Mission in Thailand • Jesus Is The Only Way • Part 1

Over the next couple of weeks we will be hearing from Simona, a member of the Redeemer staff team, who recently travelled to Thailand to work alongside local missionaries and see the gospel preached to those who have never heard it before. We hope you are encouraged, challenged, and inspired by her story.

---

You could say that our adventure began on October 27th when my lovely travel companion, Maria Bo, and I headed to Heathrow Airport en route to Bangkok. However, the adventure actually began earlier this year in January when we were invited to participate in a four-day training program on empowering struggling communities  🤝 . The program was held at The Hub in the heart of Ealing and was hosted by Richard Holt, the training also included an invitation to join him in one of his projects in Asia to put into practice what we had learned.

As such, the main purpose of our trip was to help facilitate a TOT (Training of Trainers) for a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) program. CHE is a community development program that focuses on evangelism in unreached and impoverished populations by meeting their most urgent needs and working together with local leaders to support and facilitate work within those communities. The work targets major sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and trauma recovery, and its holistic approach is based on biblical principles and the example of Jesus, who met people's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs when entering the community and preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God.

As well as the knowledge we gained, it was a great opportunity for me to meet many inspirational, radical and dedicated missionaries and people from different cultures who have left their home country to serve in Thailand and make a difference by being ” light and salt”, just as Jesus commanded us! We discovered that they possess a deep understanding of the local culture and spirituality. This knowledge enables them to effectively communicate the message of Jesus to the Thais in a way that is both relevant and easily understandable in this particular part of the world.

Life Changers

How can I not mention some of the meaningful conversations I had? 🗨️💖💬 The one with Sara* from Australia 🇦🇺🦘 for example. She moved to Northern Thailand with her whole family and children to reach an unreached group with the Gospel. She shared how difficult it is to enter those villages, and sometimes it takes years to have a minimal impact. She likened sharing the Word of God with the Buddhist society to “trying to cut water with a sword” because the impact of the effort would not be long-lasting or significant, as Buddhism already defines and encompasses every aspect of people's lives in those areas. At the moment, they do prayer walks in the villages and offer to pray for people. Surprisingly, she didn't ask for protection prayer but for resilience and perseverance despite the daily difficulties and challenges she faces. She was hopeful about the training we offered as she said it might be a very effective tool to open doors in those villages, especially as it wasn’t labelled as "Christian”. This often creates barriers, preventing them from building an initial connection with the village chief. I was inspired and encouraged by her story. ✨🌟😊

I also had the pleasure of meeting X., a Burmese refugee who shared his story with us. He belongs to the Karen community which is mainly Christian and very blessed, despite being very small.  He told us about the ongoing civil war, how he lost all his documents, his rescue and how he met his Norwegian wife on the field. He joked: “When God calls you, He also likes to give you the whole package”! - pointing at her.  We were invited to their home and enjoyed a meal with them, their children, and friends. It was a sweet experience. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦❤️👫🫶

It was also encouraging for me to meet Cris at a home fellowship church gathering. Cris is a single American woman in her late 40s who has been serving in Thailand for many years as a lawyer, helping families and children. She told us that despite the challenges of living abroad without a husband or companion at her age, she felt the desire to adopt a child. God has blessed her with supportive communities and friends along the way. Maria and I had the opportunity to pray for her. 🙌

During our first week, we stayed at the ECHO farm in Chiang Mai. It's a beautiful agricultural farm that employs local Thai people who are all Christian, which is quite remarkable since the percentage of Christians in Thailand is very small. They cultivate a wide variety of plants, fruits, and vegetables, and maintain their own seed bank.🌱🌾🧡🍈🌴I even bought some seeds from them, including papaya and dragon fruit, but I'm not sure if they'll grow! I might get a chance if I entrust them to my family in sunny Calabria -South Italy! ☀️🏊‍♂️

After the experience in Chiang Mai, we took a coach and travelled for 5 hours to Mae Sot, and you can hear more about that experience next week!

*Some of the names in this story have been changed for the safety of those involved.

A Disposition of Grace

Welcome to our newest post about Sharing Your Faith! In his regular posts, Ryan Bentley will be stirring us to share our faith with others, by looking at passages of scripture and giving practical tips. We hope you enjoy the blog below!

