This morning we shared in communion. During the sharing of the sacrament we sang BEHOLD THE LAMB. What a beautiful songs with such strong lyrics. Here is a thought provoking post from Sally which echoes a number of questions I am grappling with in my mind in terms of the relationship between worship services, preaching and discipleship.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Saturday, 4 September 2010
BIAY 4
Genesis 7:1-9:17…
Before the rains came od declares to Noah that, among all people, he has found him ‘righteous in this generation.’ If you want to know my prayer for you all as young people, it’s just that… that you would be counted righteous among your generation; that you would go down in history, like Noah, as the one’s who stood up and stood out for God and changed the world. I can see God already working in your lives and it’s amazing. So be encouraged and aim for that: to be the righteous ones of this generation.
Then the flood. In a real sense, mankind has messed up everything that God had made so much that God decides to re-create everything. If you remember, in Genesis 1, before anything was created, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Here, once more, the earth is covered with water.
And it’s like Noah and his wife – along with their sons and wives – are the new Adam and Eve. In Genesis 1:28 God instructs humans to ‘be fruitful and increase in number.’ That instruction is repeated in today’s reading twice.
So, it’s not that God made a mistake the first time round. He simply gave human’s the choice to love him or not to love him (and if love’s not a choice then it’s not really love, is it… it’s obligation or something similar). And humans didn’t love him. It was humans who made the mistakes. And so God decides to start again.
But the rainbow is given as a sign of a covenant (a binding agreement) that God will never again flood the earth to the same extent. Even though God knows that mankind will mess things up again (8:21). (Still, the flood and the rainbow should serve as a reminder to us that God should not be taken lightly.)
And the rainbow in particular, more than just light shining through the prism of the raindrop (the ‘how,’ science question) should speak to us of God’s commitment and love to us, weak and frail though we are (‘why’ we see rainbows).
After losing Iona, as Susie and I set off for Inverness from her graveside, we saw a rainbow. And, as we drove up the A9, we saw 6 more, including one as we pulled back into our driveway here. In the midst of all that pain and heartache, when we saw those rainbows we knew God was with us: ‘Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures.’ We knew God was remembering us!
Matthew 4:1-22…
We find Jesus, the King, now tempted in the desert. And it’s hard. But Jesus is a King who wants to know what his people go through. And we’re tempted – everyday – and it’s hard. But Jesus knows what we’re going through. The big difference is that while we so often give into temptation, Jesus never did.
Never forget that being tempted isn’t a sin – only giving in to temptation is. But we can learn from our reading today how best to combat the devil’s tempting. Jesus was, first of all, full of the Holy Spirit, for he was ‘led by the Spirit into the desert’ (v.1). We need to full of the Spirit in order to combat temptation and live the way God wants us to (and you only have to ask him for that to happen). Second, he knew the Bible. Every time the devil tempts Jesus he replies with a line from the Old Testament. One of the great things about reading the Bible in a year is that we’ll know it so much better. Therefore we’ll be able to respond to difficult situations and temptation by using the Scriptures too.
After the desert experience we hear Jesus message which is the message of the kingdom of heaven. I’m not going to say anything about the kingdom here as everything Jesus says in the rest of Matthew will show us what the kingdom’s like. That’s worth looking forward to.
But it is worth noting how amazing it is when we really meet with Jesus. The first disciples (Simon-Peter and Andrew and James and John) had never met him before but seeing Jesus and hearing his invitation was enough. At once they left their nets – and their father! – and followed him. They must have known instinctively that following Jesus would help them become the righteous of their generation, just as Noah was in his. If we dare to leave everything we have for Jesus to become fishers of men (people who tell others about Jesus and bring them to him) we will be called righteous too, and we’ll be following those first disciple’s footsteps..
Proverbs 1:1-7…
Proverbs is an amazing book, full of cool little sayings and funny lines. But it is really for the attaining of wisdom and discipline and all the other things listed in verses 2-6. But that really begins with fear of the Lord (v.7). And that’s not being scared of God, but simply respecting him and understanding how powerful he is.
Fools that despise wisdom and discipline get caught up in the flood waters of life (a bit like Noah’s peers) and they just ignore Jesus when he says, ‘Come, follow me.’ Let us, however, be wise and fear the Lord. Then we will, as I’ve said is my prayer, be counted righteous in this generation.
Before the rains came od declares to Noah that, among all people, he has found him ‘righteous in this generation.’ If you want to know my prayer for you all as young people, it’s just that… that you would be counted righteous among your generation; that you would go down in history, like Noah, as the one’s who stood up and stood out for God and changed the world. I can see God already working in your lives and it’s amazing. So be encouraged and aim for that: to be the righteous ones of this generation.
Then the flood. In a real sense, mankind has messed up everything that God had made so much that God decides to re-create everything. If you remember, in Genesis 1, before anything was created, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Here, once more, the earth is covered with water.
