CCK Life blog

Steve Horne is an Elder here at CCK and looks after a lot of the ministry teams. He lives in Moulsecoombe with his wife, Jane and they have four children together; Bethany, Tilly, Megan and Sam. Steve talks to Emily Sneyd about why he is passionate about his job, and why it’s not wise to eat a curry before running a marathon…

E.S: Hi Steve,  can you tell me how you came to be part of CCK?

S.H: Well, I grew up in Bognor Regis, and my wife, Jane grew up in Uckfield. I worked in London for a while as a student nurse and it was friends that I made through nursing that introduced me to Church. I eventually got saved and began to get involved with the Holy Trinity Brompton Church (HTB), and did the Alpha course there. I really wanted to get married to Jane but my friends advised me not to as she wasn’t a Christian at the time, plus Jane thought it was all a bit weird then! But shortly after, she got saved here in Brighton! We were married in Uckfield and then moved to Brighton and were recommended CCK by some friends.  In fact, even before we had considered it, Jane had dreams about the Church that we would be a part of and specifically had a vision of some steps, so when we walked through the main entrance of the Clarendon Centre and saw the stairs leading up to the main hall, we knew it was where we were meant to be! I was very happy because like HTB, CCK is a charismatic church, but mainly, we both felt led to be part of God’s Church in Brighton- and we’ve been here ever since!

E.S: Fantastic. Now what exactly are your responsibilities as an Elder at CCK?

S.H: I oversee the ‘Ground war’ teams which put simply, is all the ‘People’ ministries, so; Small groups, Zones, Youth work, Student work etc. and lots of other aspects of Family life such as Counselling and the Parenting course, and also the Social-action Zone. To make this all happen, I work to a lot of the other Elders and leaders in the church, like fellow Elders, Steve Walford and Matt Davis, and I oversee a lot of different teams.

E.S: That’s a lot of things to take care of!

S.H: I guess I’ve always focused on the Church in Acts: 2 – it shows an incredible community of Jesus-loving people, looking after itself in pursuing the right things, and consequently, being added to daily. To enable this, we need to be a big presence on Sundays with our three meetings and be a real voice to the City.  But equally as important is the need to back that up with a strong community that is attractive to the people of Brighton & Hove who don’t know who we are yet. My passion is to see people saved- I love the gospel, and love to see people led to Christ. I am fully behind Joel (our lead Elder) in what he is preaching, and where he is leading us.

E.S: What motivates you as a person?

S.H: My wonderful wife and kids, as well Joel’s vision for the Church and City- what he sees and wants for us as a Church. I also love learning from the great men around me at Church. I have made sure over the years that I’ve seized every opportunity to work with as many of them as I can (like Peter Brooks, John Hosier, Peter Lyndon and Dave Fellingham etc.). They’re amazing men, and I’ve learned so much from them and continue to do so, they’re all influences of mine.

E.S: Any bad habits!?

S.H: I am absolutely terrible with names, which is quite unfortunate being a pastoral elder!  I’m also quite impulsive and talkative so there’s times when I’ve said completely the wrong thing at the wrong time…

E.S: Haha, that must be a source of some amusement at times! What’s playing on your ipod at the moment?

S.H: Everything! I’ve got some of our home-bred talent, Phatfish on there, as well as Delirious? And of course, some Queen! I’ve got a lot of dance music on there which I listen to while I’m running. I’m training for the Brighton marathon at the moment which is hard work but I really enjoy it- I’m on week 15 of the training programme at the moment so I’m getting there. I’ve done a marathon before and learnt some lessons the hard way -I ate a curry for lunch and then tried to run 23 miles, which in retrospect wasn’t the wisest plan… This year, I’ll know better.

Thanks Steve, we’ll be rooting for you at the marathon in April!

When: 21st – 23rd May. Friday evening till Sunday afternoon.
Where: Chantmarle Christian Resource Centre, Dorset. DT2 0HD.
Prices: £58, £40 for 18’s and under
You can book a space on the CCK Coach for just £22

At CCK we want to gather men to a sense of mission and purpose. We want to build a church where men have their identity truly rooted in Christ and their focus on something eternal.

