Sharon Church Blog

God in the Park Pontypool 2011

07/27/2011 09:55:00

God in the Park
A Crusade Report from Pontypool, South Wales, UK

The clouded sky hung as a canopy above a beautiful 150 acre public park in Pontypool, South Wales, as a small group of faithful Christians gathered for the opening ceremony of a three day Christian mission called “God in the Park”. The local mayor had been invited to officially open the mission, and as he did so, those present felt the enormity of what was being attempted.

For in fact, it seemed impossible for the mission to succeed. Sharon Full Gospel Church, a small church of 15 members (mostly senior citizens), and the only Pentecostal church in Pontypool (a town of 40,000 inhabitants), had organised this crusade in a hired marquee built to hold 200. They had walked many miles to deliver 15,000 printed leaflets to local residents, and placed adverts in all the local newspapers, reaching out to a combined readership of over 250,000 people.

But from the moment that the mayor’s opening finished, and the praise and preaching began, everyone present knew that God’s hand was on this event and that it would exceed all expectations.

On the first night 150 people came to hear evangelist Roz Day preach the gospel. Only one lady responded to the call of Jesus Christ that night, but it was a promising beginning. On each night following, the tent was filled almost to capacity, and by the end of three days, more than 500 people had attended and 8 had committed their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In some parts of the world, eight souls would not appear to be a great victory. But here in South Wales, where any Pastor would be overjoyed to see a single convert in a year, eight in three days is truly remarkable! Could this be the beginning of a breakthrough in South Wales?

The event was remarkable in another way, as it attracted Christians from a large geographic area, and from more than 30 different churches of all denominations. Some came 40 miles to hear the word of God, and the powerful anointing in worship and preaching grew day by day, with waves of the Holy Spirit tangibly flowing over the congregation in the morning sessions, where Pastor Mathew Bartlett preached on “evangelism by fire”, and Evangelist Roz day exhorted the people to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.

A big bonus for the mission was the Saturday afternoon family event as almost 200 people descended on the Park. Volunteers from five churches painted children's faces, juggled fire, performed magic and puppet shows and played games, leaving smiles on many children’s faces and a good impression on the hearts of parents, many of whom returned for the evening service.

Next year, this “little church” plan to use a bigger tent, and increase publicity to build on the success of this year. How big will the little church be by this time next year? Watch this space!

Watch the video of this event COMING SOON on Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/user/sharonfgchurch

Pontypool Jazz Festival 2011

07/25/2011 09:27:00

As a lover of music, for some time I've wanted our church to get involved in Jazz in the Park, Pontypool, perhaps as a fringe venue. Jazz in the Park has now been re invented as the Pontypool Jazz Festvial 2011, and my idea was to invite a Christian jazz or R&B artist to perform live at the church and share their faith, so, if you like, kill two birds with one stone!

Well this year, we've done it! Radio 2's own Rythm & Blues man Paul Jones will perform live in concert with wife Fiona Hendley at Sharon Church on Thursday 8th September at 7pm. The concert is completely free to the public.

Paul rose to fame with the popular 60s band Manfred Mann (remember "Do Wah Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do"?). His journey of faith began when, as an ardent athiest, he took on Sir Cliff Richard in a televised public debate about Christianity. Many viewers thought that Paul had won the debate, yet Paul had been convinced to the contrary, and so became a Christian himself!

Admittedly, we're still not part of the main Pontypool Jazz Festival which runs at Pontypool Leisure Centre from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th September 2011 (for tickets for that event see http://www.pontypooljazzinthepark.org.uk/Home.aspx ). But at least we get a chance to join in the general celebration of fantastic music! Paul Jones's concert is a few days after the Jazz Festival, which means that lovers of good music can, if they wish, attend both events! And Jazz lovers are always connoisseurs of good music.

Listen to Paul Jones R&B show on BBC Radio 2 iPlayer now

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wrpd

The Blood of John Paul II or the Blood of Jesus?

