Did you hear about? …. well I never!
There’s nothing quite so salacious as a bit of juicy gossip, especially when it involves the public display of someone else’s personal life. Thrust into the limelight, it will run and run – at least until something better comes along.
If we think that “church” is immune, then think again. It isn’t this one sin that causes the problem – it’s all sins. Don’t forget what we are: always remember how we came to be changed and be committed to doing God’s will rather than pursuing your own desires.
It just doesn’t make sense: how can something so terrible on the one hand, be so beneficial on another? How can an event so scandalous become the means of saving so many souls?
That’s the message and impact of the cross. In the eyes of some, it’s a very unlikely means of securing our eternal destiny as it looks more like a tragic defeat than a glorious victory.
Let’s not look at the cross from a human point of view. If, in our “wise” ways this looks like defeat, then we are ignoring God’s plan. It’s not about how we use responsibility or power, it’s God’s demonstration to the world in one of the most unlikeliest ways, that He’s able to save us from ourselves.
An opportunity to hear about the Mission causes GHBC supports. Our message is taken from Acts 1 and Luke 10 and invites us to consider the question "Where do I fit in?"
Praying for the Fun Day
25-Aug PM; 2 Thes 1:11-12
Whether it's that dream job, loving relationship or being at peace with our life and outlook, there's something really fulfilling and life affirming about being part of something special.
This does not happen by chance. We have the raw materials to make it happen but there's one dangerous thing we have to be prepared to do.
Take a risk.
You'll never achieve anything by burying the possibility of real contentment. The real returns come from stepping out, getting involved and being ready to use what you have.
Our purpose as Christ's friends is to celebrate and illuminate Christ's pageantry journey to the consummation of the creation with his love. Crucially, if we are cavalier or careless, the Christian mission falls flat The challenge is for the Church to keep the occasion as time goes by. Christ is preparing all for a glorious eternal climax
I have a friend who wonders if prayer works
Parables are stories Jesus told which refer to everyday events where you'd expect the circumstances (if not the players), to be familiar to the audience.
What makes parables different is that the story has specific spiritual implications. Drawn into the story, we have to recognise our need to act, to believe or to change.
Today's story has two interlinked outcomes - the reality of God's judgement and our responsibility to lead fruitful lives for the Kingdom. God has great expectations so us but will always provide the mans to fur us to get involved.
The invitation is extended — and accepted. The guests arrive on the appointed evening, and as they recline around an impressively laden table, Simon settles in for a few hours of good food and lively conversation.
Enter the woman with the alabaster jar. In Luke's account, the woman is unnamed and unwelcome — "a woman in the city, who was a sinner." How exactly she crashes the party, we don't know, but she manages to get in the door, approach the table, kneel quietly behind Jesus, and let down her hair.
The contrast between her and the home owner is only too clear. But, they both share one thing - they both need to be forgiven although only one of them knows it and will show love in an unforgettable way.
In the last of our series from the book of Isaiah we reach a point where the consider both the end and the beginning.
Isaiah restates the nature and values of the new Kingdom which God will usher in. This will be a return to Eden once harmony has been restored through the work of the Saviour God has sent.
We are invite to move beyond a vision and to participate in a real experience of what life will be like for God’s faithful people.
We all hope, we all dream, for all kinds of things. Some dream of a changed world, a world where we are not judged by others for the colour of our skin, nor by the money in our bank account, nor by the accent we use nor even by the nature of our theology, just by the quality and the extent of our character.
Which among us does not long, hope, does not dare to look for a world that is vastly different than the one we now live in? Which one of us does not dare to hope that today will be something special, far better than it has ever been?
Isaiah was right about the tender shoot. We do not base our lives on a vague hope, but a rooted one in Jesus Christ. It is concrete and real, and personal. For the Christian, hope is not simply a luxury, or an option. It is a duty. A way of life. To be a pilgrim on the journey of faith means we are always moving from desert to Promised Land, from exile to the kingdom, from wilderness to the manger, from the cross to the empty tomb, from hopelessness to possibility, from ordinary time to eternity.
A service reflecting on Mission to the world beyond. Doug and Gilly Potkin will be updating us about Tearfund's work and, in particular, our linked project with Eagles.
