Christ Church Moreton Hall

Today we begin a series on the letters of John. We have never taught on before and it is a wonderful book which contains some of the most important passages of the Bible such as:

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness

¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

But none the less - why John and why now?
The answer to Why John is that this letter is about .
How you receive the word of Life
That God the Father has sent to us all.

On Sunday 2nd March we opened our doors once again to welcome everybody to celebrate Mothering Sunday. This was a glorious occasion when we celebrated family life and all the joys that children and the care of children can bring to our lives.

Ever since we began our All Age Act of Worship the church has been full to bursting on the first Sunday of the month. It is wonderful to be surrounded by not just dozens of children and infants but also people of all ages who come to enjoy the exciting and refreshing experience of worshipping together.

Also at this time it is good to remember those who would like to have children but cannot. We think also of all those undergoing IVF and also all the dilemmas faced by society as we consider the laws on abortion and experimentation with embryos. These are complex times and at the present no-one is absolutely sure where all this is taking us. It is also a time of great pain, to observe the agony of those who would like to have children but for various reasons cannot is a moving experience.

How are those New Year's resolutions going? Still at the gym? Losing those pounds?
Or have you been blown off course and are struggling with the winter blues?
Well here are some pearls of wisdom of the Christmas cracker variety, which might help to raise a smile:

• The journey of a thousand miles beings with a broken fan belt and leaky tyre
• Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else
• Never test the depth of the water with both feet
• If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of loan payments
• Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticise them, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
• If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
• Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

We might not pay too much attention to proverbs and especially joke ones, but once it was a way of remembering good advice and wisdom. That is why King Solomon, reputedly the wisest man who ever lived, is supposed to have collected thousands of them and put them in the Book of Proverbs, which is found in the Bible.

This week I will be at General Synod, and will be reporting on the proceedings on Premier Radio each day. If you would like to listen, tune in Monday to Thursday at 8.20am during Inspirational Breakfast and either either 5.20pm or 5.40pm during Premier Drive.

As we begin a New Year many of us will be setting together some new resolutions. One of the reasons why they don’t last very long is, we often don’t think out the consequences of our resolutions before we commit ourselves to doing them. So at the beginning of 2008 I don’t so much propose a resolution but a revolution and a political one at that.

It is obvious to all that the Bury Town Council is deeply unpopular. Whether we retain it or not and what it is for, remains a very unhappy issue for us all. It is a vestige of a political system, which has proved to be stillborn for our region. Regional government will not go ahead as it was initially planned and therefore there is less reason for Town Councils than there was before.

However, the problem remains that people feel disengaged from the political process. Voting patterns are in decline and getting people to stand for elected posts is becoming more and more difficult. So at the beginning of this year I would like to start a balanced and well-reasoned debate about what sort of political structures we want for our town.