Family Church Guildford

My Story | 7th February 2021

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Sunday 7th February 2021 is My Sunday in Family Church. Today, after our Praise and Worship, three people give their story of how they came to know Jesus and how he has subsequently changed their lives for ever. Following this Pastor Andy interviews another church member as we discover how Jesus meets people in every walk of life, gives them peace, hope and love in an individual and wonderful way. The meeting today ends with opportunity for us all to resubmit our lives to The Lord and receive His Spirit.

Pause for Thought | Sean & Paula Finch | 31st January 2021

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The title for this week’s message is “Pause for Thought”. Pastors Sean & Paula deliver an action packed MUST HEAR message which recaps and rediscovers the messages from January 2021 so far. Personal anecdotes and Godly insight into the gradually building themes of Awakening the Sleeping, Set Apart, All in for God, and Being Used by God bring fresh revelation and challenge to us personally regarding the true nature of our relationship with God. As Paula and Sean speak of Jesus surrendering His life for us in the most demeaning way possible how can our response be other than to wholly be available for Him and for His glory on earth?

Used By God | Andy Elmes | 24th January 2021

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks about being used by God as we move out of the 21 days of fasting that began the year 2021. The set of messages so far this year have deliberately linked as God has inspired Andy in thought for this journey. God has awoken us and touched us with His Spirit, we made choices about being set apart for Him, we surrendered and submitted our lives unto Him and naturally now God wants to be able to use us………a wonderful destination to have arrived at in this early 2021 journey. Now our lives have become useable to Him as we belong to Him through the faith we set in Christ. We need to be ready for Gods purposes - Ephesians 2, v8-10 (NIV) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. So God had a clear agenda always to save us, set us apart as we are his workmanship in order to do good or noble works - God’s business on earth.

All In | Andy Elmes | 17th January 2021

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

This week Pastor Andy speaks of being “All In” for God. The message begins by recapping on the last weeks of prayer and fasting bringing fresh presence of God to our lives. Scripture tells us if we draw closer to Him, he will draw closer to us. Recent messages have spoken of awakening to God from our slumbers, being consecrated for Him, being set apart and being part of His family. Last week referenced Romans 12 verses 1-2 (NIV) “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God”. The Lord made us holy so He could fill us with His righteousness and Spirit! It says to be transformed by the renewing of our minds allowing the Word to renew what we think not about some things but all things. So having been awoken and consecrated will we live in submission to God, to the leading of His Spirit in our lives? Daily, we must resubmit our lives. Submission is not popular in the world but scripture endorses this for the best experience with God. James 4 verse 7 (NIV) states “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. Scripture also instructs us to submit to the authority of government as well - Romans 13 verse 1 (NIV) “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God”. God is a God of authority. Likewise we submit to our spiritual leaders – Hebrews 13 verse 7 (NIV) says “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith”. What causes us to walk in submission? Ephesians 5 verse 21 (NIV) states “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”. Our revelation of God will cause us to submit to Him but we submit to each other through respect for Christ. Submission is equivalent to saying “I am all in”. Jesus said to the Pharisee (Luke 10 verse 27, NIV) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbour as yourself”. That’s pretty much “all in”! All the great things that happened in the book of Acts happened because people were “all in” for God. His plans for us will not be fully evident if we are not fully “all in” for Him.

Set Apart | Andy Elmes | 10th January 2021

Sun, 10 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy again speaks of the breakthrough he believes will occur to us all in taking part in the twenty one days of fasting at the start of this New Year 2021. He speaks of the need for us to come before The Lord and rid ourselves of junk, pride and so forth, in bringing ourselves to God. Sometimes we need to rid ourselves of things first before we are able to come before The Lord. When we present ourselves to God, it is not the old but the new creation we present to Him. The blood of Jesus has washed away our past sins. Consecration is an interesting and important word if we live with Jesus. It means to be set apart. During Old Testament times it referred to material things being set aside, set apart for His use. Now it is relevant to us, God wants us he wants us to set our lives apart for His use. Consecration begins by us knowing we now belong to God; we have been set apart and bought at a price, by His own blood. Our lives are not our own. In 1 Corinthians 6 verse 15 (NKJV), scripture says “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” So we need to honour God with our bodies. Now we know and believe in the work of the cross, of salvation, we belong to the household of God. We need to understand this not through fear but from love. When we were our own we all messed up! Thankfully Jesus has saved us so this grace of God causes us to live a set apart life for The Lord.

Awaken the Sleeping | Andy Elmes | 3rd January 2021

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

This week Pastor Andy speaks about “Awakening the Sleeping”. He began by restating the invitation to a time of prayer and fasting for the first twenty one days of 2021. Fasting is not just about giving up things but being able to hear God in our spirits. Take moments not to feed our soul but our Spirits. Pray for our nation, our church, our families and ourselves. Laying aside things that get in the way of our pursuit of God will allow God to speak into our lives much more. God is in control! We should not be casual – it is vital we hear Him and see Him in our lives. We need an awakening in ourselves, in our nation, in our churches, so the hearts of men and women are awakened to the reality of God and His love.
Isaiah 60 speaks of days of great darkness but these announce days of great light…that break and penetrate darkness. Let us pray prayers of awakening, an awakening that comes from heaven. An awakening in the world must start from an awakening in the church. We long in this New Year 2021 to see moves of Gods Spirit that will draw the hearts of the lost back home. But we need this in our churches and ourselves first. We need to see a move of God and kingdom mindedness rising up in the courtyards of government and the nation. But first we need to shake off slumber and awaken to a new place of intimacy with God…..walking closely with God. Oh that the church would awaken to the purposes of God – the great commission. Our lives need to crave the intimacy of God and be busy with His purposes.
Romans 13, verse 11 onwards speaks of the time we are in and waking from slumber…. (NIV) “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh”.
Ephesians 5, verse 8 onwards encourages us regarding who we were and who we now are (NIV) “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light”. This talks about our intimacy with God and then in verse 14..” This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil”.
Only a person who is awake can awaken another, so we need to commit to being a people who are fully awake with Him. Only the prince of peace, the touch of the Holy Spirit will awaken us. Intimacy with God will awaken us for His purpose. We pray “Lord in these next twenty one days come and lean over your bride the church and awaken her from her slumbers, give her a fresh touch of your Holy Spirit to stir and shake hearts and let us all rise from any sleeping to seek your face in true devotion”.

Carpe '21 | Andy Elmes | 27th December 2020

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The week Pastor Andy looks back at the year 2020 and rather more looks forwards into the year 2021. Covid has stolen much of what we came to know as Christmas but as the 25th December emerged we were left with Jesus. Nothing had affected the fact that The Father has given us His Son to bring us back to Himself. As we stand at the door of 2021 we step out of a very unusual 2020. Although life has been hideous in some ways, elsewhere the church has blossomed for example in the small groups and community work. But we can look into 2021 with hearts full of joy rather than disillusionment because Gods word still stands. His promises remain true. He has plans for us, the church and the nation. We need to be committed to these plans as God rebuilds in 2021. Andy spoke about how we need to be ready to seize the day or even seize the year (Carpe 2021) to make full use and enjoy the new season. In Philippians 3, verse 13, Paul speaks of his life and forgetting what lays behind and reaching forward for what is yet unknown. Andy speaks about how we also need to forget the negatives and disappointments of 2020 and be found reaching forward for the plan God has for us in 2021. In the next few days we need to be getting our hearts afresh for 2021 and for what God wants to do in our lives. In Jeremiah 21 it tells of the plans God has for us….to prosper us and plans of future and hope. The year 21 is often associated with getting keys to the door. In Matthew 16 verse 19 scripture speaks of The Lord promising us the keys of the Kingdom. Keys which can loose things and also bind things. Here, Jesus was speaking to His Church. Immediately before this Jesus speaks about building His church. During 2020 we rediscovered a fresh approach ot what the church really was, certainly not a building. God is standing ready to build His Church in 2021 with spiritual keys that have the power to bind evil and loose Heaven.
Andy then spoke of the invitation for Prayer and Fasting starting day one of the New Year. A time to focus and pray for our nation, government, our church and be intentional not drifting as we commence 2021. Fasting takes prayer to a new level, it cannot be casual when we fast but intentional, releasing supernatural keys for supernatural breakthroughs.

Christmas Service - 20th December 2020

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week Pastor Andy speaks of how even when the most stringent government regulations appear to strip back everything many of us associate with Christmas, that the Kingdom of Heaven is not stripped back, and in many ways the true purpose of Christmas remains…as Jesus for us all to see. Andy goes on to remind us to have a listening ear and a warm heart for those around us, let us make sure no one goes without, no one feels cut off from the world. Stripping back the Christmas allows us to see more clearly the wonderful gift of God’s son given to us for our salvation, to give us eternal life. He is the true gift this Christmas. Jesus is the constant, the usual within these unusual times. Let us celebrate Him.

Arise and Build | Steuart Payne | 13th December 2020

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Following from last week’s message by Pastor Steve telling us not to shrink back, this week Pastor Steu addresses the subject of rebuilding our Christian lives. In 586BC the Babylonian army ransacked, set on fire and ruined the city of Jerusalem. But behind the scenes of the ensuing period of captivity God was at work. In a way, at this time we have also undergone a period of captivity where some of our freedoms have been removed. Using the Old Testament stories, in the book of Nehemiah and more, Pastor Steu prophecies over an incredible time of rebuilding in our lives just as the Jewish peoples did after their captivity in Babylon. The Temple was rebuilt, the city walls were rebuilt. We shall see renewed worship, renewed commitment to Jesus and that all ground that has been lost will be taken back. God is still at work!

Don't Shrink Back | Steve Carey | 6th December 2020

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week Pastor Steve Carey speaks with a title ‘Don't Shrink Back’. His word from God is like a set of antibodies similar to a vaccine to kill off disease in our lives and release back faith.
In Hebrews 10 verse 32, we read how the Hebrew believers were starting to ask questions about life as we might do now in 2020. The scripture goes on to tell us not to throw away our confidence which has great reward. We likewise must not shrink back in our lives.
In Numbers 13 the Israelites are on the edge of inheriting the Promised Land and send in spies to check things out…Caleb and Joshua come back positively, but the rest came back with reports saying the opposite – that the people inhabiting the land were stronger and not able to be defeated – they felt like grasshoppers among giants. They had shrunk back! - In vision, faith and speech. Do we feel like them in 2020? Are we facing seemingly impossible mountains? Let it not be so. Let us not shrink back and be empowered by the word of God and power of His Spirit. Some key things…Let us Believe Big, God has not changed in 2020, He is faithful, loving, pure and true, unlimited by anything including Covid! His plans are not limited, shrunk, interrupted, socially distanced etc. Ephesians 3 verse 20 tells us how He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above anything we ask or think! Heaven is not bankrupt!
In Proverbs 23 verse 7 we are reminded how we are what we think. This is challenging….maybe we need to think about what we think, taking our thoughts captive as per 2 Corinthians 10 verse 5. Let us not forget the basics.
Now let us speak big, not complaining, criticizing, not limiting what God can do through us. Great practical tip here is to speak the word of God out loud, declaring His truths and promises.
Also, let us Live Big again. Let us not shrink our lives, our social circles, our contributions to our church. Let us be givers rather than receivers only. Let us concentrate more on living what is best for Jesus, putting ourselves aside. The world of the generous get larger and larger… the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller (Proverbs 11 verse 24). Living with a generous spirit will cause our lives to change and we will not shrink back. Do we look to how God can bless us or how God can use us? The latter will cause the former. Let us this week set out to bless a few people in the ways we can and not shrink back in believing, speaking or living.

Global Sunday | Andy Elmes | 29th November 2020

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Sunday 29th November is Global Sunday, Pastor Andy Elmes has Ray Mills with him who has recently returned from the mission field in the Philippines with his wife and children. Today we are focusing on the global aspects of what Family Church is doing across the nations, as a local church but with a global vision. A video compiled by Ray showed many of the missionary peoples and their families and gave us wonderful insight into their work, their situation and cultures. After watching the video, Pastor Andy chatted with Ray about his time in the Philippines. Ray spoke of the isolation that many missionaries feel when communications are poor or their lives are distracted. Pastor Andy encouraged all of us to be focused on supporting the world wide activities of God as well as our local tasks with our prayers, our communication and our giving. Our missionaries are an extension of our church family and do not, cannot, operate alone.

The Lord Has Need Of You | Andy Elmes | 22nd November 2020

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy’s message this week begins by recounting the story In Luke Chapter 19, verse 28, and the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. However, the key here is the part where Jesus sent two disciples on ahead to locate and untie a colt that had never been ridden. He told them to say that “The Lord had Need of it”, if anyone should ask why they were taking the colt. Jesus sat on the donkey and people shouted their praises for the miracles he had done as he rode into Jerusalem….a famous bible verse. As Pastor Andy explained, this must have been a pretty amazing time for the disciples – feeling they were about the steal a donkey but apparently Jesus knew the plan for this all along. In effect, Jesus had set the donkey free from being tethered….because he had a plan for the donkeys life…to carry The Messiah.
Jesus had sent His messengers on ahead carrying a message of freedom for the donkey; it was to be untied from all the things that had held it, no longer captive, no longer a slave. In the same way, Jesus has a purpose for our lives and can set us free from everything that has been binding us. But what will we do with our freedom? Jesus has a purpose for it that brings fulfilment, alternatively we can do nothing. Just as in Luke 19, we too have a purpose in life and can carry Jesus to others. The Lord has need of us! He needs us to be a soul winner, a carrier of His presence. Jesus wants us to use the freedom he has given us to take His presence to our friends, families, neighbours and so on. Someone will have been the ‘donkey’ who brought Jesus to us. They cared enough for us to make sure we spent eternity with God. God now wants to use our lives to bring freedom to people in our circles from everything that binds them. The Lord has need of us for this purpose. Will we join Him in this great Commission? If we want to get the zing back in our Christian lives then we need to start telling others about Jesus. God needs our availability not ability. Are we available?

