Simon Benham's Blog

Calling the Men of Kerith

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:51:42 PDT

Matt Ranger and his team have been busy organising the next Kerith mens event. These are always brilliant times to get together, so please get a ticket this Sunday for yourself, and another one for that friend you're going to invite along. Below are the details Matt asked me to pass on.

Hope to see you there,

Simon.

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Men of Kerith ;-) Let the games begin! After the last event I thought it would be good to keep the momentum going and get another event in before the hectic summer season starts for everyone.

So on the 1st June we are going to have a whole evening of fun. Tickets are available at Kerith next Sunday, or if you can't make it to collect from the Kerith just email matthew@rangerz.co.uk It’s going to be a ticketed event at a cost of £6 per ticket or 2 for £10.

The evening will consist of Pizza (of course food is very important) music, table tennis, FIFA on the big screen and this time we are also hiring in a Gladiators game where you will get the opportunity to knock each other off a platform with a giant cotton wool bud ;-) Once again it’s going to be competitive! If none of that takes your fancy feel free to bring your own games, or just come along and spend the night chatting and making new friends.

Soft drinks will be available to buy on the night, or bring your own beverage of choice.

Doors will open at 7.30 and the event will end at 10.00.

Many Thanks

Matt

Twitter @matthewranger

K4 Fashion Show

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:04:00 PDT

On Saturday 8th June our K4 shop will be having its first ever fashion show at the Kerith Centre. Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. The “show” part will last until 9pm. Cold drinks will then be served and you will be able to buy the clothing modelled, plus other clothing/accessories and jewellery.

Tickets cost £5 with all profits will go to Kerith Social Justice projects such as Foodbank, CAP, Konnections, Job Club and Hilltop. We are limiting the event to 200 people as all seating will be downstairs in the auditorium (there will be a catwalk down the centre of the auditorium with all the seats facing the catwalk - not a configuration we've ever used before!).

Tickets are available from the K4 shop and from the Kerith Centre reception. Why not pick up yours on Sunday for what is going to be a great event.

Also if you'd be interested involved in making the fashion show happen, then please contact Catriona Mitchell via the "who's who" section of the website.

Simon.

Job Opportunity - Kerith Site Services Assistant

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:40:05 PDT

A couple of years ago I had a prophetic word from a friend called Julian Adams, part of which was that as a community God would give us facilities and buildings to use. That has certainly been proved to be true with the recent additions of the Barn, the K4 shop, the Studio and soon the college house behind K2. From September we'll also be using Sandhurst School on a Sunday, and if you were at the prayer meeting this week you'll have heard that we're looking for a warehouse in Bracknell to store Foodbank food, stuff for the K4 shop, furniture and who knows what else.

Although exciting, all of these facilities need maintaing and improving. Therefore from September the Site Services team are looking to take on a Site Services Assistant, based at our Bracknell Site, but also getting involved in the maintenance and daily running of our other buildings. The role would involve keeping all of our buildings maintained to a high standard as well as setting up rooms for Ministries to use, Health and Safety monitoring, grounds work, decorating, ordering , store keeping, and liaising with our Events team and external contractors. We are looking for a proactive people person, with a passion for all that Kerith does.

If you are interested in joining our team and becoming an active part of the day to day management of our buildings, you can pick up an application and information pack now from the Kerith Centre reception.

And if you know of any warehouses I'd love to hear from you on that too :-)

Hope to catch you on Sunday for the last part of James,

Simon.

May Prayer Meetings

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:24:41 PDT

Please join us as we meet together as a church on Wednesday to pray together for an hour starting at 8pm in K2. We'll be praying for a load of areas of church life including our new Sandhurst site and some of the changes we're making in Bracknell. We are in an exciting season of growth, and there is so much both to thank God for and to pray about.

For the hour before (7-8pm) we'll be praying specifically for our social justice ministries.

I'll be at both so hope to see you there.

Simon.

