Northfield Church Blog

Easter reflections.

4/5/2015

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We met with two local churches at Northfield on Good Friday. We had a blessed time with Hope Baptist and the Well. A time of worship, prayer, readings and fellowship.

Easter Sunday- He has risen!

Easter Sunday we had a great time of celebration to remember that Jesus rose again on the 3rd day.

Pastor Frank gave a Easter Sunday message. Please check it out.

Easter Sunday Gospel Message from Northfield Community Church on Vimeo.

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What is baptism? by Allan Dwan.

3/1/2015

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Just before His ascension Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20). The church is responsible to teach Jesus’ word, make disciples, and baptize those disciples. These things are to be done everywhere (“all nations”) until “the very end of the age.” So, if for no other reason, baptism has importance because Jesus commanded it.

When we are saved, we are “baptized” by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, which is the church. 1Corinthians 12:13 says, “We were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” Baptism by water is a “re enactment” of the baptism by the Spirit.

When a person is baptised they are making a public profession of faith and discipleship. In the waters of baptism, a person states that they believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died and rose again so that their sins can be forgiven.They also state that they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

Christian baptism illustrates, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. At the same time, it also illustrates our death to sin and new life in Christ. As the sinner confesses the Lord Jesus, he dies to sin (Romans 6:11) and is raised to a brand-new life (Colossians 2:12). Being submerged in the water represents death to sin, and emerging from the water represents the cleansed, holy life that follows salvation. Romans 6:4 puts it this way: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Very simply, baptism is a testimony of the change in a believer’s life. Christian baptism is an act of obedience to the Lord after salvation; although baptism is closely associated with salvation, it is not a requirement to be saved. The Bible shows in many places that the order of events is 1) a person believes in the Lord Jesus and 2) he is baptized. This sequence is seen in Acts 2:41,

Baptism illustrates a believer’s identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Everywhere the gospel is preached, people are to be baptized.

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Christian against poverty busiest day

2/3/2015

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More calls than ever for debt help, says charity

Peak in calls expected on Monday February 9

A charity has revealed that it expects in the coming weeks to receive more calls for help than ever before.

Christians Against Poverty, with local debt centres in Bootle, Crosby and Maghull, says that the post-Christmas rush to get finances sorted has begun in earnest.

Rather than the mythical peak known as ‘Blue Monday’ on January 19, the charity actually receives the most calls for debt help on the second Monday, in February which this year lands on February 9.

“Every week, the busiest day for debt help calls is a Monday, when people have had time over the weekend to resolve to seek help,” said Bootle Centre Manager Lynda Cooper from Northfield Community Church.

“We see a rise in calls during January and February because most people can’t face tackling their finances before Christmas. When these two elements come together, we see our busiest time. As our reach extends to more areas, with more debt coaches, we are set to see more people booked in than ever before.”

Already in the first working week of 2015, CAP received 479 calls for debt help.

Recent research from CAP has shown that people often struggle for years with personal debt following income changes caused by events such as losing a job or a relationship breakdown.

“Four in ten people believe that no one can help them with their debts, according to some research we’ve done. It can feel like you’ve hit a brick wall but we see ‘impossible’ situations where people get their debts cleared. There are people to help and it can get sorted, however complicated or dire it seems.”

Anyone calling CAP for help rings 0800 328 0006 and are booked in for a home visit from a local debt coach, who spends time learning what has happened and shows a way forward out of debt.

Then all the person’s outstanding bills and letters from creditors are sent to CAP’s head office in Bradford. The charity negotiates with each creditor on behalf of the client and draws up a budget to begin to repay what is owed.

“Anyone having sleepless nights, unable to afford the basics or worried about meeting their rent or mortgage should call us, or one of the other good free debt agencies, and see how we can help.”

