God in Every Moment

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 our service will last about an hour and in a few seconds we will start with a time of worship after which you will meet our host for our service who will introduce today's talk after the talk we head into conversation Street where we look at your stories and questions that you've posted in the comments throughout the live stream 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 Crow from any device during our live stream and if you're up for it why not invite a few friends over and experience the service together you see 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 midweek groups where we meet online together to catch up and discover more about the amazingness of Christ you can also subscribe to our podcast called what'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.c crow. or you can reach us uh 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 steps to take are well why not head over to our website crowd. church sln next for more details and now the moment you've been waiting for is here our online church service starts right now well hello and welcome to crowd Church my name is Matt Edmonson and beside me is is the very funny actually set of p on uh we've just we as you can see if you're watching the video we've got our headphones in and during the intro I was talking s and you know like when you talk to a kid when they're listening to something with their headphones and it's like their volume just goes up exponentially it said hello what you want that was me that was s and I'm just stop laughing actually just before the intro ended uh but welcome to crowd Church yes it's great that you're here joining us New Year's Eve uh and just for you know full disclosure if you're joining us live this is what we call a non-live live stream on crowd Church there'll be people in the comments do come join us in the comments say hi say where you're watching us from but it's non live in the sense that sadf and I aren't really here we're recording this actually pre- Christmas uh mainly because everyone's taking the week off between Christmas and New Year um and so we do these non-live live streams just give people a chance to rest recuperate we value rest we value Sabbath so uh yes that's what we are doing so we're kind of pre-recording this so we will not be responding directly to your comments verbally like we would normally do uh on a live stream um but there will be people in the live stream so you can join in so you know join in with the comments etc etc uh today SF what do we have today today we are listening to John Harding John Harding and um he is going to be talking about heaven on Earth you just making that up is that like one of those it's a Christian to I don't know what it is he going to be talking about Jesus yeah something about the new the new year and the new you the new New Year New You thing yeah okay have you actually listened to the talk so are you just making all this up a little bit Yeah okay good well we're gonna find out gonna find out what this talk is all about in just a minute we have John uh doing the talk then after that SF and I will be back for a form of conversation Street it won't be massive but it will be a form of conversation Street which is where we're just going to talk about the talk yes uh and ordinarily we would talk about your question but obviously do do put the questions and comments uh below it be great to see them if we can't even if we can't respond to them directly um but yeah that's what we're going to do if you're new to crowd Church warm welcome to you it's great that you're here every Sunday I say every Sunday most Sundays because I've just disproved my own Point uh but most Sundays we live stream our online service 6 pm here in the UK which I think is 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time what's the time in Vancouver when we do this um it is 10 a.m. 10: a.m. yeah so you're eight hours on you so those sorts of times come if you don't know what time it is for your time zone go to the website www.c crow. Church there's a little time check thing on there which will tell you where it is or when it is um but it'd be great uh to meet you in the live streams come join in the comments be great to hear what you've got to say and also just to let you know we have on our website information about Community groups if you want to join a sort of an online community group be great to see you in there and of course if you've got any questions um or prayer requests throughout the week and you want to reach out to as you can do that through the website www.c crow. Church in fact if I press this button here does it yeah look at that it comes up on the screen uh you can also reach us at social media crowd church and if you go to the website www.c crow. you'll also find our WhatsApp number uh which comes straight through to us so yeah definitely reach out to us and let us know what's going on um but yeah so I well Christmas when this comes out as has happened did you have a good Christmas I'm having a great one having a great Christmas what about you watching did you have a good Christmas just write yes or no in the comments with maybe some explanation if you feel like you're up to it um but we do like Christmas we have our Christmas jumpers on we get I mean you and I did that thing didn't we this year your family joined our family we did tradition we have a new tradition so every year we have this tradition the first Saturday of every December we go out and we buy the