Talks

Gill continues our descent down the mountain to the very bottom - MISSION.
So much gold in this message.  If you missed it, grab a cuppa and click the link below and catch hold of the MISSION we are called to, which Paul encourages us through the words in Romans 15 and 16.  Gill reads from The Message paraphrase which starts like this…..

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

Gill refers to the culture of “one anothering” - serving each other, preferring one another. Being more like Jesus.  Mark 12:30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

Gill challenges us on being a Church for those OUTSIDE of the Church.  How do we make our differences smaller?  Gill has an image of a “Glitter Ball” you see on a dance floor - how we represent all of the tiny mirrors which together reflect LIGHT which spreads out - WE SHINE OUTWARDS! Bringing God’s Kingdom near to those OUTSIDE!

Gill continues our descent down the mountain as she unpicked the clues that Romans chapters 13 and 14 give us about how to live in COMMUNITY.
The descent can be the most dangerous part of a mountain excursion as it is very easy to trip up. Climbing up is optional, but coming down is mandatory.

Paul who lived in a very different world to ours, (a cruel world under Nero) addressed the Roman church with incredibly wise and challenging words: “The authorities have been established by God. Just love and keep loving, Jesus is coming.”

There’s always a cost to radical Kingdom living. Here in the UK we are allowed to speak out against suffering, the cost to do that is relatively small compared to when Jesus went to the cross and hung on it willingly despite His power to change this at every given moment: That was the most powerful outliving of love ever!

Here, Paul is addressing Messianic Jews and converted gentiles who each had their ways. The same is true today in our Ashwood Church: We are a very diverse, glorious church and we all have our ways. We need to accept diversity to enhance our unity. Be who you are and let other people be who they are so we can all shine our individual colours together.

As described in the last chapter of Andrew Ollerton’s book: Some things like the good news of Jesus being the way and to accept Him as our saviour as the way to our salvation we should hold tightly: these are the things that hold us together.

Other things like whether we should wear hats or not, have loud or quiet worship etc. we should hold lightly: these are things that don’t really matter.

Gill’s message earlier in the year about “one-anothering” fits perfectly with today’s message. If we learn to “one-another” well, we can shine our light.

Bob continues our descent down the mountain as he explores all that Romans chapter 13 had to share about our DEVOTION.
Over the last 12 chapters, the Apostle Paul helpfully shared with the church in Rome all about God’s goodness, sovereignty, mercy and forgiveness, and then he hits the church on the head all of a sudden with a “Therefore”!
Now comes the time when we have to do something about all the information that has gone before, and we are issued with a much needed “therefore”, what are you going to do about it?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God”
There were three key points that Bob helped us to explore
That a changed mind results in a changed life – That we need to be in the middle of God’s will, stand against the pressures of the world, and live in the light of His mercy.
That we are servants in God’s family – Each of us have gifts that we should use freely to serve and honour others.
That we are called to be servants towards our enemies – Living radical lives of hospitality, humility and forgiveness, living lives that show the difference that Jesus makes, but not being a doormat!
All in all, Bob reminded us that relationship with God is key to all of this, and it is through our love and devotion to Him that we are able to be transformed.
Therefore we need to renew our minds, serve one another and overcome evil with good.

Zoe talks to us about the “MYSTERY” we find in Romans chapters 9-11.
We should never expect to understand everything! – God is loving, kind, all-knowing but He is also mysterious!  There will always be an element of Mystery.

We need to remember that when we stand on a mountain and are surrounded with clouds: The view is still there whether we can see it or not. The same is true with God: He is still the same praise-worthy God, whether we understand everything or not.

On these 3 chapters, Tom Wright said: “There are more problems in Romans Chapter 9, 10 and 11 than a hedgehog has prickles!!”.

The Apostle Paul wrote about the confusion and controversy in Rome in order to create unity. (Zoe explains it really well – please listen again!)

Zoe summarises her talk with the following points:

-God loves us, even when we don’t reciprocate or choose not to follow him

-If we feel forgotten, God does not forget us

-God calls us to love our family, friends, neighbours and be passionate about seeing them know Him too

-It’s God grace that saves us

-We are all chosen for purpose

-We can all step outside of God’s purposes and mess up

With the new shoots grafted into an old olive tree, Paul paints a beautiful picture: Both the gentiles (us) and the messianic Jews (Jews believing in Jesus) are grafted onto the old olive tree of the people of Israel to bring it back to life.

Matt picks up “SEASON 2” of our Romans series that we started before the Summer.  We continued with the Mountain Analogy and Matt is excited to speak from Romans Chapter 8 “The Summit of Hope!”
Andrew Ollerton says: “I believe our fragile, anxious culture needs Romans Chapter 8 more than ever!”
Why? Because Romans 8 gives us a breathtaking view of our lives:

1) There is no condemnation! “We’re not condemned under the penalty of sin and we are also no longer ruled by the power of sin.”

2) We’re adopted as children and heirs! “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory!”

3) We have a future hope! “We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.”

“We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them!”

Nothing can separate us from the love of God and this amazing hope!

Bob brings us the third part in our series on “Resilience.”

Speaking on the passage from Ephesians 3: 14-19, Bob explores Paul’s prayer to the church in Ephesus and how we can learn some top tips for being resilient today.

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

1. Pray First! Assume the best posture.  Set our posture right - a posture of prayer.
2. Resilience is best done together!
3. Trust Him to hold it! Jesus is in charge!
4. Resilience stems from rootedness.
5. Focus on the problem solver and not the problem.
6. Take a step back and rest in His presence.

