ChristChurch London Podcast

This week, Joel (Central Service) explores one of the most crucial moments of the early church at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). We explored the ‘tidal' nature of faith: diving into God's presence, which then ripples out to others. Through the passage, we see our call as disciples to embrace opportunities to share our faith, and embody a diverse, open, and formative Christian community.

Andy unpacks the story of the church at Antioch, and the power of unity and diversity in the church, and what steps we can take to build a genuinely multicultural community.

This week at our Mile End service, Andy Tilsley preached from John's Gospel and its connection to our longing for ‘Eden life' – the fullness of life intended by God since creation in Genesis 1. We look at how Jesus, as the ‘second Adam', re-enters Eden through his death and resurrection, and invites us back into deep personal connection with God, and commissions us to bring others into this life they were created for.

This week in our Central service, we had guest speaker Haejin Shim Fujimura. Haejin Shim is an experienced lawyer and co-founder and CEO of Embers International, who work to restore and empower victims of injustice and prevent human trafficking. In this talk, she explores the story of the paralysed man in Mark 2. We look at the faith and intercessory love of his friends, who carry his burden to Jesus for healing and forgiveness, and what this means for our faith and call as disciples.

Andy's talk form the Sutton service examines the Philippian church in Acts 16, emphasizing its focus on reaching the unchurched. Diverse individuals found faith, a desire for the present church. Recent UK trends show openness to faith. The sermon urges prayer, as salvation is God's work in spiritual battle, and action within our current context, mirroring historical examples. The call is to pray for five non-believers and share faith where we are, trusting God for transformation.

Eric and Erica Anderson, from Ark Church in Copenhagen, came to share about some of the amazing things they've seen happen in their church over the last 18 months and, speaking from 1 Kings 19, encouraged us to pray and pursue more of God's presence.

This week, Joel (Central Service) looks at the early church's growth in Samaria (Acts 8), where ordinary believers spread the gospel while facing persecution and resistance. We look at the need for selfless motivation in serving God, in contrast to the demonic allure for personal power (exemplified by Simon the Sorcerer), and how the invitation to the Way of Jesus opens the door to participate in God's mission with love and humility.

This Easter message highlights that true confidence for Christians comes from the resurrection of Jesus, which validated his claims, secured forgiveness, and guarantees a future new creation, contrasting with the fleeting nature of earthly confidence factors. The resurrection transformed the disciples from fear to boldness, becoming the central message of the early church and the bedrock of Christian faith, without which belief would be pointless. The speaker urges both believers and non-believers to recognize the life-altering significance of Christ's rising, offering an invitation to prayer and a deeper exploration of this foundational truth.

For our baby dedications at Mile End, Lyndsey recounts the story of Paul and Silas's miraculous prison release, the jailer's conversion, and his entire household being baptised. Through it, we look at how the story of Scripture transforms our understanding of who we are as God's 'image-bearers', and how this can teach our children not just to believe in biblical principles, but to be ‘Jesus-people' in our world today.

This week in our Sutton service, David looked at the importance of building a resilient faith, and the role persecution has often played in that regard in the Bible and church history.

This week, Adnan teaches on the encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8. We look at what the story reveals about listening to God's Spirit, believing that he has something to say to each of us, and how hearing God is rooted in Scripture. 

Andy spoke from Malachi chapter 3, and the broken state of the nation, and the desperate need for God to break in, much like our own time. God's message to the people then was to put God first in all things, including their financial life, for the sake of the nation and their future, and he speaks the same message to us today.

In this weeks talk Joel examines the biblical pattern for generosity and how it might inspire us to get caught up in Jesus' vision to transform the city.

This week we gathered all Christ Church London services together for Gather25. Lars Due-Christensen taught from Moses' experience of the burning bush (Exodus 3), and what this means for our call to approach God's Presence with curiosity, surrender, and humility, in order to hear his voice and experience his Presence in our own lives.

What is faith? Why is it so important? After the healing of the man at the Beautiful Gate, Joel explores the importance of Peter's biography of faith, and how faith in Jesus transformed him from a man cowering in the shadows, to one who can stand up in front of thousands to preach the good news of Jesus. 

Andy looks at the story of the stoning of Stephen in Acts 6 and 7, unpacking the amazing vision Stephen has before he dies, and what it means for us today as followers of Jesus. As we pursue God for revival, we also examine how we should live while we're waiting for it.

This week Jonathan teaches from Acts 2, exploring community through the lens of Jesus, and how our call to follow Jesus together is vital to being formed as person of love, for the sake of others.

Temples are a big theme in the book of Acts, and were epicentres of controversy for the early church. Temples are places of power and systems of life centred on what's most precious to us. This week, Adnan looks at what it means to live as temples of God's presence, and what we can expect as we centre our lives on Jesus as the ‘Cornerstone' of a new spiritual superstructure.

At Mile End, we had the privilege of hearing Eti's story of following Jesus through hostility, and how God met with Eti and her husband in the face of resistance to their faith. We also got to hear more about how Open Doors are serving the persecuted church worldwide, and how we can support and pray for their crucial work.

As we continue our series through the book of Acts, Andy looks at the day of Pentecost, the gift of tongues, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the early church. As Andy unpacks the promise which still stands for us 2000 years later, we explore what we need to do to encounter more of God's Spirit and power today.

This week, Joel starts our new teaching series on the book of Acts. We look at how the Ascension of Jesus shapes our encounter of God's presence as a church, and our longing to see his kingdom in our world.