Serving Our Children Better

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Wed, 08 May 2013 02:00:10 PDT

Over the last few years we've seen huge growth in our children's work. The number of children on a Sunday has more than doubled, and we now regularly have over one hundred 5-11's across the two morning meetings. This is all great, but growth always produces problems which need to be solved if we want to continue growing. For a number of years we've managed the growth by taking over unused rooms in K2, up to the point where we now use every room in K2.

To create more space we earlier this year moved many of our staff offsite to free up space in the Kerith Centre, and we're about to start making use of that space from this Sunday.

So from this Sunday (12th May) the Brooke Lounge will be set up as a Parent and Baby / Toddler room. This will be a space for new parents to bring their babies and children into as it will have a TV with a live feed into the meeting in the auditorium, so that they won't miss any of the meeting. There will also be provision made for breast feeding mums to use this room to feed their babies in a private space.

Then Life Unleashed (which used to be called J-Gen) will be meeting in the old main office upstairs at the normal time (usually once the offering has been taken in the adult meeting).

Finally years 5,6 - the present Boulder Gang group in K2, will now be meeting upstairs in the Spurgeon hall from Sunday 12th May. Their registration will happen in the upstairs Lounge at 8:50am and 10:50am, after which they will be in the adult meeting for worship before going to their group for their meeting. They will then meet their parents back at the registration point at the end of each meeting for collection.

All of this is with an aim to serving our children and young people as well as possible. If there are any teething problems then please be part of the solution in helping to resolve any problems that arise.

All very exciting.

Simon.

May Giving to Grow Gift Day

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Fri, 03 May 2013 01:24:05 PDT

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:7, 8 NIV)

This Sunday is part two of our series looking at the book of James, and is also our next "Giving to Grow" gift day. Much has happened since we announced the gift days in February:

We've almost concluded the negotiations to buy the college house
We've found a venue for our Sandhurst site - Sandhurst School - where we'll start meeting from the 15th September
From next Sunday we'll be making use of the rooms freed up by the office move for children's work on a Sunday (last Sunday we had 108 five to eleven year olds in the K2 Hall across the two morning meetings - we desperately need more space!)
We've been able to repay a number of the interest free loans
We've given £2,000 to Jubilee Church in the Wirral for their building project, and have another £4,000 to give away locally and internationally

That's great, but there's still so much more to do, and be paid for, so please be thinking and praying about what to give on Sunday. And if you're not going to be around this Sunday please go to the website and give online there, or put it in the offering the following Sunday marked "Gift Day".

I so appreciate everyone's generosity, and know that through your generosity you will be a recipient of God's abundant blessing.

Hope to catch you on Sunday,

Simon.

Kerith Cup Finalists

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Wed, 01 May 2013 02:00:07 PDT

Once again the Kerith Football Team have made it to the final of the local churches cup competition, where this year they are playing against St. Paul's from South Ealing (if only Newcastle United could be as consistent!).

The final is at 5.15pm this Saturday at Binfield Town FC, Hill Farm Lane, Binfield, RG42 5NR (apparently most satnavs don't take you all the way to the ground, but at least close enough to see the floodlights!). Entry costs £3.

I know that Jonathan Horne and the rest of the team would really appreciate our support. Hope to see you there :-)

Simon.

James and the Violin and Pete Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:53:37 PDT

If you weren't around on Sunday you'll have missed the video the team produced, based on the construction of a violin, about how the trials in our life can produce something of great value and worth. Even if you were around it's worth watching again - you should be able to see it above, but if not follow this link. You can also catch up on the sermon here.

In addition to that Pete Moon re-recorded his preach from a couple of weeks ago (for some reason the recording didn't work the first time round). You can catch up on that here - it's very powerful so please listen to it if you missed it first time round.

I want to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers, who week after week upload all the sermons and videos to the website or the rest of us to enjoy - they are all heroes!

Simon.

