Being Spirit-filled is fundamental (who we are) and foundational (how we build and grow together) for us as God’s people. The House of the Spirit is being built by the Holy Spirit, using living stones, each of whom He wants to fill with the fulness of Christ. In this message we look at the practical implications of this for us all, and each of us personally, by considering the three main aspects of the ‘fellowship of the Holy Spirit’ (2 Co 13:14) – communion, community, and contribution.
As we continue to discover more about our identity as followers of Christ, now that we are new creations, we see that thankfulness is something that we can now have, and can see more of, in our lives. Colossians 2:6-7 tells us that thankfulness is actively grateful language, an act of worship, and something that can overflow in our lives, in order that we come into the fulness of Jesus! In this message Benj unpacks this and highlights 7 things that thankfulness does in our lives.
God doesn’t want us to be barely alive – He wants us to be “fully” alive. We read in Colossians 2:13, you were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. We can achieve this by Let (ting) your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:7)
Are you alive this morning? We don’t need to, and must not keep having “an event” to be barely alive – an occasional shot in the arm, the occasional defib! God doesn’t want us to be “roller Coaster Christians. But instead to put on your new nature, and be renewed “as you learn” to know your Creator and become like him. (Colossians 3:10) “As we learn – it is a process and a journey, to become better, stronger, faster
Together around tables we take a further look at the ‘envelope’ and start of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, uncovering some of the heart of the author and the nature of this young church; seeing that we too are a holy family, in Market Harborough, in Christ, set apart for God and specially useful to Him for such a time as this. We are qualified by the Father, secured in the Son and equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit!
As part of our series ‘For Such a Time as This’, we consider the first generation of Christians. In Acts 1, Luke tells us that as the risen Jesus prepares to return to His Father, He shows them what the Kingdom of God means, He tells them to do nothing without the Holy Spirit, and it quickly becomes apparent that every single one of their small number was necessary for the Mission which lay ahead. As our world today finds itself in a state of ‘permacrisis’, God’s unshakeable Kingdom arises, and He is calling us to embrace the moment for which He has shaped us!
In Colossians 1:27 we read that God wants everyone to know an amazing secret – if we choose to follow Jesus, He comes to live inside us and comes to transform us so that we are more like him every day. In this message we look at what it means for Christ to live in us; the same Jesus Christ who was there at the very beginning of the bible, the Jesus who is God and desires to be with us! We look at how he raises us to life and how we can experience his presence, his purpose, his provision, his peace and his power.
As we kick off a new series looking at the books of Colossians and Ephesians, Stephen takes time to read through the 4 chapters of Colossians. We look at the major themes that we find in the book and discover some of the things that will help shape our lives as we dive deeper into the series!
We’re delighted to have our good friend Arne Skagen with us sharing the Sunday message. Arne shares about how we can all live life in The Spirit and tells stories of people who have encountered Jesus and experienced the new life he brings.
We are called for such a time as this, and this is the time for obedience! Obedience isn’t a fashionable word, it’s not a word that many people would list as a good quality, but God is our shepherd, our master, our God. He deserves and expects an obedient heart that translates to obedient actions. In this message we’ll consider these things and how practically we obey God’s word and His Spirit.
Do gatherings of the church really matter? If so, why? We look at some of the things that happen when the family of God meet together.
Jesus promised He would build His Church (Matthew 16:18) and in Acts 2-3 we get the first wonderful glimpses of what it looks like! Here too we discover the kind of church that must arise in the nations “at such a time as this”. It’s secure, relational, generous, exciting, simple, powerful and miraculous! And it’s growing every day, because its members take the blessings they enjoy out into the world around them. The call to the church (our church, your church, His church!) at a time of gathering gloom for so many is to “arise and shine” (Isaiah 60:1) – and in this message we consider what that means for us in practice…
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