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If you’re a Christian reading this, do you realise the extent of the craziness you’ve got yourself mixed up in? Do you know how revolutionary it is to be a follower of Jesus? Not only is this guy more powerful than anything in the world ( check out ‘The Essential Authority’ sermon) but the way of life he calls us to is nothing short of world-shaking. Coming to grips with the Gospel and His call on us means seeing work, relationships, suffering, money, the past and the future completely differently to the rest of the world. It’s tough because it’s ‘costly’ from one point of view, but truthfully it’s also amazingly liberating to even begin to get what Jesus is going on about.

For those, like me, who have grown up in Christian homes it’s easy for the Bible & prayer to become dulled through repetition. We read the text and say the words, so often think ‘yeah, but it can’t really mean that’. We substitute in a watered-down interpretation. How awesome it is when God mercifully shows us he really means what he says. What an adventure ahead when we are faithfully obedient.

PS. I have been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer‘s ‘The Cost of Discipleship’

What percentage of Australians do you think believe in miracles today? 15%? maybe 35%? The answer: 63%

Who do you think is more likely to believe in UFOs? Christians or non-Christians?

Why do the majority of non-believers still like it if the PM is a Christian?

For all this and more, check out David Marr speaking to Greg Clarke about the current state of religion in Australia, based on two recent surveys – one by CPX, one by Neilson for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Jesus’ sermon on the mount is full of meaty stuff. I’m sure many Christians could regurgitate much of it on cue. Check out Matthew 6:2 ‘So when you give to the needy…’, which is echoed in 6:5 ‘And when you pray…’ – and that’s all good. Jesus isn’t so much commanding us to give to the poor or to pray, but he’s assuming we will in a response to who God is. So what about 6:16 ? ‘When you fast…’ also carries the same assumption, yet today fasting doesn’t get the same treatment amongst western Christians.

This is something I was struck by in Ethiopia. The Orthadox Church there promotes ‘fasting’ (ie. vegan food only) 2 days a week, as well as 40 days before Christmas and another 40 before Easter. Admittedly the average Ethiopian would probably go along with it to please (or appease) God, but the fact remains Jesus is making an assumption here about the Christian life that we, on the whole, ignore. At least I think we do…? Anyone got any reflections on the who, when, where of fasting?

After a weekend of Sportsfesting, Jono Palmer continues…

It is only through the Gospel that all people – including sportsmen and sportswomen – can be redeemed. When we understand the Gospel we realise that it is God who gives us our talents and that the right response is to humbly thank him. Instead of worshipping our talents, we are reoriented to worship the one who has given us our talents.

The crux of the matter is that Christ has gone through death and come out the other side; he has been resurrected. So despite injury, aging limbs and ultimately death, we have confidence that we too will be resurrected with a new and glorious body. Christ’s triumph over death is the sure hope we have. Thankfully, our identity is not determined by our sporting prowess but by our relationship with Christ.

So how do we bring glory to God though our sport and at events like Sportsfest? What does a Christian response to sport look like? C. J. Mahaney, a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, talks about sport in the context of 1 Corinthians 10, where Paul says, “…whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Mahaney points out that bringing glory to God through sport necessitates being informed about God. We cannot hope to glorify God unless we have an accurate understanding of who God is and who we are in relation to Him. If we walk onto the sports field aware of the majesty, glory and supremacy of Christ we are less likely to esteem ourselves. Only a fool would want to glorify himself when presented with enormity of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

We should view our sport as an act of worship. It should be an opportunity to honour God and reflect the character of God.  Too often we are more willing to celebrate winning for our own glorification than cultivating godly character. It will be the work of the gospel in our lives that will be celebrated at the end of this age, not sporting accolades. We therefore need to play with humility and not self sufficiency or self worship. When we fail to play with humility we glorify our gifts above the one who gave them to us thereby committing idolatry.

(Jonathan Palmer, possibly the most sporty guy at Unichurch, explains)

… is that referees are biased. And the AFL is not international. And water polo doesn’t get enough coverage. Rico Tice, Associate Minister at All Souls Church in London also had a few pertinent things to say about the problem with sport in a talk I listened to this week. With many of us heading to Sportsfest, it might be a good idea to have a quick look at some of these things and how we  can take a biblical approach to playing sport on the weekend.

You don’t have to think for too long to answer the question “Is there is something wrong with sport?” Media outlets chronicle on a weekly basis the involvement of sports stars in drug abuse, alcohol abuse, violence, threats, rape, adultery, racism and bribery. Think about the numerous scandals in the various footy codes or even Serena Williams’ recent comments at the US Open. These types of incidents are not isolated but endemic in the sporting arena. Ironically, it is athletes who often receive the adulation and worship of our society, rather than God.

