central & pivotal: a dead man raised

The resurrection of Christ from the dead is the reason that Christianity is in existence today. The image presented in the gospels of Jesus’ disciples at his death isn’t one of confidence and boldness. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Peter denies he ever knew Jesus and the other disciples abandon him and his cause, returning as they do to their old way of life believing that they’d ‘got it wrong’ about Jesus. Introduce the event of the resurrection and a rather unexpected weekend to the story and we discover these very same followers of Jesus are utterly transformed. They are willing to forsake every worldly pleasure and comfort for the sake of declaring the gospel. They are prepared to lay their lives down for what they’ve seen and heard, believing that Jesus Christ is king over all the Earth.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a theme that starts as a faint mist on the horizon and eventually consumes the New Testament landscapes. Every preacher of the gospel in the NT is convinced that it is this that gives their message authority and it is what they appeal to as the reason for Christian confidence. Jesus mentions his death and resurrection many times in the gospels and each time he does so with greater clarity. In the book of Acts Luke describes the sermons of the early church and nearly always records his preacher’s appeals to the resurrection. Peter mentions it in his letters to the church as being the means of the Christian hope. John is convinced that in Christ is eternal life that will never end, the writer to the Hebrews likewise appeals to the resurrection and Jude describes Jesus as being the one who led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, such is his understanding about the eternal life of Christ that unveiled itself in the event of the resurrection.

In this blog I shall aim to lay out Paul’s attitude toward the resurrection as revealed in Luke’s record of his preaching in Acts and also in his letters to the churches.

In the book of Acts we have many written summaries of Paul’s preaching and in almost all of his sermons and apologies for the gospel the resurrection is mentioned:

Beginning in Jerusalem following his conversion Paul embarks upon a life devoted to outworking the results of the resurrection. In Galatians 1:23 Paul remarks that following his conversion people commented that ‘he now preaches the faith he tried to destroy.’ The faith that centred around Jesus’ resurrection. In Antioch Paul preaching to a synagogue tells them that although Jesus was laid in a tomb ‘God raised him from the dead.’  Acts13:30. In Thessalonica Paul’s sermon is about the necessity of the Jesus’ death and resurrection (Acts17:2). In Athens he argues for the authority of Christ and cites the resurrection as his proof (17:31). Before the Roman governor Felix Paul explains that it is with regard ‘his views on the resurrection’ that he is under arrest (24:21) and in Acts 25 Festus lays Paul’s case before King Agrippa and explains that the dispute is over ‘a man named Jesus who was dead but whom Paul asserts to be alive.’ In fact before King Agrippa Paul speaks for himself about the resurrection (Acts 26:23) despite opposition from Festus who tells him that he is ‘out of his mind.’ Paul is doggedly committed to proclaiming the resurrection despite all and any opposition.

In the epistles (letters) Paul is committed to reiterating the truth of the resurrection and he goes to great lengths to ensure it is mentioned in every letter he writes. In Romans 4 Paul tells the church that the promises of God were “written to those who believe in the one who raised Jesus from the dead.” In Romans 6 Paul reminds the church that baptism is a celebration and identification with Christ’s resurrection. In Romans 8 the resurrection is used as the guarantee for power in this life to overcome the power of sin. He tells the church that the same Spirit who ‘raised Christ from dead, lives in you… and that he will also give life to your mortal bodies.’ (8:11). In Romans 10 we see it as part of an early statement of salvation when Paul tells the church that ‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’

In 1 Corinthians 6:14 Paul tells the church that the God who ‘raised the Lord by his power, will also raise us.’ In 2 Corinthians 5:15 Paul sums up the gospel by saying that Jesus died, one man for all, so that those who live ‘might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake was raised.’ In the opening verse of Galatians Paul lays claim to his apostleship as coming from Jesus Christ and ‘God the Father who raised him from the dead.’ In Ephesians, wanting to emphasise the security of believers in Christ, Paul declares that we have been raised up with him – he has been raised to life and so have we is his inference. A similar idea is found in Colossians 3:10 where again Paul makes the link between baptism and resurrection.

9 times Paul explicitly uses the word ‘resurrection’ in the epistles and 41 times the word ‘raised’ and its derivatives is used in connection with Christ. N T Wright comments that ‘so central was the resurrection to Paul’s preaching among the Gentiles that the Athenians even misheard Paul and imagined that he was preaching two new divinities, Jesus and ‘Anastasis’. The Greek word for resurrection was so frequently on his lips that they thought she was Jesus’ consort, a kind of Isis to his Osiris.’[1]

So why was it so important to Paul? Why did he mention it as often as he could and why did he build so much of his theology around it? To answer these questions I want to take an extended look at Paul’s treatment of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. Here Paul is writing to refute so false teaching that has crept into the church. The erroneous teaching that needs resolving is the belief that there is no resurrection from the dead and that we are hoping in Christ only for this life 1 Cor.15:12.

