Crossing Over…

Last Sunday our new preaching series called “Crossing Over” launched with just great all round services in all of our London congregations. The message was about REVELATION: How and what the cross reveals to us about God.   In our Hammersmith congregation I focussed on the cross revealing that:

• God loves unconditionally
• God is THE friend and Saviour of sinners
• God is ALIVE!

This revelation has the power to change so much in your life as you begin to understand how much Gods loves you and what he did for you, and that His cross was “vicarious”, meaning that “it was an act on behalf of another” – in this case you and me and every human ever. Download my message and PowerPoints here

This Sundays Crossing Over message is about the VICTORY of the cross. I’ll do the first part about Christ’s victory on the cross, and Ali will do the second part looking at how we can live in Christs victory…

Come and hear and experience how you ARE more than a conqueror in Christ!

All our Sunday service details here

Canvas revelations by Siku @ Every Nation…

Today was a great day at Every Nation London as Siku (He’s one of Britain’s leading comic book creators and conceptionalists, and creator of the Manga Bible, amongst many other achievements) illustrated the message by painting on three canvasses – photo’s below.  I met Siku a few months ago when I took my daughters to a manga drawing workshop which he was running. (Where Abby won the prize for drawing the best Manga face, and I won the prize for drawing the best Manga dragon!)  I love seeing peoples gifts used to the max so in our brief discussion there agreed to meet and explore how Siku could use his art and theology to communicate in different settings, both to Christian audiences and for evangelism. Well, today was the result and what I believe will be an exciting journey of his gifts being a huge blessing to the church and the Kingdom…

He shared some rich truth about the God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19, and the God we can come to now through Christ, revealed in Hebrew 12. In Exodus 19 God speaks and the people don’t understand, but through Christ we now understand Gods message, and we are encouraged to “come boldly with perseverance.” For the sake of this post, I’ll just quote a couple of the scripture references below, and a few photo’s showing the sequence, and let God speak to you through His Word illustrated…

Exodus 19v16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him…

Exodus 24v17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

For much better photo’s please see our website here.

Hebrews 12v1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… 18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm… 22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly… 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.”

PS – you can see more of Siku, including an interview about his work, at our CANVAS evening for the arts on Saturday 21st November – details here – invite your friends!

Our August Series: “Phlipn’ Attitudes”…

I’m inviting you on an August attitude adjustment journey… with Phlipn’ Attitudes from the book of Philippians.

• “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5)

On each of the first four Sundays in August at all our London congregations we’ll look at a key Christ-like attitudes found in the book of Philippians.  We’ll also have a daily dedicated Phlipn’ Attitudes blog with a daily devotional where we’ll work through the whole book of Philippians from beginning to end considering the subject of Christ-like attitudes. Check the Phlipn’ Attitudes blog out here, and why not set up a feed to get this daily devotional direct to your inbox or Facebook.

And for fun, here’s our video invite below… can you guess who came up with the title of this series…

 

PS – I’ll probably not post much except some personal stuff on my blog here for August – so go’n get some Phlipn’ Attitude somewhere else…

A Battle to Build demo…

Here’s a clip from part 1 of the “Your Battle to Build” series last Sunday message at our Hammersmith 10.30 service…

(Thanks Sandi for the clip…)

Download the full audio message & PowerPoints from our website here

This Sunday: Understanding the need and power of “restraint” in your battle to build…

Sermon Preview: “Your Battle to Build”…

I’ve had a week of so many confirmations that this is a word in season. So many people needing to Battle to Build. Some quiting their dream, some going off track, others fighting for it. You must fight for it…

Paul reminds us that  “You are Gods building” (1 Corinthians 3:9) – God has a plan for your life, and if you get that God-dream for your life, you have to learn to hold on to it and to fight for it. Recognise that you have an enemy, and that if faith in Christ is your foundation, then you are more than a conqueror. You CAN stand through the storms that come from within & without, with your life counting for Him. Read the full context of the above scripture here, then say “ouch!” followed by: “I need to battle to build.”

In this 3 Part series we’re going to see that there’s only one foundation on which to build: Christ. And using one of the great Old Testament builders as an example, we’re going to learn that to build is going to take amongst other things: REVELATION (of the plan, and the Planner), REMOVAL (you cant build on rubbish), RESTRAINT (empower your yes & no’s), and RELATIONSHIPS (there are some battles you are just not going to win on your own.)  Nehemiah knew that its one thing to be moved to want something, but its a whole other thing to battle till you see the fulfilment, and he knew that uou have to fight for it.

In the end, when all the dust has settled on this life, there’s a great promise for those who have built right: If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. (1 Corinthians 3:14)

YOUR BATTLE TO BUILD… Sunday 5th, 12th, & 26th July @ Every Nation in Hammersmith & Slough

 

Your Battle to Build…

I’m super passionate about a new 3-part “Your Battle to Build” message series I will be preaching in July at our Hammersmith morning and 6PM services…  Here’s a plug for it from outside our Every Nation church in Washington DC where I attended our North America conference this week…

• Sunday 5th – Part 1: A great building starts with a “Revelation”, and don’t forget to remove the rubbish…
• Sunday 12th – Part 2: You’ll never build much without “readiness” & “Restraint…”
• Sunday 19th – We have Tim & Maz Walker from the Thembalitsha Village of Hope as guests in Hammersmith am service
• Sunday26th – Part 3:  There are some battles you’ll never win alone, and there are some things you’ll never build alone…  

1 Corinthians 3:10-11 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Nehemiah 4:17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.

