West Mersea Free Church
128 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago -Serving the community in Jesus' name
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Episodes
Education Sunday 2018
September 02, 2018 13:52 - 9 minutes - 12 MBThis week we look at being a follower of Jesus, based on the Education Sunday theme for 2018: Faith and Works. "The good news of Jesus Christ is not rocket science." Rob speaks this week about being a follower of God and sharing the Good News of the gospels. Rob briefly mentions an illustration involving marshmallows and the gospel from Soul Survivor - you can watch Laura Hancock's full talk online. For God so loved the world, He gave His only son, and whoever believes in Him shall not die,...
The Great Banquet
August 26, 2018 13:17 - 28 minutes - 36.6 MBRob speaks this morning about the parable of "The Great Banquet", where a wealthy man invites a collection of guests who make excuses to not attend. The man then asks his servant to invite to the banquet people from the streets - the lame; the poor; and the sick. How does Jesus' parable apply to us today?
The Unforgiving Servant
August 19, 2018 13:15 - 34 minutes - 41.9 MBUsing stories from his own life, and building upon his experiences, Miles Mitson tells the story of the unforgiving servant - a servant that once free of his own debts, continues attempting to collect debts from others...
Infinite Rule
July 22, 2018 16:28 - 20 minutes - 27.3 MBFor the final week in the None Like Him sermon series, Peter speaks about God's infinite rule - and how God is so overwhelming in rule that we must humbly obey His calling. When you bring a ruler to God, you cannot measure God.
Infinite Power
July 15, 2018 16:20 - 30 minutes - 38.2 MBRob discusses God's infinite power and the impact it has on our lives. "With great power comes great responsibility." Using a brief clip from Spider-Man (2002), Rob emphasises the importance of using power for the good of man, and not purely personal gain. The God of infinite power is almighty, all-powerful and omnipotent. God can't do all things, but He can do all possible things. Rob answers the question: "Why doesn't God use His power?"
Infinite Knowing
July 08, 2018 12:17 - 21 minutes - 27.5 MBReturning to the theme of None Like Him, Jen speaks about God's infinite knowledge. Our knowledge simply cannot compete with God's infinite knowing.
Rich, Young Ruler
July 01, 2018 12:10 - 8 minutes - 11.4 MBSpeaking about the rich, young ruler from the New Testament gospels, Rob speaks about how someone who has everything can get to the Kingdom of God. Many of us carry a type of spiritual boulder along with us, and God is saying to us: "Give it up - come and follow me." "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" In response to the sermon, we passed away our spiritual boulders whilst listening to 'All to Jesus I Surrender'.
Mission Impossible (Week 3)
June 24, 2018 12:08 - 22 minutes - 28.8 MBFor the third and final week of the Mission Impossible sermon series, Jen enacts a conversation with God, inspired by the book of Micah, helping us to realise God's intentions for us and the wider world. Jen's conversation with God demonstrates what we must do to better serve God's people - as well as the church.
Mission Impossible (Week 2)
June 10, 2018 20:37 - 33 minutes - 43.5 MBFor the second week of the sermon series for June 2018, Rob speaks about our 'Mission Impossible' in serving the Lord through mission. Using Peter & Cornelius as a stepping-stone to how we can serve today, Rob looks at evangelism and how being a missionary is being someone who shares the good news. A short clip was used to illustrate discovering God for the first time - and the desire to pursue further until our desires are met. William Carey's mission took him to Kolkata, India - and altho...
Mission Impossible (Week 1)
June 03, 2018 14:56 - 12 minutes - 16.1 MBJen begins the series for June 2018: Mission Impossible. We have a not-so-impossible mission to share our love for Jesus with the world, learning from how Jesus went to Zacchaeus, the tax-collector. Instead of allowing the crowd to be drawn around him, he moved so that Zacchaeus could hear the good news. Jen organised a demonstration of Jesus & Zacchaeus' story - where Heather (our 'Jesus' for the sketch) walked out from the crowds. No mission for God is an 'impossible mission'. Your missi...