---

This week I flubbed up pretty bad. Just a flub and not a full blown mishap, possibly could be a hiccup. When it was revealed to me by someone close to me it was done with typical banter, just giving me a hard time about my flub. What they weren’t aware of, was that I was in a more sensitive emotional state. As a result, I felt ashamed.

The Banter Formula

Banter is a normal part of our human interactions, I’d say, one of the major connecting forces in British culture. It carries quite a few benefits; it breeds familiarity where both people can choose the pace, it allows us to laugh at ourselves while showing that we don’t take ourselves too seriously (a cornerstone of British Humour) and helps us discover boundaries. From my observation the formula for interactions goes a little like this:

Nice
Banter
Empathy and Understanding
Banter
Banter
Banter
Depth of Conversation & Relationship

Hidden Consequences

Unfortunately, Banter often has the unintended (or subconsciously intended) result of bringing shame and embarrassment.

I don’t think shame has a place in the Kingdom of God. In the past I have memorised 2 Corinthians 7:10 - Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. But I made a mistake in my memorisation, replacing the word sorrow with shame. But then I started writing this blog, and I couldn’t find that translation anywhere. Godly Sorrow brings about repentance, while worldly sorrow brings death. I don’t think Sorrow and Shame are interchangeable here.

As followers of Jesus, we’re called to be salt and light. Salt substantially changes the make up of things due to it’s interactions with the substance it’s added to. Salt the earth, it won’t grow. Salt some meat, it begins to break down. Salt your coffee…go get some more sleep, because you meant to use sugar. My point being that grace brings brings transformation, not shame, and I’m questioning whether my banter leads to grace.

Where’s the grace in banter?

After all that’s what we’re trying to bring people into isn’t it? Grace? We bringing people from death to life!

Grace is a transformational power in the kingdom of God, not shame or guilt. Grace is the key to the door of the kingdom. It’s the waterfall we all must walk through to get into the kingdom. We are bathed in it. It’s soaked into every fiber of our being when we put Jesus on the throne of our lives.

When we share our faith with others and we’re developing a relationship with them, it begins and must have its roots in grace, not banter. We are made to be different. We are made to substantially change the make up of the things that we come into contact with. This is a challenge to myself as much as it is to you. (Actually, probably more-so!)

Having a disposition of grace will open doors, start conversations and ultimately bring the transformational change Jesus is calling us to work in. Imagine being so full, that your love, grace and joy is affecting others to the point they want to join in?!

That! Is the kingdom. Isaiah 2:1-5 will help us see that.

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3     and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,[a]
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.

5 O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
    in the light of the Lord.
Isaiah 2:1-5

Ryan Bentley
Ryan moved from Birmingham in 2020 to be part of Redeemer along with his wife Sarah (our families worker) and his two kids, Rhys and Torah! He serves the church full time and his aim is to equip each of us to share the gospel with those around us on a daily basis. Look out for his Faith Sharing Meetup next term, or find more of his wisdom on Instagram.

Sharing Your Faith - Unorthodox Orthodoxy

Welcome to our newest post about Sharing Your Faith! In his regular posts, Ryan Bentley will be stirring us to share our faith with others, by looking at passages of scripture and giving practical tips. We hope you enjoy the blog below!

---

I hate bow ties and I love rap music.

Bless the staff at Redeemer for putting up with me.

Formality is lost on me. I ignore a lot of social norms. I often think of it as a good thing. It’s almost like my super power.

A new normal

Social Norms are developed to make everyone safe and to structure society but sometimes that structure is an impediment to God moving. Sometimes, it’s the have not’s who have the most to give, and the haves who have the most to loose.

Like we see in 2 Kings 7, sometimes it’s people outside the structure of social norms that bring us good news. I think it’s time we all brush up on Kings, because I wouldn’t have seen this story this way without listening to a Christian hip-hop song from 2007. (I know right! When was the last time a rap song got you to read your Bible)

In 2 Kings Israel is in quite a pickle. They’ve got a king, Joram, who has beef with Ben-Hadad of Syria and doesn’t take good care of his people or the land that God gave him. So we’ve got a bad king, having a bad time with the countries surrounding him, and Elisha is representing the Lord in all matters.

