St Helen's Sunday talks podcast

George Diwakar - Delay can be deadly – especially when responding to the word of the LORD. God's people, Israel, had so many chances to listen, but they didn't take them. When judgment arrived, it was too little, too late. Will we make the same mistake, or will we listen to Jesus as saviour before his return as judge?

Nick Heeley - In 2 Kings 8, we see a final glimpse of the life God offers through Elisha, before the long-delayed judgement on the house of Ahab is finally set in motion. Yet these verses also reveal that Israel has already faced a kind of judgement—divided in two by how people respond to Elisha's life-giving ministry. The certainty of coming judgement is a warning to those who have not yet turned to Jesus, reminding us that delay does not mean it will not come. At the same time, the passage encourages Christians to persevere in serving the God who faithfully provides for his people.

William Taylor - James' aim for his readers is that we are completer-finishers. He is adamant that the Lord Jesus is returning – imminently – and that we therefore need to be steadfast and patient. But patience involves action: disciplined with regard to our hearts, tongues, trials and promises.

William Taylor - James' aim for his readers is that we are completer-finishers. He is adamant that the Lord Jesus is returning – imminently – and that we therefore need to be steadfast and patient. But patience involves action: disciplined with regard to our hearts, tongues, trials and promises.

George Diwakar - In a dramatic episode from the life of Elisha, God's people appear surrounded and helpless before their enemies. Yet this ‘Oscar-worthy' story shows that God's word cannot be stopped. As God opens eyes, protects his prophet, and even shows mercy to his enemies, we see that nothing can stand against his purposes. This passage calls us to trust God's power, sovereignty, and grace even when his people seem outnumbered or afraid.

Nick Heeley - Fear can stop us speaking and living boldly for Jesus in a hostile world. In 2 Kings 6, Elisha is the victorious saviour who shows mercy to his enemies, who points us forward to the our merciful saviour, Jesus. Seeing we belong to the winning side is the antidote to fear. Seeing Jesus's mercy to his enemies should drive the winning side out in courageous service in the world.

William Taylor - In their small print, those who run savings or investment accounts suggest that the price of their product may go ‘up or down'. There is no small print in James' instruction on wealth. He issues a straight-talking and unequivocal warning about wealth.

William Taylor - In their small print, those who run savings or investment accounts suggest that the price of their product may go ‘up or down'. There is no small print in James' instruction on wealth. He issues a straight-talking and unequivocal warning about wealth.

Jack Stileman - Our world is full of suffering and self-interest. In 2 Kings 5 we see that the true hope of the world is the word of the Lord.

Nick Heeley - As we reach the high point of the Elisha narrative, we see the power of the life-giving word and how far it can reach—to the worst enemy of Israel, one who is unclean and a picture of death. All of this comes about because a servant girl trusts in the life-giving power of God's word. She stands as a model of bold speech in a hostile world for us to imitate.

William Taylor - James teaches us that God gives grace to the humble who submit to him. If humbling ourselves before God is the gateway to receiving his grace, pride is the opposite. James identifies key indicators of proud resistance to God's grace. It is humbling stuff.

William Taylor - James teaches us that God gives grace to the humble who submit to him. If humbling ourselves before God is the gateway to receiving his grace, pride is the opposite. James identifies key indicators of proud resistance to God's grace. It is humbling stuff.

Jack Stileman - What will restore the church and renew the world? 1 & 2 Kings says: the word of the Lord. But in 2 Kings 2, the prophet Elijah is leaving. What then? New prophet, same word.

Nick Heeley - As Elisha's ministry begins, we get a glimpse of what his ministry is all about: bringing life to a land of death, followed by bringing final judgement to the House of Ahab. Elisha points us forward to the agenda of the Lord Jesus today, bringing life to the world, before returning to finally judge the world.

William Taylor - James's teaching in chapters 1–4 is deeply challenging. He urges his readers to remain steadfast so that they may be mature and complete at the coming of Jesus. How this is to be achieved is explored through his four-step ‘programme' for change.

William Taylor - James's teaching in chapters 1–4 is deeply challenging. He urges his readers to remain steadfast so that they may be mature and complete at the coming of Jesus. How this is to be achieved is explored through his four-step ‘programme' for change.

Jack Stileman - In a world of comforting lies, the word of the Lord is a confronting truth. But what happens when someone disregards it? In the middle of a battle between Syria, Israel and Judah, 1 Kings 22 teaches us a valuable lesson: no listening, no life.

