Gospel in the City | Gospel in the City

Good News For The Just About Managing

25th May 2018

In her first speech outside Downing Street, Theresa May announced her intention to govern on behalf of the ‘just about managing’ – the people who maybe aren’t desperately poor, but they don’t feel very well off either. It may feel like a long time ago, but Theresa May’s government promised to bring radical change on behalf of those people.

Spiritually, many of us might be tempted to describe ourselves as ‘just about managing’. That’s interesting, because Jesus said he came to bring ‘good news to the poor’.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to be looking at the climax to a section in Luke’s gospel that is all about how we get eternal life. We’ll see that there is good news for the ‘just about managing’, but it involves some honest evaluations about where our spiritual lives are really at. Join as we discover how bad news for Mr Big can be good news for the little people.

Andy Hambleton, Christoph Ebbinghaus and Sam Bostock will be joining us over the coming weeks to help us think through the truth and challenge of these Gospel stories for us today.

Weds lunchtime Series Topic/Title Passage

30-May Good News for the Failing Luke 18:9-17

06-June Bad News for Mr Big Luke 18:18-30

13-June Seeing and Believing Luke 18:31-43

20-June A Big Change in a Little Man Luke 19:1-10

27-June Escape to the Country Luke 19:11-27

Everyone who is in the city centre is very welcome to join us on Wednesday lunchtimes from 1:10-1:45pm, in the restaurant of the Clayton Hotel Belfast 22-26 Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, BT2 8HS. (On entering the building turn left, you’ll find us at the far end of the restaurant.) Sandwiches and hot drinks are available (suggested donation £3).

Please feel free to share this with anyone you know who may be interested in coming along.

Gospel in the city…of Ninevah?

23rd April 2018

As we begin a new season at Gospel in the city we are going to take a look back at the story of Jonah a reluctant Prophet, and the incredible grace God showed to him and to those he sent him to.

Jonah was called to serve God in the city of Nineveh, but he’d have rather gone anywhere else. Steve Ould, pastor of Great Victoria Street Baptist Church, will be joining us to help us consider how Jonah might challenge us to serve God in the city of Belfast.

Weds lunchtime Series Topic/Title Passage

18-April There’s Grace In That Storm Jonah 1

25-April Grace That Goes Deeper Jonah 2

02-May A Great Challenge, A Greater God Jonah 3

09-May Sharing God’s Heart For The City Jonah 4

Please feel free to share this with anyone you know who may be interested in coming along.

Dead man walking: the case for the empty tomb

29th March 2017

Many people today see Jesus as an interesting religious thinker (like the Buddha) or a revolutionary prophet (like Che Guevara). But to contemporary people Jesus was either a dangerous heretic or he was the son of God. Put another way, they either believed he had been rightly executed by the Romans, or that God had raised him from the dead, offering life to the world.

This Easter we will be joined by Stephen Shaw QC to consider the evidence for the empty tomb. Stephen has practiced at the Northern Irish Bar for over 30 years and has been Senior Counsel since 2001. Stephen regularly speaks on the evidence for the Christian faith and we are delighted that he is able to join us for this one off event, organised by Gospel in the City.

Wednesday 12 April 2016, 1:10 – 1:50pm
May Street Presbyterian Church, Belfast (see below for directions)
All welcome. No booking necessary.

A copy of a flyer for this event is available to download here. Feel free to share this with anyone you know who may be interested.

New Year Prayer

3rd January 2017

We plan to kick off the New Year back in the usual venue by gathering together to pray for ourselves, our workplaces and the Gospel in the City network.

Join us 1:10-1:40pm, Wednesday 4th January 2017, Caffé Nero’s on Fountain Street. Sandwiches available (suggested donation: £3).

Lunchtime Christmas Carol Concert

14th December 2016

Gospel in the City plans to host a Lunchtime Carol Service on Tuesday 20 December 2016 from 1:10-1:40pm in Urban Soul (May Street Church basement).

