Talks

After last week’s “dip” into the BAD NEWS (The valley of sin) Matt talks to us about the “Crux of Salvation” in the third part of our Romans Series. He reminds us that salvation can only be understood and accepted if the principle of sin is clear: We have all fallen short of God’s best for us. If left without God, we’re all bad people doing bad things. BUT NOW (!!!) God has shown us a way to be made right with Him”. Romans 3:21
How is this possible? How can a just and holy God declare sinners righteous?

Paul illustrates this to the Roman church in 3 ways that help them understand:

1) Slave Market Freedom: Slaves were common at the time and could only gain freedom if that freedom had been bought for them. They never had the means to be able to pay for themselves. So when Paul describes Jesus death as the payment that set them free this would have been dramatic! “He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins”. Romans 3:24

2) Temple Sacrifice: The Roman culture included a whole host of religions that required sacrifices to atone for their sins. Paul refers to these and clarifies that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient once and for all: “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood”.  Romans 3 vs 25 - “Instead of you paying the gods, GOD literally pays for you!”  It’s amazing!

3) Law Court Justice: Even though we know we’re guilty, we can hear the “not guilty” verdict from the judge of all judges: “God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus”.  Romans 3 v 26

Matt shares the story about the potato famine in Ireland where some Tenants requested the cancellation of their debt as they were in no position to pay it. Rather than letting them off the hook as that would set a bad precedent, the landlord sent them a cheque that covered more than their debt. He paid for their debts!  Jesus did the same for us in His death on the cross.

How can we receive this free gift of salvation from God? “We receive God’s free gift of Grace BY FAITH.” Romans 3:22 We can do this by simply praying:
Lord Jesus, I recognise that I am a sinner and fall short of your best for me. I repent of my sin before you today. I receive your free gift of salvation by faith today.  I choose to put my trust in you and build my life on your promises for me.

In the second part of our Romans series, Zoe speaks about the big “valley” before climbing the mountain (title picture on Andres Ollerton’s book): The Valley of “SIN”.
Sometimes we have to face up to the BAD NEWS before we can step more fully into the GOOD NEWS.
In the book of Romans, Paul doesn’t hold back about how bad the culture in Rome was. (See Romans 1:18-32.)
The passage starts with mentioning the “Wrath of God”: God’s anger and fury are not unhinged, saved up for judgment day, seeking revenge. It is a righteous anger, God’s response to sin.

Paul states that everyone, whether a Christian or not, has an inbuilt moral compass – a sense of right or wrong. The people in Rome led a lifestyle that was not God’s way. They rejected it and exchanged God for “idols”. Our lifestyle might not be the same but the principle is still true for us today. What are we exchanging God for? Everybody worships something, it’s the way we are made, the people in Rome worshipped idols and statues that represented gods. We might not do that today, but we can easily worship the gods of our culture.  Wealth, careers, material things, comfort, sex and pleasure.  Anything that absorbs our time and our focus.
As a result, God reveals His wrath: He allows our desires to become “over desires” and sometimes even to develop into an addiction. God doesn’t want to see our destruction, but by leaving us to experience the consequences of our choices, He allows us to see the stark contrast between living our lives God’s way or not.

The church in Rome was a mixed bunch of people. Some were Jews and some converted Gentiles. Having followed all the Jewish rituals all their lives, the Jews could have easily felt that Paul wasn’t addressing them – after all they had followed the Jewish laws all their lives.  However, Paul doesn’t let anybody off the hook. Just like them, we often feel we are ok, but are we really? Don’t we sometimes judge others thinking that we are better? But when we judge others, we condemn ourselves. Romans 2:1-3

Here’s the BAD NEWS: which was true for the church in Rome and true for us today.  “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” 
How do we respond?
A mark of spiritual maturity is to become more aware of our shortcomings and acknowledge that we all desperately need “saving” from sin and ultimately from ourselves.  Until we reach that point we can’t be ready to accept the Good News.
What are our idols that may have found their way into our attention and affection?  (Even good things must never replace our desire firstly for God Himself.)
Do we tend to judge rather than look at ourselves and our own sin?

We finished with a prayer of David: (Psalm 139)
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Matt introduces us to a new series: “Romans!”
Why Study Romans?
“All roads in the Bible lead to Romans”. (J I Packer)
“I was not a Christian, but when I had finished reading “Romans” I felt compelled to become one”. (Sir David Suchet)
“If the New Testament were the Himalayas, Romans would be Mount Everest. And the highest point of it is chapter 8.”
Understanding Romans – helps us even understand the rest of the BIBLE!
What did it mean in the original context?
The author of the letter “Romans” was Paul the Apostle and the writer was the Scribe Tertius. We believe that the Bible (including Romans) was inspired by God, making it more powerful than any other writing in history. The letter was written to the Christians in Rome, likely several groups of Christians who met in homes. Paul mentions 27 people by name: the letter was written to people Paul had a relational connection with, some were close friends and others had been with Paul as he faced trials, even prison! They represented a very diverse group of people: there were Greek, Latin and Jewish names, some of them were wealthy, others poor, and some even slaves. Some had Jewish backgrounds, others were Gentiles, including men and women. Paul writes to all of them and lists them alongside each other disregarding all hierarchical and patriarchal structures.
What does it mean for us in our context today?
The church should be Home for everyone!
Paul’s letter is still relevant for everyone!
The content of the letter is THE GOOD NEWS: Jesus! Paul says: “It is my job to share this good news and it is now yours as well. I am not ashamed and neither should you be!” We believe it is still powerful GOOD NEWS TODAY!
Death and sin have been defeated by Jesus (the Saviour) and now new life and eternal hope are on offer. This is the Good News of God.
The reality of our dark world is bad news, but Jesus’ GOOD NEWS shines all the stronger in it.

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.