http://www.christchurchnet.org/ The last few entries from our blogs. Visit our site for more. http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=26 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=26OK, OK…I know I’m always recommending books! There’s a standing joke in Christchurch about me always saying that some new book will “change your life!” That’s because some books can; some books do! Every now and then a book comes along that I just can’t shut up about. “The Reason for God” is one such book. It’s written by Tim Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York; a thriving, gospel-centered church with a growing congregation of over 6,000 folk. The essence of the book is what it says on the cover: The Reason for http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=25 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=25What has changed in your life in the past 8 weeks? If you are like me, you may not even remember yesterday, let alone the last 8 weeks. Time whizzes by, the calendar is hectic, you have been juggling many plates and you have hardly had 5 minutes to sit peacefully and take stock of what has happened over these last 8 weeks, let alone measure any significant change! Well, not so for three folk who just completed our recent Christianity Explored course. For them, eight weeks ago, they were enemies of God, subject to http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=24 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=24If Jesus were physically present on the earth right now I’m beginning to think that his drink of choice would have probably been Guinness and there is no better place to get a pint of the dark stuff than the little O’Neills pub on the aptly named Trinity Street in Cardiff! So, with this clear divine approval, Outpost Cardiff has been meeting in an upper room in O’Neills each Tuesday night since 12th February. The atmosphere is laid back and there are a very diverse bunch of students who have been coming along each week. http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=23 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=23Hey folks, thanks to everyone who came to the last Outpost. I trust that you found it thought provoking and helped to get rid of any 'stained glass window' perceptions of what Christ's crucifixion would have been like. As we heard Jesus, the Godman, lived the perfect life we could never have lived and died the death that should have been ours because of our sin. In that moment on the cross he became the worst of what we are and was punished instead of us. All that he requires us to do is accept him as our Lord and http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=19 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=19Well Outpost Cardiff is up and running. Thanks to all of you who came along last week. I hope you found it interesting and enjoyed the quality of the beverages. I don’t know anywhere else in town where you’ll get a shamrock in your Guinness. Last week we looked at whether Jesus is the only God. Even if you don’t believe that, looking at Jesus’ own words it is clearly impossible to call him just a nice guy. If he isn’t who he said he is then he was either a nut job, who http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=18 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=18 Well, I suppose it’s time to write a new post on the blog! I knew sooner or later the continued pressure from my friends and colleagues would force me to write something this year…and they’ve suggested I don’t wait until December to do it! I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to us spending this year in John’s Gospel. I remember the two years we spent walking through Mark’s Gospel and the effect that had on us all; I’m anticipating the same joy as we meet together every Sunday and have another glimpse of the Saviour and His http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=14 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=14Where to begin? First of all a big thanks to Dan Clemo for the work that he has done over the last two years serving the students so well! We now have a group of over twenty students and 18-25s who have been gathering regularly over the last few months: mainly (no surprise) to consume food! They come from UWIC, UWN and Cardiff and are now seeking to be more involved in church life. They’ve come from all over the country from places as exotic as Yorkshire, The Midlands, the South Coast, Cornwall and http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=12 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=12For a number of years now one of our best 'In it 2 win it' initiatives has been our Mothers & Toddlers groups. Every week, on a Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, Lobby Room 1 becomes filled with mothers and toddlers from the local area & they are served and befriended by a group of ladies from Christchurch. Recently I asked Sue Rees (our Mothers & Toddlers Co-ordinator) if she could write a review for our blog to let you all know how things are going for these groups. She kindly said yes, so here goes..... This year saw the Mums http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=13 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=13 Thanks so much to all who prayed for my time away in Germany with my dear friends Dave Harvey and Jeff Purswell. It was another wonderful time with Wolfgang Wegert at the Arche church in Hamburg. Wolfgang has pastored this church for 47 years! He also has a TV ministry that goes out to all the German speaking world every Sunday morning, where he teaches timeless truths centered around the glorious gospel and the doctrines of grace. Most of our time was spent speaking at a conference for leaders both from within the church and from other churches with whom http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=11 http://www.christchurchnet.org/viewpost.php?id=11 FUSE started in September as the new look version of our old Phase 2 youth group. Gavin Smith and others had spent months investing into this crazy bunch of young people from the Bettws, Duffryn, Pill and Alway areas of Newport. These guys had previously been helpers with Kidz Klub but with FUSE we gave them a group of their own, on a more frequent basis. We started the year doing various trips and activities such as visiting the Millennium Stadium, going down the Big Pit, taking part in a DJ workshop as well as the