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Children's and Youth Work
As a children’s and youth worker love this quote! Whether you’re a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, carer or someone who teaches children – let’s be their champion! Never underestimate the difference it can make to a child’s life when even just one person believes in them.
Why not share this with your volunteer team who are great children’s ‘champions’ with a word of encouragement.
Children's and Youth Work
Here’s an assembly I did on Tuesday at our local secondary special needs school:
Lots of us will have made resolutions, and it is likely that most of us will break them. GMTV asked viewers to email in their new years resolutions. Here are the top 5 that came out of that poll:
CBBC on their website suggested that the top 5 new years resolutions would be:
Research suggests that around only 12-29% of us will be successful in keeping our resolution.
This January along with thousands of others I’ve started trying to get fit. For me this has involved running four times a week at 6.30am. I’m training to do the Southampton half marathon in April.
Do you enjoy running? If so, are you more of a sprinter, enjoying running the 100-metres or 200-metres, or a long-distance runner (5-km, half marathon or full marathon)? (Ask for a show of hands for each type of race).
The BUPA Great North Run, the world’s biggest half marathon. Each year there are expected to be about 54,000 dedicated runners. Does anyone know how many miles there are in a marathon? Half marathon? (Answer: 26 miles in a full marathon and 13 in a half.)
While gym membership is falling, according to the latest research, running has never been more popular than it is now, with more people than ever going running regularly. The most recent quarterly figures from Sport England show that participation in athletics, which includes running and jogging, increased by more than 215,000 to 1.827 million between the 2007/08 survey and the 2008/09 survey. Charity 5-km runs like ‘Race for Life’ have become very popular, to raise much needed funds for worthy causes, including breast cancer research. Marathons, whether full or half, have sprung up in most major towns and cities in the UK, the most recent being in Southampton.
As well as a great way of raising money for charity, running has many health benefits for those who take part: it is fun – by releasing chemicals known as ‘endorphins’, it can make people feel happier (mental/emotional health); it is good for the heart (physical health); and training for races teaches discipline and dedication (spiritual health). It is also a good way of making friends (social health).
Many people have a life-long goal to run a marathon. Every year many people fulfil that goal after weeks of training and preparation.
Many people see life as a race – a clear start, with stages to pass as you run the race of life. Clearly, everyone finishes the race of life – it’s how you behave along the way that will make you loved.
There’s something very special and fulfilling about running alongside thousands of other runners in a long-distance running race. This is particularly the case after weeks of long training-runs, often entirely run alone.
Paul wrote in the Bible:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
Be inspired by your fellow travellers on the journey that is the race of life, and run with perseverance the race that each one of us has entered, and all of us have the potential to win.
What you value will dictate how you run, and keep you going in the race of life. When you feel tired and worn out with the challenges and difficulties that we will all face in life, how will you keep motivated? Keeping our eyes on the prize will help us to keep motivated. You finish a race and win a race by focusing only on the next step. Let God guide you, with good values, relationships and integrity this term, this school year and for the rest of your life’s race.
Prayer
Thank you God for being with us on the ‘race’ of life. Help us to get rid of those things that hold us back and run a race of faith, hope and love that pleases you.
Amen.
A recent report revealed the average dad suffers 22 injuries a year because of their children! From accidental kicks to the face to bad backs from being a human climbing frame, the wear and tear on Britain’s dads was revealed in a study of 2,000 parents. In fact, the average dad with school-aged children experiences 22 injuries per year.
Results showed that Dad also bashes his shin three times on something the kids have left lying around the house and steps on a toy or plug four times a year on average. More than a third of dads in the South East even felt that to walk across a toy covered floor was the most dangerous aspect of being a parent. While those with cats or dogs can expect to trip over or have the family pet get under their feet a further four times per year. And four times a year dad stumbles on an item of clothing or other belonging that’s been left out, while the dreaded prospect of an accidental hit to the crotch faces men with young children twice a year.
The study also found a fifth of dads have had to take time off work because of an injury picked up after doing everyday activity with the family. In these instances, the average time a dad in the South East was off work was for 10 days, most likely through injury to the back. There’s no letup for dads as just under a third have been headbutted by their young child while a quarter said playfighting with the kids regularly saw them tweak something.
Other areas of parenting where men have had a brush with injury were when having to play goalie kicking a ball around with the kids or when climbing trees with them. And a young at heart one in five picked up an injury doing something to which they confessed ‘I should know better than to attempt at my age’.
Children's and Youth Work
New Forest Nightstop is the only provider of emergency accommodation for young people aged 16 to 24, who find themselves homeless in the New Forest. There is no other emergency provision; hostels or shelters available in the area, so it is all done through the homes of trained and approved volunteers.
As this area is mainly affluent with a very rural spread, homelessness, as people understand it, goes very much unnoticed. Young people helped by Nightstop are not street-hardened rough sleepers people typically think of in regards to homelessness, but everyday teenagers, suffering a crisis, and in need of help and protection.
