Through September, we spent four weeks looking together at money! We walked with Jesus towards Jerusalem, looking at four stories about money in Luke 19-21. We considered our attitude in giving, the aim of our giving, the amount we give, and what God does when we use our money for His Kingdom. Through it all, we remembered that we give because God is the ultimate giver - for God so loved the world that He GAVE Jesus! 

This is the third blog in a short series exploring what the elders believe God is saying to the church at the moment. A few days ago Steve wrote about faith for growth. Al then highlighted the opportunities to grow in faith as we engage with the Summer of Mission 2018. In this blog I want to highlight what we believe God is saying about prayer and how he is inviting us to respond!

This is the first blog in a short series exploring what the elders believe God is saying to the church at the moment.

It's very nearly Christmas!

Throughout this term, we've been "praying for growth" as a church, for upgrades in our maturity, our extent and our numbers.

On the morning of my wedding, I woke up at 8am, had a leisurely breakfast, put on a suit, and headed off to the Church. Caroline, on the other hand, was awoken at 6am to start doing hair and makeup. The photos do reflect the difference in time spent preparing!

The clock of the Stapleton Road chapel in Bristol is permanently stuck at twenty to eight^[1]. Blazoned across its face are the words:

Time
to Seek
the
Lord

This Autumn, I have stripped fruit from more or less every hedgerow in our neighbourhood - no bramble, no elderberry tree was safe! The greatest frustration with foraging is always when you see a promising patch ahead, but as you draw closer you see that only a few of the fruit are ripe, and the rest are still unready. This experience got me thinking about a certain passage in the Gospels...