Sunday Club at its best

Last week, the little group of kids were learning about the story in Luke 5:1-11, where Jesus blows the minds of Peter and friends by a miracle fishing trip. (In the words of Zoe (age 4) that evening, 'First, they didn't catch no fish. Then they caught loads of fish!' ...with arms outstretched for emphasis.)

So they were acting out the story with pretend fishing; first time they caught nothing. That's the way the story goes. But Zoe said, 'No, I've caught some crabs.' She wouldn't back down - just insisted she'd caught a net full of crabs. Oh, well. Move on.

Then, when they told the story, they started by saying, 'When we tell the story, just put your hand up if there's anything you don't understand.' Zoe puts her hand up straight away. Leaders pause. What do we do here? Reuben (6) helps out: 'I think she doesn't understand the word 'understand'.'

The Last Samurai ... and The Last Christian

We enjoyed the film the other night. (For an ace review, check out Martyn's article on http://thebearspeaketh.blogspot.com/.) It's a sad story of the death of a beautiful culture, a bit like Last of the Mohicans. Annoyingly, Tom Cruise survives.

It is sad to see cultures and peoples destroyed, often so brutally. But it made me wonder, will there ever be a sad film made about The Last Christian? I reckon, for three reasons it could never be.

[1] It would not be a sad film. We are, I think rightly, sentimental and gutted to hear about people's and cultures being destroyed - Aborigines in Australia, 'Indians' in the Amazon, Native North Americans, Bushmen in Southern Africa, and so on. But Christians? It's as Jesus said: "The world will hate you". That's the flavour of our country at the moment, certainly - humanists and homosexual activists are passionate about ridding Britain of the church. In parts of the Arab world (even now Iraq), people have almost done it. People would rejoice to see the last Christian. But what a loss it would actually be.

[2] Christianity is multicultural. There is no such thing as a Christian tribe or a Christian culture that you could tie down and eliminate. The church is made up of "every nation, tribe and tongue". African and American, Chinese and Chilean Christians will be almost as different from each other as the cultures they are from, yet united in the same beliefs and the same trust in Jesus Christ. Eliminating Christians would be like trying to stamp out a giant half-inflated balloon - squash it in one place, and it just bulges up somewhere else.

[3] God won't let it happen. "I will build my church", says Jesus, "and the gates of hell can't stand against it." In many places people have tried (and still do try) to eliminate Christians. But God still builds his church, in spite of severe persecution.

As African Christians are learning well today, it is possible to be a Christian without losing your cultural identity. It may be right to protect minority cultures in the world. But in the new heavens and earth that God will make, there will be people of all flavours; individual cultures will not die there; we won't be all identical. The priority, therefore, is not preserving cultures for now, but in telling all peoples about Jesus, the king over all.

God speaks where you least expect

Isaiah 49:
I love going to Wellfield Church on Sunday mornings, how could I not love hearing God’s word? This Sunday was an all age service which I always enjoy; great fun with the children but noisier than usual and lots of distractions which you would expect. Not always the easiest to take things in and it’s based at child level of understanding anyway, so just sit back and enjoy.
Well, as usual God’s word and Mark’s preaching pointed a finger right at me again! How does this keep happening I ask, does anyone else feel the same?
Isaiah 49:1:
Listen to me, you island; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
Who is speaking? Well as we foundout during some games at the beginning of our church service, the answer is - JESUS!
And going by this verse, If we live anywhere on this planet that God created we need to listen. The strangest thing is, you hear His voice when and where you would never expect it.
I heard His voice at the cinema! What, I hear you ask? Well, to cut a long testimony very short, it all began with going to see Mel Gibson’s film – The Passion of the Christ. It was released in 2004 and depicted the final hours and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.Seeing the film moved me to want to know more and ask, “Who is this man who would die for me?”
Back to the Sunday Service: we were told how God’s people enslaved in Babylon wanted to get back to Israel, when in fact they needed to get back to God; Hope in God/Jesus is what matters in life, not where we live or where we want to live. Hearing this made me think of my life before I became a Christian.
A little more testimony: I moved with my husband Andrew down to Chorley in Lancashire from Edinburgh in December 1987. Our son Ross was due to be born the following March. As a Yorkshire lass, moving from Edinburgh to Lancashire, I knew no one other than my husband’s boss! I never really ever settled, even though I found friends, established a good career, and moved to Leyland, still always felt unsettled. I would have given anything to move to Yorkshire or Edinburgh again.I kept telling myself that I would have my life sorted by the time I turned 40 years old in July 2004; perfect house, perfect relationship, perfect figure etc., etc.! Guess what? I did it; I found what I was looking for!
I just didn’t realise what I had been truly missing in life, the answer was – JESUS! You see, I went to the cinema at the Easter, was moved to want to find out more about Jesus. After shopping in Tesco one Saturday, I was waiting for a lift across from St Andrew’s church. Outside the church I saw a poster mentioning ‘the Passion of the Christ’; the next day I went to St Andrew’s church and would you believe it, one month before turning 40 years old, I became a Christian. I finally realised I couldn’t sort anything out for myself, but Jesus could. I’ve never managed to get the perfect figure, but I’m more than happy to swap that worldly goal for salvation! The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways.
Something else big changed in my life, I now love living in Leyland, Lancashire, and I no longer want to move to Yorkshire, Edinburgh or anywhere else. That is until the Lord takes me home, to my true home to be with Jesus!
Oh and even better, in November 2007 my husband Andrew became a Christian also, so now we are praying for our son Ross.
Getting back to Sunday’s sermon on Isaiah 49: Jesus is the answer to all our problems, Jesus is our only hope. He may be hidden to us, but if we listen hard, you never know what may happen.
Isaiah 49:2
He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrowand concealed me in his quiver.
Jesus is the hidden hope, God uses strength through weakness. We are weak, but if we take strength from our Lord Jesus and keep witnessing through the way we live our lives every day and tell others of Jesus, others may come to the Lord. We may never be there to witness their change of heart, but you never know, I give thanks every day for my husband finding hope in Jesus. But that’s his testimony; maybe he will share it with you one day!
Thank you Jesus.