A team of 26 volunteers Nightstop provide free emergency over – night accommodation, meals, laundry, baths, travel costs, toiletries, start-up furniture, food parcel referrals, startup home energy costs, practical support with benefit claims, housing forms and the progres – sion of their housing case through housing panels, with a multi-agency approach to the best outcomes pos – sible, with the means it has. However, a Nightstop hosts offers much more to a young person; a listening ear, a sense of belonging and trust, a future, protection from rape, drugs, abuse, increased employability, offering security to not only the young person but their education; 69% of young people who stayed in the last year were in education, training or employment.
New Forest Nightstop has just entered its 12th year and has provided over 2,000 nights of safety to vul – nerable young people from local communities. At the moment, there are not enough hosts, particularly in the Hythe and Dibden area, for the number of young people needing help. If you feel you can help then telephone 01425 478391 or email nightstopsupport@cfnf.org.uk
Children's and Youth Work
Y Care International are asking young people to get involved in action/2015:
Young people need to lead this campaign as they are essential to demanding, implementing and achieving ambitious targets for positive change and more just world. To ensure this happens, we are bringing together committed young volunteers and activists from the UK to lead action/2015’s youth activities in the UK as a part of the action/2015 Youth Panel.
The youth panel will be made up of 18-25 year olds from across the UK who will act as both an advisory panel to those working on the campaign and as advocates of action/2015 itself.
If you are 18-25 and have a passion for global issues then we invite you to join the action/2015 youth panel.
For the action/2015 Youth Panel we are looking for:
We will be holding Youth Panel training to get panellists up to speed on all the issues of action/2015 on Saturday February 7th – successful applicants will be required to attend this training so keep this date free if planning to apply.
To apply, download our information document and application form. Please return your completed application form to robbie.cheyne@ycareinternational.org by Monday 26th January 2014 at 10am.
The action/2015 Youth Panel will be made up of 18-25 year old representatives from over a dozen UK charities and so to ensure fair representation, spaces are very limited.
Children's and Youth Work
Here’s the talk I gave last night on spiritual warfare to our young people based on material from Open – Life Church’s resources:
We’re starting a brand new series called Supernatural. Tonight we’re going to be talking about how there’s a whole unseen world going on around us every day that we don’t often know is happening. The next week we’re going to talk about how God’s power is over the whole supernatural world and what that means for our lives. Then in week 3 we’re going to answer questions you might have about the supernatural world – angels, demons, God, Satan, zombies.
The realm that we can’t see, where God and evil meet, where angels and demons collide and it’s happening all around us, but we often can’t see it.
Look at what it says in Ephesians 6:12:
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
It’s kind of creepy isn’t it?
But what the verse is saying is we’re not fighting against flesh and blood but evil rulers from the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in heavenly places. This is how it looks in our world.
Not too long ago I was talking with a youth minister from Southampton who went to a Starbucks and he and his friends met this girl at the Starbucks who they started talking to and they started to discover there were some things that weren’t quite going right in her life. So this youth minister and his friends said it would be a great idea if you could come to church, maybe it would give you some of the hope you need in your life. She looked at them and said “Okay I’ll come and check out church and see what it’s all about.”
Sunday rolls around and guess what she doesn’t show up. So they go back to the Starbucks that week and find her and say “Hey we were looking for you, where were you?” She said “Oh I had some stuff going on, I couldn’t make it.” And so they were like “Church is this Sunday too if you’d like to come?” And she said “I will be there, I will be there.”
Sunday comes around and guess what happens? Well actually what happens is that they wait for her and she never shows up, and so they go back to Starbucks. “Hey you weren’t at church on Sunday.” She replied “I actually went to church on Sunday but I couldn’t get out of my car, I just stayed in my car.” Think about this, here’s this girl from a physical standpoint siting in her car who can’t or doesn’t go into a physical building made of concrete and wood. It’s a very real world. But from a spiritual world here’s a girl dealing with tormented things in her life, some darkness going on in her life. Shows up at church, a place of worship, where God is glorified and people respond to the creator of the universe and she can’t go in. Real world she’s just a girl and chooses not to go in a building. But from a supernatural point someone dealing with heavy stuff who can not go into a place of worship. That’s what the supernatural is all about.
Think about the word supernatural. Think about a hero – maybe someone who saves a life. But a superhero that’s your Batman, Superman, Spiderman – someone who possesses powers that humans don’t have. Supernatural is a place that is above us, bigger than us, great than us and what we can understand. It’s a place where there is a battle going on for your souls, a battle of good and evil to get you to do right or wrong. Have you ever thought about why, why all this?
Why not a world where everybody is happy, holding hands and singing kumbya and everything is fine. A world where there is no pain, sickness, death or arguments or fights. Why couldn’t life be all okay?
