Voting for the Resurrection
If you hadn’t noticed it’s election time. Across the UK thousands of party volunteers are knocking on doors and delivering leaflets in a hope they might sway someones vote. For some this is an easy decision to make having voted the same way since they turned 18. For others there is a choice to be made and making the ‘right’ one is not …
I Make All Things New
Isaiah 43:18-21 + Luke 24:1-12 How do you get your head around the news that someone you saw die three days earlier is actually alive? How are you suppose to react to that kind of information? For the women that first approached the tomb and for Peter who, on hearing the news ran to see for himself this is exactly …
Resurrection and Renewal
Is this the end of it all or just the beginning? We are at the end of a journey that has taken from the themes of Jubilee, Lent and Easter. We are at the point in this journey where we celebrate the truth that Jesus rose again. That sin and death were defeated and that for each of us we …
Holy Week : 8 Track
Here is the second of my 8 track lists for holy week. It’s taken a while to get the list down to just 8 and there is need for some honourable mentions for songs that missed out as well. Enjoy Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve (Palm Sunday) Apply Some Pressure – Maximo Park (Turning of the Tables) There’s No One Like You – The Gentlemen (The Last Supper) …
Silence
We know next to nothing about what happened on the Saturday between Jesus’ death and resurrection. What did Mary, Peter, and the disciples do? What about Simon of Cyrene? For those of us who have experienced loss, we may be able to get a sense of the pain they felt. The devastating silence, the immeasurable loss and the images burnt …
Passion
John 18:1-11 + 19:16-42 Crucifixion was chosen by the Romans as the desired form of execution for certain statuses of people for a number of reasons. It was effective, with only one person having been recorded surviving after being taken down. It was excruciating, with death being extremely painful and extremely slow. Finally, it was humiliating and served as a …
Pesach
Luke 22:7-23 The Passover was the meal that celebrated and reminded the Jews of their great liberation from Egypt. As Jesus shared it with his disciples, He was preparing for a much greater liberation. So, He takes bread and breaks it and He shares wine amongst them speaking of a new covenant and the forgiveness of sins. He talks about …
Why?
Psalm 22:1-31 Those agonising words from the cross! As Jesus lets out his final cry, He asks “Why have You forsaken Me?” In that shout was so much pain and anguish. Why have You forsaken Me? If you read these verses you will catch glimpses of the crucifixion scene in the Psalm written much earlier. It is a lament of …
Suffering and Rejection
Mark 8:31-38 Jesus never said any of this would be easy. At times it even sounds as though He is actively trying to discourage those He is speaking to from following Him at all. Death, suffering and rejection are not things people get excited about. For Jesus, though, they were a reality and for many believers today they are a …
Sitting Shiva
Job 2:11-13 Job’s three friends don’t get much right in their conversations with Job but they start off well. When they first see their friend they do not recognise him and this causes them to cry out and pour dust on their heads in mourning. They then just sit and wait for seven days and no one says anything. This …
I Have Set My Face
Isaiah 50:4-9 What happened on the cross is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. Much has been written about what happens in those moments but we may never know. These words from Isaiah speak of a suffering servant and are often used at this time of year. This servant, in the face of suffering decides to be …
The Passion
We move from the themes of Jubilee to the final week of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion and resurrection. Passion seems a strange word to use for this time of pain and death. It comes from the Greek word Pascho, used in Acts 1:3, which can be translated as either “suffering” or “passion”. Whether we use the word suffering or …
No More
Revelation 21:3-4 The book of Revelation is a great and yet often misunderstood book. It contains some great and iconic images and in these final chapters, we are given a picture of the new heaven and new earth. In this place we are told that the former things would pass away. In this new holy city everything will be healed …
Enough
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 One of the greatest lies told in the church is that healing depends on the amount of faith you have. I am afraid that just does not stack up. Healing is complex and we should never assume the lack of healing is about a lack of faith. Paul’s thorn is probably the physical abuse he received as …
Timing
Acts 3:1-10 Whenever I read this passage, I ask myself the same question, “Why hadn’t Jesus healed this man?” We are told that the man was laid at the beautiful gate at the temple every day and he had probably begged there for the majority of his life. We know Jesus went to the temple often and so we may …
Holding On
Luke 8:40-48 This woman had suffered not just physically for 12 years but socially, mentally, financially and spiritually. This condition meant that she was always unclean, no one would have come near her and she would never be able to worship in the temple. When Jesus walks by that day she decides that, if she can just touch him she …