Family Church Guildford

Learn from Jesus is the title for this week’s message given by Pastor Steuart Payne. Lockdown and loss of weekly gatherings has presented many challenges, the loss of God’s presence in a large meeting possibly the greatest. The need for our own personal relationship with God is now paramount. In Matthew 11 Jesus speaks of taking the yoke from those who are heavy laden, giving them rest. There are two actions we must take daily – coming to Him and learning from Him. Jesus is the one who releases us from every burden including all our sins. We need to draw close to Jesus, opening our hearts to the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s role is to lead us and teach us every step of way as we make the choice to walk with Jesus and couple ourselves to him. Sometimes ignorance, laziness, fear of losing control or pride makes us unteachable but we need to walk with and learn from Jesus every day, not just hang out with him occasionally.

Pastor Andy speaks about Jesus being the centre of our lives, being Jesus Centric. Jesus deserves to be central to everything we are and everything we do now. We can look at an example of a person being egocentric where they are self-centred believing everything involves around them. But for followers of Jesus, He is to be the centre of all things in our lives. But we've sung more recently where it says Jesus at the centre of it all …..It’s a great song but we have to ask ourselves a question: Is that more than a song in our life? Is Jesus the centre of it all? Is He the centre of our relationships, finances and our view on things happening in life? Romans 11:36 (ESV) says “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” speaking of the supremacy of Christ. In reality, we need to divide our lives up into sections or subcategorize things so that we can begin to ask ourselves honest questions. He should be central to our Gospel message when we're sharing the gospel which

The title for this week’s message by Pastor Andy is “Seeing Jesus for who He is”. This is in theme of celebrating our children. Matthew 19:13-15 (NIV) says” Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there”. Maybe we do not prevent children from coming to Jesus physically but perhaps by not allowing them to have real encounters with Jesus. We can learn from watching the way children are with Jesus. They have no agenda, but a child-like purity. In Matthew 18 Jesus tells his Disciples that if they want to become great in the Kingdom, they need to become child-like (not childish!) in our approach to God. When we are walking with the Lord, we need to have a child-like faith in acceptance of what he says. Adults often become sceptical but this robs u

Pastor Andy asks us “What is true repentance?” Recently we have focused on the gospel message, salvation, transformation, evangelism, believing and communicating the gospel. Communicating the message of Jesus is the key evangelistic activity. True salvation will allow God to move in someone’s life in a transforming way. This is often based on the decision made at the time of accepting Jesus. The difference between belonging to God and experiencing life change depends on whether true repentance has occurred. Repentance needs to be part of our invitation we make to people when giving the gospel message. The word must be understood correctly. It’s an invitation to come into a life better than anything known before. Jesus calls people to repent. Luke 13:3 or Matthew 4:17 (NIV) says “From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."” In Luke 5:32 Jesus calls sinners to repentance. In Acts 2:38, Peter preaches a similar message to that of Jesus “Repent and be baptized……”

Pastor Steve Elmes (Andy’s brother) speaks about Sharing Jesus with Confidence. Steve says that he finds God is speaking the same thing across the whole people of God, so coming from Bookham Baptist Church, this message is totally in line with our current journey. Sharing Jesus with others is a key thing and our attempts can have varying success. Scripture is the greatest teacher; in John 4, Jesus shares with a Samaritan woman. He begins by asking the women for a drink. This is an act of friendship and breaks through the Jew/Samaritan barrier building a relationship lovingly (as is the gospel itself). Jesus then artfully interacts with the woman in a respectful way. The four qualities of conversation are to listen, to notice, to serve and to wonder. To listen well is really crucial. If we listen well, we will notice and will then be able to serve or pray for people. Sometimes we need to remember we are just a link in the chain of bringing someone to Christ. We need to learn from Jesus about the art of conv

This week Olivia Elms asks us a key question – What do you believe about the Gospel? This is not what we have heard, or think, but what do we truly believe about the gospel. Many versions of what the gospel means exist for many people, but what does this mean for us? What we think can be fleeting but what we believe models our lives as deeply rooted convictions. What we believe determines our responses, rather than what we think. Romans 1:16 (NKJV) states “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek”. This is powerful! The gospel is the power of God to salvation for believers. It is not a story but the power of God and hence a call to action. We can know a lot about the gospel but it’s not until we believe with our hearts that our lives change. Do we know what we believe about the gospel? This is important. Sometimes we live in a glass box and we hear and know about the gospel but do not let Jesus int

