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Out of darkness - into the light
Christmas 2019 Ever felt in the dark about life? We all just go about our business, bumping and bruising our way through, hoping nobody notices - until someone arrives to upset the status quo... That is exactly what happened when Jesus was born. The Bible frequently describes Him as a light shining into our darkness, so this year we are seeing Christmas in the light of Jesus -how He invites us to find hope, peace, meaning and direction in Him. |
Various themes
From the last twelve months or so Sometimes we have visiting speakers or different people from the church give talks on a variety of themes or from parts of the Bible that have inspired them. You can find them here. |
Pride and Humility
Autumn 2019 Gender and sexuality are of major importance in contemporary culture, and frequently Christians have struggled to know how to respond. With the Bible often derided as homophobic, we ask, is God anti-gay? Can we hold a view of sexuality that is classed as "outdated"? How can we avoid condemnation or capitulation, and help people who experience same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria to follow Jesus? |
Brothers and Sisters
Summer 2019 Christians can only grow strong in their faith together as brothers and sisters, as the Apostle Paul knew very well. So he wrote to the brand new Church he had started in ancient Thessalonica, reminding them over and over again of this new relationship they shared as brothers and sisters. What has his letter then got to teach us about how we at Albert Road can grow strong in our faith together? |
The time is coming
January-April 2019 This spring we're getting stuck into the Gospel of John in the New Testament, discovering what John meant when we said about Jesus, "We have seen His glory." Jesus frequently talked about his "time" - a time that he said "is coming and is now here". a time that would find it's fulfilment in the events of Easter... |
Mary Mary
December 2018 Mary is a central figure in the Christmas story. In this series we look at the birth of Jesus through her eyes, as we follow her "quite contrary" life and the part she played in God's great plan... |
Behind closed doors
September-October 2018 Very often we fail to talk in church about things which are happening behind closed doors. In this series, we address four such issues which are taking place right now in our neighbourhood, and even in our church. We believe that, while government and charity approaches are valid and helpful, what the people caught up in them really need long term is Jesus... |
WonderWomen
June- July 2018 So many of the Bible characters we focus on are men. But that's not because God is sexist! Ancient society was largely male-dominated. In this series we look more closely at how God uses women to His glory through 5 of the Old Testament's most prominent women - what they teach us about the Lord Jesus Christ and how he set our #MeToo generation a wonderful example in valuing and respecting women. |
The Kingdom of God
April-May 2018 The Kingdom of God is one of the great - if not the great - theme of the Bible. It is the plan of God and the hope of the world: that God would be our King and we would be His people. In this series we explore that hope, how we can enjoy it now, and how we can look forward to it with certainty because of Jesus' death and resurrection |
Shadows of the Cross
March 2018 As we look forward to Easter, we are anticipating all that is going to happen at the cross - how Jesus Christ the Son of God would die like an outcast, but do so joyfully serving the will of His Father as a sacrificial lamb, to save us whom He loves. We explore these aspects one by one through the Old Testament, written many centuries before Jesus was born, but all giving clues as to how He would die and why. |
Colossians: Fullness
January-February 2018 As we begin a new year, it is important to know that God is behind us and for us in all our living. serving and speaking for Him. We join Paul, a leader in the early days of God's Church, as writes to new believers in the Turkish city of Colosse, to encourage them in their faith. He says they have all they need in Jesus, because "in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body" and like them we too are complete in Him. |
"Outside/In" Christmas talks
December 2017 The Christmas story is full of unlikely characters. Those on the edges are drawn to the centre of the action. The forgotten are the first to know. It is the story of the unexpected. It flips the world on its head. Welcome into the Christmas story... |
Sabbatical period: sharing the load
July-October 2017 While Russell our Pastor takes a break from ministry ("sabbatical") for a few months, others are sharing the load of speaking from the Bible each week. Get the latest here. |
Romans 12: Living True
April -May 2017 Easter is done: Jesus has died and is risen, and all out of God's mercy and love for us. Now what? We join the Apostle Paul in his letter to Christians in Rome as he helps them discover what it means for them to live in the light of God's mercy. |
Cross.Words
March-April 2017 As we move towards Easter, our focus turns to the cross where Jesus was executed. We follow the events through the seven things Jesus is recorded as saying during His crucifixion - what He meant by them, and their significance for us today. |
Numbers: Moving On
January-February 2017 At the start of a new year, it is time to take stock - much as Moses did at the start of the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. This book challenges us to keep pressing on, but also shows us the pitfalls of what happens if we don't listen to God on the way. We need to be confident that through Jesus God has provided everything we need for life and godliness, as we join Him in His mission in our own neighbourhood. |
Immanuel: God with us
Christmas 2016 One of the names Christians have traditionally associated with Jesus Christ is "Immanuel". You'll find it on Christmas cards and in carols. But what is in a name? This Christmas we explore the roots of this name in the Bible, and it's significance for us and for the world. |
The Presence of God
September-November 2016 What is God like and what is it like to be close to Him? In a series of talks to inspire you this autumn, we trace some of the ways God has revealed His very nature in the Bible. We look at how they impact upon us as His creation, and how having a sense of God's God-ness can strengthen us in our personal faith, as well as in being His church and pursuing His mission in the world |
Luke: Your money or your life
June-August 2016 "What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?" (Luke 9.25). Money plays an central part in everyone's life - whether you are richer or poorer. But its demands on us are both powerful and dangerous. Jesus seems to talk about money more than any other topic, and Luke records more of his sayings and stories on this theme than any of the other Gospel writers. How can we live free and pursue the wonderful everlasting life Jesus gives, instead of soul-destroying money? |
Acts: When God moves
April-May 2016 "It can seem as if we are waiting for ages. But when God moves, He moves." This series investigates what the book of Acts in the Bible reveals about the working of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person who makes up God the Holy Trinity, along with the Father and the Son (Jesus Christ). In the first book of the Bible, Genesis 1.2, we see the Holy Spirit present and active as God creates the world. And in Acts we see His incredible power again - in the lives of the early Church and through their witness to the nations that Jesus had risen from the dead. How might He yet empower us as His witnesses in our neighbourhood and area? |
Luke: Spiritual Life of Christ
February-March 2016 When we read about Jesus in the Gospels, we often focus on his teaching, his miracles and the accounts of the first Christmas and Easter. The Bible teaches that Jesus was the Divine Son of God, sent by His Father into the world. But what was going on under the surface? How did Jesus - fully Divine but also fully human - live out His spiritual life with God? Lent is a time for us to reflect as we approach Easter. So what can we learn from His example? |
Ecclesiastes: Is it all completely pointless?
January-February 2016 "Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "Completely meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 1.2). I bet if you said 'happy new year' to writer of Ecclesiastes, he'd just grunt! “New year?! New year?! What has changed? The seasons are about to start all over, yet again. It's just an arbitrary date. The year is no newer than it was yesterday.” What on earth has this depressed so-called Teacher got to teach us? Is he right? It's worth thinking about - because chances are you might already feel exactly the same... |
Romans: Christ who...
September-November 2015 What do Christians believe Jesus has done for them? And what is this Gospel ("Good News") the Bible talks about? In this series we investigate from 8 different angles through the New Testament book of Romans. We will be discovering the rich colour and beauty of those long, but all too often disregarded, words we find in the Bible. |