A rock in a moving sea

Change is a large part of life today, life can seem to be in a permanent state of flow, much as the sea is constantly moving in tune with the position of the Moon and its orbit..

A majority of the people in the UK want the change that will come with leaving the EU, hoping for a new "golden age". Sweeping away 40 years of working in one form or another with our European neighbours.

Our Prime Minister has been removed and replaced by someone, who IMO, should have taken the post last time and done what he said he was in favour of, getting the UK out of the EU.The last one lasted only a short while, I wonder how long this one will last, especially if he can't deliver on his big promises? And then what? More change.

Many saved for their pension over decades only to find that their pensions are no longer worth what they were led to believe. As they retire, life changes, money is more restricted, things taken for granted can no longer be.

As I write we are in a heat wave, some of the hottest temperatures recorded in this country, its almost too hot to do anything. I am used to walking up mountains with wind, rain and even snow. This year my mountain walk up Ben Nevis was in temperatures ranging up to 28deg C at the bottom.

Recently in my daily bible reading I have been working through the book of Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet who lived at a time of change as well. Israel, a powerful nation that had initially relied upon God to guide it and aid it had forgotten their roots and gone their own way. The result is that Isaiah warns them of the huge change that they will face in the years to come, the nation dwindling in power, attacked and overcome by other nations, the people would be capture and taken away.

In the midst of all of this, God gives hope, there will be a time of restoration and more, a time when a new way will be brought to them by God's anointed one, the saviour. In the massive changes that they would face a promise stood, a promise of hope, a promise of salvation, something to hold on to, a rock in a moving sea of change. The psalmist recognised that in psalm 62.

Change is a part of life, sometimes it can be planned, sometimes it is unexpected and worrying. But in the changes of life there can be a constant, a Rock that will not change, an anchor that won't budge no matter the weight of the waves, Jesus. Jesus who asks us to build our faith on the rock that is a solid foundation for all things, him. God's promise to us that has been realised and made complete. My experience of faith in Jesus is that no matter what I face in life, no matter what changes, I face them better when I look to him for guidance, he has become the rock in my life that does not move and allows me to handle the swirling waters of the deep that life at times tries to engulf me with.The waters may break around me but will not overwhelm me. I hope the same is true for you.

The Sower and the Soil

Recently I had been preparing for a family service at a local church which has no minister at present. Our church and this church work together on a project that we call Kidz Klub, aimed at 5-11 year olds, and I had agreed to go and speak at this service working with one of their service leaders. The subject  "the Sower" Matthew 13 1-8 is what we are using this summer for our Kidz Klub theme.

In preparing and then leading this service I found myself considering the two sides of the story that I was looking at. The first, the seeds and what happened to them, the second the sower.

We often read of decline in church attendance, falling numbers of believers and so on and over time churches have come up with lots of imaginative ways to try to attract people, some work after a fashion others seem not to work well. I asked myself are we more interested in numbers than we are in deep rooted disciples of Jesus who in turn will take their part in sharing the message of the gospels? Are we looking for quick apparent results rather than deep rooted faith that grows through discipleship and nurture?

The Sower parable gives us ways in which the seed, the word of God, is impacted by the ground in which it is sown:

The path - hard, unyielding on which nothing can take root, the seed lies there to be eaten by birds and so there is no impact. What in our lives, our churches, our communities would be the equivalent of the hard path? What prevents the words of God penetrating and taking root? In conversation we concluded that in such case we might need to take a concrete breaker with us.

The Rocky Soil - looks better than the path, the seed takes root, but underlying rocks prevent any real roots and so the sun scorches the young plant and it dies. How often do we see immediate and expressive responses to the gospel message only to find that shortly after the enthusiasm has gone and the impact has worn off. Perhaps we in church life need to help remove the rocks so that the roots can establish and the impact can grow?

The Weedy soil - Again this looks like an improvement, seeds grow and the result looks good. But life crowds in, pressures take charge and choke off any further development. Its sad but in my opinion its the state of many who go to church in this country. The solution, if there is one is two fold - sharing the need for the commitment to be disciples and to make it a priority but also churches need to be pro-active and imaginative in how they disciple.

Good soil - Well prepared, well looked after soil leads to seeds that grow into wholesome and productive plants, disciples who in turn will be productive in the Kingdom, drawing many others to faith in Jesus and so bring glory to God.

The point of this? Christians are called to be sowers and I see that as a challenge. The church can blame its decline on lots of  things - cultural change, lack of time, money, resources, too many alternatives for people other than church and so on..It can try to mimic culture with an entertainment based attitude to worship and its services which may well attract people but do they become disciples? Perhaps what people need is a church that is authentic in its message, living it out as well as preaching it, a church that does not try to mimic and adopt its culture but challenges it fearlessly. A church which is focused on preparing the soil of peoples lives to receive the seed, the word of God, sows it and encourages it to grow and be fruitful.

Oh, I think I read something about that kind of church in the bible.