Almond Vineyard

10,000 Reasons

2012-05-31T14:05:00.000+01:00

At the leadership course, we were discussing being a worshiper. David was challenging us about spending time worshiping God during the week. I find it easy to connect with God through a variety of different ways but I'd never been a fan of listening to worship music outside of church. Matt Redman's 10 000 reasons, has managed to change that for me, with amazing and unforseen consequences. Here is a link to the preview on itunes.

Last Saturday I was giving Ella Rose, my one year old daughter, her lunch and I wanted to put this song on. So i previewed the album on itunes and then downloaded it. Big step for me, buying worship music. God really honoured it. As we sang along together his presence came to rest quite tangibly on both of us. When the Holy Spirit comes on you, various things can happen - you can feel a peace like no other, you might tremble, get hot all over or cry, but this time for both of us it was laughter. The kind of laughter that seems to come from nowhere, but is the most profound and deep laughter you could ever feel. It's way more than a good joke. It's a laughter of freedom. Ella was laughing her head off and i was doubled over and crying with laughter. It was like something had broken in me, it's hard to explain.

As i was doubled over, Ella reached her little hand out to me and put it on my shoulder, as if she was praying for me. She was looking into my eyes and giggling, with a look that somehow said that she completely understood what was going on and that she knew who the Holy Spirit was. It says in Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." Why would we think that after babies are born they would stop knowing God this intimately? It struck me again that children are born knowing God, and that life can be a process of gradual forgetting and hopefully remembering knowledge of God that we once had all over again. (paraphrase of half remembered C.S. Lewis quote).

I would encourage families to take the time to worship by singing together. It was such a blessing to me to have this experience with God and with my daughter. It reminded me about God's heart for us as a family, how much he loves it when his children worship him, how close He desires to be to us and how involved in every moment of our lives and a hundred (or maybe 10 000?!) other things that it's hard to articulate.

Conor Hull

God's Favour

2012-05-25T09:32:00.001+01:00

When we go out to do H.O.T.S. our prayers and our focus are often on the strangers we are going to meet once we’ve unfurled the banner and set out the chairs – and that’s right. But more often than not a few team members get prayer as well. It always gets people’s attention and physically slows people down as they look and try to take in what’s going on in front of them. Anyway here’s a story that reminds us that God’s favour can land on anyone including the very people who are meant to giving healing prayer themselves.

A team member came out on the street for the first time and wanted, (understandably), a practice run in praying for others, but took to the chair for themselves. They said that they had arthritis in their wrist. It was painful and swollen. As the team prayed their little finger started flicking up and down involuntarily. This was followed by their legs beginning to shake, followed by a sense of peace and euphoria. When they got out of the chair their wrist wasn’t sore anymore.

David Hart
Leader

A Visitors Experience

2012-05-18T12:46:00.002+01:00

I was a visitor to your Church after 10 years or more of not going to a Church. In that time I have questioned a lot of things about God and my own beliefs.

My friends were both needed for childcare and band duty so I went and sat on my own…for about 10 seconds. Then a lovely lady came and invited me over to the tea room for a cup of tea and a nice chat. When I sat down again in the Church more people came and introduced themselves. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming that I felt really welcomed and pleased to be there.

When the service started I was a little anxious. I do not like singing in public. So I didn’t and nobody reacted to it, which made me feel accepted again.

David gave a talk on prayer. It answered so many long term questions I have and it really felt like David had prepared what he was saying with me in mind as it gave me such great comfort and made me feel a lot more at peace with my own internal debates on things.

By the end of the service I felt really moved, I cannot explain why but it really felt like the beginning of something and something which I intend to explore further.

Thank you all for making me feel so accepted and welcome into your extended family, it was a truly meaningful experience for me.

Ali

Perfect Timing

2012-05-11T11:10:00.000+01:00

As we were setting the gear down at the end of a busy morning doing “Healing on the Streets” an older guy came hobbling up to one of the last two chairs still out and plunked himself down. He was out of breath; not because he had been running hard, but because he had injured his ankle at work in the Scrap yard that same morning and had been determined to get our location before we had packed up and gone.

