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Listen to our new Liberty Church Podcast! Newsletter and Notes 29th August 2010 Free Debt Advice and Support. Working with professional debt advisors. We will be having a Liberty Church Sunday Service on Sunday Sept 5th as the Methodists have a District meeting elsewhere There will be no Liberty service on the first Sunday of each month as the Methodist congregation here will hold a monthly service at 6.30pm. We have been invited to join in with the Methodist congregation Jim and Nina will be attending these joint meetings.
Change to our Wednesday evenings in the summer. From Wednesday 19th May there will be concerts here on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. On those weeks we will meet on the Thursday. Other Weds meetings are unchanged. Macmillan, the Cancer Network, will be at the Mardi Gras Club 4pm – 6pm on Thurs 14 October, Fri 15 October, Thurs 21 October, Fri 22 Oct. Nurses and healthcare workers specialising in different aspects of health and cancer will be at the Mardi Gras for any questions, information or just for a chat. Extract from Brian’s preaching on Sunday 22nd August
A reading from Acts 17: 24-34 Paul spoke at the Areopagus (council of elders) meeting in Athens and said: "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
He made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ "Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone— an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to change the way they think For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.’
Paul went to the meeting place of the elders that day and spoke to anyone who was there. Paul understood the sovereignty of God. He trusted that the right people would be there. Some believed his message. Some said it was rubbish. Others wanted to discuss more. Dionysius, who heard Paul, invited him to speak at the university. Dionysius later became the spiritual leader of the Christians in Athens. It ‘just happened’ that Dionysius was there that day.
Paul believed that nothing ‘just happens’. He wrote in his letter to the Romans ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ Rom 8:28.
Paul knew this. He had experienced it and he had seen it repeatedly in those who had given their lives to God.
When we give our lives to Him God is able to weave everything into a pattern in our life for our good. Even the dropped stitch here, and the ugly stitch there, whatever it is, God will use it for good. Nothing ‘just happens’.
If ‘all’ really means everything then think for a minute. How many things don’t look like they are working together for your good in your life? Think about the job you didn’t get, the house that you lost, the redundancy you went through, the bankruptcy, the divorce, the bereavement, the disappointments and setbacks. The traumas, the painful things, the embarrassing things. The things at present you can’t make sense of…..
Paul had his share. In 2Cor 1: 8-he writes 8 ‘we don’t want you to be ignorant about the suffering we experienced in the province of Asia. It was so extreme that it was beyond our ability to endure. We even wondered if we could go on living……. But we suffered so that we would stop trusting ourselves and learn to trust God…’
When Paul wrote this he had been through beatings, homelessness, shipwrecks, persecution, and imprisonment. He thought at times he would not survive but he found that in it he gained spiritually. He lost his reliance on himself and grew tremendously in his reliance on God.
When he looked back on so much of the hardship he went through he found that he grew in the area of his life most precious to him, his relationship with God and his ability to trust Him.
The Bible is full of stories of people who found themselves in terrible circumstances but through those very circumstances they were prepared for their significant part in the life of God’s people.
Moses, abandoned by his mother due to a death sentence on all new born boys, ‘ just happened’ to be adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and brought up as a Prince learning the skills of leadership he would use when leading the Jewish people out of Egypt.
Joseph, sold into slavery ,falsely accused and imprisoned ‘just happened’ to meet the Pharaoh’s cupbearer in prison who later told Pharaoh about Joseph. This led to Joseph’s release and eventual promotion to a powerful position so he could help his brothers when they were struck by famine.
Esther, in slavery and in the King’s harem, gained favour with the King and ‘just happened’ to be able to influence the King when Haman hatched his plot to massacre all the Jews in the country. As Esther’s uncle told her that it was ‘for such a time as this’ that she was in the King’s palace. Esther’s favour with the king meant that she was able to prevent the planned massacre……………
The ‘ ALL things’ that Paul is convinced ‘work together for the good of those who love God’ can involve the hardest experiences in life. We do life here, in whatever circumstances we face now.
