Christmas Reflections

Slightly after Christmas but the reflections, all specially written for our Christams Service, are really worth another read. Click here

For unto you a child is born

We wish you a Merry Christmas

Christmas reflections - community

Not having visited the blog for a while for various reasons I was very excited to see that we had passed 1000 hits and when you look at the map we are being visited by people from all around the globe. Though there may be many disadvantages to the interent there are also a great many advantages too. One of these being that we can share our experience of God with a world wide community.
So I would like to wish all our readers and visitors to this blog a very happy Christmas and my prayer is that what we share on our blog will help people to deepen their relationship with God, and as always I would invite anyone visiting our blog to say hello and tell us a bit of your experiences of God so we can all share in the wonderful things God is doing around our world.

Our greatest need.

If our greatest need was for information,
God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need was for technology,
God would have sent a scientist.
If our greatest need was for pleasure,
God would have sent an entertainer.
If our greatest need was for money,
God would have sent an economist.
But since our greatest need was for forgiveness,
God sent a saviour.

I came across this today. I liked the image of God, looking at us and noticing that what we needed was not someone to come and teach us how to do things properly, but someone to come and forgive us for ever for the things we get wrong.

Advent reflection

I came across this again as I started to do some advent reading and was reminded of what this time of year should be about - discovering Christ in those we meet and reflecting Christ to those we meet.

Advent should admonish us to discover
In each brother or sister that we greet,
In each friend whose hand we shake,
In each beggar who asks for bread,
In each worker who wants to use the right to join a union,
In each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves,
The face of Christ.

Then it would not be possible to rob them,
To cheat them,
To deny them their rights.

They are Christ,
And whatever is done to them
Christ will take as done to himself.

This is what Advent is:
Christ living among us.

Oscar Romer (1917-80)

Rave on!

What a treat it was this morning to be lead in worship by our young people. Their energy, confidence and enthusiasm for the task was very catching and I like many others I'm sure, felt very uplifted by their efforts. I can also imagine that God was on the edge of his throne smiling down on them whilst the angels joined the dance!
I'll look forward to more of the same in he new year.

In the middle!

I was reminded on Sunday as Dave was talking about where is God that Anna in Mister God this is Anna also discovered that mister God was 'in the middle' of everything, people, flowers, worms and even tram cars! I thought Dave was excellent at reminding us that where ever we go we take God's holy spirit with us. I for one forget this too easily at times and allow the pressures of work to squeeze the holy spirit into such a small place that I can discount it. I am trying this week to tell myself that God is with me and that what ever happens he's in my middle. It does help when things get a bit stressful and not going quite to plan but then something else usually changes and everything seems a bit brighter again.
Anna also said that not only is God in our middle but we are in His - a crowded but comforting place to be!

Seeking the Way

I am still labouring over the old 'How can I tell if what I am doing is what God wants me to be doing?' question. I suspect it is probably one of those questions that never goes away fully, but it is quite irritating at the moment.
To try and go somewhere new with it, I have signed up for a 'Seeking the Way' course with the local diocese that is all to do with discovering what my person mission might be - trying to formulate it into a sentence, that on completion of the exercises should make it a little clearer to some parts of me what other parts of me have known all along! It is based on a book called 'The Path' by Laurie Beth Jones. The first exercise I nearly dismissed as completely stupid, but when I completed it I thought it less so. So it is quite an interesting process...

...The passage in Acts 6 that I read on Sunday interested me from thinking along those lines.

Anyway, I recommend the book.

Mr God this is Anna

"Some people lay claim to fame by being the first person to sail around the world alone, or to stand on the moon, or by some other act of bravery. ... I too have a claim to fame; for I knew Anna" so said Fynn at the begining of the book Mr God this is Anna

Anita reminded us of, or introduced us for the first time, to this book today. What are your thoughts either from what you heard this morning or from having read the book before, what are your favourite bits. Please take a few moments to add a comment.



If you want to read Anita's notes from the talk click here

When I in awesome wonder...

Don't go out looking for something just see what crosses your path.
The power point below can be used as a meditation to focus on the beauty and wonder of God's creation remembering that we are not observers but an integral part of it.

Appreciating Appreciation - Sundays Talk

As part of the series 'Men and Women in the Bible and the Holy Spirit' I attempted to describe the power of Appreciation in our lives and the way Jesus did this in the gospels. Jesus appreciated and accepted people like Nathanael, the woman at the well, the Centurion's faith, Peter, etc and through this the Holy Spirit worked. See the PowerPoint and the Podcast.

When I survey

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far to small;
love so amazing, love divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all!

Appologies for the repeat to those who view both blogs but I was reminded of this photo, which I took early today, as we sang this morning, thinking of the whole of nature being an offering too small for God yet he loves us without condition or the need for offerings isn't He wonderful.

Forgiveness

Thoughts following on from David's talk on Sunday...

It is tough.

When you declare your chosen path

And others see it and measure your passage along it.

It is hard when we let ourselves down

And fall out happens;

When we find ourselves in a place

We don’t want to be;

When we feel our edges compromised.

We are exposed

And the chill air

Turns us blue.

We are lost without your warmth,

Without you to cling to

Where do we find solace?

But it is self-imposed exile.

You remain.

It is we who turn away from you;

We lower our eyes in shame

And cannot see your outstretched arms.

You reach out for our damaged selves,

As much as you ever did for those more complete

You are not less compassionate

Just because we need it more.

The Holy Spirit and men and women in the bible - Ruth

This morning we considered Ruth and her experiences and how we can learn to love like Jesus taught us through her example. If you want to read the notes that go with the power point they are here.

A desire for God

I thought this prayer Sue posted in comments deserved to be out for all to see. I can fully agree with the sentiments it expresses. Thanks Sue

"MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."- Thomas Merton

The Holy Spirit and Men and Women in the Bible - Jeremiah

Here is the power point from todays talk and a link to my notes if you want to read what goes with the presentation but remember you can hear the talk by going to the podcasts link down the right hand side of this blog.



