Image credit: Karola Riegler

Learning Scripture is about as popular as sausages in a synagogue, but is probably one of the most helpful things to grow in the Christian life.

• Helping us not to sin - Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” Paul exhorts us to “by the Spirit…put to to death the deeds of the body” Roms 8:13. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God Eph 6:17.
• Daily triumph over Satan – Jesus quoted Scripture when tempted by Satan in Matt 4.
• Helping friends and family – Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” We won’t always have a Bible to hand, but recalled Scripture has power to cut to the heart for encouragement, building up and challenge.
• Witnessing to friends. The Gospel may be summed up in 4 things
  1. God is holy
  2. People are not
  3. Jesus died for us
  4. Respond by turning to Jesus with faith

  Learning some verses for each of those headings will help. The power in Billy Graham’s preaching was in “The Bible says…”

• Most of all enjoying the presence of God – I love at those sometime all too short quiet moments in a day to be able to enjoy the presence of God. Pondering over some precious memorised Scripture is a rich way to do that.

Dallas Willard “Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. That’s where you need it! How does it get in your mouth? Memorization”
Chuck Swindoll “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture… No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified”

How to memorise Scripture…

We have short-term memory and long-term memory. In simple terms the more we review something, the more long-term the memory becomes.

Some of us are visual people, some are oral and some can remember writing best. I hate being put in a box – I’m a bit of all three, so to learn a verse I write it out while reading it out aloud and that covers the bases!

The Seven!

– a recommended pattern for getting a verse in the long term memory

For seven days write and read out loud the verse seven times

For the next seven weeks, review it once a week (while starting on the next verse daily!)

For the next seven months , review it once a month

Scripture Memory Cards

Having the verses you are learning and reviewing on small cards in your wallet/purse will be helpful for stealing odd moments to press on. Some of you may have used Navigators Topical Memory System – I found a very helpful website that will create the cards for free if you give it the verses you want.
Here’s a pdf with some verses appropriate to our current sermon series in Romans – may they enrich your life, praying and witnessing…

We sold out last year – so don’t miss out!

We’ve added a great new facility to our website so that you can help us raise funds whenever you visit our site.

You’ll now find a brand new easysearch search box on our homepage. It works just like our easysearch page – http://thegatewaychurch.easysearch.org.uk – so when you use it to search the Web, you’ll raise funds for us!

What’s more, because easysearch uses innovative search technology to combine the strengths of several major search providers together – Yahoo! Ask.com, Bing and more – it brings you the best, most accurate search results on the Web, in one ‘easy’ search.

So, if you want to find top quality search results AND raise funds for us, visit our easysearch page at http://thegatewaychurch.easysearch.org.uk or use the easysearch box on our homepage.

A recent prophecy talked of us reaching a plateau, where we were happy, but with 3 hills of higher places in God to climb. God would give us joy for the journey and there would be times where I would turn back and give joy filled vision to keep us going! Exciting stuff!

As I have pondered the prophecy, I believe that the three hills are small group life, leadership development and evangelistic growth.

Small Group Life
We want our groups to be based around the Acts 2: 42-47. In those amazing verses we can find four things the early church were devoted to…

• Apostles Teaching – we want to make sure we are applying what is taught on Sundays so that we are not just hearers of the Word, but doers.
• Fellowship – our small groups are where you know and are known, where genuine friendship build one another up.
• Breaking of bread – where we celebrate communion most often and enjoy worship together.
• Prayer – where we pray for one another regularly.

There was also signs and wonders being done, believers caring for one another practically and financially and people getting saved daily.
One of the hills of higher place sin God is our small groups embodying Acts 2 church life!

The second hill is Leadership Development. Bill Hybels wrote that the Church is the hope of the whole world and it stands or falls on its leaders. In this next season of establishing The Gateway Church we want to make leadership development a priority.
We have a leadership team of Andy Moyle, David Hutton and Andy King.
We are going to start up “Impact” – a monthly gathering of the next tier of leaders and potential leaders who lead small groups and other areas of Church life to develop them in their leadership. It will be a mix of vision, leadership development and prophetic ministry- we want to grow some big leaders to grow a big Church!

