Sunday 27 April Becky kicks off our new series, "Our Life, Filled with His Life: A Living, Breathing Theology of the Holy Spirit”, with an overview of the Holy Spirit’s role throughout the biblical narrative, focusing on the promise of His presence in light of Jesus’ resurrection and the sending of the Spirit. Becky then explores how the Holy Spirit brings revelation into our lives by examining the story of John the Baptist—how the Spirit revealed the coming Messiah to him, and how John partnered with the Spirit to steward that revelation and proclaim it to the world.
Sunday 13 April Tim May, visiting from KXC in London, concludes our series by looking at the power and importance of forgiveness: both receiving it and extending it. He exhorts us to become a church famous for our forgiveness.
Sunday 6 April Guest speak Joshua Luke Smith, continues our series “Behind Closed Doors”. He looks at how Jesus drew strength from times in the wilderness and encouraged us all to find our own ‘daily desert’.
Sunday 23 March Dan continues our series by encouraging us to cultivate hearts that want what God wants. Fruitfulness comes from abiding in God - here we cultivate a desire to see his will come into fruition, and grow in trust that when we follow his will for us we will be fed, formed and able to participate in what he is doing.
Sunday 9 March Pete James kicks off our Lent series “Behind Closed Doors: God‘s renewal in the unseen places of our lives”. Looking at Jesus in Gethsemane, Pete invites us to strengthen our inner lives in the Lord so they are robust enough for our outer lives.
Sunday 2 March Pete James closes out our series on the life of Josiah by encouraging us as a church to a spiritual defiance embodied in practices that help us live in the story of God and not let our hearts be won over by idols.
Sunday 23 February Josiah’s personal repentance led to a corporate renewal that prepared a generation to thrive in exile. Dan explores how we can cultivate a humble and responsive heart like Josiah’s, so that we also can participate in the work God wants to do in and through us.
Sunday 16 February Jonah continues our series on lessons from Josiah's life by diving deeper into the discovery of the scriptures in 2 Kings 22. Highlighting the central role of the word of God in how God brings about renewal, Jonah asks us the question: are we living off historical words of God or the living word of God?
Sunday 9 February | Pete opens up our new series on Josiah, giving an overview of the storyline and the lessons we can all take from his life. Pete walked us through Josiah's "blueprint" for renewal: taking responsibility for what happened on his watch; recognising where they had gone astray through the revelation of the word of God, repenting and removing idols; replacing with practices in line with the covenant.
Sunday 2 February | In the final instalment of the series, Georgi Kapepula speaks from her testimony about what is often termed a "dark night of the soul" and when it’s harder to "feel" God's presence. Georgi invites us to not give up, look for the deeper, maturing work God might be doing and trust he has not, in fact, left us after all.
Sunday 26 January | Dan unpacks Jesus’ parable about waiting for the bridegroom in Matt 25, inviting us to see that God prepares us in times of waiting - He’ll grow our faith if we continue to cry out to him instead of reducing our expectations or taking things into our own hands.
Sunday 12 January | Pete continues our series of short reflections on how to prioritise the presence of God in our lives. Speaking from 1 Corinthians 10 – "everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial" – he calls our attention to the things in our lives we hardly even notice but which are slowly decaying our soul and stealing our worship. We were made for more than wasting our lives on the trivial!
Sunday 5 January | Speaking from Deuteronomy 11, Pete offers a brief reflection on the difference between “footpumps from the Nile or rains from heaven” and offers an invitation to not live dependant on our own strength and skill in the year ahead.
Sunday 22 September | Dan begins a series reflecting on how we can become a church for the sake of those around us. He unpacks how God invites us as the church to participate in the movement of his love towards a hurting world. He also explores how Jesus begins his ministry and continues in it, with a particular focus on how he calls us to be found where he is found, often on the other side of boundaries that divide.
Sunday 29 September | Continuing our "For the Sake Of" series, Pete unpacks the moment Jesus washes the disciples feet alongside the stunning theology of Philippians 2. Jesus, taking the form of a servant, redefines the culturally accepted "course of honour" from the accumulation of success, power and wealth to a life of humility and service of others. Within the beauty of this, there is also a challenge: as Jesus was sent in humility to display God's heart, so are we.
Sunday 27 October | Jonah continues our series ‘For the Sake Of’ by looking at how we often neglect and ignore people in our lives much like Simon in Luke 7. Simon is intrigued by the person Jesus, but not captivated by him. To love those everyone else rejects we must continually return to the feet of Jesus, the one who first extends mercy and love, and empowers us to do the same.
Sunday 10 November | Becky Callaghan continues our series unpacking how Jesus’ passionate pursuit for proximity both to his Father and to humanity, fuelled his mission on earth. By walking in true holiness and love, He challenged religious oppression, exposed injustice and restored people to their Father.