I know that that God loves you and when your life is given to Him, He weaves the best possible pattern out of all the factors that make up YOU. He has plans for your life. Your experiences are part of your training for it. He wants you to share your experience of Him with the people you do life with. People He can reach through you. And He wants you to grow in the most precious thing of all –your relationship with Him and your ability to rely on Him.
I want to give my testimony today because God has given me a new life. I used to blame Him for all the things that went wrong but now I know He cares for me. I want to tell people that He cares for them as well. I was brought up in Ireland and when I was young I went away to a boarding school. I was taught that I must go to Mass and every Sunday the priest preached about what was right and what was wrong. I knew very early on that if you were gay then you were a sinner. When I was 9, I and 3 other boys, were sexually abused by the priest. It went on for over 3 years. My life was shattered. Because of what was happening I felt bad and dirty. I lost my belief in God. I reported the abuse to the school doctor but I was told I was a liar and severely punished. My best friend hanged himself because of the abuse. I left school at 14 years old and worked on building sites and trained to be a carpenter. In 1984 I had a motorbike accident. I had a head on collision with a lorry. I broke most of the bones in my body and took 6 years to recover – 2 years of that were spent in a wheelchair. I thought God was punishing me for being gay. At times I was suicidal. In 1988 my mum died in a car crash. I was totally devastated and couldn’t get over it and drank heavily as I couldn’t cope with the grief. Again I felt punished by God. My family found out I was gay and as a result I felt isolated. One day I went into confession and told the priest I was gay. He told me to get out of the church and not to come back. I hated the Roman Catholic church and I felt God hated me. Homophobia in my home town made life miserable. I felt I should never have been born. I made several suicide attempts. Once I was ready with a loaded gun ready to pull the trigger and the family dog came to find me and jumped up wagging his tail. It felt like the dog cared and at that time it felt like no one else did. Friends helped me to come to England and start a new life. I came to Blackpool with two of them for Pride 2008. I was drinking in Taboo bar when I saw a Liberty Church beer mat and curiosity made me come and see what the church was like. When I walked into the church building I was uncomfortable, remembering what had happened to me. I told Nina it wasn’t for me and I left. I then lived in a hostel for 6 months. It was a very stressful place to live in. Something inside told me to go back to Liberty because there were people there who would help me. I was nervous about going back because of memories being stirred up but that inner sense kept telling me to go. I came the night Gena was giving her testimony. I sat at the end of a row of seats. As I sat there I felt Jesus was sitting beside me (where there was no seat) throughout the service. I felt the warmth of Him there and He said ‘You’ll be ok. You’ve got a fresh start now.’ It felt like He opened my heart to receive his love. That was the first time I experienced His love. I went home singing and as I walked down the Promenade He went with me. He warmed my heart right through. When I got home he said to me ‘You’re part of my family. I was always there with you’. I knew He accepted me as a gay man. I felt like I was the lost sheep He had come searching for and He had brought me back. I came regularly to Liberty. The warmth of Him stayed with me. I wanted to know more about him. I realised I had blamed him for all the bad stuff in my life. I didn’t find any answers as to why all these terrible things happened. Somehow I can accept that despite it all He loved me. Perhaps there are reasons for it that are beyond my understanding. I don’t feel I need to search for answers. I just want His love to carry on. I found that I can be me, a gay man and God loves me. I know He loves me. I had always thought that when I die God will look in a big golden book and tally up all the good and bad I have done before deciding my fate. Now that image has changed. I know that that golden book has just got my name in it and a one way ticket for me into heaven. In April this year I collapsed and had to have major surgery on my lung. I almost died. The night before the operation I was frightened. I found a bible in the hospital locker and read part of a psalm we had read at Liberty. I felt God with me taking care of me. He gave me peace. I felt all the prayers of the people in my church family who love me. He has given me a reason to live. I know He has got things planned for me. When my time is up I have no doubt that I am going to straight to heaven. I wrote a prayer to finish: I said a prayer for us today, And know God must have heard. I felt the answer in my heart Although He spoke not a word. I didn’t ask for fame or wealth (I knew He wouldn’t mind). I didn’t ask for treasures of this earth. (I knew He wouldn’t mind). I prayed that He’d be near you all. At the start of each new day. I asked for happiness for all. Because God loves us all.
