St George's Church, Dagenham

How far would you go?

2011-11-28T09:27:00.003Z

Whatever our political persuasion, I think most of us like the idea of a ‘big society’. It’s one where everyone helps each other out. It’s like Christmas every day – an open season of goodwill to all. Nice idea! But there’s not much evidence we’ve got what it takes. How far would you go to help?

These days we struggle to care for our elderly relatives, let alone strangers or people we don’t get on with. The voluntary sector struggles now because it’s really hard to get people to leave the comfort of their homes even for an hour a week to help out.

Thank God for Jesus! The Bible tells us that he left the comfort of heaven to come to our aid. Moved by compassion for us, driven by selfless love, he abandoned the life he had enjoyed for eternity to come and save us.

How far did he go? One part of the Bible says this:

Christ Jesus, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be exploited,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death
even death on a cross!
(Philippians 2 v 5-8).

At Christmas, we remember that the Son of God left the height of heaven to become a lowly human, Jesus. At Easter, we remember that Jesus gave up his whole life as he voluntarily went to death on the cross. For us, he went so far as to sacrifice everything. He did this to help us, because on the cross he suffered the punishment that our sins deserved. He paid our death penalty for us, by enduring our judgment and execution instead of us. He took our place to break the power of death over us, so death need not keep its hold on us forever. Instead, in the same way Jesus was raised from the dead by God, so will all who belong to Jesus by their faith in him.

Driven by selfless love, Jesus was willing to go this far for us – to ‘the limit’ and beyond! The question is: seeing how far Jesus went for you, how far are you willing to go for him?

Would you be willing to be a follower of Jesus, and bear the shame as people laugh and have a go at you for being a Christian?

Would you be willing to give him a few hours of your week to walk around the corner and meet together with other Christians at church? Is that too far to go?

Sing along with Cockney Rubble on 19 November

2011-11-05T18:26:00.004Z

An unmissable evening of Cockney songs, pie'n'mash and the gospel as you’ve never heard it before. Watch a clip from their last visit to Dagenham.

Ticket only. £5 a head. Contact us for more information.

Death: Great Invention or Great Enemy?

2011-11-02T14:13:00.000Z

Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of technology company Apple, died last month from complications resulting from his pancreatic cancer. He will be sorely missed, not just by his wife and children, but also by his millions of adoring fans. Steve was a world-class inventor: the iMac transformed the way we did computing, the iPod transformed the way we listen to music, and the iPhone transformed the way we communicate. Back in 2005, shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer, he said these words at a university graduation ceremony:

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”

It was a stirring and beautiful speech, but upon reflection his words simply fail to match our own experiences. At a funeral, when you see the coffin being lowered into the earth, have you ever thought to yourself: ‘What a great invention death is!’? As you witness the crematorium curtain slowly closing, have you ever thought: ‘Well, out with the old and in with the new!’? Of course you haven’t. Death is horrible.

Death is our enemy. At death we lose everything – our money, our achievements, our fame. At death we lose everyone – our family, our friends, our fans. But Steve got it right when he said that death is the destination that we all share. The Bible explains that we all must die because we’ve all rebelled against God: we ignore him, we try to live our lives without him, and then we plug the gaping hole with all the great things he so lovingly gave us. Because of how we have treated him, death is what we all deserve.

But it is not necessarily the end. Steve said that ‘nobody has ever escaped death’ – but there is in fact one man who did! The overwhelming historical evidence shows that Jesus Christ died, and then three days later came back to life. Jesus willingly took upon himself the penalty of death that we deserve, and through the power of his resurrection he broke its stranglehold over us. We all must die. But the question is whether we will die with Jesus, or without him. The apostle Paul explained that anyone who trusts in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour can share in his victory over death:

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. (Romans 6:8)

Death is our great enemy, but Jesus is even greater, and he is worthy of your love, trust and worship. Come find out more at St George’s.

Andy Palmer
Men’s Worker

What’s best for them is best for us

2011-10-04T09:52:00.004+01:00

When we do questionnaires with people, one of the questions we ask is, “What's the most important thing in your life?” Nine out of ten people say “Our children.”

Because our children are so important to us, we should ask ourselves, “What do they need more than anything else in the world?” I reckon if we played Family Fortunes and asked that question, health would appear in the top five.

Now Jesus encountered a man who wanted health more than anything. He had been paralysed from birth, and his friends brought him to Jesus for Jesus to cure him. There was a big crowd watching (poor bloke), and Jesus looked at him and said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark's Gospel Chapter 2 verses 1 to 12).

Imagine what the paralysed man thought of that! “Isn't it bleedin' obvious, Jesus, what I need you to do for me?!” But actually, Jesus was doing what this man needed more than anything else in the world.

So, say I was badly hurt in a car crash - an artery was cut and my arm was broken. If I arrived at A&E, and the doctor said, “Let's reset the arm and put it in plaster - it'll take a couple of hours, and then we'll look at the artery.” I'd say, “Don't be stupid - deal with the life-threatening injury first.”

The point is that Jesus was dealing with the life-threatening condition first.
Because of our sin (living in God's world as though he did not matter or did not exist) we have cut ourselves off from him and his life forever. We are spiritually dead. We may stay physically alive for 70 to 80 years, but after that we face his judgment and a second death that is described as torment, cut off from God and his life forever. That is our destiny unless our sins are forgiven.

There is only one person given to us by God who has the authority to forgive us our sins - and that is Jesus Christ. So when Jesus said to the paralysed man, “..your sins are forgiven” he was doing the best possible thing he could for him.

And if we want the best for our children, we will do all we can to secure their life with God in the world to come. Then, whatever happens to them in this life, their long term future and happiness is guaranteed. This means bringing them to Jesus. And the very best place to find Jesus is in a church where the Bible is opened and explained faithfully (because the Bible is all about Jesus.)

What is best for them is also best for all of us. So why not come along to St George's on Sundays at 10.30am?

See you there.

Simon Smallwood
Pastor - St George’s

How to Riot-Proof your Life

2011-09-05T19:05:00.010+01:00

Some of the scenes on TV following the London riots looked like they belonged to the Blitz, and not 21st Century Britain. According to insurance companies the damage done over those few days in August is going to cost the UK taxpayer an estimated £100m.Small businesses in particular had been hit hard. Reeves furniture store in Croydon had been trading for 140 years until it was burned down in the riots. The owner, Trevor Reeves, admitted that the fire had 'ruined' his life. The newspapers have spilt a lot of ink arguing about the causes of the riots, from family breakdown to financial injustice. But almost all agree that what fuelled the looting was our materialistic culture.

Sadly, the happiness and self-worth of so many of us is determined by what we have: the make of our trainers, the value of our smartphone, the speed of our broadband, the size of our house, the model of our car. Our TVs are bombarding us daily with lies telling us that if we buy their product then we will be happy, then we will be fulfilled, then the opposite sex will find us attractive. We have given our hearts to these 'things', instead of the God who gave them to us. We are worshipping creation, rather than the Creator. Jesus' words speak powerfully into this situation:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

The truth is that 'things' do not and will not satisfy us. We think they will, then we buy them, and then we realise they don't. What Jesus says here makes sense: it is crazy for us to give our hearts to things that will not last – either by rusting away like my car, becoming outdated like my computer, or looted like Reeves. Of course, in the end, everything we have will be taken away from us. Naked we enter the world, and naked we leave it. Our money and stuff can't save us.

If you want to riot-proof your treasure, Jesus' recommendation would be to redefine what your treasure is. The Christian will tell you that their treasure can "never perish, spoil or fade" because it is awaiting them in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4). That future has been secured for them, "not with perishable things such as silver or gold…but with the precious blood of Jesus" (1 Peter 1:18-19). We know what awaits us when we die, not because of what we have or what we've done, but because of who Jesus is and what he's done for us on the cross. Our treasure is enjoying our Creator and Saviour forever.

I read in the newspapers of one woman who was trying to defend her business from looters. As one of them started to get rough with her, she shouted at him: "Go for it! I'm at peace with the Lord! I'm ready to go!" Her life was riot-proof. Is yours?

Andy Palmer
Associate Pastor

Slideshow: Going Bananas!

2011-08-17T20:59:00.001+01:00

St George's was transformed into a tropical paradise last week, complete with palm trees and parrots, as sixty children travelled each day to Banana Island. There they enjoyed songs, games and crafts and discovered what it looks like to “go bananas” for Jesus from the book of Acts.

Click the slideshow to get a flavour of what they got up to.

Video: Why do you come to St George's?

2011-07-31T23:22:00.004+01:00

Three members of St George's explain in 60 seconds.

Are you prepared to die?

2011-07-23T17:07:00.003+01:00

Our 20 month old toddler is now running around, and getting into everything. At mealtimes, we have to warn her not to touch the oven door. "HOT!" we say (and she gets the message).

On the other hand, a mother in Australia complained to the authorities that the signs on a beach had upset her child. But they pointed out: better to be upset by the signs than be eaten by sharks!

It is loving to warn of danger. We have a duty of care to warn others of danger ahead, if we know what is coming around the corner.

