How do you deal with the post stress let down? When the adrenaline rush subsides because everything is done. Do you collapse in a heap or carry on encouraged? Last weeks mission is finished and Easter is over for another year.
The danger is to just go back to default mode. Having put all that effort into inviting people to things for the week just to let it drift. But what a great catalyst it should be. It was such an encouragement to see the church full of ladies flower arranging and listening to the gospel, to see men playing golf, playing football or eating curry and listening to the gospel. To see families engaging with one another enjoying themselves and hearing the gospel. To see the church full of people listening to Jazz building relationships and engaging with issues such as suffering, truth, and life before death. And then to see friends with us on Sunday to hear God's word taught and the resurrection proclaimed.
The encouragement is that the gospel is relevant, that our friends and neighbours do have those questions and are willing to come and hear the Bibles answers. God is great and he works as we pray and then take the risk of inviting those we want to hear the great news.
Showing posts with label good news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good news. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
Dealing with death
How do you deal with the loss of a loved one? What are we to do with the pain? What hope is there for the future? How do I survive when everything seems bleak when there doesn't seem to be anything but pain?
All these are questions faced by those who have lost family or friends. Often death poses more questions for us than life. Sometimes those questions are about what I could have done better, regrets so often haunt us after we lose those we love, but more often it is to do with our loss.
I was fascinated coming across The Frays song How to Save a Life yesterday, here is a group singing about just those emotions, just those feelings born out their experience of working with recovering drug addicts. So much for the candy floss self absorbed lyrics we expect to see in the top ten. Here is a song that deals meaningfully with death, loss and bereavement and which has struck a chord with thousands who have heard it.
The video in particular is challenging and raises issues, as you watch words like faith, love, and phrases like Don't be afraid of death appear and then fade. It resonates with many who don't know how to deal with the emotional turmoil of the situation they find themselves in. Many have written saying how it has helped them deal with their grief.
How do we help people deal with these things? If the Gospel is the answer, and it is, if the gospel is the hope of the world and it is then we need to be engaged with those around us facing such issues. We need to be engaging with the world, showing love to those who are bereaved, who are struggling, who feel despair, as we do so we will stand out as counter cultural. As we share peoples loss and pain as we open ourselves up and share life with people the gospel can be proclaimed.
Ultimately the only hope we have is the gospel, how tragic if we keep that to ourselves through lack of meaningful relationships.
All these are questions faced by those who have lost family or friends. Often death poses more questions for us than life. Sometimes those questions are about what I could have done better, regrets so often haunt us after we lose those we love, but more often it is to do with our loss.
I was fascinated coming across The Frays song How to Save a Life yesterday, here is a group singing about just those emotions, just those feelings born out their experience of working with recovering drug addicts. So much for the candy floss self absorbed lyrics we expect to see in the top ten. Here is a song that deals meaningfully with death, loss and bereavement and which has struck a chord with thousands who have heard it.
The video in particular is challenging and raises issues, as you watch words like faith, love, and phrases like Don't be afraid of death appear and then fade. It resonates with many who don't know how to deal with the emotional turmoil of the situation they find themselves in. Many have written saying how it has helped them deal with their grief.
How do we help people deal with these things? If the Gospel is the answer, and it is, if the gospel is the hope of the world and it is then we need to be engaged with those around us facing such issues. We need to be engaging with the world, showing love to those who are bereaved, who are struggling, who feel despair, as we do so we will stand out as counter cultural. As we share peoples loss and pain as we open ourselves up and share life with people the gospel can be proclaimed.
Ultimately the only hope we have is the gospel, how tragic if we keep that to ourselves through lack of meaningful relationships.
Monday, 19 March 2007
Good or bad?
I was reading the paper on Saturday and there was a two thirds of a page advert reminding me to buy my mum something for mother's day just in case I'd forgotten - which I hadn't by the way. Calling on me to celebrate love, self sacrifice and dedication, in short reminding me to celebrate everything that is good about humanity.
The irony was that sat next to it was a 2 column, 3 or 4 paragraph story reporting on a young mum and dad who had been sentenced for killing their 11 month old through neglect, the little girl had starved to death.
