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Hope Live | Our Vision Series | John 4:1-38 | Jamie Haxby Loneliness. Debt. Mental health. Housing. These are the four biggest needs presenting in Lancaster right now, according to local community data. And they're not just social problems. They're symptoms of something deeper — a spiritual hunger and thirst that no amount of Netflix, online shopping, relationships, or achievement can ever fully satisfy. In this opening message of the vision series, Jamie takes us to one of the most tender encounters in all of the Gospels — Jesus and a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. She came alone, at noon, for water. She left without her water jar — because she'd found something so much better she simply forgot it was there. Drawing on the Old Testament significance of wells as places of romance and meeting, Jamie unpacks a beautiful and often-missed detail in John 4: Jesus is portrayed as the seventh man in this woman's life. And in a Bible where seven is the number of completeness and perfection, that's not an accident. This is John telling us something extraordinary — that Jesus comes to us as the perfect bridegroom, in the middle of our pain and our shame and our cycles of running back to the same dry wells, and says: whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst again. This is also a message about vision. What would it look like for a church to have the same reputation as Jacob's well — a place people say, if you want to meet the bridegroom, go there? And what would it take to dig that well deep enough that it overflows into a city? Featuring a stunning anonymous testimony from someone who walked past a church called Hope and walked in, and the words of Augustine — our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you — this is a message for anyone who is tired of drinking from wells that run dry. Key themes: John 4 · the woman at the well · living water · cycles of addiction · spiritual hunger · Lancaster's needs · Jesus as bridegroom · revival · vision · Augustine · communion 06/09/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #john #visionseries #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | Building His Kingdom | 1 Corinthians 3:8-23 | Stephen Baines From a garden, to a tent, to a temple, to a person — and now, somehow, to you. In this closing message of the Building His Kingdom series, Stephen brings us to what might be the most mind-bending moment of the whole arc. After the beauty of Eden, the intricacy of the Tabernacle, the splendour of Solomon's Temple, and the glory of Jesus himself — God looks at these flawed, messy, tired, very human people and says: you. I'll pour my Spirit on you. You will be my kingdom. I no longer want to just dwell with you — I want to dwell in you. Drawing on 1 Corinthians 3, Stephen unpacks what Paul actually means when he calls the church God's temple — and it's not a metaphor. It's the same word, the same physical reality, that Israel knew in the Holy of Holies. The difference is that now the dwelling place of God isn't a building you travel to. It's a person. And then, through the Holy Spirit, it's you. With a brilliantly simple illustration — a paddleboard, a pump, and a crowd of enthusiastic kids — Stephen explores why a God who could do all of this himself still chooses to involve us. Not because he needs us, but because he wants us. Like a dad who could pump up the paddleboard in two minutes, but hands it to his kids anyway because the learning, the growing, the doing-it-together is the whole point. This message also pushes back on one of the most common but underexamined assumptions in Christianity: that our bodies are just unfortunate temporary shells we endure until we get to heaven. Scripture tells a different story. Creation is good. Sin corrupts it. Christ redeems it. Resurrection glorifies it. And the Spirit fills it. So what does that mean for Monday morning? It means that when you serve, love, pray, give, welcome, forgive, or pick up litter on the street — you are not doing nothing. You are participating in the continuing mission of Jesus on this earth. You are his temple. You are his kingdom builders. And it all begins with three words: In the beginning, God. Key themes: 1 Corinthians 3 · temple of the Holy Spirit · Building His Kingdom series · God dwelling in us · dignity of the body · kingdom builders · Acts 1:8 · in the beginning God · fellow workers · sin, redemption, resurrection 30/08/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #1corinthians #buildinghiskingdom #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | Building His Kingdom | John 2:12-25 | Melinda Collins What if salvation was never just about where you end up when you die? In this message from John 2, Melinda brings us to week four of the Building His Kingdom series — and to the most dramatic shift in the whole story. From the Garden, to the Tabernacle, to the Temple, God has always been moving toward his people. But when Jesus stepped into the temple courts, flipped the tables, and declared destroy this temple and I will raise it in three days — everything changed. The dwelling place of God was no longer a building. It was a person. And that changes everything about what it means to follow him. Drawing on the arc of the whole series, Melinda makes a