So Jesus repeatedly warns of danger ahead. He warns us about the danger of entering death with our sins unforgiven.

It is our sin that separates us from God, who is holy. To enter death 'unforgiven' means we cannot ever be with God. Instead, we must spend eternity suffering the outcome of our offence to God. Jesus describes the experience of this like the torment of being eaten alive or burned with fire – relentlessly and without relief. He warns us to avoid this danger at all costs.

Dignitas (of assisted suicide fame) seduces us with the idea of entering death when we want and pain free. What they fail to prepare us for is what happens after death. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 in the Bible says, "…humans are destined to die once and after that to face judgment." This is when the final decision is made by God – the unforgiven justly condemned to relentless and unrelieved torment; the forgiven graciously given entry to the kingdom of God and inexpressible joy.

We have Jesus' word on it. And the point is that everything else Jesus said has proved to be true. And everything else Jesus promised would happen has happened. His words are trustworthy and true. So we can take it that his warnings are also true.

Here's the question everyone needs to answer: are you prepared to die?

Are you ready to face God's judgment? Have your sins been forgiven? Only Jesus has authority on earth to forgive sins. No one else is entitled to do that for you. So don't ignore his warning, but rather turn to him now and be saved. Prepare to die.

If Jesus' words have affected you in some way, please come and talk to us about it – contact us or come along on a Sunday to St George's at 10.30am.

Simon Smallwood
Pastor, St George's Church

Weird but wise gifts

2010-12-05T21:49:00.005Z

Every Christmas morning we tear open our presents, hoping that our loved ones somehow received all our unsubtle hints over what to get us.But very often none of these messages hit home and before us is a bunch of very unwanted gifts. Disappointed, we force a smile, squeeze out a thank you and escape to watch Christmas TV. But before we start to feel sorry for ourselves, remember that the tradition of giving of bizarre gifts has been going on ever since the first Christmas! The wise men gave the baby Jesus three very weird gifts and each of them tell us something about who he is and what he came to do.

Gold = Jesus is king

It's not normal to give a newborn baby a pricey lump of gold. This is the sort of gift you'd offer a king, not a child born in a filthy stable. But appearances can be deceiving! The baby is the Christ – our rightful king and ruler.

Frankincense = Jesus is God

Again, this is a weird gift to give a baby! Incense was usually only offered to God in the temple. But that's the point – as a man Jesus proved himself to be God-on-earth with incredible miracles.

Myrrh = Jesus will die

Finally, the wise men gave the baby Jesus myrrh – the strangest gift of all. In fact, this could well have offended Mary and Joseph since myrrh was used to embalm dead bodies. Imagine giving a newborn child a coffin to celebrate its entry into the world! What's going on? Thirty-three years later and king Jesus, God-on-earth, died on a cross for our sins. And this is the real message of Christmas: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). Jesus offers us the gift of forgiveness and an eternal relationship with God.

A wise response to Jesus

They might have been strange gifts to a baby, but the wise men understood who Jesus is, and what he came to do. No wonder they bowed down and worshipped him! Will we do the same this Christmas? Unlike many of the gifts you'll receive this year, forgiveness and relationship with God will not leave us disappointed.

Andy Palmer
Associate Pastor

Unmasking the devil’s lie

2010-11-27T17:49:00.004Z

Ever since the beginning, we have listened to and believed the devil's lie. The devil would have us believe that God does not love us, that God does not have our best interests at heart.

The devil convinces us that God is a spoilsport – his commandments seem so negative 'don't do this and don't do that'.

The devil convinces us that God is cruel – and points out all the suffering in the world. How could God love us if he lets bad things happen?

It's so easy to lay the blame at God's doorstep, not least in our pride when we think 'we know best', what's good for us, and we want to justify ourselves rather than admit fault or guilt.

But God has shown his love for us unmistakeably

'This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love; not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to suffer in our place the just punishment of death that our sins deserved.' 1 John 4 v 9-10

The point is that it did not take the sacrifice of Jesus to melt God's heart towards us. God already, God always loved us, and because of his love he sent his Son into the world to do what was necessary for us to be forgiven, not punished. The good news of the Bible is not 'God loves us because Jesus died for us', but 'Because God loved us Jesus died for us'.

The crucifixion of Jesus is the proof we need of the fact of God's love for us; and his sacrifice shows us the extent of his love for us – that in his Son, God was willing to suffer and die in our place.

By the sacrifice of God's Son, the devil's lie is unmasked once and for all. The suffering in the world is bewildering, but we know for sure that the reason for it is not that God does not love us. We know for sure he does. There must be another explanation.

As for God being a spoilsport – come on! This world was created by him. He made everything we enjoy! And in my book, it's not negative to save us from harming ourselves or others. All the 'do nots' are positive! Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not lie, etc. God loves us so much he wants to keep us from harm's way.

'Return to me, and I will return to you', says the LORD Almighty.

Simon Smallwood
Pastor, St George's

45 reasons why the gospel is the best news in the world

2010-07-16T21:18:00.004+01:00

The Christian message – the gospel – is really good news. In fact, it's the best news in the world.

Pete Woodcock has 45 reasons why. Here are four to get you started, from Pete's visit to St George's earlier this year.

To find out about how to become a Christian, read this short booklet (written by Pete) called Cross over to Life or Contact us to ask any questions you have.

Are you flirting with the most revolting woman in the world?

2010-07-06T20:36:00.003+01:00

The book of Revelation uses pictures to show us how God sees our world. The great enemy of all that is good is called the Devil, or Satan, and he's pictured as an evil dragon (Revelation 12.9), and he has three evil assistants. The first two are pictured as beasts (Rev 13), which are pictures of oppressive government and false religion. But we meet the devil's third sidekick in Revelation chapter 17, and she is deeply seductive.

1. Her dress

We're told she 'was dressed in purple and scarlet and was glittering with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand' (v4). She oozes wealth and success and power. She's a picture of any society where people care more for getting rich than for God and people. Money and comfort are the most important things in her life.

2. Her desirability

'This title was written on her forehead…Babylon the Great, The Mother of Prostitutes,' (v5). In other words, tattooed on her forehead is 'Biggest slut in the world'. According to verse 2, the rulers of the world have all slept with her, and 'the inhabitants of the world were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.' The Devil uses vicious persecution from the beasts to terrify people away from following Jesus in countries like North Korea or Iraq, but he's been even more successful in using wealth and pleasure to seduce people from Jesus in countries like the UK.

3. Her drink

When I worked behind a bar for a few months I realised that the fastest way for a woman to make herself really ugly is to get drunk. This woman 'was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus' (v6). She's disgusting – she's drunk and what's dribbling down her chin is the blood of people who love Jesus. Despite her glamorous appearance, she rips to pieces anyone who dares to say that there's more to life than being comfortable, and getting a bigger TV, a nicer car, and a better house.

4. Her destruction

In Chapter 18, we jump forward in time and see worldwide mourning over how suddenly Babylon has been destroyed. 'In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin.' (Rev 18.17). God will one day destroy the Dragon and his sidekicks (Rev 20.10), and everything they stand for, in less time than it would take for a house to burn down. The whole message of Revelation is that 'Jesus wins in the end.'

But there is another female character in Revelation, and she really is beautiful. She's the bride of Jesus (a picture of God's people, made beautiful by Jesus), loved and precious to her husband (Rev 21.2). We can choose between being seduced by a woman who is literally 'as ugly as sin', or being protected by the greatest Man in the universe.

Simon Tomkins
Associate Minister

Henry Olonga at St George's

2010-06-26T22:08:00.005+01:00

Watch Henry Olonga at St George's, speaking on the God who is there.

Henry was the first black Zimbabwean test cricketer and had to flee for his life after a courageous protest against Robert Mugabe in 2003. Read more about Henry here.

Who’s to blame?

2010-06-02T21:17:00.003+01:00

Why do we do the things we do? Why do we get angry, frustrated, irritable and depressed? Why do we lie, steal, fight and gossip? Why do we worry about what people think? Where do evil thoughts come from?

Jesus gives the answer: '...from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and foolishness…' [Mark 7v21]. According to the Bible, the source of all human behaviour and emotions is the 'heart' – not the organ that pumps blood around your body, but the inner core of your being, your 'self'. Proverbs 27v19 says, 'As water reflects a face, so a woman's heart reflects the woman.'

So the root cause of my behaviour is always my heart. Jesus says, 'No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognised by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.' [Luke 6v43].

This means our struggles and temptations are not the cause of our behaviour. They simply expose what is in my heart and what my heart is like. So we can never blame our circumstances for the way we behave. The fault lies in our own hearts. In the same way that a weakness in a metal bar is only exposed when it is put under pressure – and then it snaps – so it is with our hearts. We may seem half-decent people on the outside when things are easygoing, but when we are put under pressure or stress the fault in us is exposed. So we can't blame our circumstances, or our upbringing, or our hormones, or anything or anyone outside of ourselves. The fault lies in us. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.

