Alpha@CoffeeRepublic week 2+3 summary.

Over the past two weeks we have gathered again at Coffee Republic.  Many of the guests have returned and we have been joined by a couple more.  The talks have looked at the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Looking at the different arguments that have been put about as an alternative reason for the empty to and then we looked a the reasons why these things do not hold water.  We then saw this week that Jesus died on the cross because this was and is the only way that man can once again have a relationship with the living God.  It's was and is the only way that we can be forgiven of the sin that controls us, the sin the condemns us and the sin that ultimately keeps us from knowing the Father.

It is fantastic to engage with peoples questions and objections and to show that being a follower of Jesus stands up to intense scrutiny.  Please keep praying for the course and that people would progress further in their journeys of discovering Jesus for themselves.

Alpha@CoffeeRepublic week 1 summary.

Tonight is week 2 of Alpha.  I cannot believe a whole week has gone by already.  Last week teh 5 of us who are on team, were joined in Coffee Republic by 9 guests. All of them are on different stages of their journey of discovery of Jesus.  It is always thrilling to see who will turn up and to hear something of their stories.  The first night is always kind of odd as it is the night where there seems to be an urgency for answer.  The big questions raise their heads and the main objections come to the table.  I try not to get too carried away with these things because as the course progresses we hit many of these things and we also enjoy the debate.

Last week we looked at the question 'Who was or is Jesus?'. Looking at the fact that there is historical evidence to support an historical figure called Jesus; looking at his claims that he made about himself, about the miracles and his teaching; and we stated that these are all things that point to the fact that Jesus was both man and God and he was indeed the Son of God the second person of the trinity. There was a lot of discussion both before and after the talk creating a great buzz in the place.

Tonight we gather to focus on the resurrection of Jesus.  'Did he really rise from the dead?' is the question in view.  I am looking forward to speaking and getting to know some of the guests more over a cup of coffee and a cake. If you would like to join us we are in Coffee Republic in Reading town centre from 8pm.  The talk will start at 8:30pm and we will be finished by 9:45pm.  (the talk isn't that long but we have time to discuss the talk!)

Leafleting

We are now 4000 in to getting the flyers out for the general advertising of the church.  Inspiring RFCers such as Kinga, Sam, Darren, Beka C, Dave, Elli, Silke, Lozi and Becca H have all come in and pounded the streets around South Street Arts Centre in faith that we will see new people coming along to progress in their journey with Jesus.  On top of that the office crew have also come alongside these guys and done a few of those 4000.  There are still 6000 still to get out - 6000 homes still to be reached, 6000 letterboxes still to open and close.  We would love you to have the joy of leafleting.  If you have a spare hour (alright, if you can find a spare hour!) it would be great to have you come in, collect a couple of hundred and then get them out.

We have also just received the flyers for the healing meeting.  I mentioned yesterday that we will be doing this in life groups and next Tuesday evening the life group leaders of RFC will be collecting their leafleting packs.  A map, several hundred flyers and a list of roads to conquer.

Both of these endeavours are about inviting people to come and meet Jesus.  To  encounter His power, His glory and His majesty.  When the people in Acts came into contact with the church, when they got in the midst of the people and saw Jesus at work they saw something that inspired them, they saw something that changed them, they saw something that brought them to Jesus.  that's why we are putting leaflets out, to invite people to come and see for themselves the community of Jesus enjoying Him and meeting him in a school hall and an arts centre.

Healing Meeting - Sunday May 23rd

It's now only 6 weeks till we have our healing meeting on Sunday 23rd May.  We have got a guy called Chris Kilby coming to us from Southampton.  He leads the Newfrontiers Church there called Life Church.  I always find Chris to be an inspiring guy to be around - he always has a story of kebab shops where he has just shared the gospel or people he has seen healed recently.  He has a great gift of connecting and communicating with people and explaining Jesus to them in stories.  He also has a growing healing ministry.  I am hoping that RFCers will get to meet Chris before the event as we have invited him to come and meet midweek with us in a couple of weeks time.

This is definitely a date to put in the diary.  For ourselves we need to be full of faith and expect that God will do amazing things through Chris' ministry.  We also need to be inviting as many people to come as possible - I know that they will find themselves in the presence of God on the morning.  We shall also be flyering the area around the school again as lifegroups.