Preacher's Workshop Resources

Here are the audio recordings of the Preaching workshop run as part of the Woodlands Church Academy.

PowerPoint
Handout
Preparing a talk handout
Preaching evaluation form

Disciplines of the Disciple

Disciplines of the Disciple

It is a truism to say that the discipleship life involves discipline. What differentiates it from legalism is about desire. The person with a desire to play a musical instrument or excel at sport chooses to make time to practice and develop skills and disciplines ‘because of the joy set before them’. It is not compulsion but choice.

Of course, sometimes the coach/tutor sets exercises that are demanding and not at first inherently pleasant, but even these become a joy once mastered. This series looks at Spiritual disciplines and picks up some areas of ‘discipline’ that we don’t talk as much about.

Our Evening talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:

  • The Disciplined Life - 2nd November

  • The Scriptures - 9th November

  • The Tongue - 16th November

  • Stewardship - 23rd November

  • Pursuing the Spirit - 30th November

Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.

Disciplines of the Disciples - Discussion Notes

See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!


MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES

The Disciplined Life
2nd Nov at 6.30pm with Clare Thompson

The Scriptures
9th Nov at 6.30pm with Tim Dobson

Tough Talk

Tough Talk

Our November morning sermon series looks at some of Jesus’ teaching from the Gospels which can be hard. Hard to understand or hard to put into practice, or both! Jesus’ call to take up our cross and follow him comes at a cost but the benefits are always rich, deep and wide as we surrender every area of our lives to him and learn how to be his disciples.

Our Morning talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:

  • The Way of the Cross - 2nd November

  • Friend of Sinners - 9th November

  • Love Your Enemies - 16th November

  • Two Masters - 23rd November

  • Authentic Faith - 30th November

Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.

Tough Talk - Discussion Notes

See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!


MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES

The Way of the Cross
2nd Nov at 11am with Rachel Riddall

Friend of Sinners
9th Nov at 11am with Nigel Savage

Kingdom Community

Kingdom Community

The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. Jesus calls us into His Kingdom, a community under His rule, living out His ways, and showing the world what love looks like. Over these weeks we’ll explore what it means to belong to the body of Christ, to practice the “one another” commands, to join in God’s work of Kingdom growth, and to honour Him even in our bodies and relationships.

Our Evening talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:

Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.

Kingdom Community - Discussion Notes

See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!


MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES

The Body of Christ
5th October at 6.30pm with Dave Roderick

Kingdom Expansion
19th October at 6.30pm with Matt Dobson

One Another
12th October at 6.30pm with Laura Harris

Sex God?
26th October at 6.30pm with David Mitchell

Called to Worship

Called to Worship

This October we are looking to come together as a church to take a fresh look at worship and the place it takes in our lives individually and as a worshipping community in a world that worships many things other than God. The context for this series is the Exodus story but we also want to reference how this points to Jesus and how we worship him. The story of the Exodus is the pivotal salvation event of the OT. The story is driven by God’s desire for his people to worship him. He wants a people for himself who will worship him exclusively. God frees people from the powers of Egypt in one night but the challenge of idolatry in the hearts of the people takes many years to remove. There are many aspects of worship that are seen in the Exodus

narrative, from the Passover, the presence of God, establishing the tabernacle as a place of worship of God and being filled with the glory of God. It’s also a story of human failings, idolatry, grumbling and judgement.

Our Morning talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:

  • Free(d) to Worship - 5th October

  • Sacrificial Worship - 12th October

  • Worship as Resistance - 19th October

  • Encountering God’s Presence in Worship - 26th October

Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.

Called to Worship - Discussion Notes

See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!


MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES

Freed to Worship
5th October at 11am with Hazel Askew

Worship as Resistance
19th October at 11am with Rachel Riddall

Sacrificial Worship
12th October at 11am with Tim Dobson

Encountering God’s Presence in Worship
26th October at 11am with Jake Perrins

Prayer Week 2025

At Woodlands Central, we love to pray and each September we celebrate Prayer Week, where we come before God together and offer him what is on our hearts.

Prayer Week is happening from the 22nd - 27th September 2025. It is a lovely time of fellowship, where we look forward and prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming season. The week consists of daily events and a 24/7 Prayer Room that can be booked by individuals or groups.

Here’s how you can get involved:

  • Pray the Lord’s Prayer at 12 noon every day

  • Come to Morning Prayer Meetings from Monday to Friday from 7.15am - 8.15am in the Foyer

  • Come to an Evening of Prayer & Worship event on Wednesday, 24th September at 7.45pm

  • Fast on Wednesday 24th September before coming to our evening event (Learn about fasting)

The Blessed Life

A life shaped by God’s Blessings

People are often looking for ‘The good life’. It could be the American Dream, or the eponymous rural idyll of TV fame. As Christians we are called to something higher, ‘The Blessed life’. It doesn’t mean an easy life, rather it means a life aligned to the good purposes of God, for us and through us. 

Our talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:

  • The Chosen Life - 7th September

  • The Peaceful Life - 14th September

  • The Consecrated Life - 21st September

  • The Given Life - 28th September

Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.

The Blessed Life - Discussion Notes

See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!


MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES

The Chosen Life
7th September at 6.30pm with Dave Mitchell

The Consecrated Life
21st September at 6.30pm with Rachel Riddall

The Peaceful Life
14th September at 6.30pm with Clare Thompson

The Given Life
28th September at 6.30pm with Nigel Savage

Jesus' Priorities

Aligning our Hearts with His Priorities

As we start a new academic year, we want to begin by looking at what’s important to God. What are Jesus’ priorities? We want to share about 4 key areas which were Jesus’ priorities for his early followers and ask ourselves are these our priorities too.  We want to have an opportunity to share vision as we start the new year.  

Our talks in this series at Woodlands Central will look at the below topics:

  • Children - 7th September

  • Witnessing - 14th September

  • Prayer - 21st September

  • Harvest - 28th September

Download our discussion notes to go deeper with the topics each week.

Jesus’ Priorities - Discussion Notes

See you on Sundays or catchup on the livesteam!


MESSAGES FROM THIS SERIES

Children
7th September at 11am with Nigel Savage

Prayer
21st September at 11am with Hazel Askew

Witnessing
14th September at 11am with Rachel Riddall

Harvest
28th September at 11am with David Mitchell