simple but devastating observation: many Christians treat salvation like a heavenly passport — proof they're not going to a lost eternity — and then tuck it away and get on with life. But Jesus didn't die on the cross just to secure your future. He died to bring you into a living, breathing, daily relationship with the God of the universe. Right now. In 2026. In whatever you're walking through this week. So how do you actually do that? Melinda gets wonderfully practical — read your Bible not as a rulebook but as an encounter with a living God, and learn to hear his voice for yourself. Because Acts 2 didn't promise the gift of the Spirit to an elite group of super-spiritual Christians. It promised it to sons and daughters, young and old, men and women. All people. This message closes with one of the most tender moments you'll hear in a church service — a whole congregation, kids included, invited to close their eyes and encounter Jesus for themselves. Whatever your yes looks like this morning, there's room for it here. Key themes: John 2 · Jesus as the new temple · Building His Kingdom series · personal relationship with God · hearing God's voice · Acts 2 · the Holy Spirit · encountering Jesus · salvation beyond eternity · reading the Bible 23/08/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #john #buildinghiskingdom #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | Building His Kingdom | 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 | Jack Bunker In this message from 1 Chronicles 17, Jack unpacks one of the most tender and surprising moments in the Old Testament — the night God gently turned down David's greatest ambition. Not because it was wrong. Not because David's heart was in the wrong place. But because God had something so much bigger in mind that David couldn't yet see it. Walking us through a sweeping timeline of the Temple — from Moses and the Tabernacle, through Solomon and the First Temple, through exile and ruin, to Herod's expansion and ultimately to Jesus himself — Jack shows how 1 Chronicles 17 is not just a story about a building project. It's one of the most remarkable Messianic prophecies in all of scripture. A promise to David that one of his sons would build a house for God whose throne would be established forever. Solomon fulfilled part of it. But Jesus fulfilled all of it. And here's what that means for us: if you've ever had a God-honouring dream quietly shut down, you serve a God who is gentle, gracious, and patient — and whose plans are always bigger than yours. More importantly, you serve a God who doesn't want your service as a way of earning his favour. He just wants you to recognise who he is, and love him back. Key themes: 1 Chronicles 17 · David and Nathan · the Temple timeline · Messianic prophecy · Solomon and Jesus · honouring God · grace and salvation · 2 Corinthians 9 · faith vs. works · God's eternal kingdom 16/08/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #1chronicles #buildinghiskingdom #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | Building His Kingdom | Exodus 35-39 | Daniel de la Rey What if the reason you're not giving isn't greed — it's that you're waiting until you have enough? In this message from Exodus 35–39, Daniel takes us inside the building of the Tabernacle — one of the most extraordinary moments of collective generosity in all of scripture. God gives Moses specific, detailed, almost extravagant instructions for this sacred space. And then he asks the people to provide everything needed to build it. No compulsion. No guilt trip. Just an open invitation to bring what you have and trust that it's enough. And here's the thing that stopped Moses in his tracks: they brought too much. They had to be told to stop giving. Drawing on the story of Bezalel — the craftsman who said "Lord, use my skills" and was filled with the Holy Spirit for the very first time in scripture — Daniel unpacks what he calls the kingdom principle of giving. Not just money. Time. Wisdom. Prayer. Spiritual gifts. Practical help. All of it counts. All of it matters. And the more you open your hand, the more God fills it. This isn't a message about guilt. It's about the difference between a scarcity mindset and an abundant one — and the quiet, radical truth that God doesn't need you to have it all sorted before he can use you. He just needs you to start. Pack the chairs away. Pray for someone. Give the two pounds you found down the back of the sofa. Because it's from that place of offering what little you have that God shows up and fills the Tabernacle. Key themes: Exodus 35–39 · the Tabernacle · kingdom giving · spiritual gifts · the Holy Spirit and Bezalel · generosity beyond money · scarcity vs abundance · giving from brokenness · 2 Corinthians 9 · Luke 6:38 09/08/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #exodus #buildinghiskingdom #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | Building His Kingdom | Genesis 2:8-25 | Stephen Baines What if God didn't just create the world — he danced it into being? And what if that same creative, passionate, laughing God hasn't changed — and still wants you involved? In this opening message of All Age August, Stephen takes us back to the very beginning. Not just to the list of what God made in Genesis 1, but to the wildly beautiful, deeply personal picture of Genesis 