Foundation Church Belfast

A sermon by Marc Scheibe from Psalm 73.

The empty tomb is first discovered by three women. They visited prepared with anointing spices, expecting to find a corpse. What they found changed the course of world history. In this somewhat abrupt ending to Mark's gospel account, we can detect three outstanding phrases that stop us in our tracks: 1. "Jesus of Nazareth" Of all the titles the angel could have referred to Jesus, he chose to identify him as a man from a small town. He was in many ways, just like us. Yet this has dramatic implications for how we view the resurrection, and it's relevance for us. If a human being can come alive after death, then maybe there is hope for us. 2. "And Peter" Peter had failed Jesus miserably, denying him emphatically in public three times. Yet the angel's special inclusion "and Peter" showed that even someone who has radically denied Jesus and rejected him can be restored. That is great news for those of us who think we are too bad or lost for Jesus to take us back. These two words suggest otherwise.

As we journey towards the climactic moment of Mark's gospel account - the cross of Christ, we are confronted with the challenges of living God's truth in a world that doesn't want to hear it. Today we are faced with a radical choice - embrace and live out the truth of God, just as Jesus did; or abstract ourselves from the truth and find safety in denial, just like Peter. Our vision at Foundation Church Belfast is to catalyse gospel transformation in our city and nations through resourcing, renewal, and replication. (Read more about our vision here.) But what if that we knew that vision would only come to pass with suffering? Would we still be enthusiastic lay our lives down for the cause of Christ and the coming kingdom across Ireland? This text challenges an unbalanced approach to the mission of the church, but gives us great motivation to serve God radically. In this message we see: The Model of Living the Truth;The Warning of Living the Truth;The Challenge of Living the Truth Main Text

Jamie Bambrick preaches from Mark 14 as part of our series, The Gospel According to Mark.

In the Christian gospel Jesus invites us to a feast. We are invited not only to feast with him but feast on him. Hours before he went to the cross Jesus hosted a feast with his closest friends. He held out bread and said, 'This is my body.' And also the wine, 'This is my blood.' Through faith Christ gives us unrivalled spiritual nourishment and satisfaction. This is summed up through the eucharist (aka communion, Lord's Supper). However, as with ordinary food, this spiritual food can be abused or avoided, both to our detriment. Only when we understand Christ and the gospel can we delight in that spiritual food. Main Text Mark 14:12-31 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

One of the ways you can know you have encountered the real Jesus is that he provokes within you a reaction. In the Gospel According to Mark, we never observe people who encounter Jesus and remain unchanged.  In this message we see Jesus provokes: extravagant devotion extravagant dismissal extravagant demonstration Main Text Mark 14:1-11 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

The End of the Age Jesus had predicted the downfall of the Temple in Jerusalem, and his disciples wanted more details about the precise nature of when and how all this would happen. But Jesus gave them more than they bargained for, extending his predictions to cover not only the destruction of the Temple, but the signs of the end of the age. Rather than panic or grow complacent, Jesus tells his disciples across all times: God is Sovereign Jesus is Coming We are on mission Main Text Mark 13:1-37 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast Foundation Church Belfast A gospel-centred, Spirit-empowered community on mission. Join us for our next gathering - Sundays 10:30am Belmont Tower, BT4 3FG.

Many looking at the church from outside can identify hypocrites - people who call themselves Christian but live as if it makes no difference to them. Outsiders may understandably conclude that the church is like this always. However, the truth is far more complex. Jesus identifies two forms of religion - fake and real. Fake religion is all words, projections, and power-plays; people using religion to get what they want. Real religion is substantially different. It flows from within a person who loves God entirely ('heart, soul, mind and strength' as Jesus put it). So how to do we distinguish fake religion from the real thing? People inside and outside the church need to know. Jesus addresses this question in his final piece of public teaching before he goes to the cross. Main Text Mark 12:38-44 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

For many people, religion is considered to consist of various dos and don'ts. But which rule is the most important? Religious and non-religious people often live by a code... a fundamental rule for living: Treat others as you want to be treated. You be you. Live life to the full. Jesus was asked what he thought the fundamental rule for all of life should be. His answer may surprise you, and challenge the notion that religion is about the dos and don'ts. In this message we see the heart of religion the problem of religion the gospel of religion Main text Mark 12:28-37 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast Gospel-Centred | Spirit-Empowered | Community on Mission

As we celebrate our fifth anniversary as Foundation Church Belfast, we reflect on how God has worked among us and humbly anticipate he will continue to do more in the years ahead. When we look at the Bible, we see God interacting with his people along similar lines. At this seminal moment in the formation of his covenant people on Mount Sinai, we see: God works by calling God works by cleansing God works by communing God works by commissioning Main Text Exodus 24:1-18 & 25:1-8 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

