The Flame Community Church

09/09/2026

🌟 LITTLESPARKS IS BACK! 🌟

After the summer holidays, we’re so excited to welcome everyone back to LittleSparks this Friday! ❤️

Come along for a relaxed, friendly morning with play, activities, songs, snacks and plenty of time for grown-ups to chat too.

Whether you’ve been before or this will be your very first visit, you’ll be made very welcome.

📅 Friday
⏰ 9:30am–11:00am
💷 Still only £1.50 per child
📍 Flame Community Church, Cardale Street, Blackheath, B65 0LY

Come and start the new term with us — we’d love to see you! 😊

09/09/2026

✝️ Day 3 — Trusting the Power of the Gospel

The gospel is not a programme of self-improvement or a powerless religious idea. It is the good news of what God has done through His Son. Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised from the dead. Because of His finished work, forgiveness and eternal life are offered to everyone who believes.

We do not rescue ourselves by becoming good enough. God met us in our sin and demonstrated His love through Christ. Whatever our past contains, the gospel can reach us there. Its power is able to break sinful patterns, transform our thinking and open the way to a genuinely new life.

📖 Today’s Scripture

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 (ESV) (Verified ESV text)

💭 Pause and Reflect

Are you trusting in what Jesus has accomplished, or are you still trying to make yourself acceptable to God?

Where do you most need the transforming power of the gospel today?

🙏 Prayer

Jesus, thank You for loving me and dying for me while I was still a sinner. I place my trust in Your finished work and ask Your transforming power to reach every part of my life. Amen.

🌱 Today’s Step

Say aloud: “The gospel is God’s power to save. My hope rests in Jesus, not in my ability to save myself.” Share this good news with one person who needs encouragement.

08/09/2026

Faith in the Fire 🔥🛡️

"God often reveals Himself most in the furnace." – David Pawson

Reminder: If you're in the fire, come tonight at 7:30 PM. He is with you.

08/09/2026

🍽️ EMBERS LUNCH CLUB — TOMORROW! ☕❤️

Fancy a good meal, a friendly welcome and a relaxed afternoon with great company?

Embers Lunch Club is back tomorrow, Wednesday 9th September, and we’d love you to join us. (We currently have 20 places available for more info or to book in click the send message button below and we will get back to you - over 60's).

Come along for a freshly prepared lunch, plenty of tea and coffee, time to chat, laugh and connect, and a warm welcome from the moment you arrive.

Whether you come every month or you’ve never been before, you are very welcome.

🕛 12:00pm–2:30pm
💷 £5 per person
📍 Flame Community Church
Cardale Street, Blackheath, B65 0LY

Why not bring a friend, neighbour or family member with you?

Good food. Good company. A place to belong. ❤️

08/09/2026

🥖🍎 FOOD AVAILABLE AT FLAME TODAY! 🥕🥐

We’ve had another food delivery here at Flame and there’s a good selection available in the foyer for ANYONE who needs a little extra help. 💛

📅 TODAY – TUESDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER 2026
🕦 CHURCH OPEN: 11:30AM – 3:30PM
📍 Food is available in the foyer

🛍️ Please bring your own bags
📅 Some items may be short shelf life – please check dates
🚫 We’re unable to deliver or hold items
⏳ FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED – ONCE IT’S GONE, IT’S GONE!

If things are difficult at the moment, please don’t hesitate to pop in and see what we’ve got. You don’t need a referral — just come and take what you need. ❤️

💡 STRUGGLING WITH MORE THAN FOOD?

Flame is an Acts435 Advocate Church, which means we may also be able to help with a specific essential item or practical need of up to £200 through Acts435.

📧 Contact our Acts435 Advocate confidentially:
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

❤️ WHY DO WE DO THIS?

Because following Jesus means putting love into action:

“Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
1 John 3:18 (ESV)

👉 PLEASE SHARE THIS POST with your friends, family and neighbours. Someone you know may be struggling quietly, and this could be just the help they need today. 💛

08/09/2026

🪞 Day 2 — Letting the Word Examine My Heart

It is easy to read difficult passages and immediately think about somebody else. Yet the sermon reminds us that Scripture was not given as a pair of binoculars through which we inspect and condemn others. It is a mirror that reveals our own hearts in the light of a holy God.

