Sermons From Harbour

This is a reflection based on the sermon from Harbour on Sunday 15 March 2020.  “The woman at the well is often misrepresented as some kind of sinful outcast who Jesus takes pity on. Spoiler alert: she’s way more than that - and so are you.”

This is the second of six sessions in our "Advanced Christianity for Beginners" course. Fancy some spring theological learning and conversation? Have questions about God, faith and what it all means? Inspired by Jesus but wary of churches? All too often, what passes for “Christianity” today bears little resemblance to the actual life and teachings of its central figure. Over all the clamour of loud, brittle and dogmatic religion, it can be hard to even find the space to think for yourself and find your own way home. Over the six weeks of Lent 2020, Harbour invites you to join us as we revisit some of Christianity’s core convictions, and together rediscover a more considered, hopeful and authentic faith for today's world. Week 1: Who is “God” in a multi-faith World?Week 2: Scripture and “The Word” of GodWeek 3: Prayer, Worship and the ChurchWeek 4: Gender, Sexuality and DesireWeek 5: Sin, Forgiveness and the CrossWeek 6: Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife

This is the first of six sessions in our "Advanced Christianity for Beginners" course. Fancy some spring theological learning and conversation? Have questions about God, faith and what it all means? Inspired by Jesus but wary of churches? All too often, what passes for “Christianity” today bears little resemblance to the actual life and teachings of its central figure. Over all the clamour of loud, brittle and dogmatic religion, it can be hard to even find the space to think for yourself and find your own way home. Over the six weeks of Lent 2020, Harbour invites you to join us as we revisit some of Christianity’s core convictions, and together rediscover a more considered, hopeful and authentic faith for today's world. Week 1: Who is “God” in a multi-faith World?Week 2: Scripture and “The Word” of GodWeek 3: Prayer, Worship and the ChurchWeek 4: Gender, Sexuality and DesireWeek 5: Sin, Forgiveness and the CrossWeek 6: Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife

This is the second part of Brendan McCarthy's excellent 'Bible and Sexuality' seminar at Harbour Faith-community in Carrickfergus. Event details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/726920350973847/

This is the recording of Brendan's first seminar on 'The Bible and Sexuality' as advertised here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1872193759525487/ Full description: Run by Brendan McCarthy, this seminar is open to all who wish to increase their understanding and learning around areas of sexuality, faith and the Bible.In many discussions on the Bible and sexuality, too often the main aim of participants seems to be to defend their established position while attacking the views of others, meaning that genuine exploration is often lacking.This two-part seminar brings us back to basics, examining first of all the nature and role of the Bible in Christian thinking. We then seek to discover what different passages in the Bible say as well as exploring how they can be interpreted and applied with integrity and consistency.The seminar does not try to tell anyone WHAT to think, but it outlines HOW we might best think and act in this important area that personally touches the lives of very many people.

Whether or not they believe it, most people assume they know what "The Gospel" is. It is often summarised into what is called the "four point gospel" which (according to 'Campus Crusade') goes like this:1. God loves you and offers a plan for your life.2. All of us sin and our sin has separated us from God.3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin.4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.John Piper is more succinct and says it like this:1. God is holy.2. We are hopeless sinners.3. Christ died for sinners.4. This salvation is enjoyed by those with faith in Christ.Similarly, the well known "4 point gospel tract" says this:1. God loves me.2. I have sinned.3. Jesus died for me.4. I must choose Christ.This has become "the assumed gospel" for many people, and is the default starting position for most conversations about Christianity. But is it right? Does this inherited version of the Gospel really reflect what Jesus actually taught and practised? Is it too much of a sacred cow to even be questioned? And if it isn't a fair summary of The Gospel... then what is?

A Harbour podcast, recorded at St Colmans on 08 July 2018, based on lectionary passage Mark 6:1-12. Grace & Peace.

The prophet Nahum thinks that God "is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies." The prophet Jonah thinks that God "is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing." They can't both be right. Hundreds of years later another prophetic teacher is sleeping through a storm... we overlap their stories and follow the breadcrumbs home. This Sermon is from St Johns in Ballycarry on the 24th June 2018.

It's tempting to think that it's our job to somehow 'hold the line' on morality against a supposedly sinful culture around us. "We’re just defending biblical truth", is what Christian leaders often say as they close the door on those people. But what if we’ve got this wrong? What if even the tiniest amount of this kind of thinking is actually toxic to the life of faith? This week's sermon is a reflection on lectionary passage Mark 4:26-23 on the 3rd Sunday after Trinity.