Jesus's critics are at it again. This time they employ cunning and flattery to attempt to trap Jesus in his words. They bring up the question of taxation. Should God's people pay taxes to the foreigners occupying their land? Answer yes and Jesus would rapidly lose support of the people. Say no and he would land himself in hot water with the Roman authorities. But Jesus replies to his enemies with devastating brilliance - 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.' How we handle money requires a clear understanding of these two basic realms - the kingdom of Caesar and the kingdom of God. A follower of Jesus is a citizen of both realms and so has responsibilites and opportunities within each. In this message we see: How to live well in the kingdom of Caesar How to live well in the kingdom of God How to avoid harmful polarisation Main Text Mark 12:13-17 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

Jesus is seen as a threat by the upper hierarchy of the ruling religious leadership. They were not there to welcome Jesus as he made his anti-climactic 'triumphal entry' a few days earlier. Their silence at his official arrival spoke volumes. Now we see the first in a series of clashes between Jesus and the various religious parties that held sway in the religion of the day. Their accusations can be boiled down to one loaded question: Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to behave like this? They didn't like his authority. In this message we see: The authority of Jesus challenged The authority of Jesus suppressed The authority of Jesus vindicated Main text Mark 11:27 - 12:12 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

Fake religion is a widespread problem. It convinces adherents that they are right with God and yet it lacks the power to produce profound transformation. Fake religion ultimately produces hypocrites. In this episode we see Jesus tackle fake religion head on. First through his prophecy-sign, cursing the fig tree that was all show and no fruit. Then he entered the Jerusalem temple and temporarily halted the religious machinery. It too was all show and no fruit. Jesus's actions highlight these three challenges to the contemporary church: The Problem of Fake Religion The Traits of Fake Religion The Alternative to Fake Religion Main Text Mark 11:12-25 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

The community at Foundation Church Belfast is centred around one person - Jesus. What he said and did has profound implications for our life together. As we are a community shaped on this remarkable figure, it makes good sense to learn as much as we can about him so that we might be deeply influenced by him. Our studies in the Gospel According to Mark help us learn about Jesus from the earliest sources about his life and work.  In this message we examine the section known as 'The Triumphal Entry' - Jesus's official arrival and entry into Jerusalem. However his arrival was something of an anti-climax, with the crowds quickly dissapating after an early bit of excitement. Was this just really bad timing? Does Jesus disappoint people like this today?  For many people, his arrival into Jerusalem could have been Jesus's moment of glory and he blew it. However for Jesus, it was just another step towards his true moment of glory - his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. The cross helps us deal

No one can survive without hope. As one ancient voice proclaimed, 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.' There is so much in life that can rob us of hope. Yet God spoke a message of hope to a hopeless bunch of people which still carries power and clarity to us today. In Zechariah 9:9-13 we see three reasons for hope this Christmas: It won't always be like this Hope has a name Your life count If we understand and absorb these three headlines, we shall notice hope rising from within.  The coming king that the prophet Zechariah pointed to has come to his people - at Christmas Jesus the King came to save his people. When we see that he did this for us, hope is planted and begins to grow. Main text Zechariah 9:9-13 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

Baptism is a powerful moment that shapes and defines the Christian faith. At its heart, baptism points to the profound spiritual connection between Jesus and his people.   In baptism we see what happened to Jesus, happens to us. Through faith, a believer has died with Christ, and is already set free from the power of sin. Likewise, through faith, the believer will also be raised with Christ - the hope of the resurrection life.   Both the past event of the cross of Christ and the future hope of our resurrection impact our present reality: Guilt is gone! Power to overcome sin! Hope even in the face of sorrow!   This sets up a community of people who are centred around Christ, and united by their baptism. We are a community on mission at Foundation Church Belfast, helping one another live out the implications of our baptism and drawing on the huge resources that God sends through his Son Jesus. Main Text Romans 6:1-11 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

The final message in our mini series examining the key practices that shape our gatherings at Foundation Church Belfast. Main Text 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 13:1-14:1 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

We look at what the Bible teaches about healing and how it should function in the local church. Part of our series investigating the key commitments and practices that shape our worship gatherings at Foundation Church Belfast. Main Scripture Text James 5:13-16 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast

Message by Marc Scheibe. Main Text Psalm 136

Part four in our mini-series examining the key commitments and practices that shape our gatherings at Foundation Church Belfast. Main Text 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 Preacher David Varney, pastor Foundation Church Belfast Check out these related resources: How the Spirit of God and the Word of God Builds the People of God Spiritual Darkness and Spiritual Power