Send us a Text Message.Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt – to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.- Deuteronomy 34:10-12In the Israelite understanding a prophet is not someone who predicts the future or someone who speaks truth to power. Prophets may do these things, but they're more than that. A prophet was someone who had a radical encounter with God’s presence, was invited into God's council to intercede on behalf of Israel, and then was commissioned to go and speak to Israel on God’s behalf.In the Old Testament, Moses is THE archetypal prophet. More than anything else, Moses was a bridge between God and humanity. He was a man of two worlds. When he spoke, God spoke. To reject or criticize Moses was to reject or criticize God.  And Moses’s primary objective was to reconcile humans and God. To carry his people’s burden and to be their bridge back to God. The Burning Bush and Horeb, Mount Sinai help us see major brush strokes when it comes to encounter with the terrifying and beautiful presence of God.We then transpose these encounters with the encounter Peter, James and John had with the transfigured Jesus on a third mountain. The very thing that Moses longed for: "God, show me your glory". The very thing that Romans tells us all of creation is longing for. Peter, James and John are looking at the glory of God. Looking with an unveiled face, not at his back, not hidden in the cleft of the rock. They’re seeing Jesus - God - and they're not dead. And after watching all of that up close and personal, Peter, James and John are sent first to Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and to the ends of the earth to tell everybody what they’ve seen. And to tell everyone what is to come. Tell everyone that one day, just like the veil in the temple was ripped in half, the skies too will be split from east to west, as though with lightning. And all people will see Jesus as he truly is: the King of all creation, coming on the clouds of heaven, adiant with power and glory.Beautiful. Terrifying.The invitation is to surrender. To walk up the mountain. Into the presence of God. Even though it seems terrifying.

Send us a Text Message.The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1: 29When it comes to animal sacrifices and the rituals of Leviticus, I think this is one of the genuine places in the Bible where we may get the sensation of approaching the text with a disorienting lack of experiences to underpin our expectations.The real key to grasping this is a shift in our cultural understanding. Whereas we see animal sacrifice and think that somehow death appeases God. To the Israelite. It wasn’t an animal’s death that would cover over sins—it was the blood of a blameless animal.That’s why it's so important, why it is repeatedly stressed in the book of Leviticus that the animal used in the sacrifice must be without blemish. The Israelites were not to choose the worst of their flock for their sacrifices but a perfect, spotless animal.And whereas when we think blood we are more likely to equate that with death. In the Israelite understanding, blood is representative of life. Think of the phrase lifeblood maybe.Put simply, the lifeblood of a perfect animal is put on an altar, because the whole animal must be burnt up, and symbolically this blameless animal goes up in smoke. Into the Heavens. Into the presence of God. This animal goes through death into the presence of true life and there covers over the corruption and failures of the person making the sacrifice. Making a way for a human to enter back into God’s presence. What the book of Leviticus provides, is a way for Israel to know with confidence that, despite their corruption, they are brought near and safe to live near to God’s presence.All over the New Testament, we hear about how Jesus’ death was an atoning sacrifice for us. His death has covered all the evil and death in this world. All the direct consequences of our injustices, our scheming, our failures. And the New Testament authors talk about Jesus’ lifeblood, being able to wash away the vandalism that evil has caused in us and around us, the indirect consequences of our sin. And so now we can now live in God’s presence. The cross is the place where Jesus absorbs sin to create a clean space that is not limited, like animal sacrifices. Jesus’ sacrifice has the power to keep spreading and spreading and reuniting more and more of Heaven and Earth.And now as Jesus’s followers we gather once a week and take the bread and the cup to remember and to participate in the power of Jesus’ death and in his life.The very power that brought Jesus back from the dead is the same power that can deal with the brokenness and evil and vandalism in our own lives and transform us into people who live lives in God’s presence. Who partners with Jesus so that his presence keeps spreading and transforming more of creation and more people to live lives of love and peace.

