Hope Church Newham

May Update

Mark Waterfield — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:00:56 +0000

There are now less than 100 days to go to the Olympics – the once in a lifetime event which is happening right on our doorstep is fast approaching!

Last weekend we had a great prayer weekend in Stratford with 16 churches joining together on the Sunday to pray and ask God to move powerfully in the coming months. There is real unity amongst the local churches as we build towards the Ultimate Gold outreach during the games.

On Wednesday 16^th May we are going to have a special evangelism training evening with the YWAM Megacities team that is currently in Stratford. We will provide pizza and refreshments for everyone from 6pm @Salvation Army building and then some evangelism training from the YWAM team before we go out into Stratford and put what we’ve learnt into practice. Do come along and be equipped and step out of your comfort zone.

At the end of this month on Saturday 26^th May, 2012 London’s Burning will be taking place at Leyton Orient Football Ground 2-8pm. This is a special event for thousands of people to gather and worship and pray for the release of the fire of God’s love over London in preparation for the millions of expected visitors to the London games. Do check out the website to book tickets. It promises to be a very special event not to be missed. www.londonsburning2012.org.uk

On Sunday 3^rd June we are going to be celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. We will have a shorter service and afterwards invite neighbours, friends and family to a street party on the decking at Sarah Bonnell School. There will be food, music, games, competitions and fun for all the family. Invites will be available soon – do think and pray about who you can invite. We are hoping that it will be a great opportunity to reach out to those around us and host an excellent community event.

I thank God for each of you – the way you serve and bring so much to the Church.

You are all wonderful gifts from God.

Love and prayers,

Mark

“Spiritual Gifts For Everyone” Part 2 – Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Graham Crosbie — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:00:33 +0000

This week we continued the introduction to our new series “Spiritual Gifts For Everyone” and looked at “Baptism in the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus’ baptism and his receiving of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in all 4 gospels e.g. Matthew 3:11. In Acts 1:5, Jesus himself talks about being baptised with the Holy Spirit. In the gospels we see an anticipation of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of believers. In the book of Acts we see the results of the Holy Spirit working in and through the lives of believers.

Our blueprint for what it means to be “baptised in the Holy Spirit” is best found in the lives of new Christians, the ones saved after Pentecost. It is difficult for us to identify with Jesus’ disciples as they were with Jesus.

All Christians are born of the Spirit – John 3:5. We are born into God’s family, our destination is no longer hell but a place in heaven. Does it end there? Martyn Lloyd-Jones posed the question:

“Got it all? Well if you’ve got it all, I simply ask in the name of God why are you as you are? If you’ve got it all why are you so unlike New Testament Christians? Got it all? Got it at conversion? Well where is it I ask?”

We can say they must be more that God has for us. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the more

The book of Acts is full of examples of people receiving the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:12-13 , the Samaritans are baptised in the name of Jesus. Some days later Peter and John prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:12-13). In Acts 9, we read of the apostle Paul’s conversion. It was three days after his dramatic encounter with Jesus that he received the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17). In Acts 10:44-48 , we read about Cornelius hearing the word and being baptised in the Holy Spirit before being baptised in water. In Acts 19:1-7 , we read about the church in Ephesus receiving the Holy Spirit after conversion.

Three important things about baptism in the Holy Spirit

1. No one size fits all – Cornelius and household conversion, baptism in the Holy Spirit and water baptism all happened on the same day. For Paul, the Samaritans, and the Ephesians there was a delay. Baptism in the Holy Spirit happens in different ways and at different times. God wants to come and fill you with the Holy Spirit if you have never been filled before. If you have been filled with the Holy Spirit God wants to fill you again.

2. Baptism in the Holy Spirit will come on all who ask – There is no need to wait to be baptised in the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13, Acts 2:39). All we need to do is to ask. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is often accompanied by speaking in tongues but not always. Speaking in tongues (which we will look at in more detail later in this series) is a sign to unbelievers and to the person speaking that something supernatural, something from God has happened.

3. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is life changing – A change takes place something that people can see in us. The biggest change is a boldness. When we are weak and fearful, He wants to come and empower us. Sometimes when we are being filled with the Holy Spirit there are physical signs e.g. shaking falling down, emotional signs crying or laughing but not always. These happen when the power and love of God overwhelm us.

