A Crisis of Faith ...

23* I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me..

 John 17:23

I am amazed at how many Christians have a low view of themselves, it seems like self-esteem in the church is a real issue … but then there have been many characters in the Bible who had a crisis of confidence too. Moses when he was called by God claimed that he was not eloquent (Exodus 4:10)  Remember Gideon, here was a man hidden in a winepress  (Judges 6) but because of the difficult times he was facing he didn’t seem to believe that God was with him, in-fact if you read the full story he had a real issue with self-belief, he referred to himself as being from the weakest family and he was the least or the less able in all his family, now that’s a real crisis, then I remember Jeremiah, he was called by God to be a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1) but he really didn’t think he could speak either.

In all of those situations God’s view was different to that of the person involved. Now I know that the Bible teaches that we should not think more highly of ourselves than we should …

Romans 12:3

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Like I said I know that we should not think more highly of ourselves that we ought, but we should NOT think more lowly of ourselves than we thought either! Remember that Christ died for you and you were bought at a great cost.  Here’s another thought, when God chose you He didn’t make a mistake, Moses, Gideon and Jeremiah all thought that God made a mistake in giving them the assignments that He gave them, yet each one was the man for the job.

When God called you and gave you the assignments He had for you He did so knowing all about you, your strengths and weaknesses but He also knows that as you work together with Him you are just the right person for the job !!

Today as you read through this why don’t you take some time to thank God for calling you and place your trust in His wisdom in calling you to do that particular task and then as He leads you, do it to the best of your ability ..

 Be encouraged

For the King and His Kingdom

Pastor Martyn

How About A Change Of Mind

Over my years in the church I have often heard people refer back to a passage in Isaiah 55 when they simply don’t understand something, You may well have heard them they say “ Well I don’t understand how God works but remember the Bible does say God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts."

Its true the Bible does say in Isaiah 55 that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than ours … but have you ever realised that if that was all the Bible said about our thinking then we could never expect to be anything other than stupid, never knowing the thoughts of God !! Thank God today that the Bible doesn’t stop there, it has a lot more to say about the mind and the way we think .. In fact it tells us that we can experience and know God thoughts …  so how do we get there ?

Firstly we have to make a conscious choice about the things that we allow into our minds and what we think about …

Collosians 3:2 (NIV)

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Secondly we are called to be made new in the attitude of our minds …

Eph 4:23 (NIV)

to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

Remember that the Holy Spirit is the agent of the renewal:

Titus 3:5 (NIV)

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

So as we set our minds on the things above, and as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives He renews our attitudes and the thoughts of our mind …

Thirdly as we set our minds on things above, as we allow the Holy Spirit to renew and refresh us in the area of our attitudes, then the next thing we are required to do is to no longer conform to the pattern of this world ..

Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

As we fix our minds on things above, as we allow the Holy Spirit to refresh and renew us in the area of our attitudes, we are now called to apply those truths and thoughts and attitude changes that the Holy Spirit brings into our minds, literally to put them to work or bring them into action in our daily lives … literally to reject the way the world thinks and behaves and now to think and behave in a way that pleases God ..

Remember that a mind that's not under the influence of God is in opposition to Him. It always goes contrary to His ways. And since God's ways are right, then a mind without the influence of the Holy Spirit will think wrong.

Romans 8:5 (NIV)

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Now you might say .. “hang on there I have made Jesus Lord of my life” ... just because you've made Jesus Lord doesn't mean you'll automatically think God's thoughts. You only begin thinking God's thoughts when you think on those things above and begin to fill your mind and heart with the Word of God and make yourself subject to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We have already seen that Romans 12:2 calls that process "the renewing of your mind." Remember it teaches that process will transform you. Why does it have such a dramatic effect? Because when you change your mind, you change your choices-and that changes everything.

Today you can have the mind of Christ and literally have God's thoughts on your minds so can I encourage you to learn to allow the Holy Spirit to influence the way you think as you read through the Bible, as you pray, as you think heavenly thoughts. Allow Him to change your mind!

1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV)

 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.




For the King and His Kingdom
Pastor Martyn

God and government

Just watching the news over the last few days I am reminded of the condition of our nation ... David Cameron talks about the so called Big Society, yet banks continue to extract millions in fee's from their customers despite being bailed out by the government. Who can doubt that there is something deeply wrong in the United Kingdom today? 

Everyone seems to be looking out for themselves, nobody seems to care, nobody appears to have any honour or respect - from the top to the bottom. Many of our children are growing up without a father, our government encourages children into promiscuity, what was once considered as a perversion is now spoken of as though it is normal, more than that it is now honoured and all around us we see injustice.

