Flushed Away

On IMDB.
A google preview.
Have a look at the preview and see if its your sort of file. By the makers of Wallace and Grommit, I was probably going to enjoy this film. I was not disappointed. A reasonable plot, some decent characters, and more jokes at other films expense than I can poke a stick at. It scores only 3.5/5 on the google page overall. I thought that was slightly disappointing, but I suppose across that many reviewers its not bad.
Our pet rat - Rodney is left alone, the house to himself. A sewer rat is left in the house by a freak event in the sewer and flushes Rodney down the toilet. He finds himself in Rat London, and meets Rita, and her enormous family. He's helpless, clueless and a danger to himself and others as Rita battles the baddies for a fake gem. Then there's the quest to get home, and some interesting chase scenes, but this part of the film if any lacked cartoon invention, if not cartoon jokes (they are there a plenty). Finally rat London is saved from the frog baddies, some of whom are french - definitely an intended pun I think.

As the animation gets more realistic, and the animation is VERY realistic, so the whole feel of the product moves away from the cartoon genre that it came from. That's a pity. I think back to Roger Rabbit and the handcuffs. Those type of jokes are completely absent here. This type of animation has the potential to switch between the two, and make something truly unique.

My recommendation, if your a Wallace & Grommit fan, don't miss it.

Luke 1:1-25 - The lot fell on Zechariah - first assessed sermon.

It was just another day at work for Zechariah. He's probably about 60, and very familiar with preparing for his day. His division were on duty today, so the preparations and prayers are more meticulous than other days. Perhaps he's wondered what will happen. More likely he had got used to the idea that someone would be chosen, they would go into the presence of God, and say their prayers, He was probably expecting a normal day. There are so many priests that they don't all get the chance, and when they do its their one and only chance. They will never be chosen again. When the lots were cast it was HIS turn. His mouth was dry – he was nervous and excited at the same time. I expect he checked to make sure that he knew the prayer – the prayer for the redemption of Israel. You couldn't go into God's presence and bother Him with little things – inconsequential things like wanting a son, and anyway Elizabeth was far too old for that now. So in he goes to perform his duties. And His world changes completely. We've heard the story, his prayers are answered – both his prayer for the redemption of Israel, and his private prayer – the one he'd just about given up on. Now an angel appearing is quite unusual today – when was the last time you saw one? It was even more unlikely then, but asking for proof – for a sign, was not the best possible response. So the sign he got was one that was obvious to everyone.

I am going to look more closely at the event that started it all. The lot fell on Zechariah. Was that just chance? Zechariah and his fellow priests would have believed that the lot was cast as a way of letting God have a say in the matter. We do not know the mechanism that was used - what exactly they did, but they did it because they believed that it was God who should choose, not one of the human beings. Today we would probably say that casting lots for something was a fair way of allocating a scares resource, or a rare opportunity. We would put the result down to 'chance' to a 'random' event. The Israelites did not see it like that. In the same way that some Christians don't believe in coincidences, but in God-incidences, the Israelites believed that God was there, involved in His world, in the tiniest detail, such as the casting of lots.

I should make a distinction here between the casting of lots to make a decision, and the casting of lots when each share of the lot is contributed by those who take part. That is called gambling, or gaming in the modern politically correct speech. Is it right for us to pay our pound, in the hope of winning millions back? Somebody will win it eventually, but by buying a share and hoping to get millions back we are chasing after money, not after God. Our purpose should always be to seek after God – to get nearer to Him. Riches will not do that, they are more likely to take your attention away from God.

Taking part in the lottery may not be such a good idea, but is there ever a time when a Christian would consider casting lots, in the same way as the Jews did? There appears to be only one occurrence in the new Testament where lots are cast. As the disciples re-grouped after the resurrection, and the enormity of what had happened began to sink in, they were concerned to replace Judas so that there would continue to be 12 apostles. Two people were suggested, and being unable to decide for themselves between the two, they prayed and cast lots. That is reported in Acts chapter 1, immediately following this in Acts chapter 2 they receive the promised Holy Spirit, and there is never another report of lots being used to understand Gods will. It is not required any more.

When Zechariah went into the presence of God, in the inner sanctum of the temple, he was closer to God there than he had ever been in his life. He went there to deliver the prayers of Israel to God. He went into the presence of the King. Now God has another temple in which to live – His people.

Do you remember the adverts for the National Lottery. The ones with a big hand coming out of the heavens and a voice saying “It could be you”, as the index finger pointed at someone? They want you to believe that a benevolent god will make you rich. What happens in reality is that when you become a Christian, God gathers you up in His hand, and says “It IS you”. You remain in God's hands for the rest of eternity. God brings you closer to Himself than Zechariah ever got in the temple. Your prayers are heard directly by God. Your big formal prayers that Jesus would return and finalise the establishment of His kingdom and bring an end to pain and suffering. Your small prayers for the well being of your friends and family, for those around you. You don't have to go to a particular place where God is – you have become the particular place where God is. God through His Holy Spirit is with you all the time where ever you are.

If God is with you all the time he will expect you to be doing His work as well. We have seen God at work through the tiniest things in His creation. When the lot fell for Zechariah, a whole stream of events was started that ultimately lead to the arrival of Jesus, to His death and resurrection, and to you and I being able to live with God.

As an Israelite priest Zechariah was committed to working for God. When his big chance arrived he didn't realise what was going to happen. He wasn't expecting to meet heavenly beings, or that His prayers would be answered in such a dramatic fashion. We too as committed Christians are intent on working for God. How do we respond to the little chances that come our way to do His work? Each of us will have been given specific tasks by God. I know what mine are. While I'm in training it's easy for me to understand, later it may not be so straight forward. I'm assuming you know what yours are too, but how do you respond to the small chances that you have?

We all remember Billy Graham, I expect. Possibly the 20^th century's greatest evangelist. There's a long chain of conversions that leads to Billy Graham:

• Sunday School teacher Edward Kimball helped lead Dwight L. Moody to Christ;

• J. Wilbur Chapman was converted at a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting;

• Billy Sunday was converted at a Chapman meeting;

• Mordecai Ham was converted at Billy Sunday meeting;

• and Billy Graham was converted at a Ham meeting.

The first person in the list was Edward Kimball. I know nothing else about him, but I want to ask the question, not “who lead him to Christ?”, but who encouraged him to become a Sunday school teacher? What about the others, who invited them to their first Christian meeting, or the meeting they were converted at, or the meeting where they decided to become an evangelist?

Its in these tiny decisions that God ultimately makes a difference in his world.

