By Ben Doggett

​As a church, in the coming months, we are going to be exploring a theme of ‘Seek My Face’ and responding to the incredible invitation of a God who wants to dwell with His people. We’re setting off on a journey to discover love, joy and peace in new depths that can come only from a life that is orientated towards relationship with the Father.
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​There are two things that it is important to notice in Psalm 27:8…

​I was recently at the lovely Glebe Pond in Lenham with my children. We had had some tasty treats from our local bakery and fed the ducks when the children decided that the next thing they wanted to do was a game of hide and seek! It was wonderful to see the delight they took in taking turns to run around and search for one another behind trees and in the bushes!

​It made me wonder why it is that at some point in our lives we lose the childlike joy of seeking?! As an adult, seeking things often feels like an inconvenience and something we no longer have the patience for! In a world in which more and more things are available quickly and easily, we seem to spend less time patiently seeking the most worthwhile things.

​Seeking the Father is the greatest pursuit of our lives. There is an opportunity to slow down, to not see seeking Him as a task to complete or something for our to do lists but instead for it to become an adventure of great joy. What wonders await as we seek for God’s face!

Throughout the Bible, including many times in Jesus’ own words, we’re encouraged to ask God for the things that we need. But as Jesus himself demonstrates when he teaches his disciples to pray, we begin with “Our Father..” 

​We are first called to remember who it is that we are seeking. We are seeking a perfect Father and are called to seek His face. All else flows from that place of intimacy of being face to face with the God of love!

​On Sunday mornings, we are going to explore God’s heart for relationship. We are seeking a God who passionately desires us and has consistently demonstrated his heart for his people to be in relationship with him.​

So we will look at this truth from various angles to see what the scriptures show us about a God who paid the ultimate price so that we prodigals could come home.​

​Why is it so important to know what the Bible tells us about God’s heart for relationship? One simple reason is that the way we approach someone changes drastically based on how we perceive they feel about us. ​

If we believe they are a bit disappointed in us and find us quite underwhelming, we are likely to be hesitant, reserved and to have low expectations. However, if we know that their heart will always be for us and that they passionately desire to be with us, then it's a totally different picture!​

That's why we have to understand what the Bible is telling us about His heart for relationship - because it will transform the seeking!​

In our midweek groups, we want to experience different ways of seeking God’s face and connecting with Him through prayer. We are going to ground that exploration in the Psalms.​

​Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:18 to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests". The Psalms demonstrate how dynamic prayer is and the incredible range of ways and reasons through which we approach God and spend time with him.​

​In our groups we are going to do that really creatively and practically, making sure we go beyond simply talking about these things to truly meeting with our God together!​

This idea of ‘Seek My Face’ can't be about just learning more information. It also can't stop at a genuine appreciation for how much God desires to be with us.​

You can watch Ben's original talk on YouTube:

Last Sunday was a great example: We met at Toddlers Cove playground in Canterbury for a fun-filled morning for all ages. We were blessed with beautiful weather. Although chilly, the sun was shining - and we had a great turnout of families and friends as a result.

Families with young children enjoyed the large wooden play area by the river. Another group walked along the historic city walls and around the old city centre by the cathedral. Another more adventurous group walked away from the town along the river towards Chartham.

​After the walks, we all met up in the city centre. Some enjoyed a well-earned coffee together, and others had lunch at MacDonalds - a great treat for the children! All of that was topped off by a beautiful stroll with friends through Westgate park, back to the cars
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​Lots of fun was had by all. Plenty of chatting and catching up with one another took place; new friends were made, and we enjoyed the wonderful outdoors together. It felt as though God was shining down on us!
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​This theme was very clearly given to us, with some remarkable confirmations, and is going to be setting us up for what God has indicated He wants to do in our lives this year.
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We already know that we are entering a new season, and it has already begun with the changes last year. But seasons change slowly, and there is more to come: This year we believe that more things are going to shift.
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In the bible, clothes are used to represent our internal state. For example, sackcloth was often worn during periods of mourning. The sackcloth material was scratchy and uncomfortable. The outer discomfort represented the internal emotional discomfort that the wearer was experiencing.

So when we talk about changing clothes, it represents changes happening in different areas of our life. This is a great theme for New Year, thinking about what things we want to leave behind from the past (take off) and things we want to put on in the year ahead.
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So we can take off things like fear, unforgiveness, spiritual bondage, generational curses, shame and condemnation. We can put on our new self in Christ, e.g. our new identity, salvation, oneness with Christ, freedom, holiness, righteousness and the power of the Holy Spirit.
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​So we can take off attitudes and character traits that that are not good. (Galatians 5 mentions some, such as sexual immorality, impurity, anger, selfish ambition, dissections, factions, idolatry, outbursts of anger, envy, drunkenness… but there are many more.)
 