Matt brings us the second part in our series on “Resilience.”

Jesus told His disciples that “living water” would “flow” from within them!  If that’s still true today, then could it be possible for God to be the source Himself that we can learn to locate within us, and provide the resilience He intended for us to have?

John Eldredge says: “The nature of true resilience – something imparted into our being by the God who created us.  Resilience is not gutting it out; it is not roughness and toughness.  Resilience is imparted into our humanity as our entire being comes into union with God.”

We have 3 parts to our being:

The Shallows – Characterised by the distractions where we spend most of our life!
The Midlands – Characterised by what Jesus called “the cares of life” – deeper concerns, heartaches, the challenges of life.
The Depths – What David called our “innermost being”.  The essence of who we are.
We live most of our life between the shallows and the midlands, but we all have an “innermost being” – the question is how much attention we pay to it.  “Our souls were never meant to carry the weight and the sorrows of the world – only God can do that.”

Through a practice called “Benevolent detachment”, we can become untangled from the shallows and the cares of life and find the presence of Jesus in the depths of who we are.

Matt mentions the “Pause App” and a 30 day programme towards Resilience – things that have helped a number of people in Ashwood.  Take a look if you’re interested.

“Lord Jesus – we give everything and everyone to you! Make my heart more and more your HOME! Amen.

On the same day as our Vision offering for our NEW ASHWOOD HOME – Matt finishes part 3 of our series on our ETERNAL HOME.

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that “God has planted eternity in the human heart.”  So many people believe that there is some kind of life after death.  Why? Somehow, whether people believe in God or not, we all have a sense that we were made for THIS world but also Made for something beyond this world too.

Matt talks about 4 things:

The greatest STOPOVER.  Our final destination is the NEW HEAVEN and the NEW EARTH – but before then the bible authors tell us that we will wait in “paradise” or “present heaven”.  The place where God is now, and where all the people have died are waiting until Resurrection day – after Jesus returns.
HEAVEN’s REWARD Scheme. Although we arrive on earth with no material possessions and we can’t take any with us, it’s clear that the way we live will have a bearing on our life beyond the grave.  (2 Corinthians 5 verse 10)
Reward for FINANCIAL CHOICES – Luke 18 verses 22-30 / Matthew 6 v verses 20-21
Reward for PERSEVERANCE - 2 Timothy 4 verses 6-8 / Matthew 5 verses 11-12
Reward for SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM - Matthew 6 verse 33
Reward for SHEPHERDING GOD’s PEOPLE - 1 Peter 5 verses 2-4
Reward for OUR WORKING ENDEAVOURS - Colossians 3 verses 23 – 24
Your Future’s Bright!  What’s the Difference between A Christian Believer and A Non Believer? Paul tells us that Christian Believers – don’t live without hope! 1 Thessalonians 4 vs 13-18
Orienting Ourselves around Heaven – Jesus encouraged us to be thinking about Heaven every time we pray!  Remembering that our FATHER is in HEAVEN right now, and that our goal and our desire is to see more of the realities of HEAVEN (God’s will) here on earth as it is in HEAVEN.  So let’s set our sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. Colossians 3 verses 1-2

Whether News is Good is dependent on who you are. For example for some, the fact that they get up only twice in the night is good news, but that might not be true for others.
The Good News (or Gospel) Bob talked about is Good News for EVERYBODY.

The story is all about Jesus. It doesn’t end with Him dying: Death could not hold Him, He rose!
Why is this good for you?

It is a story of hope, redemption and restoration
It is a testimony of sacrificial love and companionship
It is inviting us into a relationship
It is for all people
No matter where you come from, or what your past looks like, Jesus says: I love you!

Baptism is celebrating Jesus and declaring our faith, knowing that we are part of a story that goes beyond all circumstances as described in Colossians 2:11-15 and John 3:16-18.
Saying Yes to Jesus has eternal consequences!
Now let us shine our light because our lives are the biggest reflectors of His love.

Gill talka to us from Revelation Chapter 21 - written by the apostle John who had a vision from God seeing forward to the end of our world as we know it now!
She explaina that it’s not easy to understand – partly because it was written originally in secret code because the church was in danger!

John has a vision of our future home.
This has always been part of God’s rescue plan for us!:To one day create a “New Heaven and a New Earth”.

We will become new creations, with new resurrected bodies, still the same people, somehow recognisable to each other. We’ll have the same soul.
The outlook is very very good!  There will be no evil, pain, tears or death but peace, wholeness, healing, thriving, satisfaction, restful pleasure.
There will be work - but it will be enjoyable, fulfilling and with purpose. And in the centre will be God living there alongside us.

“Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  (Revelation 21 verse 3)

Jesus said that He will come back for us, and if He says He will, then He will. Peter said: ‘The day of the Lord will come like a thief’ and Jesus in Mark 13 - ‘Only the Father knows when that day will come’
So we need to be alert, on guard and be ready for it.

The early church lived as if that could be tomorrow which helped them be faithful in the face of persecution.

Challenge (and inspiration) for us before the “age to come”:
We need to get our perspective on what is eternal and not on the things of this world.
Hold possessions lightly and Rejoice because suffering is only temporary.
We should pray ‘Your Kingdom Come’, but we can also play our part by bringing the kingdom of God now, by the way we love each other, our neighbour and the stranger.