'What we do for God must be done in the power of the Holy Spirit and we know and accept the fact that we may have little praise from men. But what we do accomplish for Him as true spiritual work done with eternity in view will have His praise written across it!'
From Renewed Day by Day: A Daily Devotional by A. W. Tozer (referencing 1 Thessalonians 2:4)
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Gospel Hallmarks By Roger Bye
Paul starts his first letter to the Thessalonians with…We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3.
Faith, love and hope! This trio appears several times in Paul’s letters as vital signs of healthy church life. They are the hallmarks of receiving the good news of Jesus and now living out our lives ‘In Christ’. It was a faith that became known to others and enabled them to stand firm in the Lord. Paul prays for their love to increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else. We are to encourage one another with the hope that is ours! We can live today in the light of The Day of His coming again.
As we explore this letter over these coming months let’s embrace these vital signs of Gospel health, more and more. May the Lord Himself strengthen our hearts!
Youth Prayer Points
Thank God for the young people attending Amplify each week and please pray for good conversations between leaders and young people as we have fun doing crafts and playing games.
Please pray for the leaders running Explorers (which takes place for our school years 7-10 on Sunday mornings during the preach) as they plan and deliver the sessions, and please pray for the young people as we discuss and learn from Old Testament Bible characters.
Adventurers Prayer Points
This term, our younger children's group (during Sunday services) are going through a series called 'Living Like Jesus: Prayer, The Bible, Worship, One Body, Giving, Mission, Serving' etc. We are also having a monthly worship session, led by Lily and Sarah King, which the children are really enjoying. We love spending time with the children and it is a privilege to be able to teach them. Please pray for them to know God’s love, that they will gain a greater understanding in these areas we are looking at and for the Holy Spirit to work in them and their leaders.
An Evening with Mike Sprenger
Thursday 13th March 2025 @ Ambleside Parish Centre. Doors open 7.15pm for 7.30pm start.
Cumbria and Lancashire Regional Day - Save the Date
On 22nd March 2025, we look forward to the ChristCentral church community, from across the Cumbria and North Lancashire regions, coming together for our first whole church gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic. Meeting at the Keswick Pencil Factory, which also hosts the Keswick Convention, our focus will be on Connecting with one another, Gathering as ChristCentral churches and Encountering the presence of God. To book your place at this event, please use this link: https://guestli.st/789726 or the QR code below:
Eco-Church @ Kings and in our Community By Will Sellar
“For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the LORD,” he says, “and there is no other”. Isaiah 45:18 NLT
Are you confused by climate change, the carbon conversation, current crises and chaos, or confusing Christian views on caring for creation?
I can certainly sympathise with you if you feel overwhelmed by the many interlinked issues related to climate change or its consequences. Sticking our heads in the sand or pulling the curtains may feel like an appropriate escape response from what feel like insurmountable problems which we don’t completely understand. You may even just avoid reading this column.
However, help is at hand! I can really recommend a new really short series of 8 talks by the Bible scholar Martin Charlesworth, a leader at Barnabas Community Church, Shrewsbury, and founder of Jubilee+, which is an initiative helping churches engage with social action and social justice issues.
Eight talks sounds a large number but each is only 5 or 6 minutes long and all of them can be viewed within an hour, even with time to make a coffee. You could listen to them yourself or view them over a month as a house group, perhaps using a couple per evening as discussion starters.
The talks explain what climate change is and the consequences of it as well as different world views of and responses to the problems. Martin also looks at the Biblical view of creation and caring for it, and finally considers how we can respond as Christians to climate change issues. The link is as below. Do let me know how you get on.
Knock Weekend Away By Joelle Raby
In February 2025, I took 13 young people, who usually attend King's Church youth activities, to the Solway Network Youth Weekend at the Knock Centre, with about 40 other young people. It was good to see our young people getting to know each other better, as well as getting to know other young people on the camp.
The weekend was themed around the TV show 'Traitors' with an ongoing competition for the young people to vote out different leaders and student leaders that they thought were the traitors. The young people did challenges in small groups throughout the weekend to earn sweets for them all to share at the end of the weekend.
Each day of the weekend, we had a youth service with worship, prayer, talks and small group discussion. Each talk was based around different 'traitors' from the Bible, so we looked at Zacchaeus, Simon Peter and Saul/Paul. The small group discussions were a great place for young people to ask questions and discuss the stories. Here are a few quotes from the young people from the small group I was leading;
"I didn't used to think Jesus was a real person, I do now",
"Zacchaeus went from being greedy to very generous, just by meeting Jesus"
"It's amazing how hearing Jesus (on the road to Damascus) changed Saul's whole perspective"
Throughout the weekend, the young people also had a choice of different activities to do, like crafts, nerf wars, sports, baking, pampering, drumming, Lego, speed games, etc. They also took part in full group activities. The highlight was 'Bible Smugglers', a game played outside at night where the young people have to smuggle glo-sticks across the field whilst leaders and student leaders were trying to catch them. Before the game, we explained to the young people that there were countries where people weren't allowed to own a bible so bibles are often smuggled into the country and secretly given to underground churches.
The weekend went really well and it was lovely to see the young people singing the worship songs, getting involved in the discussions and learning more about who Jesus is, and how meeting Jesus changes people. It was also great to spend time playing card games with our young people and getting to know them better.
A massive thank you for praying for the weekend away and for the young people, please continue to be praying for the young people that God would grow the seeds that were planted.
Puppet Training Opportunity
For more than 30 years, NISCU West Cumbria has been taking school assemblies across our area. Part of this work has involved the use of puppets to help retell Bible stories and messages in such a way that brings them to life for the children. Interactive games, puppet plays and songs all feature in these assemblies.
There is currently a NISCU puppet team based in Cockermouth, and another based in Workington/Whitehaven. This work covers schools from Holme St Cuthbert in the North, Threlkeld in the East, to Seascale in the South. MORE volunteers would be most welcome to help increase the size of the teams!
We are holding a puppetry training event on, Saturday 10th May in Penrith, with ONE WAY UK, who are specialists in Christian puppetry.
Anyone is welcome to come to this event, to get some insight into the work of puppets, and to get a chance to develop your puppetry skills! Please pray that the Lord would lead the right people to benefit from this training opportunity.
Please contact Maggie Cowles directly if you’re interested in helping with the puppets (maggiemcowles@gmail.com)
Devoted
Devoted, the ChristCentral festival has returned and is happening this summer! From 22nd - 25th August at the Staffordshire Showground, this is an event to equip, inspire and encourage you in your walk with God. With great kids and youth ministry, it’s perfect for all the family! For full details and to book in, please go to devotedevent.org.  |
To catch up with preaches from previous weeks, please head to our YouTube channel. |
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