Every one of us has sinned. None of us can stand above another person as though we do not need grace ourselves. When God exposes pride, misplaced worship, harmful desires or disobedience, our response should not be denial or blame. Repentance begins with honest words: “Lord, I did it. I am sorry.”

📖 Today’s Scripture

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23 (ESV) (Verified ESV text)

💭 Pause and Reflect

When God’s Word confronts sin, do you examine your own heart or focus first on someone else?

Is there anything you have been excusing, hiding or blaming on your circumstances?

🙏 Prayer

Holy God, let Your Word be a mirror to my heart. Give me humility to acknowledge my sin, receive Your correction and turn back to You without making excuses. Amen.

🌱 Today’s Step

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Write down one thing you need to confess, then bring it honestly to Jesus and receive His forgiveness.

07/09/2026

🔥 The Heart of the Problem: The Power of the Gospel
A Five-Day Devotional

Romans 1 confronts the condition of the human heart while revealing the extraordinary power of the gospel. God’s Word exposes our need, but it does not leave us without hope: Jesus Christ died for our sins, was raised from the dead and offers forgiveness, righteousness and new life to everyone who believes.

Over these five days, we will consider:

God’s Word is our final authority.
Scripture is a mirror for our own hearts.
The gospel is God’s power for salvation.
Righteousness is received and lived by faith.
Jesus brings freedom, not condemnation.
📖 Day 1 — Standing Firm in God’s Truth

We live among many competing opinions. Some voices tell us to follow whatever feels right, while others reshape truth to suit the moment. The sermon reminds us that Christians need sound doctrine—not ideas designed merely to comfort us, but the trustworthy Word of God.

God’s truth may sometimes challenge us, but His purpose is loving. The Holy Spirit uses the Word to correct our thinking, expose what is false and form the character of Jesus within us. We do not have to be harsh or argumentative; we can hold firmly to truth while speaking and living with grace.

📖 Today’s Scripture

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

John 17:17 (ESV) (Verified ESV text)

💭 Pause and Reflect

Which voices are shaping your beliefs and decisions most strongly?

Is there an area in which God’s Word is challenging something you have accepted without question?

🙏 Prayer

Lord, teach me to recognise Your voice and submit my opinions to Your Word. Holy Spirit, lead me into truth and help me live it with courage, humility and love. Amen.

🌱 Today’s Step

Choose one decision you are facing and spend ten quiet minutes asking, “What does God’s Word say about this?” Write down the truth you need to follow.

07/09/2026

SYNOPSIS

The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart—but the gospel is the power of God to save.

Working through Romans 1, this message calls the Church to remain anchored in sound doctrine when biblical truth clashes with the surrounding culture. Paul presents the gospel not as human opinion or religious invention, but as God’s good news concerning His Son. Jesus died for our sins, was buried and raised from the dead; through His finished work, forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life are offered to everyone who believes.

Paul describes himself first as a servant of Christ and then as one sent with the gospel. His identity and significance come from belonging to Jesus. The believers in Rome were also known for a faith that was being proclaimed widely. When Christians gather around God’s Word, there is a mutual strengthening: we encourage one another, receive from one another and grow together in faith.

Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. This is not a powerless message of self-improvement. The gospel carries God’s transforming power—able to break apart sinful thinking, addictions and every barrier that prevents us receiving all that God has for us. Righteousness is received by faith and lived out by faith; it cannot be earned through our own goodness.

Romans 1 also confronts us with difficult truth. God has made Himself known through conscience and creation, yet humanity repeatedly exchanges His truth for lies and worships created things rather than the Creator. When God is pushed aside, thinking becomes futile, hearts become darkened and people seek to rule their own lives.

These verses are not binoculars through which we inspect and condemn everybody else. They are a mirror that exposes every one of us before a holy God. We are all sinners, all without excuse and all in need of the same Saviour. We cannot look down on others while looking up at the cross.

The answer to humanity’s heart problem is not denial, blame or behaviour modification. The answer is Jesus. God does not expose sin merely to condemn us, but to call us to repentance, freedom and new life. Whatever the darkness, bo***ge or failure, the gospel can reach us there. When we stop making excuses, turn to Christ and trust Him, we find forgiveness, hope, healing and the power to walk in His righteousness.

🔥 KEY TAKEAWAYS

➡️ The gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s power for salvation, bringing forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life to everyone who believes.

