Easter Rising – A Resurrection in the City

A man is executed in the most cruel way known at the time by a professional, imperialist army. A man who had challenged the authority of the political and the religious establishments, been a friend of untouchables, and claimed even to be God himself lies dead in a grave. End of the revolution?

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.

"Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."

"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Matthew 27:62-66

[After seeing an angel and the empty tomb] the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them.

"Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Matthew 28:8-15

This news was spread across the region, across seas and to people in other countries, of other cultures.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

1 Corinthians 15:4-19

THAT'S EASTER Death to Life from St Helen’s Church

The Countryside

Outside the city, there's a land called the countryside. Plants grow there, animals live there. When it snows there, it doesn't turn into a coffee-coloured slush puppy.

In England "The countryside" can just mean "outer suburbia"/ "commuterville" and the like. Let's take a safari through the real countryside where animals laugh at one another and rejoice in their characteristics.

As you gaze through the binoculars, ask yourself the question God is asking, "Are you God?"
"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?" No? You're not God.

Job 39

¹ "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
² Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?
³ They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return
⁵ "Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied his ropes?
⁶ I gave him the wasteland as his home,
the salt flats as his habitat.
⁷ He laughs at the commotion in the town;
he does not hear a driver's shout.
⁸ He ranges the hills for his pasture
and searches for any green thing.
⁹ "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will he stay by your manger at night?
¹⁰ Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?
Will he till the valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you rely on him for his great strength?
Will you leave your heavy work to him?
¹² Can you trust him to bring in your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
¹³ "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
¹⁴ She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
¹⁵ unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them.
¹⁶ She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
¹⁷ for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense.
¹⁸ Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs at horse and rider.
¹⁹ "Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰ Do you make him leap like a locust,
striking terror with his proud snorting?
²¹ He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
and charges into the fray.
²² He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
he does not shy away from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against his side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
²⁴ In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
He catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
²⁶ "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread his wings toward the south?
²⁷ Does the eagle soar at your command
and build his nest on high?
²⁸ He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag is his stronghold.
²⁹ From there he seeks out his food;
his eyes detect it from afar.
³⁰ His young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there is he."

Rise up and Raise the Bar, a City is at Stake

2 Corinthians 8:1-15
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you— see that you excel in this act of grace also.
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."

No job? Low paid? Smaller bonus? Wondering about your financial situation for the coming year? Why don't we think about ourselves for a bit. Cut back on our giving. Don't support the families and people who earn less than us but have greater outgoings. Let's not be gracious givers. There's a credit crunch, so stop giving to the work of the local church or to missions, maybe just reduce our giving, after all, who cares about the hungry, the starving, the underprivileged and the eternal salvation of millions and the building of the future city. At a time of financial uncertainty I might not be able to afford more potential rusty, moth eaten stuff. I better bunker down, look after number one. If we all do the same, we'll all be okay. God is sovereign, he'll provide for all the unemployed or for the voluntary workers whose incomes are reduced far more than ours as we reduce or stop our giving, and anyway, they're 'living by faith'. Let's test their faith.

Rise up and raise the bar in a time of "Credit Crunch./ Crisis". God is still sovereign, the gospel is still true and heaven is still certain. It's time to invest!

Sauna Chat 1

Ages ago I said I would post about the weekend away and the sauna chat. Below is some of what we (young Christian men) discussed in the sauna (regards being members of small groups in our church). These two are particularly focussed on how we act during the Thursday evening time we're together. Thanks to AH for writing these up.

Don’t turn up to share your ignorance

Study the passage on your own during the week ahead of the study. Do it in such a way that recognises that this is valuable time in and of itself – relational time between you and God, as he speaks to you through his word and you respond in prayer – not just in order to have something to say in the group. But then you will have something to say in the group, and not just acquired knowledge, but an experience of God and how you were challenged and convicted, or encouraged and excited by what he revealed to you. If you can’t be bothered to listen to God first, why should we take time out of our week to listen to you?

Don’t always leave it to the leader to get the study ‘back on track’

In a normal week, we only spend 1.5 of our week's allowance of 168 hours studying the Bible together, so let's make the most of it. Tying in with not turning up to share ignorance, let's make sure that we maximise the time we do have, and be taking the lead to keep the focus on hearing from God, not just keeping the banter going. Don't think that it's the leader's job to lead the study, and your job to provide the humour. It's your job to encourage the brothers and sisters with your presence and contributions, which may include comedy. Banter is good, laughter is a gift from God, but there is also a time to be serious about the word - know the difference. And consider this: how often is your banter about glorifying God, and how often is it about glorifying you? By contrast, how often is the Bible about glorifying you, and how often is it about glorifying God? Worth thinking about.