And it’s like Noah and his wife – along with their sons and wives – are the new Adam and Eve. In Genesis 1:28 God instructs humans to ‘be fruitful and increase in number.’ That instruction is repeated in today’s reading twice.
So, it’s not that God made a mistake the first time round. He simply gave human’s the choice to love him or not to love him (and if love’s not a choice then it’s not really love, is it… it’s obligation or something similar). And humans didn’t love him. It was humans who made the mistakes. And so God decides to start again.
But the rainbow is given as a sign of a covenant (a binding agreement) that God will never again flood the earth to the same extent. Even though God knows that mankind will mess things up again (8:21). (Still, the flood and the rainbow should serve as a reminder to us that God should not be taken lightly.)
And the rainbow in particular, more than just light shining through the prism of the raindrop (the ‘how,’ science question) should speak to us of God’s commitment and love to us, weak and frail though we are (‘why’ we see rainbows).
After losing Iona, as Susie and I set off for Inverness from her graveside, we saw a rainbow. And, as we drove up the A9, we saw 6 more, including one as we pulled back into our driveway here. In the midst of all that pain and heartache, when we saw those rainbows we knew God was with us: ‘Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures.’ We knew God was remembering us!
Matthew 4:1-22…
We find Jesus, the King, now tempted in the desert. And it’s hard. But Jesus is a King who wants to know what his people go through. And we’re tempted – everyday – and it’s hard. But Jesus knows what we’re going through. The big difference is that while we so often give into temptation, Jesus never did.
Never forget that being tempted isn’t a sin – only giving in to temptation is. But we can learn from our reading today how best to combat the devil’s tempting. Jesus was, first of all, full of the Holy Spirit, for he was ‘led by the Spirit into the desert’ (v.1). We need to full of the Spirit in order to combat temptation and live the way God wants us to (and you only have to ask him for that to happen). Second, he knew the Bible. Every time the devil tempts Jesus he replies with a line from the Old Testament. One of the great things about reading the Bible in a year is that we’ll know it so much better. Therefore we’ll be able to respond to difficult situations and temptation by using the Scriptures too.
After the desert experience we hear Jesus message which is the message of the kingdom of heaven. I’m not going to say anything about the kingdom here as everything Jesus says in the rest of Matthew will show us what the kingdom’s like. That’s worth looking forward to.
But it is worth noting how amazing it is when we really meet with Jesus. The first disciples (Simon-Peter and Andrew and James and John) had never met him before but seeing Jesus and hearing his invitation was enough. At once they left their nets – and their father! – and followed him. They must have known instinctively that following Jesus would help them become the righteous of their generation, just as Noah was in his. If we dare to leave everything we have for Jesus to become fishers of men (people who tell others about Jesus and bring them to him) we will be called righteous too, and we’ll be following those first disciple’s footsteps..
Proverbs 1:1-7…
Proverbs is an amazing book, full of cool little sayings and funny lines. But it is really for the attaining of wisdom and discipline and all the other things listed in verses 2-6. But that really begins with fear of the Lord (v.7). And that’s not being scared of God, but simply respecting him and understanding how powerful he is.
Fools that despise wisdom and discipline get caught up in the flood waters of life (a bit like Noah’s peers) and they just ignore Jesus when he says, ‘Come, follow me.’ Let us, however, be wise and fear the Lord. Then we will, as I’ve said is my prayer, be counted righteous in this generation.
Friday, 3 September 2010
TBIAY 3
Genesis 4:17-6:22…
So what’s this all about then? If I wanted to get into family histories I’d tune in to BBC 1’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ – you know, the show where celebrities get to travel the world in search of their long lost ancestors? I mean, did you see the one with Brooke Shields? In turns out she’s related – directly – to Louis XIV of France… no joke!
Anyway, I guess genealogies in the Bible don’t make for the best reading (and you’re going to stumble across a few, I’m afraid). But they do serve to show us how time is moving on and how God is working through history. And in every genealogy there’s a few really interesting bits. This one’s no exception. I love the fact that Jubal (Cain’s great, great, great-grandson) was the father of all who play the harp and flute. That’s cool.
But, even with the harps and flutes, after yesterday’s reading when we saw that humans seem to be awfully good at messing up and everything started to go horribly wrong, you get the feeling that nothing has changed. That for generation after generation since Adam and Eve people were just doing whatever they wanted.
Then you get this verse, almost as if out of the blue, some people remembered what life was all about: ‘At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.’ Due to humanity’s sinfulness the world had obviously got into such a state that suddenly it seemed as if it might be a good idea to ask God to help.
And then we’ve got this list of men who all seem to live till they’re about 1000. What’s that all about? Genesis 6:3 seems to suggest that, up until a certain point, that’s how long life was meant to be. Who knows? Certainly not me!
