18 JUL 2021 · This is the finale of our series called Visions and Dreams, in which we looked at people in the Bible who had a vision or a dream, and what it meant to them. We then discussed what it might mean for us today, because we believe that God speaks through the language of dreams and visions. What better finale, than to focus on the final book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation, the finale of the Bible. It is a book recording the visions and dreams of one of Jesus Disciples, John, when he was in exile on the island of Patmos. John records that one Lord's Day he got caught up in the spirit and he had a number of visions and dreams which he details in the Book of Revelations, He had a vision of the future where there's no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, and no more pain. Can you imagine a world without those things? That world is heaven. When you think back through Jesus' life, all that he said and the miracles he performed were about the kingdom of heaven on earth. The whole of Jesus' life’s work was about heaven coming in the here and now. Jesus not only lived that life but he taught us to live that life and when he first taught the disciples to pray, he said pray your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Question: Inspired by Jesus, what are you doing to bring heaven to earth?

9 JUL 2021 · Saul, AKA, Paul was a Roman citizen from Tarsus and a religious zealot who persecuted new religious movements. He later had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and was transformed from someone who persecuted churches to being someone who planted churches. He was formerly known as Saul until this encounter when Jesus renamed him Paul and he went on to be key leader of the early church. One night on his missionary journeys he had a vision which caused him to change his travel plans away from moving east, and to head west to Macedonia. This was a significant moment in the development of the early church as ‘the Spirit led them’ away from the Asian region towards the West and Europe. From this moment on Paul followed the Spirit of God not the Spirit of the Age. Lesson: Do WITH God not FOR God - stop doing stuff for God do stuff with God! Question: What is God doing and how are you joining in?

3 JUL 2021 · Pete - formerly known as Simon until Jesus renamed him - was a fisherman with his own fishing business - Simon & Co. One day they experienced a turn around at the hands of Jesus and Pete became one of Jesus most trusted disciples and later, a key leader of the church. In the early years of the church, as it grew, it became more and more uncomfortable for the Jewish community. Clearly God was doing something in them but beyond them as well, and there was certainly some resistance in some parts of the early church. One day Pete, after praying, fell into a trance and had a vision which proved to be crucial in the life of the church. Pete was clearly shown that the church needed to become more inclusive of everyone, both Jew and Gentile. With this vision God challenged the young church to EVOLVE and not ENTRENCH, to become inclusive rather than exclusive. Lesson: Welcome! The Church is welcome to all! It is Inclusive not Exclusive! Think: If Jesus were physically on earth today where or how would he do church? Question: Are you forever evolving or making the case to remain unchanged?

26 JUN 2021 · Joe was a highly skilled craftsman probably specialising in carpentry, skills he learnt from his father who in turn learnt them from his father. He lived in a small town called Nazareth near the large lake of Galilee. Joe was engaged to Mary but learned that she was pregnant. Deeply troubled about what to do. One night an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream’ and said ‘do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife’ and explained that the child she was bearing was part of God’s extraordinary plan to save mankind. Joe learned to Trust and not Doubt. What irrational thing do you need to trust God about in order for your God-given visions or dreams to come to pass?

21 JUN 2021 · Amos was a shepherd, To be a shepherd was one of the top professions in the Middle East in his time, Patriach St Augustine called him a ‘minor prophet’, not based on importance but the size of his recorded works. He had a passion for justice and a concern for the disparity between the haves and the have nots. He had a vision ‘concerning Israel’ which led him to proclaim that God was saying, ‘I hate, I despise your religious festivals’. The Covid19 pandemic has killed lots of religion - the ‘outward forms of faith, but lacking alignment’. Before pandemic we tended to deify Sunday meetings. Perhaps they were our sacred cows? The pandemic has helped us prove that we really are community. How do we kill our sacred cows and keep the main thing the main thing?

11 JUN 2021 · This is about Neb’s Dream and Dan’s Vision. It will help you to have a transforming impact in your neighbourhood. Neb was the King of Babylon, used by God to conquer Jerusalem. He decapitated the capital by exiling leaders to Babylon. Dan was born into nobility and privilege in Israel, and was chosen as a young man to be trained with the ability to interpret visions and dreams. At a certain critical point Dan was not only able to tell king Neb what he had dreamed but also the meaning of the dream. King Neb was so in awe that he placed Dan in a high position and lavished many gifts on him, and made him and Dan’s friends his chief advisers. Be encouraged to be the sort of follower of God that Dan was - that doesn’t stick your head in the sand and feel like you’re continually on the back foot in your community and society. Be encouraged to become front footed as a follower of Jesus; to be confident in your faith, to be confident in your God and lift your head up high and engage with the highest authorities, even the leaders of cities and nations - just as Dan did.

3 JUN 2021 · Zek’s Visions: Zek, AKA Ezekiel was known as a prophet of doom, often warning God’s people to stop idolatry or else God would punish them. One day, what he had warned the nation actually happened, and they were invaded and overcome by their enemies. Once this happened Zek became a prophet of hope. “Today I want to speak hope into any hopelessness you may be feeling. Just as in Zek’s vision God breathed life into the dry bones. Sometimes the situations we find ourselves in are life-sapping, life-draining, life-taking. Yet I believe God always brings life, always brings hope.”

28 MAY 2021 · If God was to offer you anything you wanted what would we ask for? Would you ask for something that fulfilled your ambition or desire or would you ask for something for the benefit of humanity? In 1 Kings 3: 5 we read ; ‘At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”’ In response David asked for “a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” ’The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honour—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. - 1 Kings 3: 10-13 Meaning: God gave Solomon wisdom - and because he asked for that and not wealth, he gave him wealth as well. Lesson: We need to learn how to live For the good of humanity and not just for the good of ourselves.

21 MAY 2021 · How do you know when God is speaking? How do we discern between the divine voice of God and the human voices around us? “The reason I believe God led me to this Visions & Dreams series is that I believe that He wants to speak to you in profound ways. He wants to speak to you through visions and dreams about your NOW, your TOMORROW and your FUTURE. Visions & Dreams are the language of the Holy Spirit and we need to learn how to discern the Divine Voice.” - Matt Bird ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening…’ 1 Sam 3:10

14 MAY 2021 · We hear about Deon, AKA Gideon, an Israelite, and the sequence of three dreams sent to him by God. These dreams guided Deon over time towards helping the diminished Israelite army defeat their enemy, the Midianites. These dreams also helped Deon overcome his fear of failure and grow stronger in his faith. Lesson: How can you live your life saturated with faith and not dominated by fear?