Living Rock Podcast

God created us to be an expressive people and in this lively all-age gathering we consider the word ‘praise’ as found in the Psalms. We discover that by looking at the original Hebrew words used for ‘praise’ brings freedom to expressively worship God in a way that is wholehearted, sincere and in line with scripture.

John sets a precedent for us in his writings of being totally fixated on Jesus. His call for all believers throughout his writings is to abide in Christ is pivotal for us and influences everything else that John writes about. As we follow John's directive to abide in Christ we understand that Jesus is more than a moment and that He is the motivation for the mission.

In Johns first letter, particularly in chapters 3 and 4 we read many times, that “we live in God and he lives in us”, all who live in love , live in God, and God lives in them”.God lives inside us and His love inside us is to be revealed to those around us, both our church family, and those around us in the world. When we live “inside-out” lives, the love of God can transform our fellowship as believers, and transform our villages and towns. We were designed specifically to reveal Jesus through good works already, prepared for us. The challenge is to live our ordinary lives, knowing He is with you, for you and in you. Lets live "inside-out”lives.

At the end of His earthly life Jesus shared a last Passover supper with his closest friends. Filling it with fresh meaning and fulfilling all its prophetic dimensions, He thus inaugurated a new Lord’s Supper for all who follow Him. For us, this simple but sensational meal is an act of Remembrance, a time of Reflection and Recommitment, and a moment of Rendezvous with our Lord and Saviour.

1 John 3:11 - “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another” In the letters of John we find the exhortation to love one another repeated again and again.  John commands, encourages and pleads with his ‘Dear Friends’ to love one another. So why does John focus so heavily on this aspect of our Christian lives? We consider WHY loving one another is so important and HOW can we love one another. 

The Apostle John was the ultimate witness for Jesus. At the outset of a new teaching series, based in his affectionate and timely letters to the church, we start with the historical and cultural backdrop in which he wrote them. Writing toward the end of the first century AD, John was most likely the last of Jesus’ original Apostolic company. After a life witnessing events of eternal significance, Jesus’ closest friend opens his heart to us, with a simple and profound message about three fundamental aspects of who Jesus is … LIFE, LIGHT and LOVE!

As we start a new series - "Why do we do that?" - Stephen shares with us about why we fast. Fasting is something practical that we do but with enormous spiritual benefits. As we fast (and accompany it with prayer) we seek God for more of His power in our lives, to see miracles, salvation, a change in attitude and to grow closer to Him. Fasting allows us to rely less on ourselves and what our natural bodies want, and more on the Holy Spirit and what our new spiritual nature needs.

The rapid growth of the early church was the result of not just the well-known ministries of Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Apollos and others, but also the faithful witness of multitudes who played their part in small, anonymous but vitality significant ways.  As Acts 8:4 puts it: “the followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus.” (Msg).  Much as we value our great community, we must never lose sight of our Great Commission.  It hasn't changed, and neither has the way we will fulfil it: these are days for a multitude of ‘ordinary heroes’ to arise and shine - carrying good news wherever we go!  We will never reach the lost from our church buildings or gatherings; we’re to GO into all our worlds.  It’s urgent, it’s simple and it’s do-able!... 

How can the church act as a bridge between God and the world?  How can we connect with people who don’t know Him?  How do we live free from any guilt about our effectiveness?  In this honest and down-to-earth message John McGinley explores these issues, shares everyday stories and offers some simple and powerful approaches to making disciples in the 21st century. 

The heart of God is to love the poor, to love the nations and to love the lost, and these three great loves were expressed perfectly in the life and ministry of Jesus. Fulfilling His Great Commission requires us to express the same love and concern, and in this message David Hind tells the story of empowering a city-centre church to do just that. Expressing the love of God will cost us and stretch us, but the Lord is urging us to live a life we can be proud of. 

God is a great promise keeper. There are many times in scripture when God promises that if we do certain things then He will respond! In the final few verses of Acts 2 we see that if we will be devoted to Christ by giving ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread and to prayer then God will respond by bringing us into a life full of many great and miraculous things as His kingdom comes here on earth. What a promise!

At the start of this new season together we take a look at the account in John 13 of Jesus washing his disciples feet and consider what it means to serve one another, following the example of Jesus. This artwork features an image from https://lumoproject.com/

Many of us loved to dress us when we were younger; it was so fun to pretend to be someone else... someone better, stronger and braver than ourselves. As we get older, we still dress up or put on a mask for others because we can feel unhappy or uncomfortable with who we really are. In this message Benj shares some simple truths about who we are now that we are born again Christians, comparing our new supernatural lives with the life of Superman! *This message features the track "Superman: Theme" by John Williams, from the album "Cine Gold, Vol. 3" by Various Artists, © ℗ 2014 ZAN. *

This week explores what it means to be a faithful sower and asks the question, what can we sow today? How can God use us in our normal everyday lives and cause the ordinary seeds we sow to grow into something extraordinary?

Luke 10:38-42– In a few short verses, Luke has recorded an important encounter in the lives of two sister, Mary and Martha, friends of Jesus. At first glance Jesus seemed to be scolding Martha for her activity and praising Mary for her lack of it. But a closer look shows us that much more was taking place than at first glance. Mary had stopped to listen to Jesus and found that only one thing was necessary for her that day. Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”Are we prepared to sit at His feet each day, and wait on Him for the one thing that is necessary for us?

On Sunday we celebrated the Lords Table, looking back at the Feast of the Passover (Exodus 14), and how God chose Moses to free His people. God always makes great choices and we should be ever ready, never doubting when He chooses us. We looked at when Jesus went into Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. He knew that it would be the last meal that He would share with His friends, His disciples. Jesus broke bread and shared wine, telling them they were to do this in remembrance of Him. We shared bread and wine and remembered in our hearts just how much Jesus means to us. When He became the ultimate sacrifice, we were set free from sin and were gifted eternal life.

After spending 40 years wandering in the desert of Sinai, the people of Israel were now on the eastern banks of the Jordan. Their challenge: take the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. In this message Stephen shows us how the description of the complete obliteration of Jericho was recorded in Scripture in order to teach us several lessons, most importantly that obedience, even if God’s commands seem foolish, brings victory. When we are faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, we must learn that our Jericho victories are won only when our faithful obedience to God is complete. Jericho situations require Jericho victories, which requires Jericho obedience.

From the opening chapter of the Bible onwards, it’s clear that God’s design for all He’s formed and created is multiplication, fruitfulness and growth! He has designed and destined us to keep growing - personally and in our churches. In his letters to the Ephesians and Corinthians the apostle Paul shows us how the church grows and how each member is empowered by the Spirit to play their vital part in this, “so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Eph 4:16). If you want your life and church to experience blessing and meaningful growth then this message is for you!...

In a sneaky look ahead to the teaching series coming this Autumn, we look together at ‘The Prayer Meeting’ and seek to answer the question ‘Why do we do that?’

Over the last couple of months we have considered Israel’s conquest of Canaan, recorded in the book of Joshua. The boundaries of the land God had given then, He clearly laid out for them, so their success was measured by their progress of driving out their enemies, to possess their inheritance in full. The Apostle Paul tells us (1 Co 10) that these things were recorded to instruct us, His church. In this message we consider principles that can be seen in the record of Joshua of how to reach the boundaries of potential God has for us, and to remain faithfully within the boundaries of God’s protection.