Send us a Text Message.In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’- Luke 10:30-35As the song says, everybody needs good neighbours. During the pandemic we remembered that we don't live in a bubble, but alongside others who sometimes might need us - or even alongside people who we might need. In the Old Testament - Deuteronomy 6:5 - God instructs his people to love their neighbours as they love themselves.Hmmm... what does that mean? We can't face the expectation of having to love everyone, everywhere, at all times, and it's quite natural to want to narrow down the category. That's what the lawyer in Luke 10 wants to do. Maybe he is genuinely intrigued as to how Jesus will respond. Maybe he just enjoys the cut and thrust of debate. The text though, suggests another attempt to trap Jesus. He knew, as we know deep down, that there is no perfect answer to the question, "Who is my neighbour?". But the story Jesus tells in response to the lawyers question changes the focus of attention. It's not about definitions and categories of deserving and underserving, but about the hearts of those that have the power to help. Will they help or won't they? The Priest and the Levite in the story weigh up the pros and cons, and decide that, on balance, it would be inconvenient to get down into the ditch and help this half-dead man. The Samaritan, of course, sees things differently. More importantly, he does differently. The issue, in the end, is not how good you are at debating the ethics of this or that scenario, or finely slicing the categories of moral responsibility. It doesn't even matter whether you can fix the problem. The question is, are prepared to do something... anything. Who was they neighbour? The one who helped. Then, Jesus ends the philosophical debate with an abrupt command: go and do likewise.

Send us a Text Message.Then the Lord God said to the serpent…"And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,    and between your offspring and her offspring.He will strike your head,    and you will strike his heel.”Genesis 3:14-15In the church year,  my favourite service is Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas eve. The first of the Nine Lessons is from Genesis 3. The message is that the seed or offspring spoken about in Gen 3:15 is the baby in the manger. Jesus is the one who picks up the promise that the snake, who induced the chaos which resulted when the man and woman chose to define what is good and bad for themselves, will be overcome. The promise is there right from the beginning, that God in Jesus will undo the serpent's actions. In the battle, the ‘seed’ of the woman will crush the head of the snake. Though wounded in the struggle, the woman‘s ‘seed’, Jesus, will be victorious.So there is a struggle between the forces of rebellion that carry on the legacy of the snake and the seed of the woman. God’s promise here is about the offspring of the woman: humans brought the problem into the world and humans have to be involved in undoing the trouble. Genesis 3:15 looks forward from the very beginning full of questions and mystery but equally full of hope. Jesus in the gospels picks up snake imagery. The final fatal blow to the head of the snake will come from one human, Jesus on the cross. There are many seeds of the snake out there bringing chaos and misery into the lives of the people we meet. The snake brings chaos and pain to society. For people to gain freedom there must be a struggle. Our friends, family and neighbours will remain in their chains to the snake unless the people of God get out and join the struggle. The snake is out to hurt us, he will strike at our heels. There will be pain when we seek to liberate people from the snake's grip. Expect liberating prisoners from the power of the snake to leave scars.

Send us a Text Message.On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”John 20:19-29 The church historian Jaroslav Pelikan once said: “If the resurrection of Jesus actually happened, then nothing else really matters. If the resurrection of Jesus did not actually happen, then nothing else really matters”.Everybody wants to say that life and love and peace are stronger than death and oppression and hatred. On what basis could we think that is true? If Jesus walked out of the tomb, if he took the disciples' grief, fear and pain and exchanged them for joy and purpose, then we have a reason for hope. If it’s just made up, then Jesus is just another example of a good person being pulped because he dared to stand up to bad people with power.That's all well and good, you might say - the disciples saw the risen Jesus face to face. They were there! 2000 years on, in our daily struggles, how do we sustain hope? As with Thomas, Jesus doesn't despise these questions - he knew we would ask them! There's a blessing for us too - blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.So our griefs, fears and pains can be overcome too, exchanged for something else. What do we get in return?1. The presence of Jesus, wherever and whenever two or three are gathered.2. The peace of Jesus, given "not as the world gives", which is to say an unconditional peace regardless of our circumstances.3. The pattern of Jesus, a call to sacrificial love and solidarity with the weak.4. The purpose of Jesus, as Jesus was sent by the Father, so we are sent by Jesus, that whoever believes in Jesus might have life.5. The power of Jesus, the Holy Spirit that came when Jesus breathed on his disciples.