2 — where God plants a garden, breathes life into a man, and then does something extraordinary: he invites him to join in. To name the animals. To tend the garden. To be part of the story. God didn't have to do it that way. He could have managed creation perfectly well on his own. But that's not who he is. From the very first pages of scripture, God is not a distant, abstract force — he's a Father who creates with intimacy, names his children, and walks with them in the coolness of the garden. And the invitation he gave to Adam is the same invitation he gives to us today: come and build something beautiful with me. Drawing on the Great Commission, the book of James, and a stunning children's retelling of Genesis 1 that captures just how joyful and extravagant God's creating really was, Stephen lands on a simple but powerful challenge: saving faith doesn't just change your behaviour — it produces kingdom-building behaviour. Your gifts, your time, your creativity, your ordinary Monday morning — all of it can become holy ground when it's offered back to the God who gave it. So what are you going to build this week? Key themes: Genesis 1 & 2 · the Garden of Eden · God as creator and Father · kingdom building · faith in action · James 1 · the Great Commission · your gifts and calling · closeness with God 02/08/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #genesis #buildinghiskingdom #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | Ecclesiastes 3 | Simeon Lapworth Dishes that need washing again. An inbox that's already refilling. A World Cup that ends — and then starts again four years later. If life sometimes feels like an endless loop going nowhere, you're not imagining it. And you're not alone. The writer of Ecclesiastes felt it too. In this message from Ecclesiastes 3, Sim opens up one of the most surprisingly hopeful passages in one of the Bible's most brutally honest books. There is a time for everything, the Teacher says — a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. God has made everything beautiful in its time. But what does that actually mean when the thing you're going through feels anything but beautiful? Drawing on the ache we all feel for something more than the circular repetition of life — the existential hunger that points us toward eternity — Sim explores why "you only live once" rings hollow when life is hard, and what it looks like to genuinely find peace in the season you're in. Not as a superficial life-hack, but as a deeply rooted confidence that comes from two things: knowing that God will call the past to account and that all that is broken will one day be made right, and knowing that if God could bring the most breathtaking beauty out of the cross — the most gruesome moment in history — he can bring beauty out of whatever you're walking through right now. This is a message for those who can't stop rushing ahead, for those who are stuck looking back, and for those who are struggling to see how on earth their current season could possibly be beautiful. It's also a gentle, joyful invitation to slow down this summer and receive the gift of the moment you're in. This is the main event. This is the time God has given you. Key themes: Ecclesiastes 3 · there is a time for everything · the circular nature of life · eternity in the human heart · beauty in suffering · God working all things for good · presence and gratitude · the cross as the ultimate beauty in darkness 26/07/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #ecclesiastes #atimeforeverything #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | A Vision of Glory | Ezekiel 47 | Jamie Haxby An hour and a half from a wedding. A tyre with a massive bulge on the side. And a man pacing a Leeds Park and Ride car park, phone in hand, walking back to check the tyre again — as if looking at it one more time might somehow fix it. Sound familiar? In this message from Ezekiel 47, Jamie opens up one of the most vivid and extraordinary visions in the whole Bible — a river flowing from the temple, growing deeper with every step, turning the Dead Sea fresh, and bringing life to everything it touches. But to get there, he first asks an honest question: why do we keep picking up the things we were never supposed to carry? Drawing on Ezekiel 10's haunting picture of God's glory departing a temple crowded with idols, Jamie shows that anxiety, control, and self-reliance aren't just modern problems — they're ancient ones. The Israelites weren't worshipping foreign gods because they were reckless. They were doing it because they were scared, and because everyone else was doing it too. And we're not so different. But then comes the river. Ankle deep. Knee deep. Waist deep. Until it's a current you can't walk against — you can only swim. And Jesus stands up at the Feast of Tabernacles and says, whoever is thirsty, come to me and drink. The vision Ezekiel saw is already being fulfilled. The living water is already flowing. The question is whether we'll stop pacing the car park long enough to step in. This is a message about burnout, control, bitterness, and the radical, counterintuitive rest that comes when you open your hands and let God be God. It's also a message about a church with big, expensive dreams — and the quiet confidence that when you're in the river, fruit comes without striving. Key