We asked this question “Why are you a Christian” during a recent Sunday service. Here are some of the responses:
“I am a Christian because Jesus loves me and died for me. He makes my life complete.”
“I know I am loved by God. I have a purpose in life – to serve Him. And I have an awesome hope for the future with God.”
“I am a Christian because I accepted Christ as my saviour when I was a little girl. He died on the cross for my sins, and the greatest gift is eternal life, living with him forever”.
“I’ve experienced too much of God and His love to be able to ignore Him or follow anything else”
“Only God could make us free, only a man could understand us, in Christ both meet fully in love”
“Scandalous freedom has been given to me without limit, even though I deserved only death”
“It is the best way to live life”
“I have the transforming grace of the Lord Jesus to change me from what I am into what I can be”
“The joy of being forgiven”
“I have confidence in this life, and I’m looking forward to the one to come”
“Jesus Christ is the centre of my being, the centre of everything”
“I am a failure, but Jesus is a totally sufficient hero”
“God chose me to be a son of his, not for any good in me but just because he loved me”
“To be a Christian means to give my everything to God because he gave his everything to me”
“For me, to be a Christian is to live in love. To know the love of God, and to go forth in love”
“Only Christianity invites people into a relationship of divine love, being truly sons and daughters of God”
“I’m forgiven, and I have a new direction in life”
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We asked the question “why do you come to this church?” during a Sunday service. Here are some of the responses:
“I come here because I feel at home”
“This church to me is my family and support, my place of meaningful worship, and my source of teaching”
“I love coming to church, because I join with other followers of Christ, worshipping Him in songs and prayer, and sharing the good news with others”
“True worship and solid teaching, together with my family. What else do I need”
“I come to Bruntsfield because I love to worship God beside folks from all walks of life”
“This is a place where I can grow as a Christian
“I come to Bruntsfield because I need the encouragement of others and need to know the power of the Holy Spirit”
“Coming here allows me to say thank you to Jesus in the company of others who are saying thank you”
“I come to this church because it’s part of Jesus family”
“I come to worship God with people who have the same love for Him”
“Jesus placed a meal (communion) at the heart of Christian faith. Bruntsfield places fellowship over food at the heart of a student’s life here”
“At Bruntsfield, we meet Christ in others”
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Jonathan Gemmell joined the church in September 2009 as our first pastor. Jonathan has responsibility for a proportion of our Bible teaching, pastoral care and work in our community. Please do not hesitate to contact him on jon@bruntsfield.org.uk or by phone on 07920164925 (Mobile) or 0131 2290127 with any queries about the church, requests for prayer or other pastoral issues.
Five other elders work alongside Jon, and share responsibility for the leadership and direction of the church. However, we encourage everyone to get involved, to use their gifts in order to serve one another and contribute to all that is happening.
Feel free to get in touch with any of the elders:
David Aird - djaird@hotmail.com
Paul Johnston - paulandeliz@btinternet.com
Archie Naismith - archienaismith@yahoo.com
Ian Naismith - iannaismith@aol.com
Ian Wilson - ian.w@virgin.net
Our vision is to be confident in Christ. This will be marked by:
“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Philippians 3: 8, 10-11. Also 2 Timothy 1:12
Increased devotion and obedience to Christ. Daily personal study.
Working to ensure that all corporate services glorify God, and are relevant and challenging for all who attend. In particular:
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“Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord”
2 Timothy 1:8
Be “holy, useful to the master, and ready to do any good work”
2 Timothy 2:21
“The Lord’s message has rang out from you…your faith in Christ has become known everywhere.”
1 Thessalonians 1:8
Confidence in Christ’s power to save. Increased confidence to build personal relationships and witness.
Strengthening existing outreaches and having a willingness to try new things; steeped in prayer.
Other possibilities:
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“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
“Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but of power, love and self discipline.”
2 Timothy 1: 6-7
“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”
2 Timothy 2:1
Hebrews 12: 2
Willingness to discover and use gifts for God’s glory and building of the Church.
Strengthened availability of pastoral care for all members from elders and care groups, and openness to the needs of one another
Regular opportunities for discipleship training
Appointment of financially supported church worker to assist with teaching, pastoral care and outreach.
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