Send us a Text Message.Blessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.Psalm 1: 1-3 Not everything in your Bible is always easy to understand.  Not everything in your Bible is even comfortable to read.  However, you do not need umpteen theology degrees, nor do you need to be an unrepentant bible nerd to grasp what is necessary in the Bible to be formed into a resilient disciple - someone who delights in the word of the Lord and soaks it up day and night. The Bible gives us wisdom for any situation across a lifetime by telling us the story of what it is to be human and who God is.  The aim of this story is to shape us into people who, as they read, mature spiritually. To mature spiritually is to begin to know what it feels like in any given situation to be more in line with the will of God instead of less.  We are invited to step into that story, to make it our own, to be shaped by its beauty and to live by its wisdom. Yet, one of the challenges in accepting this invitation is the fact that to fully step into these texts we must train ourselves to see their wisdom and beauty. We have to spend time in the word of God. Even when we don’t understand. Even when we don’t find it comfortable. The good news is our effort needn’t be a sprint.  We aren’t trying to download hundreds of pages into our heads in a single sitting. We should be working at developing a lifetime passion, developing consistency, bit by bit, little by little, day by day. No one gets the Bible in one reading. It is designed to be read again and again in community.  We should be feasting on God’s word, eating this honey so that no other book tastes as sweet.  Other stories may entertain us for a moment. But to be fed, to receive life for the deepest parts of us, we come back again and again to the Bible.  We come to encounter God’s wisdom. We come to be formed by the Spirit. We come to receive revelation of God’s goodness and beauty, particularly through the person of Jesus.

Send us a Text Message.Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you,but you will not always have me.”John 12:3-8True generosity has the power to change the world.As the Roman Emperor Julian tried to turn the Empire back towards the ancient Roman religion, he found that one of the main barriers was the fact that “the impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well, everyone can see that our people lack aid from us". The extraordinary generosity of the community founded by Jesus was spilled beyond the boundaries of the church and saw the early Christians forming a prototype welfare state. Or think of the way that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, chose to live on a few percent of his actual income, giving the vast majority away. It  has been said that “when John Wesley was carried to his grave, he left behind him a good library of books, a well-worn clergyman's gown... and the Methodist Church”. The legacy of his life - the inheritance he left - amounted to absolutely nothing financially speaking. Because of his generosity, and others, there are today perhaps 80 million Methodists worldwide. We celebrate such generosity, but we never imagine that we could emulate it. The story of the anointing of Jesus shows us how we could. It presents us with three options - three patterns that could shape our lives.We could be a religious opportunist, like Judas. However he had started out, by the end he was into Jesus for what he can get out of Jesus. He was a disciple on the cheap and on the take. He is a warning to us all: when we follow Jesus on a condition (this relationship, that promotion, success in this or that ministry) it's not Jesus we're really interested in - it's the condition.We could be a bean-counter. These people are sold on the Kingdom ministry of Jesus, especially if its done in the right way. They want to protect Jesus reputation (read Luke's account of this story) and they want to protect his resources. It can come from a good place, but again we have to guard our hearts. We can talk the language of stewardship, when what we're really reaching for is control. "Give that bottle to me!", they shout. "We'll look after it!" Do you think that if one of them had got hold of the perfume that their story would have been told?Or we can be a worshiper - someone who discerns who Jesus is an prepares themselves to pour out everything for him. Mary senses something about Jesus and his love, and knows that extravagant worship is the only possible response. Her bottle broken and nothing kept back. Jesus body broken, and his life flowing out. Generosity isn't about rules, but about hearts transformed by Jesus - people prepared to 'go big' for him. When this is you, there won’t be any part of your life that won’t be affected by the indescribable joy of knowing that – whatever troubles come – you’re living in exactly the way you were created to.

