One of my favourite poems is called: 'The Old Familiar Faces'. It speaks of those who have gone - those who we see now in our mind's eye, whose memories are kindled by our remembered affection. I write this as the old year turns and again we stand on the edge of a new year. The distance from our past increases; the space widens and we are ever moving on.
That is what is so inspiring about the Gospel, the Gospel that the Company will seek to share in the New Year. It never changes. Its claims upon us remain the same; the rewards do not deteriorate with the waiting. Hope is the fuel of our endeavours, an unchanging, fully redeeming and renewing hope that claims to take humanity from death to life, from darkness to light. This incorruptible prize of eternal life is the most magnificent gift we can offer to anyone.
The Company is called, commissioned and sent by the One who says: “I Am the Resurrection and the Life”. What an amazing statement! The month of January was named after the Roman god Janus who had two faces, one looking back and one looking forward. There is work to be done, work for the Kingdom. And when we have finished we long to hear those words: “Well done, good and faithful servants”.
So as the year turns and the new unfolds, we seek in the strength He gives us, to carry out the commission we have been given. As a Company, “we are not ashamed of the Gospel, it is the power of God unto salvation”. Let us work while there is still light.
Friday, 31 December 2010
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Carols in the Greenhouse
We never thought we would find ourselves singing as a choir in a departmental store. But that's exactly what we did on the 9th and 11th of December, in Beales department store in Tonbridge. We were confined to what I called 'the greenhouse' - a structure which marks the entrance to the store. Mostly glass, we shared the space with a manequin and a few beds! But it was wonderful to be able to read the Gospel accounts of the Nativity and sing, not only well known Christmas music such as Mary's Boy Child and When a Child is born, but also a selection from our musical Stargifts, which we will be presenting next year around the Christmas period. The music was broadcast all over the store and the readings could clearly be heard as they linked together the songs. We also included two songs: 'Behold Zion' and 'Shekhinah', which we had last sung in Israel, in particular on one evening, when we sang over the city of Jerusalem facing the Golden Gate.
We were really encouraged by the response, as people seemed to pass through a tunnel of music as they entered the store. No one stopped us, no one objected to the Bible readings. Where is all this so called opposition to Christian things? I think we are being conned by the PC brigade! The choir sang their hearts out. We were subjected to both warm and cold air as the store heaters gave way to the icy blast of the car park, as the outer doors opened and closed. We had been invited by the Rotary Club of Tonbridge to help them raise money for two worthy causes: the Scott's project and the Kent Air Ambulance. Their target was £1000; in the end they raised over £2000.
So now we look forward to negotiations to see if we can sing the same programme in Bluewater next year. And the New year beckons with new projects: the setting up of a Bible School in Tonbridge; more performances of Yeshua Messiah; the celebrating again of the Seven Feasts of the Lord; and an evening celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version of the Bible. At the end of the year we look to present Stargifts as the Company's contribution to celebrating Christmas.
As we look back on 2010, we give thanks that the Lord has been good to us and we look forward to further adventures as we seek to proclaim the Gospel and inspire the Body of Christ. It was in Bethlehem, in 2009, that the choir was prophesied over by the pastor of the church where we sang. He said we were like Jehoshaphat's singers, sent ahead of the king's army to inspire the troops in the battle. I don't think the people in Beales would have understood what that meant, but we know!
We were really encouraged by the response, as people seemed to pass through a tunnel of music as they entered the store. No one stopped us, no one objected to the Bible readings. Where is all this so called opposition to Christian things? I think we are being conned by the PC brigade! The choir sang their hearts out. We were subjected to both warm and cold air as the store heaters gave way to the icy blast of the car park, as the outer doors opened and closed. We had been invited by the Rotary Club of Tonbridge to help them raise money for two worthy causes: the Scott's project and the Kent Air Ambulance. Their target was £1000; in the end they raised over £2000.
