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02 Nov
[09-01-12] The Olympics are Coming!
The world’s premier sporting event - the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics is coming to the UK! It’s not only coming to the UK but Loughborough will be hosting Team GB and the Japanese team in their preparation for the games.[02-11-11] Intro to Acts
We’ve just started our new series on the book of Acts.[18-09-11] Introducing the new hosting team
A little while ago I attending a social event where most people were strangers.[15-09-11] Vision for the Future
On Sunday I shared with everyone there some of the things that have been stirring in me over the 3 month sabbatical.[18-08-11] Coming to Loughborough in September?
We are really looking forward to meeting and hearing from you if you are coming to Loughborough this September! Students have been at the heart of Open Heaven since it began over 18 years ago and we are so excited to meet you all and invest into you for the next 3 years.[01-07-11] France Team Update
So much has happened since our last update! It’s been a real boost to the team to have Ali and Vicky back from Montgenevre and meeting with the team regularly again.[01-06-11] Club Mission FND
On Friday 20th May we had our first ever Club Mission FND.[04-04-11] Audio Intro to Clusters
At January's Vision Evening I talked about our plans to transition our non-student cells into clusters (our students made a similar transition in 2009).[10-03-11] Luxuries for Life 2011
I'm sure many of you will have enjoyed a pancake or three yesterday.[01-03-11] Become the next OH Student Worker
We're looking for a new student worker to develop our work amongst Loughborough's students and take it to the next level.
Intro to Acts
We’ve just started our new series on the book of Acts. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Acts is probably one of the most important books of the New Testament. If we did not have it, then apart from what we could deduce from Paul’s letters, we would have no information on how the early church started, and then grew from a little known corner of Palestine, to sweep across the known world and reach Rome, the capital of the Empire- all within about 30 years.
Acts was written by Dr. Luke who in Colossians 4 v14 is called ‘our dear friend Luke, the doctor. He was the only Gentile writer in the New Testament, a companion of Paul and a gifted writer. It is in fact the same Dr. Luke who wrote Luke’s gospel and most scholars think that Luke’s gospel and Acts were written as 2 volumes of the one story. Rather than Acts being called ‘Acts of the Apostles’ (there are only 3 apostles mentioned!) it could equally be called ‘Acts of King Jesus Volume 2’ as the living presence of the risen Christ invades the whole book of Acts.
The great themes of Acts that we shall see over and over again are:
- The outworking of God's mission through the birth and growth of His church
- The power of a Holy Spirit empowered life – the difference between the scared disciples of the gospels and the courageous and confident men in Acts is extraordinary. The challenge for us is, do we let the power of the Holy Spirit change us to that extent.
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The extension of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. The truth of Christ’s resurrection means a whole new order has started, a new King and a new Kingdom is invading earth!
As well as going through Acts on a Sunday, we have for the first time, got some daily Bible reading notes to go through together, Mon – Fri, reading a few verses every day with some explanation, reflection and application. It often helps to read scripture daily if we know others are tracking with us – if it helps, do it as a household or in 2s & 3s. The more we can cultivate habits of feeding ourselves spiritually, the more difference it makes to every other area of our life.
Let’s dig in deep and let scripture change us,
Ness
Posted by: Ness Wilson on Wednesday Nov 2nd, 2011
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