Send us a Text Message.Blessed is the one    whose transgressions are forgiven,    whose sins are covered.Blessed is the one    whose sin the Lord does not count against them    and in whose spirit is no deceit.When I kept silent,    my bones wasted away    through my groaning all day long.For day and night    your hand was heavy on me;my strength was sapped    as in the heat of summer.Then I acknowledged my sin to you    and did not cover up my iniquity.I said, “I will confess    my transgressions to the Lord.”And you forgave    the guilt of my sin.- Psalm 32:1-5Imagine a world without forgiveness - where a wrong just remains, lodged in our lives. Injuries suffered and inflicted by you, unable to heal. In Christianity Rediscovered, the story of a missionaries work with the Masai tribes of Tanzania, the author writes of a strange encounter with a man who seemed to be on the fringes of the group.It was a simple question but it mystified me. He asked, “Can you people bring forgiveness of sin?” I hadn’t gotten around to forgiveness yet (or confession). I was still trying to get across the consciousness and reality of sin. I thought the man was not paying attention. I did not answer his question. I told him I would get to that some other day. Then, afterwards, I found out who he was. He was a man who had committed a great sin against the taboos of the Masai tribe. So he had become an outcast, belonging to no community… The worst part of it was that the sin in question was unforgiveable. There was no forgiveness possible from God or man. He was destined to live his life as a despicable outcast. No wonder he had asked me if I and my people could bring forgiveness.Psalm 32 shows the journey away from the psychological, spiritual and physical burden of undealt with sin, the result of the corruption of the human heart: incurvartus in se, curved in on itself, so that we pollute and misuse even the good gifts of God. When he confesses, he is forgiven - they are carried, covered and not counted.To offer each other confession and forgiveness is to offer blessing. It is the only way for the wound to heal. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in Life Together, It is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. ‘My son, give me thine heart’ (Prov. 23:26).God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that.”

Send us a Text Message.Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.- Acts 13:1-3Fasting is not a results orientated practice. It will not prove to God how serious you are about unanswered prayer or make God love you more. We fast to achieve greater intimacy with God. John Mark comer says that “Fasting is not eating food in order to feed on the Holy Spirit; being hungry for God with your whole body.”How do we tend to respond to God moving in our lives, to God's forgiveness, or to tragedy? We often respond in our minds. But fasting is a whole body response. In the Bible people fast in response: in response to God moving in their lives; in response to God's grace, mercy and forgivingness; in response to tragedy Fasting is not growing our will power muscle - it's about feeding on the Holy Spirit, drawing power from the Holy Spirit  out of relational connection to God - or what Jesus called abiding. Fasting is not likely to be easy. When we fast those things that are opposed to the Spirit come to the surface - they become more obvious and we will begin to realise just how much power and authority they have over us. Richard Foster said that "fasting reveals the things that control us... if pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately.. anger, bitterness, jealousy, strife, fear.. if they are within us, they will surface during fasting"As you fast reflect on all that God has done for you. Spend some time reflecting on what is happening within your body, mind and spirit when you fast - what’s coming to the surface that you perhaps need to bring before the Lord as you feast on the Holy Spirit. Fasting is a response to encountering God,Fasting is a way to feast on the Spirit of God,Fasting is about freedom.

Send us a Text Message.Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.- Matthew 11:28The image Jesus chooses to use to describe the life of a disciple - someone who follows his teaching - is a picture of a yoke: a heavy object that is put on animals for the purpose of carrying a burden.And yet at the same time Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It is even more extraordinary that Jesus explicitly calls those who are weary. He calls those who are already burdened and those who are already at the end of their rope. They are the ones specifically called to take on Jesus’ yoke so that in doing so they find rest.How often do we tell ourselves:  When I get my work life balance right find time to pray, that’s when I can approach God! Almost everyone carries some area of their lives that they insist on trying to sort out all on their own. But according to Jesus, your burden IS your qualification. Realising you are tired and weary, and that you can’t do it on your own, is what gets you in the door.We’re all implicated in this massive human rebellion, the bent of our heart to prove our sufficiency apart from Jesus Christ whether that is through religious striving or some other metric we use to measure our worth. This striving, whether religious or secular, is a struggle under a crushing yoke. It is to labour under a burden we cannot bear and to ultimately miss out on rest - to miss out on life! Jesus never says that this invitation to wear his yoke is without effort. I think the real question is not 'how do I take on a yoke without effort?', but 'how does taking on Jesus’s yoke and carrying his burden actually lighten my load?' Do we live out of the trust, coming to Jesus when we are in the middle of being weary and burdened? Tired and at the end of our ropes? Taking on Jesus’s yoke is an invitation to step freely into his constant presence and to take it all in. Jesus is not trying to teach you new spiritual techniques.... Give you a to-do list the length of your arm.Give you new onerous burdens.He's trying to help you recognize him in all the ways he's showing up in the ordinary life that you already have. At its heart, prayer is stepping into conscious relationship with God. It is about intimacy with God and it is about partnership with God.

