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Welcome to the St Mark's Blog
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Sermon from Sunday Evening 23rd September 2012
The sermon from Sunday evening 23rd September is online here.
The second in our new evening teaching series on Jesus said “I am…
I am the light of the world
John 8:12-20
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Monday, 24 September 2012
Home Group Notes from Sunday 23rd September 2012
An encounter of a different kind... with obedience
Luke 5:27-32
You can read the passage here.
Whom do you empathise most easily with in the story of Luke 7: 36 -50, and
why?
Why do we find it so hard to receive God's forgiveness?
What did you make of Hennie's interpretation of the woman's act of anointing being an act of worship? And what impact should it have on us at St. Mark's as a worshipping community?
Sermon from Sunday Morning 23rd September 2012
The sermon from Sunday morning 23rd September is online here.
This Sunday we continue in our new morning teaching series on "An encounter of a different kind"
An encounter of a different kind #3 - with
Luke 7:36-50
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Thursday, 20 September 2012
Maesai Grace Church on facebook
Maesai Grace Church, our Tearfund connected church, is on facebook. If you have a facebook account you can follow them here to keep up to date .
You can get also get other news about them from tearfund at http://connected.tearfund.org/en/project_link/choose_a_project/asia/thailand_-_maesai_grace/ or you can read their blog at http://maesaigracechurch.blogspot.co.uk/
Please remember to keep them in your prayers.
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Home Group Notes from Sunday 16th September 2012
An encounter of a different kind... with obedience
Luke 5:27-32
Hennie has encouraged us to read the passages each week and pray for and with the preachers. How are you getting on?
In John 20:21 Jesus said “As the Father has sent me, I am
sending you.” How do you feel about being sent by Jesus? Do you have a
neighbour around the corner or across the street that you could help or share
your faith with? How about inviting them to Alpha?
Jesus said to Levi “Follow me” and Levi got up, left
everything and followed him.
Are there things in your life that you need to leave behind
so that you can be more focused on following Jesus?
The Pharisees and teachers of the law looked down on the tax
collectors and sinners because they were self righteous. Are there any
practical steps we can take together or individually to ensure that we do not fall into the
same sin?
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Alpha Update!
.
"Taste of Alpha" on Thursday September 27 atThe Slow Boat in Chester at 6:45 - with guest author Darrell Tunningly. Come and hear his amazing testimony.
Tickets £10 - booking is essential - call 01244 322056
"IF GOD CAN REACH ME HE CAN REACH ANYONE"
Alpha at St Mark's starts on Wednesday October 10th at 7:00pm
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Sermon from Sunday Morning 16th September 2012
The sermon from Sunday morning 16th September is online here.
This Sunday we continue in our new morning teaching series on "An encounter of a different kind"
An encounter of a different kind #2 - with obedience
Luke 5:27-32
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Thursday, 13 September 2012
Open Doors Road Show at St Mark's
Tuesday 2
October 2012 - 7:30pm
Featuring a guest speaker from the Arab World
Open Doors
are offering you the chance to discover what it's like to be part of the secret
church. Please join us as we pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters, worship
together, hear the latest news and stories from a member of the persecuted
church and learn more about life for Christians in the Arab World.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
www.stmarkssaltney.org.uk goes fully mobile
Did you know that you can keep up to date with what's going on at St Marks even when your out and about.
The St Marks website is compatible with many mobile devices and smartphones including iPhone, Blackberry and Android as well as Windows
So now you can check the calendar or read ReMarks, read the blog or our facebook page and follow our tweets, or listen to a sermon all on your phone!
Just point your mobile browser at www.stmarkssaltney.org.uk
It's that easy.
The St Marks website is compatible with many mobile devices and smartphones including iPhone, Blackberry and Android as well as Windows
So now you can check the calendar or read ReMarks, read the blog or our facebook page and follow our tweets, or listen to a sermon all on your phone!
Just point your mobile browser at www.stmarkssaltney.org.uk
It's that easy.
Sermon from Sunday Evening 9th September 2012
The sermon from Sunday evening
9th September is online here.
This
Sunday we began our new evening teaching series on Jesus said “I am…
I am
the bread of life
John 6:35-40
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Home Group Notes from Sunday 9th September 2012
An encounter of a
different kind – with temptation
Luke 4: 1 - 13
As we move into the autumn we
will be continuing to focus on our vision for St. Mark’s….. ‘to be a church
called to be God’s people, to worship, serve and grow, and to see lives of all
ages continually transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit’. As we seek to worship, serve and grow, both
spiritually and numerically, it is vital that we ourselves grow personally in
our Christian faith and discipleship by a deepening relationship with God, by a
growing relationship with one another, and by developing our relationship with
the local community and wider world. Therefore our bible readings and sermon
themes for both morning and evening will help us to relate our lives with the
life and character of our Lord Jesus Christ, as He relates His relationship
with God as His Father in Heaven. We will be looking at the Fruit of the
Spirit, different encounters people had with Jesus, and who Jesus said He was.