Sunday 17 November | As Jesus was sent proclaiming the Kingdom and demonstrating it with signs that lead to wonder, so are we. Ele Mumford unpacks this principle in a faith-stirring, commissioning talk.
Sunday 28th April | Pete James opens up our new teaching series "Seize the Day: confronting the causes of us putting off God's Kingdom" with a look at what happens when we experience shame and unworthiness. Pete unpacks the parable of the prodigal son and how the embrace of our heavenly Father "whilst still far off" is what should define us, not our shame.
Sunday 12th May | Pete James continues our series "Seize the Day" by looking at the critical discipleship issue of how we use our time. Outlining how Jesus lived from identity and toward purpose, Pete unpacks the vision of the New Testament to have our lives purposed toward union with God. Pete then explores three diversions from this way of life and how they effect how we use our time: living with a victim narrative; sleep-walking through life; and investing in idols.
Sunday 26th May | On Sunday, Pete James continued our series "Seize the Day" by looking at the question: “is your money helping grow the kingdom of God?". Speaking from the parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12, Pete highlights how significant a discipleship issue money is because of its destructive power but also its creative potential. He speaks about how giving can limit the former and release the latter and calls us into the New Testament vision of being "stewards" (oikonomia) of the money that flows to us that it might flow through us and bless the community around us.
Sunday 9th June | Becky Callaghan continues our series exploring the question: “is your fear holding back the kingdom of God?” looking at how fear can shape the way we think about God, ourselves and the world around us. Drawing upon the story of Moses, Becky looks at the way a secure attachment with God leads us away from responses to fear, such as control, and instead leads us towards a life of surrender. When we learn to live with trust and dependency on God, his kingdom advances in and through our lives.
Content warning: This episode carries a content warning for eating disorders. We do not go into details but anorexia is mentioned as part of an illustration.
Sunday 14th July | Continuing our series “Seize the Day”, Pete James looks at the topic of pain. He outlines a Christian vision for pain and how our pain can either be a prison or a portal into God’s presence; it can either be the epicentre of God’s in-breaking Kingdom in our lives or the headquarters of a resistance to that kingdom.
Sunday 28 July | Dan considers perfectionism as one self-destructive and addictive belief system among others whereby we strive to earn love and avoid shame. When instead we adopt the approach of the prodigal son who recognises his lostness, repents and receives love and forgiveness, we are strengthened to take risks for God’s kingdom
Sunday 11 August | Meg continues our current series by sharing how in her journey with Him, Jesus has been confronting obstacles and healing her so that He can establish His kingdom in and through her life.
Content warning: This episode carries a content warning for abuse and suicide. We do not go into details but both are mentioned in Meg’s story.
Sunday 21st January | Pete begins a series focussing on the character of God, revealed in the names for God that he gives to his people to draw them into relationship with him. In Genesis 22 God demonstrates to Abraham that He is faithful to provide for all of his needs and Pete shares a practical way that he is currently choosing to live in that reality.
Sunday 28th January | Dan explores how God is our healer in the face of spiritual blindness and deafness. In moments of trial God allows us to experience the consequences of not trusting in him, here we have a chance to trust afresh, to know him more fully, and begin to perceive the new thing he’s doing.
Sunday 4th February | Jonah continues our series looking at God’s names found in the Old Testament. Ezekiel declares Yahweh Shammah from a place of exile, despair and hopelessness. Jonah asks, how can we as God’s people hear the hopeful voice of God in the places of hopelessness in our lives?
Sunday 11th February | Meg continues the ‘God has a name’ series, unpacking the name ‘Jehovah Mekadesh’ (The Lord who Sanctifies). This talk focuses on God’s holiness, and how through contact with Him, we become set apart and repurposed for His Kingdom.
Sunday 18th February | Dan continues our ‘God Has a Name’ series with Yahweh My Banner. In the heat of the battle Moses adopts a posture of prayer and surrender to direct the Israelite’s attention onto God, his banner. Like Moses, in times of trial we’re invited by God to put weight on his promise and character - that he is present, he is good and that he is able - such that our lives would also point others to him.
Sunday 25th February | In our penultimate talk in the series "God Has a Name", Pete James look at Yahweh Rohi: God is our Shepherd. Unpacking Psalm 23, Pete outlines how this tells us God is with us, leads us, provides for us, looks for us when we go astray, protects us and faithfully brings us home.
Sunday 3rd March | Becky Callaghan concludes our series “God Has a Name” looking at Yahweh Shalom: God our Peace.
Sunday 10th December | Dan suggests that in order for the good news that the angels announce to the shepherds to cause great joy in us, we need to receive it with humility and obedience as Mary did, and follow the example of Jesus who laid down his life for the joy set before him.
