“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging" (Psalm 46:1-3, NIV)
I suspect you will have seen that news that England will be entering a 'lockdown' period, starting on Thursday this week. We are moving back to a position where we should be staying in our homes as much as we possibly can. This is planned to last until the beginning of December, and the hope appears to be that we can enjoy some relaxing of the restrictions for Christmas.
“‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.’” (Mark 10:29-30, NIV)
The Christian life is one of total devotion to Jesus. Aided by the Holy Spirit, Christians are to get rid of anything that would prevent us from wholeheartedly following Jesus, no matter what it is. We are not left with nothing, however: we are promised that whatever we end up leaving behind will be replaced by God’s abundance and generosity to us. I hope that you’ll be able to join us at 8:30, at 10:30, or online (details below), as we look at this together..
Virtual Coffee Shop
This Wednesday, at 10:30, we'll be having our regular Virtual Coffee Shop, if you can join us for that, it would be great to see you.
I hope that these emails and prayers are useful, and that you are able to spend a few minutes at noon each day, as we pray together as a church family. Please do keep sending your prayer suggestions to me, so that we can make sure we are praying around the needs, burdens and encouragements of our whole church family.
“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’" (Mark 10:17, NIV)
The man in this encounter with Jesus asks a really important question: what do I need to do to inherit eternal life? Is it enough to be ‘good’, or is there something more that is needed? Jesus’ words bring the man sadness, but can bring us great comfort and assurance. I hope that you’ll be able to join us at 8:30, at 10:30, or online (details below), as we look at this together.