Send us a Text Message.May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.- Romans 15:13If someone asked you to tell the story of the 21st century, what would you include?The new millennium dawned with an era defining attack on the twin towers. This heralded conflict in the Middle East which is still playing out more than two decades later. The crash of 2008 put breaks not just on the economy but on the capacity of the nation state to promote and protect the wellbeing of its citizens. Political turmoil is everywhere: formerly responsible powers have engaged in a race to the bottom, while those we perceive as a threat have grown stronger. The pandemic set out in stark terms how vulnerable we are, in spite of all our technological prowess. The natural world is brutally damaged, but we just can’t seem to hop off the consumerist train as it hurtles on to further environmental degradation. We’re learning that progress for us often looks like pain and deprivation for others.This is the age of pessimism. The best people hope for is that they can cushion themselves from  the world with a bubble of career, pleasure, distraction.But Christians shouldn't be pessimists. Jesus is not only risen from the dead, but ascended. Acts 1:9 - After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.To understand the ascension, we should look at the vision in chapter 7 of Daniel. Four monsters come up out of the sea. The last great monster who has come up from the sea stands up in the courtroom, presided over by God himself, and boasts about its power. Like all human empires before and since the monster, which represents human evil, babbles on about all the things it can do. God silences the creature's boasts, and then...“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.Daniel's vision and the ascension of Jesus are the same thing. That’s what the clouds are about… The the power of human and spiritual evil has been judged, and that the Son of Man has been given an authority that will never pass away. This is our faith. This is the Kingdom. Jesus is Lord – of my heart? Of the church? No, Jesus is Lord of everything. As Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”So, we have hope.

Send us a Text Message.After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’- Luke 10:1-11I'm told that good leaders always start by sharing their vision. If they want to achieve something out of the ordinary, a leader should motivate people with a compelling image of the change they want to see.Jesus obviously hadn't read the right leadership books. He sent out the 72 followers to share the good news of the Kingdom not with a vision but with discouragements: a) this task would be too much for these few; b) they'd be like lambs amongst wolves; and c) they would have to go without even basic provisions. On top of this, they're not the elite (the 12 had been sent in Luke 9). All who follow Jesus are sent somewhere or to someone in the end. There are some hands only you can hold. As always, the Kingdom works in ways no-one would anticipate. It doesn't come when or because its representatives are competent, safe, and well-provisioned. It comes because God is really at work. So Kingdom-commissioned people don't go with expertise or stuff. Instead, they go with authority.And then discouragement + danger + deprivation = joy for the 72. The demons submit to their authority. Jesus implies that so much more than that is happening: Luke 10:18 - “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven”. One commentator on this passage said this. Whenever the kingdom of God is truly proclaimed, the work of God is accomplished in ways that even its proclaimers are unaware of.It seems that when faithful Kingdom servants following their orders, even in the most discouraging circumstances, they won't fail. They may never know the impact they have, but no labour in the Lord is ever wasted.

