West View Baptist Church, Hartlepool

A family friendly church in the town of Hartlepool

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Wet and dry fleeces, a mighty warrior, Sheraton Court and gathering to learn

I’m a bit late with the blog this week. We’ve packed a great deal into the week.

The Hyde family, Tim, Eleanor and Jonny led worship on Sunday. Tim brought us the Word and looked at Judges 6 and 7. He reflected on the fact that he was blessed to have been tutored by someone who was part of the committee who translated the NIV Bible.

Judges sits in the history of Israel. People had settled in the land, God continually raised up leaders for the people. In chapter 6 Gideon is visited by the angel of the Lord. He’s threshing wheat in secret,

The angel  confuses Gideon by saying “The lord is with you mighty warrior.”

Tim asked us to think about how would you thresh wheat in a wine press? How do you get the height and the wind to separate the wheat from the chaff?

Go and save Israel is the message and chapter 7 is all about Gideon taking back Israel from the Midianites .

The story is full of irony. Gideon is introduced as the mighty man of valour, Gideon was full of fear and doubt. In the time of Judges they’re in the cycle of people forgetting God and being punished. Peoplke lived in constant fear hiding in caves in the mountains. Gideon is trying to thresh wheat. Anyone tried it? The separation of the chaff is vital yet Gideon is doing this inside without the benefit of the wind. Gideon surveys the destruction wreaked by the Midianites.

Doubt and fear makes him doubt. But his doubts are out of ignorance. Gideon is a caricature of the whole of Israel. He is a clear marker of someone who has sunk to a low point full of fear and doubt.

A man who is crippled with fear and doubt yet is called to lead the people into battle. Gideon when being addressed as a mighty man of valour probably looked over his shoulder looking for someone else!

Gideon questions the wisdom of being face to face with god. In the midst of fear and doubt God says I am with you. It’s encouraging that God calls people like you and me. Gideon asks for more proof. He’s heard it before. He goes to get lunch for God and God spontaneously combusts the lunch. Gideon perceived the truth.

Gideon is clothed by the spirit of the Lord. It speaks of protection, comfort security and empowerment for the task ahead. Think of what Jesus said . Gideon overcomes his fears and sounds the call to battle. Gideon is the contender for the Lord not for Baal. He still doesn’t get it. If you were wrapped in God.s presence you’d marh straight into battle. Gideon wants another test, he puts the fleece on the ground . But he squeezes out the water and still doesn’t believe. He asks for more proof.

Gideon has become desensitised to God, Are we like him?. No one else in the Bible gets more encounters with God but still doesn’t get it. God is patient and that is good news for us all. Ironic that God chose a smaller weaker battle force. God wanted them to be left in no doubt as to who wins the battle. God gets directly involved for the first time in picking the team. Those afraid didn’t need asking twice before leaving the battle, but there were still too many. How people drank then decided the team. Only 300!are left. No cup no glass, how would you drink?

God was picking the weaker army. God is underlining he is the victor here. He’s picking an army using as criteria skills and abilities that have no use in battle.  Tim posed this as a question for us all. For the church to teach another generation do we need more or less people, bigger or smaller buildings, or no buildings at all. No coincidence that this follows Deborah . She attributes without prompting the thanks to God.

Gideon’s success goes to his head, he thinks about taking taxes from the people, Gideon is the only one who doesn’t get the title of judge. Ironic that no other judge dies as much harm to the spiritual health of Israel.

We are just like Gideon. He’s not an example to be followed, he’s like you and me. The story is about a patient god who meets us in our fears and doubts to accomplish his purposes and it doesn’t matter how many of us there are. Is the fact that churches are closing good or bad? God’s church will survive even if ours or yours do not. God is seeking out people who are following him. There are times when his ways don’t fit with ours and it all feels risky. Gideon teaches us to trust in God. But if you want to know about how to celebrate victory look to the song of Deborah rather than the actions of Gideon.

Later on Sunday we caught the last few minutes of the England football match as we joined our friends at Sheraton Court for a short service. It was nice to see the welcome we got and the efforts the staff had made for the residents to celebrate England’s victory.  Not quite the song of Deborah but we did join the residents in a small chorus of “We’ll meet Again” as we were leaving.

