Day 6 - Acts 2:37-47

The Church is Born

It’s good to take stock of how we’re doing from time to time, and today is an opportunity for a personal and corporate spiritual check-up.

Peter had preached his heart out, and the Holy Spirit powerfully convicted the people who were listening of their need to respond to what Peter had said. His answer to their question, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ could be summarised as ‘Repent … be baptised … be filled with the Holy Spirit’. Then he explained how this radical new birth would lead to a radical new lifestyle quite different from that of the ’corrupt generation’ they lived among. Take a few moments now to reflect on your own life in light of these commands.

Now re-read verses 42-47. They give us a great snapshot of the sort of church God wants. Think about the characteristics that are mentioned – teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer, signs and wonders, provision for those in need, praise, enjoying the favour of those outside, seeing people being saved daily! Doesn’t your heart long for Brighton and the UK to be filled with churches like that?

Prayer Points

1. Firstly, thank God for what we already experience of these characteristics in CCK. Take time over this – we shouldn’t take these things for granted.

2. Then pray that God will cause us to grow in those areas where we need to see increase.

3. Pray that God will release a spirit of great generosity amongst us.

[post based on King's Church Catford "40 days" devotional notes]

Day 5 - Acts 2:22-36

It’s all about Him

Peter was ready and willing to get up and explain what was happening, in a way that really connected with his audience. (His ‘fellow Israelites’ would have been familiar with David and the Psalms from which he quoted – they were part of their heritage).

It’s worth noting how much Peter focussed on Jesus – he talked about His humanity, His death and resurrection, His exaltation and His lordship. The Gospel does meet people’s needs, but ultimately it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1; Rom 15:19; Gal1:7) i.e. it is Christ-centred, not man-centred. How would you explain the gospel to someone?

Can you distil into a few sentences some Christ-centred gospel truths that would connect with the sort of people you meet day by day? You could try to put what Peter said into contemporary language that is easy for a non-churched person to understand.

Prayer Points

1. Pray for opportunities to share some of these truths with someone in the coming week.

2. Pray too that you personally will go deeper in your understanding and appreciation of Jesus.

3. Pray that as CCK goes multi-site we’d have further opportunities to present the gospel in a way that  connects even better with people in Brighton and Hove

[notes based on King's Church Catford "40 days" devotional notes]

Day 4 - Acts 2:14-21

Anointed for Mission
It’s sometimes tempting to see baptism in the Holy Spirit primarily as a source of increased personal blessing. As we heard on Sunday, and as is clear from yesterdays and today’s readings, God filled the early disciples with the Spirit to empower them to be witnesses, as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8.

Do you have a picture in your mind when you think of being filled with the Spirit? One image which really captures the dynamic nature of being filled is that of a sailing boat. As the sails catch the wind, so the boat is propelled forwards. And the sails need to be continually filled, or the boat comes to a standstill. That’s how it is with us and the Spirit – we need to keep on being filled, to move forwards.

We must not ignore the missional impact of the outpouring of the Spirit – it is not just something that benefits us on an individual level, it is to propel us to witness to the transforming work of Jesus. Think about how Peter was at the end of the Gospels: we read of him denying His Lord and being challenged by Jesus about the genuineness of his love. But here, after being filled with the Spirit, he boldly stands up and seizes the opportunity to address the crowd with an explanation of what God is doing.

Prayer Points

1. Pray for yourself, that God will fill you with power to speak for Him as the first disciples did.

2. And pray for us as a church, that the gospel will radiate increasingly out from us.

3. Pray for the lost in our city to feel the impact of the Holy Spirits outpouring.

[notes based on King's Church Catford "40 days" devotional notes]

Day 3 - Acts 2:1-13

The Holy Spirit comes in Power

For centuries, God’s people had been waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Moses had longed for a day when every believer would receive the Holy Spirit (Numbers 11:29). Through Ezekiel God had said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws”, (Ezekiel 36:26-27). The propet Joel in the Old Testament had prophesied that one day God would pour out His Spirit on all people, (Joel 2:28). And John the Baptist had announced that this outpouring, this baptism, would come through Jesus.

Now the disciples were waiting in Jerusalem for the promised gift to be given. What a sense of expectancy there must have been, and they were not disappointed! On the Day of Pentecost the believers experienced an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and their lives would never be the same again.

Prayer Points
1. Let’s pray for the same Holy Spirit to fall on us during this time, both individually and as a church, to propel us forward together.
2. And pray that on each site after we have launched, we will continue know the Spirit’s power and presence with us.
3. Pray for the upcoming Gift Day on Sunday 27th that God will speak to all of us about what we should bring.

[post based on King's Church Catford "40 days" devotional notes]

DAY 2 - Acts 1:9-11

Just waiting or preparing?

It must have been an amazing moment - to see Jesus transported away from the earth and be hidden by the clouds. Those first disciples would have understood that this meant Jesus was now returning to his Father in heaven. That was the significance of the clouds. Throughout the Old Testament God’s presence was frequently symbolized by a cloud. They would remember that it was by a cloud that God led the Israelites through the wilderness, that when the Temple was completed a cloud filled it so even the priests couldn’t enter it and three of them had seen a cloud descend on the mount of transfiguration. Each time it meant
God was present.

It's not surprising that for a moment they stood looking into the sky. They were transfixed by the significance of what they had just seen but they had things to do.

At times Christians can get so caught up with their experiences of God that they forget about the urgency of mission. We are not just called to wait for Jesus’ return but to prepare for it. People from every nation, tribe and tongue are to form part of the welcoming party at his return and we are called to recruit them!

 Prayer Points
1. Pray for those people who you will meet today who don’t know Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
2. Christ’s ascension means he was victorious over death and sin. Ask for His victory to be evident in your life today.
3. Pray for the church leaders that they will have wisdom as they lead the people of God as we prepare for Jesus' return.