Send us a Text Message.He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.Looking at his disciples, he said:“Blessed are you who are poor,    for yours is the kingdom of God.Blessed are you who hunger now,    for you will be satisfied.Blessed are you who weep now,    for you will laugh.Blessed are you when people hate you,    when they exclude you and insult you    and reject your name as evil,        because of the Son of Man.“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.- Luke 6:17-23Sometimes we think that the essence of Christianity is believing in God and being good. We celebrate when people experience a sense of connection with their Father, and the effect that has on their lives. That’s not wrong. There is a deep sense of connection with God, and we do experience changed hearts and changed minds. But its not the whole thing either, not even nearly.Jesus preached a new Kingdom, a new order, a new system of reality. We’ve just got to pay attention to where Jesus was preaching to catch a glimpse of the significance of this. Galilee is a mountainous region in the north of Israel. The area had a reputation for being a hotbed for rebels and revolutionaries. In the year 6 AD – around the time of Jesus’ birth – Judas of Galilee led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in the Judaea Province. He warned people not to register, and burnt down the houses of those that did. He said that the people should have no King but God.So if you have a Galilean preacher gathering crowds and teaching them about the Kingdom of God that’s not a new religious philosophy, it’s a revolution. Not like Judas the Galilean’s revolution, but a revolution all the same. In fact, more revolutionary than all revolutions. Other revolutions change the people in power. This revolution is a complete reversal in of what is valued and prioritised.Blessed are the poor, woe to the rich! That's what God's Kingdom looks like - and that was Jesus' revolutionary manifesto. The question for us is: what manifesto does our life manifest?

Send us a Text Message.People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’- Mark 10:13-17There are two events in the gospels that belong together. They're both about entering the Kingdom. Unless you receive the Kingdom like a child, you won't enter it versus how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. Those with social position are welcome but the sorted out, morally, financially, and religiously, will find it hard. There's a deep challenge here. When we meet the real Jesus he will see us deeper than anyone else in the world, even more deeply than we see ourselves. We will have to let go of our means of self-justification. We can’t get into the Kingdom through the religion gate. We can't get in through the good behaviour gate. We can't get in by the winning-at-life gate. What does Jesus say in John 10? I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.The encounter ends with the rich young man walking away grieved. It’s really important that we know that Jesus looked and loved him. Jesus feels exactly the same way about the man as he feels about the children! He is ready to receive and bless him. Readers of these verses have worried for centuries whether this actually means that a disciple has to give up everything - but that misses the point. The point is, are we ready to receive the everything he is giving up for us.

Send us a Text Message.The people walking in darkness    have seen a great light;on those living in the land of deep darkness    a light has dawned.Isaiah 9:2 It is the darkest time of year - and now Christmas is nearly over we'll have to face it without the happy twinkle of decorations. We're probably all feeling at least a little bit SAD.But when the Bible references darkness, it's speaking about something more than the usual seasonal gloom. The Bible begins in darkness. It’s un-creation - the world formless and empty. The Bible ends in light, with a city where God's presence is so bright that the sun and moon are no longer necessary - God's plan fulfilled.In between there's the struggle between Dark and Light - and of course not merely physical darkness and light. The promise in Isaiah is that, even if the night seems total, a great light will come. Here, Isaiah is addressing the spiritual state of God's people. Israel – who elsewhere Isaiah calls ‘a light to the nations’ – is here no such thing. They've turned away from the clear word of God, and towards the hocus pocus of witches and spiritists, plunging the nation into chaos. Isaiah prophesies: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given... We might not be in the same position as Israel, but we still need the light to push back the darkness inside and out. Our friends. families and neighbours need that too. And God didn't just throw a torch into the cave of human experience, the light came and took up residence in the darkness itself. That's the amazing, subversive, promise of Christmas. But thank God - literally - that the Light didn't stay long in his cozy manger.And what can those that live in darkness do, other than head for the Light?

