On Friday I was on my way home from a baby group at a friend’s house, when I got to the bus stop I saw that I had just missed my bus and would have to wait half an hour for the next one. I began thinking “What is this all about, why has this happened? Perhaps there is someone God wants me to meet on the next bus”.

An elderly gentleman then came to wait at the bus stop and began talking to me. We chit chatted at first about the weather and other general things and eventually he began to tell me that he was very ill and had a brain tumour. He explained he had a very good doctor and was due to have an operation on his tumour in the New Year.

In the back of my mind I was thinking “I should really pray for this man” but the conversation quickly moved on and I felt I had missed my chance. I made a deal with God “okay if this man mentions his brain tumour again I will offer to pray for him”.

After a couple of minutes the man started talking about his operation again and how scared he was of this tumour so I told him that I believed in a God who could heal and that a friend of mine from church had been healed from lung cancer after we had prayed for him.

The man was amazed and asked if I would “say a little prayer for him too”. This was my chance offered on a plate!

I told him I could pray for him then and there at the bus stop if he wanted and he said that would be great. I prayed God’s healing over his life and he was very verbal, agreeing with everything I was praying as I was saying it!

Afterwards he seemed happy and was very grateful, thanking me for my “kindness”. Just after I had finished praying his bus arrived and he carried on his journey. Obviously this was what missing my bus was about, a divine appointment God had in store in what was otherwise a very normal Friday afternoon! God was able to use me simply because I was open to him when my schedule was seemingly interrupted.

Laura Whillans

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in[to] him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, parentheses added)

Richard exhorted us last Sunday that when we first believed in Jesus we didn’t merely acknowledge his existence but rather we believed into him. We were born again and began to live the life we were always intended to live – the life of Christ.

“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6)

We have an obligation as God’s people to abide in Christ and the promise that as we do so we will walk as he walked and live as he lived and even do greater things than he did (John 14:12). To abide in Christ is to live in a way that does not offend him, walking in obedience to him and by being continually filled with his Spirit. As we abide in him we allow our lives to be embedded with his life and perfumed with his fragrance even as we are transformed into his image.

As God’s people we are called to be as he is in this world (1 John 4:17). We are called to be his presence here on earth, bringing his rule and reign into the very fabric of the society and culture in which we live.

We are called to be his light to those living in darkness, his voice of hope to those who have no hope and his hand of blessing to those in need. Let us live the life we were always intended to live, a life of greater works, as we continue to abide in him and follow him in all that we do.

“It is not enough to believe ‘in’ Christ, with mere mental acceptance of the facts of his life, or truths of his teaching. We must believe ‘into’ Christ. We must be moved by heartfelt faith out of ourselves and into Christ, out of our sin and into his righteousness, out of our weakness and into his power, out of our failure and into his victory, out of our limitations and into his omnipotence. This true scriptural faith of the heart always produces change and transformation.” (Derek Prince, Foundation Series, Sovereign World, 1986, p115)

Reuben Cole

Following on from the success of last month’s Women’s VIP night, King’s Church hosted a similar event for men this week. The night proved to be a great success as men in the most desperate of situations experienced the extravagant love and kindness of Christ expressed by His Church.

Our guests were treated to live entertainment and great food as well as the opportunity to get a stylish new haircut. Clothes, blankets and toiletries donated by the Church were made freely available for the men to personally choose for themselves.

VIP nights are all about being able to introduce poor and underprivileged people to the risen Jesus, the hope of the world.

No matter how hopeless, broken or crushed a person’s life may be, the love of Jesus is able to completely restore them to the quality of life they were always meant to have – life in abundance!

On the night, two men shared their testimonies of how Jesus had personally rescued them from lives characterised by crime, violence, alcoholism and general despair. I was personally overwhelmed by how much their lives had changed since giving their lives to Jesus. It just goes to show that nobody is beyond God’s saving grace!

I really enjoyed being able to meet so many great new people who I hope to see again. The Lord reigns let the earth rejoice!

Ben Matheson

For more pictures of our recent Men’s VIP Night, click here to see the full gallery of pictures.

Last Friday at Amplify, we had Gavin White, one of the elders in King’s Church, talk to us about Politics and the Church. It was a really fun and interactive session that got us thinking about our roles as Christian in the society that we live in.

We started off with a quiz, with questions like ‘Who is the manager of Manchester City FC?’ and ‘Who is the lead singer of U2?’

The purpose of the quiz was to show that knowing the world around us and keeping up to date with current affairs is important in order for us to change it. We were encouraged to be like the men of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 who ‘understood the times, and knew what Israel should do‘.

