Family Church Guildford

Pastor Andy asks us “What are we becoming?” during this season of lock-down. Two Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) says “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”. In this season we need to ask what are we becoming? ‘Coming’ and ‘becoming’ are not the same. We cannot ‘come’ to church we as did but we can still ‘become’ more as god wanted us to be. We are still in an element of isolation and our choices will determine what we become. Some fitter, some fatter! We are all ‘becoming’ something; some wiser, some less so. Some bitter, some better! A great example is Joseph in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 37, he shared dreams with his brothers, but they threw him into a pit and later sold him. He might have become bitter and insecure. However, in his isolation he determined not to quit. In Genesis 39 the favour of God is on Joseph, he has risen to be second in charge in the house of Potip

A lockdown special recording by FC Guildford worship team - Graves into Gardens (cover)

We have been chosen for this time - why not us to bring the good news of Jesus to people who are searching for hope? God chose you & He knew why He chose you to fulfil His promises for your life - He has given us His Spirit for this season.

Pastor Andy Speaks about pursuing God, and redeeming time during this season of lockdown. Some things in our lives are out of our hands, others may not be. Things may not necessarily be out of control but waiting for us to manager properly. Time, a gift from God is such a thing. We can all do different things with this precious gift of life. Many folk have a lot more time than usual presently, (not everyone), but many do have extra time at the moment. What do we do with this time, which we can consider as the currency of our lives? God has blessed us with time, our life and also the ability to spend it as we see fit. We need to spend the rest of our time in best way we can. It’s the most important currency we will ever own. Unfortunately, some people are not good at managing time well. We cannot get back time we have wasted….but we can invest time in serving others. In Ephesians 5:15-16, Paul speaks about the best use or redeeming of time. In Colossians 4:5, we are also told to walk in wisdom to outsiders,

Pastor Steu speaks about clearing weeds from our lives. He focuses on three key weeds; Insecurity, Offence and Doubt. He has been gardening recently clearing weeds, which tend to grow back unless the roots are dug out and the soil tended. In the garden of our lives, there is also a challenge to keep ourselves weed free. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart as it determines the course of our lives. If our lives are the garden, then our hearts are the soil and God wants to be able to display his glory in our garden. Removing the weeds and planting fruit bearing plants is our responsibility as a Christian. No one else can do this, however we are not alone….good people surround us and we need to call upon them, especially if their gardens are beautiful! Our heavenly Father is present in the garden of our lives also. In order to deal with the weeds we need to understand them. Weeds start with seeds and growth begins under the surface until they take over unattended areas of our lives. Salvation is often a ti

The rhythm of life has currently changed for a period of time. It is important that we make wise choices during this season. Our choices will determine whether we grow producing fruit and flowers in the garden of our life or allow weeds and thistles grow in our lives and so curtail healthy fruit and flowers. At this time of isolation, there can be stress and loneliness. We need to give people our support, connecting with them, being loving towards them. How we deal with comparative isolation depends to an extent on our character. If we are introverts we may well be naturally comfortable but if we are more extrovert we may struggle. Regardless of our chief character traits the key aspect is our personal response to the situation. We may choose to lock ourselves away - looking away from others rather than looking to help others. Alternatively, we may say “I’ll make the most of this unusual season to help others.” Captain Tom Moore’s outlook and response is a wonderful example of a 99 year old who decided to hel

As part of our Worship Morning, Ps Charlie shares this short introduction to meeting with God in a personal way, looking at the example of Moses' shining face in Exodus 34. As we spend time with God as our friend, something changes within us - do people see that we're Christians by the joy, peace & rest that comes from us?

If you're a Christian, you worship, as to be saved is to honour God and know who He really is. This week in the Family Values series, Daniel, our Worship Pastor, looks at the importance of preparing our hearts for worship as seen in the book of Nehemiah - where is the message of the cross in your heart, is it just a fact or does it move you to worship?

Continuing the Family Values series, Ps Charlie reminds us of the importance of engaging with all 3 aspects of God, including the Holy Spirit. Our entire Christian life began with the Holy Spirit drawing us to the Father & now there is no aspect of our Christian life that we can do without the Holy Spirit. When you turn to things to numb pain or stimulate boredom, turn to the Holy Spirit instead, seek Him in your lowest moments, seek Him in the highest heights. Life with the Holy Spirit is not without pain, but there is always comfort.

Continuing our look through the Family Values of Family Church, Ps Charlie highlights 3 problems with how we see community: 1. We are called to build community not find it 2. Our expectations of what we receive from community are greater than our commitment to being part of it 3. Would you qualify to be a part of your perfect community? And we are left with the challenge - can you stay part of community long enough to build relationships so you can say/hear things only people close to you can say?

How much scripture has made its way from your head to your heart? Continuing the Family Values series, Ps Hayley reminds us that God wants us to both believe in and act on His Word because He wants the best for us.

This week we welcomed guest speakers Fiona & David Killough, Family Church supported missionaries with Overland Missions. Their message challenges us to redefine how we think about faith - it's not simply you getting the thing you want for your life - faith will cost you, if it doesn't cost you, it's not faith. What are the walls that need to be broken down to stop you chasing what the world says is worthy & remember that only Jesus is worthy?

Continuing looking through the Family Church values, this week it's Discipleship - Ps Charlie encourages us to be discipled by Jesus through relationship with each other - who are you following & who is following you?

Starting our new series on the core values of Family Church, Ps Charlie looks at what it means to be Christ-centred. What is your first priority, what is your life centred on? Jesus is the Lord over all things, including our lives. We were created by Jesus, through Jesus, for Jesus and as we make decisions for Jesus, it pushes our self out of the centre. The full list of Family Values can be found here: https://family.church/about/

Pastor Andy speaks of the Vision for the whole of Family Church this year with additional remarks by Pastor Charlie.

To begin 2020, we're excited to welcome our Senior Pastor Andy Elmes speak on Jesus' prayer for us in John 17 - that we would know both oneness with God and oneness with each other and therefore stand out in a world of division.

As you look back at 2019, do you see Jesus in both the blessings & hardships? Finishing our series with the final chapter of 1 Corinthians, Ps Charlie reminds us that if we don't find Jesus in both the highs & lows, we're limiting our hope, but if we attach hope to Jesus we never become hopeless!

Christmas cards make the nativity scene look so perfect and beautiful but what about the smell and mess? In this short Christmas message, Ps Charlie speaks about how God comes into the midst of our chaos and mess to bring order and peace so that we can always have a hope & a future.

Ps Lisa shares some family news about changes in leadership.

This week we've reached 1 Corinthians chapter 14, looking at several topics - women in church, spiritual gifts, prophecies & speaking in tongues - all through the lens of pursuing love.