Christmas Invitation. (A Liturgy)

O come all you faithful, all you sceptics, all you who believe and you who doubt.
Come and see the baby in a manger who is born a King.
We are here to see the Christ Child.

Come like the shepherds; just as we are. Invited by the heavens to share in the mystery -
The mystery of the Word become flesh and pleased to dwell among us.
We are here just as we are.
We are here to see the Christ Child

Come like the wise men; driven by intrigued and wonder.
Determined to find what they are looking for and awestruck when then do
We are here to find what we are looking for.
We are here to see the Christ Child

O Come all you faithful. Come in wonder and intrigue; in humility and awe
We are here to see the Child; Christ the Lord.

Joy to the World: Mary's Song.

The Magnifcat (Luke 1:46-55); It’s sung across the globe around this time of year in thousands of churches. It’s called the Magnificat because that’s the first word in the Latin version. My soul magnifies the Lord – we’re talking magnifying in the telescope sense rather than microscope. We’re not taking something small and making it bigger, we’re looking at something huge and getting a detailed glimpse of a fraction of it.

It’s exciting. My Soul Glorifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my saviour!

We’ve lost the music and the tune she sang it to but you can almost hear the passion and excitement and wonder and amazement in Mary’s voice as this incredible experience begins to sink in. It’s like when an athlete becomes world champion all the interviews afterwards are loaded with phrases like ‘I can’t believe what has happened, it hasn’t sunk in yet’. People trying to put into words the extreme emotion they’re bursting with. And that’s what Mary is doing... but why?

She’s maybe 13/14/15 years old. She’s just been told she’s pregnant. She’s signed up to nine months of scandal because Nazareth, where she’s grown up and where she lives and where she’s engaged to the local tradesman, is a small town where everyone knows everybody else’s business. And a pregnancy outside of marriage will not go untalked about – oh no! Conversations over garden fences, outside Sainsbury’s, on buses, in the street – they’ll all be about Mary. Poor little knocked-up Mary.

But still she sings.
And what she sings gives us a hint of the kind of girl she is.

New Lyrics: You Say

You say 'love the poor', and 'seek the lost', and 'help the weak'
You say 'shout for those who have no voice; who cannot speak'
Putting others first, living life with joyful mercy
The purpose of the Church is to live in humble service
Here I am use me

You call us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves
You call us to give selflessly, to share the wealth
Loving those hurt, binding up the brokenhearted
the purpose of the Church: to carry on what Jesus started
Loving those in need

You will not forget or leave us, God, you're always here
You give us a hope that never fails, that perseveres
Not left in the lurch, your Spirit is our help and comfort
The purpose of the Church, empowered by our loving Father

Christ my Lord
O I adore you
Here I am use me

Jimmy Orr ©2010

Don't just talk, Tell the Story

We are officially in a very magical time of year. It's December. There is snow all across the UK at present. But more importantly, we are in the season of Advent.

Traditionally advent is the period before Christmas when the Church awaits the coming of Baby Jesus, the King, the Christ. It's a time punctuated with carol services and nativity plays and various other Christmassy events. Candles are lit and advent calenders help countdown the days until 25th December. It's all very, very exciting and can often see the most reserved of grown-ups transform with the giddiest, childlike anticipation of Christmas Day and all that brings.

In the church environment preparations increase for the expected rush of people craving carols and free mince pies and mulled wine. It's a time of year when people, who would not usually set foot inside a church without good reason, may decide to venture inside the door to experience the religious side of this holiday.

It is for this reason that I offer this advice, which I saw on a whiskey advert recently and that struck me as the Lord working in mysterious ways: 'Don't just talk; tell the story'

To those who lead churches or have the opportunity to speak this Christmastim - Don't just talk, Tell the story. Don't just churn out another sermon, tell the story of the Word of God becoming human. Tell the story of Mary and Joseph - God using ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Tell the story of sheperds - the socially despised work force being the first to be invited into the adventure. Tell the story of a child born a king, who inspired wise men to travel huge distances just to pay respect. Tell the story of a child who set a whole city on edge, how he would grow up to be the most famous person in history.

And to those who may not be speaking to the masses but will have conversations this festive season, Don't just talk, Tell the story. Follow the shepherds' example. They told everyone they met about what they had seen and heard and 'all who heard were astounded'.

Don't just talk - don't waste words on complaining about the inconvience of the snow and how stressful the journey to work is and how we're never prepared for snow yada yada yada -

Tell the Story

New Lyrics: 'This is the Church'

The broken, the beaten, the 'outcasts', the 'heathens' arrive
The rich and the poor enter through the same door; side by side
Those who rejoice stand with those with no voice; hand in hand
Cultures together with pleasure. United we stand.

We can all find a home here
A place to belong
Where brothers and sisters
Can sing out one song
And the love that we find here
Quenches our thirst
It’s the body of Jesus
This is the Church.

A family of strangers arranged through the dangers of life
To talk to, support you and walk you through hardship and strife
Let’s celebrate great things. Relationships growing so strong
Standing on touchlines at all times, cheering us on!

Jimmy Orr © 2010

Manly Worship?

It has been argued time and time again that contemporary worship songs are 'too feminine'. Love songs to Jesus are labelled 'Jesus is my Boyfriend' songs and regarded as stumbling blocks for the 'man's man' in the church. There are too many phrases like 'pouring out my heart', 'you're beautiful', 'I love you'; songs are filled with lyrics loaded with girly words such as precious, lovely and 'darling of heaven'.

I have three initial thoughts on the subject.

Firstly, a lot of the 'Jesus is my boyfriend' style songs are in fact written by men. Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and a whole host of other male contemporary song-writers. How does singing these songs written by these men of God make worship 'too feminine'?

Secondly, How is it that men are happy to use 'feminine' language to say that a curry was 'beautiful' or that their team's goal was a 'lovely' strike, or that their car drives 'like a dream' but as soon as they're in church trying to engage in worshipping God - who is far more beautiful and lovely than any dish or sporting achievement or vehicle - feminine language is a stumbling block?

Finally, I do agree that variety of language, themes and styles can only be a good thing in the Church's worship repertoire. The psalms are full of a blend of masculine and feminine poetry. We do need to widen our scope for describing our emotions and thoughts and theology and expressing our worship. But refusing to worship using songs because they're 'too girly' is not the answer.

Blokes of the church, Man Up!

