Trinity Vineyard Sunday Morning

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will loose it, but whoever looses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his fathers glory with the Holy angels”- Mark 8:34-37There are no half measures. It’s not a nice hobby. Following Jesus is all or nothing.Jesus says that if we want to follow him then we need to disown our values, cultural norms, expectations of our self, even some of our ideas about God. We are asked to lay down our ideas of how things should go. It is a call to self sacrifice and absolute surrender. On the cross are our own plans and desires.C.S.Lewis summarises this so well in his book Mere Christianity. He says:“The more we get what we now call ourselves our of the way and let him take us over the more truly ourselves we become. Our real selves are all waiting for us in Him. The more I resist and try and love on my own the more I become dominated by my own hereditary and upbringing and surroundings and drives, without Him, what I proudly call myself becomes merely the meeting place for chains of event which I never started and cannot stop. Most of what I call me can be very easily be explained by my physical drives or what others have said and done to me. It is only when I turn to Christ when I give myself up to his personalty that I finally begin to have a real personality all of my own. Never the less you should never go to christ for the sake of a new self. As long as it is your own self you are concentrating on you haven’t really begun to go to him.”Self denial and cross baring do not eradicate or repress the self, rather the Holy Spirit works through them, restoring the image of God in us as we grow in christlikeness and become more fully who we were created to be. Our real new self will not come when we are looking for it, only when we are looking for Him.

12/7/24 • 17:45

Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”“Twelve,” they replied.“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”They answered, “Seven.”He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”- Mark 8:17-23Everywhere Jesus went in the gospels, there was abundance. There was leftover food, there was healing. There was deliverance, provision, feasting. There’s so much feasting that the Pharisees even get miffed that Jesus and his disciples aren’t fasting. You just don't see lack around Jesus.And everywhere Jesus went the Pharisees also went. They were deeply faithful, religious people. People who knew their scriptures backwards. People who were trying as hard as they could to follow the instructions God had given the Israelites that set out a way to live the good life.  People who were waiting for the Messiah, Israel’s king, to arrive as he had promised.And because they were so faithful and patient and religious, they thought they would be first in line to be part of the Kingdom of God. Except they looked at Jesus, looked at how he lived out from that place of trust in God, looked at his mindset of abundance, and still they couldn't see. Jesus lived from a place of “there is enough” even when there objectively was literally not enough. They cannot break out of a mindset of lack and scarcity.I mean, seven loaves is just not enough to feed 4000! But in the real scarcity and lack, Jesus trusted in God. Trusted in his abundance and then he actually lived out of that truth. The Pharisees who bought into the lie that we can be abundant without dependence on God. They lived out of a mindset where they tried, really tried to overcome human brokenness by their own effort. They accumulated rules and regulations and ways of right behaviour and religion. The tragedy of course is instead of making themselves like God it set them against God.  It led to scarcity not abundance.So instead, spend some time with the God of abundance and ask, what next?What does it specifically look like in your life, while in the midst of scarcity, holding just seven loads with a hungry crowd of 4000 to feed….  What does it look like to step out trusting in the abundance of God? Holding on to the lesson that there was more than enough to feed 4000. That there was an abundance of leftovers besides.May we be good hear-ers and good see-ers. May we trust what Jesus said and do what Jesus did.

11/30/24 • 42:04

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ‘Are you so dull?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean).He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come- Mark 7:14-15The Times once asked a selection of eminent writers and thinkers to reflect on the question, 'what is wrong with the world?' GK Chesterton wrote back:"Dear Sirs,  I am".We have met the Pharisees a few times in Mark. They were deeply devout people and - in some ways - had good intentions. They were aware of the great gulf between sinful humanity and a holy God, and wanted to help people to cross it. To an extent, Jesus agreed. There was a gulf - a deep chasm between our broken fragmented lives and His pure goodness. But Jesus absolutely rejected their take on both the causes and the solutions. Incessant ritual washing, sprinkling food, pedantic observance of this and that tradition, while the thrust of the Law of Moses was ignored and evaded. The Pharisees would foist this 'outside-in' vision of holiness on anyone they could. Call it performative purity - a fake-it to make-it spirituality. But that would never work - and nor will any of our efforts to clean the outside of the cup while ignoring the dirt inside. What's the source of the strife, conflict, greed, and violence? Our hearts.What to do? Old religion points us to rigorous ritual observance. New-age philosophies point us to crystals, candles, and connecting with nature. None of these things go deep enough. And the truth is, nothing human is capable of dealing with the human heart.Our hope is in the mercy of Jesus. Hebrews 10:22 says that faith in Jesus will see our hearts sprinkled and our bodies washed. But then that's the gospel itself - and 'inside-out' liberation that starts with our hearts and moves to every part of our lives: freedom from all our efforts to justify our existence, and a freedom then to serve, in love, God and our neighbour. 

11/23/24 • 41:26

Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.- Mark 6:47-52What is 'hardness of heart'? The Bible speaks about it quite a lot, and it seems like a deliberate disbelief. In Mark 6 the disciples are afraid and amazed when Jesus walks on the water. They could work it out, not because their brains were slow but because their hearts were hard. I think it hardness of heart is the Bible's name for a combination of intellectual assumptions and ways of thinking, even habits, that tell us not just what we believe but what is believable. In other words, we have a framework about the world, our lives, and God. We draw a thick black line around what we *think* we know, a decide that it's a line that God just can't cross.The disciples didn't understand the walking on the water because their framework didn't couldn't yet contain a man - Jesus - would did God things, like feeding a wandering people in the wilderness. And they couldn't see that Jesus was doing a God-thing on the lake: "He alone treads the waves of the sea" (Job 9:8).A warning then, that even those who hang around with Jesus can make the mistake of thinking that he's going to stay within lines that we have drawn.May the Spirit soften our hearts.

