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God + Prayer + Community

// Discipleship

This summer I had the privilege of attending three conferences…Focus (Holy Trinity B conference), New Wine North and Momentum. What an inspirational summer it has been!

Throughout the course of attending these incredible events God highlighted three key things that I desire to put into practice in my personal life. These three key things are…

GOD + Prayer + Community

Over the next three weeks I will be writing about each of the key things. I hope my random thoughts will help you as you seek to live the life that God has gifted you with.

So here it goes!

 

GOD…

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (Gen 1:1)

The past two months in Ben’s world has been mental! Here is a list to sum up my last eight weeks…

  • 3 Weddings (Liverpool, Suffolk & Oxford)
  • 2 Best Man Duties
  • 1 Preaching appointment
  • 2 Stag Do Events (London and Suffolk)
  • 3 Conferences
  • 280 miles of biking (Holiday!)
  • 4 Days of catching up with Mel (Girlfriend) and Family

As you can see…mental!

I got to a point in those eight weeks when all I wanted to do was collapse and do what I wanted rather than run around the country for different people. Doing things for others. Serving at events that I might not have gone to if I was planning MY holidays. This sounds very selfish but that’s how I felt at times.

However, throughout those eight weeks GOD kept interrupting my moaning and groaning with this message…

“It’s all about ME, not you Ben”

He has a point!

In the beginning it wasn’t me, it wasn’t you but it was all about GOD. He created the heavens and the stars. He created man and woman. He breathed LIFE into us and was well pleased.

Every message I have heard this summer, every worship session I have engaged in, every discussion I have had with work colleagues, friends and family has pointed to one message…

IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD.

Maybe you feel drained, tired, wanting your way, wanting church to be moulded around you, wanting the latest gadget, wanting the perfect partner, wanting a small group that suits you, your needs, your desires. Well…I have a challenge for you…

You can’t have it your way. You can’t strive for what you want because you will never be satisfied. You will never find a church that has everything you want because it is not about you. It’s about God!

Challenging to hear, but worth it.

Make God your number one this year. Start each day asking God what he wants you to do. Ask God where he wants you to serve. Ask God what he wants you to buy. Plan your holidays around where God wants you to go. Before you attend a church gathering or event, why not ask God whom he wants you to bless? When your walking to lectures, ask God whom he wants you to speak to. JUST ASK HIM and OBEY!

How do we know we are hearing God’s voice, direction and guidance? Easy…we build a relationship with him. How do you do that? Easy…read your bible and attend a church community that points to God and does what he says. Get closer to God. Love God. Read about Him. Pray. Worship. Redirect your life around His desires.

If God says something to you it will always be in line with what the Bible says. If you don’t know your Bible then ask someone to help you. Read it with a friend or a bunch of your mates. Join a small group. Get involved in School of Theology. Sign up to an online bible in a year (HTB has a great one, which I follow every day).

He desires to know us. He wants to love us. He wants to share the secrets of his heart for His world. Are you willing to listen and get involved?

Serving God is one of the most amazing things to do. Yes it will give you life; a sense of purpose because serving God, lifting him high, declaring his Kingdom is what we were created to do.

IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD

Next week I will write a little something about PRAYER and the power that it holds!

 

Authentic Community

// Community
Discipleship

What a great weekend away we have just had! A whole weekend spent hearing God’s word brought to us by the fantastic Mark Russell, worshipping Jesus, seeking the will of our Father in our lives and generally having loads of fun!

I just thought I’d share what for me was probably the most special part of our time together. During those days, we saw glimpses of what really felt like an genuine, Jesus-centred community. This happened as students who did not really know each other previously hung out and got to know each other, and those on the fringes became integrated. This seemed to happen naturally, out of a sense of desiring inclusivity, not out of duty.

We also saw these glimpses during times of prayer and worship, especially on the saturday night where the Holy Spirit was really at work in a number of people. Everyone was praying for everyone, joining together to meet each other’s spiritual needs and giving their time to serve each other. Seeking God’s will not just for their own lives, but for the life of our community.

This is how we should be living on a daily basis – as an authentic community who truly cares for and loves each other. This is what our clusters and cell groups should look like – groups of people walking with Jesus and doing it together.

On a personal level, I lost a good friend from school recently when he was involved in a road collision. I cannot overstate how much I appreciated the support, love and prayer shown by people in our community when I heard about what had happened. These people gave me their time and engaged with where I was, allowing me to deal with the grief in a loving environment.

We are one body as a church. When one part of the body is affected, the other parts feel it too. As Mark said over the weekend, the whole of the Lord’s prayer is written in plural; “OUR father”,  ”give US today our daily bread”, “lead US not into temptation”. Clearly, the idea is that we live for God and do it with and for each other. The first two commandments are to love God with everything we are, and to love our neighbours as ourselves.

Let’s be communities that replicate this in its purist form, not in a cliquey way but in a totally accepting and inclusive way. This in turn will be incredibly attractive to a world of isolated and lost people, who we can extend the love of Jesus and of our community to.