With this talk, we take you on a journey through the life of Apostle Paul, demonstrating how adversity can be a powerful tool for personal growth and strength. This service is a must-listen for anyone seeking to transform their challenges into opportunities for spiritual and personal development.
Welcome to this week's Crowd Church service.
Matt Edmundson:We are a digital church on a quest to discover how Jesus helps
Matt Edmundson:us live a more meaningful life.
Matt Edmundson:We are a community, a space to explore the Christian faith, and a place
Matt Edmundson:where you can contribute and grow.
Matt Edmundson:Our service will last about an hour, and in a few seconds we will start
Matt Edmundson:with a time of worship, after which you will meet our hosts for our service,
Matt Edmundson:who will introduce today's guest.
Matt Edmundson:After the talk, we head into Conversation Street, where we look at your stories
Matt Edmundson:and questions that you've posted in the comments throughout the live stream.
Matt Edmundson:I want to invite you to connect with us here at Crowd Church, and there are
Matt Edmundson:a few ways that you can do just that.
Matt Edmundson:Firstly, you can engage with Crowd from any device during our live
Matt Edmundson:stream, and if you're up for it.
Matt Edmundson:Why not invite a few friends over and experience the service together?
Matt Edmundson:Church is all about connecting with God and connecting with others, and
Matt Edmundson:one of the easiest ways for you to do that is to also join one of our
Matt Edmundson:mid week groups where we meet online together to catch up and discover
Matt Edmundson:more about the amazingness of Christ.
Matt Edmundson:You can also subscribe to our podcast called What's It's the story where
Matt Edmundson:we deep dive into stories of faith and courage from everyday people.
Matt Edmundson:More information about all of these things that I've mentioned can
Matt Edmundson:be found on our website at www.
Matt Edmundson:crowd.
Matt Edmundson:church or you can reach us on social media at crowdchurch.
Matt Edmundson:If you're new to crowd or new to the Christian faith.
Matt Edmundson:Faith and would like to know what your next steps to take are.
Matt Edmundson:Why not?
Matt Edmundson:Head over to our website, crowd Church slash Next for more details.
Matt Edmundson:And now the moment you've been waiting for is here.
Matt Edmundson:Our online church service starts.
Matt Edmundson:Now, wow, good evening.
Matt Edmundson:Welcome to Crowd Online Church.
Matt Edmundson:My name is Matt Edmundson and beside me is absolutely no one.
Matt Edmundson:Now, if you're a regular to Crowd, you know that there's normally
Matt Edmundson:two of us side by side today.
Matt Edmundson:But Anna, my Co host is MIA, so if anyone's seen Anna, just give her a
Matt Edmundson:little nudge, tell her she's supposed to be here, she's not answering the
Matt Edmundson:phone, so I hope everything's alright.
Matt Edmundson:But that said, we will crack on.
Matt Edmundson:How has your Sunday been?
Matt Edmundson:Hopefully it's been good.
Matt Edmundson:Let's see what we've got going on in the comments here.
Matt Edmundson:You're going to have to join me and help me in the comments, folks, because
Matt Edmundson:if I'm flying solo I'm going to, I'm going to need that conversation.
Matt Edmundson:Do write, say hi in the comments.
Matt Edmundson:Hi Miriam.
Matt Edmundson:Miriam's in the comments.
Matt Edmundson:Hey Miriam, how you doing?
Matt Edmundson:Tobias, even in first time joining the live stream, but have been
Matt Edmundson:enjoying the Alpha Series videos.
Matt Edmundson:Tobias, great to have you, man.
Matt Edmundson:Great that you're here with us.
Matt Edmundson:Glad you've been enjoying the Alpha Course.
Matt Edmundson:They're great, aren't they?
Matt Edmundson:They're, not because we did them.
Matt Edmundson:I just want to point that out.
Matt Edmundson:They're great because they're great because it's Alpha.
Matt Edmundson:Great to have you, Tobias.
Matt Edmundson:Hi, Sarah.
Matt Edmundson:Hi, Keith and Peter from Spain joining us again.
Matt Edmundson:Great to have you.
Matt Edmundson:Week number two, guys.
Matt Edmundson:Welcome.
Matt Edmundson:Great that you're joining us.
Matt Edmundson:Whoop.
Matt Edmundson:Here we go.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah.
Matt Edmundson:Mine has been really special.
Matt Edmundson:According to Miriam, her Sunday has been good.
Matt Edmundson:Just jot in the comments.
Matt Edmundson:Let me know what you've been up to this Sunday.
Matt Edmundson:It'd be great to hear about it.
Matt Edmundson:I have been not that you really want to know, but I've been
Matt Edmundson:busily installing a diesel heater.
Matt Edmundson:For some strange reason, I decided that installing a diesel heater in my
Matt Edmundson:kitchen would be a good Thing to do.
Matt Edmundson:And test number one has worked pretty well.
Matt Edmundson:I'm not gonna like pretty stoked but it may means my hands out.
Matt Edmundson:You.
Matt Edmundson:It's good job.
Matt Edmundson:You can't smell my hands 'cause they do smell a little bit like diesel.
Matt Edmundson:What have you guys been doing?
Matt Edmundson:Enjoying your Sunday afternoon?
Matt Edmundson:Hopefully Keith and Peter also enjoying the alpha course here.
Matt Edmundson:You know what, this is great.
Matt Edmundson:Let me just mention this.
Matt Edmundson:If you are new to crowd.
Matt Edmundson:And you're watching this.
Matt Edmundson:So if you're new to the Christian faith, you want to know more about the Christian
Matt Edmundson:faith, you've got questions, want to explore it, do check out the Alpha Course.
Matt Edmundson:Now if you go to the website, I'm just going to check on
Matt Edmundson:the URL here, it's crowd.
Matt Edmundson:church, www.
Matt Edmundson:crowd.
Matt Edmundson:church.
Matt Edmundson:org.
Matt Edmundson:Let me put it up on the screen.
Matt Edmundson:He says, I think it's that one there.
Matt Edmundson:Yes, look at that.
Matt Edmundson:If you go, who says I can't multitask.
Matt Edmundson:If you go to crowd.
Matt Edmundson:church and click on, there's various links to get to alpha, but the best way
Matt Edmundson:to get to it, I think it's probably just to scroll to the bottom and the fourth
Matt Edmundson:link down says alpha course online.
Matt Edmundson:And then all the alpha series talks are there.
Matt Edmundson:Things like, is there more to life than this?
Matt Edmundson:Who is Jesus?
Matt Edmundson:Why did Jesus die?
Matt Edmundson:Why did we proclaim that as, Christians?
Matt Edmundson:What's that all about?
Matt Edmundson:How can I be sure of my faith?
Matt Edmundson:What's prayer all about?
Matt Edmundson:What's the Bible all about?
Matt Edmundson:Does God guide us?
Matt Edmundson:Who's the Holy Spirit?
Matt Edmundson:Making the most life.
Matt Edmundson:How do I resist evil?
Matt Edmundson:Still one of the most popular talks.
Matt Edmundson:And should we talk about our faith?
Matt Edmundson:Excuse me.
Matt Edmundson:Should we share it?
Matt Edmundson:Should we do all of those things?
Matt Edmundson:Does God heal today is a big question.
Matt Edmundson:Anna, who is MIA, answers that question, and in fact, Anna's just texted me.
Matt Edmundson:Shall we see what she has to say?
Matt Edmundson:Put my glasses on.
Matt Edmundson:Oh my gosh, so sorry, we went to Andy's Mums and I totally forgot I was on again.
Matt Edmundson:Just seeing this now, okay, for those of you who know Anna, give
Matt Edmundson:her some grief, because frankly, I think that's fair enough.
