Amblecote Christian Centre

Matthew has so much we can learn about how to follow Jesus. On Sunday 25th May we looked at Peter's confession of Christ, both the blessing and the rebuke of Peter, and his call to discipleship. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

The value of the Kingdom of God is worth more than all our possessions combined.On Sunday 18th May we looked at the parables of the hidden treasure and pearl of great price in Matthew 13:44-45. When reading parables, we need to think about the big concept Jesus is trying to share. The Kingdom of God is not something we can earn, it's worth more than that. Moreover, the Kingdom of God isn't for sale, Jesus has already paid the price with his life! For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Our primary call is to follow Christ, everything else is secondary. As we continue our series looking at Matthew's unique perspective on the life of Jesus, we came to our first message on parables, the parables of the weeds and the net on Sunday 11th May. Reading from Matthew 13:24-30, 13:36-43 and 13:47-50. We can't wait until we've sorted ourselves out to do God's will, we'll never do anything! Reputation doesn't matter to God, he's used to dealing with flawed people. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

The teaching of Jesus can transform our lives! On Sunday 4th May, Tim Barton started our new series looking at Matthew's unique perspective on the life of Jesus. Did you know, Matthew is known as the gospel of the church because it's the only one of the four gospels that mentions the church? Matthew 1:1 shows us that Jesus is the Messiah, the King and the fulfilment of God's promise, all of that in just one verse! The teaching of Jesus can transform our lives! The question is, what are we going to do about it? Matthew is clear on who he thinks Jesus is, who do you think Jesus is? For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Listen to Tim Barton's message from our dedication service on Sunday 27th April, aptly focused on the powerful words from Psalm 139:14 which speaks of how we are wonderfully made by God! For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Allow the message of Jesus to sink deep into your heart. Tim Barton spoke on Easter Sunday. First we had a bit of fun, considering various Easter traditions from around the world. Then we remembered the events of the very first Easter and closed by considering how we can be reconciled to God and saved through Jesus' life. WATCH here For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Who is Jesus? Not just who is Jesus, but who is Jesus to you? It's a question of the heart, not an intellectual question. It's probably the most important question you'll ever ask yourself. You can do life on your own, or you can do life with Jesus, it's as simple as that! For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Who do you say that Jesus is? On Sunday 6th April, Vanessa began our approach to Easter by talking about approaching the cross. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not popular in our culture, but it is critical. We must never move on from the cross, it is central and should always be of first importance. There is power in the cross. Vanessa looked at Paul's approach, Jesus' approach, the centurion's approach, and then asked what might our approach be? For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

When we pray we're on earth physically, but we're in heaven spiritually. On Sunday 30th March we were delighted to have guest speaker, Martin Young, with us to hear his message about how prayer changes us.Prayer changes things twofold - prayer changes stuff around us and prayer changes stuff in us. Hearts are changed on the inside and circumstances change on the outside because of prayer. Trust that God loves you and that he's working, and keep praying! Find out more about Martin and connect with himFor more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

On Sunday 23rd March we were really excited to have a baptism service. This is the message that Tim gave following the baptism. If we're going to endure suffering we must often remember Jesus. The journey may be hard, but the future is secure. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

On Sunday 16th March we finished our mini series on communion by hearing an interview with some of the elders about their personal experiences of communion and what has led them to where they are now. CATCH UPA Summary Theology of CommunionThe Whos and Hows of CommunionFor more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

On Sunday 9th March we got practical and Tim Barton followed on from Tim Murray's summary theology of Communion message by speaking on the 'the whos and the hows' of Communion, and what we'll be changing in our practice. Our theology should shape our practice, however our practice should also shape our theology! Listen to A Summary Theology of Communion - Tim MurrayFor more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf... On Sunday 2nd March we started a new mini series on Communion. Tim Murray started us off by laying out a summary of our theology of Communion. Communion is a sacrament. That means it's a physical practice we were commanded to do by Jesus and it's also a means of receiving God's grace. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

On Sunday 23rd February we finished our series on Seeking God's Will by hearing a testimony story from Liz Barton which linked really well with the points Tim Barton spoke on in his message about discerning God's will for our lives. We can get so hung up over whether or not we're going to do the right thing, but it's not actually about seeking God's will! It's less about what I do, and more about who God is; how I approach him and how he approaches me. Seeking God's Will, how to know God's will for our lives - Tim BartonFor more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Confession might sound scary, but really it's about finding freedom, healing and wholeness. On Sunday 16th February Adrian spoke on the Spiritual Disciplines of confession. Confession is both a choice and commitment to tell the truth, living openly and honestly with God and those around us.We considered the reasons why we cover up, and looked at the differences between us covering up and God covering up. WATCH in video formCheck out Spiritual Disciplines: Confession from last weekCheck out our whole Spiritual Disciplines series For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

