Make Room for Encounter Series - Make Room for More - James Bailey - 04/10/2026

God’s vision for CCF remains simple: Fulham as in heaven. Jesus must be known in Fulham, pain must leave bodies, the oppressed must find freedom, the poor must hear good news, and people without hope must discover purpose and belonging. The call is not to build a busy church, but to be a church where God has his way. Delayed obedience is disobedience, and the desire for control can easily get in the way of what God wants to do.

The words “make room” frame this next season. Room must be made for new people, children and young people, worship encounters, fresh ideas, and those who never imagined church could feel like home. The church must make room in its diary, in its building, in its teams, and in its expectations. Prayer, belonging, serving, and giving become ways of joining the story God is already writing.

Elisha’s question to the widow exposes the starting point of faith: “What do you have in your house?” The widow believes she has nothing, “except a small jar of olive oil.” That little word, “except,” becomes the place where God begins the miracle. The oil she nearly dismisses becomes provision enough to pay the debt and live on what remains. God begins with what is already in someone’s hand, heart, home, or diary.

The small offering may be a gift for welcome, patience with children, hidden prayer, practical skill, or one hour a month. God does not ask exhausted people to pretend they have endless capacity. God does ask his people to recognise what they have rather than dismiss it. Moses had a staff, David had a sling, and a boy had a small lunch. What looks like very little can look like potential in God’s hands.

Elisha’s instruction to gather empty jars reveals that faith makes room before it sees the filling. The widow gathers jars from her neighbours before the oil multiplies. Empty jars are not failures; God does some of his best work when people come empty, dry, and without anything impressive to offer. The oil keeps flowing while jars keep coming. The warning is clear: the church must not stop asking God to move, must not stop asking neighbours how they can be loved, and must not settle for just a few.

The weekly evening service, deeper prayer, partnership with Refugee Oasis, recovery spaces, social groups, and new ideas all become jars placed before God. The vision is not activity for its own sake. The vision is making room for more people to find and follow Jesus.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God begins with what remains The widow’s “except” was not an embarrassing footnote. The small jar of oil became the place where God’s provision began. Faith does not wait until resources look impressive; faith brings the overlooked thing into God’s hands. [12:30]
• 2. Weakness can display God’s power The desire to offer only strengths can quietly make life about personal capability. God also welcomes weakness, limitation, and the places where nobody can claim the credit. The small offering keeps Jesus at the centre of the story. [17:27]
• 3. Empty jars are acts of faith The widow gathered containers before she saw a single jar filled. Availability often comes before clarity, and obedience often comes before visible results. Empty space can become an invitation for God’s abundance rather than evidence of absence. [20:14]
• 4. The church must keep asking The oil stopped only when there were no more jars to fill. Prayer can grow tired, relationships can feel unlikely, and vision can shrink into comfort. God’s people are called to keep bringing jars, keep loving neighbours, and keep asking for more. [21:39]
• 5. Making room means practical obedience Vision becomes real through actual space, actual time, and actual people saying yes. Welcoming strangers, serving the marginalised, and creating places of belonging are not side projects. These acts become ways of making room for Jesus to meet people.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:13] - A Church Where People Belong
• [02:53] - Lord, Have Your Way
• [04:25] - Fulham as in Heaven
• [05:59] - The Call to Make Room
• [07:16] - Joining the Story Through Serving
• [08:37] - Becky’s Welcome Team Story
• [10:39] - The Widow’s Desperate Need
• [11:31] - What Do You Have?
• [12:48] - God Begins With What You Have
• [15:21] - Small Gifts and Real Capacity
• [18:24] - Gather Empty Jars
• [20:14] - Making Room Before the Miracle
• [21:39] - Do Not Stop Asking
• [23:10] - New Jars for the Next Season
• [24:23] - Making Room for the Marginalised

Bible Reading

2 Kings 4:1-7
“Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” [10:39]

Matthew 6:10
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” [04:50]

2 Corinthians 12:9
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” [17:27]

Observation questions

1. What crisis brings the widow to Elisha, and what does she believe she has left in her house?
2. What does Elisha tell the widow to collect from her neighbours, and what instruction does he give about the number of jars? [18:34]
3. What happens as the widow pours the oil, and what brings the pouring to an end?
4. What examples are given of small or overlooked offerings that can help people find belonging and encounter Jesus? [14:19]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Elisha begin by asking the widow what she has, rather than first focusing on everything she lacks? What does this reveal about how God meets people in need? [12:18]
2. The widow gathers empty jars before she sees the oil multiply. In what ways does this show that obedience and availability can come before visible results? [20:14]
3. 2 Corinthians 12:9 speaks of God’s power being made perfect in weakness. Why can weakness, limitation, or a small offering protect a person from making ministry about personal ability? [17:27]
4. The jars came from the widow’s neighbours. What might this suggest about God’s provision involving relationships, community, and a willingness to ask for help? [19:39]

Application questions

1. What is the “except” in your life right now—the gift, experience, capacity, or opportunity you may have dismissed as too small? What could it look like to place that in God’s hands this week? [17:05]
2. Where are you tempted to hold tightly to control, timing, or familiar ways of doing things? What might a next step of prompt obedience look like? [04:16]
3. Making room includes real space in a diary, building, teams, and expectations. Is there one practical way you could make room for another person to belong—through welcome, prayer, listening, hospitality, or service? [06:29]
4. Empty jars can represent places of need, uncertainty, or weakness. Is there an area where you feel empty or unable to offer much? How might you bring that honestly to God rather than withdrawing from him and his people? [18:45]
5. Who is one neighbour, colleague, friend, or family member you may have stopped praying for or inviting into conversation? What would it mean to keep bringing that person before God and to ask how you can love them well? [21:45]
6. Which “jar” particularly stirs your heart: deeper prayer, welcoming newcomers, serving children or young people, supporting refugees, recovery spaces, or a new idea? What is one realistic next step you could take without ignoring your present limits? [24:23]