On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts... (Matthew 2.11)
King Herod longed to be acknowledged both as a great king by his people and as a respected ruler by the Roman Empire, while the cruelty and acts of terror which characterized his rule were fueled by his consistent fear of losing power.
Herod was well known for his elaborate and ambitious building projects: in Jerusalem he had rebuilt the temple, a magnificent building of marble and gold; the same city also boasted the elaborate palace he had constructed for himself and the Antonia, a large fortress to guard the capital. On the Mediterranean coast he had fashioned the city of Caesarea, a seaport to rival any other in the ancient world (complete with theater, amphitheater, hippodrome, and temple to Augustus). And, eight miles south of Jerusalem, there was the Herodium, an imposing mountain fortress which also included apartments, Roman baths and a colonnaded garden, a swimming pool as big as a football field - a structure that has been described as 'the third largest palace in the ancient world' and possibly of all Herod's buildings the one that he saw as his greatest achievement.
Herodium would have dominated the skyline for miles around and would have been clearly visible from the streets of the settlement close by, the small town of Bethlehem. And it was there, in a small, ordinary house, the Magi discovered the real king of Israel, a small boy born to a peasant mother, and bowed down to worship him, giving him the glory that Herod craved.
The real king grew up in obscurity in the Galilean village of Nazareth and, as he was raised by a craftsman in wood and stone, he probably worked with Joseph on building sites in the nearby, flourishing town of Sepphoris. Later, he most probably recalled his own hands-on experience of the building trade when telling his parable of the wise and foolish men and their differing choice of foundations (Matthew 7.24-27). Build your life on my teaching, he said, and it will not fall down.
Herod died not long after the Magi's visit and his beloved Herodium became his tomb. But his kingdom is long gone and his great building projects are now ruins to be excavated.
King Jesus still lives and his one and only building project continues to flourish and grow, as he promised it would: 'I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it' (Matthew 16.18).
This coming year we may be tempted - individually and collectively - to worship other 'kings', to fear forces and events and situations which seem outside of our control, to look to things that might be good in themselves, but are not God, for our ultimate safety or security. But there is only one builder-King whom we can trust, and what he has started he will finish.
In the New Year there are some good opportunities to pray together - for our Open Church Project and much more besides.
On Saturday 7th January there's an OCP Prayer breakfast at the Boylands from 8am - 9am. And then from Monday 9th - Friday 14th January a prayer week at St Peter's. Over 60 people joined in last time - it's a great opportunity to spend some unhurried time with the Lord and be part of our church's praying together through the week. (You can sign up at the back of St Peter's this Sunday or next, or contact Dave and Paul the churchwardens.)
Let's pray that whatever we do together, we do so worshipping and trusting our King, laying our gifts at his feet.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Friday, 8 July 2011
Real maturity
"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does." (John 5.19-20)
I've been thinking quite a bit recently about what are the marks of Christian maturity. Sometimes we find clues in our own experience of growing up from children to adults. Developing the ability to feed ourselves is an obvious example. Mature Christians recognise the importance of feeding themselves with what will enable them to grow, rather than simply existing from Sunday to Sunday with the hope that what they might receive on a Sunday morning or evening will be enough to last them all week. They seek to grow a discipline of regularly feeding themselves from God's word and his presence, spending time in worship and prayer. Sometimes that will involve meeting with others to do this, sometimes spending time with God on their own. This means that when they gather with other Christians to worship, they are at least as preoccupied with what they have come to bring to God in worship and service as what they will receive from him.
But sometimes that experience of growing up can be misleading if we apply it to Christian maturity. In our culture we very much value the quality of independence. We often expect our children to become more and more independent from their parents - whether that's the stage of beginning to walk rather than be carried, or, later, leaving home to set up a new home elsewhere. We see maturity as a development from dependence to independence.
When it comes to Christian maturity, however, there is a sense in which it involves becoming more not less dependent. As we cooperate with the work of God's Holy Spirit in our live we should expect to see ourselves become more and more dependent on our heavenly Father. One example: when God is stretching you and calling you into areas of growth in your own life, you will find that you need to spend more time reading his word, more time speaking with Jesus, more time seeking his presence.
