New Word Alive 2011

If you've not heard of New Word Alive, here's a little promo of this year's conference to give you an idea:



I went two years ago and was really excited to have the opportunity to go again this year, even though it meant finishing my dissertation and another assignment about a week early. It was so worth it!
Talks:
The morning sessions were looking at Acts with David Cook from Australia. A couple of the key points that have stuck with me from it:

• eternal intersections: everyone we meet or are put alongside (in work, in our home, on the bus, in the street) is put there by God. It's not offensive to ask someone how their day is going and to strike up a conversation.
• Do we believe in our faith? Do we have a real or a reciting faith?
• "If you are claiming the blessing of redemption, are you recognising the implication? If we have salvation then we can no longer claim our lives as our own. We have been bought at a price."

In the evenings we were looking at Hebrews 11 - heroes of the faith, a different one each night. Sunday was Noah with Graham Daniels, Monday: Abraham with Mike Reeves, Wednesday was Moses with Steve Casey, and Thursday was Rahab with Dave Gobbett. A couple of points that stood out to me:

• People would have seen Noah as MENTAL. They'd probably never even seen rain, or heard of a boat! And he continued for up to 100 years building the boat. Probably the people thought "yeah Noah - he's an alright bloke but a bit mental you know? A bit kooky!" And today people will think the same of us for what we believe in. We can't preach the Gospel without preaching judgement, people will never understand the good news, if they don't understand the bad news that it saves us from!
• These people are not examples to us that should try to make us pull our socks up and try to be more faithful. They encourage us to see how faithful our God is, and as we grow to know God more, and see just how faithful and trustworthy He is... so our faith and trust in Him will grow.
• "Faith: less like doing pushups, more like eating" - God delights in us, he delights to be known as our God, and delights to give to us. He rejoices when people receive from Him. Everything we enjoy here and now is but a shadow of what he offers.
• We need to put our confidence in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ for now & eternity, and not in the things of the world. Confidence for satisfaction, strength and salvation.
• Following Jesus will cause a stir, we can't shy away from it. Issues such as abortion and Islam face us and voicing our opinions will make us stick out like a sore thumb, and it will be painful. We can't say "I don't mind being a Jesus person, but just don't line me up with the rest of the Christian crowd"

Tuesday was a bit different because there was an extended interview with Archibishop Ben Kwashi of Jos in Nigeria. He spoke about the church planting work he is doing over there, and of the trials and persecutions that face the Nigerian church. He explained how whilst the media portrays the violence as being between Muslims and Christians, the retaliation that is attributed to the Christians, is actually the work of other non-Muslim peoples in the country, but not the Christians. He described several attacks and persecutions that he and his family have endured for the sake of the Gospel and it was really moving and inspiring to hear first hand how God has worked in and through them. God really is faithful! He ended with a word for Christians in the UK saying that persecution is coming, and that he could never have imagined what is going on now in Nigeria, when he was growing up there. He challenged us to be ready to stand firm and hold onto the Gospel, saying that if we live then the Gospel goes out, and it we die, we go to glory - either way Satan has lost.
More to come... (hopefully)...