Grow in your capacity to love Jesus and love others. Ness Wilson explains how the spiritual fruit of kindness is a powerful way to advance God’s kingdom and that it is not the same as just ‘being nice’.

“Lord God, thank you that you are patient with us. Holy Spirit, as we stay connected with you, would you grow the fruit of patience, persistence and perseverance in our lives.” This week, Rich Cave leads us in a reflection on the spiritual fruit of patience.

Do not be anxious about anything? Peace is hard to come by these days, but in this week’s talk from our series, 'The Way To Wellbeing', Renae unpacks some of the keys to cultivating and guarding a peace that lasts.

In the second talk of our new series, 'The Way To Wellbeing', Sarah shares with us some very helpful habits that are enabling her to cultivate the spiritual fruit of joy. She unpacks for us Nehemiah 8, focusing on the passage “the joy of the Lord is your strength”.

It is no secret that we are broken beings in need of a doctor. But where sinful nature brings brokenness, the Spirit brings wellness. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals and shows us the way, outworking the Father’s will that we would be whole and complete in Christ. But the fruit of the Spirit doesn’t just appear. It needs cultivating and nurturing. To produce the fruit of wellness and not brokenness requires friendship and accountability, rhythms of grace and intentionality. This is not just about getting through a season, but building healthy foundations for life.

Like a scene from a movie, Peter gets up and walks straight pass the guards, through open gates, and out of prison. Guided by an angel, he does what would not be possible without a God intervention. Without realising it he is living out the answered prayers of the church. As people earnestly got on their knees and cried out for his release, miraculous plans were unfolding that were even hard for them to believe. Their prayers were earnest, faith-filled and powerful.

In Acts 10 we meet Cornelius, a centurion who loved God but had a very different background to Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ followers. As John takes us through this chapter we find race and status become completely irrelevant as God leads Peter and Cornelius together. Through their encounter they are building kingdom, irrespective of culture, for God loves every nation.

Saul of Tarsus was a man who had a dramatic encounter with Jesus. An encounter which turned his life, his thoughts, his career, his future completely on its head. He was key in the spread of the gospel to the non-Jewish nations, a man who wrote thirteen books of the New Testament. But without this complete transformation this story would have looked very different for Saul, the early church, and even the Christian faith as we know it today.

Philip was a man who served. He saw needs around him and devoted his life to helping others and sharing the good news with them. He was prepared to 'go'. Where are you able to share your faith on your journey? If the opportunities seem lacking, maybe you just need to put on your shoes and start walking. The first command in the great commission is to 'go'. Perhaps that is a good place to start.

The real success of the church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity. As we seek to be a community that reaches every unreached people group in Loughborough, we have to be prepared to release people like a flowing river into our town. As people trickle into the estates, halls of residence, schools and workplaces, we will see community multiplied and the church grow much like in the book of Acts.