Last Sunday at CBC we started a new series looking at Paul's Prayers. Paul's prayers are recorded for us in the letters that he wrote to different church communities spread across the region from Israel to Italy - and they reveal something of Paul's priorities and perspective on life.
If you missed this introduction to the series you can watch it here.
Because these prayers are recorded in a number of different letters, each to a different church, there is a lot of background that would be helpful to know. Last week, for example, we looked at Philippians 4:4-9, and it is helpful to know that when Paul says, 'Rejoice in the Lord always' he was actually writing from prison, potentially facing execution. If he'd been writing from some Mediterranean beach resort, sipping cocktails, we'd be excused for thinking, 'well it's ok for you to say that - but if you knew what I was going through...' But that option isn't open to us when we know the context.
To help us get some of that background - each week I'm going to post relevant Bible Project videos. If you get a chance to watch them before Sunday hopefully you'll find it useful.
Last week we started with a video on How to read New Testament letters. This week, The Bible Project has released another video in this series - How to read the NT letters in their literary context.
This week we're going to be looking at Romans 10:1-21. Romans is quite a long book and so there are two Bible Project videos to cover the whole thing. Although we're going to be looking at chapter 10 I suggest you watch both videos.
Thursday, 30 April 2020
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
Walking on water
Some times I think that Peter gets quite a hard time. In this week's assembly - which I have posted below - Peter has already got out of the boat and is already walking on the water towards Jesus (from Matthew 14:22-33). He then notices the size of the waves and the strength of the wind, takes his eyes off Jesus and starts to sink.
Jesus rescues him and when they're safely back in the boat asks, 'you of little faith, why did you doubt?'
I think my reply might be something along the lines of, 'little faith - didn't you just see me get out of the boat and start to walk on the water? What about these guys (pointing to the rest of the disciples in the boat) - how about their faith? Didn't see any of them waltzing along the waves or Samba-ing amongst the swell. How about asking them?
But I don't think Jesus' comment was a criticism of Peter. Peter was now cold and wet. He had had quite a scare. No doubt his pulse rate was fairly high. But he could have avoided all of that - by continuing to trust Jesus.
When Jesus asks us 'why are you anxious?' or 'why are you worried?' I don't think it is an accusation or a criticism. But rather a recognition that there is a better way to live. You don't need to be worried - with all the negatives that come with that. So Jesus' question comes with a heart longing, that we learn to live this better way - not because Jesus wants to tick a box that says 'xyz finally got it - well taught', but because that way of living will be better for us.
Each Wednesday, during lockdown, I will post my Wednesday assembly videos here. If you know any primary school-aged children who are missing their assemblies why not send them a link.
When I do these assemblies in real life, I get a score out of ten from my youngest daughter who still attends the school. Normally, just before she leaves, she will hold up her fingers with a score out of 10. One of the criteria for a 10/10 is that she is picked as a volunteer (so that rarely happens, if ever). Anyway, if you're interested, this week I got an A score of 9 - which is unusually high!
Jesus rescues him and when they're safely back in the boat asks, 'you of little faith, why did you doubt?'
I think my reply might be something along the lines of, 'little faith - didn't you just see me get out of the boat and start to walk on the water? What about these guys (pointing to the rest of the disciples in the boat) - how about their faith? Didn't see any of them waltzing along the waves or Samba-ing amongst the swell. How about asking them?
But I don't think Jesus' comment was a criticism of Peter. Peter was now cold and wet. He had had quite a scare. No doubt his pulse rate was fairly high. But he could have avoided all of that - by continuing to trust Jesus.
When Jesus asks us 'why are you anxious?' or 'why are you worried?' I don't think it is an accusation or a criticism. But rather a recognition that there is a better way to live. You don't need to be worried - with all the negatives that come with that. So Jesus' question comes with a heart longing, that we learn to live this better way - not because Jesus wants to tick a box that says 'xyz finally got it - well taught', but because that way of living will be better for us.
Each Wednesday, during lockdown, I will post my Wednesday assembly videos here. If you know any primary school-aged children who are missing their assemblies why not send them a link.
When I do these assemblies in real life, I get a score out of ten from my youngest daughter who still attends the school. Normally, just before she leaves, she will hold up her fingers with a score out of 10. One of the criteria for a 10/10 is that she is picked as a volunteer (so that rarely happens, if ever). Anyway, if you're interested, this week I got an A score of 9 - which is unusually high!
Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Peter - Called by Jesus
One of the things that I used to do, every three or four weeks, was to take the Wednesday church assembly at a local primary school. These were whole school assemblies (so 4-11 year-olds), held in the local Parish Church, on a Wednesday morning. The school is a Church of England school and it is directly opposite the church. And these assemblies were taken by a team of local church leaders.
Obviously, with the national lockdown due to coronavirus, the school building is now closed to most children, and most learning has moved online. And so have the assemblies. This term we are going ahead with our plan for the summer term which was a series on the life of Peter, taken from the gospels and the book of Acts.
This series started last week looking at the Calling of Peter from Luke 5:1-11. One of the things about this story is the way in which the disciples left everything to follow Jesus. Is that the kind of disciple I am?
Obviously, with the national lockdown due to coronavirus, the school building is now closed to most children, and most learning has moved online. And so have the assemblies. This term we are going ahead with our plan for the summer term which was a series on the life of Peter, taken from the gospels and the book of Acts.
This series started last week looking at the Calling of Peter from Luke 5:1-11. One of the things about this story is the way in which the disciples left everything to follow Jesus. Is that the kind of disciple I am?
Friday, 24 April 2020
Paul's Prayer for the Philippians
Yesterday I introduced our new teaching series, Paul's Prayers, which we're going to start on Sunday here at CBC. If you haven't read that post I'd encourage you to do so now.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we're going to cover a number of Paul's prayers, coming from his different letters in the New Testament. (Paul wrote a big chunk of the New Testament - from Romans to Philemon.) We're not going to have a lot of time to explore the background to each of those letters, so each week I'm going to point you to the relevant Bible Project videos for the coming Sunday.
This week our main reading will be from Philippians.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we're going to cover a number of Paul's prayers, coming from his different letters in the New Testament. (Paul wrote a big chunk of the New Testament - from Romans to Philemon.) We're not going to have a lot of time to explore the background to each of those letters, so each week I'm going to point you to the relevant Bible Project videos for the coming Sunday.
This week our main reading will be from Philippians.
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