The Big Story: Part 1

The Bible. It’s true the 'good book' is actually a collection of 66 books and that those sixty-six books are divided into two testaments, the old made up of 39 books and the new with the remaining 27.
It’s true that some of those books are historical books, same are poetry books some are visionary books some are letters and prayers and songs.
It’s true that many different authors from different eras in history contributed to the books that have been canonised (that is they’ve been especially and prayerfully selected and compiled and set apart as being holy)...
But while all this is true, there is One Big Story that threads its way through each and every page. Whether it’s blatantly obvious and explicit or shrouded in mystery and hidden away in some kind of cryptic prophesy... the Big Story is there. All the books are interconnected and entwined and meshed together. All part of The Big Story.

** This picture illustrates all the cross references between every chapter of every book of the Bible**

And so it begins, Genesis chapter 1, beginning at verse one...

“In the beginning... God”

The Big Story began long before the first words of Bible were even scrawled on the first piece of parchment. And like all good stories, we’re introduced to the leading Character - God.

Throughout this story we discover all about his character and personality as he gradually reveals more and more about himself. This story is all about him, and he was there at the beginning, in fact, he was there before it began. He has always been there. He is truly eternal, which doesn’t just mean that he will never die but it means he has always been. He is God.

When he calls himself ‘I AM’ in the Second Book, called Exodus, he isn’t lying. He just IS. He always has been, he is right now and he always will be. And he is Perfect and Unique, and he’s unique in his perfection. He is unlike anything or anyone else ever. The One and the Only. Supreme and Sovereign... He is God.
Thankfully for us he knows that he is God – because if he didn’t know he was God it would prove that he wasn’t God but he does know that he is God and he loves the fact he’s God and so all is right with Everything.

So, we have our lead character. We are introduced to God. A God who is and always has been one and three - a mysterious trilogy of deity within one perfect and unique God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in an eternally perfect and loving relationship – “God in three persons, Blessed Trinity”. The Hero of our Story, God, is different. He is perfect community and yet he is one. He is love, and also lover and beloved. He is God. He is Holy, set apart, distinct. And before time began, before anything was ever created, before even the slightest hint of a big bang, God was – Father, Son and Spirit – in perfect loving community within Himself. Worthy of all glory, all honour, all praise…

Hello?! he hasn’t done anything yet! Often in our songs and in our prayers we praise God for what he’s done, which is a good thing, but He hasn’t done anything at this point and yet that doesn’t have any effect whatsoever on how worthy he is, on how amazing he is, on how holy he is, on how great he is. He is God which means that by his very nature, the very essence of who is he, the very core of his being, by the innate, natural, inherent basis of who he is… he is entirely and exclusively worthy to be worshipped! We worship him primarily and wholly for Who He Is because He. Is. God!

It’s a good start to a story isn’t it?

Don't React. Respond.

In our relationships, whether at home, work, out and about wherever we may be and whatever we may be doing we can either react or respond. At first glance the two are not all that different but there is one distinct difference between the two that makes one for better for us to use than the other. The main difference between the two is control.

Reactions are automatic. Isaac Newton said "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." You can’t help it. It just happens. It's like watching someone belly flop from a high diving board – the moment you hear that slap of flesh on water you can’t help but ‘oooooohhh’ That’s a reaction.

Responses are controlled. They involve time to reflect, consider one’s actions and make your move. Responses are far more helpful in relationships than reactions. But they take a lot more work to master.

If there was one person who lived a lifestyle of reactions and learned this lesson the hard way it was a guy called Peter. Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends. He was one of his apprentices, his followers. Peter had a habit of reacting rather than responding to various situations... and we’re going to look at a couple examples of his rashness and see how we can learn from his mistakes.

Everything changes

Change is everywhere.

As mentioned in my previous blog, a lot has changed for me personally lately; new job, new flat, new wife! But the changes go further than that. There is change as the leaves on the trees turn from green to gold. Change in the route of the bus as it goes on diversion due to roadworks totally avoiding my intended destination and leaving me with a walk to work in the rain, which was the very reason I took the bus in the first place.

From the roof of our block of flats there is a fantastic view of the London Skyline. From Canary Wharf to the east, across to Bank, St Paul's, London Bridge and over to the west towards the London Eye and into the distance. Classic buildings and cathedrals are merged with flats and warehouses and punctuated by high rise office blocks, towers and skyscrapers.

Dotted in amongst the established landmarks are new developments. Cranes feature prominently in the London cityscape. Virtually every view of London now has a crane in it somewhere.

The city is changing, developing, upgrading, expanding, enhancing, adapting, evolving, growing...

The city is only a reflection of the people who live within it. We are infatuated with change, upgrading to get the latest apps and gadgets, relaunching and recreating our wardrobes and image. We want bigger and better and faster and we mould the city accordingly.

The main question is...

Are we changing for the better?

Will a multi-billion dollar skyscraper provide inspiration for a more sensible pace of life?
Will the latest this-or-that create a more tangible sense of community and belonging or just add to the ever-increasing loneliness epidemic that floods our cities?

At Church.co.uk and Oasis, there are exciting plans to developing the site. It's our 2020 vision. By which time London will have anything up to 14 new high-rise buildings either completed or under construction. But the development of the Oasis Centre and the Church.co.uk premises is not the goal. Our vision is to transform the community.

We want to provide for those who need help.
We want to be a place where people feel welcome and safe and accepted.
We want to work with people to develop the area into a place where families want to live rather than feeling trapped by circumstances.

A building can never in itself achieve that. But a Church with a passion for Jesus and what he has asked us to do can!

Change is here to stay.

All change please. All change.

Wow. The past three months have been jam-packed and lived at a furious pace.

Not a lot has remained the same. I no longer live in the little box room at college on the top of the Hill, I'm in our perfect new flat on the Monopoly board. It was pretty empty for a while; just an air-bed and a couple of bookshelves for company. We were then joined by a table and chairs, a TV stand (but no TV, that's a rant I shall save for another time!), a proper bed and lots, and lots of other little bits.

I spent the summer growing into my new job as Head of Music and Arts at Church.co.uk, spending a lot of time working with Southside Radio and building relationships with the Old Vic Tunnels. The Tunnels team gave us plenty of opportunites to let our budding radio reporters review shows, interview artists, directors, producers, and generally experience the fantastic atmosphere in the Tunnels. If you get a chance to go, you will not be disappointed.

And last, but certainly not least, on 18 September I got married to my beautiful Kathryn. It was a perfect day surrounded by friends and family and with God at the centre where He should be. We then spent the rest of the weekend in Oxford, a week in Venice and a week settling into our home together.

Now we're pretty much back down to earth and ready to begin 'real-life' together.
That hopefully explains the rather large period of silence since the last blog and this one. Regular service will resume shortly. Thank you for your patience.

A Lesson from Tiepolo

I had the opportunity to visit Dulwich Picture Gallery recently. It’s a fantastic place with a great collection of artwork and a real sense of history. Within the collection was a particular painting that caught my eye.