All the Spiritual Disciplines are an invitation to a life that's good and full and beautiful with Jesus, even fasting! On Sunday 9th February we took a break from our series on Seeking God's Will and we heard from David, Adrian and Richard on their experience of the Spiritual Discipline of fasting, and also a couple of short reflections on what Jesus said about fasting.Fasting is not about putting ourselves on display, it's not even about putting fasting itself on display, it's about putting Jesus on display. Jesus himself told his disciples not to put on a big show when they fasted.WATCH in video formCheck out our whole Spiritual Disciplines seriesFor more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved,please visit our website

How can I know God's will for my specific life? Most of us will ask this question at least once in our lives. And it's definitely a good thing to want to know what God wants for your life! Listen now to Tim Barton's message from Sunday 2nd February which explores how we can come to know God's will for our lives. Catch up with the whole series Listen to Tim Murray's message about the four wills of God For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

As we reached the halfway point in our mini-series about Seeking God's Will, on Sunday 26th January, we looked at desiring God's will. Our main problem regarding God's will is actually us choosing it, rather than knowing it. Listen to Tim's first message Listen to Tim's second message For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

In part three of Unravelling we're looking at issues of sex and gender. Our first video (3.1) described the debate going on in our culture and the second (3.2) looked at what a Christian worldview has to say. Here, we ask Elaine Storkey about the challenge of living it out in practice. What does it look like to hold a Christian worldview and follow Jesus with regards to sex and gender in our polemical and divisive culture context? WATCH this podcast in video form! Catch up with all of part 3 here You can find all our Unravelling material here

God reveals to us what it would be good for us to know, and it's not good for us to know nothing! On Sunday 19th January we continued our mini-series on Seeking God's Will. Last week we thought about knowing God and knowing ourselves and how the two are linked, this week we looked directly at seeking God's will and the four wills of God. - God's sovereign will, hidden and revealed. - God's particular will, moral and directive. Some conclusions - God's sovereign will cannot fail. Seeking God's will is about becoming aligning to God's story, not trying to bring him into our story. God's moral will should be our primary concern, not his directive will. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Last time we explored the debate going on in culture around issues of sex and gender. In this video we explore what a Christian worldview has to say (and not say) about these issues. We see that surface level disagreement in our culture on particular issues can actually coexist with deeper worldview-level agreement, whereas Christianity addresses issues of sex and gender from fundamentally different foundations. WATCH this podcast in video form! Watch 'What is Love?' the short video from part 2 (Unravelling Worldviews) that Tim and Liz mention. Follow along with the PowerPoint slides for this presentation here Check out the Q&A video here, with the questions that were submitted by our audience who were in the room during the recording. You can find all our Unravelling material here

God's will is part of God. On Sunday 12th January we started a new mini-series on Seeking God's Will. We have to come to know God ourselves, we can't do that through someone else. As we become more like God, we become more ourselves. Real knowledge of God means real knowledge of ourselves. WATCH this message in video form Find out more about Unravelling Listen to Adrian's message from last week For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

In this first podcast in the third part of Unravelling we examine contemporary debates about gender and gender identity, critically analysing what is going on in our public square and how this relates to our cultural worldview. WATCH this podcast in video form! To get the most out of this part of Unravelling it's important that you've caught up with parts one and two (Unravelling Culture and Unravelling Worldviews). Follow along with the PowerPoint slides for this presentation here You can find all our Unravelling material here

On Sunday 5th January we started the New Year with a timely message about Abraham's journey. Abraham sets out on a journey in Genesis 12, he didn't know where he was going (no map apps or even postcodes in those days!) and we read in Hebrews 11 that he never even got there! Two things to remember at the start of this New Year, no matter what the year looks like it might hold: 1. The journey is more important than the destination - this doesn't mean outcomes are wrong, but it does mean God looks for obedience and faithfulness as the most important things. 2. Embarking on a journey can mean leaving something good being in order to reach something better. There is always more for us to encounter. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

What is a miracle? Christmas is a time when we are likely to think about miracles, and yet we often use the word 'miracle' for all kinds of things in everyday life. So do miracles actually happen? Listen now to Tim's short message from our Carol Service. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Jesus took on all that we are so that we could be fully healed. Last week we asked questions like - was Jesus really a man? why would God become man? what difference does it make? - and we thought about what to make of Jesus and the things he said and did. On Sunday 8th December we had our second message on the Incarnation. Jesus had to take everything so it could be recreated, and that is why it matters, that is the difference it makes! CATCH UP WITH PART 1 CHECK OUT OUR TEACHING ON THE APOSTLES' CREED For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Was Jesus really a man? Why would God become man? What difference does it make? On Sunday 1st December as we entered December and Advent, our message was about the Incarnation of Jesus. We thought about what to make of Jesus and the things he said and did. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

