24 November 2024.
Christ the King, Sunday before Advent
FROM OUR VICAR
Speaking Truth
It would come as no surprise to many of you that I have been reflecting on telling the truth over the last week and with that in mind I have been reminding myself what is the expectation of us as Christians when it comes to the truth. Therefore, I am sharing these with you as I think that being accountable to each other and the community in which we live is imperative and nonnegotiable, the failure of which not only damages us and our relationships, but also the growth of the Kingdom of God. Let me explain.
In Ephesians 4:15–16, Paul calls on the church to grow together in Christ by “speaking the truth in love.” This powerful phrase is both a challenge and an invitation. It calls us to reject falsehood and embrace honesty, but always in a way that builds up rather than tears down. For us as a Christian community today, truth-telling should be a cornerstone of living faithfully and courageously in a world often shaped by half-truths and compromise.
This is because, at its core, truth-telling reflects the character of God, who is described in the Bible as the God of truth (Isaiah 65:16). Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and the Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). When we commit to speaking the truth, we align ourselves with God’s nature and His purposes.
However, truth-telling is not always easy. In a world where dishonesty can be rewarded and confrontation feared, it takes courage to speak openly and honestly. Yet, as Christians, we are not called to go along with the crowd or avoid uncomfortable truths. Instead, we are called to stand firm, trusting in God’s Spirit to guide us in truth and love.
Paul in his letter to the Ephesians writes
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16
Paul’s words remind us that truth-telling must always be coupled with love. Truth spoken without love can be harsh and damaging; love without truth can lack substance and direction. Together, they create the balance needed for a healthy and flourishing community.
In practice, this means choosing words that build up rather than tear down (Ephesians 4:29). It means confronting wrongs in a way that seeks restoration, not humiliation. It means listening carefully before we speak and checking our motives to ensure they are rooted in a desire to serve others rather than advance our own agendas.
For Christian communities, truth-telling has a unique significance. When we speak the truth, we strengthen trust within the body of Christ. We enable accountability and create a space where people feel safe to grow, share, and learn together.
But truth-telling is not just about addressing sin or confronting wrongdoing. It’s also about proclaiming the truth of the Gospel with boldness and clarity. It’s about standing up for justice and righteousness in a world that often distorts these values.
For example, in discussions about faith, relationships, or moral issues, we are called to share the truth of Scripture with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). When we do so, we demonstrate courage not only in what we say but in how we say it.
Being a courageous truth-teller requires prayer, humility, and a deep reliance on God. It requires us to seek wisdom from Scripture and the Spirit so that our words bring life rather than harm.
As a community, let us commit to being people who value truth and love in equal measure. Let us encourage one another to speak honestly, act justly, and proclaim the hope we have in Christ. In doing so, we will reflect God’s truth to the world and grow together into the mature body of Christ, united in His love and purpose.
“Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15).
Let this be our prayer and our practice
Grace and peace,
Gareth
17 November, 2024
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
We left the first part of our look into the little book of Joel at the point where the LORD had promised a renewal of the land, a time of rich blessing ‘replacing the years the locusts had eaten.’ (2:25) In his mercy, the LORD did forgive and restore his people when they repented, and at various times they did enjoy great blessing. But ultimately, the hope spoken of here comes when Jesus returns and ushers in his everlasting kingdom. That’s a great hope to hold on to, but the significance of the book to Christians comes largely in the verses at the end of chapter 2.
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance,
as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”
Three great Biblical themes shine out of these verses, themes which are then unpacked in the closing verses of the book.
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Peter quotes some of these verses as he begins his great Pentecost sermon by explaining the various languages now being spoken by the disciples as they declared the goodness of God to the assembled international crowds.
This event marked the moment when God’s Holy Spirit came upon God’s people, just as God had promised through Joel. And with God’s Spirit now living in those disciples, empowering, guiding, and equipping them, the gospel message spread like wildfire around the known world, changing people and societies as it went. This is still the case. God’s Holy Spirit is still at work in and through his people, and equipped by the Holy Spirit, we all have our parts to play in spreading the unchanging and life-changing gospel message.
The return of Jesus at the end of time to judge the world.
That’s what Joel is referring to when he mentions ‘the great and dreadful day of the Lord.’ The book of Revelation uses similar imagery to describe the events surrounding the return of Jesus, and Jesus himself uses this kind of language in Mark 13 when speaking about the end of time. In fact, Jesus speaks of judgment more than anyone else in the Bible!
It’s not a topic we think much about, but one we should not ignore. According to the Bible, history is heading in God’s chosen direction, awaiting God’s moment to draw all things to a close and to bring all people and nations to judgment. And whilst Old Testament prophets like Joel often foresaw that day in nationalistic mode, (See chapter 3 in particular) reading his words with the whole teaching of Jesus in our minds should make us consider if we are ready for that day to come.
The Hope of Salvation for all who turn to Christ
Martin Luther, the great reformer, spoke of 2 key days in history. THAT day and THIS day. THAT day is the day when Jesus returns as King and Judge. THIS day is today! - a day when we can ‘call on the name of the LORD’ and be saved. According to Joel 3:14, there are ‘multitudes in the valley of decision.’ If that is us, THIS DAY gives us an opportunity to turn to Christ an receive his pardon, his hope and His Spirit. Or, if we’ve already done that, today is a day when we can to encourage others to do that too.
And whilst the coming of the LORD will be a fearful and awesome sight, the LORD will be a refuge for his people (3:16) and the home that God has prepared for those who love him will be glorious. (See 3:17-18)
Joel is just a short book, but it’s full of weighty themes and packs a big punch. Why not pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee and sit down and read it for yourself. Or spend a little time considering how you can live in the light of THAT day.
Song for the week: Robin Mark - Days of Elijah (Official Lyric Video)
Grace and peace,
Dave
10 November 2024. Remembrance Sunday and 3rd Sunday before Advent
FROM OUR RECTOR
Over the next 2 weeks, we’re going to take a little look into another of the Bible’s shortest booksthe book of Joel. Joel is tucked away in the minor prophets between Hosea and Amos, and contains just 3 chapters and 73 verses, but that doesn’t mean it has nothing to teach us.
We don’t know much about the author. Joel, chapter 1 and verse 1 tells us, was the son of Pethuel. But we don’t know anything about Pethuel either! It’s also hard to pin down the date of his book as Joel does not reference any kings. What is clear from the text is that he is writing to the people of Judah at a time of national calamity when they have been overrun by a foreign power so vast and strong that have devoured the land like a plague of locusts. Verses 6-7 in chapter 1 give a sense of the devastation they have caused.
A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white.
No wonder the prophet calls on the people to ‘wake up and weep’ (verse 5) and grieve and despair (verse 11), because, verse 12, ’the people’s joy has withered away.’
The sense of gloom and doom is repeated in chapter 2. This time locusts are replaced by chariots and horses, and the image of devouring is taken up not by locusts and lions but by a consuming fire. But although the invaders are foreign armies, the astonishing message in chapter 2 verse 11 is that ‘The LORD thunders at the head of his army; His forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command.’ The forces arrayed against Israel are, in fact, answering to the LORD’s commands.
Why might that be?
Unlike other prophets, Joel doesn’t list the reasons, but if we know our Old Testament history, the answer is clear. God’s people regularly fell away into complacency, pride, idolatry and wickedness, and so God used other nations to bring his people to their senses. That’s why in both chapters 1 and 2 there are calls for repentance. To put on sackcloth and mourn (1:13), and to declare a holy fast (1:14, 2:12). And yet the LORD is interested far more in what is happening in the hearts of his people. And should their hearts turn to God again in true repentance and faith, there is the hope of deliverance. (2:13)
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. And so, amid a message of utter devastation and loss, comes hope of a way out and restoration. The end of chapter 2 is wonderful, promising a return of the LORD’s blessing bringing with it joy and plenty beyond measure as ‘the years the locusts have eaten’ will be repaid many times over.
What might this message of repentance amidst ruin bringing a glorious restoration have to say to us?
It’s sometimes dangerous to make direct links between Old Testament Israel and individual Christians, and even more difficult to draw direct parallels to modern day countries. God’s plans are often hidden from us; his timescales are not ours, and the fact that often it is the righteous who suffer through the presence of evil in the world makes things more complicated. However, a general principle of the scriptures is that disobedience and rebellion against God always brings ruin (even if those consequences can often take some time to be seen) but that forgiveness and restoration is always available to those who rend their hearts and turn back to God.
Joel then gives us a call to personal reflection and ongoing repentance. But it is also a call to pray for our leaders and our nation that our town and country might be led in God’s ways, with laws that reflect his standards and bring about justice, peace and plenty. Then perhaps the words of chapter 2 verse 27 might be true in our land:
Then you will know that… that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other.
Song for the week:
We have sung our songs of victory (How Long?)
Grace and peace,
Dave
3 November 2024, 4th Sunday before Advent
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends.
Today is the last in our series on the 5 Solas of the Reformation, and on the eve of Reformation Day we are confronted by the question WHY?
WHY has God revealed in the scriptures that He has made salvation available by grace alone, through faith alone and in Christ alone, to all people everywhere? Why would God intervene in human history like that? Why would He care?
Part of the answer is, of course, because of God’s love for those He has made: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believed in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16. It was out of love that God called Israel to himself, and out of love that God sent Jesus to be our redeemer and saviour. God’s love for lost sinners is a thread that runs through both testaments. But there is a stronger thread than that, a deeper reason: Soli Deo Gloria – for the glory of God alone.
Perhaps you think that sounds rather self-centred on God’s behalf. After all, if we started speaking about doing things for our own glory and praise, we’d soon be accused of being bigheaded, puffed-up and conceited; too big for our own boots with an opinion of ourselves far higher than was proper.
But of course, that is impossible with God. There is no being greater than him, none wiser, none holier, none more glorious nor great, nor more majestic in all his being and ways than God. For us to value or worship anything more than God is idolatry, for only God deserves our uttermost praise and worship. For God to not work for his own glory would likewise be idolatrous. For no one and nothing is higher and greater than Him.
Here are just a few examples of God working for his glory:
All creation declares God’s glory and people were created for the glory of God. (Psalm 19:1 and Isaiah 43:7)
He hardened Pharoah’s heart so his rescue of Israel would bring him glory. (Exodus 14:4)
He restored Israel after the exile so the nations would see that the Lord is God. (Ezekiel 36)
He sent Jesus to be the saviour of the world so even the Gentiles would bring him glory. (Romans 15:9)
He calls us to serve him for his glory. (1 Peter 4:11) And it is the song of the angels in Heaven throughout all eternity. (Revelation 7)
So, as we respond to God’s mercy that has been poured out on us freely by his amazing grace, our response must be to join in the song of the angels and give God the glory that is rightfully his by making his excellencies and perfections known through our words and actions.
The Westminster Confession of faith explains that this way when it says that the chief end of man is to love God and enjoy him forever. We fulfil that call to love God when we obey his commands, submitting our wills to his. But notice that word enjoy. Whilst such obedience may suggest that we might be short-changed by living all-out for God, the opposite is true. Jesus is the bread of life, the water of life, in his presence there is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11) When we live for God (as we should), God gets the glory (as He should) and we are filled with his joy and peace beyond measure. God is infinitely worthy of our worship, and so whatever the cost or consequences, we will find the greatest blessings in living in line with the purpose of all creation: giving glory to God.
How might you live more for God’s glory this week? How can you make it clearer to those who know you and watch your way of life that He is your life, your strength, your song? Let us seek the LORD in prayer and ask for His answer, for there is nothing our society needs to see more now than Christians living wholeheartedly for Christ and for the glory of God alone.
Songs for the week:
Is He Worthy? Lyric Video (Andrew Peterson) - YouTube
To God Be The Glory ( Royal Albert Hall, London)
Grace and peace,
Dave
27 October 2024
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends.
In the fourth of our series on the 5 Solas of the Reformation, we come today to Sola Christus: that our salvation is found in Christ Alone.
I suspect that when you read those words, many of you may have thought of the now famous hymn of the same name. (Coincidentally we will be singing it at both Highweek and St Paul’s this coming Sunday!) It might strike you as odd that there would be any controversy about this statement, in Christian circles at least. After all, we are called Christians; we follow Jesus Christ; we celebrate Christ’s death, and we look forward to Christ’s return. Where is the controversy in that?
The controversy comes, as we’ve seen over the last 2 weeks, when we fail to see how sinful and needy we are. If we fail to see our own depravity compared to God’s perfect holiness, and if we fail to recognise our own helplessness to do anything about it, our human tendency is to imagine (to borrow a previous analogy) that the mountain is not too steep, and our strength is not too weak to save ourselves. But the Bible’s diagnosis is stark. We are not just sick, but spiritually dead. We don’t just need a helping hand; we need a new heart and a new birth. We need a Saviour who can fulfil the law’s requirement in our place, pay the price for our sin as our substitute and give us new and eternal life. What we need is Jesus- for righteousness, for redemption, and for new life.
No matter how hard we try, we do not and cannot live completely holy lives. Even once we belong to Christ we continue to sin in thought and word and deed. In our natural state, there is no health, no goodness or holiness in us, so how can we be acceptable to God? We can be acceptable to God because, through repentance and faith, Jesus’ righteousness – his perfect life of complete holy obedience – gets credited to our accounts! Imagine having your choice of Nobel prize winners to sit your A Level exams for you, and you being given their marks. Full marks would be guaranteed! By God’s grace – we are offered Jesus perfect life to be counted as ours, enabling us to be counted as righteous before a holy God.
No matter how much we do, we cannot undo our past and future sin and pay off the debt we owe to God! The hurt we cause to those God loves; the mess we make of his world, the damage we do to his reputation, the glory we refuse to give him- all adds up to a price we cannot begin to pay back. But through Jesus’ death on the cross that debt is paid in full. The final cry of Jesus, “It is finished!” was not a cry of defeat- but a cry of victory. Job done! Mission accomplished! Paid in full! What Elon Musk would be able to do for our financial debts, Jesus has done to our spiritual debt. By his death on the cross in our place paying the price of our sin, Jesus has redeemed us from the penalty of sin.
And no matter how much we will it, we cannot bring ourselves to new and eternal life. Dead in sin, we need a saviour who can raise the dead. Enter Jesus our righteousness, our substitute, our life. Just as he raised the physically dead back to life, so the Father has given the Son the right to bestow eternal life on all those who come to him. Great doctors and surgeons can bring people back from the brink of death, even after their hearts have been still for several minutes. Jesus brings us from the tomb and grave and lifts us up to eternal life.
The salvation we need cannot be found in ourselves- we are too weak and sinful and dead for that. It isn’t deserved through our character, nor can it be earned by our efforts. Salvation is by faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone, as the scriptures alone declare. And it is wonderfully and freely available today to ALL who come to Jesus in repentance and faith.
Such a glorious truth should cause us to marvel and ‘be lost in wonder, love and praise’ as we contemplate all that Jesus has done for us. How might you refocus your minds on his wonderful and gracious work for you this week? Perhaps these 3 songs might help!
Songs for the week:
In Christ Alone - Keith & Kristyn Getty, CityAlight (Official Lyric Video)
Jesus Paid It All (Hymn 281) - Hymnology (Official Video)
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me (Live) - CityAlight
Grace and peace,
Dave
20 October 2024
Dear Friends,
After considering Sola Scriptura 2 weeks ago (that all we need to know about God and salvation is found in the Scriptures) and Sola Gratia last week, (that we are saved by God’s grace alone- not through anything good in us), this week we turn to the mechanism by which we receive God’s great gift of grace: Sola Fide – by faith alone. If Sola Gratia (by grace alone) tells us how God saves us- by HIS work, not ours; Sola Fide tells us how we benefit from this great gift: not by our goodness or efforts, but simply by trusting God and receiving his gift by faith, and faith alone.
Picture the scene. Its Christmas morning and a child excitedly unwraps a huge gift. But, when they realise the value of the gift and what it must have cost their parents to purchase it, their face drops. With a sad expression they turn to their parents and ask: “So, what do I owe you?”
It’s a ridiculous illustration isn’t it. No loving parent would ever ask their child to refund the cost of a gift, yet so often, that is what we try to do with God. Out of the overflow of his love and mercy, God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived the life we can never live then died the death we deserve so that we might be forgiven and have eternal life. All this, and far more, is the gracious gift of God. Yet something inside us tells us that it can’t be that simple. That we must have to do something in order to be worthy of such a great gift.