Christmas tree right and uh the tree then gets delivered so we choose it as a family we go through this sort of walk through the park at the bottom of our road it's called the mystery it's a mystery is to why it's called a mystery um but we go through the park we buy the tree we CH well we choose a tree the guy opens up all the trees that we want to see and then we choose a one and then they're going to deliver it a few hours later we get the deckies down we do the house we do the hot chocolate but this year there was 16 of us yes there was with some amazing food thank you Matt yeah no problem we we had a great time there was a whole bunch of us walked down wasn't there to choose the tree you chose a tree you and Jeff chose a tree and the kids uh me Sharon and the well my daughter cuz my two sons are you know apparently they're leaving home living the university life God make it back you know um and who Johnny and Rob Jenny and Robia Jenny we came up with this new the new verb Jenny so Jenny uh for years lived with us she was our lodger um and just lovely she got married last year I walked down the aisle which was great did the whole father of the brides Beach thing which was amazing um we all love Jenny and a twin sister cat they're all big part of the family in fact came cat came up from London just was choose a tree she came to stay with us the weekend so we have this mad Christmas tradition but whilst we were all together just having a very rockus time it was very funny it was very funny PL plain articulate uh who came up with the verb Jenny Rob I think I think it Jen's husband Rob is her and just explain what Jenny means so Jenny is basically showing off yeah yeah so so if you're showing off you're Jing you're Jing so we're just trying to get this word to catch on around the world so yeah use it in the new year new word new new word just ask people are you Jing you're Jing right now aren't you which was just hysterical so yes that was our tradition which you joined so we have our trees we love Christmas but alas Christmas has passed is the time of your reading uh listening to this so we're looking forward to the new yeah mhm what are you guys doing New Year's Eve um coming to yours are you coming to our yeah okay cool I just invited her it's the first I've heard about it but it'd be good to see you good to see Jeff anyway the kids you're more than welcome by the way Jan's coming to ours Jan Birch with Tim and the kids Jan's been on uh crowd um Sue urin who's been on crowd before she's come into our so yeah it's going to be fun fun and games as they say so all the kids are coming basically all the kids invite their mates and the parents to sort of get dragged along hang out it's normally how it works anyway we digress we talk about the fun and frolics of Christmas uh but yeah absolutely hope you had a good time uh we are going to play John's tour we're gonna do that right now after the talk SF and I will be back for conversation Street uh don't go anywhere I'm looking desperately for the button There It Is I've not got my glasses on so I have no idea what's going to happen I'm push this and hopefully it works we'll be back shortly hi there crowd Church a very happy Christmas to you and a very Happy New Year to you I hope that you have had a joyful peaceful Christ centered Christmas maybe maybe not maybe to some extent or another I think it's funny the idea that Christmas might be entirely peaceful and joyful as if somehow we're entitled to that there's so much out of our control out of our influence to ensure that our Christmas would be entirely joyful and peaceful we can't control if the relatives are going to behave or if the kids are going to have meltdowns or not these things are not guaranteed to us but I think we can focus on Jesus over Christmas we can keep him at the center and that's what makes Christmas Christmas that's what's m making all the difference at Christmas so focus on him don't get distracted from him so I hope you have had a joyful and peaceful Christmas but most of all a Christ centered Christmas and I hope you have a sense of Faith and Hope and vision for this new year ahead of us faith hope and vision for the new year ahead are you crazy John I am barely holding on I have dragged myself Kicking and Screaming through 2023 I've just about about falling over the Finish Line Faith Hope vision for the year ahead it will be a miracle if I don't kill someone by the end of next week well yeah I get it uh life is like that but I do think it's really important I think it's really healthy really good for our mental well-being to take a moment at the end of one year at the start of a new year to pause to reflect to give thanks and to listen to God for his perspective that's something I always try to do in the space between Christmas and New Year and I want to share with you a a a lens through which you can view the past present and future a little framework to help you reflect on the past and to find a focus for the year ahead I'd really encourage you to mull on this maybe journal on it over the next few days I've been doing that and I found that really really helpful so the lens the framework is taken from Revelation 1:8 a man called John a church leader he was on an island off the coast of Greece called Patmos he was there as a prisoner this was a forced labor camp his crime was to be a follower of Jesus it was illegal in that place and in that time to do that and and it says in Revelation chapter 1 that John was worship in the Lord with other believers on the Lord's day that's when he had