What we need at CCK and what the church around the world needs is Godly men, not just for the sake of the men themselves but for all. For men to become who they are intended to be by God will have enormous ramifications for the church and for our city.

Please book in today for our Men’s Weekend. It will be a hugely worthwhile time of hearing from God, worshipping together and spending lots of time with other men in the church.

We are really honoured to have two gifted teachers joining us; Matt Hosier (Gateway Church, Poole) and Rory Dyer (Glenridge Church International, Durban, South Africa). I trust both Matt and Rory will be a huge help to us.

Spaces are limited so I encourage you to book in promptly. Please note you can book in today but we won’t take the money from your account till May so don’t worry about the cashflow!

Joel Virgo

Amy Loizides arrived in Brighton 2 years ago to serve on CCK’s Impact team for a year. She then worked as part of the Administrative team, led by Annie Waller.  She has just left Brighton to return to South Africa before moving to America to be involved with a church there. Amy shares with Yohaan Philip about her relationship with Jesus along with some of her memories of life in Brighton.

YP: Tell me about how you came to know Jesus.

AL: Well….! I grew up in a Christian home but as happens with a lot of people, the older I got the less important Jesus was to me and things like popularity, boys, image, parties etc got more and more important. In Cape Town, South Africa (where I grew up) every year Newfrontiers ran a Summer Camp (sort of like Newday but on a smaller scale) for the youth of the churches in our area. I went every single year and every time I went I’d get all fired up for God again; I’d be really excited about the whole thing, but then two weeks later when I went back to school, I’d go straight back into my old habits – partying, gossiping, drinking and all that. Then I arranged to come to England to find a job after I finished school when I was 18 but nothing opened up! So I emailed Joel Virgo and asked if I could come to Brighton (because that was one of the few places in England I actually remembered!) and volunteer at CCK for a little bit while I looked for a job. He said no to my idea because he had a better one – he said I should do Impact for six months at CCK instead! Then on the plane on the way over I was thinking about how messy everything had gotten in my life and how much it had hurt me and I just said “Right God, I swore I’d never go to England yet I’m on a plane to England and I swore I’d never work for the church yet I’m on my way to do six months at CCK, so it seems you’ve got me right where you want me.” There was no point fighting it anymore and pursuing other things so right then and there I just surrendered my life once again to whatever God had in store for me and honestly there wasn’t anything better that I could have done or will ever do.

YP: Lovely story! So why are you leaving Brighton then?!

AL: Haha the million dollar question… In short I feel like Brighton has been sort of a stepping stone, a ‘launch pad’ if you like in the time that I’ve been here. CCK is a great place to come, get stuck in, be a part of, be trained up and move on to advance the gospel further in other parts of the world. So I’m going to North Carolina, USA for a few months…as you do. After that, who knows!

YP: What have been some of the key things you’ve learnt whilst at CCK?

AL: Man this is hard because literally my whole life has changed! Umm…

To try and do everything with your best effort – because ultimately even if you aren’t working for the church, you are working for God and so it’s worth it to get stuck in wholeheartedly and get involved wherever you can.

To trust God completely with everything no matter how big or little it seems. God’s faithfulness shouldn’t surprise me, but it always does. He might not answer or provide in the way you expect him to, but it will always be the way that’s best for you and He will never ignore you.

YP: What are some of the things you’re going to miss?

AL: I sometimes grumble about Brighton but to be absolutely honest there is not a place in the world like it. I will miss walking down the road and seeing a man with blue hair, a tie dye dress, piercings everywhere walking barefoot in the pouring rain. I will miss the Red Roaster coffee house (just by the Old Steine – visit if you haven’t already!). I will really miss the amazing friends I’ve made and the ladies (plus a few boys) who work on the admin team at CCK - they do so much that goes unnoticed, true gems!

YP: Yes they are stars! All the best then and hopefully we’ll see you soon!

Phil Turner is part of the leadership CCK Team and is primarily involved with running the Alpha Course. He is married to Mel and they have 5 children. Phil is very passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and in this interview he talks openly with Yohaan Philip about why and how he came to be so excited about Jesus.

YP: Can you tell me a little about how you came to know Jesus?