We have to go all okay to the creation of time. There was a moment when God was in heaven with all of the angels and there is this one particular angel, named Lucifer, we know him as Satan or the devil. He was actually an angel at one point, and protected God’s glory and was one of God’s right hand man angels. But Lucifer, Satan became jealous of God – he wanted what God had and wanted to be worshipped and wanted to be the creator of things. So he plans, plots and schemes and was able to rally up a third of the other angels in heaven and says “Let’s try and turn this place upside down” and so there’s this huge battle that takes place in heaven against a third of the angels in heaven and Satan.
You know what happens, a third of the angels and Satan don’t stand a chance against God. There is no chance that they can win this battle. So God sends them out of heaven down to earth. And the Bible says that Satan roams around like a lion looking for someone to devour. And that’s why we have spiritual warfare and spiritual battles going on.
When we talk about angels and demons and the supernatural world we think it’s all weird. But here’s the thing. Satan’s greatest lie is to convince the world that he doesn’t exist. We just wander around as though everything is fine and dandy, whilst the demons are wreaking havoc in our lives. If we don’t realise this is happening they can do whatever we want and we won’t even know. But if we believe it, and know about it then we can identify those attacks and step in – we can pray , we can be more aware of it.
Now I want to clarify it and over spiritualise it. There is a difference between a spiritual attack and consequences. A consequence would be something like this: you know you have a mock exam in a couple of days and you think I’m not going to study, I’ll just see what happens. The teacher gives it back to you with a big F circled at the top of the page – you’ve failed. You can’t say Satan has attacked me, the demons blocked my mind from knowing the answers. No! You’re an idiot and you didn’t study – it’s a consequence of your actions.
A spiritual attack – is anything that is true about you, or about God, or God’s plans for your life and you start hearing or believing something different from that. A spiritual attack is anything that challenges your self-worth – if you feel you’re not good enough, if you feel like you don’t measure up, you’re not attractive enough, you’re not talented enough, you’re not clever enough, that no one could love you – that’s a spiritual attack. God says you are good enough, you are talented enough, I have made you for a purpose, I have a plan for your life, I have made you you and I have destined you for great things – that is God’s truth. The rest of that is just spiritual attack in your life.
Other spiritual attacks can come in the form of depression – now that in and of itself isn’t a spiritual attack –sometimes you can take care of that in other ways but depression can have a spiritual element. There can be the spiritual attack of worry, stress, and anxiety – some of that leading to cutting and stuff like that. Only caring about yourself and not caring about others or hurting other people because God says don’t worry, have joy, love life and love other people, love yourself and value yourself – that is God’s truth. The rest of that is just spiritual attack,
So how do we fight against spiritual attack. Look at what it says in Ephesians 6:12 that we read earlier and continue onwards:
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Now at first glance we read these verses and it’s like what! Spiritual armour – belts, swords, shields and stuff like that! You’re telling me that according to this verse we’re supposed to dress up in armour and show up – clink, clink, clink, clink – and your friends are like “what are you doing?” and you’re like “just wearing the full armour of God”, and they’re like “well you look like an idiot!”. That’s not what this verse is saying or about.
What this verse is about is about being at peace with who God has made you be, it’s about diving into God’s word and reading your Bible and learning who God has made you to be. When we start to spend time with God we understand how to defend ourselves against spiritual attack. So I want to give you five really quick ways on how to fight it.
So let me ask you this question, where are you being attacked in your life? What areas in your life are under attack?
So where are you being spiritually attacked right now? I want everyone to close your eyes.
Some of you have realised tonight that you are under spiritual attack. There are situations going on in your life and you need God’s help with those. There are all different problems, and spiritual attacks going on, and I want you to realise we as leaders will do whatever it takes to step in and do something about that. If that’s you raise your hand so we can pray for you.
Now with eyes still closed there are some of you tonight who never really thought about the spiritual world, let alone angels and demons. You weren’t even sure about God. But tonight something clicked and you felt something stirring inside of you. That’s a supernatural world, God’s presence saying “I’m here for you, I love you and I want to be with you. I want to spend time with you and I want you to know me.” If you’ve never known or accepted God’s love before but tonight it’s got to you. For the very first time you want to accept that Jesus died on the cross for you, there’s a God who loves you, I want you to raise your hand and lets pray for you.
Children's and Youth Work
Here’s my sermon from last Sunday to kick off 2015 with our young people;
I’m sure you’ve noticed that each year almost all the major news magazines put out an issue with special pictorial sections recalling people and events that made news during the previous year.
Many magazines also include articles by experts predicting what they expect to see happening in the years ahead. Some even go so far as to make predictions covering 10 or more years in the future. In the past, a few of these predictions have proven amazingly accurate, while others couldn’t have been more wrong.
