Reflection

A few years ago, as a church we felt that new and fresh winds were blowing over us. They were winds that held the promise of a new culture, a whole new atmosphere. We sensed there was a new way of doing things in the air, a new way of being, of working and relating together, of living and loving together. To begin with, those fresh winds were like gentle stirrings. But they were actually the beginnings of a storm, a storm that totally rearranged things and changed the whole landscape. Now the storm is over. It is a new day. And the promise of a new culture remains.

But culture does not just come in on the wind. It has to be grown in the very earth and soil of our community, of our life together. Culture is the environment produced by what we intentionally grow, in partnership with the Holy Spirit. And the seeds we sow are our values. Some of these seeds may have blown in on the wind but they have to be planted and deliberately cultivated if we want to co-create this new culture. And we do. Because that culture is like a piece of heaven on earth.

Over the next 21 days, therefore, we are going to reflect together on the five core values we have identified in Community Church Huddersfield as the seeds that will help to grow this culture. They are seeds that come from God’s Word. Let’s not just read about them; let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us receive them deeply within the soil of our hearts so they begin to form and shape our life together.

In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life. (James 1:21; The Message)

Prayer

Father, thank you for the new day and all the promise that it holds. Thank you that you choose to use us as partners with you in bringing heaven to earth. Help us, Holy Spirit, to humbly receive these values as seeds of your Word that you can use to grow a beautiful garden of your life and love among us. Amen.