Pastor Andy asks if we are Believers or Disciples. There are similarities but great differences between the two. In Matthew 28, the Lord asks us to be a going people, to make disciples, not just to be saved. Help the people to learn of me, believe in me and obey my words and observe my commands….are words from the Amplified version of Matthew 28. So we are to go and make disciples and teach people to obey Jesus commands. Believing is having faith in something or someone. Believing in God is a powerful thing but even demons believe in God also! - James 2:19 (NKJV) “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” So God does want us to experience the powerful salvation which comes from believing….. But also more……. being a disciple as well. In believing, lives are saved but not transformed. When lives are positioned as disciples, followers of Christ, transformation takes place. It’s an ongoing commitment to the work of the Holy Spirit within. Unlike the thief on the cro

Pastor Andy speaks about Transformation not Modification. Last week we heard personal testimonies about how God had changed people and transformed their lives. We can only manage modification but God produces transformation – God on the inside of us changing us totally from the inside out. This is not behaviour modification. God does not just save us but also change us from the inside out, just as in a metamorphosis (a change from one form to another). Much of religion only has a gospel of behaviour modification yet the gospel of Jesus Christ is about God coming to live within a person’s life transforming them. Whether instant or process there is always a starting point. In Luke 19, scripture recalls the life of Zacchaeus, a thief wanting to give back to those he stole from……this was an instant encounter with God that transformed a life. In Acts 9 there is a moment where Saul a serial killer is transformed ….a light shone, he fell to the ground hearing a voice calling him. He asks who calls and hears “I am

This Sunday’s broadcast was titled “This is My Story”. An exciting Sunday's broadcast where we heard from individuals about how their lives have been transformed by God! Several testimonies from Family Church members about how God has impacted their lives and changed them personally gave gripping insight into how God transforms from the inside in a relational way. Following this, Pastor Andy spoke briefly about transformed lives, people encountering God from the inside out, not outside in as religion tries to. Real lives welcome the opportunity with Jesus and consequently have their lives changed. The bible is full of such stories, especially in the gospels; how Jesus met the lady at the well whose life was out of control, when Jesus met the religious Nicodemus (a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin) and answered questions leading to his life changing. Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1) was a tax collector and a thief, but he wanted to see Jesus. Being not too tall he climbed a tree to be able to see Jesus pass by. Ama

Pastor Andy speaks about being a people of presence and harvest for The Lord. We are a community of people who love and honour and have regard for the presence of God. Exodus 33:7-11 looks at the relationship Moses had with God under the old covenant and describes the Tent of Meeting where Moses would meet with the Lord in an intimate way. Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshipped God. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterwards, Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent (he stayed to get the remnant of God’s presen

Pastor Andy asks us “What If?” Life is filled with What Ifs, what if Jesus returned today? All our What Ifs should be undergirded by scripture. Romans 8:28 (NIV) says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Alternatively, in The Passion Translation “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfil his designed purpose”. This statement should be a part of what we are thinking in our daily ‘What Ifs’ Maybe we don’t feel God is at work but we must live by truth not feelings. In all things he is designing and weaving things together for our good – even if we don’t know or can’t feel as though this is the case! We need to find firm ground under our feet; God is in it to cause us to win it! This is true for all moments and seasons including this time when church meetings as they wer

Do you know what time it is? Pastor Andy asks this key question. We need to know what time we are in as a church right now. We need to learn to tell the time spiritually. The bible may tell us different things that will happen in various times but we may not have grasped this fully. 1 Chronicles 12:32 speaks of the peoples of Issachar (one of the 12 tribes of Israel) understanding the times they were in. Likewise, as the church, we need to understand times we are in with readiness to respond. We are in last days as the bible teaches. But do we know this, the days before the returning of Jesus Christ. He will come back to collect the people who belong to Him. In less than a second some will go to hell, some to heaven. No one knows the exact time but we can know the season we are in if we listen to the Holy Spirit and understand the nature of what is happening in the world. The global happenings now indicate times different from any before. We need to make ready for when Jesus returns. The Word does not give

Following from last week Pastor Andy speaks about Protecting Unity in the church. Last week the message spoke of God moving through His people, the Church. As His church, we need to live differently in order not to blend into the world. We have a light that is different to that of the world. Isaiah 61:1 tells us why we are different (NIV) “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord as anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners”. The Spirit of God is upon us, this makes us different! Daily we need to choose to live by His Spirit. How we live and love will make us different to the world. Additionally we choose Unity rather than division. We believe God has a plan to use His church for His plans; hence we need to protect the church from strife and division. The enemy’s plans surely are to divide and conquer the church rendering it useless. 2 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV) sa

