Don't just listen

It's Wednesday - which means another assembly on the life of Peter. For the last few weeks we've been looking at the difference the Holy Spirit has made in Peter's life. 

As the church grew in the early chapters of Acts all kinds of people were becoming Christians. They came from all kinds of backgrounds and were welcomed into this community of people called 'the church'. Some would have come from a Jewish background, but others from a Roman or a Greek background. And many of them would have had exposure to more than one of these influences and therefore their beliefs and practices were probably a bit of a mix.

And whatever background they came from, the gospel would have challenged different aspects of their culture. One of the main challenges for many of them would have been the challenge of getting alongside people who they would never normally have mixed with. And not just getting alongside - but recognising them as your brother or sister.

Today's assembly looks at the story from Acts 6 where the church leaders have to address the complaint that one cultural group is being overlooked in the daily distribution of food to the needy. There's no suggestion that this was deliberate discrimination. It was more likely to be an oversight given the rapid growth of the church: 120 to 3000+ to 5000+ within the space of a few weeks.

But the apostles' approach was to delegate the responsibility for the distribution of food to a group (of men) who were certainly predominantly, if not exclusively, from the same cultural background as the neglected group. They were also recognised within the whole community as being 'full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom'.

The local church is a culturally diverse body. Not necessarily in terms of ethnicity and race - depending on where 'local' is - but certainly in terms of plenty of other groups within our society. There will be a spread of educational experience, a spread of financial income, a spread of ages, a spread of church background etc.

How do we respond within a local church community when a 'complaint' (to use the word from Acts 6:1) is made that the way things are being done favours one group at the expense of another? One of the lessons we learn from Acts 6 is the importance of not just listening to 'complaints' but involving those from the 'disadvantaged group' in being a part of the solution. Not just some acknowledgement that everyone is equal but genuine inclusion at an organisational level that shows that everyone is not just equal, but that everyone belongs.

The Lord's Prayer

In our service yesterday we were celebrating diversity within the church as well as exploring issues of justice - especially in light of the Black Lives Matter movement which has recently risen to prominence following the killing of George Floyd in the US last month. 

One of the highlights for many in our service was hearing the Lord's Prayer prayed in the languages that are spoken within our small church community.

You can, of course, watch our whole service - you'll find it here.

What a difference

What a difference the Holy Spirit, and spending time with Jesus, has made in Peter's life.

It's Wednesday, which means it is another school assembly, continuing our series looking at Peter's life.

In today's story, Peter has been arrested because he just won't stop talking about Jesus. And even when he is faced for a formidable group of religious leaders he is able to answer all the questions with confidence and boldness. The religious leaders can't help but notice that he has spent time with Jesus. That has made an incredible difference in Peter's life.

And even when they tell him to be silent he challenges them. "Which is right in God's eyes - to listen to you, or to him?"

Getting ready for Sunday

This Sunday we're looking at another of Paul's prayers from the book of Ephesians. You'll find the Bible Project video for Ephesians here.

Spot the difference

It's Wednesday again, which means that there is another assembly ready to watch, which means that there is another 'Spot the Difference' competition.

Last week's spot the difference was quite tough - at least that was the feedback I got. Feedback ranged from 'did you forget to do a spot the difference?' to 'I've looked and looked and can't see anything - can you give me a clue?'

Just to be clear of the rules - the difference that you are looking for is between the beginning and the end of the video. Something changes between the start and the end. I'm not interested in differences between this video and the last video. Anyway, the answer is in this week's video.

The theme for the assemblies is the life of Peter. We started in the gospels and now we're working our way through the first part of Acts. Last week we looked at the story of Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit, who filled all the disciples. And what a difference the Holy Spirit made.

As we read on now into Acts anyone should be able to spot the difference. The disciples have gone from a group of people who are still fearful of the authorities, to those who are boldly declaring the truth about Jesus. They even use phrases like 'you put him to death' when talking about the crucifixion. They're not afraid to talk about Jesus in the Temple, right under the noses of the religious leaders who had had Jesus arrested and killed. They are changed from a group of people who don't really understand what Jesus is all about, to those who are able to perform miracles.

The Holy Spirit made all the difference and the good news is that the Holy Spirit continues to make all the difference in the lives of Christians today.

Some background info

This Sunday, as we continue our series on Paul's Prayers, we're going to have a couple of readings from Paul's letters - one in Colossians and the other from Thessalonians. If you want a bit of 'Bible Project' background to those two letters then here are two helpful videos.






If you want to explore more from the Bible Project then click here.

Justice - what does the Bible have to say?

The team at the Bible Project, based in Portland, in the US, chose not to release a new video this week as planned, but instead paused to create "space for the important conversation being had about justice".

Yesterday they flagged their theme video on justice. It's well worth a watch as we reflect on issues that are very much front-page news at the moment.

How are we supposed to respond?

I hope that we've all been shocked and upset by the stories and scenes that we have seen coming out of America over the last week. I hope that we're deeply concerned that we still need to state 'black lives matter' and that it's still acceptable to believe and behave as if some people are worth less than others.

A lot has been said on social media over the last days - but is that ever enough? And what can we do? What should we do?

Here are a series of articles and responses from representatives within the BUGB.

https://www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/579501/George_Floyd_our.aspx

Pentecost Assembly

Last week was half-term - although it seemed much like the week before - so there was no Wednesday assembly. But today we're back, looking at Peter's story. This week we're looking at Pentecost, as Peter's story moves from the gospels into the book of Acts.



Although Christians now celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, originally Pentecost was a Jewish harvest festival celebrated 50 days after the Sabbath after Passover - or seven weeks after Easter Sunday. You can find all the details in Leviticus 23:15-22 and similar passages in Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Over time Pentecost became the day when Israel celebrated the giving of the law, which was given to Moses.

The Holy Spirit coming on the day when Isreal was celebrating the giving of the law adds significance to Jeremiah's prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbour,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.”

Lessons from the Lockdown

We have been told that this is a very risky time in the fight against coronavirus. The danger is that we mistake a careful relaxing of the rules for a return to normal behaviour and as a result cause a spike in infections.

Depending on our personal situation, today might not have made much difference at all. We've just carried on as we have for the past ten weeks. But for others, things over these next few days may take a few steps back towards 'normality'. 

There is another danger with this stage.

During the first few weeks of lockdown, I heard and read many people discovering things that they had forgotten in the busyness of everyday life. For us, some of the positives of this time have included daily walks, daily family devotions after breakfast and playing a lot more board games. 

I've had conversations with others about making sure that things don't go 'back to normal' when this is all over - but that we do things differently because of the lessons from the lockdown.

And the danger is that we forget those lessons as the restrictions start to ease. As more things come back into our lives other things will have to make way. That's when we need to ask what we did learn over the last ten weeks? What our priorities are going to be? Because we can't do everything. So if we're going to make space and time for some of the things that we've rediscovered in lockdown, there are going to be other things that we're not going to be able to pick up again, even though we're allowed to.

The danger is that we just drift back to where we were. So now might be a good time to take stock once again. What are the things we want to hold on to from this time? And how are we going to make the space and time for those things to happen?