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A LOVELETTER TO

YOU

In our last step, we looked at the importance of the Bible and of Church. This week we’re going to get practical, looking at how we read the Bible and we’ll be talking about prayer and giving.Start by getting a Bible in a translation you can understand. Some versions were translated hundreds of years ago and were written in the way that was relevant for people at that time; nowadays it sounds like Shakespeare! Ask around and see which translations people use; find one that is written in a way you can understand.When I was in high school we had assemblies that were taken by an organisation called ‘The Gideons’. They gave every single student in the school a little red plastic New Testament. In the front of these Bibles (well, half-Bibles) was a list of statements about real life issues. Next to each was a reference to a scripture, so we could see what the Bible has to say about that issue. For example:Where to find help when: Feeling lonely - Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you.”I want this to be really practical, so here’s some helpful advice on how to start navigating the Bible.A scripture verse is normally made up of three parts; the Book, the Chapter and the Verse. In the example I just gave; Hebrews is the Book. 13 is the Chapter (normally written with a large number) and 5 is the Verse (normally written with a tiny number at the beginning of a sentence). In the front of your Bible you’ll see an index that will tell you where to find each book, and in the back of your Bible (if you get a good one) there will be a concordance.

S T E PF O U RLet’s get practical

A concordance is like Google for key Bible words. This is really helpful when you are trying to find what God says about a certain subject but you don’t know where to look. Now, of course, in our modern age you can Google it… “What does the Bible say about…?” But if you do that, always make sure you get the book, chapter and verse reference, and read what the actual Bible says (not just someone else’s opinion of what they think it means).

A L O V E L E T T E R

T O Y O U

Imagine for a moment you hear a letter drop through your letterbox. You see the name is hand-written (it’s not a bill… phew!) and it’s addressed to you. You recognise the writing and know straightaway, it’s a letter from your beloved.How would you read that letter? I would imagine you’d find a quiet place where you wouldn’t be disturbed, to read through it slowly. You’d be thinking of the one who wrote it as you read and you might re-read it a few times. Maybe a phrase or two would stand out and grab your attention; perhaps you would even read between the lines, wondering what was meant. You would do more that just open it, scan the words, put it down and walk away. You would fully engage with this love letter - and that’s how we should approach reading our Bible.

Grab your Bible and a pen and paper. Find a quiet place and ask God to help you understand the words as you read. Then we’ll use some SOAP...

WAT C H V I D E O 1 3

S O A P SS C R I P T U R E Write whichever part of the chapter or verse stood out to you as you read.

OO B S E R V E Write down what you think God is saying about what you’ve just read.

AA P P L I C AT I O NHow do I apply this to my life (is there something you need to start or stop doing?)

PP R AY E R Ask God to help you rise to the challenge of applying it to your life.

Let’s try it with this really famous piece of scripture. Psalm 23. Remember; slow down, imagine, engage… then use SOAP!“1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

S : R E A D . . .

O : I N O T I C E D T H AT. . .

A : I N E E D T O . . .

P : G O D H E L P M E T O . . .

The best place to start is with the Gospels (the first four books in the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), as they tell us all about the life of Jesus who, as we learned earlier, is the visible image of the invisible God. By reading about Jesus we actually get a really clear and understandable picture of what God is like.The Bible is God’s word to us. It is trustworthy and secure. The more you read the Bible the more you realise how smart God is! You may not always find it easy to understand and that’s why it’s important to have people around you.

P R AY E R There are definitely two types of people is this world - those who are good at talking and those who are better at listening. However, in relationships we have to learn to do both. My wife is the listener in my family and I’m unquestionably the talker. If I just talked all the time and she just listened without ever really talking back, our relationship would not last very long! It’s a little bit like the film Bruce Almighty; there is a scene where Bruce is talking and talking and talking to God, asking for a sign. God is giving him signs but he just isn’t listening and completely misses them.We can be exactly the same as Bruce. We can talk and talk and not listen to what God has to say, or we can do the opposite and never talk to God. Just like in any relationship, communication is very important. We need to talk to God and we also need to listen to Him. As a young child I remember treating prayer as my opportunity to go through the long list of needs or demands that I required of God. As I grew older and started to have a relationship with Him, I realised that I couldn’t communicate that way anymore. Jesus demonstrated to the disciples the importance of prayer in Mark 1:35. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” If Jesus the son of God needed to pray and talk to his father, how much more do we need to talk to our Heavenly Father? God so wants to be involved in our lives. When we pray we give Him permission to come and move. When we don’t, it’s like we’re saying “I can do this on my own.” The trouble is, when when things go wrong we end up being anxious and full of worry.

