Friday, 14 October 2011
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Jesus Heals the officals son - Sam Ward
http://www.4shared.com/audio/wAn6Jx9T/7_signs_p3_jesus_heals_the_off.html
Monday, 1 August 2011
Together Devoted - By Tom Ward
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Together Devoted - By Tom Bassford
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Monday, 16 May 2011
Hebrews 12:18-28 Lizzie Bassford
Here Lizzie calls the church to turn again to Jesus by whom we now welcome to mountain of the Lord.
Catch more of Lizzie through her blog : http://www.captivatedmums.org.uk/
Monday, 9 May 2011
Monday, 14 March 2011
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Monday, 14 February 2011
Hebrews 11 - Jacob
Jacob is the son of Isaac who is the son of Abraham
Jacob is one of the founding father of the Jewish faith.
They say that Tiger Woods starting playing golf when he was two years old well Jacob started wrestling from the moment of his conception.
Here’s how the story goes
Genesis 25
21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 The LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
The babies inside Rebekah’s womb are wrestling. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that must be. I have seen pregnant mothers wheeze as a baby kicks them in the liver or something but imagine if you had two babies going at it inside your womb.
They are fighting to be first out,
To be the eldest son meant you had the rights to the inheritance, you were the favourite, the chosen one. More than this, with it comes the promises spoken to his father and grandfather.
‘I will surely treat you well and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which can not be numbered for multitude’.
Frist out gets to father a nation. First out gets to be a patriarch of the Jewish people. It’s a pretty special thing.
When it comes to the time of the birth Esau comes out first – he is the strangest looking baby all red with hair like a garment covering his body
Just as they are pulling Esau out, all amused by how hairy he is they notice that it is not just the umbilical cord connecting him to his mother Rebekah but the hand of Jacob.
Now I’m not sure what was going on here.
Maybe Jacob is trying to pull his slightly older brother back out so he could come out first
Maybe he is trying to say that he came out at the same time as Esau and is therefore was at least an equal
The first twin was named Esau his name meant Hairy
The second was named Jacob which meant one who grabs from behind. A schemer or a cheat. It is so interesting that the first thoughts of the parents defined what their children were called
In Jacobs case it was very accurate as his life contained many schemes to gain for himself a better life.
Jacob plotted and schemed and wrestled with his brother Esau to get him to sell his rights be being the first born son.
Jacob plotted and schemed and wrestled with his uncle Laban over his flocks, his herds, and his daughter.
But his ultimate wrestling match was still to come
Genesis 32:21-32
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.
Jacob wrestles with God
His schemes and cheats are all beginning to catch up with him.
Jacob has just run away from his Uncle Laban from whom he was taken his daughters and his finest cattle.
Jacob is heading towards a show down with his elder brother from whom he has taken his birth right. Jacob wants peace but he has been told that his brother is coming with 400 men
Gen 32:7 says that Jacob was greatly afraid
Yet this is God’s intention, this was God’s plan
See Jacob the schemer begins to he divide his stuff up and sends it all on ahead of himself so at least he won’t lose everything of his brother attacks.
He send everything ahead of himself
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone
God strips Jacob of everything that he thinks are his strengths. Everything he thinks defines him. Everything he thinks he has earnt or made for himself
Jacob is left alone, with nothing.
Alone in the dark and a man comes and wrestles him. Jacob is scared, this is unexpected. Jacob has other things on his mind. Tomorrow he may have to face his angry brother, Jacob is tired and needs to rest. He certainly doesn’t need this right now.
He has sent ahead of himself all those people who can help in this moment of need.
I wonder if there is any dialogue and the wrestler approaches him
I wonder who starts the fight or whether the man just runs at him and grabs him.
But Jacob was made to wrestle. He has been at this since the moment of his conception so even though he is scared he gets stuck in. The fight isn’t over quickly it goes on and on from minutes to hours.
'...and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.'
As Jacob fights he begins to realise that he has nothing left. Maybe this happens when your life is at risk and in danger.
All he has worked hard for has gone.