Matt Edmundson:She's gone to her husband's, to her mother in law's and is her husband, by the way.
Matt Edmundson:So hopefully they're all right over there.
Matt Edmundson:But yes we'll crack on, shall we?
Matt Edmundson:Today we have the talk by Dan Orange.
Matt Edmundson:Dan is one of the regulars here at Crowding.
Matt Edmundson:You can You can get your notepads ready.
Matt Edmundson:This is actually his first talk, which I'm really excited about.
Matt Edmundson:I've not heard it yet, and I'm really excited to hear it.
Matt Edmundson:I've been friends with Dan for a very long time, so super keen
Matt Edmundson:to hear what he's got to say.
Matt Edmundson:Now, we have been working our way through the book of Acts, and for
Matt Edmundson:you, if you're new, like to buy us with us, Acts is a book in the New
Matt Edmundson:Testament, after the four Gospels.
Matt Edmundson:Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which chronicle the story of Jesus.
Matt Edmundson:And then you have the Book of Acts which chronicles the sort
Matt Edmundson:of the beginnings of the church.
Matt Edmundson:What happened after Jesus goes to heaven?
Matt Edmundson:What happens those sort of first few years in the church?
Matt Edmundson:That's what we find out in the Book of Acts and we have been
Matt Edmundson:busy working our way through it.
Matt Edmundson:It has taken a very long time.
Matt Edmundson:We were joking about this last week.
Matt Edmundson:It seems to have taken us a bit of an age, but we are getting there, which is good.
Matt Edmundson:But you know what?
Matt Edmundson:Even though it has taken a long time, I have really positively enjoyed it.
Matt Edmundson:It's been absolutely phenomenal.
Matt Edmundson:I've got a lot out of this Alpha Series.
Matt Edmundson:So Dan's going to do his talk on Alpha.
Matt Edmundson:Write your questions, write your thoughts in the comments below.
Matt Edmundson:And I will be back by myself because Anna's not joining me.
Matt Edmundson:Matt, you're doing amazing.
Matt Edmundson:You're doing amazing on your Todd.
Matt Edmundson:Bless you.
Matt Edmundson:Thanks, Miriam.
Matt Edmundson:I will be back after the talk to do Conversation Street.
Matt Edmundson:So yeah, do get right in the comments.
Matt Edmundson:Do write your thoughts, write your questions, write your ideas.
Matt Edmundson:Down.
Matt Edmundson:It talks about 15 minutes I think, and then I will be back and we'll
Matt Edmundson:carry on a conversation about it.
Matt Edmundson:I'm just looking for the button on my notepad.
Matt Edmundson:I think it's this one.
Matt Edmundson:So I'm gonna push this.
Matt Edmundson:Here's Dan I'll see you in just a few minutes.
Dan Orange:So on to Acts chapter 25.
Dan Orange:I thought I'd give a little recap of where things are up to in Paul's life so far.
Dan Orange:So Paul has completed many journeys visiting the Scattered early church.
Dan Orange:He's currently on his third missionary journey around the area of the
Dan Orange:Mediterranean and Middle East, traveling miles by sea and foot.
Dan Orange:Most scholars believe in his lifetime, he traveled and walked over 10, 000 miles.
Dan Orange:So he sailed and walked 10, 000 miles, which is pretty impressive
Dan Orange:even by today's standards.
Dan Orange:He spent that time teaching, spending time with the new Christians,
Dan Orange:the followers of the way that they were called at that time.
Dan Orange:He's already been stoned.
Dan Orange:He's been jailed.
Dan Orange:Shaved his head for a vow, but seen many miracles and many come to hear
Dan Orange:and know about this wonderful Jesus, the Messiah, the forgiver of sins.
Dan Orange:He spends lots of time in the synagogues teaching, questioning and
Dan Orange:preaching over many days each time.
Dan Orange:He didn't just come along, preach and dash off, he dedicated time
Dan Orange:and energy to the good news.
Dan Orange:He's already written some of the letters that we have in the Bible, the letter
Dan Orange:to the Galatians and Corinthians, and the letter to the Romans.
Dan Orange:He's approximately 53 years old now, and he's under arrest again.
Dan Orange:23 years after his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus.
Dan Orange:There's now a new Roman governor holding him.
Dan Orange:Felix had held him for two years, hoping for a bribe to give him an excuse to
Dan Orange:release him, and now Festus is in charge.
Dan Orange:Do you feel that your life has ups and downs, Paul must have, been those
Dan Orange:hard times, there, the times that, Often where God is teaching us, and
Dan Orange:in Paul's case here, protecting him.
Dan Orange:Let's read the first section, chapter 25.
Dan Orange:Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea
Dan Orange:to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him
Dan Orange:and presented the charges against Paul.
Dan Orange:They requested Festus as a favour to them, to have Paul transferred to
Dan Orange:Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
Dan Orange:Festus answered, Paul is being held at Caesarea and I myself am going there soon.
Dan Orange:Let some of your leaders come with me.
Dan Orange:If the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.
Dan Orange:After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea.
Dan Orange:The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.
Dan Orange:Paul had been held in prison two years so far.
Dan Orange:The Jewish leaders hadn't given up their petitions and desire to get rid of Paul.
Dan Orange:I'd like to pick out two things here.
Dan Orange:Paul has to be patient.
Dan Orange:He's got no choice.
Dan Orange:He simply can't do anything else, but he can choose how he is alone.
Dan Orange:Paul was stuck under arrest and couldn't do much, but he could have just sat
Dan Orange:and stewed in his own self pity.
Dan Orange:But he didn't.
Dan Orange:He spent his time listening to God, studying, and probably writing.
Dan Orange:In his next prison situation he wrote Philippians, Ephesians, so I don't know.
Dan Orange:He was just sat there doing nothing.
Dan Orange:I know in the time that we live in, it's rare, there's nothing to do or look at.
Dan Orange:I'm a dad, a husband, a business owner.
Dan Orange:There's always something to do, and always something to distract.
Dan Orange:Perhaps it's, Furtling on your phone, what a great word.
Dan Orange:My father in law used this word a lot when he was alive.
Dan Orange:What have you been doing, Roger?
Dan Orange:That's my father in law.
Dan Orange:Oh, just been furtling, reading an article on social media, playing online.
Dan Orange:Playing online Scrabble, just furtling.
Dan Orange:It can be good to keep our minds active but sometimes we need time
Dan Orange:from distractions, time on our own, time where it's easier for God to
Dan Orange:speak to us, less distractions.
Dan Orange:Let's slow down, take five minutes when it's just you and God.
Dan Orange:I'm speaking to you but also to myself.
Dan Orange:Every time I'm alone with God I think, why don't I do more of this,
Dan Orange:and I'm back in my life, and I've got to do this and got to do that.
Dan Orange:Put some God space in your diary.
Dan Orange:I have it now in my diary, it actually says God space.
Dan Orange:Siri will pop up and say God space, just to encourage me to stop the
Dan Orange:busyness of life taking over.
Dan Orange:Jesus says in Luke's Gospel, by your patience possess your souls.
Dan Orange:Let's not be so busy we miss out.
Dan Orange:I need to learn more patience, more listening.
Dan Orange:Second point is that these Jewish leaders had a grudge and they weren't giving up.
Dan Orange:They'd already put pressure on the previous governor for two years and now
Dan Orange:hassled the new guy for ten days straight.
Dan Orange:Persistence is a good thing, working towards an outcome is a good thing, if
Dan Orange:it's the right thing we're working for.
Dan Orange:I'm from Liverpool and I love this city.
Dan Orange:But in 1989 in Hillsborough, England, there was a horrific
Dan Orange:disaster of a football match where 96 Liverpool supporters died.
