NCF Sunday Talks

We absolutely need Jesus' Living Water, in an equal amount to the Samaritan woman in John 4. God is not a bigger version of you. Around 2,600 years ago, God spoke through Jeremiah and charged the People of Judah with ignoring the Fountain of Living Water and building their own leaky cisterns. We still do that today. Let's make our lives revolve around God and submit to His will, His laws...

The Babylonians had already been besieging Jerusalem for a year in 587BC. What an awful time that would have been for the population at that time. Exile in a foreign country was only months away. Much doom and gloom would have been felt in the city and surrounding area! Jeremiah was there. In chapter 32, God told him to buy a field. This was a picture of hope for the people of Judah, as surely nor...

In chapter 28, a prophet called Hananiah brought a word from God for the People of Judah, but Jeremiah brought one that was quite different. How should we discern God speaking to us? When we say something in normal life and another person speaks something differently, how do we act? Remember, Hananiah was certain he was speaking for God. Are we sometimes so sure of what we’re saying and that someo...

God promised Jeremiah that as Jeremiah called out to Him, so He would answer. God is omnisicient, omnipotent and omnipresent and yet He loves us and wants us to know Him more. In this Talk, we briefly look at how God responded to several people in the Bible and also took the initiative in calling out to various people. We need to spend time with God and expect Him to converse with us - though that...

Jeremiah often gave a difficult message for the people of Judah to hear and then to act upon. Chapter 27 contains one of those. What, Nebuchadnezzar is God's servant (verse 6)? Let us too, remember that God often gives us a simple message. He is way beyond us in creativity, power and inspiration. Jesus came to save us from our sins. That message is still relevant today and needs to be acted u...

We begin a new Series on the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah. He spoke around 622BC to 580BC. God called him to speak for Him in a very unstable world. The People of Judah were soon to go into exile due to their turning their backs on God. Like Jeremiah, God wants all of us to work with and for Him. Irrespective of our age, health or social standing, God wants to show you His abundant sufficiency i...

In the UK, we are very fortunate in being able to easily and openly meet with other followers of Jesus. In the 10-40 Window (approximately 10 to 40 degrees north latitude), many Christians aren't permitted to do that. Many people don't even have a Bible in their primary language. Let us not forget our responsibilities include giving, going, praying and fellowshipping. On this Mission Sun...

Our nation has a wonderful Christian heritage over hundreds of years. We have a responsibility to speak out now for the Christian morals and beliefs that we value. We shouldn't leave that to other people to do. Our world is falling apart because people have turned their backs on God. Let's seek God and then take action. The script for the whole Service can be read here .

Haute cuisine is seen as wonderfully high-quality food. God has given us the Bible which tells us so much about His ways, His character and His love for all of humanity. It is truly life-changing and enriching food for our lives. God speaks to us as the ultimate creator, the preeminent communicator and transcendent in love. In this Talk we learn a little about the history of the Bible and how tran...

Guy, the regional representative of the Leprosy Mission, came and spoke about the work of the Mission, with particular regard to a hospital in India, where 600 people queue up each day in humid conditions to get a diagnosis and then help. God cares for me. God is living and active in us and around us. We’re strengthened by the Living Water. Both Hagar and the Samaritan woman had encounters with Go...

God's manifesto for all of mankind was that we should know freedom from sin and death. He came to earth to accomplish this. He has stated that the manifesto that we should adhere to, is to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). As we do these things we'll be showing the same freedom to others, that God has shown to us. Let's regularly set out to intentionally d...

In our last Talk in this Series, we think about what Jesus said about the persistent widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8). She didn't just want him to act on her behalf - she absolutely needed him to. God has intervened in humanity through Jesus's death on the cross. His intervention didn't just end there. As we pray, He will intervene in our lives and in national and internatio...

Jesus tells a Parable to His Disciples about an unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. His debt, that was totally impossible to pay, was cleared by his master. However, he didn't show kindness to a fellow servant who owed him considerably less. Peter and the rest of the Disciples learned about forgiveness through this and so do we! God often gives unexpected answers in our conversations with...

We look at the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49) in this Talk. Will we choose to obey what God says as the foundation in our lives or will rebel, defy or disregard God and His commands? Just like practising to learn a piece of music on an instrument, so we need to practice our obedience towards God. Sometimes we'll get a setback as something unexpecte...

Considering what Jesus said in Mark 4:1-20, we are reminded that God plants seed in our lives. We need to personally cultivate the soil of our lives. God's Word won't return to Him void. Sit close to Jesus! You can read the script for the whole Service here .

We first hear a short statement about our good friend Margaret who had died on the Wednesday before this Service. This Talk is based on John 10:1-18. Jesus talked in ways that made people sit up and listen. He had authority, but His delivery was also different from the other teachers around Him. Sheep are clever and recognise many voices. A sheepfold is good for protection at night, but they need...

This Parable is told in all the Synoptic Gospels, at Matthew 9:16,16, Mark 2:21,22 and Luke 5:33-39. God has given us all an Invitation to come to Him. How do we make sure that our regular activities  and current ideas don't get in the way of what God wants to say to us and do with us? We can't pick and mix with a bit of God and a bit of us in our lives - it needs to be all of God! Once...

When Jesus spoke in Parables, He was helping us to remember what He was saying so that we could ultimately change as a result of what He was speaking about. The possibility of not understanding what Jesus was saying in His mini-stories in Luke 14:25-33 is small. He is telling us that we need to give everything we have and are to Him. How will we live sacrificially for Him? God might be calling you...

We have around fifty parables spoken by Jesus that are written in the Synoptic Gospels. He used familiar visible items in stories that told the truth of God's upside-down invisible world. The punchlines often necessitated change in the listeners. They still do! Are you ready for Jesus' Second Coming? Are you ready for the commands He gives you? Fixing our gaze on Jesus and wanting to be...

These two short Talks on Easter Day remind us of the immense actions that Jesus undertook on our behalf.  We needed a Saviour to make it possible to have a good relationship with God, as sin had tragically blocked that intimacy. Jesus is that Saviour! The cross is now empty. The tomb is now empty. However, how obedient are you being to God? Paul reminded the Church in Galatia that we also needed t...

On Palm Sunday we consider how Jesus wasn't the only person to enter Jerusalem that day. Thousands of pilgrims would have made the journey up to Jerusalem, as well as Pontius Pilate arriving with his large military entourage. Jesus had a choice as to whether to enter the city and continue His walk towards His death on the cross. It was a week of awful suffering for Him and yet because of us H...

At our biennial Partnership Sunday we think about the life of Joshua. He faced fresh challenges at different points in his life and through them actively sought to be obedient to God. Whether NCF is our long-term spiritual home or not, God is calling us to partner with Him in both our actions and our character. Let's make the decision to follow God, obey God and serve God and others. Let&apos...

We begin with ten people briefly describing why they chose a particular song for our special Songs of Praise Service. We then remember how God is our shelter and our strength (Psalm 46). Our lives reflect the truth that God has substance. He is not like a doting uncle who gives presents galore. God loves us, but wants all to grow and mature. We need to actively obey and follow Him! God's laws...

We need to read the Bible! It's good for us, as God inspired it to be written so that we might get to know Him. He encourages us, challenges us and leads us as we read it. The Bible straightens us and our lives out! The Script for the whole Service can be read here . (NB: After about seven minutes into the Talk John realised that he hadn't turned on his mic. Plenty of interaction had occ...

God calls us to live in unity with other people. What a blessing it is to do that! A brief summary of all the Psalms we have met in this Series is also given. You can read the script for the whole Service here .