Philippians 4:6-7 (the Message version) says, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praise shape your worries, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.”What a wonderful picture of the power of prayer! There’s a balance though, because we’re talking about a real, living relationship.Imagine you meet up with a close friend.They see you and ask to borrow some money. You love them, you have the money and you’re more than happy to help them out, so you do. Now imagine this happens every time they see you; every single time! They don’t say hello, they don’t say thank you and they don’t ask you how you are. This is not a healthy relationship. It’s one-sided and it’s demanding. After a little while you’re going to get sick of your friend and start avoiding them altogether!The funny thing is that this is often how we treat prayer. We come to God with a long list of things that we want and we get annoyed when things don’t go our way. Prayer is much more than giving God a list of demands. After all, if prayer is a conversation with God (and it is!) then we don’t want to sound like a broken record.

WAT C H V I D E O 1 4

In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray with some really practical pointers. Jesus never meant for this to be something to be memorised and repeated. He meant for it to be a template and a reminder of how to pray. Let’s look at what it says, one line at a time, and see how we can all add variety to our prayer life.

T H E L O R D ’ S P R AY E R“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”

O U R FAT H E R

First things first, Jesus wants us to start our prayers by remembering exactly who it is we’re talking to. We’re conversing with our Father in Heaven, our good and loving Father. A good dad loves unconditionally; he protects and provides, he disciplines and gives wise advice. He wants his kids to be blessed and to succeed.A good father does not always give their child everything they want (that child would grow up spoiled), but he would always ensure they have everything they need. So when we pray we need to remember who it is we’re talking to. Our Father, the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth.

H A L L O W E D B E

Y O U R N A M E

Hallowed is an old fashioned way of saying Holy. It means special, different, set apart, worthy of praise and respect. Jesus is reminding us to start off our prayers with an attitude of gratitude; to honour God by praising him for his character, thanking Him for all He has done and will do for us. The Bible actually tells us that when we praise God we enter into His presence. Psalm 100 in the Message version puts it like this, “On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.”

Y O U R K I N G D O M C O M E

Let’s think about this one. It’s easy to see that this world is broken. Imagine how different the world would look if God came and ruled on Earth. How would your nation be different? What about your city - how would that change? And your place of work, or your family - how would that look? Would there be crime, violence, sickness, sadness, loneliness, bitterness? Of course not.So when we come to pray we should be asking God to speak to us about what action we can take to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth. Simply imagining what the kingdom would look like and allowing the Holy Spirit to gently nudge you into action is what this part of prayer is all about.

G I V E U S T O D AY O U R

D A I LY B R E A D

Here’s the bit where Jesus tells us to bring our daily needs to God. The fantastic news here is that there’s nothing you can’t talk to God about; your job, your finances, your relationships, absolutely everything. I’m sure you’ll have no problem coming up with content! Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.”

F O R G I V E O U R D E B T S

A S W E F O R G I V E

Someone once said ‘unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies’. It is simply not an option for you to hold a grudge against anyone. After all, God has seen everything you’ve ever done. All your sin was in plain sight and yet he forgave you. It’s important to say sorry quickly and often; it keeps your conscience clear and your spirit sensitive to how the Holy Spirit wants to lead and guide you.

L E A D U S N O T I N T O

T E M P TAT I O N

I love this part. God knows us so well that he included this in the template for our prayers. God knows we’re weak and that we all get tempted. He’s not going to be shocked; He knows we need help in areas where we find ourselves stumbling, so He encourages us to be open and honest about our struggles with temptation. Trying to hide anything from God is a waste of time. You don’t need to fake it with Him. Keep no skeletons in your cupboard; just be truthful with yourself and Him and watch your relationship blossom.

D E L I V E R U S F R O M

T H E E V I L O N E

The evil one is the devil. He tempts, he deceives, he accuses, he steals, kills and destroys but God is stronger. When Jesus died on the cross he defeated Satan and the power of sin completely. Let me make this super clear; all power and authority on earth and in heaven belong to Jesus. He is the name above every name. Because of Jesus you can overcome temptation, you can see through the devil’s lies and the negative accusations he drops into your thoughts. Whatever he may have stolen from you in your past God promises to restore. In fact Jesus told us He came so that “we may have life and life to the full.”Sometimes prayer can feel like a battle. Remember, we’re not fighting against God - He wants us to be blessed. The battle we fight is against the devil and the way he wants to tie up people’s lives; strongholds of negativity, addiction, unforgiveness and brokenness. We also need to fight for a breakthrough on behalf of others who don’t know God and can’t battle for themselves. We call this kind of prayer “intercession”; it’s like fighting on someone else’s behalf in a spiritual war which Jesus has already won.

Q U A L I T Y T I M E Obviously you can see that praying and reading your bible like this isn’t something you can do in five minutes while you’re rushing to eat breakfast and getting ready for your day.The time that we spend reading and praying and getting to know God, we might call our “devotional” life. Just like many couples that want to keep their relationship strong, and still find after many years that they need to schedule in a ‘date night’ in order to properly connect with each other, you too will need to schedule and protect your time with God. It’s not about ‘going through the motions’ with Him. It’s about truly finding yourself in His life-changing presence.

