I was really challenged by my aunt and uncle's Christmas letter this year. I've cut and pasted an extract below.
The whole Israel/Palestine issue is something that I've never really got my head round, I'm quite ashamed to say. It's not been helped (he says rather defensively) by the prevalence of pro Israel groups I've come across since being down here on the south coast. It's not just the fact that Christians are keen to pray for Israel but that amongst some there's a view that Israel can do no wrong at all and even to suggest that Israel might be at fault is tantamount to blasphemy. Anyway this naivety just annoys me so I've kept my distance.....which I shouldn't have done really.
So I'm reading John and Jane's letter and I'm moved... I'm still not sure what to believe or what to do but I am stirred....and I want to know more....
We have had a full and interesting year – with a number of highs and lows. Our highlight was a 10 day visit to Palestine / Israel in May with the Amos Trust, We spent 6 nights in Bethlehem and 4 in Nazareth. It was inspired by people we have met over recent years, and particularly at Greenbelt last year, who indicated that if you want to understand what is actually happening in this land once called Holy, you need to come and see and listen to the Living Stones. It was a life-changing experience. The effect of being within Bethlehem which is now surrounded by the 27ft Israeli wall is quite horrific. Many of the population, both Christian and Muslim, are cut off from their land, their livelihood and their roots. The number of Christians is diminishing at an alarming rate. We met with Palestinian and Israeli groups who are working for justice and peace for all the people of the land using non-violent means and we were deeply humbled at their faith and determination. However the corporate humiliation and daily obstacles being imposed on the Palestinian community are shocking to witness. Our group was a diverse one and we met and shared with so many people of real faith and determination. You may be interested to learn more of what is happening through the new organisation – Just Peace for Palestine – www.justpeaceforpalestine.org . John is hoping to return to Palestine with Amos Trust in April 2011 to help rebuild a Palestinian house, demolished by the Israelis, just outside Bethlehem. This will be a challenging experience in every way, but hopefully a symbolic act of solidarity. 'We have each been asked to raise £1,000 for materials and I have set up a JustGiving site to invite donations -
http://www.justgiving.com/John-Henson0
As we approach Christmas we are aware particularly of the pain of those who live in Bethlehem and in occupied Palestine - aware that there are few visitors who come to that city to celebrate the birth of our Saviour and where the Shepherds’ Fields are now largely overlooked by illegal settlements. The Wise Men could only reach Bethlehem today by accessing endless checkpoints and would need a permit to come and worship the Christ child! A quote from Canon Naim Ateek seems to sum up our thoughts – ‘it would be good for today’s Magi to visit Bethlehem. They do not realise that the genuine answers to peace lie in everything the child of Bethlehem has stood for – humility, openness, love of others, forgiveness and even sacrifice of oneself for others’.
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Craving Fidelity
In prep for the 10 Commandments series next term I just read this and thought "Flip me...that's sooooo true!"
In spite of the high divorce rate and the cavalier attitude we seem to have about marriage, something in our human soul hankers after that elusive fidelity that marriage promises. When actress Jeniffer Aniston and her handsome actor-husband Brad Pitt broke up, one stunned and disappointed fan bemoaned the split: "If they can't make it, who can?" Though perhaps misplaced, the hope of these fans taps into a structure that God placed in the world as a picture of his fidelity to his people.
Edmund Clowney, How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commmandments
We all want fidelity, we really do.....
In spite of the high divorce rate and the cavalier attitude we seem to have about marriage, something in our human soul hankers after that elusive fidelity that marriage promises. When actress Jeniffer Aniston and her handsome actor-husband Brad Pitt broke up, one stunned and disappointed fan bemoaned the split: "If they can't make it, who can?" Though perhaps misplaced, the hope of these fans taps into a structure that God placed in the world as a picture of his fidelity to his people.
Edmund Clowney, How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commmandments
We all want fidelity, we really do.....
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
How Human Was Jesus?
I listened to Mark Driscoll yesterday preaching about the humanity of Jesus....best thing I've done in a long time I can tell you. Do the Kingdom a favour and take some time to listen (or watch) this sermon. Not only will you get some profoundly good input you'll laugh till your sides ache.
I guess most of us will be comfortable with the idea that Jesus is fully God but do we really get that He was fully man? This doctrine has profound implications for how we do life.
"When you need Jesus most you don't get disappointment you get get sympathy".
He understanding our weakness because he's been there..... check it out....
http://bit.ly/2sk64q
I guess most of us will be comfortable with the idea that Jesus is fully God but do we really get that He was fully man? This doctrine has profound implications for how we do life.
"When you need Jesus most you don't get disappointment you get get sympathy".