We shouldn't be surprised at this. Jesus gives us the perfect example of a mature God-centered life - and he was utterly dependent on his Father.
I believe that in his mercy and love God sometimes takes us through times when we learn a greater dependence on him: in doing so, he is maturing us, making us more Christ-like, drawing us deeper into an experience of his love. (See how Jesus connects his dependence on his Father with his absolute trust in the Father's love for him.)
With the Open Church Project and all its attendant challenges - not to mention other challenges we face together - I believe the Father's heart is for us to mature, to learn from Jesus to become more dependent on our Father's love.
And out of that dependency comes obedience... we do what the Father shows us we should do.
If you want to think more about this, look further in John's gospel at Jesus' teaching in chapter 15 ('the vine and the branches') and see how dependence on the Lord, obedience to his word and experiencing his love are all inextricably connected.
Lord - please grow us - and grow us up - to your glory. Amen.
I've been thinking quite a bit recently about what are the marks of Christian maturity. Sometimes we find clues in our own experience of growing up from children to adults. Developing the ability to feed ourselves is an obvious example. Mature Christians recognise the importance of feeding themselves with what will enable them to grow, rather than simply existing from Sunday to Sunday with the hope that what they might receive on a Sunday morning or evening will be enough to last them all week. They seek to grow a discipline of regularly feeding themselves from God's word and his presence, spending time in worship and prayer. Sometimes that will involve meeting with others to do this, sometimes spending time with God on their own. This means that when they gather with other Christians to worship, they are at least as preoccupied with what they have come to bring to God in worship and service as what they will receive from him.
But sometimes that experience of growing up can be misleading if we apply it to Christian maturity. In our culture we very much value the quality of independence. We often expect our children to become more and more independent from their parents - whether that's the stage of beginning to walk rather than be carried, or, later, leaving home to set up a new home elsewhere. We see maturity as a development from dependence to independence.
When it comes to Christian maturity, however, there is a sense in which it involves becoming more not less dependent. As we cooperate with the work of God's Holy Spirit in our live we should expect to see ourselves become more and more dependent on our heavenly Father. One example: when God is stretching you and calling you into areas of growth in your own life, you will find that you need to spend more time reading his word, more time speaking with Jesus, more time seeking his presence.
We shouldn't be surprised at this. Jesus gives us the perfect example of a mature God-centered life - and he was utterly dependent on his Father.
I believe that in his mercy and love God sometimes takes us through times when we learn a greater dependence on him: in doing so, he is maturing us, making us more Christ-like, drawing us deeper into an experience of his love. (See how Jesus connects his dependence on his Father with his absolute trust in the Father's love for him.)
With the Open Church Project and all its attendant challenges - not to mention other challenges we face together - I believe the Father's heart is for us to mature, to learn from Jesus to become more dependent on our Father's love.
And out of that dependency comes obedience... we do what the Father shows us we should do.
If you want to think more about this, look further in John's gospel at Jesus' teaching in chapter 15 ('the vine and the branches') and see how dependence on the Lord, obedience to his word and experiencing his love are all inextricably connected.
Lord - please grow us - and grow us up - to your glory. Amen.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
When you fast...
When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show people that they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6.16-18)
'It is sobering to realise that the very first statement Jesus made about fasting dealt with the question of motive... To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want. At times there is such a stress upon the blessings and benefits of fasting that we would be tempted to believe that with a little fast we could have the world, including God, eating out of our hand.' (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline)
We have talked about fasting in relation to the Open Church Project - and suggested some might choose to do this on particular days (when there are likely to be significant meetings or important decisions to be made). Let us be clear, however: we are not fasting as a means of pushing buttons with the Lord in order to get what we want from Him.
We know that, of course, but believe me it's so easy to slip into thinking something along those lines without even realising you are doing it.
Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline is a book full of wonderful wisdom and his chapter on fasting, from which I have quoted above, is a good place to start on the topic. Foster goes on to say that:
'Fasting must forever center on God... Physical benefits, success in prayer, the enduing with power, spiritual insights - these must never replace God as the center of our fasting. John Wesley declared, "First let it [fasting] be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in heaven..." That is the only way we will be saved from loving the blessing more than the Blesser.'