He told us it was his right ankle and that he couldn’t put any weight on it. Two of us prayed, but with no discernible difference after our first 2 attempts to see his ankle healed. We asked him if we could pray one more time and thankfully he said “Yes”. To be honest we didn’t change our prayer that much but in praying the 3rd time he said, “Something’s happened”. We asked him, “What can you do now you couldn’t do before we prayed?” He stood up put his full weight on the ankle and smiled. When we asked him if it was healed he said “Of course it is”. It came with a slightly indignant tone and razor sharp confidence which took me aback because I realised he had expected this outcome more than us. He left knowing the rest of his day remained intact. We left knowing we had learned the value of perseverance and God’s perfect timing.

David Hart
Leader

Pedal and Prayer-Power

2012-04-30T13:31:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday a group of us braved the steep downhill slopes of the Glentress Forest Mountain Biking Centre near Peebles, and what fun we had! It was fast, felt a little bit dangerous at times, and totally exhilarating! Once we reached the end of the trail the first thing we wanted to do was have another go!

Of course every time we reached the bottom there was only one way we could have another go, and that involved a bit of hard pedalling (and sometimes pushing) up the hill. But it was always worth it.

It made me think about prayer, and how it can be a bit like that, quite hard sometimes, needing a bit of perseverance, but the only route to experiencing the exhilaration of life in the Spirit. We didn’t always feel like doing that climb again, but there was really no alternative. But you know what really helped? Doing it together! We encouraged and cajoled each other along, enjoyed the view along the way, and that made real connections through sharing the experience. Some lessons for us as we think about prayer? For sure!

John Bathgate

Praise And More Praise

2012-04-26T10:17:00.000+01:00

Recently we have been thinking about focusing more on God just for Himself and less on our prayer “shopping list”. A few weeks ago I’d been mulling over how to praise Him without getting stale, and I felt I sometimes got praise and thanks mixed up (as in “I praise You for this lovely day” rather than “I praise your glory”).

An idea popped into my mind straight away: use the verb “to be”, as in “I praise you because you are….” or a word about His character “I praise your…” So I tried this out and again after a few minutes I dried up. Then I got a prompting of the sort that a parent makes to a child – make a game of it (God is such a great parent!) – in this case, praise your way through the alphabet. Well, try it for yourself – it’s great fun and quite challenging, and you get to consider at least 26 amazing things about God. (Such as…) Awesome, Beautiful, Creative, Deep, Eternal, Forgiving… and if you can’t think of one, just pass it over (I did the alphabet in a very strange order this morning!) – for another letter you might get half a dozen (say them all!). Even the first time I did this I felt God’s loving presence really strongly, and after several weeks of making a habit of this, I know I have been hugely blessed. I hope it will help you too!

Janet Noakes

Fun In St Giles' Cathedral

2012-04-19T13:55:00.001+01:00

So last weekend I had some fun in St Giles’ Cathedral with my parents who were up visiting me in Edinburgh. I thought I’d use some of my mum’s pictures to share a little tiny something...

Please click on the link below to view the powerpoint that I have created.
http://www.almondvineyard.co.uk/downloads/HappyEaster.pdf

Helen Cope

Just Keep Praying

2012-04-12T10:23:00.000+01:00

The teenage son of a work colleague has had one disaster after another, losing his job and getting arrested amongst them. We often prayed for her as a family and a housegroup, however, she is not a Christian and I did not know how she would react . The more I thought about telling her, the more I worried if she would take offence or it would made a tense atmosphere at work etc, etc..! So, I didn’t say anything but made sure I was a sympathetic ear. The Lord didn’t agree and I found myself praying for the right words to tell her. The next day I took the opportunity and went for it! She was so touched that we had been praying for her and the family and to know people weren’t judging her.