themes: Ezekiel 47 · the river of life · anxiety and control · God's glory departing and returning · Jesus as living water · surrender and fruitfulness · John 7 · the Dead Sea made fresh 19/07/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #ezekiel#avisionofglory #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | A Vision of Glory | Revelation 21 | Stephen Baines What if the brokenness around you isn't the end of the story — it's the smoke before the morning? In this message from Revelation 21, Stephen brings us to the breathtaking finale of the Bible's story — a new heaven, a new earth, and a God who doesn't scrap his creation and start again, but redeems it, glorifies it, and fills it with his presence forever. No more death. No more tears. No more pain. The old order of things has passed away. But here's what makes this passage so extraordinary: Jesus doesn't say I will make all things new. He says I am making — present tense, right now, already underway. Drawing on C.S. Lewis, James Moffat, and the raw honesty of Revelation's imagery, Stephen unpacks what it means to live in the tension between the now and the not yet — to be a new creation already, whilst still groaning for what is to come. This isn't escapism. It's the most grounded, urgent, practical hope imaginable. Because if God is already making all things new, then we are called to join him in that work — in our families, our workplaces, our communities, and for those in Lancaster, in this city itself. This is a message for anyone who has ever sat in the smoke and wondered if morning is ever coming. It is. And it already has begun. Key themes: Revelation 21 · new creation · the now and the not yet · hope in suffering · God's kingdom on earth · community transformation · responding to the call 12/07/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #revelation #avisionofglory #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | Galatians 3: 23-29 | Jamie Haxby Your watch is telling you to move more. Your phone is tracking your calories. Social media is showing you someone who's fitter, smarter, and further ahead. And somewhere along the way, without even realising it, you've started bringing that same exhausting pressure into your relationship with God. In this message from Galatians 3, Jamie cuts straight through the noise of a world obsessed with self-improvement and asks a simple but devastating question: who has bewitched you? Paul wrote Galatians to a church that had started drifting back into earning God's favour — trying harder, doing more, striving to be enough. And Jamie brings that same challenge into 2026, where the hustle never stops and the bar never stops moving. The gospel, he reminds us, runs in the complete opposite direction. You don't subscribe. You don't optimise. You just lean back. Drawing on the imagery of baptism — leaning back in trust, dying, and being raised — this is a beautiful and freeing message about what it actually means to be clothed in Christ. Not the version of you that ran the 5K, hit the targets, and got the likes. The version that simply said yes to Jesus. And then there's this: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female — for you are all one in Christ Jesus." No Oscar compares. No Nobel Prize. No stage seven swimming certificate. To be called a child of God is worth more than anything the world has to offer — and nothing can ever take it away. Key themes: Grace vs. works · Galatians 3 · baptism · identity in Christ · self-improvement culture · the pressure to perform · freedom and belonging 05/07/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #galatians #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 & Hebrews 12:1-2 | David Ramm In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the GB men's rowing eight went from perennial underachievers to gold medallists — and they did it with one decision-making filter: Will it make the boat go faster? In this message from 1 Corinthians 9 and Hebrews 12, David takes that question and applies it to the Christian life. Paul wasn't shy about using sporting analogies, and here we see why: the discipline, focus, and teamwork that produces gold medals aren't so different from what it takes to run the race of faith well. This is a practical, honest, and energising message for anyone who feels like their spiritual life isn't moving at the pace it should — and wants to do something about it. Four principles from the rowing team that apply directly to your walk with God: A clear goal — do you have one for your Christian lifeRuthless focus — what's slowing you down that needs to go?Small decisions — the daily choices that quietly shape your destinyTeamwork — why no one wins the race aloneFeaturing real stories from prison ministry, end-of-life care, and life in the local church — this is a message that brings scripture off the page and into Monday morning. Key themes: Spiritual discipline · purpose and focus · 1 Corinthians 9 & Hebrews 12 · small habits · community and shared vision · running to win 28/06/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #1corinthians #hebrews#hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | A Vision of Glory | Psalm 22 | Stephen Baines What do you do when worship feels like the last thing you have left? In this message from Psalm 22, Stephen explores one of the