Pastor Andy encourages us that we need to be assured that God is at work in all things (Romans 8:28). God has a plan! Let us understand the time we live in and the part God wants us to play. His plan is us, we are His church. Isaiah, a prophet was seeing things through The Spirit ahead of his time. Isaiah 60:1 (NIV) says “‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” This is key to the moment we are in now & how God wishes us to respond. Arise and Shine means get up, don’t shrink in fear and purpose, and be the dawn, the break of day. Darkness will cover the earth comes from hebrew khoshekh meaning misery, destruction death, sorrow, unrighteousness. Thick Darkness here means a cloud of gloom. So Isaiah foresaw gloom over the earth but told the people of God it was time

Following from the previous week, Pastor Andy continues the open conversation about racism and equality. Understanding people’s perspective is a key thing, it is a point of view regarding things going on around us. This can impact our response to issues we face in the world. Various people will have varying perspectives on something and we need to recognise this. This is normal. Our perspective is our view point determined by what is happening. Even how we see things can change as we view from a different perspective. Christians seek to choose and view from another viewpoint, the Kingdom view. This is the perspective of God and His word regarding things we are seeing and experiencing. This perspective is always the one that matters the most. We need to be willing to lay down our perspectives and gain that of heaven. Our identity is fundamental here – we will only choose Kingdom perspective when we fully know who we are in Christ. Citizenship of God’s Kingdom forms a common voice inside us. Colossians 1:13 (NK

Please note, we recommend watching the video instead of this audio recording if you're able so you can see the accompanying slides -https://youtu.be/iL9WMMM1wF0 In our post-service Zoom call, Ps Charlie hosted a workshop looking at the unconscious biases that we all have & applied this to the current discussion on racism. The recording opens with a live survey looking at loving well in the context of race and justice, if you want to skip this & go straight to the workshop section, fast forward to 16:50.

Pastor Andy starts a conversation about Racism and Equality, with a commitment to keep this conversation going. Our church leaders have already responded regarding the incident in Minnesota and recent world events with a statement however, Pastor Andy believes we need to open a conversation to do the right thing in the sight of God. He is hoping for longer term change not a token response from our church. He recognises we all respond in differing ways to these situations and has a desire to understand more fully these situations. It is crucial we all seek to journey in Family Church to understand things we do not, but be taught by those who have a correct perspective, who have Jesus in their hearts. He then introduces Pastor Paula to share from her perspective, as someone who has suffered racism but has a Godly view. Paula mentions she has spoken to many people recently and that it is important we do not shy away from the topic of racism and equality in our church. A key thing to remember is that we are the

Following on from Ps Paula's message in the online service, Ps Charlie speaks in the Guildford congregation post-service Zoom call, opening up the conversation around race which we hope will be an ongoing dialogue.

Pastor Andy speaks about our needs in these uncertain times. There is plenty of fear being circulated currently, but we must choose faith in God over fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. God has given us a sound mind! Fear is often based in the thought of “I won’t have” what I need and can drive us to unusual behaviour. God’s people are not driven by fear and understand Gods promises regarding their provision. Scriptures tell us to cast our cares on Him for he cares for us (1Peter 5:7); The Father knows our needs before we ask (Matthew 6:8); God will supply all our needs according to His riches (Phil 4:19). In these verses God speaks of meeting the needs of our body, soul and spirit. The present times challenge the belief systems regarding our needs - what do we need in order to survive and thrive, what are our priorities regarding needs? Will I have what I need when I need it? There are two ways of looking at this – the wo

Pastor Steve speaks about Pure Joy during trials in our lives, and continues looking at who we are becoming and how we are using our time in this season. James (brother of Jesus writing to the church he oversaw), tells the Jewish Christians to consider it pure joy when they faced trials (James 1:2). We are in a trial right now, but trials always come and always will come. Sometime we see them and sometimes they catch us unawares. Trials may be as a result of spiritual attacks (we need to open Ephesians 6 and put on the full armour of God) knowing our enemy is defeated. Sometimes trials come as a result of a lack of wisdom or something we did. Other times life may just deal out an issue, or sometimes as a result of the actions of other people. Trials have differing types of impact but the key issue is how we respond. James tells us that when we face a trial we should consider it pure joy….but do we respond in this way? Many of us will look at the words James wrote and say he did not know anything about our