Today I talked to God

Today I talked to God.
I told him he was great because he is. He made the world and he made me.
I thanked him for loving me. I thanked him that he loved me so much he died for me.
I told him that I loved him because he loves me and because I find him amazing and wonderful.
I told him I am looking forward to seeing him in the future.
I told him about my work and my life. I thanked him for those things and asked him to help me work well and live well.
I told him the things I know I have done wrong and asked him to forgive me.
I thanked him that he forgives me because of Jesus.
I asked him to make me more like Jesus.
I thanked him for my friends and asked him to look after them and help them with their difficulties.
I asked him to remind them that he is loving. I asked him to change the hearts of those who don't love him.
I asked him to help me be less self-focused and a better friend by putting others first.
I asked for his help to tell other people about him because often I am scared to do it even though I want to.
I thanked him for the day ahead.

Outside the City Walls

This weekend some of my friends from the city are getting together outside of the city. We're meeting in a hotel - which is a bit odd - but because no one has a house big enough to house us all we have to stay somewhere. This hotel has a gym, a swimming pool and beautiful grounds apparently. Nice. We're going to spend time doing what families do - eating together, chatting with one another, laughing (at least I hope so!) and the men at least are going to do sauna together.

We're also going to be hearing talks on the subject The Doctrine of God. That basically means we're going to hear about the king, architect and builder of the city.

I hope to blog about the talks (and the sauna chat) next week.

Home is the most important place in the world. Part 2

If you have a perfect home with God, then you can afford to have this home bashed around a bit, the wall paper written on, something stolen, your peace and quiet disturbed. Your home belongs to Jesus and his home belongs to you. It’s an unfair exchange, because yours is going to last for a few centuries at the most, his will last for ever.

So, here’s what Country Life, Home and Garden, and TV makeover shows won’t tell you.

Offer hospitality. Opening your doors to people and allowing them in can be a humbling experience if you don’t have much. Likewise, if you have a lot, it can be humbling for the people who come in. Either way, get over it! Nothing builds friendship quite like sitting in someone’s house and talking about each others lives. It shows acceptance and appreciation. The people who Jesus ate with and spent time with must have felt honoured that he would come into their houses. Conversely, the religious leaders ridiculed him and were offended by accepting hospitality from the lowly and the “bad”.

When offering hospitality or accepting hospitality, don’t think entertainment. Entertainment requires time and effort, has to be arranged beforehand and usually leads to people being stressed and frustrated before, during and after whatever meeting is taking place. No. Hospitality is about being open. It doesn’t matter what state the kitchen is in, you still invite your friend round for tea because you want to know how they are. Don’t hide your life under the carpet, let people see it in all its madness and show them how you’re living for Jesus in it. Hey, get them involved (especially if they’re students) in helping you clean, in dressing the kids, in doing the gardening and talk to them while you’re doing it.

So, have people round for tea and coffee or the national equivalent, cook meals or buy take away if you’re rubbish at cooking.
Host parties where lots of people can meet together from all walks of life.
Have people to stay overnight who are visiting friends or travelling between cities or attending a conference in your area.

Look after someone else’s children for a day or a weekend.

Give a room to a homeless person.

Adopt children – it’s ultimately what God has done for us. To the world it might look foolish, or it might look noble for a while. But there aren’t many things that reflect God’s love than adopting children and saying, “We love you and we will love you. We are your parents and you are our child”, no matter what baggage might come with that or what might happen in the future. Helping out a children’s home is good, but adopting children is gospel.

Buy another one! Sorry? Yes. Can you mortgage the first, therefore freeing up cash to buy another house in which another family can live or some people with a lower income? Can you allow others to have a home that wouldn’t otherwise because of their financial situation (and perhaps have difficulties with benefits because of crime, not being nationals, etc)?

Sell it. Can you downsize? Do you need to live in whatever size house you live in? Is it good stewardship? Or would it be better to live in smaller home and allow some of the money tied up in the bricks to be used elsewhere?

Don’t build a castle where you keep people out, celebrate your own achievements, watch trashy TV and try to ignore the world that’s going on around you.
Build a home. It might well be messy but it might well lead to people feeling loved, to finding friends and family and to talking about Jesus and knowing about the perfect home waiting for them.
Open your doors!