Sandhurst Venue

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:57:28 PDT

I'm not sure I've ever experienced a busier week than the one I've just had! Delivering training, being trained, speaking on Alpha, meeting our wonderful children's work team, leading a prayer meeting, helping plan the preaching series from September to December, helping plan our Christmas programme, spending time with Matt Barlow and Russ Kline, lots of other meetings as well as planning my preach for Sunday (which I'm really excited about). I love what I do, although I am also looking forward to having a day of rest on Saturday :-)

All of this activity was great, but probably the high point was confirming that we've got a venue for our Sandhurst site. We've felt for a while that Sandhurst School would be the ideal meeting place for us, both in terms of location and the quality of their facilities. Well this week I had a meeting with the Governors on Monday, and the Headteacher on Thursday, after which they've agreed to us meeting there from the 15th September. They are so positive about partnering with us, and I'm praying that from this we'll develop a great relationship with the school and be a real blessing to them.

Please join me in thanking God for answering this prayer for us, and for all that it will allow us to do in the Sandhurst area.

Hope to see you on Sunday,

Simon.

James and the Giant Peach

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 02:00:10 PDT

This Sunday we start a new 4 week series, looking at four different themes in the book of James. We start by looking at how to deal with the different trials we all face - something which I know will be relevant to all of us at many points in our lives.

James, the author of this book, was the half brother of Jesus and one of the key leaders in the early church in Jerusalem. James is thought to have been written before AD48, and may well have been the earliest New Testament book. It is a wonderfully practical book, encouraging us to have a faith which changes the way we live. In terms of it's style it is similar to the book of Proverbs, containing a series of 'wise sayings'. It was written to Jewish believers everywhere, rather than being written to a specific church. James was martyred for his faith in AD62.

In advance of the series I'd really encourage you to find time to read the whole of the book - it will do you good! It's only five chapters long so won't take you long. Then when you've read the whole book spend some time focussing on James 1:2-8 which is what we'll take a look at on Sunday. I've included it below to make it as easy as possible!

Please be there on Sunday if you possibly can, expecting God to speak to you in whatever trial you're facing.

Hope you have a great week,

Simon.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. (James 1:2-8 NIV)

Assume the Best About Others

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:00:03 PDT

I've noticed an interesting thing about myself. When I mess up, when I get something wrong or let someone down, I want them to assume the best possible motives for my actions. But when others mess up, I often attach the worst possible motives to their actions.

So if I'm late for a meeting I want others to assume that it was because something really important came up which delayed me, or that I got caught in traffic which I could do nothing about. In fact that's the conversation which is going on in my head as I walk into the meeting, "if you only knew what has happened to me you'd fully understand why I'm late".

Yet when someone else is late to my meeting, I often assume it's because they just couldn't be bothered, because they're a bad person, or worst of all because they've got something against me or what I'm trying to achieve, and want to make that very obvious to everyone else involved.

I do the same over loads of other things. If I tell someone I'll get back to them, but don't manage to, I hope they realise that it's because I was just so busy. But when someone else does the same to me, I assume it's because they don't like me or don't care.

I'm wondering if you're the same? And I'm wondering what life would look like if in that gap, in that space where somebody has let me down but I don't know why, I assumed the best possible thing about that person rather than the worst. If I treated them in the same way I want them to treat me. To react as though there was a very good reason for what they've just done, rather than a very bad one. I think that the conversation I have in my head about the people around me would be very different. And I suspect that even when the best I assumed about them turns out not to be true, I'd still be in a much better place to resolve the resulting conflict, having set out to think the best about them rather than the worst.

I think that was some of what Jesus was getting at when he said "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets". (Matthew 7:12 NIV)

So is there someone today you need to assume the best about. A friend, a boss, a partner, a son or daughter, a parent. Why not have a go at treating them like you'd like them to treat you, and see what God will do with your relationship.

Simon.

Dr. Philip Lee TMTL Cancellation

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:03:06 PDT

Sadly Dr. Philip Lee, the Bracknell MP who was due to be the speaker at TMTL tomorrow (Thursday), has had to cancel as the Whips have called him in for government business (sounds painful to me!). He has promised to come back in the future when he's free - watch this space!

TMTL will still be meeting as normal.

Hope to catch you at the prayer meeting tonight :-)

Simon.

