Who’s counting?

Preached on: Sunday 16th October 2022
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. There is no PowerPoint PDF accompanying this sermon.
Bible references: Numbers 1:1-4, 17-19, 45-50 & Matthew 28:16-20
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Sermon keypoints:
– Gathering
– Giving
– Groups

If like me you’re a fan of tennis and, in particular, Andy Murray, you’ll understand why I say that as long as he is winning it’s a joy to watch but as soon as the score is not going his way well, I don’t know about you, but I often have to leave the room. I can’t bear the tension.

In any sport from football or rugby to ice hockey, cricket to tennis, if you don’t count the goals, the tries, the runs or the points, you don’t know who’s winning.

Well, what about the church? How can you tell who’s winning in the church?

I can remember when every Church of Scotland had to count the number of people attending communion at least once annually and send it into Presbytery who in turn sent it in to 121 and that exercise was supposed to be a good way of keeping count of how many people attend a church regularly. So, someone who is in church every Sunday for example but happened to miss the twice or thrice yearly communion because they were away on holiday or they were unwell, well, they were counted as a non-attender whereas someone could roll up once a year just to keep their name on the congregational role and be counted as regularly attending. What a piece of nonsense! Thankfully, those days are gone.

We need to be wise when it comes to counting numbers in church. Obsessing over numbers as a so-called measure of success can cause wrongful pride. Which church do you go to? Oh, I go to !!!!!!!! church. Oh, how many people go on a Sunday? Um, just a few. Oh well, I go to Brightons Church and every Sunday there’s at least 200 in church.

I/we wish. Well, sometimes anyway!

Rural congregations, for example, have no opportunity whatsoever to gather in that kind of number of people. But we can go too far in the opposite direction, if we dismiss keeping numbers, keeping track of numbers all together.

Interestingly, in his book Anatomy of a Revived Church, consultant Tom Rayner discovered, completely unexpectedly, and I might add, that revitalized congregations were counting. They were keeping track of their numbers.

So, continuing the series based on this book that Scott began two Sundays back, and I’m doing what I’m told Scott, if you’re watching this morning, we come to Who’s Counting?, that’s the title of my sermon, Who’s Counting?, and we begin firstly with Gathering.

Now, just in case anyone is thinking this isn’t very biblical can I remind you of our first reading from the Old Testament that Margo read to us. Numbers is called Numbers, in English it’s not known as that, in the Hebrew but it’s known as Numbers in the English translations because it takes its title from the first few verses. As Margo read to us, we heard that, instructed by The Lord, Moses was told ‘You and Aaron are to number by their divisions, all the men in Israel 20 years old or more who are able to serve in the army.’ and that was in verse 3.

Now, let me give you a little bit of background to Numbers because it’s one of those books that well, if we’re honest, we don’t read that much you know with the people who decide ‘Right, I’m going to read the Bible from the very beginning.’ Genesis, Exodus and then they get to Leviticus and yeah, the struggle and of course Numbers comes next so maybe skip over it but it’s actually quite an interesting book. It came at a pivotal point in the history of God’s people. Having been rescued from Egyptian slavery, the people of God arrived at Mount Sinai. God had provided for their spiritual and their physical needs. He’d given them the Covenant Law by which to live and a Tent of Meeting in which to worship and also a system of sacrifice to ensure forgiveness of sins. So, in Numbers, the people of God, the Israelites, are finally ready to make the journey to Canaan, the Promised Land.

Now, counting the number of men suitable for army service was part of that preparation. To set off along the way they would learn some valuable lessons about holy living, the importance of good leadership, the dangers of temptation and perhaps, most importantly, that God is gracious and keeps His promises.

Now isn’t that bang up to date for the 21st century? The kind of things that we need to know as individual followers of Jesus but also as a church community and congregation and family.

Our aim, of course, is not to enter into the land of Canaan but, as Jesus commanded us in our second reading, our aim is this ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them everything I have commanded you.’ That’s Matthew 28 verse 19 as Margo read. That is our aim.

Just for a moment, to go back to the people of Israel, in order to ensure that they could defend themselves Moses counted the Israelite men who could fight should that be needed and, as we know, the journey to the promised land did not go rather smoothly but rather lonely, rather long, longer than this sermon is going to be, 40 years exact and well, a lot of problems on the way. But, in order to work out if what we are doing in church is actually reaching people outwith the church, we actually also need to count numbers.