11/16/24 • 43:37

Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.- Mark 6:1-6Jesus provoked extreme reactions. If you read the gospels: there are no people who are merely warm about Jesus, no ambivalent “he’s a good guy, I guess” responses. People either oppose him, or they fall down on their knees and give their lives to him. It wasn't always his healings, teachings, or pronouncements of forgiveness that offended people. In his hometown, it was his ordinariness that was the problem. The people of Nazareth liked the teachings and were open to healings, but not from him. He was too familiar. Isn't this the carpenter? He's just Mary's kid... We know the family!Are you turned of by the ordinariness of Jesus? Would you like the gospel to be more esoteric than the simple offer of mercy for sinners? Do you think your brothers and sisters ought to be more intellectually, physically, or morally impressive? Do you wish that the church was more 'successful'? Would you like our experience to be more spiritually exhilarating, something other than the daily choosing to put one foot in front of the other - the long obedience in the same direction.Really, there is nothing ordinary about Jesus. He is the extraordinary come to us in the ordinary. The theological word is incarnation - "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us". He is the meaning of everything, come to meet us. But day to day, it may be that our following of Jesus feels different, perhaps feels less, that the walk we expected.... Life happens ...Then, like John the Baptist in prison, we send up the question, "are you really the one"? Is there someone or something more? Jesus had an answer to that.And he answers us, "blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me". 

11/9/24 • 43:02

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”-Mark 3: 31-35 In the context of a King speaking to an inner group the meaning of this paragraph is astounding, truly astonishing. In the context of reading something inviting us to become wise, helping us grow in wisdom, it is something that should shake our worlds.These are the words of the king, we are not being told about any old family here, we are getting to know about some dynamics of God's family. This is a member of the trinity saying this. Jesus was saying that allegiance to him, shown by making his priorities our priorities, leads to us being included as part of his crew. This inclusion is not slipping in at the bottom level but we are included as part of the royal family. Take v34&35 in as a description of your reality, a statement about your position in this creation. When you give your allegiance to King Jesus you become part of his royal family. We are being invited to meditate on this and become wise. Making wise decisions about your life will become easier if you think often about this truth. Let us remind ourselves that there's opposition out there but the victory Jesus won on the cross means that everything that needed to be done so that we can have victory over all that would oppress us has already been done.

8/2/24 • 35:42

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.  He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.-Mark 3: 13-14The four gospels aim to make us wise by helping us get up close to the life of Jesus and seeing how he lived his life. The gospels invite us to imagine ourselves into the stories that the characters in the story were faced with. Jesus’ actions as King during the time he was walking around on earth are intended as a template for us. So when Jesus came preaching about God and putting right the evils of this present age, healing diseases and oppression, the bible fits this into the context of God coming to act as the ruling king. God was beginning a promised transformation of this earth.  The phrases ‘the kingdom of God ‘ and ‘son of God’ have very similar connotations, the active working of God as King of the world in real time. Jesus’ action as king involves others. Those who were being blessed by the transformation which had begun and they were being drawn in by this movement of God as king. There was a level of allegiance involved. But Jesus calls people closer, “Come be more involved with the work of the king.”When we see our calling in the context of a King reclaiming a lost kingdom we can see what our response should be. If the true king of this world is coming to act within this world the correct response is our allegiance, our loyalty. If Jesus is the Son of God the promised King then  my actions and purposes  need to be aligned to the actions and purposes of the King. Not just for a moment but a set daily allegiance to the King. If we see our relationship with Jesus in terms of being loyal subjects of the true King of the cosmos we can also realise that all aspects of our existence from the minutiae of life to the grand narrative of humanity can all come together as a coherent whole with Jesus.Our calling comes from a king who knows who you are and knows your strengths and weaknesses. We can choose to become more wise by meditating on the fact that God has chosen us. We here are called to be TVC to be part of King Jesus’ ongoing transformation of Woolwich, of London, of this world.

7/26/24 • 38:19

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. - Mark 3:4-5This amazing story of an unusual miracle service, bringing hope and healing to a man with a  ‘withered’ hand says so much about Jesus the radical and courageous rabbi. His miracle ministry to the hurting and broken, acceptance of those rejected and evident relationship with the Father was truly remarkable and groundbreaking. Yet in other respects He was also orthodox, engaging fully in the Hebrew Scriptures, synagogue services, annual feasts and customs of the Jewish people. His love and compassion for the hurting and courage to heal despite extreme opposition reveals a man on a mission. Jesus knew His calling, ‘to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives..’ At the same time this story in Mark’s Gospel also says much about the people who were opposing Him, the Pharisees.Although they occupied a place of prominent spiritual leadership, the ministry of Jesus revealed a darker, more sinister side to the motivations of envy and jealousy that fuelled these religious leaders. Their thoughts and actions were of course extreme and seem distant to us, yet we can ask questions that may help us avoid missing Jesus and His works in our own time and context. What is fuelling my spiritual journey?Is it a love for God? Fear? A desire for acceptance or approval? Routine?How can I make sure I don’t make the mistake of missing seeing Jesus at work? How can I demonstrate the courage that Jesus did, reaching out to bring healing to others despite opposition and criticism? 

