I spoke today at the afternoon service at Bethel in Dagenham. When we were here two years ago we helped out at Bethel; it was a nice return for us. Everyone was excited to see the girls and how much they had grown. We arrived in time for the usual pre-service lunch: fish 'n' chips.
I shared about our life and ministry, and spoke from Romans 10:9 about the centrality of the claim 'Jesus is Lord' to the Christian faith.
I'm workin' on a sore throat, so I'm going to cut this post short and go to bed.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Mind Body Spirit Festival
The Mind Body Spirit Festival opened today in Victoria. Some friends had a booth, so I went to see what they were up to, and to check out the rest of the festival.
They were giving "Life Readings" - small quotes from the Bible in a big bowl. People would come and pick out one of the cards, and then they'd have someone read the quote to them and talk about what it might mean for their life.
There was another group of Jesus followers there, called Dekhomai. They had lots of interesting things, including giving free foot massages (yeck...and yet also pretty cool). There was a stack of cards called The Jesus Deck, from which visitors could pick a card. Each card displays a picture of an event in the life/ministry of Jesus, and visitors were encouraged to think about how that particular story might impact their life.
When I told the rest of my team about it, they suggested that we think about using the Jesus Deck. It's surprisingly well-done: think artist on an acid trip reading the gospels and you'd be pretty close to the artwork for each card (Satan tempting Jesus is bright pink and has well-cut pecs, for example) Seems like a really cool way to get people thinking about Jesus in the context of their own life life.
I also wandered around to other stalls - picked up some info on Reiki healing, as I have a friend who does it - and watched as someone sat two inches from a massive gong while having it struck repeatedly (gong therapy, apparently).
They were giving "Life Readings" - small quotes from the Bible in a big bowl. People would come and pick out one of the cards, and then they'd have someone read the quote to them and talk about what it might mean for their life.
There was another group of Jesus followers there, called Dekhomai. They had lots of interesting things, including giving free foot massages (yeck...and yet also pretty cool). There was a stack of cards called The Jesus Deck, from which visitors could pick a card. Each card displays a picture of an event in the life/ministry of Jesus, and visitors were encouraged to think about how that particular story might impact their life.
When I told the rest of my team about it, they suggested that we think about using the Jesus Deck. It's surprisingly well-done: think artist on an acid trip reading the gospels and you'd be pretty close to the artwork for each card (Satan tempting Jesus is bright pink and has well-cut pecs, for example) Seems like a really cool way to get people thinking about Jesus in the context of their own life life.
I also wandered around to other stalls - picked up some info on Reiki healing, as I have a friend who does it - and watched as someone sat two inches from a massive gong while having it struck repeatedly (gong therapy, apparently).
Monday, May 21, 2007
Day Off?
Today I had the day off, since I worked the weekend. I had it all planned out. I was going to visit the garden center for a few things, do a little trimming on my bonsai, maybe read or blog a bit.
But instead of all that, I washed the windows.
All day.
Washing windows.
I managed to get hold of a squeegee from the bar across the street, which helped. The insides weren't so bad, but to do the outsides I had to open the windows all the way and lean out with one hand. Somer preferred to not be around while I hung out the window.
Not the 'day off' I had in mind.
But instead of all that, I washed the windows.
All day.
Washing windows.
I managed to get hold of a squeegee from the bar across the street, which helped. The insides weren't so bad, but to do the outsides I had to open the windows all the way and lean out with one hand. Somer preferred to not be around while I hung out the window.
Not the 'day off' I had in mind.
Weekend Roundup
The distribution on Saturday went really well. Most places were more than happy to take the materials. I was really surprised...I expected to get more 'no's than we got.
The service at Church on the Corner went really well on Sunday. We didn't have musicians, so we did more of a meditative worship time. We included "minute of silence", which the girls love, before the children left for their class. The sermon was about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and it just so happened that the two-year lectionary we use as a team had Matthew 10:24-33 as one of the readings for Sunday. The passage begins by saying that a disciple is not above his master, which fit really well with the theme. So we read the passage a few times and allowed it to lead us as we went through times of confession and prayer for the persecuted church. Good stuff.
Sunday ended with a few hours at "Ain't Nothin' But" jazz cafe to watch a friend play in a jam session. It was incredible. My friend is an awesome guitarist, and they had the craziest drummer - he reminded us of 'scat-cat' from the Aristocats.
The service at Church on the Corner went really well on Sunday. We didn't have musicians, so we did more of a meditative worship time. We included "minute of silence", which the girls love, before the children left for their class. The sermon was about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and it just so happened that the two-year lectionary we use as a team had Matthew 10:24-33 as one of the readings for Sunday. The passage begins by saying that a disciple is not above his master, which fit really well with the theme. So we read the passage a few times and allowed it to lead us as we went through times of confession and prayer for the persecuted church. Good stuff.
