News Archive – Page 36 – Jubilee Church

What’s Coming Up

Posted on 18th September 2018 By Steve LeeIn Announcement, Article

If you missed us at celebration on Sunday, here are some important dates and events coming up:

Jubilee Family Time – Wednesday 19th September at Tree Tops School. Teas and coffee from 7.15pm, promptly starting at 7.30pm. The evening will be live streamed.

Firstfruits Offering – Bank details: Jubilee Resource Hub 40-17-05 02032090 Ref: Firstfruits

School of the Word Open Day – Sunday 23rd September at Jubilee Resource Hub from 1.-2.30pm. Light lunch provided and parking available. For more information please contact Mel Lewis (mel.lewis@cotnjubilee.co.uk), or if you would like to attend please RSVP Mark Lawrence (mark.lawrence@cotnjubilee.co.uk)

Jubilee Leadership School – Tuesday 25th September & Tuesday 2nd October at Parkwood Christ Church from 7.30-9pm. These two sessions cover key biblical principles on leadership and are available for anyone from the body to attend (free of charge). For those that wish to continue on with the rest of the term, it will continue every Tue evening from the 9th Oct until 4th Dec at a cost of £50. If you are interested please contact Dan Maudhub (dan.maudhub@cotnjubilee.co.uk), or if you would like to register click here.

SOTW new start date Sunday 21st October. Classes run from 9am-1pm Monday to Friday. The course covers all 66 books of the bible at a cost of £2,500. Please contact Mel Lewis (mel.lewis@cotnjubilee.co.uk) for more information.

What’s coming up

Posted on 11th September 2018 By Steve LeeIn Announcement

If you missed us at celebration on Sunday, here are some important dates and events coming up:

Jubilee Family Time – Wednesday 19th September at Tree Tops School for 7.30pm start.

School of the Word Open Day – Sunday 23rd September at Jubilee Resource Hub from 1.-2.30pm. Light lunch provided and parking available. For more information please contact Mel Lewis (mel.lewis@cotnjubilee.co.uk), or if you would like to attend please RSVP Mark Lawrence (mark.lawrence@cotnjubilee.co.uk)

Jubilee Leadership School – Tuesday 25th September & Tuesday 2nd October at Parkwood Christ Church from 7.30-9pm. These two sessions cover key biblical principles on leadership and are available for anyone from the body to attend (free of charge). For those that wish to continue on with the rest of the term, it will continue every Tue evening from the 9th Oct until 4th Dec at a cost of £50. If you are interested please contact Dan Maudhub (dan.maudhub@cotnjubilee.co.uk), or if you would like to register click here.

SOTW new start date Sunday 21st October. Classes run from 9am-1pm Monday to Friday. The course covers all 66 books of the bible at a cost of £2,500. Please contact Mel Lewis (mel.lewis@cotnjubilee.co.uk) for more information.

Family Overseas: Part 5 – Ken & Jen Walton

Posted on 11th September 2018 By Hui DoggettIn Article

I can’t quite believe that it has been 18 months since being in the UK, It feels like it was only a few
months ago that we left, but so much has changed.

We are currently living and working in the beautiful city of Cape Town which is far from what we ever imagined or expected. We started our journey in KwaZulu Natal, which was home to both of us. However, after a month of being back, the company Ken was working for renegotiated his contract causing us to have to look for alternative work. We saw God’s incredible kindness and faithfulness even in the uncertainty of the future and He lovingly provided a job for Ken in Cape Town, managing an amazing coffee shop called Truth. Definitely worth a visit.

So within a week of accepting the job we had packed up our things and made the great trek down to Cape Town. We ended up staying with a friend of ours during the initial trial period who has and still is a wonderful help at getting us acquainted with this incredible city.

We are settling into a church which, believe it or not, is called Jubilee! We actually went to several others first as we thought it was just such a strange coincidence. The transition has not been easy especially when we have been so spoilt by being part of such a wonderful church family. I had forgotten how long and how much time it takes to develop friendships, let alone deep ones.

God has also provided me with the most amazing teaching job. I am teaching Grade R boys at a fabulous school with the most amazing staff team. It all began when I was walking down the road one day and I heard children playing in a playground. The school over the road from where we were staying, which I thought was only a secondary school, turned out in fact to go right from Grade R to 12! So I popped in one day to hand in my CV in the hopes of doing some supply work. There I met a wonderful woman by the name of Jo, who has been a real woman of peace and a door opener for me. Later that year after many locum jobs – one being at a very orthodox Jewish school, I was offered a job teaching Grade R at SACS and I am just loving it. God is so kind and knows just what we need and love.

