What to be thankful for

I am aware of a certain danger in myself that I also see in others around me and its this, we tend to judge ourselves and ministry success by numbers. So the question 'How is church?' is interpretted to really be 'What growth have you seen?' and it is always answered with either the number of people who have joined the church or home group or whatever else it may be.

Strikingly I think the Bible would call us to answer that question in terms of the increasing maturity we see. Here's Paul writing to the Thessalonians: “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3) What was it they were always thankful for? Notice what it isn't; it is not that the Thessalonians are a numerically bigger congregation than they were last year, it is that they have grown in the faith. Grace has gripped and transformed them and its seen in their work, labour and endurance. If that is what Paul is thankful for then I think it is something I am to be thankful for.

And curiously my hunch is that from such maturing, transforming, changing lives others with be attracted to come and hear the message of the gospel and will themselves encounter the risen Saviour for themselves, and thus the growing church continues to grow.

How will you answer that question next time it is put to you?

A Passion for Life

Last night at our fellowship meeting I was asked a number of questions about the guys who is coming to speak at the events at our Passion for Life weekend in March. I don't want to rehearse everything we said but simply post a link to Michael's blog: www.motsy.org where he blogs about what he is up to.

The church in the world not the world in the church

This weekend I am speaking at Lancaster CU's Houseparty so I'm up to my neck (metaphorically speaking) in 2 Corinthians. It is a really striking book with so many parallels with our world and especially our culture today.

What is that British society prizes most? Tolerance, multiculturalism, integration, wealth? Maybe but I think perhaps above all these individuals prize social status. It is knowing where you fit into society’s hierarchy, society’s food chain and then striving to work your way as far up as you can. That’s why men like Richard Branson and Alan Sugar are held up as role models. That's why reality shows like The Apprentice are all the rage its trying to work your way, or get a helping hand, to work your way up.

It matters what others think of you, how they view you counts and you mustn’t do anything to jeopardise that no matter what the cost. That is one of society’s mantras. It’s the basis of all the makeover shows, be it DIY, garden or clothing. How others perceive you is what counts – they yell at us again and again.

Corinth was no different; the Corinthian believers faced the same pressures. The city had been totally destroyed in 146 BC and was rebuilt only in 44 BC by Julius Caesar. This rebuilt city was repopulated with old soldiers, slaves and ex-slaves. It was a city of contrasts in Paul’s day; there were the very wealthy and the poverty stricken who were just about surviving. One third of the population of the city were slaves who had nothing, yet for the very rich, many of whom were ex-slaves made good, “wealth and ostentatious display became a hallmark of Corinth”

It is the same pressure point, first Century Corinth and Britain in 2009. Image matters, how people perceive you is king. And the Corinthians are struggling to live out the scandal of the cross because it goes against the world view of everyone around them. It is seen in the way they do communion that Paul writes about in his first letter – some bring their Harrods Hamper packed with Camembert, Caviar and Bollinger whilst others in the congregation go hungry because they are poor. Why? Because image matters, because that’s the Corinthian worldview.

The problem at root in Corinth is that the Church has yet to rid itself of the worldview of the world around it, a worldview that hates and ridicules humility, a worldview that says what people think of me is what matters. A worldview that Paul says the gospel turns on its head.

The challenge as we come to 2 Corinthians is to identify our worldview, our way of thinking of ourselves and others, of judging what matters, what is success, what is failure. And having identified it to ask am I struggling to adapt my thinking from that of the world around me to that of the gospel?

What is it that will enable these believers in this pressured society to make Christ known to a hostile audience? What alterations does Paul want them to make in their worldview and in their thinking? What alterations do I need to make to enable me to do the same in just as hostile a society?

Hope

I was watching Flashforward in the early hours of this morning and was really struck by on comment. One of the characters who has not had a flashforward and therefore will be dead within 6 months finally confides it to his fiancee. She says his flashforward can't be true because in her flashforward she saw their wedding day. Then she says 'I choose hope'.

