Weekly Talks

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Leviticus 16: 1-10 Leviticus 16: 1-10 (NIV) The pinnacle of the book of Leviticus is the Day of Atonement.  Once a year the High Priest made sacrifices for the sins of the whole community and was able to enter the holiest part of the tabernacle. Of everything described in the book of Leviticus, this is the part that most clearly points to Jesus, our once for all sacrifice.

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Leviticus 11: 41-47 Leviticus 11: 41-47 (NIV) Leviticus contains many laws about ritual purity and frequently speaks of things as "clean" or "unclean." Being unclean was not necessarily sinful, but the defilement associated with uncleanness pointed to a far deeper problem: the defilement of the human heart by sin.

By Rev Charlie Lacey | Leviticus 9: 22 – 10: 3 Leviticus 9: 22 – 10: 3 (NIV) Leviticus only covers a period of 1 month, while Israel is still camped at the base of Mount Sinai.  At the beginning of Leviticus, Moses can’t go into the Tent of Meeting, in other words, he can’t approach God. By the end of the book he can.  So, this book really does contain the key to how unholy people can come into th...

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Leviticus 1: 1-9  Leviticus 1: 1-9 (NIV) Leviticus probably isn't a favourite book of the Bible for many people. Yet there's far more in it than many Christians realise, and it's foundational to understanding the Gospel. Today we looked at the elaborate system of animal sacrifice described in Leviticus 1-7.

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Genesis 3 Genesis 3 (NIV) Today we came to the final message in our three-part series, ‘Creation Care.’ Week 1 focused on ‘Creation and Our Origin’; Week 2 on ‘New Creation and Our Future’; and this week we turned to what lies between Creation and New Creation. In other words, where do we fit in the story right now?

by Rev Trevor Adams | Revelation 21: 1-5 Revelation 21: 1-5 (NIV) Do you dream during your nightly sleep? Some people don't ever dream. Joseph in the Bible was dubbed 'that dreamer' by his jealous brothers. Why did they do that?

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Genesis 1 Genesis 1 (NIV) Genesis 1 and 2 provide us with crucial information about our origins, our role and our position in the world as we relate and interact with God, one another, and creation itself.  If we don't understand these chapters, we don't understand God's purpose for humanity.

By Rev Charlie Lacey | Acts 17: 16-34 Acts 17: 16-34 (NIV) In the ancient world, animal sacrifice was a key part of worship for Jews and Gentiles alike, but Christianity brought a radical new way of doing things.

By Rev Charlie Lacey | Acts 20: 17-38 Acts 20: 17-38 (NIV) When Paul parted company with the leaders of the church at Ephesus, he impressed upon them the importance of proclaiming the Gospel. Someone once said that ‘the Church is the only organisation that exists for the benefit of its non-members.’  And that’s largely true because we have a responsibility to proclaim the wonderful news of Jesus t...

by Rev Trevor Adams | Acts 15: 36-41 Acts 15: 36-41 (NIV) Every single person in the whole wide world has unique finger-prints. Our own personality is nearly, almost like that. At times a personality-clash between two people happens. The big positive forward, work out a way in which we can still do good despite our differences?

By Rev Trevor Adams | Acts 4: 32-37 Acts 4: 32-37 (NIV) Acts has once again brought us to the theme of radical generosity. The church was prepared to do whatever it took to ensure that no-one was in want.  We're reminded that the people surrounding us in church are literally our brothers and sisters, and we must do our utmost to love and care for one them.

By Rev Charlie Lacey | Acts 3: 11-26 Acts 3: 11-26 (NIV) Time is a funny thing. Some people seem to live in the past – others are always thinking about the future – and others still seem to live only for the moment.  But as Christians, we need to keep sight of the past, present, and future, all at the same time, to fully appreciate what God is doing in and through history and where we fit into it...

By Rev Charlie Lacey | Acts 2:42-47 Acts 2:42-47 (NIV) Christians are called to love one another to such an extent that it becomes counter cultural. Unfortunately, we don’t always get this right , but when we do – it’s one of the most compelling aspects of our faith. In Acts, chapter 2, we get a brilliant example of what genuine love looked like in the early Church, which functioned very much like...