It's not hard to understand why that is because the world works by merit. We work (or obey) to get rewards, and the better we perform, the greater the reward. Children learn that from a young age! But that attitude is a major a problem when it comes to receiving God’s grace. For God’s grace can only be received as a gift. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 2:
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Let me highlight 3 things here.
Firstly, according to Paul, we receive the gift of salvation (are saved) by faith and not by our works. We neither accomplish our salvation before the fact nor earn our salvation after the fact. As the great hymn Rock Of Ages puts it, we must come to Christ saying: ‘nothing in my hand I bring, simply to your cross I cling.’ To think otherwise implies that Jesus’ work on the cross was not enough, and that something remains for us to do. That is not only arrogant, for that would give us something to boast about; but it would also rob us of our peace- for how would we ever know that we had done enough.
Secondly, to re-emphasise how utterly dependant we are on God’s grace, Paul even states that our faith itself is a gift of God. God works salvation for us through Jesus then the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to the truth of the gospel so that we can believe it and receive it! That is wonderfully humbling, but also beautifully reassuring, for it means that we are saved completely by God’s choice and action. (See Romans 8)
But lest we fall into the trap of thinking that since our works don’t count for salvation then they don’t matter at all, St Paul reminds us thirdly that having been called, forgiven, and justified– we now need to live as God’s children should, doing ‘do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ So whilst we are saved by faith alone, saving faith is never alone! It will always change the way we live and love and give and serve.
Rather like a child receiving a great gift, we will want to show our grateful thanks to God for that gift. Not by trying to pay the debt off (as if we could), but by loving and serving God with thankfulness for the great gift he has lavished upon us.
Songs for the week: Stuart Townend - My Heart Is Filled With Thankfulness (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
13 October 2024
Dear Friends,
Last week we began our short series on the 5 Solas of the Protestant Reformation by considering Sola Scriptura- that all we need to know about God and salvation is found in the scriptures. It is no exaggeration to say that this first sola is the foundation stone for all the others, including today’s sola: sola gratia - that we are saved by grace alone.
One very commonly held view today, is that all religions are simply different paths up the same mountain to the same God. It’s called universalism and its especially common amongst those who have no strong religious views themselves. It’s not hard to see why it is attractive. It seems humble and accommodating, respecting all views but favouring none. But actually, it isn’t humble at all, quite the opposite, for it assumes that all religions are wrong – not just one! It ignores the fact that all the major faiths believe very different things about God’s being and character, ignores that different faiths teach very different ways to gain salvation, and it merges all the very different ideas about what heaven, or the goal of faith, is like into one. That’s not humble at all, is it?
So how do we relate to God? How do we gain salvation and eternal life? In this respect the model of the ‘paths up the mountain’ does work well for most of the major faiths. Every other major faith teaches that when it comes to salvation (however that is described), it is our efforts that count. We climb up to God and receive our reward by our good deeds and religious observance. God (whatever we think He or it is like) then takes note of our deeds. Good people go to “heaven” whilst bad people receive punishment or are forced to repeat the endless cycle of life again until they get it right.
But the Christian faith proclaims a very different gospel. If there is a mountain in the picture it is one that God descends to reach us. We do not climb up to God. God comes down to us. We do not have to rid ourselves of our sin; Jesus takes it away. We do not attain a level of holiness or goodness to achieve salvation; God’s righteousness is credited to us as a gift. Salvation then is all of God, and none of us. God reaches out. God pays the price. God makes a way. God offers salvation to us as a gift: a free gift, paid for by Jesus. Hence the pneumonic: GRACE: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
The Bible makes it clear that such a method is not only supremely wonderful, but absolutely necessary! For if there were a mountain to climb, we would not be able to climb it. Our deepest problem isn’t the sins we commit in thought and word and deed, but our sinful heart and nature that causes us to rebel against God’s rightful rule. Paul describes our problem in stark terms in Romans 3: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.
We therefore need a spiritual heart transplant, and rather obviously, this isn’t something we can do to ourselves. But God in his mercy has intervened. Paul writes this later in the same chapter: (Whilst) all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, … all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. The second all in this verse refers to those who receive this gift of grace (more on that next week). That may sound exclusive, but God’s grace is wonderfully inclusive- available to ALL who receive – Jew and gentile, slave and free, old and young, male and female, whatever nationality, language, culture or past: God’s grace is available to all.
I quite like the challenge of climbing Dartmoor’s hills or attempting some of the strenuous sections of the coast path. But I am so thankful that God has reached down to me with his gift of grace, because climbing to attain salvation by my own efforts would be an impossible task even for the very best of us. Praise God we don’t need to- for we are saved by God’s gift of grace alone!
Songs for the week: Rock of Ages (youtube.com) and CityAlight - Grace (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
PS: if you’d like to find out more about the people who played a key role in the reformation, then do check out the Here We Stand podcast, each programme lasting around 6 minutes. You can access it here or via your usual podcast providers. Here We Stand | Desiring God.
6 October 2024
Dear Friends.
Since there are 5 Wednesdays in October, leading up to the annual commemoration of the date generally regarded as the start of the Protestant Reformation (31 st October 1517), I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk through the 5 guiding principles of the movement that changed the world and launched and shaped the Church of England! These 5 principles have become known as the 5 Solas, after the Latin phrases they stem from. They are: sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone).
At its heart the Church of England is a reformed church, with its faith expressed in the 39 Articles, the Ordinal and the Homilies- as well as the 3 main historic creeds (see previous columns). This faith is then expressed in the liturgies we use because the church believes what it prays and prays what it believes. However, as the Articles make clear, Church doctrines and liturgies can never be the final arbiter of gospel truth. In article 6 we find this statement:
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.
Articles 20 and 21 take this further, making clear the limits of any church or general council that they cannot ordain anything contrary to scripture, and that they must not reject anything that the scriptures clearly teach. People can err. Bishops can err. Even general church councils can err. Scripture, therefore, having been fully inspired and preserved by God is the only inerrant, sufficient, and final authority for the church.
The first of our 5 Solas - sola scriptura (Scripture alone), teaches exactly the same thing. That the Holy Scriptures, as perfectly inspired by God, contain all we need to know God and to find salvation and eternal hope in Jesus, as well as teaching us how live a righteous life as a disciple of Christ.
Does that mean we simply read the Bible literalisticly? No! We must engage our brains when reading, paying attention, amongst other things, to the context of the passage or verse, both within the chapter and book, and in the light of the rest of Scripture. That’s why we teach from both the Old and New Testaments, and why we try to cover all genres of scripture. We need to understand it all to understand it properly. The Bible, when properly understood, will not contradict itself anywhere.
1 In this regard, church tradition can help and guide us. I get very worried when someone suggests that they have discovered a brand-new understanding that no one, in all of Church History, has never seen before, particularly if it goes against a clear position of church doctrine or ethics. Knowing how the saints across the ages have interpreted the Scripture is a guide to us, especially on contentious issues.
Bishop Richard Hooker (1554-1600) is often credited with describing the Anglican way as being like a three-legged stool with scripture, tradition and reason all working together. However, his writing not only took note of the primacy of Scripture in all things, but defined reason in terms of engaging with Scripture correctly, and described tradition as those creeds, liturgies and practices of the Church that could trace their origins back to Scripture. In his mind, tradition and reason should never be in opposition to the scriptures.
And that is the Anglican way – with Scripture taking the prime role and sitting over and above reason and tradition. It was also the way of the reformers- who critiqued the church in the 1500s by the clear teaching of scripture. We, likewise, need to be thinking Christians, thinking about what we read and hear and see and comparing it to the teaching of the Bible, so that if our ministers or Bishops or church councils err, we notice and can take our stand on the unchanging and inerrant Word of God.
Song for the week: Reformation Song - Lyric Video (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
25 September 2024
Dear Friends,
I wonder if you've ever asked anyone a question and been told, “I'll tell you, but you're not going to like the answer!” Such a reply leaves you feeling apprehensive about what's coming; concerned that you may have opened Pandora's box! But at least there is a chance to steel yourself for the uncomfortable reply.
When Habakkuk makes his first complaint to God about the state of the nation, crying out “how long, oh Lord?” The LORD’s response to him (see 1v5) gives Habakkuk just that kind of chance. However, God's response rocks Habakkuk to his core. God has seen the wickedness amongst his people. He is going to act. But God’s response to his people’s sin is a severe judgement at the hands of the Babylonian army. The description of this in verses 6 to 11 is so frightening, that it stuns Habakkuk. He wanted God to act, but not like this! And not through people like this. It was just too much!!!
Habakkuk's response to God's answer is to speak about God's holiness and justice, and to ask how a holy and righteous God could allow such a wicked and violent nation to wreak such havoc upon God's people? It seems that it is not only Habakkuk who has questions about God’s plan because having raised the question, chapter 2 begins with these words: “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.”
What was God’s response?
What follows for the rest of chapter 2 is a reminder that there will be a day of judgment for all the wicked - including the Babylonians. So although the Babylonians may be God's chosen means of showing his righteous anger on his own people, they will not escape from facing God’s justice. But whilst that may be of some comfort, the fact remains that God's people are about to face, by God’s own decree, terrible devastation at the hands of the Babylonians. Ultimately, God's response in chapter 2 is simply this: I am God, not you. I am just, so trust me. Or, to use the prophet’s own words: “The LORD is in his holy temple; Let all the earth be silent before him.”
In our, modern liberal democracy where we elect our leaders and where even the monarchy has been de-mystified, the sense of awe and wonder at the power, majesty and authority of God has also diminished somewhat, even within the church. Faced with difficult or frightening circumstances our response is rather like Tom Cruise’s character in A Few Good Men when he bangs his fist on the desk and demands “I want the truth!” We demand that God answer us and act for us in the way we would like, or else we turn from him.
But whilst we can demand all we like, God is God, not us. And oftentimes we are not told answers to our urgent questions of why and how. Often the only response we will get is “I am God, not you. I am just, I am good, I do love you, so trust me.”
And the only response we can rightly make in that situation is to do just that, and to trust in God’s goodness and power and might. To trust him that the future and our future is in his hands, and that whatever he sends will ultimately be for our good. We may not understand it. We may think, like Habakkuk, that what we’re going through makes no sense at all. But God is God, not us. Our only response must be to take his hand, and trust.
Habakkuk’s response is a model for us here: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the sheepfold and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my saviour.
Everything in Habakkuk’s life was falling apart and he didn't understand God's purposes for the nation. Yet he was determined to trust and rejoice in God, after all, God was God, and he was not.
We are in a far stronger place to trust God in all circumstances than Habakkuk was for we have seen the depths of God's love demonstrated for us in Jesus’ death on the cross. The cross of Jesus gives us no reason to doubt God's grace, mercy, love or his power to use even the darkest circumstances for our good and his glory.
So whilst we can, like Habakkuk, bring our questions, doubts, fears and complaints to God, ultimately we need to trust that the God who gave his Son for us, will continue to rule over his world and bring all his plans to completion at the right time. For he will. And we can rest in that certainty, no matter what today or tomorrow brings.
Song for the week: Shane & Shane: I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130) (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
18 September, 2024
Dear Friends, .
My dad tells the story of a family holiday to Germany when I was about eight years of age. Apparently, by the time we’d travelled from mid Bedfordshire to just outside Dover to catch the ferry, I was already asking, “Are we nearly there yet?”
That feeling of wanting things to be over, of wanting to arrive at our final destination, isn’t just something for little children on long car journeys. It’s the same feeling we get when building work on our house seems to take forever. When illnesses roll on and on and on, and we long to be healthy. When we look at our world and see all the mess and violence and evil flourishing, and we long to know when there will be true and lasting peace. In those circumstances and many, many more we can all cry out: “Are we nearly there yet?” Or, to put it another way: “How long O Lord?”
That cry of, “How long O Lord?” is exemplified in the Bible by the prophet Habakkuk. His whole but short book- just three chapters – orbits this question: “how long O Lord!?”
As Habakkuk looked out over God’s people, he saw a nation that had lost its way. Violence was endemic. Injustice was rife. Conflict abounded. The wicked were taking advantage of the righteous and justice was perverted. He knew it shouldn’t be like this. He knew that gods people were meant to be a beacon of righteousness, justice and peace. But it was not so.
And so he cried out “How long, O Lord? How long must I look at this awful mess? How long will it be until you act?” The first few verses of Habakkuk are a lament, and in his lamenting Habakkuk is doing a number of things.
He’s reflecting biblically on the state of the world, looking at what he sees and comparing it to God’s standards.
He’s pouring out his heart – Habakkuk doesn’t just know things are wrong, he feels it!
He’s bringing his concerns to God, praying for him to step in and do something. In doing so, recognising God’s sovereignty over all things.
When we look around the world, or our country, or God’s church, what do we see? Are we judging what we see by God’s standards as revealed in Scripture? Are our hearts breaking over the mess that we have made of God’s world? And are we seeking him in prayer, pleading with him to have mercy and intervene?
The book of Habakkuk teaches us to do all three of those things – and then, as well, see next week, to wait and trust that God will deal with sin and wickedness in his way, in his time.
For now, though, let’s learn to lament like Habakkuk, and to bring our prayers to the One who does see and who will act.
Song for the week: (16) We have sung our songs of victory (How Long?) - Lyrics - YouTube
Grace and peace,
Dave
11 September 2024
Dear Friends,
This coming Sunday we’ll finish our mini-series looking at the life story of Abraham, the father of faith. Working systematically through these chapters in Genesis has caused us to look at some passages which we might normally skip past, but the life of all the great Biblical heroes includes many very ordinary days as well as some extraordinary times, just as ours do too. We’ve seen partings and arrivals, family celebrations and disputes, business successes and regional disputes, births, marriages, and deaths. Yet through all of Abraham’s days, God has been ‘working his purposes out as year succeeds to year.’
Those purposes called Abraham to leave his father and his family home and set out for the land the LORD had prepared for him. It took faith and courage and, despite various hiccups, Abraham came to the end of his life having seen God’s promises start to be fulfilled.
I say start because at the time of his death Abraham had but one son and heir and he owned but one field in the Promised Land. God’s promises of more descendants than stars in the sky, and a land in which they could dwell and flourish in safety were still a long way off!
And yet Abraham died as he had lived; in faithful trust that God had far more in mind! Something even far better than the physical land he knew was coming. The writer of Hebrews describes Abraham’s life of faith in these words:
“By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God… a better country, a heavenly one.”
It's now been almost exactly 2 years since my induction as Rector, and despite the health challenges that Judy in particular has faced since moving down, we are so glad we came. Not only do we feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world, but we have seen God do his work amongst us, stirring faith, bringing new life, giving new life and growth. We long for more of that in the coming days and are praying that the trickle of souls being saved and steady church growth would increase.
But even if Newton Abbot and Ogwell were to find themselves in a time of true revival as in times of old so that our churches were no longer large enough to contain all those who wanted to worship God with us; we would still not have reached our final destination. We will only arrive at that final destination when the Lord Jesus comes as king and judge. That means that however settled we feel, we too should always have our eyes fixed on the city whose architect and builder is God, that heavenly country, the New Jerusalem, the place the writer of Hebrews speaks of and that the apostle John describes so wonderfully in the last chapters of the Bible.
Until that day, our task is to keep walking and working and praying and trusting that God’s purposes would be fulfilled in our day, that the eternal city might be filled with many more souls who have come to a saving faith in Jesus because of the witness and work of all of us in our Parish.
Song for the week: (9) Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah - Lyrics - YouTube
Grace and peace,
Dave
4 September 2024
Dear Friends,
The first newsletter of September seemed like a good time to give a general update on news from across the parish and to look ahead to the rest of the year.
Preaching series for Sunday mornings
We have two weeks left of our current series looking at Abraham’s life and learning from the father of faith. Then we turn back to Mark's gospel for four weeks before starting a series in 1 Corinthians. I've entitled that series “lessons from a messy church” because it certainly was! Despite having been planted by the apostle Paul himself and having benefited from some outstanding teachers, the church was divided over its leaders, confused over the gospel message, and mixed up about how it should live a life of faith. We will only cover the first 3 chapters before Advent, but will return to this letter next year.
