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Gatehouse Church

Making StockPure Stock 

Sunday, January 12th 2025 (week 94)
 
John 13:1-20
 
According to Wikipedia, skimming off the top means taking cash off the top of the daily receipts of a business but the phrase is more often used when someone is secretly taking a small percentage of profit or fat on a deal. But skimming is a process used elsewhere too.
 
There was a time when I used to do a lot of cooking and one of my favourite tasks was making stock because properly made stock is essential to a good soup or sauce. I recall the process of constantly skimming the frothy fats from the top of the pan before simmering it for a few hours more and then skimming off more of those impurities. It was a process that always rewarded me with a much-improved flavour.
 
Gold is purified in a similar way. It’s refined through a series of chemical processes that aim to remove all its impurities, but that doesn’t happen, and gold is never absolutely pure because it's impossible to remove all the other unnecessary elements from it. 
 
We are not dissimilar to gold. As children of God, we are also called to be pure. In John’s first epistle, we are reminded that “Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure”. This can feel like a challenge as we all know we are often far from pure. Thankfully, as I was preparing these notes God reminded me of a couple of Bible verses that help.
 
In 1 Peter 1:7, we are told that "Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed". Peter compares our faith to gold, a classic standard for value. He says that our faith is refined and purified by the heat of trials and that it will continue to be valuable even in eternity.
 
And yet, we know that we will sin and fall short, but John tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1: 8-10)
 
We need to be confessing our sins to God regularly and Jesus reminded the Disciples of this when he washed their feet. The foot washing was a sign of preparation for Jesus' departure and the disciples' spiritual cleansing, but it was also an extension of their baptism, signifying their continual cleansing from sin.
 
Will you let God skim off all your impurities today?
 
 
Prayer: Father, thank you that you know everything about us and will forgive us our sins when we confess them honestly to you. Thank you for sending your son Jesus so that we can come to you because of what He has done on the cross.


 

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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, 12/01/2025
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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.
Visitors click here.

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.

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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.

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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

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

WATCH OUR CHURCH INTRODUCTION VIDEO

 
   

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If you have come to this page via the QR code on our Connect form, please fill in your details below:

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