Keeping it Simple | Andy Elmes | 15th November 2020

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week Pastor Andy speaks about “Keeping it Simple”. He begins by recounting the story in Gospel of Mark, Chapter 7, Verse 1 where Pharisees came asking Jesus questions about religious practices, ceremonial washing, and other traditions. Their question was based on an understanding of the law & religion only. Jesus told them in no uncertain terms that their hearts were not where their lips were, that they were hypocritical! Jesus told them they had let go of the commands of God and were holding onto the traditions of men. There is a dichotomy between the religious do’s and don’ts and a simple relationship between us and The Lord. This simple relationship is what Pastor Andy was reminding us of today.
Walking with God is meant to be a heart thing, a relational experience, quite simply. Adding religion to a walk or a desire for God turns the simple into something complex and confusing. We need to purpose in keeping our walk with God as simple as the first followers of Jesus did. Religion leaves us confused but relationship with Jesus leaves us fulfilled.
Pastor Andy referred to the industry wide KISS principle – Keep It Simple, Saint! We are not to get bogged down missing the point. The relationship with God is not complex - in fact it is profoundly simple. Pastor Andy has three words to guide us through these Covid times and other circumstances (like the prime minister’s podium strapline has been). These are Love, Obedience and Faith.
Love, First Book of Corinthians Chapter 13 reminds us of the qualities of real love, this is the love of God defining who He is. Verse 2 reminds us we have nothing without love even if we can move mountains, have all knowledge. Other verses tell us we can do all manner of wonderful things but they are worthless without love.
Obedience is the true expression of our love. Gospel of Luke Chapter 6 and verse 46 is profound - it says ‘you call me Lord but you don’t do what I say’. Recognising the Lordship of Christ is simple but we confuse it with manmade issues. In a love relationship with God we are joined at the branch of his love and the natural expression of that should now be in the heart of one who was once rebellious. The favourite word of all Christians should be obedience. There are great consequences to obedience and also disobedience…Obedience means living in accordance with His Word.
Faith to really believe as the scriptures tell us many people did like the Father with his mute child who came to Jesus immediately after the transfiguration in Gospel of Mark, Chapter 9 and Verse 17. The Father cries out to Jesus saying “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” then Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit in the boy. All things are possible to those who believe. Jesus told blind Bartimaeus, “your faith has made you whole”, after he healed his sight……
Pastor Andy spoke about how God brought us into a love relationship not slavery….he never brought us into something we were not meant to enjoy. Jesus loved us first and we did nothing to deserve it. So this week we need to just concentrate on loving at God loved us, being obedient to his word and having child-like faith. The bible says we are saved when we place faith in Jesus Christ.

Remembrance | Geoff Wood | 7th November 2020

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

After a particularly poignant live remembrance service today, Pastor Geoff Speaks on the subject of Remembrance. Geoff looks back not only at what our service men and women have done for us but also what Jesus has done for us on the cross. All of us are in daily battles, some we fail to recognise. We often sit and recall events of the past so Remembrance is part of life’s journey. However we need to bring back into that Remembrance some of the things God has done in our lives and the victories overcome. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to bring into our minds such things. We all face physical, mental and spiritual battles….. Then we need to hear the word of God in our lives today. Geoff continues to speak of us having a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit in our lives in order to live the abundant life God intends. The enemy comes to steal and destroy with anxieties, fears and troubling thoughts. The decision is ours though….to look towards our Father and choose to believe Him over our circumstances.

Into The Harvest | Andy Elmes | 1st November 2020

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy’s message speaks this week about going into the harvest. Andy speaks today as his new book Soul Winner is launched [soulwinner.co.uk]. This is a crucial time for us to understand the importance of salvation on a person’s life. Pastor Andy has authored his new book to mobilize and equip God’s people to be harvesters in their daily harvest, in their local Jerusalem. In these unprecedented times, God is still God, he is still our shepherd and is still holding our hand. We need to comprehend the times we are in from a biblical lens and then be active in responding to what God needs us to do. This may be ministering to people’s needs as well as ministering to God….the two great commandments! We need to be God’s light in moments of confusion ready to step in and help people navigate through their storms. However, we must not forget that the greatest need anyone may have is salvation, as this impacts them eternally as well as on earth immediately. Mark 8:36-37 instructs us it is no use for man to gain the whole world but lose his soul. All of us need to be ministers, introducers of Jesus to friends, family and those near to us. The Harvest is calling and we must go.

Walking with Jesus - Jesus the Good Shepherd

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy continues speaking about walking with Jesus, this week Jesus the Good Shepherd. Last week we looked at Jesus the Lion of Judah as well as being the Lamb who was slain to take away our sins. The bible has portrayed Jesus in many differing ways each declaring a special part of who He is ….Son of God, Prince of Peace, Lamb of God, Lion of Judah, bread of life, the True Vine and the Good Shepherd.
In the Gospel of John Chapter 10, many verses are devoted to Jesus being the Good Shepherd. Verses 1 through 6 speak of us knowing the Shepherd’s voice, how the true sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Further verses speak of Jesus being the gateway to God’s field. We can enter relationship with God, come into his field of safe pasture through Jesus only. Verse 10 also speaks of the enemy, the bad shepherd whose only purpose is to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus, the good shepherd is here to give us life in all its fullness. Verse 11 tells us that the Good Shepherd lays down his life for us. In Verse 12 we find that the hireling is not the shepherd who owns the sheep so will abandon us in the face of trouble….a wolf attacks and scatters the flock of sheep in the face of a hired hand because he has no regard for the flock, he is just a hired hand. In Verses 16 to 17 scripture speaks of a gathering, the plan of God for us – bringing the different cultures into the same ‘sheep pen’, one kingdom.
In the Old Testament God also reveals Himself as a shepherd. In Ezekiel 34, the first ten verses rebuke bad shepherds of the day (we still have them now!). Verses 11 through 16 prophetically speak of God being the Good Shepherd in our lives, enabling us to lay down in good rich pasture (sheep only lay down when they feel no fear). This refers to us having a sense of well-being and safety, as we should feel with God at the helm of our lives.
David’s Psalm 23 reveals the same things God revealed to Ezekiel earlier. God has our back; we just need to ensure we are listening to His voice, not the myriad of others trying to deceive us. Scripture is so powerful Pastor Andy ended the service with every home reading this scripture out loud.

Psalm 23 (NKJV)
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Walking with Jesus – The Lion of Judah

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Walking with Jesus – The Lion of Judah. Pastor Andy shares today from lessons, experiences and thoughts from his recent missionary trip to Zambia where he walked with lions!
Before you walk with lions you need to be a member of their pack. This means going behind them and submitting to their pace. Also, letting them let them know you are there. In Daniel Chapter 6 there was a scary moment for Daniel in the pit with lions - but he knew the greater one the creator who made him was with him. Andy became conscious of the majesty of the lions when walking with them. Jesus is the Lion of Judah but also the Lamb of God. In Revelation 5:5 scripture speaks of “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed….” then in verse 6, reference to the Lamb who was slain.
We need to know that Jesus is both the lion and the lamb. Seeing Jesus as a lamb is vitally important but we need to be able to relate to him as the Lion of Judah. Both these descriptions fully relate to Him. Proverbs 30:29 speaks of the Lion being majestic in pace and mighty among beasts.
When it comes to walking with Jesus, we also need to avoid familiarity, keeping an awe of God in our hearts. When walking with a lion it’s important not to touch its head or mane as this represents its authority. So even though we are heirs to the throne and can walk in friendship we should never be over familiar with The Lord. We need to walk with a healthy honour and respect in our lives for Jesus, carrying reverence in our hearts.
Additionally we need to walk in step behind Jesus, as you would do if walking with lions. We are followers of Jesus, as a follower we do not push in front. However, as followers, we also do not shrink back! If we shrink back and don’t keep being part of the pack, we lose our safety from being with the mighty lion of Judah.
Galatians 5:25 (NIV) tells us “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. If we do this no matter what storms come along we have safety and victory in our lives.

Knowing How to Navigate the Storm

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks about Storm Management - Knowing How to Navigate the Storm. Last week Pastor Andy spoke about Jesus being in the boat of our storms. This week carries on reading from Psalm 46. In verse 10 the bible tells us “Be still and know that I am God”. This means let go of our striving and lean back into the Lord to experience stillness in the midst of storms, surrender our anxiety. Pastor Andy carries on from last week with four key things about storms we may all face.
Firstly storms come in many forms – health, physical, mental, emotional, relational, financial, and spiritual, but Jesus is in the boat of all of these even if we face many at a time.
Secondly, storms may come from different places – ourselves if we acted wrongly, the devil (but we do have authority to rebuke these!), even God might originate a storm as in Jonah Chapter 1 because Jonah was walking in disobedience and God wanted him in his perfect plan for life.
Thirdly a storm we experience may have a purpose attached to it. If from the devil it’s to steal kill and destroy, perhaps to prevent you benefitting others. In Mark 4 &5 we see the purpose of the boat crossing the Sea of Galilee was to relive a man possessed by a legion of devils.
Fourthly, to create simple faith in Jesus. Maybe faith isn’t effective or powerful until it’s all you have. Luke 10:19 clearly states that we have been given authority over all the works of the evil one. God is waiting for us to realise who we are in Christ, see that the keys that were stolen from Adam by the devil have been returned to us through Jesus. We must stand in the boat of our lives and speak the word of God because we have authority to do this.
We do need to seek repentance, forgiveness, if necessary and also make sure our perspective on our storm is appropriate…..many people will be experiencing far worse. Life needs to be more than about our boat purely so we must be ready to assist and help others. These are all opportunities for outreach ministries. When we help other people with their storms, God will take care of ours. Proverbs 10:25 (TPT) states “The wicked are blown away by every stormy wind. But when a catastrophe comes, the lovers of God have a secure anchor”.

Know Jesus, Know Peace

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks this week on “Know Jesus, Know Peace”. There are many storms in our loves right now so knowing Jesus and having His peace in our lives is really important. This is increasingly a time of anxiety and worry and people are experiencing uncertainty and pressure in aspects they used to have security in. The natural response here is fear.
Just because we are believers and followers of Jesus does not make us exempt of storms in our lives. Jesus never took us out of the world when we were saved so we're going to experience and encounter things that the world experiences and encounters, but our experience in these storms should be a different experience. We are part of another kingdom, an unshakable Kingdom. Hebrews 12 says that everything that can be shaken will be shaken….this is happening now!
We need to be making sure that our feet and lives are grounded in this unshakeable kingdom. God is our refuge and our strength. That's the truth but the truth is being tested in our lives today. God is our ever present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46). Therefore, we will not fear……
A very important fruit of the Holy Spirit living in us is peace - not the world’s peace but the peace that passes all understanding. In Mark’s gospel, the story of the disciples being in the boat with Jesus in a storm is recounted. A great storm rises up and it causes the disciples (even though they had the presence of God in the boat) great concern. The waves began to crash and break against the boat so that it was nearly swamped as Jesus was in the stern of the boat sleeping on a cushion.
We are not exempt of storms around us, but we are different because we have Jesus in the boat of our lives and we can likewise have God’s peace in our lives which passes all natural understanding during stormy times.

Missional Church

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks about us being a Missional Church. Recently back from a trip to African nations, he is keen to impart his experiences.
We need to shift our thinking from being church attenders and church members to be missionaries. Right now, the world is crying out for truth. For those of us who are followers of Jesus, we have the answer! As we move forward into whatever this journey we're taking together looks like, we would dare each of us to think more missional. Let's not be caught up in an attendee way of thinking. There's no lock down on us being missional. So let's begin to turn our focus and shift on reaching people. This is a challenge to our hearts today! If you send Pastor Andy who's been unable to travel for six months to Zambia and place him in front of two hundred odd hungry missionary guys, you're going to have an explosion! But that explosion wasn't just for them. It was for all of us. I came back feeling enthused. What if we change the way we see ourselves and become a missional church more than we've ever been before. We are all missionaries in the places we live, work and relax. This is the challenge!

Learn From Jesus

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Learn from Jesus is the title for this week’s message given by Pastor Steuart Payne. Lockdown and loss of weekly gatherings has presented many challenges, the loss of God’s presence in a large meeting possibly the greatest. The need for our own personal relationship with God is now paramount. In Matthew 11 Jesus speaks of taking the yoke from those who are heavy laden, giving them rest. There are two actions we must take daily – coming to Him and learning from Him. Jesus is the one who releases us from every burden including all our sins. We need to draw close to Jesus, opening our hearts to the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s role is to lead us and teach us every step of way as we make the choice to walk with Jesus and couple ourselves to him. Sometimes ignorance, laziness, fear of losing control or pride makes us unteachable but we need to walk with and learn from Jesus every day, not just hang out with him occasionally.

