King's Church Darlington

Genesis 39.1-23. Despite being abused and sold by his jealous brothers into slavery, Joseph finds himself quickly elevated as the trusted manager of his new master's entire estate. But just as things are finally looking up, Joseph starts to be harassed with unwanted sexual advances and falls victim to false allegations before getting thrown in jail without trial. And yet four times in Genesis 39 it says, 'God was with Joseph'. How can someone so grievously wronged emerge as a giant of faith? 2 August 2026.

Genesis 37.1-36. The story of Joseph takes up about a quarter of the Book of Genesis and is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. Precocious dreamer Joseph is wronged time and time again, starting with when his jealous brothers sell him to human traffickers and fake his death. What do his experiences of unfair treatment teach us about our own faith journey? 26 July 2026.

Job 19.1-29. The main bulk of the Book of Job is an exchange between Job and three ‘friends.' They philosophise and pile guilt on Job but never once pray with him. Job replies at every point affirming his innocence and turning to God in pain and bewilderment. It's bleak reading. But in chapter 19 there's an unexpected shaft of light where Job catches a glimpse of resurrection hope. 19 July 2026.

Job 2.1-13. When it doesn't rain, it pours. Having lost his livestock, his servants and his children in a single day in chapter one, Job's health goes in chapter two. Adding insult to injury, we are now introduced us to Job's wife who, instead of supporting him, all but washes her hands of him, and to three friends who are so shocked by his appearance that words fail them. How do we hold on to God when life goes from bad to worse and we have to deal with failing health? 12 July 2026.

Hey everyone, it's Brandon and Zoë from King's Church Darlington. Today we will be talking about Noah, the ark, and God's promise. Hope you enjoy it! We'd love to hear from you so email us at zoe@kingschurchdarlington.org

Job 1.1-22. Job is one of the oldest books in the world, and it explores one of the oldest questions; why do bad things happen to good people? We learn from the first chapter that one reason is that unseen and dark forces exist. But in all circumstances the Lord is worthy of praise, and at the heart of the mystery of suffering is the majesty of the cross. 5 July 2026.

Romans 12.3-8. How can a church with so many different sorts of people function well? Romans 12 teaches that it's all about having a true assessment of who we are, appreciating each others' gifts and using our own gifts with all our hearts for the enrichment of all. Please note: the musical section referred to in this talk is not reproduced here for copyright reasons. 28 June 2026.

Isaiah 40.25-28. Isaiah 40 is packed with life-impacting truth about who God is and what he is like. Our good friend, author and theologian, Andrew Bunt opens up a short section of the chapter for us to see and savour the unfathomable greatness of the Lord. 21 June 2026.

Revelation 2.1-7 Our Ephesians series began in Acts 19 with the story of how the church in Ephesus came about. Having then journeyed through the letter itself, our series ends in Revelation 2 where the ascended Lord Jesus speaks to the same church a generation or so later. Tragically, their ardent first love for Christ has cooled and it's now time to urgently return to the essentials. 7 June 2026.

1 Samuel 17.17-50. The clash between David and Goliath is one of the best-known stories in the Old Testament. But it is not just about courageously overcoming overwhelming odds; it teaches about obedience, spiritual warfare, knowing that God is with us and how he wants to use us just as we are. 31 May 2026.

Ephesians 6:18-24. What does it mean to "pray in the Spirit" on all occasions? It's a life saturated in powerful, Kingdom-focused prayer, out of our self-centred safety zones and into a radical, global perspective. From his own perspective as an "ambassador in chains" to modern-day stories of the persecuted church, we are challenged to trade our Western obsession with personal comfort for true gospel boldness. If the gospel is worth dying for around the world, it is absolutely worth living for right where we are. 24 May 2026.

Ephesians 6.10-17 As Paul comes towards the end of his letter, he makes sure his readers are aware of the unseen spiritual warfare they are in; one in which all Christians in every age must stand their ground and be fully equipped to withstand every assault from evil powers. 17 May 2026.

Hey everyone it's Brandon and Zoe from King's Church Darlington! Today we will be talking about Adam, Eve, and the BIG temptation! Hope you enjoy it! We'd love to hear from you so email us at zoe@kingschurchdarlington.org

Ephesians 6.1-9 Arrangements at home and at work in the First Century Greco-Roman world were night and day to what we know 2,000 years later in the UK. Yet God's inspired word, first spoken to people of a very different time and place, speaks powerfully and with relevance to our domestic and working lives today. 10 May 2026.

Ephesians 5.21-33. What is God's plan for marriage? Ephesians 5 looks back to a foundational definition in Genesis 2, but precedes that with a vision of the unique responsibilities of wives and husbands, before ending with an unexpected twist about marriage's deeper spiritual meaning. 3 May 2026.

Ephesians 5.15-20. How can Christians flourish in a society where the days are evil and where addictions hold so many in bondage? By understanding what the Lord wants, by being constantly filled with the Spirit, and by expressing thankfulness and worship in song. 26 April 2026.