Setting the scene; Israel is surrounded. #typical. There is a severe famine to the point people are eating their own babies. The king is freaking out, his main guard is concerned and not letting people into the protective walls of the city. The world is literally crumbling around them. Then these two words come out of nowhere and save the day, much like they always do. Two words that set humanity free, raise people from the dead, and brought hope and freedom to millions of people.

But God…

God did some trickery and made the Syrians leave, they left so quickly they weren’t even able to grab their food, water, or animals (2 Kings 7:7) The camp is obviously outside the city but so are the lepers. There are 4 lepers who are hanging out and they’re SO hungry that they’re risking everything to go into AN ENEMY CAMP for FOOD! (2 Kings 7:4) They come across the camp and find all manner of goodies left waiting for a new owner to pick them up. They begin to loot the camp (How are 4 lepers going to loot a camp of a couple thousand soldiers I don’t know, but I like their moxie.) and they have an epiphany.

“We’re not doing this right. Today is a day of good news. If we are client and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.”

Culturally, this was not okay. There is a reason lepers lived on the outside of the city walls. There is no way they would have been able to see the king. They went anyway. Earlier they were talking about how they would DIE if they went into the city, but there is such good news happening outside that they risk it, to go to the king, and deliver good news.

Delivering the good news

It’s time to examine where we fit in to the structure that surrounds us, and if necessary kick the legs out from underneath that structure. It’s time to be socially awkward, be a little more forward and be unashamedly weird. To most of the world, Christians and people of faith are like lepers. But that shouldn’t stop us from going and telling them the fantastic news.

Note also that the lepers didn’t take a 6 week course on how to share good news. They didn’t get dressed up. They knew, THEY KNEW keeping this to themselves was a bad idea. So, with little regard to themselves, knowing they could die, they went, told people the good news and an entire city was saved.

I wonder what would happen if we as a church, knowing we were lepers, knowing we have this amazing news decided to tell someone else about it.

Ryan Bentley
Ryan moved from Birmingham in 2020 to be part of Redeemer along with his wife Sarah (our families worker) and his two kids, Rhys and Torah! He serves the church full time and his aim is to equip each of us to share the gospel with those around us on a daily basis. You can join his Faith Sharing meetup HERE or find more of his wisdom on Instagram.

Sharing your Faith - A perpetual motion of invitation

Welcome to our newest post about Sharing Your Faith! In his regular posts, Ryan Bentley will be stirring us to share our faith with others, by looking at passages of scripture and giving practical tips. We hope you enjoy the blog below!

---

Oh! Hello, didn’t see you there. It’s been a while, let’s catch up. 

Last time we got together I told you about Matthew 25, where Jesus is talking about how to treat those we serve. I had a lot of fun, you can find it here if you wanna catch up,

This time I want to bring you to where God’s heart brings me every summer. We’re still in Matthew just a few chapters behind in Matthew 18:15-20, but we’re going to look at it a little bit differently…

Matthew 18:15-20

“If your brother or sister sins,
go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.

If they listen to you, you have won them over. 

But if they will not listen,
take one or two others along,
so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

If they still refuse to listen,
tell it to the church; 

and if they refuse to listen even to the church,
treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

We don’t have the time in this platform to go over the last portion of this scripture, but it’s worth a gander, I left it in there because I like context.

I’m more interested in verses 15-17. This is typically the pattern churches follow to “gain a brother back”. It’s used for accountability and reconciliation when someone sins or stumbles in the church. It’s a great model, when followed well. For me, this verse is MASSIVE for the HEART behind the approach. 

The Heart Behind The Approach

Real quick, let’s walk through it. 

1. If you have a brother who is in sin, you go to them solo. Honestly, sometimes all we need is someone to listen and care for us to come back to the fold. 

2. If that doesn’t work we bring 2-3 people. Now these aren’t 2-3 randoms, but people who love and care about the person in sin. 

3. Then comes the uncomfortable portion, you bring the whole church into it. Now I take this to mean church leadership and a wider community. Church here is Oikos which means community, so essentially you’d be bringing in people who are like family to the person in sin.