PT: Before I became a Christian I worked at Lloyds TSB for 17 years. I wanted to build a career, get promotions, good money, a flat, a car etc  and find some sort of safety and security in my life. I hoped for the day I’d be really happy and never look back. But, the problem was that inside it was like a storm that I couldn’t get away from. I had great parents and a safe home. But there was an inner turmoil in me and as I strove for these things , even if I did get them, it left me feeling more empty, more fearful, more anxious about what the future had in store. I turned to astrology, trying to find out what the future had in store. I wanted to be happy, but never was.

After a broken relationship, a storm took place in my life that really crushed me. My safety nets were collapsing and I didn’t know where to turn to. I turned to alcohol and clubbing, trying to find a way to escape the reality of the world, thinking I’d find freedom and happiness. But the problem was that the next day I was back into the reality of everyday life. One Friday night, I remember being down in a night club on West Street with this storm really raging inside of me. I had never read the Bible at this point and was far from any understanding or looking for any form of God. And that Friday night I just said, “Jesus, I really need your help. Can you help me?” Then, this Christian friend of mine started talking about Jesus to me. I had always envied his life – whatever storms that seemed to surround him, it never seemed to affect his peace or happiness or security. I never had any security. He invited me along to CCK to a Paul Oakley concert one Friday night. I saw people worshipping and putting their hands up. Initially it seemed a bit strange, but one thing I noticed as I came out of the meeting was that these people seemed to know Jesus personally and have a depth to them. My life with all it’s clubbing and pubbing seemed very superficial. People I met made friends based on star signs. But at the church, I found a kind of safety that I had never experienced before. It was quite remarkable.

That lead me on a request to discover this Jesus. I read the Bible and the thing that nailed me was the resurrection of Jesus. There were over 500 witnesses that claimed that Jesus came to them. I realized that Jesus was really alive. On the 8^th of October 1993, I became a follower of Jesus. I’ve never been the same since.

YP: Wow! That’s quite a story. So how did you become involved with CCK?

PT: I quit Lloyds TSB about 6 years ago and had an opportunity to work at a training consultancy. The advantage of that was that I got the same pay as Lloyds, but had to work for only 2 weeks a month. I made a decision to serve and help CCK more during my free time. As soon as I became a Christian I felt that that God would call me to work full time for Him in a Church as an “Evangelist.” I didn’t know what an Evangelist was at the time. All I knew was that God put a passion in me to tell everyone about Jesus. The day after I became a Christian I went back to Lloyds and told everyone about Jesus and earned the nickname, ‘Phil the Baptist’! I worked for the consultancy for 3 years and during those 3 years, I felt my passion for the Lord grow and I learned to pray and to seek Him and to serve. At the end of the 3 years, work dried up at the training consultancy. By this time my family was growing. God spoke to me amazingly at Northampton one day that I would never work for that company again. A few days later the consultancy called me to say they were making me redundant. In the year 2000, a preacher from India, Ram Babu, came and told us (CCK) that he had never had to find a job and God had provided for all his and his family’s needs as he travelled India and the world talking about Jesus. When I heard this, I turned to my wife, Mel, and whispered to her asking her if she thought we could live this way and trust God to provide for our every need. And so, when I got made redundant, I decided to serve God and the Church full time and trust God to provide for our every need.

During that period, the provision of God was extraordinary. We learned to pray together as a family. There were times when we were so hungry and had no petrol for the car day – we were right down to the wire. We were living on baked beans. One time, the mortgage was due the next day. We all prayed as a family and a thousand pounds came through the doorway! God provided! We have lovely stories of how God used our children. One night my oldest daughter, Molly, had a dream where God told her that someone would put money through the door next day – and it happened!! We did endure some suffering, but we knew that God loved us. So during that period we grew closer as a family and learned to trust the plan God has for our lives and to follow Him in obedience. There were sometimes when we were fearful but we felt God’s love for us every time.

YP: So would you encourage people to live like this?

PT: You need to really know the call of God on your life to do this! But there are so many areas in life you need to step out of the boat and just follow Him. You don’t want to be irresponsible in this. You need to have a peace of heart and faith to know God’s in this.

YP: Tell me more about the Alpha Course you run?

