I thought some of you might enjoy this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7513571.stm
-Michael
Friday 20 November 2009
Saturday 10 October 2009
360: The Adventure Begins!
This sunday night, after the phil-collins-alicious harvest service, we will be jumping straight into the 360 Adventure! Be there, punks!
check out the fun times ahead!
check out the fun times ahead!
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Power
Who do you consider powerful in your life?
Superman?
Barack Obama?
Gordon Brown?
Teachers?
Your friends?
You?
Who do you influence?
Think about who you have influence over. Who do you have power over? How do you deal with that power?
Human beings desire power.
The philosopher Nietzsche believed that the dominant motivation of mankind is the desire to have power and influence over others.
Nietzsche did not believe that this was a bad thing, but that power, influence and control was both good and desirable.
This desire for power can be expressed in various ways:
Physical
Some believe that the more physically attractive we are, the more power we have over others.
Unfortunately, this view is furthered by much of our media and advertising. Physically attractive people are seen as being happy and more successful than others.
People become convinced that if they are thinner, taller, stronger, more attractive in some way, they will be seen as more important than others.
Intellectual
Some people believe that if they are more intelligent than others, they will be able to have control over them.
This can be by being able to beat them in arguments, being able to come up with better ideas, or just knowing more stuff.
Some people believe that being intelligent means that they will be seen as more important than others.
Social
Humans have a natural desire to be in community with others, and this is often expressed in a need to be popular.
We see this often in school (and even more often in horrible cliched teen movies).
The popular people have power and control over others because other people want to be like them.
Some people believe that being popular means that they wil be seen as more important than others.
Spiritual
Unfortunately, in some churches, some people believe that being more holy, or appearing more holy means that they wil be seen as more important than others.
In all these ways there is one thing in common: society dictates that to be powerful, we must value ourselves over others.
The world says power is good. The world says that power is so good that it is worth killing for.
What does the Bible say?
The apostle Paul, writing in the book of Philippians, says:
This verse, I feel, gets to the root of how we as Jesus-followers are to act towards others.
While the world says that it is good to value the one (ourselves) at the expense the many (everyone else), the Bible tells us to value the many at the expense of the one. As Jesus-followers, it is not enough simply to say we believe in Jesus and his promises for us. We are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Paul writes in another of his letters:
In the first passage we looked at, Paul tells us to consider others better than ourselves.
The word “others” in Greek literally translates to mean “others”. The simplicity is deceptive. The Bible tells us not to consider our peers, or the people we like as better than ourselves, but to consider those who are different to us as better than ourselves.
So why should we value others?
In the book of Daniel, 3 of Daniel’s friends were to be executed in a furnace. The king came down to see the execution and saw that they were not dying but were fine and there was not 3, but 4. Our God is not a god who sits idly by when we are struggling, but a god who stands with us in our need. Essentially, I want to say that God values others, and therefore so should we; however, it is deeper than that...
God is a community. God is one person and God is three people. Before time began and after time will end God is a community. God didn’t create us as some sort of narcissistic need for people to love him, or because he was lonely. What sort of god would create us for company? God lives in community. God invites us as his people to join him in his community.
As we follow God, we join him and others in Holy Community. As human beings we are born with in innate desire for community. I believe this stems from being created in God's image. When we put ourselves first over the needs of others, we rebel against the Holy community that God created for us.
The German theologian Karl Barth, in his commentary on Philippians writes,
The 'one thing' that Barth is talking about here is the grace of God. I think this quote is great. The strange, the different, the unintelligible. How many of us when we think of these words can think of someone straight away? Who really rubs you the wrong way? Who do you know who is strange? Who do you know who is different? Who do you know who is unintelligible?
The people we meet who really rub us the wrong way are perhaps how we encounter God.
As we encounter the strange, the different, the unintelligible in others, we discover how we God encounters the strange, the different, the unintelligible in us.
As Jesus-followers we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. The world values the pursuit of power. God calls us to live a different way, in holy communion with others and with him, each of us valuing others as better than ourselves.
Think about your lives. Think about the people you meet every day.
Superman?
Barack Obama?
Gordon Brown?
Teachers?
Your friends?
You?
Who do you influence?
Think about who you have influence over. Who do you have power over? How do you deal with that power?
Human beings desire power.
The philosopher Nietzsche believed that the dominant motivation of mankind is the desire to have power and influence over others.
Nietzsche did not believe that this was a bad thing, but that power, influence and control was both good and desirable.
This desire for power can be expressed in various ways:
Physical
Some believe that the more physically attractive we are, the more power we have over others.
Unfortunately, this view is furthered by much of our media and advertising. Physically attractive people are seen as being happy and more successful than others.
People become convinced that if they are thinner, taller, stronger, more attractive in some way, they will be seen as more important than others.
Intellectual
Some people believe that if they are more intelligent than others, they will be able to have control over them.
This can be by being able to beat them in arguments, being able to come up with better ideas, or just knowing more stuff.
Some people believe that being intelligent means that they will be seen as more important than others.
Social
Humans have a natural desire to be in community with others, and this is often expressed in a need to be popular.
We see this often in school (and even more often in horrible cliched teen movies).
The popular people have power and control over others because other people want to be like them.