Jo’s testimony I had a close relationship with God when I was little and went to church regularly. I felt He listened to me and when things were bad I could talk to Him and He helped me. A lot of bad things happened and when those things happened I used to dream I was in a fire but not burning. When things were really bad an angel came in the fire and wrapped her wings around me making me feel safe. I didn’t really understand the dreams. When I was 14 I was told to leave church because I was gay. To me the Catholic church represented God so I felt God rejected me. I felt deeply hurt. I blamed God and turned away from Him. I was angry with God for causing all this. I put up barriers against God and other people to try to keep safe. Soon after I met a woman who loved me and helped me to accept myself as a lesbian. She didn’t judge me and just loved me as I was. But that came to an end because the hurt and pain in me was raw. I allowed it to control my life and spoil the relationship. As the years went by I knew people condemned me for being gay. I was constantly told the life I was living was wrong. I felt unloved by God and not worthy to know Him. I felt I would only be accepted by church/God if I lived a lie and became someone I was not. Last year a friend wanted to come to Liberty and I came to support her. I was curious about Liberty but I didn’t let on. The first time I came I was shocked to be welcomed and I cried for over an hour through the service. It was huge relief at being accepted and somehow all the pent up anger was starting to come out. I was still angry with God and I had so many questions. Fear of Him rejecting me again stopped me asking Him. I knew I had to come to church every week. My questions were endless. On March 14th Brian preached and it was like Brian spoke directly to me – every word. He was talking about people living in the past. That was me – I was controlled by the past. I’d hurt so many people and thrown away so many positive things in my life because of the past. It was like it was me and Brian in the room and no one else. And it was scary – I knew now I had to take responsibility for moving forward. I felt I had to start my life all over again – I had to stop living in the past with the hurt and be different and I didn’t know how. Brian said Jesus tells us worrying robs us of discovering His purpose for us. My worrying had been all about what others thought of me. I was looking for approval from other people cos I didn’t feel my values, beliefs or opinions mattered to anyone at any time. I had big barriers in me – against God and against other people cos of things that had happened. That night I felt the barriers were starting to come down. I knew there was a long way to go but now I had hope that one day the barriers would come down. Soon after I had the dream about the fire that I used to have as a child. Now I understood it. God was wrapping the fire round me, keeping me safe. He knew about the hurt and He was hurting as well. He said ‘Jo, look into yourself knock down the walls round your heart and let me in’. When I woke up the barriers had lessened again. I was in the car with Fredd, eating ice creams, and we were listening to a children’s Christian song in the CD player. As I listened to it I had warm sensation all through my body and it seemed some of my questions had been answered. It felt like God had come very close to me. Straight after came the ‘Custard Cream Song‘ with the chorus of ‘Because He loves me, And nothing I can ever do or think or say or be, will ever change His love for me’ had a big impact. When the song finished I felt a big weight had gone – something that had blocked my relationship with God had gone. I felt all my questions were answered and there was peace between me and Him – it was the start of my new life with Him. The barriers had gone.
