Talks

During “Fostering Sunday” we heard from Zoe about the work of 100 Homes and the need for foster carers in our region.  If you want to find out more about fostering you can!  Head to https://www.100homes.org.uk/

Zoe then spoke to us in our Series “Who do you say I am?” on the topic of Jesus the Restorer.

Reading from John 21:1-19 Zoe read the amazing story of an encounter the disciples had with Jesus after His resurrection. They were lost, broken and had likely given up hope, going back to what they knew, their life before Jesus as fishermen.

Jesus met them and restored them in three ways:
- He met them when they were fishing asking them to cast out their nets. This was reminiscent of when they first met and followed Jesus, he was bringing them back, restoring them to when they first met him and decided to follow him.
- He invited them to share a meal with him, inviting them to bring the fish they brought, showing he still needed them and their gifts, and restoring his friendship/relationship with them through eating together.
- He ‘broke the bread and shared it with them’, bringing them back to the Last Supper, where it all started to go wrong for the disciples. He was restoring them from their mistakes and forgiving them.

He then had a beautiful conversation with Peter where he asked, ‘do you love me?’ three times, restoring Peter from the three times he had denied him on the night Jesus was arrested. Peter was frustrated by the repetition, but Jesus knew exactly what was needed for restoration. Jesus loves repetition and wants us to come back to him again and again in the same ways, declaring our love though prayer, spending time with him and daily practices. It’s in those moments that Jesus can restore us from pain, shame and struggle. Daily restoration!

We are often brought to our lowest moment before moments of restoration, God works in our weaknesses. When we are struggling we can ask Jesus: “What is your restoration plan?”

Jesus definition of restoration is not just bringing back to where we were before but doing something new. Peter in this moment was called to ‘feed the lambs’, to replace Jesus as the shepherd and become the new head of the church. Jesus is always restoring us into something new, bringing truth from our heads to our hearts to equip us for what’s next.

He calls us to BECOME restorers, stepping into the mess of other peoples’ lives to help restore them too. This can be hard and painful - Jesus told Peter at this moment he would be killed for following Jesus! - In fact following Jesus is always hard - but we have to give up our lives to gain our real lives in Jesus. And when we suffer for following him, he will restore us again! A beautiful cycle of restoration into all Jesus has for us!

What an amazing Mini Conference we had!  Sunday Morning was also Session 3 with input from both Paul and Perrianne Brownback.

Session 3 (Sunday morning) focused on Jesus’ “wild” appearances after He had risen from the dead.  Imagine what it must have been like for the disciples to see Jesus again, after the trauma of watching Him die and be taken from them.

What do we learn?

Transformation: Jesus is the same, yet different
Recognition: Many don’t recognise him at first
Embodiment: He eats, shows wounds, speaks peace
Mission: He commissions his followers every time
Presence: He’s no longer limited by time or walls

Perrianne talked specifically about Thomas.  People often call Thomas “doubting Thomas” – but maybe he should really be called “over-thinking Thomas”. He needed to see proof before he could believe that Jesus really had risen from the dead.
Jesus graciously creates a moment where he can prove to Thomas, and shows him what he asked for.  (To see Jesus’ wounds) It was Jesus’ PRESENCE that convinced him first.  Often we’re looking for proof that Jesus is real and exists today (which is fine!) but sometimes the proof comes when we experience Jesus’ presence.  Let’s ask for that!

In the next part of our series “Who do you say I am?” the answer is something that Jesus said about Himself:  I AM the Bread of life.

Paul points out that whenever Jesus says “I AM” the people of Israel heard Him say: “I AM GOD” as they were reminded of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush in Exodus Chapter 3 verses 13-14.

Paul explains that when Jesus said I AM the bread of life, the Israelite people would automatically think back to when they relied on God to provide Bread from Heaven (Manna) for them to survive.  Paul made some interesting comparison between the 2 stories in Exodus and the Gospel of John:

A large crowd follows both Moses and Jesus to see the signs and wonders they do
In Exodus, the people eat Manna in the wilderness - in John’s Gospel, Jesus feeds 5000 in the middle of nowhere
(There are 12 baskets left over - one for each of the12 tribes
Both Moses and Jesus go up the mountain
Moses leads his people through waters (of the Red Sea), Jesus walks on water and takes his disciples to the other side of the sea
In both stories, the people grumble

Manna and Jesus (bread of life) also have many parallels:

Both are miraculous provision
Both are sent from heaven
Both keep us going in the wilderness
Both are needed daily
Both demonstrate God’s faithfulness
Manna gives temporary life, Jesus gives eternal life
Manna needs to be eaten, Jesus has to be received

Jesus was saying that the people needed to feast on Him now and he would not only sustain them now (on earth) but also provide them with eternal life (beyond the grave).

