Sermons @ Salford Elim Church

As we learn one another’s names and enter one another’s stories, we are given the opportunity to grow more than we might ever have imagined…

There are times when we just can’t hear, and it may be that we are sure God is silent. What do we do in these situations?

Paul and his companions were stuck because of circumstances and they changed their plans because of that and a vision. How do we know how to make sense of the circumstances we find ourselves in? When should we press on regardless of roadblocks and when should we take stock?

Prophecy is for the sake of others. It’s a clear reminder that we listen to God because we are part of a community that we care for. Hearing from God is not a personal luxury – it’s a church necessity.

Angels, visions, unexpected meetings, dramatic turns. If angels only turned up once in the Bible it would be easy to overlook them. But they are everywhere! How do we make sense of that today in a society that sees itself as far too sophisticated to believe this?

We believe that reading the Bible is one of the foundational ways to hear God speak to us. But how do we hear a word that we might find difficult to understand? How do we read well so we can hear well?

The psalmist believed that observing nature was a way of hearing the Lord who is speaking every day to any who have eyes to see. How do we see clearly so that we can hear well?

The promise of Jesus was that God would speak to his people because we are his friends. We would increasingly grow to recognise his voice. Of course, the challenge is: do we want to hear? Are we prepared to listen? Are we ready to respond if we do hear his voice?

A young out-of-town couple in a whirl, an old couple, part of the furniture in the Temple, easily overlooked. And a baby. Luke loves these sorts of people, because he knows that Jesus loves to spend time with them. And it's the way the salvation story unfolds. It did then, it still does now. As another uncertain new year begins for us.

Jesus the Nazarene is the hope of the nations and the hope of us all, He has come that we may know freedom when all seems lost.

Jesus was a toddler whose family had to escape violence. Immanuel came to earth and one of the first things that he did was to join the long line of refugees…

They came looking for a king. But they had no idea what sort of king he would be – or indeed the type of leadership/service he would ask of his followers.

If you're going to live well, you need to be able to understand Jesus profoundly. Matthew wrote his gospel so that you wouldn't have to guess, and this week we explore the two titles he introduces in his story of Jesus - Saviour and Immanuel. If we can get to grips with these, they will change how we see life, those around us and ourselves.

Another Remembrance Sunday when we are reminded of the catastrophe of war, the effects it has on those directly involved, as well as those bystanders who get dragged into it all. Jesus told his disciples to expect war, but that in the midst of it all there would be reasons to retain hope for the future. We need to hear it again this week as Russian troops advance on the borders of Ukraine.

What's Jesus being the Messiah got to do with COP26, your own very personal life and our life together as a church? Much more than we might imagine…

Jesus was regularly invited to meals. Some wanted to argue with him, others just wanted to get close to him. Some folks were socially at ease with him. But some seemed to make a fuss - to such an extent that it could be embarrassing. But Jesus didn't seem fazed by it, In fact he seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it was because he knew that this is how grace feels to those starved of hope. That's still how...

After his conversion Saul arrives back in Jerusalem, but not to the welcome he had hoped for. The disciples there are fearful of Saul and his intentions. Saul needs someone to be his advocate and stand with him. Barnabas is just the man for the job…

In Luke's tale of two visions, God calls two people to change their life plans in order for the gospel of Jesus to spread further.

Most of us live with two nagging questions that keep coming back. 'How do we know what we should be doing?' 'I don't think I fit in here, am I good enough?' Acts 8 gives us a glimpse of the answers to both of these questions.

The action has all been in Jerusalem up to now but with the persecution, the gospel travels to the places where people had thought things could never change. Samaria was an ongoing problem to the Jews – history and culture meant that they could never imagine that things could ever be any different. Yet change happens because of the bravery of people and the power of the Spirit. How might this lead...

The religious folks resisted what was happening, and charge Stephen with going against the temple and the law. Stephen re-tells their own history to them, showing that God has always operated outside of the temple, Jerusalem and Israel. God was with his people, and at work, in all the difficult places. God is in the business of doing new things. We are on a journey with him. In difficult times, ti...

At times of stress, or change, old animosities can emerge. They need to be addressed. If they aren’t what makes us think we will be ready for what God has in store for us in the future. If the early church hadn’t solved this problem, they would never have been able to deal with the questions that would be raised when Gentiles accepted the gospel.

News of the resurrection of Jesus was deeply disturbing to the authorities, who were desperately trying to keep order. The apostles directly threatened the status quo – they stood in the temple offering a radically different understanding of all that God was doing. They were arrested and put in jail, but the angel broke down the door – and gave them specific orders to go back and to keep on speaki...

In a week where we have seen protests about blatant acts of injustice, and against a backdrop where coronavirus has affected BAME people more than others, it’s easy to feel disempowered to know how to change anything. But Acts 4:32-5:11 shows the result of being filled with the Spirit and how the resurrection of Jesus created the foundations of a new society. That society challenged the existing c...

The healing of the crippled man really disturbed the establishment. The only thing they could do was try to intimidate the apostles. But it didn’t work...