Call CAP on 0800 328 0006 or visit capuk.org

Christians Against Poverty is a charity determined to reduce hardship in the UK, with the help of local churches. It does this through 270 debt counselling centres; a money education programme called The CAP Money Course and CAP Job Clubs for unemployed people. All our services are given freely for everyone regardless of age, gender, faith or background.

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What a year for Shine!

1/2/2015

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What a year for Shine!!!

Shine has been Northfield church's children's work for the last three years. It has seen lots of children from the surrounding area come in. The night consists of games,songs,craft, snack and most importantly a time to hear about God.

At the start of the year we always have a party. This is to celebrate a new year and to thank the children for their part in the Christmas nativity. This is always a fun night with lots of laughter. We then spent the next ten weeks looking at the Ten Commandments. This opened up lots of discussions with the children. Over the next few months we looked at strong bible characters which involved lots of role play.

Over the year we noticed our numbers were dropping and we wondered whether we should continue with Shine. In July we decided to break for the summer and to seek God about the future of Shine.

Over the summer months, I really felt God challenged me to not give up. He brought me back to the verse from Matthew that says "Let the children come to me. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these children". If we were reaching one child on a Monday night then God would be honoured. So we decided to leaflet the local area and start Shine up again. I met with the pastor and the elder and they said they would support me and the team.

As a team we prayed that we would have lots of children. On the first night we had a few new faces but our numbers were still very low. I spent all week praying for shine and the lack of children. I set the children a challenge on that first night. If they brought a friend they would win a prize. Chocolate always works with children! The next Monday night came and we opened our doors. We had doubled our numbers! We had lots of new children and old children. Wow!!

As the weeks have gone on God has continued to bless us with children. We now have over thirty children on our register. In December as we always do we held our nativity performance. The children led it all. They were amazing. The children and the families heard about the true meaning of Christmas.

I want to say what a privilege it is to work with the children and their families. God has allowed for some really good discussions about church, life and much more. As we go into 2015, I ask that you pray for God to bless us with children and that we may see lives in Bootle transformed

Louise- Leader Shine.

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Reason for the season by Caroline Swallow

12/22/2014

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In three days time people will be sitting in front the television with their chosen alcoholic drink in hand, some may even be fast asleep after a day of presents and fun. Children will be playing with one of many presents that Father Christmas delivered for them. No doubt people will be complaining that they cannot move because they have eaten far too much food.

I want to challenge you, before you start ripping open presents, or setting the table for Christmas dinner, or pigging out on sweets, to think about the real reason for the season. Christmas is not only about families and friends, and the presents, and the delicious food, it is about the tiny baby who was born in a Manger. A tiny baby whose birth changed the world.

Take five minutes out, and think about Jesus, because without Him 25th December would be just another day .

I want to wish all my lovely readers a very Merry Christmas. I pray that, whatever you do on December 25th, you have a fun day filled with joy and happiness.

Caroline Swallow from Northfield

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"I'm glad about Christmas!" by Pastor Frank Hayes

11/11/2014

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Welcome to the Northfield Community Church blog

I want to take this opportunity to Bless You All for this coming Christmas.

Christmas is a very busy time of the year, and can be a costly time of year as well. But Christmas can also be a very happy time of year too, we tend to get together with family and friends some of whom we haven’t seen for quite a while and want to make the best of this special time of year. Shopping for presents can be a nightmare especially for children who already have a long list of things they want, and then what can we get for parents and friends ?. Then of course we cannot forget the food etc, fighting your way into the super market which is bulging at its sides, then when you think you have got everything into your trolly, the queue to pay looks like a mile long. Having done everything, Christmas comes and goes very quickly, and most people say

                                    “ I’m glad Christmas is over ”.