Now, one group of church leaders, sensing that things in their congregation were declining, called this consultant who wrote the book to ask for help, and he analyzed their Sunday worship attendance over the past 10 years. In the words of one elder the results were breathtakingly shocking.

Now, to their credit the leaders of that congregation didn’t panic nor did they stick their heads in the sand and refuse to change, you know that well-oft used phrase in the Church of Scotland ‘Well, if it sees me oot, it’ll day fine!’ Well, actually, it won’t. They didn’t panic, they didn’t refuse to change, instead they decided to take seriously their mission to their community and they began to prayerfully plan. Their focus changed. In other words, from being inward to being outward.

So, by engaging with where people’s actual needs were, showing that they cared, sharing God’s love slowly, new people started to come and they kept track of church attendance because they reckoned that if what they were doing was working then it would increase and, in fact, in that congregation it did, So, Gathering is my first point.

My second point is Giving. Financial giving can make more people more nervous than any other subject in church life especially if that congregation is behind budget and it can also make more people more apathetic if that congregation is doing well. Now, I don’t know if Brightons still has a Deacons Court. Have you still got? You do, well, in Larbert East we had a Deacons Court as well, but we changed over to the new constitution a couple of years before I retired in preparation for what was coming but a number of years ago a lovely godly church member left quite a large legacy to the church. It was actually a quarter of a million pounds and that’s, I can say that because it’s out in the public domain. When the Deacons Court learned about this, I saw the pound signs appear in their eyes and I told them, I’m usually quite a gentle person, but on this occasion, I was less than gentle, and I said to them ‘I can see what you’re thinking so, if you think that money is going to be used to pretty up the church building, or if you think you’re going to invest it in something like the lottery then you’ll be looking for a new minister.’ Well, to their credit, they realized what I was saying. That money was invested with the Church of Scotland and is used to finance 80 percent through its interest, 80 percent of the salary of the part-time family worker in the church. Parish Outreach worker. So, money can be a blessing if it’s used in a godly way.

I know of other congregations, I was ministering one who received a legacy and the congregational board in that church sat back and folded their arms, whereas the other congregation with which it was linked wasn’t so, wasn’t so fortunate in one sense and they worked hard and they were the ones who increased their financial giving and saw life in the church. You see, congregational giving is an indicator of leading trends of the spiritual state of the congregation and, interestingly, in this book, Rainer discovered that people often stop giving before they stop coming to church altogether. So, if someone is struggling for whatever reason and stops giving it is a pastoral matter not just a financial one.

So, before we rub our hands together and start counting the offering, here are three simple principles to note that come from the book, and they’re biblical as well, and I share them with you in the hope that your Deacons Court will take them on board and prayerfully consider them. It may be that you’re already doing them so forgive me if I’m doing repeat, saying something that you’re already doing.

But the first is a systematic approach to first-time givers works wonders. People need to know that they are appreciated. That’s actually a Biblical principle, to show someone, you know, to thank them, to be kind to them.

Secondly, tie money to mission. Using an offering to showcase how givers are supporting God’s work is the surest way of making sure that it continues to be supported.

And thirdly, thank generous givers because it appears that some people don’t even know if anyone in their congregation cares that they are supporting their congregations. Now, I’m not saying that about Brightons. That is just a general principle that has been discovered in the study of the anatomy of revitalized churches.

So, that leads us thirdly to Groups, I hope you notice the alliteration Gathering, Giving, Groups, specially done for you. Seven out of ten revitalized churches also tracked attendance at groups associated with their congregations.

