Joseph Is Told About Jesus Birth

Matthew 1:18-25

Two Jewish families would agree for their daughter and son to marry. The couple would be pledged to be married. There would be no union between them until they were married. After being pledged, a couple would need a divorce if they were to separate, even though they weren't yet married. Adultery within the time of being pledged had very serious consequences, it sometimes even the death sentence.

Mary and Joseph were in this very situation but without any wrong taking place. Joseph would no doubt have been confused as he saw that Mary was pregnant but no doubt believed her as he loved her.

Mary was a virgin. Why did God choose a virgin to birth His Son? Sin is talked about in the Bible like a disease that is passed down from generation to generation through man, starting with Adam. Mary had no union with man and there could be no natural father, or sin would have been present. Jesus entered Mary by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was fully man AND fully God.

Joseph was a poor man, a carpenter. Not a very significant man in human terms. God uses the insignificant to carry out His powerful works. In doing this God shows He is all powerful and man cannot boast.

Joseph was a Jewish man of faith who believed in Gods promises, a righteous man. He was a kind man. He treated Mary with the greatest care in an understandably difficult situation. He kept the matter quiet so as not to disgrace Mary or even worse, to be convicted of adultery. Joseph is a good example of a Christian man.

When the angel spoke to Joseph, he no doubt realised who this child would be as he knew the promises in the Bible. How must it have felt for him to realise that the Bible promises were going to be worked out in his life - the very things that he had read about all his life.

All the Bible promises were coming true. We can read them from beginning to end, but Joseph was seeing them happen little by little in his own life.

Are we like Joseph? Do we believe in Gods word and are we prepared to be obedient to God and be part of his plan? Is He the ruler of our lives and do we look to Him.

London Christmas Walkabout

Sat 10th Dec - 2pm onwards

Just a heads-up that the young people from a bunch of different churches are meeting up to spend the day in London.

[Call Tim or email yc@hayestownchapel.org.uk for details]

Our visit to London City Mission

On Saturday the 26th November Shannon, Amy, Olivia, Joel, Thiery along with Karen Nigel Junior and Tim, took a trip in the minibus to London City Mission at Webber Street. The purpose of the trip was to drop off the large bags of good quality used men's clothing that members the youth club and their families had collected for the homeless.

Miss Moss, one of the workers at London City Mission kindly took some time out of her busy schedule to take us for a tour around the facility, explaining what the mission does, who visits and how a regular day works in practice. She answered a lot of questions that we had and it was a very eye-opening experience. Miss Moss was

very encouraged by our visit and we were all grateful for the experience and the things we learned.

Click the pictures for a closer look.

After the tour was over, we went for the short walk to the South Bank of the Thames for something to eat and walked along the riverbank where there was a Christmas fair with a lot of interesting things to look at... and try on!

Jesus the King

Matthew 21:1-17 and Zechariah 9:9

'The Son of David' was the name given to a special person who would come and bring in a new era for the Jews, and this was prophesied even right from the beginning in the book of Genesis.

Jesus rode the foal of a donkey into Jerusalem to fulfil the prophecy written in Zechariah. Was Jesus right to do this? He would have to be mad, or bad for claiming to be this Son of David... or He really was genuinely the one who would bring Salvation to all who believe in Him.

Jesus is a King... not like an earthly king, but King of all. Jesus kingdom is the Kingdom of Heaven. He was righteous - blameless of any sin - the only righteous man that has ever lived, and when He died He died to save us from our sin.

He saved us from our greatest danger. We are in danger of drowning in the consequences of our sin. Sin spoils every part of our lives and we are all in that danger. We can't save ourselves from sin. Some think that the little good we do will make up for our badness, but just as you can't make a rotten apple good, so it is with our sin. But Jesus died so that we can be forgiven and our lives can gradually begin to be more and more like Him.

Can you say that Jesus is your King and your Saviour?

Jesus Lord of the Sabbath

Matthew 12:1-13

Sabbath means rest. The Sabbath is a day of rest. God created the world in 6 days and on the 7th day He rested. He set the day apart for us for physical rest and spiritual blessing. We may wonder why Sunday is actually different because we look around and Sunday looks just like a Saturday. God made Sunday a day of rest and is important for rest, for family time, to avoid another day of shopping and material gain, but to focus on our creator and His great blessings.

