'A Time For...' Study Guides
Week 1
Pastor Mark starts a new series for 2023 - "A Time For..."
Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there is a time for everything. As we step into a new year we eagerly anticipate God doing new things in our life, starting with God Inspired Confidence for what lies ahead.
Week 4
Dr Grace looks at 1 Corinthians 3 and Matthew chapter 7 to show the vital importance of having Jesus as our only foundation. A strong foundation is not optional, but an absolute necessity if we want our lives to remain intact when troubles come.
Week 7
The truth is still the truth even if no one believes it and a lie is still a lie even if everyone believes it. Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. Deborah explains the choice we all have to walk in the truth.
Week 10
If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value. But God sees you differently - He paid a high price for you and Ephesians 2 tells us He calls us His "Masterpiece".
Week 13
Easter Sunday, what better time to talk about A Time For New Beginnings?
Brian looks at our Saviour, Redeemer, and Messiah and in the words of C.S. Lewis shows us how "Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, he came to make dead people alive"
Week 16
Brian gives us an overview of the passages of scripture in the books of Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians, that provide us with insight into the gifts and work of the Holy Spirit, With a particular encouragement to us all to earnestly desire the spiritual gifts that God wants to give us.
Week 19
Pastor Mark walks us through the relationship between Elijah and Elisha and their final collaboration (as told to us in 2 Kings 2 : 1-16) and unpacks some key insights about responsibility.
How Do Relationships Impact Me?
What Do I See, That Others Don’t?
What Do I Desire For My Life?
Am I Willing to Carry Greater Responsibility?
Week 22
Brian looks at the subject of our identity - as scripture tells us that we were created to be image bearers of God. We were created to relate to God and reflect His character. With a reminder that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to restore that identity back to us.
Week 25
As we embark on another week of prayer and fasting, Ps Mark looks at what undermines our prayer life and contrasts that with what fuels effective and impactful prayer.
Week 28
Boundaries are often a good thing, they offer protection and help us set limits. But sometimes boundaries become barriers in our life, they can be driven by fear, prejudice, other priorities, or the desire for an easy life. There are times when God calls us to cross boundaries in order for us to fulfill his missional purposes.
Week 31
Knowing God's voice in our lives is vital for us as Christians. People don't naturally know when God is speaking to them, and we don't think how God thinks. The Bible tells us in 1 Cor 2 that God's spirit reveals his thoughts to us. Hearing the voice of God is not an experience we earn but a capacity we cultivate, by being attentive to God's spirit.
Week 34
In his message "A Time For...Standing when Others Give Up" - Ps Mark encourages us to look at the lives of those in scripture who decided to stand despite the circumstances, and how their actions impacted others. He reminds us that God works in difficult times and promises to sustain us.
Week 37
Spiritual battles and pressure are inevitable, but we can learn to prepare, to recognise the enemy's plans and overcome. Deborah draws out some patterns from Nehemiah's life, that enabled him to rebuild the broken walls and defeat the plans of the enemy.
Week 40
Four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship to God while the other six deal with our relationships with people. But all ten are about relationships. Ps Mark looks at some of the key principles for building Kingdom relationships
Week 43
Dr Grace encourages us to look at our Creator and Creative God and realise that we are made in His image. He made us to be creative and so we should embrace that and be inspired to use our creativity for His Kingdom purposes.
Week 46
Dr Grace explains that Biblical Spirituality is connectivity with God and in God; producing transformation in a person, evidenced by how that person lives. In this Connectivity, God’s will and power is being understood, and man’s responsibility is not ignored.
Week 49
Is there room for Hope in our lives this Christmas? Circumstances, events, pressures and worries can lead to despair but Romans 15:13 tells us "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Week 2
Grace delves into the subject of "Effective Prayer" as we start our week of prayer and fasting. Knowing God's word is key to knowing His will, and effective prayer is always aligned with God's will.
Week 5
God, in his goodness, created rest because he considers it as important as work. Pastor Mark unpacks the important but often undervalued subject of rest and refreshment as a spiritual discipline.
Week 8
Brian picks up from where he left off in week 3 of the series, looking at what it means to be a true disciple. A disciple is a student, learner, follower. Discipleship is active and counts the cost.
Week 11
Sofia shares her own experience and also looks at the life of Joseph to show how important it is for all of us to find that place of real intimacy with God. That place where Psalm 91 tells us we should dwell.
Week 14
As we get ready to begin a week of Prayer & Fasting, Pastor Mark explains how vital it is that we each encounter the person of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God wants us to be filled with His Holy Spirit, to build His character in us, to release His spiritual gifts through us and to enable us to live in His power.
Week 17
Mark Ritchie joins us for the weekend and delves into Mark 2:1-12 to encourage and inspire us as a church to have a passion for reaching our friends, family, community and generation for God.
Week 20
Brian looks at the subject of believers having increased capacity due to the Holy Spirit living in them. Reminding us that being filled with the Spirit is our birthright. Being filled with the Spirit is a need of the believer. And being filled with the Spirit is a responsibility of the believer.
Week 23
As we celebrate Father's Day, Ps Mark reminds us that God wants us to know Him as a Father. Our heavenly Father and our Abba Father. Ephesians 1 tells us "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure."
Week 26
On the weekend of our International Feast & celebration, Deborah encourages us to consider what it looks like be the community that God wants us to be.
Week 29
What is compassion and can it ever be "Wrong" to show it? Dr Grace shows how God described Himself to Moses as "Compassionare and Gracious" and Jesus modelled for us how we should show compassion for others.
