Grace Church - Midhurst Podcast

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.

In this talk, Ashley teaches from Acts 4 and explores how we can be bold in sharing the gospel with friends and strangers through the power of the Holy Spirit.

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.

Jesus tells his disciples to not let their hearts be troubled, but this isn’t an empty encouragement. In John 14, He gives a host of good reasons why we shouldn't let our hearts be troubled.

This Sunday Guy Miller from Commission spoke on building a Church of observable glory.

There is a change of atmosphere in John 13 as the book of John turns towards the cross with the Last Supper. It is here that Jesus’ love is betrayed and displayed. What can we learn from these two acts for our own lives?

Mary shows her devotion to Jesus by anointing him with a very expensive perfume. If Jesus is worthy of such honour, what does devotion to Jesus look like for each of us?

The main way Jesus shows his love for us is by showing us and giving us himself. As a family grieves, Jesus shows himself to them by responding with truth, emotion and power.

If Jesus rose again from the dead, it changes everything. It changes all of life and history from being tragic and meaningless into hope-filled joy.

What is your view on the resurrection? There are many theories about it, but could it be true?

The Good Shepherd has come to give life for eternity and life to the full. The way he offers that to us is by giving his life.

Jesus can make the blind see. The reality is that all of us are blind to truth and life until we acknowledge our blindness and ask the light of the world to give us sight.

When Jesus said that he is the light of the world, he was referencing the pillar of fire that led the Israelites to freedom. Only Jesus can lead us from slavery into total, lasting freedom.

We all want assurance that to follow Jesus is to base our lives on truth. Jesus promised that such assurance is guaranteed for anyone who prioritises God’s glory over their own, and he sent his Holy Spirit to enable us to make it happen.

Jesus knows and wants what’s best for us and what’s best for us is to know and want Jesus.

Jesus is Lord of all creation, so we have every reason to pray, he is Lord of all time, so we should not ignore the sabbath, and he is Lord of life itself, so we must believe in his word.

In John 4 Jesus encounters a woman at the well in Samaria. From this encounter Jesus demonstrates his Grace and love to this woman. It gives a  greater picture of how Jesus interacts graciously with all humanity.

It is easy to accept that there is a problem with this world. It’s less easy to accept that the problem lies with us. But God has miraculously and graciously made a solution available for all who believe in Jesus.

When Jesus changed water into wine, some people saw what Jesus did. Others saw who Jesus was. The question for us is, “How much do you see Jesus?”

It is vital for human flourishing that we know both who we are and who Jesus is. And the best way to find out who we are is to focus on who Jesus is. 

These opening verses of John, and indeed the whole gospel, are summarised well by four simple words in v14 that have an infinite beauty of meaning: The Word became flesh.

At the start of this new year, we need to hold on to and prepare for the promises that God has given us.

Terry Virgo from NewFrontiers shares with us about how faith and patience are essential for these days.

All humans have a God-given right thing to do and purpose to live for. Part of our purpose is universally shared and God has also given each of us a specific role to fulfil through our lives. How can we be sure we are doing the right thing?

The world is very strange at the moment, it can seem like God doesn’t care. Joshua 1 shows that the real truth is that God does care, so how should that impact the decisions that we make and how we live our lives? 

Jesus clearly went around healing the sick, but should we expect God to heal people who are unwell or in pain today?

Our culture will often accuse Christians of being in denial, that science has disproven that there is a God. In reality, when examining the evidence, the most plausible reason for the existence of the universe is that God, who has always existed, called it into being. As Christians we need not be ashamed of the gospel.

It can often seem like the world is spiralling out of control and no one, including God, seems to have no grip on anything. The truth is that not only is God in total control but he also passionately cares about us. He cares about and controls both sparrows (small) and superpowers (big).

With so little opportunity to meet together in church like we used to pre-Covid, some are asking whether it is important to keep church as a part of our lives? The answer is a resounding Yes! Church is God’s plan, and he also knows that it is exactly what you need to flourish.

There are lots of things that cause to ask whether it is acceptable for us to share our faith in the post-truth world that we live in. In fact, this generation is shaped by the message of Christianity, and while it remains an affront to this generation, and every other, it also remains the answer to this generation, and every other.

Our culture has a low view of the bible and how useful it is. What does the bible say about how it can impact and help us in our everyday lives today?