Reveal Week 7 - Keys to Freedom

"The whole planet is waiting for Christian believers to rise up as the adopted sons and daughters of Abba, Father." - Mark Stibbe

As Lent was drawing to an end for another year we found ourselves at the last Reveal session at SBC. Over the weeks the journey has been fun, uniting, a blessing, and a real challenge. We have seen the vast contrast in our state as orphans and heirs, and we have discovered so much about our Father in heaven, as well as what he says and feels about us. Reveal cannot go on forever, but our need to continually pursue the heart of God must never end.

As people arrived for the final time we had very much wanted to strip back the evening and make sure the real focus of the night was on seeking God. After weeks of different tools and strategies for conveying truths and ideas, we want the true legacy of Reveal to be a church even more passionate and equipped to seek after God and enjoy being in His presence. As people rested, prayed and read the word in the presence of God together, it was so exciting and obvious to see just how much easier as a group we now found this discipline, and how much more comfortable we all were at just being left to spend time with God on our own and in our own way. Learning to enjoy the opportunities we get to be with God is a fantastic outcome of Reveal.

I honestly believe we could have allowed people to stay in that spiritual place for another hour and everything would have been great, but the time came to draw people together and begin to do a few different things.

Firstly, we were all given a card. The card asked us to consider what we had learnt about God, what we had discovered about ourselves, and also asked us to consider what might need to happen in our lives in order to cement and affirm the things that God has done in our lives. We encouraged people to share this with someone, and together make a commitment to not just move on and forget, but instead try and make a moment and a covenant like agreement with God and a friend. After we had all filled in our cards and shared with a friend, we prayed that God would seal these things on our hearts, and that we would never go backwards, but from this day forward live in light of what he has revealed to us. 

It seemed only right to gather everyone together and to close the night, and the Reveal sessions, by praying for one another. Karen Hodgson came forward to be prayed for, but believed that she was standing for more than just herself but on behalf of family, friends and the church. After a short time of sharing and considering what God might be saying we began to pray, and as various people continued to lift up words of praise, adoration and petition to God, there was a real sense of Him moving and speaking to us collectively. On several occasions words were given, often with the theme of farming, including such things as seeds, sowing and reaping. The unified sense was that God (with us) had been planting seeds, and although it might have looked like a famine so far, the only way to break the cycle is to keep sowing and know that it will end and one day a crop will come. That time is coming.

Reveal has been a journey. A discovery of the highs and lows of our lives with and without God. We have been challenged to consider just exactly who we are in Christ, what our response to our Fathers love should be, and how comfortable are we in His presence. Thankfully, together as a family we have taken a step forward and I believe it is a significant step towards God releasing a new harvest in our lives, our church, our community and beyond. 

Thank You Father that You do reveal more of Yourself to us. We commit that we will continue to seek after You, knowing that You desire to be found, and You want a deeper relationship with us all. You have taught us so much, you have opened our eyes to the truth of our spiritual adoption, and You have given us as fresh desire to know You more. Now we simply ask that You would fan the flames!


Tom & Debbie  

Reveal Week 6 - The Cycle of Grace

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalm 139

Over the Reveal weeks we have covered, considered and challenged a huge range of topics and issues. As we came to consider the cycle of grace (see Mark Stibbe, From Orphans to Heirs) we recognised that throughout the sessions we have, in different ways, already well covered the elements of the cycle relating to 'Acceptance' and 'Sustenance'. However, that is only half of the story. We realised that now it was time for us to move forward through the cycle and take on the challenge of 'Significance'. In other words, we had spent many weeks considering our journey from slavery to sonship, from orphan to heir, and we had spent a lot of time seeking God and asking Him to reveal to us more of what he has done for us in adopting us as children. Now was the right time to think about what significance looks like as children of God. 

