NCF Sunday Talks

We begin by looking at the context of when, why and how The Ten Commandments were originally given. They are certainly still relevant to learn about and to put into our lives in 2023. Most of us can hear physically quite well, even if we might need to use some type of aid to help us. As God is still speaking today, we need to concentrate on hearing God speak in our lives. As we spend regular amoun...

Emmanuel was born in Bethlehem. God is still interacting and speaking with us. Nothing can separate us from His love! Emmanuel is still with us. Let us learn to become more familiar with His voice.

We have all experienced dramatic events in our livetimes - some were well known international events and others were of a more limited and personal nature. All of them were real and not made up. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem was dramatic, but was also real and not made up. Ask Jesus, our Immanuel, to be your personal Saviour. He is real and is still touching the lives of many around the world tod...

We all hear annoucements through different mediums. One of the brilliant things about God is that He announced how He was dealing with the problem of sin in a loud and obvious way. When we have problems, it is often good to seek the help of someone else. Let's seek God as we consider our own problems with sin. God loves us all and has done everything to make it possible for us to have a relat...

God can step into lives when and wherever He chooses. He stepped into the lives of a barren couple and John the Baptist was later born. Let us make our life's intent to glorify God however He step into our lives. 

Joshua 4:1-9 The Israelites had to get out of the mindset that they were in. They had to stop thinking about a Promised Land and live in the Possessed Land. What happened to the stones that were placed in the River Jordan? They were important, as they showed that God had brought them from something to something else. They were not a memorial, but a point of remembrance for what God had done. It wa...

We briefly revisit what we have explored in previous Talks about Nehemiah's life and then we consider how when Nehemiah returned to Susa he was still ready to listen to God. Perhaps he might have hoped that his Mission to Jerusalem was complete, but when he heard that further problems were occurring back there (due to the people compromising with God) he went back and took drastic, yet approp...

Nehemiah met three types of people when he went to Jerusalem to fulfill the mission God had given him. These were: those who helped him, those who opposed him and those who were not sure at that moment.  We all have walls to build. What we do affects other people. How can we encourage other people in their wall building? We might often be weak, but let's use the opportunities that God gives u...

God shows His kindness, mercy and love to us. How should we respond? Is it ok to be wishy-washy with our faith or should we commit to follow and obey God wholeheartedly like the People of Judah did? Let's dedicate our lives to God, choosing to serve Him and be a blessing to others. Let's be ready for anything that God calls us to. God inclines Himself towards us in grace, let's tast...

How strong are you? Perhaps your inner strengths (of various qualities) are stronger than your physical strength? We look at various people in the Bible who showed great inner strength - perhaps even unexpected and realise that it is the joy of the Lord that gives us strength. This means knowing God well and wanting to be close to Him. We need to meet together regularly, to understand what the Bib...

The response that Nehemiah's enemies gave about the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, were not the final response. Listen out for God even during times of opposition. 

Nehemiah had to tackle the external problem of opposition and the internal problem of people not showing mercy and compassion to others. He was a good leader, as he saw both the physical reality and the divine reality.  With the current problems we face as a nation and as individuals, it is simply not enough to say that we can rebuild our walls through good ideas and money. We desperately need God...

Everyone is needed. Everyone is important. Everyone can be fruitful as they work for God. Opposition is likely to occur. A ruined wall doesn't glorify God, but as we stand and work together improving our skills and characters, then God will be glorified. 

Nehemiah was very troubled by the news from Jerusalem. Things weren't going well there. He was in exile hundreds of miles away from his homeland and yet he wasn't powerless. He turned to God in persistent prayer. He waited and waited and after around four months God gave him the opportunity to do something practical about it. God gave him hope and so he persisted. As we pray we should no...

We briefly look at one thousand years of history to give us the context of what was happening to the people of Judah and how God had interacted with them through the centuries. Nehemiah heard God call him to go to Jerusalem from the Persain Empire and he went. He didn't really know what to expect, but was open to what God wanted. In our lives, are we like a piece of music that has an expected...

We hear a brief Talk on the importance of remembering that Jesus has rescued us from death and hell, for an important action: to speak for Him - using both words and actions. After this six people talk about what God has been doing in their lives  recently, as well as their hopes for the future.

Roman Society in Corinth was elitest. Paul wrote to them expressing that we are all labourers, though doing different things. It is Jesus Himself who actually makes things grow. Can we plant and water indiscriminantly? Can we join with our fellow-workers and work for God in diverse ways and yet still do it together? Let us show our utter dependence on God as we work with and for Him.

There is only one God. How does that fact affect your life?

Listen to Galatians 5:16-26 being reading from the New Living Translation, then three short Talks summing up the nine Fruit of the Spirit that we have met in July and August. At the end we hear a song that was written for this particular Service.

In this Talk we are again encouraged to remember that fruit doesn't just appear or mature in our lives. We have to intentionally decide to move with God to see our character grow and develop.  Every day we are asking ourselves questions and we should answer in a way that would glorify God by what we think, say and do. Like a rocket, we all have tremendous power in the way that we interact wit...

Gentleness in Paul's time was seen as a vice. Even today the role models we see in film, television and other media don't generally encourage us to be gentle to others. How do we react when people annoy us? How do we react when the ills of our society speak strongly? Let's decide to act and react in the way that Jesus would do - gently, because the Lord is near. 

God is faithful! As we desire to be like Him, so we should want to be faithful too. Loyal. Trustworthy. Dependable. In this Talk we look at several people in the Bible who didn't act faithfully all of the time, but when they realised what had happened they got back to Jesus.  If we commit sin in our lives we should always get back to Jesus. Run to Him and don't hide. God will help us to...

Jesus describes us as branches that are part of the vine. Asking God to mature us, by actively sticking close to Him, we will more often do what is right and avoid what is wrong.

Just as physical fruit originates from work and effort over a period of time, so the Fruit of the Spirit do too. Maturity takes time and doesn't just happen. We need God's supernatural help to meet peoples' real needs and we certainly need to do it in God's way and at His time. Let's plan to be kind beyond the bullseye - being known by our actions of going way beyond what...

What does patience mean to you? It certainly involves self-discipline. It is certainly good for us and for others. Like with all of the Fruit of the Spirit, we are all still learning and maturing in them.