Living Stones

A new nightclub in town has recently opened. It is called ‘Livingstones’.

This got me thinking about the true Living Stone or living stones. I will be sharing these thoughts this Sunday in church.

Reading: 1 Peter 2:4-10

What are we building? How are we building? In respect of the building there are two important things we need to consider - Who Jesus is? Who we are?

Who is Jesus?

Peter uses one key word to describe who Jesus is. He is the stone upon which the whole church is built. You can see that in four different places in our text:

In verse 4 - he is the ‘the living Stone’
In verse 6 - he is ‘the cornerstone’ (Basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork/A stone in the exterior of a large and important building; usually carved with a date and laid with appropriate ceremonies)
In verse 7 - he is ‘the capstone’ (A final touch; a crowning achievement; a culmination
A stone that forms the top of wall or building)
In verse 8 - he is the "stone that causes men to stumble."

Who are we?

In verse 4 - we are the people who come to Christ by faith.
In verse 5 - we are also living stones being built into a spiritual house/a holy priesthood.
In verse 6 - we are the ones who will never be put to shame.
In verse 7 - we are the ones to whom Jesus is precious.
In verse 9 - we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.
In verse 10 - we are now the people of God who have received his great mercy. (Once you were not…now you are!)

We are not meant to be loan bricks! A brick is not a house on its own. Church is vital for our growth.

We’re doing life/church together…bricks/living stones joined together.

We belong to Christ – hewn from the Living Stone – being built into something so wonderful and precious to God.

Latest School Photo 

Lessons from Sir Alan

Sadly The Apprentice draws to a conclusion tonight. Here are some lessons from the man himself, Sir Alan Sugar....

1. Respect authority

KEY LESSON: Authority must be respected. If individuals trying to shine in a competitive situation do so at the expense of their colleagues they will fail.

2. Listen to your colleagues

KEY LESSON: "If a room full of people tell me I'm wrong then even I will listen to them," Sir Alan said.

3. Be flexible

KEY LESSON: When you're out in the field, keep an open mind, learn from others and take action.

4. Know your market

KEY LESSON: Knowing your market gives you the upper hand.

5. Control your costs

KEY LESSON: Margin is king and the place to check for potential profit is not in the day's takings but in the amount of wasted food.

6. Don’t pretend

KEY LESSON: As a candidate, never try to be someone you are not - you may well get caught out.


Read more

Lost for Words with All to Say

Paul Benger brought an impromptu message last night in church as his wife, Jeannie, who was due to speak, was literally lost for words...sadly she’d lost her voice!

Paul was able to continue from where he’d left off, sharing from Ephesians chapter 1.

(6) So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. (7) He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. (8) He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. (9) God's secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centred on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure. (10) And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ--everything in heaven and on earth. (11) Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. (12) God's purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God. (13) And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. (14) The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.

It was a great message of hope for those who’d experience rejection in the past that we have been accepted in Christ.

Accepted because of WHO WE ARE and not because of WHAT WE DO.

God, our Father, is our BIGGEST FAN! Just like the Dad’s at the football match cheering on their kids.

He then went to speak of the mysteries of the Gospel that have been revealed to us through Jesus Christ.

On thing that really stood out for me…

Salvation is available to ALL. No one is outside of God’s grace and love. Not one! The ‘reservoir of Heaven’ is always full.

Dalek

Tonight sees the return of the Dalek to our TV screens bringing back fond memories. I’ve been building up the anticipation with the kids all week. Jacob, the youngest, woke up with nervous excitement this morning - he can’t stop talking about it.

‘It’s Dr Who day’ he said as he ran into the living room. He then proceeded to tell me, ‘it’s ok Dad, the Dalek is just a metal robot’. Of course I put him right on this one, that there is in fact an alien inside. Not sure he appreciated this.

I’ve heard some people say they don’t think too much of this new Dr Who series. I disagree. I think it’s a lot of fun with some well written scripts/story lines. The highlight of course is being able to all sit down and enjoy it together as a family…bringing back those great memories again.

'Look to You' is Here

The Hillsong United CD 'Look to You' has arrived. What an excellent recording with loads of quality worship songs packed with high energy and genuine devotion. I will be teaching many of these songs in the coming weeks in church. Here are the first 4...

Salvation is Here
Tell the World
Look to You
All I Need is You

I love it!