As usual we value your thoughts and comments

'Thought for Today' Today on Lourdes

Tomorrow I am off to Lourdes for a week and many people have asked me 'what is a free church pastor doing going to Lourdes?'

Good question! Although I have been once before I haven't found it easy to say what has drawn me back again.

Today, Dom Antony Sutch described on BBC4's 'Thought for the Day' his own view and I was taken with how close it was to mine. So, if you want to read a good approximation of my view of Lourdes and perhaps some clues as to why I am going then read his 'Thought for the Day' by clicking here.

Debbie in Nigeria

This is Debbie's PowerPoint presentation of her talk at Ashley on Sunday 14 September:

Walking in the light

I followed the links Jo sent about the Malcolm Lane evening and was very moved by this video for some inexplicable reason it brought tears to my eyes so thought i'd add it to our blog. If you want to know more about the evening go to http://www.justgiving.com/malcolmlane

How Does God Speak to You?

This is from Tracy about God speaking. It was a blog comment and they can get easily missed so I thought it was worth highlighting. So here it is:

Anita and Roy asked me to blog my recent experience of God speaking to us if only we are ready to listen. ;
I travelled to OZ to see my family this summer, not the highlight trip you might think but first to support my dad as my step mum died and through the funeral. Then up to Queensland to help my mum with her radiotherapy for breast cancer. After weeks of hospitals, I needed to find some time to pray and listen to the silence. I decided to go to Sea world for a visit. Once there I went to one of the water enclosures and started to pray for support. Very soon after a dolphin came up to me. No one else was around. I waved, he waved back. I wiggled my fingers and he talked back. This continued then he swam off only to come back with 2 other dolphins. I repeated the waving and all three waved back. Magical, yes it was God speaking to me! He was saying I am here Tracey. When other people came to watch the dolphins left. I stayed and continued praying. When I was alone again, they returned to wave goodbye then swam off. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to know that in the world of pain and stress, a simple act of animal connection helps us to see God in nature. It was uplifting. I hope the story is for you too.

Any more stories about God speaking would be welcome. Just click Comment and type away........

Seeing the World Differently

This is a new perspective of the coffee time at Ashley. It made me realise what the world looks like from a very different perspective when you are four and a half and about a metre tall. Feet, shoes, legs and hands become become more signicant.

Argentina Journey - Sophie Hoffman

I asked Sophie to write about her visit to Argentina in the summer. Here it is with pictures. Thank you Sophie....

As you may or may not know, I went to Argentina in July this year with an organization called World Challenge. Two teams of seventeen girls and two teachers from my school joined a World Challenge leader for a month in Argentina, and I had the best time of my life.

The whole preparation started about 2 years ago, and then I was told I had to do the daunting task of raising £3345 for the trip. I was like ‘oh, this will be easy for me’. I didn’t realize how wrong I was. I still haven’t raised all of my money, but I am paying my parents back. Over the last 2 years, I have done a variety of fundraising activities; babysitting, bag-packing in supermarkets, a fun run and a pampered chef party.

I flew out to Argentina on the 11th July 08. We had to be at school at three O’clock in the morning for our flight. We arrived in Argentina that evening and stayed in Buenos Aires. After that, we travelled to Iguazu falls, where we stayed for a few days. We went to see the waterfalls for 2 days, and they have been described as the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. I certainly feel they don’t disappoint.

After we went to Iguazu, we went canoeing for 4 days. This was the biggest challenge for me as there were some pretty big and disgusting bugs here, and for people who know me, they will know I don’t do bugs. Also, this was the first time we had been without a toilet, so it was a bit of a culture shock for us. It was also the longest we would have to camp. All of these facts made me pretty grumpy these three days, and I was avoided by the rest of the team.

After canoeing, we went to a town called Salta, which was the town I liked the best. There were tall buildings in small streets, and there were huge undercover markets you would stumble upon. We spent 2 day here, and on one of those days, we went white water rafting. This was so much fun, and I would love to do it again.

From Salta, we travelled to a small village called San Francisco where we started our trek. The trek lasted 3 days and we saw some incredible views of the Andes. I also saw a huge, real life tarantula, which I thought was dead at the time, and was about to start prodding and poking it. One day, the guides we were with killed a sheep for us for our dinner, and then we slept under the stars. There were literally millions of stars in the sky, because we were at altitude so could see the ones above cloud level.

After we did our Andes trek, we started our project phase. This is when you go to a small village or community in Argentina and you do some community work for them. In our project, we went to a small village called Valle Grande, where we stayed in the local secondary school and made signs out of wood for the nearby villages and towns. We stayed here for 5 days, and it was really interesting living and talking to the local people.
After our project phase, we went to do another trek near a city called Cordoba. The scenery was like the peak district, and we only trekked for 2 days, so it was ideal for a trek without luxuries. On the second day of our trek, we climbed to the top of a mountain using a rope, and at one point we were literally climbing up a cliff face. It was really great.

After this last trek, we went back to Buenos Aires for the last few days to do some shopping and relaxation. I absolutely loved the trip, which is not really like me, as I normally love my luxuries. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and I would recommend it to anything. It will be the best thing you will do in your life.

Sophie Hoffman

and here are the pictures

Bringing what we have

This picture I took at Taize, is inspiring me at the moment in terms of bringing what we have, as worship. There is something appealing about the difference between the icon; the painting of which is hours of painstaking work and apparently heavily governed by complex rules, and the bunch of flowers picked in the adjoining field and presented in a cut off water bottle. I find it hard to believe God is any less pleased with the flowers. Both methods of worship seem to be working together quite happily here.
I think it says to me that it is ok that we just do what we can do; if we have great artistic talent - wonderful, but if what we bring is something simple like a bunch of flowers - then better that we worship with those, than don't look to him at all. The truth for me is that I would never have glanced at the icon if the flowers hadn't been there, so maybe simple things can sometimes lead a way in to the more complex.

