Unshakeable Joy: Finding Contentment Beyond Life's Storms
Here’s a summary of this week’s sermon:
Unshakeable Joy: Finding Contentment Beyond Life's Storms
In the tempest of life, where uncertainties whirl like relentless storms and happiness often feels as fleeting as the wind, there exists a beacon of hope - a promise of a joy that stands unshakeable despite the chaos. This isn't the ephemeral joy found in transient successes or material gains but a profound, enduring contentment that roots itself deep within the soul. Today, we explore the essence of Christian joy, a steadfast anchor amidst life's tumultuous seas, as illuminated by Paul's exhortation in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice."
The Misconception of Joy
Our society often paints joy with the broad strokes of perpetual happiness, a state of constant elation and cheer. This portrayal, however, is not only misleading but inherently flawed. True joy, especially that of the Christian variety, does not flow with the tides of our circumstances. It is not a fleeting emotion triggered by external factors but a stable state of being that thrives even in the face of adversity.
The Pillar of Christian Joy
Christian joy is an unwavering flame that burns bright, irrespective of the storms outside. It is rooted in faith - a deep, unshakeable belief in the goodness and sovereignty of God. This joy is encapsulated in the call to "Rejoice in the Lord always." It is a joy that does not depend on the happenstance of life but is anchored in the eternal and unchanging nature of God.
The Contrast with Secular Happiness
Unlike secular happiness, which is circumstantially driven, Christian joy is constant. It does not ride the emotional rollercoaster of life's ups and downs. Instead, it offers a serenity that comes from within, a celebration of the heart that remains unaffected by external conditions. This joy is a choice - a deliberate act of focusing on God's presence and promises rather than the chaos that surrounds us.
Cultivating Unshakeable Joy
But how does one cultivate this unshakeable joy? Imagine God as a tangible presence in your life, as real and as close as a family member or a dear friend. Spending time in God's presence, immersing oneself in His word, and reflecting on His faithfulness and love are akin to being with someone who brings joy and light into your life. It's in these moments of close communion with God that we find our hearts filled with a joy that is complete and fulfilling.
Rejoice, Regardless
The journey of Christian joy is not one devoid of challenges. There will be moments of despair, times when the world around us seems to crumble. Yet, it is precisely in these moments that the true essence of Christian joy shines the brightest. For even in the darkest nights, we are reminded that God is faithful, loving, and ever-present. We can rejoice always, not because our circumstances are always good, but because our God always is.
The Discipline of Joy
Embracing this joy requires a discipline of the heart and mind. It demands that we fix our gaze on God, letting His truth and love overshadow the trials and tribulations of life. This discipline transforms our perspective, allowing us to see beyond the temporary and anchor ourselves in the eternal.
The Peace Beyond Understanding
Paul's words in Philippians 4:7 promise the "peace of God, which surpasses all understanding," a peace that guards our hearts and minds. This peace is intertwined with joy, a testament to the profound serenity that comes from trusting in God's sovereignty and love. It is a peace that the world cannot give and cannot take away, a divine safeguard for our hearts in the midst of life's storms.
In conclusion, unshakeable joy is more than a concept—it's a lived reality for those who choose to anchor themselves in God. It transcends the temporal and offers a glimpse into the eternal, reminding us that, in the Lord, we find a contentment that outlasts life's storms. So, let us choose to rejoice, to find calm within the chaos, and to embrace the unshakeable joy that comes from knowing and walking with God.
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Matt Edmundson: [00:00:00] Welcome to this week's crowd church service. We are a digital church on a quest to discover how Jesus helps us live a more meaningful life. We are a community, a space to explore the Christian faith and a place where you can contribute and grow. I want to invite you to connect with us here at Crowd Church and there are a few ways that you can do just that.
Firstly, you can engage with Crowd from any device during our live stream and if you're up for it, why not invite a few friends over and explore? experience the service together. Church is all about connecting with God and connecting with others. And one of the easiest ways for you to do that is to also join one of our mid week groups, where we meet online together to catch up and [00:01:00] discover more about the amazingness of Christ.
You can also subscribe to our podcast called What's The Story. It's the story where we deep dive into stories of faith and courage from everyday people. More information about all of these things that I've mentioned can be found on our website at www. crowd. church or you can reach us on social media at Crowd Church.
If you're new to Crowd or new to the Christian faith and would like to know what your next why not head over to our website, crowd. church forward slash next, for more details.
And now, the moment you've been waiting for is here. Our online church service starts right now. Good evening and welcome to Crowd Church. My name is Matt Edmundson and beside me is the beautiful, the legendary, [00:02:00] Glegler.
Claire Glare: Hi!
Oh, just one hand possessed. A random hand.
Matt Edmundson: We're having too much fun here today, ladies and gentlemen. Let me tell you. Welcome to Crowd Church. If this is your first time with us, a very warm welcome to you. It's great that you're here. Great that you can be with us. If you are a regular, it will look different again because we're streaming on Instagram.
So we have to do this two camera shot thing. Otherwise it doesn't make sense for Instagram and the vertical live streaming. So that's why we're doing what we're doing. So very warm welcome to you. Good to see you. Good to see you, Sarah. Andy's in the comments. Jenny's in the comments. We've got Peter in the comments as well.
We've got Matt Crew in the comments and we've got me testing every platform in the comments.
Claire Glare: And I'm just clueless. No, never. I don't even have an Insta account. Do you not have an Instagram account? I'm 51. I know, it's impossible to believe.
Matt Edmundson: But I'm the similar [00:03:00] sort of age. In fact, I'm the identical age.
And I have an Instagram account. Yeah, but
Claire Glare: you Do stuff like that, don't you, for a living? I'm just like, I'm just trying it. I don't, I've even taken Facebook off my phone now, just oh really?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Are you just shutting it off for that whole thing?
Claire Glare: I just, I haven't got the time.
Matt Edmundson: Fair play.
Claire Glare: It's not that I don't, I'm not interested, it's just, yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah we are an online church.
Claire Glare: Yes.
Matt Edmundson: We do the church digitally, it's just that Clare doesn't do Instagram, Facebook or any of the other platforms because she's not got time.
Claire Glare: But
Matt Edmundson: I'm here. Very grateful you are in fact
Claire Glare: here. I'm honoured to be here.
Matt Edmundson: Oh, brilliant. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Warm welcome to you.
Great if you're joining us. Great if you're joining us on Instagram. Let us know how, if it's working okay on
Claire Glare: Instagram. Nicola's here as well, which is
Matt Edmundson: nice. Nicola's, oh yeah, Nicola's here as well. Yeah, great to see everybody. Matt says, please do not sing, Claire.
Claire Glare: We've already done some singing, haven't we?
Matt Edmundson: We have.
Claire Glare: Yeah. And I went, oh [00:04:00] no, we're in karaoke mode already. Stop. Stop with the karaoke. It was
Matt Edmundson: slightly dis Oh, look. Okay. Have they
Claire Glare: won?