On Tuesday we hosted a new series of workshops for those interested in leading worship or preaching. We had friends from Oxford Road and the Headland join us. Pray for those taking part in this new venture as they explore new ideas.

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Veggie Tales and Tumblin’ Walls: Humbly serving God

Ian led our Father’s day worship today assisted by Amanda and Tim brought us the word.

Tim continued with his excursion through the Old Testament highlights He shared that is not actually something you get to preach on very often. Tim was very enthusiastic about the way that Veggie Tales tell todays reading very well. Those involved in children’s work knew what he was on about but there were puzzled looks from some in the congregation. I’ve included a link at the end so you can experience the Veggie Tales story.

Tim read from Joshua Chapter 5:13 onwards about the fall of Jericho. He shared his own feelings on this and similar passages from the Old Testamement. He asked us if we saw the difficulty and the problems. If it was easy as the children’s tales make out. He sort of regrets doing this highlights tour. Killing everyone is a subject that causes real problems. Richard Dawkins uses this story as evidence God doesn’t exist.
Tim stressed the importance of being careful what we read into this and how we deal with this. He had read some commentaries on this. Need to recognise this comes from an ancient world where war and destruction was an everyday occurrence.

God’s people are different and are separated. This is part of a much longer story of God providing a promised land. Jericho was a fortress standing in the way of that Promised Land and that needed to be dealt with.

Deuteronomy Chapter 20 v16 to 18 sets out the fact that things need to be destroyed. A necessary step in building purity. Tim says it is not necessarily how it happened, and if you read further on not everyone was destroyed. God’s bigger plan is to establish His people . Despite uncomfortable things in the passage there are things that will help us. Recommitting themselves to God was a start. But this was going to be hard work and Joshua needs to look to the heaven. First thing we notice is the appearance of a helper. God asserts that the battle is his and the commander of the Lord’s army appears. It’s like forming a football team and you’re struggling for players and Renaldo or whoever you like turns up. Ultimate the responsibility does not lie with Joshua. The God of the bible has a knack of tailoring his appearance to suit the needs of his people . No more evident than with Jesus.

As Joshua begins to realise who the commander is, Joshua understands God isn’t on anyone’s side. Sometimes it is more important to know who God is rather than what his plans are. Into desperate, hopeless, circumstances comes the appearance of help. God shows up on a way we often don’t expect.

The methods of God’s battle plan are a little strange, armed men , the sevens, the horns, the Ark! The Ark of the Covenant is referenced ten times and holds centre stage, it is the Ark that shows God’s presence with his people, this is what will make the difference!

You can imagine doing all the things asked, looking very silly, imagine the tensions waiting for the signal to break the silence. The emphasis here is on just how passive God’s people are and how important God’s presence is here. Leaves no doubt, God wins this battle not Joshua. God’’s tactics win out. God invites us to be involved in building God’s Kingdom. We do have a tendency to obscure his glory. Paul writes that the overwhelming power comes from God not us. Think about what we’ve seen in the Trump meeting with North Korea this week . It is incredible. Some of these things he does are ridiculous but what if they are foolish things acting in God’s power ? Will this lead to world peace?

Last thing is the demands placed on God’s people in verses 10 and 16. The writer shared some instructions first with the people. The writer emphasised the importance of the rules that need to, and must be followed. Obedience to God’s word is more important than the victory. It’s not what you do that matters, it’s how you do it! The temptation here was to grab loot, but God says no.

No doubt modern film makers would focus on the battle. But that’s not the focus here, In half a verse (20) the writes sums up what happens. Our response needs to be that of humble obedient servants through whom God can work, 1 Peter chapter 1 v16 “Be holy because I am holy”. Our battles shouldn’t be about winning minor victories but about winning for God.

There’s a story of salvation here for Rahab. She was not just someone saving spies. He is God in heaven above recognising she was a women of faith who believed in God. Rahab is found in Christ’s line according to Matthew 1:5. God chose a pagan prostitute to save. Let us have the simple faith that Rahab found and may our pursuit of God’s goals be as humble. Come have your way amongst us today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDpM_j1MZG8

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The adventures of Little Ted, being true to Scripture and a church of cracked pots

I feel like I’ve not been away from the church this weekend but that’s not a bad thing. On Saturday I helped Lynn with the IT for the Level 3 Safeguarding course she ran for leaders from across the Northern Baptist region. Even though I’ve spent a large part of my career in safeguarding I still learnt a lot, with a different focus on churches rather than schools. One memory aid that can stand us in good stead whenever we’re trying to find out what is troubling someone is Little Ted. Lynn used a Little Ted to remind us all of the best type of questions to ask that don’t assume or lead people.