But of all the characters listed here let’s focus on Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24) for a second. Of all the guys here it’s stated that Enoch ‘walked with God.’ I think it would be awesome if somebody looked back over my family tree in 200 years time and said, ‘Jonnie… yeah, he walked with God.’ I’m nowhere near that just now but that’s what I’m working towards. Enoch’s listed in Hebrews 11 as one of the first heroes of faith, culminating in the fact that he never died. God simply, ‘took him away’ – weird.
And then, of course, there’s Noah – everyone’s favourite boat builder.
Whatever all the stuff about sons of God and daughters of men and Nephilim (giants) means, it’s clear that things hadn’t got any better since God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden. If anything, things had gotten worse. But Noah’s the exception.
The one thing Noah always reminds me is to do whatever it is God asks you to do however crazy it seems. I mean, God asks Noah, in a nutshell, to build a massive boat even though there’s no sign of water to sail it on! Imagine how stupid Noah must have looked. I reckon I’d have laughed. But Noah was the last man of faith left alive on the earth – and what faith it was… because 'Noah did everything just as God commanded him.' A thank goodness he did, especially given what happens tomorrow.
Matthew 2:19-3:17...
Joseph must have slept a lot. He’s been spoken to in dreams 4 times within 2 chapters. Here, it’s to tell him that it’s safe to return from Egypt to Israel and then, again, to tell him whereabouts: Nazareth, in Galilee. Now Nazareth was the sort of place nobody thought much of – a bit like Livingston ;). It was poor, it was dirty and it was out of the way. But it’s here that Matthew tells us Jesus – the King – will spend his childhood. Again, we can’t help but wonder, what kind of King is this.
… Now, John the Baptist. Here’s a crazy guy. I’m not sure I’d have liked to bump into him. First, he must have stunk. He wore camel’s hair clothes and ate insects dipped in honey. Second, because his message is pretty tough. Just like in the time of Noah, there weren’t many good guys around who trusted God. So John’s message was: ‘Repent.’ In other words, turn your life around; stop doing your own thing, make a U-turn and do the things of God. And he accompanied that message with some pretty fiery stuff. ‘The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’ He talks about Jesus burning up the chaff (the waste product of the harvest – i.e. those who waste their life doing their own thing) ‘with unquenchable fire.’
But for all John seems a bit scary, I like him because he reminds us that God is not soft and cuddly but that’s he’s powerful and dangerous. We need to remember that! And John’s main job in all of this was to point people towards Jesus, who was just about to arrive. And therefore, actually, we’ve got to try and be like John. We can give the camel hair and insects a miss but in our words and actions, in school, in the workplace, at home and with friends… are we pointing towards Jesus?
And here, about 30 years old (Matthew doesn’t tell us anything about Jesus’ childhood) Jesus turns up. He asks John to baptise him. And though John knows he’s not worthy to – this is the King after all – he does it. And the Spirit of God comes like a dove and God’s voice says, ‘this is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ Wow! We need to hear that, in case we forget who Jesus is. And just maybe Jesus needed to hear that right at the start of his ministry too, especially given what happens tomorrow.
Psalm 3:1-8...
Being a Christian’s not easy. Having faith like Noah and being like John the Baptist and pointing our friends towards Jesus is not easy. And this Psalm reminds us of that. But it also reminds us that God is looking out for us. He’s a shield around us. He answers our prayers. He sustains us when we wake up in the morning. He delivers us and blesses his people.
So, let’s have the courage to go into the world and be like Noah – having faith even when it seems a little whacky – and like John the Baptist – preparing the way and pointing towards Jesus. And let’s not be afraid, because God is with us and he’s watching over us.
So what’s this all about then? If I wanted to get into family histories I’d tune in to BBC 1’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ – you know, the show where celebrities get to travel the world in search of their long lost ancestors? I mean, did you see the one with Brooke Shields? In turns out she’s related – directly – to Louis XIV of France… no joke!
Anyway, I guess genealogies in the Bible don’t make for the best reading (and you’re going to stumble across a few, I’m afraid). But they do serve to show us how time is moving on and how God is working through history. And in every genealogy there’s a few really interesting bits. This one’s no exception. I love the fact that Jubal (Cain’s great, great, great-grandson) was the father of all who play the harp and flute. That’s cool.
But, even with the harps and flutes, after yesterday’s reading when we saw that humans seem to be awfully good at messing up and everything started to go horribly wrong, you get the feeling that nothing has changed. That for generation after generation since Adam and Eve people were just doing whatever they wanted.
Then you get this verse, almost as if out of the blue, some people remembered what life was all about: ‘At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.’ Due to humanity’s sinfulness the world had obviously got into such a state that suddenly it seemed as if it might be a good idea to ask God to help.