A painting by Giambattista Tiepolo called ‘Joseph receiving Pharaoh's Ring’. It was painted around 1733-35 and is a beautiful, fine piece of work and well worthy of a place in the gallery. But it wasn’t so much the artist’s skill that caught my attention, or the style or the colours he used.

It was something far subtler.

Something I read in the little description hanging next to the piece.

It informed me that one of the characters in the background, the more distant of the two trumpeters, is actually reckoned to be a self-portrait. Tiepolo painted himself in the story. And it was this idea that sparked my thoughts. This was a fantastic concept

– putting yourself in the story.

It’s a technique that could revolutionise reading the Bible. Stories could come to life by imagining yourself in the story. Where would you be? Would you be front row or somewhere in the background? What are the sights, the sounds, the smells?

Imagine the scenes around Jesus while he toured the countryside teaching, performing miracles, meeting people, having a laugh with everyone around him. Where would you be? Trying to sneak closer to hear him more clearly? Hoping to catch his eye and ask for a miracle? Trying to avoid him because he was teaching things a bit too risky and too close for comfort?

What about our worship songs? How different would they be if we wrote songs with ourselves in the stories? Would they be simple little ditties about how much we love God, or would they be drenched in real emotion rooted in a more intense understand of the story of God? What themes would emerge from inside the narrative rather than a safer location on the sidelines?

Paint yourself in the story. Let me know what you see.

Adventurous (Different Eyes: The art of living beautifully)

The pop-culture way of doing Christian ethics is to constantly ask ‘What Would Jesus Do?’. And whilst this is quite a handy little catchphrase and reminder, and wristband, and pencil, and t-shirt, and CD holder, and egg cup... it’s harder than it seems because we don’t have a guidebook of what Jesus would do, we’ve only got a few random accounts of thing Jesus DID do.

Three and a half years worth of touring and teaching condensed into 4 gospel with an average of about 20 chapters – that’s not a lot for an Ethical resource or advice guide. But Jesus never came to give as a guidebook. He didn’t come to give us a moral A-to-Z he came to show us How – to – See.

Jesus taught in a way that demonstrated character. And he gave dozens of stories and sketches of how to do it. Take the Good Samaritan for example: That is not a story to store away in your memory just in case the next time you’re travelling on the motorway you find a guy who’s been beaten up and left for dead. It’s giving a glimpse of how to imitate God. It’s not necessarily about rules and regulations and religion.

Pope John Paul said this: It’s not that the gospel has changed; it is just that our understanding of it is slowly growing. We’re all still learning about Jesus. We’re still learning about loving God with our heart and soul and mind and strength. We’re still learning who our neighbours are, let alone about loving them. And our whole lives are set towards getting to know Jesus. We have to pursue Jesus. To keep studying him. To keep figuring him out. He’s the most complex man in History – to think we’ve got him all sussed out is both arrogant and, well, just plain stupid!

I’m getting married in September and I was given this advice a while ago: Don't marry so you can stop pursuing women. Marry so you can perfect the pursuit one woman for a lifetime. We’re called as a church to perfect the pursuit of Jesus for a lifetime.

In order to know what Jesus would do, we have to know Jesus, and in order to know Jesus we have to follow Jesus. Jesus said ‘follow me’, not ‘follow a set of concepts or a code of conduct or an institution’. It’s about being his follower, his apprentice, learning from him, learning what he’s like and copying him.

The reassuring thing about following Jesus is that he knows where he’s going. There is an end to the story. We all like a happy ending. And this story has got a cracker. From the first moments of Jesus’ ministry on earth he had a goal in mind. This was more than a pipe-dream or a good idea. Jesus was working to bring about the Kingdom of God; To challenge the wayward earthly interpretations of religion and politics and social justice; He wanted to bring people’s attention to a way of living beautifully. And as well as having a goal in mind, he had a strategy. Reaching out to the poor and the sick and those on the margins. Speaking up for people who couldn’t speak. Loving the unloved. Giving people a new, fresh start. He wasn’t just waiting for the new heaven and new earth to arrive, he was ushering it in. It was starting to arrive there and then. And as a church we can join in: The Church’s cry is: if the future looks like this, let’s work to bring it here, now! We don’t have to wait to be involved in the Kingdom of God.

I used to work with Spring Harvest Holidays. Part of my job was heading up the 11-13’s team which took a lot of energy and effort. I should probably add too that my sleep patterns are fairly erratic at the best of times. I often go through spells of insomnia and one of those spells was at SHH. Sleep deprivation and youth work don’t mix. It was the end of one of the morning sessions, we finished at midday and had about two minutes left before we could let the kids go and to get their attention I said “We’ll see you tomorrow morning, and you know what tomorrow is...?!”

Thursday? Water fight day? Talent show day? Could have been any of those but me and my sleep deprived head said... IT’S CHRISTMAS! (It was August! My team glared at me. The kids got excited and ran out) The following day we did Christmas: Toilet paper snowmen, Christmas decorations, carols, party food. The Works.

Most of the kids that week were staying on the following week so we thought we’d carry the theme over... and what happens the week after Christmas?

NEW YEAR – in the middle of a baking hot day in August we had a New Years Eve party. We had party poppers and food and dancing. We sang Auld Lang Syne and we counted down to Mid-night at 12 noon. it was brilliant!

Unbeknown to me and my team, the pastoral care couple were sitting just outside our venue with a woman in floods of tears. Her marriage was breaking down, she’d been quite ill, because of all this her kids were struggling at school and her prayer was ‘God, I wish this year could just start again’. And at that moment, I sent 150 11-13year olds running past her screaming at the top of their lungs HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The New is here Now! We can choose to live beautifully now. We can follow Jesus now. We can know Jesus now. One day the kingdom of God will be established in full but we can be adventurous and be part of it NOW!

Forgetting what lies behind...

The England v Germany fiasco was abysmal. While the country mourns the apparent footballing death of the 'golden generation' we must look now to the future. What of the Euro's in 2012? What of the next World Cup in four years time?

The fact is the curtain has fallen for the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Cole, John Terry and Gareth Barry. They've had their chance and they've failed to fulfill their potential on the main stage; 2002, 2006 and 2010 all promised much and delivered nothing but disappointment. All of them will be over 30 in 2014. If there were concerns that the team this year was too old it is certainly time to retire the old guard before the next tournament!

Instead, focus on the new players.

