Dear Friends
 
Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians:
 
“I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” (Phil 3:8,9)
 
Paul wrote these words from prison, having gone through great hardship and suffering for the sake of Christ.  He was a man who knew God and it was that “knowing God” in intimate relationship that sustained him through the best and the worst of times.  To him, nothing else mattered, only Christ.
 
As we embark on a new season for the church with a great sense of expectation I am aware that our greatest need is the same as Paul, to know Christ.  I said on Sunday that we have a great church, and the reason it is great is because it is made up of great people who love God and want to serve him. If we are going to live for Christ however, whether that be in serving in the church, or in our workplace, our school, our college, our family, or in any other area of our life, then we need to first of all know Christ and be “found in him”.  I am conscious, and I can speak from personal experience, that it is so easy to be doing good things,  the right things, but to be doing them in our own strength.  I know that it is so easy to serve Christ and yet lose that place of intimate relationship with Christ. 
 
If we are to reflect Christ in our daily lives, if we are to reflect Christ as a church together, if we are to love as Christ loved and to lead others to Christ, then it will be because we first of all know Christ. 
 
We are on a journey together into a deeper relationship with Christ where we grow in intimacy and, at the same time, grow in knowledge and understanding of who He is as we study his Word.  I believe that we have exciting times ahead as we discover together greater depths of who our God is, as we learn to live from a place of deep dependence upon him and as we grow in faith, in obedience, and in worship.
 
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph 3:20,21)
 
Love and Blessing
 
 
Jon