Sunday 29th October | Pete James begins our series in 1 John by giving an overview of the letter's context and diving into chapter 1. Pete highlights for us how the chapter should inspire awe at the beauty of God and confidence in the victory of Christ as well as inviting us to "take a sledgehammer to shame" through confession.
Sunday 5th November | Pete James tackles 1 John 2 and highlights how John calls followers of Jesus to both a high standard of purity and a high standard of grace before unpacking the importance of obedience in how we mature our communion with God.
Sunday 12th November | Dan continues our new series in 1 John about how in chapter 3 John invites each of us to know how lavishly God loves us and affirms us that we are all called his children.
Sunday 19th November | Jonah continues our current series in 1 John, chapter 4, where we’re challenged afresh to love those we encounter in and out of the church. However, there are counter forces, antichrists and spirits of the age that convince us to love in our own strength. Jonah points us back to the cross to see what love looks like in our day-to-day.
Sunday 26th November | Pete Hughes, leader of KXC in London, shares stories from the Asbury revival and three ways in which we can align with what God is doing and offer a more hopeful story to the world around us.
Sunday 1st October | On Sunday Pete James kicked off a new teaching series in our new Sunday venue. He painted a picture of a God who is constantly desiring to be at work in our lives making us new. The invitation for the christian is to be people who can discern the ways God is at work and make our lives like new wine skins to receive the new wine he has for us.
Sunday 15th October | Pete James wraps up our series by challenging us not just to agree with the message of Jesus but align our lives with it. He explains how that involves making costly choices and overcoming that modern desire for quick results with little cost.
Sunday 23rd July | Bill shares from the story of Mary Magdalene, and his experience of ministering in prison, how God’s transformative love in action can bring freedom in the areas of our lives where the enemy would want to steal, kill and destroy.
Sunday 30th July | Pete Davies shares from the Apostle’s Peter’s life and his own testimony. Change and freedom comes when we accept both the depths of our own brokenness, and the depths of God’s love for us.
Sunday 6th August | As we continue our "Turnaround" series, Tom Odgers takes a look at the story of the samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus at the well in John 4. Linking the story to the beatitudes, Tom unpacks how vital it is to realise we are poor in Spirit and how we experience the grace and power and love of Jesus most fully when we are at the end of ourselves and rely entirely on Him.
Sunday 13th August | Jude continues our series on lives that have been turnaround by the love of Jesus and takes a different perspective on the woman at the well from Tom's talk last week. Jude encourages us to see that God was at work in the woman's ordinary life, making it extraordinary. And she reminds us off the power of sharing the good news of Jesus with our communities"
Sunday 20th August |
Sunday 4th June | The first talk in a new series about the sort of community we’re called to be whatever our future looks like. This week Dan explores how we believe we’re called to operate - as a Church of Many Workers in which everyone plays a part.
Sunday 11th June | In the second talk of our vision series, Pete James unpacks from Colossians 1 how following the way of Jesus will always be the centre of "who we are, wherever we are"
Sunday 18th June | Pete James continues our vision series "This is us" by talking about our new "common life" language and how we want to be marked out by God's presence. He encourages us to make our lives a "landing strip" for God's empowering presence.
Sunday 25th June | We are made in, made for and find fulfilment in love. But as we move through life we become fractured and build a false sense of self. This deeply effects the way in which we engage with community. Jonah reminds us that we must continually recover a deep understanding of union with God to be able to engage in love with one another.
Sunday 2nd July | The current of our secular age disciples us to learn to live without God, but Dan explores Christ’s invitation to bring our whole self into his presence such that he can form us into his likeness and we can begin to live with freedom and fruitfulness in his kingdom.
Sunday 23rd April | This week Pete James kicked off a new teaching series called "The Battle for our whole lives" which is based in Mark 12:30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength". Throughout the series we are asking the question: What is stealing your worship?"
Sunday 30th April | Continuing our series on “The Battle for our Whole Lives” Pete James looks at the importance of our heart and soul and specifically looks at how both pleasure and pain can steal our worship.
Sunday 7th May | In our third instalment in the series, Pete James looks at worshipping God with our mind/thinking particularly looking at how both lies and distraction steal our worship.
Sunday 14th May | Pete wraps up our series by looking at how we can live out of both identity and purpose in order to use our strength to be re-creative not de-creative, focussing on the idea of surrendering our abilities and resources and power.
Sunday 19th March | As we journey through lent, visiting theologian Dr Jane Williams helps us reflect on the beauty and power of the cross. With profound simplicity she unpacks how God gives us all we need: God's self. A must listen as we approach Easter.
Sunday 26th March | Dan continues our reflection on the cross by exploring how Jesus did not react to the anxiety of those who sought to kill him, either by seeking to control them or by compromising himself. He was sufficiently secure in his relationship with his father to offer the love and forgiveness of God to them, and to us, even in the face of rejection, thereby enabling his followers to do the same to others.
