Sermons
Welcome to our Sermons page — a space to pause, listen, and be encouraged. Each message is shared with the hope that it brings strength, comfort, and a fresh sense of God’s presence in your everyday life. Whether you’re catching up or exploring for the first time, we’re glad you’re here.
Character That Carries the Gospel
It was wonderful to welcome Keith Cooper with us on Sunday. In this message from 1 Thessalonians 2, Keith reminds us that godly character is essential for carrying the gospel well. Paul’s example shows that the messenger’s life shapes how the message is received, and true success in God’s kingdom is found in obedience, integrity, and living to please God rather than people.
Hagar’s Encounter and God’s Promise
In this moving reflection, Sue explores Hagar’s moment of divine encounter in the wilderness — a scene of despair transformed by God’s compassion. As Hagar lifts her eyes toward heaven, she hears the promise that her son will become a great nation, revealing God’s faithfulness even in exile. Sue’s message reminds us that the same God who saw Hagar sees us in our own deserts, speaking hope and destiny into our lives.
Grace at the King’s Table: The Counter-Cultural Kindness of God
Grace at the King’s Table explores one of the most tender and surprising moments in Scripture — King David’s pursuit of Mephibosheth, the forgotten, the broken, the one hiding in shame. In a world where power protects itself and kings eliminate threats, David does the opposite. He extends ḥesed — covenant love that moves toward the undeserving, restores dignity, and seats the outsider at the royal table. This message invites us to see God’s kindness not as sentiment, but as a radical, counter‑cultural force that rewrites stories and welcomes us home.
Come Holy Spirit:
The Spirit at Work In Us and Through Us
The sermon traces how the Holy Spirit forms Christlike character within us and releases Christlike power through us. It highlights that the Spirit gathers, fills, empowers, speaks, convicts, saves, and shapes believers into a community that reflects Jesus. The heart of the message is simple: the Spirit transforms us inwardly so He can use us outwardly for God’s mission.
Ministry Discovery Workshop to Accompany The Sermon
During today’s message, we talked about how the Ministry Discovery Workshop can help you explore your spiritual gifts and your unique calling. Please feel free to download your free copy.
Come Holy Spirit:
The Names of the Holy Spirit and What They Reveal About Him
This sermon unfolds the breath-taking truth that the Holy Spirit is fully God; co‑equal, co‑eternal, and personally present, revealing His nature through His biblical names Ruach (the breath and life of God) and Pneuma (the indwelling, transforming presence of God). It shows how the Spirit creates, sustains, renews, indwells, teaches, convicts, empowers, and comforts, acting not as a force but as a divine Person who knows us intimately and works within us eternally.
Come Holy Spirit:
The Seven Works of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 (Part 2)
This second part of the message continues our journey through Acts 2, where we see the Holy Spirit breaking into human history with power, purpose, and deep compassion. In the previous section, we explored the first three works of the Spirit revealed at Pentecost. As we move forward, we see how the remaining four works of the Spirit continue to shape the church and transform lives.
Prayer Journal to Accompany Our Latest Series
As we journey together through our 'Come Holy Spirit' series, we’ve created a simple Prayer Journal to help you slow down, listen deeply, and make space for the Spirit’s work in your everyday life. It’s designed to guide your reflections, shape your prayers, and help you notice what God is stirring in you throughout the week. Download it today.
Come Holy Spirit:
The Seven Works of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 (Part 1)
In Acts 2, we see the Holy Spirit breaking into human history with power, purpose, and deep compassion. This message explores the first three works of the Spirit revealed at Pentecost. The Spirit fills—He comes to dwell within believers, transforming fearful disciples into people marked by courage, joy, and holy boldness. The Spirit empowers speech—He enables ordinary men and women to speak the gospel with clarity, conviction, and supernatural effectiveness, so that every listener hears God’s truth in a way their heart can understand. And the Spirit draws people to Jesus—He works behind the scenes, stirring curiosity, opening hearts, and pulling people toward Christ in ways no human strategy could ever achieve. These first works remind us that Pentecost is not just a moment in history but the ongoing ministry of God: the Spirit still fills, still empowers, and still draws people to Jesus today.
