Where does our identity come from?
Ephesians 2 V 10
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Romans 8 V 31-39
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”[o]) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 5
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.
Colossians 2
9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.[b] 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
Keswick Ministries
Keswick Ministries is committed to the spiritual renewal of God’s people for his mission in the world. There are three fundamental convictions which shape all we do: hearing God’s Word, becoming like God’s Son and serving God’s mission.
Our priorities
Hearing God’s Word
The scriptures are the foundation for the church’s life, growth and mission, and Keswick Ministries is committed to preach and teach God’s Word in a way which is faithful to scripture and relevant to Christian…s of all ages and backgrounds.
Becoming like God’s Son
From its earliest days the Keswick movement has encouraged Christians to live godly lives in the power of the Spirit, to grow in Christ-likeness and to live under his Lordship in every area of life. This is God’s will for his people in every culture and generation.
Serving God’s mission
The authentic response to God’s Word is obedience to his mission, and the inevitable result of Christ-likeness is sacrificial service. Keswick Ministries seeks to encourage committed discipleship in family life, work and society, and energetic engagement in the cause of world mission.
Your kingdom come
Our society desperately needs an alternative, a culture that manifests God’s Kingdom on earth. A culture populated by those who choose love over lust (Matthew 5:27-30), marriage over divorce (vs. 31-32), truth over lies (Ephesians 4:25), humility over ego (Philippians 2:3-11), service over self (Ephesians 5:21). (Denison Forum)
Teach Us to pray
In Luke 11 the a disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray.
What is interesting to note is that almost certainly the disciples new how “to pray”, having been taught in childhood how to say the prayers expected of them.
However, when they watched Jesus pray it was different. It was as if Jesus was really talking to his heavenly Father, really in relationship.
They watched then asked and I paraphrase – “teach us to pray like that”
That is the particular significance of Jesus saying pray– Our(my) Father.
Just as Jesus prayed to his heavenly Father in relationship expecting answers & comfort so can we.
28th June Agape
Repentance – Good news??
To receive good news, to really receive it—to take it in and discover a new freedom—requires a new way of thinking. This new way of thinking has a Biblical name: repentance. I know: you thought repentance meant remorse, determination, trying harder or feeling guilty. Someone has lied to you. At its very core the word “repent” means rethink your life. The trick is: you have to have a valid reason to rethink your life. A positive mental attitude is not enough; simply trying harder won’t change your world. There must be some hard-core reality that changes the equation, wipes away the past or presents a future filled with joy. Better yet, all three. Jesus presented this hard-core reality when he said, “The Kingdom of God is breaking in. Right here, right now.” He wasn’t describing some new program or advocating a new philosophy. Jesus proclaimed the world would be forever different because God had come down, and he would do whatever was necessary to set people free.
God would not be stopped: the old order of things was condemned, and a new order was made real. He invited us to move to the side of victory with these words: “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.” (Ray Hollenbach)
Housing- Debate in Parliament
Emma Reynolds Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 1:47 pm, 10th June 2015
I beg to move,
That this House
notes that the UK faces an urgent and growing housing crisis;
believes that the Government should bring forward a comprehensive plan to tackle the housing crisis which sets out concrete steps to build more homes, including badly-needed affordable homes, boost home ownership, improve the private rented sector and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping;
and regrets that over the past five years home completions have been at their lowest level in peacetime since the 1920s, that home ownership has fallen to a thirty-year low with a record number of young people living with their parents into their twenties and thirties, that there are 1.4 million families on the waiting list for a social home and that since 2010 homelessness has risen by 31 per cent and rough sleeping by 55 per cent
