Heart Church Maidenhead

Would you like to be able to read the Bible in the original languages? If you are interested in taking the first step on that journey, and might have a Saturday or two free, please get in touch for more information about a course we are planning to run on Biblical Greek.
We will be having a 'taster' soon but are yet to chose a date, so let us know when you are free over the next month or two.
The course will be led by Paul Karageorgis, who has a masters degree from Westminste...r Theological Seminary, in his unique, conversational style (it won't be dry or academic).
We are not planning to charge for the sessions, which will be held at @MaidenheadCommunityCentre.
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Why Would God Want Me?
Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on Sunday at 4pm. We'll be looking at the message of Ruth 3:14-4:10. Here's a flavour:
The gospel message is simple: turn back from sin to God and trust Him, and receive perfect life forever (after some trials in this life!) — or go to hell, literally. And it's not cruel to tell people that any more than it would be cruel to warn someone that their house is on fire, so we should tell it plainly like...
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Actively Seeking God's Grace?
Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on Sunday at 4pm. We'll be looking at the message of Ruth 3:1-13. Here's a flavour:
Every human currently alive will be dead in 120 or so years — most of us much sooner. Some people think that's just the way the universe always worked, but Christians who take the Bible seriously think death is an aberration. It's a curse. It's wrong. And it's a problem with a solution: Jesus Christ. But how, ...
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Does God look after his people? How?
Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on Sunday at 4pm. We'll be looking at the message of Ruth 2:1-12. Here's a flavour:
Naomi is one of God's people, and it's not obvious that God is looking after her at all. Lots of bad things happen to Naomi, and God doesn't prevent any of them. Worse than that, it looks like God may have planned those bad things and sent them her way:
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Where do you belong?
Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on Sunday at 4pm. We'll be looking at the message of Ruth 1:6-22. Here's a flavour:
Immigration is never out of the news these days, but just like the stories of today, there is a skin-deep way of reading the story of Ruth, and a way to look deeper and see what really matters.
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Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on Sunday at 4pm. We'll be looking at the message of Ruth 1:1-6. Here's a flavour:
Do you ever feel that God is against you? That everything is going wrong, that you just never get a break?
> "In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land"
... Sometimes that's just because we are living in a broken world, full of blind injustice, and we don't get lucky. But for Israel in the time on Ruth, they couldn't get a break because God really was against them. God had plenty of reason to be against them — Ruth follows on from the book of Judges, a story of repeated betrayal (of God, by his people) and forgiveness (from God, to his people), over and over again, far beyond any humanly possible limit of patience. God used discipline to bring his people to their senses, and the moment they come to their senses, the discipline stopped and blessings rained down. Lesson learnt? Sadly not. Unless a person is 'born again', there is no way out of the cycle, and there were only a few people like that in the Old Testament. I don't think Elimelech was one of them; he does literally the worst thing possible when he feels the hand of God's discipline: tries to run away. 10 year later, he's dead, and so are his only two sons, leaving their mother and Moabite wives behind.
> "Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food."
Good sense finally returns, and Naomi, hearing that the famine was over, heads back home. And that is precisely the lesson for us: (1) don't run away from God in the first place, and (2) if we do, run back to him as fast as we can at the first opportunity.
Are you miles away from God? He still wants you back. Have you fled from him? He can change you so you never want to run away again. Are you following him but only half-heartedly? Expect spiritual difficulty: "the Lord disciplines the one he loves". Devote yourself to God and his ways, whole-heartedly, and he will change you from the inside out until you are remade in his image and filled with inner joy. That is his unbreakable promise to you.
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Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on Sunday at 4pm. We'll be looking at the message of Psalm 100. Here's a flavour:
"Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!"
Madness? Do you know anyone who "serves the Lord with gladness" who doesn't also seem unhinged?
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Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on York Road on Sunday at 4pm. We'll be looking at the message of Paul in Colossians chapter 4. Here's a flavour:
"Let your speech always be gracious"
To be clear: Paul is not a fake Christian. He isn't someone who puts on religious airs to try to impress people. He knows that the Father he preaches sees through all sham and hypocrisy, and judges hearts and intentions. So there is zero chance that Paul urging us to 'sound...' gracious without a genuine gracious attitude behind it.
Paul is telling us that our power of speech is intended to be a power of good for the ears that hear us. No matter who we are talking to. But this is built on the command to care. Care first, and then let every word that comes out of our mouths communicate that care.
"Put on then […] compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony"
Ungracious speech is usually the overflow of an ungracious heart. But, having committed to love everyone with a patient and forgiving love, Paul is urging us to perfect and complete that love with gracious speech. Like a great meal, with the flavour brought out by just the right sprinkling of salt.
Salt's good, but it's not to be eaten on it's own.
Visit our website to find out more about Heart Church: https://heartchurch.org.uk. Bible quotations from the ESV
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Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on York Road on Sunday at 4pm. We'll share a light meal and look deeper at the message of Paul and the end of Colossians chapter 3. Visit our website to find out more about Heart Church: https://heartchurch.org.uk. Here's a flavour of this weeks teaching:
Verse 18 starts with "Wives, submit to your husbands". Could there be a less popular command in today's world? I think most people would say that the idea that a husband... should be — in any sense — in authority over their partner, would be not only wrong, but evil.
But lets not stop there — authority has a bad press outside of marriage too. Who wants to 'submit' to their boss at work. Who wants to 'submit' to their parents or teachers. No-one any more. It sometimes isn't clear who is really in charge. Pupils or teachers; players or coaches; children or parents.
You might blame a rebellious player for the result last week, or if you're in town shopping you might sometimes wish parents would control their kids better, but do you ever think the answer is a return to old-fashioned authority? Probably not — and that's likely because: (1) authority has had a really bad press for a really long time, and (2) it's human nature to hate being told what to do anyway.