Week 32
Brian looks at Biblical narrative to give us a picture of how God moves in the small things, the day-by-day, every-day things to accomplish His purposes. Looking at examples from the life of Ruth, Esther and Joseph we see how the seemingly little things become vital for fulfilling God's purposes.
Week 35
It was amazing to be joined by Pastor Abraham this morning, as he encouraged us to become people after God's own Heart. Picking up on 4 aspects of David's life, we learn that everyone one of us can become someone that God can use for His Kingdom.
Week 38
Some people feel very stuck in life but God always provides a way out for us. In Exodus 4, when Moses was asking God how he could possibly do what God wanted him to do, God asked "What is in your hand?" He asks to same of us and our challenge is to use what he has already given us, to enable us to move forward.
Week 41
In the last chapters of the gospel of John, Jesus gives his final words and thoughts to the disciples and He focuses on Unity. Sofi shows how unity is built on Love, Faith and Obedience. In John 15 Jesus prayed for our unity so that the world will believe. So it's a strong challenge for us to take unity very seriously.
Week 44
God wants us to remember things the enemy wants us to forget, and the enemy wants us to remember things God wants us to forget. Ps Mark encourages us to remember the promises of God for our lives, and as we put our faith in those promises, God will make us and bless us.
Week 47
Ps Mark starts our Christmas series with a question: is there room in our lives for change? God's plan involves change. Jesus came to change the world and our responsibility as followers of Christ is to allow God to change us into the people He has called us to be.
Week 50
Dr Grace ask is the room for Grace? From the very beginning, God planned to reveal His Grace to us. We have received His unmerited Grace and our response should be to show and give grace to others. Indeed, Grace demands that we love, instruct, comfort and care for one another.
Week 3
Brian encourages us to reset our priorities based on our calling to be disciples of Jesus. Allowing the Master to direct our priorities, yielding our will to His, will lead us to becoming more like Him.
Week 6
We are all tempted and temptation is often strongest in our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Luke Milton gives us some practical examples of how we can follow Jesus' pattern for overcoming temptation and protecting our lives.
Week 9
Dr Grace explores the critical topic of Emotional Strength, focusing on a person's "heart". Biblically, the heart is considered the seat of life or strength, or one's entire emotional nature and understanding.
Week 12
As we reflect on Jesus' example on Palm Sunday, Pastor Mark explores the impact Faithfulness and Obedience have on lives. They both matter to God and are keys to spiritual knowledge and insight.
Week 15
Deborah delves into the question of identity and explores how defining moments and circumstances in our lives can have a transformative effect on our perceptions and behaviors. Then reminding us not to allow these obstacles to hinder us, instead of letting our identity in Christ release us.
Week 18
Pastor Edgar Monterroso joins us for the weekend. His message - A Time of being generous is a timely reminder about the generosity of God (who loved first, then gave) and our call and responsibility to follow. Enjoy the message in Spanish (translated to English by his daughter, and our Worship leader, Sofi).
Week 21
Pastor Mark reflects on the vital need for healthy trust in our lives, personally and also corporately within the church. He teaches us that Trust is important because with it our Inward relationships grow Stronger, our Speed of Movement becomes faster and our outward Impact reaches Wider.
Week 24
Dr Grace examines the nature of Impact and finds that it is not about title, position, platform, noise or even the supernatural. For us to live a life of impact we must know (and live out) our purpose, be obedient, use our voice, and live by faith. When we do, we can be sure that we will have a "Kingdom" impact in our homes, workplaces, and community.
Week 27
Brian reminds us that our decisions should align with God and His character, Philippians 2:34 tells us: Let
nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Week 30
Deborah's message "A Time For...Care in Conversation" is important because WORDS matter. It matters what comes out of our mouth and what influences the words that come out of our mouth. There is a cycle of the words we speak, affecting our hearts, and from our hearts, our mouths speak. So speak words of Life!
Week 33
God has a good purpose for families but families can become dysfunctional. Dr Grace explains how we can function well as families, by being deeply committed to God, allowing Him and His word to guide our conversations, and being intentional about spending time and passing Godly values to our children.
Week 36
In his message - "A time for Looking Up", Brian explains that this weekend is the Jewish feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24). It should serve as reminder to us that we have a glorious hope - that one day Jesus will return, to rule and reign.
Week 39
Dr. Grace explains that we all face the enemies of sin, self, and satan. But we know that we have victory over sin through Jesus (Romans 7:21-25). How to LIVE Victoriously? Accept failure by human effort, Be faithful, Depend on the Holy Spirit, Seek Godly guidance/counsel, Cultivate a listening heart, Pray, Study and Worship.D
Week 42
In a world where we are bombarded by so many voices and opinions, from the news to social media, Brian explains that it is vital that we learn to listen to God's voice. As we spend time in His word, we find a foundation that cannot be shaken, and a hope that sustains us.
Week 45
In every situation choose not to be anxious, instead, add together your prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving. It's easy to thank God after the event but it’s a choice to thank Him before in prayer.
Week 48
Brian asks the question, in a post-truth world, is there room for truth? Jesus said He was the Truth. Scripture also tells us that "you will know the truth and the truth will set you free". Freedom comes after truth, and real truth comes in knowing Jesus.
Week 51
Deborah concludes our "Time For..." series with an encouragement to make room for God to bring New Wine but He will not waste it on old wineskins, he seeks New Wineskins. So in the coming year, we need to be willing for god to RENEW us with new ways of thinking, new approaches, new habits and mindsets.