So now we look forward to negotiations to see if we can sing the same programme in Bluewater next year. And the New year beckons with new projects: the setting up of a Bible School in Tonbridge; more performances of Yeshua Messiah; the celebrating again of the Seven Feasts of the Lord; and an evening celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version of the Bible. At the end of the year we look to present Stargifts as the Company's contribution to celebrating Christmas.
As we look back on 2010, we give thanks that the Lord has been good to us and we look forward to further adventures as we seek to proclaim the Gospel and inspire the Body of Christ. It was in Bethlehem, in 2009, that the choir was prophesied over by the pastor of the church where we sang. He said we were like Jehoshaphat's singers, sent ahead of the king's army to inspire the troops in the battle. I don't think the people in Beales would have understood what that meant, but we know!
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Open wide...
I read a remark by a small child the other day. Whilst speaking to a children's evangelist, he picked up a Bible and said: "It's easy for you. It's all in here, all you have to do is read it out!" Simple - but he had a point. I like the story of the little girl who was praying at the end of the day. Her mother overheard the following comment as the child came to the end of her prayers: "Dear God, please look after Yourself, 'cause if anything happens to You we are all in big trouble."
I've always been a collector of remarks that make you think. They are very helpful to spread amongst the anecdotes when speaking in public. How about this one: "Most of the problems in this world are either caused by people who are trying to be important, or by those who think they are important." One of my favourites is a line from Arthur Miller's play All my Sons, in which one of the characters says: "There are some people who would rather see the whole world hang than admit that they were wrong." And George Bernard Shaw authored a few good put-downs, too. Commenting on foxhunters, he referred to "the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable".
It seems from the Gospels that Jesus, too, had the ability to use the one-liner to prick the bubble of pomposity or underline a truth. My favourite is His reply to the fault-finding Pharisee, when he said: "You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel". I think Jesus had a great sense of humour. Mark Twain once pompously said: "It is my intention to one day explore the place where Moses was given the Ten Commandments." He received the reply: "Why don't you stay in America and try and keep a few of them?".
With pomposity often comes a sense of superiority and power. I find the words of Jesus to Pilate most telling: "You would have no power over Me unless it were given to you". The late President Kennedy was once quoted as saying. "We all inhabit the same Earth, we breath the same air and we are all mortal".
A rich man died. A friend inquired: "How much did he leave?". "Everything" was the reply.
I've always been a collector of remarks that make you think. They are very helpful to spread amongst the anecdotes when speaking in public. How about this one: "Most of the problems in this world are either caused by people who are trying to be important, or by those who think they are important." One of my favourites is a line from Arthur Miller's play All my Sons, in which one of the characters says: "There are some people who would rather see the whole world hang than admit that they were wrong." And George Bernard Shaw authored a few good put-downs, too. Commenting on foxhunters, he referred to "the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable".
It seems from the Gospels that Jesus, too, had the ability to use the one-liner to prick the bubble of pomposity or underline a truth. My favourite is His reply to the fault-finding Pharisee, when he said: "You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel". I think Jesus had a great sense of humour. Mark Twain once pompously said: "It is my intention to one day explore the place where Moses was given the Ten Commandments." He received the reply: "Why don't you stay in America and try and keep a few of them?".
With pomposity often comes a sense of superiority and power. I find the words of Jesus to Pilate most telling: "You would have no power over Me unless it were given to you". The late President Kennedy was once quoted as saying. "We all inhabit the same Earth, we breath the same air and we are all mortal".
A rich man died. A friend inquired: "How much did he leave?". "Everything" was the reply.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Of Dreams and Caravans
Recently a friend's wife had a dream, which she passed on to me. It went something like this:
She saw me riding in a traveller's caravan, heading out into the desert, away from a large town. The message of the dream was:
'Turn back to the safety and security of the city.'
I was grateful for this dream and went on holiday! - to Port Isaac, a pretty, slumbering fishing village in North Cornwall, where every piece of land is used and the houses are shuffled together and tumble towards the sea. The scenery, of course, is wonderfully inspiring and ideal for coastal walks.