7/19/24 • 36:18

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man,  “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”- Mark 2: 8-13Four men carried their paralysed friend to Jesus so that Jesus could heal their friend. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralysed man “Son, your sins are forgiven”. This is not what the four friends had expected, not what the paralysed man wanted. Yet, that is what he needed. That is what we all need.We often equate sin with emotions/behaviours that aren’t nice or downright bad, like pride, jealousy, stealing dan murder. But sin goes much deeper. In Ezekiel 16, the author compared sin with prostitution.In Jeremiah 2: 13 God said of his people: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Sin is our soul’s desire to abandon God and rely on ourselves. That is why it requires Jesus’ life for us to be forgiven.Which one is easier? For Jesus to heal, it doesn’t cost him. But for Jesus to forgive. He needs to give his whole life. When he says, your sins are forgiven, he is essentially saying, I love you so much that I’m willing to give up my life for you.“Replacing “what if ” with “even if ” in our mental vocabulary is one of the most liberating exchanges we can ever make. We trade our irrational fears of an uncertain future for the loving assurance of an unchanging God.We see that even if the very worst happens, God will carry us. He will still be good. And he will never leave us.” – Scars that have shaped me

7/12/24 • 26:30

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”- Mark 1:14-15The beginning of Jesus' public ministry offers profound insights into how His actions and teachings remain incredibly relevant for us today. We are challenged to live with a sense of urgency and purpose, understanding what it means to repent and believe the good news in our contemporary context. Next, we are called to reflect on Jesus calling of ordinary fishermen to follow Him. It is ordinary people like us, not the wise or wealthy, that are called to action by the Good News of the Kingdom. Jesus calls each of us, regardless of our background, to prioritize our relationship with Him. Jesus has authority and power over the evil and brokenness in this world. He invests that power into us. We are encouraged to rely on Jesus' authority to overcome our personal struggles. Jesus’ compassion and power to heal is unique in history. We too can seek healing in our own lives and become agents of Jesus' healing in our communities.To draw on this healing power, to stay focused on the mission we are called upon in a distracting world we need to incorporate regular prayer and reflection into our lives and align our priorities with God’s purpose.Finally, as the story of Jesus cleansing a leper shows us His willingness to make us whole. Not just in our body but in our relationships with those around us. We are encouraged to trust in Jesus’ power to transform our deepest issues and share our stories of transformation to inspire others.Spend some time with Jesus and ask him what he wants to do in your life today. You may be surprised with what he has in store for you!“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

7/5/24 • 34:13

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”- Matthew 3:16-17 Last Sunday was Pentecost, when we celebrate the Spirit's coming to the church.Someone once called the Holy Spirit 'the shy member of the Trinity'. One of the primary roles of the Spirit is to point away from himself, reminding the disciples of Jesus and his teaching. Since you can't see the Spirit, the Bible gives a series of seven (or more) word pictures.The Spirit is wind, air, or breath. The invisible but animating force behind creation itself. The Spirit is fire - the refining holiness of God's presence, and his power for every believer. The Spirit is water, the cleansing and restoring and refreshing goodness of God. The Spirit is a seal, a first-fruit, a guarantee - the first part of the fulness of life in God which is yet to come and the now of the not yet. The Holy Spirit is consecrating oil, the way in which we are set apart for works of service to God and our neighbour. The Holy Spirit is the wine of celebration and joy.And the Holy Spirit is a dove, descending on Jesus after his baptism - such a rich image! The dove is a sacrificial animal. It's also the symbol of Noah's discovery of a new world after the flood. And it's gentle. "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased", is a reference to Isaiah 42, a prophecy of the 'Servant of the Lord'.I will put my Spirit on him,    and he will bring justice to the nations.He will not shout or cry out,    or raise his voice in the streets.A bruised reed he will not break,    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.The Servant will come - Jesus comes - to bring justice to broken people and to a broken world, but with incredible gentleness. So it is with the Spirit - not just a rushing wind, or a tongue of fire, but a gentle dove.

6/28/24 • 22:27

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. - Acts 7:51-58In Matthew's description of Jesus' trial, the high priest orders Jesus to say whether he is the Messiah. Jesus' response is fascinating, not least because he doesn't say, "Yes - I'm the Messiah". First, he says - "that's what you say"! Why would you call a duck a duck? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc. Why would you call someone the Messiah?Second, he says, "I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven". This tips the high priest over the edge, who considers the language blasphemous, and tears his holy robes. In Stephen's trial, it's that same claim that finally ignites a volatile situation - "I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God". It is this kind of talk which condemns both Jesus and Stephen to death.Why was Son of Man talk was worse even than Messiah talk? All over the Bible, 'Son of Man' is just a poetic way of saying 'human'. The answer lies in Daniel 7, where the prophet has a Son of Man vision. In that vision, the arrogant beast-kingdoms of the earth are judged and thrown down. A human figure is led into the presence of God and given an everlasting kingdom, and all the people of the earth serve him.The Jews hoped for a King-Messiah, a human saviour from the line of David who would bring about national redemption through political and military means, but Son of Man vision takes things to a different level. This is not about any mere human, but The Human - sharing in 'Ancient of Day's' authority over all things. Jesus' claim was to be more-than-Messiah. And Stephen's vision was a confirmation that Jesus death, resurrection and ascension meant that he had been enthroned not as a human king, or the 'king of our hearts', as the songs say, but the Lord of everything.   Times of suffering come to us all. When they do, it is worth remembering it was this revelation of a reality more real than everything which he could see and hear around him - the stones, the fists, the curses - that sustained Stephen through fear and pain and into the presence of Jesus. It's not politicians, influencers, despots, bankers, generals, judges or tech-entrepreneurs that are in control. Jesus, Son of Man, is on the throne. 

