Christmas Lights...

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is the lights. It seems that Christmas lights up the world. Yesterday was December 21st the winter solstice, this is the longest night of the year and the shortest time of daylight in the year.  So it's interesting to me that when we're in the darkest part of the year, Christmas pierces the darkness with light. Lights were important in the first Christmas.  The angels did the dazzling light show in the sky, the wise men saw another bright light in the sky - a star- and they followed it to where Jesus was born. I want us to look for a few more minutes on the light of Christmas for your dark days.  Looking back at 2011 it got me thinking about specifically 3 types of dark days;  Dark days of disappointment, distress, and doubt.  Maybe you can relate to at least one of those. 

Dark days of disappointment

There's been a lot of disappointing news just lately in our country.  The economy going down, the unemployment rate going up. More days of austerity, its going to get worse before it gets better There's lots of disappointing news!!

Dark days of distress

That's when you feel overwhelmed, when you're stressed out, stretched to the limit, frustrated.  You've got too much to do and you don't have enough time, you don't have enough money, you don't have enough energy.  My guess is that some of you are in dark days of distress right now.  You may be stressed out financially.  There's too much of the month left over at the end of the money.

Dark days of doubt

Do you ever lose your way?  Do you ever feel like you're up in a cloud and your head is in a fog?  When you look at your past you get disappointments.  When you look at your present, you get stress. When you look at your future, you get doubtful and worried. 

So where do you turn in your dark days.  What's the antidote?  The Bible says  "You Lord, are my light; you dispel my darkness." Because of Christmas you don't have to stay in the dark.  For me there are 3 ways that the light of Jesus can bring to our lives: 

He will encourage me when I'm disappointed; He will strengthen me when I'm distressed and He will guide me when I'm doubtful.

This Christmas, you may feel overwhelmed.  Maybe you're going through one of these dark days -- the dark day of disappointment, or distress or doubt The good news is because of Christmas, there is now a light in the world that can drive away that darkness.  His name. is Jesus!!

One night

Long ago

He came

God

Took on flesh

And lived

Among us

He came quietly

Miraculously

Humbly

Willingly

He came to love

To heal

To serve

He came to redeem

To renew

To save

He came for everyone

He came for You!

He came

God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ.

Christmas Starts with Christ...

A trendy nativity scene is being used in a poster aimed at reminding the British public that Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas. Christian charity Church-Ads.net launched the poster for its Christmas advertising campaign some weeks ago. Maybe you’ve seen it?

It shows the nativity scene with “trendy twenty-somethings, designer fashion and luxury gifts”, as part of its “Christmas starts with Christ” promotion, which is now in its third year.

In the poster, the shepherds are represented by a cycle courier and plasterer. The wise men are shown as three successful entrepreneurs and their gifts are iconic ‘treasures’ of modern culture: a Swarovski crystal perfume bottle, a Fabergé egg and a replica Damien Hirst skull. All are ‘sharply dressed’. “But the traditional nativity arrangement is unchanged, with Jesus as its clear focus," Mike Elms, of ChurchAds.net, said. “This year we have a very simple but dramatic idea by showing the meeting of Christianity and high street consumerism, with Christ in the middle.”

What do think about when you hear the word “Christmas”? I came across this poem recently by Marilyn Ferguson, it reminds us of the different types of images and memories that flood our minds when we start to think about Christmas.

Some people think of Christmas

As sleigh rides in the cold

A tree that glistens of tinsel

And decorations of silver and gold.

Some people think of Christmas

As stockings dressed in red

A crackling glowing fireplace

And a warm and cosy bed.

Some people think of Christmas

As faces filled with glee

Sharing stories, fun and laughter

And gathering 'round the tree.

Some people think of Christmas

As gifts wrapped up in blue

Writing letters to their loved ones

And Christmas carolling too.

Some people think of Christmas

As snow falling on the ground

The hustle and bustle of shoppers

And the joy that's spread around.

Some people think of Christmas

As the Lord who dwells above

Who sent His son to die for us

And gave the gift of love.

For me these words from the beginning of John’s gospel remind me of the key idea for why we celebrate Christmas  “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.”

