A New Song

“A New Song” by Gill Silver

Gill’s new book recounts the history of the group of house fellowships associated with the late George North and Norman Meeten. Starting in the late 1960s this grew to become a UK-wide network and through overseas mission to about 70 countries. The book is written to bless God, to honour the work of these men and many others who have followed – right down to the present day, as a record for posterity, as a reminder of our origins and to spread this amazing story to the next generations.

The book is formally released on 1 April 2024 and the link it on the publisher’s web site is:

https://onwardsandupwards.org/a-new-song

Prior to this date, there are copies available in the Fellowships at a special price of £11 with all proceeds going to the work of Armenian Ministries. If you are not able to obtain a copy this way, it is now available to pre-order on Amazon for £13.99.

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The Perseverence of the Saints

A meditation on what it cost Jesus to become a man.

This article is based on the slides produced for a recent Boxing Day talk at church.

John 3:16 demonstrates the scale of God’s love towards us in that He was willing to give us His Son. ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’

Phil 2:6 ‘who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,…’ The following two verses demonstrate the scale of this statement.

John 1:1-4 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men’. This is an amazing description of Jesus as creator of all that exists including our vast Universe and all the marvellously designed life that we have on earth. The next verse from Colossians confirms this truth. (The following videos shed light on the size of our universe and the hallmarks of design we see in the natural world.)

Col 1:15-17 ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.’

Interestingly the Bible indicates that as a man Jesus clearly understood His position in the Godhead. In Luke 2:49 Jesus at the age of 12/13 tells His parents that He must be about His Fathers business. When talking to Nicodemus (John 3:13) Jesus declares that He knows heavenly things because He comes from heaven. Likewise in John 8:14 Jesus tells the crowd in Jerusalem that He knew where He came from and in verse 58 He tells the same crowd that before Abraham was I AM. When the Pharisees challenged Him about the crowd praising Him during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem Jesus remarked that had they not praised Him the very stones would have cried out (Matt 17:5). This is very similar to the situation when Jesus healed 10 lepers and only one returned to worship Him – rather than rejecting His worship instead He asked where were the other nine lepers. (Luke 17:17). Another example of Jesus’s implicit knowledge of His Godhead is the time He said to the women at well if only you knew who was asking you for a drink (John 4:10) – this is similar to Jesus’s comment to Martha that Mary had chosen the better part by sitting at His feet listening to Him rather than being busy serving Him – the assumption being that Jesus, being God, had something so important to say that it took precedence over everything else. (On the Mount of Transfiguration God witnessed to Jesus’s identity by saying the He was His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased and that we should listen to Him (Luke 9:35) – God also demonstrated Jesus’s divine status through the many miracles He did (Luke 7:19-23) and as the following video shows modern miracles are still a way that God continues to testify to the fact Jesus is the Son of God.

Therefore it is in the light of this self-knowledge of His Godhead that we can see how much Jesus sacrificed by coming to earth as a man – which the next few verses will illustrate.

Phil 2:7 ‘but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a
bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.’

Heb 10:5 ‘Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire but a body You have prepared for Me.”’ This meant that Jesus would experience all our physical limitations e.g. tiredness and pain – as Hebrews 4:15 states He ‘was in all points tempted as we are…’.

Isaiah 53:2 ‘For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.’ This verse demonstrates His humility in that He grew up in a poor home, was a social outcast as He appeared to be born out of wedlock and as Nathanael commented “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:47). In coming to earth Jesus divested Himself of all His outward glory.

Isaiah 53:3 ‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.’ Alongside the animosity of the religious leaders even His own family did not understand Him (John 7:5); the people of Nazareth were offended by Him (Matt 13:57) and Jesus was grieved at the unbelief of the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum (Luke 10:13-15).

Hebrews 12:3(a) ‘For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself,’ Throughout His public ministry, despite the mighty miracles He performed which testified to His divinity, almost all the religious leaders kept on contradicting what He said and did so to His face – yet He was the creator of heaven and earth. This point is clearly made in His conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:10-13).

