to know Jesus and make him known, locally and globally

About Sundays

At St Nicholas we love to welcome people on Sundays.

We know that coming to a church for the first time can be a bit daunting. Whether you’ve never been to church before or it’s something you’re really familiar with, we try and make your time with us as welcoming and enjoyable as possible. Watch Gemma’s story about when she came along to St Nics for the first time.

When and where

At St Nicholas we have 4 vibrant congregations that meet in two locations every Sunday. We also have an 8am Communion Service. We always love welcoming new people, so do come along!
Check out our other events

StNics

@9.15

9.15am

in the church building

StNics

@ladyb's

10am

Lady Boswell’s school

StNics

@11

11am

in the church building

StNics

@6

6pm

in the church building

St Nicholas Church Building

Rectory Lane, Sevenoaks, TN13 1JA

Lady Boswell’s School

Plymouth Drive, Sevenoaks, TN13 3RW

8am Communion Service

Our early morning communion service using the spoken word. We alternate between Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship Liturgy. A quieter service open to all. 

8am in the church building

What to expect

Our services include times of singing, reading the Bible, prayers, announcements and a sermon. Once a month we take communion together. You don’t need to join in with anything you don’t want to. 

When you come along, do introduce yourself to one of us! We’d love to meet you and help you feel at home among us.

let us know you're coming

Frequently Asked Questions

At St Nicholas Church building we have a car park on Rectory Lane, with limited spaces, that you can use for free when you’re coming to our services. Parking in the town centre car parks is also very close. 

At Lady Boswell’s there is some free parking in the school car park. Or you can park in the leisure centre car park and walk behind the building through the back gate into the school.

There’s no particular dress code for our services. Please come as you are and wear what you are comfortable with.

Absolutely! All of our morning services include a short talk aimed at children. Then most weeks we have children’s groups during the rest of the service. Someone will tell you where to go. Once a month we have an All Age service where children stay in the service with us.

Centrepoint is our group for young people in Y7-9. We meet during the morning services and during the week.

Contact is our group for those in Y10-13. We meet in a local cafe from 5.00pm to 6.15pm every Sunday during term-time and for Bible Study on a Wednesday.

Members of our congregations will lead us in songs and prayers during the service. Words for songs and prayers like the Lord’s Prayer are projected on the screen so you can follow along. You do not need to join in if you are not comfortable with that. It’s ok to just sit and listen!

Our services usually last between 60 and 75 minutes and we tend to stay around to chat afterwards.

Please feel able to sit anywhere. There are no reserved seats or anything like that, just sit where you feel most comfortable. There are socially distanced areas available if you would like to sit there.

There is access for wheelchair users through our two main doors in the church building. Lady Boswell’s school is also wheelchair accessible. We operate a hearing loop system for those who need it. Large print service sheets are available – just ask the welcomers on your way in. We have an accessible toilet downstairs in the Undercroft and a lift down to that floor.

About Jesus

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Explore Christianity

DAY 1 : MATTHEW 16:21-28

Getting our bearings

Introduction

I use satnav but I prefer maps. Of course satnav is a wonderful tool to enable you to get to your holiday destination, provided you spell correctly in order to ensure that you are not directed to a similar sounding place a few hundred miles away. But there is a problem: though satnav can get you there, it doesn’t really show you where you are. A good Ordnance Survey map, at least in the hands of someone who knows which way up it should be held, provides the context. It helps to show how the single point of your destination relates to the whole of the surrounding countryside.

It’s the same with the Bible. It’s great to look at a particular verse or passage. But it will make much more sense when you are able to understand the surroundings. In other words the context will always help to make sense of the text. So, as we prepare to make Matthew 17:1-8 our holiday destination for the next few weeks we are deliberately going to get the map out first and look at the surrounding countryside so that we can see exactly where we are. We’ll need to focus on more than a verse or two as we’ll want to try to get a good view of the whole area. However, the aim of this first study is not to notice every single detail but to help us get our bearings for Matthew 17:1-8.

Read Matthew 16:21-28

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

‘From that time on …’ (16:21) introduces a new section within Matthew’s Gospel. The phrase was previously used at 4:17 to introduce Jesus’ public ministry. In getting an overview of Matthew, it is apparent that his first main section 4:17-16:20 focuses on the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It culminates in Peter’s recognition that Jesus is ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (16:16). The second main section runs from 16:21 onwards and introduces the momentous theme that Jesus will ‘go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’. Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection will take us to the end of the Gospel. 

A very similar division is also apparent within Mark’s Gospel. It starts with the headline at Mark 1:1 ‘The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’. Part one of Mark comes to a climax with Peter’s recognition that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8:29). Part two comes to a climax with Jesus on the cross and the centurion’s recognition ‘Truly this man was the Son of God’ (Mark 15:39). So, Matthew and Mark follow the same broad approach of revealing the identity of Christ before moving on to consider His suffering, death and resurrection. 

Indeed each of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, include the Transfiguration at exactly the same point in their narratives.

Matthew Mark Luke
Peter's confession of Christ 16:13-20 8:27-30 9:18-20
Jesus' prediction of the cross 16:21-23 8:31-33 9:21-22
The call to the disciples 16:24-26 8:34-37 9:23-25
Jesus' prediction of return 16:27 8:38 9:26
Introducing the Transfiguration 16:28 9:1 9:27
The Transfiguration 17:1-8 9:2-8 9:28-36

So, what is happening in this new section of the Gospel?

First, we hear the paradoxical truth that Jesus, who has just been acknowledged as God’s anointed ruler (the Christ), is going to suffer and die in Jerusalem. It’s paradoxical because it simply doesn’t appear to make sense for the long hoped-for leader to die. That’s certainly how Peter assessed the situation (16:22). Yet Jesus’ robust reply (16:23) makes it crystal clear that Peter’s human perspective was completely wrong – he needed to see things from God’s perspective. In the coming days Jesus would reveal how His death would be a necessity (he must go – 16:21) so that the forgiveness of our sins would be made possible (26:28).

Second, Jesus speaks not just of His suffering and death but also of His resurrection (16:21) and future return in glory (16:27). Death would not be the end. Instead Jesus opens their eyes to the future and tells them of His glorious return as Judge. Not only is He revealing Himself as Saviour through His sacrificial death but He is also declaring Himself to be the Lord. The cross will be followed by the crown.

Third, within this section, Jesus instructs His disciples (16:24-26). Their pattern of life is to be shaped by the journey of Christ Himself. Just as Christ would take up His cross before entering glory, so that pattern must be embraced by His disciples. So, following Jesus will involve taking up the cross (16:24). Although such self denial is costly and is described by Jesus as ‘losing your life’ (16:25) the rewards are glorious. Refusing to embrace the pattern of the cross now is a recipe for disaster (16:26). Holding on to the crown now will only lead to suffering later. The cross followed by the crown is the journey which Jesus marks out both for Himself and His followers.

But, if we were to put ourselves into the sandals of Peter and the other disciples, how do we know for sure that suffering will be followed by glory? If they are being encouraged to follow the pattern of what will happen to the Lord Jesus, how do they know that this Jesus whom they have been following will end up in glory? And if they are unsure about what will happen to Jesus, how can they have confidence that their journey following Jesus will also end up in glory? These are the questions which will introduce our next study and prepare the way for the significance of the Transfiguration. 

Reflection and prayer on Matthew 16:21-28
  1. What are the most striking things we learn about Jesus’ purpose and identity in this passage?
  2. What is the normal Christian life supposed to look like according to 16:24-26?
  3. In what ways have you found the pattern of Christian discipleship to be profoundly counter-cultural?

Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

(Collect for The Third Sunday of Lent)