01/17/2011 10:07:00

Today in the Washington Post, MONIKA SCISLOWSKA reports that shortly before his death, some blood from the body of Pope John Paul II was collected in a vial and will be encased in crsytal before eventually being displayed as a religious relic in a Polish church. (Full story http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/17/AR2011011701299.html)

It is never my wish to offend people from any religious community, but personally I find the idea of keeping a vial of a dead man's blood to be in completely bad taste. I do not know why anyone would want to do such a thing, even for someone as highly regarded and well loved as Pope John Paul II. To mourn at his grave, or even (had he been cremated) to place his ashes in a place of honoured memory, I could understand; but I must confess that this blood relic goes beyond my own ideas of decency.

However, I wish to write about the blood of a person far more noble and sacred than any pope or priest. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, shed his precious blood and died on a cross approximately 2,000 years ago. No one collected his blood in a vial, nor encased it in crystal. It ran freely down the rugged wood of a Roman cross. Yet that blood is as powerful today in its effects as it was then, and evermore shall be. For the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son is the agent which washes all our sins away (1 John 1:7).

Let me be clear about this. It is not that God, in some mystical way, collected the blood of Jesus. It is not in display in a "spiritual" vial in heaven. Rather, it is what Christ has accomplished by shedding his blood which makes that sacrifice everlasting in its effect. For by his one sacrifice he has taken away our sins once and for all (Heb 10:14).

The Son of God became flesh when he was born at Bethlehem. He lived a perfect life without sin, but on the cross he became sin for us. There He tasted the wrath of God against sin, and endured the punishment which was rightly due to sinners. God had said the soul which sins shall die, and the wages of sin is death. But Christ took our death sentence for us, dying in our place that we might go free from sin's penalty. As he hung on the cross, he cried out "My God My God why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) being for a moment cut of from God, and for that moment (however long it lasted in time) he tasted the eternal misery and suffering of a damned soul, that we might not have to. It is what Jesus did on the cross, dying for you and me, that makes him able to cleanse us from sin. That is why we read "the blood of Jesus Christ God's son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7).

Jesus did not do this for a certain select group of people. He did it for the whole world. John the Baptist said "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29). The apostle John declares, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2).

No one is left out. When Jesus died he died for you. He died for every man and women that has ever lived or shall live. Jesus said "Whosoever" (and that must include you, because it includes everyone) "believes on him shall not perish (suffer eternal punishment for sin) but have eternal life." (John 3:16).

Three days after Jesus died, God raised him from the dead and set Him at his own right hand in heaven. God's word concerning his son is now being proclaimed around the world, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.

Reader, have you personally trusted Jesus Christ to save you from your sin and its terrible consequences? If not, then why not? Trust him now, ask him to forgive you and come into your heart and life. The Bible assures us that "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom. 10:13).

Pray a simple prayer: "Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I thank you that Christ died for me on the cross that I might be forgiven. I put my trust in you now tat I might be saved. Come into my heart Lord Jesus and make me your child. Give me the gift of eternal life." Amen.

One day, the blood of John Paul will pass away, but the effects of Jesus shedding his blood on the cross will be experienced by millions throughout eternity.

Sex and the City of Sychar

01/10/2011 11:04:00

I suppose Shirley had no luck in love. Certainly, as Mick Jagger croaked, she could get "no satisfaction".

She'd had five husbands and a string of other men, and was living with a new partner the day she met the man who would change her life...

It was not that her relationships had ever been abusive; her partners were not manipulative - she knew how to stick up for herself! But as each affair had ended, they left an empty feeling inside. Sex had been good, and the money had been helpful, but she needed something more. She wasn't even sure herself what it was, that something which she longed for deep inside her heart.

Then she met him. A strange man - a foreigner. On any other day she would have ignored him completely; and no one in her town ever so much as spoke to one of the hated "immigrants". But on this day she couldn't help but notice him. He was different, somehow. Not good looking, you might say, but with a captivating presence.

He sat by a deep well at the side of the road, and as she approached, he asked her for a drink of water. Despite herself, she found it easier to spout the usual taunts of racial hatred, but even that could not disguise her curiosity. Just who was this polite foreigner? By his tone and manner, she was sure that he was asking her for something more than a drink.

"If you knew the gift of God," said the man, "you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

Shirley felt a little confused, but in no way alarmed by the man. Was he offering her a drink now? He had no bucket to draw from the well, and no bottle in his hand. Just where was this drink he was offering her?

