Church letter for December
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Warmest greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Several years ago my family and I purchased a new car. Well, when I say new, I mean new for us! My brother-in-law has a company car for work and every three years he upgrades to a new car and is offered the chance to purchase his existing car at a discounted rate. The car was a significant upgrade for us, with one of the main benefits being that we could fit three child car seats in the back meaning that both my wife and I could be up front for a change.
One of the other advantages for us was that the car had a DAB radio and we found ourselves for the first time being able to regularly listen to Christian worship stations like UCB and Premier Praise. It has been lovely to be able to praise God during the time we spend in the car and has helped transform long journeys for us.
Recently I was struck by the words of one of the songs I heard on the radio. It is the song “House of the Lord” by Phil Wickham which has the following line as part of its chorus:
“There’s joy in the house of the Lord
Our God is surely in this place
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise”
As I have travelled around our congregations over the last year, one of the things I have been struck by is the joy that I have seen in the house of the Lord. God has blessed GCI in the UK and Ireland with so many lovely, faithful, committed members and contacts. It has been a wonderful blessing to me and my family to be able to worship together with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
As we move into 2024, I look forward to being able to share once again in the joy that is in the house of the Lord with you and enclosed with this letter is a leaflet that outlines our upcoming celebrations within GCI. It would be great to see you at these events and, in the words of the Psalm 100:1 (KJV), “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” together.
The start of a new year is often a time of new commitments and new resolutions as we look to start the year ‘right’ so to speak. This could be looking to exercise more, or eat better. Or it could be to read a poem every day or try something new.
If we are looking for a spiritual resolution for the new year, the words of Psalm 27:4 (NIV) might be helpful:
“One thing I ask from the LORD,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.”
When David refers to the “house of the Lord” in this Psalm, he is referring to dwelling in the presence of God. There are many ways that we can experience the presence of God in our lives – in the beauty of his creation, in the calm he can give us in the storm of his life, but the main way we experience God’s presence in our lives is through gathering with fellow disciples of Jesus (in whatever way we can).
In 2024, we are offering a number of ways of gathering together: through our local congregations, our weekly Zoom worship service (called 10:25), our YouTube sermons and Bible studies and our Zoom prayer meetings as well as our celebrations and events.
There is joy in the house of the Lord. Come join us as we choose not to be quiet and shout out our praise.
Warm regards from Sinead and me,
Gavin Henderson
National Ministry Leader