He understanding our weakness because he's been there..... check it out....
http://bit.ly/2sk64q
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Baptisms, Plectrums and High Speed Trains
Well, it's been a while has it not. I sort of missed blogging and didn't miss it all at the same time.....
Last Sunday morning was amazing. I don't mean "amazing" as in what all pastors are supposed to say about their church services in the week following, I mean really breath taking.
We baptised six people. (Yeah I know, kind of like buses, nothing for ages (12 months in our case) and then loads come at once). I knew them, of course, and I knew their stories but it was only when I was standing in the water, hearing them share their story and make significant affirmations about their faith in Christ before the congregation that I was really confronted by the sheer grace, goodness and power of God. Six people; a cross section of ages, backgrounds and Christian experience, some knowing the Lord for a long time, others for just a short time, all declaring how God had saved them for a new life with Him.
They say that the person with an experience is rarely at the mercy of a person with an argument. It was certainly a powerful witness to the many non-believers who were present.
In the evening I was leading the service. I was speaking about Holy Communion and how it was like a birthday party and a high speed train (great images I'd picked up from Tom Wright). Anyway, just as we're about to start, my younger son Jack who was playing bass in the band, swallowed his plectrum and began to choke. He was whisked out the back and a medic started the old Heimlich Manoeuvre. Meanwhile I'd spotted a guy in the congregation who I was pretty sure was medical consultant (he'd never been to LBC before) and he came to join the fray. Anyway, long story short, he stopped choking and was taken to Southampton A & E.
Meanwhile I cracked on with the service. Singing hymns about the faithfulness of God and preaching on His real presence with us was all the more poignant knowing Jack had had a very narrow escape and still wasn't out of the woods.
Is God only faithful and His grace only effective when things go well....what if things had turned out differently as they so easily could have done....? With Spurgeon I believe (I hope in all circumstances) that in trials the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which I lay my head. And what's more the simple fact is that the only reason, any of us, ever take a next breath at all is because of the mercy and grace of God. It's only because of Him....
So an eventful day that started, and ended, well.....by His grace.
Last Sunday morning was amazing. I don't mean "amazing" as in what all pastors are supposed to say about their church services in the week following, I mean really breath taking.
We baptised six people. (Yeah I know, kind of like buses, nothing for ages (12 months in our case) and then loads come at once). I knew them, of course, and I knew their stories but it was only when I was standing in the water, hearing them share their story and make significant affirmations about their faith in Christ before the congregation that I was really confronted by the sheer grace, goodness and power of God. Six people; a cross section of ages, backgrounds and Christian experience, some knowing the Lord for a long time, others for just a short time, all declaring how God had saved them for a new life with Him.
They say that the person with an experience is rarely at the mercy of a person with an argument. It was certainly a powerful witness to the many non-believers who were present.
In the evening I was leading the service. I was speaking about Holy Communion and how it was like a birthday party and a high speed train (great images I'd picked up from Tom Wright). Anyway, just as we're about to start, my younger son Jack who was playing bass in the band, swallowed his plectrum and began to choke. He was whisked out the back and a medic started the old Heimlich Manoeuvre. Meanwhile I'd spotted a guy in the congregation who I was pretty sure was medical consultant (he'd never been to LBC before) and he came to join the fray. Anyway, long story short, he stopped choking and was taken to Southampton A & E.
Meanwhile I cracked on with the service. Singing hymns about the faithfulness of God and preaching on His real presence with us was all the more poignant knowing Jack had had a very narrow escape and still wasn't out of the woods.
Is God only faithful and His grace only effective when things go well....what if things had turned out differently as they so easily could have done....? With Spurgeon I believe (I hope in all circumstances) that in trials the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which I lay my head. And what's more the simple fact is that the only reason, any of us, ever take a next breath at all is because of the mercy and grace of God. It's only because of Him....
So an eventful day that started, and ended, well.....by His grace.
Friday, 22 October 2010
Fat Face and the Voice of God
I heard a guy I know say this evening that he'd felt God speak to him through the label attached to a t-shirt he bought in Fat Face. It said:
"It's never too late to be the person you could have been"
Feel like saying: "Discuss. 2000 words"!
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Gutsy Guilt
The dominant pastoral issue in my ministry over the last ten years has been sexual sin. I've spent more time giving spiritual direction in this area than any other. I know that some who read this will be shocked. I know some will want to bury their head in the sand. I know that some will not be able to relate to it at all. I understand that but the reality still stands.
In many ways none of us should be surprised because we live in a sex-saturated culture where sex is used to sell anything and everything and where our children are sexualised from their earliest years. We live in a world where young girls who can barely walk are first cajoled into wearing high heels and T-shirts with Playboy motifs, before progressing into a grim future dominated by an internet-based youth culture that pressurises them into dress and behaviour which defines them overwhelmingly as sexual objects. What's more we can access any image we like from the privacy of our own home and it's only a mouse click away.