Two things baptism in the Holy Spirit is not

1. Not about being mature, being holy or earning it – God just loves to send his Spirit and to fill us.

2. Not about creating a hierarchy – There are no second class Christians. God’s desire is for us all to be filled with the Holy Spirit

Have we the same power in our lives as the early church? There must be more that God wants for us and has for us.

Conclusion

Over the course of this series there will be many opportunities for us to receive the Holy Spirit either for the first time or for us to receive more of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 has a very helpful picture of being under the influence of God’s power. It all depends on where we drink from. We all drink but where from? Drink and receive from the Holy Spirit.

“Spiritual Gifts For Everyone” Part 1 – Biblical overview of the Holy Spirit

Graham Crosbie — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:00:37 +0000

This Sunday, we started our new sermon series “Spiritual Gifts For Everyone.” The title of this sermon series is deliberate. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people. In the same way today, the spiritual gifts are for all Christians – no one is excluded.

Many Christians are hungry for spiritual fulfillment. People need to be filled with Holy Spirit. As Christians we are helpless without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is essential to being a a Christian.

A brief overview of the Bible shows us that the Holy Spirit was present at creation (Genesis 1:1-2). In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came on specific people at specific times for specific purposes (Exodus 31:1-3, Judges 15:14, 1 Samuel 16:13). Joel 2:28-29 contains a wonderful promise of God that one day the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all people.

In the New Testament, Jesus is the best example there is of a spirit filled man. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. All through the gospels. we see the Holy Spirit was with Jesus (Matthew 1:18, Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus was led by the Spirit – Matthew 4:1. Jesus needed to be full of the Spirit to do the things he did.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection the disciples were told to wait to receive power from the Holy Spirit – Acts 1:8. On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) they received the Holy Spirit.

Six Things we know about the Holy Spirit from the Bible

The Holy Spirit is better for us than Jesus walking the earth today - John 16:7

Sometimes we might say to ourselves, “Wouldn’t be good if Jesus was right next to me, everything would be fine.” As Christians we have the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead living inside of us. We read in Acts 1:1 that the gospels are only just the beginning. Jesus’ work carries on through the Holy Spirit and the life of every believer today.

God’s power at work in us today

The Greek word for “Power” is dunamis. Our modern word dynamite comes from the same word. The Holy Spirit’s power is like dynamite from upon high. In Acts, we see a different Peter from the one we see in the Gospels. What changed Peter? The difference was he had been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. What’s missing in the life of the Church today? From Zechariah 4:6 we see that it’s not about our ability but about our availability to the power of God.

As Christians, we know our pasts and sins are dealt with at the cross. But how do we change the things we am battling with? The answer is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Living the Christian life is only possible through the power of God

Holy Spirit helps us to be like Jesus – Acts Chapter 4 and Galatians 5:22

Holy Spirit helps us to behave and act like Jesus.

Holy Spirit guides and leads us

Holy Spirit is a person who we are to follow. We have a choice – Galatians 5:16. We need to keep in step with the Spirit. We need to ask ourselves “Am leading? Or am I following the Holy Spirit where He leads.”

Holy Spirit is God’s gift to all of us

God loves to give the Holy Spirit to his children – Luke 11:13. Do you really believe that God gives you good things?

Holy Spirit is not an optional extra

We can be quite good at believing but quite poor at coming to Jesus and drinking. We need to keep coming and drinking – John 7:37-39. It is difficult to be a Christian. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit This is an ongoing experience not a one off – Ephesians 5:18. Where are you drinking from – the world or the Spirit? Where you are drinking from will affect you

Conclusion

The Early Church was full of the Spirit. All kinds of things happened. It was not easy for the Early Church but amazing things happen healings, miracles, and great growth. We have a choice to either depend on ourselves and our strength or to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Come and drink!

More Holy Spirit power

Mark Waterfield — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:26:22 +0000

Billy Graham once wrote ‘Everywhere I go I find that God’s people lack something. They are hungry for something. Their Christian experience is not all that they expected and they often have recurring defeat in their lives. Christians today are hungry for spiritual fulfilment. The most desperate need of the nation is that men and women who profess Jesus be filled with the Holy Spirit’

Jesus final words to his disciples were ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8) It was not 3 years spent with Jesus that transformed a timid and scared Peter to a bold and fearless preacher who saw 3,000 saved on the day of Pentecost, but the power of the Holy Spirit!