4. If that doesn’t work then you treat them like a Pagan or a Tax Collector.

Many have taken this to mean to excommunicate the person and cut them out of your life. Now I like to approach this differently, using a saying that is taught in Sunday School, What would Jesus do?

What Would Jesus Do?

Now isn’t it funny, Jesus wants us to treat people like Tax Collectors. Do you know of any Tax Collectors Jesus knew?

I know one!

He wrote the book of the Bible we just read from!

Ain’t that a thing, Jesus explicitly says to treat someone who is in sin and won’t repent like one of his disciples…

Not interested? Well Jesus also says to treat them like a Pagan.
Again we ask, How does Jesus treat Pagans?

Well;
He ate with them.
Healed them.
Healed their families.
Fed them.
Cast Demons out of them.
and continually invited them into his kingdom.

When it comes to sharing our faith, we need to get away from this idea of those who are in and those who are out. We need to create a perpetual motion of invitation. Constantly inviting those who don’t know Jesus to come to know him, and those who do to know him deeper. Esther-Maria wrote a marvellous blog about eternal life starting now, and it’s true! Eternal life does start now. But that isn’t just for those who know Jesus, it’s for those who don’t know him as well.

So when I sit on a park bench, and God brings this to mind, It brings me to a place surrender and peace. Knowing that I am to walk in the ways of Jesus, constantly inviting people to come to know him deeper. And a place of Peace, seeing that while I was once far off, now I am brought near, and if I ever were to fall, if I ever were to wander, Jesus would always, ALWAYS invite me back. 

Ryan Bentley
Ryan moved from Birmingham in 2020 to be part of Redeemer along with his wife Sarah (our families worker) and his two kids, Rhys and Torah! He serves the church full time and his aim is to equip each of us to share the gospel with those around us on a daily basis. You can join his Faith Sharing meetup HERE or find more of his wisdom on Instagram.

Sharing your Faith - A new blog from Redeemer!

Welcome to 2021 on the Redeemer blog! To start off this year we’ve got a few new themed blogs for you, which we’ll be publishing once a month. Today sees the start of our first new blog - Sharing Your Faith! In his monthly posts, Ryan Bentley will be stirring us to share our faith with others, by looking at passages of scripture and giving practical tips. We hope you enjoy his first blog below!

---

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

So, are you a sheep, or are you a goat?

When we come to dichotomous scriptures like this one we like to think of ourselves as the sheep. Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd and his sheep hear his voice. Often times we try and figure out how we can meet the standard of sheep. 

What do I need to do? How do I need to do it? How often do I need to do it? Who do I need to do it to or with?

The more I look at this section of scripture the more fascinated I am by it, but this week I want to leave you with this. The sheep didn’t know they were sheep, and the goats didn’t know they were goats until they were parted by the Shepherd. 

Just sit in that. I’m serious, put your phone down, push yourself away from the keyboard and sit in that.

They had NO clue.

How does this make you feel?

Anxious? Sad? Maybe it makes you feel excited?

However we feel, and whatever category we might put ourselves in, I believe we can learn from this passage! The way I want us to learn from it today is by looking at the responses of the sheep and the goats to their categorisation!

Do you see a difference? 

It took me a while and I’ve been reading the bible for 17 years. I never noticed it until someone pointed it out to me.

The sheep (the righteous ones) didn’t know when they took care of the king, and they listed all of their deeds out one by one. Recounting all of them. The goats? They lumped it all together. They branded everything as “helping” or “ministry”. I think there is a heart posture here that goes all the way back to Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Abel’s sacrifice was from the heart. Whereas Cain’s sacrifice was based on performance. I think the same can be extrapolated here from the sheep and the goats. One is looking at the intimate details whereas the other is defining their performance with broad strokes looking for the common denominator.

Next month we’ll talk about this passage again and focus on another piece of the puzzle but for this week I want you to meditate and think on these things…

• The sheep and goat didn’t know what they were until they were separated by the Shepherd

• When they were separated, they reflected on the Shepherd’s words on two separate levels

I believe God is calling you and me to look at our service to others with a heart posture of love, over a posture of performance. We need not be concerned about which camp we’re in, or who we belong to. We simply know, listen, obey and move. 