Infinite Sameness
May 27, 2018 13:24 - 19 minutes - 25.5 MBContinuing the series None Like Him, Rob looks at the eternal God who calls us to live day by day; moment by moment. A God that doesn't need us, but chooses to use us. Everything around us changes: technology; shops; fashion; weather; people. It is said the only constant in life is change - but God doesn't change. God is infinitely the same. A God who is infinitely perfect. As part of the talk, we watched a short clip from Britain's Got Talent, demonstrating how quick change can be:
Infinite Place
May 20, 2018 19:36 - 21 minutes - 26.9 MBJen speaks this week about God's infinite place, and how we must devote our time to God, for we can't multitask efficiently (but God can!). Try Jen's Task: Can you multitask? Write the following, in order. Can you complete it within 20 seconds? Write the following, but in the order of letter-number-letter-number (so the first four characters you write are "I1a2"). Can you complete it within 20 seconds? You'll probably find that you're much more efficient when writing everything in orde...
Infinite Provision
May 13, 2018 12:34 - 16 minutes - 21.4 MBFor the fourth week in the None Like Him sermon series, we consider God's infinite provision for us - and how all that we need, God has provided. Peter speaks about differentiating between 'need' and 'want' - and how God does not need us - God created us, and owns everything, including the insects in the fields. God does, however, provide for our needs. God is a self-sufficient God, who has experienced temptation and has had needs withheld. God does not need us, but God does want us. We ha...
New Every Morning
May 06, 2018 19:03 - 12 minutes - 16.2 MBCelebrating Heather's baptism, and delving into Lamentations: "Great is Your faithfulness", Rob speaks about God's ability to see through all that is cringeworthy within us, and open our hearts to all that is good - allowing us to be "new every morning". Prior to the sermon, we watched a short clip from Paddington (2014): And as part of the sermon (at the very beginning) we watched Evan Longoria's incredible reflexes catching a ball during an interview:
Infinite Days
April 29, 2018 20:23 - 21 minutes - 13.8 MBRob speaks this week on the importance of time and God's infinite days, as part of the None Like Him series for summer 2018. Starting the sermon is an introductory clip: There are two further clips in the sermon, one of which looks at giving thanks to God for our time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rz2d9GvRP8 The final clip is a scene from 'About Time', a 2013 film following a family that can time-travel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9rvhmUhPnA
Infinite Creativity
April 22, 2018 20:58 - 22 minutes - 28.8 MBJoin us for the second week of the None Like Him sermon series for Summer 2018. Jen speaks this week about God's infinite creativity - and how marvellous God has made our world. Initially, Jen uses a short excerpt from the plot of "The Greatest Showman", a recent cinema release featuring the song "This Is Me", which focuses on accepting who we are - and how God made us as we are. Jen concludes by providing an opportunity to respond to the sermon - admiring God's infinite creativity, by list...
Infinite Mystery
April 15, 2018 20:58 - 21 minutes - 27.4 MBThe None Like Him sermon series for Summer 2018 begins with an introduction and sermon on God's Infinite Mystery. Based on the section of Jenny Wilkin's book "None Like Him", Rob speaks about how incomprehensible God is, and how we can never know everything about Him, as God is the awesome God Almighty.
Easter Sunday
April 01, 2018 11:58Easter Sunday 2018 lands on the same day as April Fool's Day - the day famous for celebrating "fake news". As a church, we need to share the good news - the true and real news - of Jesus' resurrection from the grave. Jen's talk begins with a quiz - can you identify the real news and the fake news from headlines? Have you heard that King's College Choir will be using helium to reach the high notes? Following this, Jen introduced a short clip of a conversation between a priest and one of the ...
Good Friday
March 30, 2018 11:35 - 17 minutes - 22 MBLearn about the tremendous sacrifice that set us free from our sins. Follow Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday, and consider the incredible cost paid on the cross. The sermon opened with a video - "What's so good about Good Friday?" - which explores the events of Good Friday. After the sermon, we partook in communion to remember Jesus' sacrifice. During this time, we were given the chance to respond to the service whilst listening to Hillsong's "Calvary".
Nothing New? Joseph
March 25, 2018 10:43 - 28 minutes - 36.2 MB"Joseph" is the final week of the Nothing New? sermon series looking at the stories of those at the beginning of the Bible and seeing their relevance today. In this sermon, Rob looks at the story of a favourite son who becomes absolutely hated by his brothers. A son who through slavery ends up in prison. But then his life changes - and Rob looks at Joseph the interpreter of dreams; the brother who is reunited with his family and his father. God's promise to Jacob is fulfilled. In response ...