And then there were two...

We're now down to the last 2 in this riveting reality TV show (The Apprentice), and what a surprise with the 2 chosen finalists - or was it?

James and Paul (pictured) probably seemed the most capable of the 4 last night, but a question mark was put on whether they were 'apprentice' material (i.e. too much of the finished article)

Whereas Tim and Saira (the chosen ones) needed some time and investment from Alan Sugar and his organisation. (And who would have thought Saira would have made the final a few weeks ago!?)

So maybe the right 2 were chosen in the end?

Identity Crisis?

On Sunday night Paul Benger completed his series of messages taken from Ephesians chapter 1. Looking at our true identity in Christ he covered the first 14 verses.

As we read these verses we get an incredible picture of what God has done for us.

Vs 3 - Blessed us with every spiritual blessing (not just a few)

Vs 4 - We were chosen in Him, we are here because of Him – not just a fluke or random evolution.

Vs 6 - We have been accepted in Christ. We belong to Him and in Him.

Vs 10/11/12 - God’s long range plan included us!

Vs 11/12 - In Christ we find purpose, we know what we are living for.

We need to know who God is before we can know who we are. What is our perception of God? Know Him – know who you are.

Peter, ‘You are Christ the Son of the Living God’ - When Peter knew who Jesus was he knew who he was. Simon became Peter.

We need to look into the mirror of God’s word to discover our true identity.

(2 Corinthians 5:17) - A new creation
(Galatians 2:20) - I no longer live, but Christ lives in me
(Job 3:10) - Let the weak say I am strong!

Why do we have an identify crisis?

1. We look at who we are and not at who He is
2. When we receive correction from God we become insecure
3. Other peoples opinions
4. We lack confidence

When your identity is in Christ…

1. We don’t need to tear others down to build ourselves up
2. You can live with an inner conviction not an outer toughness
3. Gifted and successful people are not a threat
4. You take a MESS and turn it into a MESSAGE!

What a great finish to an enjoyable series!

Look to You

The latest Hillsong United CD 'Look to You' has just been shipped to me from here! Hope it's not too long before it arrives. The tracks I've heard so far sound great.

Happy Birthday Amy!

7 years old today. At last she will now be able to play 'Grease' and 'Girls Aloud' in her bedroom!

Relativism vs Absolutism

The new Pope has raised this issue just before his election. Read more.

‘Having a clear faith based on the creed of the Church is often labelled today as fundamentalism. Relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching, looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards... We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognise anything as definitive and has as its highest value one's own ego and one's own desires’. Pope Benedict XVI

Roadmap for Peace

Notes taken from church last night, Paul’s continuing series from Ephesians 1:1-3

God wants us to be at peace...

With God
With each other
With ourselves

Without peace we will find it impossible to think right.

Philippian 4:6-7 – (6) Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (7) If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Watch out for the enemies of peace...

Fear - that which is crippling and encroaching

Fear = a state of mind (a feeling that God is absent)
Peace = a state of faith (God is with me, if God is for us who can be against us? Jesus is the Anchor of our soul)

Fear comes from what you feel
Peace comes from what you believe

Troublemakers (as opposed to peacemakers)
A person who sows discord amongst those who believe. They rob us of our peace/rest. Look out for them!

Weariness and Burdens - Humanity has limits. We need to come to Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30 - (28) Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."

And the Road to Peace...

With regards to Jesus Christ we need to be:

Connected to His Person
Life without Him = No life

Connected to His Purpose
Taking His yolk upon our lives. 'Follow me'.

Connected to His People
No talk of independence for the Christian in the New Testament

Happy Birthday McDonalds?

McDonald's is 50 years old this week.

Well, sort of. Dick and Mac McDonald opened their first drive-through, in San Bernardino, California, in 1948.

The birthday being marked today was the result of a meeting the brothers had with a milkshake-mixer salesman called Ray Kroc, six years later.

Mr Kroc was the creator of McDonald's unique way of doing business. "What Henry Ford did for cars, McDonald's did for burgers," says John Williamson of branding agency Wolff Olins.

This demanded intense attention to detail. In 1961, for example, Mr Kroc opened Hamburger University, granting bachelor degrees in hamburgerology.

It's now in 121 countries, more than half of which were added during the 1990s.

FACT - no two countries with a McDonald's presence have gone to war.