"Whoever drinks of this water will be thirsty again," the man continued. "But whoever drinks of the water which I give him will never be thirsty again. For the water I give him shall become in him a spring of living water welling up to everlasting life."

Now this was something. A water supply that never ran dry. No more carrying heavy water pots to the well! But piped running water was unknown to those of Shirley's hometown. What could he mean? Shirley knew he had something to offer, and wanted to know more. Where was it leading, all this talk of God and of never being thirsty again?

A sudden stab of conscience touched Shirley's heart and made it stand still. "Go and bring your husband," the man had said. It wasn't that Shirley ever regretted her marriage break ups; it was just that she was conscious of her weakness when it came to holding down steady relationships. Just as stolen water always seems sweeter, so iIlicit love is always more exciting.

Shirley just blurted out that right now, she didn't have a husband. The man spoke again, "You are right. For you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband."

It wasn't just that he knew these details; there was something about the stranger's voice which told Shirley that he had been watching her for all her life long - that he knew everything about her, even the secrets she hid in her heart from her lovers. "But only God knows the thoughts of our hearts," thought Shirley, with some half forgotten memory of her religious upbringing. Clearly, this man was no polite foreigner, but a messenger of God.

The man continued to draw Shirley closer to himself - but not physically. Neither of them had changed their position, it was her heart which he seemed to captivate. All the emptiness and pain of her wasted life, a life of failure, was brought into focus, and the stranger was offering to exchange it all for a new beginning - a new life within that would never end. It was clear that he was not offering to satisfy her sensual desires, but to meet the deepest need of her soul.

To be forgiven for her sin! That was the offer. To be given another chance! To be right with God, and able to hold her head up high. The offer seemed to good to be true. Only one person could offer her such deep peace and satisfaction.

"When the Christ comes," said Shirley, "he will tell us all we need to know about these things."

"I who speak to you am he," replied Jesus.

Reader, are you dissatisfied with life? Outwardly, all may be well, but is it well with your soul? Do you have peace with God, are your sins forgiven? Do you have the joy and satisfaction of being in a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ? The Lord Jesus died for your sin on the cross, and later rose again from the dead so that you might be forgiven. By accepting Him as your Saviour you will begin a life which will never end. Shirley encountered him at the well of Sychar. You too can encounter him, just where you are today!

www.biblestudiesonline.co.uk

Are Iraqi Christians to Flee the Country?

11/10/2010 06:33:00

Following the attack on Sayidat al-Nejat church in Baghdad last week, Athanasios Dawood, Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church, has called upon all Christians to flee Iraq.

According to a CNN report (Bharati Naik, 8 Nov 2010), Father Saad Sirop Hanna of Saint Joseph's Church Baghdad commented: "I can understand this bishop. I agree with him from a certain point of view, but I disagree with him from another."

Persecution is a reality which has been faced by Christians throughout the last two thousand years, and today more believers than ever before are facing harassment and even violence as a result of their faith. Jesus said:

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you... Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me (John 15:18-21 NKJV).

The decision to stay or leave is difficult. Jesus sometimes allows his followers to flee persecution:

When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. (Matt. 10:23 NKJV)

But there are other times when believers are called upon to stand firm in their faith and not be afraid of the enemy. They may take our lives but not our souls.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matt. 10:28 NKJV)

To a persecuted church in first century Asia Minor, Jesus sent this message:

Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Rev. 2:10 NKJV)

No doubt some will, for the sake of their families and other reasons, choose to leave Iraq, and will do so in the will of God. Others will stand firm, continuing to worship God and to give a Christian witness to the people of a country which, although torn by war and rent by religious and sectarian differences, is still dear to them.

The tragic events of last week reminds all Christians of their responsibility to pray for Christians in Iraq, and for persecuted believers everywhere.

For more inspiring Bible studies visit www.biblestudiesonline.co.uk

More than a Coalition

11/03/2010 10:08:00

It's a Coalition!

On 11th May 2010 Britain reached a historic point in its history, as the general election resulted in the first coalition government in 70 years. Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrat party surprised many by opting to form a government with the Conservatives, led by David Cameron.

