Church Life - Articles
Article Title: Vision
Subject category: Devotion
Description: The church's vision.
Worship is the offering of ourselves to God to be followers of Jesus in the world.
Part of our worship includes meeting together to sing praise to our God, consider the teaching of the Bible and encounter the Holy Spirit.
The church has four purposes:
- We seek to create an environment where people feel they belong.
- We seek to provide opportunity for growth in faith.
- We seek to encourage people to discover their gifts.
- We seek to be a people who are good news in word and action to our communities.
We wish people to feel welcome, that they matter and feel at ease and that they are able to participate in the life of the church.
We do this through reading the Bible and seeking to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in all parts of our lives: home, work and leisure.
Each person has unique gifts, passions, skills, personality and experience. We aim to enable people to discover their specific role as a disciple of Jesus.
Jesus's message was one of good news to the poor, healing of the sick, freedom from oppression and a calling of people to follow him.
Article Title: Thought for the Month – February: Giving up for Lent
Subject category: Continual
Description: Giving up for Lent
This month includes ‘Pancake Day’. Pancake Day was a day of feasting before a season of fasting in preparation for Easter. During that season, called Lent, fats and eggs were not to be used. It is now a day of fun for eating and, if you are brave, tossing pancakes!
In the church, we look forward to Easter. It is such a significant event in the church’s calendar, more significant than Christmas. We recall the crucifixion of Jesus, his execution because he was perceived to be a dangerous revolutionary. We consider the way he immersed himself in our life to the point of death. For Christians this is the great gift of God for humanity. It speaks of God’s commitment to us, God’s love for us, and his readiness to forgive us.
The period of fasting called Lent has been seen as a time for giving things up. This is often seen as negative. Some still do this while others are aware of the sacrifice Jesus made for them and are prepared to focus on what they can do for him.
I can’t say that I give up something for Lent, but I do recognise that sometimes things I want for myself get in the way of what I might receive from God. Ultimately, God has my best interests in mind and wants the best for me. This is not forced on me, but works as I cooperate with God, meet God half way. I have always found that when I focus on God rather than myself I am the one who benefits.
Geoff Andrews, Minister, Perry Rise Baptist Church.
Article Title: Prayer and Reflection
Subject category: Reference and Information
Description: Resources for Prayer and Reflection.
Many people find the practice of spending regular time in prayer and reflection helpful. This will include a time of reading a section of the bible, reflecting upon it and prayer. There are number of websites which can help with this. Here are few: