West Mersea Free Church

During 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.

For 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 from the Alpha film series: Responding to the sermon, the congregation were given the opportunity to collect a paper sausage and swap it for a baby Jesus - where we should make Christmas about a newborn child, and not for our own gain. This was done to Angels We Have Heard On High by Sixpence.

Concluding 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:

Week 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.

Rob 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:

The "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.uk), through which Chris has published numerous books and DVDs.

The "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.uk), through which Chris has published numerous books and DVDs.

For 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.

Continuing 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.

Week 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.

Week 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.

During 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 the series page.

For 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.

Peter Grinham speaks this week about the importance of prayer, thinking about the reasons to pray, and the significance prayer can have in our lives.

Preacher Miles Mitson speaks this week about Romans 8:28, which has been described as "the most unbelievable verse in the Bible". It is written that in all things, God works for good - and that even when we are hurt, the hurt is for God's good. Listen to Miles explain how God makes all things good, and understand what Romans 8:28 actually means. You can read the entire passage (Romans 8:28-32) on BibleGateway. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Andrew French speaks about coming to find and know Jesus through answering two questions from John 14. We don't know where Heaven is, so how can we know the way? Thomas asks Jesus this question in John 14:5, and what Jesus answers Thomas with an explanation of how to reach our Father in Heaven. 5 Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Don't you know me? How well do we know Jesus? Have we stopped trying to learn more? God continues to reach out to us, and we need to ensure we don't block Him out - everything we do should be through the power of God. 9 Jesus answered: 'Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?' As part of Andrew's talk we listened to 'This Changes Everything' by Lou Fellingham. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YbnU7rBi6s

Week 10 of the Things That Make You Go 'Hmmm' series is titled The Bible. Colin presents his findings from the 66 books of the Bible written over 1,500 years. From God to Us, the Bible is True, Reliable and Inspired. In the supporting presentation, major archaeological finds supporting the existence and accuracy of the Bible are documented - including the answers to critics' claims. Is the Bible the same as what was originally written? Listen to Colin explain why the Bible hasn't been changed, and how what we read today is the same as what was written at the time. 2 Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is God-breathed". Download the Presentation: Click "The-Bible-PDF" below.

We are visited this week by our regional minister, Rev. Simon Goddard. The sermon looks at what it takes to become a 'father (or mother) of faith'. Having faith should contain an element of risk: Reality Checkpoint Imagining the Inheritance Saying 'Yes' to God Kingdom Coming As part of the sermon, Simon uses a short presentation containing key words and images, available to view or download below.

After the appalling events in Manchester on Monday, we held a time of prayer and remembrance during our service on Sunday as part of our all-age worship. During this time of prayer, candles representing each of the victims who died in the attack were lit. Accompanying our prayers, the song 'Some Day' by Michael W. Smith was played, with the lyric 'set the children free' - we, as God's people, are devastated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-9enTTaaG8

In our all-age service celebrating the dedication of a child into the church community, Rob looks at the potential in each of us to serve the Lord. Prior to the sermon, we also spent a short time remembering and praying for the people involved in the Manchester attack, which you can listen to by clicking here. Watch the Clips: See Judy being judged in Zootropolis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEj5qwsDn3o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8hYj0ROMo4