I love it when scripture surprises me. As you might imagine, having been a pastor for nearly 30 years I have read a lot of scripture and preached a lot of sermons. However, the Bible still surprises me. Verses that I am sure I have read before can leap out of the page, grab my attention, transform my thinking. This happened to me when preparing this week’s sermon. As I was looking at how the passage challenges our propensity to fall for the deception of idols, verse 17 snuck up on me: “When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses “there is the sound of war in the camp””.  Read More

In this week’s devotional we will be digging deeper into Exodus 33, and also Ephesians 2, to explore what the presence of God means for us and our life. You might want to use this guide in your personal time with God over the course of the week, or in your Life Group or household. In Exodus 33 we see how Moses pleads for God’s presence to be with him and the Israelites, telling God he won’t go on to the Promised Land without him. God grants Moses with his presence, and in Jesus, we too can know the wonderful presence of God in our lives.  Read More

This week in our physical venues and across our Online Venue, we have been celebrating New Ground Sunday. Here at Everyday Church, we are part of a family of churches called Newfrontiers and within that Newfrontiers family we are part of New Ground. A number of years ago, because of growth and a desire to be more missional, Newfrontiers moved from being one family across the world to a wider family made up of different spheres. At the time we described it as a family moving from one nuclear family to a wider family with children who have themselves become parents. It is more organic than organisational, and over the last decade we have seen huge growth in the number of churches around the world that are part of the wider Newfrontiers family, but with real relational links to one of the smaller spheres.  Read More

We have been looking at the final 6 commandments in Exodus chapter 20 where God the Father declares his laws and seals his covenant with the Israelites. They were pauses on route to the promised land at Mount Sinai. There is a tendency when looking at the 10 commandments, to treat them as a list of rules to follow in order not to be on God’s bad side. The reality is that we get to see God’s heart for these people as he delivers on his promise to Abraham by making his descendants into a great nation. The 10 commandments are where this promise takes on a more civil and social focus. Thus far the Lord has brought his people out of Egypt and provided them with instructions on how to live as his people before they enter the promised land (Canaan). The theme for Exodus is that God fulfils his promises and we get to see that in how he’s taken these descendants of Abraham and turned them into a great nation. The plan was for Israel to live before God in the world, obeying the covenant instruction that he will reveal to them.  Read More

There came a moment in history when God fulfilled one of His many promises. The promise had been that His presence would one day move from a temple, accessible by a small number of priestly, anointed individuals, to being poured out upon men and women from all nations and backgrounds. That which filled a holy sanctuary, hidden away from most, would fill and reside in the hearts of everyone who called upon Him. It’s hard to believe that when such an event takes place, an individual just carries on as normal. A transformation begins to take place. When we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we’re enabled to speak to God differently; and we’re empowered to speak about Him and display His Kingdom differently as well. The Holy Spirit gives us GIFTS that allow that to happen. These gifts are referred to on many occasions throughout the New Testament, but are listed specifically in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 in particular.  Read More

The fourth commandment is often treated as if it’s the least important. This is not surprising when you remember that other contenders cover murder and adultery! But on Sunday we considered how learning to build sabbath rhythms into our week actually gets to the very heart of what it means to live Christ centred lives. To approach things from a slightly different angle let’s look at Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. I’ve often felt sorry for Martha who Jesus gently rebukes when she is simply working hard to provide for her guests. What is it that Jesus commends so warmly in her sister Mary? Simply that she knows when to STOP! There may be many things that still need doing, but she knows that in this moment she needs pause, to focus her full attention on Jesus in a way that both honours him and replenishes her.  Read More