April Gift Days

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:00:00 PDT

A huge thank you to everyone who has given to our April 'Giving to Grow' Gift Days.

As of last Friday the total with gift aid was £30,200. That is just brilliant, and means that included in with the March gift day we now have £63,800, which is over 20% of the way to the overall target of £310,000 - praise God!

The money we've got in already will allow us to pay the deposit and legal fees on the college house, pay off a number of interest free loans, begin to redevelop the main office and Spurgeon room for LIFE unleashed (what was J-Gen) and years 5-6 on a Sunday, do the work on the Brook Lounge so this can be used by parents with babies on a Sunday, and have over £6,000 of tithe to give away locally and overseas. And that's only the beginning of all that we hope to do this year with the remainder of the gift day money as it comes in.

I know that more money has been given since last Friday so I'll have an updated figure this Sunday. I'll also talk about where the first of the tithe money will be going - all very exciting.

If you still want to give to the April gift day then you can either do it online, or put it into the regular Sunday offering in one of the envelopes with "Gift Day" written on it.

Thanks again to everyone who gave, and to Christ who is our inspiration for all our generosity!

Simon.

April Prayer Meetings

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:43:32 PDT

Last September Catrina and I took the decision to join the gym at Bracknell Sports Centre. I was seriously unfit, and starting to develop a growing 'spare tyre' around my middle, neither of which I was very happy about. Since then we've been going three times a week, and the progress although gradual has been quite remarkable. If I'm honest I never want to go, but I know that the discipline has done me a huge amount of good, losing over a stone in weight and managing to get all the way round the Reading Half Marathon last month.

Sometimes I feel that prayer is a bit like that. If I'm honest I can always think of something else I could be doing, or would rather be doing, but I know that when I'm disciplined in prayer my whole life is different, and that things which seemed impossible suddenly become possibilities. I therefore want to strongly encourage all of us to make it to the church prayer meetings this week. I can't promise you'll lose weight (although if you fast as well you might!), but I can promise you that you'll open yourself up to meeting with God and seeing supernatural breakthrough in your life.

A group of us will be meeting from 7-8pm in K2 to pray for all of our Social Justice ministries. Then from 8-9pm I'll be leading us as we pray for the wider church. There are quite a few bits of information I want to share which we can pray about and thank God for, and a number of decision we face as a community which I'd love us to ask for God's wisdom on. Some of this stuff I probably won't share in any other context, so please be there if you possibly can. We'll also find time to pray for one another.

We also restart the finance prayer meeting on Thursday this week, 6-7am in the Kerith Centre, where we pray not only for money but also for more and more people to get saved through Kerith. I know that the handful of us who gather there every week to pray have seen amazing breakthroughs, both personally and for the church. I for one really dislike getting up at that time in the morning, but I know that the discipline does me good and that I always come away from it glad that I made the effort.

If you need a breakthrough in your life, or long to see God do even more in us as a community, please join us to pray on Wednesday or Thursday. Hope to see you there!

Simon.

Meet Dr. Philip Lee

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:56:00 PDT

Bill and Ann Dick, who are part of the leadership team of TMTL, our group for the retired in our community, have asked me to pass on an invite to come and hear the Bracknell MP Dr. Philip Lee speak next Thursday. These are the details they asked me to pass on:

TMTL is privileged to have our local MP, Dr. Philip Lee, to speak to us on Thursday 18th April about his work as a Member of Parliament. The title of the talk is “A Week in the Life of....” and it should be most interesting. He will be arriving at approximately 1.45 p.m. and will be speaking for about forty minutes to give time for questions and answers.

Everyone is warmly invited to join us and avail yourself of the opportunity to find out more about the working life of an MP. If you wish to join us at 1 pm in K2 we normally bring our own picnic-style lunch with tea, coffee and biscuits provided. The programme begins at 1.30 p.m. with fifteen minutes of worship.