Luke 4: 1 - 13
- Do you believe in the person of the devil?
If yes, how have you encountered him along your Christian journey? - What did Jesus do, and
could do, only because he was the Son of God? - Discuss!
- Have you ever thought of relevance, power and popularity to be a temptation of the devil? How do you respond to the wiles of the devil? In prayer, fasting and in the Word of God?
New sermon - now available
The sermon from Sunday morning
9th September is online here.
This
Sunday we began our new morning teaching series on "An encounter of a
different kind"
An
encounter of a different kind #1 - with temptation
Luke
4:1-13
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Don’t
forget you can listen on your mobile device – just scan the code.
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Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Alpha PrayerPointers
Thank God for
- His presence and all the lives he has changed through Alpha
- The 18 million people who have attended the Alpha course worldwide
- For all the people that have done Alpha at St Mark’s
- God’s ever growing church worldwide
Pray for Chester
- For “A Taste of Alpha” on 27th September; for participation, fun and for God to be present; for Darrell Tunningley who will be speaking
- For unity in the churches involved – Northgate, Queen Street, All Saints and St Mark’s
- For the courses at Northgate and in Hoole
- For the Alpha Accelerate day on Saturday and our own training on 19th September
- For the joint away day on 10th November
Pray for
St Mark’s
- For opportunities to personally invite and tell others
- About our publicity and invitations
- For the people who will receive the invitations
- For the course that starts on 10th October
- For leaders, meal team, and helpers
- For people to become followers of Jesus
Monday, 3 September 2012
Hennie's Blog for September
Monday 3rd September
Dear All,
I ended my last blog hoping and praying that you would experience something of the mercy of God through rest, relaxation, space, fun, hospitality and welcome during the summer break - and I hope that to be true as I begin this September blog. I am very aware that the last two weeks will have been rather stressful for young people and parents as they awaited 'A' level and GCSE results, but to all who have received their examination results I send you my congratulations. I know there are some very relieved young members of St. Mark's, and some very proud parents, and quite rightly so!
Of course much of the summer has been focussed on the Olympic Games, and now on the Paralympics, and what an amazing time it has been. As Bishop Peter says in the September Diocesan News we can be insprired by the skills, efforts and determination of the competitors making the best of use of our own talents. In the Parable of the Talents, 'it is the person who protected his talent who is condemned, not the one who puts it to the best possible, and perhaps risky, use'. Something to reflect on as a church as we discern where God is calling each one of us to serve and minister, offering our skills, talents and gifts to help grow His Kingdom in our parish, and further afield.
One article on the Olympics that has really spoken to me was written by the Revd. Steve Morris for the Church of England Newspaper. He wrote it having attended, with his daughter, the women's football at Wembly where Brazil was thrashed 1-0. After confessing that he supports QPR and is a season ticket holder, he went on to say (I summarise), 'This was simply the best atmosphere of any football match I have attended. It was joyous, fun and lovely. And what was most different from your average Saturday match was that most people were not regular football fans - they were there just to enjoy. The difference was there was no tribalism, no aggression, no rituals normally associated with football, no tension, and being part of a narrow club was absent. It was a total revelation. This, I thought is how football could be if the regular fans weren't there'.
Morris went on to suggest that football and religion have much in common. There can be the same sense of exclusivity, ritual, tribalism, mystery to the outsider, and wondered what a Sunday would look like if the church was full of people who didn't usually go to church. Perhaps that might be a revelation also! Spontaneous joy might break out. People would smile & be excited as they experienced something new, amazing and joyous - just like the early church in Acts. His challenge was to start a move to fill our churches with people who have never been to church before and welcome their radical perspectives. He says, 'let's freshen up and see things anew. Let's have fun and let our hair down. Let's stop taking ourselves so seriously. Let's stop arguing about stuff that is not important. I think we might have a better time in church and better still might encounter the wild and beautiful and anarchic Holy Spirit. I am up for it. Are you?'
I am up for it -is St. Mark's? Which leads me on to wanting to highlight the Alpha course starting on Wed 10th October with a celebration meal at the Slow Boat on Thursday 27th September. This is a great opportunity to invite friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues, uni or college friends who don't go to church, to come and find out what the Christian faith is all about, and hopefully experience 'the wild and beautiful and anarchic Holy Spirit'. Also I would like to encourage everyone who attends St. Mark's to attend the Alpha course as well, a big ask I know, but I believe God is wanting to refresh & empower us all, and this would be a great opportunity for each one of us to put our 'Vision into Practice'. Please pray young or old, new christian or mature, to see whether God is calling you to be engaged with the Alpha course, either by doing it, or by serving on it. I am up for it. Are you?
Secondly, all that we do at St. Mark's must be rooted and grounded in prayer, so can I encourage you all to put the 24hr of Prayer into your minds, diaries, calendars, or wherever you keep your engagements - from 5 pm on Friday 28th September to 5 pm Saturday 29th September. An opportunity to pray for our Vision to become fleshed out - incarnated - and where each one of us plays our part (all member ministry). I am up for it. Are you?