This will be a traditional carol service with well-known Christmas carols led my New Irish Arts and a short message from Christoph Ebbinhaus. It is intended to be accessible to anyone who enjoys a traditional Christmas service and we hope would be perfect for a pre-Christmas office trip out!

Please note the different day and location to the usual Gospel in the City meetings Tuesday 20 December 2016 (i.e. not the usual Wednesday lunchtime) from 1:10-1:40pm in Urban Soul, May Street Church basement (i.e. not Caffe Nero).

Songs of Advent

28th November 2016

From “Away in a Manger” to Wham!, Christmas has always been a time for singing – and that’s especially true of the first Christmas. The early pages of St. Luke’s Gospel almost read like a musical as a teenage mum and a dying man sing for joy. The songs they sang are now beloved parts of the daily liturgy in both Catholic and Protestant churches. But what was it about the first Christmas that made these people so joyful? And could the joy of that first Christmas come to our workplaces this Christmas? Join us on Wednesday lunchtimes as we explore these Advent Songs:

30/11 What makes Mary special? (the Magnificat, part 1)
7/12 How to put the revolution back into Christmas (the Magnificat, part 2)
14/12 How to get everything you’ve ever wanted this Christmas (the Nunc Dimittis)

We will then finish off the advent season with a Gospel in the City Carol Service on Tuesday 20 December, 1:10-1:50pm in Urban Soul (May St Church). We’ll enjoy singing a few traditional carols and hear a short message from Christoph Ebbinghaus. Could you invite your office for a pre-Christmas trip out?

Speaking with Authority

2nd October 2016

speakingwithauthority

Some people, and some messages, seem to command a hearing. For most of the last two thousand years, in most of the world, Jesus and his message of the good news of God have created just such a response. The gospel writer Mark tells us that at the beginning of his public ministry Jesus went into Galilee saying “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

In the crowded religious marketplace of 1st century Palestine, Jesus was immediately recognised as a uniquely authoritative voice. Since then few people have felt able to ignore Jesus’ message. But perhaps in Belfast today we find it harder to understand exactly why the people who first heard Jesus asked themselves, “What is this? A new teaching with authority!” (Mark 1:22)

In this series of four lunchtime Bible readings in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we’re aiming to go back to those heady early days of Jesus’ ministry and see for ourselves what it was that made Jesus and his gospel so compelling.

12th Oct The Voice of God (Mark 1:1-11)

19th Oct A top line summary of the entire Bible (Mark 1:12-15)

26th Oct Listen to the boss! (Mark 1:16-34)

2nd Nov Words of life (Mark 1:35-45)

Speakers:

Sam Bostock (Gospel in the City)

Moore Casement (Cornhill Training Course, Belfast)

Martyn Cowan (Union Theological College, Belfast)

Join us upstairs in Caffe Nero on Fountain St (1 min from City Hall), 1:10-1:40pm, for lunch, a reading from Mark’s Gospel and a short talk. Sandwiches are available (suggested donation £3).

What on earth are we doing?

31st August 2016

whatoneartharewedoingweb

What on earth are we doing? It’s a question any thinking person asks themselves from time to time. It’s a question that we can often find ourselves asking about our working lives. And it’s also a question we’re bound to be asking as the Gospel in the City network begins its life. What on earth are we doing?

Those are questions that the Bible can help us with. In our first talk series at Gospel in the City we’re going to be looking the answers Jesus Christ gives in John’s Gospel. In chapter 15 Jesus is spending his final evening with his closest followers before his arrest and execution. Facing life without their leader, Jesus’ friends are asking exactly this question: what on earth are we doing?

Jesus comforts his friends by giving them an image that would become famous: of a vine and its branches. As we seek to understand what Jesus meant, we’ll explore what it means to live fruitful lives and how all of that might apply to our working lives in Belfast.

Hope you can join us!

21st Sept – What on earth are we doing being Christians?
28th Sept – What on earth are we doing at work?

Wednesday lunchtimes, 1:10-1:40pm, upstairs in Caffè Nero, Fountain Street. Sandwiches available (suggested donation £3).

Image adapted from MarkDoliner on Flickr, by permission.