The season of Advent

I’m sure you will have seen on TV the new  John Lewis advert : The Long Wait The aim of the advert, besides pointing you to do your shopping at John Lewis is to press home the real meaning of Christmas - that it is better to give than to receive. If your heart hasn't been melted by The Long Wait then it is made of flint, and Scrooge-like you deserve to be visited by every ghost going. Remember, out of the mouths of babes and all that. The child in question is seven-year-old Lewis McGowan, who in the ad spends 10 days counting off the hours, minutes and seconds until Christmas. Not so he can indulge in a frenzied present-opening fest, but so that he can experience the joy of giving his parents a special gift of his own. See, it's better to give than to receive - that's the twist, and it took a child to point that out. This is John Lewis focusing on core family values, in these economic belt-tightening times. And it has captured the public mood. The ad first launched on Twitter and YouTube, allowing time to generate chatter before it landed in the nation's front rooms during ITV's The X Factor a few weeks ago.

Last Sunday was the 1^st Sunday in Advent, this signifies the beginning of the four weeks before Christmas, we call it the Advent season. It’s the time of year when we prepare for Christmas. The common dictionary definition of advent refers to the coming or arrival of something extremely important. It’s interesting that the definition implies both the expectation and the fulfilment of that expectation. That seems especially fitting as it applies to the Christmas season. We know the outcome of the Christmas story, unlike the people who first heard the words from Isaiah, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And yet, we still anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Each year we can find new meaning in the familiar scriptures and songs, the familiar order of events.

We live with both the expectation and fulfilment. Because Jesus was born in a manger and died on the cross, we have the promise of eternal life. Because of Christmas, we can live in the promise “nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

As you prepare for Christmas this year, that in the midst of all the hustle, stress and busyness that comes with getting ready for Christmas Day, don’t forget to prepare for the real reason for the season; the birth of the Son of God – Jesus Christ. May you discover new hope and meaning in this Advent season, as you live in the expectation and fulfilment of God’s love.

What is Christainity?

I’m delivering a short presentation this week on “What is Christianity?” and I thought might like to see some of the content…

Christianity is the world's biggest religion, with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide and is the largest expression of faith in Cheshire. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Middle East 2,000 years ago. Christians believe that there is only one God, whom Jesus called Father, and they believe Jesus is the Son of God. Christians believe that there is a life after death. The Bible is a collection of holy books used by Christians. It has two main sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written before the life of Jesus. The New Testament is about the life and teachings of Jesus and his followers and letters, written mostly by St Paul, which were sent to the early Christian communities.

All mainstream Christians believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, this is the Trinity. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth is the foundation of our faith. We believe he was sent to save humanity from death and sin and Jesus was put to death on a cross, and 3 days later he rose from the dead. This is called the resurrection. Within Christianity there are many subdivisions in the world with different secondary beliefs. These are called denominations and some of the most well known groups of Christians include the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and New Church movements. There are two main festivals that Christians celebrate with special events.  Easter takes place between late March and late April each year, depending on the full moon in spring. This celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a holy day when Christians mark the birth of Jesus on 25 December At this time presents and cards are given and received, special church services take place and some schools put on nativity plays to remember the story of Christmas. Most Christian churches meet on a Sunday morning, and have their own buildings. Within a service there will be sung worship, prayers, and readings from the bible, and a sermon, (talk) on how to apply Christian teaching to every day life. Our spiritual leaders are called bishops, priests, vicars or ministers.

Church Communities and Groups are increasingly acknowledged for the strategic role they play in generating and maintaining community cohesion, contributing intrinsically to the quality of life within their communities and neighbourhoods. Recent research carried out in Cheshire has demonstrated:

• The breadth and depth of projects that demonstrate Christian love and compassion
• Projects and programmes that can be relied upon because they have stood the test of time
• Mainly self-funded and often voluntary led projects, contributing to our region in many ways, from increased levels of social inclusion to the conservation of our building heritage.
• Projects that fill gaps left by overstretched public services with such faith-based community action taking place that has often gone on ‘under the radar’ and undetected.

It is my hope and prayer is this research will become springboards for greater understanding, appreciation,

co-operation and partnership with Christian Faith Communities; The future transformation and salvation of many of our ailing communities may just depend upon it.

Who do you think Jesus is?

