Christ Church London Podcast

This week, Jacob Crolla (Life Church Edinburgh) teaches from Genesis 28 – looking at the promise and purpose of God’s blessing, and our call to pray for his manifest presence for the sake of our city.

This week, Anna Kurkierewicz (Mile End Service) teaches from Paul’s encounter with the Jewish Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30-23:11). We explore how God’s plan and call is to a purpose much greater than our own, even when life is not easy. We see how the resurrection of Jesus gives Paul, and us, an unshakeable hope, and is the foundation of our identity as ‘co-heirs’ of Jesus’ kingdom.

This week at our Mile End service, Kenny teaches from Paul’s testimony to the crowd in Jerusalem (Acts 21:37-22:21). We look at the significance of sharing our story with those who don’t know Jesus, and our call to be ‘in the world but not of it’. We see the power in identifying with those in our life who don’t follow Jesus – sharing our own past and common experiences, and how encountering Jesus has made a difference to our lives, and to the way we live.

This week, Grace teaches from Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20). We explore how an encounter with Jesus can radically reshape our entire being if we allow it; spiritual formation requires intentional effort, not passive waiting; and mission and service are inseparable.

This week, Joel teaches on Paul’s time in Ephesus (Acts 19) – looking at how the power of Jesus led to radical devotion to Jesus, which led to a city transformed for Jesus.

This week, Adnan teaches from Acts 27 – looking at Paul’s climactic and dramatic sea voyage towards Rome, in which he and his companions face a storm and shipwreck. We explore what the story teaches about facing resistance and challenge, and how these shape us as followers of Jesus – rooting us in God’s presence, putting our faith into practice, and pointing others to the hope of Jesus.

This week, David Stroud (Central Service) teaches from Daniel chapter 1, looking at how we live faithfully as God’s people in a society of conflicting values. We look at how Daniel’s faith transformed his work into service and worship, gave him courage in the face of challenges and consequences, and how his daily life was fuelled by prayer. The story of Daniel gives us a picture of how followers of Jesus make a difference for God wherever they are, and can work for the renewal of their surroundings.

This week at our Central service, Lou Richards teaches from the story of Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:24-28). We look at how their example encourages us to embrace our role in spreading the gospel, especially during a time of spiritual openness, and how we can identify the ordinary spaces and relationships can become ‘holy ground’ for ministry. We explore how God uses our availability and obedience, not perfection, to transform lives and communities.

This week, Adnan (Mile End Service) teaches from Acts 17 – looking at Paul’s time in Athens. We see what the story teaches about communicating the hope of Jesus in a spiritually contested city, and how the passage points to the reality of God’s presence in making sense of our world, relationship with God making sense of us, and the resurrection making sense of our hope in Jesus.

This week, Catherine (Sutton Service) explores Acts 17:1-9, where Paul’s preaching in Thessalonica challenged societal norms and established Jesus as King, not Caesar. His message was met with both disruption and persecution, but nevertheless led to forming a vibrant church community. We see how Jesus not only transformed Paul’s life, but how his Jesus’ presence continues to flip our priorities and values, making our lives point to a different kingdom.

This week at our Mile End service, Darren Wolf (guest speaker) explored Jesus’ radical redefinition of family in Mark 3. We see how following Jesus shifts our allegiance and identity into a new spiritual community, which challenges both traditional and modern-day notions family. The Church as our new family calls for commitment and connection, as we live in covenant with brothers and sisters in Christ.

This week, Jonathan (Central Service) taught from Acts 18 – looking at Paul’s time in Corinth. We looked at what the passage teaches us about living with kingdom purpose wherever we are, holding to God’s promise to overcome fear when sharing our faith, and fighting complacency and apathy in our discipleship to Jesus.

This week, Joel (Central Service) explores one of the most crucial moments of the early church at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). We explored the ‘tidal’ nature of faith: diving into God’s presence, which then ripples out to others. Through the passage, we see our call as disciples to embrace opportunities to share our faith, and embody a diverse, open, and formative Christian community.

Andy unpacks the story of the church at Antioch, and the power of unity and diversity in the church, and what steps we can take to build a genuinely multicultural community.

This week at our Mile End service, Andy Tilsley preached from John’s Gospel and its connection to our longing for ‘Eden life’ – the fullness of life intended by God since creation in Genesis 1. We look at how Jesus, as the ‘second Adam’, re-enters Eden through his death and resurrection, and invites us back into deep personal connection with God, and commissions us to bring others into this life they were created for.

This week in our Central service, we had guest speaker Haejin Shim Fujimura. Haejin Shim is an experienced lawyer and co-founder and CEO of Embers International, who work to restore and empower victims of injustice and prevent human trafficking. In this talk, she explores the story of the paralysed man in Mark 2. We look at the faith and intercessory love of his friends, who carry his burden to Jesus for healing and forgiveness, and what this means for our faith and call as disciples.

This week, Andy (Sutton Service) speaks on the Philippian church in Acts 16, focussing on their call to reach the unchurched. As recent UK trends show a growing openness to faith, we see how the passage urges both prayer and action in our context – recognising salvation is wholly God’s work in and through us as followers of Jesus.

Eric and Erica Anderson, from Ark Church in Copenhagen, came to share about some of the amazing things they’ve seen happen in their church over the last 18 months and, speaking from 1 Kings 19, encouraged us to pray and pursue more of God’s presence.

This week, Joel (Central Service) looks at the early church’s growth in Samaria (Acts 8), where ordinary believers spread the gospel while facing persecution and resistance. We look at the need for selfless motivation in serving God, in contrast to the demonic allure for personal power (exemplified by Simon the Sorcerer), and how the invitation to the Way of Jesus opens the door to participate in God’s mission with love and humility.

This Easter message highlights that true confidence for Christians comes from the resurrection of Jesus, which validated his claims, secured forgiveness, and guarantees a future new creation, contrasting with the fleeting nature of earthly confidence factors. The resurrection transformed the disciples from fear to boldness, becoming the central message of the early church and the bedrock of Christian faith, without which belief would be pointless. The speaker urges both believers and non-believers to recognize the life-altering significance of Christ's rising, offering an invitation to prayer and a deeper exploration of this foundational truth.