The real reason of Christmas gets lost with so many things, and so we miss the most valuable gift that we could have given to us. The real gift of Christmas, didn’t come from Father Christmas, but from God Himself. Everyone could have the same gift, a gift that we could not afford to buy. But God gives us this gift freely, and it is a gift that we will have forever. So if you want to receive this gift, Just remind yourself about that Nativity Scene that you see each year at Christmas, and shows you a picture of a little Baby in a manger. That little baby became a Man called Jesus, He was God’s Son. So that we might have the best gift we could ever have, God sent Jesus to die on a cross to take the penalty for our Sins. So to receive the gift of Everlasting Life, thank Jesus for taking your place for the punishment of your sin, and ask Him to come and live in you and have a new Life. What a Gift that only God can give you.

                                      “ I’m Glad about Christmas “

Pastor Frank Hayes.     “ I’ve got my Gift, have you got yours.”

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A typical night at card making on a Tuesday

10/20/2014

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Tuesday nights at Northfield are a time for friendship, fun and lots of mess! For a number of years there has been a group of ladies from our local community who get together on a Tuesday evening to take part in a Card making class. It is a mixed group with a variety of different ages and different abilities from amateurs to professionals.

The evening begins with a thought by the teacher of the class and then we get stuck in. Before the class the teacher prepares sample cards and then we spend an hour trying our best to make our cards look as good as the example! All the ladies are willing to get involved and try out new techniques. If things don't go to plan the professionals are not too far away to rescue our cards!! We have 'Do It Yourself' weeks where we are free to experiment and create our own designs. The evening is an opportunity for us to meet with those in the community as well as doing something we enjoy. The tea, coffee and biscuits are a bonus!

Over the last year we have tried our hands at flower arranging and gift bags

If you want to try something new why not come along on a Tuesday evening at 7PM? I can guarantee a good cup of tea, a biscuit or two, an evening of fun and good company.

Caroline
October 2014

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Celebrating our Cap centres 4th birthday

9/19/2014

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Debt Counselling Centre Celebrates Four Years

A church-based charity is celebrating four years of rescuing local people from personal debt – a free service literally saving lives.

In October 2010, members of Northfield Community Church decided they wanted to do more to help the local community and partnered with UK debt counselling charity Christians AgainstPoverty (CAP) to open a local branch.

Now the team have helped countless despairing local families and individuals by offering a free, face-to-face and caring service,which gives both hope and a solution.

Centre manager Lynda Cooper said: “We have been in a lot of homes during these four years and learned about some very sad situations. Debt can be so destructive, making people feel so desperate, scared to go out or even open the curtains.

“Relationships come under a lot of stress and people worry about keeping their home and providing for their families.

“However, we’ve also seen that however terrible something appears, there is always a solution and the benefit of the way CAP works is that it is really thorough, taking someone step by step to becoming debt free.”

Common reasons for debt include low income, relationship breakdown, joblessness, problems with benefits, illness or bereavement.

CAP’s service is available to everyone regardless of age, gender, faith or background.

To find out more, visit www.capuk.org or call 0800 328 0006

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Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young! By phil longfoot

9/1/2014

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Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

My name is Phil and i go to Northfield. I volunteer each year with Merseyside Christian Youth Camps www.mcyc.co.uk

We are blessed at Northfield with people of all ages and the young people have always been a blessing to us and we have always encouraged them to play their part.

It was my 20th year of being a group leader at MCYC camps and each year I have seen young people grow over the years from 9 year old children to become church leaders/Sunday school teachers/group leaders at MCYC.

Last week at MCYC I was at the 15-17 year old camp and the young people were on a trip to Llandudno in North Wales. They had been taking part in Bible studies and worship times all week. We provided fish and chips for them on the West Shore of LLandudno. The worship leader had a guitar and said to the campers that there would be a chance for a worship time in the open. The campers looked nervous a first but once the song "My lighthouse" by Rend Collective they really went for it including actions.

The young people were inspiring. It was great in an age where people are labelled at troublemakers etc 110 young people who want to serve the Lord and serve others can stand in the middle of a promenade and worship Jesus. Check out the video. They were inspirational

Let us always pray for our young people and encourage them and may the Lord be their lighthouse throughout their lives.