We can put on good attitudes and character traits in line with the fruit of the Spirit (listed in the same passage) such as love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.
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I can think of some people in Pathways who have visibly grown over the past year in terms of their character and attitude. We are believing God to see visible evidence of positive change in all of our lives this coming year! ​

By Jenny Needham

​At Pathways we are part of a family of Churches called Church of the Nations. More specifically, we relate to Dave and Carol Cape as our apostolic leaders, and our group of churches is called Acts Life Cluster. ​
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​Our cluster gathering was long overdue - having been postponed from last year due to the pandemic. We felt very honoured to be able to serve everyone by hosting in Lenham. We previously met here as a cluster in 2017, which must have been good as everyone came back! Here we all are in the Dog and Bear function room:
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​Dan explained that the anointing is the power of the Holy sent upon us, to enable us to achieve a purpose. Jesus was anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to achieve His purpose. We were all encouraged to also receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit - that each of us would need for the time ahead.

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In particular, the Friday night was very special. Jesus truly made His presence felt among us - and many people were powerfully impacted by the Holy Spirit in tangible ways.
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Here we are with Neil Pattison (left), celebrating our very own local leaders - Johnny and Estelle McCabe - who shared their life experiences as they approach retirement from church ministry:

by Jenny Needham
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​Around 30 of us descended on the beautiful historic college site - lateral flow tests done and ready to enjoy one another's company! Not only was it our first weekend away together for several years, but it was also the first time we would be able to sing and worship together since the lockdown restrictions were lifted.
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By Jenny Needham
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Inductive bible study involves looking at what the bible actually says, rather than what we think it says or what we have heard in the past.  It involves learning about the historical and cultural background of the book, so we can understand what it would have meant to the people at the time.  Once we appreciate what it meant to the intended recipients, it is possible to draw out timeless principles that apply to our lives today.
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We decided to put this process into practice and use it to study the book of Galatians, which we have done over the past term. It was quite a challenge doing this with social distancing in place!  I am used to teaching the bible, but had to quickly learn how to make videos so that the information could be shared with our cell groups each week.  We looked at one chapter each week individually, then shared together in our small groups over Zoom.
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I for one, had never used the inductive process to study Galatians before.  I am very familiar with some of the passages such as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.  However, understanding the letter as a whole, and seeing every chapter as a well thought out part of a persuasive argument was eye-opening for me. 

Galatians was written early on in church history at a time when the Christians were facing a theological crisis. A group of legalistic Jews known as 'Judaizers' were teaching that the Christians must still keep the law of Moses, and were even insisting that Gentile followers of Christ must be circumcised.  Therefore Paul wrote this letter to correct this wrong idea, and to emphasize our freedom in Christ and justification by faith alone. 

​In my opinion this was a masterpiece of a letter; full of clarity on the subject of grace, but also containing wisdom on maintaining love and unity through the power of the Holy Spirit as they dealt with the controversy.
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​Paul asserts that we have been crucified with Christ, and made righteousness through Christ alone by faith. Therefore he concludes in Galatians 5:15 that it actually makes no difference whether we are circumcised or not.  (This also applies to anything we might do from human effort or legalism that would seek to add to what Jesus has already done).  This truly is a message of freedom if we are able to fully grasp it. 

​"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who died and gave himself up for me."  Galatians 2:20
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​We were also blessed to be able to watch a teaching session by Andy Faulkner on Galatians.  Andy reminded us that Paul himself had been the most ardent Jew, keeping every rule and studying the Law conscientiously.  Paul knew from personal experience what it was like to realise that everything he had been taught was wrong!  This was what it must have been like for the Jews in those days, as they struggled to comprehend how much everything had changed.  Paul had left everything behind to follow Jesus, and wasn't going to let anyone drag the church back into the bondage of that old Legalistic system again! 
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• ​In chapters 1 and 2 Paul argues from his own background and experience.  He explains that he got this revelation of grace from God himself, not from people.  He explains what happened in Jerusalem when he went to check out his message with the apostles, and also what was happening in other churches regarding this issue. 
  
  
• In chapters 3 and 4 Paul gives them a sound theological argument for grace, using the Old Testament scriptures, mainly using the example of the promise to Abraham. 
  