Firstly in answer to this teaching Paul first reminds them that he presented to them clearly the truth of Christ’s resurrection 1 Cor.15:4. His hope for the future resurrection lies in the certainty of Christ’s past resurrection. If there is no resurrection to come, he argues, then Christ has not been raised either since Paul holds that Christ’s resurrection lit the fuse for the rest of the world’s resurrection. Our resurrection is as certain as Christ’s resurrection since the two are joined together. If we are never to be raised in the future then Christ was never raised in the past and if Christ was never raised then we are still in our sins and the Christian gospel is no gospel at all 1 Cor.15:17. This is the starting point for why it is that Paul values Christ’s resurrection so supremely. It is because of Christ’s resurrection that we can have confidence that God has removed our sin from us. Romans 4:25 sums up this idea nicely where Paul writes that Jesus was ‘delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.’ Our right standing before God comes from God’s raising of Christ from the dead. In so doing he assured the world that Jesus’ payment for sin had been accepted. If there is no resurrection then there is no justification.

Secondly Paul says that if Christ has not been raised from the dead then we of all people are most to be pitied. Why? Why are we to be pitied for believing in the resurrection if indeed the resurrection has not happened? Some Christians have said that if at the end of their lives they discover that there is no God and that there is nothing beyond the grave they will not feel too sorry for themselves since the teachings of Christianity have led them to live a good life, a contented life. Paul, it seems, disagrees with that sentiment. He believes that Christians are to be pitied, mocked, laughed at and need to be rescued from their delusion. He says this with one main reason in his mind. Paul lived in a culture that was very much opposed to Christianity. He experienced hardships of many kinds because of his faith: shipwrecks, beatings, stoning and imprisonments. Paul chose the way of life he did not because of some misguided belief in a saviour or because he enjoyed pain but because of his conviction that Christ was indeed raised to life. It was Paul’s encounter with the resurrected Jesus that changed his life so dramatically. If Christ has not been raised then, Paul says, he would not have chosen a life of difficulty and hardship. Or as John Piper puts it ‘Paul made choices in his life because of the gospel that deliberately put his life in danger.’[2] The Christian life is meant to be uncomfortable and we are meant to experience much hardship before we enter glory. The reason we can be confident that our difficulty is not in vain is because of the resurrection of Christ. Remove the resurrection and we are to be pitied for living such a desperate and unattractive lifestyle.

Thirdly, and finally, Paul is adamant that Christ has been raised because Christ’s resurrection is the advance party of the new creation, or as Paul puts it here in 1 Cor.15:20 the ‘firstfruits’. New creation, restoration and recreation are central aspects of Paul’s theology. The hope of new life is inaugurated by the resurrection and is the reason we endure difficulty, count all as loss compared to Christ, can be confident of real change in this present life and be confident that death is a doorway to new life rather than the dead end of life. There is much to look forward to and there is power available to endure difficulty with joy all because we know that since Christ is raised we also shall be raised.

It is for these three reasons that Paul fights for the truth of Jesus’ resurrection to be upheld in the church. Paul is desperate that the church in Corinth and indeed everywhere understands the significance of Jesus’ resurrection.

By examining this text and by considering all of the passages mentioned in this extended blog we can see just how central Jesus’ resurrection is to Paul’s life and mission. It is of the upmost importance to him and we ought to ‘keep it in our closed hand’ to borrow Mark Driscoll’s expression. For Paul belief in the resurrection of Christ is as central a doctrine as they come, lose this and we lose Christianity.

---

[1] NT Wright: The resurrection of the son of God p453

[2] Passion Conference 2005 main message

Truth To Takeaway

The Bible says:

Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.”

To bear witness: testify, give evidence, confirm, support, be evidence of, bear out, speak for, display, manifest, declare

To witness: see, observe, notice, view, watch, experience
Reflections

There is no reason to think that this verse applies only to the first disciples! Throughout the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit comes on many people and all have the experience of being filled with power to witness! My own experience is that the Spirit came on me and I received a greater level of confidence in sharing my faith.

If you are a Christian who has been filled with the Spirit then you are a Spirit empowered witness of Christ. God has chosen you to speak about His Son! The heavens might display and declare God’s majesty, but it is people who speak about His Son. Not merely ‘people’ but you and your friends; the Church. No one else in all of society can be a witness like we can as the Church; like I can as a Spirit empowered individual, like you can as a Spirit saturated believer!