As the following verses show, our meditation on what it cost Jesus to become a man, should encourage us to persevere in this race of life with all its trials and temptations – we will do well to remember the final request of the Lord’s Prayer ‘do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ (Luke 11:4).

Hebrews 12:3 ‘Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted’.

Rev 2:10 ‘Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer… Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.’

James 1:12 ‘Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.’

Revelation 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”


The Persecuted Church

Following my talk on the Persecuted Church yesterday morning, here is a brief summary:-

The following information comes from the ‘Overview Section’ near the beginning of the recent government report on the persecution of Christians:-

https://christianpersecutionreview.org.uk/report/

‘The global war on Christians remains the greatest story never told in the 21st Century’ – Headline in the Spectator.

Across the world 80% of religiously motivated discrimination is directed at Christians.

245 million Christians living in the top 50 countries suffer high levels of persecution (2016) up by 30 million from 2015.

Christians are targeted in 144 countries (2016) up from 125 in 2015.

The following are two websites that are useful for the latest news on this subject:-

 


Christ-Centred Curriculum – Part 3

I have recently stepped down as Head Teacher at CFS. This is the last of three articles containing some reflections I have had about my teaching of History and Geography from a Christ Centred perspective. The material is adapted from a talk I gave recently at a Christian Teachers conference and I think the issues raised are useful to adults as well as young people.

My final observation is the one that gets me out of bed every morning. Throughout both geography and history there are many opportunities to reinforce to young people the wonderful truth that the Bible is an accurate revelation from God. During this lockdown I have taken time to produce a website where people can access my World History booklet plus some videos of my introducing aspects of the booklet. This booklet, which I recently revised, contains over thirty years of research into a number of topics – many of which I teach throughout KS3 & 4. The main aim of the booklet is to demonstrate that within the domains of Geology, Topography, Biology, Cosmology, History, Miracles and Fulfilled Prophecy there is abundant evidence to show that the Bible is an accurate revelation from God. The following is the website address:

https://sites.google.com/view/world-history-3967/home.

Before I finish I want to explain why I find the word ‘revelation’ so important. My preferred discipline is Philosophy and in that realm all knowledge is provisional, because we are finite and therefore we cannot know everything. As a consequence we cannot know what we don’t know and therefore we cannot know if what we think we know is true. The Bible warns us not to be hasty in judgement because only God knows the full truth and this is where the full significance of revelation comes in. For revelation from God, who knows everything and who cannot lie, is the only type of knowledge that is absolute and fixed, all other knowledge is provisional. This is why I get so excited about the Bible because it is that type of absolute knowledge, unlike the wisdom of this world. Therefore I can build my life on it, because, if the Bible says I am saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus, then I can fully believe that for myself and this wonderful truth is freely available to all – ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life’.’


Christ-Centred Curriculum – Part 2

I have recently stepped down as Head Teacher at CFS. This is the second of three articles containing some reflections I have had about my teaching of History and Geography from a Christ Centred perspective. The material is adapted from a talk I gave recently at a Christian Teachers conference and I think the issues raised are useful to adults as well as young people.

My second observation is that with History I remind the students of what is often missing from their textbooks. In the case of the GCSE 1920-73 USA unit it is any reference to Christians or Christianity. Surprising when half the population went to church and it was a major factor in the civil rights movement. Very often Christianity has been airbrushed out of the history of the last 200 years. In fact we have a great story to tell. Vishal Mangalwadi, an Indian philosopher, in his book ‘The Book That Made Your World – How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization’ describes how people who took the Bible seriously significantly influenced our modern understanding of service, our purpose in life, our sense of self, what it is to be human, rationality, heroism, morality, the importance of literature and education, our notion of true wealth, liberty and why we show compassion. It takes someone from a Hindu background to see the profound significance of the Bible in shaping western thinking. Peter Lupson, a member of the church I attend, has produced very well researched books that illustrate the practical impact of Christianity. Thank God for Football details how 12 of the clubs in 2006/7 Premiership League were started by churches in the 19th century – they include Aston Villa, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur. With regard to the world of business, In God’s Company, he describes how the following businesses were started by men who loved God first and foremost but also loved their customers, their workers, their product, were scrupulously honest and extraordinarily generous, the companies were: Colgate, Thomas Cooks, Quaker Oats, Hartley’s Jam, Heinz, Kraft and Tropicana. With regard to missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries there is an embarrassment of riches including more recent people such as Jackie Pullinger, Corrie Ten Boom, Brother Andrew and David Wilkerson. It was Christianity that provided many of the schools and hospitals that our modern world takes for granted and in many cases it was missionaries attempting to translate the Bible who created the written form of a significant number of the languages used in the world today. Christianity has definitely been a force for good and should not be airbrushed out of history – in fact its contributions should be celebrated.