Aneirin Glyn - What happens to Naboth reveals not only what King Ahab is like, but also our world. The Lord sees it all, especially how his people are treated, and will certainly judge. Which makes the glimpse of God's outrageous grace all the more astounding.

Tim Sheppard - What does the ‘wise life' look like? As James focuses in on this major theme of his letter, he challenges us to see that our ambition is far more sinister than we might think. At the same time, he shows us the heart of heavenly wisdom: meekness. We may think meek is weak, but James shows us why meek is wise.

Tim Sheppard - What does the ‘wise life' look like? As James focuses in on this major theme of his letter, he challenges us to see that our ambition is far more sinister than we might think. At the same time, he shows us the heart of heavenly wisdom: meekness. We may think meek is weak, but James shows us why meek is wise.

Luke Cornelius - What happens when reformation is not enough, when forgiveness is repeated but change is not? How does the Lord save the world when his church is utterly compromised? In 1 Kings 19, we begin that journey.

Aneirin Glyn - 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart.' How will God respond when Israel, persistently, refuses to do that? Elijah is summoned to Mount Sinai where God reveals what he will do. We see that God will not clear the guilty, and yet is also merciful and gracious.

Gwilym Davies - In James 3:1–12, James warns against rushing to teach and turns our attention to the power of the tongue. Though small, it directs, destroys, and reveals far more than we expect. Untameable by human effort, our speech becomes a tell—exposing the true state of our hearts. James leaves us asking not simply how we speak, but whether our faith is truly single-minded.

Tim Sheppard - The book of James offers a spiritual check-up that continues in chapter 3 with an assessment of the tongue. Rather than treating it as a small, insignificant muscle, James shows how far it punches above its weight. He gives a sobering warning to those who presume they are ready to teach—but his challenge is for all of us. Do our words reflect God's transforming work within us, or do they expose our double-mindedness?

Luke Cornelius - This sermon explores the scandalous mercy of God in 1 Kings 18, where the living God proves himself on Mount Carmel and turns Israel's heart back from idolatry. Even after leading the nation into deep compromise, Ahab is not crushed but shown astonishing mercy as judgment falls on a substitute and rain returns to the land. The miracle exposes the emptiness of false gods and points forward to the gospel, where God's mercy triumphs over human failure.

Aneirin Glyn - Who is the one true God? How can we know? How should we respond to him? The showdown on Mount Carmel provides conclusive answers.

Gwilym Davies - Can we tell the difference between faith and its counterfeits? In James 2:14-26, James wants us to see that real faith isn't just a matter of what we say or what we think. It will be visible in what we do. And it matters, because only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can save our souls.

Tim Sheppard - It's so easy to make excuses for failing to live in line with what we say we believe, but James asks a penetrating question: can that faith save you? In this familiar but striking passage, he raises the stakes and lays down the challenge: saving faith is never alone, so if ours is, we need to do something about it.

Luke Cornelius - This sermon launches a term-long exploration of reform—not through politics or power, but through the word of the living God. Using the story of Elijah and a compromised Israel, we see how flirting with the world slowly leads to being conquered by it, and why the church's unfaithfulness leaves a darkened world without hope. Yet alongside judgment comes real hope: God reforms his people and rescues the world by speaking truth that exposes sin, provokes repentance, and even brings life out of death. As the story opens, we are left asking whether God's people will listen—and whether we will.

Aneirin Glyn - As the darkness of evil, idolatry, and death engulfs the land, where is hope to be found? Astoundingly, the living Lord God gives life through his word.

Gwilym Davies - What does it look like for the implanted word to establish deep roots in a Christian? What does it look like for a Christian man or woman to be shot through with the mercy of God? James' purpose in chapters 2–4 is to teach us to tell the difference between self-deceived 'faith' in the Lord Jesus and the real thing. And in 2:1–13, he begins his curriculum with partiality, and with the difference the gospel should make in the way we see one another.

Drew Balch - Favouritism feels small. James says it isn't. In James 2, we discover that showing partiality, even in subtle, respectable ways, makes us law-breakers and reveals how easily we adopt the world's values. We need the snobbery in our hearts to be exposed, to challenge both pride and reverse snobbery, which leads us to the only hope we share: the mercy of God that triumphs over judgment in Jesus Christ.

William Taylor - Man-made and imaginary agendas for Jesus all fail because they fail to take seriously the condition of humanity. Jesus insists that it is only through his death, resurrection, and enthronement that eternal life can be made available. And that eternal life only comes by his Spirit and through his word. The problem for us is that the concept of a crucified Messiah is, and always has been, deeply offensive.