Rico Tice points out that there is something terminal about sport. Athletes cannot continue indefinitely. Injury, old age and ultimately death will end their careers. Tice cites the example of Muhammad Ali. The man who claimed he was the greatest, the man who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee is now just a shell of his former self. He can no longer walk properly or string a coherent sentence together. Isaiah’s words in chapter 40: 6-8 are particularly apt:

“…”All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Many sports stars live in denial of the inevitable. In the moment of glory they suspend reality believing that they may escape. Yet when reality sets in through injury or old age, it is common for athletes to become depressed as they are unable to operate apart from their identity in their sporting achievements.

The problem with sport – as with so many other areas of life – is that people want to be king of their lives and make up their own rules. Instead of acknowledging God for their talents, they live to glorify themselves. They elevate their gifts above the giver. As a result they will face judgement and the due penalty for their rejection of God. How can we they be redeemed, rescued from this predicament? The answer is the Gospel….

watch this space for upcoming installments on this theme from Jono

Last weekend I went on a Missions Interlink Short Term (MIST) training weekend, which included all sorts of stuff about cross-cultural ministry. The main message, I think, was that it’s hard! That didn’t come as that much of a shock, though a few things on the weekend really made me think.

One ‘penny dropping’ moment was during the ‘Know and tell the Gospel’ session. The presenter asked us to write down the basic elements of the Gospel as we’d explain it given the chance, so I wrote ‘creator God, rightful ruler, rebellion, punishment deserved, Jesus takes our guilt…etc’. Through that our cultural orientation to innocence/guilt thinking was highlighted, and contrasted with the way other cultural worldviews. For example, some cultures really work on a pride/shame basis – maybe Japanese and Middle Eastern cultures – and others on power/fear thinking – maybe some Asian and African cultures.

I probably should have known that already, but it really helped me understand why different people react to different parts of the gospel so strongly. I while a ago I blogged about sharing the story of the prodigal son and his forgiving father with some Chinese people. They were amazed that the wronged, dignified father RAN to the son, which shows their pride/shame orientation.

So I guess the thing is the gospel doesn’t change, but it’s amazing that God uses different parts of it to speak to different people groups. Worth thinking about more…

Last weekend a couple of car loads of food, a whole stack of sleeping bags, approximately  60 adult people and two interstate speakers headed an hour North-west and spent a weekend together. It all looked pretty unexciting from the outside, but the weekend was designed to encourage Perth Christians to think about entering full-time/vocational/paid/formal (pick your PC adjective, you know what I mean) gospel ministry. And, in doing that, was a really exhilarating and inspiring weekend. Thinking about the vast majority of our own small city whom have never engaged with the gospel is a depressing activity, but not when you do it after hearing from Titus and surrounded by others who just really want the world to know what they’re missing out on.  Sadly it’s another year till the next MTS Challenge conference, but in the meantime let’s keep encouraging each other to fight the good fight…and if you see Tim Thorburn, put your name down for next year and tell him he rocks.

photo taken from flickr, uploaded by Rare Surname

This is going to make me sound super-nerdy, but I found this cool website the other day.

In 1844 a guy called Constatin von Tischendorf found a 4thC copy of the entire Bible in a monastery in Sinai. Since then it – the Codex Sinaiticus – has ended up in 3 parts in various libraries and museums in Europe. It’s interesting because it’s an important example of how the Bible was put together when there wasn’t yet an agreement on which books were canonical. It’s full mistakes and corrections as the three scribes who worked on it tried to get it right. Now you can check out the 1600 year old document for yourself, because they’ve scanned in the pages and put them on a website!

John Dickson and Greg Clarke discuss the Codex on their CPX website, including some of the controversies surrounding it. It’s pretty easy just to live in the moment, but looking at the pages of the Codex is a good reminder of the rich Christian history we’re a part of and how much we have to thank God for.

interesting fact: The Codex is made from pages of goat skin – apparently over 300 goats were ‘harmed’ in it’s making.

As much as I’m embarrassed to admit I know this, Britney, the Pussycat Dolls and Rhianna all have something to say about both being single and not being single. Funnily enough, so do the Kings of Leon, Beyonce and The Streets (although they’re much cooler). Sadly, though, just having rockin’ hair and something to say and  doesn’t make you an expert.

Ladies, here it is. It’s the answer to guys version* – ‘A Girl’s Guide to Marrying Well’. Check it out and you’ll soon realise don’t mean ‘well’ as in never having to work again. It’s a booklet produced by Boundless, a Chrisitan webzine, and it’s been written by people who’ve got to the bottom of the whole issue (ie. they’ve listened to what God has to say about marriage, singleness etc)  . While their hair is probably pretty average and I’m sure they can’t shake it like Ms Knowles, the guys at Boundless also have some great articles about all sorts of things, and regular podcasts too.

* As Dave blogged a few weeks ago