Jesus Centric

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks about Jesus being the centre of our lives, being Jesus Centric. Jesus deserves to be central to everything we are and everything we do now. We can look at an example of a person being egocentric where they are self-centred believing everything involves around them. But for followers of Jesus, He is to be the centre of all things in our lives.
But we've sung more recently where it says Jesus at the centre of it all …..It’s a great song but we have to ask ourselves a question: Is that more than a song in our life? Is Jesus the centre of it all? Is He the centre of our relationships, finances and our view on things happening in life? Romans 11:36 (ESV) says “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” speaking of the supremacy of Christ.
In reality, we need to divide our lives up into sections or subcategorize things so that we can begin to ask ourselves honest questions. He should be central to our Gospel message when we're sharing the gospel which should be Jesus centric not work centric based upon what people do or how people perform but Christ centric. All roads do not lead to God.
There's one way to Salvation. There's one way to remove the separation between God and man and that's through Jesus Christ only. Acts 4:12 bluntly states (NIV) “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved”.
Jesus went to the cross, shed his blood for our sins and caused a divine exchange that made the guilty innocent. Christ alone did this. Christ Jesus is the key component causing a person to be saved. Salvation is not possible without Jesus.
Worship is an expression of our Salvation to the one who saved us - an expression of thanksgiving and gratitude to Jesus. We turn our eyes in worship, bringing our adoration. Let's start a worship revolution and get our eyes back on Jesus. Let's get Jesus centric again and say Jesus my worship may be out of tune, but it's all for you! Let's be Jesus Centric in our worship. The simplest of songs sang out of tune but dedicated from an earnest heart to the one who is seated on the throne are the songs that change the atmosphere. Be encouraged to be a worshipper not when you gather with others. Psalm 22:3 (NIV) says “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises”…..Jesus is enthroned in our praises again.
Jesus Christ deserves the throne of our lives…..the central place of our lives where everything comes from, everything comes through, and everything returns back to him to enthrone. The key question is however …Who is sitting on the throne of our heart today?

Seeing Jesus for who He is

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The title for this week’s message by Pastor Andy is “Seeing Jesus for who He is”. This is in theme of celebrating our children. Matthew 19:13-15 (NIV) says” Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there”. Maybe we do not prevent children from coming to Jesus physically but perhaps by not allowing them to have real encounters with Jesus. We can learn from watching the way children are with Jesus. They have no agenda, but a child-like purity. In Matthew 18 Jesus tells his Disciples that if they want to become great in the Kingdom, they need to become child-like (not childish!) in our approach to God. When we are walking with the Lord, we need to have a child-like faith in acceptance of what he says. Adults often become sceptical but this robs us of receiving Jesus, but Jesus actually encourages us to be child-like in their approach.
Children see and want Jesus for what He is. Often we see and want Him for what He can do for us! We need to see and know Jesus for what He really is. Jesus is a God of much more than what we usually see Him for. Even during Jesus time on earth, people missed Him because He was not what they were looking for. When the Messiah came, many could not see Him as He didn’t look like they expected or do what they thought He ought to. Such preconceived agendas are only one aspect of a hugely bigger God. The children of Israel in Exodus 24 were busy melting jewellery to make a representation of God as they wanted; meanwhile Moses was on the top of the mountain having a life changing experience!
Many of Gods people could not see Jesus even when he was in the room with them as they were looking for a warrior character to overthrow the Roman Empire. Others looked for a ruling king like King David to rule as he did, but rather missed the point that Jesus’ throne was a heavenly one! Being saved from their own sins was more necessary than being saved from the Roman rule but this passed them by. Even after Jesus had died and risen before their eyes (Acts 1) the disciples ask if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Their preconditioned thinking was of a Messiah coming to overthrow natural rule, missing the point of who Jesus was and why He had come to earth. Even John the Baptist got confused for a while because what Jesus was doing didn’t register with his expectations - (Luke 7:19 NIV) says “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” John had also thought Jesus should be overthrowing Rome, not sitting with children, healing people, forgiving sins.
Children tend to have an attitude of “we want to know you as you are”. Adults tend to want to fit Jesus into their self-made boxes. Jesus was God on earth, the full and total manifestation of everything God the Father was and is. Colossians 2:9 (ESV) states “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily”. Jesus is not just a representative of heaven; He is the fullness of God in every respect. All we need to know about God we can see in Jesus and His Word. Let us see Jesus for who He really is. Let us have a child-like faith and a child-like approach.

What is true repentance?

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy asks us “What is true repentance?” Recently we have focused on the gospel message, salvation, transformation, evangelism, believing and communicating the gospel. Communicating the message of Jesus is the key evangelistic activity. True salvation will allow God to move in someone’s life in a transforming way. This is often based on the decision made at the time of accepting Jesus. The difference between belonging to God and experiencing life change depends on whether true repentance has occurred.
Repentance needs to be part of our invitation we make to people when giving the gospel message. The word must be understood correctly. It’s an invitation to come into a life better than anything known before. Jesus calls people to repent. Luke 13:3 or Matthew 4:17 (NIV) says “From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."” In Luke 5:32 Jesus calls sinners to repentance. In Acts 2:38, Peter preaches a similar message to that of Jesus “Repent and be baptized……”
What did Jesus expect of someone who needed to repent? Old Testament repentance is more about feeling of remorse and regret. Wikipedia aligns with New Testament thinking and suggests that repentance as taught in the Bible is a call to persons to make a radical turn from one way of life to another. The repentance (metanoia) called for throughout the Bible is a summons to a personal, absolute and ultimate unconditional surrender to God as Sovereign. So New Testament meaning of repentance includes sorrow and regret but includes a 180 degree turn from self towards God. Changing the way we think to bringing into alignment with Gods will brings the transformed life. The dual action is ‘turning from’ and also ‘turning towards’. Without the ‘turning towards’, we are left in no man’s land so to speak. The speed of this ‘turn’ determines the transformation experience.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) illustrates this “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. God is willing to forgive us when we turn away ‘from’ (self) and ‘towards’ (Him). There needs to be an absolute turning from our will to God’s will for our life. This is almost a reverse manoeuvre from that of Adam in Genesis when Satan deceived him. Our prayer of salvation needs to include a turning away from our way and bringing our will into God’s will. Then we will fly and soar in our lives. If we are willing to change the way we live and think our lives can change beyond our imagination. We also need to be able to apply forgiveness and grace to someone who has turned away and towards. Romans 2:4 tells us that it is God’s goodness and His Kindness that causes a person to repent.

Sharing Jesus with Confidence

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Steve Elmes (Andy’s brother) speaks about Sharing Jesus with Confidence. Steve says that he finds God is speaking the same thing across the whole people of God, so coming from Bookham Baptist Church, this message is totally in line with our current journey. Sharing Jesus with others is a key thing and our attempts can have varying success. Scripture is the greatest teacher; in John 4, Jesus shares with a Samaritan woman. He begins by asking the women for a drink. This is an act of friendship and breaks through the Jew/Samaritan barrier building a relationship lovingly (as is the gospel itself). Jesus then artfully interacts with the woman in a respectful way.
The four qualities of conversation are to listen, to notice, to serve and to wonder. To listen well is really crucial. If we listen well, we will notice and will then be able to serve or pray for people. Sometimes we need to remember we are just a link in the chain of bringing someone to Christ. We need to learn from Jesus about the art of conversation. There are ways of going deep with a person by wondering rather than interrogating…..much less confrontational….
We can also notice if we listen well, notice the tone of someone’s words and this can open up a conversation. This may give us an opportunity to share about Jesus. The story we all have to tell is an amazing one. Our personal story of how grace came to us and how God filled our lives is a key one. Knowing the whole story allows us to bring connection to someone else by bringing them to part of it.
Situation is important too. We don’t speak about Jesus in a vacuum. Often it starts by “how are you in this situation”, perhaps, lockdown….etc. If God has placed us in a situation, God will use us there too, however unsuited we may feel.
Without the Holy Spirit there is nothing. We speak Gods work by the empowering presence of Him in our lives. In the story of the woman at the well, Jesus has a supernatural insight into the woman’s life and this opens the women’s heart. We are all called to live in the power of the spirit as Jesus did. The company of God, the presence is God is vital. Jesus told people to wait for the Holy Spirit before going out. As we begin to use spiritual gifts and insights we will not always get it right nor necessarily be successful first time, but God does also always use our mistakes! Sharing Jesus belongs to all the people of God. The words “Soul Winner” are for all of us.

What do you believe about the Gospel?

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week Olivia Elms asks us a key question – What do you believe about the Gospel? This is not what we have heard, or think, but what do we truly believe about the gospel. Many versions of what the gospel means exist for many people, but what does this mean for us? What we think can be fleeting but what we believe models our lives as deeply rooted convictions. What we believe determines our responses, rather than what we think. Romans 1:16 (NKJV) states “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek”. This is powerful! The gospel is the power of God to salvation for believers. It is not a story but the power of God and hence a call to action. We can know a lot about the gospel but it’s not until we believe with our hearts that our lives change. Do we know what we believe about the gospel? This is important. Sometimes we live in a glass box and we hear and know about the gospel but do not let Jesus into our lives because we have not believed His gospel message. The glass boxes need smashing! Are we hot or cold for Jesus? There is no middle ground or sitting on the fence. At some time we need to make the decision to believe the gospel for ourselves and become saved in reality. The gospel is a story of God’s love for us, a creator God loving His masterpiece of creation. But sin entered the world through Adam. Sin payments were made all the way through the Old Testament but the full payment was made by Jesus’ blood as He was sacrificed on the cross. John 3:16 (NKJV) says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. Note this does not say that God tolerated the world or similar words; it is an expression of His love. It also tells us that salvation comes from believing, not doing or anything else, solely believing. This is why the question about what we believe is so crucial. It is a call to action, what do we believe? All roads do not lead to God, only Jesus leads to Lord God. We were created for relationship with God. Let us make the decision to start this relationship with God.

Are we Believers or Disciples?

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy asks if we are Believers or Disciples. There are similarities but great differences between the two. In Matthew 28, the Lord asks us to be a going people, to make disciples, not just to be saved. Help the people to learn of me, believe in me and obey my words and observe my commands….are words from the Amplified version of Matthew 28. So we are to go and make disciples and teach people to obey Jesus commands. Believing is having faith in something or someone. Believing in God is a powerful thing but even demons believe in God also! - James 2:19 (NKJV) “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” So God does want us to experience the powerful salvation which comes from believing….. But also more……. being a disciple as well. In believing, lives are saved but not transformed. When lives are positioned as disciples, followers of Christ, transformation takes place. It’s an ongoing commitment to the work of the Holy Spirit within. Unlike the thief on the cross next to Jesus, we do have time in our lives for the Holy Spirit to change us. Moving from being a believer to being a disciple was Jesus’ plan in order to transform lives. This is what he called us to be. Believing is not the final thing! Jesus ministered not only to many crowds but also to his disciples when he was not with crowds. Crowds maybe are there for what they can get but disciples are there for what they can become. Being a disciple means becoming subject to the disciplines of the person you follow. A life being transformed will always involve a level of discipline in order to cause the changes required. God calls us to be subject to His teachings and truths. Do we want our lives to adhere to Jesus’ teaching? The bible calls all believers to achieve Christ-likeness choosing discipleship over pure membership. We need to let Jesus train us or disciple us into a better way of living. This means living in the Word allowing the Holy Spirit to challenge us and moving from being in a crowd experience about God to being a follower of God. Believing is belonging but disciplining is submitting, allowing changes to occur, daily. When we are living in the Word of God we will be transformed – Romans 12:2 (NKJV) “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. Our thinking will be challenged and our wisdom altered, this needs to be our prayer. We must exchange incorrect philosophies for correct ones. Colossians 2:8 tells us (NIV) “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ”. The Passion Translation colours this in with even greater clarity in modern day English “Beware that no one distracts you or intimidates you in their attempt to lead you away from Christ’s fullness by pretending to be full of wisdom when they’re filled with endless arguments of human logic. For they operate with humanistic and clouded judgments based on the mindset of this world system, and not the anointed truths of the Anointed One.” So we have a choice as believers, carry on as we are or turn to God and choose His wisdom to operate in inside us. This means we redefine our belief system in accordance with Jesus words. As Jesus said, disciples live by and are obedient to His words (he was speaking to Jewish believers), read John 8:31 (NIV) “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples’”. So Jesus was speaking to people who were saved telling them they needed to hold true to His words. The same is true for us in order to be disciples.

Transformation not Modification

Sun, 02 Aug 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks about Transformation not Modification. Last week we heard personal testimonies about how God had changed people and transformed their lives. We can only manage modification but God produces transformation – God on the inside of us changing us totally from the inside out. This is not behaviour modification. God does not just save us but also change us from the inside out, just as in a metamorphosis (a change from one form to another).
Much of religion only has a gospel of behaviour modification yet the gospel of Jesus Christ is about God coming to live within a person’s life transforming them. Whether instant or process there is always a starting point. In Luke 19, scripture recalls the life of Zacchaeus, a thief wanting to give back to those he stole from……this was an instant encounter with God that transformed a life. In Acts 9 there is a moment where Saul a serial killer is transformed ….a light shone, he fell to the ground hearing a voice calling him. He asks who calls and hears “I am Jesus who you persecute”…. Later he becomes Paul but from that moment everything became different, a transformed life.
Transformation can be instantaneous but also ongoing as well, even if started by a single event, perhaps when we received The Lord. As we commit to living a life of “abiding in Him” (John 15) then there is an ongoing transformation. Many disciples had this type of change as they walked with Jesus over time. There can be moments but as we commit to walking with Him our lives will be transformed.
His presence, His Spirit and His Word will transform us daily as we walk with Him. This is still His plan to transform us as it was during biblical times. When we love the presence of God, things that are wrong cannot remain.. deceptions, stubborn things! The bible says we are transformed by His Spirit - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NKJV) says “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”. The Holy Spirit now in us causes the transformation in our lives and moves us from glory to glory to be more Christ like. Often this is ongoing when we don’t realise it. Also His Word, the supernatural living words cause everlasting change.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV) says ”And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. This renewing of our minds comes from reading His word. The Passion Translation embroiders this text further… “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes”. WOW! The Holy Spirit and The Word almost dance together inside us to make changes from the inside out. ….The word of God and The Spirit of God were present in creation (Genesis). What for us? We can only manage modification. God does transformation – which occurs when we choose to yield and submit to Him. All we must do is yield and obey….not purpose in our hearts to do what we wish to do but yield to the Holy Spirit and the Word. Obedience is key and produces fruit. Let us be hungry for God and His change in our lives.