And then we’ve got this list of men who all seem to live till they’re about 1000. What’s that all about? Genesis 6:3 seems to suggest that, up until a certain point, that’s how long life was meant to be. Who knows? Certainly not me!
But of all the characters listed here let’s focus on Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24) for a second. Of all the guys here it’s stated that Enoch ‘walked with God.’ I think it would be awesome if somebody looked back over my family tree in 200 years time and said, ‘Jonnie… yeah, he walked with God.’ I’m nowhere near that just now but that’s what I’m working towards. Enoch’s listed in Hebrews 11 as one of the first heroes of faith, culminating in the fact that he never died. God simply, ‘took him away’ – weird.
And then, of course, there’s Noah – everyone’s favourite boat builder.
Whatever all the stuff about sons of God and daughters of men and Nephilim (giants) means, it’s clear that things hadn’t got any better since God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden. If anything, things had gotten worse. But Noah’s the exception.
The one thing Noah always reminds me is to do whatever it is God asks you to do however crazy it seems. I mean, God asks Noah, in a nutshell, to build a massive boat even though there’s no sign of water to sail it on! Imagine how stupid Noah must have looked. I reckon I’d have laughed. But Noah was the last man of faith left alive on the earth – and what faith it was… because 'Noah did everything just as God commanded him.' A thank goodness he did, especially given what happens tomorrow.
Matthew 2:19-3:17...
Joseph must have slept a lot. He’s been spoken to in dreams 4 times within 2 chapters. Here, it’s to tell him that it’s safe to return from Egypt to Israel and then, again, to tell him whereabouts: Nazareth, in Galilee. Now Nazareth was the sort of place nobody thought much of – a bit like Livingston ;). It was poor, it was dirty and it was out of the way. But it’s here that Matthew tells us Jesus – the King – will spend his childhood. Again, we can’t help but wonder, what kind of King is this.
… Now, John the Baptist. Here’s a crazy guy. I’m not sure I’d have liked to bump into him. First, he must have stunk. He wore camel’s hair clothes and ate insects dipped in honey. Second, because his message is pretty tough. Just like in the time of Noah, there weren’t many good guys around who trusted God. So John’s message was: ‘Repent.’ In other words, turn your life around; stop doing your own thing, make a U-turn and do the things of God. And he accompanied that message with some pretty fiery stuff. ‘The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’ He talks about Jesus burning up the chaff (the waste product of the harvest – i.e. those who waste their life doing their own thing) ‘with unquenchable fire.’
But for all John seems a bit scary, I like him because he reminds us that God is not soft and cuddly but that’s he’s powerful and dangerous. We need to remember that! And John’s main job in all of this was to point people towards Jesus, who was just about to arrive. And therefore, actually, we’ve got to try and be like John. We can give the camel hair and insects a miss but in our words and actions, in school, in the workplace, at home and with friends… are we pointing towards Jesus?
And here, about 30 years old (Matthew doesn’t tell us anything about Jesus’ childhood) Jesus turns up. He asks John to baptise him. And though John knows he’s not worthy to – this is the King after all – he does it. And the Spirit of God comes like a dove and God’s voice says, ‘this is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ Wow! We need to hear that, in case we forget who Jesus is. And just maybe Jesus needed to hear that right at the start of his ministry too, especially given what happens tomorrow.
Psalm 3:1-8...
Being a Christian’s not easy. Having faith like Noah and being like John the Baptist and pointing our friends towards Jesus is not easy. And this Psalm reminds us of that. But it also reminds us that God is looking out for us. He’s a shield around us. He answers our prayers. He sustains us when we wake up in the morning. He delivers us and blesses his people.
So, let’s have the courage to go into the world and be like Noah – having faith even when it seems a little whacky – and like John the Baptist – preparing the way and pointing towards Jesus. And let’s not be afraid, because God is with us and he’s watching over us.
postcards from the park
Congratulations to Morag macritchie who is in London today for the final of postcards from the park. You can read all about it here. The picture above is her winning entry.
Communion
We will be sharing in communion this Sunday morning. Last Sunday morning, thousands shared communion together in front of the main stage at greenbelt. We were invited to get into small groups of 10 or so and given some wine and bread to share amongst each other. It was a very special experience.Thursday, 2 September 2010
BIAY DAY 2
Genesis 2:18-4:16… it doesn’t take long, does it? It doesn’t take long till Adam and Eve trip up and end up on a very slippery slide. 2 chapters of the Bible gone and the first humans decide their way is better than God’s. Granted, the serpent’s tactics are pretty slimy. Notice how he puts God’s words into question: ‘Did God really say…’ But, that’s all. And Eve should’ve known better. One thing, that’s all God’s asked. Yet Eve picks up that apple, bites it and gives it to Adam, who does the same. Screw up 1.