What are we expecting? That God's people would be immune?
We've got to fight back!
Not with the banning of porn or ever more sophisticated internet accountability software (which I heartily endorse and if you've not got some get it (see covenanteyes.com)) but with the historic, orthodox gospel which brings us a far greater vision to capture our affections and the power to find our joy in God (do the Kingdom a favour and read something by Tim Chester that will help you unleash the power of the gospel - You Can Change and Captured by a Better Vision to name but two books).
But we also need to fight satan himself who wields the lie that sexual sin disqualifies us from God's favour and service. This lie has been devastating to so many (you want to know why the church is struggling to engage men......?)
Today I was reminded of an article that John Piper wrote some years ago called "Gutsy Guilt". How we need to hear its message today. Please read it and be bold enough to share it with others. By God's grace sexual temptation might not be a challenge for you but if you're part of the LBC community it's a challenge to a good number and, at the risk of repeating myself, we're in 21st century so it shouldn't be a great surprise.
He was speaking at a conference with George Verwer, the founder of the mission organisation Operation Mobilisation. He writes:
Verwer's burden at that conference was the tragic number of young people who at one point in their lives dreamed of radical obedience to Jesus, but then faded away into useless American prosperity. A gnawing sense of guilt and unworthiness over sexual failure gradually gave way to spiritual powerlessness and the dead-end dream of middle-class security and comfort.
In other words, what seemed so tragic to George Verwer—as it does to me—is that so many young people are being lost to the cause of Christ's mission because they are not taught how to deal with the guilt of sexual failure. The problem is not just how not to fail. The problem is how to deal with failure so that it doesn't sweep away your whole life into wasted mediocrity with no impact for Christ.
The great tragedy is not masturbation or fornication or pornography. The tragedy is that Satan uses guilt from these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had or might have. In their place, he gives you a happy, safe, secure, American life of superficial pleasures, until you die in your lakeside rocking chair.
I have a passion that you do not waste your life. My aim is not mainly to cure you of sexual misconduct. I would like that to happen. But mostly I want to take out of the Devil's hand the weapon that exploits your sin and makes your life a wasted, worldly success. Satan wants that for you. But you don't!
To read the rest of this article click here.....http://bit.ly/947Mw1
In many ways none of us should be surprised because we live in a sex-saturated culture where sex is used to sell anything and everything and where our children are sexualised from their earliest years. We live in a world where young girls who can barely walk are first cajoled into wearing high heels and T-shirts with Playboy motifs, before progressing into a grim future dominated by an internet-based youth culture that pressurises them into dress and behaviour which defines them overwhelmingly as sexual objects. What's more we can access any image we like from the privacy of our own home and it's only a mouse click away.
What are we expecting? That God's people would be immune?
We've got to fight back!
Not with the banning of porn or ever more sophisticated internet accountability software (which I heartily endorse and if you've not got some get it (see covenanteyes.com)) but with the historic, orthodox gospel which brings us a far greater vision to capture our affections and the power to find our joy in God (do the Kingdom a favour and read something by Tim Chester that will help you unleash the power of the gospel - You Can Change and Captured by a Better Vision to name but two books).
But we also need to fight satan himself who wields the lie that sexual sin disqualifies us from God's favour and service. This lie has been devastating to so many (you want to know why the church is struggling to engage men......?)
Today I was reminded of an article that John Piper wrote some years ago called "Gutsy Guilt". How we need to hear its message today. Please read it and be bold enough to share it with others. By God's grace sexual temptation might not be a challenge for you but if you're part of the LBC community it's a challenge to a good number and, at the risk of repeating myself, we're in 21st century so it shouldn't be a great surprise.
He was speaking at a conference with George Verwer, the founder of the mission organisation Operation Mobilisation. He writes:
Verwer's burden at that conference was the tragic number of young people who at one point in their lives dreamed of radical obedience to Jesus, but then faded away into useless American prosperity. A gnawing sense of guilt and unworthiness over sexual failure gradually gave way to spiritual powerlessness and the dead-end dream of middle-class security and comfort.
In other words, what seemed so tragic to George Verwer—as it does to me—is that so many young people are being lost to the cause of Christ's mission because they are not taught how to deal with the guilt of sexual failure. The problem is not just how not to fail. The problem is how to deal with failure so that it doesn't sweep away your whole life into wasted mediocrity with no impact for Christ.
The great tragedy is not masturbation or fornication or pornography. The tragedy is that Satan uses guilt from these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had or might have. In their place, he gives you a happy, safe, secure, American life of superficial pleasures, until you die in your lakeside rocking chair.
