New Creation Church Loughborough

If you fail to recognise God's active involvement with the course of your life, there will be much you do not understand in what happens to you, and many mistakes made, because you will be constantly working from the wrong starting point. In God's grace, there are many ways he will direct your steps - through his providence, his provision, through open or closed 'doors', and through his own Spirit's presence with you. Watch out for these things in the year ahead, and expect God to lead you and show you the way!

There are two kings (not three!) who appear in the Christmas story, and their kingdoms could not be more different from each other. Taking inspiration from the story of the Wise Men in Matthew chapter 2, this message confronts us, both by the claim and the call of Christmas. "What will you do about Jesus?" is the most important question any of us will face in our lives, and the way we answer it depends on what kind of king, or kingdom, we want to live under and base our lives on.

The story of Jacob in Genesis chapter 35 points us to a God who desires intimacy with each one of us, even in the midst of our brokenness and confusion. As we intentionally develop that place and practice of intimacy, we find that God renews our security, our sense of identity, our clarity of purpose and our fruitfulness in mission.

It's time to draw a line under the past - the good, the bad and the ugly - and move forward with God from where you are right now. Forget what lies behind, strain towards what is ahead, and run the race marked out for you. And God will make something amazing from the ingredients of your life so far that you offer sincerely to him!

Psalm 109, like some of the other Psalms, can be difficult for us to read. It can seem harsh or even violent. Amazingly, however, this Psalm speaks to us repeatedly of God's "hesed" - his unfailing loving kindness, born from his covenant nature. Here, Andrew Scotland, leader of New Life Church Rugby, unpacks this passage, as an unexpected source of encouragement for us, as God's people.

The Eternal Gospel (Revelation 14:6-13) demands a decision and will bring a reckoning. It holds people to account, urging them to separate themselves from the intoxicating ways of this fallen world that lead to destruction, whilst beckoning those who accept it into eternal rest and reward, once the work is done.

There are things you need to choose to remember, and things you need to "forget" - to make an active choice to put aside. In fact, God himself does the very same things! How can we do this, and what difference will it make to our lives if we do? What our minds dwell on is instrumental to what we can become and achieve as a human being and follower of Christ.

You have been given a cup of overflowing blessing! Drawing from Psalm 16 and elsewhere, Alan Scotland brings a rich meditation on the biblical imagery of the "cup", which speaks of destiny, provision, suffering, surrender, and more. When you recognise what God has given you, and you allow him to fill your cup, you in turn become a cup that others can drink from, tasting of God's abundant, generous grace!

It can often feel as though God's plan works on a different timeclock to your expectations! But he is working things out to bring beauty out of every situation, no matter how ugly it is right now. And you can be part of this working out, through Spirit-enabled prayer. The Spirit "groans" with your spirit, as you "groan" along with the groaning of creation itself - making you part of the solution, not just for your own situation but for the transforming of the world.