Culture has been defined as ‘the way we do things round here.’ It’s evident in our families, though we often don’t realise it until we meet other families and see that not everyone does things the way our family does! (This is one reason marriage is such a challenge, for it’s the clash of cultures as much as personalities which forces us to re-evaluate why we do the things we do.) It’s evident in our workplaces (though again, it often takes an outsider to notice the strange things that are done which seem perfectly normal to us until they’re pointed out to us.) It’s evident in our churches (where we ‘come round the Communion table’ even though we don’t normally move from our seats or where we ‘take an offering’, even though we actually give money voluntarily…!) It’s evident in our society, where we don’t have to explain shared values and beliefs, because we all know where they come from (though quite often, we may not…!)

Culture is not itself sinful; there’s no particular sin in dunking croissants into bowls of coffee (as they do in France) or eating raw fish (as they do in Japan), even though we may feel squeamish at the thought (neither of those things being part of British culture.) But ‘the way we do things round here‘ is not of itself a good enough reason to motivate our behaviour.

Beliefs mould behaviour. We need to explore the beliefs which lie behind all behaviour to ensure that we are not mindlessly influenced by our cultures. We are not to be squeezed into the world’s mould, but are to let God re-mould our minds. (Rom 12:2, J. B. Phillips) We don’t have to join in the office gossip just because that’s what everyone else does, because we know that God doesn’t want unwholesome talk to come out of our mouths. (Eph 4:29) We don’t have to avoid certain people because others do, because we know that God has no favourites and loves all people. (James 2:1-4) We don’t have to live with a partner before marriage, even though everyone else may seem to do that, because we know that our bodies are designed by God and for God and that He made us for purity and holiness. (1 Cor 6:13,18) We don’t have to defraud people, even though this is the norm in our workplace, because we know God values honesty and integrity. (Prov16:11)

Moulding culture is not easy. But I can remember when I first moved into this area asking about recycling sites and being told that ‘no one in your area cares about recycling.’ I felt puzzled, since clearly one person cared (why else was I asking?!) It took many years before there was any visible proof of this, but when BMBC sent out leaflets to all households in the area explaining about different recycling bins, I had to smile. Now everyone in the area had to care about recycling!

I don’t for one moment claim to have been the one who influenced the local Council to start recycling. But the saying ‘the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’ remains true. As God challenges us from His Word, as we become aware of ‘the way we do things round here’ and find differences between that way and Jesus’ Way, let’s be unafraid to stand for Him and to allow His way of doing things to motivate and mould everything we do.

Last night a group of us from church went to the Worship Central #100Gatherings event in Sheffield:

The aim was to hold 100 different prayer & worship meetings in 100 different worldwide locations over 10 days, and Sheffield (hosted by St Thomas Crookes church, which runs the ‘Worship Central Academy’ in the north, an opportunity for people to spend a year learning about leading worship and serving the church) was one of the last venues to host this event.

It was a time of offering our songs and prayers to God, prayer for our local churches and leaders, and waiting on God. Tim Hughes (who heads the Worship Central team) reminded us through a video of the consecration of Solomon’s temple and how the tangible presence of God made all the difference to the Israelites. Jesus is our ‘magnificent obsession’ and must be at the centre of all we do; as we make our ‘one thing’ the worship and adoration of Jesus, then our world is changed by His presence and power.

The ‘official’ group photo, taken by Nick Law (Worship Leader at St Thomas Crookes), can be seen here. I’m sure you can spot some of us on that one!

For those of you who enjoy online worship and teaching, the final 2 sessions from Passion 2015 at Houston are still available (today only) to watch here.

Mark spoke about love’s first kiss revealing love’s true form at the family service last night. Based on the ‘Shrek’ films, he recounted how Princess Fiona was cursed, so that by daytime she was a beautiful princess, but at night became a red-haired ogress, with the curse only being broken by love’s true kiss.

Shrek the ogre seemed an unlikely hero and rescuer, but they fell in love and their first kiss revealed her true form… only to discover that her true form is actually that of an ogress, not the beauty she had imagined would be hers. Fundamentally, the story turns traditional fairytales on their head, reminding us that inner beauty counts for far more than outward appearances and that true love does not always look like we think it should.

Luke 15:11-32 tells the story of God’s amazing love for mankind, represented by a father’s love for his wayward son and the kiss he bestows on him when he finally returns home. John 3:16 reminds us of God’s great love for us all and how God gave His only Son to remove the curse of sin and death, so that we are transformed from the inside out. Love’s true form may not make us look any different on the outside, but God changes our hearts and plants His love within us, for He is love (see 1 John 4:7-8). He  enables us to manifest His love to others (see John 13:34-35), revealing love’s true form in us because Jesus is God’s first kiss on our lives.

Last night’s family service looked at the ‘Shrek’ films to discuss the topic of ‘True Love’, which is definitely not just for fairytales!

Garry devised a quiz on Shrek (and on other green things…) which was combined with a game of Jenga with a twist. The twist was that you had to dress up in hat, scarf, arm warmers, spectacles and gloves before you could remove the Jenga block, since ogres are like onions… ‘they have layers!’

