Our June Bible Study continued the theme of mission by examining the meaning of the word ‘church’, and considering the unintentional messages that we may be sending to people outside. We started by reminding ourselves that the church is a group of people, not a building, and recognising that we need to study two books […]
God’s Welcome
The Bible study in March continued the series on evangelism, this session looking at ‘God’s Welcome’. Jesus’ teaching was both radical and revolutionary. We find it challenging because it’s often the opposite of what we expect, but God’s mission is to change and transform the world. He turns world values upside down. As the church […]
What is God’s Mission?
Our Vision4Life study group on 24 February 2011 focussed on the subject of Mission. Minister Stephen Thornton introduced the topic by explaining that Mission is God’s ministry, in which we all share. This led to the question: What is God’s mission? (If we don’t know, how can we share in it?) We were referred to […]
The Challenge of Evangelism
Evangelism is the theme for the third and final year of the Vision4Life programme, and our Bible Study on 18 November introduced us to the topic. Many people find this a particularly challenging aspect of their Christian life. Our Minister, Stephen Thornton, led the evening, and started by asking “What do we mean by Evangelism?” […]
The Story of Abraham and Isaac
A study of Genesis 22: 1-19 (This text describes how Abraham was called by God to take his only son Isaac to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him. How Isaac carried the wood for the fire, asking where was the lamb to be sacrificed, and Abraham replied that God would provide the animal.) At the start […]
Labyrinth
Our Bible Study and Prayer Evening on Thursday 17th June 2010 focussed on the Prayer Labyrinth. This was my first experience of a Prayer Labyrinth, and I sincerely hope not my last. Never have I experienced an evening of prayer like it. There were twenty stations marked out for us to follow in the church […]
The Purpose of Prayer
Our May Bible Study continued to focus on Prayer and its meaning. Led by our Minister, we started by considering our responses to three passages from Luke’s Gospel: 1. Luke 4, 1-13 The complete silence of the wilderness encourages self-examination, ie working out who we are and what God wants us to do with our […]
When Jesus Prayed
On Thursday 18 March our study group met to consider the topic of individual prayer. We looked at three of the occasions on which Luke says that Jesus prayed: after his baptism, before choosing his disciples, and in the Garden of Gethsemane. We considered the questions: why did Jesus pray? and what difference did it […]
Why Pray?
This year the Vision4Life programme is focussing on Prayer, and at our Bible Study in February a group of us came together to consider the nature and practice of prayer. The way we pray probably says something about the kind of God in whom we believe. We started by listing some things that made us […]
Transformed by the Bible
We joined together on the evening of Thursday 15 January for our first Bible Study of 2009. It was also the first in our Vision4Life programme, in which (along with the rest of the URC) we are being encouraged to develop a more creative understanding of the Bible. Under the guidance of our Minister, Stephen Thornton, we read […]