Matt Edmundson: No. I see that. Sorry, I'm just checking. I've got the Instagram feed on my phone.
Claire Glare: Oh, okay. Too many screens for me.
Matt Edmundson: Way too many screens going on here. Way too many screens.
Nicholas says, where's the knitting? Dun. Later,
Claire Glare: I'll show you how I'm doing.
Matt Edmundson: Just don't you don't want to disappoint really, do you?
Claire Glare: Matt reminded me actually, today. I did. He said bring your knitting. I did. Bring your
Matt Edmundson: knitting. Gotta bring the knitting, gotta bring the knitting. So yeah, a warm welcome to you.
This is not a knitting channel by the way, this is actually church online. So yes, welcome to you. We are Crowd Church. A great place to explore the Christian Faith. So for this first time with us very warm welcome. Alistair is on Instagram. Oh, yes he is. Love you guys. Love you too, Alistair.
Absolute legend. And so it's great that you could join us. You should, I wish I could show everybody. One day I'll get a camera hooked up and you'll be able to see all the screens and monitors that are around us right now. One of [00:05:00] which, I'm not going to lie.
Claire Glare: I was about to, I was about to bring it out. I was about to say.
It's an
Matt Edmundson: iPad with the Liverpool game on it.
Claire Glare: Horror. Horror. I'm horrified. I'm an Evertonian if I'm out. You're an Evertonian? Yeah. Did you not know that? If I'm anything, I'm not really anything, but if I'm anything, I'm in the blue. Because they are the people's team, really, in Liverpool. I might be excommunicated.
Matt Edmundson: I'm just going to look for that button where I can switch your microphone off. So I'm not happy. I'm not happy. Did not know that. Lala's on her, oh shit, Lala's moved to Instagram now. Ah, very good.
Claire Glare: I wonder whether some people Alistair says
Matt Edmundson: why. Why on earth would you want to be an Everton supporter and not a Liverpool supporter?
Claire Glare: Underdog. Always the underdog. It's about justice. It's about equaling the balance. It's about Fighting Against The Odds, basically. There, that's the gospel in
Matt Edmundson: a nutshell. The gospel is [00:06:00] Everton Football Club. Yeah, it's not, ladies and gentlemen. I just wanted you to know we're not promoting heresy on this channel.
Matt, is the crowd WhatsApp not working at the moment? I've noticed that some messages are not being picked up, answered. Although maybe that's just mine. Actually, that's a very good question, Jen. The WhatsApp is not working at the moment. So if you have tried us. To reach us on WhatsApp, you might well have struggled and I'm trying to get it sorted out, and it does not seem to be resolving itself for whatever reason, and I genuinely don't know what the problem is, I don't know why WhatsApp is not working, so just use email for now.
I need to take the WhatsApp off the website.
Claire Glare: That's been going on for a few days, has it?
Matt Edmundson: It's been going on for a week and a half and we've been trying all kinds of things to try and get it sorted out, yeah, sorry about that. But yeah, good point, Jen. Thanks for letting me know. And just to let you all know, if you do try and reach that through WhatsApp, you're going to struggle, but you can reach us on WhatsApp which you'll find on the website, or you can reach us via social media.
So the website is www. crowd. church, social media at Crowd Church. Any of those will [00:07:00] work whilst WhatsApp is getting sorted out.
Nothing. I've not,
Claire Glare: I have nothing to add. I dunno either.
Matt Edmundson: I dunno. , look, I'm so from these comments, I know they're funny comments. It could be worse. She could be a Palace fan. .
Claire Glare: I know that's Crystal Palace. That's as good as it gets in football for me. I've yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Are you, so Sarah, does that mean you're a Palace fan? I dunno. Is
Claire Glare: that, is she called Sarah?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Yeah. She's moved from YouTube where she was on, and now she's gone to Instagram, Lala Hereford. So that's Nicola. She says Dave Conn is an Everton fan, which is actually true. And Dave Conn is doing today's talk.
So yeah, Sarah's a Palace fan. Her dad's from Croydon.
Claire Glare: But the Church of Jesus is a broad place, and all football fans are welcome, and non football fans even.
Matt Edmundson: Yes,
Claire Glare: just the disclaimer.
Matt Edmundson: Just the disclaimer. I'm trying to figure out why that comment still on the screen. Sorry. [00:08:00] Oh, sorry. There we go.
Claire Glare: No spoilers.
3:1 for Liverpool. They've just scored another one. Sorry. Was that really bad? Is that really? Is that the non done thing in the football world?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Sorry. I've just, oh, but Jürgen Zappi. Jürgen is happy. Yes. Very sorry about revealing the scores. Clad doesn't do football.
So if you're watching this while the football is going on, very warm welcome to you. Coventry scored again. So okay we're getting all the scores coming in on the comments. So yeah, we're keep them coming, it's good to keep up with it. We do Jesus and football, that's what we do.
Claire Glare: And knitting, and karaoke.
I think we've got many, and woodwork. We've got many strings to our bows.
Matt Edmundson: We have crowd churches, not just Not
Claire Glare: violin in. Although I did do that when I was in
Matt Edmundson: primary school.
Claire Glare: I got up to grade three on the viola. Oh, viola? Yeah, because I think they ran out of violins. So I was a bit, I had the longer one.
Matt Edmundson: Is a viola just like a shorter, smaller violin? Longer. Oh, is it longer? Okay. Yeah. [00:09:00] I knew that was a size differential. Yeah, very good. Okay, so coming up today, we are talking about wholeness. We've been doing a whole series on wholeness and we are in the first part of five sections that we're looking at where wholeness is concerned.
Do you remember what the five sections are? No, you don't do.
Claire Glare: I've got to be one of the worst hosts that you have I'm
Matt Edmundson: so sorry. No, you're one of my favourites, it's just great. It's
Claire Glare: not polished. It will be physical health, mental health. Those are, yeah, no, I've no idea. Yeah, spiritual disciplines, was that one of them?
No, you tell us what the actual orderly were, are.
Matt Edmundson: Spiritual health, soul health, body health, relationship health, economic health. They're the five areas that we're looking at. Good. Where wholeness is concerned. So yeah, we're going to be looking at those, which is going to be great. So we're in the first ones.
We're still doing spiritual health. Yeah. Which is good. And so [00:10:00] last week when I was on my, if you're a regular to crowd, you'll know that I was on a course last week. And Dan and Ruth hosted and introduced the Fruits of the Spirit. Sharon, my beautiful wife, did a talk on love. Because she is just a lovely person.
She is.
Claire Glare: She is.
Matt Edmundson: Brilliant. Yeah, no doubt. So anyway, so she did that talk. So we're looking at the Fruits of the Spirit, which is how would you explain the Fruits of the Spirit?
