Prayer Week Sun 15th-22nd Sept

Prayer is lots of things! It's asking, it's listening, it's crying out to God about the things we are overwhelmed by, it's hard work at times and then sometimes it's exhilarating and time flies whilst we pray and we wonder why we don't do it more!

Jesus prayed, he taught his disciples to pray, "When you pray....." (Matt 6:6) and assumes prayer will be part of the rhythm of our lives as we follow Him.

So, why have a week of 24-7 Prayer at Woodies? Well, 'Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.' Ps 127:1. Dave loves this verse, it's a real bedrock to life at Woodies and it sums up why we pray. We need God to build our church and we want to keep in step with his Holy Spirit while we're joining in.  

Prayer Week is us saying to God in a corporate way at the beginning of a busy term, "We need you, we have plans and dreams for Woodies and the city but we want to seek your perspective and power first and foremost." There are 3 opportunities to join in, could you choose 1?
 

1. Sign up for a 1 hour slot in our 24/7 Prayer Room via this link; we have 168 hours to fill! The Prayer room is a quiet space for you to encounter God’s presence as you pray. There are lots of creative ideas to help you pray through the hour.

2. We are gathering on Thurs 19th Sept with Pete Greig. Pete will be sharing about prayer from his latest book, and we’ll have time to pray together.

3. Come along to early morning prayer watch each morning from 7.15-8.15 am in the Foyer. There will be fresh coffee and pastries, worship and prayer. 

The prayers said this week will change situations and usher in God's kingdom in new ways, lets expect our faith to increase as we focus on our amazing God and his incredible power. And lets allow ourselves to be changed as we spend time with Jesus and welcome his Holy Spirit to revive us, our church and city.  

Have a great 24-7 prayer week, find a way to join in and lets pray!

Love Rachel x

"Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of his willingness." Martin Luther.

Voice: Shepherd's Voice - David Mitchell and Laura Harris

July 28th 7pm: Voice: Shepherd’s voice (John 10:4). The Love language of God.

Sometimes we project our fears on to God and think his voice is harsh. These verses speak of the tenderness of God. They speak of His knowledge of us and our ability to know Him. When we hear the voice of God, we know we are known by him (c.f. Hagar in Genesis 16:13). That is why prophecy and word of knowledge can be so powerful. That is why the prophetic is for encouraging and comfort. The voice of God is a love language, sometimes a love song, and one where we are fully and deeply known. Download Discussion notes

Voice: Shepherd's Voice - David Mitchell and Laura Harris (7pm Sermon)

podcast2.jpg

July 28th 7pm: Voice: Shepherd’s voice (John 10:4). The Love language of God.

Sometimes we project our fears on to God and think his voice is harsh. These verses speak of the tenderness of God. They speak of His knowledge of us and our ability to know Him. When we hear the voice of God, we know we are known by him (c.f. Hagar in Genesis 16:13). That is why prophecy and word of knowledge can be so powerful. That is why the prophetic is for encouraging and comfort. The voice of God is a love language, sometimes a love song, and one where we are fully and deeply known. Download Discussion notes

Voice: Shepherd's Voice - Clare Thompson

July 28th 11am: Voice: Shepherd’s voice (John 10:4). The Love language of God.

Sometimes we project our fears on to God and think his voice is harsh. These verses speak of the tenderness of God. They speak of His knowledge of us and our ability to know Him. When we hear the voice of God, we know we are known by him (c.f. Hagar in Genesis 16:13). That is why prophecy and word of knowledge can be so powerful. That is why the prophetic is for encouraging and comfort. The voice of God is a love language, sometimes a love song, and one where we are fully and deeply known. Download Discussion notes

Voice: Shepherd's Voice - Clare Thompson (11am Sermon)

podcast5.jpg

July 28th 11am: Voice: Shepherd’s voice (John 10:4). The Love language of God.

Sometimes we project our fears on to God and think his voice is harsh. These verses speak of the tenderness of God. They speak of His knowledge of us and our ability to know Him. When we hear the voice of God, we know we are known by him (c.f. Hagar in Genesis 16:13). That is why prophecy and word of knowledge can be so powerful. That is why the prophetic is for encouraging and comfort. The voice of God is a love language, sometimes a love song, and one where we are fully and deeply known. Download Discussion notes

The Woodies Podcast - August Edition

Here is the second Woodies podcast. On this episode Nigel and Rachel reflect on hearing the voice of God including an interview with Hellie Brunt. They also look at how to find rest whilst on holiday and there are some great healing stories and some summer reading book recommendations. Due to the incredible amount of good stuff in this episode, it's a long player edition.

Nigel's preach can be found here.

Book Recommendations:

Love Does - Bob Goff

The Heart is a Noisy Room - Ron Boyd-Macmillan

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

God of violence yesterday, God of love today - Helen Paynter

Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the world's largest religion - Rebecca Mclaughlin

Listening to God - Joyce Huggett

Can you hear me? - Brad Jersak

Prophecy for Anyone - Jenny Campbell

How to Pray: a simple guide for normal people - Pete Greig

Student Welcome Time is Coming

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Every year at Woodies we put on a free BBQ to welcome students to Bristol. Freshers’ Week can be a great, but often overwhelming time for a lot of new students … So with this in mind, we thought they’d really appreciate a burger and a warm welcome to help them settle in. And just a little taste of a church being friendly, modern & accessible can make a massive difference and be a stepping stone towards Jesus.

To make this all happen we need a lot of helping hands and smiling faces. This year it’s the 23rd-25th September - if you’re free, we would love to have you on team. Please sign up here with your availability and details and we will be in contact soon!

An Evening for Men - 16th July

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This is an evening for men, looking at the topic of the Kingdom of God. How do we serve the Kingdom of God when we have so many other competing kingdoms in our lives? The evening is free but please register your place.

It is easy to forget that the bible starts with God creating Man in His likeness so that Man could rule over the earth on God’s behalf. It is a lofty honour that can feel redundant within our modern day-to-day lives but yet it would appear that we were designed with ruling in mind. We are created to be kings of this earth. Join the Alive and Dangerous team for an honest and practical look at how we might better reflect the kingship God had in mind, a kingship in which humility is the highest virtue.

The evening will be hosted by team from Woodies who are part of Alive and Dangerous (A&D) which is a Christian charity with a mission to help guide men along the narrow path to freedom. At its core, A&D is a fellowship of men that believe that Jesus is the answer to all of life’s questions and struggles. It is a fellowship that believes in honesty, integrity and a joyful expression of faith. More information can be found on the A&D website.