In 2014, for the World Cup in Brazil, we could have a team that looks like this:

Joe HART (27)

Micah RICHARDS (26) Michael DAWSON (30) Joleon LESCOTT (31) Leighton BAINES (29)

Aaron LENNON (27) Tom HUDDLESTONE (27) Aashley YOUNG (28)

Wayne ROONEY (28)

Theo WALCOTT (25) Gabriel AGBONLAHOR (27)

With the likes of Shawcross, Milner, Johnson and Bent on the bench there is the makings of a good sqaud; a squad that can be enriched by the next batch of young talent - Jack Wilshire, Jack Rodwell and Danny Wellbeck.

If the England manager begins playing this kind of team now it gives them four years to gel, to learn to play together, to develop the team spirit that was evidently lacking from the current group of talented individuals. Play them through the qualifiers and, hopefully, finals of the European Championships in 2012. Let them feel what it's like to play at a big tournament.

If the current players genuinely want to be a part of the England setup let them play a role similar to David Beckham this year; a mentor, a morale booster, a voice of experience and encouragement.

I reckon this is the way forward. Who's with me?

I don't want to be an England player.

In the aftermath of yet another disappointing world cup for England I, like many other football fans, begin to reflect on what went wrong.

According to some of the leading players the training was perfect, the preparations were perfect, the hotel setup and arrangements were all perfect. So how was it that a group of the best English players failed to play to their full potential? failed to play as a team? failed to live up to the expectation that was put on this 'golden generation'?

The million pound question is surely this: How can our top players have excellent seasons for their clubs and not continue that good form in an England shirt?

The England team that were utterly outplayed and ultimately knocked out of the World Cup by a Germany side that, in all honesty, we should have beaten, featured players that we the key to successful seasons for Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and others. Our strikers alone scored, somewhat ironically, sixty-six goals between them this season for their clubs, and yet the England team managed only 3 (plus that one that was not given).

We didn't even score against Algeria.

This is the inquest that will continue for a long time to come. I don't have all the answers. But one thing I am sure of is that I don't want to be like an 'England player'.

I don't want to be inconsistent.

Whatever role I'm playing, in whatever context and whatever situation I'm in I want to operate with integrity, creativity and passion.

I don't want to give people an opportunity to accuse me of never giving 100% in any area of my life. I don't want people to see a 'club' and 'country' distinction in what I do. I want to play well.

David Beckham remains to this day one of my all time favourite players. He has been criticised in more recent games he has featured in for not being quick enough or being too old. In truth, Beckham has never been particularly quick, at least not compared to Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott. But Beckham's strength is in his work rate. His passion in an England shirt is inspiring. His professionalism is second-to-none. He still has an ability to give those around him a boost. There was rarely ever a 'club vs country' dilemma for David Beckham. Even off the pitch he has proven to be a good father and a faithful husband, despite the media speculations and tabloid attempts to break up his marriage and family.

I'm sure in August all the players will return to playing for their clubs and have a great season. I'm sure there will be more England games and more disappointment and debate over players not transferring their club form onto the international stage.

But I don't want to be an 'England player'.

I want to be consistent.

Where have all the miracles gone?

There whole area of spiritual gifts, miracles and signs and wonders is a weird and wonderful minefield in Church circles. There is a broad spectrum of stances from a full on focus on the supernatural – Praying for Revival, Healing Ministries, Speaking in Tongues, Moving in the Prophetic, a lot of the stuff on God TV – right through to focus on the natural – Incarnational Church, Missional, Relational – and there are Churches that genuinely believe that Spiritual Gifts don’t happen anymore; that God simply doesn’t do that these days.

It’s a huge subject that theologians and churches have wrestled with for years. (HTB recently hosted a brilliant conference about the Holy Spirit in the World Today) We could never do justice to it in a short talk and a panel discussion so what I’ll do tonight is a very brief overview of what, I believe, our focus should be as the church today, and then we can get into some discussions afterwards.

Spiritual Gifts are obviously a work of the Holy Spirit.

Firstly, the Holy Spirit is alive and well and working in the Church today. Now, the Spirit doesn’t seem to get as much attention as the other two in our teaching. We don’t seem to know as much about him as we do the Father and the Son; he (or she) is a bit more difficult to get our heads around. While it seems that we don’t see many supernatural miracles in the same way as they’re recorded in the New Testament, we do see His work in the church. He is the same Spirit, He is God, He never changes, He is always faithful and He is always engaged with His church.

We often treat the Holy Spirit like the Genie in the Lamp. A quick rub of the prayer lamp and He’ll get on and do whatever it is we ask because it says in the bible ‘ask and it will be given.’ The Spirit prefers to work with people and through people. He mediates the will of God. He inspires and guides and uses people to bring about God’s kingdom in the life of the Church. Which is why there are gifts of the Spirit. the message of wisdom... the message of knowledge... faith... gifts of healing... miraculous powers... prophecy... distinguishing between spirits... speaking in different kinds of tongues and... the interpretation of tongues. We see them displayed in Acts, at Pentecost, the Spirit using people to spread good news by speaking in different languages, in the early church the Spirit used the apostles to demonstrate God’s love to people by healing them.

Do we see the same gifts now? Yes we do.
Are they manifested in exactly the same way? No, not necessarily.

Ultimately, Spiritual Gifts are given out for the building up of the church, for the common good. (1 Cor 12:7) I personally don’t speak in tongues. And I’ve been in Churches were they seriously doubt you’re a Christian if you don’t speak in tongues. This attitude doesn’t build up the church. I’ve been prayed for for healing and nothing seems to happen and I’ve been accused of not having enough faith or having unconfessed sin. This doesn’t build up the church.

At the end of 1 Corinthians 12 Paul, who was probably ranting by this point, says: Are all apostles? No. (I’m filling in the answers here) Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all work miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in tongues? No. Do all interpret? No. But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way...

Now, whoever divided up the chapters missed a trick here, because Chapter 12 is meant to flow seamlessly from into 1 Corinthians 13 (the 'wedding' passage).

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Even stopping there makes no sense because it carries on: Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

It’s not about weddings at all it’s about being church and it’s about spiritual gifts. It clearly states that prophecies will cease, tongues will be stilled, knowledge will pass away when perfection comes, when Christ comes again and heaven comes to earth. We’re not supposed to focus on the gifts we’re supposed to desire the greater gifts of Faith and Hope and above all Love.

When we focus on these three, it’s amazing how many miracles start happening. Everyday Miracles. We focus of Faith, Hope and Love and opportunities miraculously appear.In the Hebrew language there is no word for 'spiritual' because there was never a seperation between spirit and secular. There was never meant to be. When we focus on Faith, Hope and Love in our everyday life we reunite spiritual and secular; we begin living again in the power of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts start flowing more naturally. Faith, Hope and Love, and the greatest of these is Love.

Target Practice

The end of my final year at Spurgeon's College is rapidly approaching. One lone exam is all that stands between me and my Spurgeonic freedom. Three years of studying, learning, experiencing, will soon be behind me.

