Have you started making any New Year resolutions? That’s a bit early isn’t it Andrew? Well, in a worldly sense it’s probably something the media doesn’t start to cover until after Christmas but for the Church the New Year begins in Advent. It is a time of waiting and preparation as we journey towards the power and the drama of the Incarnation – God becoming one of us!

So I ask the question again – have you made any New Year resolutions? Rev Tony Rose set us a really healthy challenge for 2011; to read the Bible in a year to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of the King James Version being published. I was wondering if it would be worth putting up a pledge board at the back of church for people to sign up and say that they are going to read the Bible in a year?

Another resolution may be to think about how we give. We are going to be looking at the subject of giving over the next three Sundays and hopefully appreciating that it is a lot more than simply sticking our hand in our pocket or doing a bit of volunteering. We give as a response to God who gave first. We give as part of our worship to the God who cared so much for us that He poured Himself out into the form of a little babe.  That sounds so sweet in our carols but was actually real live flesh and blood sent onto this spinning planet. The drama of Christmas points to the triumph of Easter, but what a journey between the two and what a glorious journey after – hallelujah! As we look at giving in the Church please think and pray through whether you have got your giving right from the amount you give, whether in time or money or of yourself? It may be that as you pray.

God wants you to step back from something to concentrate on others or let others have a go, but it may be that God asks you to plunge on deeper and in faith!

One very big step of faith that we will be taking in 2011 is to commit to running a series on the 10 Commandments as designed by the evangelist J John. The series is called ‘Just 10’ and will commence the Sunday after Epiphany. Our Sunday services will be broadly similar but have some different aspects and different styles of delivery. One of the blessings of the series is that it will build up the body of believers but the main aim will be to reach out to those outside the church or those who only attend irregularly. Please can you start to think and pray about one or two people you would like to invite along to the ‘Just 10’ Sunday services and lets see how God blesses us all!

So here comes the New Year . . .on your marks, get set, pray!

Andrew +

How was your summer? Don’t mention August’s weather but apparently September is supposed to be better! I had a really good summer, Cathy the girls and I stayed on a child friendly farm with chickens and a pig at the end of our cottage garden and the chance to visit different parts of Somerset. The following week we attended ‘New Wine’ – camping with a baby is certainly brave or mad – I’ll let you decide! New Wine was like an extended version of Spring Harvest but everyone was camping or caravanning and it was cheaper – bonus! Cathy and I weren’t able to go to much of the main teaching and seminars but what we did see was really impressive. Five thousand Christians worshipping God in a massive big top is always going to get my pulse going!

Cathy and I were doing a lot of tag team baby sitting with the girls and one night there was an opening for me to get to one of the evening meetings. The Bishop of London gave an inspiring key note address about the power of Christ’s resurrection. At New Wine there is often prayer ministry and as I walked into the venue I said, ‘God if you want me to have prayer ministry, please make it really clear – I’m not going up if it’s just to go through the motions.

After the inspiring worship and stunning address the service leader bluntly said, ‘Would all Church leaders please come to the front for prayer now!’. No messing from God on that one then! I duly went forward for prayer and the next I knew I was on the floor with a tremendous sense of God’s love for me. Things that had bothered me and been playing on my mind fell away and I felt that I was at the base of a waterfall which was God’s love just pouring onto me. The ministry was really powerful and took me back to when I first encountered the Holy Spirit in a vision when I was 16. Time seemed fairly irrelevant as I just soaked up God’s presence and love, after what was probably 20 minutes I had an awareness that maybe I was sober enough to be able to get up off the floor and walk. I made my way back to a friend and couldn’t stop beaming. God understood my needs exactly and on the one occasion I made it to the big top there was a clear call for me to have prayer ministry where God blessed me tremendously.

Why share all this? When we offer prayer ministry at the end of a service, you don’t have to be at death’s door to go up for ministry! It might be for something really small that niggles or a desire to simply know more of God’s love. We do our part and God does the rest. Have you ever gone forward for prayer? If not, why no give it a go. Sometimes people get scared that God might do something that they don’t want but God knows how we tick and won’t force us into anything that we don’t like or aren’t comfortable with. God is gentle, loving and kind as well as being holy, awesome and mighty! We thank God for our, skilled and sensitive prayer ministry team lets also be open to God’s prompting to use them!

