2013-2015

Sermon series from 2013-2015, with series on Ephesians (Who Do We Think We Are?), ethical issues (Dealing With Dilemmas), Christmas (The Miracle of Christmas), the book of Revelation (Revelation of Jesus), 1 Thessalonians (Church DNA), and the gospel of Mark (Mark: Storyteller).

Ephesus: A Virtual Tour

14/04/2013

Geoff Cook

Acts 19:1–10

An introduction to Ephesus in the first century, and to the book that is addressed to the Christians living there.

From Here To Eternity

21/04/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 1:1–14

What does it mean to be "in Christ"? Paul explains that we are God’s possession, chosen by the Father, adopted through the Son and sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Galaxies and Governments

28/04/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 1:15–23

We should not be content with a few basic Christian beliefs. We should pursue true wisdom, based on a proper knowledge of God and a clear understanding of all the riches that are ours through Christ

From Death to Life

12/05/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 2:1–10

There is a sentence of death hanging over us and we can’t save ourselves: we need someone else to come in and do what we can’t, and that is to rescue us and put us in our ‘forever family’.

From Aliens To Citizens

19/05/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 2:11–22

Whoever we are, we are separated from God. Only Jesus can, and has, obliterated the barrier between us and Him.

Mystery and Majesty

26/05/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 3:1–13

Every church in every place at every time is in need of reform and renewal. But we need to beware lest we despise the church of God, and are blind to his work in history. We may safely say that God has not abandoned his church.

Heads and Hearts

09/06/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 3:14–21

Paul is praying for the church. He’s talking to the church, he’s encouraging the church to be the church, the family of God.

From Childhood to Adulthood

16/06/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 4:1–16

Grown up Christians are passionately committed to one another in the church, using their gifts in ministry through the church.

From The Old To The New

23/06/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 4:17–24

You can change things you do; only Jesus can change who you are. And once he changes who you are, that changes what you do.

Truth And Lies

30/06/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 4:25 – 5:7

It is only when we have grasped clearly who we are in Christ, that the desire will grow within us to live a life that is worthy of our calling and fitting to our character as God's new society.

From Darkness To Light

07/07/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 5:8–20

Our task is to grasp this, and every, moment and live it to the full in the light of the glory of God.

From Me To You

14/07/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 5:21 – 6:9

Once Jesus comes, we now see what love is; we now know what love is. Love has not only a definition but is walking around as an example.

From Weaklings to Warriors

28/07/2013

Geoff Cook

Ephesians 6:10–24

The world is not the way it should be. Not everything that happens is God’s will. God has an enemy. And it’s so important that it’s the final word in the book of Ephesians.

Ethical Decision Making

22/09/2013

Geoff Cook

Hebrews 5:11 – 63

Ethics covers how to live a good life, our rights and responsibilities, the language of right and wrong, moral decisions - what is good and what is bad. Where, then, are we to turn for moral guidance?

The Bible and Homosexuality

29/09/2013

Geoff Cook

Genesis 19:4–8
Ezekiel 16:49
Jude 1:7
Leviticus 18:22 – 20:13
Romans 1:18–28
1 Corinthians 6:9–10

The urgency here is not in getting our theoretical ethics right; it is learning to love people and together finding ways to make our churches counter-cultural communities of love where every person may find true human intimacy and God's healing grace.

Ecology and the Environment

13/10/2013

Geoff Cook

Psalm 104:1–35

We must try to discern the balance that God intended for all of the parts of creation to live together interdependently, including the land.

Medicine and Genetics

20/10/2013

Geoff Cook

Psalm 139:13–18

How does the conviction that God created human beings in his own image and that God is the giver of life help us to approach ethical issues in the life sciences, medicine and health care?

Business and Economics

27/10/2013

Geoff Cook

Matthew 22:15–22
Matthew 6:24

Four out of ten people ‘go to work’ each day and the proportion in Biblical times would not have been very different. What is the place of business within the purposes of God?

War and Peace

17/11/2013

Geoff Cook

Romans 12:17 – 13:5
Romans 3:22–24
Romans 3:10–11
Mark 13:7–8
Deuteronomy 2:4–5
Deuteronomy 2:9
Deuteronomy 2:19
Deuteronomy 20:10–12
1 Peter 2:21–23
Matthew 5:9
Matthew 5:44
Isaiah 2:3–4
Revelation 21:3–4
John 19:11
1 Timothy 2:1–4

God clearly is a God of peace and yet there are times when in a sinful and broken world, war seem to be the lesser of two evils.