PT: initially I used to be involved with Alpha on the estates, but then more recently, we’ve gathered all our resources and shifted all our Alpha courses to the heart of Brighton city. This is the 3^rd Alpha course we’ve run under my leadership in the city. It’s going fantastically well. Last week I shared on the resurrection of Jesus which is a passion of mine! We complete on the 8^th of December with a Christmas celebration. We want the alpha course to be more than just a place where people can make new relationships and discover Jesus. We want them to get stuck into Church and really grow in their faith. The next Alpha starts in spring next year.

YP: What are some of the influences in your life? What keeps you ticking?
PT: One of the major influences in my life has been a guy called Mike Springer. He was passionate about talking about Jesus. When I first began come to Church he took me under his wing and had a huge impact on me. Ram Babu, from India, is another one. I’d never seen a miracle before! But through people being miraculously healed, I saw God working through him. Joel Virgo coming in has made a huge difference in the vision of the church. Tim Keller is another huge hero of mine. Sharing Jesus in a city is a lot more complex than what I gave credit for. I have found his teachings on engaging people and honouring and then challenging their objections very helpful.

I think what ultimately keeps me going is to keep going back to the cross and the resurrection. Everyday.

And we’re on to the final day of Newday 2009. The thunderous applause continues..

Main Session 10: Stu Gibbs – Baptism

Matt 28:18-20

For the final preaching session, Stu preached on Baptism from the Jesus’ Great Commission. He spoke about how baptism should be a powerful start to your walk with God and that it should add a new dimension to your spiritual life.

Baptism is about.. grace

• We are washed from our sins (Acts 22:16)
• We were dead, but are have now been made alive (Col 2:12)
• We have been rescued from judgment (1 Cor 20:2; 1 Pet 3:21)

Baptism is about.. obedience

• “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:20)
• Jesus’ 2 commandments (Matt 22:37-40)

Baptism = grace + obedience = power

Power to resist lawlessness (Titus 2:14 )

Baptism is about.. making disciples

• “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19)

Main Session 11: Prayer Night

Joel Virgo hosted a session of prayer and worship as we closed Newday in style!

Some of the key things we prayed for were:

• The revelation of God and the ‘drumming out’ of the fear of man
• England and young people and children in England
• The Government
• Becoming influencers
• Friends who aren’t Christians (7,000 Newday delegates  * 1 finger for each friend = 70,000 people prayed for!)
• The Church
• Youth groups and youth leaders
• International break through of the Gospel in places where Christianity is forbidden
• The mammoth offering raised to be used to serve God’s Kingdom!

We closed Newday singing with the 100% confidence that  only a Christian has about what’s going to happen in the future. A generation is emerging.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon you
Because He has anointed you to preach good news
The Spirit of the Sovereign God is upon you
Because He has anointed you to preach good news
He has sent you to the poor
This is the year
To bind up the broken-hearted
This is the day
To bring freedom to the captives
This is the year
And to release the ones in darkness

This is the year of the favor of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God
This is the year of the favor of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon us
Because He has anointed us to preach good news
The Spirit of the Sovereign God is upon us
Because He has anointed us to preach good news
He will comfort all who mourn
This is the year
He will provide for those who grieve in Zion
This is the day
He will pour out the oil of gladness
This is the year
Instead of mourning, you will praise the name of God

Another epic day! Over 300 people were healed from various ailments including a blind girl, a deaf girl and a girl with a 15 year allergy to egg! And at the time of this post being written, over 350 people had responded to the gospel and the numbers were still coming in! God is moving very powerfully at The Norfolk Show Ground. One would have thought that the decibel levels would have come down considerably after 5 days of pushing the level, but they haven’t!! There was thunderous applause and shouts as the mighty work of the cross of  Jesus was revealed and glorified.

Main Session 8: Joel Virgo – Peter: Offended by Jesus

Acts 10:1-48

Jesus’ final instructions to the disciples was to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. During His life time, He had preached about the Gentiles (non-Jews) being added to His Kingdom. But Peter hadn’t grasped that completely. He had stayed in his comfort zone and preached only to the Jews. God had to literally kick him out of his sleep and command him to take the gospel to the Gentiles. It is not sufficient to desire to stay in the presence of the glory of God, but we are meant to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the world.