The Holy Spirit and Men and Women in the Bible

Shaun and I are sharing a series of talks on the this subject over the next few months. I gave this first one on Sunday last. The PowerPoint presentation is below to give you an idea of what we were thinking about.



Any additions, comments, etc are welcome whether you were there or not. See slides 3, 5 and 7 for some ideas you might comment on.

Hope, creativity and imagination

I spoke yesterday at Ashley about hope, creativity and imagination. In the evening I came across this John O'Donohue blessing which I felt was another creative/imaginative way of expressing hope.

For peace

As the fever of day calms towards twilight
May all that is strained in us come to ease.

We pray for all who suffered violence today,
May an unexpected serenity surprise them.

For those who risk their lives each day for peace,
May their hearts glimpse providence at the heart of history.

That those who make riches from violence and war
Might hear in their dreams the cries of the lost.

That we might see through our fear of each other
A new vision to heal our fatal attraction to aggression.

That those who enjoy the privilege of peace
Might not forget their tormented brothers and sisters.

That the wolf might lie down with the lamb,
That our swords be beaten into ploughshares

And no hurt or harm be done
Anywhere along the holy mountain.

John O'Donohue

Taken from Benedictus, A Book of Blessings (Bantam Press)

Fear and Faith

I have been thinking today about the passage that Claire read from 'The Shack' because of my current situation and I'm not sure how much I agree with the idea of not believing enough in Jesus if I look forward to the future with fear (this could bring a very big dose of guilt with it). I think it is more to do with my human-ness - I know deep down that eveything will be okay because God is with me and I trust he has put where I am but at another level often the overriding emotion is that I am anxious/fearful about what is going to happen. I do question and this might just be me but I doubt it, whether it is possible to look to the future 100% of the time without anxiety and some intrepidation. Even Jesus when he looked towards the cross asked his Father to take the cup away probably because he was fearful of what was going to happen (who wouldn't be) but he went through with it anyway because it was the Father's will. It's more like feel the fear and do it anyway. I think it can actually be dangerous to have no fear in situations, but we can still trust God to be with us when we feel the fear.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 'Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today. Jesus was acknowledging the fact that we will worry about tomorrow and was giving us some guidance to concentrate on todays worries and forget about tomorrow until it's today!

Describing our Champion

Yesterday we had the task of creating an A to Z of superlatives describing God. I have put the list from each of the groups into the Wordle software and below is the result remember the bigger the word the more people used it in their list. I leave you to comment on the outcome - does it surprise you, is it what you would expect.

If you would like a print out of this click on wordle above then gallery and type ashleyalive into the search then click the Who is God link and it will bring up the wordle that you can then print.



We also discussed personal bests so any thoughts on that please comment.

Psalm 23 (sort of)

As some of us return to work from holiday and those of us who have had long holidays start to turn our minds back to the work place this may help. Thanks to Gill for bringing to our attention.

Psalm 23 (For the Work Place)
The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want.
He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.
He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without murmuring and complaining.

He reminds me that He is my source and not my job.
He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions that I might honour Him in all that I do

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails, system crashes, unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning, I still will not stop---
for He is with me! His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through.

He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me.
He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens to let me go.
His Faithfulness and love is better than any bonus cheque

His retirement plan beats any pension plan there is!
When it's all said and done, I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer
and for that I BLESS HIS NAME!!!!!!

New Blog

Have a read of the information in the sidebar (to the right of this post under 'who are we') about a new blog and let us know what you think.

What do you say?

Our Ashley blog put into the Wordle software produces some interesting results about what the most common words we use in this blog are see below. What language do you use? What are your common words and phrases? How 'spiritual' do you think your conversations might be?

Faith in football? The beautiful game interrogated

This may be of interest or a complete turn off but since I have been asked to be part of a Panel discussion at Greenbelt with this title next week it has really made me think. If you can’t wait for the new season to start maybe you could think along with me.

I have been reflecting on my own very strange attachment to The Beautiful Game and what it means for me spiritually. I re-visited Desmond Morris’s book ‘The Soccer Tribe’ which for me is a great book from an anthropological/sociological point of view with lots of great pictures! It is a bit dated (1981) but much of it still relevant. I found link interesting which comments on this book in looking particularly at pre-match and post-match rituals.

The strange attachment that so many have on the planet is summed up well in Morris’s Introduction:

“The human animal is an extraordinary species. Of all the events in human history, the one to attract the largest audience was not a great political occasion, nor a special celebration of some complex achievement in the arts or sciences, but a simple ball-game - a soccer match. On a June day in 1978, it is claimed that more than a thousand million people tuned in to the World Cup Final between Argentina and Holland. This means that something like one-quarter of the entire world population stopped whatever they were doing and focused their attention on a small patch of grass in South America where twenty-two brightly clad figures were kicking a ball about in a frenzy of effort and concentration.

If this occurrence was monitored by aliens on a cruising UFO, how would they explain it? What would they record in their ship's log? A sacred dance of some kind? A ritual battle? A religious ceremony, perhaps? If their curiosity was aroused and they carried out a survey of human cities around the globe, they would quickly discover that almost every major settlement boasted at least one large, hollow building with a green hole in the middle on which similar ball-kicking rituals could be observed at regular intervals. Clearly, ball-kicking has some special significance for the human species - a unique obsession not shared by any of the hundreds of thousands of other life forms visible on the planet earth.