Social Justice

24/11/2013

Geoff Cook

Amos 5:21–24
Proverbs 3:27–28
Luke 10:25–28
1 Timothy 5:3–8
Galatians 6:10
James 1:27
Romans 13:6
2 Thessalonians 3:10–12
Deuteronomy 15:1–2
Proverbs 31:8–9
John 1:14

God is concerned with the just treatment of those who are unable to support themselves in a local community and in society at large.

The Miracle Of The Moment

01/12/2013

Geoff Cook

Galatians 4:1–7

At just the right time in history Jesus was born. The coming of Christ into the world was not a matter of chance or coincidence. His coming was part of God's divine plan established before the foundation of the world.

The Miracle Of The Message

08/12/2013

Geoff Cook

Hebrews 1:1–4

The miracle of the message is not just in the fact that God speaks to us today through His Son, but that the message has the power to transform our lives.

The Miracle Of The Method

22/12/2013

Geoff Cook

Romans 11:33–36

God's methods haven't changed. He still uses ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary work! Our abilities are not as important as our attitude and availability.

The Miracle Of The Manger

29/12/2013

Geoff Cook

John 1:1–14

The miracle of the manger is that God became flesh and lived among us. He came not so He could send us to eternal punishment but to set us free. God became man so that we could become children of God.

Jesus Revealed

09/02/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 1:1–20

John in exile thinks about the churches under persecution back home and, when praying for them on the Lord's day, hears a voice behind him. God is bringing comfort to his people, the central vision of the Lord Jesus standing in majesty.

Letters From The King

16/02/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 2:1 – 3:22

A believing community is the context for the life of faith. Jesus is perfect and glorified and good, and the church is a work in progress.

The Heart Of Worship

23/02/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 4:1 – 5:14

Christian worship is a conviction that we are in the presence of God, an act of attention to the living God who rules, speaks and reveals, creates and redeems orders and blesses.

The Scrolls Of Destiny

16/03/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 6:1 – 7:17

These and the following chapters of Revelation are not what we want to hear, just as the news from the doctor may not be what we want to hear. But it is what we must hear if the world is to be healed.

The Sound Of Trumpets

23/03/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 8:1 – 9:21

Revelation shows us, in vivid graphic detail, that the only way to understand the judgement of God is when we come to terms with how real and ugly evil is and what untold havoc and fear it causes in this good and beautiful world that God has made.

Take Courage

30/03/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 10:1 – 11:19

Throughout the book of Revelation, the call of God’s people is to bear faithful witness to Jesus, even though it will mean suffering, and quite possibly a shameful death.

The Woman And The Dragon

27/04/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 12:1–17

This is cosmic drama. This is Christmas from a heavenly perspective. John wants to assure his readers that if you remain faithful to Jesus it will cost you, but you will be protected and you will receive the crown of life.

The Two Beasts

11/05/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 13:1–18

John's aim is to alert his fellow persecuted believers that behind Rome's grandeur, behind the appeal of every secular ideology of whatever century, lurks a beast that is essentially anti-god. But do not be deceived - evil will not go on for ever.

The Triumph Of The Gospel

18/05/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 14:1–20

God is making all things new. The good news of Jesus defines us, unites us, makes us who we are. It is so momentous, so valuable so foundational, so transformative that whole world views needs to be dismantled and rebuilt around person and achievements of Jesus Christ.

The Seven Bowls

25/05/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 15:1 – 16:21

We are homing in on the greatest showdown of them all. It is time, now, for the destroyers to be destroyed. God will let evil take its course and bring its own nemesis; and, at a moment which only he is in any position to judge, he will bring the necessary closure on the world’s wrongs.

Downfall Of The City

08/06/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 17:1 – 18:24

A tale of two cities, contrasting this present world and the new spiritual city, in order to show the true reality of the present and the reality of the future. Poetic symbolism helps us to reimagine the world we live in and its future.

Hallelujah! The Lord Reigns

15/06/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 19:1–21

John is once again transported into heaven and in his vision, emerging from the dark shadows is the exquisite beauty of an age to come - the beginning of the final outcome of human history.

Reigning With Christ

06/07/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 20:1–15

There are things in this world that cannot be in the new world that God is in the business of creating if that new world is to be all that he promised it will be. In God's kingdom of justice and joy there is no space for certain acts and attitudes, nor anyone who will not let go of them. Judgement must come before the kingdom can come.

All Things Made New

13/07/2014

Geoff Cook

Revelation 21:1 – 22:21

What we have here is the utter transformation of heaven and earth by means of God abolishing, from within both heaven and earth, everything that has to do with the horrible, disgusting and tragic effects of human sin.

