Sermons – St Peter's Barge

Colossians 3:12-4:1 As Christians have now put on the new self, Paul wanted them to let the peace of Christ be woven into every part of their lives, both within and beyond the church.

Revelation 6-7 Who are we, really? We all describe ourselves in different ways—our jobs, our relationships, our interests, our achievements, or the communities we belong to. Yet our sense of identity shapes far more than we realise. It influences how we think, what we value, and ultimately how we live. Listen in as we delve into Revelation's insights on who we are and the significance of our identity in today's life and work.

Colossians 3:1-11 Paul underlines that for a Christian, believing in Christ means everything has changed. Our past, our present, our future – it has all changed, because we are united to Christ in his death, his resurrection, and his coming again in glory. Paul then puts that into practice by explaining what Christians must do in response to this transformation, to live out this renewed, Christ-filled life.

Revelation 4-5 Who holds the future? Entire industries are built on forecasting what comes next. We analyse trends, manage risk, and make plans in the hope of securing a better tomorrow. Yet the future remains stubbornly uncertain. Listen in as we consider who really holds the future—and how that answer offers both challenge and hope in an unpredictable world.

Colossians 2:16-23 If we have ever wondered that we are missing something to grow in Christ, this passage provides confidence to not listen to, or imitate, those who falsely claim to be able to add to Christ.

Revelation 1:9-3:22 Have you ever felt the temptation to compromise and assimilate with the world? In Revelation 1:9–3:20, Jesus speaks personally to seven churches in Asia Minor facing pressure from persecution, half-heartedness, false teaching, and the temptation to assimilate to the values of the world around them. Amid all their struggles, there was one thing they especially needed to know.

Colossians 2:6-15 Scammers are the bane of modern life, stealing our valuables by all manner of lies and deception. In our walk with Christ, we have to be alert. In our Colossians passage on Sunday, Paul exposes and demolishes one of the Devil's big scams, that we need something more than just Jesus, and prescribes the antidote to his attacks.

Revelation 1:1-8 Dragons, beasts, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, fire-breathing horses… Revelation is a book that fascinates and confuses in equal measure. How should we understand and apply Revelation as 21st-century workers in the Wharf?

Colossians 1:24 – 2:5 Paul is letting the church know how hard he has been working for them, in order that they may know the mystery of God, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13:20-21 The Preacher of Hebrews has consistently urged us to keep going and not give up. In our final talk in Hebrews, we'll reflect on the closing prayer of the letter — a prayer for God to equip and strengthen us to endure.

Colossians 1:15-23

Hebrews 13:1-21 What does real worship look like? More than singing and gathering midweek, Hebrews gives us a deeper more earth-y answer. Listen in as we're urged to express true worship to God.

Hebrews 12:3-29 When we suffer, it might seem like Richard Dawkins was right to say, "The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference". In this talk, we'll hear what God has to say: our suffering isn't because of pitiless indifference, it has a purpose.

Colossians 1:1-14 Be reassured if you are a genuine Christian, and be encouraged to go on being deepened and filled in spiritual maturity.

Hebrews 11:23-12:2 What is faith? What does it mean to live a life of faith? In this passage, we continue our walk through the Hall of Faith with stories of danger and rescue from deep in Bible history. Listen in to think about what these lives could possibly mean for us.

John 11:1-45 Death is the ugly reality we all face. But how can we? The world has its false answers, but because Jesus is 'the resurrection and the life' we can face death with hope knowing as well his love and sympathy for us. All this we discover in the great miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

Hebrews 11:1-22 Last week we spoke about faith. But what is faith? A positive outlook on life? A fuzzy feeling? An interest in religion? In this talk we'll see what faith looks like and what this means for us.

Hebrews 10:19-39 Will you still trust Jesus in 10, 20, 30 years' time? Many begin well, but don't make it to the end. Careers develop, pressures build, and faith can drift to the margins. In the final section of Hebrews, we're urged to keep going. 

John 8:1-11 The gospel condemns those who society perceives as being ‘good', but it rescues and transforms even the ‘worst' of sinners

John 6:1-15, 25-40 Do you feel like you are constantly wanting or missing something? Jesus teaches us that true lasting satisfaction is found in him. He is the bread of life.

Hebrews 9:23-10:18 Asking around Canary Wharf, Jesus might be considered insignificant: a historical figure, a nice man, but offering little to help the mess in this world. Come to hear what Jesus' followers learned: Jesus came to begin a new era of history, an era where people change, mess is finally put right, and that we can be a part of this.

John 4:4-30 Humanity is seeking all kinds of satisfaction in all kinds of places and people, but so many find the satisfaction they find doesn't last and isn't secure. Listen in as Jesus tells us about ultimate, lasting, cleansing satisfaction from and with him.