The Procrastinator's Creed

1. I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.

2. I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.

3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.

4. I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.

5. I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.

6. I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.

7. I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle though infinitesimally small, is not exactly zero.

8. If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.

9. I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.

10. I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.

11. I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.

12. I know that the work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but is wait/plan/plan.

13. I will never put off until tomorrow, what I can forget about forever.

Will and Grace

Some notes from Paul Benger’s great message in church on Sunday night.

Ephesians 1:1-3: (1)This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. It is written to God's holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. (2) May grace and peace be yours, sent to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
(3) How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.

When you read the first 3 verses you have to conclude the Christian life is meant to be UPBEAT!

God is at work in us, even when we don’t always realise it.

The Will of God

Not to be mystified. Not all nicely packaged as we would sometimes like it to be. 95% of it is found in our Bibles!

We may seem like ‘unlikely candidates’ when it comes to what God is calling us to be/do. (A la Saul....Paul)

The truth is God does choose us....the first name on the team-sheet!

The Grace of God

The Apostle Paul speaks often about grace. He wants us to get our thinking right! God’s favour is on YOU.

Grace = getting what we don’t deserve
Mercy = not getting what we do deserve

G Gift (Not earned/merited – God given gift, freely given)
R Receive (Do we have a problem receiving – WORKS driven?)
A Appreciate (Learn to be thankful & appreciate the grace of God)
C Carry (Carriers of God's grace – gracious people)
E Enjoy (not a LABOUR – enjoy God’s grace – NOT RELIGION)

Pick me! Pick me!

Remember the scene from Shrek where Donkey is jumping up and down shouting....pick me, pick me!

Here’s a great poem written by a schoolboy…

When we pick teams in the playground
Whatever the game might be
There’s always somebody left till last
And it’s usually me.

I stand there looking hopeful
And tapping myself on the chest
But the captains pick the others first
Starting of course with the best.

Maybe if teams were sometimes picked
Starting with the worst
Once in his life a boy like me
Could end up being first

The reality is that many of us have never left the playground, we still secretly believe that God will only love us when we do well.

The mind-blowing concept of grace – God’s unmerited favour towards us – is hard for us to grasp in a society so used to earning love and acceptance.

Because of God’s amazing grace we’re in the team! First name on the team-sheet........!

The Enemy of Joy

Something that really spoke to me whilst away this week at the conference was the teaching from Jack Groblewski one of the speakers there.

Jack spoke on 'Joy', maintaining it while in leadership. In particular he addressed the biggest enemy of joy - cynicism.

This is a killer and one we should all guard against. It can effect anyone of us especially in Britain - possibly the cynical capital of the world!

How do we maintain a healthy scepticism (recognising the truly 'bonkers') without crossing the line?

Remember, Jesus often hit hard the religious cynicism of the Pharisees.

'A cynic - someone who sees the price of everything but fails to see the value in anything' (Oscar Wilde)

'A cynic is a person who is habitually suspicious of the motives and the sincerity of others including God' (Jack Groblewski)

'A cynic sees things and always says - why? A leader dreams things that never were and says - why not?' (George Bernard Shaw)

The joy of the Lord is our strength!

Championing the Local Church

Just got back from a great church Leaders Conference at Swanwick in Derbyshire. It was hosted by the Ground Level Network of which we are a part.

Some of the things that stood out for me…

• Unity
  
• Fun and laughter (practical joking a-plenty!)
  
• Great teaching
  
• Friendship
  

What was really encouraging was the theme of what church is all about in the 21st century. I felt the local church was truly championed at a time in our nation and in our post-modern world where the church is often misrepresented, misinterpreted or misunderstood.

Jesus is building his church!

His Workmanship

Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Looking forward to speaking in church tomorrow on the above topic. I will be looking at the biblical analogy of the Potter and his craft.

Some thoughts I will be sharing...

• We are shaped and formed by a Master Artist
  
• Where necessary the Potter begins again – GRACE at work
• God is the Potter – we are not!
• Remain ‘clay-like’ at all times! (Pliable/teachable)

Mad Fortnight

Not blogging much....must get some in this weekend.

I'm in the middle of mad (busy) fortnight. Easter holidays, tax year end (payroll manager responsibilities), my boss retiring at work, kids off school (days out like today), church leadership conference next week.

Would I have it any other way.....no way!