For example, back in 1967, experts predicted that by the turn of the century technology would have taken over so much of the work we do that the average work week would be only 22 hours long, and that we would work only 27 weeks a year. As a result, one of our biggest problems would be in deciding what to do with all our leisure time. Well, I don’t know about you, but that prediction certainly missed the mark as far as my life was concerned!
In fact, most of us seem to be very busy. We’re always in a hurry. We walk fast, and talk fast, and eat fast. And after we eat, all too often, we stand up and say, “Excuse me. I’ve got to go.”
So here we are, at the first Sunday of 2015. I wonder how we’ll do this year? Will we be as busy? Will we make any better use of our time? In 361 days, when this year is over, will we be looking back with joy, or with regret? Will we be looking at the future with anticipation, or with dread?
There is a passage of Scripture that I believe can be of help to us as we look forward to the rest of 2015 if we’ll listen to it. The passage is Ephesians 5:15-17, and here is what it says,
“Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
I think that in this passage the Apostle Paul presents some important lessons that we need to consider.
Our time on this earth is limited
First of all, we must be very careful how we live because our time on this earth is limited. The Psalmist wrote, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life” (39:4). And again, “The length of our days is 70 years or 80, if we have the strength…they quickly pass, and we fly away” (90:10).
Now, I realize that for some of you younger folk, 70 or 80 years sounds like a long, long time. In fact, I can remember when I thought anyone over 30 was ancient. But no longer. It is all rather relative, isn’t it?
For example, for teenagers in love talking together in the car, an hour or two seems like a blink of an eye. But for mom and dad worrying about what’s going on out in that car, an hour or two seems like an eternity.
The Psalmist also tells us to number our days so that we will develop a heart of wisdom. A few years ago People Magazine published an article entitled “Dead Ahead” telling about a new clock that keeps track of how much time you have left to live. It calculates an average life span of 75 years for men and 80 years for women. So you program your sex and age into the clock, and from then on it will tell you how much time you have left. It sold for £99.99. I didn’t buy one. But it is an intriguing idea. Isn’t that what the Psalmist told us to do to number our days?
When I first heard about the clock I figured out that if I lived to be 75 years old that I had just about 16,060 days left to live. But wait a minute. Neither you nor I have a guarantee of even one day more to live. In fact the Bible tells us not to count on tomorrow because tomorrow may not come for you or for me. All we have is right now. So our time on this earth is valuable because it is very limited.
Make the most of every opportunity
Secondly, Paul tells us that we must make “the most of every opportunity.” And he gives a reason, “because the days are evil.”
Jesus said that Satan is a robber and a thief, and one of the things he tries to rob from us is our time because time is a very precious possession.
Just think of the time wasted in sinning. Think of the time wasted in bars or in gambling casinos or in shallow affairs. Think of the time wasted in gossiping or spreading rumours. Or think about all the time wasted worrying about the consequences of the sins we have committed. Satan is a thief and a robber!
But it is not just sin that makes demands on our time. Sometimes even good things can make demands. Jesus went to the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. He sat down to teach, and Mary was sitting at His feet just soaking in every word. Meanwhile, Martha was out in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Now, you know the story. It is found in Luke 10. Martha gets upset because Mary is not in the kitchen, too. So she complains to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” Jesus answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” [Luke 10:40 42].
Now was Martha committing a sin by cooking a meal in the kitchen? No, of course not! But here’s the problem. She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn’t realize that God was in her living room. That’s the same mistake you and I make almost every day. We get so caught up in the here and now that we fail to deal with the eternal, the things that will last forever and ever.
Richard Swenson, a medical doctor, wrote a book in which he discusses one of the major illnesses of our time anxiety and stress. He calls it “overload,” and says that people are just plain overloaded.
Well, I could go on and on, but you get the picture. There are so many demands on our time, so many good things that need to be done. But there are just 8,760 hours in this year, and we’ve already used 90 of them. We do want to make the most of every opportunity, so what are we to do?
Understand what the Lord’s will is
Well, to answer that, Paul tells us, “…do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Now what do you think God’s will is for you in this New Year? Do you think He wants your mind so saturated with worries and anxieties that you can’t think spiritual thoughts? Do you think He wants your calendar so crowded that you don’t have time for the important things? What do you think God’s will is for you this year?
Let me make a couple of suggestions for you to consider. First of all, establish your priorities. I’m assuming that since you’re in church this evening that you believe God should be a part of your life. But when you begin to establish priorities, you have to decide just where He stands in your life. So ask yourself, “Who or what is most important in my life?”
And I’m hoping that your answer will be, “My relationship with God is most important to me.” If so, then put that at the top of your list of priorities, and say, “This will affect my decisions, my scheduling, my relationship with others, and my whole outlook on life.”
Therefore, when Sunday rolls around neither rain nor shine nor football matches, drama performances or anything else will interfere with my being in church, because He comes first in my life. I’ll worship the Lord and nothing will interfere with that.