a vision a vision of Jesus Jesus revealed himself to John and Jesus said to John revelation: 18 Jesus said I am the Alpha and Omega the one who is the one who was and the one who is to come John had a vision of Jesus as the one who was the one who is and the one who is to come I want to encourage you to use that as a lens and a a framework in this present moment to help us look back at what was and to look at ahead into what may come and so my first question is this where was God in your past year where was God what was he doing what was he doing in you what was he teaching you how was he transforming and refining you where was God in your past year because he is the god who was he is the god who was present he was God in every moment I think it's easy to look back at the year gone and make a list of good and bad we might even rate the year it was a good year it was a bad year it was an okay year it was the worst year ever I I've lived through enough years to know that's always how it's going to be good stuff and bad stuff uh amazing highlights crushing lads every year I've ever lived has been a mixture of battle and breakthrough of joy and sorrow so the real question I think is not how was your year the real question is where was God in it because I know I I know with every fiber an ounce of my being that that God was there with you in every moment however dark however painful I find that really helpful I find it really Redemptive to look back at some of the challenges of the past you and say okay well Lord where were you where were you in that what were you doing in me in the midst of all of that how were you refining me and transforming me into your image now if you faced major trauma or disaster in the past year you might find it helpful to reflect on that with a counselor uh but for most of us in the general ups and downs of life life I think it's really healthy a really healthy process I know it's helped me to to just leave some of the past in the past because he is the god who was and he is the god who is to come The God Who will be in each and every moment and every happening of the future so how does that shape how we view the future and how we plan for the future well you know it is good to set goals and targets for the year ahead it can be good to do that nothing wrong with it if you like me work in a certain setting you might have to set some goals and targets and write some stuff down and capture and map out where you want to head over the year what you want to achieve in the year ahead uh you might do that personally you might set some resolutions you might be well like this year ahead I'm going to be healthier I'm going to eat less meat I'm going to train for a marathon I'm going to take a course I'm going to learn a new skill I'm going to save up for something not bad things to do and of course God will be with you in all of those things because that is his promise he is always with us but let me give you a little twist on that today about thinking about the year ahead from this verse in Revelation we've we've read it in Revelation chapter 1 how Jesus is the one who was and who is and the one who is to come he is God of the past of the present and he's God of the future but there's this interesting switch that takes place in the Book of Revelation and when you get to Revelation chap 11 John has a vision of the very end of time and in this vision of the end of time if you're into the Book of Revelation the seventh trumpet ass sounded the seventh seal is open at that moment heaven fully descends to Earth Jesus returns as a conquering King riding a white horse accompanied by Heaven's armies Heaven invades Earth and all things are made new and perfected forever there is a day that all of creation is waiting and longing for will Christ will return and make all things new I I believe it I I long for it the longer I live the more I become aware of the pain and the Brokenness of the world the more I find myself praying for that day a day where sin and pain and death are finished forever but this song that is sung in heaven of Jesus the one who was and is and is to come at this point in Revelation chapter 11 from the moment that heaven invades Earth verse 15 says Revelation 15 the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of Our Lord at that point the song changes and now the hosts of Heaven are know no longer singing to the one who was and is and is to come Revelation 11:17 they sing to the one who was and who is same thing in Revelation 16:5 the angel says to Jesus you who are you who were so the is to come bit gets dropped it's no longer needed because in that moment The Future Has Arrived the future is here the job has been done and when I read that in my daily readings last week it really inspired me to think about the year ahead to set some hopes and dreams and aspirations for the year ahead you see the Big Goal God's big ultimate outcome is that heaven would invade Earth forever that's the end game so in the past week or two I've been trying to imagine that reflect on that what might it look like for more of Heaven to invade Earth over this coming year to set some goals in the light of that for more of Heaven's peace to invade my life because heaven is a place of perfect peace for more of Heaven's Health to invade my life because heaven is a place of perfect health for more of Heaven's joy to invade my life because heaven is a place of perfect joy and not just for heaven to be in me but also through me and into the world around me that somehow somehow through me more of Heaven's