Ministers Desk 1st February 2015

Welcome to a new year of worship, service and witness.

I love trying new things.  When I’m driving if there’s a choice of two routes to take, I’ll choose the one that I’ve taken least, just to explore a bit more.  When I cook (not often and usually only desserts) I’ll more than often choose a recipe that I’ve never made before.  There is an element of risk in trying something new, ask Helen and Dom and Jess what they thought of my ice-cream bread.  As I’ve learnt many times we can fail.  But I’ve also learnt that we can go new places and have better experiences when we move from the known and comfortable into the untried and new.

As we start the New Year I wonder what this year has planned for you.  Is this going to be a year in which you repeat the activities and good and bad behaviours of the past or is it going to be a year of challenge and risk to something new?  I hope that this year will be a year of growth for you, because it is only as we move beyond where we are that we grow. 

Is this a year in which you start a new devotional practice, or change one that you’ve had for many years?  It can be that you once got a lot out of your devotional practice as it stimulated you, but you haven’t felt that for some time.  What other way could you connect with God?

Is this a year in which you find a new way of reaching out beyond the congregation?  Do you need to join a community group; meet new people; serve in a different church activity; put a different emphasis on your involvement in the community; or commit your outreach more fully to prayer?

Is this a year in which you strengthen a skill that you have so that you can be more effective in serving or leading?  Sometimes we need to step back from doing so much, so that we can be trained and equipped to do what we’re passionate about more effectively.

Is this a year in which you the Holy Spirit is prompting you to be more intentional in challenging your Brian in their relationship with Jesus?  Does your Brian need an invitation to meet other Christ followers; do they need answers to questions that are holding them back; or do they just need to be asked to give their life to Jesus? 

To do any of these things is risky.  It upsets the pattern of how we live our lives.  It takes emotional, mental, physical and spiritual energy.  But only by doing things like this do we grow closer to Christ and participate more fully in the life that he has for us.

So I invite you to prayerfully ask God, what risks are you going to take for him and with him this year.

Grace and peace

David Fender