Latest NewsFlash – 1 February 2015

Broadfield Christian Fellowship
Broadfield Community Centre, Broadfield Barton, Crawley. Reg. Charity no. 1081321
( 01444 400521 – Email: [email protected] – Web: www.broadfield.org.uk
Sunday 1st February 2015
This morning
10.30am: Morning Worship in the Social Hall
Worship: Vivienne Evans; Speaker: Ian Johnson
We offer a warm welcome to all visitors to our worship today
If you want to know the location of any of the meetings, please ask the host or one of the leaders
This evening
7.00pm: Joint churches’ service at Crawley Baptist Church
Speaker: David Evans
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Friday
Next Sunday
6.30pm: Prayer time in the Church
7.30pm: House Group at Caroline’s home
7.45pm: House Group at Ben & Pauline’s home
9.30am: Coffee Shop in the Social Hall
7.00pm: House Group at Diane’s home
2.30–3.30pm: “Dave Time” in the Church Quiet Room
4.00pm: Prayer for the Friday Meal in the foyer
5.00pm: Friday Meal in the Social Hall
9.00am: Open up and set up hall for worship
9.30am: Prayer meeting
10.00am: Tea and coffee
10.30am: Morning Worship in the Social Hall
Led by students from IBTI
Thought for the Week — from Caroline
Connecting with Yourself
I am reading a book at the moment called Forming a Work of Grace by
David Takle .
He has written a whole chapter on self-rejection and it is surprising how
many forms this takes and how many millions upon millions of people
(many of those Christians) suffer with self-rejection without even
realising it sometimes. It is however one of our greatest enemies and
sometimes we just “do stuff” for God because that’s what's expected of
us as good Christians but isn’t that just another form of legalism? I
guess that’s another whole subject.
Heather Plett says this:
Again and again, I encounter people who have lost connection with
themselves. They have become so accustomed to living up to other
people’s standards – wearing masks to pretend they fit into society’s
mould, filling other people’s needs instead of their own, and guarding
their fearful hearts – that they’ve forgotten just who they are.
When I ask them what they long for, what comfort they need, what
vocation is calling them, or what they take delight in, they look at me
with sad eyes and say, “I don't really know. I never really ask myself
that.” We have become a disconnected people. We go through life doing
what’s expected of us, buying the things the advertisers sell us, getting
the education we think we’re supposed to get, settling for the job that
pays the bills and doesn’t rock the boat, and paying attention to
everyone else’s needs but our own.
Why? Because we’ve been taught to be consumers rather than citizens.
Because we’ve been led to believe that our own bodies are sinful, ugly,
and unworthy. Because we’re convinced that focusing on ourselves
instead of others is selfish and vain. Because our religious beliefs teach
us to put others ahead our ourselves. Because we’re too busy to pay
attention. Because we’ve ignored ourselves so long we can’t even hear
our own voices crying out above the din. There are so many reasons
why.
It’s time to reconnect. It’s time to return to stillness and contemplation.
It’s time to listen to the whispers of our hearts.
This is not selfish. This is holy work.
“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life
is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success,
popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their
seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much
larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the
voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity,
and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap,
however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes
me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself
thinking, “Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody.” … [My
dark side says,] I am no good … I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten,
rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the
spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the
“Beloved.” Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our
existence.” – Henri J.M. Nouwen
We cannot fully serve the world unless we serve ourselves first. If we
are not healthy and whole, then we can not offer health and wholeness
to others.
Diary Dates
Friday 27th – Sunday 29th March: Church Weekend at Ashburnham Place, with Debbie and Joe Laycock.
Booking forms for the Church Weekend are now available. Please take one, read, complete and hand to Irma with
any payments. Thank you.