One Year ESV Bible from Amazon.co.uk

This Sunday we will be looking at Romans 8:1-13 and seeing how that as believers we have a new position (in the Spirit not in the flesh) a new mindset and that we need to live in the good of our new position and mindset by putting to death sin by the Spirit.

Thankfully the Spirit gives us a big sword to kill sin, which is the Word of God. If you have ever read about the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4 his answer to every one of Satan’s temptation was a Scripture quote from Deuteronomy. Sin offers instant pleasure and promises to better God – but the truth is that God has better promises that are eternal and yes and amen! God’s promises lead to life and peace, sin lead to death.

I have used many different ways to read and study the Bible over the years. In 2011 I worked through Matthew, Mark and Luke and used the Bible Speaks Today commentaries to help. This year I want to get an overview of the whole Bible again, so I am using the Murray McCheyne plan.

Here is a round up of different Bible reading plans – I’m old school in that I like to print it out and tick it off – but you can get apps and feeds and things like that from www.youversion.com

For those new to bible reading, I would recommend
The 5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan5 minutes per day, 5 days per week, 5 ways to dig deeper. Takes you through one chapter each day. Read the New Testament in one year.

For families there is a great 20 verses a day plan to give an overview of the Bible – we are doing it at breakfast time during the week

Murray McCheyne – Whole Bible in 365 days with one chapter from Law, Gospels,Prophets, Epistles. Can feel a little disjointed reading from four differnt places each day, but stops you getting bogged down in Leviticus!

Book-at-a-Time Bible Reading Plan – Intersperses Old and New Testament books in each month’s readings, with the four gospels spread throughout the year. Read the complete Bible in one year.

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan – Read four places in God’s Word every day to better grasp the unity of the Scriptures. Read the complete Bible in one year. My favourite plan, but this year I wanted a change!!!

One Year Bible ® plan Another option, also published in many different versions as a hardback
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We are so excited that Wendy Virgo is able to join us and we know we will be very blessed by her wisdom, humour and insight. Wendy is a popular speaker, travelling widely both in the UK and internationally. She has written many books including Leading Ladies, Women Set Free, Mainly for Mothers and Mary: Mother of Jesus. She is married to Terry and they have five grown–up children.

More information to follow in the new year. Put the date in your diary and make sure you don’t miss this excellent event!

Rachel Nightingale, Floss Watkins and Angie Hope

Our new logo looks a bit like the South Gate, made up of multi-coloured blocks. On New Years day we built an 7ft high logo to illustate an important point!

• First Living Stone

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The church is made of up of living stones joined together by the Holy Spirit (Eph2:22 and 1 Peter 2:5). One of the great beauties of New Testament Churches is that we are made up of diverse peoples – of different nations, class, age, background. It’s a breathtaking work of the Spirit to see such different people love one another and be joined together because we love Jesus and He is changing us.

Last Sunday we built our logo during the sermon as a powerful illustration of each one of us being joined together by the Spirit. In an age where we are quick to change gas and electricity supplier, mobile phone company and mortgages, we have become relentless consumers who chop and change at the slightest upset. The church is called to be radically different – a people joined together by the Spirit, who work things through and not walk easily!

Perry Noble wrote a great blog post about nearly walking away from Chick-fil-a after one bad experience in 20 years. He then applied it to church life. Someone could be going to a church for years, but one bad experience…

• Someone didn’t call when they weren’t there for two weeks
• Someone said something hurtful to or about them
• Didn’t like what the preacher said
• Didn’t like what the kids were doing

That one thing trumps everything else and they walk. But, If you are in a church long enough…

• You will see some hypocrisy
• Someone will say something hurtful
• There will be a decision you don’t like
• There will be a sermon that makes you mad!

And then the enemy will want to convince you to walk away and not be joined together as living stones. But if we pull one away, the whole body suffers

So being “joined together” means a number of things – addressed in the “one another” scriptures

• Talk and dialogue over issues – Jesus tells how in Matt 5 and Matt 18
• Forgive one another Eph 4:32; Col 3:13
• Bear with one another Eph 4:2
• Be at peace with one another Mark 9:50
• Love one another – dozens of times
• Live in harmony with one another Rom 12:16
• Stop passing judgement on one another Rom 14:13
• Honour one another Rom 12:10
• Admonish one another Col 3:16
• Don’t grumble against each other James 5:9
• Encourage one another Hebrews 3:13

That’s what being joined together looks like. That is Hard! It is much easier to walk away – but walking away is not God’s way.

That is why Eph2:22 tells us the Spirit is building us together. It is a work of the Spirit in our lives.

What I believe God will be doing in us is strengthening the joins! Work of the Spirit and time – it takes time to build deep relationships and it requires the Spirit to help us die to self, to spiritual pride and say sorry when we need to.

Let’s be joined together by the Spirit and show the world what it means to be a church who radically loves one another!

Peter writes for the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the Observer, Peter has also made a number of TV documentaries. His books include biographies of the Labour Cabinet minister, Lord Longford; the Poet Laureate, C Day-Lewis; Bronwen Astor; and Cardinal Basil Hume.

Should be really interesting – Weds 15th Feb 7.30pm at London Road Methodist Church

God has answered the ironic plea of the song “Please, please, let me get what I want.” The Message translation of Romans 1 puts it like this “What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives… So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out… Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping…”

But, in the final seconds of this article comes a surprise better than the TV advert. Jesus is a “gift that can’t wait to be given” – with incredible irony, the God who flung stars into space came and lived among us, born in the squalor of a borrowed stable. He grew to demonstrate perfect humanity and then died and rose again on our behalf, so that we could be friends with God.

This Christmas, the gift that can’t wait to be given is friendship with God through Jesus Christ. Receive it by talking to Jesus, admitting you were living in that pigpen of life without God. Then ask for his forgiveness and leadership. Finally get plugged into a local church and get them to help you enjoy the gift of friendship with God!

Andy Moyle, The Gateway Church for The Citizen Thought for the Week yet again!

Watch here

Worship in Berkel

Wijnstok Gemeeente Building

Dutch breakfasts are pretty unique – sprinkles (think Hundreds and Thousands) on dutch biscuits/bread, followed by great tasting Gouda cheese on bread and more good coffee. Holland runs on coffee!

The morning was taken up with teaching the 7 styles of evangelism to encourage the folk that we are in this task of witnessing to friends together and that we all have strengths to play. After a good coffee break and more lively banter, we looked at the praticalities of getting conversations from the general to the spiritual to the gospel right through to crossing the line of faith.

In the evening the church family gathered for a Dutch Chinese buffet and more banter – after worshipping, I spoke on the baptism in the Spirit and saw a young man gloriously bathed in the presence of God before we prayed for those who wanted to be able to prophecy and prophecied over the young people.

Amsterdam

What have I learnt?

• Work hard to build deeper community and friendships in The Gateway – Wijnstok Gemeente had many long standing friendships in it, so it’ll take time!
• Keep pressing on and praying for signs and wonders
• Restart the pre-Sunday gathering prayer meeting 9.30-9.45am with time after to greet visitors!
• Keep feeding my children sprinkles on toast for breakfast, although it does make them hyper for school!