No.36 - Hope after death

The secure hope of the new creation, and rejoicing in ministry.

Verse of the Week

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.'

Revelation 21:3

This section of Revelation gives us a wonderful picture of the New Creation to come. I love the way these verses highlight how God will dwell with us. The God of all blessings will be with us. The more I read the bible, the more I am amazed at the glory of God. His goodness and love are unimaginably great. And so to have this God of blessing be our God, to get to be his people, and to get to live in his presence forever is incredible. There is really no greater joy. What pleasures we have to look forward to!

Encouragements

Near the start of the week, I had a wonderful conversation with a friend who helped work through some principles behind understanding the bible and sharing it with others. Praise the Lord!

For two days this week, I attended a great Christian conference in London. It was a real joy to learn more about Christ, the psalms, and life as a full-time church minister. I am very grateful to have had the chance to develop my understanding and be around many wise Christian leaders.

Near the second half of the week, I was able to attend my Grandma's funeral/celebration. It was a wonderful balance of mourning her passing and celebrating the hope we have in the gospel. By God's grace, I was able to lead the sung worship well. And it was such a joy to sing praises to the God who has defeated death and brought us the certain hope of eternal blessings to come. Praise the Lord for the New Creation and for keeping my Grandma trusting in Christ until the very end.

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 kindness!

The Last Week

• Monday - 121 Ministry conversation

• Tuesday / Wednesday - Catalyst Presbyterian Conference talks on:

  • Christ's Person from Hebrews 2

  • Christ's Presence - Preaching and the Sabbath

  • Christ's Psalter - Enjoying Christ from the Psalms

  • Christ's Preachers - Gratitude and Friendship in Ministry

• Thursday - Led the sung worship at my Grandma's funeral

• Saturday - Worked through Cambridge Bible Course notes

• Sunday - Helped with the Church's Children's ministry

The Next Few Weeks

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

• 19th June - Meeting to study the Westminster Confession of Faith

• 22nd June - Leading sung worship at church

• 1st July - Ministry Training day in London

• 2nd July - Children's evangelistic event planning meeting

• 13th July - Giving a children's talk on the Psalms

• 13th July - Leading our Church meeting for the first time

Prayer Requests

I have loved spending the last few months giving my time to church ministry work, and I would really love to pursue full-time church work.

Wonderfully, God has opened up the opportunity for me to gain some incredible training and ministry opportunities at Cornhill Bible College and St Helen's Bishopsgate Church from August 2025. However, in order to pursue this training and ministry work, I will need to raise the necessary funding.

I would love your prayer that I would trust God to provide as I seek to raise the needed funds. It would be wonderful if this were a simple process, but I know that whatever happens will be part of God's good plan :)

We are thinking and praying for you all.

May you know the joy of the gospel in all things.

God bless,

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 :)