We started the night by gathering people in the hall in seated groups of 7, with refreshments of course. After explaining the cycle of grace for a few moments we asked the groups to move one chair in to the middle of the circle and take in turns to sit on the seat. As they were in the middle the other people in the group would pray for them, prophesy over them, encourage them with words and testimonies, and hopefully help them to understand that they are significant and loved. We intentionally gave no other guidance in terms of time limits or orders, and once the groups got started they spent a significant amount of time with each person, tailoring the time for each different person. 

It was fantastic to see peoples reactions. At first some were shy, sceptical or uncertain. However, as the groups moved through everyone individually you could sense a lift in the room, as people began to hear just how significant and special they are in God. You could hear people sharing stories about how someone's actions or conduct had inspired them. Testimonies of times people had been there when they needed a friend, or had shared a word in the past that had made a difference. Prophesies, pictures, encouragement and words of knowledge were all being freely released and proclaimed over 40 people from Scunthorpe Baptist Church and you could see the impact it made.

It became clear very quickly that this was a significant time for many people and so we decided to dedicate almost the entire evening to people receiving affirmation and blessings. However, significance is not the last section of the cycle of grace. There is also the need to move forward again to achievement. With this in mind we asked everyone to gather in a circle, and proclaimed that as children of God we have access and rights to more of His kingdom than is currently being realised, and so we need to pray again for healing, release and revelation. As everyone gathered around one by one people began to move in to the middle and ask for prayer. Each time someone would pray on behalf of the group, and together we stood believing that now as significant children of God we would begin to see or 'achieve' great things for God. The sense of unity, love and faith in those moments was both tangible and in many ways overwhelming.

It is impossible to know all of the words, prayers and prophesies given to everyone who was at Reveal that night, but I am certain that as people left for home they all had a fresh sense of just how precious and significant they are to God, but also to each other as a family at SBC.

Reveal Week 5 - Slavery to Sonship

“Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to God’s guidance.” – Henri Nouwen

Throughout Reveal we have tried to create a variety of opportunities and ‘events’ that evoke all sorts of emotions, thoughts and questions. Many of these have been designed specifically to help everyone go on a journey through the specific concept and idea we want to explore. In almost all of these cases we have made sure that we have given a strong indication of what we want people to consider, and hinted at how we might want them to do it. This structure has allowed people to have direction in their pursuit of God, but at the same time allowed them to explore God in new ways with freedom. However, this week we very much stripped back the structure of the evening. Reveal is a fantastic evening for people to come and be taken on a journey towards an increased or new revelation of the Father, but we cannot always rely on using planned events to seek after God. We want people to face the challenge of just giving God free time and space in their lives.

As people arrived at Reveal this week they were asked to consider the ways in which they had become ‘slaves to law’. In other words, what rituals, processes, structures or disciplines had they placed in their lifestyle that were not birthed from a genuine desire for the Father, but more an attempt to please and earn the love of God. Having pondered these aspects of their faith life, they were encouraged to write them down. Following on from this they were encouraged to take the piece of paper outside and lay it down on the fire pit that was burning away. As they returned indoors from laying down these things before God, everyone was encouraged into the Sanctuary where a space had been created for them to be with God.

In the Sanctuary there were a few stations designed to give people a creative outlet in prayer, and some people immediately took the opportunity to spend some time painting, drawing, sculpting and writing. However, many others just rested in God’s presence, listening to the gentle worship music, or reading through some scriptures.

For many people the chance to give so much time to God is not normal or even easy. It is a great challenge to us all to become more comfortable with spending time with God, and not only when it is a well-planned and structured event. After a significant and lengthy time of unstructured prayer the evening began to draw to a close. Tom shared with the room a word that God had given him during the week, expressing just how beautiful God says we all are. He then led a time of prayer for the group, as well as gathering everyone around a few individuals to seek God specifically for healing. At this time Phillipa Snelling shared what she had used done during the time of reflection, believing it was a significant word for a wider audience than just herself. 

She had drawn a picture of a rope that had soon developed into a noose. Following this Phillipa drew a candle, believing the significance was that it was burning away the noose and setting us all free from the things we had placed in our lives than we could consider ‘slavery to law’, and now we would be free to serve and love the Father as true sons and daughters.