Justice would be outwards that somehow more of Heaven's provision would be released because Injustice and um poverty uh are displaced as Heaven invades Earth just that little bit more and if you think about it as followers of Jesus we are Heaven to Earth people that's why at the core of our faith we pray Father in Heaven whose name is Holy let your kingdom let the Kingdom of Heaven Let Your Kingdom come to Earth and let your will the will of Heaven be done on Earth as it is in heaven and Jesus says to us pray pray that it will be on Earth as it is in heaven Lord May there be more peace in my family as there is peace in heaven Lord May there be the release of resourcing into Liverpool as we serve the poorest in our city let there be provision here on Earth as there is provision in heaven so what might it look like this year if each one of us committed to living out a little bit more of Heaven on Earth bringing about a little bit more of Heaven to Earth because he's The God Who was and The God Who is to come but he he's also the God who is he's The God Who is he is with you right now he is the god in your present moment he is with you right now right now whatever your present moment looks like he is with you he wants you to become more aware of his presence he wants to bring his peace into this moment his perspective into this moment just tune into him right now just allow yourself to focus on him and become more aware of him if it helps you as I'm talking close your eyes maybe hold out your hands in front of you as a symbol and receive from him and I want to finish just by praying for you at the start of this new year a prayer of blessing so let's pray shall we God we thank you that you are with us right now you have been with us every step of the way there is has never been a moment that you have not been with us the God who is with us the God who loves us the God who is for us the God who is present with us in every moment and we thank you Lord that you are with us right now and Lord as we think about the future we don't know what the future holds but we know you hold the future you are alpha and omega you are beginning and the end you are first and last The God Who is to come and so Lord as we think about this year ahead Lord uh give us a confidence that we might know you in every moment that we might live out your kingdom that heaven May invade Earth in us and around us heavenly father let your kingdom come and let your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven throughout this year ahead in Jesus name we pray amen well welcome back what a great talk by John that was really good that was I got lots of notes actually too I don't know about you I've always done this thing where probably until about 10 years ago maybe seven eight nine I it was it was a until a recent okay time at some point in my 40s I decided to stop doing it but every year I think about my resolutions for the year ahead and I would set these targets and set these goals for the year ahead um and actually listening to John talk I've kind of understood why I've stopped doing them why they kind of felt like I don't know they weren't quite meeting the if that makes sense um but yeah so we're going to get into that do you said did you while you're coughing just bring it just conf a little bit over here don't be on so much of the edge there you go don't be afraid um hopefully I don't smell no so let's talk about New Year's resolutions have you ever set any um or you not really do that yeah I used to but I don't anymore because it feels like it lasts for about a week and also they're quite um they last that long yeah um if that um I think they were also quite uh I don't know how to how to word it actually but quite superficial in some sense so I think um like what John's talked about today there's so much more weight to what he's saying you what you want to focus on for the year ahead and what you want to think about and how you want to frame it um so yeah yeah no very I like you very I found I just the traditional resolutions uh want to get fit yeah lose weight stop eating as much chocolate um and then you like you say last about a week yeah and you just you just totally forgotten about them um and then I started to realize actually I don't need to wait until the other thing I find myself doing is waiting for New Year so you just you go totally nuts in December okay and then I'll make some resolutions in well actually no you can just start right where you are right now and that's probably the best thing to do so John's talked the three lenses The God Who was the god who is and The God Who is to come so his first question where was God in your last year got any stories about that um God was very present in the last year I have I had a lot of um really wonderful experiences of reconnecting with family and old friends um like throughout the year I think it's been marked by that which has been really nice um and um it really does help you kind of keep going so yeah I would say say that yeah yeah absolutely it's been a I think when you look back over 2023 it's definitely been a mixed bag for a lot of people um and I think I would probably say it's fair for us actually it's been a mixed bag there's been some good things there's been some bad things like John said you could almost make a list The Good the Bad and which one therefore if there's more in the good column it was it a good year yes you what I mean um but rather reframing it and going actually whether it was good or whether it was bad God where were you in that and I was uh someone