Prayer gatherings
Hopefully you noticed that our prayer gatherings have restarted this week with the daytime gathering at the new time of 9:15 AM on a Monday morning. We had 11 people praying on Monday, which was so encouraging. Please do come and join us as we alternate our meetings between Monday mornings at 9:15am and Monday evenings at 7:45pm. Prayer is the engine room of the church, and the more we pray, the more the Lord will be at work amongst us. Might you be able to make one meeting a month?
Harvest Festivals
October will see our Harvest services spread over the first three weeks of the month. On Sunday 6th October, there will be harvest thanksgivings at Abbotsbury, St Paul’s and St. Mary's. All Saints will celebrate harvest on Sunday 13th October, and St Bartholomew’s in Ogwell on Sunday 20th October. Once again, any produce brought along will be donated to the THAT food bank in Buckland. They would be particularly grateful for the following items
Sugar Cooking Oil Eggs
Jam Custard Pasta Sauce
Tins of Sweetcorn Tins of Soup Women's Deodorant
Men's Deodorant Washing up Liquid Ketchup or Mayonaise
Anti-Bacterial Spray Anti-Bacterial Wipes
5th Sunday services
September has five Sundays and so on Sunday 29th September we shall be worshipping together at Saint Paul's church at 10:30am. The service will include Holy Communion and there will be a chance to enjoy one another's company over coffee and refreshments after the service. That same evening, we have the next of our evensong services, this time at Highweek church beginning at 5:30m. Will be an opportunity to worship with our brothers and sisters from Saint Luke's, who will be having a joint service with St. John's Bovey Tracy on the Sunday morning. Do come along to one – or both – of the gatherings.
Autumn Concerts
On Saturday 26th October Abbotsbury church will play host to the Saint James’ Trio for an evening of classical music. Do look out for the posters! This will be followed by a ‘Come and Sing Messiah’ on Sunday 8th December, again at Abbotsbury church.
A Christmas Journey – an event for children in Year 2 (6-7 year olds)
Next week I will be sending letters to all of the primary schools in the town and surrounding area, inviting them to send their Year 2 children to our dramatic presentation of the Christmas story. Once again we will be transforming Abbotsbury church into the shepherds’ fields, the wise men's tent, the temple courtyards and the home of Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus. As last year we will be looking for lots of volunteers to take part. The event will run during the first full week of December. Why not block off that week now and make the decision to come and be part of the team. It will be a wonderful way to get your heart and mind ready for Christmas!
Ben and Sarah and the Maynard family…
We praise the LORD that for the last two Sundays, the whole of the Maynard family has been able to come to church together as Noah's progress has been so good he has been granted weekend leave from his hospital rehab. There is obviously a long way to go and some prayer points are below, but if things continue to progress the hope is that Noah will soon be able to continue his recovery at home full time, meaning that Ben and Sarah can also think about moving house and Ben starting his new job. As soon as dates for their move become clear, we will let you know so we can say a proper goodbye to Ben and the family and support them as they begin a new stage of their ministry. For now, please pray…
- That Noah will not need another operation to fit a new shunt in his head.
- That Noah’s recovery continues so that he is able to come home on a permanent basis and for wisdom for the consultants who will make that decision.
- For renewed strength for Ben and Sarah, and the LORD’s protection over them, Noah and the whole family.
Gareth’s Sabbatical and a few thank yous…
Having enjoyed a wonderful family holiday in Canada, the Regan family are now home with Gareth continuing his sabbatical studies. His first Sunday back at work is not until 6th October but do keep him in your prayers that the final month of his sabbatical will be of huge benefit to him and to God's church.
With Ben having been sidelined as well, I am hugely grateful to the clergy who have stepped into the breach and taken services over these months: Rev David Witchell, Rev David Harris, Rev Alan Jonas and Rev Sam Leach. Our ordinand in training Jon Bealey and our reader Keith Butler have also taken on extra preaching, and the leadership team at Abbotsbury have taken on new responsibilities. I am grateful to them and to all who have stepped into the breach over these 3 months.
PCC Meeting with a difference
Our next PCC meeting will be on Wednesday 25th September at Abbotsbury Church at 7pm. The first part of the meeting will be a joint gathering with Saint Luke's PCC, and after all opening worship, we will hear from the Teignbridge lead for Christians Against Poverty. Our hope is that CAP will not only become one of our nominated mission organisations next year, receiving financial support, but that we may be able to work with St Lukes to set up a CAP hub to support people struggling with their finances. This is one of the practical ways we want to develop our relationship with Saint Luke's over the coming years. Please pray for both PCC's as they meet.
Judy and me
A final thankyou to all of you who have been praying for Judy. After 3 rounds of chemotherapy, Judy will be heading to Truro Hospital for a major operation on Tuesday 10th September. Judy is likely to be in hospital for 5-7 days (although it may be longer) before coming home to rest and recuperate. I won’t be around for much of that time, but I will be contactable on email. Judy will then have another 3 rounds of chemo in the lead up to Christmas, so do continue to keep Judy and I in your prayers.
|
|
Like many of you, the last few months for Judy and I have been difficult and testing. But as we have walked through this dark valley, the beauty and encouragement of Psalm 23 has become more precious than ever. Judy and Lorna led 2 women’s breakfasts on this theme in the early summer, and as I’ve been reading the same book I’ve been struck again by the wonder of the fact that the LORD Almighty is our shepherd; and that He not only walks with us, provides for us, protects us and blesses us, but that He himself, for his good purposes and for our sanctification, leads us into and walks with us through our darkest valleys.
Whatever you are going through right now, and whatever these coming few months holds for you, I pray that you would also know a renewed closeness in your fellowship with the Lord Jesus, and that you will trust him every single step of the way.
Song for the week: The Lord's My Shepherd - Stuart Townend (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
28 August, 2024
Dear Friends, .
For the last of this short series of reflections on themes from the book of Ecclesiastes, we turn to the theme of injustice, a topic the Teacher returns to again and again. Here is a just a short sample of his comments on the subject.
3: 16 And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment—wickedness was there, in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
4: 1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.
5:8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.
I could go on. The Teacher touches on the subject in almost every chapter and it isn’t hard to think why. When we see evil in the world it weighs heavily on mankind. (6:1) We are all impacted by bad news whether of illness, disaster, violence or death. We all notice when justice isn’t done, when the wicked walk free or the innocent suffer. We all know, deep down, that the world is not right; that it shouldn’t be like this and we long for it to change.
That recognition of wickedness and evil as well as the longing for the world to be different are, I believe, signs that human beings are made in the image of God (Genesis 1: 26-27). We may not agree on the details, but every human culture has this sense of right and wrong. We all want good (however we define it) to flourish and for evil to be stopped and punished. It’s a natural human instinct, and where that is missing in an individual (as it very occasionally is) it can lead to then committing terrible evil.
The Teacher would have us see the world as it is, not to try and pretend like the character in the Lego movie ‘that everything is awesome!’ It isn’t. Life is hard, and oftentimes injustice flourishes and wickedness does win the day, at least temporarily..
So how might we deal with it better? In some of his reflections, the Teacher seems to leave his readers with the attitude of: “Life sucks! Get over it!” But he does have more positive advice too. He encourages thankfulness in what we have- which is a great start. He praises those who do act justly, who are honourable and good, who do carry out their responsibilities with integrity. In this he calls us to a pattern of life mirrored throughout the scriptures, the kind of life that Jesus exemplified perfectly.
But he goes one step further. He tells us to remember that one day “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.” Remembering this truth, that God will be the ultimate and final judge of all people and of all deeds, brings us the comfort that although we may not see justice done in our lifetime, one day, God will see it done; and done perfectly. This knowledge frees us from despair because we know God will see justice done; it frees us from the need for vengeance, because God will see justice done; and whilst the Bible encourages us to be salt and light in God’s world, seeking to act justly and love mercy as we walk humbly with our God; if our efforts don’t succeed in making the world a better place- we know it’s only a matter of time before God himself will see it done. What an encouragement to know that if we work for justice and the relief of suffering, we are working in step with the LORD who will have the final word on the subject when the Kingdom of King Jesus comes!
So in these difficult days when our TV screens and newspapers are full of woe and fear and injustice and suffering, let’s learn from the Teacher of Ecclesiastes. Let’s be honest about what we see. Let’s call out injustice and wickedness for what it is. Let’s live righteous lives that point to the LORD and let’s live with the sure and certain hope that God’s kingdom will come, and that one day, justice and peace will come when Jesus returns as King.
Song for the week: It Is Well With My Soul (Hymn 407)
Grace and peace,
Dave
21 August 2024
Dear Friends, .
One of the things I love about sport is its unpredictability. Great teams can lose to minnows. Terrible players can have games when they play like Pele! Moments of madness or moments of greatness can turn a game on its head and leave supporters open mouthed with something to chat about for years to come.
But the unpredictability that makes sport so exciting isn't quite so welcome when it comes to our lives. We don't mind so much if the unexpected event is one that brings great joy. Not long after we had been married, Judy and I won a holiday! We didn't mind that unpredictable event one little bit! But when the unexpected shatters our illusion of indestructibility and leaves us broken and weeping on the floor, it’s a whole different ball game.
But that is what life is like isn't it. It is unpredictable. In the words of that great philosopher Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates; You never know what you're going to get!”
The writer of Ecclesiastes knew about life's unpredictability. He knew that life is made up of seasons of every kind: times to plant and uproot; Times to tear down and times to build; Times to weak and to laugh; Times to mourn and dance; Times to search for what is lost, and times to give up that search. And with our limited understanding of the future, and I dare say of the present, we simply do not know what seasons will be coming our way.
So how do we live in such a world?
The teacher in Ecclesiastes has some good advice for us. In Chapter 11 verse 2 he writes: “invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; You do not know what disaster may come up on the land.” It's a slightly long-winded way of saying ‘don't put all your eggs in one basket because we do not know what will happen in the future.’ That makes good financial sense, and it’s great advice for young people deciding what to do with their lives. A broad education which gives different options for future careers makes great sense.
But this advice rests on the premise that life is uncertain. So often we think we can control our lives, and if we make wise decisions and plan well, then everything will turn out just as we want. But life isn't like that. Disasters do come upon us. A drunk driver. A terrible diagnosis. The financial collapse of our employer. A worldwide recession. A worldwide pandemic! And suddenly everything we hoped and planned for is swept away. The Teacher would want us to be ready for such eventualities to come, both practically but also emotionally. Recognising that life is uncertain, being honest with ourselves that our plans may not workout, is a great way to help prepare us for disappointment and disaster.
And a few verses down, the Teacher points us to the truth that whilst we may not understand what is going on, God does. This is how we can be spiritually ready for the unexpected. The sovereignty of God over all things is a doctrine that brings huge comfort to the Christian, especially in times of struggle the difficulty. Such is God’s power and authority over all things, that whilst the chaotic events of the world may look random and destruction to us, God is able to weave his purposes into and through even the worst acts of violence. Just meditate on Jesus’ death on the cross to see how this played out in history. Even in our own lives we can be comforted that “in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
We may not know what is coming tomorrow, nor what God’s plan for us is in those times; but we can know that He will still be at work in and through the uncertainties of life. Events may shock us, but nothing shocks or surprises the LORD.
In pagan times, people would offer sacrifices to any number of different gods with the hope that one of them might have the desire and power to intervene. In life’s uncertainties, let us fix our eyes on the one true God who will shepherd us through every twist and turn of life until we see him face to face in glory.
Song for the week 🔴 HE WILL HOLD ME FAST (with Lyrics) Keith & Kristyn Getty (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
18 August 2024
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
Last week I had the privilege of taking the funeral of our dear friend John Blanchard and listening to the wonderful eulogy given by his 3 children. One of the things that stood out was the number of long-lasting friendships that John had enjoyed. I hope that is the case for you as well. But funerals also remind us of the continual march of time, and how, despite our best efforts, we continue to get older and frailer as the years roll on.
Towards the end of his book, the writer of Ecclesiastes focuses on the ageing process, using plenty of metaphors to plot the physical decay we all go through if we live long enough. The metaphors he uses in chapter 12 are sometimes amusing, but the overall tone is rather sad and poignant.
He remarks about fading eyesight by saying that ‘the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark’, and that ‘those looking through the windows grow dim.’ He speaks about ‘strong men stooping’ and eating getting harder because ‘the grinders (teeth) are few’. He notes that the sounds of birds fade with hearing loss, as the fear of heights and dangers increases, keeping the aged inside. He remarks that ‘the almond tree blossoms’ (grey hair comes), that the energy of youth fades – ‘the grasshopper drags itself along’ - and that desire is no longer stirred.
As I head towards my sixties (still a little way off but coming up fast!) I’m beginning to experience more and more of these changes. My running pace is slower, my hair is now grey, and I’ve had bifocals for several years now. I’ve still got a good amount of energy, but after a long walk or a round of golf, there are now often aches in places that used to give me no trouble at all! And of course I know where it is going. That one day ‘the silver cord (will be) severed, and the golden bowl broken… and the dust (will) return to the ground it came from, and the spirit (will) return to God who gave it.’
We know all this of course. We know life is fragile. We know that it will end in death. But somehow it is still a shock when it starts to happen to us, or to our children. Why is that? Why isn’t the thought of ageing and life ending something that we naturally hold in our minds? Why are we so reluctant to speak honestly about our inevitable physical demise?
I suspect that it may be because of a lack of a certain hope and knowledge about what comes next. For the Christian, that confident hope flows from a deep trust in the One who gave us life and into whose hands we must one day return. So if we do not truly know him, we can have no hope for the future beyond the grave. The writer of Ecclesiastes doesn’t want us to make that mistake. As he draws his book to a close he calls on us, whatever age we might be, to ‘remember our creator’ before the days of trouble come and our life ebbs away. This is partly because of the reality of final judgment where ‘God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.’ But is also because living life as God meant it to be lived, with the greatest peace and joy and fulfilment, demands that we walk with our creator through all our days.
And this brings us full-circle to the topic of friends and indeed, to the best of friends. You see, as we grow in our knowledge of and joy in the LORD our friend and saviour, so we will find that we are able to trust him and rely on him completely even when the shadows lengthen, and the evening of life comes.
You may no longer be in the full-flush of youth. Even middle age may now be in your rear-view mirror! But the advice of the writer of Ecclesiastes is still pertinent to all of us: get to know God while you can, before you stand before him and he asks what you did with the life he gave you, and how you treated his Son that he gave for you. For then you will be able to face physical demise knowing that you will be welcomed into a glorious eternal home where the very best is still to come!
Below is a song that I hope will lift your eyes to our eternal home and 3 links to books that might help you deal with the problem of aging. All the books are available elsewhere too.
Song for the week (youtube.com)
Almost Home - Matt Papa & Matt Boswell
Links to books: Get from 10ofthose.com or from our local Christian bokshop Choice Words
The Good Life in the Last Days (Paperback) by Mikey Lynch
Making The Most of The Rest Of Your Life (Paperback) by John Chapman
On My Way To Heaven (Paperback) by Mark Ashton
Grace and peace,
Dave
11 August 2024.
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
One of the aims of the Olympic movement is to build links of friendship across national borders, hence the Olympic symbol being 5 interlocking rings representing the 5 inhabited continents. It seems to work well in that regard, and away from certain rivalries between individual athletes and between certain countries, it’s common to hear athletes talking about how much they have enjoyed meeting people from all over the world.
Building strong and lasting friendships obviously takes longer than two weeks, but sharing a common task or common aim is a good place to start. Most friendships start in that way. Perhaps some of you have friends you met in secondary or even primary school, or through shared sporting of cultural activities, or simply by working with or living near each other. Over time, good friends become invaluable; they support us, encourage us, celebrate with us, grieve with us and stay with us when others fall away. And we in turn, get to return those priceless gifts to them. Such long lasting friendships are precious.
Despite his scepticism about many aspects of life, the writer of Ecclesiastes recognises the value of good friends. He expresses it this way in chapter 4 verses 9 to 12:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But, how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
With a friend by your side, work is more productive, and help is close at hand in times of trouble. So pity anyone who has no one to help them…
But like any relationship, good friendships need time to develop and time to keep them strong. They require honesty and openness, and a willingness to ask for help and give help when it is asked for. True friends know when to speak and when to be quiet, when to speak words of encouragement and when to speak blunt truth to bring us to our senses.