Many years ago we had a mission in Billericay, a large tent was erected on the green, and posters put up around town. I prayed for an opportunity to speak with one of my neighbours about it, and the chance was given. Normally I rarely got the chance to speak to him, but that week I spoke to him three times. Was that just chance? He didn't want to go to one of the meetings, but he was interested in what was happening and why. A seed was planted – I hope it will eventually grow. But the point of the story is that for once I grasped the opportunity that was staring me in the face, checked with God that is was the right thing to do and followed up. It would have been easy for me at any time to ignore the situation, and miss the chance.

It doesn't have to be an evangelistic opportunity, it could be a chance to encourage a friend, or just enquire how they are and offer to pray for them. Zechariah, prepared carefully, I'm sure, for his day in the temple, but he didn't respond particularly well to his chance, that's probably because he didn't really expect God to do anything, but Zechariah didn't have the Holy Spirit 'whispering in his ear'. We do!

What do you expect of God this Christmas ? More than Zechariah? Something immediate and incredible? Like a visit from an angel? Or would you prefer a chance to be involved in his work, and a chance to set off a chain of events that leads to something even more incredible?

Amen

WINTERSMITH

Wintersmith
Terry Pratchett

Doubleday
ISBN 978-0-385-60984-5

Tiffany Aching is almost thirteen, she live on Disc World, and is a trainee witch. Tiffany has voices in her head that help her, and us, see what is really going on. She is also frequently surrounded by very small blue men, they are called the Nac Mac Feegles. They have a duty of care over Tiffany, although they would not necessarily express it like that, so when ever she's in trouble they are watching over her and do their best to help. The Nac Mac Feegles have no fear, except of women, especially angry women, and of course witches. Otherwise they are always up for a fight. They provide the lighter moments in the book, and prevent us from taking the story too seriously. Tiffany is the typical precocious child, and will not do as she's told. She's not bad, quite the reverse, but her sense of independence gets her into trouble. She's looked after by an older witch, who is supposed to be training her. She's taken to see the dance where summer and winter swap as the dominant elemental for the new season. The dance is the Black Morris. -She joins in – always a bad idea, and gets mistaken for the Summer Lady. That's when the trouble starts, the wintersmith falls in love with her, and all sorts of dangerous things begin to happen.

Its Mistress Weatherwax (the hag 'o' hags as the Nac Mac Feegles call her) who's really looking after Tiffany and training her and testing her. She is one of the original characters in Disc World, and appears in many of the books. Here we see a softer side of her, but only just.

Using elements from various mythological stories, new ideas and twists, and of course the setting of disc world itself we have another brilliant story from Terry Pratchett. If you've read any of the Disc World stories, you'll already know what a good story teller Pratchett is. The characters are developed nicely from the previous book in the series, and you have a feeling there is more to come. Which we certainly hope there is.

Casino Royale

So does Daniel Craig make a good Bond? Forget the film this seems to be THE question. There was a mixed reaction from the assembled passengers in the car on the way back from the Cinema. His Bond is certainly harder and somewhat more realistic than the Brosnan version, closer to Timothy Dalton (my personal favourite). There is blood that needs to be washed off, but no bruises, and recovering from 'flat lining' to full health inside an hour is just a step too far. Still that IS Bond, so I shan't be too critical, it is part of why the entertainment works.
So to some of the truly impressive things about the film. The 'free-running' chase was remarkable, the best chase I've seen in a long time. Its' sheer energy, effort, and surprises, and the looks of exhaustion on the actors faces made it a real high light. The contrast between action and physiological tension - in and out of the poker game - was also a good mix, and something of a rarity in Bond terms. A nice addition, and other piece of reality that makes the fantasy more believable. Then there are the stunning special effects, the record achieved of turning a car over seven times, and driving through a moving bendy bus. Both these have been on so many spoilers, and were even in adverts at the start of the show, that they are de-valued before they are seen.
Some things are missing from the usual formula. No outrageous gadgets - Bond survives using his wits, intelligence, and fighting skills. That makes for a better story, although I did miss the banter with Q. Which brings me to quips, there aren't really any of those either - Bond is a much more serious, reflective character, hard nosed, less flippant. This is probably closer to the books. Womanising is largely missing, too - and where it does occur it is so obviously used as a means to an end, not as a character trait.
The big new addition to this Bond is a real woman. Not the 'Oh James' types of the seventies and eighties, nor the ones who can clearly look after themselves, and think they can do the job better. This one (Eva Green) is intelligent, and involved in the plot, she's also affected by the mayhem around Bond (and therefore her) in a realistic way. She is a proper love interest for Bond, not just a woman on the side. This was the only part of the film I really didn't enjoy. I'll call it the Travel Brochure Scenes. Just too long, half the length would be more than enough. We get the picture, and we know it isn't going to last, so just get on with the story.
Yes, the story. Partly about Bond, and partly about his mission. Some of the strategy seems a little strange - we're going to bankrupt this man so that his associates will kill him, and then when they threaten to do just that they are eliminated. Or did I miss something?
Key elements of the genre are retained. Bond does not kill any innocents. Bond is not corruptable, he has a job to do and is true to it. People are important, property is not. This film provides a way to develop the newly promotes double-o in other ways, to keep the interest of a new generation, and three older generations judging by the audience.

Was it a good film - Yes. It was not too long, just about right. Should you go and see it? If you're a Bond fan or enjoy action films - yes.

