Our Father

First of all, a heartfelt thank you for all your messages of congratulations and support after the birth of Joel on 22^nd July. Joel, a Hebrew name means ‘Yahweh is God’ or ‘The Lord is God.’ The meaning of the name was significant in us choosing it, as was the case with Nathan; ‘God’s gift.’

Those of us who are parents and those of us who have spent some time with children of family and friends, know what a great gift they are. I find I can say that even as my eyes struggle to stay open in front of the computer screen, a result of the sleepless nights all new babies bring in the early weeks and months!

I was present at Joel’s birth, as I was for Nathan’s, and words cannot describe the feelings of love and pride (there – I’ve had a go – but they don’t do it justice!) that I felt and continue to feel as I hold him in my arms.

It’s like there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for our children, nothing that we wouldn’t give for their good, well being and happiness.

One morning recently I was reading through the beatitudes in the early part of Matthew’s gospel and was struck by how many times in chapter 6, Jesus not only refers to his Father in heaven, but to him as the disciples’ Father too.

In the Lord’s Prayer of course, Jesus teaches us to pray to God as Father, even as ‘Abba’, a very intimate term indeed. This was a new idea for Jews, who may have referred to God as the Father of the nation of Israel, but would never have used it on a personal level.

Jesus though, as he so often does, reveals more and more about who God really is. He opens up the possibility of us actually getting to know him – and getting to know him intimately.

There’s always a tension for Christians in following and trusting in a God who became one of us and died for us whilst at the same time remembering that this same God is the Almighty Creator of the Universe, awesome and holy. Holding these things in tension though, doesn’t take anything away from their reality.

Later that day, after reading about the Fatherhood of God, I was struck profoundly by the fact that much though I love my children, God loves each one of us even more. Imperfect though I am, prone to selfishness and finding the easy route in life, God himself really is perfect, and is in no way prone to anything but perfect love.

 

I may say I’d do anything for Nathan and Joel, but as yet that hasn’t really been tested. This of course cannot be said for God. For he has done everything for us, his children.

Probably the most quoted verse of the New Testament is John 3: 16:

‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that all who believe in him will not perish but may have eternal life.’

We mustn’t think that God gave his Son to die in the way that we would normally think. God is three in one, and Father, Son and Spirit are human terms to try to describe a God who is in many ways indescribable. The Son is not son to the Father, in exactly the same way as Joel is to me.

The truth is that on the cross, God gave Himself  for us; his children. Only the cross of Jesus can restore the broken relationship between us and God. And God made all the running, not us. There simply is no greater love than this.

Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to love a child, and what a parent feels and is prepared to do, is only a pale reflection of God’s attitude and of his love in action towards us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we really aware of the love of God for us all, of his love for all the world? Scripture is clear in so many places on this; you don’t have to turn many pages. But having experienced love for a child myself, it brings home to me even more clearly just how much God, our Father, loves each one of us.

As Paul tells the Ephesians in chapter 3, verse 18:

‘I pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide, how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.’

May we all grasp this powerful truth and may it motivate us to love others in His name.

 

With love in Christ

 

Nick

 

Tom Askew

Tom Askew died on Sunday 22nd July at the age of ninety. A Middlesbrough boy, he join the Royal Air Force in 1939 and was posted to Egypt. A visit to Jerusalem at Christmas 1942 and time spent in the Garden of Gethsemane led to a conversion experience which was to set the path for the rest of his life.

He used his love of books, his love of people and his business skills in the service of his Lord, opening the Christian Book Store in Parliament Road and managing it for forty years, and continuing for a further eighteen years as a volunteer when the Christian Literature Crusade took it over in 1986.

Christian literature, whether weighty tomes of theology or the simple and direct booklets which he provided for hospitals and other outlets, was but a part of Tom’s contribution to the service of the gospel.

His gentle, humble winsomeness with its thoughtful concern for others, and his regular attendance at worship in all weathers, commended the utter genuiness of his faith to several generations. In all this he was supported by Jean, his devoted wife for over fifty years.

He was never pushy, but his quiet ‘I think you might find this interesting’ as he passed a book to me to review for Outlook led me to several discoveries for which I will always be grateful. But my deepest gratitude is for being given the privilege of knowing a true saint of God.

Ray Morris

Kath Guess

Kathleen Guess - ‘Kath’ - died on 28th July 2007 aged 85. Kath and her husband Fred together worshipped regularly and faithfully at St Barnabas from 1980 until, in 2001, declining health curtailed their activities. Fred died in 2004; Kath and Fred were married for over 60 years.