The biggest problem for the puzzled aliens would be discovering the function of this strange activity. Why do thousands of people do it and why do millions of other people watch them doing it? What possible fulfilment can it bring? On the surface it appears to be little more than a child's playground game, a harmless pleasure gained from the realization that striking a spherical object produces a much more spectacular movement than hitting any other shape. For children, this is merely an amusing pastime, part of the business of exploring the physical properties of the environment, like skipping, jumping, rolling a hoop or spinning a top. But unlike these other juvenile actions, ball-kicking, for some strange reason persists into adulthood and acquires the trappings of a major industry. It is no longer accompanied by high-pitched laughter, but by deep groans, shouts and roars from manly throats. It is now a serious endeavour, with every move dissected and debated in earnest tones, the whole ritual elevated to the level of a dramatic social event. There must be more to it than meets the eye. Since the actions themselves are so simple, the true explanation must be that they have somehow become loaded with a symbolic significance’.
(Morris, Desmond (1981), The Soccer Tribe, p7, Jonathon Cape Ltd)

As a Chelsea supporter I spent the whole European Club Championship final in a great state of stress and nearly turned the television off during the shoot out! I keep wondering what was all that about, why I felt so strongly and why it had such an effect on me. The sadness took a couple of days to finally get over and I found myself again wondering what was going on.

I can’t say the experience was spiritual in any way that means anything to me. It does leave me often with a vague emptiness - more when we lose but even sometimes when we win.

I still have many more questions than answers. I am still not sure what football does for me in a spiritually positive way. In the main my spirituality is fairly low on liturgy, tradition and ceremony (all part of football) and I came to faith by discovering that these are not necessary for me to find a relationship with God. I can find other things I do, such as wandering in a city, talking to friends, or taking photographs much more spiritually uplifting. And yet when the first football results come in during mid-August I shall be anxiously waiting to see what Scolari can deliver!

Some of my questions are........

Does my attachment have anything to do with my childhood in London and my first match at Stamford Bridge with my dad at the age of 6?

I loved playing the game (not very well) and how much is there an appreciation of the skill and the exhilaration of doing something physical at a high standard?

What is that ecstatic feeling when the oppositions net bulges? (Morris suggests that it is like getting your prey in the hunt)

Is it therapeutic to get into football fundamentalism of ‘goodies and badies’ for 90 minutes?

Do I just like seeing something I can identify with ‘winning’?

Is it just another type of drama which touches our human condition just like theatre, films, poetry, etc? It has the same mixture of ‘playing’ with reality and fantasy and just happens to one that many can relate to and has an unpredictable end.

Why do only a few sports do the same for me?

It seems to have little to do with my faith but maybe deep down…….?

Forget all that. Is it just fun not to be taken too seriously?

Maybe talking to other Christians about the obsession of football is just like introducing oneself at an AA Meeting and divulging “I am Roy, a football supporter……………”

What do think?????

Refreshment comes in many forms

Taizé tea is something that I wouldn’t drink in England – it is very sweet and is drunk cold, mid-afternoon when the sun is really hot, and it is really refreshing. It wouldn’t suit my normal life, but it doesn’t have to.

There is something very refreshing about holidays – being somewhere else and doing things differently. Taizé has a big emphasis on prayer and being available to God, but in common with many holidays some of the refreshment is in being out of step with normal life. Spending time with different people, eating different food, praying in different ways can all lend themselves to changing and renewing our tired thoughts.

I don’t think I would want to live like that; it is very ordered and personally I would miss the chaos, but for a time it is great. The previous Pope visited once, and he said to the thousands of young people there;

‘One passes through Taizé as one passes close to a spring of water. The traveller stops, quenches his thirst and continues on his way. The brothers of the community, you know, do not want to keep you. They want, in prayer and silence, to enable you to drink the living water promised by Christ, to know his joy, to discern his presence, to respond to his call, then to set out again to witness to his love and to serve your brothers and sisters in your parishes, your schools, your universities, and in all your places of work.’

That seems a desirable outcome for a holiday!

Grace and the X Files

When you pick up a similar spiritual message twice in one day its quite hard to ignore it.

This morning Henry preached on the passage in Luke 18, where Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector at prayer, and observes that the tax collector, a sinner begging for forgiveness is closer to God than the self-righteous Pharisee, despite all his worthy acts. Henry spoke about how it demonstrates that God's grace does not follow the rules of human 'fairness'.


Anyway, a few hours later I'm in the cinema watching the new X Files movie, 'I Want to Believe'. Quite early on in the film, Mulder and Scully have to go and talk to a former Catholic priest who's a convicted paedophile, as he has been having visions that may help them in their investigations. When they get to the hostel where he stays, they find him praying, and he says he is seeking God for the salvation of his soul. Scully's immediate reaction is to say 'Why would God listen to you after what you've done?'

I'm not going to spoil the plot for anyone, but I think its fair to just say that Scully finds her initial assessment of this man and what he has to offer challenged as the film goes on.

For my own part, whilst, yes, it was 'only a movie', I came away at the end thinking again about what I'd heard at church this morning. I guess God and his grace do indeed move in mysterious ways.

Review of Life

Review of Life based on the temptations of Jesus – Talk at Ashley 27 July
(Luke Chapter 4)

Every so often it might be useful to take a step back and review our life to see where we have been, where we are now and where we are going. It can take many forms and cover a long period and could be our whole life or it could be much shorter period of time like yesterday, last month or last year.

The story of Jesus time in the wilderness and his temptations could be seen as his review of his own life which was a prelude to his ministry. Jesus is our role model and this shows that for him it was very challenging thing to do and the extent of this challenge will depend on such things as personality, life experience and our current circumstances of life. He faced powerful temptations in his life related to what he knew of his own power, authority and gifts and the way they might be used. The temptations in the garden of Gethsemane indicate that the questions never completely left him and his choice of vulnerability, service and suffering and whether this was the right way to go would return.

In the light of this it may be that sometimes a review could be best done with the help of a friend to encourage and lift us out of a sense of failure or ‘what ifs’ that we can all be prone to at times. Maybe sometimes it is best left alone completely until we know we are in the right place to cope. I just offer this as a way we might consider at opportune times to re-gain a sense of meaning, purpose or direction in our life which offers clues and encouragement as to the future. Jesus ministry we believe was only about three years and he changed the world – so it is never too late and we are never too old!

