I desire and am determined to be different at the end of 2010 than I am
at the end of 2009.
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Happy 2010
Actually I want you to have more than just a happy 2010 I want for you what I desire for myself, that is:
· A fresh encounter with God and a deepening of my relationship with Him.
· Not to be satisfied with having the same as last year.
· To know Christ all the more.
· For my prayer life to grow deeper and wider that I may continually learn how I pray with all kinds of prayer.
· To be renewed continually by His Spirit and empowered with His love.
· To hear from God and receive fresh revelation that I might be part of a prophetic voice to the Church and Nation.
· To have my eyes, mind, heart and guts opened to receive fresh understanding of the Scriptures.
· To have the size of my heart increased so that I may have the Father’s heart of compassion for all people and the faith to live in the light of God’s promises.
· For my walk to match my talk that I may love in deeds as well as in words.
· To worship with all that I am.
· To be offended by the same things that are an offence to God.
· To minister in the power of the Holy Spirit.
· To be God focussed and determined not to be hindered by the fear of man.
You might think I am asking for a lot but I believe that what I am
asking for, according to the Scriptures, God also wants for us.
I feel both nervous and excited about asking and will hold on to the
words of the motto for 2010 “Do not be afraid, I am with you.”
There are probably many more things that could and should be
added to the list, please feel free to do so.
If you would like to use the above as your desires for the coming year, please feel free to do so.
Wednesday 9 December 2009
Tuesday 13 October 2009
Lighting the way to the Light of the world
I have been thinking about how, if we are to be lights in the world drawing and pointing people to the 'Light of the world', our lives need to reflect His light.
The question I ask is in relation to the sermon I preached on 4th October and can be viewed by following the link in the worship section on the website - Do our lifestyle choices reflect that we have surrendered our lives to Him who is above all names.
It is worth us asking ourselves whether we try so hard to be accepted by the world that our lives offer no alternative way of living, as St Paul says "A more excellent way"
Watch what you (and I address myself here too) post on you Facebook, or Blog our you speak to or about others.
Jesus drew people to Himself through his holiness.. The difference is Holiness stands out whilst exlusiveness shuts out, being no different does nothing.
Our lives and our churches should be continually in the process of being transformed to be the people God has called us to be individually and collectively. We should offer hope alongside challenge.
Do you want to make a difference in the world? Then be different from the world. Stand out, don't shut out.
Do this with word and action so that our words and lives match - speak the truth in love and for the glory of God our Father, for His name and not to make a name for ourselves.
By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us we can be more than we are now.
Bless you
Dave
The question I ask is in relation to the sermon I preached on 4th October and can be viewed by following the link in the worship section on the website - Do our lifestyle choices reflect that we have surrendered our lives to Him who is above all names.
It is worth us asking ourselves whether we try so hard to be accepted by the world that our lives offer no alternative way of living, as St Paul says "A more excellent way"
Watch what you (and I address myself here too) post on you Facebook, or Blog our you speak to or about others.
Jesus drew people to Himself through his holiness.. The difference is Holiness stands out whilst exlusiveness shuts out, being no different does nothing.
Our lives and our churches should be continually in the process of being transformed to be the people God has called us to be individually and collectively. We should offer hope alongside challenge.
Do you want to make a difference in the world? Then be different from the world. Stand out, don't shut out.
Do this with word and action so that our words and lives match - speak the truth in love and for the glory of God our Father, for His name and not to make a name for ourselves.
By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us we can be more than we are now.
Bless you
Dave
Tuesday 6 October 2009
Back again at last!!
Thank you everyone who reminded me how long it is since the blog was last updated. Special thanks to the couple who married here two years ago and the couple getting married next year.
What a year it has been:
Paul Williams taking off to work in Mongolia, though Paul is back in this country now for a few weeks and will be joining us at St Mary's on 18th October.
Ola Franklin was ordained in July and has joined us on the Leadership Team.
Sam Brazier-Gibbs will be joining us in a joint venture with Church Langley Church as a Pioneer Minister with responsibilty for leading a team in sharing the love of Jesus in Newhall and also to continue the strengthening of our links with the local schools.
We have had delays to contend with in relation to the go ahead for the re-ordering of the church building but are determined to stay the course.
With Christmas not too far away my mind has turned to thinking about Joseph and Mary and of course the birth of Jesus. I wonder how they would have felt with the rumours, mumblings, false accusations, misrepresentations and the such like. I imagine there would have been times when they wanted to shout from the rooftops the truth of what was happening, but it seems to me thatthey were more concerned with knowing the truth of what God was doing and resting in His plans and purposes.
Jesus was the perfect example of staying focussed when faced with opposition. Yes, He brought correction at times, but He never let the attacks distract Him from the will of His Father. He who was without sin yet endured, comments such as, He is mad, of the devil, law breaker, blasphemer and so on.
So what about us, the church from the earliest times have faced many things and some of those accusations have proved right for which the church should be sorry and repent of but we should never take our eyes off the focus of our calling, Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Sadly some of our Brothers and Sisters of faith face accusations that lead to them giving uptheir lives for the sake of Jesus and we need to work for justice for those persecuted as if we were in that situation ourselves.
I have been asked, "How do you handle false statements etc" and I have to confess that not always as well as I should but I also remind myself that no matter what is said I will not have to climb Calvary's hill. I and you had some one who did that for us, Jesus Christ.
I commend 1 Peter 3:8-17 to you.
What a year it has been:
Paul Williams taking off to work in Mongolia, though Paul is back in this country now for a few weeks and will be joining us at St Mary's on 18th October.
Ola Franklin was ordained in July and has joined us on the Leadership Team.
Sam Brazier-Gibbs will be joining us in a joint venture with Church Langley Church as a Pioneer Minister with responsibilty for leading a team in sharing the love of Jesus in Newhall and also to continue the strengthening of our links with the local schools.
We have had delays to contend with in relation to the go ahead for the re-ordering of the church building but are determined to stay the course.
With Christmas not too far away my mind has turned to thinking about Joseph and Mary and of course the birth of Jesus. I wonder how they would have felt with the rumours, mumblings, false accusations, misrepresentations and the such like. I imagine there would have been times when they wanted to shout from the rooftops the truth of what was happening, but it seems to me thatthey were more concerned with knowing the truth of what God was doing and resting in His plans and purposes.
Jesus was the perfect example of staying focussed when faced with opposition. Yes, He brought correction at times, but He never let the attacks distract Him from the will of His Father. He who was without sin yet endured, comments such as, He is mad, of the devil, law breaker, blasphemer and so on.
So what about us, the church from the earliest times have faced many things and some of those accusations have proved right for which the church should be sorry and repent of but we should never take our eyes off the focus of our calling, Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Sadly some of our Brothers and Sisters of faith face accusations that lead to them giving uptheir lives for the sake of Jesus and we need to work for justice for those persecuted as if we were in that situation ourselves.
I have been asked, "How do you handle false statements etc" and I have to confess that not always as well as I should but I also remind myself that no matter what is said I will not have to climb Calvary's hill. I and you had some one who did that for us, Jesus Christ.
I commend 1 Peter 3:8-17 to you.
Tuesday 24 February 2009
comings and goings...
Well, goings this time...
This weekend we will be saying farewell to our very own Paul Williams, as he sets out for pastures new in Mongolia.
To catch the full story, head to our website
This weekend we will be saying farewell to our very own Paul Williams, as he sets out for pastures new in Mongolia.
To catch the full story, head to our website
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