Tag: Healing

Lying Down Beside Still Waters, In Nettles.

10 years ago I had a nasty fall off a mountain bike, smashed the bike helmet (this is why I always wear one) my right shoulder, and my neck. I knew I’d got it bad when the first thought I had as a spat bits of teeth out was, “Who’s going to preach on Sunday?” I can’t really recall being off sick since – until today. Yesterday I had a nasty fall off a mountain bike, and smashed my left shoulder. The front wheel overran the path, down the river bank and over the top. Thankfully I didn’t fall in the river but I landed in nettles, which meant my first thought this time was, “Quick, get out of these nettles!”. I knew my shoulder was bad immediately so rode home one-handed then went to casualty. I have to go to the hospital again on Thursday but the X-Ray seemed to show a break in the clavicle and some dislocation. Thank God for the NHS. Really, if you live in the UK, you know you should. They gave me strong […]

Lead by listening – Brad Jersak

  Jesus is alive! The resurrection is essential to Christianity not just because there’s’ an empty tomb, but because he is here. We were not just left with a love letter. There’s a living God who wants to know us! Jesus believed we could hear his voice. But I didn’t really believe it.   What if we look at the new covenant promises? Based on Jesus dying for us. What are the promises he made to us.   Forgiveness is forgiven. It was done on Good Friday and I experience it now, AND by word count that’s not number 1. By word count, it’s that we get to hear God.   I grew up believing I had a personal relationship with Jesus, but not expecting him to speak to me. What kind of personal relationship is that?   Jer 31:31ff – Prophesy of the New Covenant. No longer will a man need to say to his neighbour, because from the least to the greatest, ALL will! The least in age, the least holy even (because doesn’t he speak then?! Not […]

A Ring, a Robe and Sandals: How your Father welcomes prodigals!

This video was played at our Ivy services last Sunday morning as part of our Finding Your Way Back To God series. I highly commend the book written by my friends Dave and Jon Ferguson for anyone wondering about God, or trying to help point someone home. Following the message in two of our congregations more than 20 people publicly stood to say they knew they were lost, but now they’re going to make the journey back to the Father’s house. Watch the video, and if you’re ready to come home, the door’s wide open, the party banner has your name on it, and a fat calf looks nervous…. Please let me know if the video’s helped you.        

TIME TO KICK THE ROOF IN!

In Luke 5 Jesus is in a house teaching, the crowd checking him out was so large inside and out that some friends bringing a paralysed man couldn’t get into the house. No disabled access! No way in, nobody moving to make a way through. It says there was NO WAY TO DO IT. So what did they do? ‘Sorry pal, we’ll have to take you home again?’ No! There was no way so they made a way. They got creative. Dangerous even. They climbed up on the roof and kicked the roof in so they could lower their friend down on a bed in front of Jesus! This appeals to me from ex police days, where one of my favourite jobs was to be ‘Donger man’ on raids. The Donger was what we called that battering ram which provided a useful key for the majority of locked doors with 14 stone behind it. I’m terrible at DIY, but if you want something smashing, I’m your guy. What those guys did to the roof and how Mark’s account says when Jesus saw […]

How much to get rid of a demon?

Following a few links, I was intrigued to stumble across demon-slayer.org These people (I don’t think you can find out who they are other than first names, but they have a great line in anonymous recommendations) will travel the world and use secret knowledge revealed to only 7 people to get rid of your demons, apparently. How do you know you have demons? Well they list  ‘creepy feelings,‘ or ‘feeling like someone is pressurising you to do certain acts‘ on their SYMPTOMS page.  I got that off their site! Every day now I pass a big billboard advertising the new ITV Demons programme where Philip  Glenister (the guy who played Gene Hunt in Life on Mars) has some new – more other worldly opponents to take on. This stuff is on people’s minds in our culture. Now don’t get me wrong… 1) We don’t battle against flesh and blood. When we see some of the evil in the world I don’t think many of us would think it too much of a stretch to believe the Bible’s warnings of a […]

Nameless and Faceless

I’m sometimes concerned by the quoting or naming of names like e.g. Benny Hinn & Kathryn Kulhman etc. some involved can fall into, perhaps in a bid to seek to authenticate or bolster credibility for it (actually it’s a dangerous way to do it, as whoever you mention, someone will have a problem with them!). There’s also a great deal we Brits are unhappy about when it starts to look like promotion of people rather than God, and that’s a hostage to fortune.