Let's not miss this opportunity

Let's not miss this opportunity

Whilst we’re still in the early days of this Coronavirus crisis, I think there’s a good argument to consider this time as a significant evangelistic opportunity.

At a time when peoples’ functional idols of health and wealth have been threatened, perhaps they will be more willing to reconsider the fundamental questions of life. The illusion of control has been taken away from us. Amidst the anxiety that folk are experiencing, it’s very possible that they will be more willing to consider the Christian faith and whether it provides the comfort and reassurance that we all naturally desire right now.

Update: The plan to go online

Update: The plan to go online

This is a crisis moment unlike anything any of us have ever experienced before. Any time of extraordinary change or disruption reveals what we are made of. The choice in front of us is this: if the church is a gathering and a community, do we now fade into irrelevance as all of our relationships are massively disrupted, or do we double down and run towards God and the church family with renewed zeal?

Update: Taking church online

Update: Taking church online

We are going to be taking church online in the days ahead. This means all of our gatherings are cancelled for the time being, including Life Groups.

However, we are passionate about continuing to find ways of meaningfully practicing community. We will be in touch in the coming days to explain how we hope to achieve this.

Going up to worship

Going up to worship

Towards the end of the Book of Psalms you come to fifteen psalms that are all entitled, A Song of Ascents, beginning with Psalm 120. Nobody really knows why they are introduced this way. The city of Jerusalem is often described in the Bible as the mountain of the Lord, ‘Mount Zion’…

Let’s talk about this virus

Let’s talk about this virus

We are a church, an ekklesia, an assembly or gathering, which means that part of our identity comes from being together physically as one people. The nature of the church has no real meaning if we aren’t able to make contact, to love one another, to speak to each other and allow the word of God to spread among us and infect us and do its dangerous and transformative work in our lives.

Spiritual friendship

Spiritual friendship

If you’ve been around Grace for a while, you’ll no doubt be aware of the value that we put on community. We’re deeply committed to the idea that church shouldn’t be a crowd, but a community of brothers and sisters invested in each others’ lives.

 Alongside committing to community, I’d encourage you to develop spiritual friendships in the church. It’s easy to confuse this with community, but I have something different in mind.

Making sense of the Old Testament

Making sense of the Old Testament

Many Christians struggle with the Old Testament. It feels like an alien book (or set of books). When you consider the Levitical purity laws or the detailed history of the people of Israel, most people assume that it has limited relevance for modern life. Some of you have given up reading the Old Testament. Others persist with reading it but with a limited understanding of how it connects with your life.

Changed Lives

Changed Lives

When you consider the popularity of Christianity in a country like the UK, the dominant trend is one of religious decline and secularisation. According to the British Social Attitude Survey in 2019, a majority of Brits do not belong to any religion (52%) or attend religious services (66%). There is a prevailing sense that religion causes conflict and is out of step with modern morality. It’s easy to get the impression that Christianity is on the way out. 

Engaging with Christmas

Engaging with Christmas

As we approach Christmas, it’s easy to forget that it has become something of a secular festival in the UK. For most people, Christmas has become detached from the Christian story. Of course, the things that secular Christmas is focused on - family and feasting - are no bad thing. But I do think we should consider how to distinctively engage with this season of celebration. 

The sweet smell of your prayers

The sweet smell of your prayers

The priests of the Old Testament were given a special recipe from God, a patented concoction of frankincense and various other ingredients that were only to be used in temple worship. We no longer have a temple, and Jesus is with us by his Spirit but not in his physical body. Yet there is still incense. The book of Revelation speaks of the scene in the heavenly throne room where there are ‘golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints’ (Revelation 5.8).

A worldwide mission

A worldwide mission

One way in which the modern experience of church can be radically different from the New Testament is in the relationship between local churches. We can be passionately engaged with our own local church, its community and mission, but have little idea about how churches are meant to work together in the common mission Christ has given to us.