Dan Orange:The people of Liverpool, families and friends of those
Dan Orange:who died, fought for justice.
Dan Orange:There'd been incorrect allegations made, cover ups by the authorities,
Dan Orange:and the people of Liverpool, especially Liverpool supporters, were put down
Dan Orange:in the press and by the establishment.
Dan Orange:But they persisted, and the truth was eventually told.
Dan Orange:This took a long time, and a favourable outcome has now come.
Dan Orange:They didn't give need to give.
Dan Orange:They didn't give up.
Dan Orange:We need to strive for what's right by keeping up, but by keeping
Dan Orange:our focus on Him who is right, listening in the quiet times.
Dan Orange:Jesus said this famously, come to me all you who labor and are heavy
Dan Orange:laden and I will give you rest.
Dan Orange:Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I'm gentle and lowly in heart
Dan Orange:and you will find rest for your souls.
Dan Orange:For my yoke is easy.
Dan Orange:And my burden is light.
Dan Orange:Rest in him and take his yoke.
Dan Orange:A little note from this is that we can give him our burdens, but we still
Dan Orange:need to take a yoke, a light burden.
Dan Orange:We don't walk around skipping with nothing to do, no work.
Dan Orange:We are to do his work, whatever that may be for us where we're at.
Dan Orange:We're not carrying around the things that are too heavy for our backs.
Dan Orange:That's what we put on God's shoulders.
Dan Orange:Not to do nothing, but we're to do his work.
Dan Orange:This applied to Paul too, so we can see it's not always easy.
Dan Orange:Jesus when he spoke those words was talking about all the oppressions
Dan Orange:and laws that the people at the time had put on themselves.
Dan Orange:We can put our own things on us that are not for us to bear.
Dan Orange:Give your troubles, don't have things that aren't for you.
Dan Orange:Some people can make it their life's work to take on the troubles of
Dan Orange:others, the worries, disguising it as empathy or compassion.
Dan Orange:We need to make sure we're just taking on what he's asked us to take on.
Dan Orange:On to the next part of the story which reads like this.
Dan Orange:When Paul came in, the Jews had come down from Jerusalem and stood around him.
Dan Orange:They'd brought many serious charges against him, but
Dan Orange:they could not prove them.
Dan Orange:Then Paul made his defence.
Dan Orange:I've done nothing wrong against the Jewish law, or against
Dan Orange:the Temple, or against Caesar.
Dan Orange:Fester, wishing to do the Jews a favour, said to Paul, Are you willing
Dan Orange:to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?
Dan Orange:Paul answered.
Dan Orange:I'm now standing before Caesar's Court where I ought to be tried.
Dan Orange:I've not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.
Dan Orange:If however, I am guilty of doing anything disown death, I do not refuse to die.
Dan Orange:But in the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true.
Dan Orange:But if the charges brought against me by the, these Jews are not true, no one
Dan Orange:has the right to hand me over to them.
Dan Orange:I appeal to Caesar after Festus had confirmed with his counsel, he declared.
Dan Orange:You have appealed to Caesar you will go.
Dan Orange:Paul had to give God his troubles to trust him, but also to listen to God.
Dan Orange:I believe God gave him wisdom on how to answer and when to answer.
Dan Orange:He brought the law to his advantage so the Jewish leaders couldn't get to him.
Dan Orange:It may have seemed that this just prolonged things, but God used that
Dan Orange:time for Paul and for the church.
Dan Orange:In our lives we need to bring our concerns and our trials
Dan Orange:before God and ask for wisdom.
Dan Orange:To ask for him to move mountains when necessary, but we need
Dan Orange:to do what we can as well.
Dan Orange:In my own life, my son is having a lot of trouble at school with his education,
Dan Orange:and we're praying a lot about things, we're asking God for wisdom, asking
Dan Orange:God to come to speak to us and to Luke.
Dan Orange:And he has, and he's bringing his peace, and he's brought his peace
Dan Orange:to him and to us, but we still have to push and strive in this world.
Dan Orange:For the law says that Luke should have a good education
Dan Orange:in the country that we live.
Dan Orange:Me, my wife mainly, she's amazing, studying, petitioning, getting things
Dan Orange:done, submitting formal complaints if we have to, works not done,
Dan Orange:getting our counsel on board, etc.
Dan Orange:But in all this, God has to be our focus still.
Dan Orange:He's got to be the most important thing.
Dan Orange:Otherwise, we can just go.
Dan Orange:Off on a tangent and miss out, if God is our focus and we put our trust
Dan Orange:in him, then we can look back at trials and problems and rest in the
Dan Orange:decisions that were made, knowing that he has made, he has the best for us.
Dan Orange:Romans 8, 28 which Paul wrote in a similar situation to he is now, and we
Dan Orange:know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those
Dan Orange:who are called according to his purpose.
Dan Orange:Paul knew his rights on the earth.
Dan Orange:He knew he was a Roman citizen and that this meant he should be tried in Rome.
Dan Orange:This decision saved him.
Dan Orange:It stopped that trip to Jerusalem where the leaders plotted to kill
Dan Orange:him, but it also set off the chain of events that would cause him to be
Dan Orange:incarcerated for another two years.
Dan Orange:This is what I mean by knowing his word and resting in it.
Dan Orange:In those two years.
Dan Orange:Do you think Paul thought, why don't I stick to my guns, or why did I not just
Dan Orange:go to Jerusalem, it probably would have been alright, it probably wouldn't have.
Dan Orange:The last thing I want to mention is something that's not written here,
Dan Orange:but it is implied, it's forgiveness.
Dan Orange:I mentioned about fighting for the truth, for standing firm, in that we can
Dan Orange:come up against others that are against us, others that can and do hurt us.
Dan Orange:If we dwell on those things and deeds, they can occupy more than our noble goal.
Dan Orange:The fight can become a grudge and can eat away at us.
Dan Orange:This is where sometimes the hardest step has to happen.
Dan Orange:We have to forgive those that have done wrong toward us.
Dan Orange:Paul had plenty of people to forgive.
Dan Orange:Those that stoned him, those that lied to put him away, those that
Dan Orange:hurt and killed others around him.
Dan Orange:I've had people that have hurt my son with their I have to forgive, and
Dan Orange:it's hard when it's not even against you, it's against someone you love.
Dan Orange:The people of Liverpool have seen justice for what was said about them
Dan Orange:in the press and what I spoke about earlier, but without forgiveness
Dan Orange:there can still just be hurt.
Dan Orange:These grudges and strivings can bring anger, they can limit our
Dan Orange:life, they can occupy time, they can come in the way of our destiny.
Dan Orange:God can and does forgive.
Dan Orange:We need to take his example and we need to forgive.
Dan Orange:We need to give our fights to God.
Dan Orange:Don't let your grudge be your life.
Dan Orange:God in Jesus came and died that we may know freedom from sin
Dan Orange:and that we can be forgiven.
Dan Orange:All the things that we have done that are worthy of death have been wiped away.
Dan Orange:We've been forgiven much.
Dan Orange:It's for us to know that eternal forgiveness and ask for God's
Dan Orange:grace to enable us to forgive.
Dan Orange:Maybe we need to forgive those that are close to us.
Dan Orange:Paul, in his letter to the Romans, is speaking to some of the church
Dan Orange:members about others that have done wrong and been punished.
Dan Orange:Then he says, let's not add more sorrow to them that they can bear by holding
Dan Orange:back our forgiveness toward them.
Dan Orange:I've just read the autobiography of Bono from U2, and it's
Dan Orange:a really interesting book.
Dan Orange:And he has a Interesting and tricky relationship with his dad, Bob Hewson.
Dan Orange:Even after he died, he realised he needed to forgive him and
Dan Orange:to ask for his forgiveness.
