Wheatley Community Church podcast

Having first assured us of our status as children of God, the Holy Spirit guides and equips the Church if we are willing. Through Stephen's testimony in Acts 7 and Jesus's conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, Al looks at what it is to be guided and equipped by the Spirit, and encourages us to eagerly seek more of Him.

Tim looks at what it means to be a church for all ages, and in particular how the different age-groups can serve one another in becoming more Christlike.

As we continue our vision series, David looks at the Acts 2 church, and in particular the focus on corporate prayer, and asks how we can incorporate more of that into our church life.

The Bible is so rich that we don't just need to read it once - we need to journey with it and allow it to change us. However, God didn't intend for us to do this alone, but in community.

As we start our series looking at our church vision, Gordon looks at what it means to be called by God, and asks us to look afresh at what it would look like to truly be a church for everyone.

Al looks at the relationship of Christians to the Law of Moses, and through the Israelite laws around finance and generosity, explores our approach to generosity and giving.

Through three stanzas of Psalm 119, Samuel Hinks encourages us to look to the Lord in times of trouble, tiredness and temptation.

What is the love of God like? How does marital love reflect the beauty of God's great love for His people? Through the Song of Songs, Al encourages us to frame the ups and downs of life in the context of God's enduring, powerful and passionate love for us.

Through Psalm 40, Stephen looks at how we wait on God, and receive His blessings.

Chris Hill asks us to consider our moments of great wonder and our moments of daily wonder - and through them, to seek to give God praise and hear His voice.

Psalm 19 features three voices: the Heavens, declaring God's glory but lacking words; the Scriptures, making the Creator known; and the human author David, acknowledging his need of a Redeemer.

As Peter is released from prison (again!) and Herod Agrippa meets his end, we see starkly the contrast between the power of the world's kingdoms and that of God's Kingdom.

As Paul & Barnabas run into trouble in Lystra, we are reminded again about the nature of the Gospel, the walk of the Christian disciple, and the culture of heaven - in particular, with regard to healing.

As the book of Acts describes the spread of the Gospel through what is now called Turkey, we see God mightily at work. The same God is still at work today, bringing freedom, joy, and transformation through the name of Jesus.

The church in Antioch were waiting expectantly for an encounter with God - the God who knows us, speaks to us, listens to us, and loves us.

As we take stock of the global situation, in which more than 100 million people are forcibly displaced, Gordon asks us to consider two questions - Who is God? And where is God?

Barnabas is mentioned far less than Paul in the book of Acts, but the Holy Spirit uses him powerfully to develop, strengthen and release others. Al looks at what Acts shows us about Barnabas's character and motivation, and challenges us to imitate him!

Through the Lord's intervention, the Gospel leaps over barriers of culture, background and prejudice to reach the Gentiles. Tim looks at the huge importance of this event, and challenges us to overcome our own barriers of prejudice to see everyone reached with the good news of Jesus.

Through her own experience of the Christian life in mainland China, Frances asks what it will take to see the Western church on fire again with the Holy Spirit, and how we can see new people born again, and society transformed.

The choice we all face is not only between judgment and forgiveness, but between love and loss, wisdom and ignorance, belonging and isolation. Al invites us to remember afresh the incredible riches which we have been gifted as God's people.

Not only are we united with Christ in his death; we are also raised to new life in his resurrection power. That power doesn't always look triumphant outwardly, but it is always victorious. Al walks us through four truths about the resurrection, and what they say about God and about us.

The problem of a sinful and suffering world meeting a powerful and loving God is one that no other faith answers. The resolution is found in Jesus Christ, God becoming human, suffering, and dying in our place.

God's justice is fundamental to His character, and the Scriptures make it clear that the penalty for sin is death. This week, Al explores what we mean by death, why death is the consequence of sin, and how a deeper appreciation of our sinfulness can leave us more deeply grateful for Christ's death and resurrection.

This short series looks at some of the basics of the Gospel, and how we can explain it simply to others when the opportunity arises. From very early in the Bible, we see humanity throwing off God's good and loving rule, and claiming for themselves the right to rule. Al looks at this theme of rebellion in the old & new testaments, and asks how Jesus explained it to His listeners.

This short series looks at some of the basics of the Gospel, and how we can explain it simply to others when the opportunity arises. At the very start of the Bible we find God the Creator, maker and rightful ruler of everything - a picture we see repeated at the very end in the scenes of heavenly worship. Listen in as Tim unpacks this truth for us.

As we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, Al looks at how the first witnesses responded to Jesus's empty tomb, and asks us how we will respond.

