Trowell Awsworth & Cossall Churches

Trowell Awsworth and Cossall Churches

Sections

Welcome.....

to the web pages for the benefice (group of churches) of:
St. Helen's Church at Trowell,
St. Catherine's Church at Cossall and
St. Peters Church at Awsworth.

You will find all the important news for local Christians here. Just use the links on the left to find the information you want.

St Catherine's Church at Cossall

St Catherine's Church

Daily Bible Verse

Provided by Christ Notes Bible Search

Walking with Jesus by the Spirit in Community

Church vision... we long with Christ to be churches that:
- seek to grow together
- long to be healing places of prayer
- grow children's and young people's faith
- make disciples growing from the Bible
- encourage the ministry of all
- walk in mission, sharing Jesus & serving those outside the church

We pray that we will continue to grow as churches within the vision granted us together...

St Helens Church

St Peters Church

Walking with Jesus by the Spirit in Community

God regularly calls us back to renew the heart of our faith so that we may experience afresh his love in our lives. At the heart of our faith is the simple, yet profound, truth that we are called to walk with Jesus. It was this truth that revolutionised my faith many years ago as I realised that Christian faith was about a daily walk with Jesus through all of life, not words to a distant God on a Sunday morning. But how does this happen? It cannot be simply a matter of our effort or knowledge or even church attendence. Rather, as the apostle Paul puts it, "God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Romans 5:5). It is only by the Spirit that we can live this life of faith, a life overflowing with love for the whole of creation. We need to come to God aware of our own weaknesses and failings and confess these, asking him to send his Spirit that we might know Jesus walking with us in life. As we do so we will realise that our Christian life can never be lived alone but wherever possible it is lived in community. Church is not an outdated institution but rather a community of people who have experienced God's manifold love by the Spirit and seek to walk closer with Jesus.

What are the effects of this kind of life for us? Firstly, we experience the love of God - a love that is shaped by Jesus, particularly through his death on the Cross. Here is a love that faces the extremes of pain in our lives and in the world and yet is able to bring life even out of death. As we slowly experience this kind of suffering love so we find ourselves also reaching out in love to others to create healing communities. Many people testify to the healing power of church communities at times when life seems at its darkest. Secondly, we find ourselves praying to God, knowing that he hears and answers such prayer. This is a rich tapesty of prayer with something just right for each one of us as we seek to hear God and offer our concerns to Him. Thirdly, through prayer we find God stretching us and challenging us to grow in faith. Christian faith faces the challenges of the world and the questions as to its validity - it forces us to face the truth rather than escape from it. The testimony of Alpha courses and others is that we can enjoy learning and growing in faith as the Bible inspires us. Finally, through all this we find ourselves called to serve God in the communities of which we are apart - within the church, village, city, nation and world. Christian faith never rests until the world is transformed by the love of God and all pain and suffering overcome. God's mission is for a transformed creation and we are called to be a part in that.

This pattern is seen through the Bible and can be glimpsed in one of Jesus' first approaches to his followers after his resurrection from the dead. Two of his followers were walking away from Jerusalem to Emmaus not quite believing that he could be alive (see Luke 24). Rather than turn to those who believed Jesus shows his great love by coming alongside these two who were heading in the wrong direction. There is a sense of God's concern and comfort that shines through, and yet also the challenge to grow. Jesus challenges the two to understand better the Bible's testimony to him, to go again over the stories of God's working and discover how Jesus' death and resurrection fits in. And so the two learn, but somehow do not recognise Jesus. They invite him in for supper at the end of the long walk and as they share together Jesus turns the ordinary into a place of prayer and worship as he blesses and breaks the bread they share. Suddenly the two recognise Jesus and the experience is overwhelming. So much so that they find themselves running back to Jerusalem to serve others by sharing the good news that Jesus is alive and active.

Christian faith is a great adventure. One that is so simple that anyone can join in. Yet one that is so vast that we will remain constantly surprised by God's working. It is an adventure rooted in a loving community, in prayer and worship, in the living word of the Bible, in charismatic gifting, in committed service. It is an adventure with Jesus, by the Spirit as the Father calls and leads. Let us carry on the adventure together.

Revd Andy Lord, Rector, July 2007.

Walking with Jesus by the spirit in the community