Let’s uncomplicate love and service together. Let’s simply focus on the one in front of us.

Ryan Bentley
Ryan moved from Birmingham in 2020 to be part of Redeemer along with his wife Sarah (our families worker) and his two kids, Rhys and Torah! He serves the church full time and his aim is to equip each of us to share the gospel with those around us on a daily basis. You can join his Faith Sharing meetup HERE or find more of his wisdom on Instagram.

Sounds of the Season - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Welcome! It’s December the 8th, and we’re continuing with our very first Redeemer Digital Advent Calendar! This year, in the lead up to Christmas, we’ll be producing daily content which we hope blesses you, encourages you, and reminds you of the hope that we can celebrate this Christmas!

We’re continuing today with the second of 4 Advent blogs which will be released every Tuesday until Christmas and will make up a series called ‘Sounds of the Season’. Each week we will be taking the opportunity to appreciate the deeper meaning behind Christmas music, with a focus on a specific Christmas carol that helps to shed light on the true meaning of this Christmas season.

Today, we look at another classic carol - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen! You can hear a version below.

Sheep have amazing hearing. In fact, one of the first ways a lamb associates itself with its mother is by learning her voice. Though they have poor depth perception when it comes to sight, they can recognise their shepherd’s call from far off. We are the sheep of God’s pasture, and we are called to hear his voice and to follow his lead, including proclaiming the good news of Jesus to the people he sends us to.

Unto certain Shepherds….

This is exactly what the angels did in Luke 2:8-20, a passage of scripture described in the second verse of today’s carol - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds 
Brought tidings of the same: How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy 

The angels came and declared the incredible news of Jesus’ birth, not to the emperor Caesar, or even to King Herod, but instead to lowly shepherds.

Shepherds appear in the bible in many places, and their status changes throughout biblical history, from being an “abomination to the Egyptians” in Genesis 46:34, to a shepherd being anointed king with the selection of David by Samuel (1 Samuel 16:11). Krish Kandiah’s 2017 article “God Turns Up in All the Wrong Places at Christmas” describes shepherds as “considered untrustworthy and regarded as unclean…homeless strangers”. We however are called, as the angels were, to share the good news of Jesus with whoever God calls us to.

The Lost Sheep

The angels visit to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth is not the only appearance of shepherds in the book of Luke. In Luke 15:1-7, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep, reminding those listening (as well as those reading his words 2000 years later), that in God’s role as our shepherd, her seeks us out when we have gone astray.

Shepherds are not just used by God as an example of those to whom the message of Christmas must be told, but also as those through which the reason for Christmas is revealed. God couldn’t let us go astray, but he sent Jesus that we might be found and brought back to him.

So what role will shepherds play in your story of Christmas this year? 

Perhaps you are challenged to reach out to those who the rest of society might be ignoring this Christmas, and reveal to them something of the true message of this time of year.

Or, perhaps you feel like the lost sheep, and you realise this Christmas might be an opportunity to come home.

However you feel right now, know that the Good Shepherd is calling you. Listen out for his voice.

Wednesday Prayer - November Lockdown

Over the past several months, we often met as a church community on a Wednesday to pray together. As meetups have started, and many of us are now meeting regularly to study Ephesians together, we are no longer meeting together as a church to pray. This doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop praying! So over here on the blog we’re starting a new series on Wednesdays, giving you a few ideas of what you could be praying for today and for the rest of this week.

Today we’re praying for…..

The Lockdown

I know! It’s an obvious choice, but it seems silly that something would be dominating our conversations with one another and yet not our conversations with God!

So let’s join together in prayer today, focusing on the next 4 weeks, and fixing our eyes on the one who will be unchanging through it all, and who has plans to continue to bless us and help us grow in our faith during this time.

Some key prayer points to help you are listed below.

1. Worship God! It is always crucial to begin times of prayer by reminding ourselves just who it is that we are coming to! We pray to a God who is mighty and more powerful than anything in the universe, he is our creator, our Father, our protector, our peace, our firm foundation. He is greatly to be praised! Before you start to present your requests to God, make sure you first and foremost give him the glory he is worthy of, and in the process stir your faith for what he might do over the coming weeks.