For each one of those three years five coke cans have been positioned on my windowsill in front of my desk. (It has not been the same five cans, but there have always been five cans there, except for a short period when they were replaced with beer bottles.)

Many visitors have enquired about the cans; were they there just because they look quite cool? was there a deeper, more significant purpose for their display?

The reason is rooted in the story of David and Goliath.

Remember the story? Small Boy vs Giant Man. Giant Man is big warrior with huge sword and lots of armour. Small Boy is small with little slingshot. Small Boy shoots Giant Warrior Man with little slingshot and small stone. Small stone hits Giant Warrior Man in head, sinks into Giant Warrior Man's skull... Giant Warrior Man dies. Small Boy saves the day and becomes hero.

It's a great story. But I heard a sermon that put it into a bit of perspective for me.

Yes, David, the small boy shot Goliath with one smooth stone. One shot, one kill.
But if we honestly think that was the first shot David had ever taken we are seriously mistaken and deluded.

David was a shepherd boy. He spent hours in the field, probably alone, looking after sheep and protecting them from bears and lions. This was David's training ground with God. He spent hours getting to know the voice of God in the quiet of the field - in the surroundings of his training ground. David wasn't just being super-spiritual, sitting on rocks playing his harp and singing and writing psalms all day; his training was practical.

Imagine David, on his own, lining coke cans up on a fence and shooting them, one-by-one, with his slingshot; his accuracy improving with every stone. When every can had been knocked off, he'd run over to the fence, line the cans up and start over again.

Imagine then, the day a lion or bear came looking for a sheepy-snack, David takes another stone and fires... he's on target because of the coke cans.

Imagine again, the day a Giant Man arrogantly challenges God's people...

David takes five stones... he knows from experience which ones fly better, faster, truer, so he picks the smooth ones... he looks at the warrior and as he does he begins to go through a routine he's practised hundreds, thousands of times before... he loads the stone effortlessly... he takes aim perfectly... he fires precisely... he's confident the stone will hit exactly where he wants it to because of the practice he's had in the sheep field (he's confident but he's not cocky, remember, he's still got four stones left as back up and I'm guessing he probably had the second stone loaded, just in case, before Goliath even hit the floor)

My coke cans have been a visual reminder for me that this is my training ground. I have no doubt that God was with David during his battle with Goliath, but I also reckon God was with David while he was in the field shooting coke cans; Preparing him. Sharpening him. Inspiring him to better himself. Firming up good habits. Developing skills that would seriously come in handy later.

I don't know if or when I'll face my giant(s).

But what I do know, is that my college time has been the training ground God has used to prepare me for it. I've spent three years 'shooting coke cans.'

Home

home (hm)

n.

1. A place where one lives; a residence.

2. The physical structure within which one lives, such as a house or apartment.

3. A dwelling place together with the family or social unit that occupies it; a household.

4.

a. An environment offering security and happiness.

b. A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin.

5. The place, such as a country or town, where one was born or has lived for a long period.

6. The native habitat, as of a plant or animal.

7. The place where something is discovered, founded, developed, or promoted; a source.

8. A headquarters; a home base.

I've been wrestling with the concept of home lately. In the past couple of weeks I've needed to fill in official forms which ask the standard and, usually, simple question of 'Address'. Usually this isn't a problem. If I've bought something and want it delivered I have it sent to the college, where I live... but is it home?

My bank statements and voting papers and other official bits and bobs get sent to my parents' house... but is that home? It was for a number of very happy years, and in a sense it still is but it also isn't anymore.

I've lived in Geneva and in a tent in a campsite in France, neither of which were ever really 'home'. I don't feel 'at home' in the city where I was born, I don't feel I fit anymore in the towns I grew up in. All this has left me wondering where is my home.

I'm rapidly entering a period in my life where some huge changes are going to take place. In September, Kat and I are getting married. And this throws another huge aspect of home into my equation. We get the opportunity to create a new home, our home. We're not sure where that will be but, actually, it doesn't matter too much because 'home' will be where we both are. 'Home' is not necesarily a place.

C.S. Lewis wrote "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." Ultimately, I am a citizen of Heaven. I'm an alien in a foreign land and perhaps my quest for home will never be fully realised until the day God brings heaven to earth.

In the mean time my 'homelessness' continues... here's a video of me singing 'Home' by Michael Bublé.

Fifty

Fifty-two days ago Jesus was crucified.

Fifty-one days ago Jesus was dead in a tomb.

Fifty days ago God rasied Jesus from the dead.

The following forty days was like Jesus: The Resurrection Tour. He travelled around appearing to people to show he was alive. Ten days ago he left his disciples on a mountain top outside Jerusalem. He told them to go back to the house and sit tight because a few days later he'd send his advocate to them.

Today he did just that.

A sound like a hurracaine filled the place, like an express train thundering around them; something like fire spread across the room and just seemed to rest on them. Suddenly they could speak in foreign languages - they hadn't learned them, they weren't academics or linguists, the Holy Spirit gave them the words to say and they just said them. They couldn't contain themselves and burst out into the street causing havoc - a holy hullaballoo! (I love that word!)

They started talking about Jesus to anyone and everyone; the locals, the foreigners, tourists, business men on their way to work, men, women, children, anyone who would listen...

And so the Church was born.

3,000 people joined the Church that day. The believed Jesus died and was raised to life. They apologise for living self centred lives, for looking after number-one, and said they would live for Jesus from now on. They were baptised to publicly show the change in their lives. Things were different now.

2,000 or so years later, that movement, that inclusive community of people is still around. It looks very different now, lots of different styles and traditions but ultimately the purpose is the same. To tell people that Jesus died for them and was raised from the dead. That if they apologise for living self centred lives, for looking after number-one, and say they would live for Jesus from now on, they are saved and they too can have the Holy Spirit.

This is my fiftieth blog. It seems fitting that it lands on Pentecost, the day the Spirit first came to inspire the Church to do great things... and I don't think he's finished with us just yet!

Happy Holy Spirit Day.

Thoughts on Communion and the Church Part II

Communion is Inclusive

When Jesus shared the last supper, who was there?

The disciples.

The disciples were an odd bunch. And Jesus invited them to share communion with him. He knew exactly where they’d come from, what they’d done, what they were like as people, even what they were going to do... and he invited them to share with him.

Communion is inclusive. His message was always about including people and communion is no different. Peter was going to disown him; deny he ever knew Jesus. Thomas was going to doubt he was raised to life. They were all going to abandon him when he was arrested... but Jesus included them in the meal.

