Amazing healing: 7-11 year olds prayed and the pain went

We have seen some amazing things happen at TKC over the last couple of weeks, including some remarkable healings. I want to get these stories 'out there' because they are so exciting.  This is Katie's story...

Katie's Story

After a difficult labour resulting in an emergency C-Section I suffered from a severe disc prolapse in my spine caused by a problem in the SI joint in my pelvis. I was in constant pain for over a year, sitting or lying down made the pain worse so I spent as much time as possible on my feet, and despite being on a cocktail of drugs I would wake with pain every 2 hours at night. I had expected being a mum to be tiring but this was something else! 


The worst thing about it was the feeling that my daughter was missing out on having a 'proper mummy' and that I was missing out on being one. I couldn't bath her, I wasn't supposed to pick her up (yeah right!) and I couldn't sit with her on my lap. The combination of pain, tiredness and painkillers also didn't make me very fun to be around! My back pain was also a real mental battle for me as I'd have a few days of feeling well and then suddenly would be worse than ever. I felt like my life was on hold - I couldn't go back to work, or even think about having another baby.


I am very blessed to have wonderful friends and family who supported and encouraged me, and a gorgeous, independent little girl who didn't seem to notice or care that mummy was in so much pain! I also have a good friend who is an osteopath and she was treating me regularly which really helped - Praise God for that provision, as I could not have afforded to pay for the treatment. 


One Sunday recently I was supposed to be leading the kids work at church but on the Friday night I had a particularly bad episode with my back and was unable to do anything but stand and cry for nearly 36 hours. One of the other kids work leaders covered my session but asked if the kids could pray for me. "Yes Please!" was my reply. So the 7-11 year olds gathered round, laid hands on me and prayed faith filled prayers that Jesus would heal me. I can honestly say I haven't had any pain since that morning. I didn't feel like I was completely right, I still didn't have very good mobility and I was still quite lopsided. The issue hadn't resolved but the pain had most definitely gone!


The following week Julian Adams visited TKC. God gave him a word of knowledge that someone in the room had a problem in the left side of their hip that was causing severe pain down the leg. That was me! He prayed for me and I knew that God had healed me. I stopped taking all my medication and put it to the test! That week I put my back though all the tests I could think of, the worst trigger had been driving - so I drove for 3 hours!

My osteopath said my back is perfect...

Another week down the line and I am still pain free, not only have I been bathing, and holding my daughter, I've been playing rough and tumble on a bouncy castle with her! I do not feel stiff, or limited in anyway. I have peace that my healing is complete and I can move on with life (I'm even starting to feel a bit broody!) My osteopath (not a Christian) said my back is perfect - even better than it was before I had the problems!


At times over the last 16 months I have felt frustrated and angry at God. I had been prayed for numerous times and not been healed, I don't know why not or, indeed, why this time I was. But I have learnt a lot, I know that whatever my circumstance, God is good. I've learnt that my health is not my right, and God owes me nothing, He's already given me His everything. I've become much more aware that there are a lot of people living in daily pain, and grown in compassion. I know that my Father God knows me and cares for me and His plan and His timing is perfect. I know my God heals.

4 reasons why July is a huge month for TKC

Reason No1 -  Edward and Fridah Buria

Edward and Fridah from Meru, Kenya are great friends to us all at TKC. They have also been a huge encouragement to me personally - their kind words, advice, input and prayers have meant more than they probably realise.

I am so excited that they will be with us again at TKC on Sunday 1 July. Edward always brings a message that enlarges our vision and brings hope for our future. 

Reason No2 - Lex Loizides

Lex will be with us again on 7-8 July - his third visit to TKC.  Lex is based in Capetown, South Africa and is a gifted evangelist who has equipped many people to believe God for signs and wonders to go alongside evangelistic preaching.

Whenever he is with us he provokes us to consider what evangelism looks like in 21st Century Britain. He will be running an equipping workshop on Saturday 7 July and will be preaching at TKC on Sunday 8 July.

Reason No3 - Last Sunday in Clair Hall

We, as a church, have been meeting in Clair Hall for 35 years - it will be a huge moment when we have our last Sunday there together on Sunday 15 July.  God has been incredibly faithful to us over those years and we will be remembering, giving thanks and celebrating all that God has done.

It will be a special morning, including some video messages from those who have journeyed with us over the years.

Reason No4 - First Sunday in The King's Centre

What a momentus day!  For years we have been on the journey of finding our own building - a place of permanence and presence through which we could grow and build. That day is nearly upon us and we will be having our first Sunday in our new building on Sunday 22 July.