3 reasons why Peter struggled with taking the gospel to the Gentiles:

1. Peter was a religious and legalistic. Christianity is not about making rules on what you can and what you cannot do. Do whatever you do to glorify God and with a clean conscience. Be careful of doing anything that distracts you from following Jesus.

2. Peter was a racist. Separate cultural things from things of Scripture. Just because it is done one way in your culture, that doesn’t mean it must transcend all other cultures, unless it is in accordance with Scripture.

3. Peter wanted comfort. Jesus will ask us to do things that are uncomfortable so that we don’t worship comfort. There are 1000’s of unreached people’s groups that need to hear the Gospel of Jesus.

Trust God, go to the ends of the earth, and the Spirit will comfort you.

Main Session 9: Adrain Holloway – The Lost Son and the Loving Father

What a time! Adrian interspersed worship time with a time of powerful testimonies of people who had been saved at Newday 2008, prayer for healing and testimonies of people who were healed! The atmosphere was electric.

From the parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11-32), Adrian illustrated the gulf that had been created between man and God by sin. Adrian used his trademark (and keenly anticipated) props – two sets of stairs, a connecting bridge and a cross. Man was created to be in relationship with God. Jesus died on the cross to bridge the gap man’s rebellion had created. The love of the Father, His encouragement and keenness that we draw near to Him and the price that Jesus paid for us to come back were Adrian’s key messages.

Over 350 young people responded to the Gospel as the rest of us wildly cheered them on and celebrated exuberantly their restoration with our Father. You had to be there!

And what a day it has been!! We’re seeing such an outbreak of God’s presence amongst those calling on His name that words cannot do justice to what’s going on! If you’re child’s here, they’re probably going to come back transformed. GOD IS AT WORK at Newday and as you can see, I’m bubbling with excitement! I live to see God work in people’s lives. I thrive on these moments. Jesus is being glorified!

Main Session 6: Joel Virgo – Peter: Restored by God

Mark 14:26-31,6-72

From this incredible story of Peter’s boast of his loyalty and his ultimate denial of Jesus, Joel, urged us not to be proud about who we are and to approach God, broken for His will in our lives.

Peter, who later wrote urging us to be on our guard against the prowling lion (the devil), had been shown how desperately he needed God. Satan had asked God if he could sift Peter, but Jesus had prayed for Peter. Sifting is the separating of the wheat from the chaff.

God knows how frail and fragile we are. As a father has compassion over his children, so our heavenly Father has compassion on those who fear Him.

At Newday, most of us our on a spiritual high as we encounter God and as He places ambitions and plans on our hearts. When times of testing follow, remember that you are not the hero of your story, Jesus is.

The evening session began with worship lead by Simon Brading, who was joined on stage by crowd favorites, The 29th Chapter! People went wild as soon as they appeared on stage on joined with Simon and the band to do their popular rendition of ‘Our God He reigns‘. What amazed me the most though was that in spite of the song being not your typical worship song, we never lost our sense of worshipping Jesus.

Main Session 7: Mike Pilavachi – Filled with the Holy Spirit

Ezek 47:1-12

The crowd roared with anticipation as Mike took the pulpit to preach again. Mike seems to have become a very popular speaker as he brings his depth of understanding of the Word along with a very dramatic sense of humour to the stage. We loved him!

Last night after Mike preached, we spent some time waiting on the Holy Spirit. And the presence of God came! What followed was, well, not normal! You had people crying in one corner, laughing in another, doubling over groaning, jumping, dancing. Mike sought to explain what had happened or rather, to explain why he couldn’t!

From Ezekiel 47, Mike explained how the river that flowed from the altar of God’s Temple was an indication of the Spirit that flowed from the altar of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. There can be no Pentecost without Calvary. The Spirit is a gift from the Father through His Son. We don’t earn Him. The Spirit often comes to us in our weakness and brokenness rather than in strength and achievement. It is never about how good you are, but how good Jesus is. The destination of the river is the world. It moves to makes things fresh, to create things new.

