Kingdom of God, Insurgency of God, Party of God, The Eco-system of God, The government of God, the dance of God...

Jesus is born into a context of Roman occupation and the responses of the various groups such as the Pharisees, Essenes, Herodians and Zealots. Jesus offers a new way that he calls 'The Kingdom of God'. Jesus invites everyone into this group and doesn't isolate like each of the other groups.

*Jesus is baptised by John who was an Essene and also interacts with John's disciples.

*Jesus meets and interacts with Zachaeus, a tax collector working for Roman government (Herodian). Jesus brings the kingdom of transformation to this mans life.

*In John Jesus speaks with Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish group the Pharisees. Jesus teaches him about the Kingdom of God and the need to be born again. Nicodemus was eager to learn. When he didn't understand, he kept asking questions until he did reach some kind of understanding. He needed to question his own pre-existing beliefs and thoughts.

*In his group of follows Jesus has a Roman collaborator in Matthew and a zealot in Simon.



Jesus' life should give us an example for how to do church. How do we live out the Kindom of God? How do we interact with those who we disagree with and those we keep our distance from? (And those are just the Christians!)As we live in this way the Kindom of God begins to increase.

But what if we broaden our horizons? How do we interact with...

This is Good News

My hope for the church is that it would become the very heartbeat of the community. Just as in the past the River Clyde provided jobs, security and upheld Glasgow's economy, how refreshing it would be if the church could adopt the same role. Imagine a city where various churches opened shops, coffee houses and bookstores, providing jobs and boosting the economy. Imagine a Glasgow that couldn't survive without the involvement of the Church - where Christian love of the city meant investment of time and money. The possibilities are endless.

There will always be people who take the benefits of the river for granted and who fail to truly understand, but when everything those people put their hope and faith in fails, God's provision will remain. The question is whether or not they realise at that point.

Mark Stibbe @ Glasgow Elim

Mark Stibbe has, since 1996, been the vicar at St Andrews Church Chorleywood, a large and growing charasmatic Anglican church just outside London. He is the best-selling author of One Touch from the King, Haeling Today, Prophetic Evangelism, and The Father You've Been Waiting For.

He regularly speaks about the Father heart of God, and the healing of the orphan heart. Mark is an excellent and effective communicator and will be speaking over the course of this weekend at Glasgow Elim Church.

Mark will be ministering at the following times:
Sat 13th Sep - 7.30pm
Sun 14th Sep - 11am
Sun 14th Sep - 6.30pm

All sessions are free - Please feel free to join us this weekend @
Glasgow Elim,
45 Inglefield Street,
Govasnhill,
Glasgow G42 7AT.

Never Let Go

At church tonight we were talking about the importance of praising God in the difficult times. The times when he seems distant and you feel alone. Thats where I was tonight...tired, down, full of doubts and generally not feeling it. Part of me just wanted to run away.

And from no where God whispered some lines from a Matt Redman song called Never Let Go...

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

I believe that the song is about hope. Sometimes hope is the only thing that keeps us going. The hope that God hears our cry and will deliver us from the difficult situations we end up in. The only thing we can do is keep Going!