As we enjoy an Indian Summer, may we know the love of God enfold us, the presence of Christ beside us and the Holy Spirit within us as we grow in our love for each other and the lost!

Andrew +

Today we start a new series on Exodus. Having studied Genesis last year we now roll our sleeves up for  ‘Walking as God’s people’. The dreams and promises of Genesis and the walk of faith of Abraham has turned into the nightmare of the Israelites being enslaved by Egypt.

Exodus starts with the hope of Israel precariously floating down the river in a basket. A grown man? No a little baby – a future model for the Christ child being born in a manger. The baby Moses becomes a prince, an insurrectionist and then an itinerant shepherd in the desert. It is into this bleak setting that the presence of God is made known through the burning bush that is not itself consumed. As Moses stands bare foot on holy ground we realise that nothing will ever be the same again. A Holy God takes sides against the Egyptians the awesome Passover takes place and in one act the people of Israel are released from captivity, plunder the Egyptians and see the most extraordinary miracle as they become the people of the Promised Land! So it all ends happily ever after then . . .well is humankind’s story ever so simple. The children of God grow up in the desert and under their stammering Leaders guidance they walk with God and learn and fail at being a Holy people.

So how is this relevant today, Colchester in 2010 and the various challenges of life?

We care about Jesus and Exodus is a key part of the Bible that Jesus would have read. The very act of Passover becomes a tradition that Jesus then replaces with himself as the Passover lamb at the last Supper – our Holy Communion. The other challenge for any people of faith is how to walk in faith with a Holy God whether we are talking about 4,000 years ago or today. The same eternal God never changes and we are called to be his faithful children. May God bless us as we learn to walk as God’s people in Colchester.

Andrew +

Have you ever watched a film a second time and been a little bit disappointed? Or have you been back somewhere to eat and it wasn’t as special the second time? One of the challenges for Christians is to keep tapping into the sheer enormity and power of Easter. Sometimes it may take time to sink in because everything is familiar*, we know the story line, we know there is a happy ending.

Part of the awkwardness of that first Easter is shown as we left church on Good Friday in silence. Gill led us in an hour’s reflection at the foot of the cross and then instead of going for a cup of tea or coffee in the hall and a nice chat . . .we disbanded in silence. The reality on Good Friday was so much worse – the disciples had fled with only the women remaining with the young John (who was probably seen as no great threat). The depth of their despair then presents the valley bottom to the mountain top joy of Easter Sunday.

In my study I have a framed picture by a Belgian landscape artist. It shows Peter and John at first light making their way to the tomb. Peter is older, of strong build, one of his fisherman hands is half pointing forward with the other holding his chest. The younger John looks racked with anxiety as his hands are clasped to his chest. There is a mixture of emotion in the disciple’s faces as they hurry to the tomb. It looks like questions are fizzing through their minds, ‘Is this the final insult? His body has been stolen?’, ‘Is it true, what the women said – is he really alive?’

Can we really grasp the power of that first Easter morning, a harrowing death becomes a mystery to which the disciples can hardly dare believe. . .the tomb is empty. . .Christ is risen?

We now know the full shape of the Easter gospel but if we were watching the lines unfold before our eyes then we more fully appreciate what drama and strain and tension was travelled through with the murderous mistrial that becomes a missing person mystery before showering forth the full power of a victory for all eternity. Christ lived, Christ died, Christ lives forever, risen victorious from the grave hallelujah!

God bless you this Easter as we live out the hope we have through Christ!

Andrew +

Quite often people like to give me things to read. I sometimes find its helpful and other times I think of the pile of things on my desk that I need to read and if I had a spare couple of hours would love to read instead!