I have a lot of time for Philip and the energy he brings to all he is doing for our community. In particular he has some very clear ideas around how healthcare in our area should move ahead. I'd love as many as possible to come along and hear him speak, regardless of whether you're retired or not, so that you can get to know him better and he can hear from us and some of the concerns and the questions we may have as a community.

Let's also be praying for him, and speaking well of and honouring him, for all he does amongst us.

Simon.

Another Great Sunday Coming Up

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 02:00:09 PDT

I wasn't in church last Sunday, but I've heard so many great things about the preaches from Pete Moon, Zoe Hayes and Andy Partington - sadly the recording of Pete's message went wrong (I'm hoping we'll get him to re-record it) but I've been catching up on the podcasts of Zoe and Andy - very inspiring.

This Sunday we've got another treat in store. In the morning our very own Sola Osinoiki is speaking. I love what Sola brings to our community, not only his prophetic gifting and his ability to connect with people and bring Godly input and encouragement, but also his ability to think strategically which perhaps fewer people would see but which is proving vital as we continually restructure to cope with the numerical growth and ministry expansion we are experiencing.

Then in the evening Ben Cooley from Hope for Justice is going to be with us. The goal of Hope for Justice is to see the end of human trafficking and slavery in the UK in our generation. Ben is a leader with incredible passion for achieving that, and I'm sure you'll be inspired by what he has to say.

It was also a Gift Day last Sunday - I'm really looking forward to letting you know what the total was this Sunday.

Hope to see you on Sunday.

Simon.

Praying for Rick & Kay Warren

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:23:03 PDT

Many of you will have heard the tragic news that Matthew Warren, the 27 year old son of Rick and Kay Warren, took his life last week after a struggle with depression which started when he was a young boy. I've never met Rick Warren (although I've been deeply influenced by his writing), but I did have the privilege of spending a couple of hours with his wife Kay when she spoke at a conference we hosted a few years ago. What always strikes me when I meet these 'famous' Christians is that although they are amazing people with ministries which have touched the lives of millions of people, they are also very real people who face the same same struggles and heartbreaks as the rest of us. Kay was no different, and my heart so goes out to her, to Rick and the whole of their family at this time. Please join me in praying for them, and also for other families in our community who have lost children and will understand what the Warrens are going through in a way I can only begin to imagine.

Two other things have been on my mind since all this happened. First of all the reality of people living with mental health issues, and what that means for them and those seeking to support them. Sadly the church has often been one of the last places where you would want to be open about struggling with your mental health, with a suspicion that this shouldn't happen to Christians, that you must be demonised or in some other way a sub standard Christian. We must break that, and make the church a safe place to be honest and open about our struggles, and of those close to us. I applaud those heroes in Kerith who keep going whilst living with all sorts of mental health illnesses. We have so much to learn, but part of us being a peachy community is being willing to learn about how to love, help and pray for people and their families - let us all continue on that journey with a renewed compassion and sense of purpose.

Secondly I've been deeply saddened by the Christians who have seen this as an opportunity to attack the Warrens. I don't have words to express what I feel about people who claim to follow Jesus, yet because they disagree with something Rick has written or said, or how they perceive his theology or his church, would take a moment like this to say some unbelievably hurtful things about Rick and his family. I couldn't imagine a much better expression of a coconut community, people full of what they perceive to be truth but without an ounce of grace. With regard to this I'd encourage you to read two blogs by people I admire greatly, Beth Moore and Mark Driscoll, who have expressed all this far better than I could ever hope to. Please take a moment to read what they've written.

Finally let's remember that Jesus walks with us in all of this. I'm reminded of what I said on Easter Sunday, that after his resurrection Jesus went first to Mary Magdalene, to comfort her and minister to her in her sorrow and anguish - he still does the same today.

Simon.

Hear Jackie Pullinger (and others)

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:00:01 PDT

On Monday 6th May we're arranging for a coach to go from the Kerith Centre to GO2013, a mission-focused conference which is taking place at the WEC headquarters at Bulstrode, in Buckinghamshire. WEC is an organisation which Michael and Esther Ross-Watson have worked with for a number of years, and which does amazing work spreading the gospel around the World.