Jacob begins to see that the man he wrestles with is no ordinary man. He is alone before God with nothing but himself so he clings on, through the struggle and the pain. He holds on tight and refuses to be moved. Without God he has nothing, all he had around him was superficial, his livelihood, his cattle, his wealth and even his family. In this moment, afraid, alone in the dark all he has is God, the man he wrestles with
The other wrestler realises that he can not take him down, he is holding on so tight so he supernaturally injures his side
But still Jacob refuses to let go, his hip now giving him real agony
26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Jacob refuses to let go until the man blesses him. So the man gives him a new name.
‘No longer will you be known as the one who grabs from behind, the schemer or the cheat. You will be known as the Israel, the one who strives with God, the Prince of God. Jacob it is time to leave behind your old ways, your old methods of self reliance and struggle, your old ways of making a name for yourself. You are mine and I have a better plan for your life, for your people.’
We read about Jacob in Hebrews 11 as one of the heros of the faith. It simply says this:
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Jacob in his final moments stands to bless his descendants,
Is it for this that is known as a great man of faith? I think not
His show of faith is not in the blessing but what is summed up in his final moments. Jacob even as he is dying stands leaning on his staff because his hip is still giving him problems. From the moment of the fight onwards Jacob has limped. He has walked with a stick. Jacob though out his life has carried the mark of his encounter with God.
His hip is a constant reminder of that dark and lonely night where he clung to God as hard as he could.
His hip reminds him of that without God he is nothing
His hip reminds him that with God he has a promise, an inheritance and now as he stands for the last time he is able to bless his descendants and pass on the promise of God. He stands as a testament to his faith in a faithful God
From the fight on, Jacob has lived to see the promises of God fulfilled
therefore Jacob doesn’t pass on his wealth or his wives, he passes on the promises of God, the promise of a chosen race, and special people belonging to God.
So here is the challenge
How often do you stand alone before God?
How often are you stripped of the superficial things of this world
Maybe God wants to get you alone
Maybe God wants to see you as you are
When no one is watching
When no one is dependent upon you
When you are dependent on nothing but him
What will be your response
Are you going to run from him?
Are you going to hide?
Or are you going to cling to him?
Are you clinging on to God like nothing around you matters
Are you holding onto God saying I need nothing but you?
Or are you still clinging to the things of the world hoping that they will define you? Hoping that they will be enough?
What is defining you?
Your career?
Your family?
Your relationships?
Your skills?
Your bank balance?
What matters most when you stand before your king?
Is God challenging your strengths to see if you are willing to live faithfully?
Do you carry the marks of an encounter with God – how is your life different as a result of meeting God?
What is God doing in your life right now that will matter the most when you are in your last moments?
Maybe you’re encountering a struggle
Maybe you a feel like life is one big wrestling match right now, can I encourage you to cling to God. Hold on tight, don’t let go.
Imagine if Jacob had let go he would have missed out on a blessing from God.
Maybe God wants to bless you. Maybe God wants to pour his love into your life
Maybe God wants to name you are his prince or princess. Maybe God want to include you in his eternal promise
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Things I don’t need in this New Year
It has become apparent to me that before Christmas we all seem very aware of the things we want. Then we get to the New Year and realise all the things that you don’t need.
I am aware that I don’t need two copies of Jamie Oliver 30minute meals.
I am aware that I don’t need the additional pounds that I am now carrying around me waist.
There are so many things that the world tell us the we need to be like,
There are so many things that have to be adhered to.
There are so many things to live up to.
There are so many expectations to live under
This is simply not healthy
So when we consider making plans to live differently as we tend to do at this time of year I want to offer you a suggestion of things to ask God to help eliminate from our lives
Firstly Our NEED to be first.
I was in Ireland for New Year, we popped into Asda to get some milk or something, the queues were terrible so I decided to go to the cigarette counter as I thought it would be shorter. It appeared so, as soon as the till was free I moved towards but was beaten to it to the till. It was then that realised that there was one long queue feeding all the tills and that I had just tried to jump the lot. Being a good citizen I moved to the back to of the queue to wait my turn. As I stood in line, behaving nicely a woman came along and tried what I had just done, as soon as a till became free she walked right up and got served. I was spitting features. You can only imagine how I felt about that.
Who does she think she is? I thought
Why does she think she can get away with that?
What makes her so important?
How dare she?
