Wrapping up Alpha weekend, we see that Jesus immerses us in the Holy Spirit. When filled with the Spirit, we know ourselves as God's beloved children and his joy. From that place we are empowered to do what Jesus did and so much more. God shares himself with us so we can be the 'little Christs' that we are in our communities. Anything that holds us back can be left by the wayside as we come to him however and wherever we are. We were made for this.
How to Return - to the Kingdom
We’re all made for purpose - none of us is just a human being, we’re also human doings. And our god-given individual purpose in life is as unique as we are. But all of us also share a universal purpose- it’s the most fulfilling life giving, transformative and meaningful work we can ever be involved in. It is to be part of and extend the kingdom of God. This talk is about that kingdom, what it looks like and how we play our role.
How to Return - to the Spirit
Pentecost is the moment God's promise to fill his people with the Spirit was fulfilled – this marked the birth of the Church. The Spirit is core to our faith but is often missed, forgotten, or even rejected. We can do all the Christian things and yet miss the Spirit. In this talk, we are challenged to return to the One who refills us, who renews us, and sustains us so we can be the people God has called us to be. This all happens as we experience the Spirit again and again.
How to Return - to Worship
Right from the start, coming together to sing songs of worship has been central to the practices of the people of God. Worship can take many forms, and it certainly doesn’t have to be done altogether. But being able to sing songs as a community is central to our ethos as a church.
It can be powerful and transformative, but to get there we need to be real about where we’re at, to bring our hopes and fears to God, and to acknowledge that he’s the only one who can satisfy. When we declare who He is, that’s when we can make sense of our lives and our world, and see him, and receive his love and power. We thought a bit of a recap on what it’s all about might be a good idea.
How to Return - to Community
This is a mini-series looking at Jesus’ various appearances to his disciples, after he was resurrected. This week is the account in Luke 24, to 2 unknown disciples, on the road to Emmaus. It shows us a lot about what can happen when we discover our preconceptions of who Jesus is, and what he looks like, don’t turn out to match up to the Jesus of the gospels. We may well have been on a painful road of learning all this ourselves during the pandemic, but Jesus is still here, still the same, and still wholly passionate about our togetherness.