The first coffee morning of 2013 took place today and as usual, we served the market stallholders across the road:

Coffee mornings are held on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 12 noon and are a great way to meet people, have a chat and a drink. We sell a range of books and home-made cards, but the whole point of the coffee morning is not to make money, but to build bridges and to meet local people. You’re all very welcome!

I have to admit that Romans 8 is one of my favourite chapters in the Bible. John Piper, speaking at Passion 2013 last night, called it ‘the greatest chapter in the Bible.’ I don’t know if I would dare go that far, but I certainly can never fail to be inspired, blessed and challenged when I read it.

In concluding the sermon, which is worth listening to (Session seven is available for the rest of today), John Piper said of this chapter that it is “Paul’s effort to help us endure and embrace suffering because of the security of our future joy. It ends with the truth-laden effort of Paul to us to embrace suffering for the sake of love because of an indestructible hope which is God’s relation to us in Jesus.”

There’s enough in that one quote to keep me chewing for today, I suspect!

Last night’s prayer meeting focussed primarily on thankfulness for all that God had done in 2012 which acts, in many ways, as the fuel to our faith for what He will do in 2013. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18)

Last year, we particularly saw God working in our relationships with people from other churches. That largely started with the Women’s World Day of Prayer back in March, which we hosted for the first time. Suspictions were overcome and there was great fellowship and unity as we worked with a range of local churches to highlight themes that were the focus of prayer throughout the whole world. (This year’s service will be at the Salvation Army on Friday 1st March, praying for France, a country very dear to my own heart, even as Malaysia was very dear to Antony’s heart as he preached last year.)

From the offerings given at that event back in March came the vision to help the Salvation Army regularly with their food parcels, which became one of the key features of the year. The amount given by church members and others has been staggering. Every month, boxes have been filled to overflowing with tinned food and clothing. It’s been truly amazing to behold. We continue with that giving in 2013, this time extending our giving to baby food and baby milk to help needy families feed their children.

Other churches joined with us in that and we rejoice in the growth the Salvation Army has seen since then, particularly in those who have come to know the Lord as a result of this social action. We want to see growth in all the local churches.

The culmination of the cooperation between the local churches resulted in the community carol service in December. It was good to see local ministers working together and to be part of that corporate witness just a few weeks ago.

So as we enter 2013, we rejoice and pray and give thanks. As we seek God for what HE wants to do in this new year, we know that if we do those things, we are right in the middle of His will!

Every year in Atlanta, a Christian student conference is held at this time of year called Passion. Thanks to the generosity of supporters, this event (attended by approximately 65,000 students aged 18-25 from all around the world) can be watched online as well. The link below takes you to the sessions, which are available to watch for a day or so after they take place.

If you want to see what God is doing in the lives of many young people, want to learn new worship songs, want to hear the word of God being preached by renowned Bible teachers, then this is a great way to participate in something that has touched thousands of lives over many years. It’s always interesting to me to see how God can speak through so many different people on the same themes! As we seek God’s direction and guidance and wisdom in 2013, maybe we can hear His voice speaking to us, even as He speaks to all those students.

Passion 2013 livestream

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Before we reach Twelfth Night, I had to share this lovely video with you! It’s entitled ‘Bethlehemian Rhapsody’ and is a parody on the Queen hit ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, with Christian lyrics which tell the Christmas story fantastically and a puppet show that certainly brought home the story in five minutes in a way that I doubt any sermon of mine ever could! If you have the time to spare, click on the link and enjoy!

‘Bethlehemian Rhapsody’

A party’s not a party without party games. So as usual, Mark kept us on our toes with a variety of party games.

Musical chairs is something we always play, but for the adults, it’s not just a question of finding a chair to sit on when the music stops. Instead, we have to find someone to sit on us as we sit on a chair!

This one had two people sitting on them!

Children’s version:

The men’s version:

We also played charades in teams:

Then we played a game where, if the music stopped and you were on a mat, you were out:

For those that were less agile, a game of Catchphrase/ Pictionary was played.
Being told the catchphrase:

Drawing the catchphrase:

Drawing phrases like ‘under the microscope’, ‘not to be sniffed at’ and ‘a storm in a teacup’ is not always easy!

We also got to celebrate a birthday:

All in all, then, a great start to 2013 and hopefully the first of many such celebrations.