Send us a Text Message.Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.- Revelation 3:20Hospitality is incredibly powerful. We know this is true in our lives. Who we eat with, who we welcome close to us and who we celebrate with is incredibly powerful because it is a tangible demonstration that the person we eat with is accepted, they are worth being in the presence of, that they are valuable. Jesus was always inviting himself to other people's homes to be hospitable with them. We see the power of that hospitality in the gospels. We see how it shaped the lives of the people Jesus hangs out with and spends time with. He goes to have tea with Zaccheus and the guy does a complete 180. He’s a corrupt official when he meets Jesus and after Jesus comes into his house Zaccheaus promises to repay anything that he’s stolen and gives away half his wealth to the poor. And what does Jesus say? Today, salvation has come to this house!Jesus even got in trouble with the Pharisees and religious leaders for having meals with people, partying and celebrating with people all the time. The first miracle Jesus did was turning water into wine at a wedding party.Jesus told his followers and hanger on-ers, and tells us through the Gospels, that the Kingdom of God. That is, to be following Jesus and to be experiencing his presence and experiencing God's rule and reign in our lives, is like a feast. The idea that the God of the universe in Christ wants to come into that level of proximity and closeness to us is just, wow. Amazing. He wants us to know: you are accepted, you are worth being in the presence of, you are valuable. It is an invitation. An invitation To hear his voice and open the door. It’s not an invasion. He’s not about to kick the door down like some super cop.  But he does want to be present with us, he wants to be intimate with us.I want to invite us to stop waiting and respond. This is an invitation not a command. An invitation to be satiated and satisfied with the real thing. The realest thing. Say no to what they world is feasting on and say yes to feasting with Jesus.

Send us a Text Message.“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”- Mark 13:32-37CS Lewis once wrote an essay on the end things. It was called ‘The World’s Last Night’. Here is a flavour.The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end. The curtain may be wrung down at any moment—say, before you have finished reading this paragraph.[Christian apocalyptic does] not even foretell, which would be more tolerable to our habits of thought, a gradual decay. It foretells a sudden violent end imposed from without. An extinguisher popped on to the candle, a brick flung at the gramophone, a curtain rung down on the play. HALT.… This seems to some people intolerably frustrating. So many things would be interrupted. Perhaps you were going to get married next month. Perhaps you were going to get a raise next week. You may be on the verge of a great scientific discovery. You may be maturing great social and political reforms. Surely no good and wise God would be so very unreasonable as to cut all this short. Not now—of all moments.But we think thus because we keep on assuming that we know the play. We do not know the play. We do not even know whether we are in Act I or Act V. We do not know who are the major and who are the minor characters. The author knows.There are those who think very little about this part of Christian belief. Why? Probably because some think about it far too much, or at least think about it in the wrong  way. They're full of passionate conviction that this is the time, these are the signs, and so on.We need to resist both extremes. Without the prospect of Jesus' return, we're thinking of a King who never brings justice and judgement, a king who allows evil to grow for ever. If we're constantly trying to predict the moment of his return, then we're going straight up against Jesus' own teaching: only the Father knows the hour. Worse than that, we might lose sight of the fact that the servants are left with their assigned tasks - things like love your neighbours and your enemies, preaching the gospel, and so on. Advent is a time to remember that, "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven". We should watch and wait, but also do the things that the Master has asked of us.

Send us a Text Message.When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.- Matthew 25:31-33Were constantly fascinated by the idea that the world might one day end - disease, ecological disaster, asteroids, zombies etc etc.The Bible agrees that the world will end, but it doesn't agree with how the end is often pictured. Instead of alien invasions or massive earthquakes, there is a judgement. A division between sheep and goats.There's a children's song about the story of the Sheep and the Goats. It goes something like:I just wanna be a sheepBaa, baa, baa, baaI just wanna be a sheepBaa, baa, baa, baaI pray the Lord my soul to keepI just wanna be a sheepBaa, baa, baa, baaDon't wanna be a goat…nopeDon't wanna be a goat…nopeHaven't got any hope…nopeDon't wanna be a goat…nopeIf you can bear it, it's here.As much fun as the song is, it's wrong. The Bible's end of the world story doesn't predict that you or me will end up as a sheep or goats. Instead, it is the 'nations' that will be gathered and separated by the Son of Man (a title Jesus used of himself) according to whether they have helped "the least of these brothers and sisters of mine". And who are Jesus brothers and sisters? He tells us in Matthew 12: "whoever does the will of the Father in heaven is my brother or my sister or my mother".So... the end will be a time when those who have been kind or unkind will receive the judgement and consequences of their actions. But kind or unkind to who? Not people in general, to those that fear God and faithfully follow Jesus.There's a snag. These brothers and sisters will be hungry, thirsty, poorly clothed, sometimes in prison, sometimes sick. At the least, these followers will not be those that have social prestige and wealth. Saying yes to Jesus means saying no to some other things, knowing that he will say the biggest 'yes' to us at the end.

