Archive for the ‘Presentations’ Category
Posted on March 7, 2010 - by Tim L
Lent 3 - Light and wisdom
A Commission for Mission
(On the occasion of the commissioning of Joy Hatfield as Youth worker at the Bridge)
“…..We began as a discipleship movement within the wider Church, a society of people seeking holiness and engaging in worship and mission. In Wesley’s time and through succeeding generations we have continually adapted to circumstances to fulfil that calling as effectively as possible. It is still Our Calling today. And mission has never been more needed than it is now….”
“….We live in a world where people need to hear the word of God in a language they can understand, where they need to see the love of God through people like us and experience it as good news for themselves. We live in a world where not enough people are being attracted and formed into disciples of Jesus Christ, responding to the promptings of the Spirit….”
“….It is our DNA as a people to be a group of disciples who are committed to glorifying God in worship, to holiness and to being obedient and active in mission….”
It is to that ends that this group of people here have searched for God and his enabling Spirit. Our desire, our vision is to make and grow more Disciples of Jesus Christ.
To that end we have laboured; over funding applications, over prayer, over seeking God’s face, There have been days of fast, days of prayer, hard talking, questioning and we have got to this point. We have not arrived by any means. But this is a new chapter on the journey.
We have raised over £150 000 in grant monies.
To that end we now have half time youthworker.
Vision becomes reality.
The Spirit breathes life.
God is faithful to those who follow him.
The Bridge is affirmed in what it does and how it does it.
(Tim asks Barbara and Joy to come forward)
The work to which Joy is appointed is particularly concerned with youth work here at the Bridge and within the local community. She is called to work with young people in a Bridge like way.
Joy, we rejoice that you are now to exercise this ministry within the life and mission of the Bridge. In your work you will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit.
Barbara: Do you believe that you are called by God to serve as a Lay Worker in this Circuit?
Joy: I do.
Barbara: Will you accept the discipline of the Church, and work with us in its mission and ministry?
Joy: With God’s help I will.
Barbara: Will you be faithful in walking with Jesus Christ in your life 24/7?
Joy: With God’s help I will.
Then Barbara said:
Let us pray.
Faithful God, we thank you that Joy has offered herself as a Lay Worker in your Church. Uphold her by your love and enable her by your Spirit, that through her ministry your Church may be strengthened and your name may be glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Tim invites Paul, Claire and Ruth to come forward and pray for Joy. Gifts are exchanged.
The Commissioning comes to and end
Turn to a neighbour and discuss the following;
Who has been a leading light for you?
Who has guided you?
Who has been a source of wisdom?
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.There once was a man, his name John,
sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light.
He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in.
John was not himself the Light;
he was there to show the way to the Light.
The Life-Light was the real thing:
Every person entering Life
he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
the world was there through him,
and yet the world didn’t even notice.John 1 : 4 - 10 (The Message)
I am not sure if some you will remember when the eclipse happened in the summer of 1999 in this country. Do you know what I remember the most about that? It was the cold, I remember thinking apart from the fact that is was dark, but it was how cold it went so quickly in the middle of the day. I remember too the birds singing, it was a strange event.
This week we have some wonderful sunny days which have been most welcome after the cold winter. Some of you might say we have had a proper winter! I remember driving the car during the week and looking at the thermometer on the car dash and noticed it had reached double figures for the first time in what seemed like ages. The prescience of the sun can put a spring in our steps and a smile on our faces. We look for signs of spring. Some will even spend a few minutes just soaking up the rays of the sun, the warmth, the brightness,
Why is it that we have street lights?
They were first used in Greek and Romans times as way of providing security to the population. Moseley Street in Newcastle upon Tyne was the first street to be light with electric lights in this country. I am not sure how much that says about Moseley Street or Newcastle upon Tyne
Nowadays we have ’security lighting’ on our houses to deter burglars. Streets that are lit well are safer and more secure.
Have you ever been to one of those restaurants that has created mood lighting. I always think they do it so you cannot see exactly what it is that you are eating. It begs the question what do they have to hide?
Why is it that back alleys are places that we fear to go?
The start of John’s gospel which we read at the beginning is all about light. In the Message version we have the Light talked about as Life-Light. It was there at the creation of the world and everyone who enters into Life he brings into the Light.
When did you last just sit and bathe in the Light of the world? When did you last just sit and be warmed by the creator of the sun?
The writer of Psalm 18 says these words.
You have turned on my light! The Lord my God has made my darkness turn to light.
Psalm 18 : 28 (The Living Bible)
I think he knew how to sit and bathe in the light, and I not talking about the sun. I think he knew what it was to have God in his life bringing light, dispelling darkness.
There are times when sitting in the light can be painful for us. It might be something which we shy away from because it is too bright, or too hard. We are afraid of what the light might show up, our own imperfections, the diet on which we feed ourselves, our selfishness, the sin that leads us into darkness and away from the light.
Is that you sometimes? Do you shy away? Do you hide yourself?
If you do I would just like to remind you of the security that can come from being in the light.
Followers of Jesus are also called to be light ourselves. Read what is says in Matthew’s Gospel
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand-shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Matthew 5 : 14 - 16 (The Message)
It’s not easy shining, standing out from the crowd, being noticed. We might find it easier to wear a bucket and go around anonymous and in darkness. We are called to share the light with others so that they might find security, safety and life in a relationship with the Light of the World.