Lars looks at the biblical guidance for people who have an experience of having lost inner territory in times of pressure.

For our first Sunday of 2025, David Stroud shares some of the key lessons from the previous year, and in particular what he learned from his father's passing. He looks at how the reality of Jesus and the resurrection transforms our grief, and fills us with renewed hope.

Andy Tilsley spoke at our Sutton Christmas Carol service on God being found in the small and ordinary.

Andy concludes our ‘Walking with God' series by looking at our destination as followers of Jesus. Looking at the book of Revelation, we see how knowing where we're heading in the future helps change our lives and journey in the present.

This week, Joel teaches from the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19, looking at how our journey of faith leads through inevitable walls that invite us to experience God's unconditional love, and his deep, inner transformation and healing.

This week, Andy explores what it means to ‘walk by the Spirit' (Gal 5:16) as we surrender to Jesus' way of life. God fills every follower of Jesus with the Holy Spirit, who is the ultimate source of our transformation. Yet we also have a role to daily ‘keep in step' with his presence to see this shape our everyday lives.

To start our autumn series, ‘Walking with God', we begin by looking at our identity and calling as followers of Jesus. Catherine teaches from Ephesians 1, exploring how our truest identity shapes where and how we begin our journey of faith.

This week Joel looks at what's ahead as we establish our church around three core values: Presence, Formation, and Mission. Over the next few weeks, we'll unpack what each of these age-old principles mean for us as we seek to follow Jesus together, for the renewal of London.

This week Andy looks at what's ahead as we establish our church around three core values: Presence, Formation, and Mission. Over the next few weeks, we'll unpack what each of these age-old principles mean for us as we seek to follow Jesus together, for the renewal of London.

This week Joel looks at what's ahead as we establish our church around three core values: Presence, Formation, and Mission. Over the next few weeks, we'll unpack what each of these age-old principles mean for us as we seek to follow Jesus together, for the renewal of London.

This week we celebrated Christ Church London turning 20! Andy reflected on our journey so far, and looked at what's ahead as we establish our church around three core values: Presence, Formation, and Mission. Over the next few weeks, we'll unpack what each of these age-old principles mean for us as we seek to follow Jesus together, for the renewal of London.

This week, Raph looks at how the Psalms can inspire wonder.

In this talk, Lou shares what we can learn from David's lament in Psalm 6 as a model for dealing with our own sadness. 

This week, Grace Bolaji teaches from Psalm 106, and looks at how the psalms direct us away from life alone to life together.

This week Adnan teaches from Psalm 4, exploring how the psalms give us a way of transforming our experience of anger as the people of God.

This week Natalie teaches from Psalm 6, looking at how psalms of lament provide a healthy and biblical way for the people of God to process pain and sorrow.

Andy unpacks Psalm 107, which encourages ‘The redeemed of the Lord to tell their story.' Why are so many of the psalms about the story of God's people? What's our story, and how should it shape our lives today? We look at the importance of remembering our story, and how through prayer we can resist the false narratives which swirl around us every day. 

New seasons are opportunities from God to use us in new ways but they can also be tricky to navigate. As Christ Church London enters into a new season, David considers lessons he has learnt which can be applied at both an individual level and for us as a church as whole. 

Andy talks from 1 Corinthians 1 – a passage that was first preached at Christ Church London 20 years ago – and looks at two things which we hope will shape us as a church as we head into a new chapter. Andy explores the themes of weakness and holiness in Corinthians, and what it means for us as a church in the season ahead.

Duncan Campbell defines revival as a community saturated with the presence of God and the restoration of New Testament Christianity in times of decline. In this talk, Joel encourages us to have the faith that revival is possible in London, and that every person has a part to play.

This week, Sarah Cobbold looks at how the psalms of King David were shaped by his own life and story, and how this leads us to bring our own stories – both the highs and lows – before God in prayer. We see how the psalms help us connect to the big story of God, and his presence in the midst of our human experiences.

This week, Anna looks at how the Psalms lead us to a life of honesty before God, others, and ourselves.

Before the book of Psalms dives into prayers, it prepares us to pray. We need a way to realise the largeness of God in the midst of the competing bigness of the world. If we fail here, prayer will be stunted – our prayers will whimper either due to distraction or intimidation. The book of Psalms opens with an analysis of human existence and an invitation to choose a way of life that is fulfilling and rooted in God.

This week, Dave Benson from LICC wraps up our series in the Gospel of Luke by looking at the Road to Emmaus. In this story, Jesus' journeys with two disciples through their disillusion and despair, and directs them on a different course of hope and salvation through his resurrected life. We explore how the story of Emmaus helps us identify how God is at work in our lives, and how his presence brings transformation to the places and people we encounter in daily life and work.

This week, Adnan looks at how the Ascension of Jesus shapes the way we encounter God's presence today, and engage with his mission in the world.

In this talk, Andy looks at Jesus standing trial and interrogation before religious and political leaders.

In this talk, Natalie explores the key factors that led to Jesus' betrayal and denial by two of his disciples, Judas and Peter. What caused these two to commit such actions? And how did it fit into God's saving plan?

As a church, we're delighted to partner with Compassion in their work to bring lasting change for children living in poverty. This week, Rob from Compassion speaks to us about God's heart for compassion, justice, and mercy.

In this talk, Lou looks at Jesus' last meal with his disciples before his death, and its powerful symbolism that points us to his future Kingdom.

In this talk, Joel explores the powerful and intimate prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. What was Jesus asking for? And what was the will of the Father?