Now, take, for example, James had been a minister at a certain church for 12 years, it was in decline before he was called to be the minister but that decline continued gradually in his time too, so the church decided to get serious about Jesus’ command in Matthew 28. and to make some more disciples. They track Church attendance but also Church groups. It enabled them to see where the greater spiritual fruit was growing in terms of the groups connected with the congregation and they also discovered, incidentally, that those who had stayed with the church through its decline were all part, every single one of them, was part of an existing group within the church. So, they learned from this that pouring resources into groups that were working was the way ahead instead of wasting energy and time on those groups that weren’t, and the growth in that congregation was slow but steady. The trend reversed and it went up. Everybody in the congregation didn’t have to do everything or go to everything. Remember our passage in Numbers where the Levites the members of the tribe of Levi, the Levites, weren’t counted as fighting men because their job was to take care of the worship side and the tent of The Lord’s presence. In other words, people should use their God-given gifts where they are most suited. Not forced into doing that which isn’t their gifting. So, if you aren’t good with children, resist all pressure to go and teach children. If you aren’t good at finance like me, get your wife to do it and make sure you’ve got people in the congregation who know what they’re doing. We don’t have to do everything. We don’t have to go to every group but there’s all always something where we can become more involved and use our gifts and that way, the church family grows.

So, who’s counting? It’s a proven fact that revived churches are. They are counting people who are gathering for worship and incidentally, remember to include those who are worshiping online because there are still people who, after the pandemic, are worried about coming back to church and there are people who are two and a half years older and a wee bit more frail but they can still watch online and, if you’re watching today, you are part of the worshiping community of Brightons Church just as much as everyone sitting in the pew.

So, growing churches are counting people who are gathering for worship. They’re also counting how people are giving financially and of their time and talents, and also the groups in which people are involved.

This is not about counting for counting’s sake. Nor this about counting so we can boast about our increased church attendance. This is about counting for accountability. We are all accountable to The Lord, for how we are serving Him in our church congregations.

Now, Rainer did not expect to find this aspect of counting amongst churches that were revitalized but, when he did and thought about it, it made sense because, if what a church is doing for example in worship is still seeing decline then it isn’t working. Hard questions need to be asked and that isn’t just about the minister, in case anybody thinks that I’ll blame Scott.

Do you know, a number of years ago, my wife and I went to a church, I won’t say which church it is, it was in Falkirk Presbytery where I knew, as Presbytery Chaplain, that the minister was struggling and when we arrived at the door there were two elders that were greeting people and I knew who these Elders were because one was a Presbytery Elder and the other was an additional Elder on Presbytery and when they saw us walking towards them this is what they did – they looked us up and down, folded their arms and turned their backs. That’s true. An utter disgrace! No wonder the minister was struggling. And that’s why what’s happening in church is not just the minister, it’s the entire congregation. I can’t tell you what a joy it is to hear you singing this morning. It’s absolutely amazing. I can sense that you’re worshiping The Lord.

So, if what’s happening in worship is not working, it’s everyone’s responsibility, together. It’s about the entire congregation, to seek where God is leading because you see, what really matters, is making disciples of Jesus. It’s what he commanded us to do, and that’s why I’m going to reissue my challenge that I raised with the children earlier. Those people that you’ve thought about that you could invite to church. Please do it. If they say no, then you’ve done your part. Maybe God will work on them. But maybe go back in a wee while and try again and pray for them.

You see, let’s not forget that along with His command to make more disciples, Jesus also said this ‘And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.’

Amen

Share: obedience and joy

Preached on: Sunday 3rd October 2021
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 21-10-03 Message PPT slides multi pages.
Bible references: Numbers 9:1-5,14 & Revelation 7:9-14
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Just let you know if you’re watching from home, we are having a few technical glitches so hopefully you’re still tuned in and joining with us.

Let’s come to God in prayer. Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, come among us and soften our hearts to the word of God.
Holy Spirit, draw near and lead us in the way of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, come with power and deep conviction, for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

So, over the last four or five weeks we’ve been in a teaching series that has sought to bring us back to our Purpose and Values and we’ve seen that our purpose is:
to invite encourage and enable people of all ages to follow Jesus
and to help us as a congregation figure out what does that mean, what does that look like, how is this fleshed out, we have four values and we’ve explored three of those values:
the family
the value of meeting, meeting with God in a personal and life-changing way, of being a family a community who journey together towards wholeness
and of growing in our faith growing both in faith and in character so that we mature as followers of Jesus
but along the way this isn’t about us, really, having a nice organizational purpose and and set of values, ultimately, I think what God’s been wanting to do is bring us back to His heart and to reveal His heart to us, rather than just have a nice purpose and some values that we go ‘Yep, that’s us, that’s what we’re about’. He’s wanting to know us, to know what stirs in His heart, what stirs in His heart for you and for this world, so that we might have a greater vision of what it means to be His people and of what He’s called us into and so we’ve seen that God’s heart is to have a people of His own and He will relate to them as Father, and He will take that people on a journey towards His peace, His shalom, His wholeness. Yet, we begin to taste it even now because our God is not just a figment of our imagination and He’s not just a guy from history and He’s not distant or far off. Our God is near’ He is near you right now, He’s near you every day of your life and He wants to meet with you every day, He wants to work through you that others might meet with Him as well and He made that possible, He made that direct dynamic possible with us because He gave His life, He gave the life of Jesus to reconcile us to Himself and so He’s begun to work on us a work that is received by faith and He will bring it to completion on that final day, and, in that in between time, He will mature us, He will mature us in faith and character, He will nurture us if we allow Him.

