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An Awakened Church for 2026
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Happy New Year. As we step into 2026, I want to remind us of something Jesus said about who we are as a body, as a family, as the bride of Christ, as a house.
Turn to Matthew 5. Jesus speaks directly to the church—to us:
"You are the light of the world. Like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly father."
This is not a timid gospel. This is not a gospel we hide. The message of Jesus is not something we conceal—we proclaim it from the mountaintops. Jesus is King.
As we stand before 2026, may our light shine this year brighter than it ever has done. May we have an increased sense of boldness to proclaim Jesus as the light of the world. We reject any lie that where there is darkness, there is nothing God can do. When the light is turned on, darkness has to flee.
There is no battle between light and darkness. Light is always superior to darkness. Always. Imagine we're in a room full of light—do we see darkness trying to fight back? No. The light simply dominates.
Jesus says to every single one of us: we are the light of the world. Therefore, go and shine your light.
What God is doing in this nation right now is unprecedented. For this house, I want us to be part of whatever God wants to do in this nation. And it takes discipline. We have three days of prayer and fasting where we will gather in the coffee house for two to three hours in the morning, noon, and night. Come to one. Turn to your neighbor and ask, "Which one are you coming to? We get to turn the light on."
If we ever say, "It's too dark in there," the answer is simple: someone hasn't turned the light on yet. It is in the very nature of following Jesus that we become like him, and we are gravitated to where hope needs to come in. We carry his light.
Jesus said in John 14:15: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
Notice—he said my commandments, not your commandments or our commandments. This is an incredible litmus test for us as we go into 2026.
When Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" He answered:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
This is where the passion in our hearts for the Lord begins. This is where repentance comes from. Repentance is not getting God to move—it's us awakening. We want nothing more than to be close to God, and we will do whatever it takes to change so that we can be like him.
When God moves, there are two things that happen. First, there is a renewed encounter with his presence and his word. Second, people's hearts become so on fire for the Lord that they want nothing more but him.
A revival is not merely a meeting with lots of noise and people manifesting. An awakening is when people's hearts are ablaze for Jesus. When Peter stood up after Pentecost, filled with the Holy Spirit, he testified to what God was doing. The Bible says that those hearing were "cut to the heart." The Holy Spirit was awakening the heart of every hearer. And the response was: I'm all in. I want that. Give me Jesus.
When the Spirit falls, we become so aware of who God is and how big he is—that there is nothing we can hold onto that is bigger than him. So we drop everything, we turn, and we face him. That is the mark of an awakening happening in our nation right now. Do you perceive it?
A mark of awakening is that humility, confession, and transformation are just happening. Our relationships move from trying to fit God into our schedule to making God the very center of everything we do. Every breath becomes his. Every breath.
In an awakening, you stop trying to manage areas of your life that you know are not right with God. You move from managing sin to confronting it. You confront the areas of your life that you know are not in line with the Lord.
Jesus asks us to stay consistent and faithful and devoted to him in everything we do—in our maturity, in how he grows us. We heard from a wonderful group of people today that God has called to be planted into this house. They're coming because they want to grow in the Lord together. This is what happens when the Spirit of God falls on people. It's suddenly life—life on life. Our gathering this morning flows out of the overflow of what we're doing Monday through Saturday.
An awakening moves us from tolerating offense as a normal way of life to pursuing reconciliation in everything. We cannot be lovers of Jesus and allow offense to have root in our lives, giving it permission to shape our decisions.
Forgiveness, the healing of broken relationships, unity in the body, compassion for the lost—these are gifts of an awakened church.
We move from seeing the Bible as merely a set of good principles to follow, to having those principles embedded in our lives. Everything flows out of our love for the Lord.
An awakened church moves from climbing the ladder and seeking success to realizing that everything we do is worship, service, and mission. We shift from asking, "What can I get?" to asking, "How can I serve?"
Jesus said: "If you want to be the greatest, you must be the lowest." For us followers of Jesus, it's not a race to the top—it's a race to the bottom. An awakened church walks in humility and servanthood, knowing we are here to serve the world.
An awakened church reflects on how we steward our resources: time, money, and energy. We could hold on to everything because we fear lack. But the gospel of Jesus teaches the opposite: give everything away. Live free. Surrender. Live in generosity and sacrifice, obedience and giving.
Have an eternal perspective. In the book of Acts, the birth of the church, believers "gave as when anyone had need." One marker for us as a community this year: if there is a need in this room, the answer is within the house. Look around. If you see someone in need, you are the answer.
An awakened church runs towards brokenness, towards darkness, towards challenge, towards pain—because that's where Jesus is. We open our eyes to where the poor are, the needy, the widows, where there is pain. That's where Jesus is.
The greatest commandment reorders everything. When we love him, everything begins to find alignment. When we put him first—every decision, every hope and dream for this year—give them to him and watch what he does.
