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Unexpected
Worship
The acknowledgement of God’s supreme love and power is a central tenet of the Christian faith, and is vital to any expression of such. As Christians, committed to a theology which sees Jesus as the pivot around which man’s reconciliation to God turns, we seek to live lives which attend to and celebrate the identity of God as creator, lord and saviour of all the earth. We are committed also to finding ways of expressing this rightful worship in a corporate context –i.e. when we gather together-and we see this as central in all of our gatherings. ‘Unexpected’ is no exception, and in this meeting, worship finds a particularly explicit expression, as we make time and space for consideration of what it means to worship God by being a community here in Luton. The outworking of this is twofold; firstly that we deliberately seek to find fresh and dynamic ways of expressing our love for God and our increasing revelation of his identity, and secondly that we deliberately ‘make space’ for God to move powerfully in and through us, via his Holy Spirit, as an acknowledgement of his dominion and love.
Giving and Receiving
The revelation of God’s identity outflows into a deeper revelation of our own; his Lordship is the context in which we understand our humanity, in the most intimate of terms. The revelation we have of ourselves is of a people made wonderfully, uniquely, in his image, and as such, with much to contribute to the world as we partner in God’s redemption of it. In ‘Unexpected’ we seek to draw attention to our unique contribution to this redemption, as we outwork it here in Luton, with particular regard to the spiritual dimension of this holistic picture. We believe that God has granted us access to revelatory knowledge of his will (prophecy), and to physical and emotional healing; and in this meeting in particular we seek to create a safe but open framework for us to experience this, as individuals and a community. We believe that spiritual gifts are open to all and find a unique expression in everyone, and that church should be a framework for enabling a dynamic spiritual life. As well as forming a context for people to ‘give’ out of their unique selfhood, we also recognise that the spiritual power of God is a locus for receiving his love, in the form of increased freedom from the scourge of sin. In ‘Unexpected’ we lay aside time to pray together as the whole church, that is, to speak to God and listen to what He is saying to us.
Healing
We pay particular heed to God’s power and desire to bring freedom to all, in the form of physical, emotional and psychological healing. Here we take our lead from Jesus, who made the healing of individuals a central feature of his ministry, and we view it as a foreshadow of the ultimate redemption that God offers to all people. We believe that seeing people ‘made whole’ and restored to the fullness of their humanity is one of the hallmarks of the Christian faith, and indeed the coming of the Kingdom of God; and thus we actively seek God’s healing and restoration within our community. ‘Unexpected’ is a chance for us to put this faith in God’s healing power at the forefront of church.
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