The challenge for us is that we feast on “Netflix” and snack on Jesus! What would it look like for you to feast on Jesus daily?
Daily prayer?
Silence/solitude?
Reading the bible, especially the 4 gospels?
Listening to worship music?

Easter Sunday - and Matt continues the series - Who Do you say I am? JESUS IS THE SAVIOUR
Matt describes God, and the fact that He isn’t like other gods… unattainable, out of reach… He doesn’t want to be distant… He wants to be close to you! He wants you to know His presence, enjoy His presence…. know the joy and delight of His presence.. but there’s a problem… a big problem… You CAN’T!  There is a BIG CHASM!  A huge gap between us and God - and this gap, this chasm, this gulf is the reason we NEED Easter.
JESUS came to save humanity from: danger, ruin and defeat.  The world desperately needed a Saviour! And that’s the reason for EASTER and the reason why Jesus came!
Who do people say I am? The Answer for Today: JESUS IS THE SAVIOUR
We all need a Saviour!  Jesus is not just the Saviour but the Risen Victorious Saviour – rose from the dead and defeated the grave!
Jesus is THE Saviour – but have you accepted Him as your personal Saviour?

If you’d like to speak to someone, please email admin@ashwoodchurch.org.uk and someone will be in touch.

Gill brings us the 6th part of our series “Who do you say I am?”, elaborating on Jesus being our servant.

On Palm Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and only a week later his resurrection from the grave. It doesn’t leave us a lot of space in between to reflect on Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, his non-surpassed act of service.

Phil 2:7-8:
He made himself nothing
  by taking the very nature of a servant,
  being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
  he humbled himself
  by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!

It was because of his love for us (you!) that Jesus volunteered for / chose to walk this unbelievably painful path of service.

There in the garden of tears
My heavy load he chose to bear
His heart with sorrow was torn
“Yet not My will but Yours”, He said

Easter is not just a personal, but a corporate thing: Jesus died to show us how to live with each other.
In John 13:1-14 we read about Jesus washing his disciples feet, a job normally done by a servant. He invites us to do the same for others.

So let us learn how to serve
And in our lives enthrone Him
Each other’s needs to prefer
For it is Christ we’re serving

This is our God, The Servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King

Claire continues our “Who do you say I am?” Series and explains what it means that “Jesus is our warrior”.

In this life, we find ourselves battling with all sorts of issues: relational, financial, physical, psychological, spiritual issues and the list could go on. When we think of warriors, we often think of battlefields, swords, shields, and strength.  We see epic battle scenes in famous films like Braveheart, Gladiators and Lord of the Rings.  BUT Jesus is a warrior of a different kind.  His battle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness, sin, and death itself.

We can know that Jesus not only fights our battles, but he has already won the victory on the cross:
Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15

But we need to play our part as well. How? Paul encourages us in Ephesians 6:10-17 to put on the full armour of God, to stand against the devil’s schemes. This armour includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We get dressed physically every day - but are we also grabbing our armour?

In the film “The War Room”, Miss Clara teaches Elizabeth how to fight a spiritual battle:
“In order to stand up and fight the enemy, you need to get on your knees and pray”.

What battles are you fighting in your life today?
How do you see Jesus fighting on your behalf?
What prayers are you praying in your War Room?
What are you telling the enemy he can’t have?

Matt continued our “Who do you say I am?” Series and brought us PART 2 of “Jesus is a Friend.”

