Talks

On Fostering Sunday our very own Zoe Bell representing the local organisation “100 Homes” challenges us about what it means to exercise “Radical Hospitality.”
The Greek word for hospitality - “Philoxenia” means “Love of the stranger”: it is more than welcoming friends to a meal, it’s about opening ourselves up to strangers; not even just people we don’t know, but people who are different, people who are not welcome everywhere.
Zoe reads two challenging passages where Jesus addressed those listening to him about welcoming the stranger. Read Luke Chapter 14:verses 12-14.
In Matthew Chapter 25 verses 31-46 Jesus underlined the importance and the weight He gives to the practical responsibility his followers have, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit those in prison, saying that those who do this, it’s like they are doing it for Jesus Himself.  This is at the heart of what it means to be a follower (or apprentice, or disciple) of Jesus.

One of our 2024 bible passages is from Isaiah chapter 54. It speaks about expanding the place of our dwelling.  The passage was not originally spoken to an individual, but to the people of Israel who were in exile, away from home. The context was a very challenging season, the prophet Isaiah speaks about a “barren woman”.  Zoe says that the last 12 months have been one of the hardest seasons she has ever been through.  She could identify with the feelings of the people of Israel, in their “lostness” but amid this season, she knew that God was calling them to be radically hospitable, to extend their own physical home to make more space to care for children who need a family.

Zoe and Paul have recently moved into a wonderful larger house (that God has provided miraculously for them) but every step along the way it felt like it was challenged.  Being obedient to following Jesus isn’t often easy!  (To hear more of the story – listen again by clicking the link below)
Of course, God is the best host of all, He is always welcoming us with radical hospitality into his heart, with love.  And part of our response to His love and His hospitality is for us to do the same for others!
Challenge: Is there space at your table to welcome others? Could you even think about fostering? Find out more on https://www.nottinghamcityprayer.com/100-homes.

As we enlarge our tent as Ashwood, are we also ready to enlarge our hearts?

What a wonderful Sunday morning! 

We celebrate the day of Pentecost – the birthday of the church!
Michael and Lola dedicate baby Jonathan to God.  And we pray together for him and the family! And…
We baptise Liz and Phil as they share a small part of their story!

Matt also gives us 4 reasons why we baptise people:
Why baptism?
1) Because Jesus says to baptise in Matthew 28.
Our mission is to help people find and follow Jesus, so we want to do everything Jesus tells us to do
2) Because Baptism is a Symbol
It is a symbol of what is happening spiritually:
• Death to Life, Romans 6:3-4 It represents the new spiritual life we have in Jesus. Our spirit is born again, we have new life, hope and a future in Jesus
• It’s spiritual cleansing. Our sins are being washed away. Acts 22:16
3) Because Baptism is a declaration
Being baptised is a brave and bold step. It is a statement before God and the world that the old ways are left behind and that there is an intention to live for and follow Jesus.
4) Because Baptism is an Encounter
Some people experience it as being filled afresh with love and joy, being freed from strongholds, some people feel emotional and some don’t. It’s a sense of heaven meeting earth.
When should we be baptised? As soon as you know that you want to follow Jesus!
Find the full service on Facebook:https://fb.watch/uJiexfncRR/

In the last part of our series “Brave & Bold & Breakthrough” Helen talks to us about being empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles with the same power that rose Jesus from the dead. (Eph. 1:19-20)
How can we be empowered to be brave and bold disciples?

We need to be shaped by the things of the Kingdom
We need to have an eternal perspective. Our time on earth is short!
We need to be available to God.
How can we live in expectancy?
God does not want us to live with an attitude of “If you expect the worst, anything good is a bonus”. He wants us to live with expectancy, relying on Him, which is not the same as positive thinking or optimism because these are limited to people.

How can we believe for breakthrough?
The dictionary describes breakthrough as a sudden dramatic important development, but it could also be a shift in our perspective, an acceptance of God’s plans and an acknowledgment that He is in control.
If we’re looking for a breakthrough in our lives:

We have to persist in prayer.
We need to persist in praise. Our circumstances should not dictate our praise.
We need to persist in our purpose. The closer we walk with Jesus the more we align ourselves with Jesus’ purpose.
We need to persist in our declaration.
1 Cor 4:20: For the kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk, it is living by God’s power! Let’s do it boldly!

In the third part of our series Brave & Bold & Breakthrough, Michael talks to us about Peter and the Holy Spirit.
We can’t achieve breakthroughs by ourselves, we need the Holy Spirit. When we look at Peter, we can see the difference the Holy Spirit can make in a person.

Peter was a fearful fisherman before he was empowered with boldness by the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. He was a simple, normal guy, he had all good intentions but was not able to achieve them by his own strength. He was one of the 12 who had experienced Jesus performing miracles, but after Jesus’ ascension, went back to fishing,
We need to see where Peter came from to understand that all of us are qualified to become brave, bold and to have breakthroughs with the help of the Holy Spirit.
After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter became a bold man. He preached and 3000 people got saved! Just like Jesus had said: “You will no longer be a fisher of fish but a fisher of men”.

