Our Sunday service
has now moved!

Freedom Sunday is now held at The Parish Halls,
Bury Town Centre, BL9 0LA.

Doors open at 4:30pm
Freedom starts at 5:00pm

Behind Bury Parish Church, near the Two Tubs Inn and the TA building.

Christianity – The Christian religion, founded on the life and teachings of Jesus

ACTS 2 – the community of believers

Michael Angelo paints a picture called ‘Creation of Adam’ it depicts the image of God straining with everything in Him, every muscle and sinew tort, His face an expression of desperation as He stretches out His hand to reach the man sat below Him whilst the man relaxed and undisturbed by what is going on holds out his hand leaving a tiny gap between his and Gods. Michael Angelo is showing Gods desperation to connect with man to be in relationship. He is showing that God is in pursuit of man, that He loves him so much He would do anything and go to any length to make it happen.

Christianity is about belonging to a community being a part of a family that the Bible calls ‘Gods family’. The early church was known as the community of believers. They looked after each other, were known for their love and care and the simple fact that they valued each other. Anyone was welcome into this community, it wasn’t judgemental or selective and they came, as they were – young, old, male, female, rich or poor. They were Christians and they built their lives on the life and teachings of Jesus. That is what Freedom Church Bury is.

Christianity takes you on a journey, an adventure; many can be looking for something. This can be fulfilment or purpose. The bible says that God knows the plans He has for us, that He knitted us together in our mother’s wombs. There are no mistakes with you and we all have purpose! The bible also says that God knows us intimately that He is concerned about us, He knows how many hairs are on our heads when you get up and when we lie down, YOU are precious to Him. To be a Christian is to know God, to be connected with the Father through Jesus his son.

John 3 v16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son…’

Jesus; who was this man?

Jesus said that life should be and could be lived to the full. He spoke the truth. His passion and enthusiasm challenged people to the very core of their hearts. He loved, ha laughed with and he cared for people. He lifted people to where they could be; rescuing, recovering and restoring them. He showed people how to live through his love for them and his example to them. In the end he died for what he believed in. He died for you! Jesus’ death was an act of love; it brought forgiveness once and for all and in meant that anyone could have a relationship through Jesus with God the father. But it didn’t end there. Jesus rose again; the bible says that death could not hold him. His death was the price paid but him coming back to life meant that we could have life and live that life to the full. Jesus is not dead he lives and through his church, the community of believers he shows his love, care and value.

Christianity is a life connected to God through Jesus; it is a life less ordinary lived through and on the teachings of Jesus. He helps us live this adventure; connect with our purpose – ‘the things we were created for’. He pursues us with His love. He is pursuing you and He will never stop and never give in. He is not deterred by rejection because He loves you unconditionally.

To become a Christian you simply say ‘yes’, yes I want to live the life I was meant to live. I want to know forgiveness and have life to the full. If you want to make that decision today then you can say this short prayer but more importantly we’d love to hear from you, because we’d love to help you on this adventure.

Jesus I know you died for me. Thank you for your forgiveness
I choose today to live in it.
I know you rose again so that I could have life
I don’t understand it all but
Please take my life and turn it into what it should be!
You have given me a fresh start…
And as I start my new life today, I leave behind want was and walk into what will be.
AMEN

Said the prayer? Get in contact – come on there’s a brand new adventure waiting for you.

Here at freedom we like to keep things simple, our values are clear.

Freedom has five stones they are foundation blocks upon which we have built our community. They are key to who we are and when you come into Freedom these are the things that you will experience and see The stone of LOVE.

LOVE GOD

To love God is to realise what he has done. The truth that he sent is only son to die for us so that we might know forgiveness and life in all its fullness. That he pursues us with his love because he wants to know us personally and that when we connect with him through Jesus we discover everything we need for life.