The week before our first Service in Falkirk, I felt awful! The Doctor diagnosed a throat infection and gave me peniciliin. Now, I know I’m not indispensible but I didn’t want to miss our first Sunday Service, so many people had worked so hard to make it happen and I really wanted to be a part of that. It suddenly became obvious that a whole bunch of us were falling ill. The enemy really didn’t like what we were doing, so we figured we must be doing something right!!! The prayer was palpable as text messages flew back and forth with prayer requests. Everyone was there on Sunday morning, and we were truly blessed. Now, looking back, I could say I don’t know where I got the energy to get through Sunday, but I know where my strength came from. Praise the Lord!

Julie Russell

A Fasting Experience

2012-04-05T10:54:00.000+01:00

Last week, as a church we fasted and prayed. It was such a special time knowing that all us spread out across Edinburgh and Falkirk were praying and fasting. We all had cards with items for prayer each day so we all knew that we were praying for the same things. On the Thursday night we met up in two locations for corporate prayer, it was a tremendous blessing to pray for people and the church and God was so present among us, sharing His heart, we could have prayed for hours!

On a personal note I wanted to share what I learnt from fasting. I didn’t give up meals but gave up other things that comfort me and it was quite a challenge. Surprisingly my problem didn't come in the giving up of the things but I really had to battle a feeling of guilt all week. I felt guilty that I wasn’t giving up enough or praying enough. I wanted to know what others were doing so that I could make sure I was doing enough, I was continuously striving out of my own strength to please God and even others. I didn’t notice I was doing this until Thursday and when I realised it I knew, fundamentally, there was something wrong. I realised that I was trying to please my heavenly father. In one respect this is ok, but when it comes out of a place of insecurity in a relationship it means we haven’t quite grasped the unconditional love of God. When I realised the feelings of guilt were being brought on by myself I could rest easy in His embrace. It wasn’t God telling me to pray more or give up more, it was coming from myself and it was coming from a fear of not being good enough. In the fasting week I thought I was going to receive pictures and words for the church, instead God worked on me.

1 John 4:18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

Beth Edgar

Marriage - Lets Make A Drama Out Of A Crisis

2012-03-29T12:34:00.000+01:00

I realise this isn’t so much of a story as it is a comment. At the Almond Vineyard we believe that marriage is an important decision and more than ever we want to serve the families of the Almond Vineyard and our surrounding communities in helping them to build strong marriages and family life. Given the brokenness of this culture and its models for relationship it’s essential that we do all we can to empower people to live above the cultural norm of our society because vibrant marriages and unified families are solid evidence of the changed life that comes through Christian community.

A couple of days ago the postman brought me a letter from the Evangelical Alliance asking if I, (along with countless others), would support their efforts to fight proposals to introduce legislation that will redefine marriage as no longer being exclusively between a man and a woman. I said yes because I believe, (using their phraseology), “...this a step too far in compromising biblical values that have blessed our society for so long”. Marriage is a magnificent drama in which the players are meant to be a man and a woman and I want to see this truth protected rather than distorted so I’ve added my name to the following petition. My hope is that you might think of doing the same. The website is WWW.C4M.ORG.UK Check it out!

David Hart
Leader

Fasting Stories

2012-03-23T08:53:00.000Z

Once I had a “failed” fast which was in its way a victorious one! I was doing a one-day fast from one evening to the next, and during the morning was feeling both very hungry and very close to God. My children were still small, and the toddler fell backwards and split his scalp against a rail. I had to load him into the car (bleeding copiously and screaming) along with the baby (also not happy!) and get to the Sick Kids A&E. On the way there I got lost, and drove around for another 10 minutes trying to find my way, and when I finally got there it took forever to find a parking place. And yet… my fasting had already brought me into God’s arms and I spent this stressful time feeling totally at peace and certain that He was taking care of us. As for the fast, after we got home from hospital, I broke it early and had lunch!

Another time in another church I was responsible for organising the Nativity play. Panic started to rise in early November as I struggled to get anything off the ground. Praying one morning I found God speaking to me through my own words – I heard myself saying “I will eat nothing containing added sugar until December 22nd” (followed by “Are you serious, Lord?”). Well, it seemed He really was asking this of me, so I gave up the sugar and then – wow! – the focus, the creativity that flowed in the next days was unbelievable. The Holy Spirit moved into the project and we wrote and produced a unique and memorable play which many people were touched by. (It told the story from the point of view of the Old Testament prophets, in case you were wondering.)

