Talks

Dave Ransome covers part 4 in the series “The Great Stepping Out” – God’s people stepping out of Slavery into Freedom.

Dave speaks about the Israelites leaving Egypt, a place where they were trapped. God came through with 10 plagues that touched only the Egyptians, the Isrealites were spared. For the final plague, they had to paint their door frames with blood so that the angel bringing death would pass them over and spare them. In the same way, we can cover ourselves today with the blood of Jesus to be protected.

Finally, Pharaoh let them go, but as soon as they left Egypt, they were trapped again! The red sea was before them and the Egyptian army behind them: nowhere for them to flee!

Just like the Israelites we are somtimes in situations where we don’t see a way out. Using this story, Dave gives us three tips how to handle such situations:
1)  Use hindsight to build faith when you don’t have foresight. The Israelites had experienced God’s faithfulness in the past (plagues) which helped them to trust God for the future:. Bank the testimonies, the history of God’s faithfulness to have an assurance to fall back on in times of trouble.
2) Stand firm, however long it takes! It is ok to question what God is doing, as long as you’re in a place where you can hear the answer. Whatever it is you fear, God is greater - He’s got you covered!
3) Only YOU can step forward. God makes a way, but you have to take that step into it!

This Mothering Sunday Claire brings us part 3 in the series “The Great Stepping Out” – God’s people stepping out of Slavery into Freedom.

Claire continues the story of Moses’ and focusses on the conversation taking place between God and Moses: When God called Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, Moses felt inadequate and found all sort of excuses not to do it! He even suggested that God finds somebody else for the job. But God has an answer to every excuse: It’s not about Moses’ inadequacies, it’s about God’s adequacy!

God also speaks encouraging words into our own inadequacies: “I am more than enough for you! Your future is bigger than your failure!”

You may say: “The PROBLEM is ME”, but God answers: “The SOLUTION is ME”.

It’s such a good thing that Moses chose God’s plan over his inadequacies and by doing so changed the lives of thousands of Israelites.

Claire challenges us to do the same: For each look at yourself, take ten looks at Jesus! Step out of the limitations you put on yourself; step out of your inadequacies and wait and see what God does with that!

Bob takes part 2 in the series “The Great Stepping Out” – based on the Exodus story. God’s people stepping out of Slavery into Freedom.

He looks at the part of the story where God meets Moses in the burning bush, Bob highlights three truths about God:
Presence:
Whilst God is “omnipresent” (present everywhere at all times), sometimes He is present in a more personal and tangable way just as He was for Moses in the burning bush. This was a moment when God revealed himself to Moses with his name “I am who I am” which wasn’t known before. But even in those personal moments, God is still holy: “take off your shoes because you stand on holy ground”.
Purpose:
God hears our cries and prayers, but often He asks us to play a part in the answer. Moses wasn’t perfect, and neither are we, yet God had a purpose for him.
Promise:
God has a plan for our lives and tells us to “GO”, and even though not the whole plan is revealed, He promises to be with us, today the same as he promised Moses.

We start a brand new series called “The Great Stepping Out” – based on the Exodus story. God’s people stepping out of Slavery into Freedom.

Matt introduces the series and explains how this story fits into the context of the big narrative of the whole bible.  God’s promise to Abraham to reverse the brokenness of humanity at “fall” in the garden of Eden.  Joseph (Abraham’s great grandson) saves the people of Egypt.  His family join him and develop into a large people group. (The nation of Israel) The Egyptian people begin to fear a take over from the Israelites, so they made them slaves and even started killing their male offspring to limit their growth.  400 years on and Moses is born…. God’s plan to save his people continues….

3 points from the message:

God has a plan for your life – you are not an accident!  Even if you’ve been told by your parents that they didn’t plan you – God did!
We look at the birth of Moses and how through God’s Providence – the “unseen” hand of God was working in the background.
However God’s providence doesn’t mean we should be passive.  We can actively welcome God’s plan for our lives and STEP IN to his care and plan for our lives.

Life doesn’t always go to plan – we are all very aware that life isn’t easy.  Sometimes we try and accelerate God’s plan for us, sometimes we make mistakes or sometimes there are simply things that happen that we can’t understand or explain.
Moses has been brought up in the palace but he knows that he is a Hebrew.  At this point he isn’t aware of the long-term calling on his life to bring the Israelites out of captivity, but maybe deep down he knows.  He takes matters into his own hands, and kills an Egyptian and ends up on the run.

BUT God is still faithful!
We can trust that God has been faithful and He will continue to be Faithful.  We see that in the story and believe it in our lives too.

Matt summarises for us what we have heard over the last few weeks about stepping out in 2023:

What does it look like for you to step out in the Spirit?
Walk by the Spirit
Be Led by the Spirit
Live by the Spirit
Keep in step with the Spirit
What does it look like for you to step out in faith?
Maybe there are some disappointments to overcome, maybe it means trusting God in a specific circumstance.
Remember Jesus said “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!”

What does it look like for you to step out and shine bright?
We are called to be different, to reflect Jesus and to share His Light – in a world that desperately needs it.