6/21/24 • 52:29

Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”- John 5:4b-7Let's get this straight... did Jesus have to go through Samaria? It was the shortest route, but it was not the only route. If Jesus 'has to', it is not a geographical imperative so much as missional necessity. Jesus had to go through Samaria because that is where the Samaritans were and that was where he would meet the Samaritan woman. There's the first bit of scandal. For various reasons, and even though they shared a religious heritage, the Jews despised the Samaritans. They were seen as untouchable. Jesus readily crosses what at the time was thought to be an important barrier. But that's not the only code-breaking going on. Biblically, wells are places of betrothal. Wells are involved in the first meetings/betrothals of Rebekah and Isaac, Jacob and Rachel, and Moses and Zipporah. Oh, and one last thing. This is the area where Jacob's family had settled for a time. The story - which you can read in Genesis 34 - is one of deception, illicit sex, and a terrible massacre. At the centre of that story is Dinah, apparently unloved by her father, used or ignored by others.  This, then, is a very strange place for Jesus to find himself in. What was he up to?There is in fact a discussion of the woman’s marital status and a confrontation of her dubious past and present. After all of the betrothals in the Old Testament, hospitality is offered and received. In Exodus 2, Zipporah goes back to her father and reports she had been saved by an Egyptian shepherd. Jethro, although a priest of Midian, eventually recognises God’s power and becomes a worshiper of Yahweh. The Samaritan woman leaves her water jar and goes back to the settlement. She has been saved by the Good Shepherd, and many believe because of her testimony. Just as Moses ends up staying in the house of Jethro, Jesus stays with the Samaritans for two days. So, it is and it isn’t a betrothal scene - but the marriages in the Old Testament always are a moment where God's plan continues to unfold. That is the core of what is happening here.But if the woman is like Zipporah, she is also like Dinah - an unloved daughter of Jacob. And just like Jacob himself, she is grasping for connection and satisfaction. And just like Jacob, this grasping has gone wrong in so many ways. And just like Jacob at Bethel, the meeting with Jesus convinces he that God has been closer to her than she could have imagined. In Jesus words to the woman - "bring me your husband" - I hear a word to us. Bring me your plans, your dreams, your grasping. Tell me, did they work? If we're honest enough to admit that they have not, then a new opportunity opens for us - the living water of new life, flowing without end.

6/14/24 • 41:15

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt – to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.- Deuteronomy 34:10-12In the Israelite understanding a prophet is not someone who predicts the future or someone who speaks truth to power. Prophets may do these things, but they're more than that. A prophet was someone who had a radical encounter with God’s presence, was invited into God's council to intercede on behalf of Israel, and then was commissioned to go and speak to Israel on God’s behalf.In the Old Testament, Moses is THE archetypal prophet. More than anything else, Moses was a bridge between God and humanity. He was a man of two worlds. When he spoke, God spoke. To reject or criticize Moses was to reject or criticize God.  And Moses’s primary objective was to reconcile humans and God. To carry his people’s burden and to be their bridge back to God. The Burning Bush and Horeb, Mount Sinai help us see major brush strokes when it comes to encounter with the terrifying and beautiful presence of God.We then transpose these encounters with the encounter Peter, James and John had with the transfigured Jesus on a third mountain. The very thing that Moses longed for: "God, show me your glory". The very thing that Romans tells us all of creation is longing for. Peter, James and John are looking at the glory of God. Looking with an unveiled face, not at his back, not hidden in the cleft of the rock. They’re seeing Jesus - God - and they're not dead. And after watching all of that up close and personal, Peter, James and John are sent first to Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and to the ends of the earth to tell everybody what they’ve seen. And to tell everyone what is to come. Tell everyone that one day, just like the veil in the temple was ripped in half, the skies too will be split from east to west, as though with lightning. And all people will see Jesus as he truly is: the King of all creation, coming on the clouds of heaven, adiant with power and glory.Beautiful. Terrifying.The invitation is to surrender. To walk up the mountain. Into the presence of God. Even though it seems terrifying.

6/7/24 • 41:27

The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1: 29When it comes to animal sacrifices and the rituals of Leviticus, I think this is one of the genuine places in the Bible where we may get the sensation of approaching the text with a disorienting lack of experiences to underpin our expectations.The real key to grasping this is a shift in our cultural understanding. Whereas we see animal sacrifice and think that somehow death appeases God. To the Israelite. It wasn’t an animal’s death that would cover over sins—it was the blood of a blameless animal.That’s why it's so important, why it is repeatedly stressed in the book of Leviticus that the animal used in the sacrifice must be without blemish. The Israelites were not to choose the worst of their flock for their sacrifices but a perfect, spotless animal.And whereas when we think blood we are more likely to equate that with death. In the Israelite understanding, blood is representative of life. Think of the phrase lifeblood maybe.Put simply, the lifeblood of a perfect animal is put on an altar, because the whole animal must be burnt up, and symbolically this blameless animal goes up in smoke. Into the Heavens. Into the presence of God. This animal goes through death into the presence of true life and there covers over the corruption and failures of the person making the sacrifice. Making a way for a human to enter back into God’s presence. What the book of Leviticus provides, is a way for Israel to know with confidence that, despite their corruption, they are brought near and safe to live near to God’s presence.All over the New Testament, we hear about how Jesus’ death was an atoning sacrifice for us. His death has covered all the evil and death in this world. All the direct consequences of our injustices, our scheming, our failures. And the New Testament authors talk about Jesus’ lifeblood, being able to wash away the vandalism that evil has caused in us and around us, the indirect consequences of our sin. And so now we can now live in God’s presence. The cross is the place where Jesus absorbs sin to create a clean space that is not limited, like animal sacrifices. Jesus’ sacrifice has the power to keep spreading and spreading and reuniting more and more of Heaven and Earth.And now as Jesus’s followers we gather once a week and take the bread and the cup to remember and to participate in the power of Jesus’ death and in his life.The very power that brought Jesus back from the dead is the same power that can deal with the brokenness and evil and vandalism in our own lives and transform us into people who live lives in God’s presence. Who partners with Jesus so that his presence keeps spreading and transforming more of creation and more people to live lives of love and peace. 

