Vision Day 2018

Intro

As we look at the vision for the year ahead its important to see where it ties into the overall vision of the church. So what i am going to do today is tell you some stuff for this year and then where it fits.

There are 6 words that we felt were important when we took on the church in August 2012, these words help form the picture God gave to me & Tammy of how a church would look like that we lead, at the moment we are working towards that, we will always be working towards that because we will never be perfect, there will always be something to improve on.

We the church are here to be a light shining in the darkness, a light that shows people Jesus, not to point at us.

It’s not about us, everything we are & everything we do as Christians must point to Jesus & if our life isn’t that way then we need a fresh revelation of who Jesus is & what he came for.

God is always refining us or if you want a gardening term, pruning us making healthier than we were getting us ready for growth. It gets rid of everything that has made home in your life that will not enable you to live life fully.

Refining means going through the fire, a very hot fire that burns up the impurities so that you are left with the best you. it may hurt.

When we are challenged to think differently, to live differently to get rid of all the stuff in our lives that we have come accustomed, our little sins here & there, you know the things that we don’t want to let go of, you know the things that make you you & God loves me just the way i am. That’s true he does but he loves you that much that he won’t leave you that way. My job is help you be all that you are meant to be. My intention this year is to help you even if it annoys you.

so lets have a look at the year ahead:

Apologise

Re-launch of our Foundations course, 6 weeks looking at what we need to believe as Christians.

Partnership course we took the Church through partnership once, but we have new people in church since then & so we are going to run a 2 hour partnership course for those who have not done it before who wish to become a partner with the church & then have partnership Sunday. please come & talk to me after the service if you would like to become a partner.

Team Days: Are for people who are already serving on a team or who would like to serve on a team the first will be on the morning of May 12th at Station Street building. this isn’t a forum, there will teaching & time together.

Leadership PM

Marriage course: This is for people who have been married for longer that 2 years & will be open for those from this church & then we will open it up for people in the Town. This sits in 2 of our words foundational & Community.

Foundational

Foundational

We need to be a Church that is foundational in what we believe and say.

We need to know what the Bible says; That Christ died for our Sins, we need to know what we believe.

Like there is one way to heaven, knowing Jesus is the only way, it don’t matter how good you have been or how much you come to Church.

If you haven’t got a relationship with Jesus Christ, if you don’t know Him as your Lord and Saviour, then you ain’t getting in.

I want you to know that

In this Church we will always preach and teach Jesus, because the whole Bible from front to back, Genesis to Revelation is all about Jesus and here we preach from the Bible.

We will never teach from anything else, or invite anyone in from another religion to teach from here.

The Bible is God’s word and it is all we need

2 Timothy 3:14–17 ESV

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

We have to understand what the Bible says about Jesus, who He is and what he done for us.

He is the first Born; He was in the Beginning, at creation.

We need to understand who we are and where we stand when it comes to Jesus.

That’s why we are going to start doing preaching topics on Sunday mornings and then in the Bible study on Thursdays start going deeper.

Starting on the 19th August we will look at the book of Hebrews.

We need to know the Hard & the easy stuff. Our Theology our Doctrine needs to be right. We need to know what we know is right.

Prayer & Fasting:

We are restarting this month on Monday 16th April - Friday 20th April all prayer meetings will be in the day time except the Tuesday night which will be at 6.30pm at station street. i will let people know this week if you are leading a prayer meeting & what we shall be praying into.

Restore Groups: Our restore Groups need revitalising so we are going to change them, we are going geographical. we are not doing men’s & women’s groups anymore. over the summer period we will shut down the groups we have now & start new groups in September based on where you live in Boston & around Boston. we believe that this will make it much better & easier for people to get along to a group, we also believe it will make it easier to invite people to a Restore group who are not Christians if it’s just down the road, along the street with people they may already know. further information will be available over the next 2 months on locations for people to attend.

Committed

We need to be a Church that is committed.

Committed to prayer

Do not let prayer become a shopping list; use the Lord’s prayer as an example .

We need to be praying for each other, for our Leaders, pray for us as a family. Councillors, MP’s, our Church, our Community, our Town.

Committed to Gods Word ( The Study of it)

We need to get to a restore group and we need to be committed to our own personal time of reflection & study. As I said when before we need to know that what we know is right. We can only discover that by reading our Bible.

Committed to each other

We need to Love each other unconditionally, put our own Ego’s aside, our own wants and needs & put others first. Don’t point out others faults without checking out your own first.

Committed to this house

This Church is the store House. This is where you are spiritually fed, looked after emotionally, cared for.

When you are in need you look to the Church first.

When you are not in need do you still look there first.

