What does it mean to be more than a collection of individuals and truly become a spiritual family?

In this message from our WE ARE THE CHURCH series, Rosie Carter explores God's design for His people to live as members of one spiritual family. Looking at passages from Deuteronomy, John, Matthew, and 1 John, Rosie reminds us that through faith in Christ we have been adopted into God's family and given the privilege of being called His children.

The message explores the many "one another" commands found throughout the New Testament, showing how practical acts of love, hospitality, encouragement, forgiveness, and service help build healthy Christian community. These instructions are not simply good ideas but God's blueprint for how His church should function.

Rosie challenges us to consider the part each of us plays in creating a church culture that reflects Christ's love. As we honour one another, bear one another's burdens, and put others before ourselves, we become a powerful witness to the world of God's transforming grace.

Jesus said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." What would it look like for us to live that out more fully as a spiritual family?

Here is the 59 One Anothers sheet that Rosie distributed

Why is gathering together as the church so important?

In this message from our WE ARE THE CHURCH series, Martin Segal explores what happens when God's people gather in His name. Drawing from James 4, Acts 4, and 1 Corinthians 14, Martin reminds us that church is far more than a meeting to attend or a service to consume. When we gather, our focus is first and foremost on God, we expect to encounter His presence, and we make room for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and encourage one another.

This message challenges us to move beyond a consumer mindset and instead come with expectation, ready to worship, ready to receive from God, and ready to play our part in building up the body of Christ.

As we draw near to God, He draws near to us. When Jesus is at the centre, His presence transforms lives, His Spirit empowers His people, and the church becomes all that He intended it to be.

In this message from our We Are The Church series, Dave Carter explores 1 Corinthians 12 and the biblical vision of a church where every member ministers. Far from being a gathering of spectators, the church is a Spirit-filled community where every believer has a part to play in building up the body of Christ.

Dave begins by reminding us that whenever the church gathers, the Holy Spirit is present and active, drawing attention not to individuals but to the lordship of Jesus. Spiritual gifts are not given for personal recognition or status, but for the common good, strengthening, encouraging and serving others within the church family.

Looking at Paul’s teaching on the body of Christ, the message highlights how God has intentionally designed His church with many different gifts, personalities and functions. No member is insignificant, no gift is unnecessary, and every believer has something valuable to contribute. Whether visible or unseen, dramatic or seemingly ordinary, every gift matters in God’s purpose for His people.

The sermon also challenges common barriers to stepping out in faith, including comparing ourselves to others, undervaluing our own gifts, or dismissing the contributions of those around us. Through Paul’s teaching, we are encouraged to honour one another, celebrate one another’s successes, carry one another’s burdens, and create a culture where people can safely grow in the gifts God has given them.

Ultimately, this message points us towards the more excellent way found in 1 Corinthians 13. Spiritual gifts matter, but love must govern everything we do. As we gather together, we are called not merely to receive, but to come ready to encourage, serve and minister to one another as members of Christ’s body.

This is a vision of church where Jesus is exalted, the Holy Spirit is at work, every member participates, and love remains at the centre of it all.

In this message from our We Are The Church series, Richard Hylton explores what it means to be “devoted to one another in love” through Romans 12:9–13, and why genuine Christian community is central to the life of the church.

Drawing on stories from Scripture, including 1 Samuel 18–20, Ruth 1 and Matthew 9:1–8, this message paints a picture of biblical devotion marked by loyalty, sacrifice, encouragement and persistence. These relationships point us towards a church culture where people do not simply attend meetings together, but genuinely carry one another through both ordinary life and difficult seasons.

Richard reflects honestly on the challenges of community, especially within a growing church, acknowledging that many people carry painful experiences of relationships, church life or feeling unseen. Yet the invitation of Jesus remains the same: to love one another as He has loved us. Through John 13:34–35 and Mark 12:30–31, we are reminded that our love for one another is one of the clearest demonstrations of the gospel to the world around us.

The message also explores practical devotion, sharing with those in need, showing hospitality, pursuing relationship intentionally and learning to love others with God’s love rather than out of duty or obligation. Hospitality is presented not simply as entertaining friends, but as actively pursuing and welcoming outsiders, strangers and those who may otherwise feel alone.

Ultimately, this preach is a call for the church to become more than a calendar of meetings and programmes. It is an invitation to build a Christ-centred community where people are known, supported, challenged and loved, reflecting the devotion and sacrifice of Jesus Himself.

In the opening message of our new series, We Are The Church, Dave Carter explores what it truly means to be the church Jesus is building, and why gathering together matters so deeply.

Beginning with Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18, this message challenges common ideas of church as simply a building, an event or a Sunday service, and instead paints a biblical picture of the church as a gathered and scattered people centred entirely on Christ.