A reminder to celebrate all that is good but also a reminder of everything that is bad about our world. It is right to celebrate what is good but the bad is never far away, a reminder of the fallenness of the world and our need of God's gospel to save and change us.
The irony was that sat next to it was a 2 column, 3 or 4 paragraph story reporting on a young mum and dad who had been sentenced for killing their 11 month old through neglect, the little girl had starved to death.
A reminder to celebrate all that is good but also a reminder of everything that is bad about our world. It is right to celebrate what is good but the bad is never far away, a reminder of the fallenness of the world and our need of God's gospel to save and change us.
Wednesday, 14 March 2007
Reaching everyone
It is the churches responsibility to tell the gospel to everyone regardless of any differences in background, education, or socio-economic factors. So how do we do it? Where do we do it? When do we do it?
I've been thinking about pub and curry house evangelism. How can we reach the people in those places? Are they places we could take 'church' to those who don't do church? What would it look like to do that and not drive them away? Could we hire out a local curry house and have a bring your friends evening? How could we then address their issues?
Am I prepared to make the sacrifices necessary in what I like to do so? That is the main questions. We all nod assent to the idea that the gospel is for all but what are we doing to reach them all. It was OK 30 years ago to invite people into church, but what about those who will never come in. How do we get the gospel to them?
I've been thinking about pub and curry house evangelism. How can we reach the people in those places? Are they places we could take 'church' to those who don't do church? What would it look like to do that and not drive them away? Could we hire out a local curry house and have a bring your friends evening? How could we then address their issues?
Am I prepared to make the sacrifices necessary in what I like to do so? That is the main questions. We all nod assent to the idea that the gospel is for all but what are we doing to reach them all. It was OK 30 years ago to invite people into church, but what about those who will never come in. How do we get the gospel to them?
Thursday, 15 February 2007
Making the good news known
People do things all the time that make us question their beliefs. Jesus certainly did in the gospels, that's why he has so many run ins with the Pharisees, as he does things that show he thinks differently about the sabbath, about cleanliness, about sin and righteousness.
For Christ followers the challenge is to do likewise. How do my beliefs show in my actions? How does being part of God's kingdom affect my living in exile in this kingdom? Do my friends and family see that my beliefs about life, about death, about God are different? Am I perceived as just being religious or do I live as a sinner saved by God's outrageous grace in Christ?
What would such living look like? It would mould my attitude in the office as I put on the mind of Christ; not worrying about my rights, not concerned about my position, knowing that living for God means I might be belittled but that God will lift me up.
Or as a parent, how do I live the gospel? What opportunities does the day present to me to teach my children about the outrageous love of God, as we look at the world and as they experience pain and joy?
Living like that provokes questions and gives credibility to our words as we make the great news about Jesus Christ known.
For Christ followers the challenge is to do likewise. How do my beliefs show in my actions? How does being part of God's kingdom affect my living in exile in this kingdom? Do my friends and family see that my beliefs about life, about death, about God are different? Am I perceived as just being religious or do I live as a sinner saved by God's outrageous grace in Christ?
What would such living look like? It would mould my attitude in the office as I put on the mind of Christ; not worrying about my rights, not concerned about my position, knowing that living for God means I might be belittled but that God will lift me up.
Or as a parent, how do I live the gospel? What opportunities does the day present to me to teach my children about the outrageous love of God, as we look at the world and as they experience pain and joy?
Living like that provokes questions and gives credibility to our words as we make the great news about Jesus Christ known.
Thursday, 1 February 2007
Its all DONE!
Been preparing some training materials on sharing the gospel and was struck again by the gospels simplicity and yet its impact. I guess most people think Christians are religious and religion is all about DO. Yet the Bible says we can't do, we are hopeless nothing ever matches up to God's standard, even our very best is tainted.
So how do you answer the question 'When did you become religious?'. Religion is spelt DO. Christianity is spelt DONE, the wonder of the gospel is that there is nothing that I can do because it is all done for me in Christ. I am credited with his perfect son ship whilst he paid for my rebellion.
