As we take time to pray for our city and region here are some things to help us know how and what to pray
This week as a church community in the City of Derry we're going to be spending Thursday evening (24th Jan) until Sunday evening (27th Jan) praying and fasting. We'd love for you to get involved - we kick off tonight at 7.30 pm at the Ewan's house. A good question to ask before we get involved might be - why? Why do we pray and why do we fast? Well, as people who want to walk in the Way of Jesus we need to look first to him as our model. Jesus spent time in prayer with his Father - it was a key part of his lifestyle, it was the source of his power & ministry. Jesus talks of fasting as a way to connect deeply with God in secret and to grow in authority (Matt 6:16, Matt 17:21, Mark 9:29) Jesus
One of the things that the New Year brings is a fresh look at the way ahead, the year in front of us. For some that's daunting prospect for others of us we can't wait to get started. A rhythm that I've begun to establish in my life at the beginning of the year is to attempt to 'mark out a straight path for my feet'. This involves a few things: 1. Looking at where we are (our current position) 2. Getting vision for the way ahead 3. Setting the direction of our steps 4. Building a pattern of life to help get us there On Thursday night past a few of us gathered to do this together. I can recommend it as a spiritual practice. If you look at the life of Jesus you'll notice that he was super inten
One of the things I love about God is that he speaks. This for many of us in a western culture is a little disconcerting. We've learned from a young age to be suspicious of anything we can't physically measure and any interactions of a spiritual nature are placed on the 'suspicious' list. Some in reaction to this look for spiritual experience to answer everything and can end up leaving sense and the discernment of our minds out of the picture. I believe there is a 'radical middle' (to coin a Vineyard term) where we can embrace a wonderfully dynamic friendship with a living God who is speaking all of the time - using the mind and body he has given us to discern what is his good, pleasing and