We all have personal limitations, fears and struggles. What we need more than anything is the Holy Spirit to clothe us with power from on high. God loves to give good gifts to His children and more than anything He loves to give the Holy Spirit to all who ask (Luke 11:13). Don’t be shy – today ask God for more of His Holy Spirit in your life and then some more and then some more…………

Forgiveness – Matthew 18:21-35

Graham Crosbie — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:00:03 +0000

On Sunday, Sam Nair spoke on forgiveness from Matthew 18:21-35.

Forgiving is such a relevant thing. For some people forgiving is not part of their moral code. Forgiveness is something we are confronted with on a daily basis.

When some hurts you to the depth and intensity that you cannot grapple with, it becomes a thought that you live with every moment of the day. When someone hurts you to that intensity you forced to look into forgiveness.

Matthew 18:21-35 is all about the King who settles accounts. On the surface the passage deals with financial debts but deep down it addresses relational debt. It is important for us to deal with any financial debts and it is vitally important to deal with relational debt. Relational debts can be painful. They can quickly escalate. They have an impact not only on ourselves, but on our families too. It is important for us to settle accounts with people. Running away from the problem is not the solution. Hiding from or not to talking to someone who has wronged you are not the answer – Romans 3:23.

Being in relational debt stops us from enjoying the freedom and riches of the Kingdom of God. The King invites us to walk in the grace of God, favour that we do not merit or deserve. God wants to lift us to heights and places that we cannot imagine. We need to stop living like beggars in the Kingdom of God and enjoy the goodness and favour God has for us.

In the passage there are two debtors. The first debtor is forgiven a huge debt (one that he could never possibly repay) by the King. The second debtor owes the first debtor, a relatively small debt about 3 months salary. But the first debtor does not forgive the second debtor. It is difficult for us to forgive. Other people’s debts to us often seem bigger than the debts we owe others. Un-forgiveness is my right to hurt you for hurting me. It can be active or passive. Un-forgiveness leaves us a shadow of what we could have been. Jesus forgave a huge debt but why do we fail to forgive offences committed by others?. What is forgiveness?

Forgiveness IS NOT

Forgetting - Just because you forgive someone doesn’t mean that you forget what they have done.
Condoning their action - it is not saying what they did is OK.
Restoration - Just because we forgive someone it does not mean that we become best friends again.
Reconciliation - needs two parties. You can forgive someone without them necessarily acknowledging or responding to your act of forgiveness.
Justice - sometimes the legal process needs to take its course.

Forgiveness IS

Forgiveness is a principle of the Kingdom of God. What are some characteristics of forgiveness in the Kingdom of God?

Living by grace - the only way to live in the Kingdom of God is by grace. Forgiveness is the choice to live by grace. Because we have been forgiven much by Jesus we should forgive others. This is not easy. We need to realise that it is the King who cancel debts not us. God is the righteous judge. Living by grace means giving up the business of judging others to God. It is refusing to take revenge. This is difficult but the Holy Spirit helps us.
Matter of heart rather than action - Jesus teaches us that it is a matter of heart rather than action. Forgiveness is predominately between you and God. It is a choice to keep your heart right before God
A Process - Sometimes forgiveness is a process that starts with a small step which starts with us holding out our hands and saying to God “I want you to help settle my accounts.” Forgiveness stops these debts getting in the way of a new tomorrow.

Our Confidence in the Resurrection

Graham Crosbie — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:00:12 +0000

This week, we celebrated Easter and looked at why we as Christians can be confident in the resurrection.

Christianity is a resurrection religion. “Without Jesus’s resurrection there is no good news at all. The concept of resurrection lies at the very heart of Christianity. If you remove it Christianity is destroyed.” – John Stott (see 1 Corinthians 15:14)

Many people were crucified and they all died. The empty tomb makes Jesus different from every other religious leader in the world. Good Friday and the cross fits together with the empty tomb. The cross is a symbol of the forgiveness of our sins. The empty tomb speaks of hope, of new life beyond the grave. To fully understand Easter you need to have both the cross and the empty tomb. The empty tomb shows the full power of death being defeated.

Here are four things about being confident in the resurrection and that Jesus defeated the grave.