I was replying to a text earlier someone sent through um and she mentioned in the text uh that it felt for her life was a lot like Groundhog Day right like she was just repeating the same thing she was on this treadmill trying to get a new job um just sick kids um trying to get a job at at the same time was in this cycle of she couldn't get a job because she didn't have the experience but knew if they gave her the job she would come up to speed very quickly so without the job she can't get the experience and so it was this Catch 22 situation for her caught in the same cycle that I think a lot of people have found themselves in especially in the UK with the cost of living where her rent is going up and up and up and it becomes problematic and she used this phrase she say just I'm on a treadmill it feels like Groundhog Day which I thought was a really interesting way to to sort of phrase it I don't know if you've ever SE have you seen the movie Grand hog day you must I don't like it you don't like Grand Hog Day no I don't what's wrong with you it's just it just goes around in circles far too many times I think there's the points and S missed it so we have the point here I really like the movie Grand Hog Day um and it's it's always interesting it's like you know a lot of the conversations that came out of that movie were if you going to have a day like that repeat over and over and over again um what would you do what would you learn and what was interesting about that movie I was thinking about this when when I was responding to that text message because in a lot of ways if I was living in a day that really was truly repeating I don't know if I how would I feel about work that I'd done that day just not counting for anything do I mean and and then having to do that day in day out but actually the the key for me in that film was when his heart changed his life changed and it was what he learned on the journey and I think actually this is probably what John's trying to say isn't it in the sense that on the journey on the way through of the Year God where were you what did I learn yeah you know you were with me throughout all of that I might not always have felt it I might not have always understood it there were good times there were bad times but what have I learned as a character and um I think that's a really interesting question you know what what's what's the big thing God's taught you in 2023 um we've not planned for these questions by the way and I appreciate I'm totally springing them on you no that's fine um I'm okay with that um yeah I think something that I've been reflecting on recently is um how I choose to obey God so there will be parts of the Bible that I'm like yeah okay we'll open that another day but you know it's like when when God asks we won't record that no um uh so yeah when God asks you to do something or if he changes the plans that you had your carefully you know laid out plans and he changes them um our our um obligation can I say is to obey him yeah is to do whatever he's asking us to do the outcome has not is not in my control yeah and it's not my problem mhm I have to obey the Lord in the here and now and what comes comes and the Lord's in that and trusting that process yeah has uh so yeah I've been reflecting on that that there's you know some parts yeah no problem other parts I'm like yeah we'll just uh open up a different part of the Bible yeah yeah for now I'm out uh no but I mean like I I know that sounds like I'm ignoring parts of the Bible I'm not and the reason that I'm reflect on it is because I'm very aware of what's there and what the Lord's asking me to do and I'm just um taking my sweet time which again is not right but it's something I am to be fair being refined and reformed yeah but to be fair it's what we all do isn't it it's not this is not just you and and I think we're all very much Works in progress thank thank the Lord for Grace but it's an interesting point isn't it it's I think there is something people find it really hard I think if you're not into church or if you're outside of church to to look at the Bible and accept that this is God God's word and that actually obedience to it is probably a smart thing to do can seem counterintuitive it can seem complicated it can seem like it's destroying your fun it's like there's a million reasons why I think you wouldn't do this if you're outside of the church why this actually sounds really odd and why people think it leads to Dogma it leads to intolerance and so on and so forth but here's the thing that I I find immensely freeing about this everybody I speak to and I'm I'm going through my head thinking yes everybody that I speak to that is going through something in life come like you've got to come to a point where you realize you are not in control MH now that doesn't mean to say you cannot control response as in how you respond to things which I think you totally can you can choose how you respond to things but I cannot control the situations in life and actually when a lot of stuff happens it usually happens either because we've been stupid we've made some foolish decisions or it's extenuating circumstan there are circumstances beyond our control so uh I speak with one guy on a regular basis suffers from severe mental illness always looking to blame somebody else for his problems and he often uses this phrase I was in total control and it freaks him out that he's not in control and I'm part of my conversation is you had no control whatsoever it was an illusion what I mean and and the reason I mentioned this