Humanity longs for peace, whilst simultaneously making it an impossibility. There is only one who can bring true and lasting peace to the world and to our individual lives, and his name is Jesus.
14 December 2025
Isaiah 9: 2-7a & Luke 2: 1-21
Rev Charlie Lacey
God had been silent for 400 years, and then, all of a sudden, Jesus’ birth narrative begins - and various people are filled with the H/S, burst into song, and prophesy. Today we focussed on Zechariah (the father of John the Baptiser), who reminds us that Jesus saves us from something, but he also saves us for something.
On this first Sunday of Advent we began a new series called, ‘Songs of Advent’. Luke includes four songs in the first two chapters of his Gospel. Mary, Zechariah, the angels, and Simeon, all break into song. And over the next four weeks we’ll see that their song is also our song – as we celebrate what God has done, is doing, and will do to redeem and restore this broken world.
We’ve come to the second of our two-part mini-series called ‘Perplexing Passages’; and today we were looking at the time in Genesis when humanity had become so evil that the Lord decided to destroy everything with a flood. At this point, we’re told about some mysterious people, called the Nephilim - and it’s not at all clear who or what they are.
The book of Numbers does not begin with the words, “Once Upon a Time.” In fact, the genre of Numbers is historical narrative and law. So, what is a talking donkey doing in this book? Today, we explored this question as part of our 'Perplexing Passages' mini-series.
Over the past seven weeks, we've explored Paul’s letter to the Philippians. A letter that’s full of joy, even though Paul wrote it from prison. Paul’s relationship with the Philippians is one of mutual love, affection, concern and support. It is a partnership in the strongest sense of the word and there's a lot we can learn from it.
A lot of Christians don’t seem to realise that following Jesus is completely radical. The life he calls us to is very different from what our culture teaches or expects of us. And if we’re going to live in a way that goes against the grain of the world – we must first win the battle of the mind. Right thinking will inevitably lead to right living.
Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from prison, yet it was full of joy and hope. How is that possible? Well, because he was ‘living up’ to what he had already attained in Christ. Resurrection life is an absolute certainty – but we don’t always live as if it is. We need to aspire now to the kind of life that we will have with Jesus forever.
In today’s passage, Paul makes it clear that our confidence should not be in ourselves. Instead, we put our confidence in Jesus. He wants to change and transform our lives, and ultimately, he’s made a way for us to experience resurrection life, with him forever.
Today's passage began with Paul telling the Philippians to ‘work out their salvation with fear and trembling’. He then gives two examples of men who were doing just that, Timothy and Epaphroditus. Two amazing servant-hearted men, who gave their all to spreading the good news of Jesus.
Jesus was the most joyful person who ever lived, and if we want to experience true joy, we must have the same mindset as Jesus. The world tells us that we find happiness and fulfilment when we focus on ourselves. The Bible says something very different. The Bible says that joy is found in humility and selflessness.
It’s not so much that Jesus is our ultimate priority – it’s that Jesus is our whole life – and all our priorities should emanate from a life led in obedience to Him.
Even though Paul was in prison when he wrote his letter to the Philippians, he expressed tremendous joy. One of the sources for his joy was the love and affection that the Lord poured into his heart for his brothers and sisters in Christ.
We live in a world where wealth is seen as the primary measure of success. Very often, when we have more, we feel like we are more. And when we have less, we feel like we are less. Today we challenged that assumption.
Our creativity is a gift from God, the ultimate creator. One of the ways we reflect God's image is by being creative. Being creative in our unique ways honours God and who he made us to be.
What does it mean to be male and female – why is it important – and how much does our gender have to do with our identity anyway?
31 August 2025
Genesis 1: 27-28, Genesis 2: 20-25
Rev Charlie Lacey
Today, as part of our 'Who Am I?' series, we looked at the family. There’s no doubt that all of us have been shaped by our family environment, but what part does that play in our actual identity as we stand before God?
In the Bible Paul says our current body is like a tent! It has a ‘use by’ date. So what then is the other existence that Paul alludes to as “In the mean time,” ‘The Holy Spirit is given to us as our guarantee of that future life?’
Each of us is wonderfully unique, and our personalities are a gift from God. We don't need to change our personalities, but we must invite the Holy Spirit to shape them.
Each of us is wonderfully unique, and our personalities are a gift from God. We don't need to change our personalities, but we must invite the Holy Spirit to shape them.
“Wonderful approach to service as a family.” Penny
“St Andrews is such a caring environment that is filled with wonderful people.” Steven
“Awesome environment for young and old!” Simone
