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She loves me, she loves me notShe loves me, she loves me not..... 

February 18th, 2024 (Week 57)

1 Corinthians 13
 
People in countries all around the world have just celebrated Valentine's Day. It’s a day that greetings card manufacturers and florists look forward to as tills ring loudly from dawn ‘till dusk. The earliest known surviving Valentine’s note dates back to 1415, in which a captured French Duke refers to his wife as ‘my very sweet Valentine’. Fast-forward to today and Valentine’s Day is celebrated by the masses across the UK with just over three-quarters of the nation taking part and spending nearly £1.5b.
 
Few people are aware that St Valentine was imprisoned, beheaded, and buried on 14th February 269AD for helping persecuted Christians and marrying Christian couples. While in prison he prayed for his jailer’s daughter and her blindness was healed. On the day of his execution, he left her a note signed, “Your Valentine”.
 
Sadly, Valentine's Day has been hijacked to be used as a symbol of romance and affection but love is much more than that. Real love is exemplified by Jesus’s words to Nicodemus, one of the Jewish leaders in John 3:16 when He said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life”. Jesus demonstrated this fully with His death on the cross in an act of absolute sacrificial love. 
 
The idea of showing our love on any particular day is not a bad one. Nor is romance a bad thing in relationships or sending flowers at a given time. But none of this is a replacement for real love.
 
1 Corinthians 13 may to some, appear overused, cliched even. But it reminds us of the practical ways in which true love is to be demonstrated. Patience, kindness, and truth are all traits we need to display whilst not being jealous, conceited, or proud along with a few other unpleasant behaviours we might find challenging at times. But perhaps the single most important instruction provided in 1 Corinthians 13 is to persist because “love never gives up”.
 
This is agape love, which is most often crowned as the highest form of Christian love. It is the kind of love and action that shows empathy; extends the desire for the good of the beloved; wants the best; extends help or demonstrates good intentions; and is intended for everyone. Agape love is sacrificial.
 
It's not easy for the world to grasp that love is not simply a feeling or emotion but is demonstrated much more strongly by our actions. Maybe that is why 1 Corinthians 13 ends by saying that of faith, hope, and love, love is the greatest.
 
Love isn’t something we fall in and out of but a deliberate commitment to put others first and to sacrifice our own desires.
 
 
Prayer: Father God, please help us to grasp the reality of your agape love for us and help us to show it to those we love and to our neighbour.

Neil Bromage, 18/02/2024
Glenys
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello 

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and when

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our service

The main service begins at 10.30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our worship leader. We typically have two songs followed by a children's slot. The children and youth will then normally go off to their respective groups. If you have children you will be able to spot and speak to one of the leaders - they will be wearing a bright yellow t-shirt! There will usually be a time of prayer and communion. We normally have another time of sung worship followed by a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service. 

When our team is available we serve tea, coffee and biscuits from 12pm, after the service. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

sunday services

 

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids/teens:

  • Creche - from approx. 6 months to 5 years (decided on a child by child basis)
  • Limitless Kids (4/5 - 11/12 years)
  • Limitless Youth (school years 7-11)

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for two worship songs and the “Kids slot” and then go to creche or Limitless Kids.  Limitless Youth may go out at the same time as the children but sometimes stay in the service to take communion before going to their class.  Children can be picked up by parents after the service ends (but not before 12pm).

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a couple of groups that meet every week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to Join a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries and regularly support various missionaries who are part of the Elim Missions work:

  • Toddlers & Co weekly group
  • Foodbag provision
  • Open Doors Team
  • Church in the Cafe
  • Youth Community Outreach

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at the church.

Best Wishes
The Gatehouse Church Team

About us

 

Get in touch with us to plan your visit


If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you. (*Mandatory Fields)
 
*Name:
Telephone:
*Email Address:
*Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.