LOVE OTHERS

We are a community of believers and we want to be known for our love for each other. Freedom is a place where people are encouraged, cared for and respected. Where great lives are built and individuals are empowered. To love others is the heartbeat and culture of freedom, we want to pass this through in to our town to do the simple things like encouraging, smiling and seeing the best in people.

LOVE YOU

How can you love others if you don’t love yourself? Each of us is unique there are no two people the same. God has created you incredible, planting greatness, purpose, abilities and talents within you. We know that life may have thrown some bad things at you but we believe that God is in the business of restoration, like the master craftsman with the precious, priceless object he lovingly restores to its original beauty. To love yourself is to understand that God first loved you just as you are. To understand that you are precious, respected and valued.

HOPE

The bible says that hope deferred makes the heart sick. We never want to give up and we will always hold out hope for what we believe in and are dreaming for. To hope for is to believe, desire or trust in when we lose hope or put it off we become sick. At freedom we have hope for what we believe in, we trust in God and desire that all will know Jesus.

FAITH

Our faith is in God!

TRUTH

We hold onto the truth, what the bible says and what Jesus taught. We believe it to be true and helpful in life we build our lives from it.

UNITY

We are a community of individuals but we are together in what we believe and what we want to see. Unity is important because when God sees it he commands a blessing.

THE PEOPLE OF BURY ARE DYING

AND NOBODY CARES !

In the November of 2005 I was walking home, it was late and I had been at a friends. As I past one house I noticed a small bottle on the floor being an avid footballer and an aged striker I lined up to shoot and fire the bottle along the pavement taking only a moment to celebrate my wonder goal.

As I did I heard a murmur from the doorstep of the same house I couldn’t see anything as it was set back and surrounded by a hedge, as I stepped in I could see the body of a man slumped on the step he had in one hand a can of alcohol and in the other a bottle of pills, it seems my football had been one of his discarded bottles. As I approached him he told me too ‘go away’, that he was killing himself and I could do nothing about it! As he said this he took some more pills and another swig of alcohol.

I asked his name and he wouldn’t tell me. Within seconds he collapsed on the floor and starting to scream, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying… please help me.’ His name is Dennis. As I looked around I could see the extent of his problem there was numerous cans and several empty pill bottles. I banged on the door of the house but no one came. I had no phone on me and I knew that on this street there was no phone box for a least a mile.

I knew I couldn’t leave him so I ran across the street and knocked on a few more doors, no one came! Then I came to another house there was a man watching TV I knocked on his window and asked for help as he got up he shooed me away then closed his curtains. ‘God…’, I thought ‘…will anybody help me.’ As I turned round to head back to Dennis a police car passed I ran down the road frantically waving, but they drove on.

I went back to Dennis he was semi conscious I decided to run to the pay phone I told him this and assured him that help was on its way. As I came back to the pavement the police car I had chased had come back. The police stepped out, I think he thought I was drunk he stood in front of me whilst his partner checked and confirmed that there was someone dying. I breathed a sigh of relief as the officers took over and the ambulance arrived. The policeman thanked me but as he said ‘wrong time, wrong place ’I thought no ‘right time… right place.’

I am a Bury boy; Kathryn and I grew up in Bury and have always lived here. God spoke to us in the year 2000 planting a seed in our heart to build something for Him in Bury. We always knew the town, the place but never the time. But now we did as I walked home I knew it was time and God spoke to me ‘THE PEOPLE OF BURY ARE DYING AND NOBODY CARES’, He whispered this to me. And Freedom was born!

Freedom is a community, a church. People from all walks of life that have discovered Jesus and the truth of His message, at Freedom you will find people with a story. They can tell you what being a Christian and knowing Jesus has done for them.

IT’S FREEDOM because we want to help people ‘live free’; Jesus said ‘He who the son sets free is free indeed.’ Freedom’s heart is to see and help people live life to the full. We are here to care for our town, to make a difference through what we do and say we are a community of people that have had our lives changed and want to pass that on.

FREE IS HOW WE’RE MEANT TO BE!