King's Church Birmingham

God’s mercy reaches out to the distant nations, and therefore we are in. God’s mercy reaches out to the worst of sinners, and therefore we are in. Jesus is the better Jonah, and therefore we are in.

Jesus endured the cross and unbearable agony because he had his eyes fixed on the joy set before him. As we consider him, we too make his joy our own that we might also live with godly endurance.

James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples want greatness. They want to promote themselves and their request to Jesus reveals the great problem of human pride. Jesus calls James, John, His disciples and believers today to a different radical way of living. He calls them to follow his perfect example to serve, not to be served but to serve others. In this call to serve others, Jesus reveals that He hi...

In the final instalment of our 1 Peter series, we look at Peter’s final exhortation for his readers to stand firm in the true grace of God. It sometimes takes all our energy just to stand firm in the faith. However, we are encouraged that we don’t stand firm in our strength, but we are secure knowing what Jesus has won for us. We stand firm knowing that although we will fall, He never will. It’s H...

Dear friends, do you faint under life’s crushing waves And bear heavy burdens and groan Then cast all your cares on your father who saves and tenderly cares for his own Dear friends, do you fear as the enemy roars As trials and temptations abound Then stand firm in faith and hold on to the Lord Who holds all his saints all around For once you have suffered this brief passing hour The God of all gl...

Healthy church leadership, in the form of skilful shepherds, is a gift from God to bless His people and to ensure the church is well cared for. In our day, when stories of church leader scandals are sadly being exposed, we need the reminder that ultimately, we are safe with Jesus, the true shepherd and overseer of our souls. Jesus is God’s promised shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. In...

If we're honest with ourselves, we all know that following Jesus is difficult. But, is it worth it? Peter gives us three reasons why we should carry on going.

Paul and Silas are thrown in prison for proclaiming the name of Jesus. Whilst in prison, God opens the prison doors and unfastened the bonds of the prisoners creating a massive problem for the jailer on shift. However God through the prisoners staying put saved him from a certain physical death. This is the jailer was not seeking God in his life, yet God in the person of Jesus Christ came to him a...

Peter shows that God prefers that Christians are servants not servers of grace. He explains the difference in three strategically placed arguments based on the phrase 'all things'. (1) The end of all things is near; (2) above all things have love, hospitality and generosity; (3) so that in all things God may be glorified. Peter challenges the church to do all things in light of the end and changes...

Having laid out the glory of the gospel and the truth that Jesus died for our sins, Peter tells his readers the "So, what?" of the gospel. Believers now belong to God and are part of his family and we should live accordingly - saying no to sin and living for ourselves, and yes to living in line with God's will. We need to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking as Jesus and follow his example....

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, understanding Jesus’ teaching on how we handle our money is more important than ever. And Jesus is quite clear that this area of our discipleship is a battleground. In v24 Jesus uses the word Mammon to describe a spiritual force, Mammon is a personified con-artist out for our affections. We have a choice between 2 gods. The truth, Jesus proclaims, is that ‘you cannot...

This Sunday is Vision Sunday, where we take stock of the year just gone and celebrate all that God has done amongst us. Steve will be setting out some of what the leadership team feel God is calling us to in 2023 as we catch God’s heart for the year ahead. We look at the ways God is calling us to strengthen and stretch as a church in 2023, and how we’re called to respond by mixing in our faith.

Peter wants to explain why it's better to 'suffer for doing good than evil.' Except, this strange passage doesn't look like an explanation to us. As we dive into Peter's layered, biblical argument we will see that Jesus defeats the demonic powers: truly good news.

As Christians we may suffer insults and hostility. We are to look to the suffering of Jesus who walks ahead of us and has brought us to God. We are to fear God, not people. And we are to be ready to tell people the reason for the hope we have.

Although people may associate Advent with Christmas and the birth of Christ, as Christians we wait for the return of Jesus for his Church. That is the advent we look forward to and the real reason to celebrate Christmas.

This Christmas we take a look at the Magi. These wise men who see a star. Who journey far and search diligently for a long-awaited king. To these astronomers God speaks via a star. To fishermen he reveals himself through a miraculous catch of fish. God speaks our language. He meets us where we are. But significantly, the star doesn’t lead the Magi to Jesus but to Jerusalem and the Old Testament sc...

Peter instructs domestic slaves how to respond if they have been unjustly punished because of their faith. In surprising advice he tells them to submit to it without seeking redress, not because they are Stoics or have a British upper lip, but because they follow the example of Jesus. Using Isaiah 53 he unpacks the way Jesus silently suffered an unjust crucifixion as an example to us but then goes...

Peter is writing to a group of persecuted Christians, and he is keen to help them maintain a faithful witness in hostile territory. This week we look specifically at wives trying to remain faithful when their husbands don’t follow Jesus. We look at both this challenging, isolating reality but also the joyful, life-giving hope we can have in Jesus. Similarly, husbands are called to honour their wiv...

The Apostle Peter reminds us of our high status in (2:9) we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. We do indeed have a high status in the sight of God. In our passage this week we discover that this privilege is the power we require for humble service. Following Jesus example, we look to the one who constrained himself, serving us, becoming human and...

The Apostle Peter lays out some amazing truths to describe the discouraged Christians in Asian Minor. They are a chosen race. A royal priesthood. A holy nation. A people for God’s own possession. Applying promises initially given to Israel Peter unashamedly says this is all now true for the church. And our response to this wonderful news is to proclaim His excellencies to one another and to the na...

Peter continues to explain to his readers that they're the people of God by using three images: a foundation stone, the construction of a temple, and a stone that someone left on the floor for us to trip over.

What does it look like to love one another? We often think deep community is impossible, we’re likely to get hurt, and our temptation is to give up. Or we assume true community is just ‘out there’ somewhere, and we just need to go out and find it. But the apostle Peter wants us to know that true community comes only through the transforming work of Jesus. First at work in our hearts and then overf...

God calls us to be holy as he is holy. This calling is a high bar, it is more than just being moral it is living a whole life set apart out of devotion to God. We are called not just to obey God but to do so out of love, awe and reverence. How is this even possible? We need to look up before we look in. We look to Jesus, the holy one, who became sin for us. The one who shed his precious blood more...

Peter wants his hearers to know how privileged they are. Writing to these discouraged believers he wants them to know that the prophets of old and even the angels long to look into the salvation that they have received. We too need the encouragement that this salvation is God’s story. He has been working throughout the ages to rescue us. Promising it in the scriptures. And this hope, finally revea...

Peter tells us that we can experience “Joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” But, what should we think if we don't? And what is Joy anyway? And how can we cultivate it?