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We have so looked forward to our seven days in London in order to see our family - especially our grandchildren Luca and Anton who were due to appear in their school Christmas plays. We anticipated being audience members puffed up with pride! Living overseas this was our first opportunity and we were going to seize it. But as we drove to London the news struck...Luca had swine flu and would miss the productions. The next day, Anton was diagnosed with swine flu too and missed his big day.
This latest outbreak has been malevolent claiming at least 15 lives and so we were told to stay well away. Luca had made good progress so today (Saturday) Simon said he would drive over with him to Spurgeon's College so that we could at last see one another. Well....over 4 inches of snow fell in a short space of time even as they were travelling to see us. They arrived but almost immediately had to turn around to avoid getting stuck in ever deteriorating conditions. Of course, we tried to make the most of the 15 minutes together!
Frustration is the word. As I commented last week, it's important to keep remembering that Jesus as Lord continues to reign over everything. That puts swine flu and snow into perspective but it's still frustrating.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Privilege of Gathered Worship
I have preached in two dramatically contrasting contexts in the last three days. On Sunday I was at Wallingford Baptist Church which was packed to the rafters to witness the believers' baptisms of three young people. Each of them spoke about their faith in Jesus Christ and with refreshingly personal stories also revealed just how important was the influence of other members of that church community - Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, friends and family. The baptismal pool is near the centre of the church, so the congregation (including all these key influences) gathered all around. It really was a church family event.
I mentioned in my sermon, that though I was not quite 14 years old I still remember the moment of my baptism so vividly. The coloured tiles (with a crack in one), the experience of speaking my vows and being immersed in the water, and the hymn that we sang. At the time it was as real as it could be - as much of myself as I knew given to as much as Jesus Christ as I knew. Of course, it wasn't all that much! But here I am over 50 years later still an ever-learning disciple. As a side-bar....I didn't have as much time to preach as I had planned (and hoped!) but it didn't matter in the least.
Last night I preached at the annual Carol Service at Spurgeon's College, London. It's over ten years ago since I presided over this great event....but it was just as I remember. A roaring fire in the main hall fire-place, friends from near and far, exultant students at the end of term, Christmas fare, and a well-planned service. What an opportunity to preach to this crowd! As a side-bar, the candle-light meant I could hardly read the Scripture passage and had to stand embarassingly close to the nearest candles....but my practice of preaching without notes came in handy. Seriously, it was another occasion when the much over-used word 'privilege' really applied to gathered worship. I hope you will experience some great worship over these next few days too.
I mentioned in my sermon, that though I was not quite 14 years old I still remember the moment of my baptism so vividly. The coloured tiles (with a crack in one), the experience of speaking my vows and being immersed in the water, and the hymn that we sang. At the time it was as real as it could be - as much of myself as I knew given to as much as Jesus Christ as I knew. Of course, it wasn't all that much! But here I am over 50 years later still an ever-learning disciple. As a side-bar....I didn't have as much time to preach as I had planned (and hoped!) but it didn't matter in the least.
Last night I preached at the annual Carol Service at Spurgeon's College, London. It's over ten years ago since I presided over this great event....but it was just as I remember. A roaring fire in the main hall fire-place, friends from near and far, exultant students at the end of term, Christmas fare, and a well-planned service. What an opportunity to preach to this crowd! As a side-bar, the candle-light meant I could hardly read the Scripture passage and had to stand embarassingly close to the nearest candles....but my practice of preaching without notes came in handy. Seriously, it was another occasion when the much over-used word 'privilege' really applied to gathered worship. I hope you will experience some great worship over these next few days too.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Frustration
Sometimes you hit a day like this! Our hire car is the most expensive part of our daily sabbatical costs and for that you hope it spares you trouble. But almost from the start the dashboard computer has misbehaved with alarming free-will. We could tolerate it going blank or creating confused patterns but one rainy cold night last week it immobilized the engine in Tesco car park. Eventually it relented and we could start up again. But yesterday it flashed up: acceleration reduced and dropped me down to a crawl -to the immense irritation of the queue behind. So, fearing the bureaucratic consequences I called the rental car company (Hertz). One guy said I should go to the nearest outlet in Oxford for a replacement vehicle. But calling Oxford I was told by another person that nothing could happen until I sent for the AA emergency team and they would declare the source of trouble and authorize me to gain a replacement. I explained that I knew the source of trouble...but they patiently repeated this was the procedure. 2 hours later the emergency repairman turned up. In the freezing cold he sat inside the car and pummelled the dashboard, hitting the little computer screen with full-fist and banging the whole area. Eventually he told me that the dashboard computer was faulty. What! He authorized the car's replacement. I called up the Oxford office again, but they said there would be no car until after 11:00 am today.