I think we can all agree we are living in troubled times, certainly at a national level we can see areas where there is trouble not least the ongoing economic crisis in Europe and the austerity measures that the government are introducing. At times we cal also face troubled times at a very personal level, a rebellious teenagers, an unfaithful spouse, a devastating illness. Life often brings trouble our way. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed, we struggle to merely stay afloat. Difficulty during times of trouble should come as no surprise to students of the Bible. It was Jesus himself who said, "In this world you will have problems." That doesn't sound like a very optimistic outlook. However, He goes on to say, "But take heart! I have overcome the world." Now, that message is positive indeed. Trouble. Difficulty. These things are a reality in this life. Jesus promises us that He has provided victory over those things that cause us so much pain. Trusting in Him is the key to overcoming these problems. Why not evaluate your present struggles from this perspective? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Who Do You Think Jesus Is? In our increasingly secular and Biblically illiterate culture, there are all sorts of ideas about who Jesus is. For many weeks in 2003, The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown was number one bestseller. It described Jesus as just a man who was married to Mary Magdalene. It said they had a child, and the church sought to cover this up for 2000 years. The book appeals to pseudo-intellectuals who have a weak historical and Biblical background. Who do you think Jesus is? That's the exact question Jesus asked of His disciples. Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus affirmed his answer. Most of the world accepts Jesus, the man, as a good prophet or teacher. But only a minority of the world believes He is "the Christ, the son of the Living God."

Now I accept that I'm part of the minority who believes that Jesus is who He says He is. But what about you? Who do you think Jesus is?

Is there a God dimension in the economic crisis...

 

A month after protestors took to the streets in New York against greed and corruption in Wall Street, anti-capitalist protests spread across the world. Similar scenes took place in the financial district of major cities in more than 80 countries as far apart as Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Sydney and London. In Rome police had to deal with outbreaks of violence but in other cities the protests were peaceable. In London the protesters set up camp in front of St Paul's and although initially cathedral clergy supported the action, the size of the camp made it difficult for visitors and worshippers to enter the building, which was closed for a period on grounds of health and safety.

Meanwhile political leaders, with their financial advisers and economists, from all over Europe gather for one summit after another amid dire warnings of the consequences of the failure to shore up the ailing euro, as Greece and Italy teeter on the edge of bankruptcy, with Ireland, Portugal and Spain all in the relegation zone. The finest brains among the most advanced nations in the world struggle with the complexities of how to unravel the crisis in the world’s financial systems that has been brought about by human greed.

I wonder in the midst of this entire crisis is there a ‘God dimension’ to consider? Could this help? I believe there is a moral law that is woven into the fabric of creation, which we ignore at our peril. It is as immutable as the laws of nature and its consequences are as inevitable as defying the law of gravity. The writer Paul, in the New Testament says that ‘greed is idolatry’ – is it the worship of wealth brought about through selfish desire that cares for no one else? Is it this selfish drive for personal gain that lies behind the present predicament in the world's economy?

Would we have never got into these problems if it was not for greed, maybe this is being recognised by some, hence the protest movements. How do we change the whole basis of our individualistic, materialistic, self-centred culture?

The only way I know is through the message of Jesus who turned the world’s values upside down. After 2000 years of trying every other way, is it time we took a closer look at the teaching of Jesus. Could it be that he made it possible for human beings to be released from the social and moral forces that enslave us and he enabled us to experience a radical change of mindset and lifestyle?

Remember remember

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

Words of "Remember Remember" refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. The following year in 1606 it became an annual custom for the King and Parliament to commission a sermon to commemorate the event. This practice, together with the nursery rhyme, ensured that this crime would never be forgotten!

Then on Remembrance Day, the 11^th November, this day was chosen because this is the day that World War One ended in 1918, when the armistice was signed in Northern France, at 5am. Six hours later, the fighting stopped, and to commemorate this there is a two minute silence in the UK at 11am, every 11 November. The nearest Sunday to the 11th is called Remembrance Sunday, when church services are held in honour of those involved in wars, and wreaths are laid on the memorials, which have a place in every town. A poem called 'For the Fallen' is often read aloud on the occasion; the most famous stanza of which reads:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

I don’t know if you’ve ever given any thought to the fact that God remembers. God is omniscient, by definition. That means He knows everything there is to know. He knows everything that have happened in the past. He knows what is happening at present. And He knows what will happen in the future. This means that all we have done, good and bad, are all known to Him. He has perfect memory of each and every thing including the wrong that we've committed.  When we remember some memories we will have feelings of regret and remorse, sometimes we would wish we could change something that was said or done by us or to us. By experiencing God’s forgiveness we can ‘move on’ from these feelings. God does not mysteriously and suddenly "forget" all the bad and wrong things but because of the death of Jesus he chooses to remember them no more – this is the hope of the Christian faith, forgiveness from God via the experience of knowing Jesus enables us to forgive and be forgiven so that we can be free from the effects of some of the bad memories that we so easily remember and become entrapped within the emotions of these memories.

