Matthew 12:38-50 We've already seen the way people take Jesus’ miracles for granted. They demand a miracle to confirm who Jesus is. They will see a greater sign than any before, yet they have less spiritual openness than the pagan Ninevites or the Queen of Sheba. Jesus says, just as Jonah went down into the water and up again being rescued from death, so Jesus will go down into the grave and up again being raised from the dead. Those who don’t understand Jesus’ death won’t be convinced by the ‘signs’ they demand. Those who experience help from Jesus but stay neutral and don’t invite him in are like an empty house that will be repossessed. But those who do recognise Jesus for who he is and do his Father's will, they are his family. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Matthew 12:22-37 Jesus came to fight God’s battles to rescue his people. The Spirit was at work through Jesus the Messiah to launch God’s kingdom. But what’s the real battle he came for? It’s the real power of darkness behind all the world’s evils, Satan (‘The Accuser’) AKA Beelzebub (‘Lord of the flies’). Many saw Jesus’ powerful miracles but didn’t see that he was anointed by God’s Spirit. They say he was empowered by Satan. Between belief and unbelief, Jesus allows no neutral position. Those who reject Jesus but come to see who he is and have faith receive a forgiven life. Those who see Jesus and knowingly reject him all their life will never turn to him and be forgiven. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Matthew 12:9-21 Jesus fulfils Old Testament prophecy. This is what it’s all been building up to. Matthew quotes Isaiah 42 to show us that Jesus’ kingdom will be very different to the world. We see it in the way that the Pharisees’ plot to trick and kill Jesus is the opposite of his compassion. We see it in the way Jesus treats the most vulnerable people. This shows us that God’s intention for the Sabbath was not restrictive, but restorative. Jesus has come to give the whole world Sabbath rest and to restore everything. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Matthew 12:1-8 Harvesting was one of 39 kinds of work forbidden on the Sabbath according to the Halakhah (‘Jewish law’) at the time. We might think nibbling on grain is hardly ‘harvesting’. But Jesus doesn’t argue that case. Jesus responds to his opponents with a story. David, he recalls, was able to set aside a ceremonial law to survive. Ceremonial laws were different to unbending moral laws. Ceremonial laws point to the coming of something greater than the Temple. Furthermore, priests still ‘worked’ on the Sabbath, because the Sabbath was for worship. In the same way, the Sabbath laws are not set aside but fulfilled in Jesus. Calling himself Lord of the Sabbath meant claiming to be the Creator (Genesis 2: 1 - 3) and Law Giving (Exodus 20: 1 - 20) God who is worshipped on the Sabbath. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

After explaining why many people do not turn to Jesus with faith, he offers his heartfelt invitation to all who are worn down to come to him to receive rest. It’s an invitation to himself, not a programme. It’s an invitation to imitate his whole life, not to have a magic moment. It’s an invitation to know his heart, not just his benefits. It’s no accident that Matthew next explores real rest as Jesus and the Pharisees clash on the Sabbath day of rest.

Matthew 11:20-27 “I would believe if I could see a miracle.” Many who saw Jesus’ miracles didn’t turn to him in faith. He says that those who have seen much have greater responsibility to do something with what they’ve seen and have less excuse for unbelief. We think that the wiser we are and the more intelligent we’re considered, the closer we get to seeing the truth about God. But Jesus says we can only know God because he reveals himself, not because we think our way to him. Neither miracles nor mental abilities help us see God. What matters is the humility of a child. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Matthew 11:1-19 No one comes to Jesus as a blank canvas. When we come to Jesus, we can project onto him what we expect it to be like or want it to be like. Jesus was careful to describe what kind of King he is. Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist, sat in Herod’s prison for preaching about Jesus. Now he wonders whether he was right about Jesus. Jesus quotes Isaiah 35 to show what the Messiah was meant to be like. Jesus turns to question the crowd: What did you expect when you saw John the Baptist? The crowd show they don’t understand who is. They criticise John for being too weird and criticise Jesus for being too ordinary! If Jesus doesn’t meet our expectations, it’s us who need to change what we think? For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

John 1:35-49 How do we play our part as a church in the 'quiet revival' or 'slow awakening' in our nation? How can we individually play our part in helping those around us meet Jesus? Often all it takes is an invitation to 'come and see'. That's exactly how it happened with Jesus' first followers in ‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬-‭49‬. Listen here for the follow-up to last week's vision Sunday. This sermon is specifically aimed at PO1, as our Stacey Centre congregation had Dan preaching this Sunday. But it's applicable to all! For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