Nothing New? Jacob & Esau
March 18, 2018 17:11 - 23 minutes - 29.3 MBFor week 9 of the Nothing New? sermon series, Andy Jones speaks about Jacob and Esau who come from what is almost the stereotypical 'modern day family'. It's a story about jealousy and trickery, but also about how God is with us through everything, and God always fulfils His promises, even when we are not able to see the fulfilment ourselves.
Nothing New? Isaac & Rebekah
March 11, 2018 19:16 - 21 minutes - 26.6 MBDuring week 8 of the Nothing New? sermon series, Jen talks about the marriage of Isaac & Rebekah (Genesis 24). Finding Rebekah was no coincidence - it was a God-incidence, and it is up to us to recognise these amazing God-incidences every day. Isaac and Abraham are also willing to put their faith in God, knowing that their prophecies would be fulfilled - something we should be doing every day, knowing that through faith we can grow. To help understand Abraham's growing family during the No...
Nothing New? Babel & Tongues
March 04, 2018 11:03 - 9 minutes - 12.1 MBWeek 7 of the Nothing New? sermon series is about Babel, and how the people of Babel experienced the gift of being able to interpret and share God's word in different languages. As part of the family service, we enjoyed a short video giving an example of where, perhaps, Google Translate didn't quite get the translation right...
Nothing New? Abraham & Isaac
February 25, 2018 18:28 - 22 minutes - 28.1 MBFor the sixth week of the Nothing New? sermon series for 2018, Rob speaks about Abraham's challenge from God - giving his son as an offering. Rob explains how Abraham is ready, willing and able to show his love for God - and how Isaac too, knew of Abraham's commitment to God. Alongside the sermon Rob used a short presentation (which can be downloaded below), and a clip from a BBC Doctor Who episode in which "The Doctor" and his companion jump together from a cliff-top - demonstrating the fa...
Nothing New? Sarah & Hagar
February 18, 2018 21:49 - 36 minutes - 45.5 MBThe fifth sermon in the Nothing New? sermon series for 2018 is on Sarah & Hagar, and their laughter and tears. In Genesis 16:1-10, we read about Sarai (who becomes 'Sarah'), who cannot conceive and so Abram (who becomes 'Abraham') has children through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian slave. Later, in Genesis 21:1-8, we read about God providing for Abraham by enabling her to conceive in old age, and Sarah saying: "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Th...
Nothing New? Abraham & Lot
February 11, 2018 14:34 - 31 minutes - 40.3 MBIt's a sermon topic often avoided, but one that also provides a valuable insight into the lives and stories of the Bible. Through Abraham and Lot, we can learn about God's promises, trust and justice - and how we must too, take a leap of faith to be close to God. This fourth instalment of the Nothing New? sermon series for 2018 helps to unravel the stories of Genesis, and how they continue to be relevant today. The beginning of the sermon contains a short game guessing the identities of fa...
Nothing New? Noah
February 05, 2018 19:57 - 15 minutes - 10.2 MBFor the third week of the Nothing New? sermon series, Jen speaks about Noah, including God's love and patience with us, and how when we trust God, we can be used by Him to do incredible things. The sermon begins with a short quiz about the sizes of different ships, including the Victory, and the Seawise Giant.
Nothing New? Cain & Abel
January 28, 2018 16:28 - 30 minutes - 38.7 MBThe second sermon in the Nothing New? series, Jen looks at the story of Cain & Abel, and how God can look upon His children "with favour" whilst loving us all equally. How is God treating us fairly? Does He love some of us more than others? Is His love unconditional? Reflecting upon the sermon, we listened to Matt Maher's performance of Lord, I Need You.
Nothing New? Adam & Eve
January 21, 2018 16:55 - 24 minutes - 31.5 MBStarting the Nothing New? sermon series for January to March 2018, Rob speaks about shame and how when Adam & Eve took the apple from the tree in the Garden of Eden, the Bible describes the tremendous shame they felt having done something wrong. Jesus died for our sins to be forgiven, tearing away the things we are shameful about from our lives - because the shame we feel today? It isn't anything new, because there is nothing new under the Sun. In response to the sermon, we listened to Chri...
A Time for Everything
January 14, 2018 15:03 - 16 minutes - 21.6 MBMelissa today speaks about "making time" for God, the creator of all of space and time. In Ecclesiastes 3, it speaks about how we should make God an integral part of everything we do, rather than "making time" to slot in 'a bit of God'.