Kath had loved the Lord since childhood and Christian faith was central to her life. She was blessed with a cheerful nature - her smile always radiant - yet she was also resolute. She met her long and difficult final illness, the terminal nature of which she well knew, with unflinching Christian faith and courage. Kath looked towards death not in fear, but in the hope of heaven and resurrection through Christ her Saviour.

Here on earth she will be greatly missed. We remember both Kath and Fred with affection and give thanks to God for the privilege of having known them. Please pray for Kath and Fred’s daughter Jan, for Terry and for the wider family.

John Ravalde

Football Ministry

A huge thank you to everyone who turned out and supported the NE1@Goals football week in July. It couldn’t have happened without you.

The week was a tremendous success which was blessed on the whole with very good weather. Many teenagers experienced something of the love of Christ and learned something clear about him. Our prayer is that God will continue tend the seeds sown that week – and we know he will.

Our plan is now to develop this ministry, as part of a wider Teesside Sports Ministry and appoint Christian coaches to each football team; with a view to discipling them as well as developing football skills. Anyone interested in helping in any way see Nick or Ste Corner.

 

Malcolm and Veronica White

After spending over 6 years working with the English Speaking Congregation in Amman, Jordan, Malcolm and Veronica White returned to the UK in June 2007.  In their August Link Letter they reflect on their experiences there.  Here is an extract from this (the full Link Letter is on the Mission News table at the back of the Church):-

‘The constant challenge of attempting communication

Moving to a new country means that everyone around you is new, and even if most can use the English language moderately well, hardly anyone will understand your background and experience - ensuring that you will understand very little, initially, of others around you. We lived with Americans, Sri Lankans, Canadians, Nigerians, Filipinos and Africans, all of whom spoke English fluently. However, understanding takes more than a common language and when you add Chinese, Eritrean, Egyptian, Iraqi, Sudanese and Syrian people to the mix, the task of communication becomes a big priority! But, somehow, that's what the English-language congregation wrestled with and through love, humour and compassion, managed to achieve an extraordinary sense of common identity that we know will be difficult to find again ­but we're looking!

The overwhelming importance of sensing cultural values

One of the most senior and respected members of the Arab Anglican Church in Jordan is Dr. Sami Khoury. He is the founder of the Palestine Hospital in Amman, but is a Jerusalem Christian by birth. He wrote in his autobiography: 'I am a Christian by birth but I am Islamic by culture' and pointed out how deeply rooted our surrounding culture is. Nowhere is this more so than around the Mediterranean shores and amongst the Arab peoples. This is perhaps most clearly seen in the high value given to honour amongst all Arabs, and foreigners disregarding such behaviour are often surprised - and sometimes hurt - as a consequence. Honour issues come into play when greeting and visiting others, often to ask for a favour but who will then expect you to say 'yes' when they ask one back of you. It determines who comes to your home and when, how you address people and what you may and may not do. With culture playing such a large part in keeping society together, you can imagine the tensions that arise when globalisation and westernisation threaten to change local culture. It plays its part in politics, too, as an Iraqi friend said to us once: 'If you need oil in the West, why don't you come and ask? We will let you have it. When you demand and deceive us, you dishonour us and that must be resisted.' ………….

 

The enormous scope for Christian service

Jordan is 85 per cent desert, and this may give the idea that for much of the time life is like the landscape - fairly monotonous and unchanging - but this would give totally the wrong view of the sheer scope of opportunity that awaits appropriate Christian service within Jordan. Our tasks have included teaching in local schools, working with NGOs, supporting new projects for the disabled, sitting with those from every walk of life and standing alongside people finding ways to a new life, encouraging vocations and creative gifts of drama, music and learning. Yes, there is something unchangeable about Arab culture but there is also an enormous variety of opportunity within this part of the Arab world as it faces almost insurmountable challenges over its resources, politics and structures. And being part of this for six years we are forever grateful, and can only pray that these highlights will encourage others to take a step into an ongoing Christian mission that continues to be shaped by the words of the Great Commission: 'Go therefore into all the world, and make disciples amongst all peoples' (Matthew 28:19).

The future for Jordan surely lies in managing the tension between deep tradition and rapid change and King Abdullah II of Jordan has often urged Jordanians to learn to 'think the unthinkable' but in a way this upholds Jordanian values of toleration, respect and peace. It seems to us, though, that this can only be met through a transformation of the human heart and mind as deep as any we have seen before. So, please continue to pray for such transformations in the years ahead.