Grace Church - Chichester Podcast

Doing justice is by definition proactive, but how do we do justice in today's world? In this talk, Joe looks at the meaningful implications for this in the future of Grace Church at three levels: relief, development and social reform.

What does it mean to leave an eternal legacy? In this talk, James Waddell, Director of Partnerships at Compassion UK, unpacks the story of Caleb to show how we can reflect more, risk more and invest more for God's kingdom.

Justice is a theme that is much discussed in secular culture today and is also a major theme throughout the Bible. God's people are called to do justice by giving people their rights and generosity, especially to the vulnerable and those in need.

The Bible is quite practical on what giving should look like for God's people and it is all based on this principle of demonstrating love and faith to a God who has loved and given to us so abundantly.

Jesus tells his followers that the best way to maximise enjoyment of his love to us, is for us to love one another. As we, the church, are deliberately loving and loved, we will remain in Christ's love to us.

The story of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana is familiar to many people. Tim Blaber takes a fresh look at the story and encourages us to grow in our love for Jesus so that we may become more like him.

Joseph lived his life wih God at the centre of everything. How can we learn to do the same, no matter what life throws at us? And what does Joseph's story have to do with what Jesus has done for us?

Throughout the book of Genesis, it is clear that the people God chooses to use are flawed and broken people. Nothing has changed since then and God continues to use broken people and offer to breakthrough to broken people.

Leah is rejected and unloved by her father and husband Jacob. God sees her and uses her in His great plan of salvation.

Because of the resurrection we have a great exchange through Jesus. Peace instead of fear, forgiveness instead of judgement and freedom in place of condemnation.

What did Jesus mean when he said "the one who believes in me will live, even though they die"? In this Good Friday talk, Joe looks at the life and death of death itself.

Jesus unequivocally declared himself to be king but he did it by behaving in ways we don't classically associate with kings. He came riding on a donkey and he came with a gentle and lowly heart, and yet he came as king of the universe.

Because of God's grace, there is nothing stopping us from being reconciled to him. Jacob was scared about reconciling with his brother who had wanted him dead; but in the end, Esau, like God the Father is even more keen to reunite than Jacob is.

God asks Abraham to do the unthinkable and yet Abraham has such faith in God and his promises that he is willing to obey. This obedience is only possible when it flows from faith that God is faithful and that he will provide.

God exercises his judgement with devastating consequences for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But why did he rescue Lot and his family?

The war in Ukraine poses many questions. How will this crisis end? How should we respond when we see terrible suffering? How does God view what is going on?  We need to be rooted in God's word so that at times of uncertainty we know where our hope lies.

This preach looks at the amazing story of a woman called Hagar who suffered a huge injustice, but God found her in the wilderness and gave her a future and a hope.

The call of Abraham to be the Father to the nations. God's sovereign plan for redemption for the world, culminating in the finished work of Jesus.

It is hopeless for humanity to go up to heaven. Our only hope is for heaven to come down to us.

The Noah story is one about God's reboot for all humanity to bring them to flourish through Noah, an Ark and a Rainbow.

As Adam and Eve have their own children it becomes clear that their sin has ongoing consequences for the whole of humanity. The bad news is that we have inherited Adam's sin. The good news is that God's response to our sin is not what we might expect.

The opening three chapters of Genesis are the foundations upon which the Bible is built in more ways than one. In them, we find the origin stories of the universe and humanity as well the origin stories of sin and hope.

After a chaotic and unexpected couple of years, Joe talks about the priorities for Grace Church as we move forward together and trust God for our future.

Kings and prostitutes, murderers and worshippers, and some thoroughly unremarkable folk! This preach explores some of the incredible women and men who make up the family tree of Jesus Christ. We look at why God chose a family full of sinners and outsiders to bring his Perfect One into the world, and the brilliant news of what that means for us today. 

Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount challenges us with three questions;  are you a true disciple, what are your foundations and who has ultimate authority in your life? Jesus does not want us to be in any doubt about where we stand before him.

Jesus calls his people to be brothers and sisters to one another, children of their Father in heaven, and wary of false prophets posing as sheep. In sum, his people are to do to others as they would have others do to them.

