Bridge Community Church Leeds

What does being a follower of Jesus look like? Pastor Jacqui Redmond explains how the transforming work of the Holy Spirit is expressed through His nine fruit as we walk by the Spirit, keeping in step with Him as we follow Jesus.To help us both remember the nine fruit, and how they can be grown in our experience, Pastor Jacqui speaks about them under three headings.1.The Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out. Everything flows from love the new commandment Jesus gives us in John 13. Love is our distinctive characteristic as believers, expressed most powerfully in forgiveness. Pastor Jacqui shares a moving and powerful story of forgiveness from the life of holocaust survivor and missionary, Corrie ten Boom, as she came face to face with one of her former prison guards. Whilst forgiveness is a challenge, God walks with us in our forgiveness journey. We are also transformed by joy which we can find even in the midst of trials. Happiness depends on circumstances, but joy is a heavenly gift. Peace, says Jesus in John 14, is given to us and left with us. As nineteenth century preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon reminds us “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows. It empties today of its strength.” Growing the fruit of peace is the Spirit’s answer to the anxieties of life.2. The fruit is our witness to others.Jesus’ love in us, is shown through our own love to others, and this comes out most powerfully when we are put under pressure. Patience is a powerful witness in an impatient world. Pastor Jacqui reminds us that “God is working when we are waiting.” Kindness expresses love in a way that genuinely benefits others and not just ourselves. The great example of kindness in Jesus’ parables is the Good Samaritan. We hear Jesus’ exhortation to us: “Go and do likewise.” Goodness is the quality of moral uprightness, or integrity, revealing the character of God in us.3. God is developing in us a lasting character.God is faithful, and faithfulness is our response to Him - staying true to God. Pastor Jacqui shares an example of how a small act of kindness was part of evangelist DL Moody’s journey to faith in Jesus. We are encouraged never to underestimate small acts of kindness. Gentleness is not weakness, but rather controlled strength. We are encouraged, in particular to remain gentle when we speak truth to one another. Finally, Pastor Jacqui reminds us that self control is like a wall that protects our souls. As Proverbs 25.28 reminds us “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” Pastor Jacqui invites us to reflect on this - what kind of fruit is your life producing? She encourages us with this: “Fruit is not produced by striving harder. Fruit is produced by staying close to Jesus - and the Holy Spirit will shape us and mould us.”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

From Peter's first letter, Pastor Steve explores what it means for us to be living stones in God's spiritual house. Jesus was the rejected stone who is now the cornerstone and capstone. If we ever feel rejected, abandoned or excluded, we know that we are now chosen, not discarded by Jesus. We are people with a threefold hope. For the past, our sin is wiped out, in the present Jesus is with us, and we have the future hope that death is defeated.1 Peter chapter 2 speaks to the core of our identify in Christ, and pastor Steve draws out four dimensions.We are accepted - God's special possession. As Pastor Steve reminds us: "People may have written you off. Jesus has written you in." We are chosen. God originally chose Israel to reveal Himself to the world. Now we are also chosen to share in the same vocation - chosen not on the basis of merit, but because of His great love for us.We are a holy nation - set aside and marked out for God's special purpose. As holy people we live to please and honour God through lives of love.We are a royal priesthood. In the Old Testament the priesthood was limited to men - and only men from a certain tribe and of a particular age range. Now we all get to share the privilege of being part of God's ministry team.Our priestly privileges and responsibilities flow upwards in prayer and praise, inward towards each other as we share the gifts God gives us to promote the common good, and and outwards and priests and mediators between God and people."You will be at your most fruitful when you take up your place as a royal priest and intentionally minister in, and minister out." Reject rejection, and take your place as a member of God's royal family!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 does the Bible mean when it talks about the faithfulness of God? What does this look like? How is the faithfulness of God experienced? And how do we, in our own day to day experience, grow in our own journey of faithfulness with God?Pastor Jacqui Redmond draws richly on powerful verses of Scripture from the Old and New Testaments to explore the following truths:God is always faithful - even in the darkest times and seasons.God is faithful to all His promises.Trust and worship is our response to our faithful God.Jacqui inspires us with illustrations from great teachers in Christian history and memorable quotes from people who have demonstrated God's faithfulness through their own experience. As Corrie ten Boom said: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Whether you are in a period of life where you are feeling tired, challenged, waiting, or worried, the Lord's invitation to us today is to trust again in God' faithfulness. 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

On this Pentecost Sunday, Mark Yeadon opens the Scriptures to show how creation, new creation, and re-creation each begin around a wedding. The first creation begins with the wedding of Adam and Eve and the re-creation will see Jesus united to his bride (Revelation 21). If anyone is in Christ, says Paul, there is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new creation also begins with a wedding - at Cana. Mark draws out the significance of this wedding in which we witness the first of Jesus’ signs in the gospel of John. For wine to run out at a wedding would be a source of shame for the hosts as well as disappointing for the guests. In our new creation, Jesus removes our shame and gives us joy. Mark shares how Mary is a model for us to understand how Jesus brings, and keeps bringing, the experience of new creation to us. As Mary shows us that we can come to Jesus, load our problems on him, and that we need to be prepared to do whatever he tells us to do.Mark invites us to bring to Jesus our challenges, problems, and our thirst, and to be blessed not with wine but with the filling of His Holy Spirit. Make Him Lord, and allow His love to be poured out into you, and to flow out through you.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