Should we celebrate Halloween?

On Monday we shall be celebrating Halloween, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?

The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honour of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.

One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. Naturally, the still living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighbourhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

The Harry Potter books and films have made it popular to talk about witches, wizards and spells. Yet I’m not sure we should celebrate a festival of darkness.  You may reply, "But we only do this in fun...we don't practice witchcraft.  The practice of “trick or treat” is a mystery to me – why is it on 364 days of the year we tell our children not to talk to strangers but on 31 Oct its OK to walk the streets knocking on doors dressed in our scariest costume and instilling fear into many elderly people in the process!

Surely we need to be aware of what we are exposing our children too, the world of demons and evil is only too real and the darker side of life is not to be taken lightly. Many churches across the UK and here in Chester are holding a “Light Party” on Monday evening. ‘If you're off to a light party, then the sort of thing you can expect would be singing, games, crafts, food, and learning more about Jesus, who said, "I am the light of the world."  Check out the Hoole Baptist Church Facebook page for more info…

Have you got the time?

A couple of weeks ago a national newspaper ran a a story accusing the BBC of 'absurd political correctness' after they dropped the terms BC and AD in case they offend non-Christians! It seems that The Corporation has replaced the familiar AD and BC with the more obscure terms CE and BCE. Now CE usually stands for "Common Era." AD is an abbreviation for "Anno Domini" in Latin or "the year of the Lord" in English. Both measure the number of years since the approximate birthday of Jesus of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ) a little over two millennia ago. CE and AD have the same value. That is 1 CE = 1 AD, and 2011 CE = 2011 AD. The word "common" simply means that it is based on the most frequently used calendar system: the Gregorian Calendar. BCE stands for "Before the common era." BC means "Before Christ," Both measure the number of years before the approximate birthday of Jesus. Designation of a year in BC and BCE also have identical values.  Many people assume that Jesus was born at the end of 1 BCE. However, most theologians and religious historians estimate from evidence within the Bible that he was born in the fall of a year, sometime between 7 and 4 BC. Of course, one has the option of interpreting the letter "C" in CE and BCE as referring to "Christian" or "Christ's," in place of "common. "CE" then becomes "Christian Era." "BCE" becomes "Before the Christian Era."!!

In the UK and across the Western World we seem to be slightly obsessed with time we measure it, we use it we lose it, we waste it? Generally most of us these days don’t seem to have enough time i.e. we are too busy! Or we can waste time i.e. how much time do you spend on the Xbox or watching the TV? In a couple of weeks time we will “lose” an hour when the clocks go back from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time!! Now have you ever thought about how God doesn't see time as you and I do? The Bible tells us that to God, one day is as 1000 years and 1000 years are as one day. He sees the past, present, and future all at once, for He is over time. That blows my mind. We are so finite. We begin, we end. God always was, is, and will be. Isn't that amazing? When we get to heaven, there will be no clocks, no calendars - just unlimited time. That unsettles me. Clocks and calendars give order to my life. A place with no time just boggles my mind. But we'll never be tired, and that will be great! Even though God is over time, at the perfect time He became one of us - as a baby boy. He invaded history right on time - BC/AD - it was the zero hour - to show us Himself and save us from sin and offer us eternal life with Him - timeless life. Isn't that amazing? Won't you take "time" to consider this?

What is success?

It was Albert Schweitzer who once said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” This got me thinking. What is success and how do I know if I am successful? I think it is important to form your own definition of success. If you don’t, there is a good chance you will waste a lot of time and energy chasing someone else’s version of the word. Now I’m not sure there is right or wrong as to how we define success. The term itself is a subjective thing, so what success means to you might be different from what it means to me or other people, and this is perfectly fine. That being said, I think it is useful to discuss a little some such definitions, because it helps us to analyze whether or not we are moving in the right direction.