A stand alone talk on Membership and flourishing in God's family. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Psalm 65 Why do you go to the Temple? Because that’s where you pray and that’s where you go to sacrifice. So David praises God for what the Temple stands for. In the first part, David pictures all the world coming to know God the way he and his people do. How do we reconcile God’s universal welcome with the language of those he ‘chooses’? If David pictures the nations flooding into the Temple in Jerusalem, what is the New Testament reality that fulfils it? The second part, David celebrates the God who answers prayer. His eyes lift beyond the temple to think about God’s ability to control nature miraculously to save his people but also in every ordinary way that God provides for us. How does God’s work in nature and his provision teach us to keep our eyes open to ways we can praise God in all of life? How does this point us forward to the day when God will renew all the cosmos for our good? For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Psalm 1 Contrasted with the slow decline of the wicked, the Blessed One delights in the Law of the Lord. What that looks like is meditating on it. Meditation is more than reading or studying, but not quite praying. It’s thinking deeply about what you’ve read aware of God’s presence as a bridge between reading and prayer. The wise one chews over God’s word. This is what leads to an ‘evergreen’ life, bearing fruit slowly through the seasons. The wicked, on the other hand, aren’t as deeply rooted, and lack the depth of wisdom to cling on during storms. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Psalm 32 Confession isn’t stereotypically a joyful topic, but this Psalm is a celebration of the assurance of forgiveness that comes through confession. Contrasting with the joy of total forgiveness, David describes what it feels like to cover up our sins ourselves and the way it eats away at him. The character trait he highlights is the joylessness of deceitfulness. What does David learn from his confession? How does God respond with instruction after confession? For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Psalm 73 God is good. But it’s easy to forget that truth when we look around us. Seeing how others live can warp our hearts if we lose our eternal perspective. It’s coming into the temple that reminded the Psalmist of what is ultimately true about the fate of the wicked and the righteous, and the Psalmist remembers where he finds contentment. How can we apply this to our lives when we lose our way? What does the Psalmist remember about God that we need reminding of? For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Psalm 13 David launches into questions many of us ask. Why does the Lord who determines times and seasons let this go on for so long? Am I forgotten? Has God abandoned me? How long will my mind be in torment? Even though David’s feelings are caused by the threat of enemies, we each can resonate with feeling these things. Many people are unaware that they’re ‘allowed’ to pray this way. What does David do and how does he find trust in God again?

Psalm 56 David is experiencing the pain of slander, twisted words, meticulously planned harm. But he takes comfort in 'this I know’ about God, God’s care for him, and the fate of the wicked. Even though there’s only one line of petition in this Psalm (‘Be gracious to me’), the whole Psalm tells us how to talk to God about our worries. Rather than a shopping list of needs, how does David present the situation to God while he asks for help? For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Psalm 84 The Temple was where they came close to God. Even a weak and overlooked sparrow finds a home where animals would be sacrificed. Even those who aren’t in the temple yet but desire to go on a pilgrimage; the pilgrims make the dry places a source of water and they go from strength-to-strength on their journey. This is where happiness is found. How does this apply to those who live without a Temple to visit or go on pilgrimage to? For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Philippians 4:10-23 God wonderfully provides for us. He himself is our great reward, the thing that we look to and the inheritance that we have waiting for us. He can do all things through Christ who strengthens him; and so can we. Christ is in us, he empowers us and rewards faithfulness in his people.

Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice! Sometimes easier to say than to do. How can we do this when times are hard, when life is a struggle and when everything goes wrong? In a verse about anxiety in the midst of hard times; we are called to rejoice. In “everything” and at all times, we are to rejoice. Paul reminds us that the Lord is at hand, he is close to us and stands with us when life is hard. In any, and all circumstances of life, we can and should, REJOICE. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Philippians 3:15-4:3 Following Jesus is not an individualistic task. We are not meant to walk this life alone, we are meant to be part of a family, a body, a church. As we mature we are meant to be those that others imitate and follow. The older are meant to set the example, the younger are meant to follow those that lead them to Jesus. Who do we follow? Who is following us? We are not islands, our lives and our faith is connected to those around us, and what we do has an impact on others. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church

Philippians 3:1-14 Paul sees the worthiness of Jesus, especially when it’s compared to ANYTHING else! Here we see Paul say to the Philippians, “whatever gain I had, I counted it loss for the sake of Christ”. We press on to a glorious goal, a wonderful ending, and an eternal hope. Jesus is greater, he is the pearl of great price and the treasure hidden in a field. We must press onward, we keep going and head towards Jesus. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church​​​​ Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church