Prayer: Who? What? Where?
January 07, 2018 14:56 - 11 minutes - 15.1 MBFor the first service of the new year, 2018, Rob preaches on the topic of prayer, and how prayers can become more meaningful when given an objective - and that with guidance, we might pray more often to have a conversation with God. At the end of the sermon, everyone was given a 'prayer card' to complete, and hold onto, structured as: PRAYER 2018 Who? to pray for What? to pray for Where? to pray for As part of the sermon, we also watched a short sketch by Charlie Chaplin, illustrating how ...
No Greater Love
December 31, 2017 18:42 - 40 minutes - 51.7 MBFor New Year's Eve 2017, we contemplate God's plans for the year ahead, and remember the successes of God's plans in the past. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was an example of God's love for us: There is no greater love than this.
Unbelievable Plan
December 25, 2017 18:13 - 9 minutes - 12.8 MBThis Christmas Day sermon, the last in the 2017 Advent series: Unbelievable: Good News in a Fake News World, collates and explains the Christmas story, and God's unbelievable plan for both Jesus - His Son - and us - His children. Rob takes us on a journey, just like the journey taken by Mary and Joseph, as we consider how God's plan came to be. Accompanying the sermon, we listened to Somewhere In Your Silent Night by Casting Crowns - a song that shares God's incredible plan for the world wh...
Unbelievable Family
December 24, 2017 17:48 - 14 minutes - 19.7 MBBeginning the final week of the 2017 Advent series: Unbelievable: Good News for a Fake News World, Andrew French preaches on the significance and importance of Jesus, a unique, one-of-a-kind saviour that came to Earth to save us all.
Unbelievable Hope
December 17, 2017 16:38 - 10 minutes - 14 MBThis evening, Week 3 of the Unbelievable: Good News for a Fake News World, Rob looks at the unbelievable hope we are given at Christmas. As part of our carol service, the introductory sequence mentioned was headlines of 'bad news' to the song 'All is Well' by Michael W. Smith. The message is also supported by a short presentation, which can be viewed by clicking 'Notes' below:
Unbelievable Story
December 17, 2017 13:34 - 8 minutes - 10.5 MBFor Week 3 of the Unbelievable: Good News for a Fake News World series for Advent 2017, Andy Bacon talks about the nativity story, following the performance by the Causeway Kids and Hype groups in their Christmas sketch.
Unbelievable Messengers
December 10, 2017 21:38 - 31 minutes - 40.5 MBDuring Week 2 of the Unbelievable: Good News for a Fake News World series for Advent 2017, Colin speaks about God's angels - his unbelievable messengers throughout the Bible, and how these angels are prominent throughout time. How many carols can you think of that contain the words 'Angel' or 'Angels'? Colin also used a short presentation to highlight some of the key areas of his sermon, which can be downloaded by clicking 'Notes' below.
Unbelievable Joy
December 03, 2017 21:27 - 19 minutes - 25.6 MBFor first sermon in 2017's Advent series of Unbelievable: Good News for a Fake News World, Rob speaks about the unbelievable joy of Christmas that comes as God gives us His son. Towards the beginning of the sermon, Rob uses images in a presentation, which can be downloaded using the 'Notes' link at the bottom of this page. Looking particularly at the idea and concept of comprehensible and unbelievable joy, Rob asks us to consider what makes us happy, framing the question with a short clip f...
Tongues & Interpretation
November 26, 2017 22:14 - 30 minutes - 21.4 MBConcluding the series on the Gifts of the Spirit, Rob speaks about the spiritual gifts of Tongues and Interpretation, and how we can use language and communication to share God's love with others. The sermon begins with a clip from the Morecambe and Wise sketch with Andre Previn: Concluding the sermon, the church reflects on the topic, and the Gifts of the Spirit series listening to 'Contro' by Tenth Avenue North:
Encouragement, Helping & Serving
November 19, 2017 22:06 - 26 minutes - 34.7 MBWeek 9 of the Gifts of the Spirit sermon series covers the gifts of Encouragement, Helping and Serving. Jen focuses particularly on the importance of encouragement, and how we as a church can use our gifts to encourage others.
