Do we follow Jesus so that we can “get into heaven?” Sure, it’s part of it, but if we’re not careful this approach can lead us further away from Jesus and an eternity with Him. Idolatry isn’t defined by by the worship of statues. It’s defined by a transaction mentality, a desire to manipulate in order to gain. The Idolising business characterises every religion except for genuine Christian faith. What can we learn from Scot Adams heart wrenching statement and the contrast between Paul and Demetrius, to ensure that we stay on God’s path to eternity instead of trying to forge our own?

What are we here for, is everything a meaningless pursuit of survival and pleasure - or is there far more? As we look out at our plans for the new year, let’s learn from Scripture what makes us who we are, and what we’re supposed to do to understand and live out the purpose for which God created us. David’s life provides a great picture of what it means to be authentically ourselves and to live for God’s purpose.

The start of the new year gives us an opportunity to think about our lives and their purpose in God’s plan. We are not capable of doing anything new or worthwhile. Without God our existence is meaningless repetition of the same old stuff. The older we get the more we realise this. But God is a God of New Beginnings, and when we seek His will and purpose in our lives, we can look forward to a meaningful and fulfilling new year regardless of what it holds. The proof is in Scripture, in God’s blueprint for New Beginnings.

As we look toward 2026, we may find our minds crowded with ever-changing plans often leading to restless 3 a.m stints. as we try to control an uncertain future. Proverbs 19:21 invites us to discover the unshakeable peace of recognizing that while our human plans may fail or change, God’s singular purpose is firm and eternal. Rather than relying on self-belief, faith in Jesus Christ empowers us with the Holy Spirit to perform the true "work of God"—loving others with a genuine and fervent heart. Like Moses, our small, daily acts of honest obedience can align us with God’s purpose that we do not yet fully see. Join us as we learn to navigate the coming year aligning our will with God’s purpose by gratitude, constant prayer, and a commitment to serve, starting with the needs of those right here in our own Church community.

Is the 25th of December even Jesus’ birthday, is Christmas a pagan holiday? Should we rather celebrate the Jewish festivals of the Old Testament? These questions aren't new, and thankfully the Bible addresses them in one way or another, but whatever we think about Christmas, it remains a great opportunity to share our faith and be blessings to one another. It’s also an opportunity which is under constant threat whether by distraction or disruption. How can we make Christmas the Jesus centred celebration that it should be?

As Christmas approaches, we have many things on our minds. Even when thinking about Jesus and His birth, Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and angels can be a distraction. We can fall into a dangerous trap when we focus too much on people like Mary, but we can also learn a great deal from her, as we can from others in Scripture. Mary did something wonderful and powerful and very useful in the way that she treasured the works of God and pondered them deeply. We may not have the same blessed experiences as she did, but we can gain deep blessing from our own experiences of God by responding in a similar way. Such a response yield great blessing now and for eternity.

The Name of Jesus is powerful beyond our understanding, but it’s not a magic word or incantation. God works powerfully through His children who rely on the grace and authority of Jesus Christ. God exercises the power of Jesus Christ through us when we confess our sin, humble ourselves and trust completely in Him rather than our own strength or that of anything else. Evil seems to triumph in the world, but remember Jesus Christ has already overcome the world, our sin and the enemy. Jesus wins, always and forever.

We find a curious situation in Ephesus that leads to questions on the Holy Spirit and His gifts like speaking in tongues. many different understanding are out there around these questions but the most important question is, have we received the Holy Spirit and are we being filled with the Holy Spirit with power to be witnesses?

The Church is called the bride of Jesus. A successful marriage is built on teamwork, and the Church needs to be reminded of this all the time. Sometimes when we’re doing the work of God, we can get focused on the outcome and not on Jesus Himself. Watching the team at work through the first century Church can help us to remember to put Jesus first, to trust Him for everything, and to give Him the Glory. God can achieve any outcome any time. Our focus needs to be on trusting and obeying Him regardless of the outcome.

Paul was more like us than we realise. He also got tired and despondent, he could only do the extraordinary things he did because of the love and power of Jesus Christ. When we reach the same lows as he did, we can be encouraged and strengthened in our faith that Jesus will supply our needs and raise us up to complete His purpose for us.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Paul encountered intelligent, educated people who considered themselves wise, cultured and sophisticated, but still believed nonsense about our inexistence, value and purpose because they believed that they made gods rather than that God made us. in 2000 years nothing has changed we still encounter people like this every day. Paul teaches us how to reach them with the truth, and give them every opportunity to know the One true God Who made us to know, love and worship Him.

The Bereans are people that we only hear of once or twice in the Bible - but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn a lot from them. They received God’s Word the right way, and they responded to Him the right way. God’s plans are timeless and perfect, and we need to decide to join His plans and be part of His glorious work, or miss out on the opportunity of an eternal lifetime. There’s no time like the present to get involved.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a massive blessing, and it carries with it a great responsibility to make disciples as we journey in our faith. Making disciples can be hard and thankless, it can become discouraging. Paul and Silas give us great insight into the way to deal with the challenges, of making disciples by praying for and being obedient to the strategic wisdom of Jesus Christ and trusting in Him to build His Church.

The Church is being attacked from outside and within. It always has been. How do you feel about the rampant evil that surrounds us, and the way it infiltrates the church? We should be aware of this, but never be disheartened and distracted from continuing the work of God to the very end. In the end He always wins. We can see His victory in Philippi, even though it looked like a loss, and we will see the same in our lives if we keep trusting, obeying and seeing things from Jesus’ perspective.

When big choice are before us, we naturally want to know what God wants us to do. But how? Too often we are preoccupied with the desire to be in control and have perfect knowledge before making a decision. Faith does not operate like this. Learning to keep going in trust and obedience until God changes our path is difficult but deeply rewarding in our journey with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul Silas and Timothy show us how, and encourage us to keep going.

When we last look at Acts we saw the way that God uses all kinds of people, and their strengths and weaknesses, without giving up on them, to achieve His purposes. This passage introduces a very active and gifted person called Timothy. Timothy was effective because he had a knowledge of Scripture, the gift of the Holy Spirit and access to the communities that God sent him to reach. We all have access to a communities that need the Gospel. They may be age, culture or otherwise defined, who are particularly equipped to help access God’s Kingdom?