So I’m really looking forward to this fast, confident that great blessings will come out of it!

Janet Noakes

HOTS Stories

2012-03-16T11:38:00.000Z

You may remember David telling us that a couple of months ago the Healing on the Streets team in Bath had been asked to sign a pledge not to say they believe can heal by the Advertising Standards Agency. This obviously caused a few ripples that reached the “Jeremy Vine Show”, (a lunch time programme on BB2). He picked it up as a hot topic and invited people to call in and give feedback if they had come across H.O.T.S. The response was very favourable on a ratio of about 5:1. One of the callers testified that having received prayer for tumours in their body when they followed it up with an appointment at the doctors the tumours had disappeared. I believe the recording can be sourced through www.hotsbath.org The whole thing was really encouraging.

A lady came to H.O.T.S. and received prayer for “Fibromyalgia” which is a serious condition causing pain and stiffness in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Within a week of being prayed for she had gone to her doctor to have things checked out because she was feeling better. After their examination the doctor told her she was clear of the condition. The reason we know this is because the prayee met a friend who happens to be associated with HOTS at the gym. Surprised to see her there exercising she asked to be told the story I have just told you. She said her life has been changed beyond recognition. Isn’t God good?

Too Much Talk Leads To Sin

2012-03-09T10:47:00.000Z

Over the last few weeks in home group we have been looking at proverbs. This book contains lots of advice about how we should live and by doing this gives us an insight into God’s character. Last night we were looking at the words we use and how these affect others.

We have the ability to encourage and support others by what we say but we also have the power to hurt them. Proverbs 10:19 says “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” I think this means thinking about what you say rather than just rambling and causing hurt without realising it, somehow it’s often easier to condemn than it is to praise.

2 Thessalonians 2:16 “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.” God uses words to encourage and support us and that is how he wants us to act with others. The great thing is we don’t have to do it alone, we can ask him to help us.

Nicola Somerville

Sky Walk

2012-03-01T09:04:00.000Z

On Saturday a group of us from church went to Ratho indoor climbing centre and did the Aerial assault course. The Ratho centre is in an old quarry with a glass roof over the climbing walls. We were suspended 100ft from the ground on strong safety harnesses.

We were told what to do then a safety harness was attached then we just had to jump off the platform. People were swinging all over the place! It was scary if you were to look down, but after a while it wasn’t so bad. Then we got to the main challenge. We had to climb along logs and nets. One of the parts had a bit of climbing wall! My rope got stuck at one point. I had to stand wriggling it to unstick it.

I enjoyed the sky walk very much. It was good fun and an exciting event.

Jamie Cook

Lord Be More Visible Than My Eyes Can See

2012-02-23T13:53:00.000Z

A few years ago on holiday in Australia I were standing mesmerised and looking out across one of Queensland’s many beautiful bays as the light was starting to fade and a storm was beginning to roll in. I got stuck in the moment and , found myself in quiet conversation with God - or was it contemplation of God?. To be honest I don’t think it really matters. It was the moment that was important and I had the presence of mind to put it down on paper afterwards. It was only recently that I came across the full transcript and again... it captured my attention and stirred up a longing for more of him.

In the vastness of space, the movement of time,
the endless demand for breath, or the stretch for a footing
You are found far and near inspiring and affirming the life given through Jesus to me

Come into my tomorrow, my today, my hours, my moments, my present, my every breath.
Confine me, still me to hear your whispers and stretch me to hear the echo of your voice to the edge of audible sound

Lord, be more visible than my eyes can see
Louder than my unvoiced thoughts
Closer than the clothes on my skin, the brush of a breeze or a moment of being wrapped in a lover’s embrace

Lis Hart
Pastor

Making Space

2012-02-16T09:54:00.000Z

On Sunday the 15th of January, our pastor, David, spoke about making space for God. (Click here to listen to the talk) He led us through a simple exercise from Ruth Haley Barton’s book ‘Sacred Rhythms’. He encouraged us to use this simple exercise of sitting quietly and reading a story in Mark 10:48-52, of Jesus meeting blind Bartimaeus and imagining Jesus asking us “What do you want me to do for you today?” I couldn’t wait to use this exercise at home to help propel me into making more space for God which had once again been lacking. Part of the problem for me is that I make spending time with Jesus a rule for myself to live by rather than spending time with a person I’m in a loving relationship with.