Jesus in his wilderness temptations can be seen as him seeking the way to go and how to make sense of what he knew already about his birth and his life so far. With what we know about his life could there be hints of the material he might have been wrestling with? What about the circumstances of his birth and what his mother might of told him of angels, wise men bringing gifts and prophecies. What was the meaning of his baptism and the words that his cousin John spoke about him? What about the story of his parents fleeing to Egypt when he was a baby? How come he seemed to be able to speak so easily with teachers of the law at such a young age? What was the point of all that training in the carpenters shop? What does it mean to set people free? Was he pondering on the verse in Isaiah that he was to preach on in the synagogue at Nazareth? What is God’s kingdom? And may more questions……. Forty days wrestling with what was his mission in life and how was he to fulfil it. What we are told in the three temptations could be seen as attempts by Jesus to make sense of what he already knows, what he feels called to and how this might be worked out in his life.

He leaves the desert full of the Holy Spirit and goes in to his home town and preaches about releasing captives and setting prisoners free. After this encounter he realises that he needs to leave Nazareth and that his ministry can not be fulfilled there and tells everyone this. He is then rejected by his home town which leads him to a wider ministry in Capernaum and Jerusalem. Was the rejection with all the pain there must have been the spark that produces the explosion of his ministry with healing, preaching and casting out of demons to a wider audience? It is amazing to think that rejecting could be a powerful tool for doing God’s work in the future.

We might think that ours in so small a life in relation to Jesus but in God’s eyes we are all called to be a part of God’s presence on earth. We are now his Body. Sometimes a review can be tied in with a holiday or a retreat, a day’s walk or just a short time-out which gives you an opportunity to:

STOP and look at your life
LOOK at what you see and ponder on it
LISTEN to what this might say to you.

In the end this is an unpredictable spiritual exercise with the Holy Spirit. It always seems best to me to not try too hard and have patience. We are looking for ‘clues’ as to what might be there for us. It might take a while to see anything and so you need to stay with it and have the faith that there is something there that God wants to communicate.

Moving mountains vs being equipped for the climb

I have been thinking more about the idea of moving mountains and as I think back on the situations that I have faced in my life more often than not I have had to climb the mountain rather than it being moved out of the way or flattened. As I said on Sunday I believe God often wants us to see the view from the top but this does mean we have to go through a strenuos and sometimes scary climb. However, if we put our trust in him and we are prepared to use the strength of his Holy Spirit to help we will make it to the top and be able to enjoy the view and being with God

Micah 4:2 Come let us go up the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.

Being a pencil for God

Why not run through the powerpoint below and give us your thoughts on being a pencil!



Thanks to Anita for bringing this to our attention.

Jesus perspectives

Have had a busy week but am finally getting round to posting something about last Sunday's men's meeting in the Speckled Hen.

Had a good turnout (and the pub was busier than normal, a birthday party was going on and there was some tennis match or other on the TV) and some interesting discussion. Our guest, Andy Frost of Share Jesus International, used a set of intriguing photographs to provoke some discussion on how meanings can change when we look at things from different perspectives, naturally leading into discussion on our perceptions and images of Jesus (such as the stereotypical one in the corner!).

Andy referred to what Jesus said about himself in Luke 4 where he refers to the Spirit being upon him to preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, release for the oppressed and proclaim the year of the Lord's favour and suggested from that the concept of Jesus the revolutionary.

I think that passage is pretty revolutionary and it offers Jesus' hope to those who have lost out in life, be it emotionally, spiritually, physically or materially. This hope was evidenced in Andy's accompanying friend Leon, who came with his family to this country as a Kosovan refugee fleeing violence and war, and now seeks to reach out to others here (and back in Kosovo) with God's love.

The challenge for the church is how we can embody that revolutionary spirit in our activities and engagement with the community. We did start to discuss a bit about how different ways of being church can help or hinder that revolution. Not a subject to properly cover in one night but hopefully we all got some inspiration and challenge whilst crowding round a table in a local pub!

Questions

Hi Sue

Thanks for the comment. The questions from last Sunday's talk were:

What would be our strap lines?
What runs our life?
What clues are there for our spiritual development?
What could we commit ourselves to?
What habit could we change in 21 days?

With the first question I suggested that the apostle Peter might have had the strap lines:

I will make you fishers of men
Feed my sheep
Do not call anything impure that God has made clean

The last question relates to a piece of research that I spoke about that concluded you can change a habit if you continue the change for 21 days. Intuitively I think that the research might be right (although you never know with these pieces of research) and if it is I found that very encouraging (so, I hope it is). It was in a book on happiness that went on to say.

Why not make happiness a habit in 21 days!!! Quite a challenge.

What is Your Treasure?

Nice to be back in Blog Land!!! I have just not quite made it for a few weeks and my photography course has always won. But that is finished now and the prodigal returns.

If you were at Ashley on Saturday (payer meeting) or Sunday (morning service) you would have heard that I met a man on train whose passion was carp fishing and I spent a happy hour learning about it. There is his picture cuddling up to his treasure.

I am fascinated but what makes a person have a passion for something and it always reminds me of Jesus and the parable of the treasure in field (Matthew 13: 44). The man sold all he had for the treasure.

Jesus seems to have always wanted people of passion around him. It is as though he can sort out the mistakes we make and the hang ups we have as long as there is passion there. Is that why he persevered with the apostle Peter? He was a fisherman too!!!

Passion gives us energy and is life giving.

I took a picture of these in St Albans Cathedral hanging over the bookshop area. I thought they were a good image of passion.

Scary but energising

A Passion for quotations

I have a bit of a passion for quotations. I really enjoy reading thoughtful and concise sentences that contain so much in so few words. Poems and song lyrics come into the same category. One of my favourite poems at the moment, by a poet called Hafiz is:

Now
That
All your worry
Has proved such an
Unlucrative
Business,
Why
Not
Find a better
Job.

