This sermon was preached on the Sunday between Christmas and the New Year—a quiet, in-between space that invites us to pause rather than rush ahead. Instead of a traditional sermon, Rev Paul Lutton leads listeners through a gentle, prayerful reflection on the year that has been, using an ancient Christian practice known as the Examen. Through short readings of Scripture, brief reflections, and moments of silence, we are invited to hold the year before God with honesty, gratitude, and hope. Please note, there were some technical difficulties with the recording and the musical interludes have had to be cut. Consequently, you are invited to press pause at the relevant points, take your time, and reflect personally—perhaps with a notebook nearby—as you listen for what God might be saying to you as one year ends and another begins. This is an invitation to slow down, to listen to your life, and to trust that God has been present in every moment—and is already waiting for you in the days to come. For more on the Examen click here. Sermon Notes 1. Becoming Aware of God’s Presence God I believe at this moment I am in your presence and you are loving me. 2. Reviewing the Year with Gratitude God, you know my needs better than I know them. Give me your light and your help to see how you have been with me both yesterday and today. 3. Paying Attention to What Moved Us “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness, touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it—because in the last analysis, all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.” —Frederick Buechner God, help me to be grateful for the moments when people have affirmed me and challenged me. Help me to see how I have responded and whether I have been kind to others and open to growth. 4. Praying from One Moment God, forgive me for when I have not done my best of have failed to treat others well. Encourage me, guide me, and continue to bless me. 5. Looking Toward Tomorrow As I look to the remainder of this year, make me aware that you are with me. Show me how to be the person you want me to be.

An evening of worship and song as we mark Christmas with our annual service of Carols by Candlelight.  Directed by Deirdre Harshaw, featuring the church Choir; Junior Choir; Praise Band; Scott Heron (cello) and Jed Dunlop (saxophone); with readings by members of the congregation.

In the final sermon of the Christmas Trees Advent series, we turn to Ezekiel’s vision of a tree for the nations — a picture of hope planted by God Himself in a world that feels cut down and uncertain.    Drawing on Ezekiel 17 and the Christmas story from Luke, this sermon reflects on God’s promise: “I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.” It is a message for those who feel powerless, reminding us that the future of the world rests not on what we achieve, but on what God is already bringing to fulfilment in Christ.

What if God’s strongest work comes wrapped in weakness? In this Advent sermon from Isaiah 53 and Philippians 2, we reflect on a hope that is easily overlooked — a hope that grows quietly, through dryness, vulnerability, and suffering. Isaiah’s image of a tender plant points us to Jesus: not triumphant by force, but faithful through humility and love.

In a world that often feels cut down to the roots, Advent begins with a surprising promise: from the dead stump, God brings new life. In this sermon, Paul explores Isaiah’s vision of hope rising from ruin, the promise of a coming King, and the Advent tension between pain and promise. Join us as we look for the signs of God’s new beginning in the midst of our broken world.

In Acts 10, two hungry men pray—and God uses their longing to open a door neither of them imagined. In this sermon we explore how hunger, desire, and prayer shape the life of faith, and how God uses our deepest longings to widen our vision of His kingdom. A story of Peter, Cornelius, and the surprising grace that grows when holy hunger meets holy imagination.

Saul’s dramatic transformation didn’t just change his life — it unsettled everyone around him. His former allies were bewildered. His new community was wary. And as theologian Willie James Jennings puts it, the moment Saul rose from the waters of baptism, he became a question. In this sermon we explore how Saul’s changed life provoked three questions — What happened? What is he saying? What should we do with him? — and how those same questions can shape our own discipleship today. What if the Spirit wants to make our lives a holy disruption, a living question that points others toward Jesus?

In Acts 9, a hardened persecutor becomes an unlikely brother. In this sermon, we explore the moment Ananias dares to greet Saul with the words “Brother Saul”—and how grace crosses the line between fear and fellowship. On Remembrance Sunday, we reflect on the courage it takes to choose peace, the slow work of forgiveness, and the God who still meets us on the road.

