Perseverance

Dear friends, 

This morning I was thinking about perseverance and how it links to faith. The hope of what is to come helps in hard times. Sometimes we need to just keep going, but sometimes we need to stop and let something go.

The Bible has a lot to say about faith, hope and perseverance because we need all of them. I wanted to share these verses from 1 Peter with you, which are in full at the bottom of the page. 

1 Peter 1:3 and 7 
'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...
These (trials) have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.'

As you are persevering at home, at school, at work, with your family and friends, at church and anywhere else, keep this hope in mind. I want to share briefly about two areas. 


Perseverance - Asking for help and prayer

Let's keep reaching out and asking for help and prayer. If you're not in a small group yet, sign up now! In these groups we help each other and form friendships. (You can also choose all sites and join a whole church group that meets on Zoom eg Katie is running Parenting for Faith on Tuesdays at 8pm.)

Sometimes we have answers to prayer to share (please do this - it is encouraging!) but it is also more than OK to keep asking for prayer for the same thing. Persevere with your prayers.


Perseverance - Creating space to gather

As a community, the other area we are persevering with is creating space for people to gather.

Our Sunday meetings are a bit quieter than they were before. That's OK, and it reflects what is happening across our sites and in other churches. We are going to keep creating space to encounter God together. I'd encourage you to prioritise joining us and to be praying about who you can invite.

Our new Revive Cafe is definitely quiet! We've run for two weeks and had a total of 6 visitors. That's OK too, we're building momentum, offering help and hope. We're advertising in lots of places but we're also relying on word of mouth. Please be praying, and if you know anyone that would benefit from this, let them know.

Our small groups have been going strong and we continued that over lockdown, let's keep that going! 

Small Group details and Sign Up links

Here are this term's small groups, just click on the link to sign up or find out more.

Tuesdays 8pm - Rich and Paula's Life Group on ZOOM 
Tuesdays 8pm - Young Adults Group (18-30s) IN REAL LIFE 
Wednesdays 3pm - Afternoon Thoughts IN REAL LIFE our first day time group! 
Thursdays 7:30pm - Brighstone Bible Study IN REAL LIFE
Thursdays 8pm - Share Your Faith on ZOOM 
Various days/times - Fun on the Water IN REAL LIFE

Our small groups are an essential part of what we do. They are the main way that we get to know each other and care for each other. Even if you can't go every time, I'd encourage you to sign up to one. 

Well, that's quite enough information for now. Do ask if we can help with anything.

However you are doing, I want to challenge you to create space to build friendships and be part of community. That might mean saying no to something to create space for joining us on Sundays and signing up to a small group. I believe it will do you good. 

Blessings, Ben


1 Peter 1:3-7 
'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. 

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.'

(If you need more, here are a few to look at: Romans 5:3-5, Colossians 1:23, Hebrews 12:1-2, James 1:12)