We know that being in healthy communities brings us health. What practices build these communities?

How can we stop churches becoming unhealthy?

The early church believed that God would heal their own sick members through the ministry of people with the gift of healing but also through the regular ministry of the church.

How could we/should/do we copy these patterns?

Jesus spent a lot of time responding to sick people.

On Sunday, we explored why healing was so important to his ministry, who he healed and what was understood by those who saw it and what it reveals about Jesus.

We know Jesus said he would build the church – but how does that happen? Can we just sit back and chill out? Or do we have to work hard for him?

Or is there another way of seeing how our small, non-anxious decisions can be used by him in his work. We think so!

None of us have enough time to do all that we want to do. We feel hassled, rushed, time-poor. It can lead us being impatient with ourselves, each other and even God. 

The birth of a Saviour is a call to slow down, to see more and an invitation to be patient. 

Christmas scenes can look so nice. Pretty, even. It’s easy for it all to be sentimental. But births are always messy. And being born in a manger doesn’t help. Being born in a politically fraught time makes it worse. 

So what does God do? He steps into our mess, embraces it, challenges it and offers alternative ways to do life.

The Spirit helps us hear God In the early church it was normal to expect that you would hear from God – through one another. What does it means to be ready to speak in this way to one another and how can we make sure we can hear properly?

The temptation to be self-sufficient is ever present. The Spirit guards us from the temptation by reminding us that we need what others can give us.

We all get to play, we all get to join in, we all get to receive.

The temptation to be self-sufficient is ever present. The Spirit guards us from the temptation by reminding us that we need what others can give us.

We all get to play, we all get to join in, we all get to receive.

The Spirit takes you on surprising pathways.

It’s a familiar mistake to think that being committed to God will protect you from difficult days.

The Spirit is not an insurance policy shielding you from problems but a companion who guides you through them.

The Spirit includes the unexpected.

There are three stories, one after another, that Luke includes in his story of the early church. Each of these surprising stories are about men who were surprising converts.

God still seems to take delight in calling to himself those who feel the least likely to be on his side.