Garry explaining the game:

Everyone listening to instructions:

Taking part in the game:

After that, we had a Karaoke version of ‘I’m A Believer‘:

We also had a birthday to celebrate!

The starting point of the journey (Psalm 120) begins, perhaps surprisingly, with dissatisfaction. While ever you think there’s nothing wrong with life as it is now, you will never have any incentive to start out on a journey towards God. Politicians, sociologists and advertisers all try to convince us that life is going to get better (the Labour Party in 1997 used the song ‘Things can only get better’ as their campaign slogan), but we only ever really make true spiritual progress when we come to the end of ourselves and realise that only God can help us to live life, because He is the One who made us.

The psalmist begins with a cry of distress, being aware that he is surrounded by ‘lying lips and deceitful tongues’ and is living in a place where he is surrounded by enemies, a place where the majority view is for war. This is not a pleasant song, but life very often is not pleasant. The truth is that we live in a fallen world, where sin has spoiled God’s good and perfect creation. As Aaron Shust sings,

‘I hate to be the one to break the news
To let you down, but I can’t lie to you.
There’s things about the world I wish weren’t true
I guess by now, you must have had a clue.

There’s no such thing as Peter Pan,
No such place as Never Never Land;
I wish we all could have
Those tiny magic wings

But we live in a world with wars;
It’s not like it was before.
We won’t find our happy ever after here.
There’s no such thing.’ (‘Ever After’, Aaron Shust)

The whole world is under the influence of the devil, the ‘prince of this world’ (John 12:31) and that life is a battle ‘against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,’ (Eph 6:12) whose chief purpose is to blind us to truth and have us believing lies which will keep us from God (see 2 Cor 4:4). We have to turn from the world’s lies and illusions in order to begin our journey with God, a process known as repentance. This is not simply negative, but involves an embrace of God’s ways as our modus operandi. We might view repentance initially as a painful and negative start, but actually, as we turn to God, we realise we are set free to become pilgrims in pursuit of God whose rewards are so much greater than anything we renounce. As Jesus said, ‘Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’ (Matt 19:29)

Repentance sets us free to head in the right direction, following God’s ways, free to receive His grace, love, forgiveness and help. It does not necessarily guarantee us a problem-free life (we may still have to dwell in Meshek, among the tents of Kedar, representing the world’s ways), but we are given guidance and help on our way. Ps 12o teaches us that we can call to God in our distress and He answers us. We are a needy people, but we have an all-sufficient God. When we call, God answers. He may not remove our problems or offer us quick-fix solutions, but He is there to guide us on the journey and to walk with us, no matter how difficult or trying the terrain. He strengthens our feeble arms and weak knees so that we may walk on straight paths: ‘When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.’ (Prov 4:12-13) These psalms of ascent help us to hold on to instruction and be guided on our journey with God.

Psalms 120-134 are given the heading ‘song of ascent’ and there are a number of different names for this group of psalms, including ‘Pilgrim Songs’ or ‘Songs of Steps’. It’s generally believed that these psalms were sung by the worshippers as they ascended the road to Jerusalem to attend the main three pilgrim festivals, following the commandment of God: ‘Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles.’ (Deut 16:16) These were the chief religious festivals and Jews were expected to travel to the capital city to worship God there. These were the highpoints in the Jewish calendar: as Eugene Peterson says, ‘the Hebrews were a people whose salvation had been accomplished by the exodus, whose identity had been defined at Sinai and whose preservation had been assured in the forty years of wilderness wandering.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘The Journey’ P 6) God clearly wanted His people to remember all that He had done and continued to do for them, hence the requirement to take time out from their busy lives to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to acknowledge God’s saving ways and celebrate His goodness to the nation.

The reason these psalms, which were probably sung in sequence as the people travelled, are called songs of ascent is because Jerusalem was the highest city geographically in Israel; they’re also known as the songs of steps because they were sung by the priests as they ascended the fifteen steps to minister at the Temple in Jerusalem. The ascent, though, was not only literal but was also metaphorical: as Eugene Peterson says ‘the trip to Jerusalem acted out a life lived upward toward God, an existence that advanced from one level to another in developing maturity.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘The Journey’, P 6) Last month we looked at the topic of Signposts and Directions and saw that life can be likened to a journey, with God giving us clear instructions and directions for our lives. The songs of ascent are another way God gives us directions to help us on our journey towards God, a journey which is often called a pilgrimage. All of us who are seeking to grow closer to God and who want to mature in our faith are pilgrims. We’re not simply tourists, looking for the latest thrill. We are disciples, followers, people who are ‘of the Way’, the first name that was given to Christians (Saul took letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found ‘any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.’ Acts 9:2), a name that is particularly appropriate since Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life and the only way to the Father. (John 14:6) Life is a journey and we are all journeying towards God, following the Way. As we do this, we find that these pilgrim songs help us on our way. All of these psalms are fairly short and many use repetition to help fix ideas into our minds. Songs are particularly good at doing this; when God’s word is set to music, we have a powerful tool to help us along life’s journey.