One bright morning we decided to walk to Pine Haven, a rock strewn inlet on the Cornish Coastal Path. At this place we decided to have some time with the Lord. Having finished our prayer time, I said the word 'Shalom'. At that moment, a great squadron of seagulls, some 100 birds, began gliding into the inlet. Silently and without effort, they rode on the wind and one by one landed in the sea forming, over a few minutes, a bobbing island of white. I then threw a large stone and a couple of seconds later I heard the dull plop above the sound of the waves. Looking down some minutes later, we saw that a cloud of foam had formed on the surface of the sea, riding the waves in a gentle rhythm. Suddenly, Jenny noticed what she thought was a person swimming near the foam. In turned out to be a seal who, having broken the surface, seemed to be clapping his flippers in joy.
In the afternoon we travelled to Tintagel, the fabled home of King Arthur. Regardless of whether it is true, it's certainly a good story! High on the cliffs, we looked down from the precarious wooden steps that cling to the side of the rock face. The mist thrown up by the waves refracted the bright sunlight. It was a glorious view; the hazy sun threw a great area of liquid gold onto the sea: A photographer's dream! The warm wind blew strongly in our faces as we made for the top of the promontory. It seemed such a wild place. Far, far below we could hear the waves echoing as they crashed against the unforgiving rocks. Now, here on the top, there were only the remains of a walled garden, a well and some foundations which made slight grey patterns amidst the grass. What a vantage point though! Out across the water the sea continued to reflect the racing clouds and the golden sunlight.
Then came the finale of what had been a wonderful day. Turning at a T-junction on to the Port Isaac road there, on the verge, was a traveller with his two horses. Parked behind them was a beautiful caravan, decorated with bright colours. I hadn't seen one in years and years. In that one moment the dream became reality!
She saw me riding in a traveller's caravan, heading out into the desert, away from a large town. The message of the dream was:
'Turn back to the safety and security of the city.'
I was grateful for this dream and went on holiday! - to Port Isaac, a pretty, slumbering fishing village in North Cornwall, where every piece of land is used and the houses are shuffled together and tumble towards the sea. The scenery, of course, is wonderfully inspiring and ideal for coastal walks.
One bright morning we decided to walk to Pine Haven, a rock strewn inlet on the Cornish Coastal Path. At this place we decided to have some time with the Lord. Having finished our prayer time, I said the word 'Shalom'. At that moment, a great squadron of seagulls, some 100 birds, began gliding into the inlet. Silently and without effort, they rode on the wind and one by one landed in the sea forming, over a few minutes, a bobbing island of white. I then threw a large stone and a couple of seconds later I heard the dull plop above the sound of the waves. Looking down some minutes later, we saw that a cloud of foam had formed on the surface of the sea, riding the waves in a gentle rhythm. Suddenly, Jenny noticed what she thought was a person swimming near the foam. In turned out to be a seal who, having broken the surface, seemed to be clapping his flippers in joy.
In the afternoon we travelled to Tintagel, the fabled home of King Arthur. Regardless of whether it is true, it's certainly a good story! High on the cliffs, we looked down from the precarious wooden steps that cling to the side of the rock face. The mist thrown up by the waves refracted the bright sunlight. It was a glorious view; the hazy sun threw a great area of liquid gold onto the sea: A photographer's dream! The warm wind blew strongly in our faces as we made for the top of the promontory. It seemed such a wild place. Far, far below we could hear the waves echoing as they crashed against the unforgiving rocks. Now, here on the top, there were only the remains of a walled garden, a well and some foundations which made slight grey patterns amidst the grass. What a vantage point though! Out across the water the sea continued to reflect the racing clouds and the golden sunlight.
Then came the finale of what had been a wonderful day. Turning at a T-junction on to the Port Isaac road there, on the verge, was a traveller with his two horses. Parked behind them was a beautiful caravan, decorated with bright colours. I hadn't seen one in years and years. In that one moment the dream became reality!
Friday, 24 September 2010
Crunch Time?