Claire Glare: Put me on the spot, Matt. I think it's the analogy of a tree, isn't it? So what we are planted in are the, our relationship with Jesus, relying on the blood of Jesus and all that he's done for us. And that daily relationship, then what flows out of us. Is that okay? Okay.
Matt Edmundson: Is that right?
What do you think? Is that okay?
Claire Glare: I'm sure somebody else has got a bad time. [00:11:00] Dave will have one for us tonight.
Matt Edmundson: Dave will have one. So yeah, so the fruits of the spirit like Claire said and actually as we, for me, as the Holy Spirit lives in you, this is what outworks out. Yeah. So the Holy Spirit in you outworks through you.
Yeah. These things, right? And so like an apple tree bears apples. Yeah. So the fruits of the spirit. Yeah. We bear the things of God. And
Claire Glare: it's unforced, isn't it? Yeah. So if you're, Oh, this is really funny. Oh gosh, that sounds a bit scary. Sorry. Forced laughter isn't real joy, is it?
Matt Edmundson: No.
Claire Glare: Yeah. Whereas we're having a really joyful time.
We
Matt Edmundson: are. Unforced. It's actually when, I don't know if Sadaf did it deliberately that you and I did the joy one. I don't
Claire Glare: know. I would, I, like one of my favorite verses in the Bible is the joy of the Lord will be your strength. And I would definitely say that joy is, and fun, and I don't mean that in a frivolous way, [00:12:00] but actually it's a really important part.
And I think it's kept me mentally really healthy over the years. And and and that's a gift, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, very much it is very much so
Claire Glare: yes, so joy. I did say, excited to be here.
Matt Edmundson: Unspeakable joy. Yeah, absolutely. So that's going to be today's topic. We've got Dave Connolly talking about that.
So what's going to happen is we're going to play that talk. You can watch that talk. And I'm just looking at the comments here. Nicola says, I've got bad ribs. Please stop making me laugh.
Claire Glare: That's a good start. Yeah, we don't want to hurt you anymore. But mad woman laughter is also bad. Matt Crew, you kill me.
Just evil.
Matt Edmundson: I hope he's talking about you and not me. That's all I'm saying.
You've got
Claire Glare: a muttly laugh,
Matt Edmundson: haven't you? I have got a bit of a muttly laugh. You're showing your age now, you're 15. It's
Claire Glare: alright, I'm happy to, I'm ageing gracefully. I think, [00:13:00] possibly.
Matt Edmundson: Possibly. We don't know.
Claire Glare: We don't know. We
Matt Edmundson: don't know. So yes, we're going to play the talk. During the talk, write your thoughts, comments, ideas, questions, whatever's going on, write them in the comments, because after the talk, Claire and I are going to be back for a bit more banter, a bit more fun, but we'll get into your questions, your thoughts.
We're going to talk a lot more about this topic of joy. But carry on, it's great, says Nicholas. So yes, we're gonna have a bit of a joy filled time. Do stick with us. We're going to be around probably for another 45 minutes. The service normally lasts about an hour. So it's quarter past six here in the UK, so we'll be here till about seven.
Whatever your platform you're on, stay with us. Do write in the comments. It'd be great to see you in there. I'm looking for the button on my control bar, which I've now found. That's why he was rambling on. It's an amazing little button machine he's got. It is. But the trouble is, because when I'm looking at the camera like this I don't need my glasses.
Because I'm looking at the camera and I can see everything clearly on the screen. When I'm looking down here, I haven't got a clue what it says.
Claire Glare: You're that, you're not.
Matt Edmundson: Have you noticed, you can see here, ladies and gentlemen, the [00:14:00] buttons on the pad are quite far apart. So I can't accidentally press the wrong one.
So I know that one's a talk.
Claire Glare: So yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Anyway. You found the
Claire Glare: right button. Hit the button.
Matt Edmundson: Exactly what I've done. So I'm going to hit the right button. We're going to play Dave's talk. Claire and I will be back very shortly after this talk, but yeah, get in the comments, we'll see you in there.
Dave Connolly: Today's topic is joy.
Christian joy is a deep, steadfast contentment rooted in faith. Philippians 4 verse 4 says this, Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, Rejoice. When you think of the word rejoice, what do you typically think of? We might think rejoicing as being in a state of constant happiness and celebrating every detail of our lives with unending cheerfulness.[00:15:00]
We could be asking, what does it mean to rejoice in the Lord always? So Paul is calling for celebration. The difference between joy and secular happiness is that the latter depends on what's happening. It is circumstantially driven, we could say. If things are going in an upward direction in life, we are likely to feel up or happy.
But if things are tough, we may also feel down and sad. This keeps you on an emotional rollercoaster. Biblical joy, by contrast, has to do with stability and celebration on the inside. Regardless of circumstances on the outside, we must choose to rejoice. In order to experience the joy God promises us, we might be asking, [00:16:00] how do you do that?
Think of God as you would someone you can see right there in front of you. You know that close family member, close friend, co worker, or someone from your church community or your neighbourhood. When we spend time with someone that brings us joy and happiness, we rejoice or we delight in being with them.
We celebrate her. God's Word describes joy as full or complete. Joy satisfies the heart in ways that temporary happiness can never do. Let's focus in on today's key scripture. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in [00:17:00] everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And we read that in Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 to 7. Look at that opening line, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. I just love that line. I love the emphasis. These words are worth keeping close to us because they offer an incredible promise, the promise of the peace of God which surpasses all understanding and they offer a way to receive this peace.
Over the years I have sought to encourage myself by posting them around my home, around my office, [00:18:00] I highlight them in my bible, Just because of the wonderful truth that joy brings strength. I want to take a moment to reflect on these few words and on the peace which surpasses all understanding. See, we can link joy and peace together clearly.
Paul begins this passage by calling us to rejoice in the Lord always. I just want to highlight something here to us. When Paul writes, again, I will say rejoice. Paul is writing these words from a prison cell in Rome. This joy that he is talking about is real to him. This is what he is experiencing in a time of trouble.
That is so important to remember that he writes these words while being imprisoned [00:19:00] because of his Christian faith. When Paul tells us that we can rejoice in the Lord always, he really means always. We might be asking, how? As we ask that question, let's find out what Paul tells us to do. Again, he says, we do it by rejoicing in the Lord.
We can always rejoice in the Lord, even when we cannot rejoice in other things happening to us or happening around us. I'm sure you will agree with me that there are some things happening in our world at the moment that are so difficult to rejoice in. Maybe there are some things that are happening in our own lives right now, That we struggle so much to rejoice in.
But I want to tell you this, we can still rejoice in the Lord, because God [00:20:00] is always faithful, full of love and grace and mercy, and always there for us, always here with us. And so we can rejoice always, because we can always rejoice in the Lord. We rejoice no matter what is happening in our lives. No matter how bad it might seem, we have a God who loves us, a Saviour who died for us, and a promise from our God to be with us always.
