Christ Church Selly Park Christ Church Selly Park

Nigel Hand | Matthew 5:13-16 
[Jesus said,] ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.’
‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’
Our former vicar Nigel returns with a powerful challenge to be not just admirers of Jesus, but disciples. In our everyday lives and more widely, Jesus calls us to live according to his teaching and to be distinct from the world while still being in it.
The recording begins with the reading from Alison Cooper and ends with a prayer from Bobbie Frere.
An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

Dan Parnell | Deuteronomy 8:7-18 
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
For those of us who get our food from cans, packets and takeaways it is all too easy to forget that God is the ultimate source of all that we have to eat and enjoy. Through the reading, drama and Dan Parnell's talk we were reminded in this Explore service to get the right perspective and to give thanks to God.
An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

Susan Haynes | Luke 10:25-37 
Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.’
As the story proceeds, we learn that the Samaritan - a member of a race traditionally hated by the Jews - tends the man's wounds and then goes to extra lengths to ensure that he is cared for. This would have shocked Jesus' listeners, but as Susan explains, the challenge is for all of us to display relentless kindness even to those we don't get on with. Small acts can make a big difference.
The recording begins with the reading from Pat Clayton.
An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

Ben Green | Colossians 3:22-4:1 
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Work of some sort, whether paid or unpaid, is a fact of life for just about all of us. Since we live in a broken world, how can we restore the true God-given nature of work? Ben addresses this question in this short talk. During the service there was additional teaching in a video, produced by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, which we can't include here for copyright reasons. A summary is included below.
The recording begins with the reading from Simon Jones.
An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.
Teaching video summary:
Mark Greene, who devised the series we are following, asked why the things we do from day to day matter to God?
Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as for the Lord... it is the Lord Christ you are serving“.
Our everyday actions (all of them!) matter because we are doing them for God. If we do something for someone we love, we do it enthusiastically, carefully, as well as we can. If it‘s for God, we also do it worshipfully, for his glory.
Keith is a decorator who, when he first started out, just did it as a job to earn money. A car crash made him rethink his priorities and he decided to earn so that he could give a lot away to the church and other charities.
Only later did Keith realise that his work enabled others to live the lives they were meant to lead. He helped people who could not maintain their own properties. He served God by serving people and improving their lives.
Work is a gift by which we can serve God. Everything can be done in a way which benefits others: stacking goods on shelves so that the labels face outwards, emptying bins in a way that leaves the place tidy, designing computers so that they are easy and pleasant to use.
In the Genesis account of creation, humans are created only when there is a garden for them to look after. A loving God created the context for human flourishing through purposeful work.
The Fall meant that work would become a lot harder, with frustrations and disappointment, but its original purpose survives. Christ died to begin the restoration of whole universe. We participate in this through our daily activities.
You don't have to be a Christian to do a beautiful job. But we seek to consciously do whatever we do for Jesus. Let‘s pray that he will use our work to bless others.
Psalm 90:17 - may God establish the work of our hands.

Peter Frere | Galatians 5:13-26 
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
These are qualities that we all want, but how do we make them grow? How can we be free of the desires that get in the way and lead us to behave in contrary ways? As Peter explains, these are fruit of the Holy Spirit, that only his working in us can produce - but we have an essential part to play in the process.
The recording begins with a report from Alison Cooper and Phil Banting on their visit to Bolivia as part of a team from Birmingham in August 2023. Then we hear from Bobbie and Peter Frere as they look ahead to renewing our links with Kenya in the following few weeks. This is followed by the reading from Dilys Garrod.
An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.

Ben Green | Mark 4:26-29 
[Jesus] also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn – first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. As soon as the corn is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’
The recording begins with Susan Haynes introducing the Explore service and explaining more about our current series, "Faithfulness on the frontline." The congregation were then asked, in groups around tables, to read one of a set of Bible passages and answer a question on it. After hearing the feedback from each of the groups Ben gave a short talk describing how we become more fruitful. How much of a part does God play and what is our responsibility?
The readings studied the congregation, and the corresponding questions, were:
Genesis 1:24-31
Where does fruitfulness originate/begin?
Colossians 1:1-14
What four things does Paul specify will come from being filled with the Spirit?
Luke 3:7-14
What should repentance lead to?
Isaiah 5:1-7
Why was the vineyard to be destroyed?
Isaiah 27:1-6
What is the promise of this passage?
John 15:1-17
What do we need to do in order to bear much fruit?
Galatians 5:13-26
What three action words associated with the Spirit does Paul say will result in fruit?
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
What are some of the elements needed to produce a fruitful harvest?
Revelation 22:1-5
Here we see the tree of life, bearing fruit, in a picture of what’s to come. What is being promised at the end of time?
An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.