Christianityworks Official Podcast

The whole resurrection of Jesus thing – can be a bit hard to swallow. I mean – did it really happen? And if it did, what does it mean for us here and now?   A Crazy Morning Let me paint you a picture. Just the other day, someone you love has passed away. You really admired and trusted this person. I mean, you'd seen them in operation and now they're gone. It's a shock. It shouldn't have happened....

That first Easter was so incredibly unfair. Jesus – the innocent man – was crucified and Barabbas – the man guilty of murder – walked off Scott free. If you were God, would you have done things that way?   Let's Tarry a While It's interesting how when Easter passes us by we kind of quickly forget it and move on. It was a long weekend, it was a great time to have off and have a rest, have some choc...

Sin is such a funny word. Short – but judgemental. And yet this thing called "sin" lies at the heart of Easter. Jesus died to pay for our sin. So what does that actually mean – "sin"?   Sin By Another Name This week we're still doing a retrospective on Easter and I thought we should ask a question. What makes Easter? Why did God do it? Why did God send His Son to die for you and me? Last week we s...

As we head towards Easter yet again, perhaps it's time to think about – well, what makes us so special, that God would do this Easter thing for us?   An Intimate Knowledge It's always something special to me, that time of the year we call Easter. So we are going to carry it on a little longer this week in the Easter story. This is my 17th Easter since I became a Christian. And it just never ceases...

If God is a God of blessing – then what about all the suffering we go through? And anyway, if God does bless, does that just mean a new car and a bigger house?   Does God want to Bless Me? Perhaps you've heard people say that we're  "Blessed to be a Blessing" . But man, it's so easy to get the wrong idea about what God really, truly means by that word "blessing". I see so much misunderstanding abo...

Sometimes, we can be walking in the promises of God, and things start getting tough.  Opposition.  Battles.  What's going on?  Is it time to give up? What happened to all those promises?   THE SPIRITUAL BATTLEFIELD Well over these last weeks on the program we've been looking at the fact that it's time to take the Promised Land. God makes so many promises of peace and of joy and His protection and...

You know something – you and I can read about and listen to the promises of God until the cows come home.  But eventually, eventually the day comes when we have to cross over into the promised land. Eventually the day comes for us to lay hold of God's promises and live in them.   Sending Spies into the Land We've been talking the last couple of weeks about taking hold of God's wonderful and outrag...

Have you ever been standing on the threshold of something good – perhaps one of God's promises – and all of a sudden it's as though everything starts to go wrong?   On the Threshold Have you ever stood on the threshold of something good, I mean something really good, something fantastic? Maybe it's the promise of a promotion, or the promise of a pay increase, or you've just fallen pregnant or your...

You know – God is full of promises. Amazing promises. But so often – it's hard to see how those promises fit into the reality of our lives – here and now.   Promises, Promises, Promises Well, I am really excited because we're starting a new series this week called, "It's Time to Take the Promised Land" . What sort of a series title is that? " It's Time to Take the Promised Land" . Well, here's my...

Stress is affecting so many people – in fact, it's a global pandemic. And what we've all discovered is that the shallow, band aid solutions that the world offers us, simply don't work. What we need is power. Power to deal with the stress in our lives, once and for all.   Have a Cheerful Heart Sometimes we need to be pretty direct, pretty blunt about dealing with the blockages in our lives that are...

There are all sorts of things in this world that cause us stress. And I've heard so many ridiculous ways of relieving it – have a cup of tea. Take a hot shower. Okay – so they might relieve the symptoms for a short while. But what we need are some powerful solutions to the root cause of our stress.   Trust in the LORD When you Google stress relief, mostly what you discover is relaxation techniques...

Sometimes stress is triggered by other people or circumstances – things out there, many of which we don't have any control over. Other times, it's something that we bring on ourselves. Whichever of those two it happens to be, you and I, we need to know how to handle stress.   The Stress of Circumstance I wish I could tell you that there is something that you could do to avoid every stressful situa...