For us to rejoice in the Lord always requires us to fix our hearts and our minds, our attention on Him, regardless of all those things happening around us. And that takes a discipline. This passage is not just about rejoicing. Paul goes on to say. Let your gentleness be [00:21:00] known to everyone. The Lord is near.
We can rejoice in the Lord and we can be gentle with those around us because we know and we believe that the Lord is near. Because we know and believe that the Lord is near, we can share our views, even our passions, and we work hard for solutions. But without ever needing to be argumentative or aggressive about it.
And without overly worrying too much about the results of our efforts, we have this wonderful serenity in the midst of life's storms, because we know that the Lord is near. We believe that God still cares about our world, and so we do the best we can, but leave the rest to our amazing God. The Lord is near, we know that, so why would we not [00:22:00] want to rejoice?
And why shouldn't we have that unflappable serenity? And yes, we can ask what about those moments that crop up in life when we find ourselves staying up at night worrying about something. All of us have done it, I'm sure. There seems to be no end of things to worry about these days. And I suspect that our news outlets like it that way because it keeps us tuned in.
The question for all of us is, what do we do with these worries? Paul goes on to say this in the passage, Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. My friends, have you noticed how worry and anxiety shapes our [00:23:00] thinking and our lives?
Let me give you some good news, that when our lives are filled with rejoicing, that also shapes our thinking and our living, we start to live a life full. of thankfulness, our emphasis changes. Other translations say do not be anxious about anything. Anxiety or worry is something we all face at different times in our lives.
In fact, anxiety is one of the most common reasons why people go to see their doctor in our nation. We live in a very anxious, worried world, and it affects us all directly or indirectly. Let's look at the role of prayer in our everyday anxiety and worries. Paul tells us not to worry about anything, and that is a [00:24:00] consistent theme in scripture.
But I have to admit, this idea used to cause me problems. Worrying about worrying is what I used to do. And then I noticed that in scripture, whenever worry is mentioned, it is very closely followed by the word prayer. What we are really being taught in the bible is to turn our worries into prayers. Most of us can not help but worry at times, and being told not to worry, Doesn't seem to really help that, but turning our worries into prayers is something that we can all, I can now see the positive side to those times when I might feel anxious or worried, because they serve as a reminder to me to pray.
When I [00:25:00] find myself worrying about something, it's just a little alarm going off in me to say, time to focus, time to pray, time to rejoice even. Do not worry about anything Paul says in 6. Let me just say a few final things on turning our worries into prayer. Firstly, we are told that we should let our requests be known to God by prayer and supplication.
Supplication is a request arising from a specific need. And this is so important because what Paul is telling us is that there is no need too small for God. There is no concern too unimportant to bring to God. We can bring every specific worry, every specific [00:26:00] care or concern to God in prayer. In everything, by prayer and supplication, means everything.
It's a little bit like that word, always. That we talked about before. And the second thing that Paul tells us to do is to do it with Thanksgiving. And this is very important because a thankful horse is seldom an anxious horse. When we take time to give thanks in all circumstances, we discover that there is much to be thankful for in all those situations.
And our worry. and anxiety seems to go down in proportion to how thankful we are. Do not worry about anything. I heard it said once that another interpretation of this Do not [00:27:00] be unduly worried. Do not be overcome with worry about anything. Paul tells us, but in everything, pray. With thanksgiving, let our requests be known to God.
Verse 7 says, And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Let's bring today's talk to a close by briefly mentioning the piece that Paul writes about. It is a piece which surpasses all understanding, meaning we cannot explain it, we cannot discover it, we cannot create it, we cannot bottle it, we cannot buy it or sell it, we cannot earn it or give it away, we can [00:28:00] only receive it, we can only receive it from God.
Jesus says it like this in John's Gospel, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you, I do not give you as the world gives. This is a peace that the world cannot give and that it cannot take away. And it's this same peace that Paul tells us in verse 7 will guard your heart and our minds in Christ Jesus.
Remember, Paul is writing this letter from a prison cell. He may be using this word as an illustration, as the soldiers who guard him, the soldiers who are on guard duty. Maybe he's even looking at his God as he writes these words and he realises that he has a peace [00:29:00] from God that is truly guarding him and protecting him.
It's guarding and protecting his heart and his mind. My friends, there is no problem in this world that can penetrate God's peace. No soldier, no punishment, no prison cell, no sorrow, no anxiety. No worry, no loss, no grief, no sadness, no pandemic that can penetrate the peace that surpasses all understanding.
The peace that comes from knowing and believing that the Lord Jesus is always near to us. The Lord promises to be with each of us always and God never breaks his promise. And God helps us to [00:30:00] turn our worries into prayers, and helps us to be gentle with everyone, knowing and believing that the Lord is always near.
How can we do anything else but rejoice in the Lord always? So again, my friends, I say rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. Always. Amen.
Matt Edmundson: Amen.
Claire Glare: Amen.
Matt Edmundson: Amen. Just
Claire Glare: needed to change the way we said that.
Matt Edmundson: What you didn't see, ladies and gentlemen, was while Dave was talking about Joy, Claire was knitting.
Claire Glare: Do we need a knitting update?
Yeah, what's the
Matt Edmundson: update?
Claire Glare: There we go. Oh, wow.
Matt Edmundson: There
Claire Glare: we go.
Matt Edmundson: I was gonna say, have you actually done any since the last time you were
Claire Glare: on? Probably not. I've got a blue one to do after the me green one's done. Do you
Matt Edmundson: just reserve your knitting for when [00:31:00] you're on crowd?
Claire Glare: That and long journeys, if I'm not driving.
Matt Edmundson: Okay.
Claire Glare: You're not I'm driving, obviously. That would be not a good helpful. Oh, sorry, officer.
Matt Edmundson: Hey, three points on your license. Got to go do driver's awareness course. Why? Because I was knitting whilst I was driving. Yeah,
Claire Glare: no, dangerous. Don't do it.
Not one for peace.
Matt Edmundson: No, but Nicholas says your cardigan is a cardigan. Whatever. Your scarf is looking awesome.
Claire Glare: Thank you. That's very kind of you, my lovely.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah.
Claire Glare: You can come again.
Matt Edmundson: And if you don't, what's that? If you don't like the scarf, you can't come again.
Claire Glare: No, you can. It's a digital church. How am I going to stop people?
Matt Edmundson: It's
Claire Glare: Not the point, is it? Everybody's welcome.
Matt Edmundson: Everyone's welcome. Whether you like Claire's knitting or whether you don't like Claire's knitting, you're welcome here at Crowd Church.
Yes, you are. Brilliant. Very well. Welcome back to you. What did you think of Dave's talk? Write your thoughts, questions and ideas in the comments. Be good to get into that. Nicholas says thanks. Thanks for letting her into [00:32:00] church. She's very gracious, is that Claire? Write your thoughts, questions, comments, all that sort of stuff in the comments.