Thank God that there is hope for us. First, we see in Jesus, the Son of God, a human being with a faultless heart. As you listen to him and watch him, at times under incredible pressure, he remains faultless in what he says and does. Secondly, God promises to change our hearts to be like the heart of Jesus when we put our faith in him. '..I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you…' [Ezekiel 36v25]

This 'faith' requires us to accept God's diagnosis of our problem, and for us to accept the blame for all our negative attitudes and emotions, and all our bad behaviour and speech. It requires us to stop blaming other people or our circumstances, but rather to ask God for his forgiveness and to create a new heart in us. It's at that point he gets to work on us on the inside, and we begin to experience real and lasting change, slowly but steadily reflecting the beautiful character of his Son Jesus in our lives.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar – St George's

Four “Get out of bed” questions for a Sunday morning

2010-05-01T18:38:00.003+01:00

You know the feeling. It's Sunday Morning. There are so many things you could do. Roll over and go back to sleep for a start. And the thought goes through your mind – 'You don't have to go to church to be a Christian… In fact, there are lots of people who want to be at St George's on a Sunday but can't because of ill-health or because they work difficult shifts in vital jobs… perhaps it wouldn't be a big deal if I missed it just this once…' So here are 4 questions (I'm sure you can think of more) that I've put together to help get myself to church on Sundays.

1. Am I stronger than Jesus?

Jesus was God Himself. If there is anyone in human history who might not have needed to meet regularly with God's people, it was Him. But in Luke 4.16 we're told that Jesus went to the synagogue, 'as was His custom.' In other words, Jesus thought He needed to meet weekly with God's people – and if He did, I definitely do.

2. Am I deliberately trying to grow cold towards Jesus?

The book of Hebrews contains many warnings not to harden our hearts, and it says that one of the best ways to stop following Jesus is to 'give up meeting together' (Hebrews 10.25). The church is a bit like a coal fire, and Christians are a bit like coals – if we stay in the fire with the other hot coals, we stay hot. If we fall onto the hearth away from the other coals, we grow cold very quickly.

3. Do I only care about myself?

1 Corinthians 12 tells me that I mustn't think that whether I come to church or not is a personal decision that only affects me. It says the church is like a body and we've all got different roles to play in serving each other. Some people have obvious jobs that look impressive (perhaps they're like a hand or a mouth). Other people do vital jobs that never get noticed (they're like the liver which no one ever sees, but you die without it). Even if I think my role in the church is very small, (perhaps about as important as a toenail in the body), I have got a part to play. If you've lost a toenail, you'll now how painful it is when it's not there.

4. Am I unwilling to forgive?

This last question really worries me because I can see how easily it stops people coming to church. I've spoken to a frightening number of people recently who've said they haven't been at St George's because someone else has said or done something that they found hurtful or annoying. It sounds reasonable, (after all, they're the injured party) but it's not OK to respond sinfully just because someone else has sinned against me. According to Jesus, I can't even pray for my sins to be forgiven if I'm refusing to forgive and love the person who has hurt me (Matthew 6.15).

See you at 10 for 10.30…?

Simon Tomkins
Associate Pastor

No place for pride

2010-03-31T21:48:00.002+01:00

There are many 'sins' that we would rate as bang out of order, like adultery or theft or violence. But in the Bible, the sin of pride is no less appalling. The Bible repeatedly warns us how dangerous pride is. Consider Proverbs:

Pride and arrogance I hate. (8:13)

When pride comes, then comes disgrace. (11:2)

Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. (16:18)

The Lord tears down the home of the proud. (15:25)

Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord. (16:5)

So we should not be surprised when God humbles us through life's circumstances, if we have in any way begun to give the impression that we are in any way superior to others, or doing so much better than them.

One very distinguished Christian has recently written how grateful he's been for the humiliations he's had to endure in his old age. It has served to remind him how dependent he is on God. He says, 'Humiliation is the road to humility. Having plumbed the depths of utter helplessness it is impossible to climb the hill of self-confidence.'

In fact, any moments and feelings of pride inevitably mean we have moved away from the foot of the cross. It is there that we remember how 'wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked' we all are before the searching eyes of God. We remember we have no goodness of our own to boast about, but only the forgiveness of God, and the goodness of Jesus that God has clothed us with when we come empty-handed to him.

Here are some marks of genuine humility:

Saying 'Thank You' for all things. Gratitude is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.
Accepting criticism and correction. Hurt feelings are usually and indication of wounded pride – especially when we don't get our way!
Regular confession of sin to God. Acknowledging our sinfulness to God keeps us mindful of our dependence on him for mercy.
Readiness to listen to another's point of view rather than air our own.
Guarding time for prayer. The proud person doesn't feel the need for prayer. The humble person prays much.
Never feeling any task is beneath us, however menial. Jesus washed the disciples' feet!
Taking the gospel seriously, but not ourselves. We're infinitely ridiculous and we need to laugh at ourselves frequently, and be happy for others to laugh at our absurdities too.

God says he opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). No place then for pride in our own lives or in the church. Let's pray for the message of the cross to inflict a fatal blow to our pride this Easter.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar St Georges

There’s something about Mary!

2010-03-01T20:41:00.002Z

There are at least six different women called Mary in the New Testament, but there's something very special about Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Every time she's mentioned in the Bible, Jesus' feet are also mentioned.

1. 'Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.' (Luke 10 v.39)

Mary sat quietly listening at Jesus' feet while her sister Martha was busy dusting the guest room and ironing the sheets and making lunch for the thirteen hungry blokes who'd just turned up. And the amazing thing was that Jesus didn't tell Mary off for being lazy. Instead, he praised her for choosing something even better than serving Him, which is listening to Him. Mary didn't sit by the door ready to slip away if Jesus said something she disagreed with. She didn't sit opposite Jesus to debate Him. She sat at His feet, drinking in everything He said.

2. 'Mary…fell at his feet' (John 11 v.32)

I don't think I've ever seen anyone fall at someone else's feet except in a film or on the news. It's an extreme way of showing that we know we're helpless, and that the other person is very powerful. It's what people do when they beg for their lives. Mary's brother was Lazarus, who had died four days earlier, and she threw herself in front of Jesus in pain and confusion and despair. And again, Mary was absolutely right. She took her pain to the right person. To the only person who could help. With one loud shout, Jesus commanded Lazarus to walk out of his tomb…and Lazarus did.

3. Mary 'wiped his feet with her hair' (John 12 v.3)

As she washed Jesus' feet, Mary was kneeling before the real God, but she was also kneeling before a real man. Jesus was a real man, who was just as likely to get blisters on his instep, and that smelly black stuff under his toenails, as the rest of us. Mary bent down, and poured £20,000's worth of perfume over his feet, and washed them clean with her own hair, because she saw that nothing is too good for Jesus. And I imagine a Roman soldier, hammering a nail through Jesus' feet six days later, caught a whiff of something beautiful through all the blood and sweat and pain.

Have you ever thought about what your experience of Jesus' feet will be? The New Testament writers quote Psalm 100 v.1 again and again to warn us that Jesus will crush his enemies under his feet. If we treat him as an irrelevance, he will treat us like a footstool. But the other option is to follow Mary's example. She sat at Jesus' feet and listened to him as her teacher. She fell at his feet and humbled herself before Him as her King. She knelt at his feet and loved Him as her Saviour.

It's body language to copy.

Simon Tomkins
Associate Pastor
St George's Church

You CAN Change!

2010-02-01T19:48:00.003Z

It's that time of year again, when we think about turning over a new leaf. But if you're like me, it's all fairly depressing. So many of our bad habits and personality defects are very stubborn. However hard we try, however many times we start out with good intentions, we see little lasting change in our lives from year to year.

But it's not acceptable for a Christian to give in so easily to that way of thinking. A Christian is someone who has been 'born again…through the living and enduring word of God' (1Peter 1 v 23). A Christian is a 'new creation, the old has gone, the new has come' (2Corinthians 5 v 17).

So Christians are people who have real expectations of ongoing and permanent change: 'Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind' (Romans 12 v 2). Throughout the New Testament, whilst there is no expectation of reaching perfection this side of the grave, there is real expectation of real change in us.

We need help! And help is at hand. Here's the blurb about a book we are going to use at St George's in 2010, to help us make progress, and to show the power of the gospel to change our lives – to the glory of God!

"'You Can Change' is not a self-help book. It is only interested in transforming us into the likeness of Christ.

The power for change is not inner strength or willpower, but the grace of God through the death of his Son, applied by his Spirit.

The method of change is not rules and programmes, but faith and repentance.

The setting for change is not the counsellor's office or a solitary retreat, but the community of God's people speaking the truth in love.

The goal of change is not to find yourself, but to forget yourself in love and service. The message is not so much that you can change, as that God can change you."

You Can Change on Wednesdays at St George's. Whoever you are, however short or long you have been a Christian, why not come along and join us, either at 1pm or 7.30 pm?

Simon Smallwood
Vicar, St Georges

What REALLY went on in the stable…

2009-11-28T16:28:00.003Z

'On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him.' (Matthew 2.10, 11)

1. Were the Magi mad?

Let's be honest. We like babies and we like Christmas. And we like the idea of a God who is something to do with babies and Christmas. A God like that sounds rather nice. And that's why we need to remember the Magi.