Rockingham Mini-Cooper driving experience

I have been waiting for this for over a year and a half. It was a case of third time lucky, as the saying goes. Not that I believe in luck, if I hadn't kept trying to get it booked, I would never have got to the third time. This time round there was no bad weather, no traffic jams - there or back, no real idiots on the roads. Apart from some less than pleasant coffee at the Little Chef, the day went really well.
Remembering the route a little bit made getting there easier - we followed the signs, and ended up at a locked gate, the gate looked familiar, but not the scene behind it, so we drove off to look for the entrance we had used last time. We soon found that, and were admitted by a much friendlier guy with a very strange (northern European?) accent.
We booked in, and wandered round the pits. While we were looking at Lamborghinis and Ferraris there was a screech of tyres, followed by a cloud of smoke, and a strong smell of burning rubber. We went back to look at the scene, one of the single seaters was in the wall. The ambulance went out, and the fire truck, they were there a long time, the single seaters were called in. Eventually the ambulance pulled away, and disappeared into the middle of the track somewhere. Later we watched as the car was carried back, with both its left wheels missing.
Then we came to the drivers briefing. A bit about Rockingham – one of only two banked ovals in Europe, it was built for Champ Car (Indy Car). We would be on the in-field, not on the banking. How to drive a fast car round a track - brake before the corner, run round it across the apex, and once past start to accelerate out. Sounds familiar, it what they tell you on F1. Then down to the pits proper, where the minis are. Here we are split into groups, and have to find helmets. The instructors do up the helmets. They are uncomfortable, and too tight round the ears. There are three to a car, but only one travels in it at a time.
Andrew went first in his three, I went last in mine. I went to watch, although there isn't much to see. You can only really see what the cars are doing on the pit straight, I timed a couple of his laps - about two minutes a lap, but difficult to tell if it was good or not because you can't tell how much traffic there was on the rest of the circuit. All the cars came back and swapped to their second driver, except car 1. About five minutes later car 1 returned, it later transpired that Andrew was in a group of two, not three, so benefited from extra time! Andrew got out of the car beaming, with the instructor telling him he wished he had driven that well at 19. His score: an impressive 85%, and rated 'A' in a number of categories. Something for me to beat.
Car 2 came back in again, and I took my place at the wheel. We started going round in third, braking at the cones, stopping braking at the next, and hitting the third (well almost). I was enjoying myself, and getting faster each lap. Half way round the second lap I realised I didn't have my seat belt on! The instructor asked what car I have, and if I'd done anything like this before. I haven't. He helped be get the racing line improved, and the first time I drove almost straight through the chicane, I was amazed at the speed we took into the next corner. There was also an unbelievable long left hander, which you just seem to be able to go through at any speed, it forces you against the side of the car. There's a lot to do on each lap, and you cannot loose concentration for a second. I made two errors - probably lots more, but two I remember clearly. I missed third in a change down, and went across the apex in neutral! The other one was more serious, I approached the tight right hander much too fast, and the instructor had to use the dual controls, or they would have had one less mini.
I'd been on the course for about 15 minutes, though it didn't seem more than five. I was just beginning to have enough time to start enjoying myself, and the track time was over. My score: 90% - I think that deflated Andrew a bit, but one of the other instructors did mention that 30 years extra experience must count for something!

SPAMALOT

http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com/

Monty Python's Spamalot garnered14Tony nominations, the most of any show this season

And no surprise there .....

Remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail, well this is a rip-off of that well loved film, but as it’s a musical you will find some songs that you might not normally associate with THIS film. “Always look on the bright side of life” is perhaps the most famous python song, and is slotted in very nicely to the show. From the very start its python – the announcer sets the scene 1192 England and the next song is Finland. No live moose are hurt in this production of course. We move through many of the memorable scenes “I’m not dead yet” a new song (a slogan on T-shirts after the show), with dancing corpses, and a very realistic looking spade, used very effectively to solve the aforementioned problem. The Swallows, the Taunting Frenchmen, anarcho-syndicalist commune with the watery tart throwing swords to people. “but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!” She may not provide the basis of a system of government, but she is certainly now the love interest. She is also very upset about not being in enough scenes. Sadly the witch burning was too expensive and was cancelled. There are some nice twists, as times have changed since the original, and some very nice new and extremely non-PC songs and jokes. I won’t include them here as I don’t want to spoil the show for others. The original mix of 1192 and 1974, is maintained, but in a different way appropriate to the setting and times. The black knight, the knights who say “Ni!”, brave Sir Robin, the ‘rescue’ of Herbert Prince of the Swamp, and Tim the enchanter (watch him fly – Harry Potter eat your heart out) are all there, but not the bridge of death, because the clue protected by the killer rabbit is quite different.

It all fits together very well, and the cast are very professional and deliver an excellent show.

There were killer rabbit glove puppets on sale at the end of the show!!

A highly enjoyable night, even if we were above the display of the words for the sing-a-long part of the evening, way way up in the balcony. If you’re a python fan – don’t miss it! If you're not don't go near it!

Now back to the Majestic Moose .....

Today's sermon - Matthew 7:7-12

Setting

We are still looking at the Sermon on the Mount. How long has Jesus been speaking? At least since the start of chapter 5 – at these are just Matthew's notes!

Remember the scene, Jesus had met a crowd, so He went up a mountain, sat down and started teaching. His spoke to them about the Kingdom of Heaven, and what its subjects should be like. Right at the start He recognises that people are less than perfect – Blessed are the poor in spirit (5:3)

Lets take a look at a small part of this sermon in a lot more detail. I'm going to break it down into three sections, I'll start with verses 7 & 8.

Ask, Seek, Knock (vv 7 & 8)

The Amplified Bible states this passage as “Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.”

The verbs that Jesus uses are in a tense which imply a continuous activity – so “Keep on ...” or “Continue to ...” is the sense of what is being said.

Ask

Ask for What? If you take this passage on its own it could be anything, like a new Mercedes? - How Likely would that be – pretty unlikely, but what would happen if I prayed today and one was delivered on Tuesday?. What would happen when the story got around – do you think there might be a sudden increase in church membership? Would there be an increase in the number of Christians? - no.

Its based on need - for the Kingdom, for another or yourself. We've already seen that in Jesus teaching on prayer earlier in Mt 6. “Give us today our daily bread.”; “Forgive us our debts”; and “Lead us not into temptation”

Sometimes God will grant the request at the first prayer:

Mattress Story

An African church had been called together by the new pastor to pray. He asked them what needs they had, that the church could pray for. After a rather long silence, an elderly woman stood up and said “I need a mattress”, she was clearly in some pain. Well it wasn't what he was expecting, but He'd called them there to pray, so they asked God for a Mattress. During the week someone gave her a mattress. At the next Sunday service, she was praising God loudly all the way to church. - It was a turning point for the pastor and his church.

and sometimes you have to keep on asking:

Scott Hoezee's tells the story of his 95 year old great grandmother:

One of her six sons had wandered pretty far from the church. But then, nearing his 70^th year, he suddenly settled down, married a fine Christian woman, joined a church, and soon became elected elder in that congregation. And I so well remember my great-grandma saying, "I prayed for that boy for 50 years, and now look at him! Just goes to show what a little praying can do."

We keep on asking because it might work, because we believe the God will grant our request.

We keep on asking because that's way we learn about our Father. Its what children do when they repeatedly ask – they learn about their parents and how they respond to requests, what is in their will.. If your 6 year old asked for the carving knife and announces that she will carve the joint for you this Sunday, you will say “No”. If she asks for biscuits 20 minutes before lunch, you'd probably say “No” as well. If you've been for a long walk, and arrived home cold and tired, the response is likely to be different – You'd get the Jamie Oliver cook book, and prepare her a proper meal – much more than she was hoping for.

The Bible says some other things about asking God:

1 Jn 3:22 We receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

No Mercedes then!