This is My Story

Sun, 26 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This Sunday’s broadcast was titled “This is My Story”. An exciting Sunday's broadcast where we heard from individuals about how their lives have been transformed by God! Several testimonies from Family Church members about how God has impacted their lives and changed them personally gave gripping insight into how God transforms from the inside in a relational way.
Following this, Pastor Andy spoke briefly about transformed lives, people encountering God from the inside out, not outside in as religion tries to. Real lives welcome the opportunity with Jesus and consequently have their lives changed. The bible is full of such stories, especially in the gospels; how Jesus met the lady at the well whose life was out of control, when Jesus met the religious Nicodemus (a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin) and answered questions leading to his life changing.
Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1) was a tax collector and a thief, but he wanted to see Jesus. Being not too tall he climbed a tree to be able to see Jesus pass by. Amazingly, Jesus tells him to come down immediately and tells him he wants to come to his home. People saw that Jesus was a guest of a sinner, not preaching, but only sitting eating with Zacchaeus who consequently says he will give half his money to the poor and repay people four times anything he had robbed them! Jesus announces how salvation has come to Zacchaeus’ house, how the Son of man has come to save to lost.
It’s a great story as Zacchaeus would not have wanted religion, being a tax collector he would have seen such people as hypocrites…he must have been amazed when Jesus stopped, looked up at the tree and said “today I want to come to your house”. We note Jesus did not preach to him or tell him off for his sins; just being in the presence of Jesus was enough to cause the transformation of Zacchaeus life. Previously he had been a thief, now he wanted to recompense everyone! In the moment of encounter with Jesus everything had changed, just as we heard from other people today during the service. When you really meet Jesus, everything inside you changes. Suddenly the life that matters breaks out and relationships begin. God is an incredible God, still changing lives in present days just as in biblical times.

Abiding Presence

Sun, 19 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks about being a people of presence and harvest for The Lord. We are a community of people who love and honour and have regard for the presence of God. Exodus 33:7-11 looks at the relationship Moses had with God under the old covenant and describes the Tent of Meeting where Moses would meet with the Lord in an intimate way. Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshipped God. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterwards, Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent (he stayed to get the remnant of God’s presence).
So Moses had a designated place of meeting with The Lord, away from others, however other people benefitted from his time with The Lord. Moses would receive all he needed and also all he needed to lead other people, it was a relational not religious place, much as in the gospels where Jesus went away to be in the presence of The Father and receive all He needed.
Moses (and Joshua) loved the presence of God, experiencing life changing moments. What Moses wanted most was the presence of God. Exodus 33:14 tells us that true rest is found in the presence of God. Verse 16 (NIV) is challenging “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” It is the presence of God that distinguishes us from others in the world, so if we do not walk in the presence of God we are no different to anyone else.
Today we are in New Covenant times; we are able to know the presence of God in a greater way as God has achieved more for us through the blood of Jesus. The Old Covenant was about tents and temples made by man where the presence of God could be found momentarily. All these were just shadows of what we can now know. The New Testament does not say we meet Jesus in a temple or tent but that God is within us. Our lives have become temples and tents of meeting with God!
Paul speaks to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV) “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Likewise for us, God is not waiting for us to meet with him in a temple or tent somewhere. God has now come to live in the presence of our lives. Also in 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV) Paul tells the church “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” This is as true for us now as it was for the early church then. However, we are not in the days of Moses; The God of outside of us also dwells inside us through the Holy Spirit. We need to realise this and glorify God in our bodies.
This is the revelation within this week’s message from Pastor Andy - Moses experienced moments of presence but we are to know abiding presence.
Each of us who have accepted Jesus has been made holy and righteous through God’s son-ship. We have been made so holy that the Holy Spirit would call us His Temple. Christ prepared our lives for the abiding presence of God in our lives just as the Tent had to be prepared for the presence of God in the Old Testament. We have abiding presence. He never leaves nor forsakes us. We cannot underestimate the value of this. The same presence of God that Moses experienced in the Tent is available to us every day.
John 15:4-5 (NIV) tells us “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”. So if we are abiding in Him we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us. Let us do three things:-
• Realise His presence in a greater way, have the revelation He is with us changing our lives. In 1 Samuel 3, Samuel is lying down inside the temple near the Ark, God calls Samuel and he says ‘here I am’. But God didn’t call from anywhere; he was already in the building. God spoke from the presence that was already there. Likewise, for us now, we have God in the Holy Spirit temple of our lives and he can speak any time.
• Take and make time for His presence. Wherever we go, He is with us, we have His abiding presence. Let us acknowledge this daily, enjoy the revelation that God is within us.
• When we realise His presence we can practice living out His presence. His presence changes everything so all the things we struggle with will alter.
Everything begins with a realisation we have been given the ability to have abiding presence with God.

What If?

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy asks us “What If?” Life is filled with What Ifs, what if Jesus returned today? All our What Ifs should be undergirded by scripture. Romans 8:28 (NIV) says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Alternatively, in The Passion Translation “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfil his designed purpose”. This statement should be a part of what we are thinking in our daily ‘What Ifs’ Maybe we don’t feel God is at work but we must live by truth not feelings. In all things he is designing and weaving things together for our good – even if we don’t know or can’t feel as though this is the case! We need to find firm ground under our feet; God is in it to cause us to win it! This is true for all moments and seasons including this time when church meetings as they were have been halted. What If can cause us to think optimistically or pessimistically. For instance, what if it takes longer for church services as we knew them to begin again. What if God was at work doing things in us beyond the virus and its ramifications. God could be at work in this moment to do us good! What if God was using this time to reset the church, or reset us so that we meet again we are not the same but stronger. Maybe the church gates are closed because God is not finished doing something good in us! Are we sitting waiting for the church doors to open are we busy letting God work in us and through us so we can be the people we need to be when the doors do open again? Scripture shows that God works in unusual moments, doing inconceivable things. God works this way, taking unusual moments when everyone thinks everything is going wrong to do amazing things. Acts 8:1 (NIV) gives an example at the time of the birth of the church of an unexpected moment. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria”….this group of people who were previously loving gathering together being scattered to the corners of the earth. As this was happening, people must have had What Ifs like “What If we can’t meet again like we used to”. But what a great plan God had for touching the world! In fact it was genius; the church had become obsessed with meetings but had missed the point. Jesus told them to go into all the world and be witnesses for Him in Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. God’s purposes were not just in their gatherings but in their scatterings, although they could not see it at the time. What if we keep our focus on becoming, rather than sitting and waiting? Lord, what are you doing in this moment? Romans 8 tells us God is at work in ALL things. What if God is wanting to do something new in this moment? When our doors open again we need to be a church of strong small groups that gathers altogether at times rather than a strong church gathering with few small groups. It might be a while before we can gather again. Strong small groups will make for a much stronger church gathering overall. If God is in this moment then this is certainly true. Small groups were the norm for the early church. The vision for us to be 100% in small groups was seen by Ps Steu last year without foreknowledge of what was to occur in the year 2020. In fact, during lockdown our small groups have increased and strengthened. What if this is part of God’s plan? If so we shall have stronger church when we do gather again. Our passion for small groups will have assisted this aim. Let us not be sitting wasting this time when God has plans for us. Our expectations should change from expecting much from meetings to enhancing and creating relationships. Let us not expect to connect to people in a large gathering on Sundays but in a more intimate fashion that a small group can provide. Discipleship, training & pastoral care might better be provided in small groups. God could reshape us as a church, even when we feel things are going wrong. What if God is in this unusual moment teaching us things that we never thought of before?, especially if we were still meeting as were had been. What if in this moment God was trying to get the “cells” of Family Church stronger so that when we do re-open we have a body which is stronger and more ready for the purposes of God. What if we are in a moment where God says let us do more life together in small groups that also meet on a Sunday. God could be more in this moment than any of us ever thought! Let us all be much more passionate about our small groups, our Connect groups.

Do you know what time it is?

Sun, 05 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Do you know what time it is? Pastor Andy asks this key question. We need to know what time we are in as a church right now. We need to learn to tell the time spiritually. The bible may tell us different things that will happen in various times but we may not have grasped this fully.

1 Chronicles 12:32 speaks of the peoples of Issachar (one of the 12 tribes of Israel) understanding the times they were in. Likewise, as the church, we need to understand times we are in with readiness to respond. We are in last days as the bible teaches. But do we know this, the days before the returning of Jesus Christ. He will come back to collect the people who belong to Him. In less than a second some will go to hell, some to heaven. No one knows the exact time but we can know the season we are in if we listen to the Holy Spirit and understand the nature of what is happening in the world. The global happenings now indicate times different from any before. We need to make ready for when Jesus returns. The Word does not give us exact times but it does give significant signposts.

Jesus describes to His disciples how things will be before His return in Matthew 24 (TPT, extract of key verses) {His disciples came privately to where he was sitting and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what supernatural sign should we expect to signal your coming and the completion of this age?” Jesus answered, “At that time deception will run rampant. For many will appear on the scene claiming my authority or saying about themselves, ‘I am God’s Anointed,’ and they will lead many astray. You will hear of wars nearby and revolutions on every side, with more rumours of wars to come. Don’t panic or give in to your fears, for the breaking apart of the world’s systems is destined to happen. But it won’t yet be the end; it will still be unfolding. Nations will go to war against each other and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be terrible earthquakes—seismic events of epic proportion, horrible epidemics and famines in place after place. This is how the first contractions and birth pains of the new age will begin! You can expect to be persecuted, even killed; for you will be hated by all the nations because of your love for me. Then many will stop following me and fall away, and will betray one another….many lying prophets will arise, deceiving multitudes and leading them away from the path of truth. There will be such an increase of sin and lawlessness that those whose hearts once burned with passion for God and others will grow cold. But keep your hope to the end and you will experience life and deliverance. Yet through it all, this joyful assurance of the realm of heaven’s kingdom will be proclaimed all over the world, providing every nation with a demonstration of the reality of God. And after this the end of this age will arrive. The appearing of the Son of Man will burst forth with the brightness of a lightning strike that shines from one end of the sky to the other, illuminating the earth. Concerning that day and exact hour, no one knows when it will arrive, not even the angels of heaven—only the Father knows. For it will be exactly like it was in the days of Noah when the Son of Man appears. Before the flood, people lived their lives eating, drinking, marrying, and having children. They didn’t realize the end was near until Noah entered the ark, and then suddenly, the flood came and took them all away in judgment. It will happen the same way when the Son of Man appears. At that time, two men will be working on the farm; one will be taken away in judgment, the other left. Two women will be grinding grain; one will be taken away in judgment, the other left. This is why you must stay alert: because no one knows the day your Lord will come}.

Jesus is the ark people will now find salvation in……….but are we ready for this time? In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 Paul also speaks of the last days (TPT, extracts from verses) {But you need to be aware that in the final days the culture of society will become extremely fierce and difficult for the people of God. People will be self-centred and obsessed with money, boasting of great things as they strut around in pride and mock all that is right, ignoring their families, being ungrateful and ungodly, addicted to hateful and malicious slander; Slaves to their desires, they will be ferocious, belligerent haters of good and right. With brutal treachery, they will act without restraint, bigoted and wrapped in clouds of their conceit, finding delight in the pleasures of this world rather than God. They may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality they want nothing to do with God’s power. Stay away from people like these!}

These descriptions do paint the times we are in now. What ought our response to all this be? We need to ensure our lives are ready for Him, no junk in our hearts. Also it’s a moment for the church to find its purpose…we need to be harvesters. God is speaking to His people. We do not know the hour or second but these are unusual days naturally and spiritually. If Jesus is returning soon, we must focus on harvest of souls. If our closest friends and family have not heard the good news they may be looking at an eternity of hell. This must motivate us and focus us. The fields are ripe for harvest (John 4:35)….people are emerging from lockdown. The harvesters and labourers are each of us, to rescue the lost. Nothing is as important as somebody’s eternal soul going to hell. Roughly one hundred people die per minute worldwide! Where will these people go….to a lost eternity if they have not heard about Jesus? God made a way for everyone to escape lost eternity. If they choose not to choose His Son, having heard of Him, then this is their decision. But our motivation must be to tell them firstly.

We are not waiting for buildings to open but to focus on getting into the harvest field and save people. Harvest now is not bringing people to buildings, but the church being mobilised to go into other people’s worlds to tell them of Jesus. We have been able to rediscover ourselves as a community of people of God during lockdown. He is still sending us into the harvest. What time is it? Time to be mobilised! There are no last moments. It is about reaching our local community, neighbours, maybe using social media to spread the good news rather than anything else! In Acts 1:8 (NKJV) Jesus said “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Our local world is our Jerusalem. Our loved ones are our immediate concern. Let us ensure we are ready, that we know and understand the gospel.