A great image and a fantastic way to end the evening.

Reveal Week 4 - The Loving Spirit of Adoption

“God lives in the place of praise. If we want to be where He is, we need to go to His address.” - Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Having spent the last few weeks in reflective contemplation during Reveal, many people have done a lot of 'business' with God. We have been told on numerous occasions that the opportunity to be still and speak with God has meant that certain issues which had been put off for years had come to the surface and been dealt with. We also found ourself in a position where people were saying that they had met with God in completely new ways, had discovered things about him that they had never known before, been challenged and moulded and shaped by creating space in which he was able to manoeuvre. We had even had testimony of healing. We came to the conclusion that there was only one way we, as a body of people could react to this: Worship.

The beginning of the evening gave the congregation an opportunity to think; what has God done in my life in the last few weeks? What have I learned and gained from considering my father in this way? How am I able to process that? We allowed several groups about 20 minutes to consider and discuss this. After speaking with a lot of people I was massively encouraged by the response. it seemed like every person had in some way experienced something new of God. But we still realised there was so much more. We still knew that we could draw closer to God and deepen our relationships once more.

As we all left the hall and made our way to the sanctuary, a band struck up and began to play 'Great is your faithfulness'. Those in attendance seemed surprised and delighted by the presence of the band, which they were previously completely unaware of. Immediately I saw people with their hands in the air, on their knees, reflecting, praising, singing, worshiping and abandoning themselves to God. As the quote says, at the beginning of the evening we decided this is where we were going; Gods address. We wanted to meet with God in praise because we know that he is enthroned on the praise of his people (Psalm 22:3). I personally meet with God in worship more so than at any other time. This was not only a response to what God had been doing, but also a way to meet with him afresh and discover his heart for our congregation.

The band led us through a time of amazing praise and then into a time which allowed more reflection. As the evening went on God began to speak. One of the members of New Life church had been passing the building and saw all the cars so decided to come in and join our Reveal evening. She shared with me something she had felt God wanted to remind us of:Psalm 84. This person had no idea that we had gone through this psalm during our spring conference earlier in the year. We began to speak out the psalm and be reminded of the promises contained within it. Richard then began sharing with us some amazing news which he had heard regarding two of the members of our congregation who are battling cancer. He spoke about how their test results had shown dramatic positive changes in recent weeks. We had been reminded not only of the promises God has made, but the ways in which he is fulfilling them.

As the evening drew to a close I was personally struck by the way in which we had entered into the presence of God that night. We had postured ourselves not only to hear from him, but to pour back praise for what he had already been doing. His faithfulness to meet with us during these times has been unparalleled. We have been overwhelmed, and continue to be so every week. I am excited to see what he is going to do in the next couple of weeks.

Debbie.

Reveal Week 3 - The Son who became a Slave

God took the worst thing that man could do to his Son, and transformed it into the best thing he could do for man. - Anonymous

Our journey to discover more of the Father has inevitably led us to a point of transformation. The cross of Christ. Discovering the nature of our adoption would always have led us to this point. It is, after all, the pivotal point in our journey from orphan to heir. Considering the cross is something we do on a regular basis as Christians; we sing about it regularly during worship, devote ourselves to it again at the communion table, and relive the moment that the world was truly changed during Easter. The majesty of what was accomplished at the cross and resurrection has not escaped our notice. But I wonder how often we have considered the Son who became a slave.

We all know about Jesus earthly ministry, and his life was testament to what God wanted to accomplish; our adoption as children of God. But how often do we consider what Jesus had to relinquish in order that we might be adopted; HIS position as a son of the King. How often have we considered what Jesus gave up in order to die the death of a slave for us?

During reveal this week we wanted to create a space for those who came to consider this fact. We had set up two rooms which we called throne rooms. Each had an empty throne, with a candle on the seat. Flowing fabrics decorated the area around the throne. Scented rose petals gave a beautiful aroma, scattered candles provided an ethereal  glow and the sound of angelic choral singing reverberated around the room. This was a simple, symbolic representation of the throne room of Jesus; the privileges he relinquished to become our saviour, and our brother. We gave each person the first part of a scripture, Philippians 2:5-7 and asked them to consider the sonship of Christ.

