Talks

This week Andy talked about the Practice of Serving as an essential part of being spiritually rooted. He underlined the fact that his message was NOT a recruitment drive for new volunteers, but rather recognising that part of the process that God uses to develop our maturity in becoming more like Jesus (especially more loving) is formed and developed in us as we serve our family, our church and our wider world.
Using insights from John Mark Comer, Andy highlighted four key themes of serving:
Love - Serving is fundamentally an expression of God’s love through us to others, motivated not by obligation or a desire for recognition, but fuelled by our own gratitude for God’s love and the way that Jesus laid down his life for us.
Hiddenness - Hidden acts of service test and purify our motives.  We don’t serve for public approval or affirmation.
Availability challenges us to be “interruptible” and willing to prioritise others’ needs.
Kinship calls us to step beyond our comfort zones and build relationships with those outside our usual circles, especially with people who are not like us. (Challenging)
Whilst this talk was about “serving” being a vehicle that God uses to form us to become more like Jesus, Andy concluded that there are many additional benefits: For example serving others can be: Fun, Enjoyable, Fulfilling, Purposeful, Enriching, Encouraging (for us and others), gives us new experiences, gives a sense of belonging, taking responsibility, meeting people and building community!
Let’s consider the ways we currently serve, check our hearts and our motivation and ask Jesus to help us to use our serving to help us become more and more like Him!
If you would like to find ways of serving within the church, please contact one of our team leaders and they will be happy to have a conversation with you. (See website for more details.)

Paul and Zoe continued our Rooted series – speaking about the Practice of Community.
This is the idea that in order for us to be formed more like Jesus (our goal) He uses other people in our lives to challenge and shape us.  They highlighted how our western culture promotes individualism, which can often lead to loneliness and isolation. They quoted Joseph Hellerman: “We either grow together or we don’t grow much at all.”
They looked at 4 areas that help us develop this practice. (Based on teaching by John Mark Comer)
-      Be family around the table
-      Share joys and sorrows
-      Confess sin
-      Be Committed and stay together to grow
They also addressed barriers such as busyness, shame, fear and unrealistic expectations. Shame often causes people to hide, but healing comes through vulnerability, compassion and confession within loving relationships. Real community requires intentional commitment and sacrifice.
Finally they talked about David Kim’s five practices to help go deeper in relationships —priority, chemistry, vulnerability, empathy and accountability. (For the full explanation of each listen again on the link below)
Paul and Zoe acknowledged that none of this is easy! It comes with practice and intentionality. LifeGroups can be a part of the practice of community, but other ways too. Let’s explore together how we can go deeper in relationships that will “form” us more and more into the person of Jesus.

In our Rooted Series Matt talked to us about “Remaining Rooted” with lessons from the life of David. Before he was a king, a warrior, or leader, David was a shepherd whose roots were planted deeply in God. He had seasons in his life of great sadness, greif and anguish, as well as plenty of victories and celebration.  So how did he remain Rooted and described as a “Man after God’s own heart.”? 5 things we can learn.
1. Develop intimacy with God in the quiet place. David learned to know God in the solitude of the fields before he ever stood on a battlefield. A rooted life begins with personal time in God’s presence, where faith, dependence, and trust can be
2. Build deep faith and trust in God. David’s confidence before Goliath came from years of seeing God’s faithfulness in hidden places. When life’s giants appear, rooted faith enables us to stand with courage, knowing the battle belongs to the Lord.
3. Practice regular repentance. David failed greatly, but he never stopped returning to God. His honest repentance restored his joy and kept his heart soft. Remaining rooted means continually receiving God’s grace and forgiveness.
4. Maintain loyal and faithful friendships. David’s relationships with Jonathan and his mighty men show that no one remains rooted alone. God strengthens us through faithful friends who encourage, challenge, and stand beside us in every season.
5. Stay hungry for God. David’s greatest desire was always God’s presence. More than success, power, or comfort, he longed to know the Lord. Remaining rooted means choosing, day after day, to put God first and make Him our deepest pursuit.
Like David, may we develop deep roots through intimacy, trust, repentance, friendship, and a lifelong hunger for God. When our roots are secure in Him, we can stand firm through every storm and bear fruit that lasts.

