Penny Coase Reflects

I came to St Matts in August 1998. In theory I had been a Christian since my teens, but at that point in my life I was a very long way from God, so far that I recognised that unless I got back to church then, I might never do so. I was amazed by the sermons - they were like Bible Studies, at other churches I had attended they had been calls to social action or reflections on current social or moral issues, with a passing reference to what the Bible said. And I met people who didn't just say hello, they invited me to their homes, out for coffee or to other church events. I met people, most significantly Sally Stark, who neither condemned nor condoned where I was in my life, they just offered me friendship and discussed my issues in the light of what the Bible said - not what they thought, or what society might say, but what God said.

If I hadn't unwittingly come to an evangelical church, I would probably be put off by the image portrayed by the media. But I found an integrity, intellectually in holding to Biblical truths without picking and choosing those which seemed to make sense or 'fit' into the 21st century; and in the way people lived their lives. I realised that I had always picked and choosed what I thought was still relevant, replacing God's sovereign word with my own preferences, made acceptable by being deemed 'common sense'. In His great kindness, the Lord has helped me to understand His great gift of Grace, and to love Him more as a result...although both my understanding and my love still have a lot more growing and deepening to do. I know now with complete certainty, that I will always be the Lords and will never wander off again, and I am so grateful to Him for the work He is doing at St Matts through the preaching and the community of believers there. It has literally brought me 'from darkness into His glorious light'.



love to you all
Penny