Here are some of the things you may have missed!
Sunday 13th October - 17th November 2024
Easton's Bible Dictionary defines consecration as the act of:
“devoting or setting apart of anything to the worship or service of God.”
Our Sunday preacing series ran through October & November and help us to explore how to live devoted lives set apart for God in the different seasons of everyday life:
Sunday 21st April- 23rd June 2024
Matthew 28:18-20: Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
It's exciting to be a follower of Jesus! And as we get to know Jesus better, and our Christian life develops, sharing that excitement with others is part of the adventure of faith. But how can we do that in a world that today largely considers Christianity to boring, untrue or irrelevant? Actually, the world we are in today is not much different to the world of the Bible on that score!
Paul went on 3 missionary journeys, and Acts recounts his adventures as he traveled around the mediterranean. In our series we will look at the different places Paul preached and planted churches, and consider the wide variety of different situations that he found himself in. We will consider what he had to deal with and overcome, and how he found ways to communicate the good news to people of different cultures, different social values, with different issues and beliefs, and had different responses to the same gospel message.
Alongside the events recorded in Acts, the New Testament also provides us with letters that Paul wrote to the churches he planted, and these give us an added insight into the background – the different churches, people, experiences and challenges they faced. As we look at each of the churches he planted, we will take time to see what issues those churches faced that we also face 2000 years later, and what we can learn from Paul’s trip around the Mediterranean.
Series Outline
Week 1: 21st April: Cyprus Acts 13:1-12
Week 2: 28th April: Antioch of Pisidia (Galatians) Acts 13:13-52
Week 3: 5th May: Iconium, Lystra & Derbe (Galatians): Acts 14:1-7. 8-21 & 16:1-5
Week 4: 12th May: Phillipi Part 1 (Phillipians): Acts 16:6-15
Week 5: 19th May: Phillipi Part 2: (Phillipians): Acts 16:16-40
Week 6: 26th May: Thessaloniki & Berea (Thessalonians): Acts 17:1-15
Week 7: 2nd June: Athens: Acts 17:16-34
Week 8: 9th June: Corinth (Corinthians): Acts 18:1-17
Week 9: 16th June: Ephesus Part 1 (Ephesians): Acts 19:1-22
Week 10: 23rd June: Ephesus Part 2 (Ephesians): Acts 19:23-41
Spring 2024 Morning Series
Joel 2:28-29: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.”
Jesus invites us to live an abundant life, a life to the full that is beyond our dreams. To truly experience this, we are invited to go on an adventure of faith that moves us beyond our previous experiences into new areas of discovery, moving in step with the Holy Spirit as He reveals God’s plans for us step by step. But the biggest work that God ever does is the work to shape our character to be people He can use and trust, and unfortunately recent history is littered with examples of people who started well, experienced success, but failed to last the distance because their character weaknesses created footholds the enemy exploited.
As we enter 2024, we are about to go on some big adventures of faith that will shape who we are and how we move forward in the plans God has for both of our congregations. I believe it is important that as we step into this next season in the life of Burton Elim Church, we allow God to shape our character so that we last the distance and see the dreams and visions Holy Spirit reveals succeed.
Joseph is a great biblical example God has given us to learn how this can happen. When we first meet him as a gifted 17-year-old he is hearing the voice of God speaking to him about the future, but at this stage his character is not ready to handle all that God wants to achieve through him and as a result he is carried off into an adventure he never dreamed of. In this series we will explore the different experiences Joseph has of how God shapes his character to be able to use him to achieve great things, as God moves him from the pit to the palace. I pray we will discover how God wants to shape our character as individuals so that we can move forward with the right heart into the next season and see the plans He has for the church through 2024 and beyond succeed.
Series Outline (Catch up on our YouTube)
Week 1: 21st January: Inspired Dreams: Genesis 37v1-11
Week 2: 28th January: Shattered Dreams: Genesis 37v12-36
Week 3: 4th Feb: Testing Dreams: Genesis 39v1-20
Week 4: 11th Feb: Nightmare Dreams: Genesis 39v21-40v23
Week 5: 18th Feb: Breakthrough Dreams: Genesis 41
Week 6: 25th Feb: Painful Dreams: Genesis 42
Week 7: 3rd March: Restoring Dreams: Genesis 43-45
Week 8: 10th March: Living Dreams: Genesis 47v13-26
Autumn 2023 Sunday Morning Series
From Sunday 8th October until 19th November, both our congregations followed a Sunday morning series called "Who Do You Say I Am? (Holy Spirit)", the third of our series looking at the nature and heart of the God we worship. Each week our preaching team in both locations looked at who the Holy Spirit is, and what He wants to do in us and through us.
The series was accompanied by time on the Sunday evenings with time aside to allow the Holy Spirit to move.
For the two previous "Who Do You Say I Am?" series, see our YouTube Channel
Who Do You Say I Am? (Father)
Who Do You Say I Am? (Jesus)