You also need to schedule some definite time each day to pray and to read His Word. Pray for yourself and for your family and for people around you. Pray for the church, and for the missionaries. Sometimes they feel so alone and so far away. You’ll never know how much your prayers will mean to them. But you’ll be blessed as you grow in your faith and trust in the Lord!
Spend time with your parents. I know that’s a weird thing to say, but family really matters so try and spend quality time with them.
So first of all, establish your priorities.
And then, learn how to live today. The two greatest enemies of time are regrets for things we did in the past, and anxiety about what will happen to us in the future. Many of us are living either in the past or in the future.
In fact, many of us are engaged in the little game of, “I wish it were.” “I wish it were next week,” or “I wish it were next month,” or some such thing. Kids go to school and say, “Boy, I wish this day were over.”
Gary Freeman tells about a girl who went to college and just hated it. But she told herself, “If I can ever get out of college and get married and have children, I know I’ll finally be able to enjoy life.”
So she stuck with it. She went to classes every day and finally graduated from college. Then she got married and had children, and discovered that children are a lot of work. So she told herself, “If I can just get these kids raised, then I’ll be able to relax and really enjoy life.”
But about the time the kids were entering high school her husband said, “Guess what? We don’t have enough money to send our kids to college. I guess you’ll have to get a job.”
Well, she didn’t want to, but she knew he was right and they needed the money, so she went to work. And she hated it. But she told herself, “If I can just get these kids out of college, and get all of the bills paid, then I can quit work and really enjoy life.”
Finally, the last child graduated from college, and all the bills were paid. So she walked into her employer’s office and said, “I quit.” He said, “Oh, you don’t want to quit now. If you stay with us just another 8 years you’ll have a pension for the rest of your life.”
She thought, “Well, I don’t want to work another 8 years, but there’s all that money there, and I really can’t turn down the opportunity.” So she worked for another 8 years. Finally, she and her husband retired at the same time. They sold their home and bought a little retirement cottage.
Then they sat down on the swing on their front porch and looked at the family picture album and dreamed about the good old days.
Someone said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re making plans to do something else.” True, isn’t it? Another year has come and gone. A new year stretches before us. Help us Lord, to redeem the time. So have a happy new year!
And during the New Year may you have:
enough happiness to keep you sweet – enough trials to keep you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human – enough hope to keep you happy,
enough failure to keep you humble – enough success to keep you eager,
enough friends to give you comfort – enough wealth to meet your needs,
enough enthusiasm to make you look forward to tomorrow,
and enough determination to make each day better than the day before.
Lord, please help us to use the 8,760 hours of this year the wisest way we can for you, and for your glory.
Romans 13:11-12 says, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.”
The Passion movement, led by Louie Giglio, was designed for 18-25 year olds who want to follow Jesus and share their faith with others, and based on Isaiah 26:8 which says, “Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your truth, we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our souls.”. Passion: The Bright Light of Glory is a compilation of messages from many who have spoke at the conference such as John Piper, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Christine Caine, Judah Smith, to name a few.
The book starts with an introduction by Louie Giglio on how the Passion conferences came into existence and what the journey has been over the last few years. Following this each chapter is a different message from one of the above speakers – all with very different themes and styles – some obviously clicked much better for me than others whereas other people might find that different chapters connect for them.
The theme that kept coming up was the concept of life changing encounters with Jesus, and the need to share that with others. Beth Moore summed it up well:
You have been set on this earth, at this hour, and in this generation to bring fame to the Lord Jesus Christ in your sphere of influence.
The book was thought provoking and full of truth I needed to hear. I encourage anyone to read this book.
Children's and Youth Work
Here’s my all-age talk from our children’s nativity service. We kicked off with this video by Dan Stevers:
In the Bible we see the contrast of two very different responses, to that of baby Jesus – that of Simeon and Herod.
Herod
Herod the Great ruled at Jesus’ birth – king from 40-4BCE. He wasn’t a particularly nice guy: he had killed his wife, his brother-in-law, his mother and some of his sons as he feared they would try to take power from him. Even more horrendous, he planned kill 3,000 people to make them mourn when he dies!
When he heard about Jesus he felt threatened, he possibly saw Jesus as the Messiah, the future King of the Jews. There are parallels with dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Robert Mugabe – if people didn’t agree with him he killed them. In Bethlehem he killed all the boys under the age of 2 – given Bethlehem’s size it is estimated that he murdered 15-30 toddlers that day.
It is a historical fact that after a reign of some thirty-three or so years marked by violence and intrigue, Herod the Great died of cancer at Jericho. The child Jesus, however, escaped to Egypt and lived.
In every century there have been Herod’s who, recognising the Son of God as a threat, have sought to murder him in his cradle. There was Herod’s grandson, Herod Agrippa 1, who tried to persecute the early church. He killed James, the brother of John. He imprisoned Peter, intending to execute him also. But in the end he was eaten up with worms and died. Herod died; Jesus lived.