1 Jn 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Seek

When we think of seeking, we are usually thinking of a task that will take some time and effort. We say that we are seeking out that beautiful view, or secluded garden, or we seek peace and quiet.

find the view point on IoW

Two weeks ago Jo and I spent our holiday on the Isle of Wight. After the Service at St Blasius we spoke to some of the congregation, who also turned out to be non-residents, and told us of a path across the downs to Ventnor. We said good bye and followed the path out of the back of the church, and up the hill. Some way up the hill we met a woman coming down who told us of a view point on the top of the down, where you could see about half the island. We followed the path but it seemed to lead in the wrong direction. Eventually we found ourselves walking along a thick hedge, which I was fairly sure we should be on the other side of to reach the view point. After a while I spotted a stile in the hedge and we were able to go through the hedge and enjoy the view. It was worth the walk, and the concentration looking for the path.

What is Jesus saying we should seek for? He's already told us in Mt 6:33 “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”.

We are to be seeking the The Kingdom of God, and Gods righteousness. We are to be alert and concentrating - looking for any evidence of God and his Kingdom. There's plenty, both in us and around us. If we look carefully we will find it. It has always been true, God is there for those who seek Him even in the OT:

Psalm 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Hosea 5:15 Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.

Amos 5:4-6 This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: Seek me and live;do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and Bethel will have no-one to quench it.

Isaiah 55:6-9 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Knock

The idea of Doors Opening seems to be the description of an opportunity in the New Testament, as is for us also.

Acts 14:27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

1 Corinthians 16:8-9 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

2 Corinthians 2:12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

So if we see opportunities to server God we should try -knock on the door – to see what happens. That is part of what I am doing in my training – as they keep reminding us – we have been selected for training – not licensing. Four year seems a long time to keep knocking, but I'm sure people have been knocking at doors for longer than that before they are finally opened.

Evil Parents (vv 9-11)

After telling us to Ask, Seek and Knock, and promising to grant our wishes, Jesus then goes on to compare Evil parents with the Heavenly Father:

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Why does He use these particular images? A stone could looks quite like a small loaf of bread, by a snake he may well mean an eel, the Jews were not allowed to eat eels – thats in Leviticus 11:9 & 10 – if you want to check it out!

Lev 11:9-10 " 'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to detest.

Bread & Fish are staple foods of the time. So Jesus is assuming that parents will give good things to their children, and not tease, trick or frustrate them. All people (parents or not) are evil but do some good. The good they do is tainted. God is Good, so he will do Good that is not tainted by evil.

Remember this as you ask, seek, knock.

vv 11-12 The Golden Rule

Rabbi Hillel (about 20 years before Jesus' birth) was asked by a Greek considering Judaism to summaries the whole of the Jewish law in the time he could stay standing on one leg. His response was "What is hateful to you, do not do to anyone else. This is the whole law; all the rest is only commentary"

Something like the golden rule exists in most philosophies and religions, lets take a look at some:

Greek: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you."
-- Socrates (the Greek philosopher), - circa 470-399 BC

Confucianism Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.
Analects 12:2

Buddhism Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
Udana-Varga 5,1

Hinduism This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.
Mahabharata 5,1517

Islam No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
Sunnah

Judaism What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.
Talmud, Shabbat 3id

Taoism Regard your neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.
Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien

Zoroastrianism That nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself.
Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5

21^st Century British culture: “Do unto others before they have the chance to do unto you”

Jesus has a slightly different take on this common saying, instead of a negative, He has a positive. “do to others what you would have them do to you “ This is typical for Jesus and entirely consistent with the rest of his teaching.

The sheep and the goats

If you use the negative version of the saying and apply it to the story of the sheep and the goats (Mt 32-42) the sheep are much harder to distinguish from the goats. The goats may have never done anything to others that they would hate. Jesus requires more, it is not sufficient to be passive – we have to be active, taking the initiative, doing good to others.

Problems with the Golden Rule

“The Message” states the rule as “Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” There are problems with this:

As some of you know I'm hoping to go on a driving experience at Rockingham. When I got the present I was very pleased – a great thing to do. So following this rule perhaps I should buy something like it for Jo – I enjoyed having this gift given to me, she will enjoy having the same gift given to her – won't she?

Probably not: - lets re-phrase it:

“Treat others as you want to be treated”

An Example of the Golden Rule, as it should be: The Stoke Gifford weekend

Last weekend we took Liz to her new home, where she is doing a year out. Its in the Parish of Stoke Gifford, just outside Bristol. I'll remember the weekend for a long time. They had planned it all for us, they took us out to eat on the Saturday evening – and paid the bill. They put us up in somebodies house, and gave us the key so that we could come and go as we pleased. The lady in the house also provided us with breakfast. I think this is an excellent example of the golden rule in action!

Lets hear what some others have to say on the golden Rule:

To keep the Golden Rule we must put ourselves in other people's places, but to do that consists in and depends upon picturing ourselves in their places.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life.
Edwin Markham

The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatever unless you realize it is your move

Frank Crane

Don't worry about who they are – the quotes stand on their own.

Now to finish here's another story that illustrates how the Golden rule should work:

The Golden Rule Story – an Illustration, Benjamin Franklin

There was a man who died and was being taken to heaven by angels. But first, they wanted to show him hell (just for the hell of it I guess).

The angels then took him to a place where there was a great bowl, so great that it was as big as a lake. The bowl was filled with a nutritious stew. All the way around the sides of this bowl were people. Emaciated, starving, miserable people. These people had spoons to eat the stew with, that were long enough to reach it from the shore (about 12 feet). The trouble was, while they could scoop up the stew into the spoon, they could not get it into their mouths because the spoons were so long the stew would fall off before they could get it to their mouths. So here were all these pathetic people, suffering and moaning in agony, constantly trying to eat the food that was abundantly in front of them - all in vain. Next, the angels took the man to heaven. To his surprise, he saw the same scene! There it was, a giant lake-like bowl of the same stew, surrounded by people with 12 foot long spoons. Yet something was different here - all these people were smiling, happy, and healthy looking!

"Why? What is the difference here that these people are happy and well fed?", the man said to the angels.

They replied, "Have you not eyes to see?". The man looked more carefully, and observed that one person would scoop up the stew, and bring it to the mouth of another. Then someone else would scoop up stew and feed it to the other.

The angels smiled and said, "Here the people feed each other. Here are the people that learned the way of Love."

Cars

Details on IMDB.

