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Community Church Blog
6th February 2018
You never ever ‘fight’ alone
When you face the challenge
act then, and don't delay
‘Take the bull by the horns’
and win through on that day
Don't ever hesitate
always “Grasp the Nettle’
Show that you mean Business
by displaying your mettle
Yes, take on every challenge
with supreme confidence
As you win every Battle
You ‘ll reveal the evidence.
That you never ‘fight’ alone
You have a Saviour by your side
His enabling, powerful spirit
Always protects and provides
Terry Medley
2nd February 2018
Posted by Maureen Hopkins
14:40
13th June 2016
CCBS Leadership Blog
‘British Christianity isn’t dying. It’s sleeping. Evangelism can awaken it.’
This was the title of an article published in the Daily Telegraph this last week that was also quoted as part of the opening preach at the Relational Mission Leadership Conference. The resounding message from the secular press and Christian leaders is that the church isn’t dead but poised for growth. How will this happen? By each one of us taking hold of the great commission’s call to live as Christ’s witnesses each day.
In the last 12 months we have seen 30 people baptised and each baptism represents a story of how God has broken into someone’s life and brought His power and hope filled presence into their hearts and minds. We have now have a fantastic ‘on ramp’ into church life through the Alpha, Equipped to Grow and Ignite courses, which allow people to meet Jesus for themselves, build great foundations and then learn to run with their new faith all the space of 12 months if they choose to.
As each one of us embraces the call to be a witness to Christ’s transforming power in our lives, we believe that we as a church will multiply and the next step in this journey is the launching of our second meeting.
That is why from the 11th September we will meeting at 9h30 and 11h30 every Sunday; so that we have space to welcome those who God is adding to us and those who God will add to our number in the future. This has been such an exciting journey for us as a church family so far but I do believe that through each one of us embracing our call to be Christ’s witnesses the best is yet to come! #everyoneawitness
Posted by Pete Williams
15:53
5th June 2016
Worship part four
This is the fourth of a mini series of blogs we've produced on 'worship.' You can read the other three here as we explored Who we worship, Why we worship and last time, How we worship.
Today, we want to ask the quesiton 'How do we worship God (part II)?'
Have you ever paused in a worship time and asked yourself what on earth it is you’re doing? It’s healthy to reflect on how you approach and honour the King of Kings - are you developing and growing in your worship? Is your worship more passionate than last year? Has it waned?
The Psalms alone give us nine different expressions of worship; let's explore them here:
Our Voice
1. Speaking – Psalm 34:1 says “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.”
2. Shouting – Psalm 27:6 says “Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.”
3. Singing – Psalm 47:6 says “Sing praises to God, sing praises to our King, sing praises.”
Our Posture
1. Bowing – Psalm 95:6 says “Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
2. Standing – Psalm 119:120 says “My flesh trembles in fear of You; I stand in awe of Your laws.”
3. Dancing – Psalm 149:3 says “Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.”
Our Hands
1. Playing Instruments – Psalm 33:2-3 says “Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
2. Clapping – Psalm 47:1 says “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”
3. Lifting Hands – Psalm 63:4 says “I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands.”
The way we communicate every day with one another has been researched and shows that only 7% of our communication is actually verbal, with 55% of what we communicate being done so through our body language. The same is true of our communcation to and of God. Whilst we are to be guided and helped by excellent worship songs, we shouldn't allow lyrics and words alone to define our worship.
When there is a breadth and depth to our worship, we honour God, lift Him up and make much of Him.
We have often heard it say at church, ‘dont worry about the person next you - bring your worship to God’ - and this is so true. God is so pleased to receive your individual expression of worship, and God is so worthy of it that giving our full self is the only appropraite thing to do.
In everyday life we stand up to honour people, when a wedding proposal is made it is often done on one knee, dancing is a part of culture expressing celebration and many other emotions too, we clap to show appreciation and enthusiasm, and we lift our arms in shouts of joy and exubernace. These motions of the body are normal and they are often spontaneous. However I wonder why they are sometime foreign to our worship?
Be encourgaed, be advenurous, bring honour to Jesus in worship - in song, in prayer, but also in body. Let it be the norm for us at CCBS, that our worship is expressed in ways that are more than words.
The core issue here is not one of instruction, but rather the truth is that we are people who are created to worship, and God who first loved us has done much for us! Our response; indeed my response to His much, is to give much of ouselves.
‘Every posture in worship says something of both the worshipper and the One being gloried in.’ Let it be true of me.
Posted by Ewan Kannegieter
06:53
30th May 2016
Leadership blog
Personal encounters with Jesus, physical healing, salvation, words of knowledge and prophecy are all things that have been happening recently…IN OUR CHILDREN’S WORK!!
Yes, there is so much of the Kingdom of God happening regularly in Supergang! I remember a few weeks ago making the comment that if you ever hear me using the term ‘main meeting’ rather than ‘adult meeting’ then you have my full permission to slap me. That still stands as true because it is so clear that in the mind of our Lord, there is no segregation between what happens with the adults and what happens with the children.
Truly there is no junior Holy Spirit!
As I write this I am aware that last Sunday we had thirty 6-11 year-olds in Transformers. That makes for one very busy Small Hall. Our Supergang teams do such a magnificent job as they faithfully produce life-shaping and transforming sessions for our kids. They really are some of the frequently un-sung heroes of CCBS.
In case you missed it, our Children’s Work is actually the primary driving force in our desire to launch our second Sunday morning meeting from September 11th this year. Congestion in that part of our church life is more acutely felt than in the Main Hall. What a wonderful problem to have!
Already in this regard alone we are breaking the mould of what is expected from a church in a small town. God is already fulfilling His promises among us!
My prayer is that as we obediently do what we can to create room for growth, God will supernaturally add many new family units to us. This is what co-labouring with the Lord looks like. Sometimes it isn’t comfortable to embrace change, but the privilege of seeing lives transformed and filled with the love, joy, and peace of the Kingdom makes it so very worth while.
Pray with me that our kids and young people will truly use our ceiling as their platform and see more of the Kingdom in their life-times than we ever dreamed possible! Let your Kingdom come Lord!
Posted by Gareth McCormick
05:25