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.
On Sunday, at Cafe Church, Matthew and Adrian encouraged us to think about seeing our work as an opportunity to worship. Not just work in the sense of paid employment, but the things we do as a volunteer or at home… So often we compartmentalise our lives - maybe one of the most dangerous divisions that we make is between the secular and the sacred. This video helps us to think about breaking down that division.
Whilst I don't think the secular / sacred divide is a helpful one - if you want to stick with it then I recently read something along the lines of: it's not what you do that makes something sacred or secular, it's why you do it.
This time last year I was in training to run the London marathon for Christian Aid. This year I'm not - but Christian Aid are still working hard to tackle poverty. Here's their latest video:
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.