Now, before the talk started, Clare, you said one of your favourite verses is the Lord is my strength. Yes,
Claire Glare: the joy of the Lord is my strength. So it's in the book of Nehemiah, for those of you that don't know. Why
Matt Edmundson: should you do that, by the way? I'm just going to nip over there and turn a light on. So you keep going.
Claire Glare: Okay, alright. Gosh, I feel like I've got the mic. Oh no, don't drop the mic. And, I don't really know, I'll be back quick.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, it's only a
Claire Glare: bit. It's a
Matt Edmundson: small room. It's just behind me now, you
Claire Glare: can sit beside
Matt Edmundson: me. Where was you expecting
Claire Glare: me to be? I don't know, I don't know. I thought you might have had to change a lightbulb or do some weird thing.
I don't know, brain clearly off it. Okay, so back to the Bible. Let's focus on the Bible, quick. I don't know really, [00:33:00] but I think I'm not sure why it's become a kind of a bit of a life verse. But I just think it has and I would, and something that I just said to Matt earlier while Dave was talking, he was talking about Paul being in prison.
Yeah. And I just wonder also whether Paul, while he was writing the book of Philippians to the Philippian church, actually, he was also preaching to himself. Yeah. And so I think that when we have those verses, we can almost like just remember them, say okay. The joy of the Lord is my strength that is, and I wonder whether Paul was also doing that, rejoicing the Lord always telling himself, speaking to his, I'd say, speaking to my soul, reminding myself, and I loved what Dave said about it's joy in the Lord, isn't it?
It's not in our own abilities. It's not in our circumstances. It's not in, the world situation, it's not in what we can achieve, it [00:34:00] is joy in who God is, what he's done in our lives. And that's a work in progress. And will continue to be. Yeah. And and it's in his character. I loved what Dave said at the start of the talk as well that, it's about celebrating who God is when we like to be with people, we have fun with them, don't we?
We enjoy their time and enjoy their presence. And the more we get to know them, the more we have fun with them. It's good, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, no, totally. Totally. So it's an interesting one. Yeah. There's lots going on here talking about joy. In the comments, Matt says he loves that verse in Nehemiah as well.
Peter, I like the comment from the talk, I'll put it on the screen, I like the comment in the talk by Dave, use worry as an alarm to pray, that's one I remember in use.
Claire Glare: Yeah, and it isn't it, I think, when we, because, I, I would say that I, Thankfully, don't struggle very often with sleep and don't wake up in the morning.
Matt Edmundson: You don't wake up in the morning?
Claire Glare: That no, I do wake up in the morning. [00:35:00] Don't wake up in the middle of the night worrying about things, but. Don't know about you, but probably parenting creates more worry than I've ever experienced, just like Lord, and so I have experienced some, occasional sleepless nights or, anxious moments and it is that alarm call to worry, isn't it?
Not to worry, to pray. Yeah. Cause. What can we achieve by worrying? We just can't, nothing changes by that. But actually I had an interesting situation this last week. I was in a, I was swimming lessons. I'm at that phasing children's lives.
Matt Edmundson: Oh, not for yourself.
Claire Glare: Not for myself. I can't actually swim.
Although I could do with updating my technique and all of that. But anyway, that's by the by. And And I was listening to a lady and obviously she'd had a very busy day. She was next sat next to me, but she was talking to somebody on her phone. And I could hear all that she was saying and I found myself like.
And that's really unusual for [00:36:00] me. And I was like, Oh, but I didn't like that about myself, but then I was like, I can just pray about a situation. Let's just flip it around. And then I felt so much happier, a, that I was doing something constructive for this poor woman who clearly had a really tricky day and B.
Claire Glare: My response was giving that to God. Yeah. And my reaction wasn't judgment, it had been Yeah. , it
Matt Edmundson: started out that way. It out, you moved. Yeah. Way. But
Claire Glare: God enabled me through prayer, 'cause you feel better about yourself, don't you? When you're praying and you bringing things to God.
Yeah. Because he's all powerful. Yeah. And he can sort it , he can sort it.
Matt Edmundson: There's the the message translation by Claire, God can sort weird. It's
Claire Glare: the Cockney, it's the Cockney version, isn't it? Cockney rhyming slang. Sort it out, God.
Matt Edmundson: Sort it out. No, I totally agree. There's so much from Dave's talk, right?
Yeah. There's so much in that talk about joy, [00:37:00] about prayer, about worry, about, and how all of these things are interconnected. We talk about them like today we're talking about joy, we're talking about peace, we're talking about kindness and goodness and self control and all those, up in coming weeks and we separate them out but actually all these things are like hyper connected aren't they and yeah and Dave was right, in terms of joy and peace and all this stuff being linked and anxiety, being a call to prayer and an alarm to prayer.
I am with you, Peter. I think that's a really great idea. But actually, if that's in me, I need to pray. I love the start of this where we talk this word rejoice. I'm a big fan of the word. We don't use it a lot in modern English.
Claire Glare: It's a bit old school, isn't it? Sorry, I don't know. I don't know why I've gone all cockney.
I don't know why
Matt Edmundson: you've gone all cockney. It's old school like you and me, Claire, maybe.
We're a little bit old school. So yeah, but it's a fascinating word, this word rejoice, to rejoice, to [00:38:00] re put the joy back in, to re do it. And the way you do that is through celebration, is through worship. Not of, anything other than God. Yeah. And it's interesting, isn't it how the Christian faith talks a lot about joy and suffering?
Not because the suffering is enjoyable. But because in that suffering, there is a God who is a joy giving God. And that's another thing to think about here, isn't it actually joy comes from the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength, it comes from God. If that's where we get our joy from, if that's the source of our joy
, then actually we can rejoice, we can bring that joy back into ourselves a little bit.
Claire Glare: Yeah. And there's that other verse, isn't there, that came to mind, consider it pure joy whenever you face trials and tribulations and suffering and it, and you [00:39:00] read it and you think, that's so bonkers, it really is just so counterintuitive.
Yeah. Yeah. But it's, and it's also a bit like when, faith without faith, it's impossible to please God. For me, it's I don't know, you've got to. You've got to walk alongside them, haven't you? You've got to carry the two things together. And that brings pleasure to God, doesn't it?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, it does. It does. Consider it all joy when you fall into all these tests and trials. You've got to count or count it as joy, some translation says. You've got to do that. That's rejoicing.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: And that comes back to that word that Dave used, which I loved, celebration. And we can do, and here's the thing, we've talked about how joy is a fruit of the Spirit.
It is. Part of joy is part of the characteristic of God.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Do you know what I mean? And I just love that. It's not something we talk about enough. I don't think about God, God is all powerful and he's loving and he's kind and he's all these amazing things, but he is fundamentally [00:40:00] joyful. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
Yeah. And I.