Tell me about….

Explain what you mean….

Describe what happened when…

All of the course participants were given a lot to think about and now have the tools to make their churches safe environments for children and vulnerable adults.

 

 

On Sunday Jonny (aka Jacob!) led our worship and Amanda supported him with singing.

Jonny used the image of a Prayer tree to encourage people to think about issues to pray for.

Matty shared his thoughts on the importance of reading the bible from 2 Timothy 3:16 word for today. He drew on Paul’s teaching and cautioned us against the temptation to change scripture to fit today’s society. His conclusion was straightforward and direct. “Preach as it is written.”

Yvette brought the Word today, drawing from 2 Corinthians 4:13 to 5:1.

We know that if this earthly temple is destroyed we have an eternal house in heaven, one not built by human hands.

1 Corinthians dealt specifically with gifts . Paul wrote this letter to combat false prophets. Corinth was a busy port worshipping Greek and Roman gods. Anyone threatening these religions threatens the economic stability. Paul was threatening that stability.

We do need God we can’t do things on our own. Paul in his teaching was threatening the people making money. Just like in today’s society we should be an example of difference. We  don’t get even we forgive, love your neighbor live according to His Word glorify His Word.

We have a society of young people with health problems and image disorders . True beauty’s letting Jesus shine out. We simply need to realise that Jesus thought that we’re worth dying for.

The world says don’t rock the boat. Jesus says don’t conform to society . The Corinthians were struggling so Paul writes to support them. Bizarrely though Paul boasts about his weaknesses and faults .

He refers to clay jars, to poor pots, the sort that your average Corinthian householder would use to hides jewels. Paul is calling us cracked pots filled with the treasure of Jesus.

Darkness flees from us simply because we didn’t arrive on our own. We bring the light of Jesus . Darkness has no choice but to flee. Jesus is the light at the end of the tunnel. We need to keep going and persevere.

If we’re honest about ourselves, about our cracks and chips, that’s where people see light of Jesus shining through those cracks. That’s when it’s clear to people what we believe in.

Yvette  shared that the more she learnt about how much God loves us the less she worries about what other people think. Put our trust in God. We need true belief so it shows in our face, in how we talk to other people.

Yvette also shared how she keeps track of scriptures that speak to her and mean something. She writes the Scriptures on cards and keeps them in a tin. We need to be aware of signs and wonders. Holy Spirit moved when Paul preached. Faith without doubting only comes when you believe it.

God can use you to speak to someone, if you’re nervous or unsure say it in prayer, or ask leader or a friend in church.

Some have the gift of praying in tongues. Yvette encouraged us to ask for it , it’s your private prayer language.

Pray the bible, speak the words in prayer. Jesus didn’t go in for dramatic actions all the time. He often simply spoke and people were healed, demons were cast out.

Yvette said that as usual her message would include mention of her mum. She recall a time when some atheists asked Yvette’s mum to pray for them . They could see she was God’s friend . She believed and that belief shone throughand touched them.

Paul in chapter 11 23 lists his momentary troubles. Let’s be honest to us this doesn’t sound momentary yet despite all of that Paul continued to travel and to preach. He believed in God;s promises, he kept going, kept preaching, kept trusting. God never intended church to be stationary, he wants us all outside,  so walk along your street, pray over your street, take a photo we’ll put it up pray about it, use it as a backdrop to sing praise over.

When we get to meet him we will all want to get told well done good and faithful servant.

Yvette also shared what she thought her aunt Alithea and her mum would be doing in heaven, singing and dancing. She also thought her mum would have a Zoo rather than a mansion! Glory waits for us in heaven and will be worth all the struggles and pain. God sees us as we can be. We cannot disillusion god. Who we are belongs to God. One day these cracked pots will be stunning vases. Join with us in making earth a little more like heaven.

Ian concluded our service by leading us all in communion.