When we look at injustice and war in the world, we might find ourselvbes thinking that what we need is a superpower to swoop in and put everything right. But is there a superpower that's powerful enough to intervene, and can they be trusted? Palm Sunday announces just that: the arrival of a king who can rescue and who is totally trustworthy.

Why would God ask a father to sacrifice his own son, and what does it have to do with us? Phil Bailey from Magdalen Road Church explores these questions and points us forward to Christ's great sacrifice.

As the tale of Sarah and Hagar unfolds, we see two mothers in very different positions, with a very different attitude towards grace and blessing. Tim unpacks what we can learn from the story about religion and grace.

Chapters 18 & 19 of Genesis pose many questions: why does God judge these cities? Why does He save Lot, despite Lot's repeated wrongdoing? How does Abraham's questioning interact with God's justice? Brandan steers us through these questions, and asks us to consider our own hearts and the blessing of being connected to Jesus, through whom we are saved.

At a time when Abraham's family life is messy and he's tempted to doubt the promises God has made, God comes to visit him. This shows us a key aspect of God's character: he is present with His people, as demonstrated most powerfully through the coming of Jesus Christ.

God confirms his covenant with Abram, and gives him a new name. What are the terms of this covenant, and what does He mean when He tells Abram to walk before Him and be blameless?

What does a 4000-year-old story about a dysfunctional nomadic family share in common with the world events currently unfolding in Ukraine? Both speak of the unchanging nature of God, the unchanged nature of humankind, and the need to find hope in God and not in ourselves.

Gordon returns to our series on witness.

Is it OK to question God? Doesn't that mean we're not trusting him? Al looks at how a deeper and truer relationship with God comes through asking God questions, as seen in the life of Abraham.

God is faithful, but we are not always. Al looks at the promises God makes, and the battles that we face to live God-honouring lives in the light of those promises.

God makes promises to an unpromising man - promises that will shape the future of humanity forever. Tim looks at what these promises mean to us today in 21st-century Wheatley.

What does Peter's first letter tell us about godly leadership - how to exercise it and how to receive it? Stephen explores what this can and should look like, and how it can serve as a witness to the one true God we serve.

Christmas shows the world what Christians looks like when they celebrate. But what do we look like when we're under strain, grieving, tired, ground down? Al looks at what the Beatitudes have to say on this topic.

Who God is should and must affect who we are and how we live. Prompted by Peter's question - 'in the light of all these things, what kind of lives should you lead?' - Al looks at three truths about God, and their implications for our lives.

Al reminds us of three things to keep in mind at Christmas, looking at Luke's account of the shepherds visiting Jesus, and on Paul's letter to the Philippian church. (The talk was given outside, and the recording quality reflects that!)

The first Christmas was full of surprises for most of the characters involved. But Simeon and Anna stand out as people for whom this is not a surprise, but rather the fulfilment of a long-awaited and much-anticipated desire. What do our hearts desire? Is it as worthy as Simeon and Anna's? And how can we shape that desire to focus on God?

We, like the people Isaiah spoke to centuries ago, are walking in darkness. This sounds like bad news, however Jesus came as the great light that dispels that darkness. Tim talks us through this most amazing promise, its fulfilment, and what that means for each of us.

In a culture that is so heavily based on standing up for our rights, the call for all Christians to submit to one another, and to submit to authorities is strongly counter-cultural. Can it be meant for us today?

God builds us into a family - and together we get to live as a royal priesthood, living and praying the Kingdom of God into the world around us. Steve Thomas unpacks this exciting passage for us.

The world tends to see holiness as something judgmental, and Christians often think of it as lots of ticks on a purity list. But the call to holiness that we see in the Scriptures is a call to live by different standards, and so to live up to the family name of Christian.

Before we think about how we might witness, we need to consider why we do it. Al takes us through three fundamental truths: God is worthy of love and honour; the Gospel has done us good, and the Gospel will do others good.

Through a look back at some of our shared history as the People of God, we see how Christ's death and resurrection are both the fulfilment of long-standing promises and a final victory over old enemies.

As Jesus is arrested in Gethsemane and tried before Jewish and Roman authorities, the world seems upside-down. And yet, God is in control - he told of this very moment centuries beforehand.

As we look at Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane alongside other Scriptures, we start to see in greater depth the amazing faithfulness of God, and the importance of seeking to understand his plans and follow His instructions.

A shows her love for Jesus by anointing him, and Jesus shows his love for his disciples and the world by washing feet and breaking bread. Brandan encourages us to relive the Last Supper, and to think about what love in action looks like for us.