We are fortunate that we serve a God who has integrity and a God that keeps his promises. One of the most famous promises he made goes right all the way back to Genesis. This one was him putting his rainbow in the sky, specifically mentioned in Genesis 9 v 13 displayed below.
Why did God put his rainbow up in the sky, it was to make the promise that God would never destroy the earth with water and flooding ever again, after the great flood in which Noah, his family and all of the worlds’ animals were saved shielded by the ark.
There are thousands of promises in the Bible, and the good news is you can claim them for your own life. Here is another promise of God in the book of Psalms.
Psalm 100:5
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
This is a promise of God being faithful to us through every generation, from generations who lived thousands of year ago to our generation today. It means for those who are in him, his love will endure and be with us forever.
Lets also think about the promises prophesied with regards to Jesus’ first coming. God promised Jesus would come throughout thousands of years in the Old Testament. God kept everyone of those promises and we saw Jesus come over two thousand years ago taking our sin on the cross, so we didn’t have to.
Let’s conclude. If you are in a tough spot in your life or realise there is more to life, then why not consider claiming the promises of God. We are open every Sunday where we have a family service where you can learn more about the promises of God, and how they qualify for your life today. The church doors open on Sunday from 10.45am where we will be serving hot drinks and treats. Join us. You will be warmly welcomed.
Grace Canton a new church plant based at Church in the Avenue had their first church service on Sunday just gone. Here is a photo of the service.
We welcomed a few new faces into the church and enjoyed refreshments and loads of cake. All in all, we praise God for a good first start. If you are new to this news, please pray for this new church plant.
Grace Canton have been preparing over the summer to open the doors for this day. Grace Canton exist to see people of all backgrounds discover and be transformed by the amazing grace of God.
At the heart of their vision is God’s grace which was displayed in Jesus through his finished work on the cross. Grace Canton has been birthed out of Grace Grangetown.
Grace Canton’s vision is summed up in the book of Corinthians displayed below.
2 Corinthians 4:15
“As grace extends to more and more people it will increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.”
Join Grace Canton for a service.
Grace Canton’s next service will be held on Sunday 15th of October.
Doors will be open from 3.15pm. The service will begin at 3.30pm and finish at 5pm, where there will be plenty of time to socialise, ask questions about the Christian faith and enjoy some lovely refreshments.
On our faith walk we may well have plans. Those plans may well be the will of God or not. However, in this instance the best thing to do is this, submit your plans to God and if it is his will then the Lord will establish them.
It pretty much sums it up in the book of Proverbs specifically in chapter 16 v 9. Let’s take a look.
Proverbs 16:9
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”
What you do not want to do is plough ahead with any plans without talking to God about them first, it could be that you may not have the favour of God with regards to these plans, and you end up slogging in your strength to establish them or they don’t get established at all. They basically were not the plans God has for you in his will.
If the plans you have submitted to God are a part of his will, then he will establish them, and in his strength not our own. We must be careful what we use our energy on because you could end up wasting a lot of time and energy in the process. God could have other plans for your life.
The moral of this article is to stay close to the Lord in prayer. Submit your ideas to him and wait to see if doors open for you. They may well open or stay shut, but there is one certainty and that is doing Gods will and not our own is the most important thing.
If you need more information or guidance on this, then join us on a Sunday family service where we are happy to talk to you more about this. Our doors open from 10.45am where we serve drinks and treats, our service then begins at 11.15am. Come along you will be warmly welcomed.
We have been talking about what it means to succeed in life. Is it about having an ego? We recently asked are you fed up with the world telling you, you need an ego? We offered an alternative way of thinking, and that was to do what Jesus said and that is to serve one another.
Well, we came across another scripture in the book of Mark, in chapter 8 verse 36, displayed below.
So, lets unpack this scripture a little. What Jesus is saying here is, you can go your way in the world and have an ego. However, if you go that way, you will likely forfeit your soul. Because to gain the whole world you need to ask yourself what kind of person you are going to become. Will you become someone who needs a toxic ego in order to succeed and need constant adoration from people. Ask yourself where can an ego lead? Will it trample over who knows who damaging many lives in the process.
When we say gain the whole word, it can be someone who has toxic ambition, they need to own 10 houses, 5 cars, own a huge business, and say it was me who created all of this, and they will look proudly at themselves thinking they are something special.
But the Christian perspective is very different. It says in the book of Romans that we are all sinners unworthy to boast about ourselves, here is the scripture.
Romans 3:23
23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
This includes people who think they have succeeded in life because of their great achievements. Are we as Christians being mean and horrible by saying this, no, we just believe in the truth that the Bible gives us and believe it is true. Here is what God says about storing up wealth in the book of Matthew, here is the scripture.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What Jesus is telling us is this. Wealth means nothing in this world, one day we will leave this world and what us Christians believe is you will either make it to heaven or not. But if you do make it to heaven then there your treasure will be waiting for you determined on how you have lived your life, and it will be waiting for you for all eternity.
It is your right in a democracy to live how you want to, however think of the alternative, you may well have done well for 70 to 100 years, depending on how long you live, but eternity is a different matter altogether and you could end up with nothing but misery for all eternity (that’s a long time).
We have good news for you today.
If you are someone who has gained the whole world or has been hugely successful and believe it was all your own doing, but have now realised you are a sinner who needs forgiveness because of all the damage a toxic ego has done, then that is possible.
Over 2000 years ago Jesus came into this world to willingly be crucified on a cross to take the punishment for our sins. He stood in our place making those who believe in him righteous and as white as snow before God, this includes people who have gained great wealth through toxic egos and arrogance.
Visit our family service.
If you would like to know more about the good news that you can start afresh then visit us. Come along to our family service taking place every Sunday. We are happy to answer any questions you have. Doors open at 10.45am for free refreshments and drinks. Our service then starts at 11.15am.
We live in a society today where people are encouraged to have huge egos. You need huge swaths of confidence to be successful, and in this fallen world the only way to be successful is to be macho man or woman. If you are fed up with that way of thinking here is an alternative way for you to consider.
Jesus came into the world over 2000 years ago to serve us. Not only serve us but to take away our sins, and that is exactly what he did through his finished work on the cross. Here is one instruction Jesus gave us to live by mentioned in the book of Mark displayed below, in specifically Mark 9 v 35.
What Jesus is saying in this verse is to be humble and not to be boastful, to count yourself as last in order to be first. In other words, put others first and not yourself, and that way you win. A life free from ego.
What does serving look like?
Serving can look like a whole range of things. It could be helping someone with their shopping supplies, serving in church to help give out refreshments to people before a service starts, or to help organise older people’s finances to help them in older life, and many more ways of serving.
The point is, help people, serve people, love people, consider yourself as last, because with such sacrifices God is pleased, as it says in the book of Hebrews displayed below.
Hebrews 13:16
16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
So, if you’re someone who is fed up with the world telling you, you have to have an ego, then why not consider the Christian path instead. You can do well in life with God at the centre of your life leading the way and you can do it humbly without an ego. Put your confidence in God and allow him into your life to fulfil his purposes in your life, and in humble circumstances you can be proud.
Visit our morning family service at Church in the Avenue
If you are curious about the Christian faith, come along to our family service taking place every Sunday. We are happy to answer any questions you have. Doors open at 10.45am for free refreshments and drinks. Our service then starts at 11.15am.
