Foundation Church Belfast

The Trinity

Final message in our series Ascent, this week examining the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
Sermon by Noah Bartlett

Pentecost

In this message, we examine three key questions surrounding this momentous occasion in the great story of God’s salvation – the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost:
What is Pentecost?
What did it mean?
What did it achieve?
Sermon by David Varney.
Main Text: Acts 2:1-41

The Ascension

In this message, we reflect on the Ascension of Christ and its meaning to us today.
The Ascension is a key moment in the history of Christianity – the visible, bodily ascension of the man Jesus to the presence of God.
Far from being a quirky oddity in the Christian story of salvation, the Ascension of Jesus provides the grounds for our high view of humanity and our motivation to care for the lost and the lowly.
Sermon by David Varney.
Main text: Acts 1:1-11

Three Key Transforming Relationships

There are three key relationships that have transforming power within the local church, the Transforming Community. When these relationships are healthy and growing, transformation is not only possible, it is the experience of everyone who belongs to the community.
This is the final message in our series through First Thessalonians from David Varney

How the Day of the Lord builds transforming community

The major world religions and the modern scientific community are widely in agreement on this point: the world as we know it will not continue on forever, each pointing forward to a climactic end of time, although through vastly different means.
In the ancient Judeo-Christian tradition, the end of this present age is known as the Day of the Lord, a day when God will come to his world in power and justice, banishing evil in all its forms, and instituting the renewed and perfected new heavens and new earth.
Whether religious or not, each of us yearns for the Day of the Lord, even if we don’t use that terminology. We all desire a day when wrongs are undone, when evil is destroyed, suffering is extinguished and injustice is crushed.
The problem for all of us is that some kind of wrongdoing, hate or injustice exists in each of us. We both want the Day of the Lord to come and do not want the Day.
It is only in the gospel of Jesus that we can look forward confidently to the coming Day. This hope then changes how we live today, and underpins our drive to act justly and to love sacrificially.
The penultimate message by David Varney in our series Transforming Community.

Death, Grief and Hope

Common to all human experience, irrespective of race, culture, background or place in history, is the experience of death and grief. No one will be able to go through life without experiencing them.
This sermon examines three basic forms of expression that grieving takes within our post-Christian culture, and shows how hope within grief and death is a central premise of the Christian faith.
Main text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Message by David Varney as part of the series Transforming Community.

Living Life in Transforming Community

Latest message by David Varney in our series through 1 Thessalonians – Transforming Community.
St. Paul teaches that the ultimate point of living in transforming community is to please God by the way we live our lives. This can only come about out of a desire from our deepest being – our hearts. Without a new heart for God it is impossible to please God.
It is of course possible to do good things and be concerned with law-keeping (whether a person is religious or non-religious) without inner change of heart, but this produces people who serve and even do good works out of self-interest – avoiding punishment or gaining reward.
However, God promises a new heart and his Holy Spirit to change our motivations and give us power to live for him – for his glory and for our deepest pleasure. He gives us the gift of one another in Transforming Community to achieve this and to experience this joy and power together.
Main points:
The Point of Life in Transforming Community
The Practise of Life in Transforming Community
The Power of Life in Transforming Community
Main text: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Vulnerability, Sustainability and Two Ways to Strengthen the Church

The latest message in our series Transforming Community by David Varney
Main text: 1 Thessalonians 2:17 – 3:13