2. Pray for God to grow your personal faith during this time. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work in you, to help you establish disciplines of prayer and reading scripture over lockdown. Pray that God would continue to speak to you as you join us for our online services.

3. Pray for your fellow members of the Redeemer family. Pray that God would continue to sustain them during this difficult time. Pray especially for those who might be dealing with loneliness. Pray for opportunities to build community with others in the Redeemer family, be that through one on one outdoor exercise, or calling, texting and meeting together on Zoom. Pray that God continues to move powerfully in our midweek Ephesians meetups! Pray for protection for the vulnerable and healing and rapid recovery for those who contract the virus

4. Pray for those around you that don’t yet have a personal relationship with God. Pray that this time might stir them to ask questions and begin to seek God. Pray for opportunities for gospel conversations with your neighbours and colleagues over the coming weeks. We believe that Jesus will continue to build his church, regardless of the circumstance, so let’s be expecting him to include us in that process even during this time. Pray for healing for those who contract the virus, and for the NHS who are treating those who are critically ill.

There are of course many other things that we can be praying for over the next 4 weeks of lockdown, and I would encourage you to make prayer a priority in this time! I will leave you with a few verses which I feel are a great starting point for us all right now.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

#RedeemerRecommends - Evangelism in the Arts

Right now, the arts are going through the toughest time in living memory, and we know that within our Redeemer family, there are performers, teachers, choreographers and many more individuals who are involved in the arts. We also are a church full of people who love and appreciate the arts and the impact they have on the borough of Ealing, the city of London, and the rest of the world!

We also believe that the incredible artistic gifting within our church is not just a coincidence, and that God can and will use it to impact those around us in Ealing. In fact we don’t just believe it in principle but we have also seen it in practice with the release of a book - Faith Locked Down, which was published this summer and includes some examples of the incredible creativity that is present within the Redeemer family!

That leads us to today’s #RedeemerRecommends. Last year, at the Gospel Coalition conference in the US, one of the breakout sessions focused on Evangelism in the Arts. Todd Goranson, founder of Trifonia Winds and the Junction Saxophone Quartet, and Steve Rooks, chair of dance and resident choreographer at Vasser College, New York, led the discussion, which focused on how we can affect our communities with the gospel through the arts. They also talk about how artistic excellence leads to effective engagement, and highlight influential organisations such as the Christian Performing Arts Fellowship and Creative Arts Europe.

It is a fascinating and inspiring listen, and will bless both artists and lovers of art alike, as we realise the power that the arts hold when it comes to evangelism and local or global mission.

The recording of the session, which includes a Q&A section at the end, is available below.

Evangelism in the Arts

Todd Goranson & Steve Rooks

Wednesday Prayer - A New Blog Series

Over the past several months, we often met as a church community on a Wednesday to pray together. As meetups have started, and many of us are now meeting regularly to study Ephesians together, we are no longer meeting together as a church to pray. This doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop praying! So over here on the blog we’re starting a new series on Wednesdays, giving you a few ideas of what you could be praying for today and for the rest of this week.

Today we’re praying for…..

Our neighbours!

The first few weeks and months after lockdown began back in March gave many of us more opportunity than ever before to connect with those closest to us geographically! Without the need to travel to work, or the ability to spend our free time further afield, we got to know our neighbours, whether that be through a community WhatsApp group, shopping for those who were isolating, or clapping together in the street on a Thursday evening. This was brilliant, but….

As lockdown went on, and more of us were able to travel further, see old friends again, and generally spend less time at home, we became less connected with our neighbours and our conversations and interaction became less frequent again.

As we enter into a time where lockdown measures may become more strict, there may be more opportunities to connect again in future, but we can be praying for our neighbours right now! Below are a few prayer points to help you out.

1. Pray for good health.

   Many of us will have neighbours who are vulnerable or elderly, and may already be shielding or self isolating in their homes. Pray for their continued protection from the virus, and for healing miracles to happen in their lives, be that a healing from covid-19, or another existing health issue. 