Are we ready for His return? Are we a wise or foolish virgins (Matthew 25), do we have oil in our lamps? Yes, scoffers will come in the last days as in 2 Peter 3:3-10 (NKJV) “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they wilfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Let us make sure we are ready, for ourselves ….and to help rescue others.

Protecting Our Unity

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Following from last week Pastor Andy speaks about Protecting Unity in the church. Last week the message spoke of God moving through His people, the Church. As His church, we need to live differently in order not to blend into the world. We have a light that is different to that of the world. Isaiah 61:1 tells us why we are different (NIV) “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord as anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners”. The Spirit of God is upon us, this makes us different! Daily we need to choose to live by His Spirit. How we live and love will make us different to the world. Additionally we choose Unity rather than division. We believe God has a plan to use His church for His plans; hence we need to protect the church from strife and division. The enemy’s plans surely are to divide and conquer the church rendering it useless. 2 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV) says “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” Let us not be unaware of the devil’s schemes! Paul told the church in Ephesus how to live to protect unity and provide maturity – Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV) “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”. A unified church has great effect…unity in fact means acting as a single unit. Let us must march in step with the commission the Lord has given us. God reminds us how nothing is impossible when men remain united in speech and purpose (Tower of Babel story) – Genesis 11:6 (NIV) “The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them”. In verses 7 & 8 God confuses their language and scatters the people resulting in the cessation of their building. Satan is equally wary of Gods plans and can confuse our communication if we let him resulting in an inactive church! Our unity is precious to God, it also attracts commanded blessing. Psalm 133:1-3 (NKJV) tells us of this “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forevermore.” Unity needs to be a covering on our lives, to drip down over us all….there we get the commanded blessing. We must however protect our unity both in action and speech, building up rather than knocking down. Do not interpret unity for uniformity, free speech is powerful, but let us be of one spirit – God’s Spirit. We need to be wise in how and where we speak. Issues between us are usually best solved person to person as Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:24, rather than public airings on social media! Better to use these channels of communication to display a better way of loving and living undergirded with the spirit of love. Different views on some things are acceptable, but we do need to walk in the spirit of unity. What matters most is lost people going to a lost eternity. The saving of the lost should be at the top of our priorities and should drive our unity as we are God’s plan to prevent this. We need kingdom etiquette in how we protect unity as Paul teaches in 2 Timothy 2:23-24(NIV) “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful”. Let us be careful that the spirit we operate in does not bring quarrels or dissention - Proverbs 6:19 states that God abhors dissention in His church. Our freedom of speech is a gift but we must be careful how we use it. A divided church God cannot use but a united church God can use to turn the world upside down. 1 Corinthians 12:27 tells us that we are a family, a team, however we need to understand the season we are in now as God has a plan to use us but the enemy has a plan to separate us. We must strengthen the bond of unity in peace. Beware of spiritual auto-immune diseases…..let us celebrate our differences in spiritual unity. The separator, the devil, is very subtle, thankfully Christ has rescued us. Before his arrest, Jesus prayed a prayer of oneness, unity, for all his believers that we need to pray and keep as our mantra – John 17:20 & following (NLT) “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began”.
Let us be the answer to this prayer. The spirit of The Lord is upon us and He has anointed us to make a difference to the world. Let us protect our unity, making us an unstoppable force on this earth. We are not peripheral but central to the world. Let us be wise in how we express ourselves, using all our communication channels to glorify God. Amen.

Time to Arise & Shine

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy encourages us that we need to be assured that God is at work in all things (Romans 8:28). God has a plan! Let us understand the time we live in and the part God wants us to play. His plan is us, we are His church. Isaiah, a prophet was seeing things through The Spirit ahead of his time. Isaiah 60:1 (NIV) says “‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” This is key to the moment we are in now & how God wishes us to respond.
Arise and Shine means get up, don’t shrink in fear and purpose, and be the dawn, the break of day. Darkness will cover the earth comes from hebrew khoshekh meaning misery, destruction death, sorrow, unrighteousness. Thick Darkness here means a cloud of gloom. So Isaiah foresaw gloom over the earth but told the people of God it was time to let the light of Jesus shine. Isaiah 60:3 says that the people of this world, (gentiles & heathen) will be drawn towards the light we shine – when the church stops hiding, arguing and fighting and stands up to be the representation of Christ on earth. The unsaved will be drawn to something better they see in us – the holiness, beauty and reality of Kingdom life. These verses speak to us... His People, His church on earth! The Jesus who came and now lives in us is the Jesus who will shine.
In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 the bible speaks of us being one body, made of many parts, many cultures and nations (if one part hurts so do we all). The final statement here says that we are the body of Christ and each of us is a part of it. We are the body of Christ on earth and contain the spirit of God. He is here in us now on the earth wishing to express Himself to a confused world through the lives we live, not necessarily our words. We are called to stand out not blend in; we are called to be operating and responsive in a different spirit from those of the world - to be that breaking of dawn in these confusing times. John 13:35 tells us people will know us by how we love one another, a different love from that in the world. People of God choose unity over division or dissention (Proverbs 6:19 reminds us how God hates such things). We speak truth in love not deceptive thinking.
We understand the Word of God separates what is soul and what is spirit and how to respond. The world desperately needs us to be different to be the church, however we need to know what this means from a spiritual perspective. We are a called out people in this world but not of this world. Colossians 1:13 tells us we have been snatched out the kingdom of darkness & brought into the Kingdom of the Son of His love. We need to be true to this. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us how we are a chosen people called out of darkness to declare his praises. Once we had not received mercy but now we have! We are a people of Christ on earth, with no partiality to race, colour etc. We know each other only by how we are in Christ. We do not despise our cultures which we celebrate, but we are defined by who we are in God. 2 Corinthians 5:16 onwards speaks about the truth of who we now are. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation or species, a new variety of people belonging to God. There is no partiality of skin colour here. God expect us to respect each other as human to human. Let us see Jesus in each other and choose to be different. Then we can celebrate our differences not judge or despise them.
God looks for us His church to be different in the darkness of today’s world, to be a bright shining light. To accomplish this, our thinking, loving, forgiving, and graceful judging must be different. All this starts with how we treat each other in our own church. Our local culture can then impact the wider church. The church is not peripheral to the world but central. Ephesians 1:23 (MSG) tells us “He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the centre of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” The Bible tells us to understand Kingdom life in order that life around us can change. 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us to study The Lord and we shall be transformed into His image with ever increasing glory! Then we begin to shine and impact our own local church then indeed the church and the world over. This means living with no racism, judgement, division but seeing Jesus in each other. The devils plans will be ruined! We must see ourselves as reflected in the Word, how The Father sees us. Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV) teaches “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Whether reading the words of Isaiah or Jesus, the request is the same.
Pastor Andy shared a personal message he received during his devotions: God is about to move again through His church, His body on the earth. It is vital we know who we are and what we are here to do.
It is time to Arise and Shine.

Love Uncovers - Unconscious Bias Workshop

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Please note, we recommend watching the video instead of this audio recording if you're able so you can see the accompanying slides -https://youtu.be/iL9WMMM1wF0

In our post-service Zoom call, Ps Charlie hosted a workshop looking at the unconscious biases that we all have & applied this to the current discussion on racism.

The recording opens with a live survey looking at loving well in the context of race and justice, if you want to skip this & go straight to the workshop section, fast forward to 16:50.

Kingdom Perspective

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Following from the previous week, Pastor Andy continues the open conversation about racism and equality. Understanding people’s perspective is a key thing, it is a point of view regarding things going on around us. This can impact our response to issues we face in the world. Various people will have varying perspectives on something and we need to recognise this. This is normal. Our perspective is our view point determined by what is happening. Even how we see things can change as we view from a different perspective. Christians seek to choose and view from another viewpoint, the Kingdom view. This is the perspective of God and His word regarding things we are seeing and experiencing. This perspective is always the one that matters the most. We need to be willing to lay down our perspectives and gain that of heaven. Our identity is fundamental here – we will only choose Kingdom perspective when we fully know who we are in Christ. Citizenship of God’s Kingdom forms a common voice inside us. Colossians 1:13 (NKJV) tells us “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love”. This is when we receive Jesus as Saviour here on earth. We are then made alive in our spirit to God. Our lives become under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. We are triune beings – body, soul and spirit. Our soul can be heavily influenced by the how we see things. Our spirit is now alive to God, we are now able to hear and know Gods spirit and His thoughts. We can access the mind of God, having the spirit within us which is alive to God. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 onwards scripture speaks about what God has revealed to us by His Spirit, how only a person’s thoughts are known by their spirit and in verse 12 how our understanding of God’s Spirit can come from His Spirit ((NIV) “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us”). In verse 14 we are told that the person without God’s Spirit in his heart will see things as foolish, not understanding them, as here we speak of spiritual discernment, but the person with Gods Spirit will see all things through Godly eyes. In verse 16 it says (NIV) “for who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ”. We have the mind of Christ and can access God’s perspective of things happening on earth. If this does not agree with our perspective we need to be able to change our perspective. We see God’s perspective through His Word and His Spirit that can lead our ways. God designed us to have a spirit alive to him. Our soul is not removed but our choices need to be carefully made – not by the soul as before we accepted Jesus but by the spirit………..let us be influenced by the spirit of who we now are through the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ. We need to seek first the Kingdom perspective. We must seek to find Gods perspective when we discuss aspects like racism and discrimination. As Christians, we are carriers of the Kingdom of God and this needs to affect our perspective and the way we live. The cure for racism, inequality and such issues is Kingdom Come. We represent a kingdom where all are equal. This is how we need to see life. In Colossians 3:7-11 Paul speaks of who we used to be and how we were, but how we are now, how God sees us….(NIV) “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all”. This clearly shows no delineation between races, religions, cultures, social or economic distinctions people etc. We are all one in Him and He is one in us. We are one body. Joining the perspectives of the Kingdom of God rather than of the worldly kingdoms is how we may change the world. We are in His Kingdom and He is in us. Let these truths affect how we see ourselves and how we choose to see others. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

Race and Church - A Dialogue

Sun, 07 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Following on from Ps Paula's message in the online service, Ps Charlie speaks in the Guildford congregation post-service Zoom call, opening up the conversation around race which we hope will be an ongoing dialogue.

Let's talk about it - Racism

Sun, 07 Jun 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy starts a conversation about Racism and Equality, with a commitment to keep this conversation going. Our church leaders have already responded regarding the incident in Minnesota and recent world events with a statement however, Pastor Andy believes we need to open a conversation to do the right thing in the sight of God. He is hoping for longer term change not a token response from our church. He recognises we all respond in differing ways to these situations and has a desire to understand more fully these situations. It is crucial we all seek to journey in Family Church to understand things we do not, but be taught by those who have a correct perspective, who have Jesus in their hearts. He then introduces Pastor Paula to share from her perspective, as someone who has suffered racism but has a Godly view.
Paula mentions she has spoken to many people recently and that it is important we do not shy away from the topic of racism and equality in our church. A key thing to remember is that we are the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 (MSG) tells us “The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing”. So this not a black people issue but an issue for us all. Recent events have highlighted Racism and Injustice. Paula explains that the reason she is hurting is because these attitudes are wrong. Black and coloured people have suffered injustice for a long time, maybe more subtle and hidden in the UK, odd comments, thoughts etc. However, we are all made in Gods image. Psalm 133 tells us how wonderful it is to see brothers and sisters living together in sweet unity. As Christians we know this is how we must live with all brothers and sisters. Paula shared experiences of personal injustice in her workplace and how she was ignored when trying to deal with these situations. The recent killing is not the only thing that has enraged the black community. It has been an ongoing thing for ages. It is important that we speak about these things and make changes. We must educate ourselves and our children - starting in our own homes. We must listen to the pain people have, just as if we sat with someone who mourned a loss. We must stand against racism. Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJV) states ‘Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’ So we have this instruction…love everyone regardless of skin colour. Let us open our eyes and transform our minds according to the Word. As Christians, we must remember we do not fight against flesh and blood but the principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual forces of evil in a wicked world (Ephesians 6). We have to see this for what it is! Racism is evil but if we look at this just through the lens of the world we miss a lot. Are we praying? We must certainly do more but not less than pray. We need to yield to God, not emotions. Let us not be silent but vocal in a correct way – just as God constantly mobilises people throughout the bible. Speaking up against injustice brings change and healing as we speak of Jesus also. Only Jesus can heal. He came to seek and save the lost. Let us stand for truth! But let us make sure our motives are correct (Matthew 6:1). Hard work happens behind our closed doors. As Jesus instructed Peter in Matthew 26:52 we must still look to God even in our deepest pain. We can process our pain with the Word, not the Sword. Psalm 89:14 tells us that righteousness and justice are the throne of God. So stand against evil but in a righteous way. Let us lead from the forefront in our actions not leaving God out of this. The silver lining in the cloud of Covid had started uniting the whole church with things like “The Blessing” being sung the world over. But racism can divide the church….As Christians; we must show the world what unity really looks like. Do not be caught in arguments or divisiveness. Let us pray for everyone. Jesus can transform everyone, changing their hearts. Amos 5:21 tells us what God seeks….(MSG) “I want justice - oceans of it. I want fairness - rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want”. Love prevails all including racism. We need to use our voices to support all communities, making a stand for change against racism. Let us not just be non-racist but be anti-racist.
Pastor Andy ended the meeting with concluding remarks then we took communion reminding us we are all one body regardless of colour. Amen!

