About Connect Groups

Most of us know the Christmas story. Few of us have considered whether it’s much more than another made-up story for kids. Join us as we explore the historical evidence for the events of the first Christmas and show why the Christmas story might be more believable - and a whole lot better - than you think.

This sermon series delves into the life of Jacob, a man whose restless quest for identity and blessing takes him through moments of triumph and failure. His story is one of humanity at its rawest—deception, family conflict, and divine encounter. Yet through it all, Jacob’s life reveals a God who is faithful, even in the midst of our brokenness. As we explore Jacob’s story, we’ll discover how God meets us in our own wanderings, guiding us toward His purpose and blessing.

At the end of a frantic time of ministry for Jesus and the apostles in Mark’s gospel, and in the aftermath of hearing about the death of his cousin and herald John the Baptiser, Jesus invites his closest friends to take some time to refresh.

There are many times in the frantic busyness of life when we need to hear Jesus’ invitation too. In different parts of Scripture, there are places that God’s people are invited to go to refresh, recharge, refocus, and celebrate who God is and what He is doing, and to join him in his the adventure of His mission. 

We live in an individualistic age, where we very easily focus on ourselves more and focus a lot less on the community of Jesus, the church. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians helps us to recognise and appreciate the community aspects of our faith. Ephesians reminds us that Jesus loves the church and gave Himself for her (Eph. 5:25), and that if we love Jesus, we should love the church as well, despite the warts, the hurts, and the mistakes

Are you overwhelmed by the noise, busyness, and pace of your life? Join Jason Perkins for this six-part series on Soul Care and learn to tend to the garden of your inner life. Discover what it means to apprentice under the Master, Jesus — not just by believing His teachings, but by living the way He lived. As you adopt His rhythms of rest and relationship and practise His habits of silence, solitude, Sabbath, and simplicity, your soul will begin to thrive and bear fruit.

In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave an incredible promise: that His followers would be influencers. They would be like salt and light in a decaying and dark world. But just before this Jesus outlines eight character traits of His followers that are counter-cultural. Each trait is connected with an exclamation of God’s blessing or favour upon people with that trait.

A close look at Jesus’ parables on the Kingdom of Heaven and how they point us to the fact that we’re part of something bigger!

At the heart of the Christian faith, and the centre of the biblical story, stands the cross of Jesus. The New Testament offers multiple different images of what Jesus achieved on the cross.

When you visit a great landmark, walk around it, take in the view from different angles and appreciate the majesty of what is before you. Each image of the cross invites us to stand in a different place to survey its majesty.

A guide to explore the meaning and purpose of Christian Fellowship.

A guide to help your group engage with Gracecity’s updated vision and values for 2024.

Each scene of Matthew’s Christmas account highlights a key name or aspect of Jesus.

He was the long-awaited Messiah (1:1), the promised Saviour (1:21), the true King (2:2) but also the vulnerable child (2:13).

What are we meant to learn from a biblical story that never mentions God, and whose ethics seem, at times, distinctly unbiblical? Esther’s story is about God’s people being delivered from annihilation as a powerless minority within a powerful empire. It speaks today in a world where God’s people feel like a minority in exile, and God seems to be surprisingly absent from what is happening.

Followers of Jesus are meant to be distinctive in the world for the we live and the way we love. But the church has often struggled to do that well. What does it mean to be distinct – different from others – in a positive and God-glorifying way?

At its core, this series on 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 about Paul’s thorn in the flesh, is a celebration of God’s abundant grace. But, through it all, we explore the enigma of human suffering. What should our response be to the agony of our painful thorns? We want to set our sails to receive the wind of God’s lavish grace.

Let’s explore the whole story of water baptism in the Bible. Many of us jump straight to John the Baptist but the images of baptism in the Bible go through the whole of the Old Testament too. Journey through and reflect on what this means for your baptism.

Welcome to a letter called Philippians found in our Bibles. It’s penned by St Paul to a church experiencing extreme troubles. What’s more, Paul himself is writing while incarcerated. Amidst all this, ‘joy’ is the predominate theme. And joy is what we crave amidst the constant pressure.

“Come, Holy Spirit” is a simple prayer that has been prayed over the past 2000 years. While God is always present with his people today by his Holy Spirit, when we pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit,’ we are asking for an increased sense of the presence and power of God.

Description goes hereThe series isn’t about the problem of telling lies, but rather about living lies. We have a tendency to believe false narratives about reality that wreak our lives. That is why for centuries, followers of Jesus often talked about the Christian life as a war. We are in a spiritual conflict against fierce enemies.

The final week in Jerusalem before the crucifixion was the most eventful of Jesus’ life. Only a few days after His triumphant arrival, the crowds moved from shouting His praises to shouting for His crucifixion. So what happened? This series looks at some of the key milestones that led to Jesus’ death and resurrection.