Phil L
Sept 2014

mcyc website link

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summer tips from CAP

7/1/2014

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SUMMER ON A SHOESTRING

A debt charity has issued ten top tips to survive the school holidays on a budget.

Christians Against Poverty, which has nearby debt centres in Bootle, Crosby, Aintree and Maghull, says many parents find it difficult to keep children amused through the long break without over-spending.

Now it wants to remind families of the free or low-cost activities that can be enjoyed instead of putting family finances at risk.

Bootle Centre Manager Lynda Cooper said: “When the weather is good, the options are more obvious but when it’s wet, you have to be more inventive and it helps to have some good ideas to hand.”

Many local councils have activities on offer for children in parks, libraries and sports centres while most museums are free and may have special Summer events on offer.

Lynda added: “I want to say to parents, be smart about the Summer holidays. Do your research now and make a plan. Decide how much you can afford each week and create a ‘treats fund’ - however small - and talk about it with your children.

“Involve them in how you will spend it – they will appreciate what happens so much more and it’s a great lesson for them.”

Christians Against Poverty has a wealth of knowledge in helping families overcome spiralling debts and encouraging them to live to a budget.

To find out more, visit www.capuk.org or call 0800 328 0006.

CAP’S TOP TEN TIPS:

Make sure you have other parents’ phone numbers before the children break up from school. A play date is the easiest way to entertain – and if the favour is returned, you might win yourself a quiet day!
Remember treasure hunts as a kid? Geocaching is the updated version and is suitable for all ages. Download a free app such as c:geo onto your smart phone and away you go.
Avoid the ice-cream van by making your own lollies with cheap moulds and squash/fruit juice. Freeze different colours in sessions to make stripes!
If you’re going anywhere for the day, take a picnic and you’ll avoid the expense of cafes when you’re out. Refill water bottles with squash, add some crisps, sandwiches and fruit – done!
Get crafty with papermache, card making, find someone who knits, paints, does DIY and can share their expertise.
Get baking! It doesn’t have to be expensive. Buns, flapjacks, biscuits – they are all fairly easy and will brighten up a dull afternoon. If you don’t want to put the oven on, try putting ‘fridge cake’ into Google.
Visit someone – a relative, friend or neighbour who would like some company. It will make their day and give you all a change of scene.
Avoid shopping as a past-time. It’s not a good habit for you and could spell trouble for your children in future.
Become a nature detective! Lots of free printables, ideas and venues to discover from the Woodland Trust via http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/summer/
Don’t beat yourself up about not being able to provide a plush holiday for your family. The most valuable thing you can do is to spend time with them – even if it’s washing the car together and getting soaked.

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the northfield community church blog

Easter reflections.

We met with two local churches at Northfield on Good Friday. We had a blessed time with Hope Baptist and the Well. A time of worship, prayer, readings and fellowship.

Easter Sunday- He has risen!

Easter Sunday we had a great time of celebration to remember that Jesus rose again on the 3rd day.

Pastor Frank gave a Easter Sunday message. Please check it out.

What is baptism? by Allan Dwan.

Christian against poverty busiest day

What a year for Shine!

Reason for the season by Caroline Swallow

"I'm glad about Christmas!" by Pastor Frank Hayes

A typical night at card making on a Tuesday

Celebrating our Cap centres 4th birthday

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young! By phil longfoot

summer tips from CAP

Northfield Community church

Archives

Categories

the northfield community church blog

We met with two local churches at Northfield on Good Friday. We had a blessed time with Hope Baptist and the Well. A time of worship, prayer, readings and fellowship.

Easter Sunday- He has risen!

Easter Sunday we had a great time of celebration to remember that Jesus rose again on the 3rd day. Pastor Frank gave a Easter Sunday message. Please check it out.

Northfield Community church

Archives

Categories

Easter Sunday we had a great time of celebration to remember that Jesus rose again on the 3rd day.

Pastor Frank gave a Easter Sunday message. Please check it out.