S as we were thinking about last week, a few weeks ago, to nurture that holy fearful love, that love that is tender and responsive just like His love is towards us, this has been the revelation of God’s heart to us, family, this has been His heart to us. So, to start and as a heart response of our own, I hope it’s not just in one ear and out the other, I hope you’ve allowed it to stir something in your heart because it’s all been building towards today and our final value which is that of Share, sharing our lives and The good news of God’s love in both word and deed. We’ve been building towards this and our passage today has much to share on this value.

But first, let me ask you a question. Who do you think are the two biggest political rivals in the UK today? I’ll give you 30 seconds if you feel able and you’re close enough to turn to your neighbor and share your idea with them. So, over to you who are the two biggest political rivals?

Five more seconds.

Okay. Well, I’m not going to get you to shout out your answers you’ll be glad to hear, maybe, but keep that in mind as we turn to Numbers and dig into our passage.

In our passage today we find the people of God at Mount Sinai still and they are about to move on from there, and it’s a year from the point where they left Egypt, and we find them a year after that point where God has rescued them. He has taken them out of captivity, out of slavery, He has liberated them and He made that possible by exerting His power. Exerting His power on behalf of an entire nation, a few million people who were held in slavery, held against their will, held for no other reason than it suited their captors, and so, God exerted His power, and time and time again He sought to persuade Pharaoh to let his people go but Pharaoh would not listen, Pharaoh would not heed the Lord and so, the Lord judged the nation but to save his people from experiencing that judgment themselves He instructed them to sacrifice a spotless lamb and use its blood to mark the lintel and the door frame and that would safeguard them from experiencing the same judgment, and ultimately it was that sacrifice that led them from that terrible oppression and into the good things that God wanted for His people.
So, there was that first Passover sacrifice.

And so now, in our passage today. we find them a year on and about to remember what led to their deliverance, what led to them being free from that tyranny at the hand of their oppressors. So can you imagine how powerful this would have been for the people, how meaningful, how important it would have been as they shared in the sacrifice but then also the meal and the feast that came with it. Can you imagine what that would have been like to recall that first taste of freedom, that first taste of freedom in 400 years as a people, as a family that their very children had experienced? Can you imagine that any event that’s going to mark that kind of occasion? It’s going to be meaningful; it’s going to be weighty with significance. This isn’t a moment you want spoiled, this isn’t a moment you want intruded upon, this isn’t a moment you want to share with people who don’t know your pain, very real pain. And yet, what does God say? ‘A foreigner residing among you is also to celebrate the Lord’s Passover.’

So, let’s come back to that question about political rivals. Can you imagine Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon – was that, was that who you went for? maybe you went for two different people – can you imagine Boris Johnson being welcomed into the SNP party? I can’t. Can you imagine Boris Johnson being invited to speak at the SNP political party conference? Can you imagine him being given the keynote closing speech of the conference rather than Nicola Sturgeon? Not a chance!

And yet, that’s about the closest I could get to picturing something that might be getting the heart of this. Here are people who are celebrating something so special to them that maybe the height of their year and God says they’ve not to turn inward, they are to keep space for the outsider to be among them and even share in this special moment, they’ve not to allow fear, they’ve not to allow heart to turn them inwards, and again we’re meant to see something here of the heart of God, the heart of God that is full of radical generosity and welcome for the outsider, such that, through His people, He wants to reach through His people to all people, and see them come to know Him as their God and Heavenly Father as well. He wants to see others come in faith to Him and you see the heart of God here friends. Can you see it? But it makes me wonder – how would an outsider get to that point of faith? how would such a person, who maybe doesn’t know anything of the Lord, reach that point where they are willing to identify with the Lord’s people, because remember, for the males, that included circumcision, so that’s a rather big step of faith. What leads to that point?