We have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to give us good gifts. On Sunday 24th November we had the last message in our mini-series, Teach us pray. The truth is, God is good and he wants the best for us, including when he doesn't answer our prayers the way we want him to. Resources Vanessa mentioned Theology of suffering Whole Church Teaching Tim Murray's message on Habakkuk chapter 3 For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

We've already covered why and how to pray in our mini series, so on Sunday 17th November Tim Murray spoke on Praying Together. We pray because God chooses to work through his people. Prayer is always an effort. But it's also an expression of love and service to others. Check out our Whole Church Teaching series, Living & Believing: The Apostles' Creed For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, ⁠please visit our website

How whacky do you think prayer is? On Sunday 10th November Tim Barton spoke about WACY prayer as we continued our Teach us to pray mini series. We dived deep into the Lord's Prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

On Sunday 3rd November we started a new mini series, Teach us to pray. Tim Barton introduced the series by looking at personal prayer. Asking the questions why do we pray? Who do we pray to? And what is prayer? Watch this message, including the video For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

How do you feel about the state of the church in our nation and your part in it? On Sunday 27th October we had the last message in our Minor Prophets series. David spoke about how Micah came to God honestly. Micah was looking for a Godly person and he wasn't afraid to engage in lament. He didn't pretend all was well when it wasn't, and yet he also didn't despair. Brokenness and darkness are not the last word! God will complete the work he has begun in the world. LISTEN HERE to Tim Murray's Habakkuk part 1 message LISTEN HERE to Tim Murray's Habakkuk part 2 message LISTEN HERE to Vanessa's message on the power of lament For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

What does your name mean? On Sunday 20th October we dived into the book of Hosea and in amongst everything that happens in this short, action packed book, we saw that it's not just about sexual immortality but it's about a love we don't deserve and God's faithfulness always shining through. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

On Sunday 13th October we returned to our autumn teaching series on messages from the Minor Prophets; specifically we looked at Amos. Adrian challenged us by asking, have we got any Amos's in the room? For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Are you a rule keeper or a rule breaker? On Sunday 6th October Andrew read from Matthew 7:13-14 and spoke about the two paths in life, through the narrow gate or the broad gate. He also broke down the stereotype that Christianity is about "keeping the rules" to get to heaven, and explained that salvation is by faith in Jesus alone. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Surrender. A positive word, or a negative one? Last Sunday we read the first two chapters of Habakkuk, a conversation that happened between Habakkuk and God. This Sunday we're looking at the last chapter from this minor prophet, Habakkuk's prayer. Here Habakkuk models spiritual maturity to us. He also has quite a paradox in his prayer, both exhorting God to act now, but also speaking of how to walk with God when he doesn't act and our world collapses. We too need to surrender ourselves to God. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Have you ever struggled with the presence of evil in the world? Have you ever struggled with the presence of evil within the church and the people of God? Then Habakkuk is the minor prophet for you! Listen in on the conversation Habakkuk has with God and be encouraged that there will come a day when no evil will remain! Judgement will come - God's judgement will destroy evil and set things right again. We need to learn to live by faith - we need to live demonstrating our trust in God day by day. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God - this life is not all there is, there will be a resurrection, a judgement and then a new creation. Endlessly satisfying rest, beauty and pleasure... Let the whole earth be silent before him - we can complain to God and question him, but also, eventually, we must humble ourselves. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

On Sunday 8th September we opened the Bible to Malachi again and found God's people at a time when they weren't living out what they were preaching, they were abusing their relationships, they were acting unjustly, and were being stingy with their money/resources. Listen now to Tim Barton's message in which he shares that there is still hope! ⁠Find out more about our Money Matters series⁠ For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, ⁠please visit our website⁠

'“I have loved you,” says the Lord.' - Malachi 1:1 On Sunday 1st September we marked the start of the new month by launching our new series on Messages from the Minor Prophets. Tim Barton brought the first of two messages looking at the book of Malachi, a letter from God to his people. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

3 reasons to keep pressing on 1. There is always room for improvement 2. There is a bright future ahead 3. There is a prize to be reached for On Sunday 25th August Hugh read Philippians 3:7-14 and brought a message about pressing on. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Love and Freedom are two values we all hold as desirable, but are they compatible? This video explores how common understandings of ‘freedom' actually work against the possibility of meaningful love, and how the Christian worldview offers a way of preserving both these goals in their richest sense. WATCH this podcast in video form! You can find all our Unravelling material here