You are a witness, which means, firstly, that you've seen something. Someone can only witness/tell about that they know/have seen/about what they've, heard and lived out. You may not have been standing there when Jesus was crucified; you may not have placed your fingers on the nail marks on His hands; you may not have eaten with Him; spoke to Him; travelled with Him – but you are still a witness! You are a witness to the transforming, life-changing power of His love and forgiveness. You are a witness to the joy and peace that comes from knowing His presence in your life; a witness to change, and save those around you; to set people free from addiction and slavery to sin.

You are also ‘Spirit-empowered’. His spirit lives in you, has strengthened you and filled you with a new power; a power to witness, and to declare boldly, what you have seen, heard and experienced!

This is the promise that you can live in – that you need not fear or shrink back, since you have the Spirit of power inside of you.

So here are two great truths for you read out allowed:
1. My life is significant. I am a Spirit-empowered witness for the Son of God; the most glorious person in the universe.
2. I have received the Spirit and have power to witness based on God’s strength and power; not simply on my levels of energy or enthusiasm. There should be, and is, a decreasing level of fear and timidity in my life as I allow the Spirit of God to change me and fill more areas of my life.

This week live with this verse and these truths resonating in you, do not shrink back, stand, speak, witness.

Why? What's in it for me?

In a week and a half's time we'll be starting Youth Alpha on Wednesday evenings at Kings for anyone aged 15-19. Why? What's in it for me?

A few years ago Matt Williams spoke at True on the story in Luke's gospel of the woman with the issue of bleeding. The situation, in case you can't remember it or weren't there, was that she had been ill for many years with an incurable disease. She pressed through the crowds to reach Jesus and was healed simply by touching his cloak/coat. Remember it? Matt said something whilst talking about this story that has stayed with me ever since. He said

'if you're bored in your Christian life, it's because you haven't done anything risky recently.'

It's true, at least it is for me. Whenever I get bored with church or being a Christian or reading my Bible or anything else it is always because I haven't taken any risks, I haven't put my faith into action.

Taking steps of faith is good for two reasons:
1 - they help us remain in dependency on God, excited about the Christian life and the adventure that is following Jesus.
2 - because God responds to faith and every so often we will see (with increasing frequency), God do some incredible things through us.

Here's a question: 'What have you done recently that involved some level of faith/nervousness?'

What you do, in many ways doesn't matter. What matters is that you do something. All of us are different and all of us need faith/courage for different things. When I was 18 I found it extremely challenging and difficult even to tell my friends that I went to church, now that I'm 28 it's not so hard (given that I work for the church, that's a good thing!). What is it for you? What makes you palms sweat or your knees knock? The truth is that faith is a muscle and the more you use it, the more it grows. The more I overcome challenges that I face, the easier the next ones are going to be. I find it hardest to talk to my family about Jesus but the more I do it/take opportunities, the easier it gets, the less daunting it is anyway.

My challenge to you this week is to invite someone to Youth Alpha. If they say 'yes' then great, if not then that's great as well - you will have done something risky and experienced something of the 'full' life Jesus was talking about in John 10:10 when he said

'I've come to bring life and life in all its fullness.'

If you want some help, then check this out. Dan Wootten wrote this last week in response to the question 'why people should do Alpha?'

Why people should do alpha?

There are soooo many questions that we want answered and loads of information we want to know. Being many questions... ALPHA! is the perfect, entertaining, enjoyable experience to be involved in, to learn answers and gain more of an experience of who our Lord is and the truth behind many unaswered questions. Alpha isn't only to ask questions and hope they're answered, it's much more than that: people can also socialise and chat with people either in the same position as them or even with christians who would like to share there amazing stories of how Jesus changed their lives and what he can do to Everyone. Alpha is great fun and it will really open your eyes and I would 100% recommend it to everyone! ...! Joining the amazing lifechanging experience of being a christian is just the beginning!... x

Well said Dan!

Think about it.

Jez

Santa: A Man After God's Heart

So my guess is that if you're reading this blog you're probably old enough to read this next sentence without it traumatising you too much or ruining your holiday...

Santa isn't real.

That's it, I've said it - I'm sorry but someone needed to say it. Sorry.

I can remember very clearly the day my mum sat me down and told me the shocking piece of news I've just dumped on you. I had had my suspicions for a while but this was all the confirmation I needed. Outwardly as she told me I was picture of confidence and coming-of-age maturity, I wore an expression that said 'duh of course mum, I'm not an idiot!' but inwardly I wept knowing that my boyhood was over and adulthood beckoned... ok so maybe not but it was a memorable occasion nonetheless.

If you've ever felt like me or if you're simply finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that Santa isn't real you may be relieved to also read what I'm about to say:
Santa is real, they lied to me about the lie. That's right you read correctly, Santa is real and he can teach us a lot about how to live as a Christian.