I walked around The King's Centre today - it is looking amazing - better than even I had anticipated. The photo shown here was from a workshop we ran in the old warehouse last year - the place is now unrecognizable.  This Sunday is going to be a huge milestone for us! 

4300 at HTB Leadership Conference

Holy Trinity, Brompton in London - the church that founded the Alpha course - recently ran a Leadership Conference at the Royal Albert Hall. 4300 people packed in for two days of worship, preaching and seminars - speakers included Tony Blair and Rick Warren.  I was disappointed not to be able to attend.


I attended in 2011 and it was one of the best leadership conferences I have ever been to. In fact, it was as a result of last year's conference that I connected with Major General Tim Cross who is coming back to TKC in just a few weeks time to speak at a Men's Breakfast.


What was most inspiring about the conference was the way it brought together leaders from many different streams and denominations. When it can appear so easy to look for the things that can divide us in the Christian church, HTB managed to create an event that was a genuine celebration of our unity. This is something that I found provoking and refreshing. 


The dates for 2013 have already been released - 13-14 May.  If you want to get an idea of the conference have a look at the video below.

It's all meaningless.....

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”


This is how the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes begins. An initial glance at this intriguing book may make you think that the writer (Solomon) needs a day out at Chessington and a big bag of Haribo Starmix. 


Is life meaningless? Is it all, as he says, a chasing after the wind?  What does Solomon, for all his wealth, wisdom and wives want to teach us? What is the point of Ecclesiastes? 


We are starting a new 4-part teaching series from the book of Ecclesiastes this coming Sunday (20 May) at The King's Church Mid-Sussex (www.tkc.org.uk). We are going to delve into Solomon's words and look afresh at what life is actually all about - for all our endeavours, pursuits, experiences, successes, money and knowledge - what does it actually all mean?

What is life? 


Come along this Sunday 9.30am or 11.30am at Clair Hall, Haywards Heath to find out more.

Joy: The serious business of heaven

Encounter

We have just had a fantastic 'Encounter' weekend with Julian Adams and the amazing team that came with him. I am so grateful for the generous heart of The King's Arms Church, Bedford (www.kingsarms.org) that they would release a team of five people to serve us at TKC.


On Saturday morning over 140 people gathered at The Martlets, Burgess Hill for a time of worship and then three different seminar streams. It was just incredible to witness one lady arrive on a mobility scooter and then, three hours later, walk out of the building not needing the scooter because God had performed an amazing miracle in her life! God, our good Father, was at work in amazing ways.


The serious business of heaven

On Sunday nearly 400 people packed in to our two morning meetings as we celebrated, worshipped and listened to Julian Adams preach from Galatians 4.  He asked the question: do we still live with our feet placed on the mountain of slavery or on the mountain of freedom? It tied in so well with our recent identity series - it is clear God is speaking to us.

Julian went on to talk about the centrality of joy in local churches and provoked us to consider what place joy has in our hearts. He raised a great question: why is it that if people cry in church we feel that is an acceptable emotion to express but if people laugh they are seen as being over the top and attention seeking? 

C. S. Lewis once wrote that:


"Joy is the serious business of Heaven."

It has provoked me to consider my own understanding of joy. The Bible is clear - laughter and joy are things that the people of God should feel very free to express. 

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”  Psalm 126 v 2

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit... Romans 14 v 17

This week, remember that it was for freedom that christ has set us free, remember we are sons not slaves, remember we are co-heirs with Christ, remember Jesus has paid it all and may you experience 'joy in the Holy Spirit' and as you do, remember that we are engaging in the serious business of heaven.

Responding to Riots

I am sure that you, like me, watched the news on Monday night with a mixture of shock, disbelief and sadness. It seemed unreal to see London in flames, crowds recklessly looting and destroying high streets and to witness such anger and aggression against our police force.

We have since seen these scenes repeated in other major cities across our nation. It is clear that something in our society is not right. Our Prime Minister has said the same as he acknowledged that ‘It is clear that there are things badly wrong in our society,’ and as Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London, states, ‘Something’s changed in the last 30 years. We’ve got to find out what it is.’

How do we respond to such scenes? For those of us who are parents, how do we talk with our kids about these things? Many have felt fearful as they have observed a nation out of control. Others have felt angry. As a Christian, I need to do what the writer to the Hebrews encourages us to do - fix our eyes on Jesus. Our God is not surprised by the events that we have seen, they have not caught him off guard or unaware. Our God is sovereign and in control and Jesus is still building his church. 