The Magi were wise men from the East. We sing about them as 'The Three Kings'. But when they walked into the place where the new-born Jesus was, they did something very strange. When most people see babies, they want to pick them up. But instead the Magi 'bowed down and worshipped him.' Who does that to a baby? And their gifts were very odd. Gold, incense and myrrh – what were they thinking? Couldn't they have brought something sensible like baby clothes or a teddy bear?

It was as if they were treating the baby like royalty. The only person anyone would fall down in front of in those days was someone who was very important – a powerful king or ruler. But that was exactly what they were doing. The whole reason they came to Jerusalem from a far country was to see 'The King.' (Matthew 2.2). They fell before Him because they knew this baby was very great and powerful.

2. What's it like to meet God?

What would it be like to see God face-to-face? Curious people might want to ask Him questions about evolution. Adventurous people might think of the fun they could have with God – one recent book imagined going for a walk on a lake with Jesus. But the Magi remind us that we can't approach Jesus as if we were equals. When people in the Bible met God, they fell face-down as if dead. When people met the adult Jesus they fell at his feet. The Magi remind us that the only right way to approach Jesus is with our hearts bowed very low before Him.

3. Are we ready for the dangers of Christmas?

The Magi remind us that we need to be careful at Christmas, when we think about Jesus as a baby. We can make him sound cute and powerless. We need to set security guards on our hearts to keep out that kind of drivel. Jesus is the Prince of Peace who will reign in justice and righteousness forever (Isaiah 9.6, 7). King Jesus is not defenceless. He wants us to come to him at Christmas to love him and obey him and be protected by him – not to cuddle him.

Wise men worshipped him that first Christmas. Wise folk still do.

Simon Tomkins
Associate Minister

We honour other heroes – why not Jesus?

2009-10-31T14:14:00.003Z

'An out of control Rottweiler headed for a baby, but Sally Ann Sutton threw herself into the vicious dog's path, sustaining terrible injuries in the process. Sally Ann put herself in extreme danger to save someone else.'

So ran the judge's comments last month as Sally Ann Sutton received a winner's award at the Pride of Britain 2009. And it's hard not to be deeply moved by the stories at the awards ceremony, especially those where individuals endured terrible suffering for the sake of others, with no thought to their own safety or well-being.

Well, this month, I'd like to recognise the selfless courage of another hero, who suffered the most appalling injuries in order to save each one of us, His name is Jesus.

As Jesus hung on the executioner's cross, we're told that some of the onlookers sneered at him, He saved others, let him now save himself if he is the Christ of God?' And another man said, 'Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!' (Luke 23 v 35-39)

They missed the point. Jesus could not save others if he saved himself. He was subjecting himself to the most terrible death in order to save us from the most terrible death.

In this case, 'death' is the final, just judgment of God on all our wrongdoing – and it's headed straight for all of us. As defenceless as a baby in the face of a Rottweiler, there's no escaping death's grip on us, unless someone comes between death and us.

And that's what Jesus did on the cross – he let God inflict the appalling effects of his judgment on him instead of on us.

He could have saved himself and let us suffer what was coming to us. But out of his great love for us, with no thought to himself or his own safety, he suffered our death in our place instead of us.

We honour other heroes, why not Jesus?

We're moved to tears by the heroic acts of Britain's best, why not Jesus?

Did anyone ever do so much for us, at such great personal cost and pain?

Since God raised Jesus from death, and appointed him to the highest place of honour, living and ruling all heaven and earth, let us also give him our 'top award': our love and thanks.

Should not we give our all for him who gave his all for us?

Simon Smallwood

Vicar, St George's Church

How’s your life?

2009-10-02T19:09:00.002+01:00

"You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'" – John 3.7

If we're honest, most of us are surprised that Jesus says 'you must be born again.' We don't see any need to be born again – we think that's something to do with a group of slightly odd Americans. But Jesus tells us that we must be born again and I can think of at least 3 reasons why he uses the picture language of getting a new life or being born a second time…

1. Being born again takes a miracle.

Does anyone else get nightmares where they're on a program like X Factor? I picture myself in front of the judges as they stamp on my ambition to be Bruce Springsteen. I ask Simon Cowell – 'Simon, do I have what it takes to be a world-class singer?' And he shakes his head and says 'Tonks, if you want to be a singer, you'll have to be born again as a different person – this time, one who can sing.' He's saying 'it's impossible. It's not going to happen. It would take a miracle.' And Jesus means the same thing. He says 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.' (John 3.3)

2. Being born again is not something I can take credit for.

Amazingly, however, Jesus goes on to tell us that it is possible to be born again. He says '…no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.' (John 3.5). It would take a miracle to change my heart, and I can't do miracles, but God the Holy Spirit can. Stroppy teenagers shout at their parents 'I didn't ask to be born.' Christians should be saying the same thing to God in amazement and gratitude. He deserves all the credit for it. In the same way that we couldn't decide to give life to ourselves when we were born from our mothers, we can't make ourselves be born a second time either.

3. Being born again means we can have a new start.

I was at a wedding last week when I walked up behind a friend I hadn't seen for a while, and gave him a few friendly, manly punches in the back. He turned round and said 'I'm sorry, do I know you?' I then realised that this guy was someone I'd never met. I wanted to walk away and come back and say 'can we try that again?' I'd treated this person in a way that was totally inappropriate. But, terrifyingly, we've all done that in the way we've treated God. None of us have treated the Maker of our universe with the respect that's appropriate. But in His amazing kindness, when we're born again, we're given a second chance to start our whole relationship with Him over again.

When I start talking about kayaking, people often tell me to "get a life". Jesus tells us not to be surprised when He says the same thing to us all…

Simon Tomkins
Associate Minister

Where to find the doctor

2009-08-29T18:41:00.003+01:00

Jesus was tucking into a slap up meal with a bunch of no good low-lifes. Some respectable people in the neighbourhood were outraged. If this upstart really was a man of God, he certainly wouldn’t mix with that lot!

Jesus had an answer for them: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This is no ‘moral tale’. It’s a common sense truth and a really important, if unusual, public health announcement.

1. A common sense truth

If you’re a doctor, there’s no point in you hanging around people who are well. Where you need to be is in among the sick.

Jesus is a doctor. He has come for the sick: people who are morally and spiritually sick – terminally ill. He came from heaven for sinners. He came to save the lives of sinners. That’s why they found him among sinners.

2. Important public health announcement

‘It’ is dangerous. You can’t see it. You can’t feel it. You can’t X-ray it or CT scan it, or diagnose it with a blood test or urine sample. But we all suffer from it, and it’s a killer.

You need the right diagnosis to realise you’ve got it.

Test 1: Do you love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength? No? Well then, you’ve got it.

Test 2: Do you love your neighbour as you love yourself? No? Well, then, you’ve got it.

If you have anything less than a constant, deep and lasting passion for God and his Son Jesus Christ, you suffer from terminal spiritual sickness. You are out of sorts with God. As a dead limb loses its feeling and goes numb, so your spirit is dead and numb to God. You have no or little feeling for him. You need a doctor.

But there’s only one doctor who can treat this sort of terminal illness. It is Jesus – sent from heaven by God to save us. Jesus removes the deadly infection – our sin. He injects new life into our dead souls – the Spirit of God! So – come to the doctor. He promises the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the Holy Spirit.

‘It’s not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’ (Mark 2 v 17)

Christians: remember! We are not ‘respectable’ people, but sick people who have been to the doctor – sinners who have been treated and saved. It’s not for Christians to commentate on the ills of society, but to dispense the much needed medicine of the gospel: the good news about Jesus, and to bring others to the doctor.

Not a Christian? Jesus calls on you to come to him and let him save your life. You may not realise it, but you are terminally ill. You need forgiveness of your sins and to receive new life from God. Without this treatment from Jesus, you will never recover, but suffer terrible death forever.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar at St George’s

Keep going and never give up

2009-06-30T18:19:00.004+01:00

Without Christians in our neighbourhood, all would be lost!

Christians are employed by God to deliver a message to all people. That message informs them there is free forgiveness and new spiritual life from God through faith in Jesus Christ. ‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus our Lord.’

But sometimes Christians get slack and fail to deliver. Why might that be?

In the first place, we may have forgotten that everyone around us is in real danger.

After humans die, all of us are judged for the things we have done against God. Our only hope of forgiveness is Christ Jesus - ‘crucified in my place, taking the death penalty I deserved'. God has given us no other means of being forgiven except through his death for us. No Christ - no hope; only the prospect of facing God on my own.

Second, we may not really love or care for those around us. That’s a terrible thing to say, but how else can we explain our indifference? Every day we just ‘walk by’ people that we know are headed for destruction, without delivering the message that can save them. O for an atom of the deep compassion that the great evangelists have for the lost! Then I might care for other people’s well-being more than what they think of me.