Stress comes in all different shapes and sizes, but whatever its cause, none of us was made to be under constant stress and yet, that's how many people are living. In a constant state of stress.  Well, it's time to do something about it.   A Stress Free Life ? Stress. For most of us, that word sends a shiver down our spine, and why wouldn't it? Who wants to be under stress all the time? And that's...

Many people are prepared to accept that God exists, even that He has the ability to bless us – or at least bless other people. But when they look at their own lives, well the reality doesn't appear to match up with the promise. What's going on here?   The Blessing of Here and Now I sometimes think that Jesus would have benefited from the services of a good Public Relations consultant - you know, a...

Most of us want to be happy, so we go looking for happiness …. everywhere.  No stone left unturned, only to discover that we can't find lasting happiness.  Because at the end of the day – happiness isn't what we're looking for.  It's joy that we're after.   The Blessing of Righteousness Over the last few weeks we have been having a discussion on this programme about the promise that Jesus made; an...

With all that life throws at us, not to mention our own foibles and quirks, it's easy to end up with quite a distorted view of what God our Father means when He talks about His blessing in our lives.  What Jesus means when He talks about giving us an abundant life.   The Child in the Father's House We are chatting together this week on the programme about living out the abundant life that Jesus pr...

Life's full of its ups and downs. You and I we know that. Jesus knows that.  That's why when He promised us an abundant life, He made that promise in the context of a story, a parable, about life's ups … and downs.   The Shepherd and His Flock As we race through life day after day, one of the things that happens is that we somehow get conned or duped into the great lie of our times: if you earn lo...

This whole Christmas celebration thing is of course a birthday celebration. And birthdays are all about celebrating new life. Would it surprise you to know that that's exactly what God has in mind for you to celebrate? Your new life.   SILENT NIGHT There's a bunch of guys in the Bible who I envy. Now I know what you're thinking, the tenth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbour's house. Yo...

Christmas is supposed to be a lot of things these days. And yet it doesn't always deliver all that it's meant to deliver. But then, the very first Christmas, it wasn't all sweetness and light either. If nothing else, it was a decidedly uncomfortable Christmas.   OVERTAKEN BY EVENTS There are times in our lives when it feels as though circumstances or events outside of our control have completely t...

I don't know if you've ever thought of this, but on the surface of things, Christmas is a crazy idea! I mean, what exactly was God thinking by sending His Son to become a man – and to be born in some drafty, smelly shed out the back of Bethlehem?   CHRISTMAS IS A CRAZY IDEA On the surface of things, Christmas is a crazy idea. I mean stand back and think about it … God's God, He created the whole u...

Question – When is Christmas not Christmas? When is Christmas anything but Christmas? Answer – when we just follow the well-trodden paths of the Christmas ritual, and forget completely what God was saying to us on that very first Christmas.   THE PROBLEM WITH CHRISTMAS I don't know if you've ever thought of this but Christmas is a real problem for guys like me, preachers I mean. Year after year, w...

When I first started reading the Bible, it seemed to me that it was all about the things I had to give up - what I was going to lose. But what I discovered is that actually, actually God wants to bless us. His Wisdom brings blessing to our lives - as counterintuitive as it may seem, when we're sitting there wrapped up in our selfish desires.   The Fruit of Discipline I can honestly say, as I look...

God is a God of love and so we don't often think about Him hating things. But He does - He clearly tells us so in His Word. So - what are the seven things that God hates … things that are an abomination to Him?  Do you know - because my hunch is … they're worth avoiding.   Proud Eyes and a Lying Tongue One of the most common responses we receive from people who listen to this programme around the...

Well this week we're kicking on with our second message in a series called Wisdom that Works - looking at some of God's mighty wisdom through the Book of Proverbs. And we're going to be chatting this time around, about trust, truth … and temptation.   Trust and Honour God Welcome to the programme again this week and yes, we are continuing in a series that I have called, "Wisdom that Works" . Now w...

Most of us intuitively know that wisdom's a good thing. Sometimes we're full of it - wisdom that is … and sometimes, we're full of ourselves and that's when we come unstuck. So - where do we find the sort of wisdom that really makes a difference?   Wisdom Starts Here Hey, it's fantastic to be with you again this week. How quickly the weeks roll on by! And today I am really excited because we are k...