Here we see the Pharisees trying to catch Jesus out by accusing Him of breaking one of the many laws they had made thinking they were being godly. But Jesus knew the Bible much better than they did. The Bible says that land owners were to allow the hungry to eat from their crop as long as they only took what they could eat at that moment. Jesus and the disciples were not stealing more than what was allowed by Bible law. So they tried to accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath. Jesus explained to them that the Sabbath was made for mans benefit, not to be worshipped in itself. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It was not given by God to be a burden, but as a blessing for us. We are not to stop eating because it's Sunday.

Our soul's relationship with God is far more important that the physical body.

Jesus Predicts His Death

Matthew 16:21-28

Jesus had to get His disciples to understand that he was the Son of God come to earth and not just a man. Then he had to explain the reason He came. Jesus was gong to suffer and die, but more than that, on the third day he would rise.

Many have known they may be put to death for something they'd done, or by those who persecute them, but no one except the Son of God could raise Himself from the dead and say exactly when He would rise from the dead.

Jesus came to give His life, for man's sin, instead of ours. If Jesus didn't come to save us, we would be rejected by God because we are sinful.

Peter didn't understand this. He even tried to tell Jesus off for even suggesting he would die. But Jesus put Peter straight. Peter wasn't thinking about what Jesus said, he was thinking things in his own understanding. He couldn't imagine that Jesus would have to die, but He didn't see Gods plan to save mankind through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Christians throughout the world and throughout time have had faced great opposition, ridicule and even death. As Jesus did, we must hand our lives over to God. This doesn't mean we lose our lives, it means that we find true life, what life is meant to be - real meaning and truth. It means denying sin and following God.

What good is it for a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul?

Jesus is gong to return and reward those who have 'carried the cross' - those who have walked in Jesus' footsteps - the plan of God.

Identity Unknown?

Matthew 16:13-16

Who was Jesus? Many thought He was one of the prophets who brought God's word to the people. The people had seen His miracles and heard His teaching and that's who they thought Jesus was. But Simon Peter knew Jesus was The Christ (The Messiah), the Living God.

The Jews thought that the Saviour would be someone who would physically rescue them from those oppressing them at the time. But Jesus came for a much greater reason. The eternal God (God The Father) sent Jesus (God The Son) into the world to save us. Jesus wasn't just a man, he was God Himself. Our God is not a remote being, He lived among us. The disciples knew this.

Who is Jesus to you? We all have an opinion.

It is historical fact that a man called Jesus existed and did what was recorded in the Bible (and many other reliable documents).

Maybe you think He was just a good person. But this can't logically be. He claimed to be the Son of God, if you don't believe He was God, then you must believe He was a liar - not a good man. Or maybe He was a delusional lunatic claiming to be God? Again, not a good person. The only thing that rings true is that He must be who He claimed to be - the living Son of God. We know it in our hearts when we read about His life.

Ladies' Dinner 2011

Monday 14th November 2011
7:15pm - Hayes Town Chapel

Announcing a dinner for girls only! ... but that's not even the best part... the best part is that the men will be serving your tables!

Helen Jones, the speaker for the evening, is a busy mum of 4 children, a part time veterinary nurse and is married to Matthew who is a full-time church worker. Helen is involved in outdoor camps for young people.

Girls, leave a comment, including your name, below if you want us to reserve you a place. Feel free to invite your mums, aunts, friends too. Be sure to include their names in the comment as well.

Your Gift to the Homeless this Winter

Update: The trip on 26th November went really well, click here to read about it. Though the trip is over, the collection for good quality warm men's clothing is still open. As soon as we have enough clothing, we'll do another trip!

Your Gift
At YouthClub we are collecting good quality men's clothing - shoes, underwear, trousers, jumpers, coats, shirts, blankets - so that we can give them to London City Mission's work for the homeless at Webber Street.

Why the gift?
Each day, Webber Street welcome 100-150 homeless to a full cooked breakfast at 9am and teach them from the Bible. The first 15 men through the door each morning are offered use of the shower facilities and a full set of clothes. This means thousands of set of mens clothes are needed each year.