By Rev Charlie Lacey | Acts 2: 1-21 Acts 2: 1-21 (NIV) Continuing with our series ‘Acts: Weird, Dangerous, Compelling, one of the things that makes Christianity so unique, is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. To some it might sound weird – but there's no doubt that this doctrine and more importantly, the phenomenon itself makes Christianity dangerous and compelling.

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Acts 1: 1-11 Acts 1: 1-11 (NIV) We began a new series today, exploring the life of the early Church in the book of Acts. Over the coming weeks, we’ll see that the first Christians were weird, dangerous, and compelling, for reasons that will soon become clear. We started with the most striking thing that set them apart, both in the first century and still today: they followed...

By Rev Charlie Lacey | John 11: 32-36 John 11: 32-36 (NIV) On Sunday we came to the end of our mini-series on The Fruit of the Spirit – 9 aspects of the Spirit's fruit explored in three lots of three, over three years and seen through the lens of Jesus' life.  Closing today with the most important one - Love.

by Rev Charlie Lacey | John 8: 1-11 John 8: 1-11 (NIV) Continuing with our mini-series on the fruit of the Spirit, today we looked at goodness.  A big theme, but one we can recognise when we see it lived out. Goodness looks very different from niceness. The world wants us to be nice, to keep things smooth and polite, but that’s not the same thing as goodness.

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Mark 4: 35-41 Mark 4: 35-41 (NIV) In many ways, the world we live in is not very peaceful; and sometimes the circumstances of our lives are far from peaceful.  Today we saw that, with Jesus, it is possible to experience peace no matter what’s happening around us.

Galatians 6: 11-18 | by Rev Charlie Lacey Galatians 6: 11-18 (NIV) In Galatians 6, Paul reminds us that our identity isn’t built on how we present ourselves, what we achieve, or how well we impress the world.  There’s no need to boast in those things. In fact, the only thing worth boasting in is the cross of Christ, because it’s there that God made it possible for each of us to become a new creati...

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Galatians 6: 1-10 Galatians 6: 1-10 (NIV) The Church is meant to be a place where the best relationships grow. And sometimes we see that; moments of real grace and kindness. Other times, we let each other down. But none of us stands above anyone else. We’re all sinners in need of a Saviour. And when someone is struggling, our calling is to gently restore, not to judge.

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Galatians 5: 16-26 Galatians 5: 16-26 (NIV) The apostle Paul compares two ways of living - life by the flesh and life by the Spirit.  Life by the flesh is destructive to ourselves, the people around us, and society in general.  By contrast, life by the Spirit leads to the fruit of a godly character, and all the benefits that flow from that.

by Rev Charlie Lacey | John 8: 31-34, Galatians 5: 1-15 John 8: 31-34, Galatians 5: 1-15 (NIV) The Apostle Paul makes it clear that if we want to get right with God, we need to put our faith in Jesus.  Following religious rules will not lead anyone back to God. Jesus came to free us from religiosity, but more than that, he came to free us from sin and death, so that we might enjoy a relationship w...

by Bp John Roundhill | Matthew 28: 16-20 & 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 Matthew 28: 16-20 & 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 (NIV) God is not like us.  Yes, we’re made in his image, but God is unique.  As Karl Barth said, "One cannot speak of God simply by speaking of man in a loud voice."  The Christian understanding of God is an eternal relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy...

by Rev Charlie Lacey | Acts 2: 1-24 Acts 2:1-24 (NIV) Two-thousand years ago, about 10 days after Jesus ascended to be with his Father in heaven, God poured out his Holy Spirit on a group of believers who were waiting for this gift that Jesus had promised. Since that day, everyone who repents and puts their faith in Jesus is filled with God’s Spirit.  

By Rev Charlie Lacey | Galatians 3: 1-14 Galatians 3: 1-14 (NIV) In Galatians 3, we see Paul reprimanding the Galatians for losing sight of that which brought them into a right relationship with God in the first place; namely, their faith in Jesus Christ.  Their journey started with faith and they received the Holy Spirit, but now they are making the mistake of trying to earn their salvation.