bread church

As Advent draws to a close, we reflect on the phrase, the thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices. We're reminded daily of the weariness of our world, but what was going on when Jesus was born? Why was the ancient world so weary? In this talk, we dive into what was happening politically and culturally for the people of Jesus' time, explore what we get wrong about the Nativity, and how by reframing...

Christmas declares ‘Glory to God and on earth, peace’. Peace, which is more than just an absence of conflict, but rather everything being right and good with the world, is what God intends for his world. But we know all too well how peace-less the world can be: there’s a lack of peace globally, in our communities, and in our own hearts and minds. This is because the lasting peace Jesus promises is...

1 Timothy 6:3-19⁠ Every December, we launch our End of Year Giving Campaign. In this talk, we consider how, as followers of Jesus, we are called to treat money. Paul writes to Timothy with instruction to three groups of people: those who have lost sight of Jesus and who are solely interested in financial gain; those who are materially poor; and those who are wealthy. And, in this context, he exhor...

Isaiah 52:13-15; Isaiah 53:1-12 As we wrap up this short series on Isaiah (a fitting moment to enter Advent), we come to Isaiah 53—the Suffering Servant—arguably the text that shaped the early church’s understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection more than any other. It gives us the clearest Old Testament picture of what Jesus came to do and why it matters for real life. But it’s not a pretty pi...

Isaiah 40:1-11 The Bible never promises us a stress-free life. Indeed, we’re regularly told that, as Christians, we can expect suffering. However we can also always expect God to be our great comforter whatever we face. His comfort is so extraordinarily powerful that even when circumstances are at their most dire, we are lifted up, drawn closer and enlivened in our faith. God comforts us by his na...

Isaiah 35 offers a vision of hope and home to God’s people in exile, hundreds of years prior to Jesus. It poetically speaks of the wildness of God’s compassionate mercy and his surprising power. From this passage we can see a theme that extends far forward as well, that Jesus has come to give us a forever home that is secure. And because of his love and power—even in the driest, most hopeless plac...

Isaiah 11:1-10 Isaiah prophesies the kingdom of Judah’s downfall at the hands of the Assyrians. The people of God are like a tree felled to a stump. But all is not lost. From that stump, the remnant of Israel, God’s Messiah will come, and he will restore all that has been lost. On a personal level, we all suffer loss to various degrees. Sometimes we’re responsible, other times we’re not. Jesus, ou...

Isaiah 9:1-7⁠ Jesus is the prince of peace, the prince of shalom. Shalom is more than just an absence of conflict. It is everything being made complete and right. In our world, we can be very aware of the darkness. The news is often filled with it. And we have darkness closer to home; in our family relationships as well as in our own personal lives, too. Jesus has come to dispel all darkness and b...

The early church grew at a phenomenal rate. Churches are supposed to grow. This is because God’s will is that every single person know him and be part of his community of love. So, a church that refuses to grow is outside the will of God. Growth is always the work of God. We’re simply called to participate in what he’s already doing. He builds the waves, our job is to ride them for as long as we’r...

Worship is an integral part of what it is to be human. All of us are worshippers. But the only thing worthy of our worship is the God who is infinite. Every other object of our worship will eat us alive. By contrast, worship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, means we enter into the life the Trinity has been, is, and will always be enjoying - glorifying one another, and being glorified by one another...

In Luke's characterization of the early church, he describes them as having "sincere hearts"...but what does that mean? In the context of our modern culture, the definition of sincerity seems to shift depending on who you ask: is it just saying what's on your mind? Is it being "real" (whatever that means)? Does integrity have any role? Examining the story of Ruth, we see that in God's design for h...

‘A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms’ said William Barclay. So where does the deep joy that the New Testament writers so regularly describe come from? It is found not in our circumstances, but in our roots. We are like trees planted by streams of water, drawing on the life of the spirit. When trouble comes, our roots go deeper - so that even when we suffer, we rejoice. This happens only...

