Goodbye rainy July and hello an equally rainy August. But here's hoping for a bit of Northern Ireland sunshine this month!
Who was it that said, "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get"? Well, we might think we know what we're gonna get served up when we turn up at church, but then there might be a few surprises. But let's just keep looking to God together; let's keep praying for one another, and let's keep getting together as often as we can with an expectation to meet with God.
Sunday morning: I have to say that I very much appreciate a good time of worship that helps to get us into the groove and prepares us for the presentation of the Word of God. I think we were ready for The Word when we got to it yesterday morning. I spoke on "I've Started, so I'll Finish" part two. In this message I went on to show that when Jesus said "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it", he was in fact saying "I've started, so I'll finish"; he was saying, "I've started to build the church and what I started I will finish and not even hell will stop me!"
We focused on the Book of Acts and saw that what Jesus started was being finished in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Yet sadly there are those in church and even in ministry who think they can make it without the Holy Spirit. I made the point that it's possible to preach without the Holy Spirit, but you'll never light a fire without him; it's possible to sing without the Holy Spirit, but you'll never fill the room with an atmosphere of worship without him; it's possible to play an instrument without the Holy Spirit, but you'll never tug at the heart strings of God without him. You can do what you do without the Holy Spirit, because you're good at what you do, but you will never do what God wants you to do without the Holy Spirit.
I concluded by showing that Jesus is not coming back for the church that we're building, but he's coming back for the church that he is building. He will finish what he started.
Sunday night: I spoke on "It's not all Adam's fault" part two. We looked at Adam's action and choice that caused a break in his relationship with God, but that God was determined to heal and restore the relationship. We then looked at the breakdown in the relationship between Jacob and his twin brother Esau, but how this was finally healed and restored. We finished by looking at the story of the Prodigal son who broke relationship with his father, but again how this relationship was healed and restored. We saw that God is in the business of healing and restoring broken relationships and of pulling down walls, whether it's between us and him, or between us and each other.
Coming up: Don't forget there's a prayer time at City LIFE Centre on Thursday at 7.45 pm; and then there's the Fun Day on Saturday starting at 12 noon until 4 pm at City LIFE Centre.
Thanks to everyone for doing what you do within New Life to help us keep doing what we do as a church within the community.
Have a great week.
Stay focused; stay strong; and keep being a God-influence.
Pastor Jack
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