The best ways to do it
If you would like to help with this work, your dad or grandad may have some good clothes they don't need and are willing to donate. But another good way is to visit local charity shops where you will find very cheap good quality mens clothing. By spending your money at these charity shops you are contributing to the charity which the shop represents and then also helping Webber Street by donating the clothing. You're helping 2 causes at once.

Collecting the clothes together
Bring any clothes that you've collected to Youth Club with you, or email me [Tim] at yc@hayestownchapel.org.uk if you'd like to do a mid-week drop to our home. Also check back here for times and dates of organised get-together collection trips and, more importantly, the delivery trip into London.

Delivering your gift
When we have a good collection of clothing, we will try to organise a trip to Webber Street, for you who have been involved, to deliver the gift and possibly the opportunity of being shown around the facility so you can see exactly where your gift will be put to use and truly understand the need.

Use the comments link below to leave any questions, comments or good tips you've found for collecting clothes etc.

"I Will Give You Rest"

Matthew 11:28

There is nothing more important for us to grasp. This is the heart of the Christian message.

Scouts march hard to achieve badges and goals. Walking up mountains with a rucksack, a tent and needed supplies. The weight of the rucksack heavy on their shoulders, feeling heavier as the march goes on. This is a good illustration of the burden of sin. Every time we've failed God in our thoughts, with our words and in our actions, we add to this burden of sin. We have all built up a debt so huge, due to our sin, that it is beyond us to remove it or to be rid of it.

We mustn't be fooled into thinking that our good will ultimately out-weigh our bad, instead we need to come to the place where we realise there is no way we can ever out-weigh or pay for our sin. Being religious, going to church, living a 'good' life - none of these things can ever make us right with God and remove the enormous weight of sin that presses down on us. Doing 'good' things doesn't help to remove the guilt of sin - this guilty feeling of having done wrong.

Jesus says "Come to me" - Jesus is the burden bearer. He alone can remove our burden of sin. We have been wounded by sin to such an extent that unless we get treatment we will die. Jesus has carried out the rescue plan. He took our sin upon Himself and bore the punishment due to us. Our place of safety is Jesus Christ - our burden bearer.

By trusting in Him, by putting our life in his hands, we can be saved from our sin and the heavy consequences it brings upon us. If we see our need, there is hope. Jesus can give you rest.

Jesus Authority To Forgive Sin

Matthew 9:1-8

There are people around us who have authority over different amounts of people or even regions and countries. But everyone is born under one authority - sin.

What is sin?
Sin is either not doing what God expects us to do or doing what God commands us not to... not just in actions but also in thought and in what we say. Can any of us say, honestly, that we have been able to live perfectly according to God even for a single day of our life? No, we are ALL under the authority of sin. Every person born from Adam, the first man to sin, is now affected by sin.

What's the consequence of sin?
The Bible says that the wages of son is death. (Romans 6:23) sin brought us separation from God because we are all facing His judgement for our sin.

Is there anything we can do about sin? 
Well, we can't live good enough to please God by ourselves and how can we ever make up for our past sin. BUT, there is one who has authority, even over sin.

Jesus is our hope. Being the Son of God Himself, He is the only one Who has ever lived a perfect life. He has the authority over sin and He died to take the punishment due to us, freeing us from the judgement of sin and therefore it's authority over us.

The man in the reading was paralysed. Jesus healed him and he was able to instantly lead a normal life, but so much more important than that, Jesus forgave his sin.

Jesus Power Over Demons

Matthew 8:28

The only person who has authority over nature is God. Jesus could command the storm to stop and it became calm. But generally, as a nation, we don't truly believe that there is a real person who is God.

The Bible teaches that there is a God and He isn't the only person that exists in the spiritual realm. These spirits are called demons and angels and though in the same realm as God, they do not have the same power as God.
We can laugh when we think of ghosts, but spirits are real and are not make believe or fantasy. And when we think of angels we probably think of people dressed in White with wings, or even babies with wings, but if we encounter either an angel or a demon, we would be struck with fear.

God created these supreme beings long before he created the earth. They roam throughout htis world unseen but have great effect upon people. We see the effects of demons and their evil upon men when we learn of people being driven to do greatly evil things. even those who don't believe in God know when they experience evil forces.