Just before coming to the Berechurch someone put in my hand a clipping from a news paper with the title: “Church decides that Lent should really be more of a laugh”. The article made a point of gently ribbing the Church of England over its many challenges but also plugged the new ‘Love life, live Lent’ resource. The title ‘Love life, live Lent’ is a good guide to a positive way of approaching Lent. As the church of England Spokes person of the time commented, ‘Traditionally Lent has been seen as a sombre time of sackcloth and ashes. What we are suggesting is that people share jokes, which is a way of kick starting a very positive take on the season’. At the time of going to press there had been no additions to the Website jokes spot, but the Times offered this one.

‘A pub regular always bought his pints of beer in three’s. When asked he said that he did it as a promise to always have a drink with his two brothers but they had since emigrated to Australia. One day he comes in and orders just two pints! He is asked by the bar man why – oh I’ve given up Beer for Lent, but my brothers haven’t!’

One of the challenges for Christians is to get the right balance between not being flippant about important things like Lenten fasts and equally not being the bore of the party. At our Ash Wednesday service Jesus challenges folks who are fasting not to look miserable but to make yourself look good! Instead of making a big deal about your fast to be noticed by others, observe your fast discreetly and honour God alone!

I don’t know if the person who gave me the clipping thought I needed cheering up or whether they thought I took life too seriously! But as we reflected at the service on Wednesday, the grace and bounty of the Lent tradition is such that it is ‘bookended by two feasts’. As Christians we are called to love life, therefore if we choose to give up chocolate it’s actually a real challenge. Lets love life and really live Lent. Instead of enduring a humourless life and a gritted teeth Lent, lets enjoy the gift of life and live Lent!

Andrew +

At St Margaret’s, we have had posters up that communicate the journey of the wise men to find Jesus. As Christians we don’t simple welcome in a New Year at this time of year, we reflect on the ways of the wise who seek God under a star. The wise find what they are looking for in the form of an infant child. One of the wonders of the exotic arrival of the wise men is that suddenly we have a sense that the Bible’s Good News is opening up to the whole world. The very same baby becomes a man, the man, who in turn, dies for the world. It is this baby that is welcomed by the people from a very different part of the world to Israel. There is a sense of the Bible’s Good News opening up something which had become quite exclusive: the “children of God” was to become all God’s children on earth.

I think we can also learn something about journeying from the wise men. Being a Christian is not static.  It is not a place to arrive into but a journey. What happens at Church on Sunday is special but it is only a springboard into the business of the week. Perhaps we get frustrated that folks only come to church once or twice a year but is that so different from us only allowing God to get a look into our weeks on a Sunday? Being a Christian is lived out in the race through the week just as much as in worship on Sunday. Being a Christian means being ready to travel away from what is comfortable as we follow the light to know Jesus better.

May I wish you a very happy New Year and a wonderful 2010. May you know the wonder and the generosity of God as we journey with God further into the light of Christ.

Andrew +

An esteemed friend of my has a guilty secret…he loves Coronation street. We were at morning prayer and reading about the plans for building a wonderful temple in Jerusalem. King David had the vision and made the plans and the wisest man to ever live, King Solomon was going to make it happen. What struck us as we read was the quality of what was being offered, Gold for this and Sliver for that, the very best materials to bring glory to God in the construction of a marvellous temple to house the living God of Israel.

As we approach Harvest, what are we offering to God? Is it the first fruits of the harvest or the left overs? As a Church I hope we are not to hung up on money and don’t spend all our energies fund raising. But as Christians, part of our worship to God, part of the way we bring honour to God is through what we give to the Church. As we discussed the passage of scripture my esteemed friend shared about one of the characters in Coronation street being burgled and not having any furniture. All the neighbours clubbed together and found old bits of unwanted furniture that was surplus to requirements and brought it round. The character that had been burgled was very grateful for the thought but said to the crowd. . .’You can take your old ‘tut’ home thanks very much!’. Although the character who had been burgled probably knew the phrase ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ they had standards and would rather go without than have some old rubbish!

What does this say to the Church? When the Temple was built it was made to the very best specification possible – are the things that we give to the Church of the very best? What does it say about how we view God and the church if all the things we use are left over bits from home! How can we be thoughtful about what we give to the church including time and energy – do you book your diary up with loads of things and then the Church might get a look in afterwards – this recipe is lethal when it comes to running rota’s for jobs in the Church. Are we offering our best to God each day, each week, each year or does God get the left over’s or the old tut!