Dan Orange:Here's the passage in his own words.
Dan Orange:Easter 2002, Ali and I visited the little chapel in Eze France, a fisherman's church
Dan Orange:with a hilltop view that has seen it all.
Dan Orange:From the baroque pulpit, a lone arm sticks out of the wall holding the cross, and
Dan Orange:a fishing boat hangs from the ceiling.
Dan Orange:After the service, sometimes improved I find if you don't speak the language that
Dan Orange:well, I returned to the pews on my own.
Dan Orange:I sat there and apologised to my father, Bob Hewson.
Dan Orange:I had forgiven him for his own crimes of passion but I'd never
Dan Orange:asked for his forgiveness for mine.
Dan Orange:I'll never know if it was related to me asking for this forgiveness
Dan Orange:in that little chapel, but after my father died something changed.
Dan Orange:I felt I got an extra couple of notes on my range.
Dan Orange:I felt I was becoming a real tenor as opposed to a pretend one.
Dan Orange:I could ring those high notes like a church bell as
Dan Orange:I had never hit them before.
Dan Orange:Makes no scientific sense of course, but I've heard it said that when someone
Dan Orange:close dies, they leave you a kind of passing gift, some invisible will
Dan Orange:where you inherit a special blessing.
Dan Orange:Bob Hewson's final gift to me was to enlarge the one he gave me long before.
Dan Orange:I was now a true tenor, no longer a baritone, I only thought he was a tenor.
Dan Orange:I thought it was a really interesting example of what forgiveness
Dan Orange:can do for us in real life.
Dan Orange:Sometimes the burden we're holding on to is unforgiveness and it
Dan Orange:does literally hold us back.
Dan Orange:Perhaps we need to come to him and cry out for his forgiveness.
Dan Orange:And get that extra octave in our lives.
Matt Edmundson:Welcome back.
Matt Edmundson:Thank you, Dan, for that great talk.
Matt Edmundson:Loved it.
Matt Edmundson:Dan's first talk, ladies and gentlemen.
Matt Edmundson:I wish I had a button on my desk at home, which gives a round of applause.
Matt Edmundson:Don't have it here.
Matt Edmundson:But it's great.
Matt Edmundson:I loved it.
Matt Edmundson:Loved it.
Matt Edmundson:Loved it.
Matt Edmundson:So Dan's tour, what did you think?
Matt Edmundson:What did you take away from it?
Matt Edmundson:Hello to you if you've joined us during the talk.
Matt Edmundson:If you've joined us live, my name is Matt Edmundson.
Matt Edmundson:I'm the pastor here at Crowd Church, just in case you want to know, and normally
Matt Edmundson:there would be somebody sat beside me.
Matt Edmundson:We would normally be co hosting the online church, but Anna she just,
Matt Edmundson:let's just put it, she just forgot.
Matt Edmundson:She just forgot she was hosting.
Matt Edmundson:It totally slipped her mind, as these things do.
Matt Edmundson:And so she went and visited a mother in law.
Matt Edmundson:Which is, probably one of those God things really.
Matt Edmundson:But needless to say, I will be able to reminder of this every week for
Matt Edmundson:the next probably year or two really.
Matt Edmundson:So it's not a total loss.
Matt Edmundson:But yeah, if you've just joined us, welcome to Online Church.
Matt Edmundson:That was Dan speaking Keith and Peter.
Matt Edmundson:Brilliant talk, Dan.
Matt Edmundson:Very thought provoking.
Matt Edmundson:Thanks for sharing.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah, I loved it.
Matt Edmundson:We're going to get into it.
Matt Edmundson:What did you like about it?
Matt Edmundson:Some of the thought provoking things.
Matt Edmundson:We have Pastor Alexander in from the Congo on Facebook joining
Matt Edmundson:us all the way from the Congo.
Matt Edmundson:I love technology.
Matt Edmundson:So people from Spain, people from the Congo, people from the
Matt Edmundson:UK, just all over the world.
Matt Edmundson:Welcome to you.
Matt Edmundson:Great that you're with us Pastor Alexander.
Matt Edmundson:I hope you guys are doing well.
Matt Edmundson:If you haven't heard yet Pastor Alexander's talk on, I say talk, his
Matt Edmundson:podcast we recorded on what's the story.
Matt Edmundson:So what's the story?
Matt Edmundson:If you don't know.
Matt Edmundson:It's a podcast where either me or Anna when she turns up, you
Matt Edmundson:can see where this is going.
Matt Edmundson:And Sadaf we get guests onto the show and we just interview them about their story.
Matt Edmundson:And Pastor Alexander was over from the Congo, which was amazing.
Matt Edmundson:And so I got a chance to sit down with him for about an hour and
Matt Edmundson:just listen to his story about.
Matt Edmundson:How I became a Christian, what it's like running a church in the middle
Matt Edmundson:of a war zone, the hospital that's being built over there, some amazing
Matt Edmundson:stuff, real, really great stuff.
Matt Edmundson:And so if you haven't done so already, check it out.
Matt Edmundson:You can find out more information on the website which I'll put on the screen.
Matt Edmundson:Just click the podcast link or if you just want to go straight to it,
Matt Edmundson:just type in whatsthestorypodcast.
Matt Edmundson:com and that will take you to that specific section of the site.
Matt Edmundson:Now what I'm going to do, I'm going to press my button there, in the
Matt Edmundson:comments I have added a temporary link.
Matt Edmundson:So given that I'm flying solo and we've never tried this before.
Matt Edmundson:Let me just point out to you what's going on with that link and then
Matt Edmundson:we'll get into Conversation Street.
Matt Edmundson:If you are so inclined, if you click that link it's a temporary
Matt Edmundson:link, it only lasts about an hour.
Matt Edmundson:Bless you BadgerDragons is writing some really nice stuff in the comments.
Matt Edmundson:If you click that link, it will take you to a page where you can copy a
Matt Edmundson:URL, which will actually get you to dial into our live stream, right?
Matt Edmundson:Now, bear in mind, it's going to ask you To approve your microphone
Matt Edmundson:and to approve your video.
Matt Edmundson:But if you do that, the computer here will ring and you will come up on my computer
Matt Edmundson:and I can add you to The live stream.
Matt Edmundson:That's in theory how it goes.
Matt Edmundson:I have done this with other podcasts that we do and so I do know the technology
Matt Edmundson:works, we've just never done it on crowd.
Matt Edmundson:If you want to join me, if you've got something you want to share, if you've
Matt Edmundson:got a question you want to pose, if you've got an idea you want to talk about
Matt Edmundson:from Dan's talk, we would we'll try it.
Matt Edmundson:We'll see how it goes.
Matt Edmundson:I don't know how well it's going to work.
Matt Edmundson:I genuinely don't.
Matt Edmundson:I don't even know if any of you are actually that interested in dialing in.
Matt Edmundson:But the link is in the comments if you want to join us.
Matt Edmundson:Do so Dan's talk, what did you think of his talk?
Matt Edmundson:I loved it.
Matt Edmundson:One of the things that's been coming out of the Book of Acts is this sort of
Matt Edmundson:theme and this theme is, It's very much a case of the Holy Spirit turns up, Jesus
Matt Edmundson:goes, the Holy Spirit turns up and he starts doing some amazing things, right?
Matt Edmundson:So as a Christian, we believe the Trinity exists, that God is three in
Matt Edmundson:one, that he's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Matt Edmundson:The gospels were all about God, the Son and Acts is really all
Matt Edmundson:about the God, the Holy Spirit telling everybody about God the Son.
Matt Edmundson:And what we see happening a lot.
