Pudsey Bear, champion of Children in Need, made an appearance via cake at the Parent & Toddler group at church this morning!

Our thanks to Bev for her baking and to all who support this group. The Parent & Toddler Christmas party will be on Friday 12th December from 9.30 until 11.00 a.m. and we are sure that will be an exciting end-of-term activity for all!

One of the benefits of doing a Bible study is the opportunity to look at familiar passages in other versions of the Bible. J. B. Phillips’ paraphrase of the New Testament looks at the idea of overcoming the world in this way: ‘God’s “heredity” within us will always conquer the world outside us. In fact, this faith of ours is the only way in which the world has been conquered. For who could ever be said to conquer the world, in the true sense, except the man who really believes that Jesus is God’s Son?’

Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring from its parents, through DNA. In the nucleus of each human cell, the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecule is packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes. Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure.

At conception, when the sperm cell joins with the egg cell, chromosomes from the mother and father are passed on to the child, with each sperm and egg cell containing 23 sets of chromosomes. When they join, they form a single cell called a zygote which has 46 chromosomes. Each parent contributes a full set of chromosomes, but the order in which these are contributed is random, meaning each child will be unique. Hereditary features include:

• eye colour
• colour blindness
• freckles
• whether you are left or right handed
• whether your earlobes are loose or attached to your face
• dimples
• cleft chin
• the ability to roll your tongue

When there are mutations to specific genes, genetic diseases occur (eg Down’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21) or cystic fibrosis (caused by a defective gene on chromosome 7 called CFTR). Clearly, we owe much to our genes, and in the same way that we are, in many respects, the ‘product of our parents’, so too the new spiritual birth gives us access to God’s nature. (2 Pet 1:3-4) John Stott reminds us that “The new birth is a supernatural event which takes us out of the sphere of the world, where Satan rules, into the family of God.”  Eph 2:1-6 reminds us of what we were in the natural and how God’s mercy and love have given us access to God’s grace and mean that we are no longer slaves to sin (see Rom 6:4-14). We are new creations, transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of life and residents now of a heavenly city! No wonder we can rejoice in our faith as the victory which not only overcomes the world but which has already conquered it, for Jesus has completed the work of salvation! (see Heb 10:12-14)

Tonight’s Bible study looked at 1 John 5:1-12. The chapter starts by looking at the connection between being born of God and love and reiterates John’s firm belief (which echoes Jesus’s words in John 14:15, 21 & John 15:10) that love is chiefly demonstrated through our obedience: in Mike Pilavachi’s words ‘our love is proved by our obedience.’  John Piper comments that ‘you can know whether you love someone by whether you let the commandments of God govern your relationship‘ and goes on to say ‘‘The love for God that can test the genuineness of our love for man is an experience of God in our relationships with people that not only causes us to submit to his commandments but also to do it freely rather than begrudgingly. When you have this experience of God—what Elizabeth Elliot calls the “glad surrender”—then you have assurance that your love toward the children of God is real and no mere self-deception.’

This belief that God’s commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:4) makes no sense to the natural mind, but to those who are born of God, there is delight in exchanging our heavy burdens for Jesus’s light yoke (see Matt 11:28-30). The Christian life makes extravagant claims: here, John tells us that our faith overcomes the world. So often, we feel that the world is squeezing us into its mould rather than our faith overcoming the world, but the Message version says ‘the conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith.’ It is not our victorious person, Plummer writes, but the victorious power in us which overcomes. Indeed, the amazing truth is that we are invited by God to participate in His divine nature (2 Pet 1:3-4) and it is because of our identification with Christ (in His death, burial, resurrection and exaltation as Gal 2:20, Rom 6:4, Eph 2:6 and Col 3:4 make clear) that we can have confidence in ultimate victory. Our authority is determined by our position in Christ. We don’t have to walk around defeated because Christ has made us victors.

John goes on to talk about the power of testimony. Christ’s baptism and death (‘water and blood’) testify to the Father’s redemptive heart and the Holy Spirit testifies to all that Jesus has said and done (see John 14:26, John 16:15.) The continuing presence of Jesus’ power in the Christian community is experienced by believers as they are

1. made alive (by the Spirit),
2. cleansed from their sins (represented by water)
3. and reconciled to God (by Jesus’ death on the cross).

These three things are “witnesses” because although the opponents can deny the apostolic eyewitness testimony regarding the importance of Jesus’s earthly life and ministry they cannot deny the present effects of Jesus’ actions in the lives of believers within the congregation. God’s testimony about Jesus (eg Matt 3:17 at His baptism or Matt 17:15 at His transfiguration) is that life is in Jesus (see John 5:26) and we have been given the enormous privilege of sharing in that life: life which is eternal (see John 3:16, 36 & John 20:30-31).

You can listen to the main talks from the Worship Central conference on their website. The main talks from Tim & Rachel Hughes, Louie Giglio and Mike Pilavachi are all available to listen to; simply click on the relevant picture and then on the ‘play’ button for some great teaching.

Today is Remembrance Day, and this year the remembering is even more poignant as we remember 100 years since the start of the First World War. The Tower of London memorial features 888, 246 poppies, commemorating every British fatality during the First World War:

When faced with such an overwhelming visual reminder of the loss of life during war, it is easy to lose sight of the individuals concerned. The truth remains that God knows each individual and loves them; He does not need such reminders, for we are engraved on the palm of His hands (Is 49:16). For all directly affected by war, there is no need for visual reminders, for the loss and scars remain with them permanently. But for the rest of us, especially those who are younger and who may have no personal experience of this kind of loss, Remembrance Day is especially important. The video attached to the link above only takes 1m 32 to watch, but is a powerful way of remembering.

War is a result of sin. Our hearts ache for all caught up in war, but we know from personal experience that sin hits us all and affects every single relationship we have. Dislocation, misunderstanding, intolerance and hatred are not 20th century phenomena or the result of governments alone. They are part of the sin-cursed life and only by God’s redeeming love can they be overcome. As we remember human loss and grief, we rejoice through our tears that God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him and to each other and that He is building a new heaven and new earth where all grief, sorrow, death and weeping will be removed. We long for this day to come.

We had the privilege of spending more time with Fredrick and Reeba yesterday. First of all, they had a crash course in English history as we visited Cusworth Hall near Doncaster!

We then visited the Salvation Army so they could see the food bank ministry we support in action and later visited Ralph and Letty who are not able to attend meetings because of ill-health but who have prayed for Fredrick and Reeba for many years. Letty was thrilled not only to be given a partnership plaque similar to the one we received at church but also a hand-made bag from the women who attend the Empowerment Tailoring Programme:

The church plaque:

Further information about the sewing programme can be read in this blog and we are excited to be able to give money to contribute to the development and continuation of this project. The programme is currently run in Guntur (in the Andhra Pradesh region) and Bangalore in the Karnetaka region) and there are plans for another centre to be opened in Coimbatore (Reeba’s home area, 8 hours from Bangalore in the south). One of the most exciting things about the stories they have been able to share with us is to hear how people from other faiths (mainly Hindus and Muslims) have been coming to faith in Christ through their ministries.

As we pray for international issues this month, let’s remember that God is working in miraculous ways all over the world and we can be in partnership with Him through our prayers and giving. If anyone is interested in seeing for themselves, Fredrick and Reeba are more than willing to show people around personally and there are many opportunities to be practically involved with them. Talk to us for more details!