Prayer Journal to Accompany Our Latest Series
As we journey together through our 'Come Holy Spirit' series, we’ve created a simple Prayer Journal to help you slow down, listen deeply, and make space for the Spirit’s work in your everyday life. It’s designed to guide your reflections, shape your prayers, and help you notice what God is stirring in you throughout the week. Download it today.
Come Holy Spirit (Pt 1):
Becoming a Spirit-led Community
Today we begin a new journey together as a church family—one centred on the simple but life‑changing prayer, “Come, Holy Spirit.” This isn’t just a phrase we say; it’s an invitation for God to shape us, lead us, and breathe fresh life into our community. In this first part of the series, we explore what it means to become a Spirit‑led community: a people who prioritise God’s presence, listen for His voice, and respond with trust and obedience. As we open our hearts to Him, we believe the Holy Spirit will form us into a community marked by hunger for God, unity, courage, and a deep awareness of His nearness. May this message stir expectation in us—not just for what God can do in us, but for what He longs to do through us as we become a people led by His Spirit.
Called to Holiness
In this sermon, Rob reminds us that God’s call to “Be holy as I am holy” is not a demand rooted in pressure, but an invitation rooted in identity. Holiness isn’t about perfectionism or religious performance — it’s about belonging. Rob shows us that God calls His people to holiness because He has already set them apart, already rescued them, already named them as His own. Holiness is the natural overflow of a people who have been loved first. He helps us see that holiness is not a distant, intimidating standard; it’s the life that becomes possible when God’s presence shapes us from the inside out. Holiness is God sharing His life with us — His purity, His goodness, His character — so that we reflect Him in the world. Holiness is not a burden; it’s a gift. Not a ladder to climb; a life to receive. And it begins with opening ourselves to the One who makes us holy.
Encounters with Jesus (Pt. 7):
Peace for the Fearful, Faith for the Doubting
Jun 21 2026
Peace for the Fearful, Faith for the Doubting is a sermon that invites people into the upper room with the disciples—where fear had locked the doors and doubt had locked their hearts. In this message, we watch Jesus step straight into the middle of both, speaking peace to the terrified and offering proof to the uncertain. It’s a call to every believer who has ever wrestled with anxiety, disappointment, or unanswered questions: Jesus doesn’t wait for perfect faith. He meets us where we are, breathes peace into our fear, and builds faith in our doubt.
Encounters with Jesus (Pt. 6):
The Samaritan Woman at the Well
Jun 14 2026
In this next part of our Encounters with Jesus series, Sue leads us into one of the most surprising and grace‑filled moments in the Gospels — Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well. It’s a story of barriers broken, truth spoken with compassion, and a life transformed by an unexpected encounter with the Messiah. Sue helps us step into that moment and hear its invitation for us today.
Encounters with Jesus (Pt. 5):
The Beloved Son and the Great Enemy
Jun 7 2026
Every story has a beginning, but some beginnings shake the world. Before Jesus ever preached a sermon, healed a sickness, or called a disciple, He stepped into the waters of the Jordan—and heaven opened. The Father declared His delight, the Spirit descended in power, and the true identity of Jesus was revealed for all who had eyes to see: the Beloved Son. But immediately, that glory is met with hostility. The same Spirit who rests on Him leads Him into the wilderness, where the Great Enemy waits. In this stark, holy confrontation, we see not only who Jesus is, but what He came to do. And in His victory, we begin to understand what it means for us to follow Him today.
Encounters with Jesus (Pt. 4):
The Wedding at Cana
May 31 2026
At the Wedding at Cana, we witness far more than a miracle of water becoming wine. John invites us to stand at the threshold of Jesus’ public ministry and watch the moment His glory first breaks into the ordinary world. In a small village celebration, amid human need and quiet obedience, Jesus reveals the heart of the true Bridegroom—one who brings joy, celebration, and the first signs of the greater feast still to come. This passage calls us to look again at who Jesus is, what He offers, and how His transforming grace meets us in the everyday moments of life.
Encounters with Jesus (Pt. 3):
The God who Sees You
May 24 2026
Some encounters change everything. Nathanael’s first meeting with Jesus is one of those moments—simple on the surface, yet quietly life‑altering. Before Nathanael speaks a word, Jesus reveals that He already knows him deeply, personally, and truthfully. For a man shaped by questions, longing, and a mind trained to think in terms meaning, this was the moment everything became clear: the One who made him was now calling him. This week we explore how Jesus sees us long before we see Him—and why that still matters for every believer, every seeker, and every sceptic today.