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The visit of an old friend, Ten Commandments and a miracle for Melissa.

Amanda and Esther met up  with Judith and travelled to the Cherish Women’s conference in Leeds. I’m going to ask them to write something for this blog so  they can share what it was like. It’s always fun and they come back to the church refreshed, empowered by the Spirit and full of enthusiasm. I knew it was going well when I got the message at work,  “Congratulations, it’s a boy!” I’ve been married to Amanda long enough to have learned to expect anything. I guessed before she even confirmed it that this would be related to the work of Compassion.  Sure enough Amanda had decided along with 999 others to sponsor a child from Kenya. A thousand children finding sponsors in just one Christian event is pretty amazing.

Amanda and Ian led today’s service and Ray Richardson  brought us the Word. Ray was described by some in the congregation as an old friend… a really old friend. He’s having trouble getting over this, but we hope he’ll come to terms with it eventually (Ray, there’s a reason why the Church calls them Elders!!).

We set aside part of our service to pray for a lady  called Melissa who will be undergoing surgery tomorrow (4 June). She’s in need of a miracle and we also sang a song called Miracles as part of the service. The song was chosen before the request for prayer was received. God’s timing is always perfect. I’ve included a link to the song at the end of this blog if you’ve not heard it before.

Ray brought today’s message in his own unique style. It is fair to say that both the children and those who are slightly older learnt a lot from today’s Children’s talk about remembering the first five of the Ten Commandments. Ray is a shrewd operator. If we want to hear the last five,  we have to ask him back again. Ray started his talk with his new Bible, a bible that really let the light of God shine. You have to see it to realise how fun it is for the kids. “How did he do that?” was the most common question. Ray taught the kids to remember the first five commandments by holding up  fingers to represent each of the commandments.  I’ll now never forget that the fourth commandment is about keeping the Sabbath day holy, simply by the fact that when holding up 4 fingers,  the thumb is resting!.

Yvette read Luke 10 verses 25 to 37 for us.

Ray highlighted the fact that only the first four of the ten commandments were about God. The remaining six were about our relationships with each other.  Ray highlighted the fact it is a good job he didn’t make the rules. If Ray were God he’d have made nine about himself and only one about relationships. The expert in the law in the Scripture Yvette read should have known the answers but he didn’t.

Ray shared the story of the two people who were going to recite Psalm 23. One was a trained speaker the other a young man simply reciting the words that meant something to his heart. The young man went first, and he stumbled and hesitated as he shared in a low voice the words that meant so,  so much to him. He finished to an awestruck silence. The professional speaker declined to recite the Psalm. He said simply “I know the words, but he knows the Saviour!”

The expert in the law in the passage from Luke was in a similar position. He knew the words of the law and indeed we all can know this if we study the first five books of the Bible. But, importantly,  he did not know the author of the law.

If we really love God we must give him our attention and keep his name holy. Ray suggested that we should all look at the differences in the emphasis of the Ten Commandments between Exodus and Deuteronomy.

One of the key points is not to do your neighbours any harm. This is equally true in business. Do  not be fraudulent, in fact be generous. Ray highlighted his own experience at Matty’s garage,  where Matty on learning that Ray needed two  new tyres paid for them himself.

Ray also shared his recent experience outside his own home. His wife alerted him to the fact that there was a man leaning oddly against the wall outside their house. Ray looked out and recognised that lean. He’d seen it amongst his own colleagues in the Merchant Navy once they had a bit too much to drink. Ray recalled once pulling a double shift to cover for someone he’d found leaning against the wall in exactly that way. Rather than get him into bother he’d packed him off to bed and done his shift for him.

The man outside Ray’s house seemed to have left,  but when they went out to check they found him unconscious in the road. Despite not knowing the man, a blanket was brought, assistance given and the emergency services were called.  Ray, Kathleen and their neighbours did not choose to walk by on the other side of the road. Imagine if you can what would happen if we live the commandments. Society would look so different.

Ray highlighted that we need to love God passionately,  We need to be sharing lives with Him and God wants to be personal with us. Ray asked us all to think on the passage about Adam and Eve and in particular how they walked with God in friendship, without shame or fear.