Santa (who went by the name Nicholas) was born in the 3rd Century into a rich family in the small village of Patara, Turkey. He was a young boy when tragically both of his parents died of a disease leaving him as an orphan but give his familiy's wealth he had a huge amount of inheritance money, he was set up for life.

His parents had raised him in the Christian faith and given him enough reason to trust and follow Jesus that even though he suffered great loss, he did not lose his sight of his saviour. He maintained his Christian faith and became a wonderful example of the joy and privilege of being raised in a Christian home and trusting God through difficulty. Nicholas took seriously Jesus' words to the rich young ruler in Luke's gospel 'go sell everything you have and follow me.' He used his inheritance money to help those in need, especially children in poverty. He became known as someone who frequently gave gifts to children, often at night and often by putting the presents inside large socks or stockings, hence the tradition. One of the most famous stories of Nicholas's kindness was to three sisters he knew. The girls grew up in a poor family and in that part of the world a dowry (like a gift enabling you to marry) was needed to pay for the girls to be legible for marriage. They couldn't afford this sum of money however and were forced with no other option than to enter a life of forced prostitution to pay for their wedding dowry. Nicholas stepped in to help the family and paid for all three of the girls' dowries thus freeing them and saving them from a horrible life of sexual slavery.

Nicholas travelled and eventually got voted in as a the Bishop of Myra (a place that the apostle Paul visited in Acts 27) where he served as a church leader until the day he died in December 343AD. While he lived he is also known to have been a great defender of the truth and travelled to the legendary Council of Nicea in 325AD which was a council of church leaders that met to discuss and defend the Bible's claims about who Jesus is.

As an individual he took on legendary status and after his death was made a 'saint' by the Catholic church (even though we're all saints already if we are followers of Jesus, but that's besides the point!) and the town of Myra began celebrating his life each year with a festival that involved the giving of gifts to those in need.

Throughout his life then he displayed a believe in Jesus that expressed itself through caring for the poor and through defending truth. He expressed God's heart to the world by the way he lived and by the way he spoke. We would do well to imitate him in the same way. Love Jesus, follow him and lead others into knowing him and doing the same.

This Christmas you can be like Santa, the original Santa, by doing the same as he did. Give to those in need, care for those in need and love Jesus making it your life's aim to lead other people to know and love him as well.

For more information on the history of Christmas and how we got from Nicholas in Myra to the Santa of the Coke cans, check out this link:

A True Community?

Thoughts on community

Over 30 times Paul writes to the churches he looks after and tells them to 'one another'...

'Be devoted to one another in love.'
'Honour one another above yourselves.'
'Live in harmony with one another.'
'Accept one another.'
'Greet one another with a holy kiss(?!!)'
'Agree with one another,'

Are we a community that cares for each other? Do you phone people for help when you're low? Do you encourage someone when they do something well or when they take a risk? Do you notice when someone's not there?

As a youth group we have a mission to accomplish and it starts individually in your own heart, it's to do with how you think about and treat other people. That's your relationship with others - horizontal, from you out to the world around you.

Jesus made some big statements about his followers (light of the world, city on top of a hill, salt of the earth etc.) and all of them point to the fact that we are supposed to be a force for good and for God in our town. True is meant to be a place that is different from the rest of the town's youth groups; it's a place where Jesus is lifted up in the way we live, the way we speak to one another, the way we care about each other. Horizontally (our relationship with others.)

What can you do to play your part to be the youth group you want to see?

Keeping the Main thing, the main thing

Over the next few months at True we're going to be spending a series of evenings looking at 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I don't know if you've read it before, but you should, it's amazing. One thing that jumps out at me is Paul's driven determination and obsession with the gospel of Jesus. He can't help it, he's always going on about it, it's what motivates him. It's what gives him comfort, joy, strengthening, hope - you name it and he's convinced that the gospel is the answer.

Essentially he's convinced that the Main Thing (God) really needs to be the main thing in our lives, the most important thing. He wants people to see how the gospel seeps into and consumes every avenue of our lives and we need to allow it to give God centre stage on our lives.

If I said to you in a rather bored tone, showing no sign of alarm or emotion 'there's a scorpion climbing up my leg' you'd think me a little strange; you wouldn't believe me about the scorpion. The statement 'there's a scorpion climbing up my leg' points to a reality that is urgent and requiring immediate action, my life is at risk - how can I be bored? I clearly haven't understood the reality of what I'm saying, I must be lying about the scorpion.

Often I find I meet people who say 'yeah I'm a Christian, so what?' or if they don't say it, they convey it. You meet people who convey a feeling of 'being a Christian isn't that big of a deal'. If you were to see someone standing at a football match in and amongst the terraces, surrounded by screaming football fans all yelling about how brilliant a particular football team is, but this person was sitting down, looking bored. What would you think? That they're in the wrong seats? I certainly wouldn't think that they supported the same team as the people chanting. Supposing you saw them out after the game wearing the football strip of the team the fans were chanting about, you'd perhaps be a little confused wouldn't you? I'd certainly have some questions.