Matt Edmundson:As we see the Holy Spirit coming down, there have been some quite significant
Matt Edmundson:encounters with the Holy Spirit.
Matt Edmundson:People's lives change.
Matt Edmundson:And what happens is the Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people
Matt Edmundson:to do extraordinary things.
Matt Edmundson:Sometimes that's working a miracle, sometimes that's just telling the
Matt Edmundson:story, sometimes that's just actually surviving and living, to be fair.
Matt Edmundson:And so the Holy Spirit comes down and he enables and empowers people.
Matt Edmundson:He, in effect, gives them a mission.
Matt Edmundson:He gives them a plan.
Matt Edmundson:He gives them a purpose, a reason to live.
Matt Edmundson:And what we see and what we saw today in Dan's talk was, although there is
Matt Edmundson:a divine call, although there is this sort of divine plan that God gives
Matt Edmundson:us, doesn't always mean it's easy.
Matt Edmundson:And life can be complex and hard, but in, because we I suppose in our
Matt Edmundson:modern day thinking, we're like if God's real and God's going to give
Matt Edmundson:me a plan to do, surely he's going to make it easy for me to do it.
Matt Edmundson:And life will be fun and a ball of laughter along the way.
Matt Edmundson:And apparently there's not quite how it turns out, but God is with
Matt Edmundson:us throughout the whole thing.
Matt Edmundson:And in the complexity and in the nuances and in the difficulties
Matt Edmundson:in we learn to trust him.
Matt Edmundson:We learn to understand what it is that God's actually doing
Matt Edmundson:in the midst of everything.
Matt Edmundson:And we see this over and over again in the book of Acts.
Matt Edmundson:It's this sort of constant theme, which I find quite staggering.
Matt Edmundson:It's probably one of my biggest takeaways is actually God does amazing
Matt Edmundson:things, but it doesn't mean that my life is going to be amazingly
Matt Edmundson:easy, but I do get to make a choice.
Matt Edmundson:I get to determine whether I keep going after God or whether I shrink back.
Matt Edmundson:And so that seems to be the sort of the main theme, the main feel,
Matt Edmundson:or one of them that we take from the, there are obviously others.
Matt Edmundson:So that said, Dan then obviously talked, I loved his, this phrase that he used.
Matt Edmundson:I wrote it down here, how he talked about the noble goal.
Matt Edmundson:And now we have this noble goal, this sort of noble goal from God, this
Matt Edmundson:calling, this plan, this thing to do this.
Matt Edmundson:Sense of purpose, sense of mission.
Matt Edmundson:I love that phrase, noble goal, totally stealing it, Dan, not
Matt Edmundson:going to lie, thought it was great.
Matt Edmundson:What is your noble goal, do you think?
Matt Edmundson:Do you have a noble goal?
Matt Edmundson:What do you think God's saying about that?
Matt Edmundson:What's a noble goal for you?
Matt Edmundson:And one of the things that happened then is, Dan then immediately starts
Matt Edmundson:talking about forgiveness and how the pursuit of a noble goal, and for him,
Matt Edmundson:The noble goal he was talking about was the stuff with Luke, his son, and trying
Matt Edmundson:to sort out with the educational system here in the UK, how to fix something
Matt Edmundson:that's quite broken for them, right?
Matt Edmundson:And God love them.
Matt Edmundson:They've been through it Luke, Dan and Lisa, just a really incredible
Matt Edmundson:story really, but it's, and it's not over, so do pray for them.
Matt Edmundson:But in the midst of that, so his noble goal is obviously to get this
Matt Edmundson:educational thing for his son sorted out to fight for that to do his thing.
Matt Edmundson:I loved his comment about how his yoke is easy and his burden is
Matt Edmundson:light, we come to God and we give him his things, but it doesn't mean
Matt Edmundson:we don't have a yoke to pick up.
Matt Edmundson:It doesn't mean we've not got anything to do that.
Matt Edmundson:We just float around.
Matt Edmundson:I think it was a phrase he used.
Matt Edmundson:I thought it was great, pondering around, floating around.
Matt Edmundson:And yeah, I thought the noble goal is then linked to forgiveness.
Matt Edmundson:The thing that we have to do is linked to forgiveness.
Matt Edmundson:And one of the comments here that Miriam wrote, sometimes I don't know
Matt Edmundson:how to forgive friends when they do the same things over and over again,
Matt Edmundson:but God will be with me, so it's okay.
Matt Edmundson:It's a really powerful thing, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson:And we've talked a lot on Crowd about forgiveness.
Matt Edmundson:We've had quite a few talks about it from Sharon, my wife, she's
Matt Edmundson:done a few talks on forgiveness.
Matt Edmundson:We had one from Jenny Taylor.
Matt Edmundson:She talked about forgiveness, remarkable story.
Matt Edmundson:She's had to forgive a lot.
Matt Edmundson:And they're definitely worth checking out if you do struggle with the
Matt Edmundson:topic of forgiveness do go dig those out there in the archives.
Matt Edmundson:Again, just head over to the website, crowd church, the links at the bottom.
Matt Edmundson:You can go to the website and search for Jenny Taylor, search for
Matt Edmundson:forgiveness and the talks will come up and go into it in an awful lot more
Matt Edmundson:detail because I think Dan's right.
Matt Edmundson:I think sometimes we pursue these noble goals these things that seem righteous,
Matt Edmundson:these things that seem good and we can get quite angry in the process.
Matt Edmundson:And we can get quite bitter.
Matt Edmundson:I think Dan said don't let your grudge become your life.
Matt Edmundson:That's an amazing quote, that, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson:Don't let your grudge become your life.
Matt Edmundson:So let's think about that, right?
Matt Edmundson:If we have a noble goal, whatever that is at the moment, something
Matt Edmundson:that we're fighting for, something that we're striving for, something
Matt Edmundson:that we're praying for, something that we're believing God for.
Matt Edmundson:If we have a noble goal, is there an element of anger or bitterness or
Matt Edmundson:resentment or something that could creep in and derail you in the pursuit of that?
Matt Edmundson:It's a powerful question, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson:And so then thinking that through and what that means and analyzing that, journaling
Matt Edmundson:about it, God, what are you saying here?
Matt Edmundson:I think is a, is really powerful because It can you can be trying
Matt Edmundson:to do the right thing, but we can be doing it in the wrong way.
Matt Edmundson:And unforgiveness, unfortunately, is one of those things that is trying to
Matt Edmundson:do the right thing in the wrong way.
Matt Edmundson:Okay, Keith and Peter, we've had mega problems.
Matt Edmundson:Okay, not just problems, but mega problems in our church here in
Matt Edmundson:Spain, causing anger and pain.
Matt Edmundson:But we have all forgiven and moved on and think we're all stronger for it.
Matt Edmundson:On Facebook there.
Matt Edmundson:In fact, let me put that on there.
Matt Edmundson:I can do this, can't I?
Matt Edmundson:You can all read it as well.
Matt Edmundson:There we go.
Matt Edmundson:In fact, let me let me do that.
Matt Edmundson:There we go.
Matt Edmundson:'cause Anna's not here.
Matt Edmundson:So yeah, so there's what Keith and Peter have said, we've had mega
Matt Edmundson:problems in our church here in Spain, interestingly, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson:If you've been around church for a while.
Matt Edmundson:If you've been a Christian for a while, when we read about Paul's
Matt Edmundson:story, his grief came from the Romans.
Matt Edmundson:Felix Festus, throwing him in jail, trying to get bribes, trying to
Matt Edmundson:get money, trying to win favour.
Matt Edmundson:The Romans weren't doing him any solids.
Matt Edmundson:But why, the Romans were the Romans, why would they, this is the
Matt Edmundson:way that they thought about life.
