Grace Community Church Listen Again

Have we lost our surprise, wonder and awe? Without these, we lose that childlike amazement in God’s kingdom. God wants us to see the world how he sees it. So how do we discover enchantment?

Every four weeks we will be checking in with some of our church family, and asking what God has taught them over the last month. This week, it’s Lord of the Rings fan, Andrew! He discusses the themes explored in the Walk This Way series with Neil, including resilience and humanity.

Matt 6:12 is the one part of the Lord’s Prayer that seems to require something of us: ​“as we forgive”. Jesus wanted his hearers to hear that Forgiveness is the kingdom way of living. Luke 23:34 one of the most shocking and one of the most beautiful prayers Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing. We are to have the same attitude as Jesus. If we are to love and forgive our enemies, there is nobody excluded from who we offer love and forgiveness.

Glen Mitchell is Director of Tearfund Northern Ireland, an international aid and development organisation that works in more than 50 countries around the world. Tearfund works with churches to help them bring change and transformation to their communities. They only work in places of extreme poverty helping churches in those places to bring about holistic life transformation. Here, Glen shares his heart to reach the oppressed and challenges us not to over-spiritualise the sentiments in Luke 4 where Jesus explains his mission. The challenge is to seek to bring real help to real needs.

The story of Hannah is the story of a woman who is resilient. As we read her story we can learn from how she walked through pain, sadness and a season of an unfulfilled dream. Developing resilience requires us to shift our focus from the end goal to the process we are in to get there. What if God is more interested in our journey and than he is in the destination? Can we be people like Hannah who are resilient in our identities and resilient in our faith?

David and Cheryl Bailie along with their family of three boys are currently working in Belfast. Originally from Dromore, David and Cheryl have worked all over. From ​“Youth for Christ” to OM ships. From Australia to the south of Ireland. And, now, in Belfast, their lives have been a story of obedience to God’s leading. Here they let us into their story and help us as we ask God to show us what he’s doing in our community. How do we weave ourselves into the fabric of our village?

“Let’s find a home for every child who needs one.“ Home For Good’s Judith Dawson makes Foster Care Fortnight with a few reflections. She shares her experiences and helps us to consider which steps to take as we support kids and parents in the care system.

Very quickly in Jesus ministry, his message attracted a multitude of intrigued people. Jesus’ time on earth introduced the world to the kingdom way. The way of restoration, rescue and healing. We look briefly at three stories of the kingdom encounters with Jesus. The paralytic man The woman with the issue of blood. The demon-possessed man.

Judgement isolates people and puts them to shame, widening the gap between us and them. As we continue to look at the way of Jesus, we examine the story of the adulterous woman who was facing judgement from the baying crowd. Instead of rubber-stamping their condemnation, Jesus switched the focus to those holding the stones. Quite often in the church, we love the name of Jesus because he saves us, but we have a problem with the way of Jesus because he saves ​“them“.

Every four weeks we will be checking in with some of our church family, and asking what God has taught them over the last month. This week, it’s coffee-loving Jesse. With Amy, he ponders the themes explored in the Walk This Way series, including doubt and legacy.

How do we live as counter-cultural people as we think, act and serve differently? As a generation, what legacy do we hope to leave, as we endeavour to live the way of Jesus? Living as a chosen people doesn’t always mean it’s easy!

Between the resurrection and the great commission is this little verse. A verse that’s rarely mentioned. Why? How can the disciples see the risen Jesus and still doubt? Do our doubts disqualify us from faith? Maybe it’s not doubting that causes people to abandon faith, rather people abandon their faith because they’re not allowed to doubt.

We are looking at power. Not in having power, but the influence it has in different areas of our lives that impacts our walk with God and the world around us. With principles taken from the story of The Good Samaritan found in Luke 10, we will see the effects of the power of our choice, religious rituals, our own bias and others influence over us.

A fresh look at the story of the woman at the well. Samaria was seen by the Jews as unclean. The Samaritans were created out of the split earlier in the history of Israel. So in many aspects, theologically, morally they differed. Bring into the mix the cultural attitude towards women. Society and religion dictated that women shouldn’t be spoken to by anyone other than their husbands. So when Jesus approached a woman in the ​“other” tribe, he was breaking a whole set of cultural rules. What resulted was a moment of utter compassion. The challenge for us is, are we prepared to break with what culture dictates and walk the way of Jesus?

Every four weeks we will be checking in with some of our church family, and asking what the Lord has taught them during the COVID-19 lockdown period: what habits they’ve gotten rid of, and what habits they’ve picked up, as well as reflecting on talks over the last few weeks. This week, we welcome back Frances Anderson. Frances talks about her experiences of life and love as a stepchild and a part of Barnardos.

The greek for hate (μισέω) means to disregard or dismiss. We may say we don’t hate others, but how often to we disregard or dismiss. Can we, therefore, claim we are living the way of love? Devotion to God is authenticated by how we treat people. It’s degrading when we build a relationship with people for our own hidden agenda.

As Christians, we are not promised an easy life. It is more important to remember your inheritance and what you carry. So no matter the culture you find yourself in, you are not obliged to give in to the flesh. As a result, you may face resistance and possibly suffer persecution. Some Christians may see being different to preach the gospel, but Peter suggests there's more to what we carry: sympathy, love, compassion and humility. Maybe bringing the gospel is more than just what comes out of our mouths, but our whole selves.

What is so much better than Gifts of the Spirit? When we look at the teachings of Jesus, when he says the second command (love your neighbour) is like the first (love God), what he means is it is of the same magnitude, not an add-on. When Jesus confronts the Pharisees, he challenges their hypocritical practices: laying rule, laws and burdens onto those around them, without lifting a finger to help. Everything that religion prioritised Jesus was now replacing. There is no point in saying you love God when you can’t love the person next to you. Are we people who live by the Way of Law, or the Way of Love?

Every four weeks we will be checking in with some of our church family, and asking what the Lord has taught them during the COVID-19 lockdown period: what habits they’ve gotten rid of, and what habits they’ve picked up, as well as reflecting on talks over the last few weeks. This week, it’s lover-of-agriculture (and businessman) Neville Garland

The god you serve is reflected in how you speak. Words have the power to create or destroy. We speak all day but rarely think about what you say. As Christians, it’s our job to steward the words that come out of our mouths. Everything we need to know about God can be seen through Jesus. He is the Word of God: the authority, the creator. Are we going to build our lives on the words of Jesus or the words of the enemy?