When Jesus is in the boat | Andy Bullock | 7th June 2026

When it comes down to it, who would we choose first: our brothers and sisters in country, in colour, in culture, or in Christ? When we genuinely choose Christ, we’ll genuinely choose each other too. So where do we find our identity? And are we a genuinely diverse church? A church of all nations is not the goal but a byproduct of our discipleship in Christ that we get to enjoy and celebrate! Understanding church as a 'boat' that Pastor Andy and Xel are helping navigate at this time, we are in trouble if Jesus is not in the boat with us. He's our Saviour and the head of our church -- Jesus owns the boat and he knows it very well! He is God, he is with God, he is light in the darkness, he dwells with us and with him we see the glory of God. Why would we not want Jesus in the boat with us?The gospels have lots of accounts involving Jesus, the disciples and boats. Drawing on just three, we can see how Jesus brings peace, provision and purpose in our lives. He calms the storms when we fix our eyes on him (instead of the storms) and reach out to him. When we give what we've got to him, he brings so much more and we get far more in return. We are so grateful to have people from all around the world who can more than just exist together in the same church. And he works all things for good - including our cultural backgrounds - and brings purpose through them. When Jesus is in the boat, we receive his peace, provision, and purpose, we find out who we truly are, and we come to display a genuine diversity as his disciples from all nations - drawing more to him. Are you genuinely in the boat? And is Jesus genuinely in the boat with us? Get in the boat, come to the other side, leave the crowd behind and let's make sure we bring Jesus with us, exactly as he is.