There are rewards to fasting, of course - Jesus says so (if we don't do it to be praised by others for our piety, in which case that's all the reward we'll get!). But the greatest reward of all - as one day we shall know more fully than we can ever know now - is a deepening of our relationship with Father God. May we hunger for that above all else.
'It is sobering to realise that the very first statement Jesus made about fasting dealt with the question of motive... To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want. At times there is such a stress upon the blessings and benefits of fasting that we would be tempted to believe that with a little fast we could have the world, including God, eating out of our hand.' (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline)
We have talked about fasting in relation to the Open Church Project - and suggested some might choose to do this on particular days (when there are likely to be significant meetings or important decisions to be made). Let us be clear, however: we are not fasting as a means of pushing buttons with the Lord in order to get what we want from Him.
We know that, of course, but believe me it's so easy to slip into thinking something along those lines without even realising you are doing it.
Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline is a book full of wonderful wisdom and his chapter on fasting, from which I have quoted above, is a good place to start on the topic. Foster goes on to say that:
'Fasting must forever center on God... Physical benefits, success in prayer, the enduing with power, spiritual insights - these must never replace God as the center of our fasting. John Wesley declared, "First let it [fasting] be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in heaven..." That is the only way we will be saved from loving the blessing more than the Blesser.'
There are rewards to fasting, of course - Jesus says so (if we don't do it to be praised by others for our piety, in which case that's all the reward we'll get!). But the greatest reward of all - as one day we shall know more fully than we can ever know now - is a deepening of our relationship with Father God. May we hunger for that above all else.
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Beautiful work
Then Moses said to the Israelites, 'See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers - all of them master craftsmen and designers.' (Exodus 35.30-35)
We were created to work. It was part of God's purpose for human beings right from the very beginning that in our work we would care for his world and for one another and bring glory to him. In the new creation I am certain that we will work - 'heaven' is not going to be an eternal retirement!
The effect of human rebellion against God and its outworking in our individual lives and in our world (including creation itself) means that our work is often tedious or bitterly difficult or unrewarding. But God is interested in the whole of our lives - including the work we do - and is able to take what we do, when it is done in his name, and use it for his glory.
This short passage in Exodus speaks of the Holy Spirit equipping two people to work and to direct others in their work. Of course people can work and produce beautiful things without being filled with the Spirit - but when the Lord is involved in what we do, it can be amazing what is produced as a result.
Please pray for all those involved in the design process of the Open Church Project: for the architects, the quantity surveyor, our external project manager, the people at construction company, and the OCP team. As we consider both the big picture and also the small details of the build, pray that the Lord would give us wisdom in it all and that what is built will glorify him.
Please also be praying for our church OCP gift day on 26th June - that we would all give time to pray and think about what gifts or pledges we make on or before that day.
We were created to work. It was part of God's purpose for human beings right from the very beginning that in our work we would care for his world and for one another and bring glory to him. In the new creation I am certain that we will work - 'heaven' is not going to be an eternal retirement!
The effect of human rebellion against God and its outworking in our individual lives and in our world (including creation itself) means that our work is often tedious or bitterly difficult or unrewarding. But God is interested in the whole of our lives - including the work we do - and is able to take what we do, when it is done in his name, and use it for his glory.
This short passage in Exodus speaks of the Holy Spirit equipping two people to work and to direct others in their work. Of course people can work and produce beautiful things without being filled with the Spirit - but when the Lord is involved in what we do, it can be amazing what is produced as a result.
Please pray for all those involved in the design process of the Open Church Project: for the architects, the quantity surveyor, our external project manager, the people at construction company, and the OCP team. As we consider both the big picture and also the small details of the build, pray that the Lord would give us wisdom in it all and that what is built will glorify him.
Please also be praying for our church OCP gift day on 26th June - that we would all give time to pray and think about what gifts or pledges we make on or before that day.
