58 years ago to the day, the world experienced its most boring day - April 11th 1954 was very dull.
Apparently, it’s official. I heard it on a QI rerun last night and then checked it on Google, so I guess it must be right…! Nothing of interest happened. No really famous people were born or died. No wars or acts of terror were committed. No celebrity weddings occurred. Nothing. A whole 24 hour period where there were no note-worthy headlines or jaw-dropping incidents of any description.
Or so the media would have us believe.
The gospel reality, however, is that no day can ever be truly boring. Every day is full of exceptional acts of grace. And if you would like to take a moment to ponder, you might find yourself smiling at just how extraordinary every day really is:
And then there’s the miracle of new life – each baby knit together by God himself. The fact that our every thought is known by the loving and holy ruler of the universe. The wonder that God is tender enough to lead mere humans like us through each day of our lives until he calls us home.
Incredible truths (from Colossians 1 and Psalm 139). Extraordinary privilege. All stemming from an awesome God.
Boring? Never!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
(1 Peter 1 v 3-5)
A happy Easter to all our blog-readers. As Martin Luther once wrote (and sung):
In the bonds of death he lay
Who for our offense was slain
But the Lord is risen today
Christ hath brought us life again
Wherefore let us all rejoice
Singing loud with a cheerful voice
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah indeed. He is risen!
Spirituality. What is it? Do children have it? Does it change over time? Questions that many a children's worker has asked themselves over the years.
In this seminar, first given at the Bible Centred Youthworker conference earlier this year, Mel Lacy from Oak Hill Theological College looks at how a child's spirituality grows as they do.
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
It's a great question. But how do you explain it simply? And at the same time inspire people to give reading it a go?
"But I don't want to sit down... I want to be out doing something..."
A familiar cry during the Easter break. Children liberated from the structure of school, and fueled with more chocolate than might be ideal, want to bounce. And why not? They are children after all!
But how can parents (and grandparents and aunts and godparents and friends) harness some of that boundless energy and creativity and use it this week to help their children understand the gospel better?
One way is to encourage them to tell the Easter story not just listen to it. A drama, a puppet show, a powerpoint presentation, a collage or painting, a photo story, an acted scene videoed and edited by them, a song written and performed all engage children (and adults for that matter) in the Easter story in new ways.
"Expression deepens impression" as the old adage goes. We learn something well when we explain it to others.
So tonight, before the chaos of the bank holiday weekend sets in, why not get out an age-appropriate version of the Bible, a box of creative tools and set the children you are naturally going to be coming into contact with the task of retelling the Easter story? The only parameters are that they need to be faithful to the biblical text ... other than that, they can let their creative juices flow. And then promise them that you'll look at it after lunch on Easter day so they know just how interested you are in what they are doing.
Hours of fun and great potential for spiritual growth this Easter.
So go on, let them tell it back this year ...
Almost a year ago, we posted about how you get a religious view into the secular UK media. And we suggested there are three ways to do it:
So, turn to the Telegraph today, and you can read the views of Bettany Hughes, who coincidentally is fronting a new BBC2 series and is an “expert in ancient history” (is there anyone, really, who is truly an expert in the whole of ancient history?!). She is claiming that the story of women in Christianity has been suppressed.
“Who knows whether God is a girl?” she muses. Presumably, God does, and could choose to tell us if He (I use the word advisedly) saw fit.
Anyway, it’s a great example of a Type-One Christianity-in-the-news story. As is this one, questioning what gender—if any—Jesus was. I’m not going to comment on it, because I think it’s groundless, and disrespectful to the Son of God.
While pieces like that continue to fill column inches, here are the three headlines we predicted a year ago you wouldn’t see, and which we haven’t noticed in the intervening twelve months. But they have been happening, unreported:
