As the academic year draws to a close, we spent time on Sunday 2nd July celebrating all that God had been doing in us and through us over the last year - in much the same way as Paul & Barnabas reported back to their sending church at the end of their first missionary journey (Acts 14.26-28). This video shows some (not all!) of what's happened in the last 12 months. In our services we made prayer bunting - prayers of thanks to God which will be in St James' by the Park over the summer to remind us of God's faithfulness to us.
In his brief talk, Dan shared 4 things with the congregation: 1. Thank you to everyone who has joined in by giving their time, talents or treasures over the last year - and especially to those who've prayed. 2. The need to be realistic - that mission in our culture is often slow and difficult work - "We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14.22). So we must persevere when the going gets tough! 3. We should be encouraged - God is definitely at work (Acts 14.27). Here's some highlights:
4. We need to keep building community. Jesus wants us to fish with nets (ie together) not lines (individually). It's as we build community that the gospel is shared and received. That's why Paul & Barnabas risked their lives to return to the cities they'd already evangelised - so they could make sure good Christian communities were being established (Acts 14.23). And after all that, we headed out to Anderwood for a great BBQ / picnic to continue the celebrations!
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