So who are your best friends? Do you value them and let them know that you do? And do you thank God for them? Good friends are, after all, a wonderful gift of God.
I’ve actually preached on this passage several times at weddings. There’s lots here about true partnership and togetherness, standing with one another through life’s challenges. But at the end of these verses is a hint that the strongest friendship is one where both partners are, first of all, united to Christ. This is an unbreakable and eternal bond; a bond which can strengthen friendships and marriages to a whole new level. Two people who are united to Christ and then united to one another in friendship gives an even deeper bond, a bond than can stand the test of even greater dangers, toils and snares.
How might we grow more friendships like this? Time is the main ingredient, mixed with generous helpings of openness, honestly, patience, kindness, mercy, grace and the ability to forgive. Such friendships must, obviously, also involve Jesus himself. Speaking of him together, speaking to him together, and almost certainly working with him together.
Over the coming months, perhaps we might all pay more attention to our friendships and consider what part – if any - Jesus plays in our closest friendships, and seek to strengthen that third cord. It will take effort and determination, but it will be worth it!
Songs for the week:
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Grace and peace,
Dave
4 August 2024.
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
After an hiatus to think about prayer, we return to the book of Ecclesiastes for a reflection on money and wealth.
If the author of the book was King Solomon, then he had more wealth than almost anyone in history. The writer of 1 Kings tells us that during Solomon’s reign gold was so plentiful that silver was considered of little value, and when you read the descriptions of the temple and royal palace that he built, the vast wealth of the king becomes abundantly clear.
What’s also clear is that all this wealth did not make him happy. “I amassed silver and gold for myself… I became far greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me… I denied myself nothing… yet when I surveyed all that my hands had sone… everything was meaningless; a chasing after the wind.” (Ecc 1: v8-11) He returns to the theme in chapter 5 verses 8 to 20. As I used to say to one of my grandchildren on a regular basis: stuff doesn’t make you happy.
Of course, wealth does have its uses, as the writer accepts. Money can buy certain pleasures and open opportunities. He also describes it as a shelter (7:12), no doubt thinking about the help and aid money can buy when times are tough. So given the choice, it’s better to be wealthy than poor. However, rather like Jesus in Luke 16:13, and the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6, the writer of Ecclesiastes argues that the love of money or living to gain more money is a path that leads to disaster.
Firstly, because those who love money find that however much they have it will never have enough (Ecc 5:10).
Secondly, the wealthy lose sleep worrying about the money they already have (Ecc 5:12).
And thirdly, seeking for more and more wealth robs the money-hungry of the enjoyment and appreciation for what they already have (Ecc 4:8).
In all these cases it is not money in itself that is the problem, but the desire for more and more wealth, for ‘the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.’ (1 Timothy 6:10)
Of course, this is something that can affect both rich and poor. The rich can become so proud, comfortable and secure that they turn away from God and stop doing good. After all, wealth can open so many doors that seeking first the Kingdom of God hardly gets a look in. On the other hand, the poor can so idolise wealth that seeking riches or financial comfort becomes their highest goal, and again, God’s will for their lives is laid to one side.
So how should we deal with our money? The writer of Ecclesiastes has several words of advice:
No matter much you have, enjoy all you have been given with a grateful heart. (5:19)
Don’t hoard it away. (5:13)
Don’t trust it to save you… for time and chance happen to all. (Ecc 9:11)
The rest of the Bible has more to say in terms of generosity and giving to God’s work and to meet the needs of others, but perhaps the greatest lesson from Ecclesiastes is about being content. This is also something the apostle Paul wrote about. He had, he said, “ learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4: 11-13)
As we reflect on all we have, and the opportunities our wealth (whatever level that is) affords us, are we content, or are we always grumbling about how little we have, and always seeking after just a little more? In these glorious summer months, when the beauty of the our Devonian surroundings is magnified, perhaps it would be good to check our contentment levels, and ask the LORD to help us find our true contentment in Christ and be more and more grateful for all we already have.
Songs for the week: Matt Redman - I Will Offer Up My Life
Dave
28 July 2024.
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
Many of us will be praying on Thursday as part of 17 hours of continual prayer for Noah as he has his major operation to seek to remove the tumour in his brain. (If you haven’t signed up yet there is still time – see the next page!) At times like this, when there is literally nothing we can do to solve a problem, prayer is the obvious answer, even for those who normally demonstrate no religious faith.
Those prayers may be no more than a few words, “please God, help…” or they may be long supplications, reminding God of his promises to do certain things. But when we feel helpless, turning to God is the obvious thing to do.
In prayer we seek the help and intervention of the One far greater and more powerful than we are, that He might step in and bring about the desire of our hearts. We can’t do anything, but we believe, trust or hope, with varying degrees of confidence, that God can. And so, like a child coming to their parent, we ask God to act, knowing that our Heavenly Father loves us more than we can imagine, and has more power than we can measure. And there is nothing wrong with asking! In fact, the scriptures encourage us in numerous places to pray and make our requests to God, reminding us that God loves to give good gifts to his children, and rebuking us that sometimes we do not have because we have not asked!
Of course, prayer is not like putting a coin in a slot machine to get what we want. Most of us have lived long enough to know that God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we would like. Most parents know that they should not give their children everything they ask for, not least because not everything their children want is good for them at that point in their lives. Since our Heavenly Father is perfect, he knows far better than we do exactly what is best in every situation. God views all of history, for all of creation, and at the centre of his plans is his greater glory shown by the building of his kingdom and by us growing in holiness. That’s why praying for something we want will not always lead to that request being granted.
So what should our expectations be of prayers offered in trust and faith? Let me suggest 3 things.
God will hear us. Whether our prayers are never said aloud, or are uttered in secret, or sung from the roof tops, God always hears the prayers of his beloved children. There is never a time when our prayers hit the ceiling and go no further, never a time when God is too busy, or so fed up with us that he sticks his fingers in his ears. When we pray, our prayers reach the throne of the Most High God in courts of Heaven where God our Father hears every word we have said or whispered or thought. God always hears the prayers of his children.
God will answer. Sometimes the answer will be YES, and like Jairus in our passage next week, we will receive exactly what we asked for. That should encourage us to pray big prayers, for God has not changed nor is his power diminished. So let us be bold and ask! At other times, the answer will be WAIT. In such circumstances we are asked to trust God’s love and timing, relying on him for the strength and courage to keep going when the road is tough. Patience is not something many of us have in abundance, but it is something we develop as our faith in God grows. Sometimes, however, the answer will be NO. The Lord Jesus prayed a prayer which received that answer. Overcome with fear at what he would face on the cross, Jesus asked if there was another way to finish his mission. The Father’s answer was no. There was no other way. Like Jesus, we may not receive the answer we asked for, but God will answer.
God’s ultimate purposes for us are good. In those times when we are told to wait, or told no, we may feel let down or angry with God. But in the midst of such a time, indeed, even as we make our requests to God in prayer, Jesus’ response to his Father should be a model for us; ‘yet not my will, but yours be done.’ Reminding ourselves that God is good, that he does love us, and that he is all-wise and all-powerful, will help us keep trusting God even when the answer he gives isn’t the answer we wanted.
Over the course of the last few years, Ben and Sarah have modelled that kind of confident and trusting prayer for us over and over again. Confident that God has heard their prayer, confident in His power to do immeasurably more that we can think or imagine, trusting that God’s love is certain and that His hold on them, on Noah and all the children, is stronger than life or death. So let us follow their example and pray confident prayers this week. Confident that God will hear us. Confident that He will answer. And confident in His unfading love and purposes for Noah, for Ben and Sarah and for their family, this week, and always.
Songs for the week: I Will Wait for You (Psalm 130) Keith & Kristyn Getty
Grace and peace,
Dave
21 July 2024.
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
During Covid, Judy and I bubbled up with one of my church wardens who lived alone. His regular visits would include food and chat and games of 5 Crowns. Being slightly geeky, I’ve kept a record of all the games, recording how many wins each of us has had, together with the highest and lowest scores, and I delight in sharing these statistics from time to time.
There were many statistics shared in and around the England-Spain game on Sunday. Statistics about the number of shots, percentage possession and the ‘shocking’ stat that England were the first team in Euro’s history to appear in 2 consecutive finals and lose them both. Spanish teams, on the other hand, (National and league sides) have now played in 23 finals since 2001 and won them all!
What would the writer of Ecclesiastes say to those glorying in or weeping over such statistics?
He’d say that there is a time for both rejoicing and weeping, (3:4) and that enjoying one’s work and successes is good (3:22). But he’d want to counsel that even the greatest of human achievements will soon be overtaken and the names of today’s heroes will be forgotten.
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; There is nothing new under the sun…. No one remembers the former generations, even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.” (1:9 and 11)
In other words, records are there to be broken, new heroes will arise, and the time will soon come when today's heroes, victors and record breakers will be remembered no more. That's not a reason to stop trying, stop working, stop seeking to excel, it is a call to see things in a proper and eternal perspective. It’s an encouragement to realise the fleeting nature of life and to find an identity, and a meaning and joy that truly lasts.
According to the Bible, that means living for the Lord, seeking to do his will and having an eternal focus in all we do. In that way all our deeds, however great or small, however public or private, can be for the praise of God’s glory and the building of his kingdom. Great feats done for our own glory and praise will perish and fade, (See 1 Corinthians 3) but God’s glory is eternal! Names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will never be rubbed out.
When he was interviewed in the run up to Sunday's game, Gareth Southgate commented that whilst the result might define his England managerial career, it certainly wouldn’t define him. I don't know whether Southgate is a Christian, but for all of us who follow Jesus, the successes or otherwise we have in life do not ultimately define us. Our true life is hidden in Christ, our eternal future secured by his victory on the cross, and so we are free to live and work to the best of our abilities without fear of failure or being overtaken, seeking only to hear God’s verdict: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
That is the only verdict that will ultimately matter, so let’s live like it today!
Songs for the week: Before the Throne of God Above
Grace and peace,
Dave
10 July 2024
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
If you’re still following the Bible Reading plan we issued at the start of the year, this week sees the start of readings from the book of Ecclesiastes. In some ways it’s rather a strange book. The writer, almost certainly King Solomon, muses on the meaning of life from the perspective of one who has tried to find joy, satisfaction and meaning in ‘everything under the sun’. The writer seeks meaning in learning and wisdom, in pleasure and experience, in wealth and power, even in seeking to build a legacy for himself. But as he reflects on these things, he realises that none of these offers lasting satisfaction. Hence the rather bleak opening to the book: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”
Here are some of the headlines:
Wisdom is a chasing after the wind, however much knowledge and wisdom you have it will never be all there is to know.
Seeking pleasure – and the writer denies himself nothing his eyes desire- left him with nothing but memories.
And all his toil and hard work, seeking to build a legacy to outlast him, would one day mean nothing, and may very well be undone by those who inherited their father’s fortune.
The world is not always just; fools sometimes prosper, the wicked sometimes have the upper hand, the innocent are sometimes convicted and punished, and not even the best laid plans, devised by the wisest of people, can be guaranteed to succeed.
In short, he describes a world where life is a struggle and where meaning and lasting joy are almost impossible to find.
But whilst it seems as if the writer is an Old Testament version of Eeyore, wallowing in a state of doom of gloom, encouraging laziness and a lack of effort and ambition, the writer is also quick to point out some things that do make life better.
Wisdom is better than foolishness, for the wise make better use of their opportunities and avoid many kinds of trouble.
True friendship is a blessing, providing support and encouragement in times of need.
Hard work is better than laziness, for the lazy bring many troubles upon themselves.
And contentment with one’s lot, and thankful enjoyment of what one does have are treasures to be sought after and guarded far more than great riches and possessions.
You may have noticed that there is no mention of God in the above. On the whole, that reflects the tone of the book as the writer seems to be trying to find real meaning in life without God. But despite his best efforts, he cannot stop himself from turning back to God again and again as the ultimate giver, power, Lord and judge. For the LORD is the source of true wisdom, the giver of life, the purveyor of truth, the measure of justice and righteousness, and the one who will, ultimately, call us all to account for how we have lived in his world. The last two verses of the book sum up his findings, and we would do well to learn from them.
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
I’ll pick up some more wisdom from this excellent little book over the next 2 weeks, but for now, let me leave you with a couple of songs that remind us that perfect wisdom, and indeed lasting pleasure, are gifts found in God alone.
Songs for the week:
Glorious Things Of You Are Spoken
Grace and peace,
Dave
7 July 2024.
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Victory through defeat.
Those of you who endured the England V Slovakia last 16 tie at the Euro Football Championships were once again taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. For 95 minutes, the England team were hapless, hopeless and seemingly clueless about how to break down their opponents. Then Jude Bellingham, in the sixth minute of injury time, scored an outrageous overhead kick to level the match. England were, as one headline writer put it, ‘Saved by the Bell’(ingham), before a Harry Kane goal early in extra time sealed what looked like a most unlikely victory.
As Christians, we know all about unlikely victories, only in the case of the Gospel, the victory was secured AFTER final whistle blew. To all observers, even Jesus’ most loyal disciples, his death on the cross seemed to have brought an end to his life and mission. All the promise and all the hope he brought was now in tatters, as his body, bloody, bruised and beaten, hung dead on a Roman cross. Jesus’ final victory cry of ‘It is finished!’ seemed incongruous to the scene. Surely it was Jesus who was finished, and the hopes and dreams of his followers that were over. How could the cross be anything but a terrible defeat?
But then came the first Easter Sunday; the day of resurrection when the apparent result was declared null and void, and victory given to Jesus the sin-smashing, death-crushing, Super Saviour. Rather like the England supporters on Sunday evening, Jesus’ resurrection turned the disciples’ grief, mourning and anger into joy, hope and dancing. Jesus had won the ultimate victory through the defeat of the cross.
The manner of Jesus’ victory should make Christians the most hopeful and optimistic of people. No situation is so dark that God cannot bring light to it; no circumstances so hopeless, that God cannot turn it around; no defeat so heavy, that God cannot bring victory through it.
We see this worked out in the life of the worldwide church across history where times of the greatest persecution have so often led to great growth both in terms of holiness and numbers. And isn't that also the way in our own lives? When faced with trials on every side, we can sometimes think that God has deserted us, that all God’s plans for our good and flourishing will come to naught. But time after time, the experience of Christians is that it is through persecution, grief and suffering, through pain and loss, through times of anguish, illness, cancer, that God does his most effective work in us.
1 God’s plan for our lives is not that we all enjoy long, healthy and wealthy lives, devoid of trials and tribulations. His great plan for us is that we are made more like Jesus, that we grow in holiness, and that our lives and our words and our works declare his glory to the world. He is the centre of history, not us. Our ultimate rest and reward is in the world to come, not in this one. But we can be certain that whatever comes our way in this life, we have God’s solemn promise to use all things, even the most painful trials and greatest ‘defeats’ for our good and for his glory.
So let's stay strong, stay faithful and stay hopeful. Let's keep our eyes on our ultimate prize and remember that in this life our awesome God is always to able to bring incredible victories through what appears to be our hardest defeats.
Songs for the week:
Colin Buchanan - Super Saviour
Lou Fellingham - Everlasting Arms (Lean Hard)
Grace and peace,
Dave
26 June, 2024
Dear Friends
Election Part 2:
Given that there hasn’t been a government chosen by more than 50% of the country since the election in 1935 (when the Conservatives gained 53.5% of the vote- down from an astonishing 60.8% in 1931), it’s almost certain that most of us will be disappointed on 5th July. In fact, given the state of party politics in the UK, even those of us who end up voting for the winning candidate or party may well feel underwhelmed. So what should our reaction be? How should we seek to relate towards those in office and authority in the country?
Helpfully, the Bible isn’t silent on this issue, and nor is the Book of Common Prayer (see articles 37 to 39! So to help us get ready for whoever is elected, here are 4 ways we should behave towards whatever government takes power on 5th July.
1: Worship God.
Romans 13 reminds us that “there is no authority except that which God has established.” So however you feel about the election result, remind yourself that God is sovereign over his world, that he is in charge, and that, for purposes that are perhaps beyond our understanding, the LORD himself will have ordained the results of the election. Such an attitude keeps us from despair, and lifts our eyes to the glory, power and majesty of our sovereign God and draws from us true worship.
2: Respect those given authority to rule.