And then God – who’s done amazing things for these two (he’s put them in this perfect garden, in charge of all creation and he’s granted them his presence in abundance) – comes walking in the garden. And let’s just pause there a second. Adam, Eve and God obviously used to go walking together. Imagine that. But on this day, when God comes along for their daily stroll, he can’t find them. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t see an angry God here but a God who’s been let down and hurt by his friends. ‘Where are you?’ he asks. You can almost hear the pain in his voice and see the tears in his eyes.
And Adam tells him what they’ve done. And, do you see, that God isn’t – first and foremost – angry, but heartbroken: ‘What have you done?’ And I reckon we need to get away from the idea of God getting angry and wanting to zap us when we mess up. We need to realise that God’s heart breaks and that he weeps when we do our own thing instead of the good things he’s designed for us.
They must have been able to see the tears in God’s eyes. All he’s done for Adam and for Eve and they go and do this. And yet they still don’t take responsibility… Adam: ‘The woman told me to do it.’ Eve: ‘The serpent told me to do it.’ Screw up number 2.
And there are always consequences for going our own way rather than God’s – they’re banished from the garden. Then their first born, Cain, doesn’t recognise that God deserves the best offering we can give him. Screw up 3. Thank goodness his brother, Abel, does. But jealousy grips Cain and he kills him. Screw up 4. God weeps again. And he’s still heartbroken every time we continue this ‘tradition’ that humans have been carrying on since the very beginning: doing our own thing rather than God’s.
Now, let’s check-in with Matthew’s story of the King. Here’s the wise men – the Magi – but nowhere does it say that there’s three of them! Never mind. Anyway, they’ve seen this new, royal star and they assume – as you would – that a king would be born in a palace. So that’s where they go. And Herod is as twisted as the serpent in Genesis. ‘Once you’ve found this new King,’ he says, ‘come back and tell me so I can worship him too.’ Aye right! The reality is that Herod, along with all Jerusalem, is scared stiff. This new King, he knows, is the real deal: he has a star and prophets have foretold him. Herod can’t compare to this.
And notice the difference… the wise men have travelled for hundreds of miles and joyfully bow at Jesus feet and offer him their famous gifts. Herod, on the other hand, wants him dead!
But, through dreams again, God sends the wise men back by a route avoiding Herod’s palace and sends Mary, Joseph and Jesus into Egypt to avoid one of the worst crimes in history – ‘the massacre of the innocents.’ Herod, in a crazy, last ditch attempt to get rid of Jesus orders the murder of every baby boy in Bethlehem.
So baby Jesus ends up a refugee in Egypt. What a way to start the life of the King: born to a virgin in a freezing stable, worshipped by foreigners from the east and given gifts fit for the richest of kings, and now a refugee and on the run. Boy, oh boy! What sort of plan is this that God’s set in motion? Seems pretty risky to me!
And Psalm 2… We’re talking about kings and rulers just like Herod here, who reckon they can thwart God’s plans. But God, the psalmist reminds us, knows what he’s up to. He’s installed his King – Jesus – on Zion, his holy hill. And however much we mess up (like in Genesis); however risky God’s plan seems (as in Matthew)… God is powerful, he’s in control and he knows what he’s doing. Let’s take refuge in him.
And then God – who’s done amazing things for these two (he’s put them in this perfect garden, in charge of all creation and he’s granted them his presence in abundance) – comes walking in the garden. And let’s just pause there a second. Adam, Eve and God obviously used to go walking together. Imagine that. But on this day, when God comes along for their daily stroll, he can’t find them. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t see an angry God here but a God who’s been let down and hurt by his friends. ‘Where are you?’ he asks. You can almost hear the pain in his voice and see the tears in his eyes.
And Adam tells him what they’ve done. And, do you see, that God isn’t – first and foremost – angry, but heartbroken: ‘What have you done?’ And I reckon we need to get away from the idea of God getting angry and wanting to zap us when we mess up. We need to realise that God’s heart breaks and that he weeps when we do our own thing instead of the good things he’s designed for us.
They must have been able to see the tears in God’s eyes. All he’s done for Adam and for Eve and they go and do this. And yet they still don’t take responsibility… Adam: ‘The woman told me to do it.’ Eve: ‘The serpent told me to do it.’ Screw up number 2.
And there are always consequences for going our own way rather than God’s – they’re banished from the garden. Then their first born, Cain, doesn’t recognise that God deserves the best offering we can give him. Screw up 3. Thank goodness his brother, Abel, does. But jealousy grips Cain and he kills him. Screw up 4. God weeps again. And he’s still heartbroken every time we continue this ‘tradition’ that humans have been carrying on since the very beginning: doing our own thing rather than God’s.