Sunday 2nd April | Bishop Robert visited St Basil’s on Palm Sunday and shared an Easter reflection at the start of Holy Week.
5th March 2023 | This Sunday Pete James shared a significant update for our church and invited us to a period of increased hunger for God, surrender, unity and prayer.
12th March 2023 | Following up the announcement last week, Pete unpacks Joshua 3 and the lessons we can learn from it in the months ahead.
Sunday 22nd January | Dan begins our series by looking at the rich young ruler trying to anxiously earn his way towards eternal life, and Jesus’ challenge to him to give up his source of security and comfort. In a similar way we find God’s presence and receive the Kingdom of God when we relinquish the illusion that we can control our future and trust Jesus in the present.
Sunday 6th February | Jonah Horne
Pete James and Pete Portal have a brief chat to learn more about what is going on at Tree of Life in Manenberg and how Pete and his family ended up living such a life.
Pete takes us through a reflection on the lives of David and Mephibosheth from 2 Samuel 9 and what they teach us about justice, mercy and kinship whilst offering a beautiful reflection on the role of betrayal in the process.
Pete and Pete sit down again to have a conversation on a range of topics related to being a church engaged in living lives of justice, mercy and kinship.
Pete unpacks the connection between contemplation, revivalism and activism in Philippians 3 and calls us to hold the three together in order to be a prophetic presence in the world.
Sunday 27th November | Our visiting speaker, Pete Portal, shares insights into being a community of prophetic hope in the world as we begin our advent journey.
Sunday 4th December | We are called, like John the Baptist, to stand on the frontier of the in-breaking kingdom and watch for signs of Jesus’ arrival in our midst. To be a people that live in solidarity with those in darkness, but are characterised by a hope of those who expect the dawn.
Sunday 11th December | What do we do with our doubts, our fears and our deepest longings? On the third weekend of advent, Jonah looks at John and Jesus’s exchange in Matthew for a way to navigate through wilderness periods. We discover in scripture that we need not fear, we can find hope in the birth Jesus Christ.
Sunday 18th December | In the drama of Christmas story we confess that what we imagine can’t save us. Jonah explains how the seemingly impossible is found to be possible at Christmas: God becomes man to redeem us to Godself. We can take heart and find hope in the great light shining in the darkness.
Sunday 23rd October | Jonah Horne opened our new series on 1 Peter by calling us to place our trust in the “living hope” of Jesus. He invited us to reflect on stories from within the church that show people living alternative lives in the kingdom of God. Jonah asked us, how can we orientate our lives to be one defined by holiness, formed by the Kingdom of God rather than the competing kingdoms of the world? Please note that we experienced some technical difficulties during the talk, which will explain some slight strange noises in the middle of it. We are sorry about this!
Sunday 30th October | In week 2 of our series on 1 Peter, Pete James encourages us to live lives in line with our identity as citizens of heaven: co-operating with grace; being alert to what either fills or empties our souls; and living confidently distinctive lives.
Sunday 6th November | Dan unpacks Peter’s advice in chapter 3 to sit under societal structures so that we might see their redemption. And then explores how we can live distinct and proximate lives in an ‘age of authenticity’ that provoke questions about the living hope we carry.
Sunday 13th November | Pete James guides us through chapter 4 and three particular threads in Peter's reflections on how to be citizens of heaven: don't waste your time on emptying things; prioritise prayer; and love and serve one another.
Sunday 19th November | Jude concludes our series with Peter’s closing thoughts in chapter 5 - as citizens of heaven we’re invited to cast our anxieties onto God, called to ‘put on’ humility, and warned to stand firm in our faith.
Sunday September 18th | Pete James kicked off our latest teaching series called "Depth in a time of Growth" on Sunday. It is a pastoral series naming the opportunities and challenges of the season we are in as a community. He spoke about the need for depth and not just growth and how important curious faith will be as we face uncertainties and questions as a community moving forward.
Sunday September 25th | Pete James continued our series on "depth in a time of growth" by looking at the risk of consumerism as a church grows and how we can subtly swap church as "a people" for church as "a product"
Sunday October 2nd | Dan explores the dangers of convenience, security and comfort, and how the practice of being faithfully present to those who Jesus calls ‘the least’ can enable us to become the church we are called to be - a family on a mission.
Sunday October 9th | In the penultimate talk in our series on “depth in a time of growth” Pete James highlights the need for us to retain a sustained hunger for a move of God in our time and not succumb to apathy as the church gets more established.
Sunday October 16th | Pete James concluded our pastoral series "depth in a time of growth" by looking at how important it is for our depth to be in Jesus. He described the biblical invitation to spiritual maturity and how that is contested in daily life. He outlines the risk of unintentional spiritual formation and the need for us to therefore be highly intentional to be formed in the way of Jesus.