I read an article recently where the author was questioning what should be considered success and he comes to the conclusion that success should be measured as the positive impact his work will have upon the lives of other people. For example, most people tend to equate success with money. That is, the more money you make, the more successful you are. But under this definition one could argue that a drug dealer who makes millions of dollars annually is a very successful person. I don’t agree with this. I could give you that such drug dealer is a savvy businessman, but I wouldn’t call him successful, because the impact he has on the life of other people is actually a very negative one. Which leads us to one question: are you working to make as much money as possible, or to make as big an impact as possible?

How do we become a lasting success? What would your definition be? Ann Landers, the great guru of newspaper advice, once wrote, "To a great many people, money is a measure of success. If they are living on a lavish scale, they think they are successes. And yet many are dismal failures." Og Mandino, the author of The Greatest Salesman In The World, says, "The only difference between success and failure is good and bad habits - success is a state of mind." What is your definition of success? Let me suggest this one: Success is the process of fulfilling your purpose in life and doing it well. In short, success is a by-product of a life well lived.

Thinking about these 2 definitions I propose to you that the most successful person who ever lived is Jesus Christ. He knew what His purpose was: to reveal God to us in a person and to offer himself as our Saviour by dying for our sins. He fulfilled it perfectly. I would argue that the life and death of Jesus has easily had the biggest impact on humanity more than any other person who has ever lived. So was Jesus Christ the most successful man who ever walked this earth? Why don't you look to Him in faith? He'll put you on the road to success--God's way!

Forgive and Forget...

Over the past few weeks we will have been remembering 2 events that have both acquired iconic status in the western world. The first happened 14 years ago and was the death of Princess Diana, on the 31 August the UK was stunned by the news of her death in Paris and the second which took place 10 years ago when operatives of Al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and used them as weapons to attack the World Trade Centre and other targets in the United States, an event known simply as “9/11” since the date of the attacks was 11 September 2001.

There are certain events and moments in our personal lives and sometimes in the corporate life of a community or nation that we remember vividly because they impact our lives deeply. Personally, the day we get married, the birth of our first child or the death of a close friend or relative are all such moments.

Memories and the ability to remember for us all can be a powerful experience for us all, we all like to look back on a happy occasion but memories can also be deeply painful and even though “time can be a healer” our emotions can still be ignited by the surge of a memory, even of an event that happened many years ago. Being forgetful is not a positive attribute usually, but for all of us there are times when we all would wish we were able to forget completely some the memories of incidents and events of life.

The Bible say that God not only forgives our sins but he also forgets – by knowing that the wrong we have done and the wrongs done to us can be forgiven and forgotten by God can give us tremendous strength to release forgiveness to others and through this see the pain and trauma healed, so even though we can’t forget we can move on to embrace the new events of today that will be come the memories of tomorrow.

A Big Welcome

A survey by Tearfund UK revealed that 20 million adults in the UK pray. 13 million pray at least once a month and 9 million every day. One in three people believe God will answer their prayers. The morning of a job interview; the night when a family member was sick; the five minutes before an exam; most people have prayed in moments of desperation. Was someone listening? Was the prayer answered? People find praying helps and have had answers. Praying isn’t just for the religious. As we can see most people admit to praying at some time in their life even if they have given up on it later. Jesus prayed. He seemed to have access to God like no one else. He was always doing miracles and teaching about life. But he also spent much time in prayer and taught about it. What did he say? He said that faith was a crucial ingredient. He always responded to faith. On one occasion he said, ‘Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.’ Prayer is not simply about the words we say it’s about what we are thinking on the inside.

One place you might think of when you start thinking about praying is church. In another survey conducted by Tearfund UK  also revealed that some three million people would like to come to church on a Sunday if only they were invited. Some other interesting facts were: many people believe you need a ticket to go to church (where is the box office?); some believe church is like a golf club, only open to members; as well as some who believed they can only go if invited. Visiting a church for the very first time can be a tough experience. Where should I go? What should I wear? What time should I show up? What’s here for my kids? What can I expect? These and many more questions surface. I’d like to put you at ease. There are many churches here in Chester and Ellesmere Port where your first visit will be refreshingly friendly and enjoyable for your whole family.  If you came to Hoole Baptist Church we want you to experience inspiring music, helpful teaching and preaching, friendly people, and a place where you feel welcome and “at home”! This is a place where you can experience new beginnings! During the morning celebration there is usually singing, preaching that helps us to understand God’s word and how to live his way, praying, listening and responding to God and an opportunity to meet with others. Children and young people are in the main church for the first twenty minutes of the celebration, after which time they go out into their groups. There is also a crèche available. I would personally like to invite you along on Sunday 25^th September; on this morning we shall have a special emphasis on welcoming guests to Hoole Baptist Church

