Update 23rd August

Update 26

Well it’s been a crazy few weeks within Harlow Group. No sooner had we returned from hospital with Amelia than another couple Lee & Caroline went in and came out a couple of days later with their second daughter Bethany! Again thanks for prayers and support.

As well as that we’ve had several new people along over the summer months and have also had quiet a few enquiries via the internet so it’s been a busy (and certainly for us sleepless) time!

We’d really appreciate prayers for the following 3 things at present
1) More of God’s presence
2) Wisdom and favour in making the transition to multiple groups which is looking a necessity.
3) More people to make contact and join us in our mission of making Jesus better known in Harlow

In addition we are attending the Newfrontiers Regional Event at Shuttleworth this coming weekend and so are looking forward to being with friends and catching up with people who we’ve not seen for too long! Sorry if your one of those reading this.

Anyhow thanks for reading and thanks for your continued support and prayers. We are genuinely amazed at God’s goodness to us as a group

Keep smiling
Ben & Clare

Hope when life hurts - follow up

For those of you in Hrlow Group you'll know during our crazy summer we've spent the last two weeks listening to Louie Giglio talk from John 16 about how to cope when life hurts.

Yesterday whilst reading several Blogs I read PJ's Blog and was interested and inspired that he also quotes John 16. Please see a copy from his blog below which i'd recommend reading

When it comes to dark days, it is vital to put on the Kevlar before the first shot is fired…

All this I have told you so that you will not go astray…I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (The first and final verses of John 16)

Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Eph 6:13-14)

After 25 years of giving regular sermons and Bible studies, I have a huge folder on my laptop containing 50 sub-folders of different themes, containing every presentation that I have ever done. One of these sub-folders is simply entitled, “Tough Times”, and before my diagnosis with cancer it contained 40 messages or articles on this theme by me. And, because I have preached some of them in different contexts, we can safely say that I have averaged preaching on the theme of suffering twice a year for 25 years.

I am so glad that God graciously allowed me to get anchored in truth before the storm, rather than having to flounder around for anchors after it hit. Although initially shocked, I was not for a moment surprised (1 Pet 4:12) that a storm had hit because Jesus promised us that we would have trouble in this world (Jn 16:33), and I have been able to stand firm in certain knowledge of what the bible teaches about dark times.

D.A. Carson writes:

One of the major causes of devastating grief and confusion among Christians is that our expectations are false. We do not give the subject of evil and suffering the thought it deserves until we ourselves are confronted with tragedy. If by that point our beliefs - not well thought out but deeply ingrained - are largely out of step with God, then the pain from the personal tragedy may be multiplied many times over as we begin to question the very foundations of our faith. (DA Carson; How Long, O Lord?)

How Long Oh Lord

The foundation of our faith is the integrity of God. Interestingly, when suffering hits biblical characters, they often seem more concerned about the integrity of God than the issue itself. For example, Martha’s first words to Jesus after the death of Lazarus were “Where were you…?” (Jn 11:21) not “I thought everyone was supposed to get healed!”. When caught in a storm on the lake, the disciples woke Jesus and instead of crying “Save us!” they asked “don’t you care if we drown?” (Mk 4:38).

“Where were you, God? Don’t you care?” These are cries of anguish from those surprised by storms, who are yet to develop their own trust of the character of God in seasons of suffering. Without a clear theology of storms, you may find yourself subjected to a double burden – the burden that makes you suffer, as well as the burden of disillusionment with the integrity of God. A double load like that can be brutal.

I want to recommend to you the benefits of putting on your Kevlar body armour before the bullets start to fly, and I hope my blogs in the coming weeks will help you to do just that…

Update 6th August

Sorry for the lack of information lately but lots has been happening!
On a personal note we’re pleased to say that our daughter Amelia Alice was born on 31st July and from a group point of view we’ve had more new people join us on our adventure with God and are enjoying making new friendships.

Thanks for all your prayers during the unconventional labour, birth and hospital period. Thanks also for the messages of encouragement we’ve received regarding the building of a church to display Jesus’ glory in Harlow. These are much appreciated and help us keep going when things don’t go as planned.

We are facing an exciting challenge with Harlow Group which we’d value prayer for and that is potentially moving from one group to two as when we’re all around we’re now too large.

Please could pray that we receive wisdom as to how to do this whilst still holding to our values. Also please pray that we are able to make contact with more people in Harlow and also those moving to the town so as to continue growing.

One last request would be for an increase of God’s presence with all the Harlow Group members at the moment as there’s a lot of life going on!

Thanks for taking time to read this and we pray God would reveal more of himself to you in whatever is going on in your lives as He has done in ours!

Keep smiling
Ben & Clare