Talks from St Columba's Church Lisburn
God always guides those who look for him to find him. As the wise men worshipped Jesus they were changed & reborn. True worship always leads to change
A bonus Christmas podcast where two people share their thoughts on what Christmas means to them
Angels get to see God's plans & watch them move from promise to fulfillment. Angels move when heaven moves. They know what's coming & want to play a part in the good news for this world. We have been given the same job of reflecting God's glory & being light to others
Mary & Elizabeth both chose to surrender their lives to God's will & did it with joy. They experienced the impossible from God & overflowed with wild joy but had to trust God to see them through the difficulties it would bring. Their joy wasn't human joy but spirit-breathed joy that came from encountering God & knowing he keeps his promises
God wants us to be openhanded. Abundance begins by releasing all we are & have into the purposes of God. Being openhanded means actually trusting God & taking him at his word. We respond to his love by giving him a portion of what he's given us
The life Jesus offers is a paradox. We get life by giving it up & retain it by giving it away. It's only as we give that we receive from God. A life of abundance comes through generosity
A lifestyle of service births life in others, it shows them the heart of God. To serve we need a listening ear, hearing what people need instead of telling them what they need
Jesus set an example of service & asks us to do the same. To Jesus, service isn't an act but a lifestyle. Service isn't a list to do but a lifestyle, letting go of our own agendas & embracing the concerns of those around us
A disciple of Jesus is on a lifelong journey of loving with their heart, soul, mind & strength. This takes a daily relationship with God. The key is being able to hear God's voice. When that happens we experience his love & our life becomes transformed
Coming to worship wanting to give brings fulfillment, it's about participation. Worship makes Jesus the focus & realigns our lives around God's priorities
To worship is to attribute worth to something. False worship is selective & is based on self whereas Love-based worship is gratitude & has nothing to do with selfish gain
The holy spirit gives us gifts so they can be used to serve others & bring about God's purposes in the world. We all have a part to play in God's plan. He asks us to participate in his vision & he wants to share that vision with us
A healthy disciple experiences God's empowering presence, the Holy Spirit that breathed life into creation is available to us through a daily relationship that sees God's character develop in us
Seizing a divine moment releases potential for others & mobilises them. Passion ignites the apathetic to do something. Engaging in the adventure awakens the people around you
Persecution comes to everyone who wants to live like Jesus but God has blessing in it. Getting the blessing depends on our perspective on it, focusing on the positive or negative
Prayer can become a religious veil for an empty life of doing nothing for God. If you're going to pray, you also need to act. Prayer is about joining with God in what he is doing. Prayer is proactive not reactive
Ending war & strife needs a change in our hearts. Peace comes from within & from a relationship with God. It brings change. God's peace can't be taken away by people or circumstances so we become people who can bring peace into adversity
You don't get to see the promises of God unless you act on them. But seizing divine moments will also result in resistance. Seizing divine moments creates the opportunity for God to shake things up & make himself visible
Purity in heart leads to 20/20 spiritual vision, seeing God & seeing as God sees. The more our hearts become pure, the more we will see God in this world, in people, in circumstances, in life