Friends of Jesus:

The disciples: Jesus says in John 15:15-16 I no longer call you servants….. Instead, I have called you friends…  They would have known Jesus has Rabi or Teacher but in this moment – Jesus was calling them FRIENDS!
Mary, Martha and Lazarus: Jesus empathised with them, ate with them, wept with them and loved them. Often meeting with them in their home, to relax in this intimate setting.
“Friend of sinners” – For example Zacchaeus! Zacchaeus was a tax collector for the Romans who cheated people out of their money.  Which meant he was despised by all the Jews in his community, yet Jesus singled him out, knew his name and invited Himself to eat in Zacchaeus’ home.  He does the same for us too!  He knows you by name and whatever you’ve done or haven’t done – he wants to come to your “HOME” today too!
Matt sang to us!  An old children’s song.. that finished with the line: “He (Jesus) wants to be your very best friend….”  He explained that he used to think that Jesus being our friend was something to learn in Sunday school, and maybe even rather “twee” but as he’s got older, come to value friendship as one of the most important things in his life. Why?
He said: “Close Friends are people who….

... I can trust deeply…
... understand me…
... “get” me…
... are in for the long haul, are loyal
... celebrate the goods time and cry with me during the struggles…
... give me the assurance that I am known and loved….

A new realisation that these qualities are also exactly the reason that we would want to know Jesus as OUR friend too today!  Earthly friends will let us down, Jesus never will.

What does it look like for you to have a friendship with Jesus today? Why not ask Him!?

Gill spoke to us on Sunday in the next part of our “Who do you say I am?” series – “Jesus is a Friend.”

She started by recognising the that God was speaking prophetically in the meeting to all of is to reiterate that we are all “Known and Loved”.

She used the incredible passage where Jesus is speaking openly and honestly to His disciples before He goes to the cross.  (John chapter 15.)  The Disciples knew Him as a Rabi, leader and teacher but in this episode, He tells them: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

The difference between servants and friends was stark.  A servant doesn’t know his masters business, but a friend does.

The ultimate act of friendship, Jesus describes in the passage is to “lay one’s life down for one’s friends.” Of course this was extreme, but would be the very thing that Jesus went on to do.  This act of friendship was based on the selfless love – Agape – which Jesus demonstrated throughout His life.

Gill shared her own personal story, of how Jesus spoke to her as a 14 year old.  He said 2 things:

1. You will share this story with a 1000 people. (Which, looking back she has now done…)

2. “I will always be your friend”  WOW!

Jesus know does the same for us.

Gill used the words of the famous hymn:

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?

Bob explains in the second part of our series “Who do you say I am?” what it means when Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd”.
Sheep are defenseless, dependent and often in danger.
A good shepherd will protect, nurture and know their sheep by name.

Will you let Jesus be YOUR good shepherd?

He will know your name:
John 10:27-28: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

He will protect, nurture and provide for you:
Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

He knows the best way for you:
Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Matt begins a new series based on Mark 8, where Jesus asked his disciples “Who do people say I am?” and “Who do you say I am?”
Part 1 “Who do you say I am?” - “Jesus is Lord”
John the Baptist had come to announce the coming of the “LORD” (John 1:19-23)
When he was asked who he was, he didn’t want the attention for himself but for Jesus:  “He (Jesus) must increase… I must decrease.”
Proclaiming “Jesus is Lord!”
This way of describing God was first revealed by God Himself to Moses when God introduced himself as “I am who I am”. This word is translated in Hebrew as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”, and today in our bibles as LORD.  It was a very a personal name, used only for God. A name so sacred and holy, the people of Israel didn’t even want to say it out loud.

When John prepared the way for Jesus, he was introducing to the world the face to go with the name “Jehovah / Yahweh” whose sandals John didn’t even feel worthy to untie.

Calling Jesus ‘LORD” was radical and dangerous in the culture at the time: Only Caesar was to be called ‘LORD.’

But declaring “Jesus IS Lord” is different to saying:  ‘Jesus is MY LORD’
What does it look like for Jesus to be Lord of MY life?
Are we ready to give up control, allow Jesus to guide the decisions in our life?
If life is a car, is Jesus in your boot (comes out only on Sundays!), in the back seat (a passenger!), in the front seat (a companion) or in the driving seat?
Or even if he is in the driving seat… are you still a “backseat driver?” telling him what to do or complaining about where he takes you? (J John)
To let Jesus be Lord of my life is a decision to be made every day. We can do it only because Jesus loves us, knows what best for us and that we can trust him.
“One day all knees will have to bow and declare him Lord, but for now we can choose to!” Phil 2:9-11