Family Church Portsmouth Family Church Portsmouth

On this Father's Day, Ps Sean speaks about the characteristics of God, of the Father's Heart, often comparing our Lord's unfailing and unchanging nature to the very variable many of us experience from our own earthly Fathers.
Sean explains how God is unchanging, keep promises and above all is truly loving. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) states "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres".
Everywhere where this scripture says 'love is ....', we can replace the word 'love' with 'God'. God is patient, God is kind.....and so on.
Ps Sean explains at length these and many more of the characteristics of the Heart of our Father God in a most challenging message.

Weaknesses and foolishness in the world view is not seen the same way by our Lord. This is demonstrated again and again in every book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation where God uses the most unlikely of people and sometimes implements to show his strength and wonderment at the hand of ordinary people seemingly able to do very little. The world view and Godly view are often opposites. When we are weak in human terms, we are able to be strong for The Lord. Ps Gina expounds on this theme starting with scriptures from I Corinthians 1:26-28 (NIV) "Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are...."
Later she shows how in fact with Jesus all things are possible but without Jesus in our lives, we are lost!

Following the Trailblazers Youth conference at the weekend, the whole service today was led by our amazing you team including the messages and testimonies from our young people. Listen and be amazed!!!

Today Pastor Andy ends the current series on Jesus Saves with Part 7 all about how we are sons of God and are adopted by Him. Ps Andy expounds how God treats us as his children, how the fatherhood from God is so different from that of the world view and also how the concept of adoption as depicted in the times when Paul was writing letters to the early church again is different to the western world view. Adoption by God means we are chosen by Him, we were predestined and our position as children of God is irreversible!
This is a message not to be missed!

In Saving us, God did not patch up a sinful us, rather He caused a regeneration and renewal by His Spirit that gave us a brand new birth and beginning.
Ps Andy speaks today about how we are regenerated by a re-birthing, washing and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Our new birth is a spiritual birth which results in us being made alive spiritually.
Ps Andy goes on to teach how our regeneration occurs at the moment of our salvation, and that the only means of regeneration is by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

On this Global Sunday we celebrate the diversity of Family Church from all the different cultures making us one Kingdom of God. Ps Sean speaks about how we are unified in Christ...Ephesians 2:19-20 (NIV) states "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone."
Ps Sean speaks of how the world is full of division, strife, and anger but in contrast we are united by the faith, hope and love of Christ.