Third, we may have grown discouraged. We may have set out with hopeful enthusiasm, only to be met by no interest, or scorn, or worse - someone we love coming close to faith, but then turning away. Maybe after much prayer, and effort, and many attempts we just feel we’re a failure at this and ‘best to leave it to others’. This is the clever tactic on the part of the devil, who is the enemy of the human soul. And one of his chief weapons is to discourage those whose job it is to deliver the message that saves souls. The work God has given us is hard, but we dare not give up.

Fourth, we may feel we’re rubbish at delivering the message. But like most things in life, it just takes a bit of help and a lot of practice. And we can always bring people to hear other Christians who can explain things more clearly than we can. Even a CD or DVD or book will do – any way of delivering the message is better than none.

So, Christians! Keep going and never give up. Our neighbourhood depends on you to deliver the gospel. Without you, all will be lost.

If you’re not a Christian, reading this, and you know a Christian, ask them to tell you the gospel (and try to forgive them for not telling you sooner!).

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

What’s your excuse?

2009-05-30T17:52:00.004+01:00

MP's have been making excuses about their expenses for weeks now, but in case we think we're any better than them, let's think about some of our favourite excuses…

'But it's not my fault…'

Everyone with an older brother learnt to say 'He made me do it' at a very early age. We say 'I can't help it - I was born that way.' I pretend it's never my fault – in fact, I believe that I'm really the victim. Adam tried this excuse back in the Garden of Eden: "The man said, 'The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'" (Genesis 3.12) In other words: it was Eve's fault, and it was also God's fault for making her. But God won't let us use what other people have done to excuse our own failures.

'But I haven't done anything wrong…'

This is a simpler excuse. We just say that we don't think we've done anything we shouldn't have. Saul tried this excuse in 1 Samuel 15 after God told him to destroy a particularly wicked group of people: "'But I did obey the LORD', Saul said. '…I completely destroyed the Amalekites'" (v20). The prophet Samuel has to point out that he can actually hear the Amalekite sheep and that the Amalekite king is standing there in front of them before Saul admits that maybe he didn't completely destroy them after all. By then it's too late: Samuel says that because he's rejected God's word, God has rejected him as king (v26).

'But how was I meant to know…?'

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who died and went to Hell (Luke 16.19-31). The rich man was so arrogant that even there he argued, "If someone from the dead goes [to my brothers], they will repent." (v30) He's basically saying 'If someone had bothered to warn me, I wouldn't be here.' The reply comes back: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (v31). It's true - we have stunning proof in the Bible that Jesus has risen from the dead and our problem is not lack of evidence, but that we don't want to hear it.

A Better Way

There is an alternative to lame excuses. When the prophet Nathan exposed David's sin, David replied straight away "I have sinned against the Lord." (2 Samuel 12.13). He admitted to God in Psalm 51: "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." That's a much safer option than pretending we haven't done anything wrong because "if we claim we to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, Jesus…will forgive us our sins and purify us from all wickedness." (1 John 1.9,10)

Simon Tomkins
Associate Minister

Who should I listen to?

2009-02-28T14:01:00.003Z

When my wife was pregnant with our first child, we were flooded with advice. Every mother and grandmother had their own bit of wisdom to offer! But so much of it was conflicting advice. It was impossible to know who to listen to. So we just got on and did our own thing.

It feels like that when it comes to God: trying to work out which voice is the real voice of God in the supermarket of world religions.

It’s not only a modern problem, though. It was an ancient problem, too. Back in the days of Moses (1400 BC), the people were being told to listen to the prophet. God said, ‘I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell everything I command’ (Deuteronomy 18v18).

But the people said, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ And the answer was, ‘If what the prophet says…does not take place or come true…’

So here is the acid test!

It’s not so much whether the prophet’s words sound wise or deep or good advice. It’s whether the prophet’s words accurately describe what will happen in the future.

And this isn’t like forecasting the weather or a downturn in the Stock Market. That’s just spotting trends and making educated guesses. No. A true prophet accurately describes what will happen in the future with clarity and with detail that can be tested.

That’s why we have kept and treasure the words of the prophets in the Bible’s Old Testament. These are prophets whose words came true. What they said would happen did happen, both to the nation of Israel and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

That’s why we have kept and treasure the words of Jesus in the Bible’s New Testament. What Jesus said would happen did happen, for instance, he said he would be put to death, buried and on the third day rise again. And he did!

These are the genuine prophets, as proved by the real events in history they prophesied. That’s why Jesus’ followers were not mistaken when they heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my son, whom I love, listen to him.’ (Mark 9v7).

In all the clamour of voices today, there is one voice we can be sure is speaking the very words of God. It’s the voice of Jesus. Listen to him.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Blessed are the merciful

2009-02-03T22:26:00.003Z

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”
Matthew 5:7

Let’s face it, things have changed. Not long ago, everyone laughed at people in England because if we bumped into someone in a queue, both of us would say sorry. Today, if we mess up and apologise to someone, we’re more likely to be sued than forgiven. Even in church we find it really hard to be merciful.

1. The Meaning of Mercy

Think of the last time you were merciful to someone. Got it in your mind? Now, are you sure you weren’t just being nice to them? Because mercy is much rarer and harder than we think. Mercy is when you’re in the right. Mercy is when the other person is totally and entirely in the wrong. Mercy is when you have every right to be angry, upset and cross – and you don’t use that right. It’s not about letting things go for now so they can be used as a weapon in the future. Mercy means forgetting someone’s mistake forever. We may have every right to be angry in a certain situation. The other person might even refuse to admit their mistake. But it’s only in situations where we have every right to be angry that it’s possible to show mercy.

2. The Motivation for Mercy

Can I ask if you’d call yourself a real Christian? In other words, have your sins been forgiven by God? If they have, let’s think about what that means. If last night God had insisted on His right to be angry with us for the way we’ve lived, then we would have woken up this morning in Hell. But God doesn’t insist on it. He was even murdered on a cross so we could be forgiven. Christians have received mercy on a mind-boggling scale. And here’s the scary thing: Jesus says people who have received mercy are expected to show mercy themselves. (Have a read of Matthew 18v21-35). In chapter 6v15, Jesus warns us ‘if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’ We have no right to our right to be angry.

3. Are we Missing Mercy?

I wonder if you’ve noticed that non-Christians all seem to know what Bible-believing Christians are against (things like abortion and sex outside marriage). But can they see that we’re for mercy and love whatever someone’s done in the past? Real mercy is really attractive, but people can smell hypocrites a mile off. No one will believe us when we say ‘Jesus is merciful’ if we’re not merciful ourselves.

Is there someone we need to apologise to – even if they we’re the ones who were in the wrong?

Simon Tomkins
Associate Minister

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

2009-01-03T12:14:00.003Z

An American woman I met this week was telling me about the growing sense of hope in the USA. With the election of Barack Obama there’s a real sense that a new America will emerge with his presidency.

I hate to be a misery-guts, but the track record of world leaders in the past does not give us much confidence. They all seem to start so well but end up disappointing us. The new era for Russia has gone sour. The new era for South Africa has gone pear-shaped, not to mention the once liberated Zimbabwe!

We’ve just been celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with carols saying things like, ‘the hopes and fears of all the years are met in you tonight.’ Indeed, as we read through the Gospels, there was nothing about Jesus to disappoint. He fitted the bill perfectly as the prophesied Messiah and Saviour of the world.

But there was a moment when his followers were really not sure. Three days after Jesus had been dead and buried, two followers were walking along the road discussing recent events, and they talked about Jesus like this, ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel…’ (Luke 24:19-21).

Spot the note of downcast disappointment. You see, they imagined that their hopes were dead and buried with Jesus.

In fact, it turns out they were just being very foolish. They had simply fallen for the same thing we fall for – which is not to do our homework. A very short time later, Jesus himself, raised to life by God from the dead, teaches them a lesson. This is what he said, ‘How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ (Luke 24:25-26).

Foolishly, they had not studied their Bibles thoroughly. They’d read the bits they liked, and the bits that sounded good. They stuck to texts they could understand easily, and steered clear of the harder or boring stuff. But that meant their understanding of Jesus Christ was incomplete. And that meant they got him wrong and misunderstood what he came to do. No wonder they were disappointed. He came to save us for the world to come. We enter his glory beyond death not before death.

The point is that if we want to avoid being disappointed with Jesus; if we want to avoid one crisis of faith after another, we need to do our homework. And there are no shortcuts. It means constant, faithful studying of the Bible – the whole of it – steadily, constantly working through not just the ‘easy bits’ but the harder bits too.

Pray to Jesus to open the Scriptures to your mind and to open your mind to understand the Scriptures, and see if your faith is not strengthened and your joy and hope increased.

That’s one good resolution for everyone this New Year – to try and read the whole Bible humbly and prayerfully by 1 January 2010.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar at St George’s

What does your present say about you?

2008-11-29T12:44:00.002Z

The presents we give at Christmas say a lot about how we feel towards people. I think there are two ways a present shows someone that we really love them.

1. The best presents are just what we need

A couple of years ago my Mum gave me a battery-powered hamster that sings ‘Here it is, Merry Christmas’ by Slade when you squeeze its paw. It’s quite fun, but the penknife she gave me to take to Africa has been much more useful. If someone sees that we need something and they get just the thing to help us, it proves that they really care for us.