I have a passion that you do not waste your life. My aim is not mainly to cure you of sexual misconduct. I would like that to happen. But mostly I want to take out of the Devil's hand the weapon that exploits your sin and makes your life a wasted, worldly success. Satan wants that for you. But you don't!
To read the rest of this article click here.....http://bit.ly/947Mw1
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Redeeming Singleness
It's hard for a pastor who's been married since he was just turned 22 to teach about singleness . But I've always had a passion to see people, particularly married people (I figure single folk know most of the stuff), well taught in this area. So consequently when I want to lean in to this area I've sought to draft in others to help. I'm doing the same now by advertising Barry Danylak's recent book, Redeeming Singleness, published by Crossway. John Piper wrote the forward - here's the whole thing. I commend it to you whether you're married or single (that is of course, after you've read everything you can by Tim Chester!)
The greatest, wisest, most fully human person who has ever lived, never married. Jesus Christ. His greatest apostle never married, and was thankful for his singleness. Jesus himself said, that in the age to come we do not marry. And he added that the age to come had already broken into this world.
Therefore, the presence of single people in the church not only “attests the sufficiency of Christ for the reception of God’s covenantal blessings in the new covenant,” but also reminds us “that the spiritual age has already been inaugurated in Christ and awaits imminent consummation.”
When I met Barry Danylak at Tyndale House in Cambridge, England, in the summer of 2006, I was amazed at the research he was doing on a biblical theology of singleness. Not only was the scope of it unprecedented, but the theological and practical insights struck me as biblically compelling and practically urgent. I don’t know of anyone else who has ever provided the extent of biblical reflection on singleness that Barry has provided for us here.
Both marriage and singleness demand the most serious and solid biblical insight. These are realities that affect every area of our life and thought. We cannot settle for superficial pep talks. Our lives cry out for significance. And significance comes from seeing ourselves the way God sees us. Including our singleness. My guess is that virtually every single who reads this book will finish with a sense of wonder at who they are, and how little they knew about this gift and calling.
Barry is keenly aware of the progress of redemptive history and its stunning implications for the single life. Early in that history, marriage and physical children were fundamental to the blessings of the Mosaic Covenant. But they are not fundamental to the New Covenant the way they were then. And what is beautiful about the way Barry develops this historical flow is that the glory of Jesus Christ is exalted above all things.
Barry elevates but does not absolutize the calling of the single life. It’s greatness lies in this: “It is a visible reminder that the kingdom of God points to a reality which stands beyond worldly preoccupations of marriage, family and career.” Indeed. And that greater reality is the all-satisfying, everlasting friendship of Jesus himself in the new heavens and the new earth. Marriage and singleness will be transcended, and Christ himself will make those categories obsolete in the joy of his presence. A life of joyful singleness witnesses to this.
The greatest, wisest, most fully human person who has ever lived, never married. Jesus Christ. His greatest apostle never married, and was thankful for his singleness. Jesus himself said, that in the age to come we do not marry. And he added that the age to come had already broken into this world.
Therefore, the presence of single people in the church not only “attests the sufficiency of Christ for the reception of God’s covenantal blessings in the new covenant,” but also reminds us “that the spiritual age has already been inaugurated in Christ and awaits imminent consummation.”
When I met Barry Danylak at Tyndale House in Cambridge, England, in the summer of 2006, I was amazed at the research he was doing on a biblical theology of singleness. Not only was the scope of it unprecedented, but the theological and practical insights struck me as biblically compelling and practically urgent. I don’t know of anyone else who has ever provided the extent of biblical reflection on singleness that Barry has provided for us here.
Both marriage and singleness demand the most serious and solid biblical insight. These are realities that affect every area of our life and thought. We cannot settle for superficial pep talks. Our lives cry out for significance. And significance comes from seeing ourselves the way God sees us. Including our singleness. My guess is that virtually every single who reads this book will finish with a sense of wonder at who they are, and how little they knew about this gift and calling.
Barry is keenly aware of the progress of redemptive history and its stunning implications for the single life. Early in that history, marriage and physical children were fundamental to the blessings of the Mosaic Covenant. But they are not fundamental to the New Covenant the way they were then. And what is beautiful about the way Barry develops this historical flow is that the glory of Jesus Christ is exalted above all things.
Barry elevates but does not absolutize the calling of the single life. It’s greatness lies in this: “It is a visible reminder that the kingdom of God points to a reality which stands beyond worldly preoccupations of marriage, family and career.” Indeed. And that greater reality is the all-satisfying, everlasting friendship of Jesus himself in the new heavens and the new earth. Marriage and singleness will be transcended, and Christ himself will make those categories obsolete in the joy of his presence. A life of joyful singleness witnesses to this.
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