Bridge Community Church Leeds

Pastor Jacqui Richmond takes us into the crowds on Palm Sunday as we walk with Jesus into Jerusalem. We see Jesus fulfil the prophecy of Zechariah Chapter 9, riding on a donkey, symbolising the nature of his kingship demonstrated by humility and service. We hear the praise of the disciples and the crowds - praise that cannot be silenced even though it offended the sensibilities of the Pharisees. In the midst of the cheering and celebration we pause to see Jesus weeping as he foresees the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem.Pastor Jacqui invites us to engage with the lessons from this account. Like the disciples sent to find the donkey for Jesus, what is Jesus sending us to do, and what resources is he providing for us to fulfil our mission? As the disciples laid their cloaks at Jesus' feet, so we too can lay before him our own cares, concerns, and the direction of lives. We can trust him to care for us and guide us, knowing that whilst the future is unclear to us, he sees it all and knows the best paths for us to take. Can we too feel the pain of Jesus as we pray for those who are lost outside of Christ? And on this Palm Sunday Pastor Jacqui encourages us to join in the prayer of God's people, echoing down the ages, as we too bring our pray and praises - "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsFacebookJoin our Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/BCCOnlineCommunityGroupFollow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsInstagramFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsTwitterVisit our Website: https://www.bccleeds.org/If you would like to give to further our work. You can use the link below:https://bit.ly/GivingtoBCC#EveryoneWelcome #ChurchOnline #Leeds #Burmantofts #LincolnGreen

Where would we have been in the crowds when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on donkey for the last week of his life? Would we, like many of them, have thrown at his feet the cloaks that were the signs of our identity, importance, and our place in society? What would we have been thinking when we shouted out "Hosanna!" Pastor Bawa takes us into the crowd on this momentous day to show us the significance of what Jesus was doing, of the actions of the people who lined the route to Jerusalem, and of the city itself. Pastor Bawa explains the meaning of the cries of Hosanna, Hallelujah and Maranatha. We want our Lord to come and establish His kingdom (Maranatha) and to praise His interventions in history (Hallelujah). Before all that we need to cry Hosanna! - Lord save us! Pastor Bawa explains the significance of the titles people used of Jesus and of those He used of Himself - Son of Man, Son of God, Emmanuel - and most importantly for this moment in Jesus' life - Son of David.Pastor Bawa shows us that Jesus introduced this week, and His part in it, not with a sermon, but with a vivd enacted demonstration - riding into the city not on a warhorse, but on a humble and gentle donkey. Pastor Bawa asks us to consider whether we, like the disciples, are ready to be commissioned for service to prepare the way for Jesus, and whether we are of those will cry "Crucify!" or of those who will cry out "Hosanna to the Son of David!"Take some time with this account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem as you begin your own preparation for the Easter season.We welcome you to Bridge Community Church, Leeds!We invite you to join our online community!Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsFacebookJoin our Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/BCCOnlineCommunityGroupFollow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsInstagramFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsTwitterVisit our Website: https://www.bccleeds.org/If you would like to give to further our work. You can use the link below:https://bit.ly/GivingtoBCC#EveryoneWelcome #ChurchOnline #Leeds #Burmantofts #LincolnGreen

What makes God's love so different from other kinds of love? What does Scripture say about this love? What happens when we embrace it? In this episode Vincent, one our BCC members and welcomers, shares his experience of how God's love brought him to faith and shaped his lifestyle choices, how through the community of faith he found his wife, how by God's mercy he survived a stabbing attack, and how by God's grace he publicly forgave his attacker. Vincent testifies: "I have Jesus, He has done many things for me and his promises to me are yes and amen."In our talk, Pastor Peter Clothier shares three characteristics of God's love. This love is completely undeserved. This is one of the reasons Jesus was, and continues to be, so attractive to people who are broken, who are outcasts, sinful, and considered disreputable by their wider society. In a powerful image, Peter imagines us being invited to a screening of our own personal version of This is Your Life, in which our every thought and action is made visible to the world. Who would want to be invited to that? Yet Jesus - the one who knows us completely - is the one who loves us the most.Peter goes on to share that God's love is demonstrated - in Jesus coming to earth, showing God's character through His actions and teaching, and ultimately through His own self-sacrifice on our behalf. Thirdly, God's love is transformational. Peter's talk draws extensively from the writings of the apostle John who is often called the apostle of love. Yet as we read about John in the gospels we see the John whom Jesus called to be His disciple was impetuous, volatile, and ambitious. Jesus gave him and his brother James the nick-name "Sons of Thunder." When John writes about Jesus in his gospel, and in his letters to his churches, we see a man transformed by the love of God.Peter invites us to embrace that love today, and submit ourselves to its transforming power.We welcome you to Bridge Community Church, Leeds!We invite you to join our online community!Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsFacebookJoin our Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/BCCOnlineCommunityGroupFollow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsInstagramFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsTwitterVisit our Website: https://www.bccleeds.org/If you would like to give to further our work. You can use the link below:https://bit.ly/GivingtoBCC#EveryoneWelcome #ChurchOnline #Leeds #Burmantofts #LincolnGreen