God Knows What We Need

Sun, 31 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks about our needs in these uncertain times. There is plenty of fear being circulated currently, but we must choose faith in God over fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. God has given us a sound mind! Fear is often based in the thought of “I won’t have” what I need and can drive us to unusual behaviour. God’s people are not driven by fear and understand Gods promises regarding their provision. Scriptures tell us to cast our cares on Him for he cares for us (1Peter 5:7); The Father knows our needs before we ask (Matthew 6:8); God will supply all our needs according to His riches (Phil 4:19). In these verses God speaks of meeting the needs of our body, soul and spirit. The present times challenge the belief systems regarding our needs - what do we need in order to survive and thrive, what are our priorities regarding needs? Will I have what I need when I need it? There are two ways of looking at this – the worldly way and the Kingdom way. Abraham Maslow, a well-known American psychologist summarised the worldly view in a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid - physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. He alludes to the fact that until all our basic needs are met we will not consider whether a God exists, or where we came from. He placed more emphasis on needs of body and soul before the needs of spiritual development – the person we really are. But Maslow was an atheist and did not believe in God’s wisdom. His understanding of the needs of a person was based solely on the physical not the spiritual. He did not recognise that there was a creator, someone who made creation to have needs and also would meet these needs. Jesus taught very differently.
Matthew 6:25-34(NIV) teaches “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”.
This is a completely different emphasis to that of Maslow - seeking first the Kingdom of God and then all the other things will be met by God. Many times these verses tell us not to worry. Jesus turned Maslow’s pyramid upside down by saying seek me, seek My Kingdom first and if you do then God will meet all your other needs. For example we will never know the esteem that comes from knowing who we are in Christ, in God, until we seek first his Kingdom. Being in pursuit of God brings in everything we need as a human. Unshakeable safety comes from knowing God. As we busy ourselves in pursuing God he will busy Himself in meeting all our needs. Our greatest need is our need for God. Only when this comes into position correctly can we then stand on the promises of God’s word.

Pure Joy

Sun, 24 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Steve speaks about Pure Joy during trials in our lives, and continues looking at who we are becoming and how we are using our time in this season. James (brother of Jesus writing to the church he oversaw), tells the Jewish Christians to consider it pure joy when they faced trials (James 1:2). We are in a trial right now, but trials always come and always will come. Sometime we see them and sometimes they catch us unawares. Trials may be as a result of spiritual attacks (we need to open Ephesians 6 and put on the full armour of God) knowing our enemy is defeated. Sometimes trials come as a result of a lack of wisdom or something we did. Other times life may just deal out an issue, or sometimes as a result of the actions of other people.
Trials have differing types of impact but the key issue is how we respond. James tells us that when we face a trial we should consider it pure joy….but do we respond in this way? Many of us will look at the words James wrote and say he did not know anything about our situation…often our response is anger or doubt. James writes as a pastor and tells the church to consider it as pure joy because the testing of faith produces perseverance (James1:3). So the journey is not so great but the destination – perseverance – we like much more. Often we are excited about getting somewhere but do not enjoy the journey. But in a spiritual context James tells us we need to embrace the journey, what God is doing for us, in us and through us in this season. James is not saying delight in the problem, but delight in what God is doing in and through us. Sometimes the journey to completeness and maturity in Christ comes as a result of times of confusion, pain and sorrow. God is not the author of these things but will use them for our good and for His glory. Often the journey to maturity comes when we are on the edge of quitting. This produces faith which is mature and pure. Jesus did not promise an easy life but he did promise an overcoming life and one of peace and hope. In the context of a classroom of positivity as we have spoken recently, maybe this is a season to look at revising the goodness of God, who he is on our lives, who we are in him, the faithfulness of God. Character is built in the circumstances of life. When we understand how God uses circumstance to develop our character we are able to respond correctly when god places us in character building opportunities. God wants us to grow and mature. His desire is for us to be complete in Him. Elsewhere in the New Testament we see similar instructions (1 Peter 1:6-7, Romans 5:3-5). Maybe it is time for us to change our perspective even in a time of a trial…from allowing the trial to break us to allowing God to make us. Let us ask a few questions……..
1 - What is our perspective in this trial….out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks or fingers type? Our perspective will change when we change our thinking, by renewing our minds with scriptures of hope, encouragement, peace etc.
2 - Are we praying for this trial to end or for God to mature us in this trial? Even in this season, Dear God use me and complete me.
3 - Are we enduring the journey or embracing it? Are we wishing it away or embracing who God is during this time. Now is a time to be used by God. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Let us use this time effectively.
4 - Is there a sound of joy in our homes and lives? Joy gives us confident hope; it does not take away the issues. Maybe start our day with the word of God and fill it with praise then when other things come into our homes we shall have a different perspective on life.
Our challenge is to look at our season and consider it pure joy rejoicing in the fact that God is shaping us.

Family Night - Why not you?

Fri, 15 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

We have been chosen for this time - why not us to bring the good news of Jesus to people who are searching for hope? God chose you & He knew why He chose you to fulfil His promises for your life - He has given us His Spirit for this season.

Graves into Gardens (cover)

Fri, 15 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

A lockdown special recording by FC Guildford worship team - Graves into Gardens (cover)

What are we becoming?

Sun, 17 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy asks us “What are we becoming?” during this season of lock-down. Two Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) says “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”. In this season we need to ask what are we becoming? ‘Coming’ and ‘becoming’ are not the same. We cannot ‘come’ to church we as did but we can still ‘become’ more as god wanted us to be. We are still in an element of isolation and our choices will determine what we become. Some fitter, some fatter! We are all ‘becoming’ something; some wiser, some less so. Some bitter, some better! A great example is Joseph in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 37, he shared dreams with his brothers, but they threw him into a pit and later sold him. He might have become bitter and insecure. However, in his isolation he determined not to quit. In Genesis 39 the favour of God is on Joseph, he has risen to be second in charge in the house of Potiphar. He even scorned Potiphar’s wife who wrongly accuses him of improper behaviour. Joseph is wrongly imprisoned, but in this time of isolation he actually developed himself to be stronger and better. In Genesis 41 when he is released from prison God works for his good. Pharaoh asked for Joseph to interpret his dream about seven years of good and seven years of famine. Pharaoh then promoted Joseph to being second in charge of the country! So he is not broke and weak but he comes out of prison strong and ready for action. He leads the nation in a successful plan of well-being and sustainability. Why? Because in prison he chose to let God do in him what God wanted to do at that time. When others were quitting he chose to develop from glory to glory. Such decisions we can all make for ourselves when we read the word, pray and spiritually develop. God is in this moment with us. When Joseph was in prison, he was diligent – Genesis 39:21-23 speaks of God’s favour being upon him, even being promoted within prison! He also stayed sharp in walking and hearing God. In Genesis 40 the Cup Bearer and Baker ask Joseph to interpret their dreams. Joseph was hearing heaven! Let us be alert and spiritually diligent also. Three things kept Joseph focused -
• He knew God was with and in him and had plans for him
• He had a revelation of Romans 8:28 which speaks of all things working together for those who love God (Romans wasn’t written then!). In Genesis 50 his worried brothers were brought to him when his Father Jacob had died, but Joseph showed optimism, telling them not to be afraid as even although they had intended to harm him. God had put him in the place he had been to accomplish His plans and save many lives.
• He stayed submitted to God.
God often leads people into wilderness or isolation in order to accomplish His plan or make that person ‘become’ something different. Jesus is the prime example in scripture. The Holy Spirit is with us now in our periods of isolation. We need to stay submitted to Gods plans for us to become as he intended.

Spending Time to Pursue God

Sun, 10 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy Speaks about pursuing God, and redeeming time during this season of lockdown. Some things in our lives are out of our hands, others may not be. Things may not necessarily be out of control but waiting for us to manager properly. Time, a gift from God is such a thing. We can all do different things with this precious gift of life. Many folk have a lot more time than usual presently, (not everyone), but many do have extra time at the moment. What do we do with this time, which we can consider as the currency of our lives? God has blessed us with time, our life and also the ability to spend it as we see fit. We need to spend the rest of our time in best way we can. It’s the most important currency we will ever own. Unfortunately, some people are not good at managing time well. We cannot get back time we have wasted….but we can invest time in serving others. In Ephesians 5:15-16, Paul speaks about the best use or redeeming of time. In Colossians 4:5, we are also told to walk in wisdom to outsiders, making the best use of time. Let us make sure today we are being wise in how we use our time. The best way we can use our time is in our personal pursuit of God. Many other things are admirable, but this ought to be top of our priorities. Let us be diligent in knowing Him more. God is waiting and wanting to be found by those who dare to seek Him. We need to seek God out, search for him. Jeremiah 29:11 speaks about knowing the plans to prosper and live with good health. However, verses 12-14a (NIV) also say “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord”. This is not a casual pursuit, but a whole hearted action by someone desiring God. Matthew 7:7-8 tells us “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Many verses in the Old and New Testaments encourage us to be in pursuit of a deepening relationship with God. Proverbs 8:17 (NKJV) says “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me”. James 4:8 instructs us that if we would draw near to God, He will draw near to us. This is not just a call for those who do not know God, but also for us who do know him….to know him deeper, to know him as we could. God waits for those who will pursue him. He beckons us to spend our time to be in personal pursuit of him in ways we did know know before. God will never disappoint the person who hungers for him. Psalm 42:7 speaks of “Deep calling unto Deep”. Nothing satisfies the longing we have within us like a deep calling for God. We must find God for ourselves. We must not choose familiarity but rediscover awe for God.

Time To Clear The Weeds

Sun, 03 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Steu speaks about clearing weeds from our lives. He focuses on three key weeds; Insecurity, Offence and Doubt. He has been gardening recently clearing weeds, which tend to grow back unless the roots are dug out and the soil tended. In the garden of our lives, there is also a challenge to keep ourselves weed free. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart as it determines the course of our lives. If our lives are the garden, then our hearts are the soil and God wants to be able to display his glory in our garden. Removing the weeds and planting fruit bearing plants is our responsibility as a Christian. No one else can do this, however we are not alone….good people surround us and we need to call upon them, especially if their gardens are beautiful! Our heavenly Father is present in the garden of our lives also. In order to deal with the weeds we need to understand them. Weeds start with seeds and growth begins under the surface until they take over unattended areas of our lives. Salvation is often a time of clearing weeds in our lives. Our hearts are made new at this time, but we may allow things to affect our hearts in daily life. Some roots remain; even from a clear-out. The Christian life is a process of clearing the weeds from our garden. Even after roots are removed weeds grow as weed seed blows back, so weeds need to be permanently eradicated after uprooting, maybe by burning. The devil puts tiny seeds of thoughts in our lives – 1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us to stay alert as the enemy is looking to prowl around - these tiny thoughts can grow and cause damage. Some weeds are deceptive, looking rather nice, but they stop fruit bearing trees from growing. In 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Paul addresses the Corinthians about false teachers….not everything that looks good is actually good for us.
The weed of insecurity comes from the seed of rejection. It’s a tough weed to deal with. It damages good seeds, overshadows healthy plants. This weed says “we don’t deserve it, we can’t achieve it, and we will make fools of ourselves”. The weed must be dealt with at the source which is the root of rejection. The Sword of the spirit, the word of God is the axe to use. The word tells us we are accepted, we are children of God, we are no longer rejected. As we declare this truth we get revelation from it. If we have this weed, we can use God’s word to eradicate it. Ephesians 1:4-8 tells us that God decided in advance to adopt us into his family.
The weed of offence can grow strongly. It can grow from misunderstandings or false expectations, or also the seeds of entitlement or rights. It might say “that’s not what we agreed, I feel that I deserve more than this”. We can justify these easily. The weed of offence that grows to look quite pretty is actually deception; we need honest friends to tell us how this may take over the garden of our life. Proverbs 26:27 tells us that a friend who really loves us will speak the truth. In Job 32:6-10 Job’s friend Ellihu had held back listening to all the supposed intelligent people, but told Job that no one had spoken the word of God into his life as he was now going to do. Sometimes we need honest friends who love us enough to speak truths.
The seed for the weed of doubt is hope deferred or disappointment. This seed can impact a life hugely. Proverbs 13:12 tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick. This weed is like contaminated soil. Nothing else can grow. It seems that all dreams are impossible. The weed tells us “we didn’t see a miracle today so one will not come tomorrow, good things happen to others not you, and things never work out for you”. All joy can be robbed. Our gardens will not be attractive to others. The roots here need to be dug out and burnt. We need to become closer to God, the One who never lets us down, never breaks promises. Our hearts needs to be unclogged and we need to come to God and recognise he is totally faithful and dependable and also know that all things are possible with God.
Other weeds exist and now may be a time to walk through our garden and deal with these too. However, these three - insecurity, offence and doubt often have the strongest roots. Ephesians 6:17 (NLT) says “Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”……this is our gardening tool, the word of God.