I tried out the exercise (I totally encourage you to do it too!) and what really stood out to me was when reading the story was that Bartimaeus was desperate for Jesus, he didn't care what others thought of him shouting out in the street, he knew the answer to his problems and it was coming his way and nothing was going to stop him receiving. I was struck at how distracted I get by people, food, Facebook etc when I could be spending time with Jesus, who is my life source and answer to my problems.

It was only the next day that I really struggled to get out of bed to spend time with Jesus, it was dark and cold and I was tired. As I lay there, beginning to beat myself up about not getting out of bed I heard Jesus, in his grace say “I love you, I love you”. I smiled to myself, joy welling up inside, that was what I had needed Jesus to do for me that day and I hadn’t even asked!

Beth Edgar

New Friends

2012-02-10T11:55:00.000Z

I moved to Edinburgh in September 2011 from Fife, and started to attend the Almond Vineyard. David Hart encouraged people to attend a homegroup to meet other people and make friends. Eventually I decided to go to Max and Beth's homegroup. I am not great at going into gatherings or parties where I don't know people, so this was quite a difficult step for me to take.

The Almond Vineyard had made me feel very welcome anyway with a warm and friendly welcome each time I attended. The homegroup was no different. My first evening I left home early to make sure I got there on time, and with butterflies in my tummy I rang the bell.....and in I went. There were 8 of us the first night, different backgrounds and different ages - but all really kind and I felt relaxed. We had coffee, cake and fruit before opening the Bible and learning more about God’s plan for us. Everyone was normal and honest about the situations they were in, before we prayed for each other. It was very encouraging and I came away from there looking forward to the next one.

Last week I had the ‘flu and posted this on Facebook on the Friday morning. Beth and Bill (I have not met him) read my post and prayed for me. By the evening I was feeling much better and recovered fully over the next couple of days. I thank God for the Almond Vineyard and for new friends.

Ruth Smyth

God's Provision Came Through!

2012-02-02T10:03:00.000Z

Just before Christmas we alwasy have a party at Jaffa Club, the SU group at school which I help to lead. When I bought the party food and drink I didn't have enough money for a present for the children - we were catering for up to 40. But God's provision came through! A classroom assistant who prays for Jaffa Club brought along a bag of gifts on the day of the party. We hadn't said anything, but God organised it for us.

Janet Noakes

VKids Prayer

2012-01-26T11:12:00.001Z

About 3 weeks ago I was helping in VKids and we were having our usual prayer and ministry time. I had been constantly coughing and hadn't slept well the Saturday night. I asked the kids if they could pray for my cough and specifically that I would get a good sleep on Sunday night so I would be rested for work on Monday. I slept really well that night and didn't wake till my alarm went off on Monday morning.

Isobel

God Owns All The Money

2012-01-19T09:25:00.000Z

Over Christmas Lucia, Ella and I took the ferry over to Northern Ireland. To save a bit of money we decided to leave our car in Scotland. The cost for parking there is pretty crazy...it would cost us £60 for the 12 days we would be away. Scandalous, because it used to be free!

When we got back to Scotland I went to pay. I noticed that if you lost your parking ticket it was £35. I had noticed this on the way out and talked with Lucia about how stupid it was....encouraging people to lie. We decided there is no way we could have lived with ourselves if we'd "lost" the ticket even though it would save us this unfair charge.

I put my ticket in the pay machine. It came up £60, as painfully expected. I sorrowfully put my card in the machine, praying one last time that God would say it was okay just this once to "loose" the ticket. But He was silent.

My card didn't work.

I tried another.

It didn't work.

Third time lucky? Didn't work. People beside me were using their cards and the person before me had used their card.

