Posts with the category “gospel-connect”

The story of Pinocchio is full of rich symbolism that has been interpreted in many different ways. At one point in the story, Pinocchio runs away from his father Geppetto, and ends up in the belly of a great whale called Monstro. This scenario comes about because of his own choice to squash his conscience (represented by a talking cricket) reckless behavior and disobedience, representing the conse...  Read More

Life is full of storms, both literal and metaphorical. Regardless of the cause, these storms can be overwhelming and frightening, causing us to question our faith in God and wonder if He truly cares about our well-being. In this episode of Gospel Connect, we explore how Jesus can be our anchor in the midst of these storms, helping us navigate through the chaos and come out stronger on the other si...  Read More

On Easter Sunday Rev Iain MacAskill preached on the Road to Emmaus where Jesus revealed himself to two of his followers.Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall so you can hear what people really have to say when you aren’t around? There is a long-running reality show that does just that.  In Undercover Boss,  big company bosses work undercover as regular employees to get a proper insight of w...  Read More

Rev Iain MacAskill recently preached on the Road of Suffering, also known as the Via Dolorosa, which is not mentioned in the Bible, but all four Gospels narrate Jesus' journey along this path to his crucifixion. The path has landmarks called "stations," each representing a different moment in Jesus' journey and showing a different aspect of his suffering, such as carrying the cross, falling under ...  Read More

In the opening Chapters of the Bible we read of a paradise Garden, A Garden called Eden where Adam and Eve were said to walk with God in perfect fellowship.  Adam was given a choice to Love God by not eating from the tree of knowledge which God had commanded him to eat. Of course, we know the story of Adam and Eve, encouraged by a serpent who disobeyed God leading to the Fall. Death entered the wo...  Read More

One of the t.v shows my wife and I like to watch is called The Apprentice: where candidates prove to Sir Allen Sugar that they have what it takes to be his next business partner. Self-exaltation is the name of the game, often at the expense of genuine competence and proficiency all the while belittling the achievements of other candidates. It doesn't matter how worthy of being Sir Allen's business...  Read More

On Sunday 5th of March at our Capstone Church plant we asked the question “why did Jesus enter Jerusalem on a donkey? One of the reasons given highlighted how Jesus’ entry on a lowly Donkey demonstrated humility and meekness. This is in contrast to the military processions of Roman governors that expressed greatness through pompous displays of power and might.His kingship is not like the kings of ...  Read More

1 John 4:7-217 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent...  Read More

Prayer has been said to be the heartbeat of the Christian life. Prayer is not easy! So don’t be disheartened if you find it so. Since prayer is such a central part of the Christian life we have the World, the flesh and the devil pulling against us. To find prayer hard at times is to be a sinner like the rest of us!Prayer is not just another thing “we do” as Christians, another activity to tick off...  Read More

The concept of love languages was first introduced by Gary Chapman, a relationship counselor, and author. He proposed that there are five love languages, which are: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. According to Chapman, each person has a primary love language, and understanding and speaking that language can greatly improve the quality of ou...  Read More

How do Christians grow? Simply put, we cannot grow by ourselves! There is much that we must do if we are to grow to maturity and bear fruit, but left to ourselves we cannot bring about the growth God desires. That is why we must as Jesus says "remain in the vine" Branches that are disconnected from the vine will never bear fruit. A helpful illustration is one of farming. Farmers go out to sow seed...  Read More

Divine InterruptionsOn Sunday 5th February we launched a new series called "Love" at our Capstone outreach. As he preached through the parable of the Good Samaritan, Rev Iain highlighted that the priest who passed the man by, probably had many seeming legitimate reasons  not to stop, perhaps he had a long journey ahead and needed to make it home before dark, perhaps he had pressing responsibilitie...  Read More

I want to simply share a challenge I read recently that resonated with me. Are we enjoying God? It is such a great question and goes beyond - do we BELIEVE, but do we ENJOY God? The Shorter Catechism famously describes the chief purpose of our lives being to glorify God and enjoy him forever. John Piper famously changed that to glorify God BY enjoying him forever so important did he think it was.D...  Read More

Zechariah Chapter 4 has lots to teach us about small beginnings. In 539BC and in fulfilment of Isiah’s prophecy, Cyrus King of Persia took control of Babylon and encouraged God's people to go back to their homeland, the work of rebuilding the temple had already begun with Zerubbabel, The foundations of the temple had been laid, but the work had come to a standstill. People could already see that t...  Read More

On Sunday 22nd at our Capstone gatherings, we continued our series "Begin Again" with a particular focus on the topic of "Second Chances" But in reality, the Good news of the Gospel is so much better than a "second chance"   Read More

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. (John 4:21)On Sunday we learned of a Samaritan Woman who encountered Jesus. What followed was a conversation on true worship.Imagine getting ready to exercise and then realising the gym is closed. Do you just skip exercising altogether that day? Well if you are like me ...  Read More

The Bible teaches that "God is love," But what does that mean?According to the Oxford dictionary the noun “essence” usually refers to the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character. We might say that The essence of God is love. In his book The dawning of Indestructible Joy, John Piper says, “The same writer of John 3:16 say...  Read More

In the first sermon of our series "Begin again" we considered how repentance is not only a one time act but a way of life. Genuine repentance is the fruit of faith and prayer and love for God. Luther said that all of the Christian life should be marked by repentance.“The recognition of sin is the beginning of salvation.”- said Martin LutherWe remember that without the Holy Spirit first convicting ...  Read More

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. (Luke 2:17-18)On Christmas day we heard about the host of Angels who announced to the Shepherds the birth of the Messiah. Have you noticed what people post on Facebook when they want to let the world know that something significan...  Read More