Let’s build in silver and gold and offer our best to the Lord this Harvest rather than the thing that fills up our loft or garage! May God bless you with a giving heart and may you know Gods provision in your lives.

Andrew +

Sometimes things are hard to handle, the truth can be too tough and we need to wrap things up in terms that are softer, share things in a way that are not quite so direct. Its rude to be direct and actually presenting things in a gentler way can be seen as kind, even British. Don’t get me wrong, I am all in favour of being gentle and kind and polite and we could really do with people to be more polite in this often rude and harsh world that we live in. The problem I have is that we have made Easter, soft and cuddly.

Easter Chicks or chocolate are sweet in both senses but are do they blunt an uncomfortable truth. I am not saying that we should scare children with the brutal facts of Jesus death on the cross but to what extent have we lost the ‘reason for the season?’. Walk down the high street today and vast majority of the displays will be fully engaged with a pagan understanding of new life coming out of the deathly sleep of Winter. As we move ever further from our Christian roots, we get ourselves into a situation were our children could easily think that Easter is about chocolate eggs, lambs and chicks and Christmas is about presents, mince pies and sitting round the telly with your family.

The challenge each season for us Christians is to retell the Christian story, to ‘keep the feast’ and re member what has become broken and dismembered by our society. By worshipping in Church and observing our Easter services we concentrate our minds for a moment on the reality and drama of that first Easter. We need to be thoughtful and prayerful about how we share this eternal story with those we love and know and especially pray for those who skilfully share with our children but let us never loose sight of the powerhouse of a story that explains why we can pray to God and he hears us! Amidst the fun of chocolate and chicks let us be renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit and the strength of God that moved from death to life to believe that we have a God that can take any situation, however deathly and breathe new life, dare I dream that we have a God that could see the spiritual reawakening of a nation from the Pagan death of a Credit crunch to the Christian new life of eternal riches in Christ.

God bless you this Lent and walk with you through the death and resurrection of Easter!

Andrew +

Apparently the week before I arrived Brian Snelling had a picture for the Church that it was like a rocket on a launch pad ready to take off, the question was ‘Are you ready?’ What Brian didn’t know and what was then pointed out in my study is that I have a big poster of a Tintin comic book cover which has. . . a rocket on a Launch pad ready to take off.

Looking back at where we have travelled in the last 15monhts I am excited about the future. Recently some of us have been meeting midweek to pray and learn about how to do Mid Week church. The Parish Pastorates idea has been chewed over with plenty of space for people to share what they think. It may be scary stopping our normal routine of House groups but sometimes it is good to simply stop and wait on God’s guidance, it will always be an exciting journey. Well I believe that the rocket spoken about has taken off, we’ve launched!

The Parish Pastorates has definitely got its fans but some also have misgivings and want to see stepping stones put in place before we start. So what did we find out over the last few Wednesdays? God clearly challenged us about how the early Church did fellowship and then the following week spoke to us through the first 16 verses of  Philippian’s chapter 2. There was a real sense of how important it is to be united and as much as some may want to press ahead with the Parish Pastorates it is important that we are united as a body of believers. The sense was that it was a good idea but not yet. As we discussed and shared it was clear that we should still meet for fellowship and the plan is to meet twice a month in the Church up until Lent. We will publish a timetable soon but the idea is that we will have tasters of different things and the odd social.  During Lent we meet as Churches together and then after Easter I am proposing that we do an Alpha course as a whole Church. If we are to be a Church that runs Alpha’s it would be good for us to know what we are recommending to others. Alpha would be a very refreshing way of reviewing our Christian faith and will give us a fresh change from normal House groups, after this we will look to have further training for the Parish pastorates and then look to start next September by slowly planting out the Parish Pastorates.

As you can tell the rocket has launched, it may be a bit scary but we are one in Christ and know that God is faithful and will lead us on. Every blessing as we ‘blast off’ in faith.

Andrew +