2. The best presents are costly

Christmas is a very expensive time of year, and advertisers put lots of pressure on us to spend more than we should. But we all want to show our loved ones how much they mean to us by giving them a present that has cost us something. A gold necklace that cost a husband quite a bit will show his love to his wife much better than a plastic ring from a Christmas cracker.

I wonder if that’s one reason the Christmas angel said to the shepherds, ‘Today in the town of David a Saviour is born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’ (Luke 2.11) That verse shows how deeply God loves His people, because…

3. A Saviour is just what we need

A ‘Saviour’ is someone who saves people. A bit like a paramedic, or a fireman, Jesus comes to people in danger to save them. And Jesus saves His people from all kinds of terrible dangers. He saves them from an empty life. He saves His people from the anger He feels towards everyone who ignores His rules. He saves His people from death because He can promise them an even better life with Him after death. A Saviour is exactly what we need.

4. A Saviour is very costly

When we picture the newly-born Jesus ‘meek and mild in the manger’, we mustn’t forget the newly-dead Jesus who had been beaten up, tortured, and brutally murdered. Like the best presents, Jesus’ rescue is free, but it’s not cheap. It costs His followers nothing – but it cost Jesus His life to save us.

God’s gift to His people shows us how loving He is – He saw exactly what we needed, and He gave it to us even though it cost Him everything. So as we’re stuffed full of mince pies and turkey this Christmas, are we stuffed full of thankfulness to God as well?

Simon Tomkins
Associate Minister

Nothing to be ashamed of

2008-10-25T16:10:00.003+01:00

When I worked in the City, some of my colleagues were very posh indeed. I used to do some building and decorating for them at weekends, to make ends meet. I was doing some work in Chelsea for my friend James, and he took me down to the pub for lunch. But the posh lot he socialised with were there, and I could see he was embarrassed to have me in tow. He was ashamed of me because I wasn’t as posh as them.

I wonder how Jesus feels when we’re out with our mates or our family. I hope they know we are Christians, but do we ever talk about Jesus when we’re with them? Or are we ashamed of Jesus?

In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us that we have no reason to be ashamed. He says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God to save everyone who believes.” (Romans 1 v16).

A bit earlier he tells us what the gospel is about. It’s the message about Jesus. In v 2 he tells us that Jesus …. “as to his human nature was a descendant of David”. That means he was descended from Israel’s great King. Jesus is royalty – nothing to be ashamed of there!

And in v 4, Paul tells us … “through the Holy Spirit Jesus was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” He is the most important person in the universe! If anything, he should be ashamed of us, not us of him. And yet it says in Hebrews 2 v 11 Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers.

Other people might find talk about Jesus a bit embarrassing, but we, of all people, should be glad to talk of him. We know him. We know what he has done for us and for the world. We know there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Here’s a sobering thing: Jesus said to his followers … “If anyone is ashamed of me in this adulterous and sinful generation, I will be ashamed of him when I come in judgment at the end of time.” (Mark 8:38) Fair do’s.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George's

Walkin' back to happiness!

2008-10-09T20:51:00.003+01:00

It’s 1961, and Helen Shapiro had the Number 1 hit “Walkin’ back to happiness”. It was a love song about the misery of loneliness, and the joyful thought of walkin’ back into the arms of the one she loved … “woopah oh yeah yeah!!”.

If only happiness was that simple to find, and to keep hold of. If the statistics are right, the least reliable place to find lasting happiness is in our relationships. One in three marriages ends in divorce. And the fall-out rate for co-habiting couples is even worse! Just when we fall in love and think we’ve found lasting happiness, it eludes us.

Is there any hope of finding real and lasting happiness? Well, listen to these words from a wise old fisherman called Peter : “Though you have not seen Jesus, you love him; even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Wow! (1 Peter 1 v 8).

Real and lasting happiness is to be found in our relationships with Christ Jesus, whose love for us endures forever; and in the prospect of enjoying the inheritance that is kept in heaven by him for us.

There are two things about this inheritance that should make us particularly happy.

1. The inheritance is kept for us by God.

There must be some children of bankers who had fully expected to inherit a fortune when their parents popped their clogs. But for some, that is now an empty hope. All has been lost in the latest financial meltdown.

But Peter is able to reassure Christians that their inheritance is safe – it is “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1 v 4).

Heaven is not subject to the uncertainties of this world’s economies. There is no-one who can catch God unawares or overpower him. What he holds in safekeeping for us is truly safe – “woopah oh yeah yeah!!”.

2. We are kept for our inheritance by God.

Too many times I’ve had to comfort a distraught widow. Their husband worked hard for 40 or 50 years, saving into a pension fund for their retirement. Their pension may have been safe, but they never thought they might be too old and unhealthy – or even die before they could enjoy it.

But Peter reassures Christians that not only is our inheritance kept safe for us by God, but also we are kept safe for our inheritance by God. He says “through faith you are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1 v 5).

That power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, whom Peter saw with his own eyes – which is why he can write these things with such confidence.

God’s promise to us is that those who have put their faith in Jesus can definitely expect to be raised with him to enjoy the life he now enjoys, forever. That’s a good reason for constant, real, lasting happiness that non-one can take away from us.

Come and hear more of it from Helen Shapiro who is herself a follower of Jesus. She’ll be at St George’s on 25 October at 7.30pm. Entrance by ticket only.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St Georges

Believing without seeing

2008-09-02T13:27:00.003+01:00

During a cloudless summer’s day I direct my daughter’s gaze to the clear blue sky: “There’s a billion stars and planets up there,” I say. “But, Dad, I can’t see them. How do I know they are there?” “Wait till its dark tonight. In the dark, they become visible, and then you will see them.”

The word used in the Bible for the stars becoming visible is “epiphany“ (Acts 27 v 20). They were always there. They just couldn’t be seen by human eyes until they became visible at night.

The same point is made about God. He has always been there. We just couldn’t see him with our eyes until he became visible. This he did when he sent his son Jesus Christ into the world. So John says, “The (invisible) Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1 v 14).

A man called Paul, who also saw the Son of God later said, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all people” (Titus 2 v 11). The word “appeared” is that Bible word “epiphany”. In other words, in Christ Jesus, God made himself visible for anyone to see and we have a written record of what these men saw. And based on their eyewitness records, we can not only know for certain that God exists, we can also know what God is like, and what he requires of us.

Have you ever watched the dawn rise? As it does, the brilliant array of stars disappears. And they do not appear again until there’s a clear sky and on dark night.

In the same way, Christ Jesus returned out of sight to where he came from, after he had accomplished what he was sent to do in the world. But he will appear again – and this time for good – at a time of God’s choosing. The Bible tells us to “wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2 v 13). Everyone will see him then: to the great joy of those who believed without seeing; but to the everlasting shame of those who stubbornly refused to believe the facts.

Tony Anthony, several times World Kung Fu champion is no sentimental fool. He speaks about two great loves in his life. One was his fiancée Aiya. She was born blind. She could not see Tony but they were passionately in love based on their knowledge of each other through words. The same is true for Tony with Jesus Christ. Although he cannot see Jesus, he loves Jesus and knows the love of Jesus for him based on the words of God in the Bible.

Without seeing God now, we can believe in God now, know his love for us now, and love him in return now – by hearing him speak to us through the living words of the Bible. Then, one day, he will appear, at a time of his choosing, and we will see for ourselves the One we have loved and entrusted our eternity to.

Come to St George’s. Hear the Bible preached.

See for yourself.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Crowned with glory!

2008-07-06T19:52:00.001+01:00

During August, loads of us will be eagerly watching our favourite athletes “going for gold” at the Beijing Olympics. We’ll be watching breathtaking feats of strength, speed, skill and endurance, which for many athletes will be the climax of a lifetime’s preparation.

And all for that moment of glory on the podium. We love athletic feats. And we love champions. And we love remembering great champions of the past. But the greatest champion of them all has long been forgotten by most people. And even if his name has not been forgotten, then his greatest feat of strength has been forgotten.

All his life, Jesus had been preparing himself for one great moment. The night before he died, he said “The time has come.” And speaking to God, his Father, he said “Glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you … I have brought you glory by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17 v 1).

What was this ‘work’, this great feat that God gave Jesus to do, that would bring both him and his Son universal and everlasting glory? It was him achieving something massive for us by his death. In Hebrews 2 v 9 we hear that “Jesus is now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death.” How bizarre! What was he up to?

1. Jesus was weight-lifting

The Bible tells us that on the cross Jesus took upon himself a burden so heavy that no other person could possibly take it – only he, the Son of God was powerful enough. This burden is the weight of our sin – the sins, evil, guilt of the whole world, lifted off us and borne by him:

“Surely, he took up our infirmities and sorrows…” (Isaiah 53 v 4).
“He bore our sins in his body on the tree…” (1 Peter 2 v 24).

Jesus lifted the burden of our sin and guilt off us, so that we could be free from their crushing weight.

