 1:18-20) I am looking to His return. Jesus will come back victorious. (1 Corinthians 11:26) I am not fighting against flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6:12) I am raising a banner I am under Gods authority. (Matthew 28:18) I am a child of the Heavenly Father, the almighty God. (John 1:12) I had no part in my redemption, it is the work of Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8-9) I am loved beyond measur

In this message Kim shares with us how participating in the bread and wine joins us together in unity. Although the bread symbolises Christ's body that was broken for us, it is one body that we are all sharing. 1 Corinthians tells us "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake in the one bread" and Ephesians 4 tells us there is 'one body', 'one spirit', 'one hope', 'one Lord', 'one faith', 'one baptism' and 'one God and Father'. The church shares these in common and as we celebrate together around the Lord's table, we celebrate our unity, our togetherness and our oneness.  

“What kind of house will you build for Me?” asks the Lord (Acts 7:49). It’s a great question, forcing us to be clear about what we’re part of and what we’re aiming for. In this message we take a look at three biblical pictures of the church which expand our vision of what God has called us to be.

In this podcast, we ask the question, "Who is shepherding the lost?". We look specifically at how we have the mandate and commission to be those shepherds in our villages and towns and  use some practical examples and tools to demonstrate to the world: love, liberty, direction and self-worth. We explore that demonstrating our faith is important but still not enough. It only becomes enough when we share the Good News of Jesus and see people enter into His Kingdom through salvation.

Jesus’ compassion is for everyone. And every one of us is qualified to show and extend His compassion to every person that Jesus gave his life for. With this in mind our prayer is “Lord, move us as You are moved. Break our hearts from what breaks Yours. Drive us forwards and outwards because of Your compassion toward us, in us and through us.” Freely we have received. Let’s freely give.

Today we look at the encounter that Jesus had with Nicodemus, recorded in John chapter 3. We consider how Jesus’s insistence that this God-loving, Torah-memorising, tithing, fasting, teacher of the Jewish faith needed to be born again had dramatic life-changing consequences!

Jesus ministered to multitudes but connected with people ONE AT A TIME. He followed the leading of the Holy Spirit to individual people and asked them a powerful question, which cut to the heart and opened up their lives, so that He could give them what they really needed. In this first message from our Gospel Encounters series, we start by looking at three such encounters: a woman who felt tainted by her past (Lk 8:40-48), a man who was dissatisfied with the present (Mt 19:16-22), and a man who was despondent about his future (Jn 5:1-9). They’re like people we meet every day, to whom Jesus is now sending us. Are we willing to go into the ‘Mission Field’ to ask the questions He gives us, to meet needs and change lives?

When we lay our hands on others, in faith, God releases His power and His blessing into their lives. In this message Stephen shows us examples of the laying on of hands in the Bible and encourages us that if we are followers of Jesus, saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, we have the right, ability and obligation to lay hands on others. It's good to lay hands on one another!

In a time when there is no more urgent task for the Church than to be fulfilling our great co-mission, this message urges us to believe that in every way we really are ‘made for mission’ - it's the way God has created us, designed us and saved us!  Reaching-out with compassion to the people and worlds around us is not too hard, or unnatural, or beyond our comfort zones - it’s exactly what we were made for and the most natural and fulfilling thing we can do.  So, as we start a new decade, let’s break out of every mindset that hold us back and embrace the fact that we are made for mission!...

Prayer is an essential and life giving part of being a Christian. In this message we will look at some practical tools that we can use to help us in our prayer life and engage with our Heavenly Father. 

At the time of year when we often think of making new year resolutions, the words of Jesus from John 15 come to us loud and clear: Choose to remain! Jesus says that apart from Him, we can do nothing. Dare we dream of the fruitfulness we will see if Christ-following men and women commit their whole selves to Jesus and His mission in 2020?

As we reach the end of the year it’s vital we do all we can to ‘finish well’ - so that we can start the new year in the best possible way.  Hebrews chapter 11 describes some ‘heroes of faith’ - men and women who pressed-on and finished well, and whose lives still speak to us.  And the writer to the Hebrews follows these tails of faith and heroism by urging us also to "fix our eyes on Jesus...lay aside every weight...and run with endurance the race that lies before us.” (Heb 12:1).   In this message we consider how these faithful men and women might be cheering us, and how we can run into the new year!...   

In the second of two messages from John’s letters looking at 'The World' (how we relate to it and how we should live in it), we turn to John’s amazing statement that we are, AS HE IS, in this world (1 John 4:17). John instructs us not to love the world (1 John 2:15), but he also shows us that 'AS HE IS' means that by our very nature we are, SENT into it, and LOVED. Once again, starting in Genesis and exploring the meaning of the Tree of Life, we can see how this has always been God's plan, to have a people who are maturing into the full stature of His beloved Son, Jesus.    

In both his letters and his gospel, John often refers to his readers as ‘children’. John really wants us to be confident of who we are as children of God. From the account of King David and his covenant faithfulness to Mephibosheth, we gain further insights into being God’s children – we’re invited to sit at the King’s table as sons and enjoy relationship with Him, enjoying all the good things he has for us.

From the opening chapters of Genesis onwards, the practice of tithing - giving God the first tenth - has been a distinguishing hallmark of God’s covenant people.  But is tithing still relevant? Is it outdated now we’re part of a new covenant?  Or is it a timeless, eternal principle to be taken-up by the church today?  This message provides biblical answers to these questions, together with practical experience and a testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness over many years.  We discover that tithing is God’s way of releasing us from self-effort, materialism and the anxieties that grip so many people, and releasing into peace, security, blessing, revelation and growth!…. 

For many of us, fear can be one of the most controlling influences in our lives. However 1 John 4:18 tells us that "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love." In this message Stephen shares what this 'perfect love' is that dispels all fears. We look at how to foster, experience and develop this love in our lives and how it can move us towards a fearless life, full of joy and triumph. 

In the first of two messages from John’s letters, looking at the world - how we relate to it and how we should live in it - we start with John’s instruction not to love the world. Firstly looking at what John and the other NT writers meant by ‘the world’, and then considering the 3 fundamental elements John describes as being 'in the world'. We trace them back to their roots in Genesis, so that we can see how they came between God and humanity, and how as God’s children we can now live differently, showing others the way back to Him.

The apostle John describes Jesus as “the Saviour of the World” (1John 4:14), a description also used by the many Samaritans who followed Jesus after He stopped to speak with a woman at their well (John 4:42).  The story of Jesus’s encounter with that woman (John 4:1-42) provide us with vital insights about the nature of our mission, and the way in which Jesus demonstrates His great love for the lost and His saving power for the whole world.  For all of us committed to the Great Commission, these simple, powerful principles can transform our own approach to the urgent task at hand...

Speaking in tongues has at times been extremely controversial in the modern day church and yet it remains absolutely essential for the Spirit filled believer. This practical message looks at both the coming of the Spirit in Acts 2 and at Paul’s teaching on the use of tongues in the gathered church. It lists 10 reasons why speaking in tongues is so beneficial and it examines some common questions that people ask concerning speaking in tongues. It concludes by encouraging all believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to speak in tongues.