So began another frustrating day. My instructions where to turn off the busy road into Oxford weren't clear. We made several false attempts. We asked at a store and were several miles out of our way. Another store sent us right back into the city. After 40 minutes of searching we found it. The office manager was answering two phones at once and explained she was running two separate offices! She asked us if the petrol tank was full. Oh, no! I had filled it up a couple of days before but I honestly thought with all the extra pain this faulty car had caused they would waive cost of a little drop of petrol. No Way! What kind of customer service did we expect? She said we could pay her 45 pounds to fill the car up. We were appalled. It only costs 51 pounds to fill the entire tank. The nearest petrol station was way back through the traffic and another half-an-hour trip. And because it is notoriously difficult to find we needed a sketch map to show how to enter it. Weirdly, it was closed with cones barring access. Carol was off to investigate! A few minutes later they reopened and we could top up for 12 pounds.
Eventually we were given our next rental car - considerably smaller but with dashboard computer working! To put frustration behind us we decided to go park-and-ride and celebrate with two budget meals. "Ten minutes wait", the waiter said. Oh yes! 40 minutes later half our order came. The people on the next table sympathizingly said it was the slowest they had ever known. We smiled at the theme unfolding and began anticipating how they rest of the day might unfold. Yes, we were told to get on the wrong bus and eventually ended up with our car for a weary drive home. I commented (!) to Carol about the hours 'wasted' but she reminded me how life is like this sometimes. Actually being a Christian is much more difficult in frustration isn't it, but unless our faith works in frustration it's not very valuable, is it? Thank you Lord for being with me in this day, too.
Today
So began another frustrating day. My instructions where to turn off the busy road into Oxford weren't clear. We made several false attempts. We asked at a store and were several miles out of our way. Another store sent us right back into the city. After 40 minutes of searching we found it. The office manager was answering two phones at once and explained she was running two separate offices! She asked us if the petrol tank was full. Oh, no! I had filled it up a couple of days before but I honestly thought with all the extra pain this faulty car had caused they would waive cost of a little drop of petrol. No Way! What kind of customer service did we expect? She said we could pay her 45 pounds to fill the car up. We were appalled. It only costs 51 pounds to fill the entire tank. The nearest petrol station was way back through the traffic and another half-an-hour trip. And because it is notoriously difficult to find we needed a sketch map to show how to enter it. Weirdly, it was closed with cones barring access. Carol was off to investigate! A few minutes later they reopened and we could top up for 12 pounds.
Eventually we were given our next rental car - considerably smaller but with dashboard computer working! To put frustration behind us we decided to go park-and-ride and celebrate with two budget meals. "Ten minutes wait", the waiter said. Oh yes! 40 minutes later half our order came. The people on the next table sympathizingly said it was the slowest they had ever known. We smiled at the theme unfolding and began anticipating how they rest of the day might unfold. Yes, we were told to get on the wrong bus and eventually ended up with our car for a weary drive home. I commented (!) to Carol about the hours 'wasted' but she reminded me how life is like this sometimes. Actually being a Christian is much more difficult in frustration isn't it, but unless our faith works in frustration it's not very valuable, is it? Thank you Lord for being with me in this day, too.
