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Why is it so important for us to try and comprehend how little we have to do in order to have our lives transformed by God? It is important in order that we can truly live a full and rich life that pleases God. On Sunday I was privileged to give the second talk in a series of 6 based on the New Testament letter to the Ephesians and the talk called “Good Work” was based on chapter 2.

Starting with two key characters, Apostle Paul and the reformer Martin Luther I explain why God’s work is the source and catalyst of any good work we undertake.

Join with the congregation of newlifers at The House in Scunthorpe as we learn how to have a new perspective on living a life full of good work.

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 A few years ago I was on a ministry visit to North America with a colleague. My friend was asked to give the keynote sermon in a very large church. The theme of his talk was about how God has a solution for every predicament we find ourselves in. He would say things like, “you may feel like your life is a mess and hopeless, but, God can bring order out of chaos”. The theme and his delivery were as usual, excellent. However he seemed to have forgotten that we were in North America where words can have different meanings. I must admit, I and a few hundred others tried to stifle our chuckles when he kept repeating, “No matter what you’re going through – God’s “but” is big enough”!

Have you ever felt that people just don’t understand you or what you’re going through?

The Bible tells us that, “those who call on the Name of the Lord will be saved”, and “Taste & see that the Lord is good”.

Why not take some time today to talk to God. Let Him know how you feel and what you really need. Be yourself. He understands your language.

 A well-respected preacher and theologian was visiting a church in Africa. He was invited to preach, and, wanting to be courteous, asked how he might say, “good evening,” in the local dialect. His interpreter told him what to say, and as he walked into the main church building he observed some notices on two doors, which were obviously toilets. The preacher noted down what it said on the two doors and thought he’d give an even more impressive greeting.

As he stood up to speak, he said what he thought was, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” There was a stunned silence, followed by giggles and then laughter. The preacher turned to his interpreter and asked, “What did I just say?” With a broad grin, the interpreter said… “Good evening, water closets and urinals!”

If you don’t understand the language you can get into all manner of scrapes. The Bible is full of ways to avoid the scrapes of life but most people haven’t got a bible in an up-to-date translation that they can understand. Pop into a bible-believing church this week and ask for one.

Have you seen how expensive it is to get into Blackpool Tower? I was there a couple of weeks ago and was so stunned when I read the notice that I almost got hit by a passing tram.  Needless to say, my family didn’t go up the tower, we’ll save our money and visit Paris again to visit the real thing.

I know I’m probably being a little unfair to Blackpool Tower, but it was designed to bring a touch of the Parisian flair to our West coast even though on a somewhat smaller scale. It was modelled on the original Eiffel Tower but isn’t really in the same league. If someone asks me if I’ve seen the wonderful view from the Eiffel Tower its no use me saying “yes … in Blackpool.”

In the 2001 U.K census, 71% of the population described themselves as Christian. That’s over two thirds of the population. Interestingly most of these people would be the first to admit that they don’t know much about Christ at all, that they don’t learn life-lessons from the bible, that they don’t know what it is to be loved by God and most importantly that they don’t believe Jesus is alive has a plan for them.

I would encourage you to become the real thing. When you have experienced the life changing love of Jesus, the view is amazing.

Visit a bible-believing church this weekend and ask someone how Jesus can change your life for the better.

The streets were strangely deserted on Wednesday evening as many stayed in to watch Arsenal play Barcelona in the final of the Champions League. It was a great match to watch but ended up with the mighty Spanish side outclassing the weary and depleted London club. All the grumbling & groaning of Arsenal’s manager and players after the game and their insistence that “we was robbed by the ref”, didn’t alter the fact that everyone has known for a while that Barcelona are the best team in Europe. I guess we all know what its like to have our hopes dashed and can forgive Arsenal for their initial sour reactions.

A life without hope is a dreadful thing. Better to have your hope dashed at the end of a journey though than to never have hoped at all. Hope carried a decent English club to the biggest stage in Europe. What do you hope for? A secure future? Success?