“God is…” series in June

I’m expecting this “God is…” series to be seriously life-changing!   On the four Sundays of June in all of our 4 locations in greater London we are joining in with the global OnePrayer initiative and presenting four compelling and life-giving messages by some great communicators via video from around the world right into our venues.

Check this out as a taster:

 

• Sunday 7th – “God is… For You”
• Sunday 14th – “God is…Able”
• Sunday 21st – “God is…Love”
• Sunday 28th – “God is…Waiting of you”

Together with inspiring worship and powerful personal ministry, these are Sundays not to be missed. Bring your friends and come with HUGE expectation believing that GOD IS ABLE TO DO MORE THAN YOU CAN PLAN…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLUS pray/give/go opportunities in June:

• Madrid Church Plant Support Trip – 12& 13 June
• 11-14th June – “PrayerParation” mission to Gent, Belgium in preparation for our church plant there in summer 2010
• 13 – 20th June – “LoveUkraine” mission to Lviv and poorest of Europe in the Carpathian mountains

You’ve got to fight for it!!!

This past Sunday we completed our “Letter to London” preaching series – which took us 5 months (!)preaching through the rich truth from whole Letter to the Ephesians. 

 We ended the series with a couple of sessions on “STANDING STRONGER” from chapter 6 verse 10 onwards…”Finally, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wicked schemes of the devil.”

Here are a few thoughts I’m becoming very convinced about:

Why do we/you need to stand strong?Because you’re in a spiritual war zone. The devil is your enemy.  The Darwinian debate doesnt just get rid of God, but gets rid of the devil too, and thats deception, because he’s after you to kill, steal & destroy.

Whats at stake? All that you believe in and stand for. All the “spiritual blessings in heavenly places”. Your salvation. destiny. health. peace. prosperity. calling. Your testimony. Your relationships. Marriage.  Whatever you stand for is at stake.

How can you stand?  God has provided you with His armour, and putting in on and using it guarantees you to be standing at the end when all the dust has settled. Some of it is for your defence, and the sword of the Spirit is for kingdom ADVANCE in and through your life. So put on truth, righteousness, readiness. TAKE UP the shield of faith, salvation, and the Word of God as a sword. get rid of all passivity, and become alert and watchful to your enemy’s strategies and schemes, and know Gods great promise that “having done all, you will stand”!

If you need more on this, listen to my last message  or two on “Learning to Stand Stronger” here. 

 For one action scene of last weeks message, check out my “sword fight” bit on this clip – The sound quality is poor, and the finale where I “destroy the enemy” with a spectacular lunge is unfortunately missing… but hey, read the Bible and you’ll know how the Great Story ends!

Living “filled” in 2009

For the past few months here in London I and our preaching team have been preaching through the book of Ephesians in a series entitled the “Letter to London”. 

Its been a massive blessing to me personally, and this past week again spoke so effectively to me as only Gods word in the scriptures can. The text included  Eph 5v18, which reads “and do not be drunk with wine which leads to debauchery (that’s Greek for”it messes up your life”), but BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.”

I’m reminded again that the church and early disciples never accomplished anything worthwhile until they were “spirit-enabled” in Acts 2v4 – “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in other tongues AS THE SPIRIT ENABLED THEM.“     The only way to live the Christian life is to live it “spirit-enabled / spirit-filled / spirit-empowered.”   Looking at Paul’s first trip to Ephesus in Acts 19v1, we read that the very first question Paul asked the few disciples whom he found there, was this: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?” Wow, what a first question. They answered: “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”    Paul then introduces them to the Holy Spirit and His empowering, and they become a powerful transforming force in their idol-worshipping city and culture. (By the way, notice that these were called “disciples” before they knew or had experienced any of this. They were on a journey of spiritual discovery and growth. The whole journey from saying yes to Christ is “discipleship.”)

Just like the early disciples at Pentecost, and those in Ephesus, every disciple of Christ must at some stage come to the realisation that the only way to move ahead to follow Christ is by being “Spirit-enabled.”   The awesome thing is that this promise is for YOU!  Whatever you do in 2009, whatever your dream, make sure that you only do it “Spirit-enabled”.

Don’t just have “get drunk” moments either, but rather live “be being filled” – develop a culture of being filled and living filled daily.  May you know His amazing filling and enabling in every area of your live and ministry in 2009!

(For more, get the download of the “Living Filled in 2009″ message for free from our website at www.everynation/downloads/ )

Know God – Be Strong – Do Great this summer…

Our summer theme at Every Nation London focuses on the powerful truths of Daniel 11:32, which declare that “…those who know their God will be strong and do great exploits.” We are trusting for a great season of KNOWING GOD, BEING STRONG, AND DOING GREAT EXPLOITS.

This week I travel to Nashville for some Every Nation International Policy Council meetings, as well as attending part of our US pastors F.U.E.L. conference there. On my way over I’ll be stopping over in Orlando and attending the Lakeland Outpouring/revival meetings there, which are reporting some phenomenal healings etc. I’m simply trusting for a great time of God stirring and igniting my heart and giftings. After Nashville I’ll be visiting my good friends Joe & Nancy Martin in Dallas, and preaching at Valley Creek Church with pastor Kevin Evans, who has been a hero getting involved with some of our church planting efforts in Europe.  

I’m pressing in to know my God more, because to know Him is to love Him, and to love Him is to know Him intimately, and be fully satisfied in the deepest part of your being. I’m pressing in to more of His strength infusing my often glaring weaknesses, and I am trusting to step out of my boat and come out of my caves, and do all the great to which he has called me. Join me on this great adventure this summer…