5/31/24 • 40:58

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’- Luke 10:30-35As the song says, everybody needs good neighbours. During the pandemic we remembered that we don't live in a bubble, but alongside others who sometimes might need us - or even alongside people who we might need. In the Old Testament - Deuteronomy 6:5 - God instructs his people to love their neighbours as they love themselves.Hmmm... what does that mean? We can't face the expectation of having to love everyone, everywhere, at all times, and it's quite natural to want to narrow down the category. That's what the lawyer in Luke 10 wants to do. Maybe he is genuinely intrigued as to how Jesus will respond. Maybe he just enjoys the cut and thrust of debate. The text though, suggests another attempt to trap Jesus. He knew, as we know deep down, that there is no perfect answer to the question, "Who is my neighbour?". But the story Jesus tells in response to the lawyers question changes the focus of attention. It's not about definitions and categories of deserving and underserving, but about the hearts of those that have the power to help. Will they help or won't they? The Priest and the Levite in the story weigh up the pros and cons, and decide that, on balance, it would be inconvenient to get down into the ditch and help this half-dead man. The Samaritan, of course, sees things differently. More importantly, he does differently. The issue, in the end, is not how good you are at debating the ethics of this or that scenario, or finely slicing the categories of moral responsibility. It doesn't even matter whether you can fix the problem. The question is, are prepared to do something... anything. Who was they neighbour? The one who helped. Then, Jesus ends the philosophical debate with an abrupt command: go and do likewise.  

5/24/24 • 28:51

Then the Lord God said to the serpent…"And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,    and between your offspring and her offspring.He will strike your head,    and you will strike his heel.”Genesis 3:14-15In the church year,  my favourite service is Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas eve. The first of the Nine Lessons is from Genesis 3. The message is that the seed or offspring spoken about in Gen 3:15 is the baby in the manger. Jesus is the one who picks up the promise that the snake, who induced the chaos which resulted when the man and woman chose to define what is good and bad for themselves, will be overcome. The promise is there right from the beginning, that God in Jesus will undo the serpent's actions. In the battle, the ‘seed’ of the woman will crush the head of the snake. Though wounded in the struggle, the woman‘s ‘seed’, Jesus, will be victorious.So there is a struggle between the forces of rebellion that carry on the legacy of the snake and the seed of the woman. God’s promise here is about the offspring of the woman: humans brought the problem into the world and humans have to be involved in undoing the trouble. Genesis 3:15 looks forward from the very beginning full of questions and mystery but equally full of hope. Jesus in the gospels picks up snake imagery. The final fatal blow to the head of the snake will come from one human, Jesus on the cross. There are many seeds of the snake out there bringing chaos and misery into the lives of the people we meet. The snake brings chaos and pain to society. For people to gain freedom there must be a struggle. Our friends, family and neighbours will remain in their chains to the snake unless the people of God get out and join the struggle. The snake is out to hurt us, he will strike at our heels. There will be pain when we seek to liberate people from the snake's grip. Expect liberating prisoners from the power of the snake to leave scars.

5/17/24 • 41:36

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”John 20:19-29 The church historian Jaroslav Pelikan once said: “If the resurrection of Jesus actually happened, then nothing else really matters. If the resurrection of Jesus did not actually happen, then nothing else really matters”.Everybody wants to say that life and love and peace are stronger than death and oppression and hatred. On what basis could we think that is true? If Jesus walked out of the tomb, if he took the disciples' grief, fear and pain and exchanged them for joy and purpose, then we have a reason for hope. If it’s just made up, then Jesus is just another example of a good person being pulped because he dared to stand up to bad people with power.That's all well and good, you might say - the disciples saw the risen Jesus face to face. They were there! 2000 years on, in our daily struggles, how do we sustain hope? As with Thomas, Jesus doesn't despise these questions - he knew we would ask them! There's a blessing for us too - blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.So our griefs, fears and pains can be overcome too, exchanged for something else. What do we get in return?1. The presence of Jesus, wherever and whenever two or three are gathered.2. The peace of Jesus, given "not as the world gives", which is to say an unconditional peace regardless of our circumstances.3. The pattern of Jesus, a call to sacrificial love and solidarity with the weak.4. The purpose of Jesus, as Jesus was sent by the Father, so we are sent by Jesus, that whoever believes in Jesus might have life.5. The power of Jesus, the Holy Spirit that came when Jesus breathed on his disciples.  

5/10/24 • 34:53

Blessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.Psalm 1: 1-3 Not everything in your Bible is always easy to understand.  Not everything in your Bible is even comfortable to read.  However, you do not need umpteen theology degrees, nor do you need to be an unrepentant bible nerd to grasp what is necessary in the Bible to be formed into a resilient disciple - someone who delights in the word of the Lord and soaks it up day and night. The Bible gives us wisdom for any situation across a lifetime by telling us the story of what it is to be human and who God is.  The aim of this story is to shape us into people who, as they read, mature spiritually. To mature spiritually is to begin to know what it feels like in any given situation to be more in line with the will of God instead of less.  We are invited to step into that story, to make it our own, to be shaped by its beauty and to live by its wisdom. Yet, one of the challenges in accepting this invitation is the fact that to fully step into these texts we must train ourselves to see their wisdom and beauty. We have to spend time in the word of God. Even when we don’t understand. Even when we don’t find it comfortable. The good news is our effort needn’t be a sprint.  We aren’t trying to download hundreds of pages into our heads in a single sitting. We should be working at developing a lifetime passion, developing consistency, bit by bit, little by little, day by day. No one gets the Bible in one reading. It is designed to be read again and again in community.  We should be feasting on God’s word, eating this honey so that no other book tastes as sweet.  Other stories may entertain us for a moment. But to be fed, to receive life for the deepest parts of us, we come back again and again to the Bible.  We come to encounter God’s wisdom. We come to be formed by the Spirit. We come to receive revelation of God’s goodness and beauty, particularly through the person of Jesus.

