God’s Language Is Love

Ever since we could remember, we have been all about seeing other people do well and making progress in life. As a couple, the biggest pain we feel is the pain of injustice, deprivation and seeing people living below what God has called them to be.

We feel that part of our calling as a couple is to help others with whatever it is that we have. No matter how little or how small. Whether its time, materials, finances, our skills, or just being there for people. We look at loving others from the idea of being God’s outstretched hand to man and that Christ died for everyone irrespective of their beliefs, culture, creed or orientation. No one should be cast away because they are different in anyway. Everyone deserves to be loved. There is a joy that’s unspeakable and unexplainable when you stretch out your hand and heart to love someone else irrespective of the situation, circumstance or who they are.

John 13:34 – 35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Romans 5:5 “And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.”

Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

There is no one too hard to love and we all as God’s children have the capacity to love. One of the things God has given us as his kids is the ability to love.

Just as having a £10,000 cheque and you refusing to cash it doesn’t negate the fact that you have it. In the same way you have to make a choice to love. God’s love lives deep within you and resides in you 24/7, 365 days of the year. It is however your choice to choose to love irrespective of what comes your way, who you come in contact with or what you are faced with. None of us as His kids have the root of hatred in us. We choose to allow hatred and bitterness to grow and develop, we can however decide to stamp and uproot it and live a life of love.

You may say “I have been so offended by a particular person and I just cannot love them or anything they represent because of the hurt and pain I feel.”

Remember we live by faith and this includes living out the love life we already have. We may not feel like it, or be excited by it but in the same way we act out our faith by doing. When it comes to any other thing whether it’s a job, or business, our family, spouse etc, you have to act by faith and express your love by doing ‘love’…just love. Love expressed could be in a smile, a greeting, a hug, running errands, listening to someone pour out their heart, having coffee with someone, driving someone around to shop, etc- ‘Just do it’. 

Our faith works by love. Love is our language and our Father’s language. Loving others should come to us naturally as its our nature as God’s children. And know that every time you love someone and express it by doing, you are God’s outstretched hand to that person, here on earth. Never forget that and never stop loving!

Siji and Ibi

Photo by Mandy von Stahl on Unsplash

To our precious Jubilee Family

Happy Christmas!

Wow, can you believe we are approaching the end of another year? Looking back over the last twelve months we are overwhelmed at God’s incredible faithfulness and kindness to us as a church family. We have seen some huge changes and been through some major transitions including losing our church building, moving into our temporary home at Tree Tops School, and keeping our gaze upon the new place He has promised us in Parkwood! We have watched dear friends leave, but also welcomed in some wonderful new families and He has held us all in His loving embrace and brought us through it all.  

We have come out of Winter and are experiencing the joy and wonder of Spring and new beginnings.
The word ‘Acceleration’ was released as a prophetic statement by the Apostolic Council at the start of the year over all COTN churches, and launched us into a whole new wave of the Spirit that we are still riding.
In January we set time aside for us as individuals and as a church to consecrate ourselves afresh and seek His face. The birth of ministries including the prayer Power Hour, JLS (Jubilee Leadership School), Mosaic, and the re-launch of School of the Word are amongst many new things that have begun this year.

The end of June marked our Jubilee Family Weekend Away where Alex and Dorcas shared on the theme of ‘I hear the sound of the abundance of rain’ and we stretched our expectations for God to do the miraculous in our midst. We gave out wooden tent pegs with the invitation to put them in the ground at our Parkwood site as a prophetic act and declaration of ‘I’m putting my stake in the ground and I’m committed to the journey.’ It was a very significant time in the life of Jubilee Church and we believe it marked a poignant shift in the Spirit.

As we draw to a close this year we thank each one of you for being on the journey with us, for your love and support and for all you bring to the Bride of Christ. Thank you for serving our King and for remaining strong. We pray that this Christmas you will enjoy times of rest and relaxation, good food and time with family and friends and, most importantly, moments to reflect on how utterly wonderful our Jesus is and all that He has and continues to do in and through us.

What a wonderful opportunity on the eve of 2018 for us to pause and remember the gift of Life in the form of a baby that is still bringing ‘Joy to the world’ some two thousand years later!

Merry Christmas and may it be a rich and adventurous New Year for us all!

With Love
Neil and Hazel xx

Tony Kettle is part of the POD leadership team with decades of rich life experience. One of our Jubilee values is the importance of character over gifting or external appearance. Tony gives us some pearls of wisdom concerning the importance of foundations in our Christian lives:

There are a number of features that buildings, whatever their size, have in common and one of the most important is a foundation. So, it can be said that before going up, there is a need to go down.