(By Jen)

Contradictions in the Bible

Question time last week, from Isaiah 46:

"How can it say in v9:

'Remember the former things, those of long ago'

when it said in chapter 43 v18:

'Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past'?"

Great question. The old chestnut, 'The Bible is full of contradictions' is normally made by people who've never read it. (I generally reply to that, 'Can you show me one so we can talk about it?') But here's one staring us in the face!

The question of contradictions in the Bible cuts deep: if it has any contradictions, it is undermined. It cannot be the word of God; it's only the word of man. On the other hand, if the unity of the Bible can be seen, it is a huge testimony to its status as the word of God - and therefore must be taken more seriously than anything else in the world.

What about this example, then? I think the answer is fairly simple, after a little thought, and boils down to context. In chapter 43, God is appealing to people trapped in the past, always looking over their shoulder at the great things God used to do. He's saying, 'Don't get stuck there! I'm still alive and well! You think I'm just history? Well then, watch! - Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past: see what I'm doing now.'

In chapter 46, God's proving that other gods are false. And one point he makes to prove it is the point from history: which other god, through history, has foretold what he will do and done it? Which other god has shown its power throughout all those generations? 'Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am god, and there is none like me.'

All the time, in normal conversation, we say things that would be contradictory taken out of context. That's normal. Though people often do contradict themselves - because we're lying, or exaggerating, or forgetful, or fickle.

One of the things that most encourages me to keep believing the Bible is the word of God is that the more I read it, the more the 'contradictions' go away. But with any work of man, the more you read/watch it, the more contradictions you find. It's good that the Bible is not simple. It makes us think. It raised questions to us that often take years for us to get answers to. But it all adds up. Keep reading, and discussing it together, and you'll see!

Emmerdale and Assisted Suicide...

I was really moved last night by the sterling performances during what I felt was one of the toughest episodes of Emmerdale I've seen in a long time... Yes, even I watch Emmerdale!

It dealt with the final hours of Jackson Walsh's (Marc Silcock) life as he begs his mother Hazel (Pauline Quirke) and boyfriend Aaron (Danny Miller) to help him end his life. After a tragic car accident, Jackson was left tetraplegic, unable to move from the neck down. It came as no surprise that Emmerdale would decide to take the character of Jackson down this road as it's fast becoming a hot topic - the ethical debate over whether or not it should be legal to take or help another person to take his or her own life. The acting of all three was amazing and very touching for a soap cast.

But what do you think? Now in the soap we'll begin to see the consequences play out. At the moment, this is illegal and both Aaron and Hazel will face charges of assisted suicide which can carry a 14 year prison sentence. But people are fighting to have the law changed to allow for someone to have their death hastened. We continue to hear stories of people traveling to foreign countries to have their lives ended and there is a large outcry - perhaps even you feel this way - to allow this to happen.

It's not hard to sympathise with someone like Jackson. A young man, in love, healthy and able bodied suddenly finds his world is now confined to a wheel chair. He can't interact with it other than by talking, can't reach out and touch, feed himself, go to the bathroom. He feels the weight of being a burden to his Mum and his boyfriend. He doesn't have hope, he can't be cured, he will live like this possibly for years before death finally creeps up on him...

No wonder he looks to immediate death as the only release from his suffering. But there is one fatal, tragic flaw in such thinking - what good reason do we have to believe that it will be better for him to die than to live? Think about it - he doesn't know what waits for him on the other side. It's a major gamble to play and the odds aren't in his favour.