Posted on February 28, 2010 - by Tim L
Lent 2 - Nourishment
We’re continuing our theme of being on a journey and what are the things that count as travel essentials? Many of us would say that in life we are on a journey, we’re not always sure where it is heading but the optimistic amongst us usually hope it’s the right direction.
Here at the Bridge we try to think through being equipped for that journey - what are the things that we need? Last week we focussed on direction and knowing where we are going.
This week we’re focussing on nourishment or as Wikipedia sets out the provision, to cells and organism, of food to support life
If you’re heading off on a journey do you stop to think about or where you will eat during the day? Or does it just occur to you later in the day that maybe you need to eat?
Every day we can make choices that help ensure we get healthy nourishment for our journey. But we don’t always make the right choices we often choose things that will give us a short boost or rush of energy. Some foods fill you up to start with but quickly leave you feeling hungry.
There are six major classes of nutrients in food that we need to eat in the right balance so that we can stay healthy. They are:
Carbohydrates - bread/pasta/potatoes
Fats - cheese/milk/butter
Minerals - zinc, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium = cereals
Protein - meat, cheese
Vitamin - Vit C - oranges, Vit D - fish, Vit A liver/carrots
Water - the tap!
Its often easier though to take the quick fix, we’re hungry and in a rush. Let’s just look which is the healthier and which would you choose?
OJ or Coke
Brown or white bread
Fruit or French Fancy
Baked beans or Pot Noodle
Our bible reading today happens after Jesus has fed the five thousand with just bread and fish. In one way we can think of it as a poor meal not one we could get excited about, but it’s certainly a lot healthier than some of the food we eat today. God wants us to take care of the bodies that he has given us, he wants us to be healthy and full of energy but we have to join in and help too.
Let’s talk about it to God about the temptations and challenges that food can often bring to our lives.
Youtube clip go and watch You are what you eat
I used to watch this quite regularly, it used to make me stop and think about just how much food I consumed in a week. Just stop for a minute and think about what have you eaten today.
25When they found him back across the sea, they said, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26Jesus answered, “You’ve come looking for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs-and for free.
27″Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last.”
28To that they said, “Well, what do we do then to get in on God’s works?”
29Jesus said, “Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.”
30They waffled: “Why don’t you give us a clue about who you are, just a hint of what’s going on? When we see what’s up, we’ll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do. 31Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32Jesus responded, “The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. 33The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world.”
34They jumped at that: “Master, give us this bread, now and forever!”
35Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.
John 6:25-35 (The Message)
We’ve spent a lot of this evening focussing on food and how we keep our bodies nourished for the daily task of living. But its important that we don’t just focus us in on whether we have a healthy diet. Jesus’ words in the book of John’s talk about him being the Bread of Life but what does that actually mean?
As I said earlier this conversation between Jesus and the people has taken place after the feeding of the five thousand. These are a people for whom the daily grind of putting food on the table is hard work. If the crop fails or the fishing trip is unsuccessful then they go hungry. For Jesus to say to them I am the Bread of Life is like a large supermarket moving into their town with no cashiers or checkouts to pay at. If Jesus can provide them with everlasting bread - long life bread, then they need never go hungry again.
In the world we live that’s not necessarily such a great deal is it? OK we might like the fact that Jesus is offering us food for free, that would save us a huge amount of money and that in its turn might save us heartache about earning a living or the state of our pension. But we don’t tend to go short of food, even if we don’t eat the right kind of food, I’m not sure that many of us in this room go hungry. So if jesus was trying to get this message across to us today what he being saying “I am the what? Of life. Just think for a minute if you wanted an easier life what could Jesus tempt you with…..
Better health, fitter bodies, more money, promotion, an interesting job, a new partner, a better relationship with a family member or a friend, happy and successful children…
I am the £ sign of life,
I am the new job of life,
I am the bigger house of your life,
I am the size 12 of life.
I am the fixer of relationships
What would it be that Jesus could offer you that would have rushing to his side to find out more.
The problem here for us, just as it was for the people around the lake, is that we’d be getting excited about the wrong thing. We’d be rushing to Jesus’ side for the wrong thing. Long life bread, renewed health, more money, more fulfilling work, the future of our children.
Jesus understands this now just as he says to the people then
You’ve come looking for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs-and for free.
This is real, Jesus understands the things that motivate us and inspire us. But he still sets out the challenge. Has come to come offer an easier way of life, to solve all of our problems, to give us a happy life. That’s not a journey of friendship and companionship. That’s an unhealthy sugar daddy relationship where we always beholden to him for the things we want out of life.
Jesus throws out a stiffer challenge “Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.”
To go back to the food analogy we get to make the choice. We can regularly choose the quick fix, the French fancy, the chocolate bar, the packet of crisps but then we shouldn’t be surprised if we are lacking in energy, under the weather and overweight which is not the way that God created these wonderful, heavenly bodies to be. Not fulfilling the potential that God has designed into our physical bodies.
Nourishment is not just meeting our physical needs, its also our emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs. Regardless of our nationality, language, or individual tastes. As we need food, so do we need emotional nourishment: love, kindness, appreciation, and support from others. We need intellectual stimulation and we need spiritual resources.