It’s Ascension Sunday! Pastor Jacqui Richmond shares three essential truths that we learn from Jesus’ ascension along with ways we can apply these in our own walk with Him.Jesus ascended with hands of blessing. As we read in Luke 24, the last visual image the disciples had of Jesus was of His rising with hands extended in blessing. And He continues to bless us today - with His love, power, healing, and heavenly intercession with the Father. We can begin every day with thanksgiving for the blessings of Christ and encourage ourselves, and one another, with the truths of His word.Jesus ascended in power so that the church can live in victory. As we read in Ephesians, Jesus has all power and authority in heaven, and from heaven He sends the Holy Spirit to empower us in our own walk of faith. We experience more of that power in our lives as we dedicate ourselves to connection with other believers and as we live out a consistent prayer life - "keeping happy company with God."Thirdly, Jesus ascended causing joy and worship. We read how the disciples who witnessed Jesus’ ascension, saw this not as a cause for sorrow or regret, but as an inspiration to worship. As we reflect on Jesus’ ascension and what it means of us, lets it be to us a cause of worship and joy.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

Why do Christians get baptised? What's the significance of baptism? How does it relate to the gospel of our salvation? In this concise and clear explanation, Pastor Steve Riley explains. When they get baptised, Christians are following both the example and the command of Jesus as part of His world-transforming gospel message. It's significance is an enacted drama of the core message of the Christian faith - that we who were made in God's image, marred by sin, can die to our corrupted way of life and be raised up, with Jesus, into a new life of holiness, freedom, and peace with God. Jesus' death frees us from the power and pollution of sin, and His resurrection makes a way for us to return to relationship with God.Baptism is a physical declaration that we have repented - turned 180 degrees to orient our lives towards Jesus and His mission.Have you followed Jesus' example and command to be baptised? Contact the church to find out about the next baptismal service in the BCC calendar.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

From Acts 13, Pastor Bawa invites us into a conversation with the church in Antioch to see principles and practices we need to exemplify what it means to be a "Spirit-led ekklesia." The church - the ekklesia of God - is a place of joy, but not an alternative source of entertainment. In the church, joy is expressed through reverence for God and holy living. The church is not a business but an organic community expressing the character of Christ through fellowship. The church is not like a political party - we don't define ourselves by what makes us different from other believers because Jesus came to build a kingdom of the citizens of heaven.The church is the community of the "called-out" ones. These two ideas are expressed in the Greek work ek (out of) klesia (called). The church is the people Jesus has called out of darkness and into light, the community of the redeemed. Responding to that call we walk away from influences and behaviours that separate us from Jesus.The Acts passage highlights two Christian ministries - prophets and teachers - to highlight the church's ministry of witness to the community, taking people on a journey to a vibrant life of faith in Christ. We also see, (from the names of individuals mentioned) the multicultural nature of the church. Some of the people mentioned would have been regarded as significant individuals in their communities. But they are now equally submitted to Jesus and to working with each other for the sake of the kingdom.A Spirit-led church is one that respects the voice of the Holy Spirit. Time and again we read in Acts how the Holy Spirit speaks to individuals to lead, guide, and restrain, and speaks also to the church. The Spirit will also speak through his prophets and through the scriptures.A Spirit-led church will be made up of people at various stages of life. We cherish them through their unique experience of life, including children, families, and single people.We also see how, in a Spirit-led church, He is free to call and send people to new places and situations. In such a church we release our best to mission.Finally, we notice how, as Saul and Barnabas go out in mission, they find someone willing to listen to the Gospel, and opposition their message. A Spirit-led church is unafraid to confront the forces of God's enemy.Pastor Bawa leaves us with a question. How do you see yourself as part of the body of Christ, hearing the Spirit, living missionally and seeking to display the glory of Jesus in the world? We pray you will be free to live out all that God has called you to do and to be in the life of his Spirit-led, called out community.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 do we do when the pace of life seems faster than our ability to run? Where do we find the energy we need when we feel as if we are empowered by fumes? Where is God at work in all this and how do we respond to Him? Drawing on Exodus 16, and example of his own life experience, Leigh Richmond shares how the Lord has His own pace for forming in us the likeness of Christ. He explores how the experience of being in the desert exposed what was in the heart of the Israelites and how this became a starting point for the Lord to address the slave mentality they had brought with them from Egypt. By giving them manna, God not only provides for their needs, re-trains them in trust.Leigh also shares practical insights to embrace the principle of Sabbath. He explains how God's design to enable us to thrive in life includes protected time and space where we can stop, rest, delight and contemplate.As Leigh leads us in a reflection at the end of the message, take a moment to allow the Lord time to give you the grace you need to live life at a better, freer, holier pace, from a place of trust and a place where your soul can breathe again.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