In this account in Matthew, we read of Jesus visiting an area that was not a very Godly place and two demon possessed men approached Jesus. They begged Jesus not to harm them but Jesus sent them into a herd of pigs which they quickly killed. We don't know why God let the deomns live. We don't know why Jesus doesn't get rid of all the evil in the world. We don't have the answers, but we do know that Jesus doesn't let anything happen that spoils His great purpose.

Despite the evil in the world, we don't need to fear that the world is out of control. God hasn't left the world to itself. He has a plan. His plan is being accomplished. Trough Jesus death on the cross, we all have hope of forgiveness and Salvation from eternal punishment. We mustn't miss out on the only One who can save us from the evil around us and the evil in our own hearts. We mustn't push away our only hope

Learn To Make Better Decisions

"A prudent man gives thought to his steps."
PROVERBS 14:15

If you're still making the same mistakes at fifty that you were at twenty, you need to ask God for wisdom.

"The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out"
PROVERBS 18:15

What you are in the present, was determined by the decisions you made in the past. If you want to change your future, learn to make better decisions. Be wise; let these principles guide you:

1. Never make permanent decisions based on temporary circumstances. If you do, you'll regret it.
2. Don't let your emotions blind you to reason. Pray, weigh things carefully and base your decisions on mature judgment.
3. Surround yourself with sharp people and draw on their gifts, without being intimidated by their expertise.
4. Take the time to consider all options. What looks good to you today, may not look so good tomorrow.
5. You can't fight successfully on every front, so choose your battles carefully. Simply stated: some things are not worth fighting for.
6. Take time to get all the facts; conjecture leads to crisis.
7. Consider the consequences of each action. Ask yourself, "Am I ready to handle this right now?"
8. Make sure your expectations don't exceed your potential and your resources. Be realistic. If you can't count, don't apply for a job in the finance office. If you can't sing, don't cut an album. Focus on what God gifted you to do. That's where you'll succeed.
9. Time is your most limited and valuable resource. Don't waste it.
10. Allow yourself a 10% risk of being wrong, a 50% likelihood of betrayal, and a 100% commitment to trust God, go forward and survive it all.

(The Word for Today by Bob Gass)

Harvest 2011

You (and your family) are invited 
to join us for our 
Harvest Supper

6:00pm this Saturday evening, 24th September.



Put your name and the name of anyone you hope to bring in the comments below so that we can make room at the table.

You're also invited to our Harvest Services this Sunday at 11:00am and 6:30pm

Jesus Calms the Storm - Matthew 8:23 and Mark 4:35

Jesus has been speaking to the people all day and was no doubt tired. Open-air preaching is particular exhausting. Because Jesus is a man like us, we shouldn't be surprised that He fell asleep on the boat, even so deeply that the storm didn't wake Him. This was a violent storm and these hardened fishermen were scared for their lives. But instead of turning to a better fisherman, they turn to a carpenter, Jesus, because they knew that He was the Son of God.

They asked Jesus if He really cared for them in this situation. This was insulting to Jesus because no-one has ever cared for mankind the way Jesus does. But they were panicking.

It's a good thing that they knew who to turn to. Do we know who to turn to when things go dreadfully wrong? It's good to know that you can go to Jesus.

Jesus, in reply, shows without any doubt that He is God. These fishermen knew that storms die down slowly, you never get instant calm. This storm didn't come by chance and Jesus didn't calm it by chance. The same is with our lives. Nothing that happens to us happens by chance. He's the One who raises the stormy wind and he's the One who brings the calm. Sometimes we don't understand why - we just have to trust Him and you'll see things fit into place finally and see that God is Love.

The men were frightened because it was so wonderful what sort of man is this? There's only one logical answer. Jesus is God. If we are convinced of this in our hearts we will believe what He says is true and will trust Him as our friend and Saviour.

This is THE most important message of any part of the Bible, as it is here. Jesus is God, the Creator.

The Man with Leprosy - Matthew 8:1-3

We all realise qualifications are very important. In schools, colleges and in trades and skills. You don't go to the wrong person for job. You wouldn't go to the butcher to have an operation.

Jesus didn't do any certificates in preaching and teaching. No, He spoke with authority because He was qualified to be the Son of God because He was born in the line of David, but more so, that He had great power. Power over people, sickness and nature. His miracles prove that He was the Son of God.