The statement might sound weird but that is an essential tenet of building construction. The higher the building is intended to be, the deeper must be its foundation. It’s a principle that is found everywhere in life. If we have a goal, we have to set a foundation for it. If we want to work in a certain profession, we have to be prepared to face years of study and training. If we want to be a tradesman, we need to become an apprentice under somebody who is experienced in the trade concerned. This is what is meant by a foundation.

Viewed from another perspective, in order to find oil, mineral resources, diamonds and other precious stones, prospectors need to drill DOWN deep in the ground. Therefore, one needs to go down to find riches!!! Accordingly, to go up to where we want to be, we always have to go down. And going down takes us to places that don’t always resemble our goal. I can identify with this. In 1983 God gave me a deep desire – and a beautiful vision – to be involved in the mission field in the Great Lakes countries of East Africa. Over the years I have developed a passionate love for Africa, having spent a large part of my life in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. However, just over five years ago God brought me back to the United Kingdom – which certainly does not resemble my goal – my vision – but I have to bow to God’s wisdom!!! He directed me to Jubilee Church where I attended School of the Word in 2013/14. I subsequently realised that this intervention was necessary in order for God to create a stronger biblical foundation in my life and to address certain issues that required attention. In the interim, God’s goodness is so great that earlier this year He opened doors for me to go on mission to Zambia – a country that forms part of my vision.    

Nowhere is the concept of ‘going down’ more fundamental than in the life of the Christian. Our supreme example is the Lord Jesus Christ who gave up His Heavenly Kingship, came to earth as a human, was born in a smelly stable, became a humble carpenter and, completely undeserved, suffered a criminal’s death for our sin, before being resurrected and exalted to the right hand of the Father (Philippians 2:5-11). So, if we want to be Christ like, we need to follow His example of modesty, as the scriptures clearly indicate:   

“The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” (Proverbs 15:33 ESV)

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11 ESV)

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you…” (1 Peter 5:6 ESV)

Most people see promotion as climbing their way, over everybody else, to the top of the pile! Jesus, on the other hand, sees it differently:

“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11 NKJV)

I am reminded of our Lord’s exhortation that, as “branches” of the “True Vine”, we bear MUCH fruit (John 15:8). On this point, when a natural branch of a vine or other fruit tree bears MUCH fruit – when it is heavily laden with good fruit – it sags DOWNWARDS with the sheer weight of it. So, that is the direction we should take!!!

Blessings,

Tony Kettle

Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

Term One of Jubilee Leadership School (JLS) has come to an end! After what seems like an age ago when the first sessions launched for the wider body, the term has suddenly gone so quickly.

JLS is a newly compiled course, consisting of material aligned with the core values of CotN and new material aimed at equipping the students for personal and organisational leadership. The course has been designed to be conversational and reflective, allowing for peer-to-peer mentoring. Each week a core topic is covered and a worksheet provided, highlighting some key questions, practical application and prayer points. The students have group time each week looking at a worksheet together and discussing. The first term covered some core biblical foundations for life, and core CotN values. Over 10 weeks, we looked at several biblical precepts in a fresh way, including:

• The Kingdom of God
• The Kingdom and Leadership
• The Father Heart of God
• Sonship
• Hebraic Mentality in Leadership
• Functions of a Kingdom Leader

The final week included feedback from each student on their learning, what God has spoken to them about and how their leadership has and will change. It’s incredible to see how God has worked in the lives of all the students and it’s been a privilege to be on this journey with them.

“I am pleased l was able to join JLS as l have enjoyed getting to know the other members of the team. Its been great delving into the scriptures and see once again how important it is to have our relationship with Father Son and Holy Spirit because everything we are and do comes from that – exciting times ahead” – Paula

The course has been facilitated by several speakers throughout the term, and by the amazing Emma Wilson, Ben and Anna Johnson who have helped serve each week. A massive thanks goes to them who have helped to make this happen, serving faithfully each week.

Looking ahead, we are really excited about Term Two, which works under the title of ‘Personal Leadership’. This term will take the students on a deeper journey in their personal lives and leadership. We are changing the format to a more modular format allowing students to sign up for specific modules, rather than a 10-week term.