Today
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Old Testament Prophecy (2)
As I have continued working on Isa 8:21-9:7 I have been intrigued by the question: “What difference would it make if there was no Christmas, no birth of Christ?” An astronomer friend of mine gave me a recent paper he had written on ten reasons why the moon is important for life on earth. It’s a dense scientific paper and full of interest. But as I read his list of reasons why the moon is essential for life on earth….I pondered what goes on the list about Christmas being essential?
Does Sunday’s theme of OT prophecy help me answer: “What difference would it make if there was no Christmas, no birth of Christ?” Yes! The more you look at the contrast between darkness and light, the more you want to emphasize one major difference if there was no Christmas is that God’s story would be stuck in the Old Testament in the dark. When people have turned their backs on God they ‘see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into outer darkness’ (Isa. 8:22).
Tragically, the next famous promise of Isa. 9:2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” would be unfulfilled. No child is born, there is no wonderful counselor, no Prince of peace. No kingdom of justice and righteousness. There would be no light, no hope. No one will say the words: "I am the Light of the World, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Tragically, for many people God’s story has never come alive. Actually, they are stuck in the darkness and unaware of the profound importance to life on earth that the Light has come in Christ. See the wonder of this prophecy in Isa. 9:1-7 uttered around 700 years before the first Christmas yet FULFILLED gloriously in Christ’s coming for us to have the light of life. I am preparing a sermon with enthusiasm!
Does Sunday’s theme of OT prophecy help me answer: “What difference would it make if there was no Christmas, no birth of Christ?” Yes! The more you look at the contrast between darkness and light, the more you want to emphasize one major difference if there was no Christmas is that God’s story would be stuck in the Old Testament in the dark. When people have turned their backs on God they ‘see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into outer darkness’ (Isa. 8:22).
Tragically, the next famous promise of Isa. 9:2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” would be unfulfilled. No child is born, there is no wonderful counselor, no Prince of peace. No kingdom of justice and righteousness. There would be no light, no hope. No one will say the words: "I am the Light of the World, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Tragically, for many people God’s story has never come alive. Actually, they are stuck in the darkness and unaware of the profound importance to life on earth that the Light has come in Christ. See the wonder of this prophecy in Isa. 9:1-7 uttered around 700 years before the first Christmas yet FULFILLED gloriously in Christ’s coming for us to have the light of life. I am preparing a sermon with enthusiasm!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Jesus on a list
Elton John was the guest editor of The Independent last week and he gave us some lists under the heading: Read my lists - and I'll tell you who I am. The first list was: 10 things I liked when I was 25 that I don't like now. This included: driving, travelling, alcohol/drugs and celebrity.
The second list was: 10 things I didn't like when I was 25 that I do like now. This included: photography, contemporary art, peace and quiet/staying in. But at number 9 was - Jesus Christ.
That brought me up with a jolt. What did it mean that Jesus Christ was a 'thing' he didn't like 25 years ago but now does? Has he been on a faith journey, or what? And does placing him at number 9 show Jesus' relative unimportance still? How intriguing to find the Lord's name showing up on a pop icon's list in this way. He made me think what I would put under similar headings....and how I would sum up my faith in 25years' stages.
The second list was: 10 things I didn't like when I was 25 that I do like now. This included: photography, contemporary art, peace and quiet/staying in. But at number 9 was - Jesus Christ.
That brought me up with a jolt. What did it mean that Jesus Christ was a 'thing' he didn't like 25 years ago but now does? Has he been on a faith journey, or what? And does placing him at number 9 show Jesus' relative unimportance still? How intriguing to find the Lord's name showing up on a pop icon's list in this way. He made me think what I would put under similar headings....and how I would sum up my faith in 25years' stages.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Old Testament Prophecy
Next Sunday I am preaching again at Wallingford Baptist Church in their series on OT prophets. This time I am concluding the series and have been given the title: OT prophecy in the NT! As someone said to me:"Oh, that's such a small subject...how will you manage to fill in the sermon time?"
