Happy New Year and welcome to the 2020’s!!  It is amazing how time flies so fast. This picture was taken at the Junior Parkrun on one of Hannah’s last days visiting home this Christmas.  It was fun to run with or cheer on the little two!

Melanie will post a Christmas/December update on here soon I am sure, but let me just take the chance to flag a couple of ministry plans coming up in the next weeks…

At Trinity we are into the new year with a new series called “Incline Your Heart” and on Sunday I preached from Joshua 24:23 to introduce the series.  This coming Sunday I am speaking in Feltham, London in the morning (at the church where my Grandfather was pastor until he was promoted to glory in 1973).

Next week we have a Preacher’s Intensive with Cor Deo, here in Chippenham.  We did one of these about three years ago and it went very well, so we are looking forward to this new format edition next week.  Our focus will be in 2 Timothy as we think about all aspects of preaching together.  Prayer appreciated as participants come from all over the UK and also one from Hungary.

The following week I have a quick flying visit to Germany for the OM New Recruits Conference (GO Conference).  I will be there just over a day, speaking twice and connecting with new recruits.

We are also in the final stage of preparing for the next book to come out, hopefully in May.  Please pray for the right endorsements to come in, and then for the book to be ready for launching at the European Leadership Forum in May.  I will tell you more about this little book soon!

Thank you for praying for us in these weeks.  There is a lot going on and we want to be walking closely with Jesus through it all.

PS I wrote a post to welcome in the new year called New Year, New You – you might enjoy that.

Since the last update on here we have had several weeks of ministry including a very encouraging mini-Intensive with Cor Deo.  Right now I am in Barcelona where I have spent two days with this year’s group of preachers on the Year Round Mentoring program through European Leadership Forum.  It has been such a good time with a group from Poland, England, Slovakia, Jamaica (not European, I know), Albania, and Hungary.  We spent time thinking about effective delivery, about how to preach for changed lives, about how our theology shapes our preaching ministry, and they all preached a sermon and received feedback.  Plus we enjoyed meals together, long conversations over food, etc.  It has been a genuinely worthwhile and enjoyable time.  I fly home tomorrow.

On Saturday we have our church’s big event of the winter – The First Christmas, an immersive nativity drama experience.  Lots of work has gone in to this from the creative and hardworking people of Trinity Chippenham.  The costumes are ready, lines are learned, refreshments are being prepared, the farm is clean (as much as a farm can be), and all the tickets are gone!  There will be three performances for about 100 people each time.  I will be a village elder leading the persecution of Mary, played by Aliyah.  Mariah and Joel are also involved in the Herod’s palace scene, and Melanie will be bringing neighbours to a couple of the performances.  Saturday will be a huge day, but we know that apart from God we can do nothing.  Please pray for the weather, for the cast, for the logistics of the event, and most of all, for the guests to really hear the gospel clearly presented and feel drawn toward Christ as a result.

Once we get past Saturday the rest of the month looks fairly calm.  Normal Sunday preaching on the 8th and 22nd, a little bit of marking for my Union School of Theology preaching class, but otherwise fairly quiet.  Actually, it is good because Hannah will be coming home on the 15th and we all want to spend lots of time with her over Christmas!

Thank you for praying for us.