The story of a racing car rookie who is likely to win the most prestigious trophy in his sport, and be the first rookie ever to do so. This is Pixar animation at its best, unfortuneately its also creepingly disney. By which I mean its overly sentimental and moralising. I've heard a review that said its a film for eight year old boys and the love interest was tacked on to gain a wider audience. Maybe, but its a seamless addition, if its an addition at all. this is a less punchy film than I've come to expect from Pixar, have they lost their edge? No, if nothing else stay for the credits and watch them - that's more like it! There are some good jokes in the film and they are nicely set in the story, I particularly liked the tractors.

Overall its watchable, but not nearly as funny as I was expecting.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Details on IMDB.

There is a plot outline on IMDB, read it if you must, but the plot is not the main reason for seeing this file. The story is darker than the first, but nevertheless great fun and very funny - people were laughing loudly in a very packed cinema. We had to see the second showing after the one we intended to - it's so popular. Worth the wait - YES!

Johnny Depp is now really good at this character - the way he walks, talks, and 'over-acts' as Captain Jack Sparrow is brilliant. There are some excellent 'cartoon' jokes - Jack tied to a pole, and escaping is worth seeing again and again. There are no lines to match "not impossible - just improbable", but the there are plenty of complex statements for our Captain as he lies and cheats and runs away, all to a good ending. Its fast paced fun almost all the way through as each of the characters pursues his or her own aim, with the compass coming to their aid when they're not sure what they really want. Don't expect any surprises there, if you saw the last one the personal relationships will be no surprise at all.

There are some impressive special effects too, the wheel being the most obviously impressive. The black pearl, moored on the beach did actually look real, so if that was blue screen it really was VERY well done. Davy Jones and his crew are also impressive, as is their ship, but I can't believe enough water was displaced when is goes under. Watch that scene carefully and see if you agree.

So to the actors - Johnny Depp easily gets a brilliant, as you will have already guessed. Was Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) wooden - no, but perhaps a little too earnest. Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann) was at her best when pretending to be a boy on the ship, as 'love interest' she was just a bit too obvious. Jack Davenport (Norrington) - belligerent, dark, and evil - but too small a part really. Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), suitably over dressed and somewhat understated, straying into the realms of a Dr Who monster - should have been scary but never quite made it.

Excellent - go see...

Oh nearly forgot the cliff hanger - but no more on that!

The Provocative Church

The Provocative Church
Graham Tomlin
SPCK
ISBN 0-281 05476-2
The book at Amazon.co.uk

This is another book I have to read for my training course. Its is such a good title, I've always believe that the church should be noticeable, challenging, and something that people would look at and like or dislike. Jesus was not the sort of person people ignored – so His church should be like Him. With expectations nicely set I open the book. The first chapter is about evangelism. Hmmm, not quite what I was expecting, but interesting nevertheless. The book continues, with chapters like “King the Kingdom, the Book” and “Evangelism makes me feel guilty” and “Transforming communities”. Its all good common sense stuff, it reminds me of lots of the things I thought Christianity should be when I was first a Christian. There's lots more, and one or two practical examples as well. Most importantly this book comes across as open and honest. For example "Digging beneath the surface of many even apparently successful churches, it doesn't take long to discover a common feeling that our Christianity occupies a parallel universe from the rest of our lives. And the effect on evangelism is huge, as it eventually leaves Christians bored, frustrated and going through the motions. And if that's all Christian life is, then out of kindness to their non-Christian friends, they quietly ignore all the well-intentioned pleas to bring them to church." That of course is not what Christian life should be. Christian life should be different, and the hows and whys are both discussed. So if you really don't want to live a 'provocative' life – or at least be made to think about why and how – then leave this book on the shelf.

Otherwise I recommend you pick it up and read it, go on give it a try.....

Reader Training - Weekend away.

We travelled to St. Marks college to spend the weekend studying and practicing the Pastoral Cycle. Its a tool for understanding issues or problems, and coming towards a resolution, or maybe agreeing that there is no resolution. We were put in groups of four and asked to present an issue. the facilitator helped us to use the cycle on the issue. To do it four times may seem like overkill, indeed thats what I thought at lunchtime. In the second two sessions the process became almost automatic, and the facilitator had to spend less time and effort guiding us. Each session was followed by a break, or a meal. This gave us time to rest our brains. Concentrating that intensely for seventy five minutes is quite tiring. We now have a basic understanding of the tool, and hopefully will be able to use it at some stage before we forget what we have learned.

The training was very good, the facilitator for my group was very capable, and insightful. The overall management of the weekend was pretty good too. The food was nice, if a little old fashioned. The time set aside for 'free' time was useful, and the weather was brilliant. The film shown on the Saturday evening "Sideways" was OK, a nice little story of a couple of teenagers (in their thirties probably) finally beginning to grow up. A number of people said the wine snobbery thing was a bit annoying, some people just drank wine. Personally I think being annoyed by that was part of the film - teenage obsessions are annoying!

What didn't I like? The accomodation. St Marks is designed for children. Sharing a room as an adult is a different ball game altogether, and is something that everyone seemed unhappy with. I had a really poor nights sleep on Friday. The curtains don't close properly, the stairs (which were almost a ladder) have an automatic light, that detected all movement updtairs and switched on the light. So I turned over, and on came the light! I covered the PIR on Saturday, so no light. The bed was also too short, and very uncomfortable. The choice of date was also less than ideal. Some of the participants have young children, and Sunday was Fathers Day in England.

Article for "Spotlight" Christ Church's monthly magazine - June 2006, during the interregnum

Last summer Jo and I spent a week in Norfolk. I got it into my head that I would like to visit some of the round tower churches, they are scattered throughout Norfolk, with some in Suffolk also. It was a very interesting time wandering around the different buildings during the week, looking for evidence of the congregation and the worship at the church. Some were quite sad, 'moth-balled' churches with the buildings and grounds protected, but no active worshippers. We looked at the gravestones for 'Fisher' as well, as we suspect my family may be from the area originally. I wonder what those people thought the future of their church would be? Some of the churches had, very obviously, a large and active congregation. At one there was a notice on the door, which was locked unfortunately, that said the bishop had just agreed to them continuing without a vicar for the next five years. It started me thinking, back in the summer before I had started training, how a church could operate without a vicar for that long. One suggestion I have heard is that there is a very strong Reader, who leads the congregation vicar-like, so that the model is unchanged. A more exciting idea is that the congregation are involved and take responsibility for all the various aspects of the life of the church as their gifts allow. God, we believe, will provide all their needs (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:27-29), so there will be a unique mix of gifted people, all working together, and all the requirements will be met.

