I was having a conversation today with a friend who suggested that this time of year is far more sensible to make new year’s resolutions than some time in January. So along with hundreds of others, most of you have committed to read the Bible in a year – starting today!

What’s more, you’ve got some help online at thebibleinoneyear.wordpress.com and with all of us supporting each other and chatting each Sunday we’re well away. This Sunday, by the way, is when we’re kicking things back off with the wonderful world of 24/7 – so pop down to RPBC on Sunday at 6:30pm to find out the latest and greatest stories from Grapevine, Soul Survivor, Creation, The Fall, Noah, Jesus Birth and more!

“Every young disciple is looking to engage with Jesus in a way that will change lives. This innovative, exciting course will help young people discover the truth of who they are in Christ and be set free to be all that God has made them as a result.”

Mike Pilavachi, Soul Survivor

We’ll be starting with a fun Launch Night on 25th April which will be from 6:30-9 at Russell Park Baptist Church, and will include games, snacks and drink. It’s a relaxed ‘taster session’ that is easy to invite friends along to. Watch this space for more info on the rest of the term, coming soon!

Aim: To consider what the Bible says about same-sex relationships

God created us as sexual beings with the capacity to be sexually intimate with one another. The “traditional” view held by many Evangelical Christians states that God’s ideal is for the gift of sexual intimacy to be enjoyed exclusively between one man and one woman, for life, within the context of marriage. However, today more and more voices from both within and without the church are calling for change. What about sexual intimacy between those of the same sex? Why should two committed men, or two committed women not be allowed to enjoy the gift that God has given them? In this session we will seek to explore, in a non-judgemental atmosphere, such things as what God says about same-sex attraction and sexual intimacy, are Christians guilty of homophobia and how should we act towards our friends who are gay.

Key Bible Verses: Romans 3:23, 1 Corinthians 6:9

Aim: To explore the pros and cons of being single and how to cope with temptation.

We are all made for relationships with other people.  Many people therefore find it difficult, or see themselves as a failure, if they are not in an intimate relationship.  This can often lead to poor choices in our lives that gets us into trouble.
Our priority should therefore always be our relationship with God.  If we get this right, the rest will be much easier.

Key Bible Verse: Luke 10:27

Aim: To recognise the hope that we have, and realise its importance to others

We have an important gift from God. It’s hope. It’s the knowledge that God is in charge, and that he’s for us, he cares about us, that he has plans for us. This week we’re going to focus on remembering that hope that we carry inside of us, and realising it’s power to transform lives, personally, locally and globally. We’ll be considering some organisations using the word ‘hope’ in their titles too: the challenge laid out by the Hope 08 initiative and how that continues locally, and an inspiring strategy from the organisation Hope HIV.

Key Bible Verses: Jeremiah 29:11-14

We’ve got an exciting opportunity to join up with other local churches to go to Soul Survivor this year. We’d love you to be involved, so for more information read the letter.

Get the consent form here!

Are you up for a night of games with consoles, networked PCs and plenty of food? Yep? We’ve got just the ticket. Our fun packed upper school sleepover has all this, plus some great time hanging out with friends. We’d love to see you and your mates there, and yeah, we’re a church, but there’s no preaching on this sleepover – we promise! (Of course, if you want to ask us awkward questions about God and stuff, well, we’ll try and answer them, but we wanna have fun on the consoles too!) Up for it? Just get your parent/guardian to sign the form available for download above (if you’re really nice you could fill it in ready for them!). Then get it to Chris Johnson at Russell Park Baptist Church Office, 90 Denmark Street by Wednesday 10 Feb with £3 for your food. Don’t forget to bring a sleeping bag and PJs. Boys and girls will be sleeping separately, when you’ve had enough of the games! You’ll need to be picked up by 10am on 14 Feb (or stick around for the church service).

Aim: To explore a positive Christian perspective on alcohol, and generally pleasing God

Christians are far more known for what they’re not into than what they are. Therefore, rather than this Sunday’s teaching being about the negative effects of too much alcohol, we’re looking at the subject from another perspective – how can we best please God, and why would we want to? We’ll consider our relationship with God, how this can be helped and harmed, and how we can live authentically as we were designed: to please God.

Key Bible Verses: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12