In church you see people sometimes looking quite bored whilst all around them people are lost in worship and relationship with God. What do you conclude about these people? Well, I think to myself that they either don't believe the same thing as those standing around them, or that they don't understand what they say they believe, if they in fact say that they believe it. Do you follow?

Consider these statements:

'I believe in a holy, all powerful, awesome God who sent his own son to die on a cross for the sins of the world and now is alive ruling and reigning forever more... so what, that doesn't make a difference to my life.'

'There's a scorpion climbing up my leg... so what, that doesn't make any difference to my life.'

'One day I'm going to stand before the creator of the universe and he's going to call me to account for all the things I've done/not done with my life... so what, that doesn't make any difference to me and my life.'

'There's a tiger loose in my front room... so what I can still watch TV in there.'

There's a disconnect bewteen the statements and the realites that the statements points to.

What we need is some dominoes thinking.

Dominoes you know - push one and they all go down, in turn.
Work it through:

Tiger in front room = potential death for anyone in the room, need for help = I can't watch TV in there = I need to watch TV some where else, or go get help to get the tiger out of the front room = I think I'll leave the house, just to be on the safe side...

For Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 he says a few things like this:

We will all stand before God to be judged one day = God is holy and awesome = I want to be ready when I meet him = I want to do all that I can to warn/tell people about the death of Jesus.

Do you see how it goes?

To keep the Main Thing, the main thing you need to do some dominoes style thinking.

Have you thought through the implications of what you believe? Of what others believe? Have you seen how the guys in 'The Hangover' responded to the tiger in their bathroom?

Come on: The main thing, is to keep the Main Thing, the main thing.

What have you done today?

Our lives were meant to be full of adventure and excitement. The trouble is that too many of us have given up on thinking that life is anything more than what we're currently living.

Bored? Feel as thought you're going no where?

Over the past few weeks we've been pushing the book 'Do Hard Things' and have been trying to stir ourselves to live a life that is counter-cultural, that is - different from the norm.

Here are the 5 hard things that you can challenge yourself to do and be like. Think about what you could do for each one, write it down and ask a friend to challenge you on whether or not you're doing it.

1) Something outside my comfort zone:
2) Something that goes beyond what is expected or required:
3) Something that’s too big to accomplish alone:
4) Something that doesn’t earn an immediate pay-off:
5) Something that challenges the cultural norm:

Let me tell you quickly about a man who did somethings that were especially hard. George Muller, a German who lived a century or so ago. He moved to Bristol to be a missionary where he was confronted by a real need - street kids and orphans. In a day where children who lived rough were being rounded up and sent to work in factories and institutions similar to labour camps George Muller felt provoked by God to do something about it. What did he do? He opened his home and welcome them in to live with him and his family.

Over time the number of children who found themselves coming to him for accomodation grew and so the need for a bigger house and more money to to provide for these children became more and more evident. George prayed. He trusted God and time after time he saw God do incredible things, providing meals/money/support anything that they were in need of.

A man who lived near the house where the children were housed is quoted as saying 'whenever I doubted the existence of God or wanted some evidence of his existence I would look up the hill to the house that George Mulle used to care for the children. Seeing the lights on in the windows proved to me that God does answer prayer and is at work in people's lives...'

What will you do? How will you go out of your way to prove God? I'm asking myself the same question, I want to live for God more than I currently am. Let's partner together to prove God, to follow Jesus, to dare to believe that God can use us in the lives of the people we're surrounded by.

The truth is that you're as close to God now as you want to be. He has made himsefl available to us, all we need do is trust him and follow him wherever he leads... please God, don't let us waste our lives

Once you're in - YOU'RE IN.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22
“And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Seal: stamp, authentication, assurance, confirmation, ratification.


Guarantee: promise, word of honour, pledge, oath, bond, covenant, security, surety.

Reflections

Jesus’ sacrifice for us was not incomplete. It is not as though Jesus died to save us, and now sneaks us into God’s presence like we’re an uninvited guest at a party; like we’re the geeky kid who doesn’t quite fit in with everyone else there. Christ’s sacrifice was totally complete; totally transforming! It took us from dirty to clean; from stained to white; from having no seal to having God’s seal of approval!

God puts His seal on us! Our rescuing is a very public thing. It’s not hidden away. This is important because it helps me to see just how secure I am in God. God sets me up before all the angels and demons, before Satan and all the sleeping saints, to show them that I am in Christ. He raises my spirit to life and enables me to breathe the pure air of God’s love and presence because I am in Christ.