Be aware of what it is that would draw you to Jesus, more food, more money, successful or happy children, improved health and then think about the choices you make -
Are they poor quality economy choices that keep you alive but little else, choices that are fine while they last but they soon fade. The choices we make in life we need to make with Jesus at our side, we need to be able to hear what he is saying, to listen the small quiet voice which often prompts us but which we ignore. Our journey in life needs the kind of nourishment that is longer lasting and keeps us going through the ups and downs of life.
listen to what Jesus actually says
35Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.
When Jesus says to you I am the…. Of life - you fill in the blank.
He’s offering you opportunity to come to him - hungry as you are
What is Jesus to you? The I am the ….. of your life?? Ponder on it, talk to God about it during the week
Posted on February 21, 2010 - by Tim L
Lent 1 - Direction
If you make a journey what counts as travel essentials?
I dare say each one of us would answer in a different way. You might even have a list that you keep on a computer or on a piece of paper that you get out before you go on holiday. You might not be that organised and just gather it all together in the last half hour as it comes into your head.
What would you take on a journey with you?
Many of us would day we are on a journey, one that is more spiritual in nature, but it has some very earthy impact. What are the travel essentials for that journey?
What do you need to put in the rucksack to carry with you?
Discussion - Where are you?
There is a sort of map here on the screen for you to look at - Where are you? Where does it feel like you are at this season of your life?
Turn and talk to someone about where you are
“Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Follow the Yellow Brick, Follow the Yellow Brick,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.”
Sang by Dorothy in the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz.
Do you know where you going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you?
From the classic song by Diana Ross that was a massive hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
“You’re packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen.”
Bono in the clip you have just seen called Walk on. How can you pack for somewhere none of us have been to?
The recent TV series hit from the USA called Lost has featured a group who survived a plane crash on a desert island
Lostness, or a lack of direction is as old as what it is to be human.
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you know what it is like to be lost?
Have you ever been completely lost?
Have you ever had the map in your hand but have still no idea where you are?
“Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”
Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”
Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”
John 14:1-7 (The Message)
Now we have to set the passage in it’s context. Jesus is in Jerusalem with his Disciples at the time of the biggest festival in the Jewish calendar - the Passover. Jesus has told the Disciples he is going to die, he has washed their feet as an act of service, he has told them of his betrayal and has now told them they will all desert him. The Disciples cannot follow the way he is going right now but the time will come when they will. Peter has said he will do anything for Jesus, even die for him.
Then, in the midst of all this bad news, all this gloom, all this turmoil Jesus asks them to trust him and in His Father.
Jesus knows where he is going but he also knows where the Disciples are going and there is plenty of room. Jesus will get things ready and he will be back for them. Trust me.
And then Thomas comes up with this wonderful question, “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way” Sound familiar, Sounds like lostness or a lack of direction. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way” A child to a parent, a passenger to a driver, a friend to another friend, a student to a teacher, anyone to God,
I am not sure where you put yourself on the jelly baby map. Maybe you are on a high, maybe in the depths, struggling to keep afloat, maybe you don’t know,
Jesus says to Thomas and the Disciples I am The Road, The Truth and The Life.
Jesus being The Road or the Way - Difficult concept to get you head around. Jesus says he is the way, but how does that work, what does that mean?
The way the truth and the life has often been used as a doctrinal statement of who is in and who is out, but what happens if this statement by Jesus is an invitation.
It is an invitation to walk. An invitation to walk with Jesus. It is when we walk with Jesus that we are on the Road, we are on the way.
Dorothy followed the yellow brick road with her companions, the way was yellow and easy to see. I think Bono might have been more right that it might possibly have first seemed.
“You’re packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen.”
That does not make it easy unless you put in the context of joining with Jesus on the journey he is making.
If you are lost who do you trust for direction?
Try Jesus, join him on his Road, on his Way.
Posted on January 31, 2010 - by Tim L
Just walk across the room - Who are you walking with?
Today we start a new series called Just Walk across the room. It is based on a book by a guy called Bill Hybels who is the leader of a church in the USA called Willow Creek. Some of may have heard of the church and or Bill Hybels. We are going to be looking at some simple steps that help point people to faith. This week is a little bit of an introduction with some stories and some thoughts about taking one simple step across a room,,……
A story
A man was travelling in a plane. He was travelling with a work colleague and they had travelled together many times before, They discussed the business they had done and the the trip they had made. They did all of the small talk stuff, caught up over each others families and the things they enjoyed. The conversation began to try dry up. One of the men was a Christian, he was friends and a work colleague with this man, he didn’t want to betray the trust they had together. But he wondered if God might intervene in this plane ride and help the conversation take a steer towards more spiritual issues,….
He prayed….
He then asked the man what it might be like to fly a plane without listening to air traffic control. The man laughed in return and said that he wished he could off right now if the pilot wasn’t tuned into air traffic control, especially as he knew how busy the skies were.
Then taking his life into his hands and asking for some confidence the man said “if you can believe it, some people fly their entire lives with the radio to heaven turned off. They receive zero input from God, no guidance or wisdom and no counsel. A lot of times they fly into bad weather and end up crashed and burned. You’d be surprised how many people do that”. As you can imagine it went very quiet, the man prayed in the silence and the man then replied “I guess that would be pretty stupid wouldn’t it?”He then asked quite simply “how do I turn the radio on?”
(Taken from Just walk across the room by Bill Hybels)
How far can you walk?