Thirdly, please do put Open Doors Road Show in your diaries which we are hosting at St. Mark's on the evening of Tuesday 2nd October. This is another amazing opportunity to invite friends & family, especially those who don't know Jesus, to hear about the amazing work that Open Doors engages in with places where the church is persecuted throughout the world - it will be a very powerful and challenging evening - and one not to be missed! I am going - are you?
Lastly, do take the Autumn Sermon Series card home and read and reflect upon the bible passages set for each Sunday, helping us to relate our lives with the life and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will be looking at the Fruit of the Spirit, different encounters people had with Jesus, and who Jesus said He was. I pray that we may listen, hear, and do His will....... (James 1: 17-end). I am up for it. Are you?
Yours in Christ,
Hennie
Dear All,
I ended my last blog hoping and praying that you would experience something of the mercy of God through rest, relaxation, space, fun, hospitality and welcome during the summer break - and I hope that to be true as I begin this September blog. I am very aware that the last two weeks will have been rather stressful for young people and parents as they awaited 'A' level and GCSE results, but to all who have received their examination results I send you my congratulations. I know there are some very relieved young members of St. Mark's, and some very proud parents, and quite rightly so!
Of course much of the summer has been focussed on the Olympic Games, and now on the Paralympics, and what an amazing time it has been. As Bishop Peter says in the September Diocesan News we can be insprired by the skills, efforts and determination of the competitors making the best of use of our own talents. In the Parable of the Talents, 'it is the person who protected his talent who is condemned, not the one who puts it to the best possible, and perhaps risky, use'. Something to reflect on as a church as we discern where God is calling each one of us to serve and minister, offering our skills, talents and gifts to help grow His Kingdom in our parish, and further afield.
One article on the Olympics that has really spoken to me was written by the Revd. Steve Morris for the Church of England Newspaper. He wrote it having attended, with his daughter, the women's football at Wembly where Brazil was thrashed 1-0. After confessing that he supports QPR and is a season ticket holder, he went on to say (I summarise), 'This was simply the best atmosphere of any football match I have attended. It was joyous, fun and lovely. And what was most different from your average Saturday match was that most people were not regular football fans - they were there just to enjoy. The difference was there was no tribalism, no aggression, no rituals normally associated with football, no tension, and being part of a narrow club was absent. It was a total revelation. This, I thought is how football could be if the regular fans weren't there'.
Morris went on to suggest that football and religion have much in common. There can be the same sense of exclusivity, ritual, tribalism, mystery to the outsider, and wondered what a Sunday would look like if the church was full of people who didn't usually go to church. Perhaps that might be a revelation also! Spontaneous joy might break out. People would smile & be excited as they experienced something new, amazing and joyous - just like the early church in Acts. His challenge was to start a move to fill our churches with people who have never been to church before and welcome their radical perspectives. He says, 'let's freshen up and see things anew. Let's have fun and let our hair down. Let's stop taking ourselves so seriously. Let's stop arguing about stuff that is not important. I think we might have a better time in church and better still might encounter the wild and beautiful and anarchic Holy Spirit. I am up for it. Are you?'
I am up for it -is St. Mark's? Which leads me on to wanting to highlight the Alpha course starting on Wed 10th October with a celebration meal at the Slow Boat on Thursday 27th September. This is a great opportunity to invite friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues, uni or college friends who don't go to church, to come and find out what the Christian faith is all about, and hopefully experience 'the wild and beautiful and anarchic Holy Spirit'. Also I would like to encourage everyone who attends St. Mark's to attend the Alpha course as well, a big ask I know, but I believe God is wanting to refresh & empower us all, and this would be a great opportunity for each one of us to put our 'Vision into Practice'. Please pray young or old, new christian or mature, to see whether God is calling you to be engaged with the Alpha course, either by doing it, or by serving on it. I am up for it. Are you?
Secondly, all that we do at St. Mark's must be rooted and grounded in prayer, so can I encourage you all to put the 24hr of Prayer into your minds, diaries, calendars, or wherever you keep your engagements - from 5 pm on Friday 28th September to 5 pm Saturday 29th September. An opportunity to pray for our Vision to become fleshed out - incarnated - and where each one of us plays our part (all member ministry). I am up for it. Are you?
Thirdly, please do put Open Doors Road Show in your diaries which we are hosting at St. Mark's on the evening of Tuesday 2nd October. This is another amazing opportunity to invite friends & family, especially those who don't know Jesus, to hear about the amazing work that Open Doors engages in with places where the church is persecuted throughout the world - it will be a very powerful and challenging evening - and one not to be missed! I am going - are you?
Lastly, do take the Autumn Sermon Series card home and read and reflect upon the bible passages set for each Sunday, helping us to relate our lives with the life and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will be looking at the Fruit of the Spirit, different encounters people had with Jesus, and who Jesus said He was. I pray that we may listen, hear, and do His will....... (James 1: 17-end). I am up for it. Are you?
Yours in Christ,
Hennie