is because actually when you when you say I think when you get to a point of submission which says God not my will but your will be done in another way let me do what you've told me to do focus on that as best as I can not get too caught up in the outcome because that's you know that's your responsibility that actually becomes immensely freeing because that's the one that's one thing that I can choose to do I can choose to obey God I can't control my life but in obedience to God I can trust God for the outcome yeah does that make sense totally um and I think there is a Liberation in that that is quite extraordinary I think it's a good lesson to learn yeah I think we're all learning it if you figure it out let us know okay watch this space next week on crowd Church sadf gives us the five top tips on how to fully obey God in your life yeah right the following week Jeff is Gonna Come on Jeff is her husband and tell us what really happens behind uh that's it by it's a really good lesson a really good lesson I think for me in 2023 if I look back if I reflect on it the one thing that I think we have grown in where I see God really working in us as a family is actually in the whole Community aspect so we've always I say always ever since we've been married we've had people live with us um roommates Lodgers whatever you want to call them um and we've always we've always done extended family and I think as as we're getting older and more experienced in life I think we're doing extended family better if that makes sense so when you're in your early 20s living with someone in their early 20s it's kind of like what we're just mates um but as I'm approaching 50 I've approached 50 I've gone past 50 that's what happened in 2023 I went straight through that number um I think it the thing that I've noticed is one of the things I think God has been speaking about to me over the last few years is is you become much more of a father figure to a lot more people um which is kind of cool uh and so just doing that extended family an awful lot better like it was really cool you guys came and joined us on whenever it was two weeks ago December Saturday December whenever that was I don't know um and that I love that and I think we've done that much more intentionally in 2023 we've had people connect with us a lot more in 2023 which has been awesome so yeah yeah you the Edmonson are so great at they are also very great we're so humble as well no honestly the fact that I can just invite myself over for New Year's Eve yeah no one's going to be in they're going open the door I'm still coming um yeah brilliant no you guys are wonderful like that yeah but I think it's one of those things that God's been teaching us you know uh and drawn us into so yeah 2023 and I think if I reflect on some of the harder times in 2023 one of the things that I I won't go through them maybe not the right time or place but I I think one of the things that I noticed that made the hard times harder or easier does that make sense uh so I could if I'm going through something the way I make it harder yeah is to not create space to hear God right to not go God where are you in this what are you saying what's the right direction here to get some sense of what God is doing in the midst of what I'm going through and I tend to find I can become so busy that that's very easy to yeah yeah yeah and before you know it four weeks have gone past you're like well you know I've prayed I've read my Bible but I've I have I really had any sort of good sort of conversation with any quality time I don't you know I talk to my wife every day you know we connect every day but if we don't if we don't intentionally spend time together it's very superficial I mean so for sure um so I'd say that's another learning yeah I've actually I have a list in my in my prayer Journal of things that I still need to talk to God about I've written them down is just finding the time and space like you say I need to go and you know see what the Lord has for me in this Dave Connelly bless him if you're a regular to crowd you'll know who Dave is if you're not a regular to crowd stay tuned in you'll find out who he is is cuz he is a regular on crowd uh Davis Legend founded the church that John is now the senior pastor of Frontline Church um awesome guy Father Figure to me absolute Legend took me he said Matt let's go grab a coffee went and had a coffee with him last week just trying to remember when it was and he's like right God's given me a word for you I just was writing it down streams and basically it started off with you need to go and find a way to create more okay thanks Dave appreciate that it was right too um and so thank God for Dave calling that's all I'm saying uh so the screen's gone blank and it's your computer so I have no idea what the next The God Who was uh The God Who is to come so the god of the future and looking forward to the future which was an interesting question how can you bring more of Heaven to Earth in 20124 um I think like reflecting on what John was saying my thought was like how we plan and prepare for what's in 2024 or in the coming year how much of that is actually um gonna is how much of that are we actually taking to heaven with us okay how much of that is here and now the material um and how much of that is actually character building how much it yeah and I think for me personally I would want the majority of my planning and and preparation to be for um planning for heaven MH that my character is as he said earlier like use the words being reformed and refined I