2. Pray for peace of mind.

   One of peoples biggest concerns about the recent pandemic is the unknown nature of the regulations. No-one quite knows what is going to happen and when. This creates pressure within families, in relationships, and gives rise to panic and insecurity. Pray for those who live around you, that they might receive peace in a stressful time, and that the Holy Spirit might be at work in them to reassure them and bring hope when fears about the future come to mind.

3. Pray for opportunities to witness!

   More than ever before, those around us are seeking answers, and though we may not know the answer to every practical question, we do know one who has the capability to fill every spiritual need! As our lives and the way we live our lives become more visible to our neighbours there is opportunity for us to display the peace, the hope, the reassurance about the future that comes from being a follower of Jesus, in the way we go about our daily lives. Why not be bold and pray today that you have an opportunity over the next few weeks to chat to a neighbour about your relationship with Jesus, and the way it helps you to deal with your current situation.

We believe in the power of prayer, and that God not only hears each and every one of us as we pray, but that he loves to be at work in our lives as a result of what we pray! So let’s pray together this week, and be expectant that things will change as a result!

Redeemer reads 2 Corinthians 4

Welcome! Over the next few weeks we are going to be reading 2 Corinthians together as a church, 1 chapter every week day. We’re encouraging everyone to read the passage, pray, and share with a few others what they felt God was pointing out to them in his word. Every day we’re going to be hearing from someone at Redeemer about what they felt God pointed out to them as they read the passage.

This morning Tara is sharing with us, you can watch her video above. She has also shared some more of her thoughts on the passage below.

---

I thank God that he has unveiled my faith and sent an atomic bomb to shed His Light on my darkness. 

I particularly loved the reminder of Paul’s war cry prophesy in verses 8-9. I am so grateful that in my weakness and darkest moments I have this declaration. I am particularly declaring this over our frontline NHS staff members. 

In chapter 4 Paul encourages us “I believed, and so I spoke.” This is not the season for unspoken faith. But the season to confess and speak Gods word into existence. 

I loved the image of “that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” Gods Grace is extending to so many during this season and we must continue to be the light and salt of the earth.

I am encouraged not to lose heart. Though we are not exempt from suffering and our outer self fades we have the hope that our inner self is renewed day by day. 

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18

---

Further Study

Paul’s ministry was by no means a story of total success and minimal hurdles, and as we read in today’s passage, there was clearly many people who weren’t responding to his gospel message! This is similar in many ways to our own experience of evangelism. In this talk (link below) from September 2017, Mike Cain of Emmanuel Bristol shares with us how to respond “when it appears the gospel isn’t working”.

#RedeemerRecommends - Confronting Christianity

Every year in the run up to Christmas I have the same conversation with frustrated members of my family as they desperately ask me what I want! As gifts is not high on my list of love languages I often respond with a shrug and an unhelpful phrase, something along the lines of  - ’Whatever you feel like getting me I guess?’

I have come to learn over the years that when someone is trying to be generous, it helps to be a little more specific than that! So this year I sent my family the link to the Gospel Coalition’s books of the year, as a sort of Christmas list! You can find it here, just in case you’ve got a friend or family member with a January birthday coming up and (like me) your gift giving ideas ran dry about half way through December….

One of the books on the list which I was lucky enough to receive this Christmas was Rebecca McLaughlin’s ‘Confronting Christianity - 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Hardest Religion’.

The book poses 12 common objections to the Christian faith, and flips those challenges on their heads, using them to point to the goodness of God.

McLaughlin is fantastic at confronting the general lack of biblical knowledge which seems to influence many people’s objections to the Christian faith, and focusing on the biblical truth which can provide clear answers to questions like ‘Doesn’t Christianity Crush Diversity?’ And ‘Isn’t Christianity Homophobic?’. She has also clearly done her research (as is to be expected with a book like this), and not only does she highlight biblical truth, but also aligns it with findings of modern science to construct arguments which provide answers to those with big questions for Christianity, regardless of their knowledge of the bible.

I have no doubt that this is a book which would appeal to those who would not call themselves Christian, but simply have some questions to ask. It will also provide a great foundation for those Christians who have friends who are asking questions, and would love some guidance as to how to answer them!

