This week's (daily) thoughts
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 4:19 (New International Version)
Often we've been taught to view 'need' as a negative thing. But in many ways 'need' creates an opportunity for God to work. So many testimonies that we hear are about how God met a great need in a person's life which brought them to a place of faith.
In the scriptures God often reveals his character and personality through meeting a need and then using a corresponding name to identify himself. For example Gideon was scared and needed peace so God reveals himself as Yahweh Shalom:“The Lord is Peace.” (Judges 6:24).
As we go forward into this next season of church life we will be creating lots of need. Amongst other areas these will include the need for leaders, volunteers and of course finances. We have a need meeting God who will supply and often uses us to be part of the miracle. As someone once said “faith isn't faith until we've exhausted our own resources”. Our confidence is in Yahweh Jireh: “The Lord will provide.”
Wednesday, 24 march 2010
Should I or should I not?
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
- Hebrews 11:1
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
- Proverbs 13:12
Quite a few have asked me about the current plans for the C3 Centre. I've been in a it of a quandary as to how much to say. I want to raise hope because it is essential to faith. But I am cautious because I don't want to disappoint people. But here we go I'm going take the risk...
Our preferred scheme at present is to knock the whole place down and start again. If we do this we think we can build a worship area large enough to move into on Sunday mornings which is a little bigger than St Bedes hall plus all the necessary ancillary rooms for children's work etc. All these rooms could be used as multi-functional rooms throughout the week. With this plan we'd have 35 car parking spaces on site, retain the house, have circulation space for 300-400 people and all the required other rooms to fulfil the ministry. With potential car parking in St Phillips school and the Horizon centre we could operationally make this site work 7 days a week!
It will of course cost more than the original refurbishment programme we had in mind but its no where near as expensive as what we looked at a few years ago with a very large auditorium where we had to make it work through conferencing and lettings. An added plus and not insignificant is the fact that building a new building doesn't attract VAT which any refurbishment of existing buildings does. There are a number of other advantages including, saving on rental at St Bede's, moving in on Sundays, purpose built facility, maintenance and the ablity to phase construction if so required etc, etc.
In the next few weeks we will have drawings available and we are meeting with planners next Wednesday 31st to gain their views of what we may be allowed to build on this site.
The greatest challenge will probably be the financing of this. We'll have a good idea of build costs by mid to end of May. We would not have even started investigating this if we did not sense that God is in it and that by faith we can do this. But I must be honest - its very dependant on how much we raise this weekend in the offering and perhaps more particularly where will stand on the monthly giving to fund this and all the things we would like to do in the centre.
So much more to say but in a nutshell - please pray,
Thursday, 25 march 2010
Ask for favour in the day of favour and the day of favour is now.
Well yesterday’s email got you excited! Thanks to those who have responded with encouraging words to ‘go for it’. Indeed, let me be a little more bold and say that currently we are not looking at any other scheme than the one I outlined yesterday i.e. knock down and start again with a purpose-built facility which we can move into as our main worship space for Sundays as well as use throughout the week for all kinds of projects. We will see this through to its logical and ultimate conclusion whatever that may be.
Please pray for favour with the planners with whom we are meeting next Wednesday and also for miraculous provision to move this forward which is related to the Vision Offering this Sunday.
I had a fantastic meeting this morning with the Manager from Sainsbury’s. I decided to just be straight with him and ask whether we could we use the car park on Sunday evenings if we were to start a Sunday evening service. His reply; “No problem, we want to do as much as we can to work with others in the community”.
I was emboldened so I asked, “What about when we start on Sunday mornings?” He said, “Shouldn't be a problem but we would probably prefer for you to park round the back in the overflow area.” On a roll I decided to mention conferences too especially as we would be buying our food and such like from them (-: Same reply only he added - “I don't think we will be putting stickers on cars related to this kind of event”.
So I turned off the tape machine and asked him... just kidding! I did nearly ask for it in writing but I thought it might be one step too far at this point. He also asked whether we would have rooms they could use for meetings on occasions. This could be the start of a really great relationship with Sainsbury’s!
More good news; St Phillips PCC have unanimously agreed to make us a loan of £300K secured against the house should we require it. It's at a good rate and avoids set-up fees, valuation, etc. with the bank.
Where else can we ask for favour?
Friday, 26 march 2010
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
- Matthew 16:25
In this verse Jesus states that it’s only through death that we find life. Jesus in so many ways lived opposite to our world's systems. Instead of an ‘eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ Jesus said ‘turn the other cheek.’ Instead of hating your enemies Jesus taught us to love them. His way was a back to front, upside down way of life.
In Matthew 16:26 Jesus asks a question - "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" In other words, if there's nothing beyond this life, then this life is meaningless. Life can never be about climbing the ladder or winning in the game of life. True life is found when we die to ourselves and live for Him.
2,000 years ago Jesus came and turned everything upside down. He was God in flesh. He fulfilled prophecy written hundreds of years before his birth. He worked miracles. He predicted that he would die on a cross for our sins and come back to life three days later.
After a brutal execution Jesus died and was buried. Once again, it seemed as though death would have the last word. But Luke records what happened next:
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? he is not here; he has risen!"
As John Ortberg points out:
People have not gathered for the past 2,000 years to say, "The stock market has risen. It has risen indeed." They have not gathered to say, "The dollar has risen. It has risen indeed." Or, "the employment rate has risen." Or, "the gross domestic product has risen." Or, "General Motors has risen." Here's the one hope that has held up human beings across every continent and culture for two millennia of difficult times of poverty, disease, pain, hardship, [and] death itself: "Christ is risen. He is risen indeed."
It’s with this message that I wanted to end the devotions this week, partly because we are now entering Holy Week where historically Christians have meditated on The Cross and the events leading up to the death of Christ, all of course in anticipation of Easter Sunday, but also because whatever plans we have to build a building for the glory of God it can never be the vision. The vision is to get this message of a resurrected Saviour to as many people as possible because nothing less than the global glory of God can ever satisfy us or fulfil God's plan and purpose.
Such a message is worth dying for. It demands my soul, my life, my all!
See you soon,
|
