Episodes

This early part of Paul’s letter to a young church contains a meaty prayer. He prays for us to bear fruit as the Spirit does his work in us. What does fruitfulness look like where you live and work? God has rescued us, but from what and for what purpose?

What does it mean to be a community built on faith, hope and love? At the beginning of a new series, we explore these three ancient principles which became the foundation of the early church.

When a woman does something extravagant in the company of Jesus, his disciples are outraged. Jesus, however, says she has done a beautiful thing that should be remembered for all time. We are called to worship in all sorts of environments and contexts. It’s not always going to be easy and we may be misunderstood, but Jesus sees our hearts and accepts the offering we bring.

The last and, perhaps most important, question posed to Jesus was this: “What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus’ response was clear and simple – Love God and love your neighbour. You can’t love God without it resulting in love for people – the two are inseparable.

Jesus was challenged by all those who had authority and who had a stake in things staying the same as they were. Change would threaten them. One of the groups that tried to trip him up were the Sadducees. They didn’t believe in resurrection, and so they asked him about it. It gave Jesus a chance to explore what life after death would really mean. It’s the question that still matters to many of us. The way he dealt with them also offers us an example for how to engage in the difficult question...

The tax question was designed to see which side Jesus was on; the Romans, or the Jews. But he sidesteps the question, because he’s building a new kingdom. How does this help us in our workplaces?

He curses a fig tree; he overturns tables. Is Jesus really angry or is something else happening? This is more than a bad day, Jesus is stopping business as usual to offer the chance of something new. That was the threatening thing. It still is.

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-09-17.mp3 Mark 10:46-11:11 The pace is hotting up. Jerusalem is in sight. The king is coming into his own city. A blind man wants to see after a lifetime of blindness. The crowds can see the blessing that Jesus could bring. The authorities can only see problems. What can you see?

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-09-10.mp3 Read Mark 10:32-45 Astonished, afraid, surprised, embarrassed. The disciples felt all these emotions as Jesus leads the way to Jerusalem. He will change everything by dying and rising from the dead, but at least two disciples completely mishear and think only of their own future. How does the cross change our own attitudes to power and position?

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-08-27.mp3 Read Mark 10:13-16 In Jesus’ day, children had no rights and no voice. To everyone except their parents, they were often seen as a nuisance. Once again, Jesus defies the expectations of his culture (including his disciples) by welcoming children. In fact, he went much further and revealed just how much we can learn about the Kingdom of God through them.

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-08-20.mp3 Read Mark 10:1-12 Once again, the Pharisees came to try and trip Jesus up; this time about the issues of divorce. They were using the laws of Moses to justify certain ways of living and Jesus refused to play their game. He got to the heart of the matter. In fact, the heart was the matter! Our behaviour is influenced by our hearts, and Jesus once again challenges us to search ourselves rather than looking at society to tell us how...

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-08-13.mp3 Read Mark 9:42-50 Following Jesus is never a solitary pursuit. We follow him together with others along the way. This week we held the funeral of one member of the church family and today we dedicated one of our youngest. This life together is one where we are called to take care of one another, to treat each other gently, to act as though we belong to one another. Even when we are so very different from one another.

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-08-06.mp3 Read Mark 9:33-41 Jesus and the disciples were on a long journey, and the disciples were arguing about who is the greatest. We have a look at Jesus’ response to them…

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-07-30.mp3 Read Mark 9:14-32 Jesus, Peter, James and John come down from an incredible mountaintop experience to find the rest of the disciples arguing about why they couldn’t exorcise a demon from a boy. The boy’s father is desperately trying to muster faith, the disciples are in disarray and the crowds are not helping. Jesus’ response is puzzling and raises questions about the nature of prayer and trust. It’s an intriguing story.

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-07-23.mp3 Read Mark 9:2-13 The transfiguration is the final scene of the three-part drama of who Jesus is. Mark has us understand that he is the Messiah, and that he will have to suffer, but then the mind-blowing third part comes. We see Jesus transformed and a voice calling us to listen to him. This sermon came in a service in which we dedicated two of our children. How does reading this text help us think about how we help children to unde...

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-07-16.mp3 Read Mark 8:34-9:1 Peter has just realised the significance of all they have seen, put the pieces together, and declared Jesus to be the Messiah, then crashed when he lets Jesus see his understanding of how things should work out next. Jesus continues to develop the implications of what it means to be a disciple. There’s no way around this – we have to walk the same road as Jesus. And it may mean the same outcomes. For us, for mo...

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-07-09.mp3 Read Mark 8:27-33 Sometimes you get something right! You’re asked a question, and seemingly from nowhere, you manage to put 2 + 2 together and you get the right answer! There was a moment in the centre of Mark’s gospel when that happened to Peter. Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is. Peter answers: You are the Christ, or the Messiah (‘Christ’ is Greek for the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’). This sermon explores that whole momen...

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-06-25.mp3 Read Mark 8:1-21 Mark 8:1-21 is close to the middle of the gospel, and the question that has been bubbling under the gospel is now becoming central: who is Jesus? Here the disciples are part of an other feeding miracle, but seem to be blind to all that it means. They are not the only ones though, are they? It’s so easy to miss the significance of what we have seen. The story was part-farce, part-tragedy. Too often, it still is. ...

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-06-18.mp3 Read Mark 7:31-37 Have you ever felt isolated? Perhaps you have had an illness or have been unemployed. This story sees a man who was isolated from others because of his disabilities, meeting Jesus and becoming a mouth piece for the gospel. It’s a beautifully ironic story, not without intrigue and challenge, but one that asks us how much we are aware of others and how we can share the good news of God with them. Ian's challenge to...

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-06-11.mp3 Read Mark 7:24-30 This week we had another election, with an outcome that is far from clear. It’s hard for us not to take sides, to join in with people who see things in black and white: the goodies and the baddies. And it’s hard for us not to think that we are right (whatever our position). This episode in Mark’s gospel is at first sight uncomfortable: it sounds as though Jesus doesn’t want to get involved in the woman’s painful s...

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-05-28.mp3 Read Mark 6:45-52 It’s been a difficult week in Manchester. Last Monday so many lives were changed for ever. How do you hold on to faith in the middle of events like that? Mark knew that followers of Jesus will face situations like this. How can you find Jesus in the middle of days like this?

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-05-14.mp3 Read Mark 6:14-29 Mission is not always easy because it can involve a threat to the existing authorities. John found this, and was beheaded! Mission is about more than talking about personal salvation. Sometimes you need to take a stand because things are not right. That’s what John did. So how do we do that? And when should we do it? That’s what this sermon tries to begin to explore together.

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-04-30.mp3 Read Mark 6:1-6 A curious passage in Mark’s gospel where Jesus goes to his home town and couldn’t do many miracles there. It appears that familiarity had bred contempt. That can be a danger for Christians today too.

http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/audio/podcasts/2017-04-23.mp3 Read Mark 5:21-43 What does it take to become so desperate that you are willing to lose your reputation to find healing? In this part of Mark’s gospel, he tells two stories of desperate people and how Jesus was able to do the seemingly impossible for them.