Broadfield Christian Fellowship

Thought for the Week – from Caroline (28th February 2021)

Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; …” (KJV)

When people say pray God’s blessings on your enemies, that doesn’t sit comfortably with me, you see to me a blessing for someone is like a reward and to ask God to reward a person who is in rebellion to him, who has molested a child or done some other horrible thing to you or others doesn’t make sense. God says rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft so why would God bless a rebellious person? My view is we should think carefully about the words we choose to use, to me (and remember this is my opinion and I might be wrong), when the scripture says, “Bless them that curse you, do good to them…” it means don’t speak ill of them, don’t trade insult for insult, don’t ask for revenge, help them if that is possible, and pray for them; like forgiveness, leave the outcome of your enemy to God. To bless someone rather than curse can be to have compassion on them, it’s saying that you understand why they are like they are, which is either very lost, or they have allowed the enemy into their lives and are being led by him. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He didn’t say, “Father, bless them for they know not what they do.” You may say I am playing with semantics (the relationship between words and meanings) but people can easily pick up on words and it can confuse them.

For example, “love your enemies,” that’s hard enough for Christians to get their head around but if you have an unchurched non-Christian in the congregation they are going to say, “What?!” We associate love with affection, but you are not going to feel affection for your enemy, you won’t even like them, but you don’t have to like them. You can again wish no harm, pray for them, do good if you have the opportunity, for Proverbs 25:22 says, “In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” What does that mean then? It means if you react in the opposite way to your enemy it will show them up for what they are and they may well feel guilty and uncomfortable not to mention shocked at your nice behaviour.

To bless can mean to speak well of them, but you can still speak the truth in love to them or to others about them in order for others to pray as well, it doesn’t mean to sugar-coat everything so it’s no longer reality. Jesus was being real when He called the Pharisees snakes and vipers, hypocrites, because that’s what they were, Jesus didn’t hate them, He was shining a light on them, hopefully to one or two it did hit home, but we don’t know. God wants us to pray for our enemies to repent – and only then can He bless them. I read this somewhere: “God commands you to pray for your enemies as part of His plan to bring about their change. Your prayers not only keep your attitude right, but God will actually activate His Spirit to work on the hearts of your enemies.”

Welcome to the Broadfield Christian Fellowship Website

Broadfield Christian Fellowship is a local church made up of people from all backgrounds. We are based in the Broadfield Community Centre, which we share with the Church of England and Roman Catholic churches. We are adjacent to the local shopping parade, which includes a large free car park, and opposite the library and Neighbourhood Hub, ideally situated for the local community.

Broadfield is the largest neighbourhood in the new town of Crawley in West Sussex, situated in its south-western corner within the triangle formed by the A23, A264 and A2220. It is predominantly made up of estates of council, housing trust and former council housing, with private housing estates around the perimeter. Broadfield has a population of over 13,000. Click here for a map showing our location.

Broadfield Christian Fellowship is a Link Church within the Ichthus Christian Fellowship, which is based in South London, and a member of the Evangelical Alliance. We are in fellowship with other evangelical churches in Crawley and have links with various local Christian groups, such as The Lighthouse Project, a Christian ministry to the children of Crawley, The Christians Against Poverty Crawley Debt Centre, Holmsted Manor near Cuckfield, run by Youth With A Mission, the International Bible Training Institute in Burgess Hill, and The Easter Team, a local Christian charity that serves people who are homeless or in need in and around Crawley.  We also support and have a number of members actively involved with Street Pastors Crawley.

We meet every Sunday morning at 10.30 am (10.00 am for refreshments) in the Community Centre Social Hall for worship and teaching. Our worship style is informal and generally led by people from within the Fellowship, with occasional visiting speakers. We normally celebrate communion on the third or fourth Sunday in each month and at other times as arranged. We have weekly house group meetings, usually on Tuesday evenings.

Every Wednesday at 9.30 am we run the Triangle Coffee Shop in the Social Hall, at which coffee, tea, biscuits and cakes are served for a nominal donation. Second-hand clothes and other items are also freely available. This provides an important service to the community and many people drop in during this time. We also host the Friday Meal, a free drop-in cooked meal at 5.00 pm every Friday. The Coffee Shop and the Friday Meal have been awarded the highest 5-star Food Standards Agency rating for Food Hygiene by the local authority.

On the first Sunday of each month at 7.00 pm we join with other churches in Crawley for celebration, teaching, prayer and fellowship at Crawley Baptist Church, Crabtree Road, West Green.

Email Contact Details

You can contact us by email at fellowship@broadfield.org.uk with any queries you may have about our activities or this web site. If you wish to contact one of the leaders, please use the same address and your message will be passed on. Thank you.