Faith, Love and Hope

28/09/2014

Geoff Cook

1 Thessalonians 1:1–10

Every church is part of the Father's mission of love to this world. What drives us? What's our motivation? Paul talks about the Thessalonians, and their work produced by faith, their labour prompted by love, and their endurance inspired by hope.

The Family of Faith

12/10/2014

Geoff Cook

1 Thessalonians 2:1–12

Christians should have a heart for each other, not just a dispassionate commitment to do good. Where souls are knit together in the cause of Christ, there is power for the long hard ventures of ministry.

The Word at Work

19/10/2014

Geoff Cook

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16

A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase! Don't let this amazing, invaluable resource go to waste! Memorise it. Meditate on it. Minister with it. Study it. Apply it.

Standing Firm in Faith

26/10/2014

Geoff Cook

1 Thessalonians 2:17 – 3:13

Paul is more interested in the faith of the Thessalonians than anything else. Why so important? Why do we need to stand firm in the faith? What will stop us standing firm in the faith? And how do we stand firm in the faith?

What Are You Living For?

23/11/2014

Geoff Cook

1 Thessalonians 4:1–12

When it comes to mature Christian behaviour, we are all a work in progress and none of us can claim to have arrived. Our aim is to please God ‘more and more’ by the way we choose to live out our lives.

Return Of The King

30/11/2014

Geoff Cook

1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11

We can be certain Jesus' return is closer today than it was yesterday. Tomorrow, it will be even closer. Jesus is coming again. Will you be ready for His return, or will He catch you unprepared?

Healthy Christian Community

07/12/2014

Geoff Cook

1 Thessalonians 5:12–28

Paul gives some helpful teaching here on the relationship between leaders and congregation. and then moves on to describe relationships between members of the congregation.

A Call To Repent and Believe

11/01/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 1:14–20

Far too often we play Christianity, we do not live it. For many of us it is more of a hobby than a matter of life or death. We have succumbed to our prevailing culture, the culture of pleasure and passivity.

The Authority of Jesus

01/02/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 1:21–28

Jesus speaks with a definitive and moving authority, and acts with life-changing power. Mark wants us to feel in our gut the combination of power and authority in Jesus’ character.

The Ministry of Jesus

08/02/2015

John Russell

Mark 1:29–39

What can we learn from the way Jesus ministers to people?

A Paralysed Man

22/02/2015

Dennis Reynolds

Mark 2:1–12

Jesus shows compassion to a paralysed man.

The Other Little Donkey

29/03/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 11:1–11

Who do we identify with in the Palm Sunday story? Our best role model here just might be the donkey, to be like the one who literally was the Christ-bearer.

Crowd Puller

07/06/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 3:20–35

Jesus’ followers are invited to be a new community which (unlike Jesus' own family and the scribes) will recognise what God is doing in him, and join him in his crucial work of confronting evil in the world.

Parable Teller

14/06/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 4:26–34

The Jesus revolution is meant to be viral. It starts small, like a weed in a garden, but it spreads. It spreads one life to another, more and more people getting pulled into it. And the harder you try to get rid of it, the faster it spreads.

Rule Breaker

28/06/2015

Ruth Matthews

Mark 5:21–43

Jesus demonstrates his love and compassion for people.

A Dark Tale

12/07/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 6:14–29

As Christians we are called to stand up, stand out and make a difference. That is likely to ruffle a few feathers and challenge a few vested interests.

Who's First?

13/09/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 9:30–37

Who wants to be first? First in line for fame and recognition? Or first in line for serving others, even if that means pain and suffering? To be first means to be last, to be a servant. No service is too lowly.

Who Is With Us?

27/09/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 9:38–50

We all know what these words do not mean but we don’t often spend a lot of time wondering what they do mean. Jesus is calling for total commitment here. Jesus' words and ideas in Mark 9 call us all up short.

A Challenging Perspective

11/10/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 10:17–31

Contrary to the dominant voices of our culture, but in keeping with the entire section on discipleship in Mark, this text proclaims the good news that the way to be really rich is to die to ourselves.

Mercy On The Margins (Bart's Story)

25/10/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 10:46–52

In Mark’s eyes Bartimaeus is the model disciple, who is called by Jesus, came to Jesus, believes in Jesus, is saved by Jesus, and followed Jesus along the way. What's your story?

Looking Beyond

22/11/2015

Geoff Cook

Mark 13:1–23

Mark 13 is not about the ‘end of the world’. it is about the birth pain, the struggle of labour which happens as God’s kingdom breaks into history, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, bringing great joy and new life.

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