God also puts His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee! As a guarantee of what?! Of our ‘forever-and-ever-ness’, in Christ; so that we know we will eternally bear His seal. It’s not dependent on certain conditions which, if not met, discontinue the guarantee. No! It’s an eternal guarantee. Once it’s made, it can never be broken; kind of like the unbreakable vow in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (just with no penalty of death if someone doesn’t follow through, because God is always faithful – and no wands either).

God has forever established me in Christ.
God has forever anointed me in Christ.
God has put His seal on me in Christ and I am always to bear the mark of being one of God’s; His seal is never to be rubbed off.
In Christ, God has put His Spirit in my heart as a guarantee of this; an unbreakable guarantee!

This will always be true of me since I am intimately, completely, and intrinsically united with Christ.

What God does He doesn’t regret, He doesn’t undo, He doesn’t take back. God’s work is permanent.

Come on. This is great news for those of us in Christ. Allow this truth to resonate in your hearts this week. Once you're in - you're IN!

Euangelion: News or Advice?

Euangelion. (u-an-gell-eon)

It's the word the Bible writers' used to described the Christian message. It's a Greek word, they spoke Greek. It means 'Good news'.

Have you ever thought (or understood) that Christianity is essentially news. It isn't advice, it's a report of something that's happenned. Advice tells you 'do this and you'll be happier' or 'try this and you can be better.' ADVICE is offered and rejected, ADVICE can be taken or left, news is different. NEWS is static, NEWS reports, NEWS isn't concerned primarily with your response but with the facts of what's happened.

Here's some Bible quotes that back that up:

Peter talking to the crowd on Pentecost 'You handed him over to be crucified but on the third day God raised him to life.' NEWS

Paul tells his closest friend 'Christ Jesus died for sinner's of whom I'm the worst' NEWS

John tells the religious leaders 'There is no other name under heaven given to men by which they must be saved' NEWS

Paul writes to a church 'Jesus defeated the powers of darkness and triumphed over them at the cross.' NEWS

NEWS, NEWS, NEWS... Our world is full of news. We have 24hr news channels, daily newspapers, news apps. on our phones and news bulletins on the radio.

Some pieces of news lasts for only a day (like the fact that George McCullen won first place in the school cake baking contest), some pieces lasts for a few weeks (like the suicide of a prominent politician), whilst some pieces of news dominates our papers for years (like the death of Princess Diana). It is BIG news this week that Osama Bin Laden is dead and we're told it'll change the world quite considerably. News plays a big part in our lives. Good news travels especially fast:

'It's a boy!'

'She said yes!'

When Riley arrived in the world I delivered the news to my family and friends and my life has never been the same since. The event of his birth has set my life in a new direction. I have a new routine, a new priority and even a new name 'dad'.

The Christian piece of news that has been talked about throughout history, the world over is this:

'Jesus has beaten death, our shortcomings have been forgiven, God is offering friendship and new life to all who want it.'

The event of Jesus' resurrection is one of the most historically verifiable events of all time. The implications of that event are innumerable; life, the history of the world, the purpose of our lives have been set in an entirely new direction.

That's the difference that news can make.

The next time you're tempted to think that Christianity is basically about behaving well or living right or that the church exists to tell people what to do, stop and remember:

Christianity is good news, not good advice.

Convincing & Explosive Truth

"What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who can condemn us? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."
Romans 8:31-34

I first came across this quote in Saving Private Ryan, where one of the soldiers says it like this 'If God's on our side, who the hell can be on theirs!' It was the first Bible verse I learnt and it's a gooden!

Paul’s reasoning is step by step, convincing and explosive! He starts with the promise that God is for us. This phrase in itself is so glorious it should change everything! If we were to all spend our lives reflecting and living off of this verse alone we would all be radically different.

God is for me and as a sign of His commitment to me, He sent Jesus. He knew what needed to be done to bring me back to Him, and He did it, not even sparing His son. Can you even begin to imagine the torrent of affection and emotion that must exist inside someone who is willing to do this?! The words of the song ‘How He Loves Us’ by ‘Jesus Culture’ go a little way in conveying this emotion; this deep unrelenting affection that He has for me! Check out the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC1ec-1Yps

Paul’s statements are logical and ste by step: if A=B and B=C, then C=A!

Each statement flows out of the previous:
1. God is for us. He did not even withhold His son.
2. He will not withhold any good thing from us.

AND

1. God, the ultimate authority, has justified us.
2. Who then can bring charge against us? Who can condemn us?

Do you see how secure you are?! Do you understand?! Do you grasp how permanently you’re loved?! Do you see how deeply you’re cared for?!