I have had the pleasure of walking quite a miles over the past couple of days. A couple of lovely days in Derbyshire walking with friends and family. But there are days when I can’t walk very far at all.
I was at a wedding a couple of weeks ago. At those events I always try to make sure I take some time just to sit and people watch, it is good just to see the smiles on peoples faces and who is talking to who.
As I looked around the room there was a man standing on his own. He had come with a group of people but they were nowhere to be seen. He was quite a tall man but seemed to hang his head, his whole body language was of someone who seemed to be unsure about where he was and what he was doing. I stood there and knew I should walk across the room to him and engage him in conversation. I had a whole series of open ended questions to ask him that I hoped that get the conversation going, but…..But I never made it across the room. No one came and joined him or me I just chickened out. I talked myself out of it.
How far can I walk? Some days it is miles there are other days when I can’t even walk across the room.
How far can you walk?
I was involved in a conversation with someone one day and they were talking to me about the problems they had with evangelism. They said they found it hard to do and found it confrontational too many times. There were times when they worried about the questions they might get asked and that they would not be able to answer them.
It got me to thinking about the pictures that we often have inside our heads about sharing our faith or pointing others to spiritual matters.
The picture we often have is one of two people standing face to face with each, often they will be discussing or even arguing about the subject matter. It can be seen as a very confrontational way of speaking to someone. I was reminded of a number of New Testament stories or pictures where God does not confront people but walks along side them and journeys with them. Not in confrontation with them but to share the journey with them and help them with the steps on their journey of faith.
A Japanese Christian, once wrote a book which I still have on my shelves at home called the 3 mile an hour God. 
Why 3 miles an hour? Simple it is walking pace. God doesn’t zoom around in a car at 70mph. He chooses to walk with us. We know how easy it is to miss things then. God chooses to walk with us, at walking pace, at 3 miles an hour.
When Claire and I were first married we spent a lot of time in the car travelling to see family and friends up and won the motorways. They were always times of great discussion, chatting and a time to catch up. We journeyed with each other - side by side - around the country.
The story we heard earlier of the two men on the plane - side by side - journeying with each other, sharing lives, their stories, their hopes and dreams and one of them shares his faith with the other. No big deal, it is part of that man being a human - he has a relationship with God that helps him journey through his life and he wanted to share that information with his good friend.
But why should I walk across the room?
Why should I care about the person on the other side of the room? Why should I risk looking daft or being embarrassed? Why should I walk across the room on God’s behalf?
Reading - Philippians
5Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. 6He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. 7Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! 8Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death-and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.
9Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honoured him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, 10so that all created beings in heaven and on earth-even those long ago dead and buried-will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, 11and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honour of God the Father.
Philippians 2; 5-11 (The Message)
Because when we walk across the room we are acting like God.
Our reading is about God making the step across the room, it was just a bit bigger than our lounge or kitchen. It was step across the whole of the universe - from heaven to earth. Jesus, God in human form, came to journey with us, to walk with us,
There is a posh theological word for it - the incarnation - God coming and living amongst us.
Followers of Jesus who get it more right are the ones who give themselves to people. They give themselves to pointing people to faith in Christ. Jesus, who walked across the universe, from heaven to earth, says to his followers “I want you to do it now” Every day try to point every person you meet to me. Live as though your work colleagues, family, friends and neighbours would be better off if they knew Jesus’ father in heaven. Better off because they could receive the wisdom, counsel and guidance to live their lives,…
The single greatest gift you can give someone is an introduction to God who asked his Son to cross the unthinkable distance to redeem them and make them his friends. You will find then you can walk across the room, stand by someone’s side, you can journey with them, and tell them of the God who journeys every day with you at 3 miles an hour.
How far can you walk?
Dare you walk across the room?
Will you walk across the room?
Who are you walking with?
Talk with your neighbour in 2 and 3’s. Who has walked with you? Who are you walking with?
How could you help them make simple steps of faith?
Posted on January 24, 2010 - by Tim L
How to look good naked,……boundaries
Flicking across channels late last night whilst waiting for the FA cup highlights to start I came across a documentary 
about a man called Stephen Gough, better known as ‘The Naked Rambler’. He has spent two years almost continuously behind bars for more than a dozen breaches of the peace, and refuses to wear clothes at any time - either in prison or in court. Keeping him in prison has cost up to £200,000 from the public purse! I won’t make a judgement about whether he looks good naked or not (!) but he is a good example of someone refusing to accept or live by commonly accepted boundaries. Even those people who look good naked have to accept rules and boundaries to their behaviour, even if only to stop those of us who don’t look so good naked from getting disheartened!
Both legal and moral boundaries and physical boundaries make our world a safer place to live in. They prevent us from straying too far, they demarcate safe space to avoid dangerous collisions, they protect the vulnerable, keep us falling from a great height, and remind us when we are liable to forget our own limitations. Even relationships have boundaries…
Dr Pepper ‘I would do anything for love’ clip follows
Did Jesus have boundaries in his relationships? The commonly-asked question ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ (WWJD) suggests answer is yes - there are some things he would do and some things he wouldn’t do. How can we tell what these might be? Or, if you like, WWJBB? - What Would Jesus Boundaries Be?