For some strange reason I don't; I go over and over the same ground and it is clearly ridiculous. Reading things like this can bring me back to God because they are a bit of sanity when I am losing my perspective.

A smiling God

The Lord bless you and keep you:
the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face towards you
and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

Thanks to Shaun C for the forwarding the photo

Trust in me

The answer to the teaser below (27 June) was trust. Our daily challenge as Christians is to continue to trust in God whatever happens to us or those around us. Hopefully this weeks talk (available as a podcast - see links on the right)will help you in putting your trust in God, preparing it helped me a lot. Below is the slide show that went with the talk and I have also posted the extract from Phillip Yancey's book which I think is an extremely helpful way of picturing how we should trust in God.


In his book "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made," Philip Yancey says:
A certain bridge in South America consists of interlocking vines supporting a precariously swinging platform hundreds of feet above a river. I know the bridge has supported hundreds of people over many years, and as I stand at the edge of the chasm I can see people confidently crossing the bridge. The engineer in me wants to weigh all the factors: measure the stress tolerances of the vines, test the wood for termites, survey all the bridges in the area for one that might be stronger. I could spend a lifetime determining whether the bridge is fully trustworthy. But eventually, if I really want to cross, I must take a step. When I put my weight on that bridge and walk across, even though my heart is pounding and my knees are shaking, I am making a statement-declaring my position.
In the Christian world I sometimes must live like this, making choices which contain inherent uncertainty. If I wait for all the evidence to be in, for everything to be settled, I'll never move. Often I have had to act on the basis of the bones of the Christian faith, before those bones were fully formed in me and before I understood the reason for their existence.
Bone is hard, but it is alive. If the bones of faith do not continue to grow, they will soon become dead skeletons.

A teaser

Looking at the picture below can you guess what I might be talking about on Sunday?
Answers in the comment section.

It's that picture again

I keep coming back to this picture; it says something to me about the power God has to cut through the rock that is me and my stubborn ways.
The water here is pouring down inside a Swiss mountain; draining from a glacier, cutting rock as it falls. Despite the seeming impenetrability of rock, the water finds a way to cut through to the next level.
This is both exciting and scary. I like the idea of a God who doesn't come at me with a chisel to get me to change shape, but who continually pours his love over me until bit by bit things change.
I am feeling quite nervous about leading the Taize service, but am taking heart from the fact that this time last year it would have been unimaginable for me to even think I might do such a thing, so that is a bit of rockcutting that must have been going on - who knows what other bits of me, or you he plans to, or is already reshaping!

Little things...

I have had quite a busy week so far and was feeling a little guilty about not having posted anything on the blog for quite some time and not even really looked at it. When I looked again today I noticed we have had more visits from around the world. I have no idea who they are or how much of the site they read but it was a little spark of encouragement to know that our thoughts about God and our experiences in our part of God's kingdom are possibly being shared globally. We are called to go into the world to bring good news and in this day and age there are so many opportunities to literally do this with out leaving our small community. I hope and pray that people who do stumble across our little blog will find something to help, challenge or inspire them to know more about God and if you are one of those people please take a few moments to comment and say hi we'd love to hear from you.

'The Lord all powerful said:
"You people are precious to me"

Potholing

Yesterday's newspaper crossword had a clue that read 'despaired of getting potholes repaired'. It was an anagram question and the answer was 'lost hope'. There was something very satisfying about the connection of lost hope with potholes.
It seemed to tie up with Shaun's donkey hole of the other week - that a seemingly hopeless situation can turn out to be less final than that - not that it is necessarily a barrel of laughs to get out of; but the difference between having lost hope and being able to believe you have fallen into a pothole, seems immense.
Dan said on Sunday, that we never seem to learn that God is always with us - everytime we hit new difficulties it seems to bring us right down to a place of struggling to find him; yet looking back we see a series of potholes of differing depths and steepness that we have climbed out of and can see that God was there all along.

Taize service

Sunday 29th June
7.30pm
Taize-style service at Ashley.


For me the striking thing about Taize services is sitting in silence for a few minutes, and the simple songs that say wonderful things, often in other languages; like 'Dans nos obscurites' which means in our darkest times, and goes on with 'you kindle a fire that never dies away'. How great is that!

There are some quotes I am really fond of that spring from Taize - including one that Hannah talked about once -

You are never alone. Let yourself be plumbed to the depths and you will see that, in your heart of hearts, in the place where no two people are alike, Christ is waiting for you.

Poem by Gerard Kelly

I had posted a poem here called 'This God', which talks about the wonder of having a God who conducts the universe and yet also cares about individuals. Belatedly I got to wondering if that was a copywrite breach, so I have removed it, but that poem and others by Gerard Kelly, including the wonderful 'You Catch My Eye' can be found here.

I really like the last bit of 'This God' where knowing exactly what he needs, and knowing all my limitations and fears, he chooses me anyway.

http://bless.typepad.com/spoken_worship/

For I know the plans

This week God again proved for me that he does know what is going on and that if I trust in him he will do what's best for me. However I cannot say it was an easy process there was struggle and heart ache involved, probably due to my inability to hand everything over to God deal with but I guess that is a natural reaction for most of us any way - "Here's my situation God but I'll just hang on to this bit!"

I was very encouraged to read this passage from Malachi 3:17-18
Then the Lord All-Powerful said:
You people are precious to me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child. Then everyone will once again see the difference between those who obey me by doing right and those who reject me by doing wrong.

So I have been reminded again of how much I need to trust God at the same time as continuing my walk in the world, I need to remember that my God is with me.

Great expectations?

I wasn't at Ashley on Sunday because I was at Lords watching the Test Match. It was a funny sort of day with England captain Michael Vaughan scoring a century whilst his team-mates found it harder going than the pundits thought it should be against New Zealand.

