Current Series: Rediscovering the Church
Sunday 12th September 2021 Functioning as the Body of Christ 1 Corinthians 12:1-30
This sermon looks at how the body of Christ, the church is meant to function. A healthy functioning church makes Jesus the centre, it works for the common good of its members, it’s all about serving one another, and it’s all about investing in itself. Come along this morning and find out how you can not only be a part of the church, but how you can contribute to the health of the church.
Sunday 5th September 2021 Being a Part of the Body of Christ Ephesians 4:1-16
When Westside started 20 years ago one of the main goals was that every member would be part of a small group. The first small group study we did was called Discovering the Church, which was all about how God brings his people into an amazing new community, called the church. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary as a church we’re going to go back and rediscover the beauty and wonder of God’s plan to connect his children in a new life-sustaining community the Bible calls the church. The purpose of this series is that you would love our church. This Sunday we’re going to look at what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.
Recent Series: Praying for Our Church
Sunday 29th August 2021 Praying for Your Pastor Romans 15:30-33
Being a pastor has its challenges, but one of the greatest is that they are Satan’s favourite target to undermine the validity of the church and bring disrepute to the name of Christ. Paul not only prayed constantly for the church, but he consistently asked the church to pray for him. This Sunday I want to encourage you to pray for me as your pastor, that God would protect me from evil, that he would bless my ministry, and that he would use me to bless you.
Sunday 22nd August 2021 Praying for God’s Power Ephesians 3:14-21
In a world where power is abused all the time Paul’s prayer that God might strengthen us by his power seems out of place. This Sunday we’re going to look at God’s power and how it works in our lives. We’re going to see that it’s not to make us powerful, but to make us more like Jesus. God’s power is all about renovating our spiritually dilapidated lives. In fact, Paul prays for God’s power so that we might know Jesus’ love. God’s power strengthens us as Jesus’ love fills us. Come along this Sunday as we unpack Paul’s power prayer.
Sunday 15th August 2021 Praying for Enlightened Hearts Ephesians 1:15-23
Our world searches for enlightenment, for understanding, but often that’s understanding of ourselves. Paul on the other hand prays that God would enlighten our hearts, that we would know three things. Those three things won’t just change how we feel about ourselves, they will change our eternal destiny. They won’t just draw us deeper into ourselves, but draw us out of ourselves, that we might know God better, that we might know eternal hope, that we might know God’s Almighty power at work in our lives. This Sunday you will find what it truly means to be enlightened.
Sunday 8th August 2021 Praying for Spiritual Revival Philippians 1:3-11
We all have excuses for not praying more, but this Sunday we’re going to see how important it is to pray. Paul prays for spiritual revival, that God would make our love abound more and more, that God would enable us to approve what is excellent, and that God would make us holy. We’re going to look at exactly what Paul means by those things. But we’re also going to see that those things are ends in themselves. We need to pray that God would work in the lives of his people if they’re going to bring him glory.
Sunday 1st August 2021 Praying for Spiritual Wisdom Colossians 1:9-14
Often our prayers are in response to people’s immediate physical or material needs, but this Sunday we’re going to be challenged to pray for people’s spiritual needs. Paul prays that people would know God’s will for their lives. We’re going to see that there are two ways that the bible talks about God’s will., and why it’s important to know the difference. Paul prays that we would live in a way that pleases God, and we’re going to explore four different ways that we can do that.
Sunday 25th July 2021 Thanking God for His People 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
There are a million things we ought to be thanking God for, but one of the things that we often take for granted are our brothers and sisters in Christ. In almost every letter he wrote, Paul tells them how much he thanks God for them. This Sunday we’re going to look at why Paul is so thankful for his brothers and sisters in Christ, how he thanks God for them, and the purpose for which he prays for them. We’re going to see what fuels our thankfulness for God’s people.
Sunday 18th July 2021 Praying for Jesus’ Glory 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12
Do your prayers for other people seem superficial? Do you just pray that they would be happy and healthy and successful? This Sunday we’re going to look at what Paul prayed for his fellow believers in Thessalonica. We’re going to see how Paul thanked God for signs of his grace working in their lives. We’re going to see how Paul prayed with an eternal perspective, how his confidence wasn’t in their current circumstances by God’s righteous judgments. But ultimately Paul prayed for Jesus’ glory. This Sunday God is going to encourage us to pray for things that really matter, for things that have eternal significance.
Sunday 11th July 2021 Jesus’ Prayer for the Church John 17:20-26
The Bible calls us to pray about all sorts of things, but in the New Testament one of the most common types of prayers is praying for the church. In this series we’re going to look at 8 New Testament prayers and what they teach us about praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This Sunday we’re going to start with Jesus’ prayer in John 17. Jesus prayed for you, and he prayed for three particular things, for unity, for your future destiny, and for your faith. If Jesus prayed for those things, how much should we be praying for those things as well?