Friday, 20 May 2011
Glory
Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. (Psalm 115.1)
The first building project mentioned in the Bible didn't finish very well. Human beings set out to create something that would 'make their name', an ambitious project for their own glory and renown. But instead of constructing a great city with a tower reaching to the heavens, they were left in confusion and disarray, their building project abandoned uncompleted as a testament to their pride. (The story of the tower of Babel is found in Genesis 11.)
Throughout the Bible we learn that when human beings try to grab glory for themselves, they inevitably end up in a mess. The only One who can properly 'handle' glory - indeed, the only One to whom glory can rightly be given, is the Lord himself. That's often a hard message for us to understand - that God loves his glory and is motivated by what would bring glory to himself. But a right understanding of that biblical truth enables us to pray in line with the heart of God.
The pastor and preacher John Piper puts it like this: 'God loves his glory. He loves it with infinite energy and passion and commitment. And the Spirit of God is ablaze with this love. That is why children of God love the glory of God; they are led by this blazing Spirit (Romans 8.14).'
I think that is why so often the Lord leads his people beyond their own resources when he calls them to follow him or do something in his name. If what we do as his people, his church, could be accomplished simply by our own cleverness, our own hard work, our own resources, we would be highly tempted to take the glory for ourselves - something that would do us great harm. When we are stretched beyond our own limits to a point where we have to rely utterly upon the Lord, where it is abundantly clear that 'success' can only come through his mercy and grace, may not feel a good place to be at the time, but it leads to something far better in the long run - an experience of God's amazing faithfulness and all the glory going to him - for his name's sake.
Please pray that the Open Church Project would indeed bring great glory to God. Pray for the team who have often been working very hard over the past few years - and have certainly felt stretched beyond their limits at times. And give thanks for what the Lord has already provided.
The first building project mentioned in the Bible didn't finish very well. Human beings set out to create something that would 'make their name', an ambitious project for their own glory and renown. But instead of constructing a great city with a tower reaching to the heavens, they were left in confusion and disarray, their building project abandoned uncompleted as a testament to their pride. (The story of the tower of Babel is found in Genesis 11.)
Throughout the Bible we learn that when human beings try to grab glory for themselves, they inevitably end up in a mess. The only One who can properly 'handle' glory - indeed, the only One to whom glory can rightly be given, is the Lord himself. That's often a hard message for us to understand - that God loves his glory and is motivated by what would bring glory to himself. But a right understanding of that biblical truth enables us to pray in line with the heart of God.
The pastor and preacher John Piper puts it like this: 'God loves his glory. He loves it with infinite energy and passion and commitment. And the Spirit of God is ablaze with this love. That is why children of God love the glory of God; they are led by this blazing Spirit (Romans 8.14).'
I think that is why so often the Lord leads his people beyond their own resources when he calls them to follow him or do something in his name. If what we do as his people, his church, could be accomplished simply by our own cleverness, our own hard work, our own resources, we would be highly tempted to take the glory for ourselves - something that would do us great harm. When we are stretched beyond our own limits to a point where we have to rely utterly upon the Lord, where it is abundantly clear that 'success' can only come through his mercy and grace, may not feel a good place to be at the time, but it leads to something far better in the long run - an experience of God's amazing faithfulness and all the glory going to him - for his name's sake.
Please pray that the Open Church Project would indeed bring great glory to God. Pray for the team who have often been working very hard over the past few years - and have certainly felt stretched beyond their limits at times. And give thanks for what the Lord has already provided.
Friday, 6 May 2011
Asking for wisdom
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Those who doubt should not think they will receive anything from the Lord; they are double-minded and unstable in all they do. (James 1.5-8)
This is an amazing promise from the letter written by Jesus' brother, James. Just as Jesus did in all his teaching, James calls God's people to have a wholehearted faith in God's goodness and generosity: God loves to give wisdom to his children when they ask for it.
The belief or faith that James speaks of here is all about relationship. When the world speaks of 'having faith' it quite often has in mind some vaguely understood concept of 'positive thinking' which somehow produces a good effect in our lives. Faith in the Bible is always about belief and trust in a person - the living God, revealed most clearly in Jesus.