We need to bring of our first fruits into the Church, that’s time & money.

We need to give to God what is rightfully His.

This Month we are restarting the Bring & share meal, It will be the last Sunday of the month on a bi-monthly status, that means every other month. It’s about spending time together maybe with people you who you haven’t spent time with before, let it be a time for all the family. Esther Simpson will be heading this up so she will be giving you reminders for it.

You will get a

Our Theology our Doctrine needs to right.

Pais Team: Pais provides a team of full time apprentices for a minimum of one year. They work in the church to bridge the gap between the church and the community using various projects. we have them for a year 7 days a week but they will need to be housed by families.

We need to know what we know is right.

Revive nights: This will happen 3 times a year, we will link up with Willows community AOG Church from Grimsby.

year. They work in the church to bridge the gap between the church

Community

and the community using various projects, including Because You’re

Loved, Haverim and The Flow Mentoring programs.

Community being community focused.

We need to live in community, we have a shining example of it in the bible.

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit live in community with one another needing each other, loving each other, fulfilling one another.

I’ve talked about this loads of times.

We need to be a people who are in community with each other and through being in community with each other we will put others first care for them dare I say even love each other, there is no differing of language, nationality or colour in God, He loves us all the same and that is how we are to be.

If we live our lives like this then we will reach out to the community, Town around us. We don’t do this to be seen, look at me, look at me

We need to know who our neighbour is though.

Our neighbour is everyone

The lawyer misunderstood the full significance of the love that we need to have for others.

The lawyer sought to limit who his neighbour was, to limit who he could show love to, who he could be in community with.

Jesus said he must give unselfish and unlimited assistance to anyone in need, even someone who might hurt his reputation.

We can’t be people who ask what is due to me, but rather what can I do for someone Else.

We have to make sure we get this.

We have to be in community with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, people in Church & the people around us.

If we don’t we will have nice little services for a while & then we will die.

Spiritually, emotionally & physically.

Station Street: The redevelopment of Station Street building.

Drawings are being submitted to Boston Borough planning.

(what is it, what’s happening)

Restoration

We need to be a place where people are restored to God.

We are to be a place of Restoration, not only for non-Christians and not only for our own Church people who will find rest, reconnect with God find healing spiritually, physically & emotionally but a place of support for Christians from other Churches that will come knowing this is a place where restoration to God is to be found and when that has happened to be able to go back to their own Churches.

We need to be salt and light

Sanctuary

Our Church needs to be a Sanctuary.

So what is a sanctuary

sanctuary - a shelter from danger or hardship

Asylum, refuge

harbour - a place of refuge and comfort and security

Safe hold - a refuge from attack

Safe house - a house used as a hiding place or refuge by members of certain organizations

Shelter - a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger.

To me this place, this people, this Church should be somewhere, where people can come and feel that everybody knows your name and everyone shares in your pain.

Because if one part of the body is hurting doesn’t the rest of the body feel and share in that pain.

The thing is we don’t wear it like a badge of shame walking with our heads bowed low.

It’s so people can come alongside someone and help, not gossip.

A place where people feel safe because it’s family.

Not our human idea of family but God’s Idea of family. Loving caring sharing, showing, Grace & Mercy to one another.

Allowing people to be who they were designed & destined to be by God.

Where loving and caring are not just for our closest of friends but for everyone.

That’s why I preach this stuff a lot.

We need to get it right if we are to be a sanctuary for all people.

Then we need to act right between us now.

To facilitate all this we need a building a sanctuary, somewhere people can come for restoration, where our community can come into and where we can go out from, because the Sanctuary has resourced us.

The Land update:

Let me just say we are not here to just sing songs, get fat on teaching & times of prayer for ourselves, we are not here to have a Holy huddle.

We the church are here to be a light shining in the darkness, a light that shows people Jesus, not to point at us.

It’s not about us, everything we are & everything we do as Christians must point to Jesus & if our life isn’t that way then we need a fresh revelation of who Jesus is & what he came for.

God is always refining us or if you want a gardening term, pruning us making healthier than we were getting us ready for growth. It gets rid of everything that has made home in your life that will not enable you to live life fully.

Refining means going through the fire, a very hot fire that burns up the impurities so that you are left with the best you. it may hurt.

When we are challenged to think differently, to live differently to get rid of all the stuff in our lives that we have come accustomed, our little sins here & there, you know the things that we don’t want to let go of, you know the things that make you you & God loves me just the way i am. That’s true he does but he loves you that much that he won’t leave you that way. My job is help you be all that you are meant to be. My intention this year is to help you even if it annoys you.

What underpins all this is Grace.

living a life of Grace