Sometimes those in positions of authority behave in ways which make respecting them difficult to say the least! The media delights in exposing politicians who break the rules or break their promises, and it’s easy to join in the (often deserved) condemnation of the critics. However, at the very least, the position which our politicians hold is worthy of respect. Given the complexity of modern life and the pressure and scrutiny those in public life find themselves, under I for one, would not want to swap jobs with any of them. So let’s seek to honour their willingness to serve by treating them and their office with respect, and thinking as highly of them as is right.
3: Obey the law and submit to rightful authority.
It’s an amazing thing that once every four or five years we get to overthrow the government without any violence being threatened or shots being fired! But having used our vote, and a government having been lawfully elected, our calling as Christians is to submit to that authority and obey the laws of the land. For, “whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves.” (Romans 13:2) That includes, and I'm talking to myself here, speed limits and parking restrictions, as well the more serious laws such as paying taxes, violence, theft and the like. The laws of the land all there to restrain evil and for the common good. We play our part as good citizens by obeying those laws. The exception, of course, is where the laws of the land directly contradict a command of God in the scriptures. (see Acts 4: 18 to 20) Fortunately, in our country and in our day, such clashes between the law of the land and the law of God are few and far between, leaving us no excuse for not seeking to be law-abiding citizens.
4: Pray for them.
But whatever government we end up with, whether supportive of Christian ethics, values and freedoms or even one that is oppressive, the command of the Scripture is that “Prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” Most Sundays we include prayers for our King and his government in our intercessions, but I wonder how often we pray at home for our Prime Minister, his cabinet and our local MP? The advice I often give to people who are struggling to forgive someone, is that they begin by praying for God's blessing upon them. Perhaps we would find ourselves more content with our leaders if we spent more time in praying for them. And who knows, God may answer our prayers and raise up leaders over us who are honest and trustworthy, righteous and just, who will defend the weak, care for the poor, stand up for truth and pursue peace and prosperity for all, in which the Church of Jesus Christ may faithfully and boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus without fear or hindrance. That is surely something we can all pray for over this election season and beyond.
Songs for the week:
The Lord Don’t Change At All (youtube.com)
CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
16 June 2024.
FROM OUR CURATE
The Gift of the Holy Spirit - part 4. The Spirit and our Adoption.
If someone asked you the question ‘who are you?’ I wonder how you would respond. If someone asked me that question, I guess I would say, “my name is Ben” or “I’m a curate” and when they looked at me quizzically because they have no idea what a curate is, I might say “I’m kind of a vicar!” If I was slightly embarrassed about what I do at the moment (which I’m not!), I might talk about what I used to do in my previous job as a car mechanic. Alternatively, I might say “I’m a husband and a father” or I could talk about who my parents are. All these things are good, and they are all central to who I am but for us as Christians we can add another, even more significant, layer to the list of things we reel off.
In his letter to the church in Rome, St Paul’s systematically lays out the gospel and right in the middle we encounter the high point of Romans chapter 8. Verses 14-15 says,
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
There are similar verses in Galatians 4:4-7,
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So, you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Can I encourage you to reread those verses because they are profound? They are not words to be rushed over, but ones to savour.
These verses teach us that we are God’s children and that we have been adopted into his family. The Greek text only contains the word son, but it is clear that both men and women are in mind. We are to see ourselves as God’s children, His sons and daughters. We are also instructed to relate to God as Abba, Father. This is an extremely familiar and an endearing term which virtually no one in Jewish culture would use for God. It would have stunned the disciples to hear Jesus talking in this way, as he does in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36). However,
what would have stunned them even more would have been the realisation that because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross they were included in the family, in the same way that Jesus is, and that they could now address the Father in the same personal, intimate way.
When a child is adopted, there is a long legal process for the child and the prospective parents to go through. At the end of this, the family court convenes and a judge sees that the paperwork is signed and the adoption is made official. When someone becomes a Christian, there is no official paperwork that they can provide to prove their new status. This lack of physical documentation could be a cause for uncertainty or insecurity, but God has given us something much better than a piece of paper: He has given himself. The verses above tell us that God has given us the Holy Spirit, that is the Spirit of Christ so that we will not be uncertain about who we are in God. In fact, we will find ourselves saying from a heart of deep conviction, “Abba, Father.”
Ben
9 June 2024.
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
The Gift of the Holy Spirit- part 3. The Spirit our Trainer.
How would you describe God's will for us as disciples of Jesus? Is it that we might be happy and content? That we might be successful in all we do? If we substitute the word joyful instead of happy, then that would certainly form part of God's will for us, as would being content. The apostle Paul said that he had learned the secret of being content in every circumstance, whether wonderful or woeful - and it would be great if we could learn that secret ourselves.
But success in terms of our discipleship isn't about material gain or positions of authority or even seeing our plans succeed. God's command to us is this: ‘Be Holy as I am Holy.’ In his High Priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prays that the Father would ‘sanctify’ us. This is the same thing. And that’s where the Holy Spirit plays his part as our personal spiritual trainer.
I’ve almost completed the ‘Couch to 5K’ programme again- a set of programmed runs designed to take a person from the couch to running for 30 minutes (usually around 5 kilometres) in 9 weeks. As well as the carefully planned runs, one of the ways the programme helps is the voice of the trainer which comes over the app to tell you ‘You’re doing so well! Keep going! I’m so proud of you!’ It the case of the App, its all pre-recorded. The ‘trainer’ doesn’t have a clue whether I am doing so well or not! But imagine having a real live trainer running alongside, giving real-time advice of things to avoid, and things to do. Correcting, teaching, encouraging, every step of the way. That is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit in us. To act like a personal trainer as we run the race of faith along the track of growing more like Jesus.
Sometimes we do need correcting don’t we. Just as I can get into a terrible running rhythm or forget to do a proper warm up/down, so in our Christian lives we can sometimes forget the basics, get slack in prayer and worship, or give into sin and ignore God’s commands. In Ephesians 4, Paul calls this ‘grieving’ the Holy Spirit. In those times the Holy Spirit will prompt us to turn back, to change, to listen, like a personal trainer seeking to correct their trainee. If we hear and pay attention, then we will increasingly ‘walk by the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16) and not gratify the desires of the flesh that will pull us away from God.
A key part of the Holy Spirit’s work is as our teacher. Jesus put it this way in John 14:26: ‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.’ Just as the first disciples had Jesus by their side as their teacher, so we have the Spirit of Jesus in us. Like a personal trainer he will teach us new things to help us grow in our faith, and he will remind us of things we have already heard but may have forgotten. These things won’t be in conflict, just as God’s Word, when rightly understood, is unchanging through Old and New Testaments. And of course, the Spirit’s block of teaching is the whole of Scripture, which He inspired to be written in the first place!
And then there’s the role of the Holy Spirit as our encourager. This overlaps with being our teacher, as His words of encouragement will often come from the Bible. So when we are weak, He will remind of God’s strength. When we lack hope, He will encourage us with thoughts of God’s Kingdom. When we sin, He will bring us back to the cross and assure us of God’s love, forgiveness and adoption. And as the Spirit assures us of God’s work in the past, present and future, and tells us that we are almost home, so our strength will be renewed like an eagle. And when we feel too weak even to pray, then the Spirit does that work for us. (See Romans 8:26)
The Holy Spirit our trainer corrects us, teaches us and encourages us to run the race of faith. That’s an image that the writer of Hebrews uses to great effect in Hebrews 12 v1-3. I’ll close with his words.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Song for the week: May the Mind by Emu Music
Grace and peace,
Dave
2 June 2024
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
The Gift of the Holy Spirit- part 2. The Spirit our Guarantee.
We all know what a guarantee is. It’s a solemn commitment to deliver on a promise. So, in what sense is the Holy Spirit a guarantee to believers? Let me suggest 2 ways.
By God’s presence with us.
In John 14, Jesus promises not to leave us (his disciples) alone, but to come to us. He explains that he will not come and dwell with those who do not belong to him, but only to those who accept him as Saviour and Lord. This is not just a promise for the ordained or uber-spiritual. The clear promise of scripture is that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in Christians the moment they first believe. This has many wonderful implications, but I’ll just highlight 2.
Because the Spirit dwells in Christians now, we know that we belong to Jesus and have been adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters of the King of Kings. We therefore do not need to worry about what the world thinks of us, nor measure the success of our lives by worldly standards. However rich, famous, successful – or otherwise- we may be. The presence of the Holy Spirit assures us that our identity is now in Christ and no one and nothing can change that.
Because the Spirit dwells in Christians now, we can be utterly certain that our ultimate destiny is with God in his coming eternal kingdom. Some may think it rather boastful or proud to be completely confident that we are going to heaven, but this is not about our reward or our goodness. As you will have heard me say many times before, our good works and religious activities do not qualify us for eternal life. We can never be good enough to earn eternal life, nor do enough to merit God's forgiveness. Our only hope of forgiveness and eternal life comes through faith in Christ’s death on the cross in our place, where that faith itself is a gift! So we have no reason to boast, except in what God has done. The presence of Holy Spirit in us assures us that God will one day welcome us home into his perfect presence. Through God’s power at work in us.
Next week we’ll think a little about the Holy Spirit our trainer, the one who makes us more like Jesus. However, if we are able to look at our lives truthfully and see how God has changed us and made us more like Christ in our words, deeds and attitudes, the evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in us should strengthen our confidence that we truly do belong to God.
Of course, this demands real honesty in our self-examination, something we’re not always good at, so perhaps this is a question to ask a good and honest friend. But if they can see evidence that we are seeking and, in some measure, succeeding to grow in faith and Christlikeness, the sign of Spirit’s work in us should show us that ‘he who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 1:6. Here then is wonderful promise of God that the Spirit’s work in us acts as a word of guarantee to our souls.
A word of comfort here too. If we realise that we have not changed much, and that in many ways we are just the same kind of person we were when we first came to Christ, we should not give up hope. Our grief over our sin and failure to live as we should is in itself a powerful sign of the Spirit’s work in us. We should worry far more If we no longer care how we live.
So, God’s presence and work in us by his Holy Spirit brings us peace and confidence that our trust in God is not in vain. May we grow in that confidence this week.
Grace and peace,
Dave
22 May 2024
FROM OUR RECTOR
The Gift of the Holy Spirit- part 1. The Spirit our Comforter.
Last Sunday, we celebrated the day of Pentecost - the day the Holy Spirit was first poured out upon the church. It was a dramatic day, a day which changed history as the small group of believers were suddenly empowered with divine strength to proclaim the gospel to the nations, just as Jesus (and a number of Old Testament prophets!) had promised. The first, and wonderful, result was that ‘about 3000 were added to their number that day’ (Acts 2:41)
But much as the events of that first Pentecost Day might cause us to pray for a similar response to the gospel message in our day, the coming of the Holy Spirit is of vital daily importance to each and every Christian. So, over the coming few weeks we’ll be considering what difference the Holy Spirit does make in our lives and how we might make sure that we ‘do not grieve the Holy Spirit’ (Eph 4:30) but instead, ‘keep in step with the Spirit’ (Gal 5:25) and so enjoy all the blessings and benefits the Holy Spirit brings.
In this regard I would have preferred to begin on an upbeat focus, how now that we are filled with the Spirit (as all Christians are) we can now ’do all things through Christ who strengthens (us).’ (Phil 4:13). But recent events, which I’ll come on to shortly, have led me down a different path. So, I want to reflect briefly on the Holy Spirit as our comforter.
If you were in church last weekend you’d have heard Gareth, Ben or Matthew explain that the Greek word Jesus uses in John’s gospel to describe the Holy Spirit is parakletos. It’s a word with many dimensions, including that of comforter- which is how the King James version translates the word. Today when we think of a comforter our minds are likely to turn to a warm blanket or cuddly toy that we might give a young child to quieten them. Or, we might think of someone putting their arms around us to comfort us in times of trouble or sadness. But the meaning of the word is far stronger than that.
To comfort someone in the parakletos sense is to draw alongside to strengthen them for the challenges ahead. It is to remind them that they are not on their own, that all is not lost, that together they can and will make it through. The parakletos brings renewed strength and hope by their presence and words and, in the case of the Holy Spirit, divine power to keep going, however steep the road or dark the way. How can the Holy Spirit do this? Because He is the Spirit of Jesus, possessing the power of Christ, bringing the love of Christ, through the gospel of Christ. The Spirit is the means by which Jesus does not ‘leave us as orphans.’ (John 14:18)
In the same way that the first disciples were strengthened and encouraged by the presence of Jesus, so we, as his disciples who have the Holy Spirit in us, are also strengthened and encouraged. We may not see Jesus physically, but his presence with us is no less real and no less important. That truth is a vital one to grasp, especially when times get hard.
Song for the week: God is for us City Alight
Grace and peace,
Dave
15th May, 2024.
Dear Friends,
Ascension Day Part 2
Last week we went over some of the details as to what Ascension Day is. This week, our focus is on this question: Why is Ascension Day so important? With the limited space available here, I want to suggest 5 quick reasons.
1: It teaches us that Jesus WILL return
This was the message of the angels to Jesus disciples: This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. Jesus’ return HAS been a long time coming, and the Bible gives us some good reasons for that (see 2 Peter 3:9), but the fact that Jesus ascended means that he will one day descend again- this time, to bring in the day of Judgment and the full inauguration of his new and eternal kingdom. Now that is something to wait for with eager expectation.
2: It demonstrates that Jesus’ work is done.
Where is Jesus now? In heaven, and specifically he is ‘seated at the right hand of the father.’ (Ephesians 1:20) The fact that he is seated reminds us that Jesus’ saving work is now done. His death and resurrection accomplished everything necessary for our salvation and for his Kingdom’s coming to be unstoppable. What a great comfort that should be for us!
3: It shows us the ongoing power of Jesus.
Jesus demonstrated his divine power on earth through many mighty deeds and miracles: healing the sick, calming storms, casting out demons, raising the dead and forgiving sins. Can we continue to trust him now? Does he still have the power to save lives and change lives? Of course? How do we know? Well, consider where he is seated now. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, the place of ultimate power and authority. From the throne in Heaven Jesus is reigning over his church, bringing in his kingdom, ushering history to his chosen end. What a wonderful encouragement to stand firm.
4: It means there is a human being in Heaven now.
This topic is worthy of far more than a few lines, but in short, the fact that Jesus was raised bodily into heaven shows us something more about the true wonder of the incarnation, helps us understand something more about the physical nature of the world to come, and demonstrates to us the dignity and worth of all human beings. What’s more, our Saviour, who knows what it is to suffer and to be tested in every way, just as we are, is now at the right hand of his Father, interceding for us. How amazing is that!
5: It encourages us to continue to fulfil our calling.
Unlike Jesus’ first disciples, we are not waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower us to live and work for Christ’s great glory and the building of his kingdom. The Holy Spirit HAS come. Now all believers have the Spirit within them, equipping them to be effective witnesses of the good news of Jesus in word and deed. So as we await with confident expectation for the final return of Jesus, we have work to do. The DAY is coming. Jesus’ ascension shows us that. So let us all be active now in fulfilling our Jesus’ given call as we wait for that day to come.
Songs for the week: Lord, Enthroned In Heavenly Splendour (youtube.com)
Grace and peace,
Dave
12 May 2024 Sunday after Ascension
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
Ascension Day Part 1
Some of you may remember when, after a morning service in church or together in the hall, schools closed at lunchtime on Ascension Day. Nowadays, Ascension Day passes without a mention in most churches, let alone in schools. In our Benefice, there will be an Ascension Day service on Thursday evening at St Luke’s starting at 7pm to which everyone is invited, and we’ll be singing some rousing Ascension Day hymns in most of our churches this coming Sunday. I’m also going to be devoting the contents of this column this week and next week to the topic of the Ascension: what is it, and why it matters.
So what is Ascension Day?
It is the day 40 days after Easter day, and 10 days before the Day of Pentecost, when the church remembers and celebrates the bodily ascension of Jesus back into Heaven. Luke captures the moment for us in Acts Chapter 1. Having taken his disciples out to the Mount of Olives, and given them some final instructions…
Jesus was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Unsurprisingly, the disciples are left opened mouthed, staring into the sky, when 2 angels appeared and clarified the situation for them.