Some churches are guarded about who can or cannot take communion. They used passages like ‘if you eat/drink in an unworthy manner you drink judgement upon yourself’ as proof-texts to keep their exclusive communion for the ‘righteous’ few.
I think that’s missing the point. Those scary passages are all about inclusive communion not exclusive communion. Yes it’s about taking communion seriously and not letting familiarity breed contempt. A guy called Paul, one of the early church leaders and pioneers; he wrote those ‘judgement’ words to one particular church group in Corinth who were misusing communion. They were having every-man-for-himself communion: some were eating all the bread and leaving others hungry, some were downing all the wine and being carried out drunk... this is clearly not right! They’d missed the community aspect of communion.

Communion is inclusive: the invitation is for all who believe and want to remember what it is that Jesus has done for us. But when we celebrate communion it’s interdependent and it’s inclusive. Communion is Involved Firstly, it involves all us individually. Jesus calls us, elsewhere in the bible, to Love God with all your heart soul mind and strength. In communion he gives us a practical way of expressing that.

We love Jesus and He loves us – that’s our heart, that’s the intimacy we talked about earlier.
It is a spiritual thing – God is spirit and we engage with him in communion, that’s our soul.
We actively remember the Cross and the Resurrection – That’s our mind.
It’s physical food and drink – That’s our strength. We’ve shrunken the meal down somewhat from New Testament times [honey, i shrunk the sacrament]. This would’ve been an actual meal rather than the nibbles we use today.

It involves us completely.
Heart soul mind strength.

Secondly, The act of communion is hands on. This is not a spectator sport.

We actually eat and drink and remember and engage and in doing so we live out our faith in this action. And that living out our faith doesn’t stop as soon as the service is finished... we remember Jesus in communion and we are reminded of everything he taught and everything he did and we should be inspired to live it out every day of our lives in every aspect.

Communion is often called ‘Mass’ in other traditions. And Mass [is not the Motor Accident Solicitors Society, which is what appears if you Google it] literally means ‘Go’ or ‘Mission’.
Communion is our inspiration to live like Jesus lived. Involved in our wider communities, not a holy huddle in this building or hiding in small groups but active and meeting with people outside the church in the estates and the schools and in government and down the shops and on the tube or the bus... living the Jesus story... Communion is Involved.

Communion is Influential

And communion is influential. It’s about remembering everything Jesus has done for us. But it’s also looking forward. It’s the hope we live for. When Jesus said this is my blood, he said it was the seal on a new covenant between God and people. It was the invitation for a fresh start. Believe in Jesus and he’ll take your old, crappy sin stained life and give you a fresh new one that’ll last forever. And that life doesn’t just mean you’ll go to heaven when you die. It can start now.

Communion is influential; it gives us a hope in Jesus that can change the way we live right now, the way we vote, the way we make ethical decisions included. This is more than just bread and just wine/grapejuice.

This is an intimate expression of Love between you and Jesus
This is a meal that builds friendships and communities
This is a meal that welcomes anyone who wants to share in it
This is a meal that involves everything you are and inspires us to live out our faith
This is a meal that can change things.

It can change me and you... it can change this church, it can change this community, it can change this country...

It’s already changed the world.

Thoughts on Communion and the Church Part I

Imagine, you’re at a dinner party and your mate – not just any mate, but a guy that over the past three years has become the closest friend you’ve ever had – grabs the bread from the middle of the table, tears it into chucks and dishes it out... and he says ‘this is my body. It’s broken for you’

Do this and remember me.

And then imagine that after dinner he grabs the bottle of wine and begins pouring it into his glass – you move your glass towards him cos you want a top up yourself but instead he puts the bottle down again and passes his glass around saying ‘this is my blood. And my blood is going to seal a new covenant between God and human beings.’

Do this and remember me.

It is an odd ritual. Some might class it socially unacceptable behaviour these days. But it’s a ritual that has continued for about 2000 years.

What is communion all about?

Because this meal has been at the heart of Christian worship since day one and within this meal are the roots of the church.

At Church.co.uk, we have five key values that underpin everything that happens within the life of the church: Intimacy, Inclusivity, Interdependence, Involvement and Influence.

These values are at the heart of the church. In communion, we see Jesus establishing and demonstrating those values;

Communion is Intimate

This is a meal between friends. When Jesus initiated this ritual, he did so with 12 guys (and probably some of the others that toured with him) that had become his family over the past three years. They’d lived and worked together [imagine, 13 lads, touring around Palestine... it must’ve been a riot!]. And now they were sharing in his last supper with them before he went to the cross. John, who was one of the disciples who was closest to Jesus and who wrote one of the gospels, described how on that same night Jesus told them to ‘love one another... In the same way I have loved you, love one another.’

He told them that you know when someone really cares for you because they’re willing to die for you. And Jesus would follow through with that willingness to die for them the very next morning. And this meal was an intimate reminder of that love that Jesus had for his followers... and he includes us in the intimacy. Communion is intimate. It reminds us how much Jesus loves us. Not an airy-fairy ‘i love you’, not even a drunken ‘i love you’, but a real ‘I love you so much that I’m willing to die for you!’ Communion is intimate.

Communion is Interdependent

That last supper, or the first communion, was part of a Jewish festival - the Passover festival. It was when the whole community would remember the way God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. Everyone gathered together to hear and remember the story of the Exodus: Moses and Pharaoh, the plagues, the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments and all that. It was a community event; a coming together to celebrate their heritage.

The celebration of Israel’s rescue was good.

Jesus was about to rescue the whole world.

Through communion we have a way of coming together to celebrate not only our individual response to Jesus’ love for us personally, but to celebrate our collective rescue. Communion is interdependent, it’s relational, it’s meant to be shared – you cannot share a meal on your own! Whether it’s in a small group setting or as the whole congregation what we see in and through communion is God bringing people together through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Communion is interdependent. It is relational, it builds friendship and reminds us we are all part of the one church; we’ve all got different roles to play within that church but we are all on the same team! Which leads us onto our next value... inclusivity

Coming Soon: Thoughts on Communion and the Church

I'm preaching at Church.co.uk tomorrow morning (Sunday, May 2nd).

The theme is Communion.

"...Communion has been at the heart of Christian worship since day one, and within this meal are the roots of the Church."

Notes coming soon...

Consequence?

Just a quick thought.

There have been four earthquakes and two volcanic eruptions in approximately a 3 month time span. That's quite a lot of violent seismic activity in a relatively short space of time.

It's often said that if a butterfly flaps its wings, it can affect the weather in a totally different part of the world; it's called the butterfly effect, part of chaos theory. Now, i don't claim to know a lot about chaos theory but, if a little butterfly can have that much influence on a global scale, what kind of effect do these have...?


They're man made islands just off the beaches of Dubai.