In this talk, we focus on a slightly more emotionally risky aspect of devotion. The part where we share not just what we have, but who we are.  It’s the intimacy reflected in a meal in a home, a conversation around a dinner table, a showing of our cards with the courage to be seen. A devotion to friendship.  Friendship can look different in different seasons of life, but some challenges get in the...

In this talk, we discover what true devotion to those in need looks like through the example of the early church. God's heart for those in need is undeniable. Just as Jesus saw His own face in "the least of these" (Matthew 25), we're called to see Christ in those in need around us. We are invited to move from awareness to action, starting where we are with what we have. By Noah Sanford

Whilst the text doesn’t explicitly state that the first Christians ‘devoted’ themselves to signs and wonders, it’s clear that the miraculous was an ongoing part of their early Christian experience. This is more than enough of a challenge to us, because for most Christians, the regular experience of the miraculous is not their reality. And yet, the Christian faith is a miraculous faith from start t...

Continuing with Acts 2’s vision of the early church as a radical, Spirit-filled community — not simply a weekly meeting or a religion of “right belief,” but a living preview of God’s kingdom on earth - this week we examine prayer. The early believers were devoted to prayer, learning to pray from Jesus Himself, who showed them prayer is rooted in love, not effort, and meant to reorient us daily to...

From the beginning, the first Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. The spiritual significance of the meal is past, present and future. When we take communion we are acknowledging the once and for all work of Jesus’ death in history; we experience his Spirit feeding us, grafting us to him, as well as to one another in the present; and we are reassured of Jesus’ return and the hopeful e...

This week, we’re in part two of our new series, Devoted—a short walk through a few, but very important, verses in Acts 2 about what the very first Christians gave themselves to. Fellowship. It’s a word that might seem pretty blandly church-ish, but Luke has something far richer in mind: koinonia, the shared life that flows from belonging to the Triune God. We explore how this fellowship is differe...

Kicking off our ‘Devoted’ series from Acts, we consider what it means to be devoted to the apostles' teaching. At Pentecost, 3000 were cut to the heart by the message of the gospel. But their faith did not remain solely in the realm of the emotional. They did not disdain their intellect, but devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. We do the same - neither prioritizing our emotions nor our mi...

It’s a regular rhythm for us at bread to share stories of how Jesus is meeting us in real time in our lives. Today we’ll hear from five people in our community as they testify to the ways the voice of God is meeting them in each of their unique journeys.

Throughout this short exploration of the book of Jonah, we have been confronted with the radical – and uncomfortable - nature of God as being full of compassion. If we are on the receiving end, it is quite lovely! But when we are charged to proclaim that mercy to others – at least some of whom we would prefer not be given the opportunity to hear it lest they repent! – it is a different story. In a...

As we dive into Jonah chapter 3, we find a reluctant prophet carrying a very short message to his enemies in Nineveh. In this talk, we explore a few questions together: What does it mean for us that the whole capital city of such a brutal empire responded so spectacularly to God’s invitation (even to include the animals!)? What’s with all the mourning clothes and ashes? And what does “repentance”...

Everybody loves a redemption arc, and it's tempting to try to give one to Jonah by the end of Chapter 2. But has Jonah really had a change of heart, or just a change of mind? After a series of chaotic events, the action in our story hits a complete halt. 3 days and 3 nights of silence. Darkness. Leaving Jonah alone with his thoughts, and with his God. Not only has Jonah run physically from where G...

In this series introduction to Jonah, we explore how to approach such a small but formidable prophetic book, along with the historical context of the story. The story of Jonah asks us to take seriously the outrageously scandalous grace of God and the ways (with Jonah) we may find ourselves running from His presence. All throughout chapter 1, we find Jonah doing exactly the opposite of what we’d ex...

The final commandment is like a lens through which to view, and the key to living out, all the others. Murder, idolatry, stealing, failing to rest; these all proceed from covetousness. This is because coveting is a matter not of outward behavior, but of the heart. And when our heart is misaligned, everything else in our life will be too. Desire is an essential part of what it is to be human, but w...