3/30/24 • 38:22

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you,but you will not always have me.”John 12:3-8True generosity has the power to change the world.As the Roman Emperor Julian tried to turn the Empire back towards the ancient Roman religion, he found that one of the main barriers was the fact that “the impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well, everyone can see that our people lack aid from us". The extraordinary generosity of the community founded by Jesus was spilled beyond the boundaries of the church and saw the early Christians forming a prototype welfare state. Or think of the way that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, chose to live on a few percent of his actual income, giving the vast majority away. It  has been said that “when John Wesley was carried to his grave, he left behind him a good library of books, a well-worn clergyman's gown... and the Methodist Church”. The legacy of his life - the inheritance he left - amounted to absolutely nothing financially speaking. Because of his generosity, and others, there are today perhaps 80 million Methodists worldwide. We celebrate such generosity, but we never imagine that we could emulate it. The story of the anointing of Jesus shows us how we could. It presents us with three options - three patterns that could shape our lives.We could be a religious opportunist, like Judas. However he had started out, by the end he was into Jesus for what he can get out of Jesus. He was a disciple on the cheap and on the take. He is a warning to us all: when we follow Jesus on a condition (this relationship, that promotion, success in this or that ministry) it's not Jesus we're really interested in - it's the condition.We could be a bean-counter. These people are sold on the Kingdom ministry of Jesus, especially if its done in the right way. They want to protect Jesus reputation (read Luke's account of this story) and they want to protect his resources. It can come from a good place, but again we have to guard our hearts. We can talk the language of stewardship, when what we're really reaching for is control. "Give that bottle to me!", they shout. "We'll look after it!" Do you think that if one of them had got hold of the perfume that their story would have been told?Or we can be a worshiper - someone who discerns who Jesus is an prepares themselves to pour out everything for him. Mary senses something about Jesus and his love, and knows that extravagant worship is the only possible response. Her bottle broken and nothing kept back. Jesus body broken, and his life flowing out. Generosity isn't about rules, but about hearts transformed by Jesus - people prepared to 'go big' for him. When this is you, there won’t be any part of your life that won’t be affected by the indescribable joy of knowing that – whatever troubles come – you’re living in exactly the way you were created to.

3/29/24 • 33:54

Blessed is the one    whose transgressions are forgiven,    whose sins are covered.Blessed is the one    whose sin the Lord does not count against them    and in whose spirit is no deceit.When I kept silent,    my bones wasted away    through my groaning all day long.For day and night    your hand was heavy on me;my strength was sapped    as in the heat of summer.Then I acknowledged my sin to you    and did not cover up my iniquity.I said, “I will confess    my transgressions to the Lord.”And you forgave    the guilt of my sin.- Psalm 32:1-5Imagine a world without forgiveness - where a wrong just remains, lodged in our lives. Injuries suffered and inflicted by you, unable to heal. In Christianity Rediscovered, the story of a missionaries work with the Masai tribes of Tanzania, the author writes of a strange encounter with a man who seemed to be on the fringes of the group.It was a simple question but it mystified me. He asked, “Can you people bring forgiveness of sin?” I hadn’t gotten around to forgiveness yet (or confession). I was still trying to get across the consciousness and reality of sin. I thought the man was not paying attention. I did not answer his question. I told him I would get to that some other day. Then, afterwards, I found out who he was. He was a man who had committed a great sin against the taboos of the Masai tribe. So he had become an outcast, belonging to no community… The worst part of it was that the sin in question was unforgiveable. There was no forgiveness possible from God or man. He was destined to live his life as a despicable outcast. No wonder he had asked me if I and my people could bring forgiveness.Psalm 32 shows the journey away from the psychological, spiritual and physical burden of undealt with sin, the result of the corruption of the human heart: incurvartus in se, curved in on itself, so that we pollute and misuse even the good gifts of God. When he confesses, he is forgiven - they are carried, covered and not counted.To offer each other confession and forgiveness is to offer blessing. It is the only way for the wound to heal. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in Life Together, It is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. ‘My son, give me thine heart’ (Prov. 23:26).God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that.”

3/23/24 • 47:36

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.- Acts 13:1-3Fasting is not a results orientated practice. It will not prove to God how serious you are about unanswered prayer or make God love you more. We fast to achieve greater intimacy with God. John Mark comer says that “Fasting is not eating food in order to feed on the Holy Spirit; being hungry for God with your whole body.”How do we tend to respond to God moving in our lives, to God's forgiveness, or to tragedy? We often respond in our minds. But fasting is a whole body response. In the Bible people fast in response: in response to God moving in their lives; in response to God's grace, mercy and forgivingness; in response to tragedy Fasting is not growing our will power muscle - it's about feeding on the Holy Spirit, drawing power from the Holy Spirit  out of relational connection to God - or what Jesus called abiding. Fasting is not likely to be easy. When we fast those things that are opposed to the Spirit come to the surface - they become more obvious and we will begin to realise just how much power and authority they have over us. Richard Foster said that "fasting reveals the things that control us... if pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately.. anger, bitterness, jealousy, strife, fear.. if they are within us, they will surface during fasting"As you fast reflect on all that God has done for you. Spend some time reflecting on what is happening within your body, mind and spirit when you fast - what’s coming to the surface that you perhaps need to bring before the Lord as you feast on the Holy Spirit. Fasting is a response to encountering God,Fasting is a way to feast on the Spirit of God,Fasting is about freedom. 