Ray referred to how long he’d been married.  He still remembered the first time him and Kathleen met. He recalled the silly grin everyone would see that showed he was in love. He also highlighted how his mother had taught him that she loved all her children equally and that Ray in turn found this himself in raising his own family.

Ray used the questioning between Tevye and Golde in the musical”Fiddler on the roof.” as an example. Getting confirmation that they love each other after 25 years “is nice to know”.

We need to laugh out loud with God, and sometimes we need to cry with God, it speaks of who we are and what we are.

Ray asked us “Do you bare your soul with a stranger?” The answer of course is probably not. However Ray said that there is  nothing he wouldn’t share with God.

John 3:16 demonstrates the strength of character of God. Ray stated I know god loves me because of what
He did on Calvary. He used as a way to illustrate  this the words of one of Matty’s favourite singers, Paul Wheater from North Yorkshire. Paul when asked the question “How much does God love us says “God stretched out his arm this wide and then he died!” (Imagine Jesus on the cross and you’ll get the picture.)

Do things for other people without asking permission, don’t wait just do the right thing.

Ray illustrated the story of the Samaritan as a man who’s returning with his shopping. Mrs Samaritan has sent him for a bottle of wine for their guests and some oil to finish the cooking. He’s returning feeling smug, he’s got the bottle of wine, oil and even some change in his pocket. He hasn’t spent all the money so he’s going to be in her good books. He does not realise he’s going to come across a victim of crime. Imagine our own pastor walking on the other side of the road, imagine the educated man walking on the other side. It wouldn’t happen.

Half a bottle of wine, half a bottle of oil, change given. Fast forward to after he’s used the wine and oil to treat the wounds and the change to pay the innkeeper.

Imagine the scene,  the angry wife asking “Where have you been! What have you done with the oil and the wine? Where’s the change?”  But she doesn’t .., she waits for the story because she knows her husband.

The expert in the Laws realised he didn’t love God as much as he should. Did he recognise himself as one that  would walk past?

It’s not easy to help someone in distress. It’s not easy to choose not to walk past on the other side of the road. Ray recalled a lady who  collapsed at a bus stop. A nurse was giving CPR assistance and asked Ray to do mouth to mouth. Not nice but still did it. The old lady survived and was taken to hospital. She lasted long enough to say goodbye to her family. That has to  be worth a little discomfort.

Miracles by Jesus Culture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vUvi-A75BU 

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A table feast, a dozen songs and a Sheraton crowd

It’s been a busy bank holiday weekend for the folks from West View. Our Filling Station on Friday was well attended with some of our regulars although we did have to break out the towels for some of our guests courtesy of a rather heavy and unexpected rain shower.

We had a lovely compliment paid to the team. One of our Filling Station friends described the conversation he has with members of our team as been uplifting and helping him with his confidence and finding ways to sort out his problems. He described talking to the people from our church team as “speaking to the ears of God”.  What a fantastic way to describe our simple offer of a community meal and friendship.

Our Sunday service was a little different this week. We had a café style to the service, with a break for coffee and cakes in the middle rather than at the end. Ian and Amanda led with the music for us and Esther led on the scriptures and activities for our children centred service. Our  focus today was on the table of hospitality and the invitation to share the feast that is what God invites us to share. Esther took us through Romans 12 v 1 – 2  and v 9- 21.

 

 

 

We also looked at Psalm 23. V 5 -6 and Isaiah 25 v 6-8. We encouraged all to do something different by inviting them to draw 0n their tablecloths and share their ideas on what they would like to see as part of a feast. Esther shared a number of photos showing family and church family celebrations and the street party held for the recent royal wedding. She also shared her own recent experience of finding herself almost looking for excuses when she was asked to provide hospitality and accommodation for a visitor. This is a danger we all face either in responding to an invite or indeed in offering an invitation or hospitality ourselves.

We also played the parable of the Great Banquet to help our young and young at heart to think about the message here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BZwdwpE7_9c

We also had a short service at Sheraton Court on the afternoon. As our pastor was away on holiday we used a collection of videos on a laptop in order to lead the service. We continued the theme from the morning. We had so many residents and family members we ran out of chairs and song sheets. I’m always amazing at the lengths that the staff in Sheraton Court go to in order to provide stimulation and memory prompts. Their mining area gives an example of the thought they put into things for the residents.