January 2012

To know Christ and to make Him known

Dear Friends,

I wish you all a Happy New Year.  The month “January” gets its origin from the Latin Januarius –‘month of Janus’, which was the Roman god presiding over doors and beginnings.  But here at Eastwick Road Church we serve the God who makes all things new. He is the creator of the universe who made us to have fellowship with Him, and we have just celebrated at Christmas the birth of the one who has made that relationship with God real for us.

As we look back over the past year it has been very good to welcome some new people whom God has sent to be part of our worshipping family. We have experienced God’s mercy and faithfulness and the excitement of seeing his unfolding plan for us individually and corporately and we look forward with anticipation to see what new things He will do among us.

Creation is the act of making something new. The problem for us can be accepting the new because it is unfamiliar.  We feel secure with familiar things that we know and that is right and good. But we often have that dilemma in our minds of asking God to bring about change yet not being sure if the changes will take us out of our comfort zone or not. We wonder how much will we have to change and how ready are we for change? In fact, deep down, do we really want change?

Change for changes sake is not necessarily a good thing, for there is often much good in the old. But as Christians we have experienced a new birth and we find that God is remaking us in the power of His Spirit as day by day we experience His loving graciousness. As we become more familiar with the ways of God then we feel more confident in asking him to change us as we seek to deepen our faith in Him and seek to grow spiritually and numerically.

As we pray for this church, firstly I would ask God to teach us more of Himself and to deepen our understanding of what it means to serve the King of kings and to know Him as Saviour and Lord. Secondly I want to give thanks to God for his gracious hand upon us and for all of you who worship here and give so much to the functioning and witness of this church - and also for those of you who are no longer in Bookham but still praying for us.  And thirdly I would ask that God send more families and young people and that He will, in the power of His Spirit, help us who are already part of this fellowship, to develop the gifts He has given us to use here at Eastwick Road Church.  We need both a trust in God and the practical help of people to develop the many tasks that God has placed in our care. For example the level of pastoral care and nurture needed in this church is increasing and the desire to engage with our community with the Gospel is growing. Pray for God’s enabling and wisdom.

May this New Year be for us all a time of fervent prayer, a passion for the Gospel and a time when we grow together as a church.

I pray also for all of you who are not well, recently in hospital, housebound or frustrated with life as you find it. May you know God’s peace and hope in this coming year.

With my love,

David