Does anyone know what waits on the other side? Yes, there is one person who does: the one who came from the other side and told us what awaits us, Jesus Christ. He gave the proof that he had the power over death by dying and then raising himself to life three days later.

Hebrews 9:27 :"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..."

Without the forgiveness Christ won for us by dying in our place on the cross, taking our crimes against God upon himself, people are judged and the punishment - eternal, final, separation from a perfect, loving and holy creator God. A far worse fate than any physical trauma we might ever have to experience.

I know for myself, if I died right now I'd be facing a hefty sentence - guilty of countless crimes from lies to lust to theft and on and on... I agree with one of the writers of the bible when he says:

1 Timothy 1:15 : "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst."

What the fictional character of Jackson needed was hope. Hope that one day he would he would be treated for the worse disease known to all mankind - that of sin. He needed to put his trust in the great Physician Jesus who could heal the crippled and the lame, but came to heal the truly sick sinners like you and me.

Matthew 9:4-8 "Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men."

(By Martyn)

Isaiah 46-47, family and idols

Who was it who said, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family”? How true!
I envy people who seem to have such close happy families. Always visiting each other (and enjoying the experience), phoning each other up, having family meetings to sort out a problem as a united front, always there for each other. Maybe I was brought up watching to many episodes of ‘the Waltons’!
I suppose for every close family, there are just as many families who for whatever reason don’t have much contact with each other, that is, other than the usual wedding or funeral.
The family I was brought up in has never been the closest, I like to think it is because we all live some distance from each other, but I’m not so sure.
At Wellfield church today we looked at Isaiah 46 – 47. One part made me instantly think about one of my four brothers. None of them are Christians, but they are aware of my Christian faith. Only one of them has made his opinion very clear on the subject.
He is a self-made man, and has cut himself off from all the family for a good few years. In an attempt to build bridges, I sent him a birthday card which contained a Christian verse. It worked, he did make contact, I received an email. Not the happy reunion I had planned, it was a tirade of abuse against the family and my Christian faith.
I was told never to send such a card again, that only weak minded people need such crutches to help them through their pitiful lives, etc. You see, my brother doesn’t believe he needs God. He has a great wife and children, with a big house, fantastic holidays and financially secure because he is so successful in business. Such a self-made man doesn’t need God!
Isaiah 47:10 You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, “No-one sees me”! Your wisdom and knowledge misled you when you say to yourself, “I am, and there is no one besides me”.
I despair at the idols my brother has made of his worldly success in life. I pray to God, and ask for prayer for him from my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that he will put his trust in Jesus and hear the words of Isaiah 46:4 … “I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
Having listened to the sermon and thinking of my brother, it would be easy to go home and think – he is terrible sinner and needs to realise his idols have replaced the one true God. But, I am just as rubbish as he is. Yes I am a Christian and have a relationship with God, trusting in Jesus Christ, but what are my idols? None? Oh, if only I could put my hand on my heart and honestly say that. I look at the way I live my life, the way I spend my time and money. I am human, tainted by the fall as everyone else. I love my family, my husband and son, nice clothes and jewellery, money burns a hole in my pocket and I turn to food for comfort at the slightest hint of stress and for any excuse of a celebration.
Have I made idols of any of these things? I look into my life and the answer has to be….. well, what do you think? I’m not giving all my secrets away!
So I ask myself, what is the difference between my brother and me? Not that much really, we both have our idols in life. Our big difference is that I have Jesus as my redeemer, and with God’s word and fellowship of my church family I can look at my life and know that there is only one true God!
So you actually can choose your family, and I am happy to say that my father loves me and chose me.
Praise the Lord!
(By Jen)

"Who made God?"

One young person in church asked this recently: "If God made everything, who made God?" It's a popular question in high school - and how funny that since she asked, we've been looking at Isaiah 40-55 as a church, where virtually every chapter gives a clear answer.

For example, our memory verse a couple of weeks ago:

"Before me no God was formed,

nor will there be one after me.

I, even I, am the Lord,

and apart from me there is no saviour."

(Isaiah 43v10-11... and I know: you're all humming it to that cowboy tune now!)

Or how about this:

"I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say: My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please."

(Isaiah 46v9-10)

The answer is: No-one created God. That's what sets him apart from everything else, and all other so-called gods. He has always been, and always will be. And if that hurts your head, so it should! - God is that big.

That is why we have to take him super-seriously. There is no higher authority that we can appeal to on the day God judges us. He is the ultimate one. Therefore when his voice shouts out from the sky over Jesus, "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (Mark 9v7) ... we had better do so. Listen to what he says about the one way to be rescued from the judgement we deserve from God; listen to why Jesus said he had to die on the cross and rise again (Mark 10v45).