William Taylor - Man-made and imaginary agendas for Jesus all fail because they fail to take seriously the condition of humanity. Jesus insists that it is only through his death, resurrection, and enthronement that eternal life can be made available. And that eternal life only comes by his Spirit and through his word. The problem for us is that the concept of a crucified Messiah is, and always has been, deeply offensive.

Phil Hudson - James wants to equip Christians to be firstfruits of God's new creation who bear fruit. So, how do Christians grow? James shows us it is by meekly receiving the Word which saves and by actively doing the Word we hear. And there's no other way!

Drew Balch - James warns us about the most dangerous lie of all: self-deception. James challenges us not just to hear God's word, but to do it. Hearing without obedience doesn't save. Disturbingly, it only deceives. True religion is truth that actually changes us.

William Taylor - Jesus insists that no one can come to him for eternal life unless God the Father draws them. This challenges the modern understanding of our human state to its core. But Jesus shows that it is not only logically inevitable, but also deeply liberating and reassuring.

William Taylor - Jesus insists that no one can come to him for eternal life unless God the Father draws them. This challenges the modern understanding of our human state to its core. But Jesus shows that it is not only logically inevitable, but also deeply liberating and reassuring.

Phil Hudson - What is the bedrock for single-minded faith in Jesus as we meet various trials? Assurance of the single-minded goodness of God.

Drew Balch - In a world full of voices, James warns us that the most dangerous deception doesn't usually come from outside; but from within. We must ask: Is God always good? Through trials, temptation, and suffering, we are prone to doubt God's goodness and even blame him for our sin. Yet James shows us a God who is utterly single-minded; unchanging, generous, and always good. As we fix our eyes on the Father of lights, we're called to remain steadfast, reject the oldest of lies, and trust the God who gives every good and perfect gift.

William Taylor - Some presentations of Jesus and of what it means to follow him are quite simply fake. They bear no relation to who he is and what he offers. Jesus exposes these as he defines his real identity and true work.

William Taylor - Some presentations of Jesus and of what it means to follow him are quite simply fake. They bear no relation to who he is and what he offers. Jesus exposes these as he defines his real identity and true work.

Phil Hudson - James writes to help us grow in mature, fruitful, faith. And his method is to expose and diagnose the danger of double-mindedness, and equipping us with the gospel for single minded faith and growth. And that includes responding to the trials of poverty and wealth.

Drew Balch - The double minded Christian attempts to serve God while still being shaped by the world. James exposes how both wisdom and wealth can subtly pull our hearts away from single-minded devotion to the Lord. James calls us away from worldliness and back to humble dependence on a generous God, who delights to give wisdom to those who ask.

William Taylor - It is easy for us to shape our own views of who Jesus is such that he becomes a comfortable figure who fits nicely into our agenda for him. In John 6 Jesus challenges such ‘plastic Jesus' images. He is greater and more wonderful than anything we could invent…and less cosy!

William Taylor - It is easy for us to shape our own views of who Jesus is such that he becomes a comfortable figure who fits nicely into our agenda for him. In John 6 Jesus challenges such ‘plastic Jesus' images. He is greater and more wonderful than anything we could invent…and less cosy!

Phil Hudson - James is calling the church, amid the pressures of the world, to a single-minded faith in Jesus as Lord, trusting in the grace of God. Because how we respond to the various trials we face has a real bearing on our faith and fruitfulness, James seeks to equip us to respond wisely.

Drew Balch - Joy in trials? Really? James opens his letter with a shocking command to 'Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds'. Is that wisdom or madness? James 1:1–4 explores this paradox at the heart of the Christian life: why suffering is not pointless, how God uses trials to grow steadfast faith, and where that painful road is ultimately leading.

Andrew Markham - Where can we find blessing in 2026? God's law isn't the obvious place to look. But Psalm 1 persuades us to prioritise delighting and meditating on God's word.

Andrew Markham - Where can we find blessing in 2026? God's law isn't the obvious place to look. But Psalm 1 persuades us to prioritise delighting and meditating on God's word.

Carl Matthei - In Colossians 3:1–17, Paul shows us what it means to live out the new life we already have in Christ. Because we have been raised with him, the old self no longer defines us. Instead, we are called to put off what belongs to our former way of life and to put on the character of Christ, as his word shapes our hearts, our relationships, and our worship.