Church Blog
Help! Most of my friends are Christians
James Radcliffe has encouraged us to read this short article on evangelism…
For many of us, the reality is we don’t know that many non-Christians and so for us evangelism never really gets off the starting blocks. Maybe you’re like me: ‘evangelism’ is a trigger word. It’s up there with ‘diet’ and ‘exercise’ in inducing immediate feelings of guilt and failure.
But here are a few ideas I’ve tried- I’m sure you’ll have better ones, but if not, why not have a go and see if they work for you?
1. Hang on to the not yet believing friends we do have.
Maybe in previous stages of life we’ve had much more contact with people who aren’t Christians. So let’s make a real effort to keep up with a few people from those different eras. Sometimes years later friends will move into our area and new opportunities will open up.
2. Look out for a way to meet non-Christians locally.
We need to be realistic as many of us lead busy lives. So why not think about how we can slightly change what we do as a hobby/interest in order to come into contact with people. E.g exercise class instead of an hour solitary in gym.
3. Try turning acquaintances into friends.
We interact with lots of people every day-our neighbours, local shopkeepers, gym receptionists, parents at school gates. Someone suggested to me that we should try and say one more thing than we usually do as we come into contact with them e.g comment on the weather, admire their garden or complain about the trains. It means we strike up a conversation and next time we can say a bit more- and who knows where it could lead.
A new set of wheels
As a church we are keen supporters of Bible teaching ministry in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries. A good friend, and partner in Gospel work in Malawi is McGlyns Nyalubwe, Pastor of a growing Baptist church in the capital, Lilongwe.
McGlyns lives a long way from the church, about an hour by public transport. This has been a hinderance to the good gospel work that he’s been able to do in that church. So a few months ago, James Pinto our Youth Minister ran the Brighton Marathon collecting sponsorship money to help purchase a motorbike for McGlyns and his wife.
Well, after all the money came in and was then transferred to Malawi, a great deal was found on a second hand Suzuki BP612… and here it is!
El Alfarero
A few weeks ago we saw a video at church about El Alfarero, a student outreach project in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It’s part of the work done by Graham & Debbie Frith – Mission Partners whom we support.
Check out the video below:
That’s My King
This Sunday we showed a couple of videos during the morning Family Carols service, which many enjoyed. Here are the videos below to watch again:
That’s My King
Bethlehemian Rhapsody
Christmas in Three Words
How would you sum up Christmas in three words?
Here’s what some celebrities replied when asked…
‘Eating too much,’ said the actress, Honor Blackman. ‘Morecambe and Wise,’ said the Olympic rowers, Redgrave and Pinsent.
But what about you? How would you sum up Christmas in three words?
‘Christ is Born’… How about that for a summary?
It’s amazing how in the rush of Christmas, full of parties and shopping we can easily forget what we’re supposed to be celebrating. And for some of us, Christmas isn’t a happy time at all. We can’t see what all the fuss is about. But the fact that ‘Christ is born’ is news worth celebrating. The Bible says it’s the best news ever for all people.
So this Christmas, come along to one of the services at Bishop Hannington Church. You just might find out why Christmas is worth celebrating.
Three Musketeers in Panto
Why not join us on Friday 6th January for a new year treat. The last few years we’ve been pleased to receive the Saltmine Theatre Company for their Christmas Panto performances.
This year will be a performance of The Three Musketeers…
D’Artagnan has travelled to Paris, determined to become the first female Musketeer and serve the King. Unfortunately her timing couldn’t have been worse because the Musketeers have been disbanded by the evil Cardinal Richelieu who serves no one but himself, and has sent his agents out on a mission to destroy the King and all his followers.
Along with Porthos, Athos and Aramis, the three Musketeers still loyal to the King, D’Artagnan must fight through royal quests, one-eyed men, deadly women and evil plots, and is forced to face up to the question that haunts them all: do they choose to serve the King, or themselves?
Performed to great acclaim on its premiere tour last year, The Three Musketeers returns once again to dazzle and delight all ages.
The performance starts at 6.30pm.
Tickets costs £5 per person, £20 for a family ticket, with under 5′s free.
For more information please contact the church office – (012732) 732965.
Is war ever just?
On Wednesday 26th October, we were pleased to welcome Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Woodhead to speak at our midweek Digging Deeper session. Woodhead spent many years in the Royal Navy and made it to the highest ranks of the armed forces. He shared with us how his Christian faith impacted his view on war and service in the military. You can download his talk below.
Is war ever just? ()
Peter Woodhead, October 26, 2011Part of the Digging Deeper series, preached at a Midweek Meeting service
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Money, money, money!
We live in a world where money = status. The haves and the have nots. A world where Lily Allen tells us that she “wants lots of money”, and that’s the way that she’s “programmed to function” – check out her song ‘The Fear‘, a good critique of what society thinks about money – perhaps?
During our evening services we’re going through our sermons series “Strength and Weakness” based on the book of 2 Corinthians. It’s probably Paul’s fourth letter to the Corinthians (although only two are preserved). In chapters 8 and 9 Paul addresses the issue of money, specifically being generous with it. The message in Corinth was no doubt much the same, the culture was such that money and lots of it could afford you a very nice lifestyle.
The Corinthians, though relatively rich weren’t being overly forthcoming in wanting to be generous with their money as Paul seeks to raise money for impoverished Christians in Jerusalem. In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Paul contrasts the reluctance of the Corinthians with the overflowing generosity of the Macedonians (Philippi, Thessalonica etc.), and more than that, with the generosity of Christ, who gave up everything for them (v.9).
I preached the sermon looking at three main points:
- Christian giving is spiritual – it’s not just another bill to pay, but Christians are caused to be generous because God’s grace (v.1, 6, 7) is working in them. In fact giving is a Spiritual gift! – more on that later…
- Christian giving is sacrificial – the Macedonian Christians gave out of severe trial (v.2), beyond their ability (v.3), generous giving is sacrificial, Jesus in his death ultimately exemplifies that.
- Christian giving expresses solidarity – this is a big test, will the wealthy Gentile believers help the poor Jewish believers? Christians in giving have a great opportunity to display their unity!
The Grace of Law
We kicked off the new term of Costa Tuesdays last night. As a whole church we’re looking at the book of Deuteronomy. We began by looking at Deuteronomy 5:1-33, the 10 Commandments.
We called the night ‘The Grace of Law’, a title pinched off Tim Keller, although unusually none of the content was. We didn’t have time to go through all the commandments, and think exactly how we apply them today. We just wanted to do one thing… to see the God’s Law is good!
Here’s three reasons that we looked at why God’s Law is good:
- It’s Giver is good – the God who gives these laws is the God of covenant relationship (v.2), the God who speaks to his people (v.4), and the God who rescues his people (v.6) – God is presented as fundamentally good!
- It’s Purpose is good – one of the refrains throughout the law given here is it’s purpose for good, so that “it may go well with you in the land” (v.16), and “so that you may live and prosper” (v.33).
- It Protects what is good – the 10 Commandments acts like a fence, seeking to protect the good things that God gives – eg. the law against adultery is designed to protect the gift of marriage, and the law against idols is designed to protect the gift of God himself.
Men’s Curry Night
You’re invited to join us for a Men’s Curry Night, on Monday 12 September 2011.
It’s at 8pm at the Curry Mahal on Portland Rd, Hove, BN3 6QJ.
There will be a short talk on the Christian faith.
Please book a place by 5 September with James Radcliffe ()
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