And the only explanation that I can come up with is that not only is there meant to be space within the heart of God for the outsider, not only is there space for the outsider within the heart of God, there is meant to be space within the life of God’s people as well. Think about it, the only way for the outsider to come to that point of faith of reaching out for the Lord is that they learn about the Lord through His people and the picture here is of one of where outsiders, people who don’t know the Lord, are looking in and they’re hearing of the Lord and they’re asking questions and they’re saying like ‘What’s your story? How did you Jews end up in the desert here or in this land or x, y and z? and they would maybe ask questions about their life choices, and they would maybe observe their celebrations, and, over time, they would be introduced to the Lord.

In this one verse God anticipates that others will be introduced to Him, to the God who loves with a holy love, and He anticipates them reaching that place where they put their faith in Him as well, but it first requires God’s people to make space for the outsider and in doing that they’re simply reflecting the heart of God, within which is space for others to come into His family.

So, I wonder, family, do we have space ourselves for the outsider? And what we do as church, is their space? Is your pew, your pew? Is your job in the church, your job? No one else’s? Is the group you go to just for you and your friends, or is there space for the outsider? What about in your diary? Do you have space for those outside or just for the people inside? Are you creating space to get to know people in local community, that you get to know their story, they get to know your story, and in that shared space maybe something happens, that you get to share a little of your faith a little of this God you follow?

Are you making space for others? and hopefully in the midst of that journey and making that space, hopefully, there will be a conversation about God.

So, as a second point, what would you share about why you bother with church and why you follow Jesus? What would you share?

And I asked this because, back in Israel’s day, in ancient Israel, if people were asking about the Lord they would be hearing about Yahweh, and in the Hebrew Yahweh and they would hear of a God who had rescued His people from slavery and brought them out and into a good place, He had good plans for them. A God who saves. A God who rescues. A God who made a difference.

And so, when you think about sharing your faith, what would you share? Are you sharing anything about or thinking about sharing anything of the difference Jesus has made to your life? Or is He simply some guy in an old book? Is he someone that you know and have found life through? Because, let’s remember, these words of the New Testament – we read ‘John saw Jesus coming towards him and said ‘Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ or in the words of Paul ‘for Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.’ The story of the Passover is meant to point us forward to this perfect lamb, the one who would come to bring forgiveness for any and all who put their faith in him. Jesus. He is that Passover lamb and so in Him, we find true life, in Him we find hope, in Him our lives are changed.

But, when someone asks you about your faith, what are you going to share? Is Jesus just a nice guy, is he a guy who teaches some nice morals? Or is he something more to you? Is he something more? Have you found life through Him? Have you found a cause of hope and celebration through Jesus? Because, friends, if you haven’t, if Jesus does not astound you, and make and fill you with wonder, do you really know Jesus? Do you really know Him as your Savior, as a Passover lamb? Do you really know him?

Because, when we get to know Him and when we get to know what He’s done for us, then that should make a difference in our life, and out of that should come a response. And the same was true of God’s people in Moses time. They knew what He had done, how He’d save them from that slavery, and so at this point in the story at least, they are appreciative of that and live in response to it, and so we read next that ‘Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses’ and so in response to what God has done, we see two responses, the response of obedience and of joy. They, as they say, they did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses, everything, they obeyed it to the letter, they didn’t add to it, they didn’t try and water it down, they just obeyed, but obeyed properly and fully.

And I wonder, friends, in our response to what Jesus has done for us, are we obeying? Are we responding? So, for example, our purpose part of it at least and today’s value is based upon these words of Jesus ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’ Go and make disciples, go share your faith, and it’s a command to every one of us, not just me, not just our elders, not just the Community Outreach Team or those that get involved with CAP in some shape or form. Every one of us is to make space to share our faith, to share something of Jesus, not maybe in the first conversation, but over time. So, are we obeying this command?