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
After 40 days over which Jesus has appeared to his disciples again and again, giving them many convincing proofs of his bodily resurrection and teaching them about the Kingdom of God, Jesus was suddenly taken from them. This time, unlike his sudden disappearance from the table in Emmaus, they were able to watch him go as he ascended upwards until hidden by clouds. It was a moment that marked the end of Jesus’ own earthly ministry, but one that led to his disciples being equipped with Holy Spirit power to carry on that mission in Jesus’ name. (More on that in 2 weeks’ time!)
We might have expected his disciples to be disheartened again, as they had been after the crucifixion, but that’s not what we’re told. There is no fear or dejection this time. Instead, the disciples devoted themselves to prayer, chose a replacement for Judas and waited, as Jesus had told them to, for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit to empower them for the task they had been given.
As we approach Ascension Day, and the 10 days leading up to Pentecost Sunday, we could do nothing better than following their example and spending time in prayer that God would renew us by his Holy Spirit and re-empower us to play our part in the task he gave to his first disciples and to every disciple since- to be his witnesses in our own communities and to the ends of the earth. For that is the task of the church until Jesus comes again!
Songs for the week: Hail The Day That Sees Him Rise
Grace and peace,
Dave
5 May 2024 Fifth Sunday after Easter
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
Resurrection Appearances Part 4: Peter by the Lake: John 21:1-24
Of all the post resurrection appearances of Jesus, I think this one is the most moving. Yes, there was great tenderness in how Jesus spoke to Mary, and kindness and patience in how Jesus treated Thomas, but Peter’s experience at that lakeside bar-be-cue shows the grace, mercy and kindness of the Saviour at an even greater intensity.
It seems that by this time, Peter had met the risen Jesus on at least 3 occasions. But whether by Jesus’ design or Peter’s skilful avoidance strategies, they hadn’t yet had ‘THAT conversation.’ You know the one. The one about Peter’s three-fold denial on the night Jesus was arrested. Throughout all the moments of post-resurrection joy Peter must surely have also felt a severe pain in his heart as he recalled his dreadful behaviour on that fateful night. Jesus was alive again. I’m sure he was thrilled about that! But could their friendship ever be the same again? Would Jesus ever trust him, love him, accept him as he once did?
After Jesus had caused there to be yet another miraculous catch of fish, Peter recognised that the man cooking some fish on the lakeside was, in fact, the risen Jesus. Suddenly the huge catch means nothing and Peter dives in to get to Jesus.
It’s not until everyone has eaten that Jesus speaks directly to Peter. “Simon of John, do you love me more than these?” Jesus uses Peter’s ‘old name,’ his pre-Jesus name when he asks this question. Taking him back to the beginning. The ‘these’ in the question might be the fishing boats and the fish and the old life, or the other disciples. Either way, Peter’s answer is just a straightforward admission of devotion.
Jesus asks again. And then again. Each question ratchets up the embarrassment at being singled out. Each question being followed by a command to feed or take care of Jesus’ lambs or sheep. Each question giving Peter a chance to erase his denials and reset his relationship with his Lord. It is deeply painful for Peter, as it must have been painful to watch. But Jesus is the great physician of the soul, and he knows what Peter needed to go through if he is to leave his past behind and go where his master would call. The tenderness of Jesus with Peter is wonderful to behold. But so is his decision not simply just to sweep things under the carpet. There is no ‘don’t worry about it’ with Jesus. Sin and failure must be confronted and confessed, but the full restoration Jesus offers to his most passionate disciple points us to the end result Jesus was after all along: a relationship not haunted by past mistakes, but one free of guilt and shame with full intimacy restored.
If you read through Peter’s letters and his exploits in the book of Acts, it’s clear that Peter was a changed man. Every encounter with Jesus has the potential to have that kind of effect, if we are ready and willing to let the master physician do his work. Are we?
Songs for the week: His mercy is more
Grace and peace,
Dave
28 April 2024 Fourth Sunday after Easter
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
Resurrection Appearances Part 3: Thomas meets the risen Jesus: John 20:24-29
Putting all the different account of the resurrection together seems to suggest that Thomas had left the upper room when the Mr (and Mrs) Cleopas returned from their encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus and met Jesus again with the other disciples. What a day that must have been! No wonder they were eager to share the news with Thomas the next time they saw him.
Thomas, however, did not believe them. His words demanding first hand proof are now etched into history aren’t they: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand in his side, I will not believe!”
Thomas’ reputation as a doubter has now become a catchphrase for all who doubt. But I wonder if we would have reacted any differently. If the disciples had boldly told Thomas how he had missed Peter falling off his chair, or that he’d missed out on some particularly nice bread, he would, no doubt, have believed without a second thought. So let’s not be too down on Thomas for doubting something so shockingly out of the ordinary as a man rising from the dead.
But let’s also not miss Jesus’ great love and compassion for Thomas in allowing him to receive exactly the proof he needed. What grace and tenderness that shows. Having said that, can you imagine how Thomas would have felt when Jesus showed up the next time and offered him his hand and side to touch so that he might ‘stop doubting and believe.’ Embarrassed, humbled, perhaps even humiliated, but finally and completely convinced, is it any wonder Thomas falls to his knees and cries out: “My Lord and My God!”
Thomas’ reaction begs the question for sceptics today: do we need to see before we believe? The answer of course, is no. Trials in courts of law would crumble instantly if jurors needed first hand experience to be able to arrive at verdict. We believe lots of things without having seen things at first hand, because whilst first-hand experience is great, what we really need are honest and reliable witnesses; people who will speak the truth. If we have that, then we do have enough evidence to believe, however outrageous the news.
Perhaps that’s why God in his providence allowed Thomas to miss the first meeting, and to respond with doubt, so that by his being convinced, we too might be convinced and find our faith in Jesus’ resurrection strengthened. As John writes in chapter 20 verse 30 – “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name.” So if you still have doubts about the resurrection of Jesus, might I suggest it’s time to stop doubting and believe?
Songs for the week: This I Believe by Hillsong
Grace and peace,
Dave
14 April 2024 Third Sunday after Easter
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Resurrection Appearances Part 2: The Road to Emmaus. (Luke 24: 13 to 35)
Last week we reflected a little on Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene. After meeting her risen Lord, Mary did what she was told and went and told the disciples who she had seen, and the disciples responded with overwhelming faith and joy.
But that’s not right, is it? They didn’t believe her! They responded with doubt and bewilderment, thinking the women were crazy. Some went to check out the tomb for themselves. Others, including Thomas, were so overwhelmed that they headed out. Two of them, Cleopas and perhaps Mrs Cleopas, walked to Emmaus, a small place some 7 miles from Jerusalem.
As you might imagine, these two had plenty to talk about, and it’s as they were talking that Jesus drew alongside them. Playing dumb about the weekend’s events, Jesus joined in their conversation without letting on who he was. The two walkers were stunned how anyone could have slept through the dramatic events of the previous few days and explained to their new travelling companion some of what happened. Jesus responded with characteristic bluntness (“How foolish you are!”) and went on to explain how they really should have known better. And his reason for this is simply ‘Moses and all the Prophets’.
As I mentioned in my Easter Day sermon, the Old Testament speaks with great clarity about the coming of the Messiah, detailing his family line, his birthplace, his mission, his death and even his resurrection. For faithful Jews who trusted God’s Word and knew God’s Word, the events of that first Easter should not have been a surprise. The Old Testament is, ultimately, all about Jesus. He is the final prophet and the fulfilment of prophecies. He is the one true King all the failed kings could never be. He is Israel’s true teacher, their one true priest and one final sacrifice. He is their hope, their ultimate promised rest, their salvation, their Good Shepherd, their LORD. I can imagine Jesus unpacking many of these themes as he talked them through Old Testament passage after passage, showing them how He had fulfilled them all. And I can imagine that if I had been there with them, then my heart would have burned inside me as theirs did within them.
It wasn’t until Jesus was giving thanks and breaking bread with them that their eyes were opened to his true identity, and at that point Jesus disappeared and they were left on their own.
Then, like the women earlier that day, they knew that simply had to pass on the news, so they ran back to Jerusalem and were with the disciples as Jesus joined them.
This encounter should encourage us to know the scriptures better, especially the Old Testament, and to make sure that we are reading it with the knowledge that Christ’s story is written upon every page. But this encounter should also give us greater confidence in sharing the Bible with others, so that God might speak directly to them. One excellent new resource for helping us do this is called ‘The Word One to One.’ See www.theword121.com It’s available in booklet form, or as a free app, and is amazingly easy to use. Why not take a look and give it a go with a friend! After all, the whole Bible is about Jesus!
Songs for the week: Speak O Lord (Live from Sing! 21) - Keith & Kristyn Getty and Laura Story
Grace and peace,
Dave
10 April 2024
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Hallelujah! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!
You may think that’s a funny greeting since Easter was almost 2 weeks ago, but since we are still in the liturgical season of Easter, and since the resurrection of Jesus is such a fundamental part of our faith, over the next 4 weeks we’re going to take a brief look at 4 of the resurrection appearances given to us in the gospels.
Obviously, there are far more than 4, and 1 Corinthians 15 lists some we know nothing about except that they happened. But like the miracles in John’s gospel, ‘these are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that by believing, we may have life in His name.’ (See John 20:31) So let’s start with the very first one, described for us in John 20v11-18. The appearance of the risen Christ to Mary Magdalene.
If the gospel writers were inventing a story, Mary would be an unlikely choice for the first witness. Not only is she a woman - a fact that would render her testimony unacceptable in a court of law., but she was also on her own when she met Jesus. Perhaps stranger still, both Luke and Mark describe Mary as the one from whom Jesus cast out 7 demons. You can imagine some lawyers having great fun at that part of her backstory. Nevertheless, I think that the fact that Mary was the first witness adds a great deal of credibility to the accounts of Jesus’ rising from the dead. Why else would they choose someone who could be so easily discredited unless it were true?
But whilst the world might poke fun at Mary, look at the way Jesus treats her. Jesus is so patient, not jumping out with a great cry of “SURPRISE!” He gives her time to come to terms withal the shocking things she has seen, and then he speaks her name. “Mary.”
What more wonderful and incredibly personal way could Jesus have chosen to show to Mary that he was alive than this. The Lord spoke her name, in a way she would recognise, because she had heard him say it so many times before. It’s a beautiful moment.
Then Mary turns and runs towards him. John doesn’t describe her arms going around him, but Jesus does ask her not to hold on to him, so it’s a fair bet that she grabs hold and doesn’t want to let go! And who can blame her! Such is her love for her Lord and master. Jesus hints that there will be a time when she can hold on to him forever, but it isn’t yet. Then Jesus honours her with a special task: to be the first one to tell the disciples that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead.
It's a touching scene isn’t it. It tells us something of Jesus’ compassion and love for all his disciples, it reminds us that both men and women have a key role to play in proclaiming the risen Jesus, and it points us to a truth about the resurrection: that it was most definitely physical, not just spiritual. Let’s be encouraged by Mary’s encounter with Jesus and join her in passing on the news of his mighty and glorious resurrection!
Songs for the week: Led Like a Lamb to the Slaughter
Grace and peace,
Dave
7 April 2024 First Sunday of Easter
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Happy Easter! I hope that you have been as blessed by our services throughout Holy Week as I have. The annual walk-through of the events of that first Easter should never cease to humble us and thrill us. Nor should those things cease to have an impact on us for the other 51 weeks of the year. For whilst Christmas reminds us of the incarnation- God becoming one of us. Easter shows us God dying for us… and then rising for us. Two events that have turned the world upside down, and that should constantly be shaping and reshaping our lives as the truth of Easter and the implications sink into our hearts and minds.
So what might be some of the implications of the death and resurrection of Jesus? Here are 7 to be mulling over this week:
That God is just: The darkness of Good Friday shows us that God doesn’t ever ignore evil. That is great news for those who suffer injustice.
That we are deeply loved despite our sin and failings: For God so loved the world that he gave his only son… The best picture of God’s amazing love we can ever have, is Jesus stretching wide his arms on the cross.
That forgiveness is possible: The final cry of Jesus “It is finished!” and the curtain of the temple being torn in two show us that God’s saving work is done. Through Jesus’ death, all who come to him can be forgiven, cleansed and adopted into God’s family.
That we can us hope in our broken lives: Just as God brought victory through Jesus’ death, so God promises to work all things for the good of those who love him. It may take us a while to see it, but that hope changes how we view suffering.
That we can have real hope in the face of death: Just as Jesus died and rose so we will all rise to stand before Jesus our judge. But because of Easter we can die knowing that the judge is also our saviour, and that if we have trusted in Jesus, we will enjoy God’s presence and his perfect kingdom forever. Because of Easter, death holds no fear for the Christian.
That our broken world will be changed: On the cross Jesus defeated evil, and just as he conquered death so he will one day return as King, renew the earth, and bring in his eternal Kingdom of justice and peace.
That Jesus is who he claimed to be: Without the resurrection, we would never have heard of Jesus nor of his teaching. But the resurrection of Jesus proves that he was (and is!) the Son of God, our Lord, our Saviour, our King. Jesus’ death and resurrection have changed the world.
As we ponder the implications of the death and resurrection of Jesus this week, may the LORD strengthen our faith, fill our hearts with joy and send us out in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the risen Christ to our needy world.
Hallelujah! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah! Songs for the week: Jesus Christ is risen today
Grace and peace,
Dave
31 March 2024. Easter Sunday
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends
Apparently at the end of the Live Aid concert, someone came up to Bob Geldof and asked him the question that became the title of his autobiography: is that it? For Geldof it was an existential question about the direction and meaning of the rest of his life. In the context of our miniseries, it is even more important. Is repentance it? Is that all that is required if we are to have our sins forgiven and enjoy a true and lasting relationship with God. Or is there something more? What happens next?
In one sense it IS all that is required. We are saved by faith alone, in Christ alone, through the cross alone. That faith is shown by repentance and trust in Jesus alone. However, whilst we are saved by faith alone, saving faith is never alone. It is always accompanied by good works. Those good works fall into two broad categories: A turning away from the sin of which we have repented and a turning, to a life of obedience in all that Christ calls us to do.
The confession below describes that in this way: serving God in newness of life to the glory of God’s holy name.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us,
forgive us all that is past and grant that we may serve you
in newness of life to the glory of God’s holy name.
So as we approach the end of Lent and the cross of Jesus comes into closer focus, can I ask whether that is true of you? Can you point to things of which you have repented of, so that now, with the help and strength of God’s Holy Spirit working in you, you no longer behave or speak or think in those ways?
And can you see things in your life that you now do which you would not have done before you came to trust in Jesus? Perhaps in the way you speak to people or how you react to criticism or in what you watch on TV? A new life should be a new life after all. A life that is now spent with the aim of doing all things for the glory of God’s name.
For those of us who have grown up in Christian homes and who generally live what might be called ‘respectable’ lives, that isn’t always easy to see. Hence the need to pray that God would search us and know us (Psalm 139), and the need to daily seek God’s help and strength to know ourselves and know God’s Word and submit ourselves to it.
That, of course, isn’t a one-off event. Just as repentance isn’t a one-time only thing! It’s the basis of our Christian lives. We recognise our sin. We come to the cross for forgiveness. And then, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we go out and seek to live for the glory of God at home, at work, at rest and play. May that be our resolve and may God’s glory be seen in us.
Songs for the week: May the Mind of Christ My Saviour (Tune: St Leonard - 5vv) and More Like Jesus
Grace and peace,
Dave
24 March 2024 Palm Sunday
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
On our journey through our prayers of confession, we’ve seen that we confess to God, because it is his world; that it is necessary, because sin is serious; that we fall short in 3 ways (thoughts, words, and deeds) and that our sin occurs through our negligence, our weakness and sometimes even because of our deliberate fault. Last time we reflected on the fact that true repentance cannot just involve words but must be heart-felt, an honest sorrow for our sin.
All that may help us understand the nature of our sin and how serious it is, but so far, we have seen little hope that God would answer our prayers and forgive us. Our two questions today answer that question: CAN God forgive us? And WILL God forgive us?
"Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past"
CAN God forgive us? That is, does God have the moral authority to wipe away our guilt and cleanse us from our sin, no matter what it is?
The answer we find in all our prayers of confession is a resounding YES. But the basis for that is not in God’s compassion or unending love, wonderful those traits are. Because God is holy, he must treat sin seriously; he cannot simply wave our sin away as if it doesn’t matter. Sin must be punished, and punished fully if God’s justice and holiness are to be satisfied.