Matt Edmundson:What's interesting is a lot of what we read, a lot of the grief that Paul
Matt Edmundson:was experiencing was from his own people, it was from the Jewish people.
Matt Edmundson:Now that's not to, obviously, blame the Jews because I think that's just wrong.
Matt Edmundson:But what tends to happen is the most hurt comes from people that we know, it comes
Matt Edmundson:from our tribe, it comes from those around us, those that we're supposed to, press
Matt Edmundson:into and those that we're supposed to trust and love and all that sort of stuff.
Matt Edmundson:And it tends to be our tribe, though, our community that can
Matt Edmundson:cause the most pain, the most harm.
Matt Edmundson:And church is a classic example of this, I think.
Matt Edmundson:It's one of those where those who are hurting, those who are wounded,
Matt Edmundson:even those who are just living life, the church can actually
Matt Edmundson:cause more problems than it solves.
Matt Edmundson:And let's be real, I'm a big fan of the church.
Matt Edmundson:I'm a big believer in the local church, especially, and I'm a big believer in
Matt Edmundson:church being the hope of the world.
Matt Edmundson:And I think church is marvelous and wonderful.
Matt Edmundson:And I've 30 years while we do crowd, right?
Matt Edmundson:But let me tell you, church is not perfect.
Matt Edmundson:Because it's made up of imperfect people.
Matt Edmundson:And actually, in church, we tend to find a lot of broken people as well.
Matt Edmundson:And broken people and hurt people can hurt.
Matt Edmundson:And it's just the way it works, unfortunately.
Matt Edmundson:And so I tend to find if I go back throughout my own life, and Keith and
Matt Edmundson:Peter, I don't know if you're, if this is what happened, I'm not saying this
Matt Edmundson:will happen with your church at all.
Matt Edmundson:But I'm just saying for me, the most hurt that I've experienced has come
Matt Edmundson:from People in my tribe has come from Christians, close friends who are
Matt Edmundson:Christians from church Christians.
Matt Edmundson:And the, in some respects, they're the hardest people to forgive,
Matt Edmundson:because they should know better.
Matt Edmundson:And this was my thinking for a little while.
Matt Edmundson:And they read the same Bible I do, they pray to the same God that I pray to you.
Matt Edmundson:So how do they see things so differently?
Matt Edmundson:How do they think this behavior is okay?
Matt Edmundson:And of course, in that I have to go to God and go, maybe my behavior is not okay,
Matt Edmundson:I have to be open to that possibility, which is, humbling to say the least.
Matt Edmundson:And so yeah, how do you do that?
Matt Edmundson:How do you deal with that?
Matt Edmundson:And I think you can only deal with that through the grace of God.
Matt Edmundson:And walking in the light of that and that forgiveness and understanding
Matt Edmundson:actually that is a, that is what happens in church sometimes.
Matt Edmundson:And I see a lot of people deconstructing faith actually as
Matt Edmundson:a result of that, that they've got hurt from the church in some way.
Matt Edmundson:And so walk away from their faith, which I heard a quote the other
Matt Edmundson:day, which I thought was really fascinating on this whole thing.
Matt Edmundson:They said that, walking away from church because of the way some Christians
Matt Edmundson:behaved is like, You decide to stop supporting your football team because of
Matt Edmundson:the way some of the supporters behaved.
Matt Edmundson:Doesn't make sense, right?
Matt Edmundson:I'm a big Liverpool Football Club fan because why would I not be?
Matt Edmundson:But I am a big Liverpool Football Club fan, but I'm not a big
Matt Edmundson:fan of all the supporters.
Matt Edmundson:They do some insane things and and quite rightly have been
Matt Edmundson:punished as a result of it.
Matt Edmundson:But it doesn't mean I stop supporting Liverpool Football Club.
Matt Edmundson:And the church is the same, it's got broken people in it
Matt Edmundson:who do some insane things.
Matt Edmundson:But it doesn't mean that the church actually That I should walk away from
Matt Edmundson:that or that I should walk away from God.
Matt Edmundson:It just does not make sense to me in any way, shape or form.
Matt Edmundson:So hopefully that's helpful to somebody.
Matt Edmundson:And thank you, Keith and Peter, for sharing about the problems
Matt Edmundson:with your church in Spain, praying that it works out.
Matt Edmundson:It's great that you've moved on great that you're stronger for it.
Matt Edmundson:And it's one of those things I find in those periods.
Matt Edmundson:I don't know about you guys, but for me, I come through it more and more.
Matt Edmundson:aware of my own need of forgiveness just, and I'm very grateful
Matt Edmundson:for God's forgiveness for me.
Matt Edmundson:So I come through these things more aware of that and the grace
Matt Edmundson:of God and the graciousness of God.
Matt Edmundson:But I also sit down and try and understand, what can I learn
Matt Edmundson:from what I've been through?
Matt Edmundson:So if I go back to your question, Miriam, earlier about I don't know
Matt Edmundson:how to forgive friends when they do the same things over and over again.
Matt Edmundson:And again, friends, your tribe, right?
Matt Edmundson:The people close to you, the people who should know better, surely, doing
Matt Edmundson:the same things over and over again.
Matt Edmundson:I think we just have to, but I think also at the same time, it makes
Matt Edmundson:sense to put in place boundaries.
Matt Edmundson:And boundaries aren't a bad thing.
Matt Edmundson:If people are constantly hurting us, boundaries can actually
Matt Edmundson:be quite a helpful thing.
Matt Edmundson:It's one of those things where, there's a great book.
Matt Edmundson:If you've not read it, there's a great book by Henry, oh, what's his name?
Matt Edmundson:It'll come back to me.
Matt Edmundson:It's actually called Boundaries by Henry, oh, come on, brain work.
Matt Edmundson:Anyway, if you Google boundaries The book, it will come up, great book on boundaries
Matt Edmundson:actually, super helpful, Christian guy, and a psychologist, very helpful to
Matt Edmundson:understand about this idea of boundaries and what we should do and shouldn't
Matt Edmundson:do where boundaries are concerned.
Matt Edmundson:But like you say Miriam, God's with us, and so we just have to keep giving.
Matt Edmundson:70 times 7, right?
Matt Edmundson:Just keep going for it.
Matt Edmundson:But I do have to be aware that I'm not putting myself in the same position
Matt Edmundson:with them over and over again.
Matt Edmundson:It, it makes a lot of sense.
Matt Edmundson:So Keith and Peter here, because of the problems we encountered, we have
Matt Edmundson:taken on the warden's job to try and bring change and bring us together.
Matt Edmundson:See, I love that.
Matt Edmundson:That is so cool because fundamentally, I think there are two responses.
Matt Edmundson:It's interesting how we've gotten to this whole conversation about
Matt Edmundson:church, but I think fundamentally there are two responses when
Matt Edmundson:it comes to problems in church.
Matt Edmundson:Response number one is to go, I'm out.
Matt Edmundson:I've had enough.
Matt Edmundson:I don't want to be here.
Matt Edmundson:This is not what I signed up for.
Matt Edmundson:And sometimes that's the right response.
Matt Edmundson:But I often wonder if it's the easy response to walk away, to
Matt Edmundson:just to, go and sit, I'm out.
Matt Edmundson:The other response, what you guys have done, which I absolutely love is to go.
Matt Edmundson:How can I make a difference now?
Matt Edmundson:How can I get involved?
Matt Edmundson:How can I help?
Matt Edmundson:And so I remember we were talking about this yesterday, actually, my wife and
Matt Edmundson:I are sorting through some Sharon, I say I, I can't really take that much
Matt Edmundson:of the credit if I'm honest with you.
Matt Edmundson:Sharon is, she is sorting out, hi Nicola, oops, sorry, just woke up.