Here we read that this particular miracle took place infront of a very large number of people and it concerned a man with the most feared diseases in the ancient world - leprosy. Leprosy can be treated today, but in Jesus time, leprosy was like cancer is today. It effects the whole body and is clearly visible due to sores and ulcers and the nerve cells die, causing people to get hurt badly without even realizing, leading slowly to loss of limbs and eventually death. It meant you had to be isolated so that you didn't pass on the disease.

It is also significant because it represents the nature of sin. It effects the whole body as does sin. It's ugly as sin is to God. It's corrupting, like sin, and can corrupt other people.

This man risked approaching Jesus, coming in confidence that He wouldn't be driven away. He came and knelt in reverence calling Jesus Lord and Master. He asked with humility submitting to Jesus will. Andhe came in faith. He knew Jesus could do it if Jesus wanted to.

The outstanding thing here is that Jesus, showing His love to this man, touched his lepros body and healed Him with the words "be clean".

The healing was instant. Jesus didn't need to see the man again at a later date to see if he was completely better. Jesus has the power to heal the leper completely and instantly.

Jesus also has the ability to cleanse us of our sin... completely and instantly. Only Jesus can put us right, but we have to come to Jesus the same way this man did, with confidence, reverence, humility and faith.

Should I ask her out?

Growing up, I had friends asking each other out, going out with people they hardly knew, breaking up, dumping, being dumped and, maybe the saddest situation, going out with close friends that you could just see wouldn't last long and would end up permanently damaging what had been a really good friendship. I'd see friends disappear off the scene as a couple and miss out on a lot of fun stuff - experiences and friends passing them by - because they were taken up with their boyfriend/girlfriend that they would most likely dump sooner or later.

Despite seeing all this, I too thought this was the way love was done and inevitably faced the lost time and break-ups. I thank God that nothing serious happened during these short lived relationships but, even now, still have regrets for mistakes I wish I could take back.

After the last break-up, when I was 17, I made my mind up that here HAD to be another way.

I knew that God had made this promise to us all:

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
[Psalm 37:4-5]

I was no longer going to search for "the right one" myself by going out with different girls until I found someone I hoped would be "the one", at the same time hoping on the slim chance that they would feel the same way about me. Besides, if I found "the one", how would I ever really know if I was with the right person or not? I decided to live my life, enjoy the experiences of being free with the great friends God had blessed me with and wait for Him to choose someone for me. Who better to choose someone for you than God!


While getting on with my life being single I learned from the Bible and from people who I could trust, that I didn't want to end up with someone who wasn't my best friend. How could it be possible to give all my love to one person while knowing I had a better friend in someone else. This helped me to realise how valuable my friendships were and gave me the biggest clue ever to who I would end up with... my best friend!

I spent my teens and on into my 20's travelling, going to camps, Christian conferences, snowboard trips, Saturday nights out all with the best friends anyone could ask for. God blessed me with so many great memories and experiences during that time and, best of all, I don't regret meeting or spending time with any of them.

It's sad to see relationships coming and going, teens giving the best and most treasured parts of themselves to people they hardly know and probably won't be with for very long, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, missed opportunities - lives with so much promise, filled with so much regret - when God already has our life perfectly planned out if we just trust Him and live for Him.

When God's planned time came, He was true to His promise with me. I met and married Joy... the best friend of them all.

The Pilgrim's Progress

Saturday 2nd July, 5pm til late, Chesham.
Tickets cost £9.
Transport will be organised, leaving from the church.

Adapted for the stage by David Robinson and Richard Hasnip.

Set in the Industrial Revolution, this new play is a modern adaptation of John Bunyan’s classic novel. The Pilgrim’s Progress has been heralded as a literary masterpiece around the world and having never gone out of print, it is the world’s second most read book.

Follow Christian and his companions as they set out on a dangerous adventure, a journey that will see him meet both friends and enemies along the way. With challenges great and small on his path, will he ever reach the Heavenly City? This remarkable retelling brings this timeless story to life for a whole new generation of people.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

In order to show that He really did have authority over sin and all things, Jesus told the paralysed man to get up and walk.

