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.