I went up to the desk and explained that my cards weren't working. The lady asked if I had cash, which I didn't. So she shrugged and said, "Oh well, just push the button and we'll let you out, free of charge."

It reminded me that God owns all the money, because he owns everything. It reminded me that He is in control and He knows what He's doing. All we have to do is be honest and live in line with what He wants for us and then we are guaranteed, promised, of his provision.

Conor Hull

Gods Healing Hand

2012-01-13T09:12:00.000Z

Recently my Husband was ill; he wasn’t eating and was in bed for a couple of days. I have a really poor immune system and always catch whatever he has. The day after he started feeling ill I could feel my throat beginning to hurt. I turned to prayer and asked God to prevent me getting ill and to help my husband feel better. I woke the next morning feeling completely healthy and never caught whatever bug he had which is amazing; unfortunately my husband took a couple more days to get better. I was really struck by this as it is the first time God has healed something in me.

Nicola Somerville
Church Administrator

Moving Towards Jesus

2012-01-11T10:03:00.000Z

“Around the Almond Vineyard we keep on hearing about how important it is that we share our lives with people and look for where God is at work. Well just a couple of Sunday’s ago at the Carol service a couple in our church brought friends who only a year ago were very antagonistic towards church, but due to circumstances beyond their control have experienced the kindness of Jesus in the middle of a very trying situation. I met them at the end of the afternoon over a mince pie and mulled wine and this is what they said, ”Congratulations on having a brilliant church... I loved everything about the service” . In other words you (as the church), were yourselves and the gospel has impacted his life. They are people who are moving towards Jesus.

I took that as a great compliment because the way we are trying to live our lives as a church community hinges on having a people or a community to invite people to belong to. And when we act it this way:

It takes the pressure off. Our job is to provide a place for belonging, not push the Bible on people. We can trust God to do the “converting” thing.
Whatever our personality trait and whatever gifts we have we know we can be a major part of the process of reaching out by simply creating the right environments for friends and strangers.

It puts the focus back on our “inner life” instead of what we say and don’t say to people. We have to become good news to our families and friends if we want to influence them.

David Hart
Leader

Philippians 4:6

2012-01-06T11:09:00.000Z

Over the Christmas holidays I was staying with a friend and we were having people over for a meal. My friend always gets really worried before she has to entertain people as she wants to make sure everything goes right. I prayed that morning that God would be with her that day and that there would be a “noticeable difference” in how worried she was. As the day went on I forgot about my prayer but when I went into the kitchen just before our friends were going to arrive it struck me how noticeably calm she was. We went on to have a great evening and I was really encouraged by how much God cares about even the smallest details.

Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Story From Carol Service

2012-01-06T10:21:00.000Z

I invited my colleagues from work to our recent Carol service and both of them said they wanted to come. I was thrilled by just how ready they were to say “Yes” so you can imagine how excited I was when both of them walked through double doors of the school. I could see that for one of them that this was something outside of her comfort zone, but I could nothing more than be myself and trust the Lord to take care of things. After the service as we sipped mulled wine both of my friends said how much they had enjoyed it, but it was my nervous friends response that gave me the most encouragement. She said, “I’m really not a religious person at all and although I wouldn’t normally go to church, I do like to stay connected with spiritual things and today was a real treat. Thanks for inviting me because I loved the whole thing”. I’ve mulled over those words across the festive break because I didn’t expect them to be honest, but I know now that I can be bolder in the future and although it’s not one of my New Year resolutions I will try to be.

Lis Hart
Leader

Thanks For Inviting Us

2012-01-06T09:56:00.000Z

I was encouraged at the Vkids Christmas party when one of the parents whom I had never had a conversation with came very deliberately to find me and ask me which church had organised the event. The parent went on to talk very openly about their own upbringing and experience of church. It was as if they were glad to have an opportunity to discuss such things. It was a really positive encounter which left the door open for further invites/conversations. At the end they said "thanks for inviting us" and I felt they really meant it.

There are people out there just waiting to be invited to things we do as a church. Who is that person for you?

Phil Merriweather
Kids Leader