RENEW

We are made partners of the Gospel when we come together and say:

“Whatever gifts I have—even though it doesn’t look like much—I will bring this into the church community, I’ll have a heart for this world, I’ll have a heart for the poor, I’ll pray for people who are far from God, and I’ll share my life and my faith with people.”

We are living in a rapidly changing culture. We need to be aware of how technology is changing us and how to wisely respond as Christians – otherwise we are in danger of passively consuming the narrative of our culture.

Spiritual transformation and evidence of a changed life is crucial to a life that is surrendered to God. You cannot live out true devotion to God and experience spiritual transformation and growth by being disconnected or isolated from the church.

God sent his people into the world to proclaim salvation and to serve those in need. But he has also called his own from the world – the Ekklesia - to worship and learn from him.

Live expectantly because Christ is coming soon. Getting ready to meet Jesus involves continually growing in love for God and others. It is important to pray regularly and reach out to people who are in need. Invest your time and talents where they will make an eternal difference.

When it comes to developing a Rule of Life, its to structure your life in such a way, by Gods grace, that the love of Jesus comes before all else. And that everything else flows from that.

It's about keeping God at the centre of your life, so you’re paying attention to him and watching what’s in your heart, so that you’re constantly living in the mercy and grace of God.

By learning to love well you’ll enjoy your life more. You’ll find yourself losing interest in judging other people. You’ll find yourself losing interest in power plays and conflict. You stop worrying so much because some things don’t matter anymore. You’ll begin to let go and let things happen rather than always trying to control everything. You will have frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation for people and for life and a new sense of connectedness to people. 

You have a lot of ‘say’ in how much of the activity of God takes place in your life.

God will never force you into anything, not even a lifesaving relationship with him. He has given you freedom and choice. So, you have an enormous say in how far and by how much you will surrender your life to him.

So many people today are caught up in the rat race of life, always in a hurry, always busy, so many things to do and places to be – people can’t even fit a church service in on a regular basis, never mind spend time with God – with all the demands its hard not to get swallowed up by the culture in which we live.

But if we genuinely and seriously want to have a richer life in Christ, how do we change things?

What do we need to do, to learn those unforced rhythms of grace?

God’s invitation to us through times of grief and loss is to detach from trying to control everything, to begin to hear the voice of the one who loves us who came to give us life.