Some resources for small groups, Sunday mornings and personal use.
See also all recorded talks, ideas for spending time with God every day and (password-protected) resources for service leaders, etc..
Resources
Individual Resources
There are lots of helpful resources around; see ideas for spending time with God every day.
Verse for the Year, 2024
Our verse for the year is:
“Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.”
Psalm 119:105 (NIVUK)
Explore other versions, e.g. on bible gateway
Or listen to an arrangement as sung by Amy Grant.
Romans Series
8 Sept – 8 Dec
This is based on resources from the Bible Society, including some for small groups and some for services.
- 8/9/2024 Romans: Gospel (session 1) – talk & slides
- 15/9/2024 Romans: Sin (session 2)
- 22/9/2024 Romans: Salvation (session 3)
- 29/9/2024 Romans: Peace (session 4)
- (6/10/2024 Short Harvest Sunday service followed by soup at allotment)
- 13/10/2024 Romans: Freedom (session 5)
- 20/10/2024 Romans: Hope (session 6)
- 27/10/2024 Romans: Mystery (session 7)
- (3/11/2024 Community Sunday take-over)
- (10/11/2024 Remembrance Sunday at St Peter’s Church)
- 17/11/2024 Romans: Devotion (session 8)
- 24/11/2024 Romans: Community (session 9)
- (1/12/2024 Community Sunday)
- 8/12/2024 Romans: Mission (session 10) Advent
Beatitudes Series
12 May – 21 July 2024
Note, each small group has a copy of Cover to Cover Beatitudes. We are also thinking about how the beatitudes describe Jesus. John Ortberg has a series on the whole sermon on the mount, starting with the beatitudes. The Bible Project also has a series of videos (and other resources) on the sermon on the mount.
- 12/05/2024 – Matt.5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit – talk
- (19/5 Pentecost on the Green)
- 26/5/2024 – Matt.5:4 Blessed are those who mourn – talk
- 9/6/2024 – Matt.5:5 Blessed are the meek – talk
- (16/6 Mission Service – talk)
- 23/6/2024 – Matt.5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness – talk
- 30/6/2024 – Matt.5:7 Blessed are the merciful – talk
- 14/7/2024 – Matt.5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart – talk and slides
- 21/7/2024 – Matt.5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers – talk ans slides
- (Matt. 5;10)
Vision Day Preparation
April 2024
- The service on 14th April looked at Paul’s list of gifts for church leadership in Ephesians 4:11-12 – talk, powerpoint
- On Sunday 21st April we are visiting New Life church in West Bridgford to head the current BU President.
- As a way to prepare for the RBC vision day on Sunday 28th April, it would be great if everyone (individually and in small groups) could spend some time listening to God for RBC. Pete Everitt has kindly allowed us to use a version of his “Listening for Lent” booklet, which has some suggestions, plus we have added some more specific questions at the end – please see the link on the members page.
Lent Resources
Lent is a time in the Church year – as we look towards Easter – when we take the opportunity to pause and reflect, and seek God. There are lots of good resources that you can use to help in this. For example:
- Try the Lectio365 app which has daily (audio/text) devotions.
- Sign up for the daily lent reflections from the Church of England (also avaialble in in app with audio), the Bible Society or Cafod (also all online – at the bottom of the page).
- For children/families, the Church of England app also includes a shorter child-friendly reflection, Cafod has some family resources including prayer suggestions (you can always skip any unfamiliar Catholic bits) or search “lent family activities”, e.g. 40 Lent activities for families
- There are lots of other suggestions for lent practices too, e.g. Sarah Bessey’s
Fasting was an everyday practice for Jesus and his contemporaries, and is often associated with lent. Fasting just means giving something up for a time in order to focus more on God. Here are a few ideas of things you could pause or reduce during lent to make more time for God:
- A meal each week (or day), or substitute a much simpler meal than you would normally have (Note: if you have a health condition then you need to be careful about what you give up and for how long; get medical advice if you are unsure).
- Stimulant or sedative drinks, e.g. coffee, alcohol.
- Deserts, sweets or chocolate.
- TV/Netflix.
- Social media & checking your phone.
The aim is not to feel bad, but to keep reminding ourselves that God is more important, and to take time to be present to God.
With the Church Vision Day coming up (28th April) please also pray for RBC, and consider what God might be saying to us and where God might be calling us as a Church.
Lent Series: Act on Poverty
18 Feb – 24 Mar 2024
Talks/weeks @RBC:
- “Broken”, 18 Feb 2024, talk by Graham Watkins, Derby Urban Church; webpage, and course pack,
- “Located”, 25 Feb 2024, webpage, and course pack, talk by Chris and Chris’s slides (e.g. slides 4-10 poverty and place; 22-25 Ruddington maps and stats; 30 prompts/questions)
- “Generous”, 17 Mar 2024, website and course pack, talk by David Lazonby
- “Prophetic”, 24 Mar 2024, website, and course pack, talk by Andrew Third
- Easter Sunday, 31 Mar 2024, talk by Mike Fegredo
Note, there are two other sessions which we are not covering on Sunday mornings, “Hopeful” & “Together”, which also have associated resources.
Philippians
14 Jan – 11 Feb 2024
Find the passage on BibleGateway, e.g. NIVUK, or The Message version.
From the Bible Project:
- “Book of Philippians Summary: a Complete Animated Overview”,
- “Key Information and Helpful Resources”,
- “Three Helpful Steps For Reading The Epistles”,
Or read:
- Tom Wright’s “for everyone” commentary, “Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon”, e.g. on Eden.co.uk
Talks @RBC:
- Philippians 1, 14 Jan 2024, recording
Some questions to think about:
look at verses 12 – 26.
1. Verses 12-14: What had happened to Paul? What were the results? Do you have any examples of difficult things that have given opportunity to speak of your faith? Do you think difficulties make us more courageous and fearless?
2. Verses 15- 18. Do you think some people preach from selfish ambition today? What should our reaction be? What was Paul’s reaction?
3. Verses 29 – 26. Read this slowly and share/discuss which verses stand out for you. - Philippians 2, 21 Jan 2024, No recording, but here is a transcript,
- Philippians 3, 28 January 2024, video (with slides), audio recording, slides and handout – actually the talk is about reading the bible in general, not particularly Philippians.
In the service we prayed, read over Philippians 3 and talked to someone else about what stood out to us and why, which was then (optionally) shared back to the whole group.
Or you might reflect on or discuss (1) how you read the bible (2) how your background and upbringing affects what you hear when you read the bible (3) if there are any things that you find difficult in the bible and/or (4) what you think God might be saying to you (or someone else) today through what you read. - Philippians 4, 11 February 2024, recording.