Sunday ended with a few hours at "Ain't Nothin' But" jazz cafe to watch a friend play in a jam session. It was incredible. My friend is an awesome guitarist, and they had the craziest drummer - he reminded us of 'scat-cat' from the Aristocats.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Day of Prayer
One Wednesday a month our team spends the day in prayer. We also fast to make room in our lives for prayer (you'd be surprised how much of your day is consumed by preparing, eating, and cleaning up food), and to connect our bodies to the sense of urgent need we feel for God.
We spent the morning yesterday at our house, and had a really great time. One of the specific things we prayed about is how to be involved in working for justice in Camden. To guide our praying, we read through several passages of the Bible where God demonstrates his love for justice and declares freedom to the oppressed. Isaiah 61, Luke 4, James 1. Awesome stuff.
Then in the afternoon we headed over to the team leader's house. Using the Lord's Prayer as a guide, we prayed for everyone we know in Camden, for our supporters back in the States, and for the other workers with our mission.
We spent the morning yesterday at our house, and had a really great time. One of the specific things we prayed about is how to be involved in working for justice in Camden. To guide our praying, we read through several passages of the Bible where God demonstrates his love for justice and declares freedom to the oppressed. Isaiah 61, Luke 4, James 1. Awesome stuff.
Then in the afternoon we headed over to the team leader's house. Using the Lord's Prayer as a guide, we prayed for everyone we know in Camden, for our supporters back in the States, and for the other workers with our mission.
Monday, May 07, 2007
London Churches Football Tournament
The tournament today was amazing. I left our building at 8:30 with four others for the walk up to Regents' park. It was cloudy and cold, with occasional drizzle...perfect football weather. We started well, stealing a goal in our first match to win 1-0. From there, it started to go downhill. We were soundly beaten in the second game 2-0, and lost the next one 2-1, losing in the last minute on a mental lapse after playing a hard draw for most of the game. We pulled it back in the last one, though, dominating play and winning 1-0.
We finished 'league play' with six points, which was good enough for third place in our league and a spot in the runners-up knock-out phase.
We won our first knock-out match 1-0, again dominating play for most of the game. We continued to control play, and spent almost the entire length of our quarterfinal match in the opponents' half. We could not, however, manage to get the ball into the net. So it went to penalties, and we lost 3-2 on penalties.
Everyone had a great time...some of us (including the guy who missed the last penalty) were relieved to be finished. We were worn out and ready to head home. Thanks to Church on the Corner to putting this on. Well done, guys! And thanks to the gang from 55 for being such an awesome team.
We finished 'league play' with six points, which was good enough for third place in our league and a spot in the runners-up knock-out phase.
We won our first knock-out match 1-0, again dominating play for most of the game. We continued to control play, and spent almost the entire length of our quarterfinal match in the opponents' half. We could not, however, manage to get the ball into the net. So it went to penalties, and we lost 3-2 on penalties.
Everyone had a great time...some of us (including the guy who missed the last penalty) were relieved to be finished. We were worn out and ready to head home. Thanks to Church on the Corner to putting this on. Well done, guys! And thanks to the gang from 55 for being such an awesome team.
Friday, May 04, 2007
The Greatest Gift
Yes, we know the greatest gift is the one you give, not the one you get...but this one that I received ranks right up there.
My parents got me a subscription to Jeroboam's Cheese Club for my birthday back in January. The latest installment of God's gift to our taste buds arrived on Thursday. A Blue, a Gruyere, and two soft goats cheeses. Two of them are made from unpasteurized milk, a delight that you my American readers may not have tasted, since all cheese sold in the US must be made with pasteurized milk.
My neighbor Paul is a big wine buff with a large cellar of Reds, so we'll be getting together sometime this weekend to share the delights of vineyard and dairy.
My parents got me a subscription to Jeroboam's Cheese Club for my birthday back in January. The latest installment of God's gift to our taste buds arrived on Thursday. A Blue, a Gruyere, and two soft goats cheeses. Two of them are made from unpasteurized milk, a delight that you my American readers may not have tasted, since all cheese sold in the US must be made with pasteurized milk.
My neighbor Paul is a big wine buff with a large cellar of Reds, so we'll be getting together sometime this weekend to share the delights of vineyard and dairy.
Network "Issues"
Yes, for those of you who check here regularly, I haven't posted much. We've been having 'network issues'. Which means there's a problem with the internet signal coming into our building. Councils have to be contacted, planning permission given, roads dug up, etc. etc. So I'm borrowing a friend's signal to update things. Sorry for the long silence.
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