God hadn’t given up on me. He’d tracked me down even though I’d hidden myself behind my barriers to protect myself. I had cut myself off from God but He hadn’t given up. He’d waited until I was ready to let the barriers down and let His love back in. I’m now able to have an open and loving relationship with Him. I am more than willing to embrace God’s love for me and the path He has for me in my life. A song I heard at AnsdellBaptistChurch ‘You Won’t Relent’ had a powerful effect on me. It summed up for me what God had done in not giving up on me. It’s based on the ‘Song of Songs’ in the Bible. ‘Song of Songs’ is the story of the passionate love between two lovers. It symbolises the love between Jesus and those who love him. Reading from the Song of Songs 2.10-2.14 & 7.6-7.7 ‘My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig-tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me." show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. Nothing, not even all the wealth in the world, could ever buy this love. ‘
Karen’s Testimony As a young child Karen experienced the Lord. Home life was often distressing due to emotional and physical abuse and, at night, Karen would talk to Jesus, pour out her worries and sadness to Him, and she felt He was there and He cared. It felt like there were no barriers between her and Jesus. Her family did not have a Christian faith and she went to church with Girl Guides and later as a leader in Boy’s Brigade. At some point while growing up she absorbed the message that the Lord requires a standard of behaviour and, because she could not live up to this, a sense of unworthiness crept in and she stopped praying.
For many years as an adult, she had no contact with church. She married and the marriage didn’t work out and ended in divorce. That increased her sense of unworthiness towards the Lord as church taught that married people should not split up. She eventually recognised and came to terms with her sexuality as a gay woman. She had been with her partner, Sam, for 10 years when they moved to a village near Chorley and she felt drawn to go to church again. Through Christian neighbours she started attending church regularly. The pastor talked about the Lord in your life and about grace and how the Lord loves you as you are. She took it into her head but not into her heart. She had lots and lots of questions and had ongoing, long debates with her neighbours, who were now close friends. It felt to her that it would be a risk to trust the Lord because ‘what if He wasn’t there and what if there was nothing?’ She was also unsure if her sexuality was ok with the Lord and felt unable to voice this. Then came a very bad time. Karen got M.E. very severely. She was extremely ill for over a year and unable to work. Sam had to give up her job to look after her and finances hit rock bottom. There wasn’t enough money to live on or to pay the mortgage and it looked like they would lose their house. Their Christian friends encouraged them to ask Jesus to help, to provide what they needed. With no other way to go Karen started to try Him out. She spoke to Jesus about her worries and needs.
Amazingly they saw money come in from different, unexpected places. Lots of different things happened including a relative who never gave money to anyone (and didn’t know how bad things were) sent them a cheque, there was a refund on a bill they had overpaid, and somehow each week there was always had enough to live on. They didn’t loose the house and they both had a growing sense of the Lord actually caring about them and showing His love in the practical details of their lives. In that time Karen gradually came to know the Lord’s love for her personally and came to a point of being able to rely on and trust Him. After 18months off work Karen had to attend a meeting to decide if her job would be kept open or not. Her Christian friends encouraged Karen and Sam to pray about it. The outcome of the meeting was that the job would be held open if she returned to work in 2 month. She still had M.E. and did not have the strength or energy to work. However they prayed and when she went back she found herself physically and mentally able to do a demanding job and the M.E. disappeared. She now knew the Lord and trusted in Him. There were times she prayed for physical healing and saw wonderful things. She sprained her ankle by twisting it as she fell down a step that was a foot high. It was very bruised and painful and she couldn’t walk on it. She prayed for it to be healed and each time the pain woke her up that night she prayed again. When she got up in the morning the bruising and swelling and had gone and it was perfectly OK. She had a long term back problem and prayed repeatedly. Her recent MRI scan showed that an old fracture in her back had healed and disappeared without any trace. Karen has also known emotional healing. She had very low confidence due to the damaging things that had happened in childhood. She had been to a psychologist, and had had psychotherapy. The therapy helped her to understand that what happened was not her fault but didn’t heal the pain. She wanted revenge on her brother and mother. She then came to the point of being able to give the Lord the whole situation with her brother and her mother and asked Jesus to give her the ability to forgive them for what they did. He gave her that ability and she felt released from the pain and effects of the past. She felt free.