Dave speaks honestly about the danger of isolation, how separation from Christian community can distort our view of God, weaken our faith and leave us vulnerable. Through examples from Scripture, including John the Baptist in prison and the story of the four lepers in 2 Kings 7, we are reminded that the church exists not merely as an organisation, but as a people captivated by the goodness and victory of Jesus.

The message also explores the foundations of healthy church life: grace over condemnation, intimacy over performance, mission flowing from joy, and identity rooted not in striving but in the finished work of Christ. Drawing on passages such as Romans 6:14, Romans 7:4 and John 15:5, Dave calls the church to become a Christ-centred, grace-filled and worshipping community.

This sermon is both a vision and an invitation, a call to rediscover the beauty of Christ’s church, not as exhausted workers striving to perform, but as a joyful people amazed by Jesus and transformed by His grace.

In this final message in our Hosea series, Dave Carter explores Hosea 14 and the beautiful closing invitation at the heart of the book: “Return to the Lord your God.”

After chapters filled with warning, judgment and the consequences of Israel’s unfaithfulness, Hosea ends not with condemnation, but with grace. Despite the people repeatedly turning away, chasing idols and placing their trust in worldly strength, God’s desire remains the same, to restore, heal and welcome His people home.

Dave unpacks the biblical meaning of repentance, not simply feeling guilty, but truly turning back to God with honesty, humility and surrender. Through the imagery of dew bringing life to dry land, blossoming trees and flourishing vineyards, Hosea paints a picture of a God who refreshes what sin has left barren and restores what has been broken.

The message also challenges us to consider the modern “Assyrias” we trust in today, success, comfort, money, control and security, and asks whether we are truly placing our confidence in God or in the things around us.

Ultimately, this passage points us to Jesus Christ. Through references to Isaiah 53 and Acts 3:19, Dave shows how the cross makes Hosea’s promise possible: forgiveness, healing, restoration and new life are available because Christ took the judgment we deserved.

This sermon is a call to return home to the God who loves freely, heals completely and continues to invite His people back into relationship with Him.

In this message, Andy Lovell explores Hosea chapters 11 to 13, revealing the heart of God as a perfect Father, one who is both just and deeply compassionate towards His people.

Drawing from passages such as Hosea 11, Andy highlights how, despite Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness, God’s response is not cold rejection but a mixture of grief, discipline and relentless love. Through vivid imagery, God is shown as a Father teaching His child to walk, stooping down to care, guide and provide, even when His people turn away.

The message unpacks how the struggles of ancient Israel mirror our own lives today. While the outward behaviours may differ, the underlying patterns remain the same, trusting in things other than God for identity, security and purpose. Whether through success, comfort, control or performance, we often reach for substitutes instead of the One who truly satisfies.

Andy also explores the reality that God, in His mercy, sometimes allows a “painful reckoning”, removing the very things we rely on so that we are drawn back to Him. What can feel like judgement is often, in fact, an act of loving discipline, calling us away from false supports and back into true relationship.

At the centre of this message is the unchanging nature of God. Unlike human relationships, God’s love is not conditional or resentful. As He declares, “I am God and not a man” (Hosea 11:9), His forgiveness is complete, His compassion is real, and His desire is always to restore His people.

This preach is both a challenge and a comfort, a call to recognise the patterns in our own lives, and an invitation to return to a Father who has never stopped loving, pursuing and leading us.

In this message, Nathan Shane continues our journey through Hosea, exploring the powerful call to integrity found across chapters 7 to 10, centred on the warning: “they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind” in Hosea 8:7.

Speaking into a time of peace and prosperity in Israel, yet deep spiritual decline, Nathan draws a clear parallel to our world today. God’s people had become outwardly religious but inwardly distant, revealing hearts that had drifted from relationship with Him.

This message confronts the reality that sin is not neutral. What we sow in our lives has real and lasting consequences. Through vivid imagery from Hosea, burning ovens, half-baked bread, senseless doves and the coming whirlwind, we are reminded that small compromises can grow into destructive patterns, and that idols, whether ancient or modern, will always promise much but ultimately lead us away from God.

Yet at the centre of this passage is hope. Nathan points us to Jesus, the one who steps in and takes the whirlwind we deserve. Drawing connections to the cross and passages like Isaiah 53, the message reminds us that while we sow sin, Christ bears the consequence, offering forgiveness, restoration and a way back to relationship with God.

The call of Hosea is not just to recognise our condition, but to respond. Rooted in Hosea 10:12, this preach invites us to break up the hard ground of our hearts, turn from false worship, and begin to sow righteousness in our lives.

This is a message of both warning and invitation, a reminder that God does not walk away from His people, but continually calls us back to Himself.