We had another big life change in January this year when Ken’s adopted daughter, Thandeka, cameto live with us. There have been highs and some lows along the way as we learn to navigate this newchapter of our lives. However, we know that this is part of His plan for both her and for us and so werely on His grace, wisdom and love to lead us each step of the way.

We love and miss our wonderful Maidstone family and if you are ever in Cape Town do come andvisit. We have great coffee 🙂

– Ken & Jen

Reflections from Unlock the Bible

Posted on 10th September 2018 By Steve LeeIn Article

It was quite surreal to be standing at the banquet in front of our Unlock the Bible students on 17th July, marking the end of the year of our part-time Bible course.

It felt surreal because only 12 months prior we had no idea what the coming year was going to look like. We just knew that God was speaking of a change for School of the Word and we stepped out to follow His lead. And through God’s faithfulness and some teamwork, Unlock the Bible was birthed.

Our aim for Unlock the Bible was to make the incredible full-time School of the Word course more accessible to people who would not be able to take that whole year out to study full-time. Whilst we knew we had to cut out a lot in order to condense the course into a part-time format, the key components were preserved: to help students better understand the Bible by taking them through an overview of the narrative (from Genesis to Revelation) and giving context to the different books, and by teaching the Inductive Study skills along the way.

We were so encouraged when 30 students so quickly signed up for our new part-time course! It was such a joy to see them week-in-week-out, coming along for the ride through the Biblical narrative and making fresh discoveries in God’s Word. Lectures were thought-provoking, table discussions were lively, friendships were deepening and God was at work through it all – revealing Himself to His precious children.

Lectures were thought-provoking, table discussions were lively, friendships were deepening and God was at work through it all – revealing Himself to His precious children.

At the banquet night we heard testimony after testimony of how each person had experienced the Word of God become more real and impacting in their life, and that they had come to see God more clearly through studying the scriptures. Every person’s journey was unique and individualised, but each had the thumbprint of God upon it!

Every person’s journey was unique and individualised, but each had the thumbprint of God upon it!

God showed up and He touched lives through the teaching of His Word. I’m not personally surprised by that – that’s the power of His Word and the promise of His Spirit – but I walked away from our final night feeling humbled at the opportunity to partner with Him in that precious process.

I want to give a huge thank you to Mark and Jackie Lawrence, Tony Kettle and Jaynee Tarumarajan for their investment in Unlock the Bible. And thank you to all our lecturers who put time and energy into preparing their teaching. Congratulations to our students on having completed the year and enjoy using your new skills and understanding to help you go deeper into the scriptures – a lifetime of studies and discovery lay before us.

– Mel Lewis

What’s Coming Up

Posted on 5th September 2018 By Steve LeeIn Announcement

In case you missed us last Sunday at Celebration here are some key dates to put in your diary:

Jubilee Family Time – Thursday 13th September from 7.30-9.30pm. Venue to be confirmed.

School of the Word (SOTW) Open Day – Sunday 23rd September from 1-2:30pm at the Jubilee Resource Hub. Light lunch provided and parking available. For more information please speak to Mel Lewis (mel.lewis@cotnjubilee.co.uk) or if you would like to attend please RSVP to Mark Lawrence (mark.lawrence@cotnjubilee.co.uk).

Jubilee Leadership School (JLS) – Tuesday 25th September & Tuesday 2nd October at 7.30pm. These two sessions cover key biblical principles on leadership and are available for anyone from the body to attend (free of charge). For those that wish to continue on with the rest of the term, it will continue every Tue evening from the 9th Oct until Dec at a cost of £50. If you are interested please contact Dan Maudhub (dan.maudhub@cotnjubilee.co.uk).

SOTW new start date Sunday 21st October. Classes run from 9am-1pm Monday to Friday. The course covers all 66 books of the bible at a cost of £2,500. Please contact Mel Lewis (mel.lewis@cotnjubilee.co.uk) for more information.

