Standing- Sometimes all we can do is stand our ground and believe the promises of God are true. Standing can be lonely and feel quite passive but is incredibly powerful and is an act of faith in itself. Standing is not a denial of the facts but an unwillingness to live according to them. Learning to stand your ground and believe God above your circumstances is a powerful weapon in the Christian’s armoury.

So often as Christians we need reminding who are enemies are. Eph. 6:13. Satan is subtle, he is not the little friendly figure we see in a red suit with a fork and tail. He is a lot more subtle than that, we need to remember that we are in a Spiritual battle. One of the ways in which he can get to us is through strongholds in our lives. How do we change this thought pattern? By submitting our thoughts to God's thoughts and take our thoughts captive and line them up with the word of God. Later on in this chapter we read that God equips us by providing for us the armour that we need to put on to win the battle. Eph.6:14-15.

One way that satan tries to rob us of reaching our destiny, is that he tries to steal our identity. Satan has been trying to do this since the beginning of time when the serpent (satan) tricked Eve into eating of the tree of good and evil. ADAM AND EVE DID NOT BECOME ALL THEY WERE MEANT TO BE AND NEITHER WILL WE UNLESS WE REALISE WHERE OUR IDENTITY COMES FROM. We are brand new creations 2 Cor. 5:17. Prayer is simply a conversation with God, once we are confident in our identity satan will flee from our lives. As it says James 4:7 Submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

So remember that Pray changes situations, and we must declare God's power in every situation with persistence and perseverance and we WILL see breakthroughs in our lives and in the lives of our families.

Show someone they’re loved this Christmas, that you’re thinking of them, but don’t get caught up the glitz and glamour of what’s being peddled to you through the shops and their very clever advertising. There are so many creative things we can do without spending a vast amount of money to say, you’re important to me. Use wisdom and don’t spend more than you earn, then you’ll have a stress free January and a wonderful Christmas and a great beginning to a very Happy New Year!

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2015 - #ManOnTheMoon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuz2ILq4UeA

Many believers are defeated in life before they even start because of how they speak. Speech is a powerful tool in the hands of a believer, however, it must be speech that builds and brings life. The tongue has the power to bring life and death and we must know how to use it for our best interest. Language that is incorrect will bring the wrong kind of fruit to our lives.

Jesus tells us to be “child-like” whilst Paul the Apostle warns us of the dangers of being “childish”. Ps Danny Murphy explores how we walk this biblical tightrope in certain key areas of our lives to avoid our potential being limited by immature thinking and immature behaviour. Hear about how we need to leave our own personal Neverlands behind to ensure we are the kind of believers who don’t just grow old, but grow up into all that God has called us to be.

In this message PS Mary looks at how we can connect with people from looking how Jesus did it. He always connected before He corrected! She shows us of practical ways of how we can tell our story to effectively others.

In part 2 of our series 'Making Connections,' Lisa Daniels takes us through the importance of knowing the love languages of those that God has placed in your world. Is it words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service of physical touch that fill your love tank?

"LIFE IS MEANT TO BE A MEANINGFUL NARRATIVE OF CONNECTION TO SOMEONE OR SOMETHING" The Church has been good at connecting to God and to each other, however, God's mandate for the church is to connect back to the communities God has strategically placed us. This completes the narrative of connection. Jesus was the master communicator and we learn one of the key factors in His mastery was his observational skills. Paying close attention to detail connects us back to the people who need the message of hope.

Ps Andy Elmes speaks at Blackpool

Ps Adam brings us the final part of The Big Ask series.