Alpha time!

We only do one Alpha a year but it seems to come around so quick, and that time have come around again. Alpha kicks off @ 8pm on Wednesday 24th Jan at the Black Horse (Northfield) side bar. This is the ‘Alpha Taster’ which is an introductory session so you can see if you like the taste of Alpha and if you want to come back for more or not. The evening includes a short talk and a free curry so that it is not just concepts you are tasting but food as well.

If you have never done Alpha why not this year, why not this month, why not on the 24th Jan at the Black Horse? What’s the worst that could happen?!

Once again I have not blogged for an age.  Lots has been going on in the life of Redeemer. Since February we have been meeting on Sundays at Oddingley Hall next to West Heath Park. This has been a really helpful move to what we hope will be a long term venue for us. It was great to kick off our time here with a baptism on the first Sunday for which we crammed about 40 people into a changing room with a paddling pool in the shower area.

After settling in, at the beginning of May we officially celebrated our new home by having a House Warming Weekend which we invited all our new neighbours along to. Good fun was had on the Saturday with bouncy castles and candy floss and on the Sunday with a buffet lunch together.

At the end of May with the Catalyst Festival having a break year we held our first Church Weekend Away. This felt like a significant time of deepening friendship with each other and God. As well as having time to have fun together (including a talent and quiz evening) we spent two sessions seeing what the Bible has to say about our emotional health and starting to apply this to our lives.

July kicked off with our annual Hope & Healing Weekend, this was as nerve racking as ever but God once again showed up!  Many people came for prayer with some returning from previous years. Numerous people took follow up packs and said they felt peace or/and the presence of God and several testified to physical healing. The Sunday was also a great time with 2 people expressing commitment to Jesus.

In July just before we went into our Summer Programme we had another baptism, which was the first baptism I have done which was too hot. We had to empty several buckets of cold water into the pool just before to cool it down. The pool was also being held together by sellotape as I discovered just beforehand it had a puncher but it did the job.

In August it was great to connect more deeply with the local community through a ParkLives event which we provided inflatables for.  It was a lovely sunny day and it was a joy to work with other groups to put the event on.

So much has been happening which we are so grateful to God for but He also has so much more for us as we head into the Autumn term and the build up to Christmas! On Sunday the 10th September we kick off a three part mini series from Luke 13 within our wider series on the Gospel of Luke. This series is called Repentance, Healing and Wholeness and is intended to help us process the issues that we started to raise and dig into on our weekend away when looking into emotional health. Several people have said that they found the weekend away helpful but what do they do now. This series (as well as giving space in Community Groups) should help us to increasingly live a life of repentance, healing and wholeness.

The last of these three sessions is also going to kick off another new phase for Redeemer as we start Lord’s Supper Sundays. Up to this point as a church we have been celebrating the Lord’s Supper together in our monthly Community Prayer meeting. Now as well as this we plan to celebrate the Lord’s Supper once a term on a Sunday. The thinking is that this will give us a focus point for repentance & forgiveness but also space and time for us individually and collectively to genuinely work this out.

Still to come we have a Baby Thanksgiving, Light Party, Christmas events and then in the new year Alpha. This is not to mentioned the bread and butter of our normal gathering and dispersing. God continues to work in and through us as we by His grace increasingly love deeply and share widely the goodness of God in Christ together. What a joy!

I don’t think anybody has made bigger and better claims about life than Jesus!  He certainly gives us all something to think about and that is why we run ‘Alpha’.  It gives people the chance to think through what Jesus said in a relaxed, enjoyable environment.  Our next one kicks off on Thursday 12th January with the Alpha Taster.

The Alpha Taster is an introductory session so people can decide whether Alpha is something they want to come on.  It’s a free, fun, fairly short evening but involves enough bite to get you chewing over more than just the free curry!

It starts at 7:45pm at The Black Horse Pub side bar, Northfield, B31 2QT and will be finished by about 9:00pm.  Why not come along? At worst you get a free curry but it could be the start of your greatest adventure!

Our Hope & Healing weekend was a few weeks ago now and we had a great time. I wanted to give a bit of feedback.  It is a bit difficult to do this in writing, and not appropriate to share everything, so I will give a few stories.

First of all God really encouraged us by kicking things off on the Friday before we had ‘officially’ even started.  I met a young man who after a biking accident was unable to lift his arm more than 45 degrees from his side.  After prayer he could lift it 90 degrees and after praying again, to his amazement, full movement was restored.  He then made a commitment to Jesus.

On the Saturday, from our Hope & Healing plot at the Northfield Carnival, a guy who had a bad back for a number of years felt heat going through his back from top to bottom, leading him to exclaim “that’s f…ing mad”.  Another guy who suffered chest pain, which made breathing more difficult, to the quiet surprise of his partner declared that it had totally gone.  A young woman who received prayer last year for situations in her life deliberately came to the Carnival in order to receive more prayer.

People received prayer for all sorts of conditions and situations in their lives, with many expressing awareness of the presence or power of God.  At a couple of points we even had people having to come back later in order to find space to be prayed for.  Many conversations where had and a number of gospels were given out.