Claire Glare: He made like really crazy animals, that's the thing that gets me wasps aside, but there are some really bonkers animals out there, aren't there? And I love those nature programs where you see, because we can now, see those, what they call the birds that dance and they do a little dance and they in Africa somewhere I think and they you know, they skirt, they sweep all around, they make it all pretty and then they dance and then they're like Hi It's a mating dance, isn't it?
I wouldn't know. Have you not seen them? Yeah, no But they're like peacock and peacocks. Peacocks Yeah
Matt Edmundson: They're
Claire Glare: amazing
Matt Edmundson: Yeah Pick it,
Claire Glare: tell us your favourite crazy animal.
Matt Edmundson: Favourite crazy animal in the comments. Because, you're right, it's there's a few things that are slightly irreverent sometimes, but on Twitter there's this feed that I come across every now and again, not on Twitter, on Instagram, where It's not Twitter anymore, is it?
No, it's X as well, get it, you're right. Showing my age now. But it's [00:41:00] where, one person playing God and he's talking to somebody else like an angel, like talking about how he wants to make the animals.
Claire Glare: Okay. Yeah. Take this,
Matt Edmundson: make it look cute. Yeah. And then put a big needle on its backside and we'll call that a bee, and it's just really funny and it's slightly irreverent, like I say, but it comes back to this point that like you say, God is a joyful God.
Just look at creation.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: And I think this characteristic of God, the
Claire Glare: rainbow, lovely. What is that? That's amazing, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson: That's just pure joy. Pure
Claire Glare: joy.
Matt Edmundson: Joy in the sky.
Claire Glare: Crazy rain all of that.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Joyful God. Yeah. Joyful God. Andy says here. Oh, hi Miriam. Yeah. Miriam's in the comments.
Oh,
Claire Glare: hi Miriam.
Matt Edmundson: Miriam. What a legend. And he says joyful. Miriam is joyful. Her smile lights up the room. She's such a legend. Yeah. Andy says joy can be found in the worst times.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Agree or disagree?
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Yeah.
Claire Glare: Because it isn't, it's not happiness is it? [00:42:00] No. It's not. Because it is joy in the Lord.
Yeah. It's us, not in a kind of striving way, but in a digging deep way. Yeah. This is awful. The situation that I'm in is terrible. But I know that you are faithful, that you, I have been in similar, maybe not as worse as this. Maybe this really is the worst of times that I've experienced in my life so far.
But I know that you have got other people through that. If that, that we can hold onto other people's testimonies, can't we? Yeah, we can. Can read the Bible and think, Oh gosh, yeah. God, you got them out of that terrible predicament, walking through the Red Sea.
Yeah. Walls up there of water, yeah. All amazing and all amazing. And yet, you, yeah we joy comes through that, doesn't it?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, totally. Totally. And I, yeah, I love it. Joy comes in the hard times. I totally agree, Andy. And you can find joy in the tough times because like you say, we find it in God.
Claire Glare: Yeah. [00:43:00]
Matt Edmundson: And God is a joyful character. Yeah. And I think it's important to acknowledge here, actually, that joy is not some delusional state of emotion that we are trying to get ourselves into. Now, I've come across Christians that maybe subconsciously think that. Yeah, that because it emotionally there, it's hard that they feel condemned because they don't feel joyful, there's a sort of this fake joy going around where they're masking everything that's going on, assuming like they're not willing to face up to life.
And I don't think not authentic. Yeah, I don't think that's joy. I just don't think God is needs us to be deluded. And I think you can experience joy and celebration. In spite of feeling awful at the same time. Yeah. Does it does that make sense? Yeah. I don't know if you would concur.
Claire Glare: Yeah, I concur.
Matt Edmundson: I concur.
I concur, ladies and gentlemen. That's awesome. Let's have a look here. What else going on in the [00:44:00] comments? Great talk. Nicola says this. I'm finding it tough to find joy in many things at the mo. But I pray I trust God and I find joy in my day. Even if it's just. Lick off the dog.
It works. Pets
Claire Glare: bring us joy, don't they? They bring us real comfort. And, I often remember hearing something, who did you last say, tell that you love them? And I was like, Ooh, it was my cat a moment ago. I said, I love you, Lola. Because we do. Does the cat speak back? She often does go, meow.
Matt Edmundson: Okay.
Claire Glare: Yeah. And which I take to be, I love you too, Mama.
Matt Edmundson: Absolutely. But
Claire Glare: yeah, lick off the dog. Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, absolutely. Those pets are amazing. But what I think, what I love about you don't have
Claire Glare: a pet, though, do you?
Matt Edmundson: Not at the moment, no.
Claire Glare: Have you had pets? We've had pets. You've had chickens, haven't you? But that's not, they're not pets.
Matt Edmundson: We've had hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, actually, is what we had.
We've had cats.
Claire Glare: Oh, yeah, you have had cats, haven't you?
Matt Edmundson: [00:45:00] Yeah. I grew up with a dog, all those kind of things. Yeah, I definitely had pets, but the thing I love about what Nicola said is she's finding it tough. Yeah. Because, I know some of the stuff, right? So she's finding it tough.
Life's not easy, but she can still find joy.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Do you know what I mean? And actually appreciating those moments that are joyful moments.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Is super important.
Claire Glare: Yeah. And Dave was talking about thankfulness as well. And I think they're interlinked really, isn't it? When we can be thankful for the sunshine today, be thankful for breathing, but really basic.
I am really thankful. I'm thankful that I've got, I've had some breakfast. I'm thankful that I've got clothes to put on or, there's physical material things, whatever. I'm thankful that I have friends. I'm thankful that I've got community, that enables us to cope with the really tough stuff, doesn't it?
Yeah,
Matt Edmundson: it does, totally. No, absolutely. Being thankful, deliberately intentional thankful. This is why, it's [00:46:00] bizarre, I always say it's bizarre, isn't it? Gratitude journaling is one of the things that has a profound impact on our mental health, right? In our state of our mental well being. No kidding, because the Bible tells us to rejoice always.
I say again, rejoice, and so I love it when the world catches up with it. I
Claire Glare: love what Jenny's written.
Matt Edmundson: Oh yeah, I said that to the broadcast then. So I love something they said in our church this morning. Even when we think we've hit rock bottom, Jesus is the rock that we hit.
That's great. That's great, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. You might have to explain that though, for people that might not know. That means and I'm gonna put the camera on you so you have to explain it. I'll just
Claire Glare: go quiet. I. Is that possible? I think, oh Jesus is the rock that we hit.
I don't know if I really liked it. He's the dependable thing, isn't he? He is, he's the foundation on which we build [00:47:00] our lives and so I think that's what that means. Yeah,
Matt Edmundson: totally. Yeah, we often say Have
Claire Glare: I done that right, Jenny? I'm not
Matt Edmundson: sure. Jenny can explain it.
Jenny, explain that in the comments. But I totally agree, Jesus is our rock. He is the rock on which we build our salvation, isn't he? There's lots of phraseology like that. Lots of analogies about Jesus, one of which he's a rock. He is dependable. Yeah. He's immovable.
