Local Sunday: Finding Serenity in the Battles of Life - Lars Due-Christensen

This week, David Stroud (Central Service) teaches from Daniel chapter 1, looking at how we live faithfully as God’s people in a society of conflicting values. We look at how Daniel’s faith transformed his work into service and worship, gave him courage in the face of challenges and consequences, and how his daily life was fuelled by prayer. The story of Daniel gives us a picture of how followers of Jesus make a difference for God wherever they are, and can work for the renewal of their surroundings.

This week at our Central service, Lou Richards teaches from the story of Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:24-28). We look at how their example encourages us to embrace our role in spreading the gospel, especially during a time of spiritual openness, and how we can identify the ordinary spaces and relationships can become ‘holy ground’ for ministry. We explore how God uses our availability and obedience, not perfection, to transform lives and communities.

This week, Catherine (Sutton Service) explores Acts 17:1-9, where Paul’s preaching in Thessalonica challenged societal norms and established Jesus as King, not Caesar. His message was met with both disruption and persecution, but nevertheless led to forming a vibrant church community. We see how Jesus not only transformed Paul’s life, but how his Jesus’ presence continues to flip our priorities and values, making our lives point to a different kingdom.

This week at our Mile End service, Darren Wolf (guest speaker) explored Jesus’ radical redefinition of family in Mark 3. We see how following Jesus shifts our allegiance and identity into a new spiritual community, which challenges both traditional and modern-day notions family. The Church as our new family calls for commitment and connection, as we live in covenant with brothers and sisters in Christ.

This week, Jonathan (Central Service) taught from Acts 18 – looking at Paul’s time in Corinth. We looked at what the passage teaches us about living with kingdom purpose wherever we are, holding to God’s promise to overcome fear when sharing our faith, and fighting complacency and apathy in our discipleship to Jesus.

This week, Joel (Central Service) explores one of the most crucial moments of the early church at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). We explored the ‘tidal’ nature of faith: diving into God’s presence, which then ripples out to others. Through the passage, we see our call as disciples to embrace opportunities to share our faith, and embody a diverse, open, and formative Christian community.