Trinity Chippenham

God is generous and loves to give but we will be tempted to pursue praise for pretend piety. Especially with our giving, praying and fasting, God is most pleased with what is real and generous.

James doesn't write about trying harder- he tells us about the Father's heart for us, about living for Him because we are fully His and He is our everything! But what about when life is hard, in sickness and sin?

We go through life making and wanting more to-do lists. But Christianity doesn't work like that. What does it mean to live for Jesus?

The heart of Christianity is not self-determined self-improvement. The heart of Christianity is the husband-heart of God.

Happy birthday Queen Elizabeth II! But what kind of King is Jesus? (Psalm 113)

There are two kinds of wisdom - from above and below. Jesus is truly meek and embodies the wisdom of God.

Our words are powerful. They reveal so much about our hearts - positively and, of course, negatively. Is there anything we can do about it?

Being a Christian on a Monday morning, the day after Sunday church, is hard. But saying "we believe" isn't enough- real faith will show itself in real life.

We had the great privilege of having George Verwer with us. He shared his favourite verses and seven principles he lives his life by - as well as plenty of book recommendations! Responding to Jesus in all of life is a joy. (Matthew 9:35-38)

Being a Christian means having a dynamic relationship with God, following Jesus. It's also about responding to those around us - we should treat all others with the love we have received.

Want to grow as a Christian? Spiritual maturity comes from humbly receiving God's Word and responding to it

Written by one of Jesus' half-brothers, this letter is full of practicality but it's even more full of passion for Jesus! James' desire is to reflect Jesus' character in every area of our lives, in every place and every circumstance. God loves to give us good gifts, including trials that mature us.

We were joined by a detective on the hunt for evidence about Jesus - could He really have risen from the dead?

Easter Sunday is the day that changes everything. How can a 'normal' Spring day be that important?

God loves us and He treats us as individuals

Life in Christ is about faith not works, but what does that life look like? One key way is serving each other, in love. The quality of our relationship with Jesus in the 'secret place' will directly affect how (and if!) we love and serve others. Galatians 5:13-15

We come to the 'end' of Ruth and Naomi's story. We again see that in the very real ups and downs of life God is with us and for us. We have the big picture - the Kinsman Redeemer is born, the Saviour is coming.

This part of the story addresses Naomi's 'long term' problem - family. But this chapter is not really about matchmaking and dating advice...

Is God good and does he care? Ruth and Naomi need a protector and provider, just to survive. One day Ruth goes to look for "grace" and she 'happens' upon Boaz...

Where is God in dark places? Does he disappear? The characters in Ruth are normal, like us, yet they show us that it is possible to live godly lives in a dark culture.

Doubt is a huge issue but it isn't talked about a lot in churches. Questions about God and for God are common and can sometimes lead to people walking away from God. Psalm 44 gives us a pathway to faith- but not in the way we might think.

We all compare ourselves to others - sometimes favourably, mostly negatively. The Comparison Game is poison to every relationship so let's together look to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Every moment of every day we can live by fear or by faith. Even Abraham, the great hero of faith, lived the battle of fear in his heart. But God loves us, is with us and is for us - He makes us all the difference. (Romans 5:1-5)

In our culture we tend to focus on guilt, justice, punishment, etc. Many of us still struggle with feeling "guilty" . . . maybe part of the reason for that is because we don't grasp the shame side of the story. (Romans 5)

Acts 8 God is at work in all of our lives. We can respond to him by meeting him in his Word *Poor Sound Quality*