The TNIV translation of John 13;2-9 begins with the phrase ‘The evening meal was in progress’ conjuring up a picture of domestic bliss perhaps, maybe like the Christmas dinner you or I might enjoy with our families. I suspect though a better analogy might be the Christmas dinner endured every year on EastEnders! You know the kind of thing, where an unwanted topic of conversation comes up over the sprouts, or an unwelcome visitor bursts in, after which mayhem breaks out and Peggy Mitchell at some point shouts the immortal phrase ‘Get out my pub!’
In other words this is a meal where the air is full of tension - as the passage goes on to tell us ‘the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.’ What follows this is remarkable. We’re told that ‘Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
This might suggest that there can be no boundaries for Jesus. He had all things under his power. He had come from God and was returning to God and had all power and authority from God. His past, present and future were all infused with the power of God. Surely there are then no boundaries Jesus couldn’t cross? It is now I think we come to the most important word in passage. It is also one of shortest.
‘SO’ - in my dictionary defined as ‘and for that reason; therefore’
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God so…
We may well expect fireworks next. Jesus has no boundaries he cannot cross, surely with this kind of power it can all kick off. He can summon God to destroy Judas, perhaps with a bolt of lightning, the catastrophe of his impending betrayal can be averted and everyone can relax and enjoy dinner (everyone except Judas, of course who’s now a pile of ashes!) Surely having all the power of God at this fingertips now is the time to demonstrate it…
We know from some of the more extreme reactions recently in the USA to the tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti that some people still believe that’s how God operates. But to believe in a God who acts in this way is, it seems to me, to remove Jesus from the picture.
‘Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so…
He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that,
he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.’
At that very moment Jesus demonstrates how he will use all the power of almighty God. He will use it to humbly serve. We mustn’t miss the significance of the details here. The portrayal of this scene by Ford Madox Brown is the most famous one, but even if you find more contemporary representations of it in art they are invariably equally sanitised versions. They contain no more than a hint of Jesus nakedness or vulnerability. Jesus actually takes off his clothes and wraps a towel around his naked self. These are the actions of a Roman slave serving his master. Jesus demonstrates that the power given to him by God the Father will not be used for self preservation but for service. That his only boundaries are those raised up by love.
We heard that great theologian Meatloaf earlier declaring ‘I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that’. Here we see in a very concrete demonstration by Jesus that there is no limit to the power of God in him except the limits imposed by the very character of God Himself - love. Jesus does anything and everything for love, including giving his life for the world and for us.
What then might our response to that love be? In conclusion I want to suggest three things.
Firstly that we might recognise our nakedness - our need for God’s love and forgiveness every day in our lives. More than that though, that we might realise that God’s power can be demonstrated in our lives in our weakness and humility. The world we live in values strength and independence, but God’s love is shown, as it was in Jesus, in vulnerability and in dependence on Him.
Secondly that we might let our boundaries be set by God’s love in Jesus Christ. That like him we might do anything for love, of our neighbours, our family and friends, and even those who we don’t like all that much! In humble service is God’s love and power glimpsed, in us as in Jesus.
Lastly, that in pondering on all of this we might read and pray through Philippians 2.1-11 often, since here we find the relationship between God’s power, Jesus’ vulnerability and our response most fully expressed:
‘Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human being,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death-
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father’Amen
By Rev Tim Woolley, Director of Mission, Northampton District
Posted on January 17, 2010 - by Tim L
How to look good naked……be yourself
We carry on with our 3 weeks series aimed at getting us off to a good start in the year,…It is very relevant to this time of year,…How to look good naked,….
Gyms and diet classes are bulging but if we look just at the physical part of our lives we can run into problems.
This is not about plastic surgery,…
It is not about fashion,….
It is about our relationships with ourselves, with others and with God.
Bible reading and Discussion
“And because of God’s gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you.”
Romans 12 : 3 The Good News Bible
Take a look at the Asbo Jesus cartoon for January 11, 2010
Do you identify with the cartoon? Can you be you? Can you ever be yourself?
If you remember when we looked at Genesis 2 we discovered that naked was once OK. There once was no embarrassment about it, there was no shame,
Tell me story
Where we all change
And we’d live our lives together
And not estranged
Can you be who you really are?
Do you even know who you really are?
Do you know you are beautiful? Or does everyone else think that you are apart from you?
Paul, writes to the Christians in Rome that they need to see each other as they really. Now some of us really struggle with that concept don’t we?
Some of us see ourselves in a very positive light and think that we look great naked, Others of us are not so sure about it all and keep well and truly covered up, even in the height of summer.
Some of us could change the world in the blink of an eye whilst others don’t believe that we are capable of anything.
Both of those extremes are dangerous and I think both can lead us to a life of regrets.
Do you have a right view of yourself?
How do you see yourself?
I would like us to go back to Genesis 3 that we looked at briefly last week.
How do Adam and Eve see themselves? Do they see themselves according to the amount of faith they have been given?
Bible reading
1The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. 3It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
4The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. 5God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it-she’d know everything!-she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”-saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
8When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
10He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
Genesis 3 : 1-10 (The Message)
Adam and Eve got it wrong - they disobeyed - they go their own way. They makes their choices and decisions based on how they saw themselves. They wanted to be like God, they wanted to know everything. They thought they could deal with the choices they were going to make, but they could not see the whole picture - precisely because they were not God. In many ways they were children not really knowing who they were or the consequences of the choices they were going to be making. The boundaries were in place to be ignored.