What does it look like for you to step out together?
The Christian life requires us all to take responsibility for our own relationship with Jesus.  BUT we were never meant to do it alone.
Let’s tune our heart to Jesus - just like an orchestra tunes their instruments to one note on a tuning fork.

Don’t just be an observer, let Matt challenge you too to reflect on the question: What does it mean for ME to step out in 2023? What are MY next steps?
We got very practical on Sunday too!  We gave out “handouts” so everyone could write down what it looked like for them to “Step out in 2023”

In the next part in our Vision 2023 Series Zoe encourages us to step out TOGETHER, based on Galatians 5.13-26. This passage explains how we can love, serve and interact with each other positively and warns us of the negative impacts when we don’t. 
Eugene Peterson says:
“One of the immediate changes that the gospel makes is grammatical:
we instead of I; our instead of my; us instead of me.”
 
We need to be together in order to be in step with the Spirit. 

Zoe reminds us of the tuning fork that the orchestra use : We need to tune ourselves to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, not to each other. If He is the “tuning fork” we each adjust our “tune” to, we can be in harmony together. 

Being “together” is not always easy! The wonderful thing about God’s church is that it’s the only place where such different and diverse people (us!) can be together. Unlike many “groups” we don’t gather because we have the same likes or dislikes, or because we are the same age or have the same experience of life.  We gather because we love Jesus (the tuning fork) and we want to follow His way of loving others as well.  It’s possible (even necessary!) to love people we don’t naturally “like” – and that’s the choice we make.
 
The meeting finishes with taking communion together, including an older tradition called “passing the peace”. Christians would take time in their gatherings to think about the importance of right relationships and if necessary “make peace” (or restore relationships) before taking the communion bread and wine (juice):  A focus on building strong relationships together.

Part 3 in our Vision 2023 Series – Stepping out Shining Bright

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour in vain. Philippians 2 : 12-16

Bob speaks to us about what it means to step out reflecting Jesus – the source of light and illuminating our world.

He reminds us of the words of Jesus – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  As people around look at us, and the way we live our lives – we will be pointing them towards God.

Called to be different >> To reflect Jesus and share His light.

In the next part of our vision series - Claire challenges us to step out in Faith, using the story of Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on water in Matthew 14:24-32.
Claire also tells us the story of a blindfolded tightrope walker that was challenged to walk on a tightrope over the Niagara Falls, pushing a wheelbarrow! After he’d walked it one way, he asked the challenger if he now believed he could do it! The challenger said “Of course I believe it now!  I’ve seen you do it with my own eyes!!!”  “Great!” replied the tightrope walker “Now will you get in the wheelbarrow and come back with me then!?”
Thinking we believe something is one thing, but believing it enough to take a measure of risk is quite another! Could 2023 be the year of mountain-moving, storm-calming, seas-splitting, ground-taking and body-raising FAITH in Ashwood?
Jesus turned to His disciples and said to them intently “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!” Matthew 19:26
It is as if Jesus is speaking “intently” to us – “With God all things are possible.”  What are you believing God for in 2023?

Paul Bell speaks to us about “Stepping out in the Spirit”, one of the ways we envision to step out in the year 2023!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

Based on Galatians 5.13-26 he explains to us what it means to walk in the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit, to live by the Spirit and to keep in step with the Spirit.

First we need to understand that there are two ways to live: in the Flesh and in the Spirit.
The Flesh is basically everything that is driven by a sinful self-interest that is at odds with the Spirit. There is a war in us between the two and it is by our fruit that we can see which of the two is victorious!

But fruit takes time to grow and needs to stay attached to the tree to keep doing so. Likewise we need to stay close to God by the Spirit and be patient to advance at His pace, not ours. In everyday desicions, big and small, keep in step with the Spirit.
What does it look like for yout o walk and be led by the Holy Spirit?

Matt introduces us to the Ashwood Church Vision for 2023
If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.  (Proverbs 29, Message)
Matt says it’s important that we have a vision for our lives too!  What does God see for us and do we have the same view?

Our overall Church Vision is the same:  “To become a Spiritually Healthy Church for all ages” and our Mission “to help people find and follow Jesus”.  Our vision for 2023 helps us see specifically for this year.

In November 2022 our Senior Leadership Team and part of our Ashwood Church Vision Team went away to pray and seek God for Ashwood Church for 2023:

In 2023 God invites us to be STEPPING OUT.

Stepping out in the Spirit:  (Galatians. 5:25)
Walking with the Spirit
Living by the Spirit
In step with the Spirit
Stepping out together:
We don’t do life on our own! Just like all the instruments in an orchestra tune to one note (a tuning fork!) we want to tune our lives to Jesus. Jesus at the Centre!
Stepping out shining:
God will show himself to the cold and dark world through us! (Isaiah Chapter 60)
Stepping out in faith:
We live by faith - not by sight (2 Corinthians. Chapter 5 verse 7). We don’t know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future!
Is this also the year for our New Home for Ashwood?

Please accept our apologies for some technical issues in recording this service.