There are countless books out there which pose the ‘Big Questions’ of the world and aim to answer them, but what this book does so well is that combination of evidence alongside the biblical narrative. In every answer to every question this book is pointing unequivocally to the only source of true hope, the incredible, fully God, fully man, Jesus Christ. I will end this #RedeemerRecommends with a paragraph from the last page of the book, as McLaughlin brings us to the reason why all these questions need an answer, and why the story of the bible is the best place to turn.

In Jesus’s world, we find connective tissue between the truths of science and morality. We find a basis for saying that all human beings are created equal, and a deep call to love across diversity. We find a name for evil, and a means of forgiveness. We find a vision of love that is so much deeper than our current hearts can hold, and a true intimacy better than our weak bodies could ever experience. We find a diagnosis of human nature as shot through with sin and yet as redeemable by grace. We find a call to care for the poor, oppressed, and lonely, a call springing from the heart of God himself and grounded in the hope that one day every tear will be wiped away, every stomach will be filled, and every outcast will be embraced. But we do not find glib answers or an easy road. Instead, we find a call to come and die. (page 222)

Love Ealing

The first word when I think about God is LOVE.

The first verse I learnt from the Bible was John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son.

As a follower of Jesus I am amazed by His love for me

Love Ealing is one means by which Redeemer Church wants to demonstrate Jesus love for Ealing in practical ways. This will be as creative as the people taking part, and can be large or small: a wide range of activities, events and words are encouraged.

Below are some examples of ideas we have had already, plus some testimonies of how individuals have already been showing love to the people of Ealing!

---

What we’ve got planned!

As we’re getting closer to Christmas we’ll be doing some carol singing in the Ealing Broadway shopping centre on Thursday the 12th and Thursday the 19th of December. At 7:30 on both evenings we’ll be showing some love to the people of Ealing as they do some Christmas shopping, and anyone is welcome to join us!

In January we will be showing love to the emergency services around Ealing, gathering people to go to their local police station, a&e department, and fire service with thank you cards and gifts. Blessing them in response to all they do for us over the busy Christmas season.

We’re also looking to bless and show love to those who are supported by Age Concern and Retirement Homes in the borough, and will be taking teams of people to build community with the older residents of Ealing by singing Christmas songs, playing games, and just spending quality time with them around Christmas.

Finally, we’re putting on two fantastic and free Christmas events on the 15th of December! There will be a carol service at 4pm, and a Christmas concert at 6pm, both events are at the University of West London and will be followed by mulled wine and mince pies!

We would love to hear about your ideas or to get you involved in one of the ones mentioned above, come and find us at the Love Ealing table on a Sunday morning!

How we’ve been loving Ealing so far…

The other day I was in Pret with a friend and we thanked the lady who served us, let her know that she was loved and gave her a Love Ealing business card, there was no big conversation as a result but it was great just to spread a little joy as part of our lunch!

I was walking through Ealing Broadway and I stopped to chat to some people who were asking members of the public if they wanted to switch their bills! Often I find it easy to walk past these people, but I decided to stop, encourage them for doing something which quite often can seem a thankless task, and I offered to pray for them! They were kind and asked me to pray that they wouldn’t get rained on! I also gave them a Love Ealing card and I walked away praying for them, it was only such a small thing but I am trusting that God uses it to plant a seed.

I came to the realisation that on my daily commute I walk past so many people that I never really stop to chat to. One of these people is Graham, who works at Chiswick Park tube station every morning. I felt convicted to do something to thank him for his friendly ‘hello’ each morning and tell him about Love Ealing. One morning, I asked God for courage and walked to the station armed with chocolate and Love Ealing business cards. As I gave these to Graham, he looked shocked and so happy to receive this small gesture of appreciation. I told him that how our church is taking a few months to love Ealing in practical ways and invited him along to Redeemer, pointing to the address on the back of the card. With a delighted expression on his face, we chatted about our weekends before he said ‘thank you so much Hannah’. We’ve connected everyday since and now know each other personally! I was struck by how little that took from me, but how great the impact was for him. What if we slowed down enough to notice and bless someone on our commute everyday?