Some people believe that being popular means that they wil be seen as more important than others.
Spiritual
Unfortunately, in some churches, some people believe that being more holy, or appearing more holy means that they wil be seen as more important than others.
In all these ways there is one thing in common: society dictates that to be powerful, we must value ourselves over others.
The world says power is good. The world says that power is so good that it is worth killing for.
What does the Bible say?
The apostle Paul, writing in the book of Philippians, says:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves
- Philippians 2:2
This verse, I feel, gets to the root of how we as Jesus-followers are to act towards others.
While the world says that it is good to value the one (ourselves) at the expense the many (everyone else), the Bible tells us to value the many at the expense of the one. As Jesus-followers, it is not enough simply to say we believe in Jesus and his promises for us. We are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Paul writes in another of his letters:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
In the first passage we looked at, Paul tells us to consider others better than ourselves.
The word “others” in Greek literally translates to mean “others”. The simplicity is deceptive. The Bible tells us not to consider our peers, or the people we like as better than ourselves, but to consider those who are different to us as better than ourselves.
So why should we value others?
In the book of Daniel, 3 of Daniel’s friends were to be executed in a furnace. The king came down to see the execution and saw that they were not dying but were fine and there was not 3, but 4. Our God is not a god who sits idly by when we are struggling, but a god who stands with us in our need. Essentially, I want to say that God values others, and therefore so should we; however, it is deeper than that...
God is a community. God is one person and God is three people. Before time began and after time will end God is a community. God didn’t create us as some sort of narcissistic need for people to love him, or because he was lonely. What sort of god would create us for company? God lives in community. God invites us as his people to join him in his community.
As we follow God, we join him and others in Holy Community. As human beings we are born with in innate desire for community. I believe this stems from being created in God's image. When we put ourselves first over the needs of others, we rebel against the Holy community that God created for us.
The German theologian Karl Barth, in his commentary on Philippians writes,
The 'one thing' that Barth is talking about here is the grace of God. I think this quote is great. The strange, the different, the unintelligible. How many of us when we think of these words can think of someone straight away? Who really rubs you the wrong way? Who do you know who is strange? Who do you know who is different? Who do you know who is unintelligible?
The people we meet who really rub us the wrong way are perhaps how we encounter God.
As we encounter the strange, the different, the unintelligible in others, we discover how we God encounters the strange, the different, the unintelligible in us.
As Jesus-followers we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. The world values the pursuit of power. God calls us to live a different way, in holy communion with others and with him, each of us valuing others as better than ourselves.
Think about your lives. Think about the people you meet every day.
Who do you influence?
How do you influence?
Thursday 2 April 2009
Wrestling
FIRST, CLICK HERE AND WATCH THIS Batista, Shaun Michaels, Undertaker, John Cena. Wrestlers.
D.J. and Chris. Wrestlers.
The old people who sit at the back on Sunday. Wrestlers?
There’s a story in Genesis about two wrestlers.
One wrestler is Jacob.
That’s Isaac’s son (remember he tricked his father and brother by wearing a sheep skin.)
He’s also the father of Joseph (and Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Bilhah, Dan, Naphtali, Zilpah, Gad and Asher.)
The other wrestler is…
...Well, CLICK HERE AND READ THE STORY
So, Jacob wrestles with God.
He gets given a new name: “Israel”.
Israel’s sons become a nation.
There’s a country today that's called “Israel”, because Jacob wrestled with God.
In the Old Testament Israel are God’s chosen people.
A whole nation of God-Wrestlers.
A people who wrestle with God.
Sometimes we think that God expects unquestioning obedience, but the scriptures don’t show us that. The Bible is full of people who question God. God invites to engage with him, question him, wrestle with him, get to know him.
A real relationship with God, like any relationship, involves conversation, debate, opposing views, conflict, resolution…
I’m fairly convinced that God always knows best, but I am only convinced of that because God has invited me to wrestle with him, to get to know him, to find out for myself.
So God invites us…
Wrestle with the issues. Wrestle with the questions. Wrestle with doubt. Wrestle with prayer. Wrestle with God about the suffering in the world. Wrestle with injustice.
Become a wrestler.
Friday 2 January 2009
Janus
This is Janus, Roman god of doorways, beginnings and endings - always looking back and always looking forwards. Its from Janus that we get the name January.It's in this season that people like to look back at the year that has passed and forward to the year to come. We pause and review our lives. Take some time out. Look in the mirror and see how we're doing.
I'd love to get some comments from you below about your highlights of the year- funny moments, serious moments, important moments. I find it hard to think back that far... it's all a bit of a blur, but it's definately worth taking some time to review our lives.
As Christians we should be examining our lives to see if we're growing. here's what the Bible says:
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.
2 Corinthians 13: 5-6
So... have you grown this year? Have you grown closer to God? Have you moved forward? (A lot of us wrote some letters one Sunday night and you'll be getting those back soon. That might show you how you have changed.)
Julie, Paul and I have seen how you've grown this year, so when you look back at your journey with God over the last 365 days or so "we trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test."
What about the future? What are your hopes and fears? Who would you like to be this time next year?
PRAY
Finally, a prayer to God who is God of our past and God of our future:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139: 23-24
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