“Love Serves” – Part 2 Nicky Kendall

Posted on 31st August 2018 By Hui DoggettIn Article

Love serves…(1 Peter 4:7-11)
“ Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Peter makes it clear that hospitality is an important part of loving each other. Hospitality is not an exercise in culinary expertise; it’s not a performance. It’s simply about being willing to open up our homes and our lives to each other. Spending time together, eating and drinking together is the foundation for relationships. And a church which has strong relationships can stand in times of storm.Using our gifts is how we serve one another. They are not for us to keep to ourselves. We don’t earn or deserve the gifts God gives us but He wants us to enjoy using them to bless others. And I believe life is only really fulfilling when we are using the gifts He has given us. We need all these gifts and Christ’s body, the church, only really functions well when we are all contributing what God has given us to bring. Now our approach to serving is probably one of the things I guess which we’ve really had to re-evaluate isn’t it? I think it was never intentional but somehow we took on a heavy burden to serve at times in the past and some of our lives became unbalanced because of it. I know I sometimes served out of fear of disapproval or criticism or fear of not looking a ‘good enough Christian’. I said ‘yes’ on the outside and ‘no’ in my heart. Maybe others have felt this too? Somehow serving became an obligation or a competition to outdo each other instead of a willing act of love. But that’s not God’s way. And we probably misrepresent Christ when this happens because He says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But the antidote is not to stop serving. When something has got out of balance it can be easy to let the pendulum swing too far the other way. We feel we were obliged to serve, so now we stop and protect ourselves. Ultimately though, self-protection, will isolate us and leave us empty. The antidote to over-serving is not to abandon serving but to listen to the Lord and ask:

‘God do you want me to do this? Am I serving you in this? Or is there something else you require of me?’

He knows what is best for us – when He says ‘no, it’s time to rest’ then we must rest because we all have limits, especially if we are carrying other burdens. If we ignore our limits we place ourselves at risk of burnout and that is never God’s best for us. But when God says ‘yes’ then let’s say yes to Him because when we serve each other it is one of the most profound expressions of love – for each other and ultimately for Him.

– Nicky Kendall

Family Overseas Part 4: The Moores

Posted on 28th August 2018 By Hui DoggettIn Article

We arrived in Canada 6-months ago to the biting cold of winter, with temperatures dropping to -15 at night.

We arrived in Canada 6-months ago to the biting cold of winter, with temperatures dropping to -15 at night. In our first few months we’ve experienced 2ft of snow, a flood and a severe wind storm, so we certainly know what Canadian weather can be like! Thankfully we are now in spring, and everything has come to life!

Canada felt like home from the start and we were welcomed into the church and the community. We have already made some fantastic friends and feel at home in the church here. There are many similarities to Jubilee, and it’s great to see God doing similar things on opposite sides of the world!

We have a lovely home in a great area and feel really settled. One of the words God gave us before we moved was that he was moving us to wide open spaces to give us room to breathe, and it certainly feels like it! We have a great outside space with huge skies and Toby now has the giant trampoline he has always wanted! We were very fortunate to be given a minivan when we got here. It’s a bit of a banger, but starts nearly every time! We’ve been doing some adventuring around Ontario already, though the huge roads in our temperamental van are a little daunting! Our 2-hour trip north for Abby and Jacob’s wedding was exciting to say the least!

Both kids are doing well and Toby is now part of a Christian school in Brantford. It’s been very different as he now takes a big yellow school bus, something that felt very alien when we moved! We visited the Christian school when we first arrived, and instantly fell in love with the culture and education on offer. The only trouble is it cost a lot of money each term to send the kids there, as it is not one of the public schools. The day after our tour of the school, we prayed that God would show us if it was the right thing for us to sacrifice some finance for the sake of the kid’s education. The very next morning I got a call from my boss who gave me a pay-rise for the exact amount needed for the school fees! God is good!

God spoke very clearly to us that we should be here, and so we obediently came, but as for what’s next we are still waiting to find out. We can see a number of areas where we can help, but for now the leadership of the church wants us to rest and listen to God.

Please pray for more guidance from Him and a deeper settling for the kids (and us!) We are still on Facebook etc. so do say hello 🙂

All our love

Will, Lyds, Toby and Megan

1 Peter 4:7-11 Part 1: Dealing With Hurts and Moving Into The Next Season

Posted on 14th August 2018 By Steve LeeIn Article

This passage starts with the opening line: ‘The end of all things is near – therefore…’ (1 Peter 4:7) making it clear that the prediction of the end times and the judgement to come at the beginning of the chapter calls for a response from us, not just mental assent to its truth.

Jesus really is coming back! I believe it’s the next most significant event in history. It is also surely as relevant if not more relevant for us today as it was for Peter’s audience, being 2000 years closer to this ‘end time’! And what is our response to be?

