Northfield Methodist Church

Dear Friends

The conversation between Jesus and Peter (John 21:15-17) demonstrates for us how Jesus responds to honesty. When we are frank and open with God, God can work abundantly in our lives. Peter having denied Jesus, three times, blatantly, in sight and hearing of Jesus, now experiences Jesus' unconditional love for him and an opportunity for Peter to be honest with Jesus. He does not experience Jesus' anger; he does not experience Jesus' rejection, Peter experiences Jesus' tender caring and determined love. The result - the birthing of the church - "go and feed my sheep".

One wonders how Peter felt after the conversation. I guess we need to realise over and over again, that God is a God of grace and there is no place we can get to, emotionally, spiritually and physically, that takes us beyond the grace of God. When we are able to honestly and openly hold our lives before God, God works in amazing ways.

For the next few weeks, we are going to explore the theme "When Life Breaks Down". It is an opportunity to "be honest" with God and discover God's blessings for our lives. We will explore what it means to be in Community and the power and purpose of Community, God's plan for our lives, God's Bigness, God's Spirit and God's healing in our lives. Alexander Venter, from Vineyard, will be with us for the weekend of the 31st May and this will be an opportunity to experience God's Healing power.

So if life sometimes doesn't make sense to you, if life right now is difficult, if you are facing tough challenges, if you are in need of a deeper experience of God then be part of the journey over the next few weeks and also consider inviting friends and family to be part of this journey.

Blessings

Brian