Our confidence in the resurrection comes from historical facts – 1 Corinthians 15:1-10

There are lots of other suggestions as to what happened to Jesus on the cross. Did he really die? If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead what happened to his body? The Romans were very efficient executioners it is an undisputed fact that Jesus died on the cross. What did the disciples have to gain from claiming Jesus rose from the dead? All of the apostles apart from John were executed for their faith. Another explanation is that the authorities hid the body. All they had to do at some point was to produce the body and this has not happened. Were the resurrection appearances hallucinations? It is extremely rare for a hallucination to be shared by more than one person let alone 500! The gospels describe Jesus as walking, talking and eating after the resurrection – dead people don’t do these things. All the alternatives fail to make a plausible explanation of what happened. The only logical conclusion is that Jesus died, was buried and rose again. The historical facts for the resurrection are impressive in themselves, but the wonderful testimony of 2000 years of Church history helps to build our confidence in the resurrection.

Our confidence is in that the resurrection is ultimately for you and for me (It’s personal) – John 20:11-16

In John 20:11-16, Mary met the resurrected Lord. Mary was bereaved thinking Jesus was dead. She met Jesus and goes away from this meeting changed and transformed. Jesus’ brother James didn’t believe that Jesus was anything special. He doubted that Jesus was the Messiah. However something happened when James met his resurrected brother. He too was transformed and went on to be one of the leaders of the early Church and was executed for his beliefs.

When Jesus meets us it too transforms us. The resurrection appearances happen during everyday events. They are all personal in their intimacy. We can meet with Jesus today in the same way.

Our confidence is the resurrection has universal application – John 20:17-18

When we meet someone famous we want to tell everybody – call people, send texts, put it on Facebook or Twitter. As Christians we should want to tell people about the message of hope that is in Jesus. The gospel means good news. Not normal everyday news but news that is history making / changing / shaping news. The resurrection is a big earth shattering event that happened 2000 years ago. The Church spread throughout the world as people went out and told the good news.

Our confidence is in the hope of the resurrection

At a deep level we want Easter to be true as it is a cry against the pain of death. This is not a new thing – the Egyptians, modern day cryogenics. People want death not to have the final say. Fairy tales and films nearly all have a happy ending – a victory.

Jesus bears all the consequences yet triumphs over the grave. Death has been defeated. We all have a desire for there to be something after death. Easter proclaims there is hope after death.

God will not let death win. He has reversed the irreversible. Focus on Easter is as the starting point rather than just being a blip. Easter demonstrates that there is victory and hope for all who believe. Easter is a preview of the ultimate reality heaven. Hope of the resurrection brings life. Disciples had met the resurrected Christ. Nothing outside had changed. Evil and suffering still everywhere. In the disciples there was a hope. Wow! Just think what is possible. Life beyond death there is hope. 1 Corinthians 15:50-57.

Lent Prayer Diary – Saturday 7th April 2012

Graham Crosbie — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 06:00:58 +0000

Revival / Renewal

Pray for more of heaven touching earth.
Ask God that we see more of the supernatural power of God working in and through our lives.
Ask the Holy Spirit to refresh us when we are dry and give us courage.
Ask God to pour out His Spirit on the Church in the UK, bringing life to “dead” churches.

Lent Prayer Diary – Friday 6th April 2012

Graham Crosbie — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:00:01 +0000

Events in 2012

Pray that this year would be full of many significant events in the life of Hope Church – pyramid picture.
Pray for the Diamond Jubilee weekend – June 2^nd to June 5^th 2012.
Ask God for a great advance of the gospel during the Olympics and Paralympics. For some excellent prayer resources for the London 2012 Games have a look at More Than Gold’s prayer page.
Ask God that we would see thousands saved and a great legacy of transformed communities during 2012.

Lent Prayer Diary – Thursday 5th April 2012

Graham Crosbie — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 06:00:20 +0000

The World /Persecuted Church

Thank God that Hope Church is part of a world-wide family of churches – Newfrontiers
Pray for Newfrontiers’ work in other countries. Today our focus is on UAE (United Arab Emirates) – See the Newfrontiers’ webpage on UAE and Operation World’s prayer guide for UAE for prayer points.
Pray for all the believers who are being persecuted for their faith. This week our focus is on Pakistan. The Open Doors website is a great resource on how to pray for the persecuted church. Their page on Pakistan can be found here.

Lent Prayer Diary – Wednesday 4th April 2012

Graham Crosbie — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:00:26 +0000

God’s work in our communities

Thank God for good co-operation between the churches in Stratford and in Newham (Transform Newham ).
Pray for Hope School of English that it will provide a good service to our community and through it people will establish good links to Hope Church.
Pray for the different ministries in Newham that reach out to those on the margins of society.
Pray for the inSpiration Rest and Faith space in Westfield Stratford City. Ask God that many people will hear about Jesus through their work over Easter.