Hey everyone it's Brandon and Zoe from King's Church Darlington! Today we will be talking about how GOD MADE EVERYTHING!!! Hope you enjoy it! We'd love to hear from you so email us at zoe@kingschurchdarlington.org

Ephesians 5.1-14. Ephesians 5 picks up where chapter 4 left off, explaining what kind of holy life should spring from the truths outlined in chapters 1-3. The changes in our new way of life are night and day from what came before - or as Paul puts it, “once you were darkness, now you are light in the Lord.” 19 April 2026.

Ephesians 4.17-32. What is an appropriate way of life for a person who has begun to follow Jesus? Ephesians 4 says it involves consciously discontinuing old behaviours and attitudes, and being empowered to adopt others as a healthy new pattern of life. This is what God has saved us for. 12 April 2026.

Mark 16.1-6 and 1 Corinthians 15.1-8 The first Easter Sunday is the most momentous day ever. It is a day of surprise, emotion, awe and wonder. As celebrations go, it is heaven's greatest Champagne moment. What did the first witnesses of Jesus' empty tomb make of it and how does the oldest written record of those events supply good evidence that it really happened? 5 April 2026.

Ephesians 4.7-16. How do Christians grow in stature and get equipped for maturity in faith? The ascended Lord Jesus has a plan for that, blessing his church with many gifts including apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and teaching ministries. 29 March 2026.

Ephesians 4.1-6. The first three chapters of Ephesians lay a doctrinal foundation, but the last three are much more practical, starting with chapter 4 which calls for unity and maturity as we live out our faith in Christ. 22 March 2026.

Ephesians 3.14-21. In the second of Paul's prayers for the Christians in Ephesus he asks God that they would have a deeper and surer grasp of the vast array of blessings that are already theirs. Do we fully realise the wealth that is ours in Christ? 15 March 2026.

Ephesians 3.1-13. It was always God's intention to make irreligious outsiders, hopelessly alienated from God, members of his royal family alongside his ancient chosen people, the Jews. So why did God delay this for centuries? Why wait so long? It's a bit of a puzzle. Ephesians 3 explains. 8 March 2026.

Acts 11.19-26 and 13.1-3. The New Testament church in Antioch was a multinational community with richly diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. This is evidence of the grace of God in their midst and is a great model for our own local church in Darlington. 1 March 2026.

Ephesians 2.11-22. How do you get enemies who don't like each other and have nothing in common to become reconciled friends who feel like family? There's only one way; the gospel. Ephesians 2 explains. 22 February 2026.

Ephesians 2.1-10. In chapter two of Ephesians, Paul likens the salvation we all desperately need to the miraculous raising of a stone-cold corpse from death. This is no self-help personal improvement programme. “You were dead in your sins… but God…” Ephesians 2.1-10 answers three vital questions. What are you saved from? What are you saved by? And what are you saved for? 15 February 2026.

Ephesians 1.15-23. In the first of his two extended prayers for the Ephesian believers, Paul asks that his readers would know God and experience his incomparably great power in them - which is the same as the mighty strength that raised Christ from the dead. Do we really know the reality of that power at work in us? What stands in the way of us doing so? 8 February 2026.

Ephesians 1.3-14. Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with a stunning outline of God's eternal and invincible purposes in Christ. How overwhelmingly blessed we are and how infinitely praiseworthy is his grace. 1 February 2026.

Ephesians 1.1-2 and Acts 19.33-41. With the new church plant in Ephesus doing well, the gospel starts to provoke the spiritual powers that be. The Christian life its a battleground, not a playground! 25 January 2026.

Acts 19.1-20 In the first of two introductory talks on the letter to the Ephesians, we learn how the church was planted. It turns out to be a combination of extraordinary open doors, biblical proclamation, miracles, spiritual warfare and very hard work. 18 January 2025.

Acts 2.42-47. The dynamic and growing early church prioritised Bible teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer. They met both all together in the public sphere and in smaller groups in homes, a perfect model for all churches at all times and in all places. 11 January 2025.

Isaiah 54.2-4. On this Vision Sunday, Michael sets out our dreams, ambitions and sense of God's priorities for the year ahead, with a call to commitment, full-blooded discipleship and faith. 4 January 2025.

Matthew 2.1-12. Who were those strange visitors from the East we know as the three kings or the three wise men? Were they actually wise at all? Were they three in number or necessarily all men? What do their unusual gifts mean? And what do they and their journey represent for us today? 28 December 2025.

Luke 2.1-20. The shepherds in the nativity story represent the world's outsiders, the marginalised, the poor and the overlooked. Jesus is for everybody. 21 December 2025.

2 Peter 3.8-18. Peter speaks in his second letter of the last things. What should we expect? How should we prepare? 7 December 2025.