  
• In chapters 5 and 6.  Paul talks about how to live in the light of grace.  But this is also part of his moral argument, because he shows that all of the Law of Moses had not managed to produce good character in the Jews.  Only the freedom of grace and walking in relationship with God through the Holy Spirit would be able to produce good fruit in their lives

As I read these chapters in context, I understood for the first time that Paul was not exhorting us to try and love one another or act in better character.   He was saying that we can only love one another through grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is only by walking in relationship with God day by day that the good fruit of character will develop in our lives.  
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Going back to the big picture of the controversy they were facing about circumcision:  The examples in this letter would have greatly encouraged the Gentiles regarding their inclusion and freedom in Christ.  It would have given Scriptural examples for the Jews to use, to help them embrace the good news.  It raises the argument to a much greater glorious level. It provides a common ground that both Jews and Gentiles could unite around. 

For those of us in the church today, we are usually good at accepting that we have been saved by grace, through faith.  However after that is often where the trouble begins.  It is so tempting for us to start adding requirements of how we should live, rather than focusing on our relationship with God, from which everything good naturally flows.

The conclusion to this matter in found in Galatians 5:25:  "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit"
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Here are our Galatians videos for those who are interested. (These were mainly just made for sharing at our small group meetings, but feel free to take a look!!  They do improve in quality as the weeks go by!).  This is the first video, the rest can be found on the same playlist.
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By Jenny Needham
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We have been under a kind of extra 'lock-down' in our family. Three weeks ago our cat, Bilbo, came home with very badly injured back legs. We rushed him to the vet who stitched him up, bandaged him, and prescribed complete rest. Since then we have been supporting his recovery!  A few days ago he was allowed to go outside again for the first time, as shown in the above picture. The Holy Spirit has been impressing upon me that this is a timely prophetic sign for Pathways, that we are indeed to prepare for the next season.
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In the UK we have been in lock-down for nearly four months now, and there is a sense that things are slowly easing.  Some people have really struggled with the isolation aspect and missed the social times and the hugs.  Some people have actually enjoyed having permission to ‘just be at home’.  But however we have found the experience, the Holy Spirit is nudging us to look ahead and to get ready to more on:  Not to go back to the way we were before or return to an old season, but to embrace a NEW season. 

Lesson 1. We can pretend everything is OK when it isn't

​When Bilbo was first injured he crept in and sat near to where I was working. He was so quiet that I didn’t realise anything was wrong for about half an hour or so. The way he was sitting masked the fact that he was injured, so it was only when he started dragging himself across the kitchen that I realised that something had happened.

We are also very good at pretending that nothing is wrong. We can present a good face to the world and even persuade ourselves that we are fine. Sometimes I think that God allows us to come to the end of ourselves, for our own sake. I don't believe that God sent the virus, but I do think He has worked it into His plan and is bringing good out of it. I think that maybe some of us needed a wake-up call.

• Do we need a wake-up call? Has God been trying to get our attention? If so, don’t just limp on as though nothing is wrong. Take it back to God. Get help if necessary.
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Lesson 2. God is with us

While I was waiting at the veterinary surgery to hear whether we could save Bilbo, I was praying, and I saw a 'picture' in my mind of an angel with two swords guarding him. I felt God whisper the words, ‘no bones will be broken.’  From the severity of his wounds, the vet was convinced that he would have some broken bones, but when they x-rayed him not one single bone was broken, not even in his feet! The vet was totally amazed, and kept repeating, “I can’t believe it!”.

In the same way, we know that we have angels watching over us. However, that doesn’t mean we can always avoid facing difficult situation, but it does give us strength to face the processes that we need to walk through.
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• Let’s not be afraid but press on with the journey
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To start with Bilbo had to go in a cage to stop him walking around. The vet was worried that some muscles and tendons had been torn, and said they time needed time to heal properly.  Bilbo hated being in the cage, and he actually made his face and forelegs raw trying to get out (see pictures below).

There is a sense with this virus of the world not being allowed to just carry on with ‘business as usual’. Maybe some of us have experienced this personally in the sense of God intervening and telling us to stop and rest.  Moreover, for many of us, having had more space to reflect and spend time with God will have helped us to hear His heart for the new season. Maybe as individuals we have been able to reconnect with our destiny.

If we resist God’s purpose through this time and just try and get back in with our lives as before, we may just end up damaging ourselves like Bilbo did. Things will go much better if we are at peace, and embrace the process.