We live in a culture where we are encouraged to take care of number one
Where we see our time as more precious than of those around us
It is viewed as wisdom to look out for your own interests
I truly believe that as the church of Christ we have to be different.
We follow the example of Jesus who said of himself:
Mark 10:25, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus lays his life down for many
He didn’t look out for his own well being in order to provide a better life for himself or to somehow preserve it.
He died so that others might have life
Paul writes about Jesus in Phillipians 2 saying
Christ Jesus vs7 …made himself nothing
We are called to be like him
Philippians 2:3-5
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus
Let us choose to be like Christ. This is his church, let us follow his example
He didn’t cling to his rights
Yet we live in a culture where we feel we deserve respect yet give respect to others so rarely Often to demand our rights at the expense of others.
1 Corinthians 10: 23-24
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
Paul writes that I shouldn’t look for what is good for me, but I should be concerned with what is good for others.
If we are going to do community properly then we will need to make others of greater importance than ourselves
We are going have to give the best of our time benefiting others
We are going to have to be generous
If we are going to serve this neighbourhood properly we are going have to put them first
We are going to have to make them a priority which means you and yours become second place
We talk about loving our community
We talking about loving church
Well John 15:13 says
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Would you lay down your life for the sack of this community
Maybe not death, but your very existence, the best of all you have:
Your rights
Your time
Your money
Your skills
Your play time
Your rest time
Oh if only we would be willing to go for this. If we were willing to count the cost – What an impact we could make.
God please take away our need to be first
You were created to forget about yourself and get lost in the joy of knowing God, doing the work he’s called you to do, and loving others. Forget about yourself.
Because your Heavenly Father will never forget about you, you can forget about you
(2) Our NEED to be appreciated
It is so nice to be appreciated, it is such a blessing when people affirm you or when people are grateful for what you do for them.
But Lord take away my need for it!
Take away those feelings we get when we are not praised
When our effort goes unnoticed
When we give and no one recognises
I would love to get to the place where God’s approval is all I want
Where his delight in me is my joy
Where I turn from being a people please to being a Christ pleaser
Where God’s approval is all that counts.
(3) Our NEED to be physically attractive.
Again looking nice is great, but whose affection are we living for
Whose attention do we want?
Don’t forget how much God loves you?
Don’t forget the lengths me went to to ensure you freedom
Other people look at physical appearance, but they don’t see what the Lord sees.
He sees my heart.
1 Samuel 16: 7
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Our cry should be the same as the psalmist
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalms 51:8
(4) Our NEED to appear smart.
Again being intelligent is a great thing, I want to encourage learning.
But being intelligent doesn’t make God love you any more
You don’t need to be smart to be saved
You don’t need to have a degree to be accepted
And you certainly don’t need to be clever to share the gospel
1 Corinthians 1: 17-21
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
…21God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe
So we should not be putting restrictions on sharing the gospel
Get out there
Don’t hold back
(5) Our NEED to be strong
No more pretense
No more brave faces
Sometimes life if hard
Sometimes we are tired
Sometimes we are weak
We need to accept that our own strength is not enough,
Living as community involves accepting help
If you can do everything yourself you are not in community
I have to say that I need you and I need God
I am nothing without you both
We need to let go of this need to be strong when God has placed around us people who can help
And let’s make sure we turn to God
The bible tells me that God’s power can be displayed best when I am weak.
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(6) Our need to be ‘good enough’.
I always try to be good and do what is right and flop
I strive for holiness and fall
No matter how hard I work, I things fail.
Infact even my best effort is worthless
I will always fall short of God’s glory.
But because of Jesus I have been made good enough
Romans 3: 23-24
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Is this enough for you
Is His grace sufficient?
Is His love enough?
Will we give ourselves fully to God this year?
Throwing down our need to be First
Our need to be Appreciated
Our need to be Attractive
Our need to be Smart
Our need to be Strong
Our need to be Good enough
When with God’s help we can be rid of these things, I believe we can truly be what God requires us to be.
We can love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. And love our neighbours as ourselves.
When we allow God to speak his approval over us the praise of men seems insignificant
When we allow God sing over us his love and affirmation, appearing attractive to the world fades away
When we see that God can use our foolishness for his glory, appearing smart seems less important
When we understand God’s power in made perfect in our weakness, appearing strong is made obsolete