Paul reminds us in Romans, we are called to judge or measure ourselves by how much faith God has given to us. If you like if we want to get a good look at ourselves, if we want to see ourselves as we really are,…naked,….we can only see ourselves right through God’s eyes - because of the faith he has given to each one of us.
Now some of you at this point are making a clever escape because of the way you see yourself. It goes something like this, “I know I don’t have much faith so I can carry on with the way that I am.” Well, that might be all well and good but Jesus did say that faith the size of a mustard seed will move a mountain.
Some of you will be doing the opposite and it goes something like this, “I don’t need God I can change myself on my own, because I can change the world in a blink of an eye.” That person is acting with no faith at all, they are saying that they do not need God. And we know that pride comes before a fall.
I think we can all struggle sometimes with who we really are. Events might happen that mean we don’t like ourselves every much. Sometimes we have to change the way we think or the way we act because it is not healthy for us people or for us. We tell ourselves lies about who we really are. The cover up stories we invent so others cannot find our mistakes or insecurities.
Someone once said “that the most painful journey we take is the journey to discover who we really are.”. God promises he will never leave us. We often think that is about where we go geographically, but I also think it means he will go with us on the journey to discover who we are really are. In fact, I would agree with Paul, and go one step further and say that that it is only when we live in relationship with God that we see who we really are.
So where does that leave us?
- Don’t be afraid to discover who you really are. Jesus will be with you. Don’t be afraid to begin, don’t be afraid to carry on.
- Ask Jesus to help you with how you really see yourself. We need to see ourselves through the lens of faith that God has given to each of us.
- Finally, Robbie William’s request to for someone to sing him a love song, drop him a line, Robbie someone has and is. God sings that love songs and is a great letter writer.
With God you can dare to be yourself - naked!
Posted on January 10, 2010 - by Tim L
How to look good naked…..coming clean
This week sees that start of a 3 weeks series aimed at getting us off to a good start in the year,…It is very relevant to this time of year,…How to look good naked,….
Gyms and diet classes are bulging but if we look just at the physical part of our lives we can run into problems.
This is not about plastic surgery,…
It is not about fashion,….
It is about our relationships with ourselves, with others and with God.
If I were to ask you what do you not like about yourself what would you say? Dare you say?
Most of us would admit it would be something about the way that we look. The answers say far more about our society and the way we view ourselves that we might ever realise.
How to Look Good Naked is a television programme, first aired on British Channel 4 in 2006, in which fashion stylist Gok Wan encourages women who are insecure with their bodies to strip nude for the camera. The programme is unique among other similar makeover shows in that it never encourages participants to undergo cosmetic surgery or lose weight.
The format of the show is based on the self esteem building exercises that Wan guides the woman though.
(Wikipedia)
But this whole business of nakedness is not one that is new. It has been around for 1000’s of years,
18God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” 19So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. 20The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.
21God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. 22God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23The Man said,
“Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman for she was made from Man.”
24Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
25The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
Genesis 2; 18-25 (The Message)
Naked was once OK.
There once was no embarrassment about it, there was no shame,
There are many ideas what the nakedness was about at the end of Gen chapter 2 but most seems clear it is very important as we begin to read chapter 3. But before we do that lets have a listen to Avril Lavaigne who wrote about the same kind of thing, but a lot more recently,..
Naked by Avril Lavaigne
I wake up in the mornin’
Put on my face
The one that’s gonna get me
Through another day
Doesn’t really matter
How I feel inside
This life is like a game sometimesThen you came around me
The walls just dissapeared
Nothin’ to surround me
Keep me from my fears
I’m unprotected
See how I’ve opened up(oh)
You’ve made me trust{chorus}
Cause I’ve never felt like this before
I’m naked around you
Does it show?
You see right through me
And I can’t hide
I’m naked around you
And it feels so rightYeah yeah
I’m trying to remember
Why I was afraid
To be myself
And let the covers fall away
Guess I never had someone like you
(To help me)To help me fit in my skin{chorus}
I’m naked (Oh oh yeah)
Does it show?
I’m naked (Ohhhhhohhhh)Yeah yeah yeah yeah
OhhhhhhoI’m naked around you
Does it show?
I’m so naked around you
And I can’t hide
Your gonna, your gonna see right through (you’re gonna see right through me and I can’t hide.) (gonna see right through…)
I’m naked around you
Oh yeah yeah
I’m so naked around you
And I can’t hide
You’re gonna see right through babyNaked from Let go by Avril Lavaigne
You see right through me
And I can’t hide
I’m naked around you
And it feels so right
To be myself
And let the covers fall away
Guess I never had someone like you
(To help me)To help me fit in my skin
And then we read about what happens in Genesis 3. Just suspend with me some of the questions you might have around if it really happened, was there a real Adam and Eve, where does evil come into this but just focus on clothing and nakedness.
1The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. 3It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
4The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. 5God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it-she’d know everything!-she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”-saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
8When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
10He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
Genesis 3 : 1-10 (The Message)
So what did you see?
It starts with nakedness and ends with fig leaves.
In Gen 2 we have a picture of Adam and Eve walking in the garden side by side with God. By the end of Chapter 3 humanity hides from God and he has to call out to them. The relationship is not what it was, there is something between them.