I have been thinking and praying about where to focus. Since we are in Advent, I have decided to look at the famous prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-7. Many Christmas services will hear its promise - 'The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.....for to us a child is born, to us a son is given." However, I am beginning the Scripture reading at Isaiah 8: 21,22 which stresses Isaiah's prophecy to a people in distress and darkness, to be thrust into utter darkness. In order to understand the need for great light....we must recognize the deep darkness! I shall also include the verses 4 and 5 about shattering enemies and garments rolled in blood. Generally, these are omitted in Christmas readings because they violently disrupt the happy flow.
What does this extraordinary promise, around 700 years before Christ's birth, with its mention of Galilee (verse 1) and a child who is heir to king David (verse 7), show us about OT prophecy in the NT? On Sunday, three candidates will be baptised in a believers' baptismal service and I know I must let God challenge us afresh through this text.
I have been thinking and praying about where to focus. Since we are in Advent, I have decided to look at the famous prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-7. Many Christmas services will hear its promise - 'The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.....for to us a child is born, to us a son is given." However, I am beginning the Scripture reading at Isaiah 8: 21,22 which stresses Isaiah's prophecy to a people in distress and darkness, to be thrust into utter darkness. In order to understand the need for great light....we must recognize the deep darkness! I shall also include the verses 4 and 5 about shattering enemies and garments rolled in blood. Generally, these are omitted in Christmas readings because they violently disrupt the happy flow.
What does this extraordinary promise, around 700 years before Christ's birth, with its mention of Galilee (verse 1) and a child who is heir to king David (verse 7), show us about OT prophecy in the NT? On Sunday, three candidates will be baptised in a believers' baptismal service and I know I must let God challenge us afresh through this text.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Get in the picture
Carol and I visited Abingdon today. In the main precinct we were surprised by a shepherd boy and young king who invited us into an empty shop where a stable had been set up. A baby lay in a manger, and passers-by were being invited to put on shepherd's clothes and enter this stable scene to stand behind the baby, and have their photograph taken. The whole imaginative idea was to jolt us in our Saturday shopping to realize that the Christmas story is for us.....we should make time to picture ourselves within its good news. After all, 'a Saviour has been born to YOU' (Luke 2:11)
Various churches were cooperating to staff the event, giving out free teas, coffees and mince pies and befriending any of us who stopped by. I tried on one of the shepherd's tunics but found myself trapped in a garment that proved far too small (too many mince pies already!) Then I was given a tabard and went with a 'king' into the stable, while the Baptist minister - David Fleming - took our picture. Just before me the Mayor of Abingdon had visited and been photographed with the baby Jesus in his arms (without his dressing in Middle East garb!)
The whole project is called: "Get in the Picture." You can go online www.getinthepicture.org.uk and see the pictures. Date - Dec. 4th; place -Abingdon. But, most importantly, as you visit the site you will be invited to pause and reflect again on the Christmas story and its meaning. Several suggestions are offered to stop and make us think, plus full details of all the Christmas services in the area. What an imaginative way of presenting good news. I really hope and pray that many will be stirred for the first time this Christmas to get in the picture!
Various churches were cooperating to staff the event, giving out free teas, coffees and mince pies and befriending any of us who stopped by. I tried on one of the shepherd's tunics but found myself trapped in a garment that proved far too small (too many mince pies already!) Then I was given a tabard and went with a 'king' into the stable, while the Baptist minister - David Fleming - took our picture. Just before me the Mayor of Abingdon had visited and been photographed with the baby Jesus in his arms (without his dressing in Middle East garb!)
The whole project is called: "Get in the Picture." You can go online www.getinthepicture.org.uk and see the pictures. Date - Dec. 4th; place -Abingdon. But, most importantly, as you visit the site you will be invited to pause and reflect again on the Christmas story and its meaning. Several suggestions are offered to stop and make us think, plus full details of all the Christmas services in the area. What an imaginative way of presenting good news. I really hope and pray that many will be stirred for the first time this Christmas to get in the picture!
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