“Jubilee Leadership School this term has been a great opportunity to grow by sharing our experiences of leadership under the inspiration of biblical principles. I was personally encouraged by the group discussions each week when we applied the teaching to our own settings. Early in the term, Andy Faulkner spoke on God as Father, which challenged me to go deeper in relating to Him as “Abba, Father”. For me this was one of the key foundations that put into context the rest of the term’s teaching on the Kingdom of God and our role as His sons.” – Daniel

We have two modules ready to go for Term Two, both of which are new to Jubilee and are going to be brilliant. The first module, called ‘identifying and growing in your personal leadership’, starts on Tuesday 8th January and runs for four consecutive Tuesdays. The first two weeks are being facilitated by Alex Afriyie, a fantastic leadership speaker and coach, who will be helping students to understand and identify their leadership journey and growth. The next two Tuesdays will be facilitated by Tony Faulkner, who will be taking students through a process called ‘strengthsfinder’, helping them to identify their core gifts and how to use them. We will have limited spaces for this module, so please book on by emailing your details to office@jubilee.co The module costs £30, to include all material.

I would like to say a massive thank you to all who have helped to make JLS happen, to the students who have turned up faithfully each week, completed their worksheets and made it a great term and to those who have prayed and supported us. We are looking forward to Term Two with expectation!

Much love, Dan

As the youth work team we are enjoying our new surroundings! All of our youth activities are now in new venues, but we feel very blessed to have access to the facilities that we have. 

On a Sunday morning you’ll see Youth Time Out (Year 7-9) heading out at the beginning of the sermon. We meet for around 30mins in the staff room which is a lovely space. We’ve been exploring a whole range of different topics at the start of this year. Between now and Christmas we’ll be looking at a number of different aspects to do with following God at school.

“Seeing God move amongst our youth in many amazing ways is such a testimony of faith, love and healing. It blesses my soul to see our young people wrestle their way through life but trusting in God throughout each step.” – Brooke, Habitation Leader

Frequency (Year 10-13) are led by Ben J, Anna and Brooke and they meet on Friday nights at the Hub. They have been having some excellent evenings exploring the wonderful things that God is inviting us into as His children.

TNT (Year 7-9) are meeting over the road from Tree Tops at Christ Church. It is a perfect space for the fun filled evenings that we run and we are very grateful that we’ve been allowed to use it. TNT is currently meeting on a Friday night once a month.

We are really enjoying investing in these fantastic young people and we are on the lookout for a couple more leaders to join us. If you are interested and would like to find out more then come and find me on a Sunday or email me at ben.doggett@jubilee.co

At the heart of De Vere Beaumont Estate, just South of Windsor sits an 18th Century mansion house and hotel, and it was here that our joint Cluster weekend took place this October.

Jubilee Church are part of the ‘Acts Life’ Cluster, overseen by Dave and Carol Cape. This year we joined with some of the ‘Freedom Hill’ Cluster, overseen by Louis and Edna Els, for a combined time of fellowship, relationship building and inspiring impartation under the theme of ‘Show Me The Way’. It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and begin to build and develop new friendships with leaders from other churches within the Church of the Nations family.

“The cluster weekend was a fantastic weekend away connecting and going deeper with old and new friends. It was a very powerful time pressing into God and one of the things God reminded us about was the power of communion. That we have a seat at the table but the enemy does not and we stand in victory in all He has done for us.”

– Ben & Anna Johnson

Spread over a full weekend we tasted a rich diet of teachings including sessions on The Five Pillars of the Church, by Louis du Piesane, ‘Acceleration From a Place of Pain’, by our very own Dan Maudhub, ‘Living with a Holy Discontent’, delivered by Neil Pattison, ‘Living in The Wide Open Spaces’ by Edna Els and ‘The Lords Table’, shared by Louis Els. Although the sessions were only 20 minutes long, each one contained enough meat to feast upon for a week and I have to say I am taking my time now to read through my notes and properly digest what was given!

These sessions are available for download (thanks so much to Lee Collier for making this possible) and I highly recommend them to you – you’re in for a real treat. To get access to the audio sessions, please email office@jubilee.co 

“It was a privilege to be at the cluster weekend. God’s presence was tangible from the moment we arrived. We were inspired by each speaker, particularly to guard our hearts and allow ourselves to enter the fullness of His presence. Dan M had a picture of a cracked egg that was made whole, and that summed up the weekend for me!”

– Josh & Rach Pattison

Alongside the sessions we had the opportunity to go on a tour of Windsor on the Saturday afternoon and learn a little more of our nations history from Neil-opeadia – fountain of all knowledge!

There was also plenty of time to sit and strengthen friendships over a coffee and hear what God is busy doing in other church families around the world. It was a wonderful privilege to be a part of something so much bigger, and so encouraging to be reminded again of how vast and diverse the Kingdom of God is.

– Article by Hazel Pattison