Family Worship
Andy Beard
Luke 5:1-11 Family Worship Ideas

I don't often recommend the BBC, but...

I think you’ll find the recent Nolan Investigates helpful, informative and disturbing in equal measure. It is being heralded as a groundbreaking piece of investigative journalism. Whether it is worthy of such accolade, I’ll leave you to decide! Nolan’s podcast looks at the influence Stonewall has in public institutions across the UK, and talks to a range of voices with a view on sex, gender and identity. It’s always helpful to know wht’s going on in the world around us!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09yjmph/episodes/downloads

Creative_Wallpaper_Vintage_radio_and_book_102643_.jpg

what do Christians believe about all this... and what difference does it make to discipleship?

Part of what we’re doing over this term is helping you to find resources that will help you to think through the issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and identity. If you are thinking thorugh the arguments and claims and counter-claims about what Christians believe, and what our culture is increasingly committing itself to believing; or if you are struggling to know how to tackle these issues in terms of your own discipleship and experience; or are unsure about how to talk to others, here are a couple of websites that might be help…

if you haven’t looked into True Freedom Trust yet: https://truefreedomtrust.co.uk/

Living Out: https://www.livingout.org/

here’s an American site that speaks to many of these questions: https://www.centerforfaith.com/

Hope they help…

additional-resources.png

15 minutes of 'Sunday Morning Live'

If you’d like a quick and accessible introduction to the different perspectives on LLF, here is a short panel discussion from last Sunday’s BBC Sunday Morning Live. I’ve taken the video from the blog of one of the participants, Ian Paul. Hope it helps. It includes a contribution from a Methodist minister. As you may be aware, the Methdoist Conference has voted overwhelmingly to permit its ministers to conduct same-sex marriages in its churches and buildings.

BRT Breakfast: Numbers

Sorry about the tech glitches - I’ve had a crack at editing them out in the recording… enjoy!

Just a quick note about the fact that throughout I refer to the OT people of God as the Church. I do that because in books like Numbers, that is how the Bible refers to the people. In the old Greek translation of the Bible (the Spetuagint, which was kind of the NIV of its day) the word used to describe the people collectively is ‘ekklesia’ - which throughout the NT is translated as ‘Church’. In the OT it is usually translated in English editions of the Bible as ‘congregation’ or ‘community’. I think translating it consistently hels us see the deep connections and continuity that exists between the people of God in the O&NT.

Hope it helps…

Song Words for Easter Morning

Easter Morning Song Sheet

Thine be the glory First note: G Key: C

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son!

Endless is the victory thou o'er death hast won.

Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,

Kept the folded grave clothes here Thy body lay.

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son

Endless is the victory thou o'er death hast won!

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb

Lovingly, He greets us; scatters fear and gloom!

Let the church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,

For her Lord now liveth: Death hath lost its sting!

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son!

Endless is the victory thou o'er death hast won.

No more we doubt Thee, Glorious Prince of life

Life is naught without Thee; Aid us in our strife:

Make us more than conquerors through Thy deathless love

Bring us safe through Jordan, To Thy home above!

Thine is the glory, risen conquering Son!

Endless is the victory thou o'er death hast won.

See what a Morning First note: C Key: C

See what a morning, gloriously bright

With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem;

Folded the grave-clothes Tomb filled with light,

As the angels announce Christ is risen!

See God’s salvation plan,

wrought in love, Borne in pain, paid in sacrifice,

Fulfilled in Christ, the Man,

for He lives, Christ is risen from the dead!

See Mary weeping: ‘Where is He laid?

As in sorrow she turns from the empty tomb;

Hears a voice speaking, calling her name:

It’s the Master, the Lord raised to life again!

The voice that spans the years,

Speaking life, stirring hope, Bringing peace to us,

Will sound till He appears,

For He lives, Christ is risen from the dead!

One with the Father, Ancient of Days,

Through the Spirit Who clothes faith with certainty,

Honour and blessing, glory and praise

To the King crowned With power and authority!

And we are raised with Him,

Death is dead, love has won Christ has conquered;

And we shall reign with Him,

For He lives, Christ is risen from the dead!

In Christ Alone First note: A Key: G

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe.

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain:

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Crown Him with many Crowns First note: C Key: G

Crown him with many crowns, The Lamb upon his throne;

Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns All music but its own:

Awake, my soul, and sing Of him who died for thee,

And hail him as thy matchless king Through all eternity.

Crown him the Son of God Before the worlds began,

And ye, who tread where He hath trod, Crown him the Son of Man;

Who every grief hath known That wrings the human breast,

And takes and bears them for His own, That all in him may rest.

Crown him the Lord of life Who triumphed o'er the grave,

And rose victorious in the strife For those he came to save;

His glories now we sing Who died, and rose on high.

Who died, eternal life to bring And lives that death may die.

Crown him of lords the Lord, Who over all doth reign

Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, For ransomed sinners slain,

Now lives in realms of light, Where saints with angels sing

Their songs before him day and night, Their God, Redeemer, king.

Crown him the Lord of heaven, Enthroned in worlds above;

Crown him the king, to whom is given The wondrous name of Love,

Crown him with many crowns, As thrones before him fall.