This church is in my thoughts for two reasons. The first is common to us all. – Christ Church does not have a vicar, Paul has moved on, and the new person is only just confirmed. It means that a lot of things that we used to rely on are now having to be done by others. I have been very pleased, and give thanks and praise to God, for the number of people who have been willing to take on new (or old) things, and 'help out' in the gap. We've even managed a church weekend away. Of course, all of the things that people are doing is not really just 'helping out',– it's really exercising your God given gifts, for the good of the church (1 Peter 4:10). The other reason is unique to me, in my first year of Reader training. I am in the process of preparing the Ministry assignment. We have to consider what it means to be a Reader, what effect it has on our Ministry, and how that might change in the future. One of the assigned books is "“Bridging the Gap" - it means between the clergy and the people (laity), and it is a very interesting book, but that's not where I see Christ Church. "The Ministry Team Handbook"” takes things much further, and talks about Ministry Leadership Teams, a model for church much more like the one we have - with Cogs having responsibility for each of their specific areas. Reading Don's article in April reminded me of some of the things we used to do. As a new Christian I didn't know that what was happening was in any way unusual but, looking back and getting a wider exposure to some other churches, I think it was quite remarkable. It didn't always work of course -– I remember Peter Sandberg asking my girl friend (Josephine Leaver) and I to lead prayers and us both making a complete mess of it because we weren't properly prepared. I remember a CYFA service that Graeme Knibbs and the team put together, that was barely halfway through by 8pm! The evening congregation was very tolerant, and we didn't keep anyone until 9:30. We were forgiven and invited back to have another go! These things happened over 20 years ago, and I'm still learning about my gifts and my Ministry, and I expect you are too. (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6)

The Da Vinci Code - The Film

Just a short review, because I'm well behind with all my work. I have to say that even though I'd read the book and watched some of the 'de-bunking' programs, I still enjoyed the film. The now famous line about needing a library in a hurry works in the context of the film. Dan Browns story is reproduced well, and the sense of urgency throughout is maintained. An enjoyable tale and well worth the visit. Having said that the film and the book suffer from the same problem. The conclusion is easily guessed, from well before the end. There is also a sense that there should somehow be a twist that just isn't there, so right at the end I felt somehow cheated.

Lets remember its a story, a well woven tale, made of various myths and neatly a cleverly stitched together. That's all - just a story. Its not a documentary, or docu-drama, just a story. So why all the fuss. Well the story undermines the Christian Bible - so I can understand people finding it offensive. Jesus did not take Mary as His wife, Mary did not bear Jesus' child, and most certainly did not end her life in France. Jesus did give His life to save mankind from sin and ultimate destruction. Jesus did rise from the dead to 'prove' what He had done. Jesus did ascend into heaven. Now you know where I stand, why all the fuss. Well its just like the Moslems and the cartoons of Allah. Some people just take their life too seriously - relax and learn to laugh at things instead of becoming so up tight. This story is so unlikely to stop anyone coming to faith, but the people who are demonstrating and protesting just possibly might....

Christ Church weekend away

I'm going to post all my comments etc. here, and will update it as we get closer.
http://www.cct.org.uk/highleigh/

Thursday 11 May
The weekend starts here!!
I have picked up the mini bus for the church weekend. Its another level up in technology from anything I've driven before. It is diesel and automatic which is also a new combination for me, the automatic is also button driven, which is another first. Fortunately it has a steering wheel, a throttle pedal, and a brake pedal - these I know about! To start it you have to have you foot on the brake pedal before you turn the key. That slowed me down quite a bit. When I got home it was too long to park outside the house, so its parked down the road. I'll get a picture for you sceptics later.

I finished work early (ish), and have enjoyed working from home on this lovely day. I have lots to do, and Jo is asking where the directions are. I have lots of other little things to prepare and almost the whole of tomorrow to do it in.

Friday 12 May
What a foolish person, to set out assuming that I knew where I was going and the the map, which showed the whole route in a 5cm square, would be adequate. The M25 was a car park – especially at the junction of the A10. The exits was closed, so we had to go on to the next junction and back through the jam on the other side!. On nearing the conference centre I realised that the directions we had came from somewhere else! “Quite by chance” we happened on the right road and followed the directions to the centre without further incident.

There was a small amount of time to walk around the grounds, and sit in silence – proper silence. Silence you can hear! Simon and Garfunkel were right!

Friday 12 May – Evening Meeting.
Philippians 2:1-18

The reading for the evening- Philippians 2 again (4^th time in about 6 weeks I've been asked to read it, or study it). Steven talked about the Philippians being split, some wanting to go backward towards Judaism, and others wanting to go forward, leaving the physical behind and pursuing the spiritual only. This passage is Paul's antidote to both of those approaches. There was of course lots more to this, but I was trying to get into the spirit of things, take notes, observe the church, and was thinking of those I'd left behind. Here are some other good one liners that I recorded. Oh yes, and trying to spot the matches and contradictions to the sermon I preached last week.

We are not always thankful for everything, but we are always thankful for God

Its how we deal with each other when we disagree

Stephens wife then gave us the story of how she met with Jesus.

Share your story we were told. I didn't; I wonder who did?

Reflection

A good start, everyone appreciates Stephens leadership style, and his easy going personal approach to preaching. I wanted to speak, I felt I had loads to say, but I had a job to do. The reading – and that was all.

Saturday 13 May AM

Joshua 3:14-17

Crossing the Jordan on dry land to take possession of the promise.

There are two ways to react to this passage

“thats not my experience of water:
it doesn't do that
or
isn't God great."

Genesis answers the question “Why are things the way they are today”. This is remarkably

similar to the first Christian studies course I did some 12-13 years ago. It's a helpful approach, you can bet the author didn't have 20^th century physics in mind when he wrote the words.

Joshua 4:1-9
12 men, 12 stones.

The stones are there to prompt the question “What do these stones mean?” so that we can tell the story of Joshua and his entry in the promised land.

There's loads more, but not time to write it just now.... check bak later

Philippians 1:1-11 "Thanks and Joy"

Prayer

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O LORD.

Joke

There's this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks. One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary.
Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health.
Feeling better, the man asks the missionary for directions to the nearest town. On his way out the backdoor, he sees this horse.
He goes back into the house and asks the missionary, "Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?"
The missionary says, "Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say 'Thank God' to make it go and 'Amen' to make it stop."
Not paying much attention, the man says, "Sure, OK."
So he gets on the horse and says, "Thank God" and the horse starts walking. Then he says, "Thank God, thank God, " and the horse starts trotting.
Feeling really brave, the man says, "Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God" and the horse just takes off.
Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he's doing everything he can to make the horse stop.
"Whoa, stop, hold on!!!!"
Finally he remembers, "Amen!!"
The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff. The man leans back in the saddle and says, "Thank God!"