Claire Glare: And I think it's it's the parable of the man building his house on the rock and building his house on the sand.
Isn't it? And actually with floods, we can really see that, can't we? The house property and that is. It's really firm and you've got those pile they call pilings that go down really deep. I'm sorry. I'm going like that. I don't know you, guys, is there any construction engineers out there?
I think I quite like a construction site actually. Yeah. That's right. That's what I thought it meant. Jenny has given us the nod, but whereas if it's just on a little shaley [00:48:00] bit of land, by on the beach or whatever. They go, don't they, and that's devastating.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, no, it is.
And there is that. So just to complete that story, Jesus used he, when he was talking to people, he often used parables or stories or analogies, we might say, and he did liken the foolish man to the foolish man is a man that builds his house on the sand.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: And a wise man is the man that build his house upon
Claire Glare: song about that, but I'm going to restrain myself for Matt Crew.
Yeah, go on, carry on. You're on a roll.
Matt Edmundson: Wise man build, no is that the song?
Claire Glare: There's a few. There's a few out there. Mine's more kind of American version. Should we just do it? Yeah. Don't build your house upon the sandy land. Don't build it too close to the shore, cos it might look kinda nice, but you'll have to build it twice, cos you'll have to build the house once more.
Anyway, sorry, I've gone red now.
Matt Edmundson: I wish I had a button where I could play a round [00:49:00] of applause. There you go, pat yourself on the back. Well done, I love that. How
Claire Glare: did we get to the, how did we get here? We were
Matt Edmundson: talking about rocks. Yes. So yeah. That's what Jenny said. But
Claire Glare: I was thinking about The Rock.
Because Matt's put about, Matt Crew's put about Jesus is my rock and salvation. And I was also thinking about the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane with the tomb. That's where my brain just went then. And so obviously the rock rolled away and freedom came and life came and all of that. And I was like, Oh yeah, because that's the rock on which we depend.
If that rock hadn't rolled away, Jesus would have been dead still and we wouldn't be here. Because the reason we're here now is because
Matt Edmundson: yeah, no, very true. So yeah, it's all going on. Man, it's so deep. We're getting deep today. So very deep. So just going through my notes here.
Dave talked about when Paul wrote the letter to the Philippian church, rejoicing the Lord always. I [00:50:00] say again, rejoice.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: He was in prison in Rome.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Now, next week, you are going to Italy.
Claire Glare: Bologna.
Matt Edmundson: Bologna. A few years ago, I was in Italy.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: And I went to Rome.
Claire Glare: Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: With Sharon and the kids.
Claire Glare: Yeah, it's amazing.
Love Rome. Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Love Rome. Go to Rome. If you've never been to Rome, go to Rome. It's an amazing place.
Claire Glare: Florence, Venice, they're all good. They're amazing. But Rome is amazing.
Matt Edmundson: Did you go to Paul's prison when you were in Rome?
Claire Glare: I don't know why, but I'm not sure that we did. Foolish mistake.
Matt Edmundson: Foolish mistake. We went.
Claire Glare: Did you?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah I've stood in. Was he in house
Claire Glare: arrest? He was under house arrest, was he? Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah they It might have been.
Claire Glare: They don't know really what it
Matt Edmundson: was, do they? Sorry. It's a very good chance. Yeah. He wasn't there when I went in to confirm. It didn't say Paul was here on the wall.
Claire Glare: Can't read the old Latin, can you?
Matt Edmundson: No, you can't. But even if Paul wasn't in there, you got an idea of the kind of prison Paul would be in. Oh my Lord. I couldn't stand up straight in [00:51:00] it.
Claire Glare: Was it
Matt Edmundson: little? It was tiny. Yeah, tiny, teeny tiny, hole in the rock type thing. It was unbelievable. So yeah, imagine, and I stood there in that place and thought, Oh my God.
Imagine being in a place like this for years, and you're writing to a church saying rejoice in the Lord always, I say again, rejoice. Now like you said, is he preaching more to himself than anybody? But to be able to write that in that place, I just think is extraordinary. And I think it, I find it deeply challenging because it's easy to go off on an emotional tangent.
It's easy to be knocked sideways and, it's, dare I say, sometimes it's easy to become a victim of my own circumstance. And if any man could have done that, Paul could have done that, but he didn't. And he was in that jail. And he found the ability to rejoice in the Lord. And I just think that's amazing.
Proper, proper amazing. Yeah.
Claire Glare: Yeah. And I do actually think [00:52:00] that in the darkest times, that is, if we are able to turn our gaze to Jesus, that is when we can really experience that huge comfort and, peace that surpasses all human understanding. Yeah. And it is about. It really is about turning our mind around, isn't it?
And just say, and challenge it and say, rejoice rejoice, telling ourselves.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, absolutely. And getting into that is such a powerful thing. I'm going to have to end the Conversation Street. I'm aware after, geez, we've just gone on. Sorry. But it's all good stuff. I shouldn't apologize.
It's all good stuff. I think this topic of joy is such a powerful thing. And that's my experience, in my Christian walk is actually despite the pain, despite the emotions, despite everything else, you can rejoice and to be a whole person.
Claire Glare: A
Matt Edmundson: whole person is a joyful person. Not necessarily a happy person all the time, but a person that can find a joyful end.
Joy deep within their soul, despite everything else that's going on. If you can do that, [00:53:00] wholeness is just incredible. Yeah, that Matt's put promote the Zoom. I will promote the Zoom. What's happening next week? Thanks, Matt. Next week we are carrying on our conversation about the fruits of the spirit.
I have no idea who's speaking.
Claire Glare: Me neither.
Matt Edmundson: Do you not know? No. I dunno. I don't really check this out. I can't pull it on the hat. Hang on, let me I, I'll just pull it up on my phone here. Drive, Google Drive. There we go. It's amazing, isn't it? I'm just going to put my glasses on.
Claire Glare: It's all right.
It's allowed.
Matt Edmundson: Sorry.
Claire Glare: Glasses are the way forward. I've been wearing glasses since I was seven.
Matt Edmundson: Schedule. That's not a new thing. Here we go. Crowd Schedule. So let's look at what's coming. I'm sorry, I should have been way more prepared. So next we are talking about peace, And we have Pete Farrington speaking.
Oh, good. And we have Dan Orange and Anna Kettle. They are hosting. Fab. That'll be good. Talking about peace, which would be great. So yeah, really good. So make sure you join us for that. If you haven't done so already, make sure you'd like and subscribe to [00:54:00] the channel. I was gonna say podcast, the live stream, the pod, whatever the thing. Oh, wow. We spend all this money on this tech.
Claire Glare: Claire just What is it? Tumbleweed.
Matt Edmundson: We thought long and hard about the branding. We did all the research and it's called The thing. Love that. Absolutely love that. So yes, the next week we're talking about peace carrying on. We also have a midweek community group.