Being Fruitful in This Season

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The rhythm of life has currently changed for a period of time. It is important that we make wise choices during this season. Our choices will determine whether we grow producing fruit and flowers in the garden of our life or allow weeds and thistles grow in our lives and so curtail healthy fruit and flowers.
At this time of isolation, there can be stress and loneliness. We need to give people our support, connecting with them, being loving towards them.
How we deal with comparative isolation depends to an extent on our character. If we are introverts we may well be naturally comfortable but if we are more extrovert we may struggle. Regardless of our chief character traits the key aspect is our personal response to the situation.
We may choose to lock ourselves away - looking away from others rather than looking to help others. Alternatively, we may say “I’ll make the most of this unusual season to help others.” Captain Tom Moore’s outlook and response is a wonderful example of a 99 year old who decided to help others. He decided not to just sit in his armchair for the season, but instead to walk lengths of his garden to raise money. What started as a small gesture exploded into something massive. He used the time to benefit others; he showed determination; he purposed it. We need to be personally encouraged by this.
Being isolated can be a good thing. Stepping back from social engagements means that we can learn, discover and develop. We can choose to look positively, or look negatively; at things being good, or being bad.
Romans 8:28 (NIV) tells us “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.” As Christians, we ought to be expecting God to work good out of the current situation. If we do, the challenge is to see how can we serve and partner with God to achieve the positive outcomes.
Many famous people produced some of their best works when isolated, for example, Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Van Gough, Lord Byron and of course St Paul. St Paul wrote several of his letters to the churches whilst he was in prison or under house arrest (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon). John wrote Revelation whilst he was in exile, in punishment, on the island of Patmos.
During this isolation time, what could God be working out in us? Do we want to purposefully draw closer to God? James 4:8 (NKJV) says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” God is waiting for us to want to move closer to Him.
This season of separation has four rooms….the classroom (where we may learn new things); the greenhouse (where something could grow in our lives); the waiting room (where we may develop patience) and the Pressure Cooker (where flavour can be developed if the ingredients are correct).
Romans 5:3-5 (NIV) tells us “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us”. Depending on our characters and whether we look positively or negatively at situations, God can work in us during these times.
However, where there is ill-feeling or negativity, then the ingredients and conditions in all of the room of our lives will not be good. We can choose positively to deal with issues. We can and should choose to take issues to God, to let Him in, to voice any cracks apparent to our loving God. God doesn’t want to put a plaster on the problem. He is our God who heals. God has also supplied us with servants within the church to partner Him in helping us - those in leadership. So, when life gets tough, we can choose to speak to our pastors, core leaders or connect group leaders. Let us not be alone. Let us keep connected. Let us ensure this season produces good things in each of the rooms of our lives!

Meeting with God

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

As part of our Worship Morning, Ps Charlie shares this short introduction to meeting with God in a personal way, looking at the example of Moses' shining face in Exodus 34. As we spend time with God as our friend, something changes within us - do people see that we're Christians by the joy, peace & rest that comes from us?

Family Values 7 - Worshippers

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

If you're a Christian, you worship, as to be saved is to honour God and know who He really is. This week in the Family Values series, Daniel, our Worship Pastor, looks at the importance of preparing our hearts for worship as seen in the book of Nehemiah - where is the message of the cross in your heart, is it just a fact or does it move you to worship?

Family Values 6 - Spiritual

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing the Family Values series, Ps Charlie reminds us of the importance of engaging with all 3 aspects of God, including the Holy Spirit. Our entire Christian life began with the Holy Spirit drawing us to the Father & now there is no aspect of our Christian life that we can do without the Holy Spirit. When you turn to things to numb pain or stimulate boredom, turn to the Holy Spirit instead, seek Him in your lowest moments, seek Him in the highest heights. Life with the Holy Spirit is not without pain, but there is always comfort.

Family Values 5 - Community

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing our look through the Family Values of Family Church, Ps Charlie highlights 3 problems with how we see community:
1. We are called to build community not find it
2. Our expectations of what we receive from community are greater than our commitment to being part of it
3. Would you qualify to be a part of your perfect community?

And we are left with the challenge - can you stay part of community long enough to build relationships so you can say/hear things only people close to you can say?

Family Values 4 - Bible Believing

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

How much scripture has made its way from your head to your heart? Continuing the Family Values series, Ps Hayley reminds us that God wants us to both believe in and act on His Word because He wants the best for us.

Only Jesus is Worthy

Sun, 09 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

This week we welcomed guest speakers Fiona & David Killough, Family Church supported missionaries with Overland Missions. Their message challenges us to redefine how we think about faith - it's not simply you getting the thing you want for your life - faith will cost you, if it doesn't cost you, it's not faith. What are the walls that need to be broken down to stop you chasing what the world says is worthy & remember that only Jesus is worthy?

Family Values 3 - Discipled

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing looking through the Family Church values, this week it's Discipleship - Ps Charlie encourages us to be discipled by Jesus through relationship with each other - who are you following & who is following you?

Family Values 1 - Christ-Centred

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Starting our new series on the core values of Family Church, Ps Charlie looks at what it means to be Christ-centred. What is your first priority, what is your life centred on? Jesus is the Lord over all things, including our lives. We were created by Jesus, through Jesus, for Jesus and as we make decisions for Jesus, it pushes our self out of the centre.

The full list of Family Values can be found here: https://family.church/about/

Vision Sunday

Sun, 12 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Pastor Andy speaks of the Vision for the whole of Family Church this year with additional remarks by Pastor Charlie.

His Love of Oneness

Sun, 05 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

To begin 2020, we're excited to welcome our Senior Pastor Andy Elmes speak on Jesus' prayer for us in John 17 - that we would know both oneness with God and oneness with each other and therefore stand out in a world of division.

Annual Review - 1 Corinthians

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

As you look back at 2019, do you see Jesus in both the blessings & hardships? Finishing our series with the final chapter of 1 Corinthians, Ps Charlie reminds us that if we don't find Jesus in both the highs & lows, we're limiting our hope, but if we attach hope to Jesus we never become hopeless!

God With Us

Sun, 08 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Christmas cards make the nativity scene look so perfect and beautiful but what about the smell and mess? In this short Christmas message, Ps Charlie speaks about how God comes into the midst of our chaos and mess to bring order and peace so that we can always have a hope & a future.

Family News

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Lisa shares some family news about changes in leadership.

Pursue Love - 1 Corinthians

Sun, 24 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This week we've reached 1 Corinthians chapter 14, looking at several topics - women in church, spiritual gifts, prophecies & speaking in tongues - all through the lens of pursuing love.

What True Love Is - 1 Corinthians

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Charlie looks at what 1 Corinthians 13 can teach us about what loving well really is. If we are loved well, we will also love well - the perfection of God's love is available to us now, through Jesus Christ - once we open our hearts to receive, we can love others out of that.

Gifts of the Spirit - A Foundation - 1 Corinthians

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Ps Lisa teaches four foundational points to be applied when thinking about the gifts of the Spirit:
1. The Giver is good
2. Unwrap the gift
3. Give it away
4. Restoration

The Family is Growing

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Charlie shares where we have been as a church, where we are currently and announces the forthcoming addition to our family.

Please note the following correction to the spoken information - It was in January 2017 (not 2014) that Ps Charlie became the Congregational Pastoral Pastor & Ps Lisa the Associate Congregational Pastor.

Global Sunday - Denying your Culture

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

On Global Sunday we were privileged to have Caleb & Becci join us from Hands at Work as we were challenged to think about the loveless in our community and how our culture can interfere with our heart for God - do we see the poor and vulnerable, and if we do see them, do we act?

Be Free, Stay Free, Live Free!

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 10:00:00 +0000

We all have a desire to be free, but do we know what we want to be free from?
Simply following our desires hasn't led to us being free, in fact we often feel more trapped through having to live with the consequences of our actions. But the gospel news is that we can't bring freedom & happiness to ourselves - only Jesus can do that - He doesn't want us to try harder but come alive to a continuous relationship with our Creator God.

Vision Sunday - Stay in Your Lane

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:00:00 +0000

What does it look like to stay in your lane, to be fruitful, full of the Holy Spirit in the season that you're in right now? On Vision Sunday, Ps Charlie reminds us to keep it simple - start walking in the Spirit & then keep in step with the Spirit, as the Spirit causes the fruit of the Spirit to be grown in us regardless of the season we're going through.

Discipleship, Encouragement, Discipline - 1 Corinthians - Week 3

Sun, 29 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing our journey through 1 Corinthians, going through every chapter, even the less comfortable ones! What do we do as a church when someone claims to be living for God but there is repeated unrepentant sin in their lives? We all need to be willing to be discipled - do we have people in our lives who tell us what we don't want to hear, who are looking out for our blind spots, who remind us who we are in Jesus?

Division over Leadership - 1 Corinthians - Week 2

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing our 1 Corinthians series, Ps Lisa looks at what we can learn from Paul's response to the divisions over leadership in the Corinthian church; encouraging us to set & build our lives on the foundation of God's Word, to make Jesus our first and foremost pursuit & to desire the hidden place in God.

Gospel Driven Culture - 1 Corinthians - Week 1

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Do we get more revelation straight from the Word of God or via podcasts or social media? In this series on 1 Corinthians the aim is to read the Word together & mature as we meditate on it. Ps Charlie introduces the book reminding us that we are called to live differently as we are set apart for a purpose - if so much of the world is in us, how can we bring about change? The gospel is life and death, we need to get serious about knowing the Word of God & bring it into the centre of our lives.

A(gender): Truth & Grace - Seminar Sunday

Sun, 08 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Seminar Sunday - a kingdom perspective for today's issues - offered the choice of three seminars addressing the topics from a Biblical perspective to equip us in how we live. The world changes its narrative on gender but God's Word doesn't change - Ps Charlie speaks on gender according to both truth and grace & puts it into a wider context.

The Gospel of Grace through the Tensions of Race - Seminar Sunday

Sun, 08 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Seminar Sunday - a kingdom perspective for today's issues - offered the choice of three seminars addressing the topics from a Biblical perspective to equip us in how we live. Race is not just an issue in the world, it's in the church & used by the enemy to divide people - Ann-Marie shares what God has been speaking to her about the tensions of race & encourages us to let the Holy Spirit search our hearts to reveal any faulty understandings.

The Environment: Who's responsible? - Seminar Sunday

Sun, 08 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Seminar Sunday - a kingdom perspective for today's issues - offered the choice of three seminars addressing the topics from a Biblical perspective to equip us in how we live. Ps James looks at a range of viewpoints on the environment through the lens of the interplay between our faith, our values & our actions.

Just Add Jesus

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This short message from Ps Charlie at our All-Together service followed a science demonstration illustrating how the addition of Jesus takes away sin. What if we were honest enough to admit, 'I can't hear God today?' or 'I don't want to come to church?' Sometimes we overcomplicate Christianity when it can be as simple as actually connecting with Jesus - He's the only one who can deal with our sin and disconnection & bring us back to the source of all life, love and goodness.

The Life of Moses - Restoring Relationships 13

Sun, 11 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In this final instalment of Restoring Relationships, Ps Lisa looks at Moses' call to fulfil his purpose to be a restorer of relationships and reminds us that God calls all of us to this same purpose. Sometimes we shut the book on the story of our lives believing that it's over in one area, but restoration can take time, our responsibility is to hold on to faith & hope, knowing God is right there with us. Sometimes it looks like God is calling us back to places we thought we'd left behind, we may be going back, but we're going back different because God has done something in our hearts, exchanging control for love, fear for security in Him, rejection for connection.

Quarrel No More- Restoring Relationships 12

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In this week's message on Restoring Relationships, Ps Charlie takes us back to the creation of man by the trinity of God to show how we were created from relationship for relationship. Which means for us today, every relationship is supposed to happen through love, in the same way that we see it expressed between God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Restoring Relationships with the Word - Restoring Relationships 11

Sun, 28 Jul 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Using the analogy of a torch that we use to search for significance, purpose, relationships... James Rumble encourages us to lay down the torch & know that God is the light within us, through knowing our Saviour, our identity and our mission.

The Father Heart - Restoring Relationships 10

Sun, 21 Jul 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing 'Restoring Relationships' by looking at the sixth biological sign of life - sensitivity - how external things affect us internally. Our relationship with God was always meant to affect all our other relationships - and the anchor to every relationship with each other is that we are a child of God.

Let it Grow - Restoring Relationships 9

Sun, 07 Jul 2019 10:00:00 +0000

After a few weeks detour, Ps Charlie rejoins the biological signs of life, looking at growth. If our relationships are alive, they should be growing. And growth comes when you're joined to the life source, Jesus - we do the connecting, God brings the growth.

The Recipe - Praying Together - Restoring Relationships 8

Sun, 30 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Charlie brings fresh light to our vision sermon series from last year with this Recipe/Restoring Relationships mash-up, focusing on praying together. It's hard to pray when we don't get on with each other, but when we realise that we all have the same heart & purpose, to know & share the goodness of God through Christ Jesus, there's no opportunity for opinions to divide us.

God is Love. And He Never Changes - Restoring Relationships 7

Sun, 23 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Where we're at in our relationship with God can make a big difference in the lives of people around us - we may be the closest thing to Jesus that people see - so where is Jesus positioned in your life? In this spin off episode of the Restoring Relationships series, Ps Matt takes us back to where our relationship with God began, then reminds us that God's plan to restore our relationship with Him was always Jesus.

God's Heart of Grace

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This week we're pleased to welcome Ps Paul Drodge from Waterside congregation, who brought a message about how God has an amazing heart of grace towards us, looking at what He has done for us & how we outwork it in our lives.

Comfort from Discomfort - Restoring Relationships 6

Sun, 09 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

God is the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, but we can't receive comfort unless we're honest about our discomfort. Ps Lisa speaks in our Restoring Relationships series and reminds us that we have to encounter God's love for ourselves & then find healing as restoration starts within ourselves.

The Release that comes from Forgiveness - Restoring Relationships 5

Sun, 02 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

By choosing to forgive, we are not only in a position to restore our current relationships but protect our future ones. Continuing the 'Restoring Relationships' series with a detour from the signs of life, Ps Hayley shares her own story of family restoration, describing how unforgiveness can be like gripping on to a cactus, but freedom comes from allowing Jesus into the hurts.