3/16/24 • 21:01

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.- Matthew 11:28The image Jesus chooses to use to describe the life of a disciple - someone who follows his teaching - is a picture of a yoke: a heavy object that is put on animals for the purpose of carrying a burden.And yet at the same time Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It is even more extraordinary that Jesus explicitly calls those who are weary. He calls those who are already burdened and those who are already at the end of their rope. They are the ones specifically called to take on Jesus’ yoke so that in doing so they find rest.How often do we tell ourselves:  When I get my work life balance right find time to pray, that’s when I can approach God! Almost everyone carries some area of their lives that they insist on trying to sort out all on their own. But according to Jesus, your burden IS your qualification. Realising you are tired and weary, and that you can’t do it on your own, is what gets you in the door.We’re all implicated in this massive human rebellion, the bent of our heart to prove our sufficiency apart from Jesus Christ whether that is through religious striving or some other metric we use to measure our worth. This striving, whether religious or secular, is a struggle under a crushing yoke. It is to labour under a burden we cannot bear and to ultimately miss out on rest - to miss out on life! Jesus never says that this invitation to wear his yoke is without effort. I think the real question is not 'how do I take on a yoke without effort?', but 'how does taking on Jesus’s yoke and carrying his burden actually lighten my load?' Do we live out of the trust, coming to Jesus when we are in the middle of being weary and burdened? Tired and at the end of our ropes? Taking on Jesus’s yoke is an invitation to step freely into his constant presence and to take it all in. Jesus is not trying to teach you new spiritual techniques.... Give you a to-do list the length of your arm.Give you new onerous burdens.He's trying to help you recognize him in all the ways he's showing up in the ordinary life that you already have. At its heart, prayer is stepping into conscious relationship with God. It is about intimacy with God and it is about partnership with God.

3/9/24 • 37:41

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’- Mark 10:13-17There are two events in the gospels that belong together. They're both about entering the Kingdom. Unless you receive the Kingdom like a child, you won't enter it versus how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. Those with social position are welcome but the sorted out, morally, financially, and religiously, will find it hard. There's a deep challenge here. When we meet the real Jesus he will see us deeper than anyone else in the world, even more deeply than we see ourselves. We will have to let go of our means of self-justification. We can’t get into the Kingdom through the religion gate. We can't get in through the good behaviour gate. We can't get in by the winning-at-life gate. What does Jesus say in John 10? I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.The encounter ends with the rich young man walking away grieved. It’s really important that we know that Jesus looked and loved him. Jesus feels exactly the same way about the man as he feels about the children! He is ready to receive and bless him. Readers of these verses have worried for centuries whether this actually means that a disciple has to give up everything - but that misses the point. The point is, are we ready to receive the everything he is giving up for us.

3/4/24 • 37:04

He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.Looking at his disciples, he said:“Blessed are you who are poor,    for yours is the kingdom of God.Blessed are you who hunger now,    for you will be satisfied.Blessed are you who weep now,    for you will laugh.Blessed are you when people hate you,    when they exclude you and insult you    and reject your name as evil,        because of the Son of Man.“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.- Luke 6:17-23Sometimes we think that the essence of Christianity is believing in God and being good. We celebrate when people experience a sense of connection with their Father, and the effect that has on their lives. That’s not wrong. There is a deep sense of connection with God, and we do experience changed hearts and changed minds. But its not the whole thing either, not even nearly.Jesus preached a new Kingdom, a new order, a new system of reality. We’ve just got to pay attention to where Jesus was preaching to catch a glimpse of the significance of this. Galilee is a mountainous region in the north of Israel. The area had a reputation for being a hotbed for rebels and revolutionaries. In the year 6 AD – around the time of Jesus’ birth – Judas of Galilee led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in the Judaea Province. He warned people not to register, and burnt down the houses of those that did. He said that the people should have no King but God.So if you have a Galilean preacher gathering crowds and teaching them about the Kingdom of God that’s not a new religious philosophy, it’s a revolution. Not like Judas the Galilean’s revolution, but a revolution all the same. In fact, more revolutionary than all revolutions. Other revolutions change the people in power. This revolution is a complete reversal in of what is valued and prioritised.Blessed are the poor, woe to the rich! That's what God's Kingdom looks like - and that was Jesus' revolutionary manifesto. The question for us is: what manifesto does our life manifest?

3/4/24 • 32:01

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’- Luke 10:1-11I'm told that good leaders always start by sharing their vision. If they want to achieve something out of the ordinary, a leader should motivate people with a compelling image of the change they want to see.Jesus obviously hadn't read the right leadership books. He sent out the 72 followers to share the good news of the Kingdom not with a vision but with discouragements: a) this task would be too much for these few; b) they'd be like lambs amongst wolves; and c) they would have to go without even basic provisions. On top of this, they're not the elite (the 12 had been sent in Luke 9). All who follow Jesus are sent somewhere or to someone in the end. There are some hands only you can hold. As always, the Kingdom works in ways no-one would anticipate. It doesn't come when or because its representatives are competent, safe, and well-provisioned. It comes because God is really at work. So Kingdom-commissioned people don't go with expertise or stuff. Instead, they go with authority.And then discouragement + danger + deprivation = joy for the 72. The demons submit to their authority. Jesus implies that so much more than that is happening: Luke 10:18 - “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven”. One commentator on this passage said this. Whenever the kingdom of God is truly proclaimed, the work of God is accomplished in ways that even its proclaimers are unaware of.It seems that when faithful Kingdom servants following their orders, even in the most discouraging circumstances, they won't fail. They may never know the impact they have, but no labour in the Lord is ever wasted. 