Once there was no shame or embarrassment, now there is guilt, shame and embarrassment. The behaviour of hiding before they meet God seems to suggest they feel guilt.
The clothes now being worn are used to hide, but who from? From each other? From God?
When asked ‘Where are you?’ the answer does not come directly, the real answer to the question is as hidden as their nakedness.
When do you hide? When do attempt to cover up?
When are you not who you really are? When are you guilty and avoid others?
When do you avoid God because of what he might say to you because of what you have done?
When do you avoid a someone in your family, a friend, a husband or a partner or a wife?
We literally cover ourselves up. We hide.
It is possible to look good naked again, it is possible to reveal who you really are, It is possible to come clean
I wake up in the mornin’
Put on my face
The one that’s gonna get me
Through another day
Doesn’t really matter
How I feel inside
This life is like a game sometimes
Stop making it a game - get real.
25And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive-only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.”
Mark 11 : 24 The Message
Coming clean - or Confession -
Large bin at the front. It maybe that you would like to come clean,..it might be with God, it might be with a fellow human being, so, now is time for you to come clean,….it will help you look good naked,…
Posted on January 3, 2010 - by Tim L
Facing the Future…..
The start of a new year is traditionally a time to take stock and look to the future, perhaps even review the year before. Some of us will have set new year resolutions or talked over the holiday period about what the future might bring. This evening we will be focusing on facing the future.
Build a tower activity
You will each have been given a jenga brick when you came in. Pls use it now to build the highest tower that you can in your team. You have a minute and if it falls after that minutes of time I will measure that Pls be careful to make sure it doesn’t fall on anyone.
There is a story in the bible about a group of people who built a tower. It is in the first book of the bible.
At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. 2It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.
3They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them well.” They used brick for stone and tar for mortar.
4Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let’s make ourselves famous so we won’t be scattered here and there across the Earth.”
5God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
6God took one look and said, “One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they’ll come up with next-they’ll stop at nothing! 7Come, we’ll go down and garble their speech so they won’t understand each other.” 8Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. 9That’s how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into “babble.” From there God scattered them all over the world.Genesis 11; 1-9 The Message
Many of us will have made plans for the year ahead. Some will have been glad to see the back of 2009 and hope that 2010 is much better.
We cannot predict what is going to happen in 2010 even though the pollsters, pundits and prognosticators attempt to do exactly that. We do know that there will be a general election in the next 6 months. We will each try to build something with our lives over the next year. But as we face the future are there any principles we can use to help us.
The Bible talks about three timeless principles;
- Include God in your goal setting
- Live one day at a time
- Do it now
Include God in your goal setting
Consult God when you make your plans. He does know the future and he is eager to guide you into the future. God what do you want me to build?
Live one day at a time
We can plan for the future but we cannot live it until it arrives. How much time do you spend regretting the past and/or worrying about the future? Jesus said “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow - God will take care of your tomorrows. Live one day at a time.” (Matthew 6;34)
Do it now
Don’t put off what you can do today. It is very easy to promise ourselves that we will do it one day. But one of these days usually never arrives. Do it now!
11I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
12″When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.
13″When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.
“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, 14I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.
Jeremiah 29: 11-13 (The Message)
- Include God in your goal setting
- Live one day at a time
- Do it now
There are pens and papers to draw, write, reflect on….
God what do you want us to build?
God what do you want me to build?
When you have finished bring your jenga brick to front and add it to the tower. Ask God to help you build this year.
Posted on December 13, 2009 - by Tim L
Living Christmas,….in the Lounge
Living Christmas,…. in the Lounge.
What’s the lounge like in your house?
Is it a place of relaxing, maybe a place of TV, watching? Do you have real fire?
Does it have your favourite chair or sofa to sit in?
Is it a place of welcome and hospitality? Do you sit with friends and family and talk? Do you read a book in the stillness of an empty house?
Is it cosy? Is it warm enough to kick off your shoes and curl up on the sofa. Do you know what it is to be loved in the lounge? Someone brings you a glass of wine or cup of tea?
Maybe it is a place of arguments over who has the remote,…who has the power and control in your lounge.
Maybe it is place of arguments over the TV and who gets to watch what, Strictly or X Factor, Sports personality or X factor final,..
Are there toys all over the floor and you have to mind where you step?
Over the Christmas period, your lounge might take on a different character, …It might become very busy, messy and full of bodies. People asleep after a large lunch, children arguing over the latest toy,…families thrust together for a longer period of time than usual leads to some strained relationships.
How can you live Christmas in the lounge this year rather than just survive?
Maybe you will need a little help from your friends.
The Bridge group sang - With a little help from my friends,...
9Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, 40straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
43And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
44The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
45Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true!Luke 1: 39 - 45 (The Message)
We watched a film clip. to view it go to or go to and click on Father’s Day on the menu.
It just want to pick up on a couple of things;
One from the reading and songs we heard and the other from the clip we saw.
In the bible passage we read;
Blessed…….who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! (Luke 1;45)
Kathryn Jenkins news album is called Believe.
Sony’s adverts over Christmas have the tag line on the bottom, Make. Believe. It is the first time Sony have ever had a global tag line beneath their name.. And to quote their general manager of Marketing “The brand revealed make.believe in September and it is the first time the brand has had a single message for all its divisions spanning electronics, games, movies, music, mobile phones and network services”
It is suddenly trendy to make.believe. Christians have been saying it for 2000 years!
