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The Truth
Will Set Young People Free
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by Paul Jordan
So
God created man in his own image, in the
image of God he created him; male and female
he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
Men and women were equal from the beginning –
equal in the dignity of his image. The fall
made us equal in our need of rescue from sin.
The cross restored equal access to the Father
as sons and daughters. For the most part
Christians have upheld these equalities, and
at the same time upheld in perfectly logical
compatibility that men and women are different
and supposed to be complementary in their
differences.
Many ideologies have sought to dismantle these
truths over the past 50 years. Consequently,
of great challenge to the Christian people
today is not only the unholy confusion around
manhood and womanhood but the binding fear in
even addressing the topic. We need to rebuild
from the ground up.
Working with young people is a two-edged
sword. On the one hand, they are probably the
social group most prone to the contemporary
currents of the world. At the same time, they
are one of the most teachable, one of the most
hungry for the truth. I believe Kairos is
supposed to courageously speak words of
biblical truth into this confusion. It is the
truth, after all, which sets us free.
[Paul Jordan is the Director of Kairos
Europe
and the Middle East.]
A Weekend That Freed
People For Mission
by PM Graham, Regional
Event Director
When the prodigal son returns, he is prepared
to be renounced as a son: he is willing simply
to be a servant. As we know, this isn’t the
father’s plan for him, or for any of us. It
isn’t enough that we serve, no matter how
faithfully. Each of us is first and foremost a
daughter or a son. Unless we confidently grasp
this identity – the being side of mission and
discipleship – then the doing side of mission
and discipleship will be lacking.
This is what God was telling us as we prepared
for Kairos Weekend 2016 (5-7th February, held
in Glasgow, Scotland). We wanted to do
something with this year’s conference that
would allow him to work with us in a special
way, and allow us to respond. So in addition
to all 100 of us gathering to worship, hear
teaching and have fun together, a chunk of the
weekend was spent in two separate venues – the
men reflecting on sonship and brotherhood, and
the women looking at what it means to be
daughters rooted in their Father’s love.
Whether the individual impact was greater
vision, deeper conversion or simply new
relationships, my prayer is that the fruit
of the weekend is ultimately a stronger
Kairos, and a network of mission outposts
across Europe that are holier and more
evangelistic – places
where more and more students can discover
their relationship with the Father, just
like we did.
Reflections
from the Kairos Weekend 2016
Paul Hunter
(Belfast)
This year’s Kairos Weekend was a truly
special time for all involved. Perhaps the
highlight of my experience came in the men’s
sessions, led by our brother Dave Quintana,
who delivered a series of talks on what it
means to be a son of God in the 21st
century. “Man up!” was the blunt yet
incisive instruction to encourage and call
us on to build God’s kingdom here in our
fallen world, heeded by a group of young men
who, empowered by the fire of the Holy
Spirit, can make a difference and inspire
more brothers than we could have imagined.
Seeing so many men give their lives over to
Christ, maybe for the first time, was such
an amazing experience to witness.
Seeing faces old and new was a personal
highlight, as relationships which will last
a lifetime were built up. I always leave
Kairos events eagerly anticipating the next
opportunity to reconnect with my brothers
and sisters in outreaches far and wide, and
my time in Glasgow was no exception.
On reflection, this year’s Kairos Weekend
brought to me personally a renewed desire to
follow the Lord, and stirred in me an
impetus to live as a son of God, using the
life and teaching of Jesus as a model for
discipleship.
Jonasz Golick
(Belfast)
“With every hour spent with the men, I
received it as a huge blessing to build
relationships with my brothers in faith. I
had an awesome sharing group. The lifted
hands of Sunday’s worship will stay in my
memory for a long time. It was really
powerful!”
Joanna Whittam
(Dublin)
Fear has always played a huge role in my
personal life. A fear of being unwanted
seems to have often held me back from
relationships, while both this and the
terror of letting people down or doing
things wrong has held me back on so many
occasions from playing on the worship team
or speaking at a prayer meeting. Two years
ago I wrote a song named “Fears Fall Away,”
in anticipation of the moment when I would
be freed from fear. It’s about the secret
little girl inside me, feeling small.
It was during our prayer meeting on the
Saturday night that one of the women at the
meeting received an image from God, an image
of the very girl I’d actually forgotten
about, the girl from my song. God told me at
that point “Jo, she’s free to grow up now.”
He released me from the childlike terror
that I hadn’t understood was still
controlling me! Speaking through my sisters
on the prayer ministry team God reassured
me, “Do not doubt that you are truly free
when you go home. Instead there’s a lion
inside you that today has been released!”
But God would never leave that untested, of
course. Within hours of the meeting one of
the leaders from home sat beside me.
Hesitantly she began “Would you like to
share what God’s done for you this weekend
in front of the group tomorrow?” She wasn’t
just talking about the women. She was
talking the women, men, priests, leaders,
speakers, far upwards of a hundred people!
During my sharing, I never once felt a
twinge of fear. And I haven’t felt it since.
I do not doubt that in that prayer meeting
our wonderful Father in heaven replaced my
fear with pure joy.
Sarah Hillhouse
(Glasgow)
This year’s Kairos Weekend gave me time to
spend with sisters and develop relationships
with them, time to listen to God and
experience his love, with powerful prayer
sessions and teachings, as well as of
course, time to relax and have fun. In the
short time we spent together I really felt a
deep level of trust and love amongst the
girls in my small group.
The inspiring talks by Heather Semple really
spoke to me. The words she shared were very
fitting to my life and have stayed with me
now the weekend has passed, giving me a lot
of food for thought. I didn’t realise how
much I needed the Kairos Weekend and to take
that time out. I was greatly inspired: it
felt all of the talks and sharing’s were
tailor-made for me, as if people were
speaking directly to me.
Being in a room full of young people,
worshipping and choosing to live their lives
for the Lord, is always something I find
helps encourages me in my faith. I witnessed
two girls praying together, both very new to
charismatic worship and prayer, slightly
unsure of what to say and do, but
whole-heartedly throwing themselves into it.
Seeing their love for the Lord, setting
aside their feelings of doubt and pride, and
focusing on him, praising him and sharing
that with one another was greatly inspiring.
From Kairos
Europe & the Middle East Newsletter,
May 2016, used with permission
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