No.30 - Sharing our Joy

In God my saviour shall my heart rejoice.

Verse of the Week

'Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.'

Habbakuk 3:17-18

Though there were so many reasons for sorrow, Habbakuk could rejoice. He could rejoice in God his saviour. Even when everything is falling apart, we can still have great reason to rejoice, for God is our saviour. His mighty strength will not let us down. He has rescued us from our sin and will soon take us home to enjoy him in the New Creation for all eternity.

I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour!

Encouragements

Mid way through the week, I got to lead an evangelistic event where I gave a talk on a topic linked to the idea above. It looked at the question 'Why do Christians rejoice?' and used a line from the Hymn Tell out my soul that goes 'In God my saviour shall my heart rejoice'. It was such a joy to get to think more about how the incredible joy we can have as Christians doesn't come from what's going on around us or often inside of us, but from God having saved us.

It was all wonderful to be able to clearly and passionately share the gospel with some people who don't know God. Praise the Lord. Hopefully, God will use it to build his church.

I have really been enjoying getting to spend lots of time preparing talks this week. God has been very kind in allowing me to study his word and giving me opportunities to share it with others. It has been particularly amazing to see how the context of a passage can give such clarity to what God wants to say to us.

A Little Update

Here are a few of the things we've been up to and some of what we've got coming up. Praise the Lord for his grace!

The Last Week

• Prepared for - Evangelistic talk, Bible handling talk, Sermon prep, Bible study

• Wednesday - TEAM Bible Course

• Wednesday - Led sung worship at our Church Members Meal

• Thursday - Attended our Life group meal and bible study

• Friday - Ran an evangelistic event + gave a talk

• Sunday - Led the sung worship

  
  

The Next Few Weeks

• Mid-day bible study, Life group, Cambridge bible course

• 11th May - Giving a children's talk before church

• 14th May - Attending a Church Trustees meeting

• 18th May - Giving a talk on studying the bible at our teaching session before church (Joining The Dots Adults)

• 29th May-1st June - Attending the St Helen's 10am weekend away

• 8th June - Preaching at Grace Church on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

• 10th-11th June - Attending a Presbyterian Christian Conference (Catalyst)

• 12th June - Leading sung worship at my Grandma's funeral

Prayer Requests

I have been trying to rest more over the last few days, and I think it has been helpful.

I would love prayer that I would have a passion both to work hard and rest well, being content with the work that I am able to get done.

Praying for you all,

Much love :)

Joshua & Luci.

P.S. - If you want to hear more about how I've been delighted by Christ over the last week, feel free to listen to the video below. I hope you may find it encouraging :)

TEAM Study Notes

Bible overview

The end times / The new creation

We are living in the now and not yet

• Set free from sin but also sin

• United in Christ but we see in part

• Devil is defeated but still active

We should expect lots of bad things to happen

The gospel is going out to the ends of the earth

Jesus’ second coming will be really obvious

If you have to question whether someone is Jesus they are not

God will send his angels to gather us to him

Serve faithfully, we don’t know what Christ will return

We will all be judged on the final day

If we have been trusting in Christ we will be saved

The new creation will be amazing

God will dwell with his holy people forever

Gospels

Luke’s Gospel

• Author: Luke the companion of Paul

• When was it written: 60’s AD

• Original Readers: Theophilus

• Feel: Carefully investigated documentary of the life of Jesus

Key Themes

• The humanity of Jesus

• The mission of Jesus (seek and save the lost)

• The mission of the church

John’s gospel

• Author: John the disciple of Jesus

• When was it written: Mid to late 80’s AD

• Original Readers: Non-Christians, Christians - those that want help believing

• Vibe: Diving into deep truths

Key Themes

• The glory of Jesus

• The reality of eternal life

• Jesus is the passover lamb

Biblical counselling

All Christian as God’s children

• We should care about what they have to say

• What them to know their identity and future in Christ

Listening well

• Good listening is an expression of love

• Good listening helps you understand people

• Good listening helps you share good wisdom

Focus areas for good listening

• Eye contact

• Body language

• Voice - pitch / tone / speed / verbal encouragers