Have you ever thought what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus? Many people say they are Christians without really knowing what it means.

The Practicing the Way course is based on the best-selling book of the same title by John Mark Comer and aims to introduce people to how to follow Jesus in the modern era. 

Join us at Oxford Road Baptist Church for the Practicing the Way course on Wednesday evenings from 7.30-9pm. The eight-session course is designed to lay a foundation for a lifelong apprenticeship with Jesus. 

The course started on Wednesday, October 16 however there is still time to join. Everyone is welcome.

We are gathering for church with a difference on Sunday, October 27 with our monthly Messy Church. Messy church gives children the chance to play games, enjoy a host of crafts and listen to a story.

Children need to be accompanied by an adult. It is followed by food for all those who have been to the afternoon.

Messy Church is free, although you are welcome to make a donation towards the food, and runs from 3-5pm. A tuck shop will be available.

All are welcome.

There are the usual two services on Sunday, October 13. The morning service will be taken by Brian Johnson and will start at 10.45am. It will include children's groups for those four and over. There is a creche for accompanied children aged three or under which includes a live stream of the service. It will be followed by tea and coffee.

The evening service starts at 6.15pm when Eric Reeve will be the speaker. All are welcome at both services.

Pastor Phil Dixon will take both services on Sunday, October 6. At the morning service, which starts at 10.45am, he will speak on "I believe in God. Creator of the Universe". There are children's groups for those four and over.

There is a creche for accompanied children aged three or under which includes a live stream of the service. It will be followed by tea and coffee.

At the evening service Phil will speak on Exodus 1. All are welcome at both services.

Bookworm Claudette Colvin had two dreams when she was young. The first was to marry a baseball player. The second was to become President of the United States.

Lofty dreams indeed for a teenager from the poor side of town, but she was an A-grade student and determined to make something of her life. The thwack of a curveball rocketing over a baseball diamond or the patriotic stirrings of a big brass band on the lawns of the White House must have seemed impossible that one Friday in March, when the smart and pretty 15-year-old was hauled into a courthouse.

She’d been yelled at by students, kicked three times by police and then taken across town crying and humiliated in a patrol car by the same officers, who made lewd comments about her appearance. Her crime? Riding the bus.

Claudette was black. She’d refused to give up her seat for a white man. And in 1955, before Martin Luther King shared his dream, the law in Montgomery, Alabama, forced black passengers to give up their seats for whites. However, this young girl did the unthinkable and said, “No”.

In heaven, there are no restricted seats. In fact, everyone is welcome to sit and eat at the same table as the God of creation. Imagine that. In all His glory, majesty and power, the Lord wants us to celebrate with Him in heaven, regardless of colour, culture or country. All we have to do is answer the invitation to join Him.

Meanwhile, our hearts must mirror His. While the world might judge according to colour, God doesn’t. He sees His children, who he loves equally. And He expects us to share the same love for our neighbour.

Racism devalues people, divides people and sets people against each other. Heaven is the complete opposite. All people who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are united as one before God. As the Bible says about God, “All nations will come and worship You”.

People from other cultures might be different, but God made them this way so their unique gifts could glorify Him forever. So if you’re trusting in Jesus and want to be part of his Kingdom then banish animosity, feuds and ill feeling towards those who are different.

And if you’re being mistreated, then hang in there, things are going to change!

Prayer: Dear God, teach me to love my neighbour as I love myself, and to welcome the stranger, just as you welcomed me when I was a stranger. Help me to wait for heaven when racism will vanish. AMEN.

Courtesy of Outreach Media 2024

Our Harvest Festival will be on Sunday, September 29 when Pastor Phil Dixon will speak on "I believe in God the Father". The service starts at 10.45am and will be followed by a free soup and sweet lunch.

Everyone is welcome.

The evening service will also be taken by Phil when he will speak on Romans. The service starts at 6.15pm. All welcome.

Why not join us for church with a difference on Sunday, September 22, Messy church gives children the chance to play games, enjoy a host of crafts and listen to a story. Children need to be accompanied by an adult. It is followed by food for all those who have been to the afternoon.

Messy Church is free, although you are welcome to make a donation towards the food, and runs from 4-6pm. A tuck shop will be available.

All are welcome. And if you want to get the next one in your diary after this weekend it will be on Sunday, October 27, from 4-6pm.

Pastor Phil Dixon will take the morning service on Sunday, September 22, when he will speak on the subject "Does it matter what we believe?" The service starts at 10.45am and includes children's groups for those four and over. There is a creche for accompanied children aged three or under which includes a live stream of the service. It will be followed by tea and coffee.

The evening service starts at 6.15pm and this week will be an evening of prayer and praise. All are welcome at both services.

Hartlepool Community Grocery has now extended its opening hours making it easier for more people to shop. The store, based at Oxford Road Baptist Church in Caledonian Road is now open from 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

It has a wide range of stock including food and toiletries and has regular offers. It is open to all.

 There are two services on Sunday, September 15. The morning service will start at 10.45am and include children's groups for those four and over. There is a creche for accompanied children aged three or under which includes a live stream of the service. It will be followed by tea and coffee.

The evening service starts at 6.15pm. All are welcome at both services.

What would you do to get back someone precious that you'd lost? What lengths would you go to to find your missing child, friend, spouse or parent? How far would you travel? How long would you look? What price would you pay?

The Bible says we have been lost to God - wayward, estranged, dead to him in our apathy and rejection. Yet he wouldn't let it be. He had to come find us.

That is the story of Jesus - God come to earth to seek us, to beseech us, to be with us. That is the story of the cross - God come to earth to suffer like us and for us and our waywardness. That is the story of the empty tomb - God triumphant over death and suffering and our estrangement from him.

That is, as it says in the Bible in Ephesians 3:18, "how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is."

God has left no stone unturned to be reunited with you. What is your response to God's deep and costly love for you?

Isn't this self-sacrificing, persistent, genuine love exactly what you need and want? Why not open your heart to God's wide, long, high and deep love for you in Christ right now?

PRAYER: Dear God, I want your love and I receive your love. I trust that Jesus Christ has come and died and risen to life to reunite me to you. Please help me to live trusting in you and your love from now on. Amen.

Courtesy of Outreach Media 2024

Sandy Law will take the morning service on Sunday, September 8. It will start at 10.45am and include children's groups for those four and over. There is a creche for accompanied children aged three or under which includes a live stream of the service. It will be followed by tea and coffee.

The evening service starts at 6.15pm when Leah Ellis will be the speaker. All are welcome at both services.