So... In the week when everybody is celebrating the victory of the ordinary Joe in the street over the bulldozing might of big business; there is another less well known story, that of Mr Splashy Pants, which I personally find more amusing.
By the way, is it me or does the guy in the video remind you of the actor, Martin Freeman?
Jesus did what we could never do, that is to live the perfect life. The kind of life that would get the Heavenly Father's 100% approval with no caveats, no ifs, no buts, no spin and no exaggeration. He lived the life that we could never live, despite all its inherent pressures and stresses, temptations and sufferings. He proved faithful to the will of his Father to the end of his earthly life - to an excruciating, abandoned and accursed death. A death which soaked up all of the Father, Son and Spirit's righteous anger against all human wickedness and treachery and the subsequent curse that this wickedness had brought on the whole cosmos.
Jesus was never sent, only to be a good moral example for the world, our need and his mission was so much greater than that (as things like the Copenhagen summit illustrate so well). He is the first of a new humanity. Not the human equivalent of a software patch or upgrade, but a whole new kind of human - he was and is the true human. One that we could never create, whether artificially or naturally. Since that first rebellion, we have all been and all are frauds and counterfeits, all living on borrowed time.
Christmas, that is Jesus Christ, is the ultimate sneak peak, the spoiler, as to what the new humanity will be like.
In 2010 a number of us at RFC will be walking through the Bible in the same way you would walk through any other book: from front cover to rear cover. Going slowly enough, to take in as many of the sights, sounds, smells, touches and tastes as we can without getting bogged down in the detail, and getting to know the true and living God better along the way.
The plan is to meet up monthly, bringing along the questions, frustrations, revelations, thoughts and testimonies we have (had) as a result of all we've been reading and then talking it all through.
Of course, if I get my way, we'll involve food! Why not? It's biblical. :-)
Steve Levy, a pastor from Mount Pleasant Church, Swansea, expresses wonderfully much of what I'd love this forum to achieve.
(Buy his short and cheap-yet-excellent bible overview here)
Personally, I'm looking forward to knowing and loving God more, but I'm also looking forward to doing that with others. I naturally make things over complicated, and I know there are going to be those times when the penny will drop because of what someone else asks or says that I had never seen before.
Wisdom is not the preserve of the intelligent, but of the humble.
This is not an academic forum. It's not for people who want to get a spiritual bicycle pump and puff up their brains! Rather, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we simply want to become wise, so that we can love God and love like God loves.
Not long ago, in this post I wrote about how it's only human beings - those made in the image and likeness of God, who can sing, everything else in creation only speaks.
So when I was sitting in our church meeting this morning and we read Rev. 5:6-12, I found myself feeling uncomfortable and somewhat exposed when it said that all the angels and that lot sang and a nervous undertone of: Am I going to need to do a screeching public u-turn here? sat with me as I listened in.
This afternoon, I thought I better double check. Now I am no Greek geek, but looking at the Greek word lego that the NIV translates sang in v12-13 and you'll see no hint of it meaning "sing".
So why is it rendered sung in the NIV? I don't know. Maybe if someone in the NIV Translation Committee were to pass by this blog, they could soon shut me up. But for now I feel relieved and vindicated.
By the way, Sean's sermon was a cracker. Pick it up here when it's uploaded later this week.
On another note, if you have ever wondered what God was up to before they actually created everything, here's a clue. Be in awe. :-D
I love my brother. Not only is he a technogeek. He has good social skills too! Here is an ad he put together for his school's Christian Union Christmas Meeting:
At my school, we are preparing for the annual carol service, which has a big input from us in the Christian Union and, whilst voluntary, is surprisingly well attended.
If you know Jesus and can spare a prayer for these events we would be most grateful. All we want is to bring honour to Jesus and open the eyes of many to the true meaning of Christmas.
So... In the week when everybody is celebrating the victory of the ordinary Joe in the street over the bulldozing might of big business; there is another less well known story, that of Mr Splashy Pants, which I personally find more amusing.
Come on tout le monde! C'est time for a jolly bon chante-along with some legends from the world of musique francaise.
In 2010 a number of us at RFC will be walking through the Bible in the same way you would walk through any other book: from front cover to rear cover. Going slowly enough, to take in as many of the sights, sounds, smells, touches and tastes as we can without getting bogged down in the detail, and getting to know the true and living God better along the way.
Not long ago, in this post I wrote about how it's only human beings - those made in the image and likeness of God, who can sing, everything else in creation only speaks.
Homepage for the event here.
Do not fear being different.
