Beatitudes Bible Studies

Our friendly Thursday bible study has begun a new series for Lent 2019. We are looking at the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:1-12 known as the Beatitudes. During the first evening we read:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.

We then discussed what it means to be ‘poor in spirit’ and what it means to be ‘blessed’. We talked about the challenges and opportunities of following Jesus in the age of social media. We considered the crisis of self-esteem, self-harm and depression apparent among UK teenagers. We discussed whether or not things were ‘better in the old days’ and agreed that things were different in the old days.

The series will continue for another four weeks. You would be welcome to join our bible studies. For more information phone the church on 01778 347011 or just turn up at the Open Door Centre on any Thursday at 7.30pm. The kettle’s on!

Dave’s induction

This Sunday we look forward to the induction of Rev. Dave Edden at the ODBC.

Dave has previously been a minister at the Harvest Church in Harare, Zimbabwe. 

God is looking for you!

Our busy Thursday night bible study meetings are following a four week course entitled ‘Hearing God’. We’ve been comparing notes on the different ways God speaks to people. One of the key takeaways of the first week was how much God wants us to spend time with him not because he needs attention but because he loves us… he loves us unconditionally… no strings attached.

There used to be a poster displayed outside many churches which said “If God seems far away, who moved?”. I’m not dissing the poster writers but if you walk away from God he isn’t just going to stand with his back turned and. his arms folded. Instead, he is going to keep looking for you and calling you back to him.

So he got up and went to his father but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

Not to be served, but to serve

We were delighted tonight to host a session of the public inquiry into the Millfield Village Green inquiry. It was lovely to meet the people involved in the inquiry and also lots of Deepings residents who came along to hear the proceedings. It would be lovely to see you again sometime soon.

Stabelnackle

You, and your family, are invited to join us for a very special Christmas service on Sunday 16th December, 10:30am

Back in September, our church celebrated the biblical festival of Tabernacles. We held a drumming workshop, a cinema night and on the Sunday morning we built a ‘tabernacle’ in church. Loosely following the relevant scriptures, we built a flimsy frame and covered it with cloths and fresh branches before decorating it with fruit and ornaments. It has stood at the front of the upstairs hall ever since. The Zumba fitness classes have seen it every week, as have the Dream Dance children and everyone who attends our weekly worship services.

Originally, we learnt that it was a place to share God’s love and joy with our family, friends as well as the strangers among us. As each Sunday has passed, the tabernacle has become slightly more forgotten, forlorn and dishevelled.

At our morning service at 10.30am on Sunday 16^th December, we are going to ‘rediscover’ the tabernacle.  We are going to invite our entire congregation to enter the tiny tabernacle and discover the meaning of the famous words in the gospel of John:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” John 1:14

Please come and join us as we open up our tabernacle and tell the Christmas story in an immersive service that you will never forget!

 

Are you sitting comfortably?

On Thursday evenings, we meet at church to study the bible. We’ve recently completed studies of the early church and of the book of Ephesians.

Tonight, we began a look at the life of King David and the people involved starting with David’s turbulent relationship with Saul. We welcome any visitors that might wish to dip in for a week or more.

Next week (Thurs 11th Oct) we will be looking at David’s men.

The following week will be an interlude as we have a Church Members’ meeting.

On Thursday 25th October we will be looking at the women in David’s life.

Finally, on 1st November, we will consider David’s family.

The atmosphere is friendly, the furniture is comfortable but beware of the parental advisory content with strong likelihood that we will be discussing mental health, adultery, murder and war – Now that doesn’t sound too comfortable!

Two more baptisms this morning (30th September 2018)

We’re celebrating two more baptisms this morning with our new portable baptistry. The service starts at 10.30 and will be followed by lunch of chilli, curry and jacket potatoes!

We’re celebrating ‘Tabernacles’!

^“On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees – from palms, willows and other leafy trees – and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.” Leviticus 23:40

Our 2018 tabernacle!

This week at Open Door we are exploring the original harvest festival, the Feast of Tabernacles, and what it means to us as Christians in South Lincolnshire.

During our all-age service on Sunday morning, our pastor, Revd William Booker, blew a traditional horn (shofar, so good?). We then set about ‘building a tabernacle’ at the front of the church. The tallest of our congregation decorated the roof with leafy branches while the smallest made decorations to adorn the construction. The activity was punctuated by joyful songs and explanations of the feast of tabernacles and what it might mean in our contemporary culture.

Part of the original instructions for the festival relate to ‘being joyful’ and so we are doing a few things to try and make people joyful in the Deepings. We’ve already had a community film night but next Saturday we are planning a ‘drumming circle’. This fun event on Saturday evening (29th September) is free and open to everyone regardless of whether they normally come to church.

The following day we are planning a baptism service for two of our members with a ‘feast’ to follow. Everyone is welcome to come and join the celebration!

Feast of Tabernacles

We will be celebrating the ancient biblical feast of Tabernacles on Sunday 23rd September, 2018.

You are invited to join our celebration.

During our family friendly service, we will build a ‘tabernacle’.  If you like, you can bring flowers, fruit and/or vegetables to help decorate the tabernacle.

Deepings Police Forum – 25th Sept 2018

The Open Door centre regularly hosts the Deepings Neighbourhood Policing Forum. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, 25th Sept at 7.00pm. Everyone with an interest in policing in the Deepings is welcome to attend.

The meeting will be attended by Mark Jones, Community Resilience Lead at South Kesteven District Council, who will give a short presentation about the Council’s approach to Anti-Social Behaviour and crime including the role of the CCTV cameras which are deployed in the Deepings (as well as the other towns of Bourne, Grantham and Stamford).

Open Door Church is not directly involved in the organisation of the forum but we are pleased to help facilitate activities which people in the wider Deepings community.