1 Peter 5.1-7 Is there a biblical blueprint for church leadership? It is increasingly the norm in the UK to have one priest for a number of churches. But the New Testament norm is the exact opposite; a team of leaders for one church. And not ‘priests' either, but ‘elders' (1 Peter 2.9 says that all believers form a royal priesthood). Who should be local church elders and what kind of qualities should we expect of them? Peter explains in his first letter. 30 November 2025.

1 Peter 2.4-10. Having focused so far exclusively in this series on what people wrote about Peter, we now look at what he himself wrote. In his first letter Peter describes the church as a temple - the place where people encounter the presence of God, where heaven meets earth. But this temple is not made of limestone, mortar, timber and glass, but of transformed human lives, filled with the Holy Spirit. Are you a “living stone”? 23 November 2025.

Acts 11.1-18. In Acts 10 and 11 Peter is involved in an incident that sees the gospel break free from its exclusively Jewish roots and start to propel outwards towards the ends of the earth. But Peter's friends are freaked out by this and confront him angrily about it. How is Peter going to turn this sudden crisis into a window of opportunity? 16 November 2025.

Acts 9.32-43. The early church continues to grow in numbers and expand outwards under Peter and the other apostles' leadership. Many signs and wonders are done in Jesus' name as they preach the gospel. But raising the dead? Peter had witnessed Jesus raising Jairus' daughter in Luke 8. But now he is asked to raise a dead woman named Tabitha. Will this challenge prove to be a bridge too far? 9 November 2025.

Acts 4.1-31. Following the healing of the lame beggar (Acts 3), it all kicks off because the religious authorities can see public support for the new Jesus movement is exploding - at their expense. Peter and the apostles are roughly treated and strictly forbidden to do anything in Jesus' name. How will Peter lead the Christian response? And how should we respond to public pressure to be silent about our faith? 2 November 2025.

Acts 3.1-16. Peter's day is interrupted by a man begging at the temple gate. As it happens, Peter and John (who is with him) don't have any cash on them, but they do have faith in the power of Jesus Christ. So Peter tells the man, who is lame from birth, to get up and walk in Jesus' name, and then helps him to his feet. When Jesus said that his followers would do the mighty works he did - and greater ones still - this episode shows that he meant us to take him at his word. Apologies; the first minute or so of Phil's talk is missing from the recording. 26 October 2025.

Acts 2.14-41. After the resurrection, restored by Jesus, Peter is a changed man. After Pentecost though, he is a new man. Peter is unrecognisable from all that came before once he is baptised in the Holy Spirit. How would you respond to Peter's first sermon if you were listening in that day? 19 October 2025.

John 21.1-19. After Peter's threefold denial, the risen Lord Jesus offers him a way back. Standing by a charcoal fire, which must have reminded Peter of his dismal failure, Jesus pointedly asks Peter three times if he really loves him. Once that is affirmed, Peter is entrusted with spiritual leadership. How can we move on from our own failures and show that we love the Lord? 12 October 2025.

Luke 22.31-62. His threefold denial, predicted beforehand by Jesus with pinpoint accuracy, is probably the thing Peter is most remembered for. Despite his protests that he would never deny his Lord, fear overtakes him and his night ends in catastrophic failure. What instruction and hope can we take from this story? 5 October 2025.

John 13.1-17. On the night he was betrayed, denied and abandoned, Jesus ate a last meal with his disciples and interrupted proceedings to wash everyone's feet. Peter vigorously protested. Why was this so countercultural and what does it have to say to us in our very different culture? 28 September 2025.

Mark 9.2-13 and 2 Peter 1.16-18. Imagine standing with Peter, James, and John as Jesus is suddenly transformed before your eyes, shining with a brilliant heavenly light. What did this awe-inspiring event mean for Simin Peter then, and what does it mean for us now? 21 September 2025.

Mark 8.27-38. Within a minute, Peter goes from hero to zero as his prophetic revelation of Jesus' identity is followed immediately by a hell-inspired attempt to divert Jesus from his saving mission. How can we in turn grow in our expression of the prophetic and avoid getting it all wrong? 14 September 2025.

Matthew 14.22-33. How do you move away from anxiety, towards trust in Christ? This well-known story of Peter's adventurous but wobbling faith has much to teach us about fixing our eyes on the Lord and keeping them there when it's tempting to divert them towards what scares us most. 7 September 2025.

John 1.40-42 and Luke 5.1-11. Simon Peter must be the most loveable and endearing of Jesus' twelve disciples. Who cannot identify with his journey of faith, punctuated with human failings? But Jesus called him first and invested in him most because he saw particular qualities in him - qualities he longs to see in us too. 31 August 2025.

Ruth 4.1-22.
 Chapter 4 of Ruth completes the story arc from ruin - to refuge - to redemption. After a last minute twist, Boaz marries Ruth, becoming her and Naomi's “guardian-redeemer.” Ruth then bears a child who will become King David's grandfather and feature in Jesus' family tree. The story of Ruth shows how God's wise sovereignty cannot be derailed, which is an unspeakably precious truth for us as Christians.
 17 August 2025.