Christ-Centred Curriculum – Part 1

I have recently stepped down as Head Teacher at CFS. This is the first of three articles containing some reflections I have had about my teaching of History and Geography from a Christ Centred perspective. The material is adapted from a talk I gave recently at a Christian Teachers conference and I think the issues raised are useful to adults as well as young people.

My first observation is than when dealing with sustainable development, climate change, flooding, poverty or town planning, young people are reminded that they are made in the image of God, and therefore they are born problem solvers. For the young their challenge is to go out and solve the problems we face using the gifts God has given them and the wisdom He so richly wishes to bestow – then remind the young people to thank God afterwards. This is such a positive message and one that puts God at the centre when so often He can be left out. Furthermore with respect to sustainable development I invite the students to reflect on what this might look like for the human soul – the activities they take part in, the things they watch, the friendships they make. In doing this we look at the effect, not just for the next thirty years, but also for eternity. The result of such an approach is to observe that holiness is the only sustainable lifestyle in the light of eternity.


Head Teacher’s Message

The following address was given by Richard Worsley to the Christian Fellowship School at the end of the Summer Term 2020:-

Due to technical difficulties, some of you would not have heard what I said in the final assembly so I have decided to give a summary of my message in this end of year head’s letter.

The Covid 19 crisis has caused many of us to ask God, “what are you wanting to say to us and to our nation at this time?” I felt that as a nation we had lost our way because we had abandoned truths that we once knew. I felt this message was confirmed when a parent explained to me what the Lord had spoken to them that morning as they were asking the Lord the same question. He felt the Lord gave him this verse from Jeremiah (6v16):-

Stand at the crossroads and look
Ask for the ancient paths
Ask where the good way is and walk in it
And you will find rest for your souls

Looking at the crossroads I identified 5 ancient truths that our nation has lost sight of and needs to return to. They are as follows:

  1. Fear of God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9v10) therefore we should not be surprised if the wisdom we gain from the Bible should be very different to the wisdom of a nation that has no fear of God (1Cor 1v25).
  2. Eternity​. Jesus said “What does it profit a person if they gain the whole world but lose their soul” (Mark 8v36). Without a sense of the eternal, as a nation we will set our sights on material objects and human pleasure (Col 3v1-6).
  3. Our Sinfulness​. The rich young ruler was challenged by Jesus when he called Him “Good teacher”. Jesus said “no one is good but one that is God” (Mark 10v18). We need to accept God’s verdict on our lives because if we accept our personal sinfulness (1 John 1v8-9) we will then truly enjoy the fourth truth.
  4. Full Forgiveness​. ‘Those who are forgiven much love much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little’ (Luke 7v47). Our nation has rejected the concept of sin, instead it sees all humans as fundamentally good people suffering from bad circumstances. Circumstances do matter, but that is not the whole story.
  5. Holiness​. One thing we could not accuse our society of is a desire for holiness, yet holiness is one of the great requirements of the Bible (Heb 12v14 & 1 Peter 1v16). Fortunately for us, all the requirements of holiness can be found in Christ (1 Cor 1v26-31) and not in our natural selves.

Let us therefore pray for our nation at this difficult time that it will consider the ancient paths – the good way, and return to the truths it once knew.