Life Church Newsletter Sunday 1st March

Kenosis
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Phil 2.5-8

It’s our March Communion meal this Sunday. Bring some food to share, and remember that this is not just any old meal, but the meal by which we identify with our Lord and Saviour. The verse above challenges us to have the same mindset as our Lord in not taking advantage of our blessings in Him, but being willing to 'make ourselves nothing' and humble ourselves. The phrase ‘make himself nothing’ is ekenosen, from which we get the idea of kenosis, or self-emptying. The season of Lent is observed by those who wish to deny themselves, be pruned, identify with Christ in the wilderness or in His suffering, and so come to a place of cleansing and fruitfulness. The normal carnality of life will not do for those who want God. In order for seeds to grow they must die. In order to enter the promised land we must go through the desert. In order to be sanctified we must deal with the self. It’s the season of purification, where we learn that we cannot live on bread (material life) alone, but only by the word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
Friday 6th March 2020 2pm
'Rise! Take your mat and walk'
Written by Christian women of Zimbabwe
All Welcome at Salvation Army Citadel at 2pm for an hour's service followed by refreshments.

World Day of Prayer is an international, ecumenical, prayer movement initiated and carried out by Christian women in more than 180 countries and over 1000 languages. Every year Christians of many traditions and all ages, celebrate a common day of prayer on the first Friday in March. Services are held all around the world, beginning in Tonga and New Zealand in the east and continuing throughout the day to Samoa and Alaska in the west. We bring the needs of the world, and of the writing country in particular, before Almighty God knowing that He will hear and answer us, as we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. God invites us to have a prayer relationship with Himself, but He also expects us to have concerned relationships with our neighbours, throughout the world. Prayer must be accompanied by action, as God moves our hearts and directs our thoughts.

Essential Church/E100 Group
This Sunday we will be reading about the competition between Jacob and Esau (Gen 27:1-28:22) and The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
You can still get copies of the E100 list of verses from the foyer if you wish to read these verses yourself, and it's never too late to come along and join the group.

Lent
Here are 2 opportunities to impact the world through the period of Lent. 1. Stewardship’s '40 Acts of Generosity', and 2. IJM’s 'Make #SlaveFree Normal’:
40 Acts
40 days, 40 reflections, 40 challenges to make a difference. Join forces with a global, generous community of over one hundred thousand people who have completed the 40acts challenge during Lent. Commit, take the daily challenge and join the community of activists. Find out more at: https://40acts.org.uk
Make #SlaveFree Normal
Join our text updates. Sign up to #SlaveFree Lent and become part of the solution. We’ll give you tips on how to shop consciously, info on the issue, inspirational stories of rescue and the inside track on which brands are taking action to stop slavery. Plus, you’ll get to join live Q&As with experts
Each week we will challenge you to give up a different product for that week that often has slavery in its supply chain. For example, we may ask you forego your coffee for seven days!
Donate the money you would have spent on the products during the 40-days of Lent. We will also sign post you to alternative brands taking steps to reduce slavery in their supply chains and other ways you can take positive actions that will help IJM stop slavery at source.
Find out more at https://www.ijmuk.org/slavefreelent

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Life Church is a recognised Scottish Charity no. SCO10956. Speak to any member of the Core Team about anything in the newsletter. The Core Team is Chris, Ruth, Peter, Irenée & Phil. You can sign up to receive the newsletter by email by registering on our website: www.lifeonline.org.uk. Or text 07475 944311 if you wish to be added to the church WhatsApp group.