Our Great God - Newspring Worship

Just loving the new song "Our Great God" from the new Newspring Worship album - Salvation Rise. Thanks to Lee and the rest of the Newspring team for giving us such great songs to exalt "Our Great God"!

It releases 27th April - Do yourself a favour and preorder on iTunes for £7.99. You will not regret it.

Look at the skies, I see your majesty

Your glory shines for all the world to see

Look at the cross, I see salvation rise

Your voice like thunder calls the dead to life.

Our great God, a mighty warrior

Our great God, You go before us

Our great God is on our side

Through every storm and in the rising seas

We will not fear, You stand in victory

Here in the light we cast aside our shame

We are free to glorify Your name

If it wasn't for Jesus, we'd still be all alone

If it wasn't for mercy, we'd still be on our own.

Resurrection Sunday Recap

• He is Risen, He is risen indeed
• Sonia likes to wear slippers on stage during the service run through. lol
• It blows my mind as I drive into the church car park at 8 am and see the place brimming with so many volunteers at work.
• In a sick way having problems with traffic and car parking at church is a good thing. Having no traffic would be a bigger problem. Shout out to all the guys who serve on the front line in the car park!
• With a set of drums and what I term bongos the service could have been renamed "dualing drummers". :)
• It was great to have Mark back preaching after his trip to Bulgaria. He said:
• Easter proves that Jesus was who he said he was & that he triumphed over everything including death.
• The last thing we need is a church thats silent but when it does speak it needs to speak about the Gospel. Its that that changes lives
• Eternal life cannot be manufactured or earned even in a 1000 lifetimes its a free gift only through Christ it's a scandal.
• The gospel changes us from being self centred and self driven people into Christ centred & Christ driven people.
• The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. - Fanny Crosby
• The early disciples had more wealth than stacked up in any bank, they had connected to this eternal life of Christ so they could sing even in prison.
• Jesus said... "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live.
• We welcomed over 1200 people, including 241 children, to our 3 services. And people say church is not relevant?
 

Reconciliation - How God brings us home to Him

Had the awesome opportunity to share from God's Word at the Milton Keynes Christian Centre Good Friday service. We were continuing our series God is the Gospel. Here is a video of the message.



For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. - Romans 5:10-11

“God does not love us because Christ died for us, Christ died for us because God loves us" – J I Packer

A different kind of Atheism

The Roman Emperors referred to the Christians in the early church as "atheists". The didn't believe in the Roman God's. The Emperor Julian (AD 332-363) was frustrated that more and more people were being drawn to this new religion. Not only that, what stunned him about them was the Christ-exalting love that these Christians showed in spite of the persecution they were under.

"Atheism (Christianity) has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal...that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but OURS AS WELL; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them."

They were propelled to love inspite of the risk!

Quote from the book "Risk is right" by John Piper - Page 34

Hope has a name....JESUS

If there are words for Him then I don't have them. 

You see, my brain has not yet reached the point where it could 

form a thought that could adequately describe the greatness of my God, 

and my lungs have not yet developed the ability to release a breath 

with enough agility to breathe out the greatness of his love, 

and my voice, you see, 

my voice, is so inhibited, restrained by human limits 

that it's hard to even sing the praise of…  

You see if there are words for Him then I don't have them. 

My God, 

His grace is remarkable, mercies are enumerable, 

strength is impenetrable, He is Honourable, accountable, favourable, 

He is unsearchable yet knowable, indefinable yet approachable, indescribable yet personal, 

He is beyond comprehension, further than imagination, constant thru generations, 

king of every nation. 

But if there are words for Him then I don't have them. 

You see, my words are few, and to try to capture the one true God, 

using my vocabulary will never do, 

but I use words as an expression, 

an expression of worship to a saviour, 

a saviour who is both worthy and deserving of my praise, so I use words. 

My heart extols the Lord, blesses his name forever, 

He has won my heart captured my mind and has bound them both together, 

He has defeated me in my rebellion, 

conquered me in my sin, 

He has welcomed me into his presence, 

completely invited me in. 

He has made himself the object of my sight, 

flooding me with mercies in the morning, 

drowning me with grace in the night. 

But if there are words for Him 

then I don't have them. 

But what I do have is good news, 

for my God knew that man made words would never do, 

for words are just tools that we use to point to the truth, 

so He sent His son Jesus Christ as "The Word", living proof, 

He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation, 

for by Him all things are created, giving nothingness formation, 

and by His words he sustains, in the power of His name, 

for He is before all things and over all things he reigns, holy is his name, 

so praise him for his life... 

The way, he persevered in strife, 

the humble son of God becoming the perfect sacrifice, 

praise him for his death... 

that He willingly stood in our place, that he lovingly endured the grave, 

that he battled our enemy and on the third day rose in victory, 

He is everything that was promised, 

praise Him as your risen king,

lift your voice and sing for one day he will return for us 

and we will finally be united with our saviour for eternity, eternity. 

So it’s not just words that I proclaim, 

for my words point to "The Word" and "The Word" has a name, 

hope has a name, 

love has a name, 

peace has a name, 

love has a name 

and that name is Jesus Christ. 

In it for the LONG haul?

"The essential thing “in heaven and earth” is that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living" – Friedrich Nietzsche

“There is a great market in the world for religious experience; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for long term apprenticeship in what other generations called holiness.” - Eugene Peterson

There is nothing instant about following Jesus apart from taking the first step.