James, an Elder and the BCC Volunteer Co-ordinator shares a word of exhortation for our Volunteer Sunday. Around 80% of BCC's activities are run by volunteers in areas as diverse as the church cafe, welcome, ushering, car park attending, prayer ministry, children's ministry and leadership. James points us to Jesus, our example of service, and the example of believers in the churches in northern Greece who find ways to give even when faced with constrained and challenging circumstances. As human being, the Book of Genesis teaches us that we are created to serve, and the New Testament teaches that we are saved to serve.If you missed the Sunday meeting, and would like to explore areas of service in the church, you can do that through this link.We welcome you to Bridge Community Church, Leeds!We invite you to join our online community!Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsFacebookJoin our Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/BCCOnlineCommunityGroupFollow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsInstagramFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsTwitterVisit our Website: https://www.bccleeds.org/If you would like to give to further our work. You can use the link below:https://bit.ly/GivingtoBCC#EveryoneWelcome #ChurchOnline #Leeds #Burmantofts #LincolnGreen

In this inspiring message Diego, who leads the Spanish-speaking church in BCC, shares his testimony of his journey to faith and the part others played in his story of salvation. He encourages us to see how we can play our part in evangelism, even if we don't see ourselves as evangelists. Our motivation is gratitude - to Jesus who paid such a high price for our freedom, and love for those around us. Diego inspires us afresh with the eternal hope that has come to us at such great cost and invites all who have yet to respond to Christ's message to "Come to Jesus - He is waiting for you!"

Pastor Dave Green shares how his testimony, and his wife Karen's testimony, has been part of people's journey to faith in Christ. His encouragement to us is to be more pro-active rather than passive. We can do more than just wait for people to ask us about Jesus, and take natural opportunities to talk about Him and why we believe. Personal invites to times and places where people can hear the Gospel can be a really easy and welcome way to guide people on their journey to faith. Pastor Dave encourages us to believe that God is on everyone's case, and to believe that our prayers are making a difference. Join with Pastor Steve at the end of the talk as we pray together for friends and colleagues, and consider which of the forthcoming outreach events we can invite people along to.

What straightforward, easy to remember outline of our faith can we have to hand to share with our friends, colleagues, and others who we meet and who ask us to explain what we believe? In particular, how do we explain to someone how to start their journey to faith in Jesus? Pastor Steve shares a four point outline we can use. People attending the service were also given an illustrated booklet with these four points which Pastor Steve refers to during the talk. Whilst there is more to say about becoming a Christian, a helpful starting point is to talk about the following:God loves you - and sin is a barrier to receiving that love, a barrier which God took the initiative to take away since we are unable to remove or cross it.Jesus dies for you - Jesus is God's gift to us, and His death is the way God removes the barrier of sin.This is how to come into a relationship with God - we accept our sin, our need of a saviour, we receive God's gift of Jesus, and we turn from a life of sin to a life dedicated to please God.Are you ready? Risen from death, Jesus is with you forever - He will never leave you nor forsake you. Here's a prayer you can say to start your journey with Jesus.Pastor Steve concludes by encouraging us to pray for, and to open to, opportunities to share our good news. Look for opportunities to give your booklet away as the result of meaningful conversations. Invite people to a guest service or the Alpha Launch and trust God to do what we can't. We can sow or water the seeds of the Gospel message - God alone gives the increase.We welcome you to Bridge Community Church, Leeds!We invite you to join our online community!Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsFacebookJoin our Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/BCCOnlineCommunityGroupFollow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsInstagramFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/BCCLeedsTwitterVisit our Website: https://www.bccleeds.org/If you would like to give to further our work. You can use the link below:https://bit.ly/GivingtoBCC#EveryoneWelcome #ChurchOnline #Leeds #Burmantofts #LincolnGreen

At the end of Luke's gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they are his witnesses. At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, he tells them that they will be his witnesses when the Spirit comes on them? What was the difference between the witnesses that they were and the witnesses they were to become? What does this tell us about how we share our experience of Jesus, and how we need the power of the Holy Spirit to be effective as his witnesses? Join Pastor Bawa Leo as he introduces the next phase of our teaching, helping us engage with the "quiet revival," as we explore the mission of God in history, and the missions of God seen through the lives of Jesus' apostles. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you, to strengthen you in your part in God's eternal plan.