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BanksHis Greatest Save 

Sunday, November 10th 2024 (week 87)
 
Acts 9: 1-19 & John 3: 16-17
 
Despite coming from a family which includes professional and semi-professional footballers I wasn’t particularly good at the game (even though I may have thought I was!). But as a boy growing up at time when we had none of the gadgets and pastimes of children today, football was my main preoccupation, and I couldn’t wait to finish my daily piano practice and go outside to kick a ball around with my friends.
 
It was June 1970 and having won the World Cup in 1966 England were competing in the sweltering heat of Guadalajara, Mexico to hold on to the coveted Jules Rimet cup. Their opponents on this day were probably the most spectacular team that has ever graced a football pitch. The mighty Brazil. With a host of stars including the legendary genius that was Pele they looked invincible.
 
It was the second half of the game when Pele rose majestically to send a bullet header down towards the corner of England’s goal, the ball kicking up off the hard Mexican turf and looking destined for the back of the net. The Brazilian was ready to celebrate, but England’s goalkeeper, Gordon Banks somehow flung himself across the goal to his right and with his right hand pushed the ball over the crossbar. It has been hailed ever since as the greatest save of all time. One commentator wrote, “At the time, the 1966 World Cup winner (Banks) did not realise just what significance those few seconds would go on to have.”
 
It was twenty-five years later, in October 1995 when a moment of significance occurred in my life. That was when Jesus revealed himself to me in the midst of my total brokenness and incarceration. At that moment He took away all of my guilt and shame for the way in which I had spectacularly messed up my life and that of my family – even more spectacularly than Gordon Banks’s save from that header. It is hard to explain the light heartedness I experienced at that moment and every moment since. This wasn`t a great goalkeeping save, but a life saved for eternity.
 
The Apostle Paul experienced the same “save” on the Damascus Road and went on to be arguably the most influential of Jesus’s disciples and to write most of the New Testament. Like him and me, millions have followed that same path of messing up, being saved and following Jesus all the way to heaven. But this was all made possible because God gave his only Son to die on a cross so that all who believe in Him may be saved. Jesus then took on the role of goalkeeper and offered us all the opportunity to avoid Satan’s net when He made the Greatest save of all time in sacrificing his life for you and me. Jesus’s greatest save was the only save of real significance.
 
When Jesus saves it’s life changing. If you are ready for the better life Jesus offers simply tell him you’re sorry for messing up, ask him to save you and He will because the Bible tells us that all who call on the name of Jesus will be saved.
 
 
Prayer: Jesus, I have no idea why you would choose to save a wretch like me and yet despite my unworthiness you did. I`m free from all the guilt and shame because of you and I can only thank you and praise you for your amazing grace and love.

 


16

Neil has been a Christian for nearly thirty years and prior to joining Gatehouse Church spent all his Christian life at Christ Church with All Saints Blackpool, where amongst other things he was a leader in their Campaigner Ministries children and youth work.

Neil is an award-winning and widely published writer. Over twenty-five years he has written for a range of mainstream media including The Times, Sunday Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail, and Financial Mail on Sunday as well as Reuters and numerous magazines. How To Books published his first non-fiction title 100 Ways to Make Your Business a Success and he has recently added The Great British Property Scam.

He has also taught Creative Writing extensively for Blackpool and the Fylde College, The WEA, and Lancaster University and launched www.seasiderswrite.com a community-based creative writing project funded by Arts Council England. Writing as C.J.Neill he is also a published novelist.

You can find out more at www.neilbromage.com or drop him an email at neil@neilbromage.com

 

Neil Bromage, 10/11/2024
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 team. We typically have two songs followed by a children's slot. The Limitless Kids and Limitless 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.

New to church

 

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.  The Limitless Youth group 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 Limitless 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 Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader.

Serving and volunteering

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

Other ministries

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

Toddlers & Co 

Food bag provision

Open Doors Team

Church in the Café

Youth Community Outreach

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at the church. You can connect with us using the form below.

Best Wishes
The Gatehouse Leadership Team

 

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