But authority really is the answer. At least a certain kind of authority. In our passage, Paul spends as much time telling those in charge to lead righteously as he does telling those under authority to submit righteously. Authority is often abused, because it can be a powerful weapon to hurt people and tool to feed our selfish desires, but when wielded the way God intends, authority is a good thing. It's a good, helpful, essential, much maligned, God-given tool for making everyone's lives better. Giving up on authority because authority is sometimes abused is like giving up on breathing because of air pollution.
Of course, once we start thinking authority isn't always bad, we might start wondering whether we should submit to the one who has authority over everyone, Jesus Christ. Scary thought.
Or perhaps it would make things better…
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How do you recognise a "spiritual" Christian?
According to Paul in Colossians 3, you can tell by the clothes. He tells the followers of Jesus to dress like Him: "put on … compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience" — to which he adds "forgiveness", and finally, like an overcoat that keeps everything else safe from the weather, "love" (see note below).
Without those we are exposed.
... So if you are a Christian, when you are getting dressed tomorrow, don't just think about your physical clothes. Think about your spiritual clothes. These are the things God cares about much more than anything else; they are the "things that are above, not on things that are on earth", and if you are wearing them, they are your assurance that you really trust the Jesus who commands them for our good.
Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on York Road on Sunday at 4pm. We'll share a light meal and look deeper at the message of Paul and Colossians chapter 3. Visit our website to find out more: https://heartchurch.org.uk
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A note about what Paul means by "love": this is not the wishy-washy indulgence or sentimentality which goes by that name today. It is the love that understands enough and cares enough to be "teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom". True love is not afraid to correct a friend, but does so with "compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience". Have you ever experienced love like that? If you have, be thankful.
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Sin is a distraction.
In Colossians chapter 3 Paul is urging us not to settle for pleasure today, at the cost of pain tomorrow — when the most extraordinary reward could be ours tomorrow if we make it our top goal in life.
Of course, some would not say "extraordinary", they would say "unbelievable". But why unbelievable? There is plenty of evidence for Jesus message (see https://heartchurch.org.uk/because-eviden ce for a taste of it). I was an atheist for nearly 30 years, so I... know at least one who said "unbelievable" for a different reason. I liked doing things God commands us not to do, and I didn't like being told what I should or should not do. Calling him "unbelievable" was convenient.
Being angry was a way of life, and lying was as natural as breathing. I'm sure you are different, but most of us relate to something Paul condemns in this chapter: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk, lying. Some of these things are obviously 'bad', but that isn't Paul's point. His point is that they distract us from a much better pleasure.
It is always bad to accept pain tomorrow, in exchange for lesser pleasures today. God would like you and me to have much more pleasure than the fleeting satisfaction of venting our anger or other passionate feeling we happen to be experiencing. Just because we are feeling it does not make it right, and no, these are not victimless crimes, other people suffer when we give our nature free rein.
The one identity that matters is not sex or gender or race or age, it is not class or money or fame or popularity, and it is not religion. It is our identity in Jesus Christ. If we make the reward he promises our top goal in life, then we have our identity in him — otherwise we do not. If we reach for his reward we can start to ignore the distractions of lesser pleasures, but if we get entangled in them instead, we have our pleasure now, but we lose what really matters. If at all possible, we must escape from the curse of death, which is the wrath of God. Are you absolutely sure you don't believe it is coming?
Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on York Road on Sunday at 4pm. We'll share a light meal and look deeper at the message of Paul and Colossians chapter 3. Visit our website to find out more: https://heartchurch.org.uk
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Is this the real life?
No, there is something much more real — a higher life. Today we are the 'walking dead', but those who are waiting for Christ to return have a secret life to be revealed when he appears.
What difference does this make? All the difference in the world. If we do not have Christ what are our goals? Money? Love? Pleasure? These are some of the "things that are on earth" says Paul in Colossians 3 — things that matter for a while but don't last into eternity. ...But there are other, more important, things in the universe: "things that are above". These things continue down the generations and train us for the better life to come.
A rule of thumb: "things that are on earth" benefit us in the short term, but benefit no-one in the long term, or in eternity. "Things that are above", like love and selflessness, and being wise with money, benefit others in the short term but benefit everyone, including us, in the long term, in this life, and on into eternity.
If you can believe that, then maybe you can believe this too: there is no higher virtue that believing what God says. Paul calls this "faith" and it is how we 'die' to the world with it's fleeting pleasures, and are born again to Christ, and joy, and true religion, and real life.
Join us at Heart Church at Maidenhead Community Centre on York Road on Sunday at 4pm. We'll share a light meal and look deeper at the message of Paul and Colossians chapter 3. Visit our website to find out more: https://heartchurch.org.uk
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Following Jesus is nothing like following a religion.
Religion with all it's rules is just a "shadow of the things to come", according to Paul in Colossians 2. Can you imagine a religion without rules? Or at least without rules about how you live your life outwardly? That's the new religion that Paul is promoting. A religion where the only 'rules' are to trust in Christ, and to let that trust overflow into the way we behave.
Is that religion so different? Yes:
... 1) Because it starts from the inside and works outward, rather than starting from the rules and hoping they'll somehow filter down to our hearts.
2) Because it feels so different to follow. There is no reluctant duty, or cold nit-picking obedience to the 'letter of the law', when we trust Jesus. When we trust someone, and they speak, we are grateful for their words of advice and instruction, knowing that all things are said and done for our benefit!
Join us at Heart Church on Sunday at 4pm, and share a light meal, while we look deeper at the message of Paul and Colossians chapter 2. Or visit our website to find out more: https://heartchurch.org.uk
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