Thinking about all of those things and many more I was reminded that we are commanded to pray for our country, our leaders and those who work at Westminster. You might be pleased to know that there is more Christian activity in the Palace of Westminster than generally assumed and there are many who aim to work out their faith in the corridors of power in a way that serves the nation as a whole.

There is also a little known ritual that takes place every day at the Houses of Parliament which is said to have been common practice since 1567. Not that many outsiders would know about it, though, because it is conducted behind closed doors out of view of the public. Before every session in both the Lords and the Commons, members stand, turn to face the wall behind them, and pray. Attendance is voluntary, but only Christian prayers are ever read out.

This is the form of the Commons's main prayer, as read aloud by the speaker's chaplain:

Lord, the God of righteousness and truth, grant to our Queen and her government, to Members of Parliament and all in positions of responsibility, the guidance of your Spirit. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals but laying aside all private interests and prejudices keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind; so may your kingdom come and your name be hallowed. Amen.

There was a time when these prayers were not just a ritual, they were prayed by men who accepted that God had given them a responsibility and who had a relationship with Him ..

Ritualistic prayers are used by many religions, from the Muslim to the Wiccan, the truth is God is not looking for ritual or religion, but rather relationship !!!

God wants everyone to be in relationship with Himself, How is your relationship with Him TODAY ?


May you know the blessing of God and the God who blesses ..

Pastor Martyn




Scripture Reading:

1 Timothy 2:1-2

¹ I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, ⁴ who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

What Are We Listening to!!

As a church we are really blessed to have such a successful nursery, with over a 120 children and now needing more staff and space to grow, it really is amazing, God has been so good to us ...  but its not just a place where children learn - adults can learn too.

Let me explain, we regularly have students from college who come and spend some of their learning time with us, during their time with us we teach them some of the basic things that they need to know about the day to day care of the children, but we also teach them to speak to the children in a way that re-enforces positive behaviour and they are often amazed as the difference it makes ..

Just the other day as I was walking around nursery, some children were copying the things the staff said, others were mimicking their parents and as I listened I was reminded of a preacher I heard years ago talking about the effect that things that we listen too have upon us.

I was challenged again to think about the things I listen to! I wonder, have you ever been frustrated with yourself ... because of what you hear coming out of your own mouth?

In Luke 6:45 Jesus said that "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks". If you're focusing most of your attention on natural things - watching tv, maybe constantly worrying about your job, family, or maybe even your health, or the problems that you face then that's what you're going to talk about the most. If you want to deal with that frustration and move from fear and worry to a position of faith then what you need to do is refocus your attention. Turn your attention toward God's Word and keep it there.

In Joshua 1:8, Joshua is told not to let the Book of the Law (God's Word) to depart from his mouth ... in other words he has got to know it, speak about it and talk it !! Joshua was encouraged to do that at all times, not just when he felt good or felt spiritual ... no,  all the time, Why is that ... well Romans 10:17 tells us that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." So when you're continually talking about what God says in His Word, what He'll do, and what His promises are, you're going to be growing in faith because you're hearing the Word from yourself all the time. Now that's pretty exciting stuff? You can change what you're hearing and when you change what your hearing you change what your saying, You can move from fear to faith.

So start today to fill your heart with an abundance of the Word. Then listen as your mouth gets in line with what God says about you and your circumstances.

God bless
Pastor Martyn

Scripture Readings:

Luke 6:45

Joshua 1:8

Romans 10:17

So Many Things To Maintain

Mark 4:19
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful..

Have you ever realised that the things that sometimes seem innocent in your everyday life can crowd out your spiritual life if you allow them? Someone once said that the Lord told them in prayer one day that this nation had become a nation of maintenance men. "You have so many things to maintain," He said. "You maintain your house. You maintain your car, your garden, your machines, your hair...." It's true. You can become a maintainer of so many natural things that you don't have any time left to maintain your own spirit! When you find yourself in that situation, it's time to look at your life and simplify it. 

Over time I have had to learn that when I am considering something I think I need or want to do, I don't just count the cost in pounds and pence, but I also think about how much time it will take to maintain it. I check to see if I can spiritually afford it. Second Timothy 2:4 says, "Don't get entangled in the affairs of this life." One thing I've learned over the last 20 years: There are always things that come along and try and steal our time in prayer, in the Bible and with the Father .... 

Nothing is as important as spending time in prayer and in the Scriptures and with the Father. Absolutely nothing in my life is as vital as that. Remember Jesus words 

John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

God bless you as you take a little time to think about what your maintaining !!!

Pastor Martyn

Scripture Reading: 

Mark 4:18-24

John 15:1-8

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