3/4/24 • 42:27

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.- Romans 15:13If someone asked you to tell the story of the 21st century, what would you include?The new millennium dawned with an era defining attack on the twin towers. This heralded conflict in the Middle East which is still playing out more than two decades later. The crash of 2008 put breaks not just on the economy but on the capacity of the nation state to promote and protect the wellbeing of its citizens. Political turmoil is everywhere: formerly responsible powers have engaged in a race to the bottom, while those we perceive as a threat have grown stronger. The pandemic set out in stark terms how vulnerable we are, in spite of all our technological prowess. The natural world is brutally damaged, but we just can’t seem to hop off the consumerist train as it hurtles on to further environmental degradation. We’re learning that progress for us often looks like pain and deprivation for others.This is the age of pessimism. The best people hope for is that they can cushion themselves from  the world with a bubble of career, pleasure, distraction.But Christians shouldn't be pessimists. Jesus is not only risen from the dead, but ascended. Acts 1:9 - After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.To understand the ascension, we should look at the vision in chapter 7 of Daniel. Four monsters come up out of the sea. The last great monster who has come up from the sea stands up in the courtroom, presided over by God himself, and boasts about its power. Like all human empires before and since the monster, which represents human evil, babbles on about all the things it can do. God silences the creature's boasts, and then...“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.Daniel's vision and the ascension of Jesus are the same thing. That’s what the clouds are about… The the power of human and spiritual evil has been judged, and that the Son of Man has been given an authority that will never pass away. This is our faith. This is the Kingdom. Jesus is Lord – of my heart? Of the church? No, Jesus is Lord of everything. As Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”So, we have hope.

3/4/24 • 43:31

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.- Revelation 3:20Hospitality is incredibly powerful. We know this is true in our lives. Who we eat with, who we welcome close to us and who we celebrate with is incredibly powerful because it is a tangible demonstration that the person we eat with is accepted, they are worth being in the presence of, that they are valuable. Jesus was always inviting himself to other people's homes to be hospitable with them. We see the power of that hospitality in the gospels. We see how it shaped the lives of the people Jesus hangs out with and spends time with. He goes to have tea with Zaccheus and the guy does a complete 180. He’s a corrupt official when he meets Jesus and after Jesus comes into his house Zaccheaus promises to repay anything that he’s stolen and gives away half his wealth to the poor. And what does Jesus say? Today, salvation has come to this house!Jesus even got in trouble with the Pharisees and religious leaders for having meals with people, partying and celebrating with people all the time. The first miracle Jesus did was turning water into wine at a wedding party.Jesus told his followers and hanger on-ers, and tells us through the Gospels, that the Kingdom of God. That is, to be following Jesus and to be experiencing his presence and experiencing God's rule and reign in our lives, is like a feast. The idea that the God of the universe in Christ wants to come into that level of proximity and closeness to us is just, wow. Amazing. He wants us to know: you are accepted, you are worth being in the presence of, you are valuable. It is an invitation. An invitation To hear his voice and open the door. It’s not an invasion. He’s not about to kick the door down like some super cop.  But he does want to be present with us, he wants to be intimate with us.I want to invite us to stop waiting and respond. This is an invitation not a command. An invitation to be satiated and satisfied with the real thing. The realest thing. Say no to what they world is feasting on and say yes to feasting with Jesus.

12/30/23 • 40:20

The people walking in darkness    have seen a great light;on those living in the land of deep darkness    a light has dawned.Isaiah 9:2 It is the darkest time of year - and now Christmas is nearly over we'll have to face it without the happy twinkle of decorations. We're probably all feeling at least a little bit SAD.But when the Bible references darkness, it's speaking about something more than the usual seasonal gloom. The Bible begins in darkness. It’s un-creation - the world formless and empty. The Bible ends in light, with a city where God's presence is so bright that the sun and moon are no longer necessary - God's plan fulfilled.In between there's the struggle between Dark and Light - and of course not merely physical darkness and light. The promise in Isaiah is that, even if the night seems total, a great light will come. Here, Isaiah is addressing the spiritual state of God's people. Israel – who elsewhere Isaiah calls ‘a light to the nations’ – is here no such thing. They've turned away from the clear word of God, and towards the hocus pocus of witches and spiritists, plunging the nation into chaos. Isaiah prophesies: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given... We might not be in the same position as Israel, but we still need the light to push back the darkness inside and out. Our friends. families and neighbours need that too. And God didn't just throw a torch into the cave of human experience, the light came and took up residence in the darkness itself. That's the amazing, subversive, promise of Christmas. But thank God - literally - that the Light didn't stay long in his cozy manger.And what can those that live in darkness do, other than head for the Light?

12/30/23 • 13:06

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”- Mark 13:32-37CS Lewis once wrote an essay on the end things. It was called ‘The World’s Last Night’. Here is a flavour.The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end. The curtain may be wrung down at any moment—say, before you have finished reading this paragraph.[Christian apocalyptic does] not even foretell, which would be more tolerable to our habits of thought, a gradual decay. It foretells a sudden violent end imposed from without. An extinguisher popped on to the candle, a brick flung at the gramophone, a curtain rung down on the play. HALT.… This seems to some people intolerably frustrating. So many things would be interrupted. Perhaps you were going to get married next month. Perhaps you were going to get a raise next week. You may be on the verge of a great scientific discovery. You may be maturing great social and political reforms. Surely no good and wise God would be so very unreasonable as to cut all this short. Not now—of all moments.But we think thus because we keep on assuming that we know the play. We do not know the play. We do not even know whether we are in Act I or Act V. We do not know who are the major and who are the minor characters. The author knows.There are those who think very little about this part of Christian belief. Why? Probably because some think about it far too much, or at least think about it in the wrong  way. They're full of passionate conviction that this is the time, these are the signs, and so on.We need to resist both extremes. Without the prospect of Jesus' return, we're thinking of a King who never brings justice and judgement, a king who allows evil to grow for ever. If we're constantly trying to predict the moment of his return, then we're going straight up against Jesus' own teaching: only the Father knows the hour. Worse than that, we might lose sight of the fact that the servants are left with their assigned tasks - things like love your neighbours and your enemies, preaching the gospel, and so on. Advent is a time to remember that, "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven". We should watch and wait, but also do the things that the Master has asked of us.

12/29/23 • 39:02