However, at her church, the teaching was that being gay is not the Lord‘s best and that the ideal in His eyes is to be heterosexual. She was drawn to read the story of Abraham in Bible. In it Karen discovered the Lord’s Grace for a man who did a lot of wrong things. However, Abraham had faith in the Lord which made him righteous in the Lord’s eyes. She realised that despite what her church said Grace was big enough for everyone and it was not possible that the Lord should limit it to heterosexuals only.
She still wanted to participate in church but the underlying negative attitudes to being gay caused difficulty, particularly for Sam. She was asking the Lord to show her the right church to go to when she came across Liberty when Nina spoke at a LGBT staff meeting about faith. Karen said that the Liberty slogan ‘Free Your Faith’ means a lot to her. She has experienced that sense of increased freedom to be herself as a gay woman, totally accepted and loved by the Lord.
Her spiritual journey with Jesus has shown her that He always keeps His promises. When she has turned to Him with the problems she has faced He has kept His promise to care for her in every aspect of her life. Sam and Karen are still in a financial straight jacket and recently, at the start of a camping holiday in Scotland, checked their account and found they had £15 rest of the holiday. They spoke to the Lord asking Him to help. They both received an overwhelming sense of peace that He would. At that moment the most vivid rainbow they had ever seen appeared. It ended right in front of them and Sam took a photo of it. They felt that the Lord was confirming that His promises are sure, and He would meet their needs. Despite limited funds they had a wonderful, deeply refreshing holiday in glorious weather and with a strong assurance of the Lord being with them every step of the way. Karen feels that she has handed over to Him things that were heavy in her life. Things like shame, guilt and low confidence. He has taken these away and instead given her the gift of His Spirit, which is light and life giving. The following scripture from Matt 11:28 (Amplified version), has become a reality to her: Jesus said ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will cause you to rest. (I will ease and refresh your souls). Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is wholesome (good, not harsh, hard, sharp or pressing, but comfortable, gracious and pleasant) and My burden is light and easy to carry.
Gena was born a boy with an eye condition that gradually deteriorated. By the age of 12 she was sent to a school for partially sighted children and now, as an adult, needs a guide dog. Gena recently took part in the Navajo training course ‘Understanding Sexuality’ and, as a result, went on to the Navajo mailing list. Because of this mailing list she received an email circular about a job with DISC, (Disability Information Service Centre) for a disabled person to undertake a research project into services in the North West available for disabled LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) people. When Gena received the email, even before she had opened the attachment with the job details, she felt the Lord spoke to her. It was an inner voice, like hearing very clear thoughts in your head. Gena felt the Lord said ‘You’re going to get this job and you will stand at the front in church and tell everyone about it’. Just as He said, she got the job. Gena said the wonderful thing about this job is that it seems tailor made for her. She has worked with people with learning disabilities, she has a psychology degree which taught her about research methods, she has studied software engineering at university, she has gained a wider understanding of sexuality and gender issues through the Navajo course. Gena said that every one of her very different experiences is directly useful for this job and she feels now that all these things were a preparation for this role. Gena told us about her earlier years. She had been deeply unhappy as a child and when she grew up got married hoping that she would be more settled. It was only after the marriage that she came to understand that her difficulties and her depression were due to gender problems. When, with the advice of her doctors she came to the decision to transition to have a female body, she told all her family. Some accepted this and others rejected her. She went through a divorce and faced a very lonely time living in role as a woman waiting for her surgery. During this time, the Guide Dog Association, who were very supportive, accepted her for their residential training course to train with a guide dog. There was a man doing the same training, blind following an accident, who was a Christian and spoke openly about his faith. Gena thought he was a bit mad to believe in a God who could allow him to loose his sight. The guide dog training was very physically and mentally demanding and half way through Gena was completely exhausted and stressed out by it and was ready to give up. She went up to her room cursing the training, the centre, her situation, God, everything. She was rinsing out some washing, about to throw her things in a case and storm out when she heard a voice say to her ‘Gena why do you deny me? I love you and I’ll guide you. You WILL be able to train with the dog’. The voice was as clear as if someone in the room had spoken it but there was no one there. She felt soaked in peace. The anger and stress left her. She now knew Jesus as a reality and knew His love for her. She stayed on in the training and went home at the end of the course fully trained with her first guide dog. She was hungry to know the Lord more and found a church back home in Northampton where she was nourished spiritually. However she felt unable to confide in anyone there about her sex change surgery that was due as she feared rejection. She went though surgery in Charing Cross Hospital in London without visitors. She spent her time in hospital praying and singing worship songs and felt very close to God and strengthened by Him.