On Sunday Helen continued our “Rooted” Series and inspired and challenged us to think about the spiritual practice of FASTING. Helen explained that biblical fasting is about creating space to spend more time with God, replacing a meal or meals with prayer and becoming more dependent on Him for strength and guidance.  Sometimes people abstain from other things – like social media, or TV which can be useful – but Biblical fasting is understood to be going without food.

She shared some of the examples in the Bible of when people fasted in different ways. Jesus said: “WHEN you fast…..” not “IF you fast….” He seemed to be expecting His disciples would make “Fasting” a part of their following God.

John Mark Comer says: “Fasting and prayer go together. You can pray without fasting and you can fast without praying but when you combine the two, there’s a noticeable amplification of our prayer before God. This comes as no surprise since fasting is a kind of praying with our body. When the request of our heart is coupled with the yearning of our body, our prayer is purified and presented like a precious metal before our father, for him to do as he will.”

Fasting can help people hear God’s voice more clearly, strengthen their prayers, and help us to be aware of our sin, and repent before God. Helen shared a second quote from John Mark Comer:  “More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. Very few practices have the capacity to humble us as does fasting. When you begin fasting, it’s common to feel sad, even anxious, or just plain hangry. With regular practice, these feelings (mostly) go away and are replaced by joy, contentment, a sense of intimacy with God, and spiritual power.”

On Sunday morning Jools continued our “Rooted” Series and spoke about “Practising the Way of Scripture”.  He explained that the Bible is not just one book but actually a collection of 66 books written over around 1,500 years by many authors, but all of it breathed by God. He removed some of the myths that exist about the bible and reminded us that the Bible is one of the primary ways that we can hear directly from God as well as understanding His Way of living.
He spoke about his own personal experience of seeing himself in the words of Psalm 40.  Encouraging us to allow the Bible to read us, as well as us reading the Bible.
“He said sometimes one verse lived is more transformational than 100 verses memorised!”
He finished by explaining how we can use an ancient method of reading the Bible to draw close to God.
Lectio Divina:
Read just one verse aloud, several times.
Meditate – chew it over and think around it.
Respond – Ask God the question: What do you want me to do with this God?
Resting—Wait patiently and trust God.

Bec Goody encouraged us to see prayer as more than just asking God for things; she described it as learning to be with God so that we become more like Him and partner with Him in the world. (John Mark Comer)

Bec said Jesus prioritised prayer, often withdrawing to spend time with the Father, and reminded us that there is no “perfect” way to pray — the important thing is showing up consistently.
She spoke about four aspects of prayer:

Talking to God
Talking with God
Listening to God, and simply
Being with God.
Bec encouraged us to pray boldly, to bring our honest emotions and laments before God, and to trust that our prayers matter. She also explained that God speaks through the Bible, Circumstances, Desires, and the Prophetic. Finally, Bec challenged us to intentionally spend time with Jesus each day and practice being with God in everyday moments.

Matt started a new series in line with our theme for the year. Having talked about what it means to be PLANTED we’re now looking at how we should be ROOTED. Trees get their strength not from their height, their branches or even their fruit but from their roots.  Healthy Roots = Healthy (and resilient) Trees.
A key verse for this series: “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.” (Colossians 2 verse 6)
What does it mean for us to have deep roots in Jesus? That’s the question we aim to answer in this series.
Jesus talked to His disciples using a metaphor of a farmer who grafts branches onto a vine.  He explained (John 15) that He is the Vine and His disciples (now us) are like branches.  The source of our strength and everything we need is Jesus, (The vine)  we need to become fully dependent on Him.  So, “How do we remain connected to the vine?” That’s the other part we aim to answer in this series…. Join us on Sunday for the next part.