Matt Edmundson:Hopefully not from me or Dan's talk, just the way it is.
Matt Edmundson:But yeah, Sharon, my wife, is sorting out the attic she's sorting out the
Matt Edmundson:loft at her house, and that means all kinds of stuff is coming down.
Matt Edmundson:And one of the boxes I had to sort through is, we call them memory boxes
Matt Edmundson:in our house and it's just full of stuff that contains some kind of
Matt Edmundson:memories and one of those memories was a t shirt and on that t shirt is was
Matt Edmundson:a symbol of a hawk and it said Hawks.
Matt Edmundson:And Hawks was was a kid's kind of church that we did.
Matt Edmundson:My the problem was my kids were going to church every Sunday, which I wanted
Matt Edmundson:them to do, but they weren't engaging.
Matt Edmundson:They're about, about 10, 11, somewhere around there.
Matt Edmundson:And they found church really boring.
Matt Edmundson:So there's a problem.
Matt Edmundson:There's a disconnect there.
Matt Edmundson:And there, so I can look at the problem, I can go I just need to go
Matt Edmundson:find a church where they can engage.
Matt Edmundson:Or I can go what can I do to make a difference?
Matt Edmundson:Which is what we did.
Matt Edmundson:And so we set up Hawks, which was like a cross between, it was a cross between
Matt Edmundson:army cadets and scouts and boys church and we did church for boys called Hawks
Matt Edmundson:and Zoya and the other guys did something called Cookies, which was for the girls.
Matt Edmundson:And honestly we dress them up in camouflage, give them Hawks t shirts,
Matt Edmundson:rang them, we ran them ragged.
Matt Edmundson:But what happened was they absolutely love church.
Matt Edmundson:And even now people, and we're talking this was 10, 12 years ago, people
Matt Edmundson:every now and again will still mention it, still had an impact on them.
Matt Edmundson:And I guess the reason I'm saying this is not because I
Matt Edmundson:think you need to set up Hawks.
Matt Edmundson:The reason I'm saying this is because I love what Keith and Peter did here.
Matt Edmundson:It's because of the problems, let's take on some roles here.
Matt Edmundson:And then let's bring change that's going to bring us together.
Matt Edmundson:Super powerful.
Matt Edmundson:Love that attitude.
Matt Edmundson:How can I solve the problem versus, and how can I get involved, rather than how
Matt Edmundson:can I just either leave or complain?
Matt Edmundson:Henry Cloud!
Matt Edmundson:God bless you, Nicola.
Matt Edmundson:That's it, the book by Boundaries Henry Cloud do check out that by Dr.
Matt Edmundson:Henry Cloud.
Matt Edmundson:That's the book.
Matt Edmundson:Nicola, you're a legend for sorting that out.
Matt Edmundson:So yeah, do check that out.
Matt Edmundson:So hopefully Miriam, that's also helped on forgiving of your friends.
Matt Edmundson:Like I say, if you want to know more, do check out the talks on forgiveness.
Matt Edmundson:There's an awful lot more in there.
Matt Edmundson:So yes, very good.
Matt Edmundson:So I think what I'm gonna do is, I'm just gonna go through my notes.
Matt Edmundson:I'm gonna put my glasses on because I can't actually see what I've written
Matt Edmundson:without them because I'm an old man now.
Matt Edmundson:Excuse me, I'll have a little drink.
Matt Edmundson:Like I say, for those of you just joining us, my name is Matt, I'm
Matt Edmundson:part of the team here at Crowd.
Matt Edmundson:And like I say, normally there is another person with us, but Anna is not
Matt Edmundson:here today, simply because she forgot.
Matt Edmundson:I went to her mother in law's instead.
Matt Edmundson:So if you see her, give her grief, because frankly, I think you can.
Matt Edmundson:So just going through my notes here.
Matt Edmundson:This idea that Dan, this phrase that Dan used, partnership, I thought was
Matt Edmundson:interesting, seeing life as a partnership with God versus seeing life as a slot
Matt Edmundson:machine with God, that if I just pull the right levers in the right order,
Matt Edmundson:I'm going to get the right outcome, I'm going to hit the three cherries
Matt Edmundson:or whatever it is and get my jackpot.
Matt Edmundson:But rather seeing it more as a relationship, seeing it as a partnership,
Matt Edmundson:Seeing it as something you do together, irrespective of whether life is,
Matt Edmundson:whether you're mountain high or valley low, God is still king, isn't he?
Matt Edmundson:He's still on the throne.
Matt Edmundson:That was a really interesting phrase.
Matt Edmundson:And I don't know how you view God.
Matt Edmundson:I don't know how you see him, whether you are in church, whether you're enjoying
Matt Edmundson:church, when you're enjoying your relationship with God, whether you talk
Matt Edmundson:to him on a daily basis or whether you've never actually talked to him before.
Matt Edmundson:Nicholas says, let me put this in the comments.
Matt Edmundson:Or whether, like Nicola, you try and be a legend.
Matt Edmundson:She is an absolute legend.
Matt Edmundson:It's interesting how you view God.
Matt Edmundson:Someone who is with you, someone who is a partner in life with you,
Matt Edmundson:someone who is committed to you.
Matt Edmundson:Versus someone who is absent, maybe, or a God that doesn't care.
Matt Edmundson:Or a God that's not actually that interested in what's going on.
Matt Edmundson:And I think the whole partnership thing, just throws a really, it's just
Matt Edmundson:something worth thinking about actually.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah how's that going?
Matt Edmundson:How's the relationship with God going?
Matt Edmundson:I'm just going to scroll through the comments here.
Matt Edmundson:If there's any other questions or any other thoughts that you've got, please
Matt Edmundson:fire them in the comments now, and I'll do my level best to try and answer them.
Matt Edmundson:It's been really interesting doing this solo actually.
Matt Edmundson:Normally when I do these kind of things like podcasts, normally
Matt Edmundson:there's always people with me.
Matt Edmundson:So doing it solo is always interesting.
Matt Edmundson:So I actually quite enjoy the challenge if I'm honest with you.
Matt Edmundson:What's Nicola put here?
Matt Edmundson:I like not using God as a slot machine, but as someone who wants to walk with you.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah, I'm with you.
Matt Edmundson:It's I think it's easy to fall into the default to forget God exists
Matt Edmundson:until you need a prayer answered.
Matt Edmundson:Rather than seeing him who wants to someone who wants to walk with you on a
Matt Edmundson:daily basis who is constantly with you and understanding what that looks like
Matt Edmundson:and feels like and seems can be quite tricky because I don't know about you,
Matt Edmundson:for me, I can, I've run my own company, I run this church, but also I've got my
Matt Edmundson:own business, we have two businesses, which I won't bore you with, Because it's
Matt Edmundson:definitely not a sales pitch, just saying.
Matt Edmundson:But I've got two companies.
Matt Edmundson:It can take a lot to run them, right?
Matt Edmundson:And you can get your head down.
Matt Edmundson:And you just, you, my wife will often call me and go, do you realize what time it is?
Matt Edmundson:And I'll have been doing some and I've got in the zone, in the flow, as they call it.
Matt Edmundson:And eight hours can go by in a blink of an eye for me, just can.
Matt Edmundson:And I'm just like, I get my head up and go, wow, that was incredible.
Matt Edmundson:Where did that time go?
Matt Edmundson:But not once during that time would I have thought about God, would I have
Matt Edmundson:gone, God, what are you saying here?
Matt Edmundson:Have you got any thoughts about this?
Matt Edmundson:And actually just, I find that if I can somehow break myself from the
Matt Edmundson:drive that is in me and just take a few seconds every now and again,
Matt Edmundson:just to go, God, What's going on?