Her experience of the Lord revealing Himself to her during her transition and then supporting her through her surgery leaves no doubt in her mind that the Lord accepts and loves people in transition and those with trans histories as much as any of His children. In the years following she moved to Preston to do a Psychology degree and later studied software engineering at the university. She lost her connection with Christians and church and drifted into what she now sees as ‘a spiritual wilderness’. Gena confided to her friend Christine that she felt the spiritual part of her life was missing. Christine had heard of Liberty Church because of the ‘Nowt so Queer’ book of older LGBT people’s memories and had read Dennis’ story there. Christine put Gena in touch with Liberty. At Liberty church Gena said she has found a safe place to grow spiritually while being totally accepted and not having to hide any part of herself. She has found herself having a growing trust in the Lord and a growing ability to let Him lead in her life. She now has a strong sense of purpose in following the direction God has got for her life. The experience of Him speaking to her about the job and finding that what He said came true has had a huge impact on her faith and is enabling her trust and faith in Jesus to grow even more. Extract from Sarah’s testimony
Sarah said that as a child, in her heart she was looking for God. She attended an Anglican church and remembers frequently confessing her ‘sins’ because that is what she was taught to do. Sarah didn’t know what ‘sins’ were, only that saying sorry repeatedly was required. Discovering her sexuality at the age the age of 13, and coming out was a very painful, lonely process involving self rejection and a belief others would reject her. She could not understand why a God would have created her to suffer in this way. She concluded that as she had been to church a lot and not found God then he could not exist. She now saw herself as an atheist. Homophobia in school caused her major stress and unhappiness. She then made contact with the LGBT young people’s group run by Hayley and for the first time found support from people who understood her sexuality. She became active in that group. As she understood herself more, she was able to support others and she eventually chaired the group and represented them to different official bodies. Hayley was keen for the young people’s group to be aware of all the LGBT groups locally so suggested that they visit all local groups including Liberty Church. Sarah couldn’t understand why Hayley wanted to visit Liberty but came along anyway. The evening of the visit Hayley and two young people, including Sarah, came and had a meal at the mid week meeting. After the meal different people around the table spoke about their relationship with God and what Liberty Church meant to them and answered questions that came up. Sarah had never heard people speak openly about how they related to God before. She felt God was saying to her ‘This is it’ and she knew this was what she had been searching for. It was nearly a year after that first visit that Sarah followed up on that ‘inner voice’ and came to Liberty one Sunday evening. It was not as she expected a Sunday service to be. It was lively, not miserable and a bit strange to see people singing with their hands in the air. However she felt at ease, liked it and wanted to come back. A few Sundays later, during the worship, she felt she connected with God. It was like receiving a great big hug from Him and gave her an incredible sense of peace deep inside. Sarah now knows that God loves her. She senses He is with her and she talks to him in her heart. She has more peace within her and her friends have noticed that she is calmer. She concluded be saying that in the past her church had taught her to seek forgiveness and strive to be perfect. At Liberty she has found that God loves her as she is and she has come to know Him for herself.
