After a process of advertising and interviewing, the Rector and Wardens are pleased to announce that Jacob Mierendorff has accepted our invitation to serve in the all-new position of ‘Operations Minister’.

Jacob’s focus will be to help everyone in our church work together in the best possible way, so that we can keep focusing on the ministry of word and prayer as we proclaim Christ to the people of our village, valley and beyond.

Following on from the ministry of Kiarnay, Jacob will look after all the ‘machinery’ of our church, from our Elvanto system (with rosters and runsheets), right through to the livestream and social media.

He will also focus on growing our small-group ministry, as well as helping newcomers feel at home in their new church.

Overall, he plans to minister to us all as he seeks to streamline our operations, so that everyone is connected and encouraged in the best way possible.

He will also be looking after the running of the weekend services, as well as serving us through occasional preaching and other word ministries in various contexts.

We’re praying that this will help equip us with the ministry tools and support required to manage our fast-growing church, for the glory of God.

Beginning on the 12th May, Jacob will initially work four days per week, but we are praying that our giving in church will increase enough to enable us to employ him full time as soon as possible.

Please pray for Jacob, and Jemimah, as together they adapt to the life of gospel work, and ask the Lord that Jacob’s ministry might see our church grow stronger as we seek to make disciples of all nations, for the glory of God.

JODIE McNEILL

Even though some experts doubt whether he really rose from the dead, almost all, credible historians agree that Jesus of Nazareth was executed on a Roman Cross in Jerusalem, around 30 AD.

Yet, not all Christians agree about why he died.

Some say that he was killed by the religious rulers because his example and teaching of love were a threat to their system.

Others say that he died because he wanted to prove how much he really loves us, as the ultimate gift to humanity.

But in the end, we don’t need someone to tell us how to love, or someone to show us how to love, or even someone to prove his love for us.

Our big problem is that we’re all born as natural enemies of God, and unless someone deals with God’s anger for us, then we’re headed to Hell.

That’s why Jesus died for us: to take upon himself the anger that God had for us, so that we might now be forgiven by him and made his friends, if we trust in him as our loving ruler.

It’s pretty full on… but that’s the heart of Easter!

And by rising from the dead, Jesus proved he really did what his Father in heaven sent him to do.

As we read in Romans chapter 5:

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:6-8)

That’s why Good Friday is ‘good’… and why we can truly wish each other a ‘Happy Easter!’

JODIE McNEILL

(Credit: Claudio Ungari via Flickr)

During my truck driving test during the week, my examiner helped me relax by asking lots of questions about what I believe as a Christian and what my church does.

He asked me if my church had a confessional, where members of the church could go to a special meeting with the minister, to confess to him their sins so that he could then present those sins to God.

My answer was simple: we don’t have a confessional because we don’t need one: we can go straight to Jesus and tell him our sins, knowing that he will hear us, and will forgive us if we ask him.

I explained to my examiner that in the Old Testament, before Jesus, there were special people called priests who would act as go-betweens to God on their behalf.

But when Jesus came along, he replaced the priests so we now can confidently speak straight to Jesus, because not only is he the priest, Jesus is also the temple and the sacrifice… and, of course, the king!

Here’s how the writer to the Hebrews puts it:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

I was pleased to pass my truck driver’s licence test, but even happier to have another opportunity to talk about how good Jesus is!

JODIE McNEILL

(Credit: Emilio Labrador via Flickr.com)

As I’ve been preaching on the building and fitting out of the temple in Jerusalem by King Solomon, I’ve been reminded afresh of my visit to Israel with Mandy in 2018.

One of the most memorable experiences was visiting what’s known as the Temple Mount (or ‘Haram esh-Sharif’), which is the large, flat area where all this construction took place.

It was amazing for us to stand at the very place at which the detailed descriptions in 1 Kings 5-7 occurred, and to feel such a strong connection with the historical events.

When we visited Israel it made so much of the Bible feel even more real, as we had a physical experience of the actual places we had only read about in God’s word.

However, as people of the New Testament, we need to keep remembering that the Temple Mount, including the Western or ‘Wailing’ Wall, is now just a museum of the past with no spiritual value.

Jesus made it very clear that he is the temple, and that when we trust in Jesus, we too become part of that temple.

And what’s more, the New Jerusalem won’t have a new temple soaring above the horizon, but in fact there will be no temple at all, because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21:22)

But for now, as we read the amazing details of the physical temple Solomon built, we can learn so much about what it is like for God to “live among the Israelites and… never abandon my people Israel.” (1 Kings 6:13)

For as we explore the details of Solomon’s Temple, we understand so much more about what it means when in John 1:14 that “the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” 

JODIE McNEILL

When people mention the season of Lent, they usually think of giving up things like chocolate, alcohol, or even social media.

But at the heart of this forty-day journey to Good Friday is giving up sin… thinking about specific areas of our life where we know that we give in easily to temptation.

This will vary from person to person, although the heart of the problem is the same: we all, by nature, disobey God, and do not naturally pursue holiness.

So, as we count down the days to Easter, it’s a good time to ask God to speak through his Spirit as we read his word so that he might identify to us any areas of sin we should give special attention to flee.

I’m reminded of the words by the writer to the Hebrews who spoke so sharply when he addressed the real struggle of the Christian life:

Heb. 12:1    Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

As we take this Lenten journey, let’s take encouragement from the cheering on of the faithful Christians who went before us, and let us focus on Jesus, who endured the cross for us.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: countrygirl0 via Flickr)