Healing & Miracles
November 12, 2017 21:56 - 29 minutes - 37.8 MBRob speaks this week about the spiritual gifts of healing and performing miracles, as part of the Gifts of the Spirit sermon series. Looking at the question of whether God still performs miracles of healing today, Rob looks at some incredible phenomena that demonstrate God's work through people today - and how the people use the gifts God has given them. An example of the miracles of healing God performs today, the church watched a short clip from the Alpha series and Shaila Visser's story:
Old City Hall – “Built for Battle” Part 2
November 05, 2017 20:36 - 53 minutes - 70.4 MBThe "Built for Battle" seminar was an event organised and run by the Old City Hall, and held on the West Mersea Free Church premises. The Bible Teaching Seminar by Chris Hill is titled "Built for Battle", and covers spiritual warfare, and the church according to Jesus. The seminar was delivered in two parts, which are both available online. Visit the "Built for Battle" series page. Seminars by Chris Hill are only part of the work in which he is involved. CL Ministries (www.clministries.org...
Old City Hall – “Built for Battle” Part 1
November 05, 2017 20:26 - 51 minutes - 65.8 MBThe "Built for Battle" seminar was an event organised and run by the Old City Hall, and held on the West Mersea Free Church premises. The Bible Teaching Seminar by Chris Hill is titled "Built for Battle", and covers spiritual warfare, and the church according to Jesus. The seminar was delivered in two parts, which are both available online. Visit the "Built for Battle" series page. Seminars by Chris Hill are only part of the work in which he is involved. CL Ministries (www.clministries.org...
Gift of Giving
October 29, 2017 16:14 - 21 minutes - 28.9 MBFor the sixth instalment in the Gifts of the Spirit sermon series, Peter Grinham preaches on giving, and the importance of sharing all that we have, with others. Learn more about the Gifts of the Spirit series by visiting the series page.
Evangelism & Apostleship
October 15, 2017 22:32 - 43 minutes - 56 MBContinuing the Gifts of the Spirit sermon series, guest preacher Rob Tervet speaks about the gifts of Evangelism and Apostleship, and how as a church we can work in the community to talk to people and bring them to Christ - how we can become renewed in our Christian faith, and how we can all be evangelists and apostles, and be that little bit more 'like' Jesus. Learn more about the Gifts of the Spirit series by visiting the series page.
Gifts of Faith & Mercy
October 08, 2017 14:47 - 21 minutes - 27.7 MBWeek four of the Gifts of the Spirit sermon series covers the gifts of 'Faith' and 'Mercy'. This week, Melissa speaks about the importance of using the gifts of faith and mercy for God's work, and how opportunities to share the gifts should be grasped. Learn more about the Gifts of the Spirit series by visiting the series page.
Pastoring, Teaching, Leadership & Administration
September 24, 2017 14:46 - 33 minutes - 43.1 MBWeek three of the sermon series on the Gifts of the Spirit is on the topic of Pastoring, Teaching, Leadership and Administration, and Jen Hughes talks about how people can use these gifts God has given to support the work of the church in the community. Elements of the sermon are illustrated with slides, which can be downloaded by clicking the link below. Learn more about the Gifts of the Spirit series by visiting the series page.
Prophecy
September 17, 2017 18:52 - 36 minutes - 49 MBDuring this second sermon in the Gifts of the Spirit series, Rob discusses how God gives the gift of prophecy to the church. Learn about what the gift of prophecy is, what it means to the church, and how it can be used to further God's plan for us. During the sermon, we watched a video in which Shawn Bolz talks about his prophetic experience, where he visited a South American dictator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNLnBdum9BA Learn more about the Gifts of the Spirit series by visiting ...
Introduction to the Gifts
September 10, 2017 21:45 - 31 minutes - 41.9 MBFor the first instalment in the new Gifts of the Spirit sermon series, Rob talks about how God has given, through people, gifts to the church. Are we using all that God has given to us? Are we all given spiritual gifts? Rob also introduces the rest of the series, with sermons on topics such as Prophecy, Healing and Apostleship, with services in the series running through to December. You can learn more about the Gifts of the Spirit by visiting the series page.
The Power of Prayer
August 28, 2017 21:24 - 26 minutes - 34.4 MBPeter Grinham speaks this week about the importance of prayer, thinking about the reasons to pray, and the significance prayer can have in our lives.