The third hill is Evangelistic Momentum. When we moved to Kings Lynn to plant a church it was to reach lost people and see them added to a vibrant New Testament Church, full of the grace of God, with relevant Biblical teaching and the power of the Spirit changing lives. We want to see momentum grow evangelistically. The disciples worked in partnerships to reach out with the love of God. We’d like to see people working in partnership to reach out to friends and family.
For that we have three goals
i) Form partnerships to deepen friendships with those that are not-yet Christians, so that not-yet Christians become part of our wider community
ii) Put on some great events where we get Christians and non-Christians together and trust the Holy Spirit to build some great connections and do His thing!
iii) Build towards an Easter Alpha Course with 20 guests.

The Story so FarIn August 2008, Kev and Emma Reilly and their four daughters moved to Gdansk, Poland in order to plant a church under the apostolic oversight of Mike Betts and his team. With no language, no contacts and not much of anything else, Grace Church (them and their good friend Tom who spent a year with them) began to pray and worship, and learn how on earth to do family, school, work and church in Poland. 

Through a series of divine appointments, God began to connect us with students and teachers in the local university. Creative ideas and approaches to outreach began to flow and the Holy Spirit led us to start an English writing group, regularly gathering people into our home on a Sunday night. We began to fill our home at every opportunity – 30 friends and neighbours for Christmas parties, 20 or so for birthdays, BBQ’s and other gatherings. Any and every opportunity was taken to connect broadly and meaningfully with people.

Please buy tickets in advance here, on Sunday or give us a ring on 07905 913291.

We love a good fry up with the lads. Especially when we get to hear about “men behaving godly”!

Our first men’s breakfast with Maurice Nightingale is on Sat 8th May, 8.30am at The Globe Hotel on the Tuesday Market Place.

Spaces are limited, so get in quick – £7.50 book online or with Andy one Sunday soon!

What a great God! He sends His presence, He changes lives, He loves His people and rejoices over them. His love is breathtakingly amazing and He sings over us.

Bring it on!

“What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.( NIV v26)”

I have had a few questions about whether one can say “We will sing that song again and then I am going to bring a tongue, ask God for the interpretation” – surely a tongue is more a bubbling up? Well yes it often is, but 1 Cor 14 also goes on to say

“The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets” (NIV v32)

– that means you can hold onto a prophecy or tongue and choose to bring it at a more appropriate time or even next week, if it doesn’t fit right now. It also means that you can choose to bring it now!

When David warned that he was about to bring a tongue and stirred us to seek God for the interpretation, it meant that some of you got that very gift for the first time. Often people need encouraging the first few times and as confidence grows they can get on with it. The same happens with bringing a Scripture – last Sunday there were a few with open Bibles at passages that the Lord was stirring in hearts – a little encouragement meant we were all edified.

Bring it on!

“Pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophecy. (ESV v1)”

Let’s press into worshipping our great God and building one another up with spiritual gifts! Please be there on Sunday and be prepared to “bring a…”!

In many ways, he handled conflict well , getting 6 out of 7 steps right – He acknowledged it with clarity and passion. He took initiative quickly. He didn’t talk behind my back to other motorists. He spoke to no one but me. His summary was direct – there was no confusion of what he thought or felt. But he missed the last important step.

Jesus said “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and show them their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”

Firstly “If…”. To be alive means occasional conflict which needs dealing with rather than running away from. Secondly Jesus says “you”. Whether the problem is your fault or the other person, as soon as you become aware of it, Jesus expects YOU to take responsibility for resolving it.

Thirdly “go” – approach, don’t avoid them. Avoiding conflict destroys friendships, marriages and families. Go straight away – although if you are getting madder and madder, don’t be like Jim Carrey –and get dumb and dumber. Cool off and then go! Ask yourself “Why am I angry?” and “what do I want?”

Fourthly no third parties, no phone a friend, no gossip. Go directly to the person involved and fifthly use sensitivity. Jesus said “between the two of you” – don’t embarrass them in public. Listen and talk to them the way you would like them to talk to you. Six is “show them” – be direct. Tell them what is wrong, how it made you feel and what you would like to see changed for the better of both of you.

Unfortunately, the driver that confronted me missed this last step – aim at reconciliation. “If he listens to you, you have won him over”. Aim to restore the relationship – rarely simple and never quick, but always worth it.

I wrote that article for our local newspaper’s thought for the week. It is basically a condense of a chapter from John Ortberg’s excellent “Everybody’s normal until you get to know them“