Matthew 9:2-8

A father once said to his son, every time you do something wrong I will hammer a nail into this block of wood, and when you do one good action i will take a nail out of the wood. Soon the son was doing more good than wrong and held up the clean piece of wood, but the father showed his son the holes left by the nails. Whenever we do wrong, it is permanent and can not be removed by our good. The only one who has authority over the effects of sin is Jesus. Jesus also had authority over illness, nature and the spiritual realm. There is nothing outside of the authority of Jesus.

In this scripture we see that Jesus forgave the paralyised man of his sins. The relgious amongst the crowd accused Jesus of blasphemy, no believing that He was God and could heal the soul. They knew oy God could forgive sins so they knew, by His words, that Jesus was claiming to be God. Jesus clearly claimed to be God. He knew the people's thoughts. We are prone to assume that sin is only wrong actions but we forget that our wrong thoughts and sin in our private lives is also sin. God sees all things, there is nothing we can hide from God.

In order to show that He really did have authority over sin and all things, Jesus told the paralysed man to get up and walk. Jesus didn't just say, but He backed up what He said with awesome action.

The mistake the onlookers made was simply that, they were just watching from a distance. They missed the point that Jesus ws God and can forgive us our sins. Far greater than physical healing, Jesus can heal our souls. God gave His one and only Son for us to heal our souls.

Though there was only one man there who needed physical healing, everyone there needed spirituals healing. This man experienced forgiveness which is far greater than any physical healing.

If we confess our sins to Him and believe that He died for our sins, then we will be raised with Him and be with Him for eternity.

God's Power

God is Holy, hears prayer, rescues us, never changes & deserves our worship.

Exodus 3:16-4:17

God had shown Himself to Moses in the miracle of the bush that was on fire but wasn't being burnt up. God told Moses that he was standing on Holy ground. Moses was afraid in the presence of God, but God explained His concern for the Israelite people and the misery that caused them to cry out to Him. God heard them calling on Him and He was going to rescue them.

What we need to know about God: God is Holy, God hears our prayer, God can rescue us, God deserves our worship, God never changes, God was going to deliver His people, about 2 million of them, from slavery into a new land flowing with milk and honey - in other words, a very fertile fruitful place - the promised land.

This is a picture of what God does for us today when we trust Him to deliver us, to rescue us from the slavery of sin and set us free.

God told moses to confront the Egyptian leaders and request the freedom of the Israelite slaves. But Moses, like we are prone to when given a difficult task to face, doubted God. God promised to give Moses great power and authority and even gave Him miraculous signs to show the Egyptians the authority he was given by God.

This was great proof for Moses, but he still feared His own ability. He took his eyes off God and looked at the lack of his own strength. But God reminded Moses that it was He who created the world and gives people the gifts and abilities. We must remember who really is in control. Even our disabilities can be used by God and for His glory. Moses was wrong in being reluctant to do what God asked, and we too shouldn't doubt God's power through us, to change us, to make us new people and useful for Him.

Lance Mountain

I Am The Gate [John 10:7-10]

Jesus is talking to the Pharisees here. They would say that if you followed their rules you would be saved. They didn't like what Jesus was teaching or who Jesus claimed to be. It was to them that Jesus said "I am the gate".

We have gates for the purpose of getting somewhere. They allow people to get from one place to another. Jesus said He is THE gate and that we need Him to get to salvation. As humans, we stand in great need because we have rebelled against God. People know in their hearts that God is in control, no matter how they try to discredit Him or deny Him. Everybody knows there's a God and everybody knows what God expects of them, though we make excuses and try to rationalise our wrong. Our conscience tells us that we are not ready for God. If we're not ready to meet God, what lies ahead for us?

We all know there's got to be justice in the world. We know there's fairness because it's built into us by God. If there is no God, fairness and justice don't exist and every man can do anything they think is right in their own eyes. God will let us get what we want in the end. If we don't want God, He will eventually leave us and we will be away from God for eternity.

But God wants us to be His. He gives us every opportunity to turn from our rebellion and trust in Jesus who paid the penalty we couldn't pay. Jesus is the way to God - the only gate to God and we must enter through Him.

It means leaving our own selfish way of life behind, trusting in Jesus Christ and following His plan for our life. What will life be like then? Life will be good - the best life. Jesus came that we might have life to the full. God who created all the best things in this world, and the world to come, will guide our every step and bring us through every situation in life with satisfaction and joy.