Not everybody was healed but the day seemed like another step forward for Redeemer in seeing God work in supernatural ways.  Even those who did not seem to experience anything often appreciated being prayed for.  I prayed for one man who had pain and restricted movement in one arm and I expected he would be healed as God had already been healing by this point, but no improvement occurred. However, he was really grateful for me praying and I was able to give him some information and a gospel.

Then on the Sunday we had Noel and Coral Fellowes with us, sharing something of their amazing story.  This had a real impact on several people, helping to bring hope & healing into their lives.  So we had a great weekend but we don’t want it to end there! We want to increasingly learn to live lives that help bring hope & healing to others as we keep in step with Jesus and the hope & healing he brings everyday.

This year at our Hope & Healing Sunday on the 3rd July we have Noel Fellowes the author of ‘Killing Time’ coming to speak.  It will be great to have him with us and hear something of his story.

At the age of 22 Noel was arrested, charged and convicted of the killing of a man he had never met. He spent nearly five years in prison, where, as an ex-policeman, he suffered years of intimidation and violence. Upon release, he entered a life of substance abuse hoping to escape the years of pain, bitterness and hatred resulting from his sense of injustice.  Ten years after his release from prison, new evidence came to light and he was completely vindicated of the murder for which he had been wrongly convicted. Following his vindication, Noel wrote his best-selling autobiography ‘Killing Time’,

Noel found hope and healing in the good news of Jesus, come along to hear about this hope & healing for yourselves.

Wow! We are over half way through January, kids back in school, life back into motion and Christmas feels like an age ago.  It’s been even longer since I last posted anything, in-fact not since our Hope and Healing events in the Summer.

Lots has happened in the life of Redeemer since then.  In October we had our launch events starting with our bouncy fun day in Northfield High Street, at which much fun seem to be had by all. This was followed the week after by our Launch Sunday. It was great to have a number of guests with us as we officially launched the church plant.

In November we had our Family Fireworks evening once again at Happyfields Animal Sanctuary, which although was not without it stresses (including the coffee van getting stuck in the mud and sheep getting where they shouldn’t have), again seemed to be a real hit.  Then in December we held our own Christmas Carol Service as well as having the pleasure of helping out with the Northfield YMCA Carol Service.

2016 has a number of new adventures waiting for us and a couple of changes.  The first of these changes is due to take place very soon as we switch from an afternoon meeting to a morning one. Starting on Sunday 31st January we will be meeting at 10:30am, which will mean getting up a bit earlier but also the chance of an afternoon nap!

Our first big event of 2016 kicks off next week as our ‘Alpha’ starts with the Alpha Taster (introductory session) on Wednesday 27th January at the Black Horse side bar starting at 7:30pm. This includes a free curry and a short talk looking at some of life’s big questions!  All are welcome.

So we are hitting 2016 running, here we go!

It’s been just over a couple of weeks now since our Healing & Hope events finished.  I am pleased to say both hope was received and healing was experienced!  At Healing & Hope @ the carnival a man who had a torn cartilage in his knee, to his own surprise said the pain had gone and movement was restored.  He demonstrated this by bouncing up and down on his knees (which he said he could not do before).  A number of other people were prayed for and many encouraging conversation where had, with one woman putting her hope in Jesus.

The next week at the Healing & Hope Sunday a woman whose vision had become blurred after a traffic accident said that it had cleared.  Also a man made a commitment to hope in Jesus.  The healing & hope then carried on into the next Sunday with a woman being healed of sciatica and then finding hope in Jesus in making a commitment to him.

We now have an increased expectation for Jesus to move in this way and are intending to be more active in seeking him to do so.  After the last month I am now convinced more than ever that Jesus is all that he claimed to be and so can give genuine hope and healing!

I think it is probably true that most if not everybody who reads this post is suffering from some sort of pain, illness or condition that affects their lives.  It may not be in a massive way; now that summer is here my hay fever has kicked in which is a nuisance but not exactly an enormous issue. Still, when I think about it, it would be nice (really nice) not to have it.  However, on the other hand, right at the other end of the scale many people suffer from life changing or life threatening conditions, which have a huge impact on their lives.  I was speaking with a woman yesterday who suffers with arthritis and she was saying one of her aims in life is just to get through each day with as little pain as possible.  Also in the last year or so a number of people I know (and know of) have been told the heart wrenching news that they have (or may have) cancer.  This must be a truly shocking thing to hear.

I am amazed and inspired by what people find the strength to live with and through.  Whether it is sickness or any of the other troubles life can throw at us.  I am not naturally an optimistic person and so although I know there is much beauty in the world and happiness to be experienced in life I do not find it hard to be aware of the numerous problems which could occur in any given situation.  However, even for the optimist the reality is that life is not all flowers and sunshine.  Although life can be great, life is also hard and for some can even become unbearable.