God says in the Bible, “I have plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”. If you place your trust in God through Jesus you can be assured of having hopes that will never be dashed. Visit a bible-believing church this weekend and ask for some of this hope.

Unlike Arsenal strikers – Jesus will never let you down

A few weeks ago we arranged for a builder to do a small job rebuilding a wall at the front of our church grounds. It only needed two or three men using simple tools a few days to complete.

The morning that the builders arrived so did a vast army of workmen along with diggers, dump trucks, pneumatic drills and tons of tarmac. By the time they had commenced work a 50 metre stretch of Ashby Road’s path had been coned off along with a diversion stopping people from accessing Brumby Wood Lane. Many passers by wondered what on earth were doing. Were we perhaps re-routing roads so they forced people into our car park. (There’s a thought).

Actually it was a coincidence. The council had decided to commence work constructing cycle paths on the same day as our rather less significant job.

The true Christian message has an uncanny parallel. Whether you are happy or not, successful or not, if you want to be absolutely assured of your eternal destiny then you need to have a relationship with Jesus. Seems hard? Not really. If you begin rebuilding your life according to His plans, He will turn up in a big way to construct you a life full of hope and purpose.

Visit a bible-believing church this weekend and ask them to point you to Jesus. Only He has the plans for your life

Whilst I was walking into a very busy Scunthorpe town centre last week a revelation hit me as I was engaging in my usual practice of studying the people. If you want to avoid being crushed in a crowd when shopping – just make sure the first things you take with you are a clipboard and pen, you are ensured a wide berth.

It’s amazing the variety of responses people have when they are approached by researchers carrying clipboards. More often than not – people just sigh & lie. They say, “I’m sorry I can’t”, when actually, they can. They say, “I’m in a rush”, when quite clearly they’re not. They say, “I’m already late”, when of course, they’re not even due anywhere.

Here’s a tip, if you really don’t want to complete a questionnaire just smile and say, “I’m sorry I don’t feel it’s the best use of my time right now”. The researcher is happy because you’ve been cheerfully polite and you are happy because you have
escaped.

A proverb in the Bible says “Worry weighs a person down; a cheery word makes them happy”.  Make Scunthorpe smile this week – be nice to someone when they’re least expecting it.

This week, the leading news stories on TV, Radio, Broadsheet and Tabloid have not been on the subject of global warming, earthquakes, royal and political scandals or even the uncertain future of the spice girls – but on the more seemingly mundane topic of beef.

Politicians, Civil Servants, Farmers, Butchers, Supermarket Owners and even Mrs Birtwhistle down the street – have all had their fair share of press journalists asking for  comments on the Minister’s recent Common’s announcement. Mr Cunningham revealed to the world on Wednesday that, in order to protect the public from even a negligible risk of the disease CJD being transmitted – he is banning the sale of all beef on the bone.

His forthright and sweeping response to scientific evidence has caused quite a stir. Early signs show overwhelmingly that Mr & Mrs Public would rather have simply been advised of the situation and had the choice left to them whether to purchase boned  or de-boned beef. After all – who is he to tell us what we can and can’t eat. However; I seem to think that if the Minister for Health had done just that – he would have been branded an uncaring risk taker, waging the health of the nation against an unrelenting killer virus.

Of course there is one malignant and deathly disease that we have been given a choice over. Only, in this case, should we decide to take a gamble with it – the odds are stacked firmly in the disease’s favour. When God saw that humanity was losing it’s fight against sin, (such a small word for a large problem) He sent Jesus (His son) as a One Hundred Percent effective antidote. Many people for many different reasons have decided to accept the offer of an antidote. Some were facing a hopeless future – and now have a future full of promise. Others were searching intently for a reason for being  - and have now found it. Many more  were simply wishing they would stumble upon that special “something” that would bring them fulfilment – stumble they did – and find fulfilment they did too.

It’s a pity that when faced with a disease far more serious than anything transmitted by cattle meat, and with a 100% chance of catching it – the vast majority of people use their longed for “free choice” to ignore the antidote and instead opt for eating their damaging fill.

I guess the good news for Jack Cunningham is that even God can’t please everyone, all the time.