If you're a Christian then you can say:

In Christ I am immovably wedged in God.
In Christ I can never be taken or parted from God’s love for me.
In Christ I have seen the passion that God has for me.
In Christ I know how much I’m loved.
In Christ I am secure.

COME ON!!!

Everything means EVERYTHING

Part 1 in a series of blogs about how being a Christian means that you're totally secure in your relationship with God and the world.

In the book of Romans in the New Testament Paul writes this:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
8:28

Reflections
I could not love God if I had not been called. The Bible says that no one seeks after God. And that we are born into sin. My natural, fleshly heart is not only cold toward God but is opposed to His purposes. I am anti-God by nature.

But, something has changed within me. I know that I love God. In fact, I not only love Him but I want to give my life to pursue Him and know Him more. What’s changed then?! I have been born again! The old has passed away and the new has come.

Now it is true of me that I have been called by God and so love God, and since I love God and have been called by God, the rest of this verse also applies to me!

Two points of application are in this verse:
1. All things work together for good!
2. He has a purpose for my life!

All things work together for good; that means everything. Nothing finds its way out of this verse! Whether insults or encouragements; failures or successes; hurt or joy. Whatever it is, God works it together for my good. I need not fear anything since I know that everything works together for good. If only I lived and thought like this were true, my life would be so transformed! Nothing is going to happen to me that God does not plan to use for good.

I can be sure of this since the second part of the verse tells me that God has a purpose for my life: to live out His purpose for my life. Since it is His purpose that I have been called according to, I should make it my aim to always stick close to Him. And God’s ultimate purpose for my life is for me to be conformed to the image of His son, Jesus.

Believe it – it’s true!

Don't waste your teen years...

Did you know that the word 'teenager' was first used in a Reader's Digest article in 1941.

1941! That was only 70 years ago. Believe it or not, the concept of being a 'teenager' and enjoying a prolonged period of adolescence is a relatively new idea. Before, and for nearly all of history, people were categorized as 'child' or 'adult' and as a result when you switched from being a child to being an adult, people's expectations of you changed accordingly.

A problem these days, you may or may not agree, is that people have very low expectations of what the teenage years should be used for. Type the word 'teen' into Google and it'll suggest a whole host of things for you to look up: 'teen sex,' 'teen drugs,' 'teen gangs' where's the 'teen leaders, 'teen success', 'teen champions,' 'teen entrepreneurs'?

We always meet the expectations that people set for us. Teenagers are expected to be amazing with technology and obsessed with sex. On both these fronts, they supersede all expectations, they win big! The best person to help with technical issues and to understand technology is a teenager and the most common age of someone looking up porn on the internet is 12-17 years.

We're out to change that. We want to set high expectations for great roaring successes in the teenage years. Let's make Kings a place that has high expectations for teenagers and let's watch them reach those heights. Teens who value purity and treat members of the opposite sex with the upmost respect and honour, teens who take responsibility, who manage their diaries, sort out their personal finances and fight for more than control of the TV remote. I know young people in Kings who have started their own businesses (www.invertapparel.co.uk), spoken up for Jesus in difficult and dangerous places, and who are highly skilled musicians, dependable and reliable servants and compelling leaders. This should be the norm, not the exception.

The following link for a thought provoking blog and insight into life as a teenager as God intends it:

We'd also recommend the following book for all and any teens tired of low expectations.

Truth? Are you serious?

Truth.

We’re all concerned with it aren’t we? We might not all sit around for hours on end wondering about truth and the meaning of life but we all live according to the answers in the world as we see it. We listen to music, we watch movies and we enjoy the TV shows that most reemphasise what we believe about the world, and we hang around with people who have a like mind to ours. ‘Truth’ is a grand word that we don’t use too much, it sounds far too unreachable and ever so slightly arrogant, who are we after all, to say what’s true and what’s not? A few years ago a popular band released an album called ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’. It got to #1 in the charts. I like the title, it’s catchy and I can relate to it. I don’t like being preached at any more than you do but I can appreciate someone else’s version of the truth, I like a good discussion every now and then.

I wonder what you think when someone says the word ‘God’ around you. What kind of response does it provoke in you? Anger? Guilt? Boredom? Interest? What about the word ‘church’? Or ‘Jesus’? These are all words that are loaded with opinion and peoples reactions range hugely.

I wonder also how you’d answer the question ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ What would be in your top 5? Would religion? We’ve all seen the horrors of what can happen when religious people get hold of something that they believe to be ‘the truth’ and then use it to justify all kinds of horrible things from blowing themselves (and others) up to waving banners that read ‘God hates… insert here’

My guess is that that’s why we don’t talk too much about ‘truth’ it’s too easy to make enemies without even trying. If we’re honest I think that most of us want to just keep our heads down and have fun/make money/get married/all three.