Now, let’s check-in with Matthew’s story of the King. Here’s the wise men – the Magi – but nowhere does it say that there’s three of them! Never mind. Anyway, they’ve seen this new, royal star and they assume – as you would – that a king would be born in a palace. So that’s where they go. And Herod is as twisted as the serpent in Genesis. ‘Once you’ve found this new King,’ he says, ‘come back and tell me so I can worship him too.’ Aye right! The reality is that Herod, along with all Jerusalem, is scared stiff. This new King, he knows, is the real deal: he has a star and prophets have foretold him. Herod can’t compare to this.
And notice the difference… the wise men have travelled for hundreds of miles and joyfully bow at Jesus feet and offer him their famous gifts. Herod, on the other hand, wants him dead!
But, through dreams again, God sends the wise men back by a route avoiding Herod’s palace and sends Mary, Joseph and Jesus into Egypt to avoid one of the worst crimes in history – ‘the massacre of the innocents.’ Herod, in a crazy, last ditch attempt to get rid of Jesus orders the murder of every baby boy in Bethlehem.
So baby Jesus ends up a refugee in Egypt. What a way to start the life of the King: born to a virgin in a freezing stable, worshipped by foreigners from the east and given gifts fit for the richest of kings, and now a refugee and on the run. Boy, oh boy! What sort of plan is this that God’s set in motion? Seems pretty risky to me!
And Psalm 2… We’re talking about kings and rulers just like Herod here, who reckon they can thwart God’s plans. But God, the psalmist reminds us, knows what he’s up to. He’s installed his King – Jesus – on Zion, his holy hill. And however much we mess up (like in Genesis); however risky God’s plan seems (as in Matthew)… God is powerful, he’s in control and he knows what he’s doing. Let’s take refuge in him.
THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
The journey has begun and every day, Jonathan is going to blog about the passages on facebook. Here's his thoughts on day 1:
‘Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read you begin with A, B, C; when you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi…’ everybody loves The Sound of Music! … don’t they?
But the very beginning is a good place to start on our journey through the Bible in one year. But wait! There seems to be 2 beginnings – Genesis 1:1 & Genesis 2:4. And they both seem pretty different. What the heck’s going on? Well, don’t panic. First of all, are we to understand Genesis as a science textbook? I reckon not. I never read it in Biology (which is maybe why I failed it). Scientists, it seems, are concerned with ‘how?’ questions: ‘How do planes actually manage to take off?’ ‘How do you measure the distance to that star?’ ‘How do I get that blasted Bunsen Burner to stay on?’ Or even, ‘How did the universe begin?’
Unlike scientists, I think that people with faith – people seeking after God’s heart – ought to turn to Genesis and ask ‘why?’ questions. Like, ‘Why did God create the universe in the first place?’
So, let me have a bash at an answer… Everything that we know of God depends upon what God has decided to show us. So, throughout Genesis 1 & 2 (yep, different stories but making the same point) God creates to shows us how powerful he is (who knows how, but he spoke and stuff came into existence), that he’s good (because everything he makes is) and that he wants to have a relationship with us (he formed us, breathed the breath of life into us and talks to us). In other words, if I’m asking, ‘God, what do you want to say to me as I read this passage?’ (a good question to ask him, by the way), I’d put it like this… He seems to be saying to me, ‘You want to know why I created the world Jonnie? Well, to show you how powerful I am, that I’m really good and that I want to have a relationship with you.’ Wow!
What about Matthew? Another beginning! The beginning of a new thing God is doing and has had planned since the beginning of time. Jesus – who has always existed – now shows up in a new way… in flesh and blood… in a tiny baby. Christmas!
And, while all the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) recognise the entirety of who Jesus is, each gospel highlights one major thing about him. For Matthew, he wants to show us that Jesus is the King. Now, any king worth his salt needs a genealogy – a family tree – and this one’s pretty amazing (I mean, how many of these names do you know!). And, before the list even begins, there’s this link to David – the greatest Old Testament king.
So, yes, Matthew’s gospel marks another beginning (a New Testament, a new way of God showing up) but it also connects with what God’s always been up to throughout history by linking Jesus – the King of kings – with David and, even further back, to Abraham.
But, equally, what kind of King are we talking about here? Born to a virgin called Mary with the help of the Holy Spirit; the fulfilment of centuries old prophecies; the one who’ll save his people from their sins. He’s given his name via an angel in a dream Joseph has. And notice, no mention of a palace, his parents almost get divorced and he’s going to get the nickname ‘God with us.’
The plot thickens.
And, finally, Psalm 1. In a nutshell, the one who is blessed is the one who seeks to follow God’s law as it’s found in the Bible. So, as we start this journey together, reading the Bible in one year, I hope that you know that: you’re blessed by God!
And I hope and pray that the more we read, the more God’s words (the Bible) would get so much under our skin and into our hearts that we wouldn’t just content ourselves with reading a bit everyday but that we, like the guy who wrote the psalm, would delight in the law of the Lord, and would meditate on his laws day and night.
Let the journey begin!