• Are we embracing or resisting what God wants to do during this time?
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Lesson 4. Times like this can drive us into God’s arms

Bilbo hated his cage and resisted his restrictions, so in the end I mostly carried him with me wherever I went. This reminds me of the well known 'footprints' poem, with the lovely line at the end, “It was there that I carried you.”

I believe that God has been very close during this season, and that it has been a time for pressing in to God. So let us use any free time we still have now to do just that; and let us also maintain that and not let things push out our time with God as we move on.

• Are we making the most of this opportunity to enjoy God’s closeness?​​
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Lesson 5. We tend to keep going back to old thoughts and ways

After a couple of weeks the vet took his bandages off, and that's where the real trouble started. Bilbo was so desperate to lick his wounds that he made himself bleed again.  There was a certain sore patch that he kept going back to, so we had to watch him continuously, and in the end we took shifts to be with him though the night. This actually turned out to be the hardest phase of his recovery.

As we start to move out of lock-down and transition into the new season, this is a potentially dangerous time, so let's be vigilant and not allow the enemy to steal the things God has done in our lives.

Bilbo's injured back legs could also be seen as symbolic of wounds of the past.  We have been set free from the past in various ways, but we can keep reopening those wounds by going back to them, and act as if we’re not healed. 

• Now is a good time to reassess and let God complete the work He has been doing in us during this phase.
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Lesson 6. Are we ready to move on?

A few days ago, exactly three weeks after his accident, the vet took Bilbo’s stitches out and pronounced that he was well enough to go out.  We knew that this was a potential danger time. Would he go straight back and do the same thing again that got him injured in the first place?

I think it will be a real shame if we pass by this opportunity to change. If everything goes back to how it was before lock-down, I think we will have missed something. I think that now is a good time to seek God about what he has for us in the next season, both individually and as a church
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• Are we clinging to the old season or seeking God for the new?
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Lesson 7. We are so much more valuable!

In Matthew 10:31 we read how Jesus drew attention to some sparrows as an illustration of how well God looked after the birds.  Then he reminded his listeners that they were each so much more valuable than any number of sparrows, so they could be confident that God would look after them!  

The example of my cat carries a similar heart to this.  As we reflect on how Dave and I devoted time and money to saving Bilbo, and how God looked after him too, I invite you to consider how much more valuable we are to God than that!  We are so precious that God was prepared to give His own life to save us. He paid the highest possible price, the price of death on a cross.  In the same way that we nursed Bilbo back to health, we can be absolutely sure that He will never leave our side.

• During this transition time let us draw near to God, knowing that He is a good Father, and is committed to our health and success. 
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Conclusion

We have an opportunity through the rest of July and August to take stock of where we are, both individually and as a church.

• Let’s check we have listened to what God has been saying to us
• Let’s continue to support each other to see this phase through to completion ​
• Let’s seek God and prepare our hearts for the new season

Another positive outcome is that we have all had to face our fears of using online forums, so as well as Zoom, we have used Whatsapp groups and video calls to create a sense of community, and to encourage each other.  We have explored various potential options for streaming meetings online.  We have watched what other churches are doing, partly to keep in touch and also to learn from them! 
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​One does wonder occasionally on Zoom, whether people are more interested in viewing their latest haircuts (or lack of) and catching up with each other than they are interested in the subject of the meeting.  I suspect they are, and that of course is exactly how it should be.  People matter more than things. Social distancing and being under lockdown have certainly not hindered our sense of family. On the contrary, it has clarified what is really important, and if anything, the desire to keep in touch with each other has increased. 
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​Of course some do struggle to connect via technology, and it has been a challenge to help those people still feel part of the family through other ways. We do dearly miss being able to physically meet together.  We have coined an expression called 'Holly-hugs', after the lovely lady of that same name.  This is the gold standard of hugs at Pathways church, and is generally agreed to be what our people miss most about being together!  Once we are able to meet again physically, I suspect that we will do a lot more eating meals together and just generally enjoying each other's company.
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I have often wondered what it would be like to be part of the Underground church in countries where the church is persecuted and seemingly invisible.

Well, we are about to experience something similar, obviously without persecution but certainly restricted from meeting!! The recent global events that started in the East has now moved West like a tsunami and we found ourselves engulfed by it in a manner that few of us could have imagined.  However, the British people are no stranger to these kinds of circumstances and maybe we will get to experience a bit of the Blitz spirit ourselves.  However, I am not trying to make light of the situation, I know it is serious.
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