2. Jesus overpowered the fiercest opposition

“Since we have flesh and blood, Jesus too shared in our humanity, so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2 v 14).

When Jesus had accomplished this task – one that was so demanding, it cost him his life – he cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19 v 30), and died. Notice, not “I am finished” (defeated), but “It is finished!” (job done). For that reason God raised his Son from death, not to stand on a podium to receive a gold medal, but up to the highest place at his own right hand side – to be crowned with glory.

Approximately 5 million spectators will be at the Beijing Olympics applauding the 2008 Olympic Champions. But, at the end of time, “a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” will be standing before the throne of God and in front of the one who died for us, applauding, singing, crying out in loud voices the praise due to him for what he achieved by his death on the cross.

If you want to be part of that, it won’t cost you anything. You won’t have to buy a ticket. Jesus will give you a place there with him if you just come and ask him, thank him for what he’s done for you, believe in him, and make him the champion and hero of your life.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Do something about it!

2008-06-06T17:17:00.002+01:00

Magazines like Heat and Hello! invite us into the colourful lives of celebrities. We discover how the rich and famous live; but they make no demands of us. We’re just idle spectators, star gazing.

However, if you discover your house is on fire, you do something about it. And what we discover about the life of Jesus in the Gospels is not like the celebrities in Heat or Hello! It’s more like discovering your house is on fire. His life demands we do something about ours. Let’s discover why.

First, we are facing destruction.

If your house is on fire, you call the fire brigade to rescue you and your property from destruction. In the Bible, God tells us that every human life is facing destruction. This is God’s judgement on us, for ignoring our Creator, and ruining his creation. God says he will "punish those who do not know God and do not pay attention to the good news about the Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out…" Shut God out of your life now, and he will shut you out of his life in the future. Doing nothing in response to the message of Jesus is doing something - it is condemning yourself to destruction.

Second, God sent Jesus to rescue us.

In the same way we can call on the fire brigade to rescue us from destruction, so God, in his mercy, sent Jesus for us to call on – to rescue us from the destruction of his judgement to come. But to be rescued, we must do something, before it is too late. We must call on him – pray to him, something like, “O Lord Jesus, please save me from the destruction of God’s judgement on my sin”.

Of course, we’re not going to call on him if we think we don’t need saving. And we won’t call on him if we think he’s not there, or if we think he’s not able to save us. And that’s the whole purpose of the Bible and the Gospels – to convince us of these things. This is such an urgent matter and such an important matter (where we end up after death) that it can’t be left on the sideboard like Heat or Hello! Too much is at stake. We need to discover for ourselves whether Jesus is real, whether he can be trusted, and whether his teaching is true. If what he says is true, we are all in immediate and terrible danger unless we call on him to rescue us. “Everyone who calls on the Lord Jesus will be saved”. Yet, “whoever rejects Jesus will not see life, for God’s destruction remains on him”.

Third, the rescue service is free of charge.

Jesus offers to rescue us free of charge. To the person who really wants to live, Jesus gives life to them “without cost”. For it is by God’s generosity we are saved, through faith – we can’t save ourselves from God’s destruction – it is the free gift of God. And the reason Jesus can offer to rescue us ‘free of charge’ is that he has paid the cost of rescuing us himself. Like the fireman who dies whilst rescuing others, at the cost of his own life, so Jesus died rescuing us. Except his death was no accident. He deliberately sacrificed himself as the necessary payment to pay for us not to be destroyed by God’s judgement.

The rescue service is free to us. But it cost him his life. The case against this being true is not strong. The evidence for this being true is very strong indeed – strong enough for anyone to believe, beyond all reasonable doubt. Please don’t put this to one side, do something about it, today.

I keep hearing about people, men in particular, who won’t go to the doctor for fear of appearing weak. They are worried what people will think of them. So their illness gets worse, and some die. Then people say, not how strong they were, but how foolish they were. I fear this is why some people, men in particular, won’t call on Christ Jesus. They are simply afraid of what others will think of them. What a foolish reason to suffer everlasting destruction, shut out from the fabulous life Jesus offers us in the future.

Do something about it, today, before it’s too late.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

An unacceptable phobia

2008-05-06T13:00:00.003+01:00

Homophobia is so unacceptable to our modern society that the government has enshrined it in law as a crime.

But it’s only one of many “phobia”.

A phobia is a fear or a strong aversion to something, for no particular reason. It is irrational fear – like the fear of spiders or mice, or hair in the bathtub. But these are neither here nor there. It’s not socially unacceptable to have a fear of spiders!

Another little known phobia in our modern society is the fear of religious truth. People get irrationally cross about any claim to know the truth about God. People are really turned off – they have a strong aversion to statements like these from Jesus:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.”

“All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations …”

What modern society hates is the idea that one or other religion might be right. That’s because, if one is right, by definition all others must be wrong. And the thought of having to abandon lifelong, even centuries- long beliefs is too much. The thought of declaring, for instance, that Islam is wrong would potentially cause so much trouble, we would prefer to avoid the matter altogether. So what modern society does is try to accept all religions as true, or at least that they all have something true to say about God. So we can believe what we want to believe, and be done with it. How convenient!

But this really won’t do. It’s as unacceptable as homophobia.

1. It’s an insult to human intelligence

An honest look at the world’s religions clearly reveals this: They are fundamentally different. It’s an insult to human intelligence to claim they all lead to the same God, or all come to the same thing in the end. The atheist Bertrand Russell was spot on when he said “Either they are all wrong, or one of them is right.” But let’s not insult each other by saying they are all the same really.

2. It’s an insult to God

When all the evidence is put together, it is increasingly clear that God exists, so to behave as though his identity and his character didn’t really matter is deeply offensive. We hate being misrepresented – people telling lies about us, or making up stories about us. How much more is God insulted by wrong portrayals of him! It’s our duty to seek the truth about God and expose and condemn the lies.

3. It’s highly irresponsible

If, for instance, as Jesus claims, there is a heaven and there is a hell, it’s highly irresponsible not to check out the truth of these claims by whatever means is available to us. How foolish for us and our children to end up in hell because modern society has a phobia about claims to the truth. We check the safety information on packets, why not the safety information about eternity?

It is a crime to be homophobic – to hate homosexuals out of an irrational fear. It’s much more of a crime to deny God our love because of an irrational fear of the truth. And it’s a crime to consign hundreds of thousands of souls to hell because of an irrational fear of the truth.

Fear of the truth is an unacceptable phobia.

It’s the compelling “truth claims” of Jesus that we grapple with at St George’s. So why not come along and join us on a Sunday at 10am?

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Christmas baby murdered...

2008-03-21T15:49:00.004Z

Christmas is safe. It’s all about a baby in a manger. It’s so safe, Christmas is for the children.

But Easter is not safe. The baby grew up and was brutally murdered. It’s hard for Hallmark or Clintons to sell that truth, so instead we get bunnies and chicks.

But on the first ‘Easter’, real events happened, that were witnessed and recorded by the people who were there. The world can ignore them if it wants, but the fact of them won’t go away. And the fact is that what happened that weekend changed everything, for ever, for everyone.

What happened?

First of all, Jesus was put to death by crucifixion. After his professional executioners made sure he was dead, by running him through with a spear, they released his corpse for burial on Friday. He was dead, and buried, and the tomb sealed with a one ton stone. The authorities posted an elite military guard at the tomb to make sure no one could steal the body. Jesus’ closest followers had already drifted away, dejected, defeated and utterly disillusioned.

But then news came to them that none of them were expecting.

Jesus had said it, but none of them had believed it – that because he was Christ the Son of God death would not be able to keep its hold on him. And blow it all! He had spoken the truth! Not only had the tomb been found empty on the Sunday, but news was coming in from here, there and everywhere – Jesus was alive, raised from the dead, and he was meeting with people and talking with them. Some had touched him. Some had even eaten with him. This was no ghost, no hallucination, no hoax. These were real events!

So what?

First, these events confirm he is who he said he was.

Put together with his other miracles, it is evident he is the Christ, the Son of God, the man appointed by God to be our King – not just of the Jews, but of all nations on earth. He calls each one of us therefore to repent. That means he commands us to stop our self-rule (running our own lives much as we please) and to come back under his loving rule and protection. To fail to heed his call is a worse treason than the first – and punishable by certain and permanent death.

Second, he did what he came to do.

His death was no mistake. He deliberately took himself to the cross to be put to death on our behalf. The way he put it is that he was serving us as our King, by paying a ransom for us. The ransom was the price necessary to free us from the consequences of our sin. Sin is our rejection of God and his good laws, and all the terrible things, we say and do to each other as a result. The outcome is death and hell, from which we cannot escape.

The voluntary death of Christ Jesus paid the ransom to set us free from hell, and from death keeping its hold on us. Since death could not keep its hold on him, it’s clear he successfully did what he came to do for us.

Third, we have hope for the future.