Encounters with Jesus (Pt. 2):
The Rich Young Ruler
May 17 2026
In this powerful encounter between Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler, we discover how Christ lovingly exposes the barriers that keep us from fully following Him. A message about surrender, freedom, and the life that waits on the other side of “yes.”
Encounters with Jesus (Pt. 1):
Jesus meets Nicodemus
May 10 2026
Nicodemus, a respected Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus at night—curious, cautious, and spiritually searching. He recognises that Jesus must be from God because of the miraculous signs he has seen, yet he remains in spiritual darkness and bound to a righteousness based on law and personal effort. Jesus immediately confronts the core issue: no one can see or enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born again—a spiritual rebirth that comes not from human effort but from water and the Spirit, echoing God’s promise in Ezekiel 36 to cleanse His people and give them a new heart and new spirit. Nicodemus misunderstands, thinking in physical terms, but Jesus explains that spiritual birth is like the wind—unseen yet unmistakable in its effects. Only the Holy Spirit can open blind eyes and transform a life. Jesus then points to the bronze serpent in Numbers 21: just as the Israelites were healed by looking at the serpent lifted up, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, and all who look to Him in faith will receive eternal life. Salvation is entirely God’s work—Christ’s pain, Christ’s righteousness, Christ’s Spirit—received simply by believing. The sermon emphasises that Nicodemus represents all of us: prone to rely on our own goodness, yet utterly dependent on God’s mercy, cleansing, and new birth through the Spirit.
The Timelessness of God - And Why it Matters to Us
May 3 2026
We live every day ruled by clocks, calendars, deadlines, and the feeling that time is always slipping through our fingers. But what if the God we worship isn’t trapped in time the way we are? What if He stands above it, outside it, holding every moment of our lives—past, present, and future—in His hands at once? Today we’re exploring the timelessness of God, and why this truth isn’t abstract theology but a source of deep comfort, courage, and hope for us right now.
Reopening the Ancient Wells
April 26 2026
This message invites us to revisit Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well — a moment where shame, division, and weariness met the restoring love of God. At that well, Jesus reopened what life had closed: identity, dignity, belonging, and hope. The sermon explores how God still does this today. Wherever wells have been blocked by disappointment, religion without compassion, fractured relationships, or the slow erosion of culture, Jesus meets us with living water that restores what has been lost. Through Scripture, personal testimony, and a vivid dream of rising waters and renewed life, the message calls us to see ourselves as “cracked vessels” through whom God’s grace flows. As He heals us, He plants us as oaks of righteousness — people who carry His love into the lives of others. Reopening the Ancient Wells is an invitation to let God unblock the places in our hearts, communities, and stories where His life is ready to flow again.
Why Asking “How Do We Make Jesus the Hero of Our Story?” Is Not the Right Question
April 19 2026
The sermon challenges the common framing of “making Jesus the hero of our story,” arguing that this subtly keeps us at the centre. Instead, Scripture reveals that Jesus is already pre‑eminent — the One by whom, through whom, and for whom all things exist. The real invitation is not to position Jesus within our narrative, but to step out of the centre and enter His story. The sermon concludes with a pastoral call: to surrender striving, reputation, and self‑written narratives, and to allow Jesus to rewrite our lives according to His purpose. True freedom and identity come not from making Jesus fit our plans, but from letting His eternal story be written in and through us.
When Hope is Buried, Dig Again
April 12 2026
When hope feels buried, God whispers one invitation: Dig again. Isaac faced famine, conflict, rejection, and buried wells — yet every time, God led him to dig until water flowed again. Your hope isn’t dead. Your calling isn’t gone. Your well isn’t dry — it’s just covered. And in God’s timing, the wells will flow again. Whatever has been buried in you… dig again.
When He Calls Your Name
April 5 2026
Listen to our Easter Sunday message — our very first Sunday service as Hope Church Holywell. In this sermon, When He Calls Your Name, we explore the Easter story through Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Jesus — the moment everything changed when He simply spoke her name. The message also shares the journey that led us to plant a new church here in Holywell, and how God has been quietly preparing the ground for this community and the surrounding areas.