 

Try Praying

A survey by Tearfund UK revealed that 20 million adults in the UK pray. 13 million pray at least once a month and 9 million every day. One in three people believe God will answer their prayers. The morning of a job interview; the night when a family member was sick; the five minutes before an exam; most people have prayed in moments of desperation. Was someone listening? Was the prayer answered? People find praying helps and have had answers. Praying isn’t just for the religious. As we can see most people admit to praying at some time in their life even if they have given up on it later. Jesus prayed. He seemed to have access to God like no one else. He was always doing miracles and teaching about life. But he also spent much time in prayer and taught about it. What did he say? He said that faith was a crucial ingredient. He always responded to faith. On one occasion he said, ‘Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.’ Prayer is not simply about the words we say it’s about what we are thinking on the inside.

Even with a full life we can feel empty inside. Yet some people face health scares, get stressed about money or worry about relationships. Others suffer from depression. Whatever it is, you know you could do with some help. God is good and often meets us when we reach out to him. You don’t have to have a problem to pray. Many people simply want to know if there is something that can make sense of life. You are open minded and willing to check things out. Pray for seven days and discover the adventure of a lifetime: getting to know God! This week could open your mind to new possibilities. This week you could find the help that’s been missing. TRY PRAYING Prayer is conversation with God. You don’t need to use special words or a special voice. You can pray out loud or silently. God knows what you think and is familiar with all you do. You can talk to him about anything.

Use your own words, or you could say this: ‘God, if you are there – and I am not sure you are – but if you are, I want to know you. I don’t want to kid myself about it; I really want to know you. So as I pray this week please make yourself known to me.’ TRY PRAYING for the next 7 days. So what to do and do you get started; Find a time and a place that will suit you. Read the first 13 verses of chapter 11 of Luke’s gospel from the bible one day at a time. Try to keep going for a week, but don’t feel guilty if you miss a day. What else? Do you have a ‘big issue?’ This is something that you really want God to do something about. Pray about this each day and see what happens. Is there someone you’re concerned about? Why not pray for them – or with them – during this week? Let me know how you get on by connecting with me here at my blog or on Facebook or Twitter.

What's the quality and quantity of your light?

I was reading some interesting statics about Britain today recenly. While 92% of Americans believe in God, only 35% in Britain do and 43% say they have no religion, according to Britain's National Centre for Social Research. The number of people who affiliate themselves with the Church of England was 23% of the population in 2009 from 40% in 1983. In truth though, if Britain's Christian tradition is dying out, the leaders of the faith have only themselves to blame, for perpetuating the country's highly centralized religious structure. Some would argue that we have become one of the most godless societies on earth. Its principle religious exports today are thinkers who despise religion. From Richard Dawkins, who has compared religion to child abuse, to Christopher Hitchens, who titled his 2007 book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, the British have cornered the market on being anti-God, at least the Christian and Jewish varieties.

Some would argue that the demise of religion in Britain is a good thing, but I’m not too sure! This decline of faith and optimism may account for why Britain -- once the most advanced nation on earth, which gave the world parliamentary democracy and its inimitable centers of higher learning -- is today more famous for exporting reality shows like Big Brother, The only way is Essex and Project Catwalk. For while religion affirms the infinite dignity of the human person, its absence robs life of its sanctity. Exploitation for fame and humiliation and cash are the inevitable outgrowth. Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 and ended it completely three decades before the U.S., with Christian abolitionists like William Wilberforce taking the lead against the abomination. But two centuries later Britain is better known for football hooliganism, the gratuitous depictions of women in its most-circulated publications and the demise of the family with one of the highest out-of-wedlock birthrates in the world.

I find it interesting to reflect that at the same time attendance figures for chruch have been declining a very fast rate. Some recent research states that by 2050 Sunday attendance to C of E services will fall below 88,000, compared with just under a million now. In fact all mainline demonations within England have and will continue to expereince declining membership, one of the main reason for this is the age profile in may congreations, within the Methodist Church the average age of its members is 82!! For Baptists the average size of congreation is 35 adults, with many congreations having no under 16’s in them! Someone said to me recently that we shouldn’t just complain about how dark it is but we should review the quality and quantity of the light! Christainity has a role to play as light and salt into society and I very much belive that if the church began to get its act togther more then we would see a ripple effect for good into our commiunites and families. It is sometimes too easy just to moan and complain about the “state of our society” for me and others who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ we must examine our lives and our churches in order that we can shine more brighly and be the salt in our world to help stop further decay!