Before he died, Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me will not perish but have eternal life.” He promised anyone who would return to him, that beyond death they would pass into the new life he now enjoys. He gave us a glimpse of that life beyond the tomb when he showed himself ‘for real’- flesh and blood – to those eye-witnesses. They were so clear, so sure, so bowled over by what they saw, that they gladly went to their deaths knowing this great news to be true. And it’s as true today as it was then. In Christ Jesus, we have hope for the future.

Fourth, these events change everyday lives today.

Christians are not just ‘waiting to go to heaven’. Jesus commands us to live as his people by his way of life now. It’s a great way of life that must start now, in preparation for our glorious future with him.

Living for Christ Jesus now means freedom from all the other things that dominate our lives. We are free indeed from selfishness, greed, pride, ambition, vanity, and what others think of us. We are free to follow Jesus.

And living for the world to come means we don’t have to try and see everything, do everything, achieve everything in this life. There’s plenty of time beyond the tomb for all that, so we can devote ourselves and our time now to what is closest to his heart – seeing as many as possible saved from death and hell, for eternal life in his kingdom.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Vive la difference!

2008-02-29T17:53:00.001Z

We have become a society of individuals. We’d love to belong to a close-knit community, but we treasure our private lives and our personal freedoms and our personal choices too much. We want community but not at the cost of giving up these personal things for others.

But the place where we should be able to create real community is in the church. Sounds crazy but the church belongs to God, and the life of the church should reflect the life of God. And here’s the really amazing fact – God is not a solitary individual, but a divine community of three.

One of the wonderful truths God has made known to us about himself is this – God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three live in perfect community. God is the perfect model for our community.

1. Diversity without division - The Father and Son and Spirit are distinct personalities. They are not one person putting on different masks, but three distinctly different persons. But their difference does not separate them. They live in perfect union. In fact, they find their identity in the way they relate to each other. Therefore, “the Father” is so called because of the way he relates to “the Son”.

2. Community without uniformity - Normally, we tend to gather in clubs. We are drawn to people like us, whether that is the same fashion, ethnic background, taste in music, sport or whatever. We wear the same “uniform”. But God enjoys perfect unity in himself whilst preserving the distinctive personality and role of Father, Son and Spirit. This is true community – diversity with unity.

In Romans chapter 12 of the New Testament, the church is described like this – “in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”. And at the end of the New Testament, where Christ gives us a vision of the community he has gathered around him, it is described like this: “.. a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language...” (Revelation chapter 7).

To the members of the church that meets at St George’s, here’s a challenge: let’s put aside all those things that keep us apart and keep us from being devoted to each other in brotherly love and especially any idea that our lives are own. We now belong to God and to each other. Let’s show it!

To those who are our neighbours who are around St George’s, here’s an invitation: come and join us. Trust God that he knows what’s best for us. He knows how to create real community, and will enable us to find our real identity in relationship to others, and the deepest sense of belonging and well-being in communion with him and his people.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Without a doubt?

2008-01-28T13:40:00.001Z

Three days ago I took the funeral service for a lovely six year old girl. She died very unexpectedly just after Christmas. It's tragedies like this, especially when they are close to home, that raise all sorts of questions and doubts in our minds about God.

My concern is that many Christians are afraid to admit their doubts. They’re afraid of looking stupid. They're worried it might unsettle other Christians if they confess to being shaken in their faith. They don't want to "let the side down" by sounding disloyal to Jesus. We can sympathise with that.

But actually doubt is a healthy and positive property of faith. But we confuse "healthy" doubt with something that sounds similar, but is very different.

First, doubt is not scepticism. The sceptic doubts everything deliberately, as a matter of principle. Secondly, doubt is not unbelief. The unbeliever has decided not to have faith in God. It’s someone who won’t believe, even in the face of good evidence. Instead, "healthy" doubt is a property of honest and growing faith. It echoes the man in the Bible (Mark 9 v 24) who cried out "I believe. Help my unbelief!".

It works something like this. Real Christianity is a personal trust in Jesus Christ. Our faith develops as we hear and consider the gospel message about him in the Bible. But then an event happens, or our circumstances change, or someone questions what we believe, and all sorts of doubts arise. "Can it really be true?" "Does God really love me?" and so on.

But this is an invitation to grow in faith and understanding. We are forced to think, forced to search the Bible for answers, forced to approach God in prayer with questions. And what we find, if our search is sincere, is this – our understanding of the truth deepens, and we discover more strongly than ever the trustworthiness of God. Doubt, rightly handled, gives rise to stronger faith.

A 17th century teacher called Francis Bacon said this about learning – "If a man begins with certainties, he will end in doubts. If he is content to begin with doubts, he will end in certainties." Jesus said to those who were worried, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will open to you."

Next time something throws you, and your faith is a little shaken, see it as an opportunity from God to grow in your understanding of him and his trustworthiness.

Do not be afraid to doubt.

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Freedom to rest

2008-01-06T18:22:00.001Z

Some people think that following Jesus will restrict their freedom. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Jesus is the one who sets us free from all sorts of things (and people) who have us in their grip. To obey Jesus is to be set free from their control over us.

An example of this freedom is the freedom to rest. This is God’s gift to us of “Sabbath”. What’s that? When God’s people Israel were slaves in Egypt, they were under forced labour. There was no let up… no rest. As slaves, they were not free to take a day off work.

But when God set Israel free from Egypt, he enshrined in their law a day of rest – a “sabbath” day. Under his government – with God as King – there was one day a week when everyone took a rest, from work and the pressure of busy lives. Mind you, it was not just a day ‘off work’. It was also a day on which you spent some time remembering the good God who had set you free!

How does this work for us? Well we are not bound by law to take a Sabbath rest each week. But the principle of ‘sabbath’ continues as we come under the rule of Christ by becoming Christians. And we are to enjoy the freedom we have been given by him

In fact, a great way for Christians to demonstrate their freedom under Christ is to say ‘NO’ to the many things that make demands on our time and energy. Christ has set us free to say ‘no’ to them, and to set aside time to rest from them and to remember the good God who set us free.

That’s why it’s a good practice for Christians to set aside time each day to spend quietly reading the Bible and praying to God. That’s why it’s good for Christians to set aside one day a week – a day on which we are free to meet together as Christians to remember and worship together the good God who set us free.

It requires a firm (but gracious) dealing with whoever or whatever would rob us of our freedom – employers, family, children, the leisure industry, shops, TV – only you know what it is that has such a grip on your life that you are not free to spend an hour with God each day, and a morning with God’s people on a Sunday.

Jesus has set us free. It just takes a bit of self-control, and control of the diary, to enjoy the freedom he has afforded us.

Why not make it your aim this year to enjoy your freedom to rest?

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George’s

Happy ______!

2007-12-20T15:16:00.001Z

I have a good idea what's going to fill my children's Christmas stockings. But I'm not sure what's going to fill the spiritual vacuum in our country this Christmas. For nearly a hundred years now, 'the powers that be' have been chipping away at our Christian heritage.

I'm now 50. Neither me nor my parents were churchgoers, but our year was shaped by Christian Festivals ‐ Advent, Christmas, Lent, Good Friday, Easter and so on. Jesus Christ occupied a place in our national conscience, and although we took him, and much of what he stands for, for granted, yet he was a welcome influence in our lives. I don't think that could be said today.

Most of the Christian festivals have gone, and even the ones that remain have pretty much been emptied of their Christian content ‐ Easter is chocolate and bunnies; Christmas is Santa, decorations, presents and a feast.

My question is this: Who or what is going to fill the blank? Who is going to take the place that Christ Jesus has rightly occupied in our lives (both at the personal and national level)?

Because we can be sure the place he occupied will be taken by someone. History tells us that when we create a spiritual vacuum, we are not left with nothing. The vacuum - the blank – gets filled with something else. Well, the options are ancient. They really fall into two main types.

The first is the mistaken idea that we can satisfy ourselves with material things. That's what most of us do now at Christmas. In the place of Christ, we have put 'personal pleasure'. That's what our day is really about. And it may go some way to satisfying our physical appetites (but only for a short time). But it goes no way toward satisfying our souls. Spiritually, we are left starved.

The second option is to replace the living and true God with idols – manmade and make‐believe gods. These are the religions of the world, ancient and modern. We exchange the truth of God found in Jesus Christ... for a lie.

I guess for a time we may enjoy the novelty, and think we're being very clever. But the heritage we're leaving our children is either terrible confusion or worse‐ our personal lives and national life under the influence of false and harmful spiritual powers and authorities.

To replace Christ Jesus is to invite nothing but trouble and misery for ourselves and our children. So it's a wonder how quick we have been to abandon the one who came to save us, who loved us even to the point of sacrificing his own life in order to secure eternal life for us with God. It's tragic to see a nation losing its grip on the good way of life he teaches us to live ‐ the way of love, truth, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, self‐control, and selfless service of others.

Maybe this Christmas is the time to say sorry to him, for abandoning him. Maybe this 'Christmas is the time to humbly invite him to take his rightful place in our lives, as our Saviour and our King.

But I'll leave you to fill in the blank for December 25th – "Happy_____!"

Simon Smallwood
Vicar of St George's

Welcome

2007-12-19T09:54:00.000Z

Welcome to our blog. Watch this space!