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Do you aspire to live a life of joy, peace and fulfillment only to find that it’s as

elusive as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Do feelings of inadequacy,

disappointment and frustration hold you back?Sophia was a busy working mother of two when chronic sleeplessness struck and

left her struggling to cope. Stay is the honest and hopeful story of how she identified

the roots of her restlessness and overcame them through the ancient and powerful

practice of biblical meditation.In her ground-breaking book, Sophia invites us all to realize that when we learn

to be mindful of God and ‘stay’ in his presence, we experience a life-transforming

power that frees us to live a joyful and fulfilled life, one where we are truly at peace.

Written with refreshing candour and wisdom, Stay is a life-changing read.“as co-leader of one of the uk’s most exciting and dynamic churches,

sophia barrett is a christian leader from whom there is much we can learn”

Nicky Gumbel, snr leader of holy trinity brompton and founder of alpha“sophia combines modern-day psychological research and therapeutic

practice with timeless wisdom from ancient scripture, and shares the value

of learning to be still in a world that’s constantly in flux”

Dr Robi Sonderegger, clinical psychologist, family challenge australia“we thoroughly recommend this brave and inspiring book”

Russell & Sam Evans, snr pastors of planetshakers melbourne, australia

Born in Australia to Chilean parents Sophia Barrett moved to the UK with her husband, Glyn. In 2007 they moved to Manchester where they built and now co-lead Audacious Church, a vibrant 4000-strong community. Sophia and Glyn have two children. Sophia is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 2’s ‘Pause for Thought’ and is a sought-after international conference speaker. Stay is her first book.

Sophia B

arrett

S o p h i a B a r r e t t

STAY– THE POWER OF MEDITATING IN GOD’S PRESENCE –

It’s not about going through the motions;it’s about finding yourself in His life-changing presence.

We can really recommend STAY by our very own senior pastor, Ps Sophia Barrett. It’s not the Bible, but this book contains a lifetime of wisdom and advice about developing intimacy with God, and might well help you build the tools that it takes to start a great devotional life. There are also two accompanying instrumental albums from the !Audacious band (STAY and REMAIN) which you may find helpful to have on in the background as you read your Bible and pray.All of these are available from !Audacious Resources on a Sunday or to order via our website. All our worship albums are available on Spotify and iTunes.

L E T ’ S D I S C U S S

G R O U P D I S C U S S I O N

Everyone prays in their own way. What does prayer look like in your life?

Tell us a story of a time where God has answered your prayers, and

what was the outcome?

So what does God say about our finance?In Malachi 3:10 it says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. “Test me in this” says the Lord Almighty “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough for you to store it”.But what is the tithe? A tithe is a tenth of all annual income, and the giving of a tithe goes all the way back to the beginning of the Bible. In Genesis, Cain and Abel gave the first offering to God and in the book of Leviticus the tithing system for the nation of Israel is described as every family giving a tenth.Jesus himself said in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, teachers of the law, you Hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice,mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.”Basically, Jesus is saying, “don’t just tithe without faithfulness, justice and mercy - do both!’In Malachi it says that we are to test God in this. The test comes as the Bible tells us that our tithe should be the first of our income.Proverbs 3: 9-10 says, “Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine”The first belongs to God. After everything he has given us we give back 10%. The test is that it requires faith to give our tithe as the first of our finances. It’s not easy giving to God before you’ve seen whether or not you’re going to have enough! But by tithing we recognise that God is first in our lives,

T I T H I N G &

G E N E R O S I T Y

When you became a Christian you decided to invite God to be Lord (meaning the person in control) over every part of your life; your family, work and health, your friendships and your finance. You surrendered every part of your life to Him.

It might be a surprise to know that God would want to be Lord over your finance. Surely He is only concerned with your faith, or your heart. Well, the Bible talks about faith more than 500 times and talks about money or possessions more than 2000 times.It’s clear God does have something to say about our money. Let’s get one thing straight; God does not need your money! He wants to bless you. He is God - he owns everything! Kind of like the Queen. I mean, what on earth would you buy the Queen for Christmas? She surely has everything she needs (and if she doesn’t, she has more than enough money to get it). God is the same; He doesn’t need your money but He does want your heart.In Matthew 6:21 it says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Basically, your passions and priorities (your “heart”) are evidenced by what you spend your money (your “treasure”) on. If we were to look at our statement to see where we spend most of our money (football, drinking, eating out, cable TV, rent, etc.) we’ll probably see this is where our priorities lie too.On a Sunday you will have noticed that we always take tithes and offerings in every service. We believe that giving is an important part of our relationship with God and our worship of Him.

and we are saying we trust Him to take care of the rest. It’s actually pretty freeing!A common question about tithing is, “do you have to give the tithe to Church or can it be to a ministry outside of church, or to a person?” The answer is really simple. In Exodus 23:19 it says, “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord” and again in Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse”We must always give to the Lord’s house first. We can give to other ministries or missionaries out of our generosity, and we call these offerings.

G R O U P D I S C U S S I O N

What is your initial reaction to the biblical principle of tithing (giving 10% to God)?

Have you ever experienced God’s provision? Has it shaped the way you give? Share with

those around you what happened.

L E T ’ S D I S C U S S