Join a Meetup! - Step Up - Mondays - 8pm

Here at Redeemer we recognise that we are not just a random group of individuals brought together by a shared interest in Jesus, but that we are a family of believers, and that being part of community is a crucial part of our life as Christians. That’s why we run meetups every term, to grow in our faith, to develop genuine friendship, and to encourage others to join our family.

Today sees the start of a new blog series, highlighting the meetups that we will be running this term!

First off it’s Step Up, which is being led by Sam Isaacson.

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The modern world is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

How do you lead yourself and others in this challenging environment?

Come along to my meetup to pick up a full toolkit of life hacks that will help you understand yourself better, be more effective in work and life, and positively influence people.

It will be an absolute blast!

Sam Isaacson

Artisan Live!

Last Thursday saw our second live music event at Artisan Coffee in Ealing! To launch our next Alpha course, which starts this Wednesday, we invited a number of talented musicians, singers and poets to share their talents with us! All this was free, and came with the opportunity to enjoy great coffee served by the fantastic staff at Artisan!

The evening was full of highlights, newly written original songs by Toby Elliott, brilliant harmonies from Meg & Ruth, who joined us all the way from Wimbledon, poetry from Steve Page, a regular contributor to the Redeemer blog, and the unique and beautiful vocals of Yvette Flower! Another new act that performed at the event was On That Note, a barbershop quartet which included Russell Oakley, a member of the Redeemer family who was able to also share a testimony about how much he benefitted from being on the Alpha Course last term! Their medley, which began with a rendition of the iconic opening lines of Bohemian Rhapsody, was a fantastic moment! Kayla & Anna had the whole coffee shop in stitches with their cover of Valerie by Amy Winehouse, which included a personal warning from Kayla of the importance of paying your parking fines!

Also on the night, Sam (our fantastic host) had the opportunity to interview Bronwyn, another member of the Redeemer family, about how her life has been transformed by the Alpha course! She described how her entire outlook on life had changed because she had been given the opportunity to ask questions, discuss with others, and discover a personal relationship with God.

That is the invitation we are extending to you this term, come and join us on Wednesday night at 7:30 at Osteria del Portico, to enjoy great community, great food, and discuss the question ‘Is There more to life than this?’ If you enjoy it, why not come along every week for the next 10 weeks, as we take the opportunity to explore the Christian faith, and see how knowing God personally might transform your life!

You can sign up by following the link below, or just turn up on Wednesday night! I look forward to seeing you there!

Transforming Prayer Poetry - Week 8

One of the purposes of prayer that we learnt about back in our first week of meetups was that it is an act of COMMUNICATION. Part of healthy communication in any relationship is giving space for each of you to speak while the other listens. In this week’s poem Steve Page reminds us of the importance that listening has in our relationship with God.

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Remember to Listen

Have you ever had the feeling 
while praying
that you've inadvertently 
been talking 
while God is speaking?

Don't worry -
He wrote it down for you.

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3

Answered Prayer - Deeper Relationship

In the second of our blogs focusing on Answered Prayer, Nathanael Jegunma shares with us how the community and the prayers of his Transforming Prayer meetup have led to fresh encounters and more intimate relationship with his Heavenly Father!

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I am new to Redeemer and joined a small group within the first 2 weeks. God has truly revealed how powerful he is when you have faith in him and act in according to his word.

The Transforming Prayer series has reinvigorated my connection with God and I have felt my relationship and understanding of him grow. I have begun to regularly share the word of God with my colleagues at work, improved my family relationships and learned to communicate more effectively with God.

There is power in us gathering and praying together and we have seen God answer prayers in our group. I would encourage anyone who attends Redeemer to enjoy the fellowship and family that small groups provide and get involved.

— Nathanael Jegunma

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:42

Transforming Prayer Poetry - Week 6

This week in our meetups we have been focusing on praying for a breakthrough on our lives and the lives of others around us.

Steve’s latest poem tells a story of that kind of breakthrough we are praying for, a story of bruises, scars, and healing.

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Mister New

I see you there
keep looking at me
but I'm not sure 
what it is you see

I'm no-one's 'boy'
I'm not 'hey you'
my name's Mister
it's 'Mister New'

I've got old scars
raw scars too
but I'm not sure 
it's clear to you

wounds can only 
go so deep
there's only so long 
that they can bleed

you might see wounded
see black and blue
but save your pity
that's all about you

I've grow taller 
through broken skin
my roots sink deeper 
than you've ever been

when you're up close
you'll see it's true
my fresh healed skin's
a real break through

I've got a name
so I'd thank you
when you address me
say 'Mister New'

Transforming Prayer Poetry - Week 5

We have passed the half way mark of our Transforming Prayer meetups, and it’s been incredible to hear stories of growing communities of passionate individuals coming together to pray!

We are called not just to pray as individuals, but to join together and pray, as a team, just as the early church did in Acts 2:42.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Steve Page’s latest poem, inspired by the recent six nations rugby tournament, paints an inspiring picture of what a praying community looks like.

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A TEAM SPORT

[In the voice of your favourite over-excited rugby commentator.]

We're inside the final quarter. We've seen a bone-cruncher of a contest today and there's no sign of a let up, the prayers gather for the next engagement, positioning themselves with practiced confidence, skillfully supporting each other, ready for the push.  You can see every knee and each hand bears the marks from this long muddied pray, red and brown staining every inch of their entwined limbs; - arms and hands holding fast.

Front row.
Second row.
Back row.
Digging in for the big push.