Jim spoke following Sarah’s testimony : He adapted Paul’s letter to the new Christians in Corinth and said:
2 You, Sarah, are our (Liberty’s) letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a living covenant— not what is written in ink, but of the Spirit; for what is written in ink will kill you, but the Spirit gives life. 2Cor 3:2-6
Sarah’s experience of Liberty has the power of eternal life as she tells her testimony to others. For it is the truth from beginning to end. In reality it is the testimony of Jesus in her life. According to 1Cor 1:8 He will sustain you (Sarah) to the end, blameless and free from guilt or shame until the day of the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Extract from Brian’s testimony on Sun 29th July 08
Brian spoke about how he was impacted by God last Sunday and now knows Him and knows His love. Brian first came to Liberty Church because he was checking out LGBT groups in town to link with his alcohol outreach project. At first he thought we were weird and that people being expressive in worship were putting it on ‘because no one could be that happy’! However he kept coming back because he wanted ‘a piece of what you had’. Two weeks ago he called round to see Nina and said he wanted to pray that if Jesus was real He would come into his life. He prayed a simple prayer and went away. Last Sunday Brian was at church and during the worship he suddenly felt wrapped around in a sense of love that almost physical, like a warm, cotton wool blanket. He was overwhelmed by a feeling of safety, security and incredible happiness. The presence of God was so powerful to him that he was almost unable to stand and wanted to shout out ‘Its true! He’s real!’
He left church straight away at the end to get his train to Chorley and all evening felt overwhelmed by this love and could not get his head around it. That night he didn’t want to go to sleep in case the feeling went but when he opened his eyes in the morning it was still there. At home, for the first time in his life, he started to talk to God on his own and found himself pouring out all the pain of things that had happened in the past to Him. He experienced a relief that felt like a weight lifting off his chest and he knew that the pain had gone. He said he now walks down the street knowing that God is with Him. He has gained a ‘Buddy’ who will be there to help Him and guide him through life. He has given his life to the Lord to lead him through life and he feels incredibly happy that he knows His love in his life.
In Scripture It Explains What Has Happened To Brian.
Brian has now been born again by a work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has infused his spirit to make him aware of his connection to God and is able to relate to God. ( John 3:3)
In Galations 3:2 it says; I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Brian has received the Spirit who brings faith in God, not by trying to follow rules and regulations but by recognising what God has done in others and wanting that and then responding to what God is doing in him. He ‘heard’ God calling him with ‘spiritual’ ears. Brian’s powerful sense of God’s love, the sense of security and safety and the overwhelming happiness are some of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and are written about in Galations 5:22 which says ‘….. the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’ Brian now has the sense that God is with him as his ‘Buddy’. This is exactly what Jesus promised. Jesus said: ‘I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!’ John 5:16-18 Message. Brian knows him already. Brian wants his Buddy, the Holy Spirit, to lead him through life. We will see, in the next months and years, how God leads Him and the wonderful things He will do in Brian’s life. Extract from John’s Testimony on Sunday 15th June 08
John spoke about attending a Catholic Church as a child and being confirmed there but not actually knowing Jesus. The Catholic Church taught that being gay was wrong and John believed it and suppressed his orientation. He was even homophobic to a friend who came out to him. As he grew up and when he was 20 years old and had moved to Accrington he was more able to accept himself being gay. He found the Liberty Church website and came to be in church with other gay people. It was a big change from the church he had been used to and at first he thought it was weird! However he kept coming back as he felt drawn. The third week he came he felt he saw Jesus in people’s eyes. During worship he felt a wonderful peace inside. He felt so full of this beautiful peace he felt floaty and slightly dizzy and almost a bit drunk with it. That night at home he started to say his catholic prayers and found himself speaking in tongues and didn’t know what it was but it felt wonderful and again there was that peace. Soon after, at church Jim spoke about getting out of the boat, daring to really trust God. That night John asked Richard and Nina to pray for him. He ‘went out in the Spirit’ i.e. felt so incredibly relaxed and heavy with peace he sank to the floor and lay there bathing in this really relaxed, warm, gorgeous feeling. It was like being filled completely with peace, from the ankles, up to his knees, and up through his body. Then he felt joy bubble up inside and he started laughing and laughed and laughed and couldn’t stop. Afterwards he felt he now really knew Jesus and his tremendous love. All his life he had felt there was something missing and now at last he had found what it was. It seemed the laughing had caused him to let go of lots and lots of things that had restricted his life. He went home and had the BEST night’s sleep ever and woke up feeling free to be completely himself. He went to WH Smith’s and openly bought a copy of Gay Times. Before he had always asked someone else to get it for him and had hidden it. Now there was no guilt or embarrassment. He felt free. A few days after, at home he shouted out ‘I love you Lord’. It was the first time John had said he loved Jesus. Then, for the first time he felt able, not only to accept himself but to love himself. Soon after this John had a picture in his mind’s eye. It was of him dressed in a magnificent white robe. Nina told him it was a robe of righteousness and showed him Isaiah 61;10 that talks about these robes. John could see that Jesus was not looking at what was wrong in him but was looking at him dressed in the righteousness that Jesus himself had given him. John said: ‘I used to think if you were a priest or a ‘High Up’ you were holy. Now I know that we are ALL equal in his sight and He makes ALL who trust in Him holy and worthy to know Him.