3 factors that fuelled the riots

Watching the news coverage of the riots in London and other cities across the UK I’m sure like me, you are feeling emotions like shock, anger and astonishment at what has suddenly happened. It’s very difficult talking about the reasons for riots during or immediately after they have happened.  People who blame things like poverty, racism, alienation, or the classic ‘there is nothing for the kids to do around here’ sound like they are giving easy excuses for terrible behaviour. These disturbances are not ‘isolated incidents by a minority’.  Rather, they are the scary symptoms of a widespread and deep problem in our society. I believe that as a society we are reaping what we have sown – that a tinderbox of issues has been created and it simply needed something to set it off.  That something was the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham but it could easily have been another incident.   

Today I read a blog by Jon Kuhrt (www.jonkuhrt.wordpress.com) who suggests that the tinderbox was created primarily by the following 3 factors, I agree with him:

1) Consumerism – we are a nation which has gorged itself on consumerist values and easy credit which have created poverty and left little room for any sense of true values such as hard work, caring for others, for family and commitment. Like spoilt children who don’t respect their parents, rioters have contempt for the peddlers of these addictions.  That is why they focus on the mobile phone shops, the sport stores and the large corporations.  We have a generation deeply malnourished by a poor diet of technology, violent computer games, bling labels and dysfunctional and disinterested family situations.  In many ways our city centres are dedicated to consumerism with endless shops with big windows designed to provoke discontent and increase spending.

2) The lack of moral authority in key institutions – the number of high profile scandals that have hit institutions like the Police, Parliament, Banking and the Church has hugely undermined the moral authority of the establishment.  It stokes a sense of injustice among many urban young people that they cannot trust the ‘suits’ and that ‘everyone is on the make’.  Internet and 24hr news coverage  now mean that far more people read the headlines about banks paying the ridiculous bonuses, MPs claiming on houses that don’t exist, Police being paid by newspapers and priests abusing children. Surely these are just middle class versions of shop looting? They see ‘the grabbing hands grab all they can’ and believe they are following suit.

3) The collapse of family – there is no way that the Police can stop the numbers of young people who are determined to cause problems.  Policing demands consent and they will always be outnumbered.  What we are seeing is the massive impact of broken and dysfunctional families.  Where are the dads stopping their kids from going out and rioting?  Too often it is left to mums struggling alone who cannot physically stop their children.  A cocktail of poverty, amoral attitudes, both parents having to work and the loss of any sense of personal responsibility means that the traditional barriers to poor behaviour simply don’t exist.  We have been too scared to talk about family breakdown for fear of being judgemental but it is the biggest cause of poverty, exclusion and violence in the UK today.

These are some of the characteristics of a society which is seriously ill.  We need to look full in the face of the problems and grasp their significance before we consider the action required.  David Cameron, has said himself, “There are pockets of our society that are not only broken, but frankly sick” We have a moral problem not just a politcal one. For me, I belive this is the time for an authentic Christian spirituality to offer a way forward.  We need to use the language of sin, of repentance, of transformation and of hope and apply it to both institutions and indivduals if we are to chart a way back from the mess we are in. 

Let me end with a quote from US activist Jim Wallis who wrote:

‘The crisis of our times calls for our conversion.  Our structures, values, habits and assumptions are in need of basic transformation.  Neither politics nor piety as we know them will effect such a change.  Rather a new spirituality is required, a spirituality rooted in old traditions but radically applied to our present circumstances’

Prayer: anytime, anyplace...

A recent survey of over 1600 UK consumers found that moving house was the only thing rated more stressful than having to call a contact centre. Over half of those surveyed call a contact centre at least once a month. Other key survey findings include:

• The most common reason for calling a contact centre was to complain or resolve a problem
• Being made to wait before your call is answered, and the agent not being from the UK are the two biggest complaints.
• 66 per cent said that on average they had to wait over five minutes before getting through to a live agent.

