Christmas comes but once a year….
Posted by Jo | November 27, 2011
Advent has come and to mark the beginning of the Christmas season we had a Christmas-y be taught this week.
Andy chef-ed up some awesome meatballs, sausages and cheesey mash, which went down a treat! After which we settled down on the sofas with mugs of mulled wine to watch Jesus the Underdog.
The DVD explores the story of Jesus starting at his lowly, outcast, gritty beginnings that set the precedent for the entirety of his life. As a leader Jesus was consistently the underdog, born into homelessness, raised in the ghetto and ministering on the fringes. He also called underdogs to follow him. The DVD asks whether we can become so fixated on success and prestige that actually we miss the opportunities Jesus has for each of us, to follow Him, just as we are and be used by him even if we are underdogs too.
Be ended with a good ol’ sing song of Christmas carols followed by a celtic prayer. In this time of Advent we are committing to remember that how Jesus came into the world, reveals much about how He sees the world, and how He still is at work to change the world. As we look to Christmas, our prayer is that we will focus on seeing beyond the image and the status, instead ask God to show us what he sees and where he is at work:
Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me
Christ as a shield
overshadow me
Christ under me
Christ over me
Christ beside me
on my left and my right
This day be with and without me,
lowly and meek yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speak unto me,
lowly and meek yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
Amen.
Also: during advent we will be following the 24-7 prayer daily spaces, get them here: www.24-7prayer.com/spaces
Advent begins with mincepies & mulled wine
Posted by Andy | November 21, 2011
be church welcomes you this Sunday (27th Nov) from 7pm to start getting all festive. We will be having a very chilled evening of food (a full meal, no less) & music & conversation with a short video telling the Christmas story and a few thoughts from Jo. Come and hang out with us!
Does worshipping really need to involve singing?
Posted by Andy | November 20, 2011
Tonight we had the wonderful Ioannis Dekas with us from Doxa Deo Church exploring ‘worship’. Over 40 minutes he gave an excellent overview for why we Christians love to sing!
Not all worship is music but all music is worship
He began by explaining that every movement and nation has a song. The song is a key way of confirming the content of the story that we find ourselves in. And often the way in which we sing that song (eg loud and proud) identifies how we feel about that story.
The song of Christianity has always declared Gods victory. But the first song in Scripture comes from Miriam after Moses has just led the Israelites through the Red Sea. The song is a re-enactment of what God had done. David reflects upon this in Psalm 106:8-12 – we don’t sing about how incredible we are but how incredible God is – this is worship!
The content of the story goes further than the style of the song
We worship in different ways but the evidence of the power of a story is in how far it travels. The importance of the song is determined by the importance of the story. Globally the Church worships in many different styles. If you deny any generation to worship God in their style, you deny them to truly worship.
Worship is this acknowledgement of the incredible God that has seen such value in me that he would give his life for me – this is the story conveyed in Christian worship.
Acts 16: Paul & Silas in the lock-up
Leading us through this fantastic story of injustice, persecution and redemption, Ioannis stopped to explore two thoughts:
1. How did the prison guard know Paul and Silas had caused the earthquake?
2. Why did the prison guard ask to be saved?
The answer is that Paul and Silas, although they had been flogged and imprisoned, had been singing these songs of worship. These songs had not been about their desperation but about the God of eternity who had transformed their lives!
Paul and Silas were confessing who God was…
Ioannis went on to explain that we often confuse two Greek words that are both translated into English as confess. There is a confession that is about speaking out (the same thing again and again) that God is God. Then there is a confession that is about speaking out to each other how we have fallen short of God’s plans for our lives.
Worship is this first kind of confession – speaking out of who God is (his character), no mater what our circumstances!
How does this translate to our working week? How can we confess more regularly?
Worship restores perspective and perspective brings healing to the heart.
The night finished with a time of sung worship 
Rev.
Posted by Andy | November 20, 2011
Last week Dan led a great be fed as we watched BBC2s Rev. Rev is a comedy about an inner city vicar dealing with complexities of faith and life. In the first episode of the second series, he is accidentally hailed as hero and the programme explores the importance of integrity.
