You are called, loved and kept

 
Dear church family

Have you ever read the letter of Jude?

There is a lot going on in such a short letter. I had never noticed that Jude intended to write a longer letter to the church he is addressing (we don't know exactly who they were but we know they were a predominantly Jewish congregation). In verse 3 he says 'although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith…' The situation the church found itself in meant that Jude needed to write more urgently to them to address the issues that were arising.
 
What were these issues? Corrupt teachers were infiltrating the church promoting false teaching, immorality, slandering other leaders (while boasting about themselves) and causing division. The church was in a perilous position and as you read the letter you see words such as 'condemnation', 'ungodly', immorality', 'perversion', 'darkness', 'punishment', 'slander', 'destroyed' - strong language and imagery from Sodom and Gommorah, perhaps confusing accounts of the death of Moses from extra-biblical sources that would have been familiar to the Jewish audience Jude is addressing, but all painting a picture of the spiritual free-fall the church found itself in.

But contrasting all this is the firm foundation of true faith in Jesus Christ which Jude wants to encourage believers in. The beginning and end are juxtaposed to the rest of the letter. It is as if Jude is reminding us that Jesus has the first and last word where His people are concerned and even if things feel fragile, uncertain or even chaotic in between, Jesus is building His church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
 
Jude begins the letter reminding us that we are called, loved and kept.

To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Such an important reminder for believers under trial, in the midst of temptations to compromise, with doubts and divisions being stirred up, that our security lies in God and what he has done - he has called us, we are loved in him and we are kept for Jesus. And there is a wonderful generosity to verse two… that in spite of the difficulties and the mess that the church finds itself in - mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Two verses overflowing with grace!

And in the same way that the letter begins with grace, it ends with grace. The closing doxology (or praise) says:

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

In other words, whatever is going on, God is able to keep you from stumbling, he will complete the work he has begun in you, he will present you before himself transformed into the likeness of Jesus - these present faults will not remain, weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning, this is who our God is and he is worthy of all praise!

So if life feels chaotic, uncertain or fragile, if darkness and doubt seem to have gotten the better of you, if things feel like they are breaking apart, remember that Jesus has the first and last word in your life, you are called, loved and kept and he will complete what he has begun in you. If there is any way I can be praying for you, please reply to this email.

PS If you haven't read Jude (at least not in a while), why not give it a read right now, it is only 25 verses long!

With much love,

Mark
 
SUNDAY GATHERING | 10:30AM
Join us in person this Sunday as we continue our series  'Apprentices of the Kingdom' or join us online: https://youtu.be/e7pZu8OTXjo



HOLIDAY CLUB | THANK YOU!
We had an incredible time at holiday club at the start of this week!
Our theme was 'Lost and Found' and we shared the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. On Monday we met in Brabourne, on Tuesday in Finberry and Wednesday in Ashford. We had over 300 kids come along, around 120 parents and carers stay each day – praise God! Thank you so much to our 40 or so team members who volunteered their time and helped we are so grateful to all of you. Thank you to everyone for praying and taking part and most importantly we want to give God glory for an amazing 3 days.
You can catch a glimpse of the fun we had over on Instagram or Facebook



IMMERSE | THIS SUNDAY
Sunday 22nd February | 7pm | New Wells Ashford
Immerse is our monthly evening service (which is always the last Sunday of the month) where we worship, listen to God and immerse ourselves in His presence. We want this space to be one that everyone can engage with no matter their age so please feel welcome to bring your children or little ones along. We will make sure to have space for them to be creative and comfy in the service, and if they want to come in their PJs, go for it!



DEDICATION | THIS SUNDAY
Celebrating the dedication of Reuben
At our Immerse service on Sunday evening at 7pm we are celebrating the dedication of Reuben! This is our first dedication at our evening service and Hayley and Mike would love you to come along and celebrate with us!

CHURCHSUITE MAINTENANCE
We are updating our Churchsuite account next week on Friday 27th February at 11am. We have been advised that login details will remain the same, however any iCal feed subscriptions for calendars, bookings and rotas will break and will need to be resubscribed. We have been advised users should logout of Churchsuite to be least effected. Please logout on Thursday evening or Friday morning ahead of the update. For any questions, or if you experience any problems after the update please email Alie: media@newwells.church

NEW DISCIPLESHIP GROUP
Alternate Thursdays from 12th March | 1 - 3pm | Willesborough
We are excited to announce that we will be starting a new discipleship group in Willesborough every other Thursday afternoon from 12th March. If this is something you would like to join, please get in touch with Kelly kelly.carolan@newwells.church

PRESCHOOL
Book your place now for September!
We are committed to developing a warm and inviting environment where all children and families feel welcome! Our preschool team are professionally qualified, motivated and personally committed to providing good quality care and education for your child. Visit www.newwells.church/preschool for more information or to book your place

 

Immerse | Prayer and worship | Sunday 22nd February | 7pm | New Wells Ashford
Marriage Course | Wednesday nights | 7:15pm | New Wells Ashford | Sign up: www.newwells.church/courses
Discipleship Group Leaders Meeting | Thursday 5th March | 7:30pm | New Wells Ashford


Sparks / Flames / Firestarters | Sunday mornings | Side Hall & The Well | Age 0-3, 3-6, 7-10
Blaze | Sunday mornings upstairs in The Well | Years 6-8
The Base | Wednesdays | 7-9pm | New Wells Brabourne | Years 7-13
Ignite | Friday | 7-9pm | Main worship space | Years 7-13
Furnace | Mondays | 7-9pm | Moyles' manse | Years 9-13
The Well | Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays | 9am-12pm
Tots at New Wells | Mondays 9:30-10:30am & 11am-12noon | New Wells Ashford
Tots at Oasis | Wednesdays 10-11:30am | New Wells Brabourne
Crafty Cuppa | Thursdays every other week | In The Well | 2-4pm
Power Hour | Whole church prayer and worship meeting | Thursdays every other week | 8pm Brabourne Craft Group | Fourth Thursday of the month | 10am - 1pm | New Wells Brabourne
Renew Wellbeing | Tuesdays in The Well | 2-4pm
Reverb | midweek service every fourth Tuesday in the month | New Wells Brabourne | 1:30pm
Prayer | Before our Sunday service | front of church | 9:45am - all welcome!
Facebook prayers | Mon - Fri 8am | www.facebook.com/newwellschurch
Early Morning Prayers | Wednesday mornings | 6:30am | Join here on Zoom: www.newwells.church/prayer