Moses' response to the Lord's request to set his people free was full of doubt. Do we answer God in the same way sometimes? Terry looks at Exodus 4 to help us understand how we can be free from our past in order to say yes to God's will for our lives.

Jesus tells us not to worry and yet many things in life can cause us to be anxious. Why is it wrong to worry and how can we stop worrying? In Matthew 6, we see that not only does Jesus understand our worries, he shows us how we can overcome them.

Everyone invests their finances somewhere. Jesus is not against us investing our resources well but he wants us to do it wisely and know that where we invest is a reflection of what our hearts long for.

There are various worldly perceptions on the subject of prayer. This preach explores how Christians are to pray based on the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus' teaching on giving in Matthew 6 brings a challenge to Christians. Why do we give? To be seen by others or for God's glory to be made visible through us?

What Jesus says on love is both widely accepted in today's Western culture and also widely resented. He calls his followers to both passive non-retaliation and active love, even for those we most struggle to love.  

Jesus said that he hadn't come to abolish the law but to fulfil it. How then should we relate to the law? God's standards are so different to those of the world. We explore how the gospel is good news for us as Christians and the world in which we live.

What makes a healthy church? What makes healthy elders of churches? Elders are those that lead, love, serve, teach, and go to the lost.

Christians are salt and light to a decaying and dark world. That means they make a difference in a very positive way. And they make a difference by being different in character and living out the sermon on the mount.

The Sermon on the Mount is a call where Jesus says to his followers: “Do not be like them” (Mt 6:8). Jesus' disciples are called to lives of different worship because the One we worship is different to. That begins by being people of different character.

God gives permission for us to pray for good stuff to happen in our lives, but we must be aware of how we pray for this, what we are praying for and why we are able to pray this type of prayer. 3 John 1-4 helps shed some light on this.

Ola brings insight into a prayer Paul prayed over the Ephesus church.  It highlights the power that is accessible to us today through the Holy Spirit which then enables us to grasp God's love and be more like Him as as we spend time with Him in prayer.

Andy explores Paul's prayer for the Colossians and how it can encourage us to seek more of God's will in our lives.

We can struggle with praying for others, but Paul shows us what love shaped prayer for others looks like and we can pray this way too.

Today, we look at how those who have given their lives to Jesus will pray and worship in response to God's judgement over the world at the end of time. This can also teach, encourage and shape our prayers as God's people today.

We will be inspired to pray more when we learn to pray more biblically. We do well to emulate Paul by praying that we may know God better and better comprehend all that he has already won for us in Christ.

As we talking about returning home, it is important that we are real with one another. We can do this by CLOTHING ourselves in humility towards one another, CASTING all our anxiety on God.

Serving is in our DNA as Christians, but often we find it very challenging. The good news is that in Ephesians 4, Paul helps us to serve by showing us the starting point, purpose and practicalities of serving.

In the first of this series called ‘Home', we look at things we ought to remember as we start to meet back together. The apostle Paul encourages us to remember what it was like to be separate from Christ and who we are now as members of God's household.

John's Gospel calls us to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. It tells us that by believing, we receive life in the name of Jesus. And it tells us that we are now sent by Jesus into the world just as the Father sent him.

In John 18-19, we read the account of Jesus' last few hours on earth and ask - what is truth? That was the question Pilate asked Jesus before he crucified him. Jesus' answer to that question will change your life and your eternity.

Jesus wants us to seek Him in all that we do. But sometimes we mess up and hurt God or the people that we love. Jesus demonstrates how he offers each of us a second chance and shows us that there is always redemption if we look up from ourselves and instead turn our gaze to Him.  

Jesus prayed. If he prayed, then it follows that his followers certainly should too. John 17 provides a glimpse into how Jesus prayed and therefore how his followers should seek to pray.

The dual purpose of humanity is to pursue God’s glory and our joy. Those two pursuits are not in conflict with one another but they work together to the same end. And prayer is the best embodiment of those pursuits.

Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches. God wants us to know our position in Christ, our purpose to bear fruit for his glory and how that is best worked out by knowing our place as part of the church.