The Alpha Course at 93 Hammersmith Road

Know anyone who would benefit from doing the Alpha Course ? We have a great team running the course starting with an Alpha Launch cocktail party on Thursday 17th Agust at our cool no93 venue, then it runs  there for 10 weeks (including a free meal each week!) – you can join anytime although the sooner the better … all details on our website here.

Check out this cool Alpha Advert:

Have you got an “I’m ready” attitude

A few thoughts from last Sundays message entitled “Developing an I’m ready” attitude:

When the Apostle Paul needed someone to send to help the Philippian church, two names sprang immediately to mind: Timothy & Epahroditus.  In chapter 3 he lists some qualities in these 2 which singled them out for the task at hand:

• Timothy: he “sincerely cared”… “sought the things of Christ (vs his own)”… had a “proven character”… and ”served with me”…
• Epaphroditus:He was a “fellow brother”… a “fellow worker”…a “fellow soldier”… and made no excuses to quit even though “he was sick almost to death.”

Both these men were ready when required. To be ready means:

• To be prepared (with good foundations, solid equipping, worthwhile experience, etc)
• To be available (To say “Here I am Lord”, vs “Let me first just go and…”)

I remember how ready Ali & I were in the season when God called us out to London, how we put every cent/penny/Rand in to make this mission possible, holding nothing back. It was an exciting adventure, living on the edge where the only option was God doing what He said He would do. It’s great to look back, but today I must ask myself: Do I still have that “I’m Ready” attitude? Or is my life so organised that even God Himself cannot rearrange it? I used to give so obediently and spontaneously and generously – do I still have that attitude? I use to need God to do something radical every week in order to keep the ministry going – do I still need/expect that? If Jesus were to walk past me today and call: “Come follow Me”… would I be ready (prepared & available) to respond to whatever great adventure He wills to lead me into.

The Lord asks you and I today: “Whom can I send? Who will go for us?”  (Isaiah 6:8)

Lets respond today and say again:  Use me. Send me. I’m ready Lord.

 Action:

• What can you do in the next 3 months to get yourself better prepared: Do the “Purple Book”, enrol for Bible School,  Alpha Course,
• Is there an area of service for which you can available? Maybe a Sunday Team, Connect Group leadership, etc

Phlipn’ Attitude Finale…

Today at Every Nation London we come to the end of our August journey through the book of Philippians, called Phlipn’ Attidues. As I also preached on Grace at our ” Church in Hyde Park” Sunday today, I’ll repeat my final Philipn’ Attitudes post below. (Check out the rest of them on our seperate blog here)

Philippians 4:20-23 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. ²¹Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. ²²All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. ²³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

With this post we come to the end of our August journey through the book of Philippians. Note two words which stand out in these final verses: GRACE & GLORY. To live lives which show Gods glory on the earth and share it in eternity, we need a radical revelation of the amazing grace of God through Jesus Christ.  Grace provides the bookends to almost all the New Testament letters, and when we neglect grace all the other doctrines and values we profess collapse in powerless empty dead religion.

Remember:

• Grace is Gods love-in-action towards those who do not in any way deserve it – you & me.
• Grace is God doing everything to save us from the sin that separates us from Him, and that being fulfilled in Jesus taking our sin on Himself and dying on the cross in our place.

1. Gods Grace Saves us Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
2. Gods Grace Transforms/changes us Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh
3. Gods Grace Activates us 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Grace & Glory. That’ll change our Phlipn’ Attitude. Amen

Are you following the Phlipn’ Attitudes?

A reminder that there is a dialy devotional posted on our “Phlipn’ Attitudes” blog, which will cover the whole book of Philippians over the month. Check it out here, and make sure you adjust your Phlipn’ Attitude…

Our Manila church celebrates 25 years!

Our Every Nation churches in Manila, called “Victory”recently celebrated their 25th anniversary since the famous short-term missions trip planned by Rice Broocks who invited Steve & Deborah Murrell along, who then stayed behind to tend the fruit and the rest is history… congrats to Pastor Steve & Deborah, and all the great leaders and members of the now 35,000+  church… you are a great example to us of humility, passion, excellence, and focus on the mission to make disciples…

Here’s a minute from the celebration -

If you’re keen to experience this yourself in this very venue, make a plan to be at the Every Nation World Conference there in July 22-24 in Manila – its going to be awesome!

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…

Your Battle to Build TOGETHER…

I loved church today!  And I loved preaching today because its the stuff that’s so relevant to us being “church” like Jesus desires us to be church. He said that he would “build His church”, and when it comes to our committing/ involvement / serving / relating / protecting / giving / leading in a local church we would do very well to heed Paul’s stern reminder in Acts 20 that the church is what  Jesus “purchased the church with his own blood” – wow!

In this final part 3 of our “Battle to Build” series I speak about the importance of our relationships in the building and the battle. We are not meant to build alone, nor to battle alone. In Nehemiah ch 4 we see that besides the tools to build and the weapons to Battle, Nehemiah also needs a trumpet – a “sound” to call those stretched out along the wall of the mission together. 

Nehemiah 4:18-20  Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

They needed ”a sound”  to call them together, and in this message I look at the big question of “What brings us together and keeps us together?”, and I propose that two vital ingredients are  “Agreement” & “Agape Love”. You can listen to the whole message on our downloads, but here’s a clip of the illustration:

 

AGREEMENT:  “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” – Jesus in Matthew 18:19-20

AGAPE LOVE:  ”A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”Jesus in John 13:34-35 

You Battle to Build Pt 2: Stay on the Wall…

Our Battle to Build series seems to be a real word in season. In this part 2 I try to show that once you are “building”, you have to battle to stay on the wall, like Nehemiah in ch 6v1-4.

I speak about two things which you need to stay on the wall: “Strain” (Philippians 3:12-14)  & “Restraint” (Proverbs 29v18). Without these you will not be “made a disciple” nor will Jesus be able to use you as a “living stone” to build His church. Jesus said NO to sin, and YES to the joy set before Him. What have you said yes to which you should have said no to? What YES do you need to get a fresh revelation of so that like Nehemiah you will be so drawn to what you have chosen, that all other distracting & destroying voices and sin will loose their power to drawn you off your wall into the valley of life? Come on. you we born and born again to build and to stay on the wall…

Download full audio of “Your Battle to Build” part 2 messagae & Powerpoint slides here

Coming up on Sundays:

• This Sunday in Hammersmith 10.30 Service: Tim & Maz Walker share their amazing “Village of Hope” story – going to be moving and challenging!
• Final Part 3 of “Your Battle to Build” will be on Sunday 26th – come and hear/see the TRUMPET!
• August: Our new “Phlipin’ Attitudes” series… watch this space!

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