Continuing in this season of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church, we are looking at the Acts of the Apostles. This week we are looking at Activating the Body of Christ, Activating the church. our vicar, Abi looks at the passage where the first deacons are called to serve in practical ways in the body. But these are not those with no other gifts, so they can make the tea and wash up, these are people ‘full of the Spirit and wisdom’.

They include Stephen who we read shortly after clearly had a powerful gift of preaching, but he was happy to serve God and the church where it was needed. What gifts has God given us and where is He calling us to serve. Let’s Activate the Body, so that together we can work with God to build the church.

The reading is from Acts 6:1-7

This message was first preached on 28/06/2026

Continuing in this season of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church, we are looking at the Acts of the Apostles. The clue is in the name, Acts! We are called to act out of the faith we are given. This week our vicar, Abi looks at radical honesty and how the early church stood out from society by their commitment to be honest, with God and with each other. We need to Activate honesty to simplify our lives and become the shining light to those around us.

The reading is from Acts 5:1-16

This message was first preached on 21/06/2026

Continuing in this season of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church, we are looking at the Acts of the Apostles. The clue is in the name, Acts! We are called to act out of the faith we are given. Our curate, Les Crossland, looks at how the early church was generous, and how we must Activate our generosity with our time, money and commitment.

The reading is from Acts 4:32-37

This message was first preached on 14/06/2026

As we follow on from Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church, we are looking at the Acts of the Apostles. We are not just filled with the Spirit to sit back and enjoy His presence, the clue is in the name, Acts! Just before He ascended, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations”, we must Go! we must Act! Our vicar, Abi, explores the passage where Peter heals the lame man outside the temple and suggests that like Peter, we must Activate our boldness.

The reading is from Acts 3:1-10

This message was first preached on 07/06/2026

It’s that time of year again, the holidays are over, and whether it’s school or work a new term begins. Our Next Generations Pastor David Glover asks the question, ‘are you ready?’

The readings are from Matthew 16:21-28 and Romans 6:1-11

This message was first preached on 30/08/2026

We continue looking at some of the accounts of Jesus’ ministry recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. This week we have our vicar, Rev. Abi Todd sharing with us.

Are you an adrenaline junky? Keen on extreme sports? Jesus started it all off here, walking on water and Peter was quick to join in. Following the amazing miracle we saw last week feeding 5000 people with a few bread rolls and a tin of sardines. Jesus sends the disciples ahead, dismisses the crowd and then takes time to be alone with the Father.

Meanwhile the disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee and a storm is building and fear is rising in them alone without Jesus. Jesus comes to them and when that terrifies them, He says, take courage, it’s me, don’t be afraid. If we step out in faith we don’t need to worry about whether we might fail.

The reading is from Matthew 14:22-33

This message was first preached on 09/08/2026

Over the summer break we take our readings from the lectionary and will be considering some of the accounts of Jesus’ ministry as described by Matthew. To start us off we have Archdeacon of West Ham, the Venerable Mike Power sharing with us.

In this well-known miracle we see Jesus’ compassion where despite His tiredness He ministers to the crowd first loving them with His heart before feeding them by his power; and it is here that faith begins. The disciples see scarcity whilst Jesus sees opportunity. Like the disciples we must bring our insufficiency to Him. Bring your need to Jesus and offer Him the little you have and through that God will reveal Himself in compassion, power and generosity.

The reading is from Matthew 14:13-21

This message was first preached on 02/08/2026

As we begin a new term we go back to the beginning of Jesus’ teaching ministry, the Sermon on the mount. Rev. Abi Todd, our vicar, starts us off looking at the beatitudes, what does it truly mean to be blessed, as it’s not what we might imagine.

Jesus starts with His disciples, not with the crowds who had begun to follow Him, because through this sermon He teaches some hard truths because only those who have committed to follow Him have a chance of understanding, only to those in the Kingdom does this make any sense.

The eight beatitudes, or blessings split into two groups of four, first four postures of the heart, ways in which we must approach God. Poor in spirit, mourning our rebellion, humble and meek before our creator and hungry for His righteousness. Then four actions or behaviours, merciful, compassionate like Jesus, pure in heart, holy in our following, peacemakers, willing to diffuse conflict and resolve disputes and expect persecution for defying the world’s norms.

Listen to God’s word and lean into true blessing.

The reading is from Matthew 5:1-12

This message was first preached on 07/09/2025