Cricket isn't everyone's cup of tea and I can understand why. If you're watching it expecting a boundary or a wicket from every delivery then you'll be frustrated; in the case of a Test Match its better to manage your expectations by regarding it as a gently unfolding story.

Expectations, whether high or low, are part of our Christian lives. Some would say that to receive great things from God we need to expect great things from God. That may be true, but it sits a bit uncomfortably with my own natural inclination to 'manage my expectations' in order to avoid being disappointed. Can I nurture a healthy sense of spiritual expectancy that doesn't get deflated when God doesn't act in the way I might want him to? I guess its something I need to work on.....a bit like some of the England players with their batting.

Trying too hard

On Sunday we sang a song that we have often sung before, but I got caught up with the words in a way that I sometimes don't. It contained the lines:

'When earthly wisdom dims the light of knowing You
Or if my search for understanding clouds Your way,
To You I'll fly, my hiding place... '

It is quite challenging when our very search for understanding is the thing that is clouding God's way. It comes back to the Easter verse about having nothing left to give but ourselves as finding out that that was what he wanted all along - not our cleverness, or our dutifulness or any of our other' -nesses', but just our raw selves. No wonder we need to fly to him to be hidden; that's pretty exposed. If we're not to try too hard to understand, then we are into heavenly bearhug territory - we need to learn to just be held.
I find that a bit tricky!

Shake it off and step up

This morning was looking at who we are in Christ and how revisitng/remembering that can help us when we face difficult times.

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule ‘braying’. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbours together and told them what had happened…and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbours continued shovelling and the dirt hit his back…a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back…HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP This he did, blow after blow.

‘Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!’ he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought ‘panic’ and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of the well. What seemed like would bury him, actually blessed him…all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. Disappointment can make or break us, depending on how we cope with it.

This can all sound very easy and a bit twee but if we also remember some of the things God says to us in his bible then he can help us to shake it off and step up.

So I’ve been reminding myself what God has said to me before about who I am and what he says to me. It will be familiar to you but it’s good to remind ourselves every now and then that God is good and does want the best for us.




Gill R also sent me the lyrics to a song which is very appropriate too, you can also watch and listen here

Sometimes my little heart can't understand
What's in Your will, what's in Your plan.
So many times I'm tempted to ask You why,
But I can never forget it for long.
Lord, what You do could not be wrong.
So I believe You, even when I must cry.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the river flow?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the north wind blow?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind,
And You got to know
That I would rather die
Than to lose my faith
In the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?

I know the answers, I've given them all.
But suddenly now, I feel so small.
Shaken down to the cavity in my soul.
I know the doctrine and theology,
But right now they don't mean much to me.
This time there's only one thing I've got to know.

Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the robin sing?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does it rain in spring?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind,
And You got to know
That I would rather die
Than to lose my faith
In the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?

I will trust You, Lord, when I don't know why.
I will trust You, Lord, till the day I die.
I will trust You, Lord, when I'm blind with pain!
You were God before, and You'll never change.
I will trust You.
I will trust You.
I will trust You, Lord.
I will trust You.

Psalm 139

I have been very encouraged by this Psalm again today and would have liked to play this video at church tomorrow but can't download it so it's here instead. I hope you find it as relaxing and encouraging as I did.

DR WHO'S SERMON ' TOOLKIT ' ???

I came across this email news item which I thought might be of interest. The full article is in the link.

Is it good communication or the church just trying a bit too hard?

What do you think?

DR WHO’S SERMON ‘TOOLKIT’
Dr Who ascended with angels, a vision inspired Rose, and the Daleks terrorised mankind. And, in the Church’s bid to engage with teenagers, this symbolism could help communicate Christian ideas that would otherwise be difficult to explain, ministers heard this week at a Church Army conference. ‘Clergy shouldn’t be afraid to engage with popular culture as, for many young people, television plays a large role in their thinking,’ said Church Army spokesman Andrew Wooding. Revd Andrew Myers, of St Aidan’s in Leeds, said: ‘Even the more cynical have been convinced that this immensely successful series provides a wonderful toolkit!’
Source: Daily Telegraph (4/5) Full text link

Pentecost reflection

Very much enjoyed the service on Sunday, as we were reminded in various ways by various people of the various ways in which God touches us by his Holy Spirit. At the same time we had the sober reflection from Roy of how hard it sometimes is to have faith that God can respond to our prayers when faced with something as massive as the cyclone tragedy in Burma - I often feel that way myself.

Thinking about experiences of the Spirit on Sunday, I found myself thinking about the first time I spoke in tongues - about eight years ago. Since then its a gift I have made use of, but it does involve discipline, and sometimes I've gone for months without using it. Its not something I talk about much because it is a bit of a weird thing, and I don't fully understand it myself. What I have found though is that at times it helps me when I can't find the words to say to God, and that it helps me to engage my heart as well as my head.

I remember once reading something by CS Lewis which I found very encouraging. Reflecting on the fact that sometimes we feel that our prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling - he pointed out that since the Holy Spirit lives in us, what may feel like a monologue is actually God working through us as we articulate our compassion for people and situations. Hope that's of some encouragement to us as we pray (in whatever language!)

Gavin

Pentecost Sunday Presentation

We looked at Pentecost in the light of the book of Joel and the way Peter uses the prophecy to explain the phenomenon they had just experienced. The book describes the devastation of the locusts and then the prophecy of hope which Peter quotes at Pentecost.

Flowers and Weeds

I woke up this morning with a very old song in my head - it probably had something to do with the line 'love is like the sunshine ...' It led me to think of some other old and well loved songs and including Laura's and my old favourite -

My heart may be like a garden, fair,
lots of loving thoughts and deeds blossoming there.
Or it may be a place of poison weeds, growing into ugly thoughts and words and deeds.
Lord Jesus make my heart a garden, fair.
Come now thyself and be the gardener there.

You have to allow for it being a children's song, but having seen how quickly the weeds have grown in my real garden this week, I have to echo the plea for assistance in keeping my heart garden well weeded!