I thought I was a Christian before but I wasn’t. Now I KNOW Jesus. He’s everything to me. He’s my King, my Friend he’s everything. He’s awesome!’ Sunday Nov 16th Hayley spoke about her faith journey.
Hayley came to faith through a gay Christian. When she began to attend church she was shocked by the prejudice she saw against LGBT people and she stood up against it at every opportunity. This led to her being marginalised in church and she experienced the pain and hurt of rejection from people she had thought were friends. Hayley spent time praying and interceding for the gay and LGBT people in Blackpool and prayed specifically for a heterosexual couple to start a church for the gay community here. She felt if a straight couple started it they could not be accused by other Christians of doing it to make themselves feel better but would be doing it because they felt passionately that wanted to reach out to the gay community here. Some years after she had left Blackpool she was emailed by a friend who told her that what she had prayed for had happened. We regard Hayley as the first building block in the foundations of Liberty Church. Well before Jim and Nina felt God call them to found Liberty Church, Hayley was praying for exactly that. We were delighted to have her among us – for her to see what she had been praying for and to hear her account of her ongoing determination to stand up for LGBT Christians in the face of prejudice. Some years ago Hayley wrote a poem called ‘My Sweet Lord’. My sweet Lord, How do I share You with women Who hurt at the hands of men And their wives, Those other girls with their highlighted curls And the boys who have to look twice? My sweet Lord, How do I compare You with Christians Who crucify my brothers and sisters All their lives, Blocking the path to Your light and Your love and the way to Eternal life? My sweet Lord, How do I tell them that You care, That You love them to the very depths Of their souls? How do I extract You From the lies that surround You And let the truth be known? My sweet Lord, Why don’t they just see how You love me And let it all go so that You can change their lives? Jesus, Lord! Won’t You shine Your light On Your children; Please set them free, Like You did for me, Don’t let the churches Stand in Your way, Lord, Mighty Saviour, set them free. From the blame. My sweet Lord, How do I share this love that lights Up my life and soothes away Bitterness of life? My sweet Lord, How do I paint a picture of the Perfection You have brought Into my heart, Lord Jesus, where do I start? Father God, Holy Ghost, Lord Jesus Christ, Take my hand, don’t let it go, Lead me to the place where this work Can go on and on and on…
Also see Preaching Social, Bible Study/Discussion Wednesday at 7:15pm. The meeting starts with a meal at 6:30pm. All are welcome to this 'round the table' conversation. There is no charge for the meal.
Also see Teaching
Texts often used to condemn people who are Gay was the subject of our first three bible studies. We have copies of the notes made on all three studies which are available for anyone who would like them.
On Sunday the 7th of May Jim preached on Rejection. CD’s or tapes are available free of charge. Ask Jim To Contact Us email nina@libertychurchblackpool.org.uk or Tel/txt 07 9555 97771 or write to Liberty Church Blackpool, PO Box 75, Blackpool FY1 1DD |
Stephen’s testimony
Extract from Gena’s testimony  |
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