Come and see

For those of you who use social media (such as Facebook) what sort of things do you post? What are the exciting things that we want to share with our friends? My Facebook feed this morning contains a mixture of links to other websites and interesting articles, as well as the usual comments about house work, hobbies, running, holidays and a smattering of inspirational photos and quotes.

My Twitter feed is a little different - but that's because of the way that I use Twitter and Facebook.

But if you'd been following a couple of fishermen on Twitter a couple of thousand years ago they may have tweeted something along the lines of "found the Messiah - come and see" along with a photo and a location.

"Come and see". This is an invitation that we hear on the lips of the first disciples as they go and find their friends and tell them about Jesus (John 1:35-51). They hadn't been on an evangelism course but they knew that they'd found the person they'd been waiting for. Within a few hours of meeting Jesus they'd seen and heard enough to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. They were convinced that Jesus was good news. They were sure that he was the answer to their questions and therefore they knew that he was the answers to their friends' questions too. And when you have good news you want to tell someone.

I think that sometimes we over-complicate evangelism. Yes, there is a part of evangelism that involves things like street performance, or speaking to strangers on a train journey, or engaging in debate - but there is also a part of evangelism that is simply inviting our friends to 'come and see'. 

Is Jesus good news? Why is Jesus good news? What difference does Jesus make to us? If he has made a difference - if we've experienced peace in the middle of a massive crisis for example - then why not share that with someone who is searching for peace today?

Stick with Foncho

Yesterday was the start of Fairtrade Fortnight. It's now 20 years since the first Fairtrade products appeared on the shelves of British supermarkets - and now there are hundreds of different items that carry the Fairtrade Mark.

It's not just about tea, coffee and chocolate anymore. If you're buying footballs, wine, clothing or flowers there will be a Fairtrade option.

I expect that if most people had to list items that came Fairtrade, bananas would be fairly high up the list. But still 2/3 of bananas in the UK are not Fairtrade and bitter price wars in the UK between the supermarkets is putting banana farmers at risk.

That's why bananas are the focus of this year's Fairtrade Fortnight campaign.



To find out more visit the Stick with Foncho website by clicking here.

A bit more than you bargained for...

Something I found on Facebook earlier...

Sometimes you simply get a lot more than you bargained for...I think they call that grace.

Who am I?

"Who am I?" How do you define yourself? 

This was the question that Toby got us thinking about on Sunday at CBC as we looked at the next passage in our series on John's gospel (John 1:19-34). Our society provides us with lots of labels and boxes as we attempt to define who we are - what we do; what we've achieved; what we own; which football team we support; are we single or married; do we have children or not…the list goes on.

But defining ourselves in this way often leads to an identity crisis when things change. For example, if we define ourselves by what we do - what happens when we're no longer able to do it? If we lose our job…when we retire…

John the Baptist refuses all of the labels that people want to put on him - instead he defines himself in terms of his relationship to Jesus. He is the voice preparing the way (1:23). And so he points others not to himself - but to Jesus.

So, do we define ourselves, do we see ourselves, in terms of our relationship with Jesus? Last week we read that those who believe in Jesus have the right to become children of God. Is that how we see ourselves?

What do you believe?

I'm sure you've heard it said that "It's not what you know, it's who you know, that matters". And there is certainly some truth in that statement. Having the right contacts can be the difference between a slammed door and a sympathetic ear; the difference between a 'no way' and a 'let's give them another chance'.

Last week we started a new teaching series at CBC looking at John 1-12. This series will take us through to the summer holidays.

I don't think John would totally agree with the above statement - he'd probably want to say something like 'it doesn't matter what else you know, it's what you know and believe about Jesus that really matters'.

In John 20:31 John tells us that he has written this 'gospel' so that "you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name". John doesn't just want us to believe these things so that he can win some academic argument about 'who is Jesus?' John had seen and heard Jesus. He believed that Jesus was who he said he was. John had come to experience the life that Jesus offers - in 10:10 John calls it life to the full. And so John wants us to experience this life too.

John knows that the answers to his questions are not to be found in a concept or a philosophy. They are not to be found in obeying laws. They are to be found in a person - Jesus. Jesus who was there right at the very beginning of the story creating everything that has been created; Jesus who is God; Jesus who became a human being; Jesus who was rejected by the world.

What you believe about Jesus really does matter - it's a matter of life and death.

The Real Easter Egg

Once again this Easter there will be the option of buying an Easter Egg which is not only Fair Trade but also explains what Easter is all about.

For more details you can visit their website by clicking here

For those of you at CBC - we're placing a church order so fill in the form on the notice board.