Every so often, life brings us to what people call a bathroom floor moment — when everything familiar feels fragile, and the ground shifts beneath us. In this message from Acts 8, Rev. Paul Lutton explores how God meets us in those moments, turning disruption into new beginnings. Even when the map no longer makes sense, God is already ahead of us — working on the ground, opening up new possibilities, and planting seeds of hope.

Congregational member, Scott Robinson, continues our series in Acts with a reflection on the stoning of Stephen. What is the legacy of Stephen's witness? And what might be the legacy of our faith?

In this Harvest Sunday message, Rev. Paul Lutton reflects on Acts 4 and Luke 12 — two passages that challenge our assumptions about ownership, value, and generosity. From luxury brands to the generosity of the early church, “Stewarding the Harvest” explores what it means to live gratefully, responsibly, and generously in God’s world — where everything we have is gift, and grace is the true currency of the Kingdom.

When Peter stands before the Sanhedrin, he makes a bold claim: “There is salvation in no one else.” In a world of many faiths and competing truth claims, what might those words mean for us today? In this sermon, Rev Paul Lutton explores what salvation really means — not as a one-time event or a ticket to heaven, but as an ongoing work of grace. Drawing on voices like Barbara Brown Taylor and David Ford, he reflects on the uniqueness of Christ with honesty, humility, and hope — and on what it means to say that Jesus is still happening to sin and death, and still happening to us.

On the day of Pentecost, some looked at the disciples and sneered: “They’re just drunk.” But Peter stood up and said, “This is that which God promised.” In this sermon, Rev Paul Lutton reflects on how easy it is to miss the extraordinary and how the Spirit still breaks into our ordinary lives with power and grace. What does it mean for us today to be the kind of community whose life together points to Jesus and whispers to the world: this is that?

We’re delighted to welcome Grace Al-Zoughbi, theologian and educator from Bethlehem, who preaches on Luke 1:26–56. Grace brings a unique perspective from the Middle East church, and brings a challenging message to the church in Belfast.

What does it mean that at Pentecost, everyone heard the wonders of God in their own language? In this sermon, Rev Paul Lutton explores how the Spirit cracks open the calcified language of religion, teaching us to “speak people” so that the gospel becomes real in every heart and culture.

“Where are you, God?” It’s the psalmist’s question, and sometimes it’s ours. In this opening sermon of our new series in Acts, Rev Paul Lutton reflects on Jesus’ Ascension and the surprising truth that it does not mean absence, but nearness. The book of Acts shows us that God is not distant or on leave. He is present, active, and moving through ordinary people in ordinary places. God is on the ground.

Homesick for a home you’ve never quite found? In this message, Rev. Paul Lutton traces that ache from Abraham’s longing for “a better country” to the Apostle Paul’s vision of the church : Christ is our peace, the walls come down, and God builds a home—not of stone, but of people. Along the way we name the risk of real belonging, celebrate glimpses of heaven in unlikely places, and hear a simple invitation: you might come as a guest, but you won’t stay that way.

The question of land is one of the most contested in our world — from Belfast to the Middle East. But long before today’s headlines, Scripture was already wrestling with it: whose land is it anyway? In this second sermon of the series, Rev. Paul Lutton turns to the law and the prophets and finds that the Bible’s vision of land is anything but simple — challenging our assumptions about ownership, promise, and belonging.

When God called Abraham, it wasn’t just to bless one man or one family — it was to bless all nations. In a world torn by conflict over land and borders, Genesis 12 reminds us that God’s promises point beyond geography to a bigger vision: a home where blessing is shared, and the whole earth is filled with God’s glory. What if every blessing in your life is meant for someone else too? Listen as Rev Paul Lutton helps us explore what God’s promise to Abraham means for our world today — and for our very lives.

In this insightful and thought-provoking sermon, Rev. Corrina Heron invites us to rethink pastoral care as a vital part of God’s mission. Drawing on Jesus’ Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, she challenges us to consider the role each of us plays in offering care for the sake of God’s Kingdom.