Hebrews 9:1-22 How do you deal with a guilty conscience? We saw that the new covenant provides the context for security. But what gives us confidence that the covenant is secure? When doubts linger and failures weigh on us, it's easy to wonder whether that security could ever slip away. In this talk we look more closely at the foundation of the new covenant and why it offers real assurance for troubled consciences.

John 3:1-21 One of the best-known verses in the New Testament, John 3:16, begins with a ‘For', connecting it to the previous verse: which is from the Old Testament! We can't fully-understand, or fully-appreciate, the one without the other. John the gospel-writer introduces us to Nicodemus, a teacher of ‘the scriptures' (what we now call the Old Testament) in order to tell us the good news of God's love in sending Jesus, the Light of the World.

Hebrews 8:1-13 How do you deal with a guilty conscience? When it keeps you awake, or keeps God at arm's length? We're good at staying busy and moving on, but we need something better than denial or distraction. In this talk, we consider real help for troubled consciences.

John 1:43-51 How clear is your view of Jesus? As we start a new series looking at encounters with Jesus in John's gospel, we will be challenged to ‘see' him more clearly. Like Nathanael, are we prepared to have our vision of Jesus expanded? Are we willing to move ever closer to the light that shines in the darkness?

Hebrews 7:1-28 When challenges come our way, the promises that Jesus makes can seem unlikely to be true. God's antidote: the reason why anyone can be certain of these promises, the best promises ever heard.

Jesus' parables tell us about the values and shape of the Kingdom of God. For us, Luke 16:19-31, challenges us to examine how deeply Kingdom values inform our lives. 

Hebrews 4:14-5:10 Whether we're looking into faith or have been following Jesus for many years, we can be uncertain about how we could possibly keep following Jesus to the end. Hebrews tells us that we have one hope of making it to the end: Jesus. He has already made it and he will give us the help we ask for. 

Luke 16:1-15 In this sermon, Phil Williams explores Jesus' challenging parable of the dishonest manager and asks what it means to live with urgency, faithfulness, and generosity when eternity is real. Speaking into the realities of money, stewardship, and discipleship, the sermon calls us to examine who or what we truly serve and to use what God has entrusted to us for eternal good.

Luke 15:1-32 The parable of the prodigal son famously emphasises that there's no-one too lost or too far from God. But less well known is its shocking challenge to the religious and the respectable.

"Why did Jesus need to become a man?" It's a classic theological question with a surprisingly practical answer. In Hebrews 2:5-3:6 we will see how Jesus being "one of us" changes everything.

Luke 12:13-34 All of us want to live well: to get to the end of our life and to know we didn't waste it. Jesus tells a famous story about someone who seems to win at life, and yet when God appraises his life at the end, it turns out he had utterly failed in the only thing that really counts. Join us as we listen to Jesus' teaching on How not to waste your life.

Why do we find it so hard to truly listen to the Bible? Sometimes it can feel dull, repetitive, and laborious - just another dry text to get through. The truth is, our attention usually depends on whether we grasp the sheer weight and authority of the person speaking. In Hebrews 1:1–2:4, we discover the voice behind the pages of scripture.

Luke 14:15-24

Have you ever wondered whether you actually have enough to make it to the end - enough faith, endurance, or strength to keep going as a Christian? When we are tempted, feeling dry or drifting, many of us quietly question whether we will make it to the end. In this talk, we will explore an overview of the letter to the Hebrews and see how the preacher assures us that in our confession, "Jesus Christ our Lord", we already have more than enough.

Luke 10:25-37 Though humans tend to think that they can do well without God, or even be righteous on their own, Jesus' conversation with the lawyer proved otherwise.

Luke 8:4-15 Jesus' parable of the sower challenges us to examine how we receive God's word and calls us to become good soil that bears lasting spiritual fruit.

Luke 2:1-7 By looking at the time, the place, and the way that Jesus was born, we see God wants a relationship with us.

Psalm 130 A cry from the depths shows us both the seriousness of sin and the astonishing mercy of God, as we wait in hope for full redemption in Christ.

Psalm 127 A call to abandon anxious toil and depend wholly on the Lord, who alone builds his house, watches over his people, and brings true fruitfulness.

Psalm 123 A pilgrim prayer that teaches God's people to lift their eyes to the enthroned Lord for mercy, even as the world heaps on contempt.

Psalm 121 A song for the journey that teaches us to lift our eyes to the Lord — the Maker of heaven and earth, who helps and keeps his people in every circumstance.

Psalm 120 On Remembrance Sunday, we cry out for deliverance from lies and discover lasting peace through Christ - the One who faced falsehood and brought.

Hebrews 10:26-39 Keep persevering so you receive God's promised reward, not judgement.

Hebrews 10:19-25 Because of Jesus' once-for-all sacrifice, believers can approach God with confidence and persevere together in faith, hope, and love.

Acts 28:17-31 Paul ends Acts proclaiming Jesus as King from captivity, showing that the gospel of hope goes out unhindered and calls us to share it freely.