Matt Edmundson:Or, what do you think?
Matt Edmundson:Or, thanks for being with me, or just super grateful for this job, or super
Matt Edmundson:grateful for this client, or just acknowledging that God is there makes
Matt Edmundson:a massive difference when I do it.
Matt Edmundson:Question, of course, is why do I not do it all the time?
Matt Edmundson:If I knew the answer to that, I would let you know, write a book about it,
Matt Edmundson:make a fortune, I'm not going to lie.
Matt Edmundson:But yeah.
Matt Edmundson:Oh, bless you.
Matt Edmundson:You have certainly raised the challenge, well done.
Matt Edmundson:Thank you, Keith and Pete, I really appreciate that.
Matt Edmundson:So let me tell you what is coming up next week, because normally I
Matt Edmundson:would talk about this beforehand with whoever I'm hosting with, but
Matt Edmundson:of course, not with Anna right now.
Matt Edmundson:Let's have a look.
Matt Edmundson:So next week, we are carrying on our conversation in acts.
Matt Edmundson:We have, oh, here we go.
Matt Edmundson:Yes.
Matt Edmundson:I'm hosting again.
Matt Edmundson:Yes.
Matt Edmundson:Three in a row.
Matt Edmundson:Good skills.
Matt Edmundson:So you've got me again next week, hopefully with John Harding, who's
Matt Edmundson:one of the pastors of the church here.
Matt Edmundson:What a legend that guy is.
Matt Edmundson:He's just moved house.
Matt Edmundson:So hopefully he won't have too much dust on his face and all will be good.
Matt Edmundson:And when he's not, oh I love that.
Matt Edmundson:So well done Nicola.
Matt Edmundson:When he's not walking with you, he's often carrying you.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah.
Matt Edmundson:Get that.
Matt Edmundson:That's like that poem isn't it?
Matt Edmundson:Footprints in the sand.
Matt Edmundson:So yeah, John and I will be back next week to host.
Matt Edmundson:We have got Dave Connolly speaking about Acts 25.
Matt Edmundson:We're carrying on with Acts 25.
Matt Edmundson:So yeah, we've got Dave Connolly, just to let you know what's
Matt Edmundson:coming up in the weeks to follow.
Matt Edmundson:We've got Pete Farrington sharing with us, Will Sopwith love, Will Sopwith.
Matt Edmundson:And then in one, two, three, four weeks time, we've got John Harding rounding
Matt Edmundson:off our story and journey through Acts.
Matt Edmundson:So yeah, four weeks to go until we finish Acts.
Matt Edmundson:John's going to be rounding that off, which would be great.
Matt Edmundson:And then, like I said, in the last week, next.
Matt Edmundson:The next series we're kicking off is Becoming Whole.
Matt Edmundson:It's all about becoming whole, which I'm really looking forward to.
Matt Edmundson:I've been really enjoying doing the study on this and getting
Matt Edmundson:all the teaching notes prepped.
Matt Edmundson:Me and Sadaf, we've been talking a lot about it, which has been great.
Matt Edmundson:Yeah, we've got that series coming up, Becoming Whole, so
Matt Edmundson:do make sure you stay with us.
Matt Edmundson:And I'll just close out the Acts series.
Matt Edmundson:Hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.
Matt Edmundson:If you've caught the tail end of it and you've just joined us,
Matt Edmundson:a bit like Tobias did earlier.
Matt Edmundson:Rewind.
Matt Edmundson:They're all online.
Matt Edmundson:You know what we have?
Matt Edmundson:I'm always amazed, actually, how many people contact me and just say, Oh,
Matt Edmundson:Matt, I was listening to the podcast.
Matt Edmundson:Loved it, decided to go back to episode one.
Matt Edmundson:And we're like 300, however many episodes into them or whatever.
Matt Edmundson:I don't know what the exact number is.
Matt Edmundson:And they just work through it one at a time.
Matt Edmundson:I'm like, wow, that takes some dedication, but God bless you.
Matt Edmundson:If that's you.
Matt Edmundson:That's incredible, really.
Matt Edmundson:So yes, make sure you do subscribe to the Crowd channel wherever you get it
Matt Edmundson:from, whether you're listening on the audio and you're listening to this on
Matt Edmundson:Apple iTunes, I didn't call it iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whether
Matt Edmundson:you're on YouTube, whether you're on Facebook watching on CatchUp, or
Matt Edmundson:whether you're joining us live, make sure whatever your platform of choice
Matt Edmundson:is, you hit that and subscribe button.
Matt Edmundson:You can of course go to the website, www.
Matt Edmundson:crowd.
Matt Edmundson:church, we'd love to hear from you.
Matt Edmundson:And on there, there's a small form, where you just put your name and email address,
Matt Edmundson:and we send you an email once a week, just letting you know what's coming up we send
Matt Edmundson:you the links to what happened last week, plus what's coming up this week, just
Matt Edmundson:so you stay all up to date and that's, we don't bombard you with email, we just
Matt Edmundson:send out one a week, very occasionally we might send an additional one, but you
Matt Edmundson:can sign up for that on the website, www.
Matt Edmundson:crowd.
Matt Edmundson:church, be sure to do that, we'd love to connect with you and it
Matt Edmundson:just helps to ensure you don't miss anything that's going on.
Matt Edmundson:Thank you so much for joining us today, thank you for all the comments and all
Matt Edmundson:your thoughts, thank you for bearing with me, and yeah, welcome to Crowd Church,
Matt Edmundson:where things, if technology don't always work out, the people might not always
Matt Edmundson:do what they're supposed to as well.
Matt Edmundson:Oh, I tell you what you can do just write in the comments as we close.
Matt Edmundson:If you've got like the perfect one liner for Anna.
Matt Edmundson:Kettle would love to hear it because I'm definitely going to be thinking
Matt Edmundson:of a few just when I see it.
Matt Edmundson:In forgiveness, obviously, there's, there's not a forgiveness issue
Matt Edmundson:given what we're talking about, but there is a banter issue and taking
Matt Edmundson:the opportunity to create banter.
Matt Edmundson:Oh, bless you guys.
Matt Edmundson:Listen, have a fantastic week wherever you are in the world, whether you're
Matt Edmundson:in Spain, whether you're in the Congo, whether you're in the UK
Matt Edmundson:or wherever you are in the world.
Matt Edmundson:Thank you so much for joining me.
Matt Edmundson:Have a fantastic week wherever you are.
Matt Edmundson:I will see you with John next week along with Dave Connolly.
Matt Edmundson:God bless you.
Matt Edmundson:Bye for now.
Matt Edmundson:Have a great week.
Matt Edmundson:Thank you so much for joining us here on Crowd Church.
Matt Edmundson:Now if you are watching on YouTube make sure you hit the subscribe button as well
Matt Edmundson:as that little tiny bell notification to get notified the next time we are live.
Matt Edmundson:And of course, if you are listening to the podcast the live stream podcast, make
Matt Edmundson:sure you also hit the follow button now by smashing the like button on YouTube or
Matt Edmundson:writing a review on your podcast platform.
Matt Edmundson:It helps us reach more people with the message.
Matt Edmundson:that Jesus really does help us live a more meaningful and purposeful life.
Matt Edmundson:So if you haven't done so already, be sure to check out our website www.
Matt Edmundson:crowd.
Matt Edmundson:church where you can learn more about us as a church, more about
Matt Edmundson:the Christian faith, and also how to connect into our church community.
Matt Edmundson:It has been awesome to connect with you and you are awesome.
Matt Edmundson:It's just a burden you have to bear and hopefully we'll see you next time.
Matt Edmundson:That's it from us.
Matt Edmundson:God bless you.
Matt Edmundson:Bye for now.