At Home with God

In this second article on the senior members of church we are going to focus in on this issue from the perspective of grandparents (and surrogate grandparents) in the church. There is no greater privilege than seeing the next generation rise up around you. Having a sense of the legacy that God has given to you brings its own reward. As the famous saying goes, ‘No one ever said on their death bed I wish I’d spent more time at work.’ While the value of family is seen more clearly that does not mean that it comes without significant challenges for many. The obstacles of time and location may be one thing, but harder still can be the obstacles of past issues and changing values. The former can be overcome with technology and will power, the latter require much more effort.  So here are few thoughts: 1. Don’t live in guilt and regret. Live in faith and effective prayer. You cannot change the past. You may look back and see things that you wish you’d done differently. To be honest, it wo...

One of my friends stood in front of the church to share his testimony. As he began to share a few of us were sat together and our jaws were hitting the floor. We had known our friend for a few years but had never known anything about his history (just how little we knew soon became clear). When you met him, he struck you as one of those clean-cut people. You know, one of those who had had a happy childhood, never went off the rails and who even kept off the grass if the sign told him too.   But that was not the testimony he was sharing with us now. It seemed like every evil I could imagine (and some that I couldn’t) had been his history. From drugs to prostitution, from abuse to academic failure. With each new revelation we, his friends, were more shocked. As he started each new episode with the simple phrase, ‘God saved me from a life of …’ we had to agree, God had truly redeemed him from that life, he was definitely free.   I’m not sure how long his testimony went on for. It...

So recently I have been thinking about the things we should be intentional about sharing with our children. If you were to choose four things to encourage personal hygiene it might look like this: Brush your teeth twice a day Wash your hands Shower regularly Put your clothes to the wash Parents of teenagers will appreciate how important these four are and what a difference it makes to the whole house. If we were to choose four things to do with time management it might be we say: Do what you have to do before you do what you want to do. Make a task list. There are seasons to work and seasons to play. Always make space for people. So, all this made me wonder what would be the top four things I would want my children to know about the things of God. I have to say the list surprised me and spurred me to action. So here is my current top four, with a few comments. (Subject to change of course).      1. The Gospel This seems like the most basic thing our children should kn...

  The rule of 6 Imagine life if we could only mix with 6 friends. Here in the UK, this doesn’t require much imagination with current Coronavirus restrictions, but it certainly gets you thinking. How intentional would you be about those 6 friendships? What would be your mix of non-Christian to Christian friends? Imagine telling the children of your church to pair up with two other children in the church, meeting and praying together. Each child could then reach out to three of their friends to share the gospel. Imagine the impact we could have in the schools at this time. When we lived in London we led a children’s ministry that had an extensive schools ministry. With over 200 full time evangelists that we had trained up and sent out into different schools across the city. It was amazing to see the fruit: These evangelists were bold to preach the Gospel and saw many children turn to Christ, yet not once were they uninvited from the school. Imagine that! At the moment it is challengi...

  Big events require big monuments (or mementos). When you spend lots of money to go on the holiday of a lifetime or see the concert you have longed to see without taking home a memento of that time.  Whether it is the photos that you have taken or heap tat from a gift shop a wise person will find a way to bottle some of the memories of the time. God specifically instructs the Israelites to keep a memento of key events in the Bible. For example, God told the Israelites to collect up stones when they passed through the river Jordan on their way to Jericho (Joshua 3). God himself placed a memorial in the form of a rainbow to promise that he would never flood the earth again. Of course mementos are not just there to remember the good times, they are also there to remember the harder times and serve as a warning and a way of counting blessings into the future. The simple act of wearing a poppy on remembrance Sunday to remember those who gave their lives to fight for our freedom he...

Excerpt from God’s Generals for kids volume 3 - John Alexander Dowie By Roberts Liardon & Olly Goldenberg  Soon after John arrived in Newton a plague swept through the region. People were becoming sick, coughing and dying all around. People were dying so quickly when they got the plague that there seemed to be no escape and they were very afraid. John had ministered at forty funerals in just a few weeks. It looked like the only reason he was there was to bury the dead people. John sat in his study and thought about the situation. Thirty more of his congregation was sick and dying. Where was God? He was praying for the people to be healed, but it seemed like God just didn’t want to answer. John knew that God could heal people, so why wasn’t God doing it. Sickness was winning. Death was destroying lives and there was no one there to deliver people. John sat at his desk, his head hung down into his hands as great sobs shook his body and tears poured like a river down his f...

In the light of the recent coronavirus outbreak, many churches are changing the way they connect together. For many this means no meetings on a Sunday for a season and even no small group gatherings. What can you do to make the most of this time as a family and grow spiritually? Jesus often withdrew to a lonely place to pray and it seems that for many of us we are entering a season of withdrawing from others. Whilst others are fighting to keep this country going, let's make the most of this season to seek God's face, grow closer to Him and build His kingdom. Whilst there are many new stresses and routines have been broken , let's not forget that we serve a great God and now is the time for the church to rise up and shine for Jesus. Many families will be spending a lot more time together, whilst others will be working at full stretch to keep our country going. In times when a nation is in crisis, it is vitally important that we seek God. This is an opportunity for the...