Sadly a number of years ago for an old work colleague of mine this was the case, and so tragically he ended up taking his own life.  The thing was he came across as one of the jolliest people in the office.  I knew his life was not without real difficulties but did not know just how tough he must have been finding it.  I don’t know the details but I assume amongst the huge mix of emotions he must have been feeling, he must have lost hope; hope for change, for a future, for the strength to live another day.

Sadly from my experience this does not seem to be uncommon.  I have found what makes a huge difference in life, maybe even the difference, is having hope!  With it there is reason and strength for tomorrow, without it meaning and purpose seem to drain away.  Whether we are in a situation where life has brought us to our knees or we just feel like we need a little more meaning, purpose and motivation, either way and anywhere in between, genuine hope is essential!

Some have lost hope through life beating it out of them, others have achieved and received all they hoped for but in so doing discovered it was not in fact all it promised.  Sometimes what we hope for actually turns out not to be all we hoped for after all.  So sadly and ironically in the hope being achieved, hope is actually lost and fulfilment still not found!

So I guess the question is not only ‘do we have hope?’ But ‘what is our hope’?  Is that in which we hope enough?’  Is it genuine? Is it secure? Does it follow through? Is it sufficient to sustain? Does it fulfil its promise?

I have become convinced both intellectually and experientially, both in my mind and my heart, in my thoughts and my feelings that although there are many good things in this world which I hope for, some achieved and many not, that only Jesus can give sufficient hope!  Only Jesus is enough!  That only he can give true life and meaning now and forever!  That he not only claims and offers more than anyone or anything else, but that he follows through!  So hope in him will not be disappointed.

That is why over the next two weeks we are putting on a couple of Healing & Hope events.  On Sunday 12^th July we have our Healing & Hope Sunday and before that, this Saturday, we have a stand at Northfield Carnival offering prayer for healing and hope to anyone who would like it.

On the Sunday just gone four people from church shared their experiences from over the past two years of Jesus’ healing power in their lives.  This included a woman who came along to a Sunday meeting last summer on crutches (as she had torn a ligament in her foot).  At the end of the meeting after receiving prayer at the beginning, she left still holding her crutches but not actually using them and carrying bags.  At the time she did not straight away realise what had just happened.  It was not until the next day she fully realised that although she had been feeling sever pain (she described in her experience as second only to giving birth) and could not walk she now amazingly was without pain and walking fine.

Also, we heard from a man who shared that last year he was told the awful news he had pancreatic cancer.  However, he believed God was going to heal him and got a number of people praying for him.  After two biopsies and four scans (but before treatment) he has now been told that the 2.9 cm growth is no longer there, nor are there any cancerous cells.  All that remains is a 1.4 cm scare.

I do not claim to understand God’s healing, why some are and others not, but we are learning together to trust God and have seen God do some amazing things!  Even if we are not healed of sickness or we have to continue in whatever difficult situation we may be in, if our hope in life, for life and beyond life is bigger, we can face and overcome whatever is thrown at us!

I do not expect those who do not believe in supernatural healing or Jesus to change their mind on either because of this post.  However, surely Jesus is at least worth checking out.  As if he turns out to be for real, to be who he claimed to be and to be able to do what he claimed to be able to do, then wow, that changes everything for all of us!  Not just healing but what life is and what life is all about!

Would you like hope? Would you like healing? 

Then please look into Jesus!  There are many ways to do this but one way would be to come along to our Healing & Hope events either @ 3:00pm on Sunday 12^th July at Northfield YMCA or/and check out our Healing & Hope stand at the Northfield Carnival on Sat 4^th July.

I don’t think anybody has made bigger and better claims than Jesus!  He certainly gives us all something to think about and that is why we run ‘Alpha’.  It gives people the chance to seriously think through what Jesus said in a relaxed, enjoyable environment.  Our next one kicks off tomorrow (Thursday 22nd January) with an Alpha Taster.

The Alpha Taster is an introductory session so people can decide whether Alpha is something they want to come on.  It is a free, fairly short event but involves enough bite to get you pondering and chewing over more than just the free curry!

It starts at 8:00pm at The Black Horse Pub side bar, Northfield, B31 2QT and will be finished shortly after 9:00pm (however people are welcome to hang around after if they want to). http://redeemerbirmingham.org.uk/alpha/

No, not Flack, Vorderman or Smillie but Christmas Carols!  It’s maybe not the usual sing song you may associate with a pub, but a great chance to test out those lungs.  Apart from at the football, Christmas is one of only a few occasions that people like to belt one out and can do so without feeling too self-conscious.

This year on the 14^th December starting at 3:30pm Redeemer Church Birmingham are holding their Carol Service in the upper room of The Black Horse pub (B31 2QT).  It should be a fun time and a great way to really kick Christmas off!  Even if you’re not the ‘belt it out’ type and prefer to sing softly-sweet or just listen you are most welcome, although I for one will enjoy letting loose my inner Welshman!

So if you fancy a gentle carol or a good sing song, or even just some festive refreshments please come along!

Happy Christmas to you all!  (oooo, it feels good to be able to say that now)