The opposition has played an intelligent game, taking advantage of any lapse in concentration, any sign of tiredness, looking for any weakness to exploit.  The prayers know they can't afford any slips now, they need to keep up the pressure, maintain their advance deep in the opposition's half.  Every yard of gained ground needs to be defended.

The prayers' Coach looks on - look at his smile! You can see the pride he has for his team, he's schooled them on every tactic of the opposition and now that training, that practice has paid dividends. This is a team of prayers that so clearly know each other well, supporting each other every step of the way. You can see their co-ordinated pray, their sustained effort and the sheer pleasure they feel when they are praying together.

The prayers drive on.  The sound of their groans and deep breaths merge into one. There's a rhythm to it, a cadence as together they push and PUSH. 

The opposition's footing is slipping, the prayers' momentum gains pace and, YES! the resistance collapses.  Oh, that must have hurt!

But there's no time for complacency, the prayers re-form their line looking for the next opening, the next opportunity to push forward.

This is a joy to see.  The Coach shouts his encouragement - this was never going to be an easy struggle; you can't dismiss the opposition - they are a seasoned though sometimes disorganised team and they can take you by surprise.  But as we've seen here today, the Coach knows that if his team of prayers keep to the plan and pray to their strengths, the opposition are surely in for a hiding. The prayers will triumph and they will take the winners' crown. 
- Back to you in the studio.

Transforming Prayer Poetry - Week 4

This Sunday, Pete Cornford helped us to grasp the goodness of the God that we are talking to when we pray, and in our meetups this week we have been discussing ‘The Pattern of Prayer’, learning from Jesus’ model of prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13.

Steve’s poem this week speaks again of God’s goodness, and the importance of pursing prayer as Jesus’ intended it; reminding us what we can expect to hear from God in return.

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Things you won’t hear from God.

Things you won't hear from God:

I'm sorry we are experiencing a higher number of calls than usual. 

You may wish to call back later.

All of our operators are dealing with other customers.

We will be with you as soon as someone becomes available.

Your call is important to us, please wait or alternatively go to our website.

Listen carefully to the flowing options.

I'm sorry, I didn't understand that. Did you say, "Help"?

Our office is now closed. Thank you for calling. 

Things you will hear from God:

"Welcome. I've been expecting you. What's on your heart?"

Remembering Answered Prayer

This weekend marked our third Sunday morning of Transforming Prayer, and I don’t know about you, I am absolutely loving it! I’ve begun meeting on a Tuesday morning and building community with those in my meet-up, we’ve had some great times of prayer and honest conversation together, sharing our dreams with one another for what we hope God will do in and through us during this time of Transforming Prayer!

Last week we were talking about answered prayer, and how we seem to have new requests to bring to God each morning! Because there are so many new things to ask for, we can often forget that God is answering our prayers daily, often in amazing ways! Together we have made the decision to keep a record of all the ways God is answering our prayers during our time meeting together, and to regularly look back at this list to renew and stir our faith!

But why limit that list to just our own group?! Recently God has been answering prayers, big and small, all across the Redeemer family, and we think that’s something which needs to be celebrated as we continue the Transforming Prayer series! So here’s your chance, if you’ve had a prayer answered, whether it be in the last couple of weeks since we started the series, or whether you have a powerful testimony of answered prayer from earlier in your life, we want to hear from you! 

The power of testimony is huge! It stirs up faith in others, and encourages them to persevere in their prayers, it focuses people’s eyes back on God rather than themselves, and it motivates people to worship the God who answers their prayers. 

If you’ve got an example of answered prayer that you would love to share with us, you can let us know by sending your testimony to prayer@redeemerlondon.org. It can be a big testimony or a small testimony, no-one is discounted, all answered prayer is worth celebrating! All we would ask that you try and keep it around 350 words maximum (as a point of reference this blog is 364 words long).

We look forward to hearing your stories…

Better Together

London can be a lonely place at times. I’ve been on full tubes, in busy squares, in vibrant stadiums and at packed out gigs and known that feeling of not really connecting with anyone despite being around everyone.

 We’ve got a saying at Redeemer that “life is a team sport - best done together” and I’ve genuinely found at church that meeting new people, making friends and sharing life Monday to Saturday has added that all-important connection and depth to London.

 We call the stuff we do Monday-Saturday ‘Meetups’ at Redeemer. This term we’ve created spaces, times and options to hang out and grow together on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. They’re in evenings, early morning, in the middle of the day, over brunch and geographically spread out all over the borough, and everyone’s welcome.

Would you like to find a meetup of ten or so people for the next ten weeks? We’re aiming to grow in our prayer life in particular this Spring term, using some great resources to prioritise prayer, encourage each other in prayer, and pray for each other. Ten people could be praying for you, supporting you and making life more of a team sport for you over the next few weeks – sounds worthwhile doesn’t it?

For everyone who’s joined a meetup this term, have a superb time. One top tip - don’t hold back. We’ve found that the more real you are, the more likely it is you’ll grow yourself and bond with those there beyond just the ten weeks. Enjoy!

Transforming Prayer Poetry - Week 1

As part of our Transforming Prayer series here at Redeemer we will be posting weekly poems based around the topic of prayer.

The incredibly gifted Steve Page has written a series of poems for us to use, you can check out more of his work by seeking out his posts on this blog or by following this link at the bottom of this page.

We hope you enjoy the posts, and are prepared for the start of our Transforming Prayer meetups and preaching series this Sunday!

Over to Steve…

Prayer #1

You walk
You sit
You kneel

You ask
You wait
You weep

I listen
I speak
I weep

I hear
I stand
I act