But the very beginning is a good place to start on our journey through the Bible in one year. But wait! There seems to be 2 beginnings – Genesis 1:1 & Genesis 2:4. And they both seem pretty different. What the heck’s going on? Well, don’t panic. First of all, are we to understand Genesis as a science textbook? I reckon not. I never read it in Biology (which is maybe why I failed it). Scientists, it seems, are concerned with ‘how?’ questions: ‘How do planes actually manage to take off?’ ‘How do you measure the distance to that star?’ ‘How do I get that blasted Bunsen Burner to stay on?’ Or even, ‘How did the universe begin?’
Unlike scientists, I think that people with faith – people seeking after God’s heart – ought to turn to Genesis and ask ‘why?’ questions. Like, ‘Why did God create the universe in the first place?’
So, let me have a bash at an answer… Everything that we know of God depends upon what God has decided to show us. So, throughout Genesis 1 & 2 (yep, different stories but making the same point) God creates to shows us how powerful he is (who knows how, but he spoke and stuff came into existence), that he’s good (because everything he makes is) and that he wants to have a relationship with us (he formed us, breathed the breath of life into us and talks to us). In other words, if I’m asking, ‘God, what do you want to say to me as I read this passage?’ (a good question to ask him, by the way), I’d put it like this… He seems to be saying to me, ‘You want to know why I created the world Jonnie? Well, to show you how powerful I am, that I’m really good and that I want to have a relationship with you.’ Wow!
What about Matthew? Another beginning! The beginning of a new thing God is doing and has had planned since the beginning of time. Jesus – who has always existed – now shows up in a new way… in flesh and blood… in a tiny baby. Christmas!
And, while all the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) recognise the entirety of who Jesus is, each gospel highlights one major thing about him. For Matthew, he wants to show us that Jesus is the King. Now, any king worth his salt needs a genealogy – a family tree – and this one’s pretty amazing (I mean, how many of these names do you know!). And, before the list even begins, there’s this link to David – the greatest Old Testament king.
So, yes, Matthew’s gospel marks another beginning (a New Testament, a new way of God showing up) but it also connects with what God’s always been up to throughout history by linking Jesus – the King of kings – with David and, even further back, to Abraham.
But, equally, what kind of King are we talking about here? Born to a virgin called Mary with the help of the Holy Spirit; the fulfilment of centuries old prophecies; the one who’ll save his people from their sins. He’s given his name via an angel in a dream Joseph has. And notice, no mention of a palace, his parents almost get divorced and he’s going to get the nickname ‘God with us.’
The plot thickens.
And, finally, Psalm 1. In a nutshell, the one who is blessed is the one who seeks to follow God’s law as it’s found in the Bible. So, as we start this journey together, reading the Bible in one year, I hope that you know that: you’re blessed by God!
And I hope and pray that the more we read, the more God’s words (the Bible) would get so much under our skin and into our hearts that we wouldn’t just content ourselves with reading a bit everyday but that we, like the guy who wrote the psalm, would delight in the law of the Lord, and would meditate on his laws day and night.
Let the journey begin!
Mary Margaret Douglas tells the story of Jonah
Thank you to Nicole for the link to this wonderful storytelling.
LIGHTHOUSE LEAFLETS
We weren't underwhelmed and we weren't overwhelmed with volunteers to distribute leaflets for the Lighthouse last night. We had just enough volunteers to cover a good number of the remaining streets, with a few large streets left, which some of us can cover next week. Thank you to everyone who came out. I covered Old Edinburgh Road last night, and I was amazed to discover little lanes which I had never been up, which had numerous houses filling every available space.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
city of god
If you are free on this Saturday evening I would encourage you to come along to Inshes Church of Scotland at 7.30pm for an evening with local singer/songwriter John Alexander Wilson. This evening sees the launch of his third album “City of God” . Entrance to the concert is free with his new album available for purchase should you like what you hear.There is much more info about John’s ministry at www.johnalexanderwilson.com Annette MacLean
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
LIGHTHOUSE PUBLICITY
Here's a copy of the notice I put in the bulletin for last Sunday. Since I wasn't there I haven't a clue how many folk are coming tomorrow evening, but I can hope!
We have quite a number of streets in the Parish which we want to cover with leaflets highlighting the Lighthouse. Could you spare an hour from 6.30-7.30pm this coming Wednesday night to help. It's an easy job with a big crowd. Free coffees/drinks in the Lighthouse for all helpers afterwards. Duncan.
The Bible in One Year
By all accounts, the youth service on Sunday morning went exceptionally well. It's a big day tomorrow for many of our youth along with a variety of others within the congregation! They begin the read The Bible in One Year programme which they found out about at Soul Survivor. If you would like to join them, here are the readings for the first few days. They will appear on Jonny's blog on a daily basis.
