By Their Fruit…
Garry spoke at tonight’s Little Big Church from Matt 7:15-20, a passage warning us that you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Children could easily identify sheep and wolves:
They could even identify the wolf that looked like a sheep:
However, it isn’t quite so easy to tell from a tree what fruit it will bring forth! We looked at different fruit trees and did not always correctly guess which fruit tree they were. Jesus made the point that it’s not always easy to tell what people are like just by looking at them (appearances can be deceptive), but He reminded us that our actions will ultimately point to the kind of people we really are. Actions matter enormously!
Second Homes?
Stephen enjoyed a caravan break last weekend, his caravan being his ‘home from home‘, a portable home which brings peace, joy and rest to him as he explores the UK. He is fortunate in having two homes, therefore: one a fixed abode and one a portable home on wheels!
Second homes may make the news nowadays as people are being forced to ‘staycation’ in the UK, but we have a spiritual home as well to look forward to (see John 14:1-6). Jesus is preparing a home for us with God, and 2 Cor 5:1-10 speaks of the difference between our life on earth (described here as being like camping in a tent!) and our heavenly home when we will live permanently in God’s presence. For all Christians, there is a longing at times to be settled in our second home, but in the meantime, we have purpose and a reason to live right now. God is with us through His Holy Spirit, and how we live now affects eternity (the passage talks about judgment for deeds done in the body). How we live in our earthly ‘body’ (both literally and in the church body) is seen by others; we are called to reflect God’s character and life to others.
Reflections on Acts
As we looked back over the whole of the book of Acts, we discussed a range of things which we have learned from this part of Scripture:
1) the fact that our faith is based on historical events which give us a firm foundation on which to stand. Within the Book of Acts there are over three hundred references to people, places, events, cities, districts and titles of various officials. With so many references of a historical nature, there are many chances to see if this work matches up with known reality; Sir William Ramsey was one historian who found, much to his surprise, that the historicity of this book is trustworthy: “I may fairly claim to have entered on this investigation without prejudice in favour of the conclusions which I shall now seek to justify to the reader. On the contrary, I began with a mind unfavourable to it, for the ingenuity and apparent completeness of the theory, had at one time quite convinced me. It did not then lie in my line of life to investigate the subject minutely, but more recently I found myself brought into contact with the Book of Acts as an authority for the topography, antiquities and society of Asia Minor. It was gradually borne upon me that in various details the narrative showed marvellous truth. In fact, beginning with a fixed idea that the work was essentially a second century composition, and never relying on its evidence as trustworthy for first century conditions, I gradually came to find it a useful ally in some obscure and difficult investigations.” (Sir William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1962, p. 36) Our faith is based on fact, not fiction.
2) the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers and the church. Throughout the book, we see Him moving in different ways. Ultimately, God’s mission will be completed because of His involvement in it!
3) the amazing fact that God chooses to use ordinary people to share in His work! We talked about the many people who featured in the book, not only the apostles (Peter, John, Paul) but those ‘incidental’ characters (like Ananias, so helpful to Paul after his conversion) whose presence reminds us how God uses each one of us to fulfil His will.
4) the importance of faith and prayer in our lives, looking at how often prayer featured in the book.
5) the corporate nature of the church, where every believer has a part to play and where God works through us, often in miraculous ways
6) the importance of team (the New Testament indicates the need for personal faith, but nowhere do we find ‘solo’ Christians; Acts is the story of the church, God’s people working together; even Paul took people with him on his missionary journeys and relied on the prayers and gifts of other Christians.)
7) the unavoidable fact of suffering and persecution (seen in the martyrdom of Stephen and James, but also in the everyday lives of so many believers and in Paul’s life especially).
8 ) the boldness, confidence and joy known by believers who were filled with the Holy Spirit. The transformation from terrified disciples to fearless apostles and from diffident followers to those who talked boldly wherever they went is astounding, but is testimony to what can happen when we are filled with God’s Spirit.
9) the providence, guidance and sovereignty of God and the mission of the church to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. This mission is ongoing!
Pentecost Trail (2)
Here are some photos from yesterday’s wonderful Pentecost Trail.
Pentecost Trail
At our Pentecost Trail yesterday on the Railway Embankment, we looked at the Holy Spirit’s arrival on the Day of Pentecost, having a dove trail for children to explore (the doves had messages about the gifts and fruit of the Spirit in other languages as well as English and looked at the names of the Holy Spirit given in the Bible).
We also looked at the fruit of the Spirit which God wants to grow in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23) – character traits such as love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience and self-controol. We enjoyed real fruit, remembering that God is the gardener and pondering on our connection to Jesus the vine. (John 15)
As we coloured in fruit shapes, painted fruit suncatchers and made bark rubbings of fruit, savouring the beautiful outdoor space carved out for us from wastelands by local residents who love where they live, we were able to reflect on the life God wants us to live and take photographs to remind us of how we need to grow.
Spiritual growth continues throughout our lives – these themes are not just for children!
God Speaks
God speaks to us in many different ways, but today, He has spoken to me through an advert for Buxton water. Here’s the advert:
I think it’s quite a pretentious advert for mineral water, actually, but today, it’s done a much better job than advertise water. It’s become something of a reminder of the living water I’m supposed to drink from each day!
Don’t give up. Simple words, but so often, we feel at breaking point. We feel we can no longer carry on. It doesn’t always have to be something major that precipitates this feeling, but we can easily reach the place where we just want to give up. “What’s the point?” we say to ourselves. We feel we’re not making a difference. We feel our witness goes unnoticed. We feel the weight of everyday troubles. We just don’t feel full of life and peace and joy. But into that feeling, the simple words ‘Don’t give up’ stir something with us. Our Scripture memory stirs.
Rise up. Again, instead of just leaving us with a negative command, we’re given something positive to do. Again, our Scripture memory stirs.
Our song memory is stirred too! You can listen to a very old song based on Micah 7:8 here. This is no modern version, no famous singer, but it’s never a bad thing if you’re singing Scripture verses!
And that’s how God speaks. Unexpectedly. Through unconventional sources. With the Holy Spirit reminding us of truth committed to memory long ago, suddenly brought to life at exactly the right moment.
Don’t give up. Rise up.