But that is what happened on the cross. In what CS Lewis called the great exchange, Jesus died in our place, for our sins, and as our substitute. Willingly taking all the sins of the world upon himself, Jesus died as “the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Jesus himself spoke of how he would “give his life as who died for us, a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28) and that’s what he did.
As a result, God’s justice was satisfied, and our debt, which we could not pay, was cancelled by virtue of Jesus’ substitutionary death. That’s why Jesus cried out ‘It is finished!’ as he died. Not because He was finished, but because his task was complete. By his death, sin was atoned for, death (the wages of sin) was conquered, name. and a way to God and eternal life was opened up for all who repent and trust in Christ. So wonderfully, because of Jesus, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
So YES, God can forgive us and remain both just and holy. But WILL God forgive us? Yes! The promise of God’s Word is clear:“ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. We do need to confess honestly and humbly; we do need to place our trust in Jesus as our only plea. But such is God’s grace and mercy to us, and such is the power of Jesus’ blood to cleanse us from every sin, that God’s promise is clear and certain: God forgives all who truly repent!
That isn’t the end of the story of course. Forgiveness isn’t a free pass to repeat the same sins again and again with impunity. We’ll reflect upon ‘what happens next’ next time. But for today, spend some time thanking God for Jesus, for the wonder of the cross, and for the promise of forgiveness that allows sinners like me and you to be completely cleansed.
Song for the week: In Christ Alone - Keith & Kristyn Getty, CityAlight
Grace and peace
Dave
17 March 2024 - The Fifth Sunday of Lent
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Last week we reflected on the fact that we fail to obey God both through negligence, through weakness, and through our own deliberate fault. I’m sure we’d all admit to this. We may not murder or steal, we probably haven’t had a fist fight since primary school, but we all know that in large and small ways, we don’t live as we should. We fail to reach God’s perfect standards. There is, in the words of the Book of Common Prayer: “No health in us.”
The next question is, how should we feel about this?
"Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all men:
We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy Divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us.
We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us; the burden of them is intolerable."
Do we brush our failings off as ‘part of being human?’ Do we excuse ourselves because ‘everybody does it’ or because ‘there are plenty of people far worse than me?’ As a primary school teacher, I came across plenty of excuses for misbehaviour. ‘It was an accident.’ ‘I didn’t mean to.’ ‘They started it.’ And even where there was an admittance of guilt, the only sorrow in sight was the sorrow of being caught! But when the confession we looked at last week asks us to say that ‘we are truly sorry’ that isn’t what it means! True confession does not involve sorrow for being caught, but sorrow for the act itself, for the harm it has caused, and for the great insult to God’s glory involved.This is where the Book of Common Prayer pushes in. In language that is both strong and challenging, the General Confession teaches us that true repentance requires us to abhor our sins and failings. Is that how we feel, I wonder?
I think it’s generally true that the more we love someone, the more we grieve when we cause them pain, or disappoint them or break a promise. The closer the relationship, the more precious the fellowship, the worse it feels when that is harmed or threatened. So if God himself is our greatest love and joy, the most important person in our lives, then grieving him should lead us to deep sorrow. And rather like a spouse remembering cheating on their marriage, or a best friend remembering betraying a confidence, so for a Christian, recalling the times when we have failed our Lord and saviour should bring us similar sorrow. To not feel this, at least to some extent, must surely bring into doubt the closeness of the relationship with the one we have failed.
I don’t write this so we will seek to wallow in our sins or imagine that there is no way back, rather that we might see the seriousness of the problem, and the true sweetness of the forgiveness and reconciliation that follows from a true confession.
The account of Peter’s denials and subsequent reinstatement at the end of John’s gospel shows us how the Lord Jesus deals with those who fail him and are weighed down by a heavy load of guilt. There on the beach, Jesus draws Peter to confront his failings and then gently, lovingly, tenderly, he restores him to true fellowship, even calling him to serve him in a unique way. Such is the great mercy and grace of God that Jesus will deal with our sorrow over our sins and failings in exactly the same way.
So let’s not try to excuse what we have done, or brush our sins under the carpet. Instead, let’s ask for God’s help to know the grievous nature of our sins, that might also grasp the true wonder of God’s grace and mercy to us. That joy and astonishment is summed up in a hymn we’ve sung recently: And can it be… May its words minister to your soul today.
Song for the week: And Can It Be - Stuart Townend
Grace and peace
Dave
10 March 2024 - The Fourth Sunday of Lent
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Last week we reflected on the fact that we fail to obey God in 3 ways: in our thoughts, words, and deeds. But the confession probes our hearts further than that and reminds us that we can fall into sin in three different ways as well: through negligence, through weakness, and through our own deliberate fault.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past and grant that we may serve you to the glory of your name.
Amen
Notice there’s no category here of ‘the devil made me do it!’ or ‘It’s all the fault of the government/my family/my neighbour/my diet/hormones/etc etc. Confession is a prayer that requires to accept that the blame for all our sin rests on us, and on us alone. That doesn’t mean that all our acts of rebellion are just as wilful and deliberate as each other, nor as bad as each other. It is a reminder to be vigilant and to keep watch over every aspect of our lives.
Sometimes our sin comes through our negligence. When we have become lax in our spiritual disciplines of prayer, reading scripture and public worship, it becomes easier to forget God’s commands. Taking our eye off the ball of godliness means we can be more easily led astray. Just as our car might break down through lack of care, or the dog escape through a fence that has been left to rot, so we can fall foul of sin and temptation through negligence. Are we doing all we can to ‘walk in the light as Christ is in the light’? (1 John 1 6-7)
Sometimes our sin comes through our natural weakness. The doctrine of original sin isn’t that we are all as bad as we might be, but that our natural inclinations are towards self, in newness of life rather than God; towards rebellion and not obedience. (That’s why we never need to teach a child how to be naughty!) That natural weakness or pull towards sin is exacerbated when we get tired or hungry or stressed, and it’s also strengthened when we spend time with those who live by very different standards. It’s often easier to follow the crowd than it is to obey God and look odd. You may know what your points of weakness are and what weakens you further. I know my own all too well.
Only growing in the knowledge and love of Christ and the power of the Spirit through those regular disciplines will help us grow strong enough to resist and stand firm, whatever those around us may say. Is that true of us?
Sometimes, however, we sin deliberately. We know something is wrong and we do it anyway. We know God forbids something, and we just don’t care. Sometimes we may argue with ourselves and make a case that we know better, or ‘it’s only a small sin’ or ‘everybody else is doing it.’ But deep down we know what we should do (or should not do) and we make a decision to do the opposite. I’m not immune to that. Even the Apostle Paul wasn’t immune to that! (See Romans 7) You won’t be either. Of course, it’s nothing to be proud of. In rejecting God’s ways we are rejecting God and turning our backs on the one who loved us and gave himself for us, whose ways are good, and whose laws bring true freedom and flourishing. We may think we are behaving in a way that will make us happier, healthier and wealthier, but as we turn from God the opposite is true. Can you think of ways in which you have done that?
The wonderful thing, however, is that whether our sins are through negligence, through weakness, or through our own deliberate fault, there is no sin that God will not forgive if we truly repent. We’ll examine what it means to repent next week, but for now, be comforted and encouraged by the news that it was whilst we were sinners that Christ died for us. When we were at our worst, Jesus died for me and you. What amazing love that is!
Song for the week: How Deep The Fathers Love For Us : Worship from Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle, Belfast. 2008
Grace and peace,
Dave
3 March 2024 - The Third Sunday of Lent
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Last week we reflected on the seriousness of sin, this short reflection focusses on the ways we sin. Remember, that sin is a falling short of God’s perfect standards, to use an archery analogy, missing the mark and failing to hit dead centre. Next week we’ll think about why we sin happens. This week it’s about how we sin, and our confession gives us 3 ways: thoughts, words, and deeds.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past and grant that we may serve you in newness of life to the glory of your name. Amen.
Sinful deeds are perhaps the easiest to spot, and the commandments point a number of them out. Murder, theft, adultery to name but three. In Jesus day, Sabbath breaking was also easy to spot - you just looked for a person carrying a mat, harvesting their crops, or walking more than a mile from home!
At various times in church history, there have been people who have said that it doesn't matter what you do with your body, because it's the soul that counts. But St Paul tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and so it matters what we do with them.
It also matters what we do with our tongues, so it's possible to sin through our words. The book of James speaks about this saying: “with the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. My brothers and sisters, this should not be!” And so whether we are telling lies, spreading gossip, or simply saying things that are unkind or unnecessary, our words can cause real harm. James likens the damage the tongue can do to a spark that can set a light a great forest. How many of us have fallen into that trap? How many of us have been hurt by the words of others?
But our deeds and words only reveal what lies in our hearts, and so we can sin with our thoughts as well. Our private thoughts, opinions, and daydreams may not constitute crimes in our country's legal system, but God's standards are far higher. How we think and what we think about matters to him. Jesus himself teaches that having hateful thoughts is as much a sin as murder, and having lustful thoughts is as much a sin as adultery. That is deeply convicting. Our sinful thoughts show us that our problem isn't just skin deep. It can't be rectified by simply doing the right thing and saying the right thing (as if we ever could!) What we need is a new heart and a new birth so we live a new life. Wonderfully that is what God offers to us through repentance and faith in Jesus, as the confession makes clear at the end. Through Christ, God our Father gives us not just a clean record but a new heart. Yes, we still battle with the OLD ME, but God’s plan for us and promises to us is that as we follow Christ he will gradually and increasingly transform us into the likeness of Jesus, where we behave more like him, speak more like him, and come to think more like him. That process won’t be complete until we reach glory, but it is where we are heading.
In writing this I’m aware of how often I fail in each of these 3 areas. But I’m also reminded that Jesus has paid the price for all my sin, past present and future. So when I am convicted of my guilt, I can come to God and seek and receive his forgiveness. What amazing grace that is, as this song wonderfully makes clear. CityAlight - Grace (youtube.com) May it warm your soul as you listen.
Grace and peace,
Dave
25 February 2024 - The Second Sunday of Lent
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
Last Sunday I took 2 services in a neighbouring parish around the theme of Baptism and Confirmation, and after one service, a member of the congregation commented that I had spoken a lot about sin. I knew I had mentioned the topic. It would have been strange not to, given the fact that baptism and confirmation liturgies both include lots of references to sin and the need for repentance. I checked when I got home. It turns out I’d used the words sin or sinners 7 times in a 15-minute talk, which doesn’t sound much to me, but the comment does highlight a question lots of people ask: Why does God worry about Almighty God, sin? Why is sin such a big deal?
The general confession in the Book of Common Prayer gives us a number of reasons for this.
"Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all men:
We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy Divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us.
We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us; the burden of them is intolerable.
Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honour and glory of thy Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Firstly, because our sins are manifold or many. We’ll think next week about the ways in which we sin next week (in thought, word and deed) but the fact is that we transgress God's commandments far more than we realise. Remember that God's standard is perfection. We are to love him with ALL our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbours as ourselves. That means obeying God's will perfectly in every single situation. Only Jesus has ever done this. We may not regard many of our sins as serious, we may not even notice some of them will stop but God does and we would find it impossible to argue against the truth that our sins are truly many.
Secondly, because it matters who we sin against. All crimes should be taken seriously. But a crime committed against the king or the Prime Minister would be dealt with far more severely. In previous generations, certain crimes against the king or the state would be classed as treason and carry the death penalty. Our sins are against God's divine majesty. In one sense, every time we disobey one of God's commands, we are committing an act of treason. Denying God the obedience, which since this is his world and we are his creatures, he rightly deserves.
That means that thirdly, our sins and wickedness rightly provoke God’s righteous indignation against us. For God to say that our sins don't matter, that the way we treat him, his world and his creatures (other people), is a matter of no consequence, would be a terrible thing. It would require God to deny his holiness, to deny his sovereign rule over his world, and mean that he would need to ignore the cries for justice from victims of terrible abuse and violence. Such a God would not be worthy of our worship and praise. We might want him to overlook our sins, especially if we think our sins are only minor, but the fact is that all sin is serious and all sin deserves God’s judgement.
Such a thought should humble us and drive us to our knees. But as we'll see as we work through this series, because of Jesus’ death on the cross in our place and for our sins, God's forgiveness is readily available to all who ask. And it is on the cross that we see God's love most clearly shown to us. For whilst we might be more sinful than we ever imagined, through Christ we are more loved than we ever dreamed.
So do we take sin as seriously as God does? Or are in danger of minimising God’s holiness to help us feel better about our failure to love God and others as we should?
As you reflect on these questions, you might like to listen to this beautiful song and use it to brings your sins to God. Lord Have Mercy
Grace and peace,
Dave
18 February 2024, The First Sunday of Lent
FROM OUR RECTOR
Dear Friends,
This Wednesday sees the start of Lent, traditionally a time of self-examination and fasting in the run up to Easter. So to help us reflect, the coming series of articles is going to look at the subject of confession of sins, and focus on some of the words we use as part of our regular worship. Each week I'll include a confession and suggest some questions that might be helpful to reflect on as we pilgrimage together through Lent.
Rather than starting with a whole lot of definitions, I’m just going to jump right in. But if you still have questions at the end of the series, please get in touch!
Today our focus is the first 4 lines of this regular confession.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past and grant that we may serve you in newness of life to the glory of your name. Amen
Notice first who we are addressing in our prayer. We confess our sins to Almighty God.
Why? Because this is God’s world, a world he made, where he rules, and where he sets the standard for right and wrong where he and lays down the law.
So, whilst we sin not just against God but against our neighbour, because our neighbour also lives in God's world, was also made by God and is loved by him, every sin is against our neighbour is ultimately also a sin against God.
Does that help us see why God is concerned how we treat one another?
But the prayer doesn’t just address God as the Almighty One - but as our Heavenly Father. For the Christian, God is not a distant deity, one who is unconnected with his world or unloving towards those he has made. No, when we place our trust in Jesus through repentance and faith, we are adopted into his family. His Father becomes our Father; his Spirit becomes our Spirit. That is why we can rightly address God as our Heavenly Father and why we can be confident of his mercy towards us when we do confess our sins to him.
Perhaps you had a father who was rather distant and unconcerned, who didn’t care what you did. Or perhaps you had a father who was a strict disciplinarian, one to whom you would find it hard to admit any failure or wrongdoing. Our Heavenly Father is not like that. God is both perfectly holy and all good. He already knows everything about us, so there is no point hiding anything from him, and his love for his children knowns no bounds. What’s more, God our Father has promised to forgive us when we truly repent – however many times we need to come and confess the same sins!
Does that thought encourage you to come to him? What stops or hinders your confessions?
One final comment for this week. Notice that in the prayer we say that we HAVE sinned against God and neighbour. At various times in history, there have been Christian preachers who have preached a message of spiritual perfection in this life, meaning that it is possible for us reach a point where we no longer sin. Although we should certainly be sinning less as we grow in faith, there's no indication anywhere in the Bible that perfection is possible in this life. So if we feel that we have nothing to confess, we will need to examine ourselves more closely. Honesty is vital in any relationship, especially our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
So do you know God’s commands and do you know where you struggle to live by God’s standards of holiness? Are you seeking with God’s help to overcome these failings?
As you reflect on these questions, you might like to listen to this beautiful song and use it to brings your sins to God. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgUzA9EuC9E
Grace and peace,
Dave
11 February 2024, The Sunday next before Lent, Quinquagesima
FROM OUR VICAR
Nurturing Faith in Education: My Journey of Impact and Engagement
Across our county, there are many schools, all of which differ in some way from their size to their setting or the communities they serve. Our Parish is no different having 9 Primary schools, 2 secondary schools and a few alternative provision schools.
I wanted to take some time to share how we serve these schools with joy, sharing a Christian witness in a variety of different ways. This can vary a great deal depending on the type of school they are, there are now a few ways to type schools, those that are standalone and those that are part of a federation or Multi Academy Trust. They can also be split into Faith schools and Community schools, in the parish we have 3 faith schools, 1 Roman Catholic (St Joseph’s) and 2 Church of England (All Saints Marsh and Wolborough primary), these 2 C of E schools are part of the 134 schools that the diocese supports across the county.