She just decides to live her life as if that is going to be reality and ignore the alternative. It got me thinking about hope.

One of the things we've been reminding ourselves in the last few months as a church is that bible words have bible meanings. The hope that the Bible speaks of the Christian as having is dramatically different from that expressed in Flashforward. The believers hope is sure and certain, it is not just wishing for something nice to happen, because it is grounded on the character and actions of a faithful God.

We do not choose to hope simply because we do not like the alternative, we have hope because Christ has rescued us, the spirit lives in us as a deposit and because God has said he will take us home for eternity.

Bible Overview Readings

Here are the 4 readings that go with teh Bible overview for next week.

1. Deuteronomy 17:14-20
1. What are the requirements God sets for a king?
2. What is the job of the King?
3. What is the promise that comes with obedience?

2. 1 Samuel 8
1. If God has set the pattern for kingship, why is it wrong for Israel to ask for a king here?
2. As God reviews Israel’s history what is his conclusion about Israel (v7-9)?
3. How would you describes Israel’s attitude to God?
4. What does this chapter teach us about God, worship and the human heart?

3. 1 Samuel 16:1-13
1. What is God’s concern as he looks for a king?
2. What does God provide for David, how does this help him rule (c/f Psalm 51)?
3. Yet even David was not perfect, Read 1 Sam 11, what causes David to fail?
4. What lessons can we learn from the life of David about worship?

4. 2 Chronicles 36:15-23
1. How is God’s grace to his people seen?
2. “God is faithful to his word, even when we would rather he wasn’t”, how is this seen here?
3. How serious is not worshipping God rightly? What ought this to teach us?
The book ends with a note of hope, as Cyrus allows the people to return. God is not finished with his plan yet.

The challenge of parenting

In studying Deuteronomy last week for Sunday morning I was struck by its emphasis on parents teaching children. In chapter 11 there were a number of references to children(v2, 5, 19-21). Stress is placed by Moses on the fact that the Israelites children haven’t seen the things the parents have so the parents are to teach them about the character and saving work of God as part of everyday life. Parents are to teach their children by action and words how to worship God.

As someone who has three boys I was very struck by this challenge, if you have children do you hear the challenge, if you have grandchildren, or are an Aunt or Uncle do you see the challenge? As a member of the congregation of a church (Deuteronomy is addressed to Israel as a nation so some corporate application is in mind) - the children will learn how to worship God from you.

But this is a charge to parents first and foremost. Don’t abdicate your responsibility. Our children will learn most about whether God is worth worshipping and how he is to be worshipped from us, by what we teach them and also how much they see of our fearing, walking, loving, serving and observing God and his word.

Parents your actions and words are crucial in teaching your children that God matters. Do they see he matters? Is it seen in the way we prioritise our week? Do they ever catch us reading the Bible or praying? Do we teach them God's word from a young age? Is it seen in our characters, in our desire to change?

Dads in particular as those who God calls to the role of head of the marriage do we lead in this area? Or have we abdicated here to our wives? Boys in particular need men, they need to understand what it means to be a man of God.

The consequences of abdicating that role are disastrous – we see it in Judges 2:10 “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.”

We must take seriously God's call to teach our children about our great, awesome God of grace.

Matthew 5:17-20 - ‘The King and the Law.’

This is the outline we worked to at last nights LightHouse:

1. Jesus is the scripture fulfilled



Prophecy

History

Genealogy

Cult


2. Be Hungry for an inside out righteousness




“Legalism is appealing for two reasons; First it makes holiness manageable. A heart wholly devoted to God is a tough demand but a list of ten rules I can cope with… Secondly legalism makes holiness an achievement on our part...” T Chester




a. How should this Jesus teaching shape our attitude and understanding of the Old Testament?

b. ‘The Pharisees are our greatest danger’ Do you agree with this statement, why?

c. How can we increase our appetite for righteousness?