The milkman popped a note through our door this morning, apologising for having to put the price up. Nothing particularly unusual about that these days, I'm afraid. In fact, it's difficult not to notice the steady climb in the cost of just about everything: food; energy; transport; insurances; taxes; and so on. Every government department, and every business, is desperately trying to maintain its revenue stream, whilst at the bottom of the food chain, ordinary men and women are watching outgoings rising, whilst income is either pegged or decreasing. Am I alone in thinking that things can't continue for much longer before whole economies start to implode?
The Church makes much of personal repentance and salvation and rightly so, but this mess requires repentance on a national scale: By the businessmen; bankers; politicians and heads of state who have helped create it. No grass-roots movement; this has got to come from the top. And at the head of the queue must come the Church and its leaders. Let's be blunt: our Lord gave the Church the privilege of taking His good news of salvation to the hurting masses and it dropped the baton and retired to the changing room to nurse its blisters, leaving the arena to the opposition.
Oh, sure, there are plenty of people, usually those with an interest in maintaining the status-quo, who'll say: "You can't" and "You mustn't upset people", but there's a world out there, waiting to hear something that will give them hope. Besides, whilst the oposition is saying "No", Father is saying "Go" so, whose point of view do you value the more?
The voice of one crying: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!"
The Church makes much of personal repentance and salvation and rightly so, but this mess requires repentance on a national scale: By the businessmen; bankers; politicians and heads of state who have helped create it. No grass-roots movement; this has got to come from the top. And at the head of the queue must come the Church and its leaders. Let's be blunt: our Lord gave the Church the privilege of taking His good news of salvation to the hurting masses and it dropped the baton and retired to the changing room to nurse its blisters, leaving the arena to the opposition.
Oh, sure, there are plenty of people, usually those with an interest in maintaining the status-quo, who'll say: "You can't" and "You mustn't upset people", but there's a world out there, waiting to hear something that will give them hope. Besides, whilst the oposition is saying "No", Father is saying "Go" so, whose point of view do you value the more?
The voice of one crying: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!"
Friday, 10 September 2010
Life's Rich Tapestry
What do a Scots piper, McDonald’s and casting stones into water have in common? Well they are all aspects of the rich and varied work that the Lord has called us into this year.
This Saturday (11th September) we shall be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. This memorial service, which features an interview with a 93-year-old ex-pilot, will include contributions from a number of sources. God always seems to like surprising us and, sure enough, three days ago a lady rang up and asked if we would like a piper to play before and after the service.
We look forward this Sunday (12th September) to another opportunity to preach the Gospel. Last time the choir sang on the High Street we were accompanied by a number of very loud car horns. McDonald’s seemed to like us, too, because they kept their door open. We shall see what happens this time!
Last evening (9th September) we celebrated Rosh HaShana, or The Feast of Trumpets. About 85 people sat down to a wonderful meal and we shared teaching about exciting future events. During the evening we identified with the Jewish celebrations by casting stones into water, symbolic of casting our sins into the sea. How wet yours truly got was in direct proportion to the gusto with which some people did this!
We have had an unexpected invitation from a large department store in Tonbridge to sing some Christmas music. This time I think the adjoining Sainsbury’s will keep their doors open!
This Saturday (11th September) we shall be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. This memorial service, which features an interview with a 93-year-old ex-pilot, will include contributions from a number of sources. God always seems to like surprising us and, sure enough, three days ago a lady rang up and asked if we would like a piper to play before and after the service.
We look forward this Sunday (12th September) to another opportunity to preach the Gospel. Last time the choir sang on the High Street we were accompanied by a number of very loud car horns. McDonald’s seemed to like us, too, because they kept their door open. We shall see what happens this time!
Last evening (9th September) we celebrated Rosh HaShana, or The Feast of Trumpets. About 85 people sat down to a wonderful meal and we shared teaching about exciting future events. During the evening we identified with the Jewish celebrations by casting stones into water, symbolic of casting our sins into the sea. How wet yours truly got was in direct proportion to the gusto with which some people did this!
