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.