Introduction

Not perhaps the right time, or certainly the best way to give thanks to God!

This morning we are going to look at just two element of this incredibly rich passage. We will first look at the thanks that Paul is giving, and the consider what he has to say about joy.

Paul probably wrote – or more likely dictated – this letter while he was in prison in Rome.

What do we give thanks for? (ASK)

Things

Friends

What does Paul give thanks for?

There was lots to be thankful for:

• Epaphroditus had been sent with a gift, and a brief to look after Paul (2:25, 4:18)

2 Cor 8:1-5

¹And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.² Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. ³ For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴ they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. ⁵ And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.

Missionary support starts very early in the life of the church! The Phil's had adopted Paul as their supported missionary as he spread the gospel. They followed his progress, and sent him money, and help as was required. They were not a rich church.

• Here was the first European Church – possibly the first truly gentile church (Lydia was a convert to Judaism). Maybe Paul was specially pleased with this church, he was the 'apostle to the gentiles', and this would have marked a significant step forward.

• The slave girl who had identified them, and got them thrown into prison in the first place.

Acts 16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved. ¹⁸She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned round and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her.

And then when her owners found out, things started to get ugly. Paul and Silas end up in jail after a beating which led to ...

• There was the conversion of the Jailer (Acts 16), who was impressed by the way the apostle and his followers behaved, after the earthquake had apparently set them free.

• They had become good friends to Paul and he longed to see them again.

That was definitely NOT what he was giving thanks for

The thanks he gave was because of their Life in Christ, because of what they were – those who had dedicated their life to Christ, not because of the things they had done. This is the source of Joy for Paul. He says it later on in the letter:

3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

... and if its true for him, it will be true for those he becomes friends with.

What gives Paul his joy?

Now lets go on to look at what it is that give Pauls his joy. There are two things to look at here – his partnership with the Phil's , and his confidence in God.

Partnership

The word used for partnership is “koinonia”, it is sometimes translates fellowship, but has a sense of having a task to do, as in the fellowship of the ring, the first book of Lord of the rings, in which a group set out to destroy the ring.

The Phil's have shared in his work in a very real way. Not only have they supported him in his ministry and mission, but they are also doing the same things themselves. Pauls joy here is not the activities involved in the common task, but the fact that all are involved and are together in the task they are facing.

Confidence

In verse 6 Paul says “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God has begun a work of salvation, as the slave girl had said “these men ... are telling you the way to be saved” It is not us that starts the process, any more than it was the Phil's or even Paul. Nothing that any of us do can save us from death. It is God who starts the process because of his Grace and love for us.

John 6:⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.⁶⁴Yet there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵He went on to say, This is why I told you that no-one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him. ⁶⁶From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Its as if God says “I've started so I will finish”. How many of us say that, and never do even the next thing. Paul's confidence is not based on his own, or the Phil's perseverance. His confidence is based on God and his promises. God will do the next thing, God will provide for those he has saved, God will give you a better close relationship with Jesus and the Christians around you, so that you will be able to say with Paul 3:8 “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ”

God will finish. Wherever you end up, whatever you have to go through God will be there:

Ro 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This means that we can be:

• bold rather than tentative

• confident rather than nervous

• grateful rather than uncertain

• rejoicing rather than be afraid

Mark was saying last week that we should live in the authority of God, and not be afraid to exercise that authority. The same theme is picked up here, that we can have confidence in God, that we can follow the promptings of His spirit, and rejoice in all that He is doing amongst us.

What is Joy like?

Bryn Howarth said the other night that he loves the look of Joy on a winners face. He mentioned Kelly Holmes, “the Eyes”.

That's great, but that's not the type of Joy that we have as Christians – not all the time. We may certainly experience that type of joy, after a time of praise and worship, or after we've experienced a miracle, but not all the time. We're looking for something a lot less fleeting. That expression had left Kelly's face in a couple of days, or even sooner. No, what we want is more like Pauls joy. Joy that you can keep even while you're in chains.

How about this guy? Cartoon

That's NOT Bryn Howarth.

Does he really have any joy at all – he doesn't look or sound that different, he does have one thing right though – Pauls joy is certainly deep in his heart.

Here's a definition by John MacAuthur that I thought fitted the bill: “Joy savours thoughts of another's goodness, kindness, love, compassion, gentleness, sacrifice, and care. It forgives the rest “ It reminded me very much of something that Fran said at the AGM, as part of her church wardens report. She spoke about keeping your eyes on the cross, and not on each others weaknesses, and quoted Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

Compare the list above with the list of the fruits of the Spirit in Gal 5:22-23 “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control“

How do I get joy?

Perhaps the Americans have it right, perhaps its “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as the Declaration of Independence says – will that bring joy? Judging by the debate on the internet the pursuit of happiness actually leads to the exact opposite – there is a lot of anger out there that one man's' idea of happiness is very different from another's. Joy is not happiness, but it is like it in that the pursuit of it will never get you there!

To understand how we get joy, lets look at another of the phrases that Paul uses in this passage.

“The fruit of righteousness”.

The fruit of righteousness is evident in a person because of who they have become in Christ. You are dead to sin and alive to God, you have died that your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Romans 6:11 & Colossians 3:3) ... the fruit of righteousness may be cultivated by meditating on the Word of God, speaking the Word, praying in the spirit and worshipping in the relationship that has been established between you and God in Christ. (Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord 2 Peter 3:18)

The fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the spirit, whatever you choose to call it grows in you, all you have to do is cultivate it. Sometimes it will grow and you will be able to see the blooms open, like a rose on a summers day. Sometimes there will appear to be nothing happening, like the trees in garden with bare branches because of the late spring, but the growth had begun ....

Another way of looking at this is the work of building a house. At times you see great progress - such as when the walls are going up. At other times progress seems slow or non-existent - such as when the work is going on inside – the plastering and painting but its all an essential part of the process. The Christian life consists of both. There are times when you will see rapid growth and dramatic change in your life. There are other times you may feel that God has stopped working in your life. That will never happen . . . He may be doing some work inside - on some areas of your character before He begins in another area of your life.

The important thing is that you are growing in Christ, more like Christ, closer to His ideal for your character and your life, as Paul recognises later on in Philippians 4:11-14

¹¹ ... for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ¹⁴ Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.

Only once the worries and concerns that we spend all our energies on become less important, and we have learnt to truly have confidence in God can we find perfect contentment, then we can appreciate the joys around us – those that God gives us: the Joy of our salvation, the Joy of the salvation of others, the Joy of praising God, the Joy of loving others, and so on..

We've seen what Paul had to be thankful for – the Philippians had been good to him, but more importantly they had trusted in the Lord Jesus. It was Pauls confidence in God, and his partnership with the Philippians, in Christ that gave him such Joy.

