Pastor Benson – Page 5 – CFT Bristol Church

Relationships & Marriage

06/02/2018

Our lives are steered and shaped by relationships. Relationships with parents, friends, work mates, brothers, neighbours and so on.

However, one relationship that has a pivotal and lasting impact on one’s life is marriage. This month, we’ll be looking at marriage in a six part teaching series. The areas we’ll be looking at include: dating & Christian courtship; what is marriage; the marital relationship; conflict in marriage; children in marriage; divorce and remarriage.

Have a great month ahead.

– Pastor Benson

The Coming Of The Lord

07/01/2018

I had a really great Christmas; lots of rest, time to reflect about the year 2017 and also to regain strength from all the travelling that I did last year.

It’s a new year and I am sure in a short while we’ll be back to the treadmill of life; work, school, the gym, rushing to catch the train or the bus, making ends meet. The list goes on.

However, it’s also a good time to remind ourselves that our Lord Jesus Christ could come back at this very second. Some of the questions one might ask are: When is he coming back? What is he coming back to do? How will he come back? What are the signs of his coming? These are some of the things that we’ll be looking into in our teaching series this month at CFT Bristol Church. We’ll also be looking at what Jesus said to the seven churches in the book of Revelations, chapters 1 to 3.

Have a great month ahead.

– Pastor Benson

Happy New Year

01/01/2018

I hope you were able to get some rest during the Christmas period last December. I am sure you are all fired up and ready to go for the year 2018. You probably have your list of “New Year Resolutions”. This is that time of the month that we all want to hopefully “start on a clean slate”, go to the gym, eat healthier and so on.

However, experience has taught me that most of us run out of steam by February. The more determined ones hold out till March, then it is back to life “as usual”.

The good news is that God has promised us as a church that this is the “Year of divine favour”. I checked an online dictionary to get a proper definition of the word, favour. It defines favour as “approval, support, or liking for someone or something”. This means that we have God’s approval and support through the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, we can count on and trust God to help us through the year supernaturally in all our endeavours, as we have faith in Him for his “divine favour”.

I am really excited about the year 2018 because I know that God has a good plan for each and every single one of us, as he states in Jeremiah 29:11. He is also able to work out everything for our good, even if we are currently in a place of regret and discomfort as he states in Romans 8:28. This year, let’s determine to focus on knowing God, sharing the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ and care for one another in this great year, 2018.

Have a great month ahead.

Pastor Benson

Finding Jesus

06/12/2017

I feel like it was only January a few minutes ago, and I just blinked and it is now suddenly December, the end of the year. It just goes to show that time goes by so quickly. I started taking time to review the things that I had planned to do or achieve this year, from the “New Year’s Resolution” list I outlined at the beginning of the year. If you are like me, I have felt constantly that I needed more than 24 hours in the day to tick off my “To do list” which had over one hundred outstanding tasks at any given time. Anyway, the good news is that I can start over again with a new list come January 2018. At least, that is my way of “Starting over again”.

Talking about “Starting over again”, I believe that God wants us to have a “To do” list which is less focused on what we want to achieve in the New Year. He wants us to focus on knowing Him more through his Word and time in prayer. It is interesting that Apostle Paul had this to say after so many years of knowing God, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection….. (Philippians 3:10)”

In the book of Matthew in the Bible, we read the story of wise men seeking the newly born saviour, Jesus Christ. They travelled far and wide, “looking for Jesus”. They eventually found him. This month we will be going through a teaching series at CFT Bristol Church, called, “Finding Jesus”. Some of the questions that we’ll be asking is, How are people trying to find Jesus? Why are you finding Jesus? Where can Jesus be found? Why was Jesus born?

Have a merry Christmas.

Pastor Benson

Plans & The Road Of Life

08/11/2017

I was speaking to a couple of people last week about the fact that this year has gone by so quickly. It seemed like it was only January, yesterday. It is now suddenly, November. I was also reflecting on the plans that I made at the beginning of the year. Things haven’t always gone the way I had planned, although it has been a great year.

God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” However, you will quickly realise that as we go through life, things don’t always go in the direction that we expect. We can however rest in what God says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.

There is a story in the Bible that typifies Romans 8:28, the life of Joseph. His life demonstrates that God’s plan for us can come to pass irrespective of life’s detours. I noticed that in the life of Joseph, there were certain things that kept him on track. We’ll be starting a teaching series at CFT Bristol Church that I have called, “Plans & The road of Life”, where we’ll be looking at a number of things that can keep us on the track of God’s plan for our lives. We’ll be looking at: “God’s Plan”, “The Character”, “The Perspective”, “The Heart” and “Empowered by the Spirit”.

This year holds great promise for us.

More Than This

05/10/2017

Is there more to life than pursuing success in your studies, career, sports, music, work and so on? Where does God fit in all of your life pursuits? I had an interesting experience about 20 years ago when I was in the early stages of my career as an accountant. My heart and soul were focused on succeeding and I “burnt the candle” of striving at both ends. Out of the blue, God asked me a question in my heart “Do you love me more than this”? This was similar to the questions that Jesus asked Peter shortly after His resurrection (John 21:15).

This month, we’ll be going through the teaching series, “More Than This”. We’ll be looking at: the choice and cost of following Jesus; the illusion of success; the traps of life; living in our own strength; and the spiritual world. It promises be an interesting “soul searching” series that will attempt to give us a true perspective of life from Jesus’ perspective.

Have a great month ahead.

Pastor Benson

Who Is The Holy Spirit?

03/09/2017

Welcome to the Month Of Grace (2 Corinthians 8:1). I always find learning about Jesus Christ really exciting. We have been looking at the “Return of the Lord”: Is Jesus really coming back? When is He coming back? How is He coming back? What are the signs of His coming; and some other areas.

This month, we’ll be looking at, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” People appear to have differing opinions about who the Holy Spirit is. We’ll be going through the bible to answer this question. However, the aim is that we’ll come to know the Holy Spirit personally.

Is Jesus coming back?

15/08/2017

This month, we are starting a teaching series called “The Return of the Lord Jesus” known as the second coming of Christ. Some of the questions that people over the past centuries, and some in our current time have asked are: Is Jesus really coming back? When will He come back? How will He come back? What is He coming back to do? I will address some of these questions during this teaching series.

It’s interesting to note that the events that Jesus stated in the bible that will occur just before He returns have become our present day reality. For example, he stated in Mathew 24:6 that “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come”. He also said in Mathew 24:7 “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places”. You will note that the news is filled with stories about all these things.

The Life Worth Living

22/07/2017

I recently celebrated my 19th wedding anniversary and it seemed like only yesterday when I met my wife and we got married. Our son has now won the height competition as he is now officially taller than I am. Our daughter has also won the height competition against her mum. The morale of this short discuss is that time is racing past quicker than we think. Jesus posed this question, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”(Mark 8:36).

We’ll be spending the next four Sundays on a teaching series that I have called: “The Life Worth Living”, at CFT Bristol Church. Asking the questions, “What kind of life do you want to live?”.

Fatherhood, Motherhood & Youth

01/07/2017

We’ll be starting a teaching series in the month July, which looks at the biblical perspective of Fatherhood, Motherhood and Youth. Our current world has so many conflicting standards around fatherhood, motherhood and expectations as it relates to young people, particularly teens. This teaching series will aim to give a clear biblical view about these.