We have had an unexpected invitation from a large department store in Tonbridge to sing some Christmas music. This time I think the adjoining Sainsbury’s will keep their doors open!
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Right on Queue...
We're standing in the queue at Lille station, waiting to buy a ticket to Bruges. In front is an English couple. We are waiting at the 'English spoken' ticket office. In front of them is a lady in earnest conversation. Our train goes in 15 minutes. Time drags on. The lady is still talking. The hands move on and we have 5 minutes left to catch our train. She is still talking. We have missed our train. Just before we run out of time, the man in front of us, with a dejected look on his face says: "She's not going for three weeks!" Some seconds after that the lady finishes her conversation and rushes past us head down - but I don't think with embarrassment.
Sometimes life sends you these little things, like darts, to gently irritate! But it all turns out right in the end. On arriving at Bruges we are confronted with that steady fine rain that slowly but surely soaks you. Dull skies, bad photographing weather. Invest in an umbrella. Good shots however of the sightseeing boats cruising the canals with the myriad coloured roof of umbrellas, like some Roman siege engine. We are frustrated, moving from lace shop to chocolate shop window shopping and marvelling at just how many things you can make out of Belgian chocolate. Having had a wonderful meal in the town square the sun finally comes out. Blue in the photographs, reflections on the water, contrasts. This is good stuff. So thank you lady at the ticket office. Our delay, caused by you, enabled us to enjoy a sunny river cruise and good photo opportunities. If only life was that simple!
We are busy preparing for aBattle of Britain memorial evening at Tonbridge Baptist Church on September 11th. We had a wonderful time interviewing William 'Jimmy' Corbin, a 93 year old ex-Battle of Britain pilot. We are using the interview as a filmed insert for the evening. Marvellous man. Straight talking. (We've had to do some editing!) Trying also to get in touch with a pilot at Biggin Hill who has a Spitfire for a hobby. We are trying to get an overflight on the evening. If you don't ask you don't get!
Last month we had a wonderful time with the choir outside Christchurch in Tonbridge, singing to the High Street. The sun was out, the people listened, even MacDonald's kept their door open. And we had cars hooting their horns. We want to do it again, only this time on a Saturday morning.
What else have we got? O yes. September 5th - the first of the Autumn feasts, the Feast of Trumpets. And when the last trumpet is sounded, we don't want to be late for that. Unlike our train to Bruges...
Sometimes life sends you these little things, like darts, to gently irritate! But it all turns out right in the end. On arriving at Bruges we are confronted with that steady fine rain that slowly but surely soaks you. Dull skies, bad photographing weather. Invest in an umbrella. Good shots however of the sightseeing boats cruising the canals with the myriad coloured roof of umbrellas, like some Roman siege engine. We are frustrated, moving from lace shop to chocolate shop window shopping and marvelling at just how many things you can make out of Belgian chocolate. Having had a wonderful meal in the town square the sun finally comes out. Blue in the photographs, reflections on the water, contrasts. This is good stuff. So thank you lady at the ticket office. Our delay, caused by you, enabled us to enjoy a sunny river cruise and good photo opportunities. If only life was that simple!
We are busy preparing for aBattle of Britain memorial evening at Tonbridge Baptist Church on September 11th. We had a wonderful time interviewing William 'Jimmy' Corbin, a 93 year old ex-Battle of Britain pilot. We are using the interview as a filmed insert for the evening. Marvellous man. Straight talking. (We've had to do some editing!) Trying also to get in touch with a pilot at Biggin Hill who has a Spitfire for a hobby. We are trying to get an overflight on the evening. If you don't ask you don't get!
Last month we had a wonderful time with the choir outside Christchurch in Tonbridge, singing to the High Street. The sun was out, the people listened, even MacDonald's kept their door open. And we had cars hooting their horns. We want to do it again, only this time on a Saturday morning.
What else have we got? O yes. September 5th - the first of the Autumn feasts, the Feast of Trumpets. And when the last trumpet is sounded, we don't want to be late for that. Unlike our train to Bruges...
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