Weekend Work Out

We had an excellent weekend with Greg Downes. He spoke at Contend on Friday evening and addressed the topic of 'Men And Work.' There were about 40-50 men present and we had an outstanding session as we learned more about the artificial divide between 'secular' and 'sacred' ministry and how this barrier needs to be broken down in our own minds. All work is for God and a form of ministry that goes beyond the view that Vicars / Pastors etc 'minister' whilst everyone else 'works'!

Saturday morning began as usual with our regular prayer meeting and then Greg facilitated a 'prophetic evangelism' session for about 25 people who had turned up, including some of the youth. He provided a sound biblical framework and offered practical tips and insight from his on experience. We prayed and asked for some words of knowledge and then headed out to Kingswood to see what God wanted to do. I think it would be fair to say that some of us were feeling a little bit apprehensive, but as Greg said, that's quite a healthy reaction when we move from the 'Comfort Zone' to the 'Kingdom Zone'. Quoting John Wimber, we were reminded that 'Faith' is spelt 'R-I-S-K' and off we went!

I had an amazing conversation with the first person I met and despite having a word of knowledge that turned out to be wrong (??!!), we still had an excellent conversation for 10 minutes and I prayed for her at the end! Things did not go so well in Sainsbury's as I tried to open a conversation with one of the checkout assistants and was greeted with a rather icy silence! As we reconvened after our 45 minute street session, there were many encouraging stories of how God's Kingdom had been breaking into Kingswood all through our simple obedience. One lady actually became a Christian on the streets and even though most other people did not see specific salvation encounters, we knew God's presence was working through us and impacting the lives of many; people just seemed to open and up and want to talk to us as we showed some care and interest in their lives.

Yesterday's meeting was another great time, full of amazing testimonies and the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. One testimony in particular really moved me as a BCC Member shared how he had struggled with his own childhood and school life only to see God's faithfulness to his daughter who secured a 7 year 70% scholarship to a top Bristol school. He was in tears at God's goodness. So were most of us.

Greg preached on the subject of 'What Does God Require of Us?" Using Luke 5:1-11, he explained that God requires us to follow Christ and this passage of Scripture contained four further pointers that developed this answer in a highly practical way: 1) Christ calls us to obedience (Luke 5:4-6), 2) Christ calls us to holiness (Luke 5:7-8), 3) Christ calls us to mission (Luke 5:9-10) and 4) Christ calls us to sacrifice (Luke 5:11). This point really came home to me as it resonated with something I'd been thinking about in the week: it's all about Jesus and not about me. Greg said, "Sacrifice is the missing ingredient of contemporary discipleship" and I flt Holy Spirit really challenge me again about the levels of sacrifice in my own life; not from obligation but devotion. Greg's message is available as a download from our website, click on the link at the bottom of this page.

It was a great joy and privilege to have Greg minister to us; he is a man with whom we can do Kingdom business and I received a great deal from his time with us. Thanks for coming Greg and thank you God for giving us such an excellent weekend.

http://www.bristolcommunitychurch.org/podcasts.asp