➡️ God’s Word must be our final authority, and it should first function as a mirror that brings us personally to repentance—not as a weapon for condemning others.

➡️ Every one of us has a heart problem and needs the same Saviour; Jesus can break the power of sin and bring genuine freedom and transformation.

🙏 A QUESTION TO CONSIDER

Is there an area where you have made yourself the final authority, excused what God is exposing, or allowed something other than the Creator to take first place?

Invite the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Rather than blaming someone else, respond honestly: “Lord, I did it. I am sorry.” Place your faith afresh in Jesus and ask the power of the gospel to bring freedom, renewal and obedient living.

❤️ YOU’RE INVITED

Flame is not a perfect church—we are people who need and serve a perfect Saviour. Whatever your background or struggle, you are welcome to come, hear God’s Word and discover the hope and freedom found in Jesus.

If you would like prayer or want to talk with someone about following Jesus, please contact us:

📧 [email protected]

📍 Flame Community Church, Cardale Street, Blackheath, West Midlands, B65 0LY

There is a place for you at Flame. 🔥

SYNOPSISThe heart of the problem is the problem of the heart—but ...

05/09/2026

🔥 LIVE DIFFERENTLY: MERCY MUST MOVE
5-Day Devotional — Day 5

❤️ MERCY MUST MOVE

📖 “And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”
Matthew 18:33 ESV

The tragedy of the unforgiving servant was not that he had never experienced mercy. He had received extraordinary mercy—but it stopped with him.

God’s grace is meant to transform us. When the Holy Spirit lives within us, the way we respond to people begins to change. Grace changes character. Mercy changes behaviour. Forgiven people become forgiving people.

Jesus’ warning about persistent unforgiveness is serious. There is a profound difference between saying, “Lord, I am struggling to forgive; please help me,” and saying, “I know what You command, but I refuse to obey.”

One is a wounded heart reaching for grace. The other is a settled refusal to submit to Jesus.

God is not asking you to manufacture forgiveness through your own strength. He is asking you to surrender your heart and allow His Spirit to do what you cannot do alone.

Not by might. Not by power. By His Spirit. 🔥

🤔 REFLECT

Is there a name or face the Holy Spirit keeps bringing to your mind? Are you struggling to forgive, or have you decided that you will not forgive?

👣 TODAY’S STEP

If it is safe and appropriate, take a step towards peace. Make contact, apologise for your part or ask for a conversation. If contact is not wise or possible, release that person to God and begin praying sincerely for His blessing and work in their life.

🙏 PRAYER

Holy Spirit, search my heart. Soften every place that has become hardened by hurt. I choose to release those who have wounded me, and I ask You to help me walk that decision out. Let the mercy I have received become mercy released. Help me to forgive and live differently. In Jesus’ name, amen.

04/09/2026

🔥 LIVE DIFFERENTLY: MERCY MUST MOVE
5-Day Devotional — Day 4

🕊️ FORGIVENESS IS NOT PRETENDING

📖 “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.”
Romans 12:19 ESV

Forgiveness does not mean pretending nothing happened. It does not call abuse, betrayal, manipulation, rejection or bullying insignificant. The debt owed to the servant in Jesus’ parable was real—and Jesus did not deny it.

Forgiveness says, “I will no longer hold you by the throat demanding payment. I relinquish my right to personal vengeance and place justice into God’s hands.”

Accountability and mercy can exist together. Forgiveness does not automatically restore trust, remove consequences or require an unsafe relationship to resume. Healthy boundaries may be wise, and safeguarding may require separation or no contact.

However, we must also allow the Holy Spirit to examine our motives. Is the boundary protecting people from harm, or is it being used to punish, reject or withhold mercy?

Reconciliation requires the participation of two people. Forgiveness begins with one heart surrendering the debt to God.

🤔 REFLECT

Are your boundaries motivated by wisdom and safety, or by resentment and a desire to punish?

👣 TODAY’S STEP

Ask God to show you the difference between a healthy boundary and an unforgiving wall. Where abuse or safeguarding concerns are involved, seek appropriate pastoral or professional support rather than making unsafe contact.

🙏 PRAYER

Father, help me to forgive without denying the truth of what happened. Give me wisdom to establish healthy boundaries without allowing bitterness to control my heart. I surrender vengeance to You and trust Your justice. Amen.