When we love Jesus and give him all, we start to love the things he loves. Our life looks different because we're in accordance with his word and his presence. We become so desperate to be with him that we end up loving what he loves. It leads to a greater commitment for Christ on the earth.
It gives us a completely new lens for what we see happening in our nation right now. Are we going to accept what the world tells us is happening, or are we going to declare what Jesus says over this nation?
When we fully commit to the Lord and love him with all our heart, we read the Great Commission with new eyes. Jesus said to his disciples:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age."
Us loving Jesus always leads to sacrifice. There's no way around it. God has chosen you and me to be the carriers of his light. As he looks over the nation of the UK, he's not thinking, "Oh no, what do I do?" He's thinking, "I'm okay because I have these guys. I have my body ready to bring my light into the world and into this nation."
It is only dark in areas of this nation because the light has either been taken away or walked away. Therefore, we need to go get it back. The light is superior to darkness always. If it's dark, we switch the light on.
We've professionalized Matthew 28. The church in the past has asked paid professionals to administer the Great Commission while everyone else watches. That's wrong.
We are all called. We're all in full-time ministry right now. Your job is camouflage to the Matthew 28 Great Commission. Whether you're a farmer, a teacher, or raising children at home, you're positioned in camouflage to the Great Commission. We're all called to bring Jesus into our daily lives.
You're all being watched. How we're doing life. You look different. We look different. Why? Because we're a light. And when light shines, everybody sees it. Everyone.
Discipleship is the Holy Spirit working through your life to bring an awakening in someone else's life.
I was teaching my daughter to dive in the pool. I showed her how to do it, and she got to the edge and looked down. She said, "Dad, that's quite deep and quite far."
I said, "Evie, there's a point called the point of no return. As soon as you lean forward, you're committed." She realized that staying at the edge was safe—I could explain it again—but actually jumping all the way in was easier than trying to dive perfectly. She just had to commit.
A person who receives Jesus as Lord and Savior reaches a similar point of no return. Many of us here—whether this year, last year, or 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago—we all made a decision at some point. Do you know what I'm talking about? There was a point where you realized: I have to jump all in. I can't jump and leave one foot on the edge. I can't jump and halfway through decide this isn't for me. The point of no return was Jesus—you have my heart. I'm all in.
I remember making my jump because my life was an absolute mess. It was oppressive. It was dark. Yet when I saw who was reaching out his hand to pull me in, I didn't care if I belly flopped. Because what Jesus is offering you and me is so good. It's such good news.
There's nothing actually on your part that you need to do. Paul writes in Ephesians that we were dead and he came and brought us to life. There was nothing I could do to add to what Jesus was offering me. We love him because he first loved us.
Think about that: He loved you first. He loved you before you were even born. He loved you so much that he gave his life for you. He gave his life for the person sitting next to you. He gave his life for your mother, your father, your brothers, your sisters, your friends, your family, your neighbors, your city, your nation. Jesus died for England.
We're at the beginning of 2026. Does that mean God's looking at his calendar? I think he's outside of time. But this I can say: this year will hinge on whether we apply the greatest commandment to our lives—to love him with all our mind, body, and soul.
We all have to think about when we actually jumped off the ledge and said, "You have everything." But have we added extra things over time that we're holding onto?
Jesus said to his disciples: "If you love me, you'll obey my commandments." This is where the beautiful walk of faith begins. Holiness, purity, humility, the fear of the Lord, the fruits of the Spirit—they all start to slowly manifest in our lives. You look different. You sound different.
When you give Jesus everything—I mean everything—you end up becoming the very person you were born to be.
Could we please stand?
Jesus, I ask for all of us this year that we would grow in love with you. Increase our hearts for love. May we love you more and more and more. By that love, Lord, may we do whatever it takes to remove anything blocking our love for you.
May we grow in maturity, Father. May we grow into everything you've called us to be. May we follow you not out of duty, but because we love you. Father, increase your grace in us.
Lord, we say it again: we are all in. We're all in for everything you have for us. We bless this house. We bless the city of Bath to become everything you've called it to be. Father, would you raise this church over the city? Would you raise it up? May the light of Jesus shine brighter this year than ever before.
Where we see an awakening in our nation, Father, would you awaken the UK? May there be national repentance, where the nation's heart is pierced by your love. May the nation turn and say, "Jesus, it is you that we follow."
Father, grow our love for you again. Would you place your hands on your neighbor and pray a blessing over them for this year? Pray a blessing of boldness to step into everything the Holy Spirit is saying to them. May there be nothing holding this house back from stepping into everything God has called it to be.
Before I hand over to Jonathan, if there is anyone here standing on the edge of a pool—whether you've never given your life to Jesus or you have but feel called to start this year walking with him afresh—God loves you. He died for you. Come to the front. We have a prayer ministry team here. You're here because you can hear the Lord calling your name. We'd love for people to pray with you.
Happy New Year. Happy New Year.
