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

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.