On the Monday Jackie Pullinger (who many of us will know from her amazing book "Chasing the Dragon") is speaking, along with a number of seminars and the chance to spend time in the beautiful grounds of WEC.

To get on the coach you need to book here, where you'll also find all the details you need about the coach.

Simon.

Good Friday and Easter Sunday Events

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:00:09 PDT

We've got three great events taking place on Good Friday.

For all pre-school age children there is an Easter Egg Hunt at Oakwood Youth Challenge (Waterloo Road, RG40 3DA) from 11am - 12.30pm. Phone reception on 01344 862699 before 5pm on Thursday if you want to book in (prebooking is essential).

For all primary school age children our BUILD holiday club is running from 10.30am - 2.30pm in K2. Again phone reception if you want more details and to book in.

Then for the rest of us we've got a contemplative meeting where we're going to reflect on all the events leading up to the crucifixion - 7-8pm in the Kerith Centre lead by Lee Layton-Matthews. You can just turn up to this one :)

On Easter Sunday we're going to be looking at the resurrection from a different angle to anything I've heard preached before (don't worry it's all Biblical!).

Please don't get so caught up in Easter as a time to eat chocolate or spend time with the family that you miss what lies at the heart of it all. Be reading the Easter story from the gospels over the next few days, be joining with us as we celebrate together as a community, and be thinking about who you can be inviting to each of these gatherings to hear about the most important event in all of history!

Hope you have a fabulous Easter,

Simon.

Palm Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:00:00 PDT

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, preparing us for what is going to be a great Easter celebration the following week. Michael Ross-Watson will be speaking at all three meetings which as always means we're in for a treat.

I'll also hopefully be walking normally by then after the half marathon :)

Hope to see you there,

Simon.

Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:00:06 PDT

Given all the cold and rainy weather we're having at the moment (I won't say terrible weather as I know some of you actually like it when it's like this!) it reminds me of the times when I've been on a flight when the weather is like this. There comes that point after the plane has taken off when it breaks through the cloud into glorious sunshine, and rather than being under the wet weather you're looking down onto it. That moment always comes as a bit of a surprise to me, and reminds me that the same set of circumstances (a wet rainy day in this case) can look very different depending on your perspective, on the viewpoint which you look at them from.

It's the same in life. I never cease to marvel at how two people can face a very similar set of circumstances - an illness, a job loss, a relationship not working out the way we hoped, a failure, a bereavement or even things going well - but choose to face them very differently. One person is crushed by the circumstances and seems to live under them, the other despite being impacted by them seems to rise above them. I think that largely comes down to a difference in perspective, in the point from which we choose to look at what is going on in our lives.

As Christ followers I think there are many things which should be different about our perspective on life. In fact part of who we are in Jesus is that we can view life from angles and directions which aren't available to other people - in the analogy we now have the option to get in the plane and to see the view from above the clouds. Part of us reading the Bible regularly is that we allow ourselves to view life from God's perspective, that his word about what is true is given a chance to get into us. But I've been reflecting recently on one perspective which have been shaping my thinking, the perspective of eternity.

The apostle Paul puts it this way:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being 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 Cor 4:16-18)

This is a man who has been beaten, flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, betrayed, imprisoned, hungry, in poverty and yet he describes all of that as "light and momentary troubles". How? Because his perspective is eternity. He knows that heaven is his home, what Jesus describes to the thief on the cross as paradise, and that all that heaven holds far outweighs anything this life can throw at him.

I had a bit of that experience running the half marathon on Sunday. My goal was to run it in under 2 hours (not very impressive but a major achievement for me!). There was a point about 10 miles in where I was on track to achieve my time, but was feeling exhausted, wet and cold and wanted to stop and walk the rest of the way. If I'm honest what kept me going was the thought that although there was another half an hour of pain ahead, if I endured that and kept going I would get the enduring satisfaction of achieving my goal. Ultimately it was that perspective that kept me going, and I can't tell you how glad I am now that I did.

