Letter from Jon, February 2022 

 Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home and spare no expense! For you will soon be bursting at the seams.                                
Isaiah 54:2,3 NLT
 
Dear Liberty Church Family
 
Here we are in the second month of 2022 with Spring not far away and bulbs starting to appear in the garden, and despite a nation and a world which is in some considerable distress at the moment, I have noticed a strong sense of hope and of new life around Liberty, and indeed around the church across this land.  There is no doubt that these last two years have affected us all and have had a significant effect upon the church in Scotland and beyond.  So much that we would consider vital to healthy church life has been restricted or taken away; our ability to gather in worship, to sing unhindered, to meet in small groups, to pray, to lay on hands and hug, and even to drink coffee together.  Yet despite this, God is moving through his church, awakening and re-awakening dreams and desires.  His Spirit is stirring many to hear his voice and to speak out what they believe God is saying.
 
I believe we are moving into a significant time of growth for the body of Christ, not just for Liberty Church, but across this land. As I have mentioned now on more than one occasion, when I heard the words of Isaiah 54 a couple of weeks ago something rose in me.  I sensed God saying that this is the time to extend, to invest, to prepare, because new life is coming.  Last week when I had the privilege of joining many pastors across Scotland, from Dumfries to Inverness, there was a sense of hope, of desire; leaders crying out for more of God’s Spirit, more of God, more people coming to faith in Jesus Christ.  In our own Church family we have already had people coming to us, believing that God is stirring something in them.  
 
I know that this is God’s church, Christ’s body, and that he will build his church, but I love that he does that through stirring his people, equipping and empowering us to fulfil our calling together to see his kingdom come.  As we continue on our Sunday series looking at the book of Nehemiah, let me encourage you again to seek God for your own life, for your family and friends, neighbours and colleagues.  Let me encourage you to pray blessing on 'three for three', (choosing three people you are in regular contact with who don't yet follow Jesus and praying blessing over them for the next three months). 

Let me encourage you to ask how you, how we, can build together.
 
Every Blessing
 
Jon