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)

Having looked at the unnecessary burdens we need to leave with God in exchange for His light and easy yoke (Matt 11:28-30), we continued looking at the idea that ‘the only weight we need to carry is the weight of God’s glory’ by exploring the idea of God’s glory.

‘Glory‘ is a difficult term to define, for it is largely an abstract concept for us and we find it much easier to deal with proper nouns that we can see and touch! That is why God so often gives us examples of abstract ideas (‘God is love’ is explained by John thus: ‘‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.’ (1 John 3:16) ) or uses metaphors (He is our Shepherd, our Rock etc.) Ps 19:1 talks about the heavens and skies declaring God’s glory and praise, reminding us of God’s magnificence. Is 43:7 reminds us that we are handmade people, made in God’s image and for His glory. Quite often, God’s glory is described using images we can understand, such as clouds or fire or dazzling light.

Ex 24:15-16 reminds us that when Moses received the Ten Commandments, a cloud descended on Mount Sinai and this was seen as a burning fire. (Heb 12:18) When Moses finished working on the Tabernacle – the symbol of God’s presence – a cloud descended (Ex 40:34-35); similarly, a cloud descended when Solomon finished praying over the dedication of the Temple. (2 Chron 7:1) The Hebrew word for ‘glory’ (‘chabod’) carries with it a sense of weight and heaviness (as when we talk about someone’s opinions being ‘weighty’, meaning important). The image of fire is seen in Isaiah 6 and of dazzling light in Is 60:1-3 and the Transfiguration of Jesus. (Matt 17:3-5) Every encounter with God’s glory, whether that is described in terms of clouds or fire or dazzling light, leaves an indelible impression on people. When we encounter God in this way, there is a weight imprinted on our souls, like the mark of footprints in the snow.

In 2 Cor 3:7-18, Paul contrasts Moses’s experience of God’s glory on Mount Sinai with our experience, contrasting the ‘old covenant’ with the new. ‘We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.’ (2 Cor 3:18), or as the Message version says ‘‘Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.’

As we dwell in God’s presence, as we seek to encounter Him and abide in Him and remain in Him, our lives will lose the unnecessary weight of dead burdens but will become heavier with the weight of God’s glory. Our lives will have more meaning, will leave a deeper impression, will make their mark on this world, because our faces will be shining with the brightness of God’s face. God’s presence, God’s glory, God’s nature… all we need. All other weights given up for the weight of God’s glory.

This morning’s sermon looked at the idea that ‘the only weight we need to carry is the weight of God’s glory.’ So often, we carry unnecessary burdens and weights which God never intended us to carry. Matt 11:28-30 reminds us that God’s yoke is easy and His burden is light, so we need to lay down the weights we carry. It’s not His intention that we are overloaded like a backpacking tourist:

Often the burdens we carry are those of worry, anxiety, fear, guilt and shame. Worry can easily consume our every waking moment, and is only resolved when we realise that God is our loving Father who cares for our daily needs and is able to provide for us. Anxiety is less specific, dwelling on hypothetical ‘What if…?’ scenarios where God’s grace cannot be found. Prov 3:25-26 reminds us that we need not fear sudden disaster, for God is with us; Ps 112:4 reminds us that even in darkness, God’s light shines for us to help us. When we are anxious, we have to choose to pray (see Phil 4:6-7), and God promises us His perfect peace.

Fear often arises from two false beliefs: the first, that God is not able to deliver us from situations (which is amply disproved by the Bible’s narratives of God’s miraculous interventions and deliverance) and secondly, that God does not love us enough or care enough to help us when we face difficulties. We strive for independence because we are not sure God is trustworthy, but that quickly leads us to chains which keep us bound, for we are simply not able to deal with every difficulty ourselves. Trust and love are the only things which dispel fear. (Ps 56:3, 1 John 4:18)

True guilt comes when we are convicted of our sin and leads us to repentance (2 Cor 7:10). As such , it is helpful, for we have all sinned and need the forgiveness only God can offer. (Rom 3:23, Rom 5:1-2). True guilt leads us towards God for forgiveness and salvation and focuses on the root issue of how our relationship with God is damaged every time we sin. False guilt, however, never feels that repentance is enough and leads us away from God because we believe the barrier to Him is insurmountable and that we are unworthy to be His children, so we continue to hide from God. We need to understand the power of the gospel: that we are forgiven, restored, accepted, welcomed before the throne of God (see Eph 1:4-6, Heb 4:16) and that our service arises from the acceptance we have already received, rather than from any desire to earn that acceptance. The enemy seeks to burden us with false guilt, telling us an awareness of sin is a sign of spiritual maturity, but God assures us that confession and repentance are our pathways to forgiveness (1 John 1:9); we do not have to live with a constant sense of guilt and shame which weigh us down.