[post based on King's Church Catford "40 days" devotional notes]

DAY 1 - Acts 1:1-8

As we get ready for launching a CCK site in the East, and pray and fast this week, we’re going to look at a few passages from Acts to help us as we pray and seek God.

DAY 1 – Acts 1:1-8

Acts is the second book that Luke wrote and talks about how the ministry of Jesus continues through the life of the church; we are to continue what Jesus started. Amazing but true. This of course would be utterly impossible without supernatural power, and that is what Jesus has promised all his disciples. The Christian life and the mission of the church is only possible by being drenched, soaked, and filled by the Spirit. This is not just to be an experience at the beginning of our Christian lives that we look back on, but an ongoing reality.

So how is it with us as we begin these 7 days of prayer and fasting and our preparations for multisite? Let’s make sure that each day we ask to be filled again with the Holy Spirit. Let’s seek to respond to him as he gives us the power to be witnesses to Jesus. Let us expect him to use us in the continuing expansion of his kingdom.

Prayer Points

1. Ask Jesus to fill you with his Spirit right now.

2. Pray for the church that we will become increasingly Christ-like so that others may know Jesus is real because of what they see in us.

3. Pray that the whole church might be caught up in this time of preparation and prayer.

 [post based upon King's Church, Catford's "40 Days" devotional notes]

A Week of Praying and Fasting, starts Monday 14th

Dear Friends

CCK are embarking on yet more changes, planning to launch a site in the West and one in the East too! I am praying that as each day passes we will have a growing sense of faith and anticipation for this exciting new season, as we move towards being one church in three locations

WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN?

Over the next twelve months we plan to do 4 Sunday meetings across 3 sites.

-          New England Quarter (Clarendon Centre)

-          West Brighton

-          East Brighton

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR CCK?

We will be one church in multiple locations. We will have one name, one eldership, one staff team, one vision, one mission, one philosophy, one teaching programme, one membership, one website, one budget and one legal identity.

The elders will continue to oversee all the sites. Each site will have a site leader and team, who will look after some ministry areas on that site. At the moment the only positions that are in place are that Matt Davis will lead in the West and Stephen Dawson will lead in the East. Many of the other details are very much up in the air as we pray and make plans.

WHAT NEXT?

There has always been a great atmosphere of prayer at CCK. And it’s at times like this that we want to press into prayer even more. That we may go deeper into God, that he will prepare us for going multi-site and that he will lead us in that. As a result I’d like to invite you to join me in Praying and Fasting next week (Monday 14^th- Sunday 20^th Feb).

To serve us in this I’ll be putting up blog posts each day. I hope they will encourage you and fuel your prayers. You can also leave comments and encouragement for others to use. I’ve also included some helpful fasting guidelines below that I’ve reproduced form the Newfrontiers church in Catford.

Fasting Guidelines

Introduction

It is time to seek the Lord. The primary motivation of fasting must be to seek the Lord. Fasting is a Biblical discipline which aids us in the seriousness of seeking God. To assist you in preparing for fasting please read the following and ask the Spirit to guide you as to how, when and for how long He wants you to fast and pray.

Types of Fast

1. The Absolute Fast. To fast completely without food or water up to a maximum of three days: see Esther 4 v16, Ezra 10 v6 and Acts 9 v9
2. The Partial or Daniel Fast. A determined cutting back of food to vegetables and fruit only, or one meal a day. This is a practical fast for those involved in heavy work or who have medical reasons for requiring regular good intake: See Daniel 10 v2, 3.
3. The Normal Fast. No food is eaten and drinking only water
4. The Juice Fast. Some prefer to have a liquid only fast which allows for more physical work. Many use this type of fast for their long fast.
5. Fasting from other things E.g. television and use the time to pray instead!

Spiritual Guidelines

1. Fasting must first and foremost be unto God. Receiving from God or seeing situations changed are secondary matters. Be sure your motives are appropriate as you enter into your fast. Desire to meet with God, to be more Christ like and for the holiness of God to be more evident in your life.
2. Schedule in time to pray and read the Word of God. If you don’t you will miss wonderful opportunities to hear from God.
3. Be prepared for opposition. This will come from the enemy as he doesn’t want you to fast. It will also come from your own body, which is used to having three meals a day! You may also find that well meaning friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues etc. will actively encourage you to stop.
4. Headaches, dizziness, tiredness, touchiness, etc. are all part of fasting too!
5. One writer said he never new the strength of the “desires of the flesh and lust of the eyes” to be so strong as when he fasted.
6. Expect to hear God in dreams, visions, revelations and through the Word of God in new and exciting ways.
7. Do not listen to the lie that nothing is happening. Fasting is a discipline that God has instigated, He blesses the obedient.

Practical Guidelines

1. This is not a comprehensive list of guidelines but some helpful hints.
2. Fast with someone else. There is strength in number!
3. Make a commitment and set a duration. However, be willing to review the duration if health or circumstances change.
4. If drinking juice, drink low or non-acidic diluted juices. Watch your intake; schedule it so you are self-controlled.
5. If underweight or ill, consult your doctor even for a few days fast.
6. Don’t boast about your fast. It is to be done in secret, but don’t be legalistic about this. Tell those who need to know.
7. Schedule in regular rest breaks as you grow weary and exercise only lightly.
8. Break the fast gradually, especially prolonged fasts.
9. Remember we are under Grace not Law. If at any point you feel you need to break the fast, be released to do so. Fasting is to meet with God, not to damage our bodies or create condemnation.
10. We are not expecting anyone to fast more than 3 days at a time, however if you are planning on fasting for longer, it is good to let someone on the zone leadership team know.

If you want to talk to someone about fasting, please feel free

to speak to any of the zone leadership team