The imagery in Ezekiel’s prophesy is about stepping of the ground and releasing control. God’s plan is for the Spirit to be completely in control We can’t call Him ‘Lord’ and then proced to do what we want to. When we invite Him, He comes to us and takes complete control.

God dwells in us by His Spirit. Through His indwelling, His gifts are released in us. It’s not about wearing the badge of the gifts of the Spirit, but about it being a power to take the gospel to the world.

The Holy Spirit points us to Jesus. We must be people of the Word and the Spirit is we want to grow in our understanding of Jesus.

Gig Review: 29th Chapter

By Jotham Oakley

29th Chapter will be remembered by many for the famous ‘Jesus Rocks’ rap last year with Simon Brading. It would appear that they have built on that success as the gig venue was possibly at its fullest yet. A solid start to the gig rolled into a slower mid-section which could have been seen by some as a surprise. But as a result the energy of the crowd was saved for the end of the gig in which the band performed their new single ‘Invincible’. Bright lights, active on-stage dancing and impressive crowd partciption meant that fans left the venue buzzing with energy.

Day 3 and energy levels are still going through the roof! The weather has been impeccable! Sunny all through the day – a rare occurance for the likes of Newday! The return of a dear friend, an outstanding preacher and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit characterized today.

Main Session 4: Joel Virgo – Peter: Renamed by Jesus

Matt 16:13-23

Jesus is about to unveil the big plan. ‘I will build my Church..’ is Jesus’ mission in a nutshell. The Greek word for Church implies the rulers or the governing body of a city. We are called to be rulers and to shape the culture we live in. We are called to bring righteousness and justice and rightness and goodness and Gods ways to whatever context we are in. We need to understand how great and what the significance of the Church is.  Jesus see’s the Church as His plan A.

The rock on which Jesus will build His Church is

• the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
• On leadership gifts and people

Never rebuke God! Fight temptation and sin. Stay focused and committed to the mission we have been called to.

The evening session began with worship lead by Matt Redman. And how we celebrated and worshiped God!

Main Session 5: Mike Pilavachi – Jesus in the Old Testament

Mike, who is a part of Soul Survivor, had us in splits and yet awe struck as he brought in revelation after revelation about Jesus Christ. You don’t want to miss watching this preach online!

Mike preached about Jesus is the central character of the whole Bible especially the Old Testament. Through the pre- Christ scripture, we see hints and clues which point towards the ultimate treasure which is revealed on the cross.

Genesis 6:5-9 – Noah is a type of Jesus, who was blameless, righteous and walked with God. Through His death, He provided for us an ark of salvation in which we can take refuge from God’s judgment.

Genesis 22 – Jerusalem was later built at the center of the region of Mount Moriah – the mountain on which Abraham went to sacrifice Issac. The Lord ultimately provided the lamb to take away the sin of the world.

Joseph – Was sold for the price of a slave by evil men, went into a dungeon of death, came across 2 criminals – one died, the other was saved, he then came out and was seated at the right hand of the most powerful man in Egypt and under his rule the land prospered. Much like our Savior.

Ex 32:31-33 – Moses was willing to be blotted out  from God’s book in place of the Israelites. Jesus was forsaken by God on the cross in place of us sinners.

David – He was born in Bethlehem, was a shepard, an evil king wanted to kill him, he beat an evil giant that was oppressing his people. Once again, much like our Savior!

Jesus is all over the Bible! Find Him!

Gig Review: Verra Cruz

By Jotham Oakley

Verra Cruz have apeared at Newday before, and this time, the crowd appeared even more up for it. Despite there being only three of them, big sound and impressive lights ensured that there was little lack of interest on stage. With their blues/rock feel and some big crowd vocals, the band produced a set that was musically similar to the likes of Kings of Leon. Good arrangements and melodies proved that this band has a category of good songs and with their full guitar, big drums and a healthy dose of bass,  the trio should feel they performed a successful gig.

Main Session 2: Joel Virgo – Peter: Mind Blown by Jesus

Luke 5:1-11

Joel began the first of his four part series titled The Life of Peter: Best Friends with Jesus.

When Peter realized who the man who had just given him advice was, he fell at Jesus’ knees. Peter had just encountered God in flesh. He did not seek to buy Jesus’ services for his fishing trade. Peter saw beyond the practical and saw the state of his soul. Holiness shocks the human heart. When Isaiah saw God, he was undone.