Send us a Text Message.So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,  that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.- John 5:19-24The Apostles' Creed ends with us accepting the promise given to us by Jesus that we will see a life everlasting. It is the ultimate hope that one day, not only will death be overcome, but that in our everyday lives we will draw closer to God, the creator of all things. Its not just about living forever. Its about the kind of lives we can start having right now - lives devoted to the worship of the one who made us. Human beings have tried all kinds of things to fill us up. Power, money, fame, lust, knowledge, you name it. But each one of those leaves us empty. At best, we're distracted for a little while but hungry for more. When we say Amen to God though, we taste eternity. When we praise the one who made us, we glimpse what we were made for. That is the everlasting life on offer to us through Jesus. And every day, we get a choice: do we choose more of that life? Once we take on the hope of eternal life, once we make the conscious decision each day to live that life out, our perspective changes. Our greatest fear, that of death, can be overcome. How differently we might behave when we don't live in fear of death and scarcity! How differently the world we build around us might be!We can live extravagantly generous lives, sure in the knowledge that God the Father has made a place for us by his Son. Waiting for us to come home. Waiting for us to say Amen.

Send us a Text Message.To fully face the cost of the forgiveness of our sins is to allow Jesus’s healing love to transform us into a people who can handle offence when they come at us. People who can be a part of a deep, reconciled church community that can go the distance.I think at its heart the issue of forgiveness comes down to an issue of control. We want to be able to say what is good and what is not for our own self interest.   We don’t want to give our forgiveness and we don’t want to accept forgiveness because to do so would be to let go of our desperate attempts to maintain the illusion of control we try to maintain for our own existence. Remember the story of Jacob? His name literally means “the manipulator”. Jacob is born hanging on to his brother’s heel and continues climbing over other people all along the way. Jacob manipulates his brother Esau out of the birth right that belongs to him as the firstborn. He then manipulates his father to receive the blessing that traditionally went to the first born.  Jacob often gets as good as he gives. In his father-in-law Laban, Jacob meets his match with Laban first swindling him out of 7 years’ service to marry his daughter Leah instead of Rachel and then manipulating him out of another 7 years of service for his daughter Rachel. Jacob and Laban continue to go at each other until eventually Jacob must flee again, having taken the best of his father-in-law’s flocks, herd and cattle. And Laban catches up with him and they make an agreement. They set up this marker, this boundary stone and agree, in essence: You stay on your side and I’ll stay on mine otherwise may God strike us dead. Jacob can't go back and then who comes to meet him? Esau. Coming with an army of 400 men.  Jacob can’t go back; Laban is behind him. What does Jacob do at this point? He puts all that he has between himself and Esau: all his cattle, all his flocks, all of his herds, all of his servants, even his wives and his children. Everything and everyone is expendable to save his own skin. Jacob is left alone, he has nothing more to manipulate with. He has lost it all now. It is all out there between him and his brother. And then Jacob wrestles with God. And as they wrestle God says to Jacob, “What is your name?”Of course God knows Jacob’s name. What God is saying to Jacob is, “What kind of person are you, really?” Jacob answers God, “I am Jacob. I am the manipulator”. Jacob has come to the point of acknowledging before God the kind of person he really is and inherent in that action is a relinquishing of control. Of letting God be God.   And the outwork of that encounter can be seen immediately. The next morning Jacob is out in front of everyone going to meet his brother. No longer is he manipulating others for his own benefit. No longer is he doing what seems best in his own eyes for his own self-preservation.He has humbled and surrendered himself. He has come to the end of himself and has put his trust in God and in doing so he is able to go out to restore the brokenness in his human relationships. To seek forgiveness and reconciliation with his brother.