Tonight will see the start of a new Bible study, looking initially at the short book of Philemon, a personal letter of Paul about a slave, Onesimus. We will be looking at some of the modern-day issues which challenge our faith and how we should respond to these, including modern-day slavery. If you’d like to do some research before tonight, I suggest you take a look at these websites of Christian organisations involved in working to bring an end to slavery:
A21 Campaign
Amnesty International

Sometimes we fail to realise the truly radical calling of Jesus and the implications of the gospel for our own lives and for our society. We need to ask God to show us not only what is actually going on in the world but what He wants us to do about these things. Indifference is not an option He has left us!

Do come along tonight at 7:30 and find out more.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10)

“Life is a song we must sing with our days
A poem with meaning more than words can say
A painting with colours no rainbow can tell
A lyric that rhymes either heaven or hell.
We are living letters that doubt desecrates,
We’re the notes of the song of the chorus of faith.
God shapes every second of our little lives
And minds every minute as the universe waits by.

The pain and the longing
The joy and the moments of light
Are the rhythm and rhyme
The free verse of the poem of life.

So look in the mirror and pray for the grace
To tear off the mask, see the art of your face
And open your ear lids to hear the sweet song
Of each moment that passes and pray to prolong
Your time in the ball of the dance of your days
Your canvas of colours, of moments ablaze
With all that is holy
With the joy and the strife
With the rhythm and rhyme of the poem of your life
With the rhythm and rhyme of the poem of your life.”
‘The Poem of Your Life’, Michael Card

“For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9: 24-28)

Most of my life is spent doing the same things over and over again. Every day I have to get washed, brush my teeth, brush my hair, get dressed, cook, eat, wash up, and so on. There may be some rare exceptions to these routines, but life generally seems to be made up of the same things most days. There are one-off events in our lives, of course, which are highly significant, but for many of us, even these somehow get subsumed in the ordinariness of the mundane routines.

That is not the case with Christ’s sacrifice for sin, which was a once-and-for-all event!

“Once and for all, the Father’s love
He is the light in the darkness
He took on flesh and took our place
The weight of the world on His shoulders
The weight of the world on His shoulders

Jesus, Jesus, God from God, Light from light, You are our Salvation
Jesus, Jesus, God from God, Light from light, Your kingdom is forever.” (‘Once And For All’, Chris Tomlin)
‘Once And For All’, Chris Tomlin

Yesterday I ventured into CLC (Christian bookshop in Sheffield) to buy some cards and presents. It’s always a treat for me to go there. Shops that sell books, cards, posters and CDs are probably my favourite type of shop and I invariably come out of them weighed down with presents and inspired by something I’ve seen, read or heard!

Yesterday was no exception. Being someone who loves words and tends to have quotations and Scriptures scattered around the house on laminated notes (because I so easily forget what I have read and need constant reminders of truth), I was captivated by the artwork of Hannah Dunnett. This was not simply because I liked the pictures (though I did), but because interwoven with every line of the artwork were verses of Scripture. This is one step further than the laminated words I have around my house: now I can have the Word of God as well as a beautiful picture, all in one! The pictures below don’t do justice to the real thing, because it’s so hard to read all the words on this size of photo, but if you want to see more, the website has more for you to look at.

‘Alpha and Omega’, containing many verses on this theme and on the theme of Jesus overcoming death:


‘Wisdom’, containing verses on God’s wisdom

I was so captivated by the images and words I saw (some of which I bought – these are available as cards or as posters) that I went to find out more and on the website discovered that Hannah’s husband, Ben, is an accomplished musician who has produced several CDs. This range of creativity has left me beaming with pleasure. It’s always a magical moment when you connect with something new and find a new expression of creativity that enriches your spirit. It never ceases to amaze me that there are still stories to be told, songs to be sung, pictures to be drawn, photos to be taken which capture something new or help us to see old truth in a new way. I am profoundly grateful for all those who take the time to be creative and to enrich our lives in this way.

Last night’s service was led by Jeannette, giving us an opportunity to see new ministries emerging and to do things a little bit differently!

We focussed on the power of words, looking at the powerful word of God. We read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and John 1:1-14.

We also looked at the power of our words, sending encouraging text messages to people to remind us how our words can either build up or tear down (see Matt 15:11, 18). We also investigated prayer by writing to God and by praying for Jenson, who will travel to Oxford this week for a major operation.

Some things didn’t change, however! We had a birthday to celebrate, which we did in the usual fashion:

Dave began a mini-series on Ephesians 2:1-7 last night, looking at the depths of our situation without God and the heights to which He has called us.

This passage teaches us that man without God is dead in transgressions and sins. This spiritual death means that there is no personal relationship with God and mankind is trapped in a cycle of depravity and disobedience. The doctrine of original sin teaches us that man has a bias or propensity towards evil. Sin leads to separation from God and condemnation from Him.

Death Valley is the lowest point in the United States of America. It is 280 feet below sea level and can be terrifyingly hot (43 degrees celsius in summer). Figuratively speaking, this is representative of our position before we came to know Christ:

It is hard for us sometimes to take in the full measure of God’s deliverance. The highest point in the United States is Mount Whitney. This is 14,505 feet above sea level and temperatures are usually below freezing at that height:

The enormity of what God has done for us in Christ is outlined in this passage. Just as Jesus died, rose again and ascended to His Father’s side, so the Christian, who was dead in sin, has been raised to new life and is now seated in heavenly places with God in Christ.

The Christian is no longer dead and no longer imprisoned in sin. “Only He who fashioned the world could create a new nature,” C. H. Spurgeon has said and not only are we freed from sin so that we no longer have to be slaves to sin but are now under grace (see Rom 7:1-4, Rom 6:1-2), but there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). We are alive to God, having:

* a new life
* a new attitude to God
* a new mind (see Rom 12:1-2), with a new perspective
* a new purpose (where we can share in God’s exaltation and glory, being raised for the purpose of demonstrating to others the surpassing riches of His grace)
* a new nature (we are now new creations in Christ – 2 Cor 5:17)

The same power which raised Christ from the dead now lives in us (Eph 1:17-18). We are set free from sin and raised to new life. What heights of glory!