most remarkable truths in all of scripture — that God doesn't just visit us when we worship, He inhabits our praise. He settles. He stays. And He does it not only when worship comes easily, but especially when it doesn't. Drawing on Psalm 22's jarring opening ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"), Stephen traces a thread that runs from David hiding in a cave, to Paul and Silas bleeding in a prison cell, all the way to Jesus on the cross — and asks: what does it look like to worship through gritted teeth? To declare that God is holy, not because circumstances have improved, but because His character hasn't changed? This isn't a message that promises praise will fix everything. It's an honest, pastoral, and deeply encouraging reminder that praise changes us even when it doesn't change our situation — that sometimes God comes like an earthquake and breaks the chains, and sometimes He comes in a whisper and says, I've got you. Keep going. Three anchoring truths from Psalm 22: Praise welcomes God's presencePraise declares God's kingshipPraise breaks the power of despairKey themes: Worship in suffering · Psalm 22 & the presence of God · Paul and Silas in prison · praise as spiritual warfare · God's manifest presence · honest faith in the valleys 21/06/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #psalms #avisionofglory #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | A Vision of Glory | Psalm 34 | Jamie Haxby Where do you go when you're running for your life? In this message from Psalm 34, Jamie explores one of the most unexpected settings in the Bible — David hiding in a cave, fearful, homeless, and hunted by two of the most powerful men of his day. And yet it's in that very cave that David writes some of the most celebrated words of worship in scripture: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." This isn't a coincidence. It's a pattern. From Moses at the burning bush, to Joseph in prison, to Paul and Silas in chains, to Jesus himself consistently showing up among the marginalised, the lost, and the least — the glory of God has a habit of turning up in the last place we'd expect. Jamie unpacks what that means for us today: if we want to encounter God, we may need to follow him into the cave. We also hear powerful stories from the Olive Branch — a local foodbank and more — where volunteers are witnessing real lives transformed not just by food, but by prayer, presence, and the tangible love of Jesus. This is a message about more than charity. It's a call to follow Jesus to the other side of the road. Key themes: God's presence in suffering · Psalm 34 & the cave of Adullam · the fear of the Lord · brokenness as holy ground · stepping out in faith · mission and the marginalised 14/06/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #psalms #avisionofglory #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | A Vision of Glory | 2 Corinthians 3-4 | Andrew Gardner What if your brokenness isn't a barrier to God's glory, but the very thing through which it shines? In this message from 2 Corinthians 3–4, Andrew explores Paul's powerful image of believers as "jars of clay" carrying the treasure of God's presence. Drawing on the story of Moses' fading glow after meeting with God, Andrew unpacks how the law leaves us veiled, condemned, and aware of our failures — but how Christ removes that veil so we can be transformed "with ever-increasing glory." This isn't a message about achieving a flawless image. It's about discovering a glory image: the truth that God's light shines brightest through our cracks, our struggles, and our weaknesses. Through honest reflections and real stories of healing and freedom, Andrew encourages us that no matter what we're carrying — pain, past hurts, ongoing battles — we do not lose heart, because our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory. Key themes: God's glory in human weakness · the veil of the old covenant vs. freedom in Christ · transformation "with ever-increasing glory" · finding hope in suffering · stories of healing and breakthrough 07/06/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #2corinthians #avisionofglory #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled

Hope Live | A Vision of Glory | Luke 7:36–50 | Simeon Lapworth When King Charles visited Lancaster, the whole city prepared. Drains were checked. Protocols were followed. People Googled the correct way to address royalty. But what does it look like to welcome a far greater King — the King of creation himself? In this sermon from Luke 7:36–50, we look at a scandalous dinner party where a sinful woman does something extraordinary — and Jesus says she got it right. We explore: The difference between God's omnipresence and his manifest presenceWhy Simon the Pharisee had Jesus at his table but didn't truly welcome himThree ways this woman models hosting Jesus well: tears, affection, and extravagant giftsWhat it means to stop settling for God being "everywhere" and start pursuing his presence hereWhether you've been a Christian for years or you're exploring faith for the first time, this message is a fresh invitation to open the door — not just to have Jesus nearby, but to truly welcome him in. 31/05/2026 Make sure to share with your friends and family! #hopemessages #luke #avisionofglory #hopelancaster #hopeisnotncanceled