If we let him, the Spirit will move in all of us. Don’t just put Him in your guestroom, but let Him live in all of our house.
Prayer: Holy Spirit please bring breakthroughs in our lives and circumstances. To see the full talk, watch on Facebook: https://fb.watch/uJfSEIpSG2

In the second part of Brave & Bold & Breakthrough, Bob talks to us about another example in the bible: Joshua, Moses’ assistant.
Joshua took over from Moses after 40 years of wandering in the desert, led by Moses. In Joshua 1:9 we read Be strong! Don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged!
Definition of “Strong”:
likely to succeed because of sound reasoning or convincing evidence.
Definition of “Courage”:
Courage is putting our confidence in God and stepping out in faith, despite the fears and challenges of life.
Bob illustrats this with some points taken from the story of the falling of Jericho.
God gave exact instructions on what to do with that city with closed walls: “Walk around it once for 6 days and seven times on the seventh day, followed by loud horn blasts and shouting”.
We know how it ends, Joshua didn’t. He had to trust, be strong and courageous. Joshua 6:8 tells us: And it happened. Joshua spoke, and the people moved. God delivered Jericho just as He had promised.
What does that mean for us? How can we be strong and courageous?
We need to be prepared for what lies ahead. We don’t necessarily face a big wall but we have our own difficult situations. For example in Ashwood Church, God has told us to have a new building: We need to be prepared, be bold and be brave!
We need to know whose we are: God is for us, not against us! He is with us and gives us all we need to get through stuff.
We need to trust Him and expect miracles. Bob gives the example of his own life story: he moved from being an alcoholic, drug addict and Satanist to being a fully healed Christian: a miracle! God does miracles in little and in big things. We can only sit with, pray for and love people, but God is the one who will perform the miracle!
We need to know that we are not on our own. We call each other “family”, we’re together. We are not called to do life on our own.
Joshua followed God’s command to be bold and courageous and the people of Israel thrived. Will we?

Matt starts the first part in a new series - “Brave & Bold & Breakthrough”. He sais that he believes God wants us to experience more of these things in 2024.  How Brave are you?

In the first part, Matt looks at the character of Caleb, and when Moses sent 12 spies (including Caleb and Joshua) to investigate the Promised Land.  When they reported back 10 said “We can’t take this land” and only 2 said “We can do it!”
What can we learn from this story?
Brave and Bold comes after Safe and Sound: We can only have a brave confidence if we know that we are safe. It is important to know “WHO WE ARE”, but even more important to know “WHOSE WE ARE”. Jesus’ followers are sons and daughters of God – that’s our identity! Built on the firm foundation that we are known and loved by God.
Being a “2” in a world of “10’s”. All 12 spies saw the same thing, yet Joshua and Caleb had a different perspective than the other 10. Courage is a choice. Joshua and Caleb didn’t deny the facts, but faced them, and responded with courage. They didn’t want to go back to the bad old days. Caleb stood up and closed the door to fear: “If the Lord is pleased with us, HE will give it to us.”
We are Bold and Courageous because God is with us. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the knowledge that God is with us: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8) Where do you need to be courageous at the moment? Be baptised? Talk to a friend about Jesus? Pray again for healing? Look for a different job? Caleb said: “If it is the Lord’s plan and He is with us, we can do this!” Matt encourages us to say: “Even when it hurts, when I’m broken, when it feels that God is silent, I will put my confidence in Him”?
Remaining Courageous for the long haul. Sadly, the people didn’t listen to Caleb, but instead, they went back into the desert and spent years there before going into the promised land. Caleb could have become bitter: 45 years later he’s at the same place where he was before for no fault of his own. But Caleb remained courageous and was still ready to conquer the land! Just as vigorous now as he was back then.
Are we choosing to have courage and put our confidence in God today? “Lord, keep my heart soft through the disappointments of life!”

The wonderful Jo Hargreaves gave the words HOME, SAFE & SOUND a whole new dimension in our amazing Ashwood 2024 Mini-Conference!! On Saturday, we had already heard a lot about how fearfully and wonderfully we are made, especially about the wonders of the brain. We often think of ourselves as poorly when our bodies have health issues, but we are a tripartite being: Body/Soul/Spirit (1 Thess. 5:23). Even when the body is poorly, the soul and spirit can still be healthy and we can call ourselves an overall healthy person.
On Sunday, the mum of three, psychotherapist, writer and co-leader of Alive Church in Lincoln shares with us “a nervous system case study” about The Prodigal Son coming home, feeling safe and sound.

What did the Prodigal Son’s journey feel like in body, soul and spirit? Going off, he made a bad decision. These are made in our back brains.
Caroline Spring says: You have to change your stance before you change your story. We need to change our thinking from the back brain to the front brain (where good choices are made)! What things help us to change our stance (shift our thinking and emotions from the back brain to the front brain)? Love, worship, be in awe, repent, and meet our basic needs (rest, food, drink etc). It is so important to meditate on God’s everlasting love to be able to shift our thinking to the front brain. God wired us like that.
When things don’t go well for the Prodigal Son “he comes to his senses”, he starts to make good decisions (in his front brain). How did the shift happen? He remembered his father’s love! If you struggle with self-condemnation, use self-compassion.