When we ask God for wisdom we are asking him to reveal his heart and his mind so that we can respond in trust and obedience to what he reveals. If we are seeking wisdom from him but are not prepared for our relationship with him to deepen as a result - if we are not prepared to trust him or obey his word when it comes to us - there is very little point in asking for wisdom in the first place.
With the Open Church Project as we continue to seek what the Lord would have us do - his wisdom, his heart, his mind - may we be prepared to trust what he tells us and to put it into practice. For God is good and he loves us.
This is an amazing promise from the letter written by Jesus' brother, James. Just as Jesus did in all his teaching, James calls God's people to have a wholehearted faith in God's goodness and generosity: God loves to give wisdom to his children when they ask for it.
The belief or faith that James speaks of here is all about relationship. When the world speaks of 'having faith' it quite often has in mind some vaguely understood concept of 'positive thinking' which somehow produces a good effect in our lives. Faith in the Bible is always about belief and trust in a person - the living God, revealed most clearly in Jesus.
When we ask God for wisdom we are asking him to reveal his heart and his mind so that we can respond in trust and obedience to what he reveals. If we are seeking wisdom from him but are not prepared for our relationship with him to deepen as a result - if we are not prepared to trust him or obey his word when it comes to us - there is very little point in asking for wisdom in the first place.
With the Open Church Project as we continue to seek what the Lord would have us do - his wisdom, his heart, his mind - may we be prepared to trust what he tells us and to put it into practice. For God is good and he loves us.
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Don't worry
So do not worry, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6.31-34)
When Jesus tells his disciples not to worry, it's not good advice - it's a command. And it comes from the One by whom everything in the universe is sustained and held together (Colossians 1.17).
Stop and think about that for a moment.
Now ask yourself this question: do I trust Jesus enough to obey his command?
In another place Jesus says of himself, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full" (John 10.10). The 'they' is those who belong to him. So, when Jesus teaches us how to live, our trust must be that this is so that we may live the best life possible. ("Real life, God's way", as our church strapline puts it.) It's good for us and those we love when we follow what he teaches - really good.
Notice, though that Jesus is not saying, "Don't worry, be happy." (That was Bobby McFerrin.) As many people realise - not just Christians - you don't get to be happy by pursuing happiness, anyway.
Rather, Jesus teaches us to make our heavenly Father's priorities our priorities. Pursue what's on our Father's heart for his people and his world and align our lives with what he desires. Everything else follows from that.
That's true for us as individual believers and it's true for us corporately as a church.
We might face seasons - including this one - when we are tempted to worry about the future. There are lots of unknowns connected with the Open Church Project - as with other things in our life together. The word from Jesus is to trust our Father and make his priorities our own.
When praying about the OCP, ask the Lord to help us, above all else, to 'seek his kingdom and his righteousness' and to grow in our trust of him, for he is good.
When Jesus tells his disciples not to worry, it's not good advice - it's a command. And it comes from the One by whom everything in the universe is sustained and held together (Colossians 1.17).
Stop and think about that for a moment.
Now ask yourself this question: do I trust Jesus enough to obey his command?
In another place Jesus says of himself, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full" (John 10.10). The 'they' is those who belong to him. So, when Jesus teaches us how to live, our trust must be that this is so that we may live the best life possible. ("Real life, God's way", as our church strapline puts it.) It's good for us and those we love when we follow what he teaches - really good.
Notice, though that Jesus is not saying, "Don't worry, be happy." (That was Bobby McFerrin.) As many people realise - not just Christians - you don't get to be happy by pursuing happiness, anyway.
Rather, Jesus teaches us to make our heavenly Father's priorities our priorities. Pursue what's on our Father's heart for his people and his world and align our lives with what he desires. Everything else follows from that.
That's true for us as individual believers and it's true for us corporately as a church.
We might face seasons - including this one - when we are tempted to worry about the future. There are lots of unknowns connected with the Open Church Project - as with other things in our life together. The word from Jesus is to trust our Father and make his priorities our own.
When praying about the OCP, ask the Lord to help us, above all else, to 'seek his kingdom and his righteousness' and to grow in our trust of him, for he is good.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Simple trust
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6.8)
Praying is simple but we can make it very complicated. It's so easy to think that if we just get the words right or pray for long enough then we'll get God to hear us: and if we get the words wrong, or don't use special religious language, or don't exhaust ourselves praying, then our prayers 'won't be heard'.
