St Jude's Mapperley Archive Blog

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving our Community Good Morning! It's been a busy week! At the AGM on Monday, we were thinking about the future direction of the church, and especially some aspects of what we might need to do to join in with God's mission of finding the people in our community who don't know him and bringing them in. The theme of discerning direction for the future is one we're going to be picking up at the PCC Away Day on Saturday – please do be praying for us. It's also worth giving homegroups a mention, as we've been discussing them recently. We've agreed on a document (attached) which spells out what homegroups are for and what we do, and homegroups are starting to think about what it means for them to be God's people rooted in the local community where they meet. If you aren't part of a homegroup and would like to join one, please let me know by replying to this e-mail. Another thing we...

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving our Community Good Morning! Yesterday morning we were looking at Isaiah 55, which is a passage which really challenged me about the transformation which God's word can and should bring to our lives. As a vicar, it can be a temptation to read the Bible as something to be studied academically – that's sometimes the way it's taught in theological colleges. When I was a child, I read the Bible as a story to be mined for interesting details. But the Bible is not meant to be "interesting", though I suppose that's better than being "boring" which is often how it is portrayed. The Bible, as God's word, is meant to be transforming. Hebrews says that the " the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. " In the passage we looked...

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving our Community Good Morning! It was great to see so many folk at church yesterday and to have the privilege of baptising Mandy and Leo in the 11:00am service! At the 6:30 service, we did something we haven't done for a while (and which I haven't done for a while) and had a Songs of Praise service, where we spent the whole evening praising God in song, with the occasional bit of testimony, prayer and Bible reading thrown in. I really enjoyed it and found it a great time to be able to relax in God's presence and get to know other people who were there a bit better. Singing praise to God, whether traditional hymns or modern songs or somewhere in between, has the ability to touch something deep in us and gives expression to the important emotional side to our relationship with God. Don't get me wrong – there's a lot more to being a Christian than just emotions, but if our emotions aren't stirre...

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving our Community Good Morning! Sunday was one of the most encouraging services I've ever been to at St Jude's. We had 170 or so people there at 10:30 to praise God together for the resurrection of his Son. Great to see so many of you there, and great to see so many folk I didn't know as well. About 90 stayed to lunch, and a good time was had by almost all (except the hog, which was apparently happy until shortly before being roasted...) I preached about how the news "He is not here; he has risen!" was the best news ever because it shows that however dark the situation is, God wins; because it shows that the price for sins has been paid once and for all; and because it shows that death has been beaten so that we can enjoy a new life with God. The classic Easter acclamation is "Christ is risen; he is risen indeed! Alleluia!" I then explained some of the evidence that Christ is indeed ...

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving our Community Good Morning! Numbers yesterday were down due to the return of the ice (just in time for Easter!), but those of us who made it to church had a great time. At the 11am service, we remembered Jesus coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The story Jesus tells just before he comes into Jerusalem in Luke 19 is about how people respond to someone becoming king. We can respond by trying to reject his kingship and rule over our lives, but that will not end well because one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. We can respond by serving him grudgingly, not really wanting him to be king, but going along with it – the response of those who watch him from the sidelines. But once again, when every knee bows before him, we will end up looking stupid. Or we can respond to Jesus by following him in risk-taking worship – throwing down our cloaks (security, provision)...

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving our Community Good Morning! It's been another busy week at St Jude's. Many thanks to all who came along to the men's breakfast on Saturday, and even more thanks to those who brought friends! One of the things I'm really passionate about for the life of St Jude's is that we get better at building friendships and inviting folk along to events where they can meet other Christians and hear more about Jesus. But more of that anon... If you'd like to hear the talk I did on "Does Jesus fit with science?", there's a link here or listen via the church website . Yesterday morning we finished our morning series on Leviticus 1-7 with a look at the instructions for the priests in Lev 6-7. If we ever have the privilege of meeting the Queen, she has the right to say how we should dress, bow and so on. And in the same way, when we come to worship God, he has the absolute right to say how we s...

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving our Community Good Morning! On Saturday, three of our young people were confirmed at Southwell Minster. It was a great occasion, and thank you very much to all who came! Do be praying for Sarah, Samantha and Catrin in the days, weeks and months to come! Yesterday was also Mothering Sunday, and with that in mind, here are some reflections about God and motherhood from Isaiah 49 . In v5, we are reminded that motherhood is a gift from God. God forms us in the womb, and he formed Jesus in the womb of Mary to be his servant. God knows the plans he has for us, and he has given us everything we need to do what he has called us to do. In v15, God compares his love for his people to a mother's love. A mother's love for her children is one of the most certain things in this world, but God's love for his people is even more sure and certain. He will never never never forget us – it's like our ...