When the prodigal decides to go back to the father and repent, he is thinking in his front brain. He is met with compassion from his father, which soothes his nervous system. The father throws his arms around him and kisses him: Oxytosin is released, the love hormone that makes us feel secure and safe. Oxytocin gets rid of cortisol, the stress hormone - just like the bible says: “Perfect love casts out fear!”
When the father dresses him and puts a ring on his finger, serotonin, the feel-good hormone kicks in. When they party and he starts to enjoy himself, dopamine, the reward hormone, appears. God wants to change our story! Let’s change our stance so that the celebration can begin!
The same invitation is extended to us today: come home! When we have been reckless with our thoughts and actions, we can turn to God who will boost our oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine.
You can start that process now by speaking a “Breath Prayer”: Inhale slowly through your nose while reminding yourself: “I am safe”. Then exhale through your mouth even slower and say to yourself: “I am loved”. The word Ruach means both breath and spirit. In Genesis, we read how God creates order out of chaos with His Ruach. He can do the same today for each of us.

This Sunday, Bob talks to us about dealing with conflict in relationships.
Bob shares some of his personal family situation growing up, and how in his family home conflict was often not handled well.  After he became a Christian, he reached out to his family in a different way.

Conflicts can arise in every context.  With our friends, with family and with colleagues.  Jesus said ‘Let your light shine!’  How do we do that? Here are Bob’s points to help us:
Start with love - “Above all, love each other deeply, love covers a multitude of sins” 1 Peter 4vs8
Make sure you look after your own emotions - so you are functioning well and able to handle yourself well. (Ephesians 4 v26-27) Sometimes we need to step back in conflict situation to give space to deal with the situation and then step back in. BUT DO DEAL WITH IT!
Think before you speak. What will build people up, and benefit them? (Ephesians 4 v29)
Listen (James 1 vs 19) … quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry.
Forgive! Ask God for help, he’s with us in it. Ask God to come into the conflict.  (Mark 11 vs 24-25)
Prayer can help with this… speak the name of Jesus into these situations.
To see the full talk, go to https://fb.watch/uJgKWdtmXW/

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18
Easter is all about the message of the cross, but what exactly is that message:
Matt picks 6 messages that can be taken from the cross:
1. The message of the cross is SUFFERING
Jesus didn’t just suffer the most horrific physical pain on the cross, but knowing what was coming, He was in turmoil and asked if at all possible, God would find an alternative. Jesus also felt the pain of feeling abandoned by His Father God in His most terrible hour.
2. The message of the cross is SURRENDER
Even though Jesus cried out for an alternative, He still submitted to God’s will. Incredible!
3. The message of the cross is SACRIFICE
Before Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, the Jews were used to sacrificing perfect lambs to atone for their sins. In His death, Jesus, the “Lamb of God” paid that price once and for all, He “applied” His blood to pay our debt, like we apply a voucher code on Amazon to pay for our goods.
4. The message of the cross is VICTORY
Jesus disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Colossians 2 verse 15, This means that today, we don’t fight for victory, but we fight from a position of victory!
5. The message of the cross is LOVE
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3 verse 16
6. The message of the cross is WELCOME HOME
With “Arms wide open!” Jesus sent a message to the world: “Welcome HOME!” Even in his dying moment, He invited a criminal on the cross next to Him to eternal Hope and an eternal future. Is today an opportunity for you to accept the invitation too?

Matt’s final prayer is this:  If you pray it for the first time now – please get in touch with us – we’d love to help you on your journey of faith.
Lord Jesus – thank you that you died for me on the cross. Thank you for your suffering and your sacrifice – it made a way for me to be free and forgiven. Today – I accept your offer of salvation and welcome you into my life. Thank you for saving me, and welcoming me home today, and for my eternal future. Help me to follow you Jesus – my saviour and my Lord. Amen
To watch the full talk go to: https://fb.watch/uJgumSldjo/

Message Title this week is: “There’s no place like home!” – the famous quote from Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  Matt talks about why “Home” is so important from a broader perspective.
Psalm 84 says:“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” and: “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!” The writer is clear that God’s presence is something he longs for, and uses a picture of a sparrow that makes its nest in God’s presence – and what a privilege that is!
Matt shares 3 progressive thoughts:
Home is where God dwells: Psalm 84 paints this picture so beautifully.  In the Old Testament, this was the Temple – but Jesus described the Temple as the Father’s House, so therefore…..
Home is the Father’s house: Where is the Father’s house today? We find the answer in 1 Cor. 3;16-17: “Don’t you realise that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” God’s church is the Father’s house. And therefore:
Church is Home. What does that look like?  We had 3 great descriptions from Michelle, Alyson and Gisela!

Church is made out of people, and we’re all broken and imperfect, so it follows that “church” won’t be perfect either.  But, we describe how Church should represent “HOME” for all of us and for those who have yet to find Jesus.  Psalm 68 says: “God sets the solitary in HOME.” (ESV) 
PRAYER: Lord Jesus – we pray that our church will continue to be HOME for those who need to find your presence and know the Father’s Love for them.  Amen!