Trinity Chippenham

Peter's message from the Sunday morning of our Church Weekend Away in Chepstow. Apologies for the sound quality. This message offers the massive encouragement of the sermon to the Hebrews as a backdrop for our weekend theme of prayer.

The Bible doesn't expect us to "have it all together." It expects us to be rocked by the explosions of life, and to struggle with the daily aches of life. But since God is a refuge for us, we can trust Him and pour out our hearts to Him. He is both compassionate and capable of handling the biggest and most persistent struggles we face. Let's be a church that is real with our st...

After the challenging experience of life in the wilderness, this Psalm of Moses offers much needed perspective as we also feel the shortness and difficulty of life. What does it mean to number our days? What does it mean to have the work of our hands established by God? Together we were invited to lift our gaze up to our loving God in this short and hard life.

This Psalm was composed by David at a time when he faced death from a couple of directions. Instead of looking to control his situation, or even question God's plans, he found security in God's presence. From the secure place of dependence upon God, David invited others to taste and see the LORD's goodness that he enjoyed in difficult times.

What happens when a worship leader struggles? Life was hitting Asaph hard because he was dwelling on the prosperity of the wicked and starting to slip away from God. We are all capable of drifting, and we are all people with a tendency to hide our inner turmoil. But what turned Asaph around? Something radically transformed his whole perspective from despair to delight. We can experience the same,...

Sometimes our sense of stability gets rocked and fear starts to take hold of our hearts. Psalm 46 offers great hope and comfort in the midst of impending military threat - God is our refuge and fortress and always accessible help. As we watch what is happening in the world today, there is reason to be fearful on a human level. But our God is the LORD of hosts and He will bring all war and conquest...

Jesus called an eclectic group of disciples to participate in his ministry, but his own family and the religious leaders opposed him and thought he was mad. What does that mean? It means that those of us who are Jesus followers get to be part of his family business - we get to join Jesus in caring for people and proclaiming the gospel, and we get to face opposition in the process.

Jesus created tension with religious folks. They were passionate about the law, but missed the heart of it. Jesus had come to give life, not law. They didn't appreciate that back then and so plotted to kill him. What is our response? Are we focused on keeping laws as if our holiness depends on our own performance? Or do we receive the life that only Jesus can give? Jesus came to give life, an...

This is Matthew/Levi's testimony from Mark 2:13-22. He reflects on the revolution that is Jesus and how being called by Jesus changes everything. Suddenly Jesus becomes the priority in your life, you start to share his values and follow him wherever he goes. Matthew urges us not to slip back into self-driven religiosity, but instead to get really close to Jesus and go where He goes - to the m...

As Jesus continues to give of himself, he continues to shock and surprise. The implications for us are worth prayerfully pondering. How can we undermine the standard perception of Christ and his church in our culture? What are we prepared to do to get people to Jesus?

The last verses of Mark 1 show us Jesus' priority in his own ministry mix. While the healing ministry created the temptation to be popular in Capernaum, his priority was to reach much wider with the gospel. At the same time, his big picture vision didn't make him miss the opportunities to show compassion to those in front of him. Let's be praying for Jesus' priority and compass...

Mark's Gospel offers a wonderful glimpse into the ministry of Jesus, the ministry we have been called to join. Back to back teaching of God's truth, deliverance from God's enemy, and healing to show God's compassion, and then, just as the disciples were putting their feet up to reflect, the whole city gathered at the door! As the doors of the synagogue shut, Jesus just kept on...

There are some real parallels between our situation and the early part of Mark's gospel. Jesus was launching a new project and so focused on timing, location, vision and leadership. Surprisingly we find him walking in Galilee and picking some fishermen to be on his team! Here we are, two millennia later and Jesus' church project continues in surprisingly unimpressive places with people l...

New Series! Mark's document started a revolution as he launched a new genre of writing - a "Good News!" We saw how Mark doesn't want us to have any confusion - Jesus is the good news, because Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father stepping in to our world, to fight our fight, and to rescue us.

In the final week of "Starting Well," we see Paul was very much alone as he came to the end of his life, but he was ready to pour out his life for Christ. His final message for Timothy and the next generation of church growth was simple - herald the Gospel, preach the Word! This wasn't just a message for those of us who preach. It was an exhortation to us all - let's all be all...

Timothy, unlike evil people and impostors, was a man who had followed his faithful mentors (Paul, Lois, and Eunice) and knew the sacred scriptures that reveal salvation in Christ--the ingredients to living for Christ. And as a church and individuals we shouldn't ever let go of these ingredients to living a godly life in Christ Jesus. As we run our races in Christ, let us abide in the lessons...

Paul's warning is so important: not everything that claims to be Christian necessarily is what it says on the tin. Dangerous people are discerned by their character and their conduct, but what about those under threat? Just as a weak animal becomes prey when they drift out of the herd, so also we can become vulnerable if we are morally weak, emotionally unstable, spiritually fickle, and weigh...

How could Timothy be sure to be a good leader, a good example, and a good servant in the church he was called to serve? What does it look like for us to grow together and serve together in the local church? Inky noses and effective relay workers . . .

How did Paul stir Timothy as he faced the next season of life and ministry in the early church? Inspiration for Timothy and for us in this heartfelt passage of Paul's final letter.

Timothy was launching into a new phase of life and ministry without Paul, but with confidence in the Saviour who saved us and called us before the ages began. The way we can guard the good deposit we've received in Christ, is not by being defensive or self-protective, but by giving what we have in Christ to another who can give it away to another. This new series is all about passing on to th...

One of our values at Trinity Chippenham is "Pursuing God in the Bible." Luke 24 invites us to do just that! We don't get to see Jesus like the first witnesses, but we do get to pursue Him in the Bible. If we will pursue Him in the Bible and rely on His Spirit, we too can be his Easter witnesses as we move forward with the adventure of starting a new church!

As Luke tells the story of the crucifixion he focuses our attention on the two criminals crucified next to Jesus. In typical Luke style we are brought face to face with two people to convict us of our own response to Jesus. Will we go with the flow of our culture and treat Jesus as a Messiah if he proves himself by our standards (i.e. meet my needs!), or are we so touched by his death on the cross...

Jesus was completely innocent. Barabbas was completely guilty. One walked free. The other went to the cross. As a church we want to be deeply stirred by the centrepiece of history, and the central feature of God's great plan to rescue sinners like Barabbas, like you, and like me. Jesus was absolutely innocent, as proven through two pairs of trials in Luke, but even so, Jesus knew he must be n...