My question comes down to who you will believe? What do you think is true? Will you be blessed by God or Sony this Christmas?
And my second point comes from that modern re-telling of the Joseph story. Joseph says that the name Jesus means rescuer. When you cry out this Christmas in pain or anger who will you be crying out to. Who will be your rescuer this Christmas?
There will come a point when the lounge is bomb site, when the arguments have become heated, when your tired and want to just fall asleep, or you just want to get away from it all because it is all too much.
Who will be your rescuer this Christmas?
Will you be blessed by God or Sony this Christmas?
Who will be your rescuer this Christmas?
When the world was dark
and the city was quiet,
you came.You crept in beside us.
And no-one knew.
Only the few
who dared to believe
that God might do something different.Will you do the same this Christmas, Lord?
Will you come into the darkness of today’s world;
not the friendly darkness
as when sleep rescues us from tiredness,
but the fearful darkness,
in which people have stopped believing
that war will end
or that food will come
or that a government will change
or that the Church cares?Will you come into that darkness
and do something different
to save your people from death and despair?Will you come into the quietness of this town/village
not the friendly quietness
as when lovers hold hands,
but the fearful silence
when the phone has not rung,
the letter has not come
the friendly voice no longer speaks,
the doctor’s face says it all?Will you come into that darkness,
and do something different,
not to distract, but to embrace your people?And will you come into the dark corners
and the quiet places of our lives?We ask this not because we are guilt-ridden
or want to be,
but because the fullness our lives long for
depends on us being as open and vulnerable to you
as you were to us, when you came,
wearing no more than nappies,
and trusting human hands
to hold their maker.Will you come into our lives,
if we open them to you
and do something different?When the world was dark
and the city was quiet
you came.You crept in beside us.
Do the same this Christmas, Lord.
Do the same this Christmas.
AMEN.Taken from Cloth for the Cradle by the Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications 1997
Please take some time to reflect.
Posted on December 6, 2009 - by Tim L
Living Christmas,….in the bedroom
The Bridge group sang “Love is all around us,…..” by Wet, wet, wet
We all watched a clip from Love actually
Well, this week we are Living Christmas in the bedroom. As I was preparing for this evening earlier in the week, I was thinking about the words or themes that people might associate bedrooms with: private places, retreats, intimacy, loneliness,
Primarily they can be places of communication. A way of escaping from the children, a place to go and be quiet or still, a place to talk to a loved one without interruptions. Some might dread going there because they represent too many memories of happier times in the past.
The clip we have just seen was taken from the film Love Actually. Colin Firth and Lúcia Moniz have problems communicating with each other. On the one hand they can’t understand a word the other says, one speaks in English and the other in Portuguese. And yet on the other hand they seem to communicate very well. Their bodies and eyes speak another whole language above and beyond the language of speech. You don’t have to be a mind reader to realise what is going on, it is obvious how these two people feel about each other.
We all speak love but we often speak love in different languages. Do you know your own native language so that you will know if you are being loved?
I have a questionnaire for you to complete. There are 30 questions and you will be pleased to know complete with answers. All you need to do is circle the one of the two options that you prefer.
When you get to the end tot up the scores under A, B, C, D and E and see what love language is your own. If you then turn over the page that will give you some ideas of what each language is.
A couple of tips;
- Don’t have a look over the page first.
- Don’t think too hard about what you would like the answers to be.
- Try using a gut reaction.
When you have finished turn with some one close by and share with them what you have come up with. For a copy of the questionnaire five_love_languages_quiz
Now it is great that you might know your own love language. It will be one of the five languages of love;
- Words of affirmation - This is verbal appreciation or encouragement. Such as “You look great in that dress”
- Quality time - Is about focusing all of your energy on your partner.
- Receiving gifts - Some of us respond well to visual symbols of love such as flowers, tickets to a game,
- Acts of service - Doing chores around the house can be an undeniable expression of love. Finding the rubbish dealt when we get home can be a real expression of love.
- Physical touch - Is exactly what it suggests. Being held by someone in complete silence can be a very powerful expression of love.
I know for me my love language are quality time and physical touch.
When we enter into relationships with others we need to learn the language of love for another person. It might be different from our own language of love. It means you have to give up your own language of love to tell another person how much you love them. They need to hear that you love them in their own native tongue rather then your love language. You have to learn another whole language to be able to communicate with the other person and tell them that you love them. If you like it would be a Portuguese person learning English and English culture to tell and show an English person that they are loved.
Love is not about the language you want to speak but about the language and culture you need to speak so that the other person can understand that they are truly loved.
It is about putting the needs of the other person first and learning their language of love. Love will not be shared, heard, understood or received if that does not happen.
And we come to our reading this evening and you won’t be surprised to hear that the Father knows the languages of love.
26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth 27to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary.
28Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.
29She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. 30But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: 31You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.
32He will be great,
be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David;
33He will rule Jacob’s house forever-
no end, ever, to his kingdom.”Luke 1: 26 - 33 (The Message)
It was no good God standing up there in heaven shouting from a distance his love for us. He choose to come and learn the language, he choose to come and walk amongst us, to communicate love to us a language that we would all understand.
We all watched a second clip from Love Actually
Will you learn another’s language of love this advent time?
For more information on this subject please try one of the following;