Life without Jesus is a handful of dust. Everything else besides Jesus will come to nothing. Possessions, money and the pleasures of this world will tempt us to follow them whole-heartedly, but they are like thieves. Jesus, because of His life, death and resurrection, is the only way to have life to the full on earth and then life eternal after death, which is far better.

It's a promise.

I Am The Light of the World [John 8:12]

It's hard to find your way around in darkness. Light is one of the most important things that we need to get by in life.

Jesus said that He was the light of the world. What did He mean? 

This world isn't all there is. There is another reality co-existing with this one. A spiritual reality that is even more important than our physical realm. God is the light source of this spiritual realm.

If the sun died we would all die. So if we don't have God's light shining on us, we will be spiritually dead. We have all turned our backs on God and gone our own way. This is sin. Sin is doing things our own way not God's. Because of sin, God has withdrawn his light from us. We can very easily think that what we see and touch is all there is. But because of the darkness we are in, we don't see the truth of the spiritual realm.

God loves us and sees us fumbling in the darkness and Has compassion on us. He sent His son to die, physically and spiritually, and be separated from God to take the punishment due to our sin. Jesus was in darkness and experienced the absolute total darkness of Gods judgement. Jesus took the darkness that we deserve so that we can experience light.

He rose from the dead and shines His light upon us, bringing us back to God. God shines His light into our hearts so that we are no longer in the darkness. It's like He turns on a light within us and we can suddenly see the truth that this world isn't all there is but there is a spiritual life and we can live with Him.

If you do ask Jesus to shine His light on you, you may first experience guilt for the life you've lived until now, and you'll be driven to God to ask for His forgiveness. If God causes you to feel true guilt for sin, He will bring you to Him for forgiveness and He will not fail you.

Quiz Night! [Friday 25th February]

We need  to make up a Youth Club team... 

let us know if you're interested!

Feltham Bible Focus

Where the Bible Meets Life

7:00pm every second Sunday of the month in 2011

Feltham Evangelic Church, Manor Lane, Feltham TW13 4JQ

If you would like to come along, but need a ride,
email the youthclub and let us know!

January 8th

Kept by the Power of God

Geoff Thomas

February 12th

Keep Yourself Pure

Neil Richards

March 12th

King Saul: lessons from a Complicated Man

Brian Edwards

April 9th

Keep Yourselves from Idols

Gary Brady

May 14th

I Want a Better Marriage

Keith Wilson

June 11th

We Need Leaders!

Marcus Honeysett

July 9th

Conscience

John Singleton

August 13th

Justification by Faith

Philip Venables

September 10th

Creation or Evolution: Do we have to choose?

Paul Garner

October 8th

What Does a Christian Look Like?

Alun McNabb

November 12th

Making Sense of Suffering

Basil Howlett

December 10th

Keeping Spiritually Fresh

David Magowan

The Nativity Interview

This is great to listen to. Tony Jordan, who writes for popular TV programmes, talks about his findings as he researched for making The Nativity that played on TV over Christmas.

Happy New Year! [2011]

John 3 verse 16 says,

"For God so loved the world that he gave is only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"

As we come to the end of the year and begin a new year, it's a good oppotunity for a fresh start, or to set goals for ourselves... maybe even to turn over a new leaf and approach life in a new way. This is a good thing to do, but if we're honest, we know that it won't be long into the new year before we make mistakes, if not the same old mistakes, then we'll make new ones, as we try to find our way through life the best we can.

But God says, in Jeremiah 29 verse 11

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

We have a choice this new year. Are we going to do OUR best, or are we going to let God do HIS best with us?

We don't need to spend our time trying to be better for God. We just need to get to know God closer, through Jesus, and to follow His plan for us and our life will automatically change as He works in us. We get closer to God by reading the Bible to learn more about who Jesus is, we can talk to Him in prayer and talk with others who know Him too. Ask God what He has planned for you.

We know life will still have it's ups and downs but, with God carrying us, we can face every storm in His strength.

Psalm 40 verse 5 says

"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare."

Let's not begin the new year fumbling our own way through life. God, the creator of everything, has a perfect plan for each and every one of us... a plan to prosper us in this life and on into eternity... if we only come to know Him through Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.