Jesus tells us not to think or to act like that - at all. As always, he brings us back to relationship. We have a heavenly Father who is trustworthy and who knows what we need before we ask him - not a remote deity who's waiting for us to get our prayer technique right before he listens.
So when praying about the Open Church Project - or anything else - let's simply tell our Father what's on our hearts - in our own words. (That includes questions, worries, anxieties - anything. It's best to be honest since he knows it all anyway!)
We really don't need special prayers to do this - if you can talk (out loud or in your head) you can pray.
Oh - and let's remember too, that the Father is concerned with what we need - which might sometimes be rather different to what we want (or think we want). As we grow to know him more by spending time talking with him, we will be better able to distinguish between the two.
A couple of prayer points for the Open Church Project: pray about our Partnership Project in Rwanda - that we honour the Lord in how we give to that; pray for continuing discussion among the OCP team and the PCC as we look at how the Project might go forward (following a good meeting this week with Chris, our external project manager, and Mike, the quantity surveyor).
Praying is simple but we can make it very complicated. It's so easy to think that if we just get the words right or pray for long enough then we'll get God to hear us: and if we get the words wrong, or don't use special religious language, or don't exhaust ourselves praying, then our prayers 'won't be heard'.
Jesus tells us not to think or to act like that - at all. As always, he brings us back to relationship. We have a heavenly Father who is trustworthy and who knows what we need before we ask him - not a remote deity who's waiting for us to get our prayer technique right before he listens.
So when praying about the Open Church Project - or anything else - let's simply tell our Father what's on our hearts - in our own words. (That includes questions, worries, anxieties - anything. It's best to be honest since he knows it all anyway!)
We really don't need special prayers to do this - if you can talk (out loud or in your head) you can pray.
Oh - and let's remember too, that the Father is concerned with what we need - which might sometimes be rather different to what we want (or think we want). As we grow to know him more by spending time talking with him, we will be better able to distinguish between the two.
A couple of prayer points for the Open Church Project: pray about our Partnership Project in Rwanda - that we honour the Lord in how we give to that; pray for continuing discussion among the OCP team and the PCC as we look at how the Project might go forward (following a good meeting this week with Chris, our external project manager, and Mike, the quantity surveyor).
Thursday, 31 March 2011
It's all about relationship
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father...'" (Luke 11.1-2)
A very short reflection to begin with.
God created us for relationship with him: Jesus came to restore that relationship, broken by human sin. The first thing he teaches his disciples and friends to do when they pray is to remember and celebrate that relationship: "say, 'Father...' ".
In all of our praying about the Open Church Project it will be very tempting to start somewhere else - possibly with a list of requests or worries, maybe even with an agenda of things to pray through. Now I believe that God is interested in all of that - we can talk to him about anything and everything. But his primary focus is not to finish a building project: rather, it is for our relationship with him to deepen and for that relationship to impact the world.
So how about we begin each time and always with this prayer: Father, please reveal to us more of yourself, show us more of who you are, and grow our trust in you.
A very short reflection to begin with.
God created us for relationship with him: Jesus came to restore that relationship, broken by human sin. The first thing he teaches his disciples and friends to do when they pray is to remember and celebrate that relationship: "say, 'Father...' ".
In all of our praying about the Open Church Project it will be very tempting to start somewhere else - possibly with a list of requests or worries, maybe even with an agenda of things to pray through. Now I believe that God is interested in all of that - we can talk to him about anything and everything. But his primary focus is not to finish a building project: rather, it is for our relationship with him to deepen and for that relationship to impact the world.
So how about we begin each time and always with this prayer: Father, please reveal to us more of yourself, show us more of who you are, and grow our trust in you.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Beginning
Over the coming weeks and months you will find a new bible reflection and suggestions for prayer, usually every week. The aim of this is to encourage us all through the Open Church Project to grow closer to God and understand more of who he is and his good purposes for us and for his world. Most of the reflections will be written by me (Mark - the vicar) but a few guests may appear from time to time.
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