West Mersea Free Church

The 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 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 guards on duty around the empty tomb. As the talk continues, Jen speaks about the importance of Jesus in our lives, and how the resurrection continues to be the good news we can share today. Reflecting on the sermon, there was an opportunity to respond during "Because He Lives (Amen)" by Matt Maher.

Learn 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".

"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 to the sermon, we listened to "Trust In You" by Lauren Daigle, reminding us that God always fulfils His promises - we just have to trust in Him.

For 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.

During 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 Nothing New? series, you may wish to view a family tree.

Week 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...

For 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 faith the companion has in him. The sermon was followed with an opportunity to respond, listening to Urban Rescue's "Provider".

The 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." These two passages emphasise both the challenges in the world - and show that God provides for us. Andrew speaks particularly about the two different types of laughter & tears we read about, and how God is able to fix our problems.

It'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 famous individuals based off of their headlines - showing that a headline doesn't fully represent who someone is. The accompanying presentation for this can be downloaded using the links below. Following the sermon, we listened to Hillsong Worship's song Calvary, reflecting upon our own leaps of faith.

For 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.

The 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.

Starting 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 Chris Tomlin's performance of Lord I Need You - because every hour we need Him:

Melissa 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'.

For 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 we often 'go round in circles' whilst praying:

For 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.

This 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 when He gave us His Son.

Beginning 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.

This 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:

For 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.