If you'd like to come join us on Zoom, come say how's it to the troops. It'll be great to see you in there. That's Wednesday night, 8, no 7. 30pm. Now, actually, that's reminded me, I do have to give a brief notice. If you're watching this and you're joining us on the Alpha course, because every Wednesday, we also do an Alpha, we're doing Alpha at 8:30, which has been going really well.
Amazing. Yeah, I love Alpha. Alpha is a thing where you can [00:55:00] come join us and we explore the Christian faith. It's great if you're searching, if you have lots of questions about Christianity, or if you're a new Christian trying to figure things out. Yeah. Alpha is brilliant. Yeah, absolutely brilliant. And so we've got some great guys on Alpha.
I would say actually great ladies on Alpha because the men have all disappeared. But let's not go there. Man, come on, wake up. So yeah, if you want to come join us on Alpha, you're more than welcome. That said, there is no Alpha this week. Alpha will be cancelled this week or postponed. Yeah. Because I've been a week off.
I wish. Clash of Diaries.
Claire Glare: Oh,
Matt Edmundson: Yeah Sharon and I are doing a marriage course and we're speaking on communication. So we're doing the communication thing on the marriage course.
Claire Glare: Sorry, irony. Communication. Sorry. Clash. I can talk
of it.
Matt Edmundson: It's just brilliant, isn't it? So yes, so just to let you know that Alpha will not [00:56:00] be happening this week. But if you want to join the community group, you're more than welcome. Just get in touch with us via the website, which is, let me put it on screen, Crowd Church, www. crowd. church, or you can reach us on social media at Crowd Church, and we'll send you the Zoom details, and you can come join in.
Is that the Phil Watson Marriage Course? Yes, it is. So if you're in Liverpool, you want to do the marriage course, come join us. It's an amazing thing to do. And it's hosted by Phil Watson, who's been on Crowd. Him and Helena.
Claire Glare: They're bonkers, lovely, joyful people, aren't they? Oh, they're great.
Matt Edmundson: On another level of amazingness. They really are. And yeah, if you're in Liverpool and you want to come join us on that, do check us out. Jamie says, powerful stuff tonight. Thanks, Jamie. Thankful for tonight. Thank you, Matt and Claire. It's great to have you, man. Great that you could join us.
Appreciate you being here. Matt says tonight has been joyful. I just want to sing that joyful Lord, we adore thee, God of glory. I'm gonna stop now because people are leaving.
Claire Glare: I don't know that one.
Matt Edmundson: You must have watched the movie Sister [00:57:00] Act.
Claire Glare: Yeah, don't remember that 2. No, I re watched Sister Act, the other one recently.
I watched Sister Act
Matt Edmundson: 2. It's a song from Sister Act 2 ah. I say it's an old fashioned song, which they really do. Yeah, but they're
Claire Glare: great songs in Sister Act.
Matt Edmundson: Amazing. Amazing. Yeah, check it out Sister Act 2. Peter says, yes, very thought provoking evening. Thank you. Thanks, Peter.
Claire Glare: Try fostering Matt Crew's house.
That's a thing to bring joy to our lives as mother of adopted children.
Matt Edmundson: No, we
Claire Glare: love
Matt Edmundson: it. You love it. You love it. You must be an adoption champion
Claire Glare: then. You really put me on the spot there. No, I am.
Read the subtext. No, I am. Yeah. My children are great.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. It's just a whole different world. It's
Claire Glare: just a different podcast.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. No, no one told you about this.
Claire Glare: I genuinely think, sorry, we digress. That if you knew. What you'd be what the [00:58:00] challenges you do as a parent, nobody would do it. And I think that for adoption and fostering as much as anything.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, absolutely. I think because you just
Claire Glare: wouldn't because it's so flipping hard.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, natural parenting is hard enough. But fostering and adoption throws a whole bunch of other issues into the works, doesn't it really? But yeah, you're amazing. Phil and Helena. Yeah. Phil is a big fostering champion, isn't he?
Put a shout out to Phil, go find Phil Watson, if you want to know more about fostering kids, just go find him on Instagram, tell him we said how's it. Because he's a big champion of fostering, isn't he, and adoption. We
Claire Glare: need people who are joy, whose joy comes from the Lord. To foster.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, we do. Yeah, absolutely.
So if you feel God's calling you to do that, do check it out. Go check out Phil Watson or get in touch with us as a crowd. We'll put you in touch with them. Nicola says, stop it. I don't know what she's talking about. I've been talking about adopting kids. Just stop it.
Claire Glare: I think we've run over time.
Matt Edmundson: Stop singing is probably what she said.
Claire Glare: Yeah, probably.
Matt Edmundson: I
Claire Glare: was enjoying it.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. [00:59:00] Oh, it's good to be funny. It's good to think we're funny. We're
Claire Glare: scousers. We're adopted scousers. We are naturally funny.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, absolutely. I got a birthday card last week because it was my birthday last week.
Happy birthday. Yeah, thank you.
Claire Glare: I think I said hi. You did. You did.
Matt Edmundson: Bless you. You did. And I had this birthday card and it's, it made some comment about what was it she said? Something along the lines of I hope it's as good and as funny as you think you are. Rude. Rude. Rude. Rude. Anyway, thank you.
People are
Claire Glare: even ringing you up, Matt, to tell us that we've run out.
Matt Edmundson: We are. They're calling me on my phone. Get off. So much. Nicola says today has brought me joy and pain. Brought me joy and pain. Brilliant. Glad
Claire Glare: you enjoyed it. We hope to please. Oh no, he's persistent, isn't he? He is
Matt Edmundson: very persistent.
He's going, he's a guy I need to drop his shopping off. I'll do that on the way home. But listen, thank you so much for joining us. Have a fantastic week wherever you are in [01:00:00] the world. That's it from me. That's it from Claire. And I'm looking for the, there's a button there. I can't see it, but I think it's that one.
But it's been brilliant to be with you. Have you enjoyed it?
Claire Glare: I've loved it.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, it's been great. It's been great. So thank you so much. Have a great week. Have a great week. God bless you. We'll see you next week. Bye for now, guys. Thank you so much for joining us here on Crowd Church. Now, if you are watching on YouTube, make sure you hit the subscribe button, as well as that little tiny bell notification to get notified the next time we are live.
And of course, if you are listening to the podcast, the live stream podcast, make sure you also hit the follow button now. By smashing the like button on YouTube or writing a review on your podcast platform, it helps us reach more people with the message that Jesus really does help us live a more meaningful and purposeful life.
So if you haven't done so already, be sure to check out our website [01:01:00] www. crowd. church, where you can learn more about us, as a church, more about the Christian faith and also how to connect into our church community. It has been awesome to connect with you and you are awesome. It's just a burden you have to bear and hopefully we'll see you next time.
That's it from us. God bless you. Bye for now.