Love is a contested term. Do we have to agree to love one another? Do we have to affirm one another's beliefs and actions? What does it mean to accept someone? Or does love include the ability to ‘love across' disagreement and difference? WATCH this podcast in video form! You can find all our Unravelling material here

The stories of identity and power/oppression that we explored in part 1 of Unravelling are some of the ways that we are searching for meaning in our culture. In this discussion we explore why our cultural worldview cannot deliver what it promises, and begin to explore what it is like to live inside the worldviews we've discussed – both in terms of the logical conclusions of each worldview, and also the lived experience that they entail. WATCH this podcast in video form! Follow along with the PowerPoint slides for this presentation here Check out the Q&A video here, with the questions that were submitted by our audience who were in the room during the recording You can find all our Unravelling material here

Questions about whether we can have meaningful knowledge of reality and how we can come to know what we know are of central importance to what it means to be human. In this discussion we explore how a Christian worldview begins to address them, arguing that not only is there a truth to be known, but that we can come to know what is real reality truly, if always imperfectly. WATCH this podcast in video form! Follow along with the PowerPoint slides for this presentation here Check out the Q&A video here, with the questions that were submitted by our audience who were in the room during the recording You can find all our Unravelling material here

On Sunday 18th August Eric interviewed Davinia about what she does Monday-Friday and how she takes God with her wherever she goes. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, ⁠please visit our website

In Part 1 of Unravelling (Unravelling Culture) we are analysing not only what we think in our culture, but why we think what we think. In our culture we all want to be free – but we often only think about what we want to be free from, rather than what we want to be free for. But without a vision of what freedom is for, we end up living for a freedom that is purely negative – an unreal freedom. Pursuing this unreality leaves us empty and isolated. In this video we briefly discuss a more realistic understanding of freedom where freedom matters primarily because we have a vision of what we want to be free for. WATCH this podcast in video form! You can find all our Unravelling material here

In Part 1 of Unravelling (Unravelling Culture) we are analysing not only what we think in our culture, but why we think what we think. The main question our culture asks about identity is “who am I?” The usual answer is that we can be anything that we want to be – we get to define who we are. In this video we explore why that answer is problematic, leads us into UNREALITY and contributing to some of the major crises we are facing in our world. We also suggest that the Christian worldview proposes a different identity question – not “who am I?” but “WHOSE am I?”. This question leads to an understanding of identity that is both more in touch with reality and offers true hope. WATCH this podcast in video form! You can find all our Unravelling material here

In Part 1 of Unravelling (Unravelling Culture) we are analysing not only what we think in our culture, but why we think what we think. In order to do this, we need to examine the stories that we tell one another – because the stories we tell shape the way we see the world. The identity politics and polarisation we are living in is driven, in part, by a particular view of power dynamics in society. We are told that we need a particular form of social justice that wants to change the way we use language, claims that only those in oppressed social groups know best and encourages a strong activist engagement in politics and education. This video explores how this story has developed from the Enlightenment, through Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, into what we now know as critical theory which is underwriting the way this story of power and oppression is being told today. WATCH this podcast in video form! Follow along with the PowerPoint slides for this presentation here Check out the Q&A video here, with the questions that were submitted by our audience who were in the room during the recording You can find all our Unravelling material here

In Part 1 of Unravelling (Unravelling Culture) we are analysing not only what we think in our culture, but why we think what we think. In order to do this, we need to examine the stories that we tell one another – because the stories we tell shape the way we see the world. Our contemporary culture claims that our identity – who we really are – is something that we get to choose, shape and define based on the way we think and feel about ourselves. This video explores how that story (which is now taken to be ‘common sense') has its roots in the Enlightenment and represents a very particular worldview based on atheistic assumptions. WATCH this podcast in video form! Follow along with the PowerPoint slides for this presentation here Check out the Q&A video here, with the questions that were submitted by our audience who were in the room during the recording You can find all our Unravelling material here

On Sunday 11th August Tom Unitt took us on a whistle stop tour through The Beatitudes, Jesus' biggest chunk of teaching recorded in Matthew. If you resonate with any of the sayings, Jesus is drawing you in. For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website

Want to be inspired? On Sunday 28th July Vanessa interviewed John Cook and Tim Fellows on the work of Love Black Country and the wider church. We want to be reminded, inspired and open to what God wants to do! For more information about who we are, what we believe and how you can get involved, please visit our website