February
14
Author
Graham Pyman
Passion

Introduction

Many churches spend time in the new year revisiting together what God has called them to in their location. They’ll talk about their vision and the things which they feel God has called them to do and to be. They may talk about a vision or distinctives that will shape them.

We are no different, but this year we wanted to approach this in a slightly different way. As we headed into our week of prayer and fasting we knew it would be important to have some things to pray into. They are areas which we feel God is stirring us to grow in over the coming year.

In this series of articles we will look at seven areas which we believe God is calling us to develop in over the course of 2024 and into the future.

We pray that as you read through these articles they will encourage, challenge and equip you in prayer for the year ahead! You can find all the articles in the series here: https://jubd.uk/t7v2bG 


At the end of each article we’ll include the video & audio from the original preach in which Graham shared these themes. He continues below:

Passion

An increased passion for Jesus 

This is a personal goal for me this year, I want to invite you to join me on this journey. If you were to somehow measure your passion for Jesus, and maybe compare it to a previous time, how would you do so?

I know for me this is something I want to grow in this year, in fact it’s something I NEED to grow in this year!

Can you honestly answer the question, are you more in love with Jesus now than you were say, a year ago? If not, why not?

Most of the areas we will look at as part of this series are things that we can grow in as a church, as a family together. This one is different though, this one is more personal. We’re thinking about you and me and asking the question, “am I growing in my passion for Jesus?”

Unless we get this area sorted, right at the outset, I don’t think any of the others will happen! You see ‘Jubilee Church’ isn’t some entity ‘over there’, it’s us, it’s you and me. As we go, so the church goes. If our passion wains, so does our passion as a whole church.


We Are The Body of Christ

The Bible says that the church is the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

This is exactly what Lucy was talking about in her preach - Unique Gifts, United Church! (You can listen to her excellent talk here: https://jubd.uk/u42AzP)

So it follows naturally then, that if you and I are not passionate about Jesus and following Him, then Jubilee is not going to be passionate about Jesus and following Him!

The reality is that all of us want to be part of a church that is passionately going after God… yes? But this will only happen if we are passionately going after God ourselves.

It’s so easy to fall into consumer mode, to come to church to get something.

So often we can come to spectate and then the temptation is, on our way home, or over lunch, to pronounce judgement on what happened. What we thought of the worship, the choice of songs, the musicians, the length and style of preach. We can even analyse the quality of the coffee and other refreshments. Or to be honest any other area we feel able to comment on.

Whilst reviewing what and how we do things can be beneficial, we’re not talking about this. We can all be guilt of falling foul of consumerism at one time or another. BUT church isn’t about that, we gather because we are the body of Christ and we are designed by God to be together, we NEED to be together!

When we gather, we should come to worship, to encounter, to give something of ourselves both to God and to one another. In reality our corporate gatherings will reflect the nature of our personal life with God.

Now the reality is that for most of us, life is up and down sometimes - maybe often! If you’re struggling at the moment, part of being together is that the rest of us can carry you…

When your faith feels weak we, you can hold on to our faith and when your spiritual life feels dry, you can be encouraged by others to press in and receive.

So can we aim this year to grow our personal passion for Jesus?

If we want to do that, how do we go about it? 

There isn’t anything new here, to be honest, it’s things you’ll know! It’s by reading your Bible, it’s spending time in worship, it’s spending time in prayer (another P we could have had!!). It’s by spending time with other believers, it’s by being an intentional part of church community.

So let’s let 2024 be a year of growing in our passion for Jesus, for all of us as individuals and for Jubilee as a whole!

Audio

Video