So to end, I'd like each of us to join in Pauls prayer at the end of this passage. Use the prayer to pray for everyone in Christ Church, for all the other disciples of Christ that you know, for those brothers and sisters that are currently close to you, and for those who are now distant for whatever reason.

“that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Christ Church Weekend Away 2006

I'm going to post all my comments etc. here, and will update it as we get closer.
http://www.cct.org.uk/highleigh/

A Good Friday Meditation

This is the core of the meditation I used on Good Friday

Step	Reference	Comment
Prayer	Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.	Jesus ~You know what you have to do. Nevertheless you would rather not. What is important to You is not yourself, your likes and dislikes, but your Fathers. So you pray, asking your Father if this is really necessary. “Do I have to accept this challenge?” Now understanding that this is the only way, you accept Gods way willingly. You realise that this is the only way I can be saved. You will submit to this for me.
Betrayal	While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.	The betrayer arrives with a friendly greeting. He hands you over to the leaders of your people. They arrest you and you submit to their power. Your ordeal has started. Although you know that I too will betray you, you do this for me.
Sanhedrin	The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. The high priest said to him, I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, He has spoken blasphemy! What do you think? He is worthy of death, they answered.	The 71 members of the ruling council interrogate you. They are determined to find evidence they can use to put you to death. Its difficult for them, but they do find the evidence they need – with your help! The evidence is good but the conviction is false. The truth cannot be blasphemy. They have decided -all of them. You do not protest, or attempt to argue your case. I use your name in inappropriate ways, and am guilty as charged I am in your thoughts as you prepare to die for me.
Peter	About an hour later another asserted, Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean. Peter replied, Man, I don't know what you're talking about! Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed.	Your closest friend is so scared of what's happening that he even denies that he knows of you! When he realizes what he's done, the reality of it is almost too much for him. For you, for now, you face the future all alone. Even though I have denied you on many occasions and in many different ways, and you know that I too would leave you alone, to go on for me
Guards	The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, Prophesy! Who hit you? And they said many other insulting things to him.	The guards are just bullies, they're not allowed to do anything really harmful, a few cuts & bruises is the worst you'll get here, but it's the humiliation that really hurts. You keep quiet. I think you could answer their question, but that is not the way it has to be. Many times I have avoided lesser mockery than you now suffer, when I could have defended your name Despite this you suffer in silence for me.
Pilate	Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.	The puppet governor has no real power – he's caught between Rome and the Jews. What does he really understand? You give him a glimpse of something, but he doesn't see it, he's too preoccupied with his political problems. How often have I missed a glimpse of your kingdom because I'm so focussed on my own problems? In your kingdom you are preparing a place for me.
Crowd	Pilate said to the crowd “As you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” With one voice they cried out, Away with this man! They kept shouting, Crucify him! Crucify him!	The crowd is fickle, you didn't give them what they wanted, never mind that there was something better to be had. They couldn't or wouldn't see that. No doubt their leaders have helped them come to that conclusion. Sometimes I allow myself to be manipulated, and find myself with those screaming for your blood! You can see through it all – to salvation for me.
Simon	A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.	After the beatings and with the weight of the cross you stumble and fall. Any one would, but you are NOT anyone. The soldiers don't care, they just grab the nearest person and press him into service. A short time of welcome relief. How can God show weakness and frailty? Its a mystery that I am not prepared to probe, and an example that I am unwilling to follow. Even in your weakness you show no self pity, just your love for me.
Women	A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.	What can they do? They can't do anything. That's not your reaction, you see things that they have no idea of. You try to warn them, but does it get through? The people following you and painfully aware of the loss they will suffer. I too am pre-occupied with my own sufferings You know that you are going through these sufferings for me.
Crucifixion	When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals— one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.	The sentence is carried out. An innocent man. A criminals death. Dying with the lowest of the low. In unimaginable pain, struggling for breath, fighting just to hang on to life because there is something you want to say. “Forgive them” Do I forgive as I should? Even so, your forgiveness is also for me.
Death	When he had received the drink, Jesus said, It is finished. With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.	And now you are gone. God is dead? And you let it happen. For me.
Burial	Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.	Now in death you are honoured, as you had not been in life. The rich look after your body, and ensure that you get a proper burial. Your life has been spent, your mission is complete You have made friendship with God possible for me.

Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Manchester Passion

On BBC 3 live, and repeated on BBC 2 later last night (15 Apr. Good Friday 2006), it is a re-telling of the story of the Passion of Christ in a modern way. Using the music of the city, and various locations around Manchester we follow Christ from the Last Supper to the his final condemnation. Then we jumped almost immediately to the resurrection. No attempt was made to re-enact the crucifixion itself, but there was a graphic description of crucifixion as carried out by the Romans at that time. We have ourselves represented Christ's life in public, and know how powerful the story can be, although we didn't have the BBC to make a high quality programme about it. Some of the pieces I particularly enjoyed:

• Riot police with SPQR on their uniforms, particularly in their confrontation with Peter.
• Jesus being 'bagged' (hooded) and put in the cage in the back of a police van.
• The 'front man' who also played Pilate telling us that we'd really all like to be Pilate -he has a point, I suppose.
• The crowd shouting CRUCIFY!, was good for getting everyone involved, and certainly could have been fairly convincing as a wild mob.

Some of the interviews of the public who had travelled to Manchester to see (be involved in?) the spectacle were also interesting.

• “I don't believe in organised religion – so I'm here representing all those who don't believe in organised religion” - Think about it!
• A Moslem explaining how important Jesus is in Islam. He's just another prophet from God, is what it amounted to.
• A Christian punk rocker saying that Jesus would have come to the punks and had his ministry amongst the drop outs and low-lives. Yes, I agree, He would, but there is more – Jesus ministered to ALL those who needed / recognised Him. Think of Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea, who took care of His body.

There are also some criticisms, not of what was being shown – that was good, and telling the story in a local way (both geographically and in time) is a helpful ting to do to get people aware and involved. My criticisms are of the way things were put together and presented.

• The singer who played Mary was difficult to hear, and way to serene to really be involved in the story.
• There were many occasions when one or two lines from songs were repeated over and over. I don't much like this in a worship environment, where the songs are written with repetition in mind, here it was inappropriate, and seemed to be there just to fill the time.

Offence

http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1749813,00.html Lets hope that none of the 'pop' fans who turned out for the event were offended, not by the music anyway – that wasn't radical, innovative, or so far as I could tell offensive.

There is much that is described as 'must see' or 'unmissable', this wasn't – it should have been!