What if there is more to life than simply what we make of it? What if there is a bigger, higher purpose and plan for our lives? Wouldn’t you hate to get to the end of your life and find that you missed it? It’d be like Frodo arriving at the Crack of Doom only to realise he’d left the ring at home in the shire on his bed side table – oops, you can’t go back now!

For what it’s worth, here’s my truth, the one that works for me and makes life make sense.

Consider this:

The reason you have a longing for meaning and significance and the reason you have a desire for love and adventure is because God wired you that way. In the same way that hunger can be satisfied by food, thirst by water and tiredness by sleep, so these desires can be satisfied by God.

It would be a cruel world if there was nothing in it to remove my hunger. Imagine a world where no amount of food took away your hunger pains and yet that’s how some people seem to see the world. We all have these deep desires in our heart and nothing it seems can ever fully satisfy or quench them. That’s a cruel existence. We try to stuff ourselves with as much as we can hoping that something will stick, something will make us feel complete. We so often go from relationship to relationship (maybe this boyfriend’s the one, or this one, or this one…), or from gadget to gadget, from job to job, from one pay day to the next never fully experiencing the kind of peace and excitement that we want.

Here’s where I mention the ‘J’ word.

Jesus’ life & death are recorded for us in the Bible, a remarkably accurate and historically verifiable book, and in it he is recorded as saying to a group of people just like us: ‘if anyone is thirsty, or heavy burdened and in need of rest, come to me.’

In fact it’s been said before that as a species we are always restless until we find our rest in God and my own experience has shown me that that’s true.

The Christian faith is good news. It’s not good advice on how to live your life but it’s good news that changes the way you live you life. The news is this ‘Jesus has come to rescue you, God is passionate about you, he isn’t angry with you, he doesn’t expect you to climb a ladder of good behaviour and brownie points, he’s come down to meet you.’

Jesus forgives you and Jesus can transform you. Jesus can equip you for a life full of satisfaction, delight and hope for the age to come.
Essentially that’s why this church exists, that’s why this youth group meets, that’s what we’re so excited about. Around us there are loads of people who all claim to know a deep joy and enthusiasm as a result of knowing we’re accepted and loved by our creator.

I’ve found this to be true, having tried and tested the claims of Christianity and having seen and experienced things that are, quite simply, inexplicable without what Jesus said being true.

You’re so welcome at True and at Kings. You don’t have to believe the same things as us to be a part of us and there’s no membership form for you to fill in or written test for you to pass. Just simply, kick back and enjoy the friendship and fun that we have at True.

If you’d like to find out more about what goes on each week then drop us an email to: jez.field@kingschurch.eu, become a fan of our facebook page (search ‘Storm Kings youth’) or visit our blog for more thought provoking topics on the claims of Christianity.

Chilli Con Carne & Christmas...

What have they got in common?

It's something I've often thought about, I doubt you have, I doubt you're as strange as I am - although maybe you are.

I eat chilli all the time but rarely at Christmas, it's not appropriate. Chilli makes your mouth hot but keeps the rest of your body cold but at Christmas what you want is food that warms you through and through. I love Christmas dinners and I wouldn't want to change what we eat, mountains of food, plenty of helpings of seconds and thirds... and fourths. I don't suggest for a minute that you substitute Christmas dinner for chilli con carne, that would be strange and I'm sure that if you suggested it you'd be laughed out of the kitchen (and quite right too!). No, that's not what this is about.

Instead it's about the point of Christmas the reason for the season (sorry). Christmas is the time when God gave as an answer to the problem of pain and the issue of suffering in our world. He didn't write a thesis about it, he didn't give us a mathematical equation that explained why certain people seem to struggle and suffer more than others, but he did give us a glimpse of how committed he is to us even in the midst of the messes we find ourselves in. God became a man.

Christmas has become a time when we remember what theologians (who insist on using strange latin words) call the incarnation. The incarnation has nothing to do with the Queen's crowning ceremony (that's the coronation), or a carnival and I'm afraid nothing to do with pretty flowers but instead it has everything to do with chilli con carne.

Think about it, what is chilli con carne? It's chilli in mince meat with a tomatoey sauce.
'Con carne', simply means 'in meat' and that's what Christmas is all about. It's about the time that God put meat on and entered onto the world's stage.

God didn't stand back and judge the world, and he didn't wash his hands of us and leave us to destroy ourselves. Instead he became one of us, he joined us. People often say 'how can you believe in God when you've never seen him?' to which I reply that if I lived 2000 years ago I would have done. That's the startling and shocking claim that Christians make and that we remember at this time of year. God became a man.

Don't ever lose the wonder and bafflement that comes from considering how incredible the incarnation is. If it doesn't cause you scratch your head in confusion and bend your knee in worship then I don't think you've understood how world-changing Christmas is.