Here are 3 examples of genuine conversations from some call centres:

Motoring Services
Caller:          "Does your European Breakdown Policy cover me when I am travelling in Australia ?"
Operator:   " Doesn't the product name give you a clue?" Directory Enquiries
Caller:           "I'd like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff please".
Operator:    "I'm sorry, there's no listing. Is the spelling correct?"
Caller:          "Well, it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the 'B' fell off".
PC Support

Tech Support:      "I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop".
Customer:             "OK".
Tech Support:      "Did you get a pop-up menu?".
Customer:             "No".
Tech Support:      "OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?"
Customer:             "No".
Tech Support:      "OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?".
Customer:            "Sure. You told me to write 'click' and I wrote 'click'".

Thank goodness that when it comes to prayer we are put through to “heavens call centre”!! "Prayer is one of the greatest tools one can have in the world because it opens the door to a dialogue with God. To pray is to know to whom you are speaking, rather than the form it takes. "If you say a prayer to God and stop for a moment and connect with God, acknowledge God, thank God, or appreciate God in the course of that prayer, its function has been fulfilled. A prayer can be as simple as 'Hello, God' or 'Thank You, God,' or it can be an unending dialogue about anything you want to share with God. Prayer need not happen in a physical church building, but can take place anywhere and everywhere e.g. if you are walking down the street, driving in your car, or shopping in a store. It could be said that God talks to you at all times, and at some point, you acknowledge that and you talk back and that is prayer. Then you hear God more specifically because you are now engaged in the conversation. Once you start a conversation through prayer, whatever that looks like, the relationship begins...."

Watch out for the roots

Recently I hadn’t cut my grass for nearly 3 weeks and as you can imagine the lawn was looking very untidy, the grass was long, the weeds were thriving and the borders were messy. My excuse was that each time I set time to do it, it was raining or it had rained in the previous 24 hours! I don’t really enjoy cutting grass no sooner I have done it than it starts growing again and I have to be ready to cut it. Growth is a natural apart of life in the garden, I know if something is dying or is dead because it stops growing. I recently had to dig up a shrub that had been unable to grow since it was planted last year, it never seemed to take to the soil and it’s roots never established so it didn’t grow.

Roots are the hidden dimensions of growth in the garden, without a good roots system the plant or tree will never flourish or grow. This is the same in life, we should all be growing as people but we need to be planted well.

The bible says Christians are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail, because the hidden root system is continually drawing up water to feed the tree. The hidden inner life is often ignored, that part of us that is spiritual, that part of us which defines our character, we mustn’t neglect this or forget to feed the root system of our lives. For me prayer and stillness in my relationship with God strengthens this aspect of my life. God is the water in the river that feeds me and enables me to grow and to bear fruit in my character and spirit. I have to keep near to him or I will wither and die.

Youth is wasted on the young or is it?

I think it was George Bernard Shaw who once said, “Youth is wasted on the young!” or another Shavian way of saying it is "Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children." But what exactly does this mean, one response could be that it means young people have everything going for them physically; they're in the best health they will ever be in; their minds are sharp and clear but they lack patience, understanding and wisdom which results in so much wasted effort. Whereas someone who's lived and learn now knows what to do with all that ability of the body but now doesn't have the body to do it with! Another way of putting that saying is; "If I could go back to (whatever age you like) and if I knew then what I know now, life would be wonderful"

It seems to me that the youth of today don’t have a very easy time of it; Family life can breakdown, a recent poll of couples with children revealed that members of the average British household spend 34 minutes a day shouting at each other, it found that just over half the families argue at least once a day. The shouting persists for an hour or more in 35% of homes, rising to 50% in households with more than one child; If we believed all the media coverage all young people are in a gang, don’t get me wrong we do have some serious problems within  “gang culture” and the lack of good role models fuels this culture. But there are some very good examples of where young people are working hard to put something back into their communities.

In July two such projects take place under the banner of  “engage 2011”; last week in Ellesmere Port  nearly 30 Young People  from the Academy School and Catholic High school worked on community projects under the supervision of  Jenny Owen the Chaplain at the  Academy and Port Reach; this Monday in Chester  we will see Northgate  Church play host to over 100 young people and youth leaders for 3 days. During the afternoons look out for these youngsters in their  “engage 2011” tee shirts as they engage in Community Projects primarily within the Chester city centre. Both these projects are primarily financed and supported by the local churches of Chester and Ellesmere Port.

I hope you agree with me that it's great to see these youth of today in such a postive experience andbeing good news for our commuities, all too often we only read and hear bad news about teenagers!!