There is an old hymn I used to sing as a young Christian which has the lyrics:

‘There is a story sweet to hear, 

I love to tell it too; 

it fills my heart with hope and cheer, 

‘Tis old yet ever new.’

I was reminded of this hymn as I walked around London last weekend, marvelling at how the old buildings were juxtaposed among newly built skyscrapers:

Just down from Tower Bridge (built in the late 19th century) was this modern sea vessel:

Further along the South Bank of the River Thames, a replica of the 16th century galleon Golden Hinde, vessel used by Sir Francis Drake to circumnavigate the globe between 1577-80, is situated in dry dock:

Not far from this, the recently built Shard skyscraper can be seen:

This juxtaposition of old and new can seem bizarre at first, but Christianity has long had to adapt to the times and there is a sense in which we retain the ‘old’ truths of the gospel and yet seek to convey these in a manner that is relevant and meaningful to our modern society. Something of this balance between old and new is captured by John in his first letter: ‘Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.  Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.‘ (1 John 2:7-8) The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9) and yet we continue to find new ways to express old truths. It has ever been thus, and so we should not be surprised to find the new springing up amongst the old, sign of God’s creative spark still at work in His world.

You may well have heard of the Tower of London poppies, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, with setting by stage designer Tom Piper, 888,246 ceramic poppies will progressively fill the Tower’s famous moat, culminating on Remembrance Day this year. We had the privilege of seeing this during our visit to London:

This is a powerful visual aid to help us focus on the loss of life during the First World War and is a moving tribute to all who died, as well as raising thousands of pounds to be divided between six service charities. At the same time, as I stood amongst the crowds looking at this scene, I could not help thinking of the song ‘At The Cross (Love Ran Red)’:

‘There’s a place where mercy reigns and never dies,
There’s a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide.
Where all the love I’ve ever found,
Comes like a flood,
Comes flowing down.

At the cross
At the cross
I surrender my life.
I’m in awe of You
I’m in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
and my sin washed white.
I owe all to You
I owe all to You Jesus.

There’s a place where sin and shame are powerless.
Where my heart has peace with God and forgiveness.
Where all the love I’ve ever found.
Comes like a flood,
Comes flowing down.

Here my hope is found
Here on holy ground
Here I bow down
Here arms open wide
Here You save my life
Here I bow down
Here I bow down.’ (‘At The Cross’, Chris Tomlin)

As usual, we had various competitions and games during the family service (some of which were more successful than others!) These included a treasure hunt to find pictures of the Simpsons, a competition to reproduce famous catchphrases and a wordsearch. All the prizes had the theme of the Simpsons:

Tonight’s family service looked at the theme of ‘The Simpsons’, the popular US animated series which started in 1989 and has had over 550 episodes to date.  The Simpsons features a typical American family: father Homer, mother Marge and three children, Bart, Lisa and Maggie:

Mark talked about each family member: Homer (whose catchphrase of ‘Doh!’ formed part of the games), the middle-aged balding glutton who is gullible and bad-tempered with his children and always keen to make a quick buck; Marge, whose loving nature gets disrupted by everyday routines and desperately needs a holiday; Bart, the lovable naughty boy who plays tricks and loves his dog; Lisa, the smart, musical daughter who always tries to do the right thing and Maggie, the cute baby who always gets into trouble! The series shows us the power of family, for despite the many arguments and problems, the family always works together. Ps 68:4-6 reminds us that God sets the lonely in families and we belong together. We can’t choose our natural family members and we can’t choose who is in the church, but we are called to work through our differences and problems and support each other.

Each member of the family has a different personality, and in the same way, the church is made up of different individuals who have been set in place by God. (1 Cor 12:12-20) We all have different talents and gifts, but we belong together. The Simpsons usually end up on the sofa watching TV:

Just as they are finally focussed on something together, the church’s focus needs to be on Jesus. When He is at the centre, we can work through all our differences and act as the supporting family He wants us to be.

The Worship Central conference held at Westminster Central Hall in London on 31 October and 1 November was an opportunity to join with thousands of Christians from all over the world in worship and study. Such opportunities to learn from others are crucial to our ongoing development and all the sessions will be available on the Worship Central website shortly. Here’s a summary:

Louie Giglio spoke on 2 Cor 4 on Friday evening, stressing that we need to die daily to ourselves in order to allow the life of Christ to shine through us to others. Some of the things we need to die to include:

1. a small view of God

2. an over-familiarity with the gospel, whereby we lose the sense of the revolutionary nature of what God has done for us in bringing us from death to life

3. the idea that it’s all about the songs or the service, when our focus needs to be all about the Saviour

4. the idea that service is for the applause of other people, when we need to minister from a secure knowledge of our identity in Christ above everything else

5. pride

6. the temptation to give up

Mike Pilavachi spoke from Ezekiel 47 on the river of God on Saturday morning.This river symbolises the movement of God’s Holy Spirit from the altar and place of sacrifice to the dead sea. We are sent out by the Father, Son and Spirit into the world so that life may come from death, but as we progress into the river of God, our sense of comfort is often challenged. Splashing in water that is ankle deep is cooling and refreshing; being knee deep can be fun. But as we go deeper, there is a sense of discomfort as we have to surrender to the water. God’s love language ultimately is obedience and our love is proved by our obedience. God has many children, he concluded, but does He have many friends? We worship God ultimately through our obedience.

Tim & Rachel Hughes spoke from Ps 27:13-14 on Saturday evening. The psalmist speaks of an unshakeable confidence that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, but in order to enter into this, we have to wait and be strong in God. The temptation to give in is often great, but we are called to trust, to live by faith and not by sight and to persevere through the days when nothing seems to be happening. We have to keep going and to trust God to bring about the wave that will bring us into new things and into revival.

Phil Wickham’s song ‘Glory’ looks at the visions of God’s glory experienced by many in the Bible (see Is 6, Ezek 10, Rev 4):

‘The mountains standing in Your strength,
The oceans roaring out Your praise,
All creation glorifies Your name.
The angels bow before Your throne.
The heavens shine for You alone.
All creation glorifies Your name.
All creation glorifies Your name.

Singing:
Holy, holy
Holy is the Lord Almighty, worthy,
All the earth is filled
With Your glory, glory
We give You glory, glory.

In Your hand You hold the universe.
At Your feet the nations of the earth.
All creation glorifies Your name.
All creation glorifies Your name.

Blessing, honour,
Glory, power:
All our praises
Yours forever.’ (‘Glory’, Phil Wickham)