After a little while of consideration, we wanted to move the journey on. As we went into the throne rooms we said 'Ladies and Gentlemen, as we have considered the sonship of Christ, let us take you to the pinnacle on his slavery.' As the group made their way to the hall the were met with the cross. The room had scattered chairs, allowing each person some space to consider what Christ had done as he died the death of a slave.  We gave them the next part of the scripture, Philippians 2:8 and allowed them time to consider what Jesus had done, whilst there was a visual representation, a cross. The cross was draped in purple fabric, stones were scattered around it, and candles were lit. The angelic music continued in the background. We believe that in order for us to truly grasp our adoption, we must look at the way in which it came about. We had to look at what Jesus had given up. We had to realise that what he had before he came to earth, is what we have now entered into thanks to his sacrifice. We had to understand that his death was sacrificial in more ways than one. It is the pivotal point.

The end of the evening was the beginning of our next phase of discovery. We shared with the group that up until this point we have considered our journey from orphans to heirs, and in order to do that we have spent some time thinking, in different ways, about what our life was like before we were heirs. But that is the end of that. From this point on, we are living in the light of what Christ did for us. We are living in the truth that because of his sacrifice, we no are no longer considered orphans. We are to move into the mindset of heirs.

We wish to take the journey to the next phase; living as heirs in the kingdom of the living God. We are very excited about what this means to us. We are very excited about the ways in which we can explore this further. We hope you can continue to join us as we journey deeper into understanding our adoption, and our loving, gracious Father who accomplished it all for us.

Reveal Week 2 - The Glorious Father

'Many of us sigh when we hear this command to be perfect. We wonder how we will ever achieve the same quality of holiness that God possesses. Surely we will never attain the Fathers level of purity. Surely we will always have to settle for a less than perfect standard in this life, and at the same time hope that we will do enough to be made perfect in the life to come. ' Mark Stibbe - 'Orphans to Heirs'

The topic of the Glorious Father was one that Tom and I were really excited to tackle on this journey going deeper into knowing God during Reveal. We were looking forward to the prospect of tackling such a phenomenal subject, but it did leave us with a lot of questions. Chief amongst which was 'How on Earth do we creatively facilitate an experience of the glory of our Father in heaven?' After much discussion we came to the conclusion that there could have been two answers; either we do nothing and rely fully on divine intervention (which may have been the better option-who knows what could have happened), or we approach this subject with reverence, and consider what it means to come into contact with the glory of our Father.

We strongly feel that one of the tools that we want to use week on week during Reveal is taking people on a journey from what WAS, to what IS now, due to the gracious adoption we have received from our heavenly Father. As we considered in the first week, we first had to be orphans before we could become adopted children. But how does this relate to the gloriousness of God?

As we read books, scriptures and articles in preparation, one topic kept coming up. Holiness. Holiness seems to be, certainly from scripture, one of the most dangerous manifestations of Gods Glory. Very few people were able to come into the full presence of Gods holiness and live. Rabinnic culture teaches us that there was one day a year on which priests were able to come into the holy of holies, the place in the temple where the Glory of the Lord dwelt. The presence of God had such potential to overwhelm that a rope was tied round the foot of the priest in case they were overcome and had to be dragged out. Moreover they couldn't just walk into the holy of holies the way they were. There were ritual processes involving cleansing, anointing and sacrifice which needed to be adhered to. They had to make changes in themselves, physically and spiritually to prepare themselves to meet with this Holy God.

At Reveal on Thursday we took a journey through a symbolic process. Those in attendance were told they had to wash their hands, anoint themselves with oil, prepare a burnt offering (a small candle) and remove their shoes before they entered the most holy place. As they entered the sanctuary they found an alter representing the presence of God. They took their candles (burnt offering), lit them and placed them in front of the alter. We then allowed people some time to consider the process they had been on. The necessity for change before they reached this place. The process they had to go through. The old covenant.

