Time to begin again?

This is a copy of my article for our April Church Magazine

At the time of writing, I have just been looking at our church’s Easter publicity material. It includes a photograph of a beautiful butterfly, with the words ‘Time to begin again.’

Together, the image and the words give us a good description of what Easter is all about.

Of course, we know about butterflies and where they come from. They begin with eggs that hatch into caterpillars – quite ugly in my opinion, but you may beg to differ! They go through a process of metamorphosis, from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. In other words, the caterpillar is completely transformed into something new!

Good Friday is the day on which we remember the death of Jesus. He took upon himself the ugliness of our sin. When he had died, he was taken down from the cross, his body bound in strips of cloth and laid in a tomb. On Easter Sunday, we remember the resurrection of our Lord. Those who were first at the tomb were dumb-founded to find the body gone, but they did see the strips of cloth that had wrapped it. It was as if a chrysalis remained, from which a transformed Christ had emerged, victorious over death.

The point is this: ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). From sin and death, Jesus was raised to life and because of this, all people may begin again.

Is it time for you to begin again? With Christ, your life can be transformed into a thing of beauty, like the butterfly that comes from the caterpillar.

If you have already made that new beginning, Easter is a time to be reminded that whatever you feel about yourself, you are new creation in Christ!

Yours in the Name of the One who brings life from death!

New Beginnings

Once again, it is that time for new beginnings and New Year’s resolutions. I wonder if you normally make a resolution and if you do, whether it is trivial or serious?

I want to challenge us all to make a resolution for 2011, that has the potential to be life-building and world-changing! Will you (and will I) make the commitment to read something from the Bible every day? I believe that the Bible reveals the Word of God to us. It is our book of faith containing guidance for life. If we don’t read it, we will miss out on much that God has to say to us. If we do read it, we won’t – simple as that!

It is our practice, as a church, to have a bible verse as a motto that highlights a special emphasis for the coming year. In 2011, the verse will be:

‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.’ Psalm 119v105

Four hundred years ago, the King James Bible was published in Great Britain. It has been life-building and world-changing in its impact. It is universally admired for its prose and poetry. Many of its phrases have become part of everyday language. It made the Word of God available to the masses in this country for the first time (to those who could read, and afford it) rather than just to a small group of ‘professionals’. It meant that, for the first time, people like you and I could read the Bible and meditate upon it and let it direct our lives.

Will you take up the challenge of reading the Bible daily? Our programme at Park Road Baptist Church can help you! During the first part of the year, I encourage you to join me in reading the ‘Essential 100’ Bible readings. These will be introduced through Sunday morning sermons and discussed in our small groups. Would you think about joining one of these, if you’re not in one already, for help and support?

Our motto as a church is that we be ‘a Light for our City’. Our Scripture verse for 2012 is that God’s Word be ‘a lamp to my feet and a light for my path’. May the two come together so that we can shine brightly for Jesus, the Light of the World!

Note to blog-readers: What are you launching in your church? I'll be interested to hear!