Andy Hawthorne – Five types of blessing

Sketchy notes from a fantastic recent talk I heard Andy give at the Message offices Acts 9. Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. 5 types of blessing there! (Count them for yourself) Healthy things grow. Sometimes there’s pruning for growth. If it ain’t growing, do something! Emerging church is okay, as long as it emerges! Because if we all sit around theologising while the world goes to hell… if we don’t proclaim this gospel – who else will? How did that fivefold blessing come? Paul hit the ground running. Vs 19 – he went from someone who hated the church, to someone who loved the church. Then, ‘at once’ we was preaching Jesus is Son of God, to the world. So often new Christians are the best – don’t let anyone dampen the fire! Have we lost our first love? All who heard him were astonished. Paul’s still a baby Christian – but […]


Doug Addison on Prophetic Evangelism

What a great night at Ivy Manchester! As promised – here are my notes from Doug’s teaching tonight. The talk will be up on the church website for download in a couple of days. People say ‘I’m spiritual, not religious’ The world has changed, evangelism hasn’t caught up. This is an addition to the toolkit: Prophetic Evangelism. 2 scary words! He’s been PRACTISING this for years. If we have a good product, with eternal benefits – but people don’t want it, we need a marketing meeting! We have had good intentions – but that’s not enough. We have to become missionaries to the UK. What do missionaries do? Figure out what people already believe. Study the language and the culture – fit the message into where people are. Not changing the message, just changing the way you share it. Most people are open to Jesus, and to the power of God. We have to come up with ways to connect with people. Today, if people are spiritual, that’s half way home – cos God is spiritual – and he’s in […]


When God comes to church

When we were in Lakeland they kept talking about how you could ask for and receive a burning coal, to take back with you to where you’re from. Of course that’s coming from Isaiah 6. It was the year King Uzziah died. That king had a long and (mostly) distinguished rule of 52 years. He became king at the age of 16 following his father’s assassination. He started out really well and was faithful to the LORD for a long time – that is the measure of a governmental success in scripture – and during that time he and his nation prospered. Unfortunately one day he made a terrible mistake, when he entered the temple to burn incense, a duty reserved by the LORD for the priests only. Pride comes before a fall. It says, But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. (2 Chronicles 26:16) He was confronted about his sin, […]