Sunday 4th May

Here is Roy's slide show from Sunday, as I wasn't in the talk I look forward to some comments being posted to help me understand what was going on!

Experiencing God around us

Below are the pictures Ray shared with us on Sunday that reminded him of God's goodness and presence in the everyday.

Its easier to get addicted to Coffee than reading the Bible!

I was initially a bit worried about using the word addiction to refer to the different ways we can maintain our relationship with God, since it has so many negative associations. Coffee, chocolate, cigarettes and the rest, very easy to get hooked on, very hard to give up.
I also had questions about “How do we get addicted? Or “How do we renew an addiction that we once had?” Since even though worship is important and powerful, Can I live without it?
However, if you peel away the outer layers of how we keep in touch with God, and get back to the person of Jesus, he gives the answer when he says "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (Jn4,13)
I am addicted to God like I am addicted to water. The amazing twist is that in meeting my need, unlike all other addictions which are inherently selfish, this water flows though me to others. Amazing!

Getting addicted to God

This weeks talk was focusing on how we can become more addicted to God and increase our experience of him. The important thing is not to feel guilty about what you don't do but to focus on how you do get back to God, whether it's an hour reading your bible or a walk in the coutryside experiencing God's creation.

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The unforced rhythms of grace

Matthew 11 from The Message

28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Football and Passion.

The Premiership is the most watched football league in the world in 2008, yet a complete mystery to many.“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” Bill Shankly knew it would be like this…….

In fact, to some, football is more of a religion than religion ever was. The similarities run deep: with weekly celebrations, after meeting drinks, passionate discussion, tithing, uncomfy seats, embarrassment when the person sitting behind you is a shouter, controversy over team selection, discussions about the quality of the building, and even a reason to live, for some perhaps.

Should we be surprised by the commitment and passion of players and fans? Players not, since 100 grand a week would make the most lethargic, 2 left footed person passionate, but fans perhaps yes…since what need is this actually meeting in them, what gives people the desire to support perpetually losing teams like Derby that can never stay up?

Victoria Beckham was asking to be mocked when she said “I don't know much about football. I know what a goal is, which is surely the main thing.” Imagine if she had said…..”I don't know much about Christianity, but I know who Jesus is which is surely the main thing.” Don't hear any mocking now.

Small is Beautiful

Seen at Ashley last Sunday

Raving in Picture form

Graeme made this electronic picture some time ago, and it always reminds me of my relationship with God; it is full of mystery, twists and turns, brighter flashes and dark bits. It is not a linear experience; some bits are decidedly knotty. Viewed from above though it is beautiful and I am confident that God sees us as beautiful despite the tangle our lives can look from our own perspectives.

A Rave with God

I thought we were very blessed by our young people this morning (I was anyway) as they led us in some lively and louder than usual worship. It was particularly good to see how well they performed together, supported each other and confidently led the rest of us. They also managed to transfer their energy into some of us 'older' ones to get us moving a bit. I think it's important to do things every now and then that take us out of our comfort zone and experience God in a different way and this morning will have taken some of us further out of our comfort zone than others.
It also got me thinking what it actually means to 'rave' with God so I looked up the definition of rave, here are some interesting results

• To speak wildly, irrationally, or incoherently.
• To speak or write with wild enthusiasm
• To roar; rage
• Praise enthusiastically

When we allow God's spirit takes hold of us I'm sure we're capable of all of the above and it reminded me how onlookers described the disciples at pentecost!

I hope you find time to 'rave' some more with God this week.

The process of change

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As someone who doesn't find change particularly easy I was challenged by Roy's talk today. I too find the scene from the passion where the disciples struggle to cope with the supposed loss of Jesus very enlightening and encouraging. They were real people who didn't really understand what was going on and where their Lord had gone (I'd recommend seeing the clip if you can). Out of this there was disagreement, disillusionment and disappointment and as Roy said a desire to return to something familiar. Often we can convince ourselves that it is better not to change and stick with what we know but sometimes it is through change that we can grow in our knowledge and understanding of God (even though He may decide we are to learn through not changing when we might want to!)
I suppose the key is to be prepared to wait for the right moment and listen to what God is saying/prompting and not to try and force the change or make it happen quicker/slower than it should.
What are your experiences of change or not change, if you have the time we would welcome your thoughts.

A day or two with Zechariah

At our Ashley prayer meeting on Saturday morning I was thinking about the way it is easy to feel we can do nothing and remembered the verse ”‘Not by might or power but my spirit’ says the Lord” but I couldn’t remember where it came from.

I went home and found it nestling in the book of Zechariah (chapter 4 v 6). I read around the history of the book a little and was struck by what an amazing book of hope it was at a time when the Jewish nation had seen the temple destroyed and many of the people deported to another land. How was the temple and city to be rebuilt by such a powerless group?

Zechariah had a vision of God telling him to get a measuring line (chapter 2) presumably to start the rebuilding as an act of faith. I just picture him standing in the rubble with a tape measure (or equivalent) and with faith and against all the odds acting out the hope by measuring for the new temple and city.

When we sometimes feel we are standing in rubble from our dreams and hopes this could be a book for us. We can rebuild not in our own strength but by God’s spirit working through us and our circumstances. No matter what there is always hope. Sometimes we just have to start rebuilding as an act of faith too

Zechariah is full of powerful images which portray the struggles between hope and despair, destruction and restoration, and good and evil with a strong message that there will always be a way that God’s spirit will overcome. It is easy to get too tied up in the imagery of the book and it is often better just to capture the spirit of what is being said.

The book of Zechariah might be worth a read this week.

Welcome

This is a new blog to continue sharing what's going on in the life of our church following on from the John blog. Here we will be posting thoughts and ideas about what we feel God is saying to us and our church. We will also be sharing information about our Sunday morning meetings. Please feel free to join in by adding your own comments to any of the postings.