I shared for a few minutes the reasons behind the journey we had taken. That before our adoption, through the work of Jesus Christ, we were distant from God. We had to change ourselves in order to enter his presence. If we didn't, it might not go so well for us. The processes which were put in place were there to protect the priests, and to treat with reverence the God whom they were serving.  But now...Through the Restoration that Jesus brought, and the gracious adoption from our Father, there is no longer any fear in drawing near to Him. We no longer need to alter ourselves in order to come into contact with his holiness. Now we can come into contact with his holiness and be altered by it. His adoption of us has removed the need for us to view ourselves as unclean, unworthy, separated. He sees us exactly as he sees Jesus, spotless and blameless. Through the work of Jesus the son, we are able, without restriction or constraint, to draw near to our glorious father.

The quote from Mark Stibbe at the beginning of this blog may strike a chord with you. It certainly does with me. I, at heart, am a people pleaser. I want to feel that I am doing well, gaining approval from people, and as such, I had applied that to my relationship with God; subconsciously trying to win his approval by my own piety. Always feeling like my standards never quite made the grade. But truthfully, he is our father. In his adoption of us, he has brought us into a place where his view of us is exactly his view of Christ, a child, a son, an heir in his kingdom. What is our response to that? Does this not alter our mindset? Are we going to continue trying to please him with our own efforts, or should we allow ourselves to be changed by the knowledge of his glory and respond with love, adoration, a life lived in his purpose.

There are many aspects of response to this; considering our view of God, our view of ourselves, the processes we have put in place to try and make ourselves worthy of the life he has given us. This week was 90 minutes to tackle subjects which may have been years in the making. It is possible that to varying degrees, every person in that room needed fresh revelation. We realise that in a short space of time it may be difficult to grasp such major subjects. But thankfully, we are not trying to do it in our own strength.  Through the course of the evening a few words were given that the participants had felt were from God. The overwhelming theme was his love for us; his desire for closeness, his commitment to unique and individual relationship, and his perspective on each of us.

One word was given which stated "Don't you know, he doesn't see your sin."

That is a glorious Father indeed.

Reveal Week 1 - Adopting Grace

'Our Lord bases prayer on personal relationship. He taught us to call God our Father, and the implication of sonship changes the whole aspect of prayer....The wonder is not that God hears prayer, but that He is our Father. The greater wonder includes the less. The revelation that God is Father establishes the possibility and reasonableness of prayer....There is no lowering of his majesty in the intimacy of the family relationship. He is still the Holy and Most High God; the High and Lofty One, that inhabits eternity....there are many such revelations of the Divine Glory and Majesty, and it is well to ponder them in adoring worship; but Jesus Christ turned them into terms of filial value.  He is our Father! That is the crowning fact. To the child he is just father. Others may cringe in fear, but the child heart is a stranger to terror.' --The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick, 1931.

The implication that God is our father changes everything. Our lives as his children are irrevocably altered when we embrace this knowledge. However the process of embracing it is often much more complicated than we expect. It is relatively simple to comprehend the knowledge; to understand the facts of the situation. God through his grace has adopted us into his family. Simple enough. What most, including me, often find difficult is accepting, believing, and living in the truth of this knowledge. We could spend our time learning different ways to outlive this truth and apply it to different situations. We could do bible studies, exploration groups, we could set up a resource library or get experts to come in preach about it, but ultimately "The Path of Prayer" by Samuel Chadwick (from which the above excerpt is taken) tells us a better way; 'Whatever difficulties may remain, communication must be possible between father and child, and to suggest that a child may not ask of a father would be to empty the terms of all meaning. It is a child's right to ask, and it is a fathers responsibility to hear in affectionate sympathy and discerning love.'