Toxic Familiarity - Restoring Relationships 4

Sun, 26 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing 'Restoring Relationships' through the fourth sign of life - excretion of waste / by-products. Familiarity is a natural by-product of relationships, but it can lead to disconnection if our assumptions stop us getting close enough to talk / ask questions. Have we become so familiar with the Word of God that we are no longer moved by or even believe it?

Workout/Outwork - Restoring Relationships 3

Sun, 19 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing to look at restoring relationships through the signs of life, this week focuses on movement. Ps Charlie takes us through the outworking of salvation in its past, present & future aspects. While God has already set us free, on earth there is a becoming like Christ that can't be done without other people.

And Breathe... - Restoring Relationships 2

Sun, 12 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This week we're looking at the second biological sign of life - respiration - or in simple terms - breathing! Ps Charlie explains that just as we were created to be physically reliant on breathing oxygen, we were created to be spiritually reliant on breathing the Spirit of God. In order to fulfil our purpose of loving people, we need to breathe more deeply of God.

Nourish to Flourish - Restoring Relationships 1

Sun, 05 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Charlie introduces this series looking at how our relationship with God restored through Jesus affects how our relationships with other people can be transformed. Over the next few weeks we'll be evaluating the health of our relationships through the seven biological signs of life, as relationships are dynamic, made of living people. The first sign is nutrition - when we read & obey the Word of God, we are nourished by the nutrients & then able to give out to others - where is the Word of God placed in your life?

God Comes Closer

Sun, 21 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This Easter Sunday, Ps Lisa uses the example of Thomas encountering the risen Jesus to remind us that despite our stubbornness, God is getting closer, all we have to do is let Him in.

Easter Message

Sun, 21 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This Easter, Ps Charlie preaches a short message on the resurrection of Christ and what it means for us.

The Reverence

Sun, 14 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Lisa takes us on a Bible study through 2 Samuel 6:1-15 to remind us of God's holiness and the importance of reverence towards Him. Familiarity can make us forget who He is, but knowing we have His sacred presence inside of us affects everything about our lives & how we treat others.

Unity of Thought & Purpose

Sun, 07 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Christians have a sameness in purpose, which is Jesus Christ, which is expressed differently in each of us as we be who we're called to be. Ps Charlie uses the parable of the Ten Minas to help us explore how we are putting the gospel to work in our lives & encourage us to live out the supernatural potential God sees in us rather than how we see ourselves in the natural.

One thing - Overflow Encounter Morning

Sun, 31 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Concluding the 'Overflow' series with an Encounter worship morning, in this short message, Ps Charlie used the story of Mary & Martha to teach that there is nothing in this world worth being concerned about other than being in the presence of Jesus.

Overflow - Unity - Week 4

Sun, 24 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps James concludes the 'Overflow' series by looking at what Psalm 133 can teach us about living in overflow with God & others. Although overflow starts with our individual pursuit of God, there is so much more when we live in unity with others.

Remaining in the Overflow - Week 3

Sun, 17 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

When you know God has something good for you, but the distracting voices are so loud, and it's really hard to find - Ps Hayley speaks on how we can remain in the overflow, the best place to be!

Living it Large in the Overflow - Week 2

Sun, 10 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In week 2 of the Overflow series, Ps Lydia talks about the three things that stop us from staying in the overflow, & the one thing that will keep us there, so that we can learn to live in the freedom of the overflow of God's love.

Overflow - Where it Begins - Week 1

Sun, 03 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Matt opens up the March 'Overflow' series by encouraging us to reverse our mindset - what if instead of us trying to do everything in our own strength, we positioned ourselves in God and everything else was an overflow from that?

(To view the video that is referred to, go to the FC Guildford Facebook page & find the post from Sunday 3 March.)

The Civil War

Sun, 24 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In Psalm 42 we see 2 opposing parts within David, knowing God brings hope, yet discouraged - Ps Charlie explains how this war is actually between the spirit & the soul of man. Our soul hungers after the love of God; peace from the internal battle comes when, instead of filling our souls with worldly things, we let the spirit lead us.

Invitation to the Feast

Sun, 17 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Lisa explores how what we feast on determines what we think about & affects the desires of our hearts. God has given us an invitation to feast from the table that leads to life. His heart is to sit and eat with us and the more we make room for Him, the more we desire Him. Which table are you feasting from?

Calling

Sun, 10 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Our guest speaker, Pete Bollon, speaks about his journey to becoming a missionary with Overland Missions. He explains how God worked in him to take the pressure off finding his calling & letting go of a need for certainty - when we can't get our heads around what to do with our lives, God's answer is Jesus - look to Him & copy that.

Heart's Desire

Sun, 03 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Christians have been given a new heart, but if it becomes calloused, it's hard to feel those new desires. Ps Charlie encourages us to stop feeding on the junk of our old way, so that there is space to feed our new hearts with pure spiritual milk that truly nourishes, no longer simply knowing about Jesus from afar but truly living with Him.

Taste & See that the Lord is Good

Sun, 27 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000

On Sunday we had a morning of encountering God; alongside powerful worship, Ps Charlie shared these thoughts to encourage us to hunger for God, to get close enough to taste His goodness & let God replace your heart with a heart of flesh that desires Him above all else.

Driven by Desire

Sun, 20 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Lisa unpacks the 'why' & 'how' behind working out our salvation - will we choose to let God help us?

Vision Sunday - Guildford

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Ps Charlie unpacks how our Senior Pastor Andy Elmes' Vision for 2019 will be outworked locally in Guildford. If you haven't heard Ps Andy's message, we suggest listening to that first, it can be found on the Portsmouth list titled 'Vision Sunday - Keep Calm & Carry on'.

Nehemiah - Connections

Sun, 16 Dec 2018 10:00:00 +0000

In the third part of our Nehemiah mini-series, Ps Charlie brings together the themes of identity & purpose that we learnt about in the first two parts. Our identity always comes from God, but our purpose will always include other people & bring connection.

Nehemiah - Identity

Sun, 02 Dec 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Nehemiah - Pathway To God's Strength

Sun, 09 Dec 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Recipe - Apostles' Teaching

Sun, 25 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the Recipe series, Ps Charlie looks at how identity affects purpose - when we encounter God & realise our identity as created in the image of God, we realise our purpose is for the image of God to flow out of us.

Global Sunday - Being a Christian

Sun, 18 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Grace Kariuki returns & shares out of what God did in her life to prepare her for being a missionary a.k.a a Christian! The whole of heaven is waiting for one soul to come into the Kingdom, and our role as a Christian is to pursue the one. What do you value in your life, do you value someone else's salvation?

The Recipe - Belonging

Sun, 11 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Following on from last week, this week's Recipe is further unpacking Ephesians 2:19-22. Where is Jesus in your life? Literally, how close are you to Jesus, is He part of your every decision, thought-process, priority? Listen to hear Ps Charlie explore how your proximity to Christ determines how much you feel like you belong in the household of God.

The Recipe - Fellowship

Sun, 04 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing the Recipe series, Ps Charlie explains that Jesus Christ is the reason for our fellowship, the common factor between us. When we forget that we belong to a family, we forget that we have a purpose; but if we know that Jesus is King, we will know we belong wherever we go. Listen to learn more about how our individual vision relates to both our church family & the wider church.

The Recipe - Prayer in Community

Sun, 28 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Alongside our identity as sons and daughters of God, God has given us the opportunity & right to pray. Listen to this message to hear Ps Lisa explain how all it takes is finding a few people around us to agree that God can do something, then we get to pray to see things shift in the world around us.

The Recipe - Unity

Sun, 21 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

What can a sandwich teach us about unity?!! Find out in this week's edition of The Recipe series, which unpacks how we need to be united with who God says we are in order to have unity with God and each other and therefore fulfil God's plan for us.

The Recipe - United in Prayer, Purpose & Action

Sun, 07 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Continuing our series on The Recipe, Ps Charlie explores what it means for Christians to be Christians & the Church to be Church. What would it look like if we were a community of individuals who have truly found hope, faith, joy, peace, healing; who are genuinely free from insecurities, other people's opinions & fear; where everyone truly gets hold of what Jesus has done for them? Listen to the end to discover tips on how to pray better together because corporate prayer is key to us finding purpose in our gathering together & agreeing with what God says about us.

The Recipe - Community

Sun, 30 Sep 2018 10:00:00 +0000

This week, Ps Lisa shares the recipe for community, looking at what we can learn from Paul speaking to the Corinthian church, a community of Christians who have completely missed the point of what it means to be community!

The Recipe - Apostolic Teaching

Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:00:00 +0000

What happens when you try to re-create a recipe without knowing the original ingredients/method? It could go wrong if you're just trying to create something that looks similar.... Following on from Ps Andy's video message last Sunday, we're starting our series looking at the recipe God has given us for church, so that we can be a church that tastes as good as it looks!

Growing Pains

Sun, 09 Sep 2018 10:00:00 +0000

We are a new creation - growth is the expected outcome after birth. Growth can be uncomfortable, but life without growth isn't true life, it's only existence. This message looks at some Biblical examples of how people responded when God's plan for their growth pushed them out of their comfortability.

Redefining the Norm - Life Redefined

Sun, 19 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Redefining the Norm - Generation

Sun, 12 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Redefining the Norm - Compassion

Sun, 12 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Redefining the Norm - The Architect

Sun, 05 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Redefining the Norm - Authority

Sun, 29 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Redefining the Norm - Interruptions

Sun, 15 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Redefining the Norm - Fear

Sun, 08 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Redefining the Norm - Behold

Sun, 01 Jul 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Loving the Church

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Kingdom People vs. Box People

Sun, 10 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Parable of Gold

Sun, 03 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Expansion

Sun, 27 May 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Seeds

Sun, 20 May 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Sonship

Sun, 13 May 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Purpose

Sun, 06 May 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Remain in Me

Sun, 29 Apr 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Seeing your Destiny in Christ

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Get Back on the Altar

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Seek First the Kingdom

Sun, 08 Apr 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Risen Jesus

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Light Within

Sun, 25 Mar 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Will you let Him wash your feet?

Sun, 18 Mar 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Dwelling in the Secret Place

Sun, 11 Mar 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Time's Up

Sun, 04 Mar 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Naked and Unashamed

Sun, 25 Feb 2018 10:00:00 +0000

New Creation

Sun, 18 Feb 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Mercy of God

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 10:00:00 +0000

The Power of Ordinary

Sun, 04 Feb 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Upside-down Kingdom

Sun, 28 Jan 2018 10:00:00 +0000

God's Best

Sun, 07 Jan 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Life after Birth

Sun, 17 Dec 2017 10:00:00 +0000

The Lie of Loneliness

Sun, 03 Dec 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Invade all Worlds

Sun, 26 Nov 2017 10:00:00 +0000

A New Season

Sun, 19 Nov 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Lest We Forget

Sun, 12 Nov 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Squad Goals

Sun, 05 Nov 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Unity

Sun, 29 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Vision: Restoring Relationships

Sun, 22 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Religion & Rebellion

Sun, 08 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Abba Father

Sun, 01 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Frustration

Sun, 17 Sep 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Freedom

Sun, 10 Sep 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Royal Priests

Sun, 20 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Homeless Homemakers

Sun, 13 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +0000

The Crown

Sun, 06 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Simple Faith

Sun, 30 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Do You Know God?

Sun, 23 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Ten Virgins: One Bridegroom

Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Joyful Happiness

Sun, 09 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Creating Legacy

Sun, 02 Jul 2017 10:00:00 +0000

God Wrestlers

Sun, 25 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

The Great Pursuit

Sun, 18 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Look Up

Sun, 11 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Be Awe-ful

Sun, 28 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Greater Works Than These

Sun, 21 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

You are the Captain

Sun, 14 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

True Love and Loving the Truth

Sun, 07 May 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Agreeing with God

Sun, 30 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Today's Easter Story

Sun, 16 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Helen Berhane - Testimony of persecution

Sun, 23 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Living in the Unseen

Sun, 09 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Agreeing with God

Sun, 02 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0000

The Joy of Repentance

Sun, 26 Mar 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Moving Godliness from Out to Within

Sun, 19 Mar 2017 10:00:00 +0000

What's your fruit?

Sun, 12 Mar 2017 10:00:00 +0000

What I have, I give to you

Sun, 26 Feb 2017 10:00:00 +0000

The just shall live by faith

Sun, 19 Feb 2017 10:00:00 +0000

YAWA Testimonies

Sun, 12 Feb 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Find the signs- Find Jesus

Sun, 05 Feb 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Changing of the guard

Sun, 29 Jan 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Battling the private battles

Sun, 22 Jan 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Prisoners of Hope

Sun, 08 Jan 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Keeping alive the encounter

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Faith and believing

Sun, 04 Dec 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Victorious Loser

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000

The Prodigal Sons

Sun, 13 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Living the Kingdom Way

Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Back to basics - Jesus First

Sun, 30 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Getting Closer to God

Sun, 23 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

A Prophetic People

Sun, 09 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Hearing from God Week 2

Sun, 02 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Hearing from God Week 1

Sun, 25 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000

FC Guildford - The Road Ahead

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Embracing Change

Sun, 04 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Taking Hold of Change - A Bigger Life

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Dealing with Change

Sun, 07 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Belonging to the Family

Sun, 31 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Let Christ be Your Goal

Sun, 17 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000

The Pillar & Foundation

Sun, 10 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Having A Godly Perspective On The Unknown

Sun, 03 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000