Gavin referred to the Parable of the Yeast in Matthew 13. As Christians, we are called to be like yeast that has an pervasive impact on our world (the dough/bread).

He also encouraged us with the fact that to make an impact on the world around us, we have to make contact. To reap the harvest, we have to be close enough to touch it. Therefore we are not to be taken out of the world (John 17:15) but we are to permeate it, infiltrate it, and change it.

We got into groups and talked about issues we are passionate about, how the church can address it and what we can practically do now to work towards it.

Many talked about child poverty, education, restoring families and immigration. We were encouraged to follow Jesus’s example of relating to the world, which is living a life of integrity and honesty, changing the hearts and minds of people around us and influencing society with truth and grace.

There was plenty of insight on what ‘right’ and ‘left’ means in politics, and Gavin also gave us a Politics 101 on what the three main British political parties represent. There was also a mock election where no one was allowed to abstain from voting.

I came away from the night learning that the gospel of Jesus Christ demands that we get involved in the life of society. We are to engage and change the world around us, not escape into our holy huddles, as prayer should fuel us into action.

Being radical is not the same as social rebellion, rather, it is to present a heavenly alternative to the world around us. Practical examples include washing the tea cups in the office, or not gossiping about the boss when everyone else is.

I was totally blessed by what Gavin shared, and encourage you to radically influence the area and culture God has placed you in.

Wan Phing Lim

“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’. At once they left their nets and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:19-20)

Following Jesus is not something to be assumed. It involves action. It means “keep close to me, do nothing without me, don’t separate yourself from me”. This means “following in His direction and walking in His steps”. It means living in accordance with the word of God. It means being led by the Holy Spirit always in all situations.

Growth in life and in the knowledge of God comes as we obey Him. We saw men like Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John acting at once to obey him. The practical implication of this is that they left behind their nets, boats and even the lake to follow Him. Partial obedience is no obedience. Obedience to the Lord and His word gives us practical experience and spiritual maturity.

As we walk in obedience to God’s word, the Lord is drawn towards us. A deep and a progressive learning from and submission to the word of God is therefore necessary in knowing God and obtaining the things of the kingdom.

God’s purpose for instructing us to follow Jesus is to make us conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, something which cannot happen otherwise or overnight. It is therefore important that we follow Jesus not for one or two years, but continuously throughout our lifetime knowing that He is the author and perfecter of our faith.

The Lord wants to prosper us in his purpose and will. He wants us to preach the good news of the kingdom, and heal every disease and sickness among the people (Matthew 4:23). It is as we follow him that the Holy Spirit will work in us to achieve His purpose here on earth.

Kofo Bolarin

The Youth from King’s Church were in Stoney Stanton, Leicester on the 24th of October, where we met with other youth groups from our related churches across the country.

The aim of the day was to encourage our young people to love Jesus with their whole being, dream big and to let themselves be conduits through which the Kingdom of God would influence this world.

It was a day hallmarked with the exuberance of youth as friends from across the country were reacquainted. It was a day characterised by encounters with God as we worshipped Jesus together. During one of these times of worship, one of our youth said to me that he felt Jesus had removed a weight off his shoulders.

We also heard from men and women of God who had spent time with God in order to communicate His heart to the youth. We were inspired through hearing about how Jesus impacted the generations of Joseph, Esther and Daniel, through these heroes of the Kingdom of God.

God then spoke to us through a prophetic word saying to give Him everything we are in return for everything He is; this He said was necessary for the youth to go and influence this generation for the Kingdom of God.

On the day, there were also seminars held on different spheres of society, like media, engineering and architecture, music and entertainment and science and medicine to mention a few. These seminars were led by men and women of God, some of them were from part of the King’s Church family like Wan Phing Lim, Gavin White, and Tunde & Sumbo Campbell.

The excitement of our youths for these seminars was very encouraging as they found out how they can influence these areas for Jesus and make practical steps towards those goals. Afterwards, one of our young people said to me she now realises how God had been leading her into the medical field.

Perhaps the most encouraging of the testimonies was how the youth groups from Manchester, Oldham and Salford had such a good day together. They were really well behaved throughout the day and the Holy Spirit really impacted all their lives in various ways. They were a real witness and example to what God is doing in their lives and demonstrated how they can be different and distinct from the youth in the world all around them by how they live wholeheartedly for Jesus and His glorious Kingdom.

This really is exciting times working with the youth of this nation as it becomes more and more evident that God is raising up His Kingdom generation for His Kingdom purposes.

Oladapo Owo