“The Spirit of God has made me, & the breath of the Almighty gives me life” – Job 33:4 (ESV)

We met on Monday night this week to pray as a worship group together for the Alive! Easter Concert at Bridgewater Hall on Sunday April 4th. It was good to pray together and break bread with one another for what we know is going to be a life-changing event for all who attend in April.

One aspect that God spoke to us as we were praying was to know that we are full of the life of Jesus as His People. He is ‘Christ in us, the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27). As we sing, play and minister on the evening, it’s the life of Jesus in us that will speak, impact and witness to those that attend.

As God’s people, we are containers of the life of Jesus and He wants this life to overflow out of our lives to the city around us. We have many opportunities to do this in our daily lives as we work, study and spend time with our friends and families. We are called and sent as the covenant community of God to take the life of Jesus to the world.

We can minister this kingdom life in many ways; by bringing healing to those that are sick, food to those that are hungry, salvation to those that are lost and compassion to those in need and in many other ways as we are led by the Spirit.

As we lift up the name of Jesus through our daily lives of worship and at special events such as the Easter Concert, He will draw men and women, young and old, to himself. There is something so magnetically attractive about the genuine, powerful and authentic life of Jesus being seen in the church.

Let’s take this life to those all around us. Let’s invite our friends and families to the Easter Concert to see and hear about the life of Jesus Christ. Let’s sing about, speak of and demonstrate the wonderful restoring life of Jesus in all we do.

Gavin White

Flyers are available for the Easter Concert at the Reception and on the Help Desk at King’s House.

Tickets can be purchased via the Bridgewater Hall Box Office at www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk or by ringing 0161 907 9000. Booking fee applies to tickets purchased via phone or internet. No booking fee applies when bought in person at the Box Office.

We are happy to inform you that we have served 5,870 families affected by the three typhoons – Sante, Pepeng and Ondoy. We have reached out to nine cities in Metro Manila and two municipalities in the province of Cavite. The affected families were moved to the different evacuation centers, while others stayed in their houses which are floating in water and mud.

Our relief operations were done in coordination with the local government officials and the pastors of the local Christian churches. It was good to see people touched by the gospel every time we would share the goodness of God, and also show a demonstration of His love through the work that we are doing. You can see the faces of the people, some teary-eyed and some full of hope even in the midst of their difficult situations. We provided sleeping mats, blankets, towels, complete set of kitchen utensils, boots, assorted groceries like rice, noodles, milk, sardines, toiletries, cooking oil and soya sauce.

We are grateful to God for his people responding in times of need. In most areas the churches were also affected and had limited recourses to help the people around them. We came in and help them to reach out with the love of God to the people in their community. In this way they could build relationships and be a testimony in their area. It is wonderful that God’s people can be part of the answer in times of need.

(L-R) Some places looked awful; the help arrives from ministries without borders

Noralv Askeland

Brother Rao has worked for many years in the Andra Pradesh region of India. He set up the FACT (Faith Action for Community Transformation, www.fact-india.org) project that is reaching out to many people at grassroots level in this region. Brother Rao was able to share on his work at the recent ministries without borders WorldWatch conference in Cardiff, UK in 2009.

Our God is so good and He has blessed me and our ministry in 2009. Firstly, He has answered my prayers to travel abroad after 23 years of waiting. I received an invitation for a conference in UK, and He has increased my burden and concern to do more of His work in our area. It was a great privilege with unforgettable memories.

We faced several problems last year, but saw the helping hand of the Lord in each and every movement. I offer full thanks to my God and have to share this joy with you. God has given us many souls in 2009. Many of the families we work with are very strong Hindu devotees and have been in the clutches of idols for many years. But God has touched their hearts and they have surrendered their lives to Him. In one month, 192 men and women accepted the Lord. Amen!

One man from a village called Vullupalem miraculously accepted the Lord as his personal saviour. He was notorious for causing us troubles. He committed thefts, and cut the wheels of our rickshaw used to publicise our night meetings in the village. One day he interrupted our prayer and fasting meeting by coming in drunk and swearing at us. On our way home from the meeting he waited by the road with a stick to beat us, but God protected us because he disappeared as a police van came along.

But one day he was bitten by a cobra and fell unconscious. There was no way of taking him into town, which is more than 60 km from the remote village. I called our pastors and believers and we prayed for him. People were crying and said God had sent the snake to kill him because he was stopping God’s work. I said, “My God is a loving God, and because of this love we came to your house. If you allow us to pray for him, our God will heal him.”

We prayed from 10am to 4pm and Hallelujah, glory to God! At 4.15pm the man was healed! He was surprised and started crying, saying, “Now I know how God loves me and has saved my life.” This is not just a story – it’s a real life-changing experience. God has been doing miracles; healing the sick, releasing people from evil and changing many lives.

We have also been doing social work, supporting the women to overcome poverty by starting their own agricultural business. We are praying and fasting for 70 milk cows lost during the recent floods; each costing 20,000 rupees.

This year a total of 267 members were added to the Kingdom. Our target is to reach more than 500 families this year. I have a burden for the over 8 million Hindus in the Andhra Pradesh region.

Please remember our ministry in your prayers. May God give you more blessings in 2010. Happy New Year.

Your brother,
Rao

God’s been speaking to the church about how we will build in 2010. God spoke to us through Richard recently about building intentionally on a firm foundation of reading the word.

I was playing with my daughter and her building bricks this week. We love building tall towers together. She has grasped the need for a firm foundation and hunts out the biggest and widest bricks for the base. Her buildings have a problem though.

She likes to put one piece on top of another with no regard for how they fit together. She ends up with several tall towers attached to the same strong base that are weak and fall over easily. As I was showing her how to fit the pieces together God spoke to me about the need for connecting pieces as we build.

Connecting bricks link individual towers and make the structure stronger. As God is building his church He is calling us to be connecting people. We are not just building our own relationship with God in isolation. We can reach out to touch those around us, sharing what God is doing in our lives.

We may still be putting down foundations and reading the Bible for the first time, or we may be on our tenth time through. God still speaks to us and gives us things to share. We all have something to contribute and a place to fit. As we reach out and connect with each other we bring support and stability where needed to build a stronger church.

Rachel Belton

(To get your copy of a Chronological Bible Reading Plan to help you read the Bible in a year, go to the Help Desk on Sunday or contact the church office)

The word cancer fills the world with dread. It can be a terrifying, disabling illness with one in four of all deaths in the UK due to cancer.

When asking people at work about what they did with their time off over the Christmas period it struck me how many people went to visit family members in hospital who had cancer. While they spoke I was reminded that I have seen people totally healed of cancer through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christians are here to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. As we pray for people with these illnesses and see them healed, we see God’s rule and reign here on earth. As Christians we can see ALL cancers and all illnesses defeated and overcome through the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit. There is no special formula or magic trick. It is our faith confession that the creator of the heavens and earth does not want people bound in sickness and wants everyone to be free.

Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 10:8 (NASB) “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” This is not something we are to ponder about, it is a direct instruction. We are to heal the sick and raise the dead.

Last Sunday Richard spoke about wanting to be part of the generation to see Christ return. As we live to be that generation cancer will be healed through our hands!

Ben Phillips

(Click here to read about how a member of King’s Church was healed from Cancer)