Though we are made in the image of God, we don’t have the right to make God in our image. We shrink God. But God is meant to be feared. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:31) This doesn’t fit nicely with out strawberry flavoured Christianity. Every man fears. The question is ‘ what are you frightened of?’

Only God can tell you not to fear Him. The more you fear God, the less frightened you become. That is because God’s turning that fear into sweet trust in Him. Perfect love casts out all fear. (1 John4:18)

Newday is all about a people who are dominated by Jesus!

Main Session 3: Stef Liston – Giving Forgiveness

Matt 6:9-15; 18:21-35

Stef began by pointing out the emphasis Jesus placed on forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer. It is on the cross that broken relationships are dealt with.  He then used the parable of the unmerciful servant to point out the high importance of forgiving.

1. The incomparable difference in the nature of God’s forgiveness and our’s

The current financial equivalent of the debt that the unmerciful servant owed the king and what his servant owed him was £8,000 to 1 p! We, even though we are sinful, struggle to forgive. We can never understand what sin does to God. God is appalled by sin. God is always the chiefly offended party by sin. The extent that God went to sin was separation from His Beloved Son as He hung on the cross.

2. For a believer to hold on to unforgiveness is an outrage

If you don’t forgive, it indicates that you haven’t understood what you have received – God’s mercy. Forgiveness is not about saying ‘it’s ok’, but, it’s saying you ave wronged me but I release you from it.

Unforgiveness leads to resentment, bitterness, revenge, rage, cynicism..

3. Forgive from the heart

Biblicaly, the heart is the seat of your emotions. We are called to completely forgive. When we forgive, God comes in and heals and restores (Psalm 147:2-3).

On the cross, Jesus forgave.

Take off the lid and let the Holy Spirit in to deal with it.

Gig Review- Portland

By Jotham Oakley

Portland arrived on stage yesterday to perform a set that wouldn’t have been amiss on a sunny afternoon at Glastonbury. The crowd watched on from the floor as groups sat down to listen to the mellow music. With a mix of acoustic brilliance, backing vocals and soft rhythm they delivered a performance that was pleasing to the ear and interesting to watch. Here was a band who really showed how to produce the feel-good factor.

And we’re finally here! And what a start to the event! Thunderous applause preceded our very own Joel Virgo as he took the stage to open Newday 2009. Jesus was about to be glorified by about 7,000 young people at The Norfolk Show Ground! CCK’s Simon Brading then lead a very charged worship time which regularily featured rapturous applause as truth after truth was sung about our Lord.

Main Session 1: Stef Liston – Receiving Forgiveness

Charismatic preacher, Stef Liston kicked off  with the first of his two part preach series on Forgiveness. He began by appealing to those who were on the verge of leaving the meeting to stay on and soak in the presence of God and the transforming truths of His Bible.

Forgiveness, he exhorted us, is the key to the difference between surviving and overcoming in this life.

1. Our greatest need – to be in a relationship with God (Gen 1:26-27)

We have been created in the image of God and God burns to see His image reflected in you. We are made for close intimacy and relatinship with our God. It i by His Holy Spirit, that what’s in the Bible is ‘blasted’ into our hearts and you just know that God loves you.

2. Our greatest problem – sin (Gen 3:1-6)

Sin is anything that is contrary to the nature and perfections of God. All sin is ultimately against God. God cannot just sweep sin under the carpet because He is holy. And for that we need forgiveness for our sins and our sinfulness. So He sent His Son to crush the devil’s head on the cross. (Col 2:15)

Stef concluded his preach by pointing us to 1 John 1:8-9 and the forgiveness we receive when we confess our sins.

Gigs: Four Kornerz

By Jotham Oakley

Four Kornez arrived at Newday to perform an energetic set that had hundreds of fans jumping and dancing. With their unique blend of dance/hip-hop/reggae and trilby hats, they provided songs of both Biblical truth and musical genius. As far as the sound was concerned, they proved their skill on their instruments, played tightly as a group and, to add to the experience, the crowd participation kept the fans involved rght until the end. A fun night was had by all.