In the first three centuries a succession of ‘Herod’s’ sat on various world thrones, devising all sorts of schemes to kill off the church. Nero, for instance, ordered Christians to be killed. Yet in the end this ‘Herod’ died and Jesus lived.
And so the story has gone on. Adolf Hitler was in many ways a reincarnation of Herod. He threw many a faithful German Christian into his concentration camps. In the end ‘Herod’ died, but Jesus lives.
Not all Herod’s employ the crude and violent methods of Herod the Great. Some seek to smother Jesus by creating a climate of cynicism and ridicule, and in this way destroy the Christian church. We sometimes feel overpowered by the ‘Herod’s’ present within the media, who seek to create doubt and confusion within the minds of many faithful Christians.
But as we’ve seen time and time again, human beings can’t stop God’s plans: Jesus is still alive today.
Waiting for Christmas
Children have a hard time waiting for Christmas. Here are some actual letters that were written to Santa:
Dear Santa Claus,
When you come to my house there will be cookies for you. But if you are real hungry you can use our phone and order a pizza to go.
Dear Santa,
I want a Puppy. I want a playhouse. Thank you. I’ve been good most of the time. Sometimes I’m wild.
Dear Santa, (From a 4-year-old)
I’ll take anything because I haven’t been that good.
Christmas is often associated with waiting.
What Are You Waiting For?
Let me ask you some questions. What are you waiting for this Christmas? Are you longing for anything? What are you expecting to receive? Are you looking forward to anything special this Christmas?
In the Gospel of Luke, we find a man in the final acts of the Christmas drama who doesn’t appear in any nativity scenes and yet was critical to the first Christmas.
Simeon was waiting for something, actually someone. Luke uses a Greek word of anticipation that identifies him as waiting with expectation for the coming of the Messiah, or Savior. We’re introduced to Simeon in Luke 2:25. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him.”
Things weren’t going real well for the nation of Israel. They hadn’t heard from God for many years and were under Roman rule. But verse 26 shows us that Simeon had good reason for his hope and anticipation: “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
Simeon’s expectation focused on the comfort that Christ would bring. Among Jews of Simeon’s day one of the popular titles of Messiah was Comforter, they were longing for the Messiah to come and bring His comfort to them. It strikes me that the desire to be comforted is a universal human need. We all struggle with loneliness, emptiness, insecurity, even desperation. In fact, the Christmas season is one of the major crisis times of the year for depression and suicide.
The Holy Spirit prompted Simeon to go to the temple courts at just the right time on just the right day that Joseph and Mary were bringing their infant to the Temple. When Simeon looked at the baby Jesus, now about 6 weeks old, he knew that God’s promise had been kept. Here was Immanuel, “God With Us,” to make everything right and to eliminate rejection, fear, and loneliness.
Verse 28 of Luke 2 says that Simeon reached down and took Jesus out of Mary’s arms and began to praise God. Let me pause here to make a comment. Parents, how would you feel if some old man came up to you, took your baby in his arms and started singing out loud? I’m sure this was a bit unsettling for Joseph and Mary. But Simeon didn’t look all that dangerous. As he broke out into praise, he acknowledged that God had not only fulfilled the individual promise to him, but also the promises of the prophets to send the Anointed One to comfort both Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus Provides What We Need
Friends, when Jesus came, He provided the very things that Simeon and Anna were waiting for – God’s comfort and His forgiveness. Let me ask you a question. What are you waiting for this Christmas? Whatever it is, Jesus can give it to you.
Can any of you identify with Simeon this morning? Some of you are really hurting right now. You feel lonely, empty, afraid, and maxed out. Do you need some comfort? Some consoling? Do you need a fresh sense of God’s presence? If so, you can find what you’re looking for in Jesus. He came to console us right where we’re at.
Action Steps
There are three action steps from this passage that will help you experience God’s comfort this Christmas.
Become a Marveler
Become a marveler. When Joseph and Mary tried to process everything that was happening, verse 33 says that they marveled at what was said about Jesus. According to the dictionary, to become a marveler is to be filled with wonder, astonishment, and surprise.
Are you a marveler this Christmas? Or, are you too caught up in the busyness and stress of the season? Has Christmas become too predictable, too familiar? Have you heard the Christmas story so much that it no longer astonishes you? We hear just enough of the story each year to inoculate us against the real thing, so that we never really catch true Christmas fever.
Here’s an idea that may help you recapture the marvel of Christmas. Pick one of the Christmas characters and put yourself in their sandals. Imagine what it must have been like to witness the Christmas story first hand.
Become a Mover
Take a look at verse 27: “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” Simeon was a mover, when the Holy Spirit prompted him he didn’t sit still. I wonder what would have happened if he had not responded? Actually, every one of the Christmas characters responded to the Spirit’s leading with the exception of Herod.
