Life Out of Chaos

When God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1, he spent days creating order out of chaos: separating light from darkness, the sky from the seas, the seas from the dry ground, the day from the night. And he did this so he could fill the whole earth with life: plants and animals that filled the skies and land and seas. Finally, he made man and woman in his own image to be stewards of his good creation. And yet because of the impact of their sin, God’s order was replaced with our chaos: disobedience, exile, murder, and rebellion against God. We spent 2020 exploring God’s rescue plan for humanity through his people Israel, and we spent 2021 exploring the culmination of this rescue plan, looking at the life of Jesus in the first twenty chapters of Matthew. Since 9th January we have been walking with Jesus during his final week in Jerusalem as he heads to the cross. And yet for him to bring the life he desires for the world, he started with chaos and mess: overturning tables in the temple and confronting religious leaders. 

As we pray and discern the ways God desires for Bognor Vineyard to serve our community and see lives transformed by his love, we believe he first desires to transform us. During the next 11 weeks leading up to Easter Sunday… 

• Let’s give him permission to overturn some tables and make a mess in our own hearts to prepare them to receive life.

• As we explore Matthew 21-28, let’s allow God’s word and the power of the cross to transform our hearts in ways we can’t.

• Let’s pray together with the expectation that God will bring to fruition the words he has been speaking over our church for so many years. He desires for us to love our community - not through shame or anxious striving - but by living in the fullness of his Spirit.