Episodes

The psalmist believed that observing nature was a way of hearing the Lord who is speaking every day to any who have eyes to see. How do we see clearly so that we can hear well?

The promise of Jesus was that God would speak to his people because we are his friends. We would increasingly grow to recognise his voice. Of course, the challenge is: do we want to hear? Are we prepared to listen? Are we ready to respond if we do hear his voice?

A young out-of-town couple in a whirl, an old couple, part of the furniture in the Temple, easily overlooked. And a baby. Luke loves these sorts of people, because he knows that Jesus loves to spend time with them. And it’s the way the salvation story unfolds. It did then, it still does now. As another uncertain new year begins for us.

Jesus the Nazarene comes to bring us hope. He comes from a nowhere town and lives a life that knows about loss and pain and brokenness. Jesus, the hope of the nations and the hope of us all, has come that we may know freedom when all seems lost.

The ‘title’ that Matthew uses most often in his first 2 chapters to describe Jesus is ‘the child’. When you see it, it’s striking. Jesus was a toddler whose family had to escape violence. Immanuel came to earth and one of the first things that he did was to join the long line of refugees. What does that say to us today?

They came looking for a king. But they had no idea what sort of king he would be – or indeed the type of leadership/service he would ask of his followers.

If you’re going to live well, you need to be able to understand Jesus profoundly. Matthew wrote his gospel so that you wouldn’t have to guess, and this week we explored the two titles he introduces in his story of Jesus – Saviour and Immanuel. If we can get to grips with these, they will change how we see life, those around us and ourselves.

Another Remembrance Sunday when we are reminded of the catastrophe of war, the effects it has on those directly involved, as well as those bystanders who get dragged into it all. Jesus told his disciples to expect war, but that in the midst of it all there would be reasons to retain hope for the future. We need to hear it again this week as Russian troops advance on the borders of Ukraine.

What’s Jesus being the Messiah got to do with COP26, your own very personal life and our life together as a church? Much more than we might imagine…

At the heart of Christianity is an account of failure. Politicians failed, being swept along by a mob’s cancel culture. Justice failed, money changed hands and the innocent paid the price. Friends failed to keep their promises. Light turned to darkness. Jesus died. Nothing changed. BUT…. This week, I read this on a national newspaper’s website: When my partner and I filled in our census form, we got to the section about faith, both ticked the “no religion” box, and seemed to think nothi...

It’s been a long 12 months. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The roll out of vaccinations has meant that we can hope that relaxing the restrictions we have lived under will come to an end soon, even if we will have to accept that face masks will continue to be uncomfortable fashion accessories. For some of you it will be a year that you will remember because of what was lost. Friends and family members may have died, without you being able to be there. You’ll never forget. For othe...

On Sunday we shared the news that we will be moving to St James, Eccles Old Road when we begin to meet again in person as a church. We see it as an answer to prayer. If you weren’t with us, here is the clip: http://www.salfordelimchurch.org/video/SEC%20move_st_james.mp4 There will be lots of questions. Here are some answers to questions we have asked. Some (possible) FAQs: 1. When will we begin in-person services again? We are planning to begin in June. This gives both churches enough time t...

1% was never going to be enough. It’s been a tough year for everyone, but over the last 12 months most of us have become more aware of the pressures on our health workers than ever before. Night after night, TV gave us access to the wards and we saw nurses and doctors, often young adults themselves, talk about the strain they were under. Through the year, we were encouraged to support the NHS. So children drew pictures to put in their windows, councils painted slogans on roads, we stood at door...

Jesus was regularly invited to meals. Some wanted to argue with him, others just wanted to get close to him. Some folks were socially at ease with him. But some seemed to make a fuss – to such an extent that it could be embarrassing. But Jesus didn’t seem fazed by it, In fact he seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it was because he knew that this is how grace feels to those starved of hope. That’s still how it feels.

It’s easy to think that healthy churches will never have disagreements. But that’s wrong. Every time God puts us in a new situation, opens up new doors of mission, or challenges us with new ideas, it’s easy for us to become defensive and controlling. Here are my song choices for this week’s Sunday Playlist podcast episode…

Paul’s first missionary journey took him into new situations that he couldn’t have imagined. But God was working through him. It’s just the same today for us. Here are my song choices for this week’s Sunday Playlist podcast episode…

The early Christians had a better story to tell and they pass it to us to tell our own generation. It’s a story that we all need to hear – again and again. Here are my song choices for this week’s Sunday Playlist podcast episode.

The apostle Paul’s experience in Cyprus offers us a picture of the exciting Christian life that offers good news to people. As we think about his experience in Acts 13, we have the chance to see our own situations much clearer. Here are my song choices for this week’s Sunday Playlist podcast episode.

In Acts 12 we see people praying earnestly in the middle of the night; one of the disciples is executed, while the other is miraculously released from prison. But when he turns up at the house of prayer, the Christians just don’t believe it and try to explain it away. It seems that like most of us, they were not actually bold prayer-warriors, but people who prayed with a mixture of faith and uncertainty, got down on their knees and prayed anyway. In this latest podcast episode, I’ve chosen som...

There are some churches you would want to join if you could. Antioch is one of those churches. A flexible, generous, boundary-breaking church. As we reflect on their life together in c50 AD, we get inspired to keep growing into all this and more in 2020! Here are some songs I’ve chosen that will help us reflect on this…

In Acts 9:32-43, we meet a woman who has two names; “Tabitha” in Aramaic and “Dorcas” in Greek. She was just one of those unsung heroes of the church community. Luke describes her as full of good works and charity and she was part of a group of widows who made clothes by hand. When she died, the weeping widows did what most of us do when we lose someone we love. They clung to items and memories associated with her; the clothes she’d made. They showed them to Peter as they grieved the loss of t...

After his conversion Saul arrives back in Jerusalem, but not to the welcome he had hoped for. The disciples there are fearful of Saul and his intentions. Saul needs someone to be his advocate and stand with him. Barnabas is just the man for the job…

Within 3 years of Saul’s dramatic conversion in Damascus, his life is under threat and he has to escape with the help of some disciples. This became a recurring theme throughout the rest of his life. Saul paid a really high price to follow Jesus, but he was willing to count up the cost and decided it was well worth it. In this episode of our Sunday Playlist podcast, I share some songs that explore this theme…

In Luke’s tale of two visions, God calls two people to change their life plans in order for the gospel of Jesus to spread further.