Wednesday 1st September - Genesis 1:1-2:17; Matthew 1:1-25; Psalm 1:1-6
Thursday 2nd September - Genesis 2:18-4:16; Matthew 2:1-18; Psalm 2:1-12
Friday 3rd September - Genesis 4:17-6:22; Matthew 2:19-3:17; Psalm 3:1-8
Saturday 4th September - Genesis 7:1-9:17; Matthew 4:1-22; Proverbs 1:1-7
Sunday 5th September - Genesis 9:18-11:9; Matthew 4:23-5:20; Psalm 4:1-8
Thursday 2nd September - Genesis 2:18-4:16; Matthew 2:1-18; Psalm 2:1-12
Friday 3rd September - Genesis 4:17-6:22; Matthew 2:19-3:17; Psalm 3:1-8
Saturday 4th September - Genesis 7:1-9:17; Matthew 4:1-22; Proverbs 1:1-7
Sunday 5th September - Genesis 9:18-11:9; Matthew 4:23-5:20; Psalm 4:1-8
greenbelt 2010
We drove 1000 miles to Greenbelt and back. It was worth every mile of the journey. So many highlights. One of them was the Applecart Theatre Company. I could wax lyrical about the power of their story telling, but instead I'll let them tell their own story.LIGHTHOUSE VOLUNTEERS
Laura McCheyne has been a very faithful volunteer within the Lighthouse every Tuesday lunchtime since we began operating. Laura along with her husband Murray are now very involved in leading the development of St Columba's new charge, and her time as a volunteer is coming to an end today. The contribution of volunteers like Laura to the work of a fledgling Centre like the Lighthouse is beyond any calculation. The Centre will only thrive in the long term through the commitment of volunteers like Laura who can make the connection between their Christian faith and the opportunity we have to serve in Christ's name through such a venture. I would like to say a big thank you to Laura for all her work within the Lighthouse, and wish her well as she continues to serve and reach out within a new church in Inverness.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
greenbelt
One of the highlights of 2009 was my weekend at Greenbelt. I'm going again this weekend, along with Eilidh. We're camping, so hopefully the weather won't be too wet. Here's a sample of the programme which is incredibly diverse. I'm a dedicated Five live listener, so I don't listen to that much new music on the radio. I have been researching some of the bands playing at greenbelt and Ana Silvera is my pick so far.
time out
"Time Out" started up again this morning in the church with about 30 people there. It was great to see so much creativity going on. Folks getting into mosaics, glass painting, sketching, card making, felting and scrapbooking. Some didn't get around to crafting because they had so much to talk about over coffee and cake! The kid's are also catered for and have a great time in the creche which is provided by Direct Childcare http://www.directchildcare.co.uk/. For some parents it's one of the few times in the week when they are able to spend time without their children. A real time out!
edinburgh fringe
Peter and I spent an enjoyable couple of days at the Fringe. We had gone in the first place to see Duke Special, but took in a few other shows while we were there. Out of the Blue was the highlight experience for both of us.
sunday club
"The kirk sesssion (leadership) have not been able to identify anyone willing to take on leadership of the Sunday club. This being the case, Andrea Boyes and I have agreed to take on leadership on an interim basis to explore how we can do Sunday club together as a church on a basis that will enable new leaders to emerge. We have been encouraged by the amount of support we have received and the number of people who have expressed willingness to get involved. We will be using the Roots lectionary material which follows the same scripture passages as the main service, so there will be a crossover in terms of teaching. It means that parents who get involved in helping with sunday club will be learning from the same passages, possibly in a way which is more fun than the sermon! We plan to be very experimental, and as well as having a core team of helpers we will welcome the engagement and involvement of parents. We want to see whether there are ways in which we can support families in learning together. We will value your prayers, support and feedback over the coming weeks. The new format begins from next Sunday." Duncan.
"I'm looking forward to being part of sunday club in the next few months and hope that all of us, children , parents and leaders are all able to learn more about that "big book" the bible. A large part of our gospel tells us about sharing meals and friendship so part of our time will be doing just that , sharing some breakfast together and hearing a bible story as we do. It would be great to have the parents there too, help make that toast! Several people have volunteered to come and lead us in worship songs and prayers , so Im sure it will be a loud sunday morning with music to reach the highest of heavens. Games and crafts will also be part of our learning and worship (as we follow the lectionary reading), the brighter the better so for sunday club perhaps the children should bring their energy, loud voices and not their best clothes. "Andrea.
A CHURCH IN CRISIS
I stumbled upon part of this programme about the Church of Scotland called "a Church in crisis?" last night on BBC1. It made for some pretty grim viewing. One of the few glimmers of light was this church in Luss.Personally, I see the crisis as a positive thing. The good news about Jesus Christ is absolutely relevant in 21st century Scotland, but so much of what the church does and represents by the way it goes about things communicates a completely different message.
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