With my limited knowledge of chaos theory and global seismic activity, I've been pondering: Arrogantly placing a substantial amount of land in a place where there wasn't any, so you can have you're own little piece of paradise, just cos you can... That is going to have some effect on the rest of the planet surely?!

Like I said, just a thought.

Any minute now...

There was Evening and there was morning...

Ever since the beginning of time, God has operated on a different timescale to the civilised western world. We calculate days from Midnight til Midnight. 00:00 to 23:59.

The Jewish day begins at sunset and ends at the following sunset. Which means technically any minute now... Jesus is Raised from the Dead!

Any time between now and when the sun comes up is that mysterious and wondrous resurrection moment! How gloriously paradoxical that at the darkest point of the day the Light of the World is reignited and raised to shine brighter than ever...

Any minute now...

Saturday Grief.

A heavy depression lingered in the house that morning.

The chaos and tragic activity of Friday were now merely shadows in their memories. His words spoken through heartbreak and torture on the cross still resonated in their ears. Everytime they closed their eyes a mental image of him hanging there -covered in his own blood, scratched up by the flogging, nails through his hands and feet, dead- that image was burned into their minds.
They hardly spoke to each other. Numbed by this deep sense of loss. An occasional teary glance caught the eye of another and that one look said everything; He's gone. He's really gone. They couldn't stop thinking about it. Replaying the events of yesertday over and over again. And it wasn't as if they could do anything to take their minds off of what had happened.

It was now the Sabbath, the day of rest. It was prohibited by Jewish law to do any work. They weren't allowed to go away to get away from it all because the law stipulated that you couldn't travel on the Sabbath. They were stuck in the house they were staying in with nothing to do but ponder yesterday and what it meant.
Often at Easter we tend to skip over Saturday. We remember Thursday and the meal. We briefly pause to remember what happened on Friday but we're all too quick to say '...but Sunday's coming!' Friday is too depressing, too violent, too heavy, too hopeless for us to want to hang around Friday. Jesus Died. He was actually physically, medically dead; not just out of shot or taking a breather, deceased, passed away. Friday hurts.
We certainly don't want to mope around in the heartbreak and grieving turmoil of Saturday. We don't want to be forced to contemplate and focus on Friday because the law permits us to do nothing else. We want Sunday! And in our haste to get to Sunday we forget Saturday, with all it's emptiness and regret; with all its why's and what-if's.

But if we allow ourselves to stop on Saturday; if we give ourselves a chance to grieve with a group of Disciples who didn't know Sunday was coming; if we pause just long enough to feel the heartbreak that Jesus is Dead on Saturday, we let ourselves sink to the lowest point. And from that lowest point what happens tomorrow is even more of a mysterious wonder!

Jesus is Dead.

They had been intriuged by his teaching.
They had dared to come close to him.
When he told to quit their jobs and go touring with him, the dared to do it.

They had seen him heal people from diseases. He had made blind people see and cripples danced after an encounter with him. They'd seen him do unbelieveable things. He'd multiplied some bread rolls and a couple of fish to feed thousands of people. They'd seen him walk on water!

But he was so normal. He was one of the lads.
He knew how to have a laugh. But when he was serious, wow, he could cut right to the heart.
He taught about loving the unlovable and he practiced what he preached.
He had time for everybody. When he looked at you, you know you had his undivided attention.

Last Sunday they had been with him. He rode into town like he owned the place. They treated him as if he was the king. People were going as far as saying he was the Messiah.

They were daring to believe in him.
Last night they were eating and drinking with him. He was quieter than usual, but he was still the best friend they'd ever had. But when the stuff hit the fan, they all ran. They just left him...

Now Jesus was dead.

Were the last three years a complete waste of time?
What about everything he'd said about the Kingdom of God? Was it all made up?
What about everything they'd dared to believe about him? What were they meant to do now, eh?

Everyone recognised them. Everyone knew they used to hang out with Jesus. Now he's dead. What are people gonna think? What a bunch of losers.

Jesus is dead. The disciples are gutted, absolutely gutted. Friday night is a dark, dark place to be... and Saturday doesn't look much brighter from here. Come to think of it... from a disciple's point of view... Sunday looks pretty bleak too.

It is finished.

It’s dark.
It’s about three in the afternoon. It’s not meant to be dark.

Instantly we know that there is something mysterious going on. Something other-worldly is occurring on this rugged landscape outside Jerusalem. And out of the darkness Jesus speaks

“My God”

My God? This is Jesus, the Son crying out to his father and yet he switches to a cry of desperation to his God.

Do you ever have those times when you’re feeling so hurt, so low, so depressed even, that you don’t ‘feel’ like praying but at the same time you know you need to get something off your chest and direct it at God? Sometimes it’s useful to use somebody else’s prayer, someone else’s words to express the pain you’re going through.

He’s quoting Psalm 22 at this point so, maybe, the agony he is enduring as part of this divine plan is too much to bear for his human emotions and he relies on the liturgy, the church songs, of the day. In his humanity he uses someone else’s prayer of pain and desolation to cry out to God.

“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” - “My God, Why have You abandoned me?”

Even in that simple cry, those around him still missed the point – they thought he was calling Elijah the prophet to come and bail him out. For three years they had followed him around and it never quite clicked for them in their minds or hearts what he was saying, and even at his death they didn’t get it.

Then, ‘with a loud cry', Jesus breathed his last… On the surface this just seems like a tragic end of a great life. But there is something a little more puzzling than just Jesus dying. Death by crucifixion usually came in the form of exhaustion and suffocation, the victim unable to raise his body enough for the lungs to draw in air. The breaking of the victim’s legs was a way of quickening the process. Ordinarily, the victim would pass out, unconscious due to lack of oxygen, before death occurred. And all this would take place often over an extended period of time. It was known for some to endure days on a cross before dying.

So how was it that Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died after just six hours? Again, perhaps the answer lies within the mystery surrounding this episode.Those around not seeing the wood for the trees. There was more going on at Calvary than just the death of an innocent Jewish carpenter turned rabbi.

Christ on the cross was the substitute for mankind in a salvation plan brilliantly conceived within the Godhead.

Jesus Christ - God the Son - in his 100% humanity would take the place of mankind, acting humbly and totally obediently in the Holy Spirit who would enable him to complete such a difficult task, to stay focused and pure to the end.

The Father, Loving and Compassionate – the personal God who longs for a relationship with his people - Holy and Just, would execute the penalty for sin upon his Son. If death is the wages or reward of sin then Jesus here is paid in full. ‘Heaven’s peace and perfect Justice’ and demonstrated here. God’s loving-justice is perfectly calculated and direct and Jesus bares it all in our place.