Friends, when God prompts you to do something, then you need to do it. Don’t procrastinate when God prompts you to do something – you may miss out on a miracle this Christmas.
I’m struck by what Simeon told Mary in verse 34. It must have taken her breath away. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against…” That’s not really a joyful Christmas greeting, is it? Simeon is not saying, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” Rather, he pauses, clears his throat and tells her that Christmas will never be merry and the New Year will never be happy until people get moving and surrender their lives to Christ.
Here’s the truth. Christmas splits people into 2 camps. Since Jesus has entered the world, He has divided the human race. You can’t stay neutral about Jesus. You are either for Him or against Him. You’re moving closer to Him, or further away. You either have the Son or you don’t.
Become a Messenger
Interestingly, as we work at becoming marvelers, we can’t help but become movers. That leads us to the final action step from this passage: become a messenger. Notice verse 38 again: “…she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”
Do you have family and friends who’ve been caught up in preparations for Christmas? Look at it this way maybe their anticipation and longings really represent an inner search for comfort and forgiveness those things that only the Messiah can provide. God wants each one of us to become messengers of the Christmas story.
Conclusion
Let me wrap this up. As you and I become marvelers, the wonder of Christmas will astonish us. Then, as we become movers, our needs for comfort and forgiveness will be met. And, as we take our role as messengers seriously, we’ll be in position to introduce others to the Christ of Christmas — so that they in turn can find what they have been waiting for.
Friends, in a nutshell, Christmas is a marvelous, moving, message! How can we not find what we’ve been looking for? And, how can we keep quiet about it? Once you have the Son, you have everything.
Whoever Takes the Son Illustration
Many years ago, there was a very wealthy man who shared a passion for art collecting with his son. They had priceless works by Picasso and Van Gogh adorning the walls of their family estate.
As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His son had died. Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season had vanished with the death of his son.
On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hands who said, “I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you.”
The soldier mentioned that he was an artist and then gave the old man the package. The paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man’s son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man’s face in striking detail. Overcome with emotion, the man hung the portrait over the fireplace, pushing aside millions of dollars worth of art. His task completed, the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given.
The painting of his son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the pieces of art for which museums around the world clamored.
The following spring, the old man died. The art world waited with anticipation for the upcoming auction. According to the will of the old man, all the art works would be auctioned on Christmas Day, the day he had received the greatest gift.
The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled that day.
The auction began with a painting that was not on anyone’s museum list. It was the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent. “Who will open the bidding with $100?” No one spoke. Finally someone said, “Who cares about that painting. It’s just a picture of his son. Let’s move on to the good stuff.”
The auctioneer responded, “No, we have to sell this one first. Now, who will take the son?” Finally, a neighbor of the old man offered $10 dollars. “That’s all I have. I knew the boy, so I’d like to have it.”
The auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice…gone.” The gavel fell.
Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, “Now we can bid on the real treasures!”
The auctioneer looked at the room filled with people and announced that the auction was over. Everyone was stunned. Someone spoke up and said, “What do you mean, it’s over? We didn’t come here for a painting of someone’s son. There are millions of dollars worth of art here! What’s going on?”
The auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the Father, whoever takes the son…gets it all.”
Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? The message is the same this Christmas. Because of the Father’s love…whoever takes the Son gets it all.
Will you take Him this Christmas?
You’re invited to a birthday party this week. It’s the birthday of Jesus. It’s His party but He wants to give you a present. He wants to give you the gift of Himself. Will you take Him?
The government has recently produced a report into child sexual exploitation entitled “It couldn’t happen here, could it?“.
The report evaluates the effectiveness of how local authorities’ have responded to the challenge of child sexual exploitation. The report draws on evidence from inspection and case examination in eight local authorities and from the views of children and young people, parents, carers, practitioners and managers. A number of other inspection reports of children’s homes and children’s services and reviews of Local Safeguarding Children Boards contributed to the findings.
If you’re a children’s or youth worker this is essential reading so go and download the report here.
Children's and Youth Work
Here’s my notes from the Diocese of Winchester pMAP training session at St. Andrew’s Church. For further information check out the pMAP website.
Phil Dykes
pMAPs is all about: Review – Plan – Act
God has been there before you – God was there before you turned up. We join something that God is already at work in. What is God already actively engage in in your Parish? Create a physical map of your area.
Called to triple listening
Paul Moore
Luke 24:13-19
Deliberately leaving his disciples on the journey, and Jesus there with them on the journey although they didn’t recognise that immediately. Let us bring to the Lord all the things that confuse us and make us weary.
Church in Goatham, where he first heard the stories of the gospel from Grace who was the organist and Sunday school teacher. She probably had no training but she talked about her faith and lived out her faith. On Christmas Day in 1984 God brought to him that there were thousands of people who weren’t there because they didn’t know, they didn’t know the Good News of the birth of Christ. That was the moment when he realised God was calling him to ordained ministry – to help churches share the good news. Very exciting now to be doing that, helping the Diocese of Winchester to live the mission of Jesus.