Of course the events of the last few days have highlighted significant issues in our nation. Many social commentators and politicians are talking about issues of respect, family, community cohesion, opportunity and hope. All of these themes are central to the Christian gospel.

In fact, it is in moments like these, that the church has an incredible opportunity not only to speak out but also to bless and serve. The central heartbeat of scripture to 'Love God and Love your Neighbour' is utterly relevant for the UK today. We do not have an outdated or irrelevant message, the gospel is the hope of the world and the church is God's chosen vehicle to display his wisdom. 

One caution I would share is that we do not allow this to become an opportunity to demonise young people. I, in no way, am seeking to defend the actions of those who have caused such fear and destruction. However, it is clear that men and women in their 20's, 30s and 40s have been arrested in connection with the violence and looting. Our news reports regularly refer to this as being an issue with "youths". Yes, the majority of those involved were young people - but we have to ask who are the instigators and the role models. Hearing that an 11 year old has been arrested only raises the question in my mind of who he is following. 

There are many young people in our society who are making a positive contribution. We need to be careful that the events of the last few days do not allow us to bracket "youths" together as one group. We need to guard ourselves from the attitudes that some of our national papers project, assuming that any young person who wears a hoodie is looking to loot a shop. And we need to ask the bigger questions of young people's opportunities, parenting and role models. These are the issues that need tackling. 

Finally, let me suggest a few things we can do in response:



1. Pray
This Saturday morning (13 August), at 7.30am, at The King's Centre, Burgess Hill, members of TKC will be gathering to pray for our nation. It is essential that we pray. Not only when the news is bad, like the last few days, but continually. And we need to pray for our nation's leaders. It is very easy to find ourselves entering into the rights and wrongs of decisions made by those in power. The Bible urges us, because of the cross, to submit to and pray for our nations leaders. Let's be people of prayer.

Also, let's thank God for the fact that events like these are rare for our nation. In the majority, our nation is one of law, order and peace. Many people around the world live with the threat of violence and war every day. These scenes are shocking to us because they are rare for us. But we must not forget those who live in our word for whom this is an ongoing daily reality.

2. Serve 
What an opportunity there is, in the wake of such violence and destruction, to offer an alternative to our local communities. To be people who serve, cultivate and create rather than trash, destroy and loot. The church can lead the way, as it has done through history, in the way that it contributes to our communities. In September, at TKC, we have an opportunity through TKC360 (see link below) to serve Mid-Sussex in very practical ways. We hope to have scores of volunteers serving in areas of our community that need support. Why not sign up to get involved?

3. Pray for and bless our police force
Our police men and women are rarely thanked or encouraged for the amazing work they do. Let's be different. If you see a police man or woman in town, why not go and speak with them and express your appreciation for what they do. Pray for those who serve in the police in our church and encourage them. I heard a great story of a family in London who went to the local police station in Peckham with a tin of home baked cookies - small acts can communicate alot!

(http://www.tkc.org.uk/Groups/79818/The_Kings_Church/Church_Life/Events/Events.aspx)

Easter 2011 - 24/7 Prayer, Baptisms and Joint Celebrations!

Easter is only 5 weeks away. There are some exciting things happening in Mid-Sussex, not only is TKC having an Easter Sunday Celebration with baptisms but there are some other things happening in partnership with local churches.

EASTER SUNDAY CELEBRATION Sun 24 April


We will be celebrating Easter Sunday with worship and baptisms. We will be confidently declaring that Jesus is alive and reigning today. Our gospel choir will be involved in the morning celebration and we look forward to hearing many stories of lives changed by Jesus as we baptise people in both meetings. Join us at either 9.30am or 11.30am at Clair Hall, Haywards Heath.

24/7 PRAYER


In the week leading up to Easter Sunday we are joining with other churches in Burgess Hill in a week of 24/7 Prayer. From 7pm on Sunday 17th to 7pm on Sunday 24th, we will be praying non-stop at The Park Centre, Burgess Hill. People can book in for 1 hour slots throughout the week or come to some of the prayer activities that will be planned. We are delighted to be joining with St Andrews, The Point, Mid-Sussex Christian Centre, Gateway Baptist, Sheddingdean Baptist and the United Reformed Church on this new ventrure. More info coming soon.

JOINT CELEBRATION
Sun 24 April


The 24/7 Prayer week will finish with a celebration at The Triangle Leisure Centre, Burgess Hill (6.30pm). We will be joining with the churches listed above to worship together. Matt Redman will be leading worship and Will Kemp (The Point) will be preaching.