Grace and Mercy towards His people. Grace; getting that which we don’t deserve, has to be mixed with Mercy; notgetting what we do deserve. We’ve sinned and fallen short, we deserve to die. The Merciful God sent his Son to die in our place.

In short, the Spiritual, physical and emotional agony of being separated from God, being beaten to within an inch of his life and nailed to a cross and left to hang and die, to be abandoned by his closest friends and family and humiliated in front of those who opposed him, I think it is fair to say, without getting too wishy-washy, that Jesus died of a Broken Heart. The awesome weight of sin crushing him, the abandonment of his Father isolating him – it would be enough to make anyone lose the will to live. And so, in total human agony the Son of God cries out... and dies.

That is the mystery of the Cross – we may never know the exact terms of the transaction, we may never endure anything close to the pain Jesus endured on that Friday, but the mystery surrounding the perfect sacrifice that God accepted on our behalf has opened a way so that “all who believe in Him shall not die, but have eternal life.”

Suffering and Salvation

It was now approaching noon. Jesus had been on the Cross for about three hours; Arm's outstretched - just hanging there.

Utterly exhausted, he sagged down with more of his weight on the nails in his wrists putting pressure on the median nerve. Excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He had to place His full weight on the nail through His feet. More searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of this feet.

At this point, as his tired arms grew weaker great waves of cramps ripped through the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. The cramps eliminated any strength he did have to pull himself up for breath. Hanging by the arms, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, are unable to act. Jesus could just about breathe in, but breathing out was tough. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, the carbon dioxide level increased in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided.

And yet, despite the total, unbearable, physical agony, he had the grace to forgive those who had scarred him; the ones who had caused this trauma; the ones who had set his execution in motion. Forgiveness.

He didn't retaliate against those who hurled abused.

He didn't condemn the criminal crucified next to him who heaped insult after insult on him.

But he did have time to reassure one man; a condemned law-breaker crucified near him. They may never have met before this day. They may never have talked together or ate together. But now they were dying together and in a moment of revelation the criminal sees Jesus for who he is.

In the midst of his own personal agonising trauma, the man turns his head towards Jesus, pulls against his own piercing nails to draw a short breath or two, and tries to get Jesus' attention.

"Jesus. Hey, Jesus." Jesus turns his face towards him.

"When you enter your kingdom... please, remember me. Please"

The first hint of the first smile of the day lights up the beaten and bloodied face of the Messiah and he replies back.

"Don't worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise."

Salvation during Crucifixion: What a wonderful mysterious combination.

Christ Crucified

The death sentence given to Jesus of Nazareth was death by crucifixion: the most barbaric execution conceived of in the whole of human history.

Jesus would be flogged; scourged: whipped. The whips used would be leather strands with pieces of lead, flint, metal all lodged in the ends. It was designed and perfected to shred flesh from a man's back. The first few lashes bruised. The next batch cut through the skin. Thirty-nine lashes later Jesus back was a bloodied mangled mess of skin, muscle and tissue. Then the put a robe on him and mockingly crowned him king with a crown made of jagged-spiny thorns which pierce his head and jarred against his skull.

The practise was for the prisoner to carry his or her own cross. Whether the whole thing or just a cross beam was carried is unsure, but nevertheless, carrying a log for about 700 yards across a scourged back would hurt.

The reached the crucifixion site - outside the city walls, on the main road. It was a deterrent to stop anyone challenging the authorities.

Ripping off the robe, re-opening the wounds on his back he was laid on the cross.

These soldiers weren't careful and gentle. They had crucified hundreds of people, if not thousands. They were just doing their job and doing it with merciless efficiency.

They grabs his hands, pulled his arms outstretched and reached for a nail - a long, rough, rusty metal nail.

Feeling for the depression in the wrist, between the bones, the soldier positions the nail and hammers it through Jesus' arm - passing by arteries and veins and damaging nerves - and into the wood below. Every jolt of every blow sending agony through his body. The same action is carried out the other side.

Next the feet. They bend his knees slightly and ensure they rest in an uncomfortable place. One foot in brought back to rest on the other. Another nail, this positioned at the top of the front foot, is driven through flesh and bone and finally wood.

The cross is fixed and raised and Christ is left to die.

Exhausted - he hasn't slept since Wednesday night, though I doubt he got much rest knowing what was coming.

Hungry. Thirsty.

Bleeding profusely from his back, his hands, his feet, his head. His body losing a lot of fluid very quickly. The stress and pressure often caused migraines to afflict the victims.

It has just gone nine on Friday morning...

Extreme Thursday

Last night was a night of extremes.

Extreme humility. As Jesus, the Messiah, got up from the table during dinner with his followers, his friends, grabbed a towel and some water and began washing their feet.

This seems a strange act to do these days, but remember these guys walked everywhere, and they walked everywhere wearing sandals. The dust and dirt from the roads mix with the sweat of their toughened feet. This was a nasty job. And yet Jesus stoops down to serve his friends. He loves them. He cares for their needs, not just their spiritual needs, but their physical needs and their emotional needs.

It is a night of extreme significance. As Jesus, the Son of God, takes and old tradition and translates it into a loaded memorial. He takes bread and breaks it and shares it and tells them 'this is my body'. He takes a cup of wine and shares it saying 'this is my blood'. Eat and drink in remembrance of me. For centuries theologians have wrestled over the meaning of this mysterious act. A simple meal with enormous significance.

Extreme emotion. After dinner they walk to a nearby garden and Jesus goes alone to pray. He knows what is required of him over the next twenty-four hours. He knows he was born to die so that God and humankind can be reconciled to one another. He has read the prophecies. In his heart he is willing but... he's a man. Any man in that position would be tempted to run and hide; to escape in the night, flee the country and live a happy life as a carpenter elsewhere. But he stays. The stress and terror of knowing he'll die tomorrow sends his heart racing; his blood pressure soaring to point it bursts blood vessels in his head and, mixed with the cold sweat of excruciating anxiety, Jesus sweats blood.

The emotional trauma doesn't stop there because Judas, one of the twelve guys he had spent every day for the past three years with, comes to find him. He is leading the soldiers, who will arrest Jesus, right to him. And to signal which one the soldiers want, Judas kisses Jesus. A sign of love inflicting a wound so deep.

There are now Extreme Political Circumstances. The religious leaders take Jesus and put him on trial. Though none of the false witnesses they bring in can pin anything on the faultless Nazarene rabbi they eventually ask him plainly: Are you the Son of God?

I AM

He told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

They didn't believe him. The politics of the time meant Jesus was dragged from trial to trial in front of differing parties and authorities. Eventually the Roman Governor gave the death sentence. He was schedule for Crucifixion at 9:00am.