Everything we want to do comes out of love. Jesus sets a very high bar; don’t look at her with lust, she’s your sister Don’t look at him with anger; he’s your brother The fasting he requires is feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, loving those that have nowt. He asked Simon Peter: do you love me? Yes Feed my lambs then If you love me – love them What else can save the world, our cities, but this love. A people caught up in love. The bible is a love story Not a rule book Matt 13:3-9 parable of the sower 19-23 unpacks and explains it. Jesus is sowing seed on planet earth Some – hard ground; ‘I just don’t and won’t believe that love story.’ Some had no root; shallow relationship. The first joy of the first date. No depth to the relationship. And some – it’s wealth that gets in the way. The cares of this world, consumerism is choking out the gospel in the world. Britain is full of rich young rulers who won’t give up […]
Tag: Christianity
How much does God love you?
As I’m preparing for another Ivy wedding, looking at their chosen reading from Ephesians 3, I just read this, by Francis Chan – on GETTING the love of God. Let me ask you: How much do you think God the Father loves his Son? Try to imagine that. How much does God the Father love Jesus? It’d be a pretty perfect love, right? That’s why John 15:9 is a difficult passage for some of us to embrace. In John 15:9 Jesus says, “Just as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” Did you catch that: Just as? In so much as, in the same way as the Father loves you, Jesus, that’s how much you love me? Come on. Shouldn’t the verse read, “Just as the Father has loved me, cut that in half, or a third, and that’s how much he loves you.” That’s the way it feels sometimes, right? Some of you get the love of God, and praise God for that. I’m so grateful for you, and I learn […]
Have you read the most popular book in the world today?
From http://visual.ly/top-10-most-read-books-world
The Biggest Challenge Of My Life So Far – Please Help Me Out!
I’m WAY excited! Carl Brettle from UCB recently challenged me, “If you wrote an evangelistic resource that will connect to 21st Century people, I think we could make thousands of copies available to give FREE to churches.” Woah. I met him a week or so after to see if he was serious or whether that was just a rush of blood. We discussed an idea I’d had about a year before that I’d been thinking and praying about and following that I’m just about to start writing and producing what will be at least two resources. I can’t give you the titles etc yet but there will be… 1) A short, punchy booklet and DVD resource linked to a website full of amazing testimonies challenging people to follow Jesus Christ 2) Another free resource for those who have done so (or are still on the edges of it) to help disciple them to make disciples. Both resources will have dedicated websites to really help people who engage with the material at every level and we are planning on having tens […]
What NOT to do when God is silent! (Mike Starkey at Ivy MCR)
Mike Starkey – Saul and the Witch of Endor 1 Sam 28 Let’s find a very difficult passage dealing with issues like divine guidance, mental illness, spiritualism, failure of leadership and the silence of God in the face of desperate situations. Ah, here’s one. In the week Mike was praying and asking God, ‘Where are you at work in this nation?’ And then he pulled up outside a house, and the first sign that said ‘Ivy Cottage.’ Then there was another prayer time in the week and he asked the same question, and went to his office and there was a note from a B& B. ‘Ivy House.’ He once asked God in the supermarket, ‘What kind of minister do you want me to be?’ And a bag of salad had written on it, ‘Washed and ready to serve.’ God can of course communicate in all kinds of ways. Primarily scripture but also maybe through dreams, discernment, etc. But there can be times when we long to hear from God, and the heavens are silent. […]
Dream Of A Coming Revival
Anyone who knows my wife Zoe well will know over the years she has a great prophetic gift in dreams, really insightful and occasionally scary! The wonderful thing is how they come true in detail. It’s no exaggeration to say that every major move in our life has been foretold in a dream she’s documented. So the other night she had a dream – about a move of GOD that’s coming our way. This ties in with an increasing excitement I have been feeling, many reporting a palpable sense of the presence of God last Sunday in our service at Kingsway, a number of miraculous answers to prayer here at Ivy recently; and reports from various sites I’m connected to of outpourings in various churches. It seems the spiritual temperature is being turned up! Here’s Zoe’s dream, from her notes. The bits in brackets are my explanatory notes. I was with a few others (women friends/prayer partners) were in an upstairs room – when a storm was coming up outside. I told someone there how bad it looked but they […]
The most tragic verse in the Bible?
I believe that this Saturday, God is going to do something supernatural in the lives of the men who come to the Diamond Geezers Day here in Manchester, releasing our potential for supernatural greatness. If you’ll come along to the Message building and connect to God’s presence there, hearing His Word and doing what He says, I believe that God is going to raise up from the day some spiritual leaders to make a massive difference in this world. And the reality is that this is so important because there’s a huge shortage of godly men in our nation. In the church men too many men have relegated themselves into passivity, or fallen to compromise and shame. One of the most tragic verses in the Bible is Ezekiel 22:30: I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it… God said: I looked for a man like that… How many did He find? The Bible tells us: […]
SOW MORE SEED – BILL HYBELS
From DVD of Willow Creek GLS last year – watched with staff team today. Parable of talents. – Luke 8 Despite how bountifully the seed is sown (the good news of God’s love). Some people reject it- but don’t get discouraged. Some of it will land on good soil, too. The maths of this is amazing for the seed rejection ratio – he says there’s a 75% rejection rate. But then look at the maths of the tree that represents someone who says yes and has their life changed. How much is produced by a transformed life. We want to see more trees! So – what must I do? PLANT MORE SEED! To overcome the rejection maths. Don’t just complain about the rejection rate! Plant different kinds of seed. We have to sow a lot more seed in our communities. Alpha Course Just Walk Across The Room Experiment!! You will see more trees. Leader – this depends on you. The church takes its cues from you. One of the fundamental requirements of a leader is to learn, experiment and stay […]
Why the Great Commission has stopped me ‘Evangelising’ and ‘Discipling’ people.
I’m disturbed that the church has made DISCIPLING a new kind of industry in the last 5 years or so. Everyone’s doing conferences or writing books with plans and formulas to ‘disciple’ people. As if it’s a verb – not a noun.
CROSSED OUT – Carpenter worth less than the wood and nails?
The cross, crossed people out. They didn’t matter anymore. It was a death that deliberately stripped all dignity. You were belittled. That means you were being, littled. Jesus’ cross was inconsequential. The sign above his head ‘King of the Jews’ – a bitter irony. He was nothing. Crossed out.