Heaven is not just a vague hope for us, it is a reality and a certainty we need to live with every day. Not that we idle our lives away waiting to get there, but we realise the reality of what Paul says when he writes "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

What in your life needs to be viewed in the light of eternity? Why not take a moment to meditate and reflect on what it might look like from the perspective of eternity.

Simon.

Building the Next Level

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:18:51 PDT

For anyone who missed my video preach on Sunday (I was running the Reading Half Marathon at the same time) I spoke on how we are in a season where God wants to add another level to the house we are building - if you missed it you can listen to it here or watch it here.

At the end I spoke about three ways we can all get involved in building this next level:

by praying - getting to the prayer meetings, and be continually asking God for favour in the life of the church.
by giving - become a regular giver (ideally by setting up a standing order) and get involved in the "Giving to Grow" gift days - the next one is on Sunday 7th April.
by serving - for everyone to get involved in serving in some way on a Sunday

For anyone interested in getting involved in serving we've set up a very simple form on the web which you can fill in. This also includes the option of saying you'd be interested in serving at the Sandhurst site when it launches in September. If you fill it in then someone on the team will get back to you within a week to talk about being on one of the teams.

It's a very exciting season which we are in at the moment - don't miss the opportunity to be a part of it all.

Simon.

Encounter

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:52:32 PDT

I've got the privilege of speaking this Wednesday (20th March) at Encounter, our midweek meeting, which is hosted by the one and only Ben Davies. It's on from 1-2pm in K2 - more details here.

I'm going to be looking at the run up to the Easter story, and in particular at the events surrounding Peter. I'll definitely be preaching from a stool as standing up is still quite painful after the half marathon! It would be great to see you tomorrow if you're free, or if not this Wednesday then I know the Encounter team would love to see any time Encounter is meeting.

Simon.

Living with Failure not Regret

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 08:40:04 PDT

One of my favourite film quotes comes from a very obscure but quite brilliant film called The Dish - if you've never seen it it's well worth getting hold of a copy.

In the film there is a young scientist who has fallen in love with the girl who delivers the sandwiches every day, but he is too shy to ask her out. An older scientist encourages him to take the risk of speaking to her, using the brilliant logic "it's easier to live with failure than regret".

That phrase has become a bit of a mantra for my life. When I get to the end of my days, I'd rather look back at things in my life that I'd given a go but failed at, rather than things I never had the courage to even try. That quote may not be in the Bible, but I think it's a deeply Biblical principle. God wants us to live our lives to the full, not constrained by the fear of failure or of what others will say or think, but in the light of who he says we are, in the light of what really matters in life and in the light of eternity.

A friend recently wrote to me about a book they read by a lady called Bronnie Ware, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Bronnie is a palliative nurse who talked to people close to the end of their lives about their biggest regrets. The top five regrets she heard were:

I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
I wish that I'd let myself be happier.

Do any of those regrets strike a nerve with you? If so why not take a moment to talk to God about it, to think about how you might live life differently, and then do something about it straight away.

Simon.

Giving to Grow Gift Day Update

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Benham) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:46:41 PDT

This year we are having a series of "Giving to Grow" gift days, aiming to raise £310,000 by September to allow us to finish paying for our reception redesign, launch our new Sandhurst site, make improvements to the Bracknell site, buy a house from Bracknell and Wokingham College and tithe on the income. You can find more detail on all this here.

Through to September we are having a gift day on the first Sunday of every month. We had the first of those at the beginning of March, which raised £21,100. We also received an earlier gift towards paying for the reception of £12,500. That makes a total so far of £33,600, which is such a great start. A huge thank you to everyone who gave, it is so appreciated and will make such a difference to what we can do as a community. All that makes the total we now have left to raise a mere £276,400.

The next gift day is on Sunday 7th April. Please be thinking about what you're going to give, although if you meant to give this time round and haven't yet had a chance it's not too late. You can either put your gift in an offering envelope, write "Gift Day" on it and put it in the regular Sunday offering, or you can give online here.

Thanks again to everyone who gave - be assured that you will reap what you've sown.

Simon.