In the six months since then, Westminster has been made to realise that a coalition is never "the best of both worlds" for any party. It is a government of compromise, rather than a government of unity, and both sides have experienced a few painful changes to their cherished policies.

The Church of Jesus Christ is not a coalition. The apostle Paul wrote:

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (Philippians 2:1-2 NKJV)

Whatever differences exist within the church, they are insignificant when placed in the light of what God has done for us in Christ. We are part of one body, born of the same Father, with the same Savior, and are all bound for the same eternal home. If the politicians need to get over their differences, Christians most certainly do! Jesus prayed:

I pray that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:21 NKJV)

The Government of the People

11/03/2010 09:40:00

US Mid Term Elections 2010

This week's election results mean that reforms planned by US President Barak Obama have suffered a serious set back. Obama's Democratic party lost overall control of the House of Representatives, although they retained control of the Senate.

Whoever you voted for, and whatever compromises may be reached between the two parties, it is true that "the government of the people, by the people, for the people" has served our democratic nations well.

But democracy will not always be the form of government on earth, for it is not the most perfect. Our politicians, like all men, are weak and imperfect, but when what is perfect comes, what is imperfect will be made obsolete.

Jesus Christ, the sinless, spotless Son of God, will one day come again to begin His unending reign upon earth. The Bible says "of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end."

When the Lord Jesus returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords, there will at last be perfection and world wide peace.

He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:4 NKJV)

As Christians, we must pray regularly for national leaders, for they have a great responsibility. They govern a world that is not their own. It belongs to the One who created it, and one day they must give account of their governance. If only they could do so with joy, and if only if the prayer of the faithful might be in the heart of every man: "Even so, come Lord Jesus!"

Jesus shall reign, where'er the sun,
Does his successive journeys run.
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till suns shall rise and set no more. (Isaac Watts)

Love Your Enemies.

11/01/2010 22:41:00

An eye for an eye leaves us all blind...

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves... (Rom.12:19)

Love your enemies..(Matt. 5:44)

During October 2010, Christians in Karnataka, India suffered a number of violent attacks at the hands of a small minority of religious extremists. (Details visitwww.opendoors.org).

In such times, it is difficult not to be bitter and seek revenge. But our Saviour gave us a better way. "Love your enemies," he said, "bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44 NKJV)

Reconciliation with our neighbours is not easy when some have been involved in violent attacks against us. Satan may tempt us to think that all members of the community are like our tormentors, perhaps because they share the same faith, but that is simply not the case.

By nature, all men are sinners and enemies of God, but Christians have been reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Now we are his ambassadors, messengers of reconciliation to all nations. Just think - thosewho are our enemies and perecutors may one day, by God's grace, become our brothers and sisters in Christ. This happened to the violent persecutor of the early church, Saul of Tarsus. He was responsible for the death of many Christians, before he met the risen Lord Jesus Christ in person, and his life was completely changed. Being reconciled to God, he devoted the rest of his life to loving and serving God's people, and was known by his second name Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ.

So beloved, do not avenge yourselves. Let your open heart be shown by your open hand.

Wear it Well!

10/30/2010 05:00:00

Wear it Well!

The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26).

America was shocked to learn of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by a small minority of its serving soldiers. Whilst wearing the badge of the US army; representing not only the military, but their nation and their president; they disgusted their fellow Americans and disgraced their nation, shaming a force which are held in high regard and affection in free nations of the world.

Christians too are men and women who wear a badge and represent their King. Our badge may not be sewn to our clothing, but it is recognised by the world as a badge of love and obedience to God. What marks us out as believers is our likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ. The name "Christian" was first given to believers in Antioch as a nick name by their first century neighbors, and it means "Christ - like - ones". What their neighbors saw in them were hallmarks of Jesus' own life - love, patience, gentleness and reliability.

As we yield to Christ each day as Lord of our lives, so His risen life will be manifested through us, so that others might see, "no more I, but Christ living in me."

For 2,000 years the Christian army has kept up a good name. If you wear the badge, wear it well!

Lord, You have called me to be like you in all that I do.

As others look upon my life, let your own glorious life shine through.

If you're a Christian - be a "Christ - like" one!