We just have to accept that we have rebelled against God and there was nothing we could do but await a justice we fully deserved and trust in Jesus to save us and turn and ask him to rule our lives now.
It is no wonder all the gospel writers describe it as such great news and that it turned the Roman world upside down!
So how do you answer the question 'When did you become religious?'. Religion is spelt DO. Christianity is spelt DONE, the wonder of the gospel is that there is nothing that I can do because it is all done for me in Christ. I am credited with his perfect son ship whilst he paid for my rebellion.
We just have to accept that we have rebelled against God and there was nothing we could do but await a justice we fully deserved and trust in Jesus to save us and turn and ask him to rule our lives now.
It is no wonder all the gospel writers describe it as such great news and that it turned the Roman world upside down!
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
A day for news
Just back from an hour and half in casualty having an elbow X-rayed after a footballing injury last night, no lasting damage but a couple of days no lifting and on ibuprofen and paracetamol.
But as I was sat in the hospital I was watching life go on around me. There will be those there who will have had the worst possible news this morning, being reminded in no uncertain terms of their mortality. There will be those families for whom this morning life was normal but who now face the devastation of losing a loved one.
Yet elsewhere in the hospital there will have been those getting good news, a cancer in remission, a successful surgery, or an impending birth, or even the safe delivery of their child.
Yet ultimately hospitals are reminders of our mortality, that life is fragile and we are frail. For all our illusions of immortality, advancement and capability we are at the mercies of a patch of ice, or a virus, or rogue growth, or simply someone else's mistake.
What a difference the gospel would make to those who have had bad news this morning. To know that God loves them, that God knows, that he has sent his Son so that death is not the end, so that we can look forward to a world without the A&E department or X-ray or oncology.
That's great news and it is God's gift to his people to be able to live and speak that news to those in just the situation we find them in.
But as I was sat in the hospital I was watching life go on around me. There will be those there who will have had the worst possible news this morning, being reminded in no uncertain terms of their mortality. There will be those families for whom this morning life was normal but who now face the devastation of losing a loved one.
Yet elsewhere in the hospital there will have been those getting good news, a cancer in remission, a successful surgery, or an impending birth, or even the safe delivery of their child.
Yet ultimately hospitals are reminders of our mortality, that life is fragile and we are frail. For all our illusions of immortality, advancement and capability we are at the mercies of a patch of ice, or a virus, or rogue growth, or simply someone else's mistake.
What a difference the gospel would make to those who have had bad news this morning. To know that God loves them, that God knows, that he has sent his Son so that death is not the end, so that we can look forward to a world without the A&E department or X-ray or oncology.
That's great news and it is God's gift to his people to be able to live and speak that news to those in just the situation we find them in.
Tuesday, 16 January 2007
Weekend Away
Just back from the Church Plant Weekend Away in Keswick. It was a great weekend with a good team despite some wet and windy weather.
If the good news that Jesus died in our place for our rebellion against God is true and it is, and if we have a hope of eternity with God in the new creation which we do, and if that great truth is the churches to proclaim which it is, then the local church is the hope of the world.
That is the premise which ran all through the weekend as we studied Acts 2:42-47 and asked what does it mean for us as a church to be devoted to the apostles teaching, prayer, breaking of bread and the fellowship. And what does that look like in 2007, how can we spur one another on to do that and how do we do church in a way that enables us to do so as effectively as possible.
More thoughts to follow this week as I work through the material from our discussions.
If the good news that Jesus died in our place for our rebellion against God is true and it is, and if we have a hope of eternity with God in the new creation which we do, and if that great truth is the churches to proclaim which it is, then the local church is the hope of the world.
That is the premise which ran all through the weekend as we studied Acts 2:42-47 and asked what does it mean for us as a church to be devoted to the apostles teaching, prayer, breaking of bread and the fellowship. And what does that look like in 2007, how can we spur one another on to do that and how do we do church in a way that enables us to do so as effectively as possible.
More thoughts to follow this week as I work through the material from our discussions.
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