would want more of that and sure that probably welcomes a lot of um Lowe's in the new year but I'm okay with that as John said you know you you get you get a mix of both and um yeah so I have not had the time and space the word keeps coming up um to think about what I want to do in the new year or what I what you know I want to plan and prepare for but that is something I will definitely be taking me um yeah yeah about yeah that's a good question how I don't know is understand so I think I I I did say to Sharon the other day that I wanted to take some time out and just really spend a few days I might just up some Hill somewhere take a t I know it's January uh or going stay in a hotel or something wander around do some long walks clear my head connect with God have some good conversations I think if I think about 2024 on the whole I'm pretty excited um I mean you and I work together so you know the company that we're involved with I see what's going to happen why in my head I see what's going reality be very different obviously um but I I do I'm excited about as a company where we're going in 2024 I'm excited about crowd Church 2024 seeing what God does um but I think in terms of areas that I want to intentionally grow in in 2024 the big one for me I think there's two things that are on my list okay one is gratitude uh and actually just as a short heads up in hopefully next year it depends because we've got this new teaching series coming up haven't we the healthy Christian it may change its name but we might just call it the healthy Christian what does it mean to be a healthy Christian what does Wellness look like as a Christian H and it's not a few weeks worth of teaching there's a lot a lot there's a lot we're going to get into um and that's probably going to take if I if it doesn't take all of the year it's going to take most of it I think we've got five parts that teaching series and part one takes up to August uh yeah almost June June or July I can't yeah yeah it's like a few weeks away from the non live live streams in August I think um looking at it so but once this is finished there is a really strong chance we're going to do a lot of stuff on gratitude um and see where that takes us it may be even a separate devotional thing that we do because I'm really Keen to to dig into this topic a little bit more um we've been writing behind the scenes not many people know this but we've been R righting righting we've I don't know what righting we've been WR in a gratitude Journal um that people will be able to buy um specifically aimed at Christians um and what does it mean to be people of gratitude and the Bible tells us that is God's will that we are grateful I mean that's quite insane isn't it really um so really want to grow in gratitude um and the other thing that I really want to spend some time looking at next year maybe the second half of last year once i' once I've got through all the Gratitude stuff uh will be identity okay so when when I first became a Christian so we're going back to the early 90s now there was a I don't know if you remember this there was a big thing about who you are in Christ it was the big question every do you remember the guy that you you weren't even born than me um that was a big thing about who you are in Christ the whole question about who you are in Christ who what is your identity um as a you know where where do you find your identity and so in my early Christian years we did this whole thing on finding your identity in Christ which was so lifegiving and so amazing and I think it's been so foundational for us we looked at books like um victory over the dogs by Neil T Anderson and things like that amazing books amazing amazing books very freeing um especially because I you know I had I had a past that I I became a Christian when I was 18 there was some stuff I needed to deal with and that just amazing stuff in there but that was like 30 years ago and I think one it's going to be good to revisit it and two I'm I was really intrigued by a conversation with krie newoff and Tim Keller before he passed away so Kim Keller Tim Keller if you don't know he passed away recently he was the senior pastor at Redeemer Church in New York very well-known speaker very respected um incredible very gifted speaker I mean just loved Tim Keller and what he stood for man of integrity and so on and so forth great guy he did an interview with a chat called krie newoff who's a podcaster um a pastor no an ex Pastor now I think and a podcaster I was listening to Carrie interview him and said to him if you were starting all again today what would you do you know if you were going to plant a church in New York he said he would spend all his time talking about identity that's interesting which I thought that's when the light Bells went off for me uh and so um I thought it would be good to get into that so after gratitude is identity okay so yeah that's for me that's for me so what about you what does 2024 look like how is God going to use you to bring more Heaven to Earth maybe for some of you actually that's just taking the next step on your Christian journey I know a lot of people watching this don't are unchurch people don't go to church wouldn't really first to have a Christian faith that's cool man uh you're welcome here we love we love having you at crowd and feel free to ask your questions WhatsApp us we'd love to hear from you but I also appreciate that you are definitely on a journey and so for some of you you may be on a scale of 1 to 10 you know between one being uh like you know the Apostle