The discussion explored the Church and its PR issues (do we need more vicars to be seen as heroes?) and whether we should ever take credit where it is not really due, even if it helps a greater cause? We then moved on to look specifically at the issues around St Pauls Cathedral and the protestors! Lots of food for thought!
4th Dec – Special trip to Baghdad (well kind of… Guildford really)
Posted by Andy | November 14, 2011
On 4th Dec, we don’t have a meeting… So, we’re taking a roadtrip down to the guys at the Guildford Boiler Room as they have a special evening with Andrew White, the vicar of Baghdad. We’ll be jumping in cars and heading down the A3 from 4.15pm. Let Andy know if you need a lift!
Confession
Posted by Cath Lyden | November 6, 2011
When I speak to my non-Christian friends, a common accusation of the church is “they’re hypocrites; they pretend to be all holy and then it turns out they’re just as bad as everyone else”. To a certain degree, I agree with the statement. I am just as bad as everyone else. I screw up daily, get things wrong, don’t live the life I was intended to live, don’t treat people right, have values that are out of wack and relationships that are broken! I agree, I’m angry, I’m selfish, I want things my way all the time. But this is why I am in the church. I know I need God to mend my life, shape it, forgive it and help me.
Recently though, I’ve been challenged. Is this need for Christ and transparency about my life really what I walk on a daily basis?
Do I not walk around proud? Do I not cover up my failings and insecurities? Do I not justify my actions by making excuses for the way I am, the things the say and how I act? – “But she was nasty to me”, “He didn’t give me all the information that’s why the work isn’t done”, “It’s not my fault I was late, the train was delayed”. Do I not put on my pretentiousness every morning and walk out the house thinking – I better be good today and live this life perfectly or people will not think I’m a good Christian.
Church, by doing this we are not walking humbly and we are not relying on God to save us, we are in fact being our own saviour and saying “look at me, aren’t I good”. There is no need for God if I fail to admit everyday that I screw up and I need Him.
We’ve forgotten where we came from. I became a Christian because I was faced with the fact that I am not perfect, I am fallen, broken and need of hero to come down and save me. Since asking forgiveness that one night, I recognise that truly I am, “here but by the grace of God”. I’m here because God saved me and not because I’m ‘good’. I am fallen, I make mistakes, I do not live life the way I should because I’m human. I NEED Jesus.
When was the last time you confessed? When was the last time you said, yes I lied; I slept in and missed my train and that is why I am late, and I’m sorry. I did say unfair things about my friend, I was out of order and I’m sorry. I got angry at my wife, I drank too much at the weekend, I am envious of my colleague, I don’t love my neighbour, even though I know I’should’ and I’m selfish with my money. I’m sorry. When?
Church, we often walk around saying “I am perfect, look at me”, if not with our words, certainly with our actions. People outside of church can’t relate to that, they can’t relate to perfectness, because they are all too aware of their own falleness. If the church was more transparent and honest about just how much we fall short every single day, perhaps it really would be the place that everyone flocks to when they are faced with their own failings.
The church should be the one place that is the safest place to be. It should be the place that I can confess all my sins to my brothers and sisters and know that I won’t be judged or condemned. Is this true for you? Could you stand at the front and tell the rest of your church everything you did in your week and feel happy that they love you enough and are gracious enough to walk with you through forgiveness?
At be church last week, we took up this challenge. We each, honestly and humbly wrote down our sin. The sin that is at the heart of each one of us, the things that we hide from each other because we’re too scared we’ll look like bad Christians if we admit it. We wrote them down in black and white. We didn’t then put them in a fire or rip them up, we wanted to share them with each other. The sins where put in a pile and each of us took someone elses sin and read it out loud and clear. We confessed our sin verbally to one another, and what a powerful experience it was. The vulnerability in the room was incredible, the humility was present and the sense of the need for Christ was heavy. We owned, as a community each others sin and we confessed it together. Together we took bread and wine and together we seeked forgiveness. In response we then, as a community rejoiced in our saviour together.
Something happened last week at be that I can’t really put into words. But the effect? I now feel more able to share honestly and openly my sin, my deepest darkest sin with the people I fellowship with, safe in the knowledge they are in need of saviour just as much as me and we can walk this walk together.
Church, confess.