Crown him, ye kings, with many crowns, For He is King of all.

church, race, mission

As a leaked report from the Church of England suggests a 30 per cent quota for BAME candidates on its leadership programme and the implementing of anti-racism training, here is a healthy (healthier?) and stimulating discussion on some of the questions surrounding Church and Race in the UK…

Ancient Wisdom: Meaningless, but free?

In today's slightly longer video we take a quick break from the text of Ecclesiastes to wrestle with 2 other live options that are on the table when it comes to the question of the meaning - or rather the meaninglessness - of life. One is to lean into it, believing that meaninglessness give us freedom. The other is to create our own meaning. Do either of these work? Do they really give us an alternative to what Solomon teaches in Ecclesiastes?

Bite size guide to parenting (vi): Impressive Parenting

At the risk of stating the obvious, we can’t teach our children about the LORD, without, well, teaching them. We’ve seen how our whole vision and philosophy of parenting is to capture and communicate the reality of what it means to walk with Him. But alongside that total culture of our family life, we must teach - constantly, consistently, consciously and conscientiously. Everything else in our family life should reinforce and lend credibility to what we teach, but nothing else we do can replace it.

Cotton Mather, a preacher of a preivous generation (1663-1728) wrote that: ‘Above all and before all, it is the knowledge of the Christian religion that parents must teach their children.  The knowledge of other things, though it may be ever so desirable and advantageous for them, our children may arrive at eternal happiness without, but the knowledge of godly doctrine and the words of our Lord Jesus Christ is of a million times more necessary for them’. 

In contemporary parlance: Who cares if they know how to make a million by the time they are 40, if they don’t walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no end of broken hearted parents who will tell you that their joy at their children’s career or educational, or sporting success is tragically tempered by the fact that those children aren’t walking with the Lord. We’ll come back to this in a future post.

The foundational text for us to reflect on is found in Deuteronomy Ch.6. We’ll focus on vv.6-9 & 20-25:

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates…

In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?’ tell him: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders – great and terrible – on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.’

It’s a beautiful image in which the atmosphere of a home is saturated with a didactic culture, and a constant dialogue. The Lord has given these children into our care, on trust, and is careful to explain at this key moment in the history of the Church how He wants us to bring them up. The words are particulaly poignant when we realise the context in which they are spoken.

Textually, the immediate context is the laying out of the 10 Commandments (Dt.5); and perhaps even more importantly it comes directly after the ‘Greatest Commandment’ (Dt.6:4-5, Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength).

Historically, the Church is on the threshold of one of the most profound spiritual challenges they have yet to face, as they prepare to cross the Jordan into a spiritually desolate and dangerous land. They are about to step into an arena in which they will face the perennial temptation to leave the spiritual legacy of their parents. Other spirtiualities, others ways of living will be offered and pressed upon them. What then is the Lord’s strategy to ensure they will not lose their faith… to ensure the future strength of the Church? Parents are to impress the commands of the Lord on their children.

Actually, we missed a step. The first thing is for parents to walk with integrity before the Lord themselves. Those commands are to be on our own hearts first of all, and only then are we to impress them on our children. We cannot take our children where we are not prepared to walk ourselves. It is worth noting that the decisin we make here will affect three generations of our family (See Deut.6:2). I am being given the opportunity to forge a spiritaul legacy that will affect not only my children, but also any grandchildren.

It is not overstating the point to say that we are standing on the brink of the single most significant responsiblity a parent has to their children.  Indeed, when the Apostle Paul wants to reduce the essence of parenting to a single sentence, he does so by saying: ‘…do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord’ (Eph.6:4).

If you have children, parenting is among the most significant areas of mininstry you have. This is worth remembering in an age and a society that systemically undermines the role and value of parents and of parenting. And in the context of this most significant minsitry, the ‘impressing’ of the ways of the Lord on our children is the most significant aspect. If you have children, this is what you are called to. The Bible recognises no other kind of Christian parent than one who impresses the commands of God on their children. It is so liberating to be able to strip away so many of the other pressures and demands we feel we are under as parents to focus on this most critical of priorities that we are given by God. We stand on holy ground!

We’ll revisit this in future posts, but don’t forget that there is a series of articles on the practicalities of how to do this on the MIE website:

https://www.mie.org.uk/teaching-children

The articles are in reverse order, so the first in the series is at the bottom of the page!

a great video from Christian Institute...

How Christianity changed the world… well worth 20 minutes of your time as Sharon James introduces the main ideas in her latest book eploring not just how Christianity has left a great legacy for our culture, but also how we can build on that in our day. When many are suggesting that Christianity is a spent force, or worse, an oppressive force, in our society it’s worth being aware of our history… Sharon’s point is that Freedom, Religious liberty, Justice, Healthcare, Education, the sanctity of life, Women’s Rights, the emancipation of slaves, the environment, even animal welfare have all been transformed for the better by Christianity. She draws attentnion to Wilberforce, Shaftesbury, Butler – to name but a few – who were among the men and women who, driven by their deep Christian faith have had a hand in transforming the world.