An update

Recent busyness has meant that I've not really had time to write much on this page, and so great thanks go to Gareth - both for coming up to visit and partner in the ministry, but also for his entry.

There have been plenty of highlights from the last couple of weeks. Gareth described many of them below. I've found it particularly encouraging to be around the folks from the University of Cumbria CU in Lancaster. It was great to be on their houseparty this weekend just gone. Alex and Julie Kittow opened up the book of Jonah and pitched their material brilliantly. It was awesome again to reflect on the God of grace who welcomes and forgives people just because he is the sort of God who loves to welcome and forgive. Praise God for Jesus and his amazing grace!

I've also been so encouraging by reading CJ Mahaney's Living The Cross Centered Life and JC Ryle's Christian Leaders of the 18th Century. Both are books that exult Jesus and his work on the cross, and also practically show what it means to live in the light of God's grace and his amazing gospel.

The coming weeks are exciting. This coming weekend, I'm heading down south to speak at Bournemouth CU's weekend away. Together we'll be opening Acts 1-8 as we prepare for the upcoming mission in Bournemouth, which I'm also speaking at. There's also a real treat in store on Thursday in Lancaster, as former UVF terrorist Billy McCurrie will be speaking at a lunchbar on the title Why Jesus forgives terrorists like me. Over the next couple of weeks, the evangelistic Bitesize Bible study courses draw to an end - it's been exciting to see how so many have wanted to look into Jesus' life and claims. Hopefully some will choose to follow Jesus for the first time.

As I prepared my Acts talks, I was reminded from Acts 1:1-2 that Jesus is alive and active in the world. Sure, he began to do and teach things climaxing in his death and resurrection, and now he is continuing to change people's lives through the Holy Spirit. It's a real privilege to see the Lord of the Universe at work.