Paul before he met Jesus just like so anti Faith Richard Dawkins well he'd maybe be number two number three I don't think he's killing people no not that we know of um so you you all the way to you know number 10 the Tim cers of this world you know where you are in your sort of Journey uh in faith you may be at a number two maybe at a number three maybe your aim for 2024 is to go from a three to a four maybe if you're at step seven you know you like me i' probably put myself maybe a seven on that Journey how do I get from a seven to a 7.125 um what takes us further on on that Journey in Jesus I think is always a really important question you know God what what have you got planned and I think that's really that's really key and I like what you said setf about I can build the material stuff can't really take that with me I mean that's a I think that's a side effect I mean I can't diminish the value of it but I it can't be all that life's about which I mean is there's got to be more to it than that so wherever you are uh on the journey it's great that you're here with us anything else on what John said you took way more my notes Here look empty is that to be fair I typed them out on the computer uh before it went off yeah um I did like how he pointed out in Revelation 11 where they are in the future and um Jesus is the one who was and is MH I like that that's something to look forward to for sure which is exciting you looking forward to heav I mean it's not a stupid question I genuinely I think it's a really interesting questions to ask Christians yeah I absolutely am why uh well um I want to see Jesus face to face I want to see my parents again I want to see a lot of other friends and family that have gone before and um it's going to be perfect and uh I won't have any problem loving other people because they will also be perfect so that is good because now you know it's hard work sometimes um yeah I just love I can just hear you saying to uh maybe to I'm just going to pick on Jeff maybe to Jeff on on occasion Jeff you're going to be so much easier to like when you're in heaven with all my crowns mustn't forget my crowns oh that's awesome you know what I'm going to do when I get to heav go I'm going to slide down those streets in my socks of course you are [Laughter] I heard a speaker say that once and I thought you know what that is perfect I just I am so looking forward because the Bible talks about having streets of gold you know paved with diamonds and all kinds of things and I'm just so looking forward just to sliding down those things in my socks because I think that me and your kids will be doing it and lincol we're going to be like come on M let's do it again yeah let's do it again yeah that'll be good so I'm very much looking forward to heav uh I really am uh but it's interesting isn't it because there's this real tension between looking forward to heaven and then not wishing your life away uh which you have to hold uh maybe we should do something on that at some point yeah it's really interesting so 2024 we hope it is a fantastic year for you but more than that whether it's good or whether it's bad prayer is that you just see God in whatever you're doing that your experience with God grows that your journey with God grows and that you know him more and more in 2024 and I think if we do that life's ultimately good so anything else from you no I'm good awesome well that's it from me that's it from s thank you so much for joining us on the non live live stream thanks for all your comments I'm saying that assuming that people maybe not no one's watching this I don't know uh but if you have written a comments great that you joined in do come and join us on our actual live stream I'm thinking a week ahead of when this is going to come out and it's going to be live I'm looking at you um it is yes it is yes yes it is set I've set a production that's why I'm looking at um so we are back to our live streams next week I'd love to tell you who's hosting but I genuinely have no idea it might be me might be somebody I think it's you no me and Anna no you're speaking I'm not not speaking no I don't think he is not speaking it will uh yeah you'll find out it's all going to be very exciting so attention's detail that everybody loves right uh we're just throwing off because we're recording this in advance um but yeah do come join us 6 p.m. like I say here in the UK 1: P p.m. Eastern 8 no 10:00 a.m. we said uh on the uh eastern coast uh so yeah uh no West Coast West Coast yeah yeah time zones in America right Matthew yes or wherever you are in the world do come join us we'd love to see you in the live stream uh' be great to hear from you like say any question questions any comments you can reach us on the website or through the website www.c crow. church you can get a hold of us on social media at crowd Church uh and on the website there's also a WhatsApp number which you can text through your prayer requests I know some people do try to call it it's not a calling number it's a texting number so just text your messages uh on there and we'll try and respond to you as quickly as we can uh but I think that's it from me I think that's it from C I think all that's left to say is Happy New Year yeah Happy New Year hope it's a good we'll see you in 2024 bye for now 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 uh the live stream podcast make sure you also hit the follow button Now by Smashing the 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 www.c crow. 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