This is where Reveal comes in. Our aim on Thursday nights is to allow space for us to commune with God; to come as children, and speak to our father. The only issue is that in order to do this, we must first believe and accept our position as his adopted children. This is easier said than done for several reasons. Some may have been part of the family of God for so long that they can barely remember they were once an orphan. Others may feel as though they are not worthy of such extraordinary grace (indeed that may be true for almost everyone.) Others still may have a very different experience of fatherhood which makes the knowledge of a loving, gracious father very difficult to comprehend. As we prepared for Reveal, we were keenly aware that many may come to the events with varying levels of baggage in this area. What we didn't want to do was allow the issues that had held us back in the past to become the focus. What we wanted to do was allow God to speak about the journey that he had already taken us on; to give us a chance to consider our new found position in the Kingdom of God.

'We were orphans'...the screen read as people began to arrive. The room was set up with several chairs dotted around, quite spaced out from each other, low lighting, and some reflective piano music on a loop. We considered the best environment to allow individuals to consider their lives before God. From what I understand, this room was particularly challenging for some. The prospect of thinking back to a life without God is unpleasant and uncomfortable. It forces us to remember how abandoned we felt, how hopeless, how alone. Whilst we knew this may push some, our aim was not to undo that which had been done, but to reflect on it. How often do we get a chance to look back and genuinely consider the journey on which God has taken us? How often do we forget that in order for us to become adopted we had to first be in a place of orphan hood? This space was designed for us to allow God to speak into the emotions that our status as orphans conjured. Where was HE during that time? Why were we in that place?

Thankfully this room was only part of the story of the evening. As those reflecting began to make their way to the sanctuary they were greeted with the sight of a vast, long table. The table was covered in fruit, flowers, bread, grape juice, plates and candles. A banqueting table fit for a King. But the seats prepared were not for dignitaries or VIP's; they were for us. You and me. We are seated at the table of the King. We are heirs in his Kingdom.

   'The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are Gods Children. Now
    if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ...'  Romans 8:16-17a

This, our first evening of Reveal, gave us an opportunity to consider the transition we made from orphans, to heirs through the grace of God our Father. This evening was not a definitive answer to the question of our adoption. I am sure it evoked as many questions as it answered. I am also sure that we may need, as a church, to continually consider the journey we have already taken. However we began here for a reason. Reveal, as we see it, is an opportunity for us as the family of God to devote time to better getting to know our father. For us to do so, we must be able to approach him as his children; and to do this, we must first consider OURSELVES his children, and heirs with Christ. We do not claim that week on week you will go away with a neatly wrapped bundle around different issues, but we hope that as the time goes on we may be able to build a picture, as a community covered in his grace grace, of our Father in heaven.

Looking forward to seeing you all next week.


Debbie MacDonald


During lent, Reveal will be running every Thursday evening from 7:30. If you are unable to attend it may be possible for us to make any resources/music/PowerPoints/discussion topics/prayer points we used available to you. If you would like more information please contact Tom or Debbie.

What Kind of Father?

Exploring the fullness of God's character

Throughout 2013 at SBC we are going to be considering 'What Kind of Father?' God is to each of us. We are really excited to further explore the grace, love and compassion He extends towards us; but also just how reverent and Holy He is as our heavenly Father.

We hope this series is both a blessing and a challenge to all of us as we continue in our walk to know our father more.

As part of the series we are reading through a book together, and the preaching team will be exploring and expanding through its content as we go through Lent towards Easter. The book is entitled 'From Orphans to Heirs' by Mark Stibbe. If you are wanting to join with us through this season and would like a copy of the book please be in touch with out Staff Team.

Also throughout Lent we are hosting a weekly event called Reveal. This is an opportunity for us all to come and spend some time in the presence of God, and seek after Him. Although it is good for all of us to learn and grow in knowledge, we also believe passionately that our relationship with God is to be experiential. So it is an opportunity for us to try and connect with God in new and different ways. You are welcome to join us every Thursday evening from 7:30pm.

May God bless you in this season of Lent, and throughout our pursuit to discover more of our Heavenly Father.