Naturally, we have the strongest contact with our church school, where I am present in Wolborough weekly to lead one collective act of worship per week. For both church schools I support them as a foundation governor, and we enjoy them visiting us for their termly church services. Wolborough has just changed from a stand-alone school to join a multi-academy trust, this has been a fascinating process that I believe will produce better outcomes for the children.
We have an understandably lower involvement in our community schools, some schools Highweek and Bradley Barton) make use of us for Christian festival teaching at Christmas, Easter and Harvest, Canada Hill likes to make use of Ogwell church for their annual Carol service and visit St Mary’s to support their RE syllabus. Haytor View and Bearnes visited Abbotsbury this last December for the Christmas Journey.
This last academic year has seen a significant change in the level of contact we have with one of our secondary schools, Newton Abbot College, where around 270 year-7 children visited Abbotsbury church. I have led an introduction to Christianity lesson for years 9 and 10 RE classes and answered some very challenging questions from the year 12 A-level philosophy class. This has been all due to my working as a trustee for the multi-academy trust that they are part of.
One thing that I have noticed recently is that there seems to be a change in how we can be a positive influence on our schools. 10 years ago, it was either a governor and take on all the responsibility that comes with that or do nothing. However, now in multi-academy trusts, there are positions on their Ethos Groups, which are all about preserving and supporting the Christian distinctiveness of All Saints Marsh or Wolborough primary schools. You can also get involved in sharing the joy of the Christmas message, by offering to help on “the Christmas journey”. Your involvement, whether big or small, can make a meaningful difference. Let's join together in prayer for all the children, teachers, and support staff we come into contact with, and let's also consider how we can actively contribute to the flourishing of our school communities.
Blessings,
Gareth
4 February 2024
Dear Friends,
As promised, here is a summary of events at our Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting held last week.
We began, as we always do, in worship. We looked at Article 6 of the 39 Articles of Religions, and reflected on the sufficiency of the scriptures in all things pertaining to salvation and our Christian lives. We then prayed, and sang a hymn which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmBcTrDu404
After the usually formalities of minutes and apologies, we reviewed the style and pattern of our Christmas services. There were many positives and points of praise to God for his blessings and encouraging responses. It’s likely that our programme, with one or two minor tweaks, will be similar next year.
Gareth then led a discussion regarding a new policy to determine who we will allow to reserve a grave space in our church yards. More work will be done on this before it is agreed.
In my Rector’s report I mentioned, amongst other things, some of the joys and struggles of Parish Life, the recent appeal for additional giving and our coming Lent study book. As well as approving some minor and urgent repair works in several churches, we also agreed our pattern of services for Lent and Easter. These are shown below:
Ash Wednesday:
10am Holy Communion with imposition of Ashes at St Paul’s 7:30pm Holy Communion with imposition of Ashes at St Luke’s
Holy Week:
Wednesday 10am Communion Service at St Paul’s
Thursday 5pm Maundy Thursday meal at Abbotsbury
Thursday 7:30pm Maundy Thursday Communion Service at St Paul’s
Good Friday 10am Walk of Witness begins at the Methodist Church
Good Friday 3pm All-age gathering at Abbotsbury
Good Friday 3pm An Hour at the Cross:
Good Friday 3pm Hymns and Meditations at All Saints Highweek
Easter Saturday 10-12 Easter Fun Day at St Paul’s – Easter Egg Hunt, games, crafts and refreshments.
Easter Sunday 6:15am Sunrise Service on the hill at All Saints Highweek
Easter Sunday 9:30am Contemporary Celebration at Abbotsbury
Easter Sunday 9:30am Easter Holy Communion at St Bart’s Ogwell (Sung Eucharist)
Easter Sunday 11am Easter Holy Communion at St Mary’s Wolborough (BCP)
Easter Sunday 11am Easter Holy Communion at St Paul’s
Clare Lillington, our Treasurer then took us through the draft end of year figures for 2023. Now that some other costs have been included, these actually show a deficit of over £17,000, which is far worse than previously thought.
Rob Palmer, our Lead Safeguarding Officer spoke about the need for DBS checks and training to be carried out for those in positions of authority and for those working in our Pastoral of Children’s teams, and asked all PCC members to support him in encouraging those who need checks or training to get them done as quickly as possible. Arrangements will be made for ‘drop in’ sessions to have ID documents approved, and for those without internet access at home to complete training in church. New Safeguarding files will be established to help Church Wardens in their roles. (If you have any safeguarding concerns, please do speak to Rob. His contact details are displayed on the contacts list on page 6, in every church and on our website)
Each Church Warden then gave a report on the worship, work and ministry in their churches, and as always, there was much to give thanks for. As part of the this, the PCC approved a motion to push ahead with improvements to the toilet and kitchen facilities at All Saints’ Highweek. This would be funded from a restricted legacy, not general church funds.
In the final item, 4 charities were selected to be recipients of funds from the Parish Coffee mornings at St Paul’s. These were: Christians Against Poverty; Operation Christmas Child (the shoe box appeal), Barnabas Aid- who support Christians in persecution and natural disasters, and a fund to support schools with transport costs to our ‘Christmas Journey’ event next December.
Dates were arranged for our next meetings and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting which would be held at St Paul’s on Monday 15 th April from 7pm. Please put this date in your diary and plan to come along. The meeting then closed in prayer.
If you’d like to know any more details, do please speak to your church PCC reps.
Grace and peace,
Dave
28 January 2024
Dear Friends
New Year. Renewed you?
This January more than ever before I’ve been bombarded by video adverts for various fitness regimes, all promising to give me the body of a 25-year-old with just 5 minutes exercise a day. It seems too good to be true, and it probably is! But I still feel a little guilty every time I scroll past! Maybe you know the same feeling.
I suspect those adverts will die down as we pass from January to February, and away from the new year resolution window. But then we’ll hit Lent, and for Christians the focus changes from the body to the soul.
I’d be hugely surprised if I spot anywhere near as many adverts pushing a spiritual health check or soul make-over, but that will be a major theme of our Christian worship over the weeks leading up to Easter. That’s why we’ll be looking at the book of Jonah on Sunday mornings, and hearing how the reluctant prophet came met God and learned some valuable lessons.
It’s also why in small groups and as individuals, many of us will be studying a book over Lent called A Christian Manifesto by Alistair Begg. The book takes us through Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Plain’ and asks us to examine ourselves to see if we are living it out. (If you’d like to read the book, we will soon have copies on sale for £5 each including a study guide) Even though I’ve avoided signing up to an internet get fit programme, I know I’d benefit from doing more exercise. But I also know how easy it is to become a spiritual couch potato. There have been many times in my life when my spiritual fitness has been poor. Even in those times, I was usually happy going to church, and keen to talk about faith and discuss Jesus’ teaching, but if I’m honest; there have been many times when it was just talk and routine. Perhaps you can relate to that.
The season of Lent gives us an excellent opportunity for a spiritual health check; to take a good look at ourselves and see if we are actually living out what we say we believe. To take time to seek God and to ask him, in the words of Psalm 139: “Search me O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Physical fitness is of real value. I’m sure we all know that. But spiritual fitness is of even greater importance since our souls, unlike our bodies, last into eternity. So why not take the chance Lent brings and give your soul a health check too? You could join us reading our
1 Lent book, either on your own, with a friend, on in one of our small groups. Or perhaps commit yourself to reading through the 4 gospels, or even the whole New Testament in 40 days.
As with getting physically fit, spending time focussing on improving our spiritual health will involve effort, and perhaps some pain. But seeking a closer relationship with God is always worth the effort. So, will you make the time and effort this Lent to review your faith and ask God to draw close to you? I pray that you will, and I know that your soul will thank you for it.
Grace and peace,
Dave
17th January, 2024
Dear Friends,
New Year. Same Issues.
In each church this coming Sunday, there will be named letters for all those on the Church Electoral Roll. There will also be unnamed letters for everyone else in our worshipping communities. It is quite a long letter, running to 4 pages, because the matter it speaks about is complex and serious and often clouded with misunderstanding. But because some people might be put off by the length, here is the tabloid version.
It's about money and giving.
Church Finances in 4 bullet points
- Our churches receive no money from the Diocese of Exeter or Church of England- instead our Diocese has asked us for a Parish Share of £84,000 in 2024.
- We must raise money ourselves to pay this and all other bills/expenses
- We do have some money available from trusts or legacies, but this is almost always restricted in how it can be used- for example, on repairs and building projects. (This is why we can continue to repair and improve our buildings)
- We are only being kept afloat by income from hall rentals, the car park, phone mast and grants from the WEC (The Wolborough Ecclesiastical Charity).
Our current financial situation in 2 pie charts and 9 bullet points:
- These charts show a summary of our 2023 accounts and reveal a deficit of almost £10,000 over the last year. However, we also still owe the diocese £16,000 from our 2023 Parish Share, so in reality, 2023 showed a deficit of nearer £26,000.
- Our church finances are in a very poor state and we have virtually no cash reserves.
- Being behind on our Parish Share makes the appointment of future curates unlikely.
- To help balance our budget, we have cut office hours by 20%, substantially raised hall and car park charges and have sadly had to make our 2 cleaners redundant.
- Our lack of income from congregational giving is THE major factor in this.
- To balance our budget, we need to substantially increase our congregational giving.
- Congregational Giving currently makes up only 29% of our income. This works out as an average of £6:83 per person per week for all those on our Electoral Roll whereas the Church of England estimates that the cost of a very basic Parochial ministry is around £15 per person per week.
- Not everyone will be able to give at this level; others will be able to give much more.
- Reaching this level of average giving would make a vast difference to our finances.
What happens now?
Rather than cutting our costs, we want to be investing more in mission and outreach, seeking to grow our witness and grow God’s church. We would love to appoint a youth and children’s worker, and invest in our church music, but things like this can only happen with increased giving. Please read the full letter and prayerfully consider how you might respond.
Grace and peace,
Dave
14 January 2024
Dear Friends,
New Year. New Opportunities. New Faces
So how are your New Year’s Resolutions going? 10 days in, have you managed to keep them all, or are you slipping already? Or perhaps your only resolution is that you didn’t make resolutions! If so, you get to feel both smug and saddened at the same time!
For those of you who have taken up the Bible Reading Challenge from last week, I hope that’s going well. There are 2 rest days (or catch-up days if you miss a day) every week to make things easier! That also means there’s still time to start now! There should be some hard copies in each church, but do email me if you need one sent to you.
On Sundays our preaching programme will include sermon series from both the Old and New Testaments, and across difference genres as we study Mark’s gospel, the book of Jonah, Genesis chapters 12 to 24, and 1 Corinthians. Alongside those main readings we’ll be listening to the rest of Lamentations, Psalm 119, 1 Timothy and the first 6 chapters of John’s gospel. There will be plenty there to get our teeth into!
This LENT all our home groups, and an extra day-time gathering on Wednesday mornings at 11am, will be working through Alistair Begg’s book on Jesus Sermon on the Plain entitled The Christian Manifesto. Books will be available to buy at £5 which will include a study guide. From Sunday, there will be sign-up sheets in church to order your copy- and we’ll ask for your money when the books arrive. Whether you read it on your own or join in a small group, I‘m sure you will be blessed and challenged as you read and consider Jesus’ call to live a kingdom shaped life.
Later in the year we’ll be holding the occasional Sunday Evening seminar, similar to the one by Professor John Bryant on Science and Religion, to stretch our minds and help us apply our faith.
Work will continue in all of our churches on the practical implications of our Mission Action Plan for each worshipping community, and I hope that soon the Pastoral team and the maintenance team will be up and running to put our Christian love and commitment into action. And next December we hope more schools will join us on our Christmas Journey! In between there will be special events for Ash Wednesday and Easter, some summer outreach and Harvest Festivals. We’ll continue to work with other churches in the town – and there will be a new look walk of witness this year, ending (God willing) with an open-air service in the town centre.
So, lots of new opportunities to be involved with. Where will you be serving this year? Is it time to give something new a try? Time to receive some training and learn some new skills to serve in a new way? With so much going on, and so many people to reach with the good news of Jesus, there are roles for everyone!
Wonderfully the LORD brings new people along to strengthen his church – some as they come to a new faith in Jesus, and some when they move into the area. From mid-April, the Benefice Clergy team will be bolstered by the arrival of Rev Matthew Cashman who will take on the role of Team Vicar at St Luke’s Milber and Vicar of St John’s Bovey Tracey. (you can read more about Fr Matthew later in the newsletter!) Do pray for Matthew, and his family as they move house this spring. We won’t see Fr Matthew much on Sundays, but he’ll be around from time to time at other events. Do watch out for him and make him welcome.
As for new faces… perhaps you will join me in praying for 10 new households to join each church worshipping community by the end of the year. That might be a 10 single people, 10 couples or 10 families with children, or more likely, a mix of all the above. When it comes to church growth, prayer is our greatest weapon! So let’s be praying people. But let’s also be inviting people. Recent surveys have shown increasing numbers of people who would come to church if only someone invited them! Can we, with God’s help, find greater boldness this year, so that our prayers and our invitations become the means by which the prayers of God’s church are met? Considering the size of our Parish 10 new households per church isn’t really very much, is it. But what a difference it would make to their lives, to our churches and to God’s glory and fame across the town!
A new year brings new opportunities and new faces. May our faces reflect the glory of God to the watching world, and draw others into the family of our glorious king Jesus.
Grace and peace,
Dave
7 January 2024
Dear Friends,
New Year. New Challenges. Unchanging God.
Let me start by wishing you a very Happy New Year, and God’s blessing on you and your families for 2024.
The coming year will, no doubt, have its challenges and joys, as every year does. That will be true in our corporate life as well as our personal lives. But in both situations, by far the best starting point is with our eyes on Jesus, our trust in his Word, and our hearts set on his glory. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in chapter 1, verses 15 to 23 of his letter is a wonderful example of the kind of prayer we might consider praying for each other over the coming year. In those verses, Paul prays that the Ephesians would:
• Have greater wisdom and revelation of God so they would know him better.
• Know more of the glorious hope, rich inheritance and life-transforming power that are ours in Christ.
If God is to change our town and grow his church, then He must first change and enliven us. Our part in this transformation is to seek him more, through prayer, scripture and worship. So if you haven’t done so already, why not collect a copy of our 2024 Bible Reading Plan and commit to reading the whole of the New Testament and the Old Testament wisdom literature, (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs) by the end of the year. It will only take you 10 minutes or so a day for 5 days a week. A copy is attached as a separate document and paper copies are in church.
Can I also encourage you to come along to a prayer gathering at least once a month. The Church Prayer Meeting is the engine room of the church, and restarting next Monday, our gatherings will alternate between 1pm at St Paul’s and 7:45pm at the Rectory, 5 Coach Place. If you are a little nervous, just come and listen and join in the ‘Amens!’
Whilst spiritual growth is absolutely vital to our hopes for God’s kingdom to grow amongst us, we also plan to be active in practical ways. This will include building projects at All Saints and St Paul’s (using money from various trusts), increasing our focus on reaching out with the good news of Jesus in the town centre, schools, nursing homes and door to door, and a concerted effort to get our Parish Finances onto a stable basis. I’ll write more on the latter of these over the coming weeks, but with increasing costs and a very low level of Parish giving, our finances are in such a poor state that we are currently behind in paying our Parish Share for 2023 and sadly have had to make our 2 paid cleaners redundant. There is much we’d like to do, and much more we dream of being able to do, but as things stand our hands are tied by a lack of financial resources. Do pray for your own response when the time comes.
In the meantime, we will finally get around to establishing our Pastoral Care Team (see the notice later in the newsletter) and a Church Maintenance Team (ditto), and churches that have lost their cleaners will be setting up rotas to make sure our buildings are always clean and ready for action. We’ll also be looking for people to join in our ministry with Baptism families, with people enquiring about the Christian faith and in our outreach to nursing homes. St Paul’s is also aiming to start children’s work twice a month from March, and with other opportunities coming our way, I’m sure we will be in for a busy, and God willing- an exciting and encouraging year.
So can I urge you to pray, and to pray, and to get involved. Wonderfully, though the world changes our God is the unchanging one; still all-powerful, all-mighty, all-knowing and allgood! So let us seek the LORD together and ask for his Holy Spirit to be at work in us and through us, that his glorious light might shine more brightly and reveal his glory to the world.
Grace and peace,
Dave