King's Church London

Six ways to choose hope in a time of adversity. #ChooseHope. Ben Lindsay is founder of Power The Fight, a charity launched in January 2019 to train and empower communities to end youth violence. He is an experienced trainer and facilitator with more than 19 years spent working with high risk young people in the field of gangs and serious youth violence, including as part of the Lewisham Youth Offending Service. www.powerthefight.org.uk

Resurrection Day is the greatest day of the year, and the Easter story shows us several responses to it. Who do you identify with: faithful Mary, believing John, denying Peter, or doubting Thomas?

The account of Jesus’ Crucifixion in John 19 helps us see the big story of Scripture fulfilled: God’s plan for salvation is happening as Jesus dies. But we also are drawn into the personal story, the eyewitness account of how Jesus calls out in love to his mother and to John who are watching these events unfold. Hialry Dalziel is one of our Pastors and the Assistant Site Leader at our Catford site.

On Palm Sunday, Phil Varley, our Senior Associate Pastor, preached out of Mark 11 and Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. In particular he posed the question, ‘How could everything changes so quickly from what seems so positive on this day, to what develops over the next few days?’ As he focussed on what the crowds got right, and what they got wrong about Jesus, Phil encouraged us all to welcome, recognise and respond to Jesus fully throughout this coming Easter week.

This passage shows us five examples of singleminded devotion to something. One is Jesus; three show great examples of responding to him; one does not. We can learn from all five.

Shirley Toppin has been a committed member of King’s from the 70s. She shares her own life experience alongside influential women in the Bible: Hannah, Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, and Naomi. God’s leading takes Shirley from the rain forest of Guyana to urban life in Catford! Shirley encourages us to persevere in prayer, to influence children we know for Jesus and to find hope in tragedy. Finally she prays for mothers and mother figures in the church.

Wellbeing in our work comes as we move with the grain of God’s purpose in creating work in the first place. Specifically, it means recognising three things that we find in Genesis 1-3, and in 2 Thessalonians 3: that work is universal, that it is good, and that it is hard. This message by Andrew Wilson, our Teaching Pastor, concludes our series ‘God’s Plan for Your Wellbeing’.

Steve Tibbert, our Senior Pastor, looks at the topic of Financial Wellbeing, such an important topic in these challenging times. He shares a great mix of biblical principles and practical application relevant to everyone – those struggling with their finances or in debt, through to those who are rich.

As we look at our relational wellbeing dial, many of us will find our tank empty. In this message by HIlary Dalziel, one of our Pastors who helps lead the Catford site, we look at how to fill that up through restoring loving relationships with those closest to us and with our church family. It requires dealing with conflict and asking for forgiveness, but if we come to Jesus first, He will fill us with His love and grace and enable us to take the first steps.

The closest word in Scripture to ‘wellbeing’ is the Hebrew word shalom: peace, welfare, wholeness. In this beautiful passage, Isaiah offers us an invitation to spiritual wellbeing, a challenge to it, and then a promise of it. This message by Andrew Wilson, our Teaching Pastor, is part of our series ‘God’s Plan for Your Wellbeing’.