Coming into the diocese it’s been exciting to see the exciting conversations through the dMAPs over the last year. Over the next stage hope the pMAP process will be another energising process, not something for us to do, but something that will excite us and help us reach God’s mission. Not a chore but a spiritual exercise, seeking spiritual renewal and growing in faith. We live in challenging times but we turn to the Lord. Jesus said repent and believe in the good news. Turn back to God and trust in what He is doing. Let’s do that through this process. We can commit ourselves to God’s agenda not our agenda. Asking for the Holy Spirit to empower us to do His work. MAPs can be a focus for our prayer and priorities.
The trellis is a helpful analogy. The trellis is a good piece of handiwork but it’s not for admiring but for something to enable growth. We want the pMAP to enable fruitful growth. The trellis can help us to concentrate our time, efforts and resources on the two or three things God wants us to do now, and we can leave the other things.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight
God will help us to map the way ahead.
Pete Maidment
The Lent Course for 2015 is going to lean into St. Benedict and Benedictine Spirituality. One of the things that has excited us is to stop and listen – to listen to God; to listen to each other in the faith community – a paraphrase of one of his quotes would be: “listen to the youngest member of the community as it is from there the answer to the problem will come”. We’re not announcing a clever idea of mission, prayer, listening – we’re reminding ourselves of these key areas.
Lent will be a great time to listen to one another and to explore where you are with living the mission of Jesus. How does it make you feel?
Listening to the community – many churches are doing astounding jobs of engaging their community, but lots of other churches struggle with the outside the church work. We want to encourage you and help you to listen to your communities.
Phil Dykes
Review, Plan, Act. Once we’ve reviewed we plan, how do we do that? We come up with things we think God might be saying.
Andy Saunders
Smart maybe what you are already but sometimes it is helpful to understand what you are already doing. It maybe worth buying everone a pack of smarties to suck in the meeting.
Resources
pMAP Guide for all of your Parish
Preparing to Act – Advent prayer and scripture resources
PCC pMAP Guide
You will have a companion to join with you on the journey
Church Growth seminars
Phil Dykes
The pMAP is a live document:
We have a vocation to be a human being, to be a disciple but we bring different vocations, gifts, experiences and insights. Surely each church community has a vocation that is different – for such a time as this if you read the book of Esther. Why has God called you together for that unique moment? So don’t look over the fence, don’t try to be someone else because you’re not. You might not be able to do something that others do and you have done if you’re able to do what God is asking you to do now.
Workshops
Engaging with the missing generations – Andy Saunders & Pete Maidment
Phil Dykes – Key Questions
I received this recent mailing about New Forest Nightstop:
New Forest Nightstop is the only provider of emergency accommodation in the New Forest for young people age 16-24, who find themselves suffering homelessness and this is all done through the homes of trained and approved volunteers. There is absolutely no other emergency provision; hostels or shelters, in the New Forest. The first thing people usually say to me is ‘Are there really people homeless in the New Forest?’ Unfortunately, this is a reality that people are very much unaware of. The forest is mainly an affluent area with a very rural spread. This means that homelessness, as people usually understand it, goes very much unnoticed. The young people we help are not the street-hardened rough sleepers people typically think of in regards to homelessness but everyday teenagers, suffering a crisis, in need of help and protection.
Through our team of 26 volunteers Nightstop provides free emergency overnight accommodation, meals, laundry, baths, travel costs, toiletries, start-up furniture, food parcel referrals, start-up home energy costs, practical support with benefit claims, housing forms and the progression of their housing case through housing panels, with a multi-agency approach to the best outcomes with the means we have. But Nightstop hosts offers much more than this to a young person; a listening ear, a sense of belonging and trust, a future, protection from rape, drugs, abuse, increased employability, offering security to not only the young person but their education; 69% of young people who stayed in the last year were in education, training or employment.
New Forest Nightstop has just entered its 12th year and in that time we have provided over 2000 nights of safety to vulnerable young people from our local communities. Our aim is to save them from reaching the streets and becoming victims there. We are hard at work trying to bring an awareness of Nightstop and the tragedies it prevents to the communities around us.
But the reality is that, at the moment, we do not have enough hosts, particularly in the Hythe and Dibden area, for the number of young people needing help.
Please follow the link below to visit our website for a real insight into our work and activities. You can read stories from the young people that have been supported by Nightstop, experiences of our volunteers and even watch our short film about homelessness in the New Forest.
I hope you have found this of interest and I look forward to hearing from you if you feel you can help us in any way.
Catriona Duncan
Nightstop Support Worker
Community First New Forest
Tel: 01425 478391Email: Nightstopsupport@cfnf.org.uk
Web: www.newforestnightstop.org.uk