And at this point, I’d like to have a bit of confession. On Friday I disobeyed. On Friday I was down in East Ayrshire where Gill and I are buying house, kind of a bolt-hole, holiday home, and something for retirement, who knows what it will be, something for us to benefiting from, and our builder is Craig, great guy, really lovely guy, but the build is six months behind schedule and we’re semi okay with that, and we were saying to them we’d really like to be in for the end of September, the end of September’s come and gone and we’re still not in but hopefully a couple of weeks’ time, but I was down on Friday to let in the carpet fitters and Craig was there and I got talking to Craig and he was just saying how stressed he is, not because we’re necessarily putting a lot of pressure on him, he’s just stressed about the situation and it is affecting his health, and sure I listened, and hopefully I was a bit empathetic and gracious and all those nice things, but the thought came to mind ‘You know I could pray for Craig’ I could offer to pray for him and I must have had three or four opportunities over the course of that day and at the end of the day says ‘I’ve got to go and pick up my daughter, I’ll see you later’ and I missed the opportunity. I missed the opportunity to create space, to introduce Craig to a God who might have given him some strength or peace or greater. Who knows what or just to know that someone cared enough to take that step of faith, or there’s a God out there who is not confined to the walls of a church building, but is there in the everyday of life. I feel like I’ve really let Jesus down. I feel like I haven’t obeyed. I feel like I’ve let Craig down. I’ve not loved my neighbor as I love myself, because I love myself more and allowing my comfort and my fear to control my actions, and I feel a wee bit grieved because I used to be that guy. I used to be that guy who would more proactively say to people ‘Can I pray with you just now’ And I’ve lost that to some degree. Somehow, along the way, and I don’t like being that guy now that I am. I want to be that guy who had the confidence to say ‘Can I pray with you’ and I’m gonna get it back. If you know anything of me, I quite often say to some of the guys ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’ and I’ve got the will, so there’s a way, and so here’s me exerting my will, because we have a choice in this, friends, we have a choice to mature in faith or not.

So, here’s me making my choice. If I’m standing at that front door and you’ve got something you want prayer for, I’ll pray for you on the doorstep, if you’re willing. If you’re not willing, hang about here at the end of church and when I come back in, you might need to wait 10 minutes, I’ll pray for you. I am not going to settle. I am, I want to be a follower of Jesus who obeys the words of Jesus and gets over his embarrassment and awkwardness so that, the next time I see a Craig I don’t bottle it, because I can’t call you into this if I’m not doing it. So, I need your help church, I need your help to grow in faith again. So, there’s the invitation, not a challenge for you, a challenge for me. Today if I’m at the door or if you see me around church, I will offer to pray for you and if I don’t you’ve got permission to pull me up in it. Okay, okay? Because sometimes, in the life of faith, we just have to do things and get over the hump and the first couple of times are really awkward but you know eventually we just get used to it and that’s how we do it and that’s the way that culture changes because I’ve got used, I get used to it again. The Church of Scotland culture of faith is private and unless I’m doing a pastoral visit, I maybe don’t offer as much to pray and I want that to change for me. So, will you help me? But you know with obedience can come joy, and when we obey, joy can come and the people they were told to celebrate the Passover, it wasn’t a choice, it was a command, but I don’t think God was imagining someone doing just a religious textbook ‘Oh, there’s the Passover done and dusted and it was a dreary affair’ this was a feast, this was a celebration. God could have said mark the Passover do the Passover, have the Passover but He chose the word celebrate, celebrate. It’s meant to be joyful. From obedience comes joy and there’s a joy to be known as we share our faith and seeing people come to share in that great multitude and imagine if I had said to Craig ‘Could I pray with you’ and he had said ‘Sure, that’s fine’ I would have been bouncing in here today and telling you a completely different story, but maybe he would have known joy as well because the joy is not just for us, the joy is for others in our community, and so if we want to see people in our community come to that place of joy for themselves, of knowing the Lord for themselves, of following Jesus and being part of that great multitude of people, friends, we can’t just keep zipped, we really do need to find a way of sharing our lives making space, and then when the opportunities arise taking them to share our faith.

And, if we will obey, joy will come, joy will come. A joy for you, and a joy for me, and a joy for the people of this community, as they come to know the lamb who was slain for them, who loved them that much, he died for them. I pray it may be so. Amen.

We seek to invite, encourage and enable people of all ages to follow Jesus Christ.

Numbers

Who’s counting?

NEWS

CALENDAR

CONTACT