First there is a response called in our attitude: to be of ‘sound judgement and sober spirit’. But this is for a purpose – for prayer. Prayer is such a mystery to me – God is omnipotent and doesn’t need us to do anything! But He lovingly invites us to partner with Him and chooses to work through our prayers – what a gracious God. And we have seen Him working mightily through our prayers recently.

We are called to pray and we are called to love – a love that ‘covers a multitude of sins’.

We are called to pray and we are called to love – a love that ‘covers a multitude of sins’. This is a love which is not passive: we are to be ‘fervent’ in our love for one another. How does love cover sins? I believe it is because it is willing to forgive. There have been some hurts in the past season, some broken relationships and it’s been painful. We’ve sinned against each other at times. Some of us have been really hurt. Love does not sweep this under the carpet – I believe it is very difficult to forgive wholeheartedly if we have not acknowledged wholeheartedly the harm that has been done. We do not cover sin by denying that it hurt us. We cover sin by being real, counting the cost of releasing judgement and then forgiving with the grace that God has given us. Love covers, because in this process it does not seek to shame or expose, it seeks to restore and be reconciled. It’s not easy but it’s also not really an option, if we are truly followers of Christ, to hold on to unforgiveness.

Love is also patient and not easily angered so it chooses at times to overlook an offence because we all get it wrong at times, we are all works in progress. Love remembers that we are all in need of forgiveness as much as we need to extend forgiveness. And when people see this kind of love between brothers and sisters in the church, I believe it shows the world that God is really among us.

– Nicky Kendall

What’s Coming Up

Posted on 14th August 2018 By Steve LeeIn Announcement

In case you missed us at our last Sunday Celebration (Aug 12th) and want to know what’s coming up in Jubilee Church, then please find below all the notices you need to know for this week…

August 19th ‘Celebrate Community’ – Celebration will start from 10-1pm with a special community focus. Included in the morning will be a variety of activities. Please come prepared to bless! Don’t forget to bring food for our bring and share picnic afterwards.

August 26th ‘Celebrate Friends’ – Fun informal time together from 11-1pm followed by a BBQ and games at midday. Don’t forget to invite your friends!

August 15th Power Hour of Prayer – Come join us this Wednesday evening for an hour of prayer from 7.30-8.30pm at the Jubilee Resource Hub.

“I Am He” – Article by Adam Doggett

Posted on 10th August 2018 By Hui DoggettIn Article

‘I am He’ was a Waypoint production exploring who Jesus is and what it means to have a personal relationship with him.

It was great fun getting together with a few friends, who are extremely talented performers, to put this event on at Maidstone Family Church. The show was made up of a series of stand-alone performance pieces, including drama, poetry and music, which each told a story in its own right, but when placed together followed a central theme throughout the evening. We explored ideas of good and bad choices, purpose, breaking down and re-building, laying burdens before God and facing persecution. I loved the way that each piece was presented in a different style as Barnaby, Kellie, Jamie, Selby and myself all brought a different flavour. It’s important to bring those different styles because the audience is made up of individuals who will connect with and relate to different parts of the show. I like using metaphors, symbolism and a subtle underlying meaning, so a lot of my work comes forward in the form of allegories. Others have very different ways of storytelling, which is fantastic!

He has laid a number of stories on my heart over the last few months, so it was really special to perform those in front of an audience for the first time.

I am passionate about the creative arts, drama in particular, because it has the power to make me see things in a different way, to view life from a different perspective and to bypasses my sceptical and over-analytical nature to connect in a profound and emotional way. God has taken me on quite a journey to bring me to a place of putting on something
like this. He has laid a number of stories on my heart over the last few months, so it was really special to perform those in front of an audience for the first time. I also had the opportunity to bring out an oldie that I’ve performed before in other contexts, but I love it, so it was great doing it again!

The title of the show, ‘I am He’, was based on John 4, where Jesus speaks to the woman at the well. During their conversation, they talk about what true worship is and Jesus explains that he is the Messiah, the one who brings living water, the one who was promised. This really captures the heart of the event as everyone involved brought their own specific gifts as an act of worship, to glorify God and tell of his greatness. I was very encouraged to receive positive feedback, with people saying how enjoyable and thought provoking they found the evening!

It was evident that God was present amongst us and it’s so great to see God stirring people to use their gifts for his glory. We find ourselves in a really special time within Waypoint and in Jubilee where there is space for people to step out in faith and pursue what God has called them to. As for me, I will continue to use drama to tell God stories, and look forward to seeing how he uses that in the future.

– Adam Doggett