Market this week… 18th Sept 2010

mb

Rev. Mark Bishop

Out there and Curate Oaktree,

Acton.

Going further up and further in

Dear Oaks,

God appeared to Solomon one night (2 Chronicles 1:7) and said “ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

Solomon asked not for riches, power, good looks or even for Bristol Rovers to get in to the Premier League (my choice left to the flesh!). He asks for wisdom and knowledge to lead the people (verse 10).

In fact God gives him even more than he asks for. To discover something of Gods enormous generosity read verses 11 and 12!

My question to you, dear Oak, is what would be the one thing you would ask of God?

Like Oliver Twist my answer would be “More”. In The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis we read ‘Don’t stop! Further up and further in,’ called Farsight…Jewel also cried out: ‘Don’t stop. Further up and further in! Take it in your stride.’

Later on we read ‘they all found they were swimming straight for the waterfall itself.’

Simon Ponsonby has written “if we could hear the angels, we would hear them crying ‘Don’t stop! Further up and further in!’ and if we could hear the voice of God, we would hear him bid us come -’Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls’ (psalm 42:7).

I would ask for more intimacy with God. More power to impart salvation in all its forms. More Christ likeness, more love, more holiness, more, more, more of him!

Is that selfish? Absolutely not! God loves us to ask for more of him.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil (compared with the holiness of God), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

On Wednesday evening it is our next Church Central (everyone welcome at Acton Green Church, Cunnington Street, W4 at 8pm). We shall discover ways to go further up and further in to the life and ministry of Jesus.

In the Fathers love,

Mark

Dear Saints

Dear Oaks, (or after my sermon on Sunday should that be “Dear Saints”),

I am really enjoying studying and thinking about the subject of holiness. God is lovingly and mercifully challenging me to kill off any and every counterfeit god. It is a bit of mystery to me as to how this works for it is at the same time both painful and incredibly liberating.

Idols are slave masters that demand a great deal. When the idols (the counterfeit gods) are smashed there is such a wonderful sense of peace. Pain and peace are not often found in close proximity but that is how it seems to me.

Paradox is found everywhere in the Christian life. one of the contradictions that we must understand is that we are both holy already and still being made holy. We are both saints and sinners. We are both guilty and declared innocent.

Romans 3:25-26 says “God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand un-punished, he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Complicated stuff! Well not really if you are prepared to take God at his word.

Put simply we have sinned but they have been deliberately left unpunished. Or more precisely someone else (Christ) was made the sacrificial Lamb who carries the can for all of us. Or more precisely again, for those who have faith in Jesus and his innocent blood shed as the ransom price in order for us to go free.

A penalty was paid (the death penalty imposed on Gods only begotten Son) and so justice was demonstrated. At least in God’s eyes whereas to my natural eyes it seems an injustice for Jesus to die for my crime. But with God mercy always triumphs over justice.

So if you have faith in Jesus and the penalty he bore for you on the cross then sin is dealt with and thus you are justified (declared not guilty). The not guilty are classified as holy; the saints.

So the cross of Christ has changed everything. We are both holy for God gave us righteousness in exchange when he took our sin, and yet we sin.

Now we must become what God already says we are. We cannot lose the deal is done! But we can either live in the freedom of deep love for the one who saved us, or we can labour under the slave masters that the bible calls idols.

It is a paradox or so it seems but it is time to take God at his word. So you saints get rejoicing!

See you Sunday if not before. Love,

Mark

Market Church 11 Sept 2010

Market CHURCH

Hello Marketeers

Do you ever feel like you want to hide away?

This picture is of the residence of a man in Plymouth who has grown these 10 metre tall trees around three sides of his house. (click to read full article).

A year or so before he had built a 3m high wall around his property.

It’s a funny picture but obviously there’s something serious going on in his head and heart.

It made me think: What does he want to hide from?

Sometime’s we all hide away, we insulate ourselves from the places and people that surround us.

And sometimes it’s right to do that.

But sometimes it isn’t!

God calls us OUT.

Out of death into life.

Out of darkness to light.

Out of the desert into fertile land.

Out of who we think we are into who he thinks we are.

Out of our comfort zone into his faith zone.

At the Market stall this term I really want us to get fresh courage to hear and do the call out there.

I want to be willing to come fully out of any hiding and freely tell all about Jesus.

Let’s do it together.

______________________________________________

THIS WEEK:

There is no Market due to a few events that most volunteers are going to.

Why not book in for the following week, 18th Sept?

_____________________________________________

Praying for courage.

mb

Rev. Mark Bishop

Out there and Curate

Oaktree, Acton.

Holiness

Dear Oaks,

Running the Race

Dear Oaks,

I spoke last Sunday about how we run the race from Hedonism to Holiness.  Today I want to reflect just a little more on how we keep running the race with perseverance.

Probably from a dark dank prison cell the Apostle Paul sent this message to Timothy, his younger partner in the gospel.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”  2 Timothy 4:7-8.

I see the Christian life as a battle and as a race and in both scenarios it is often the case that we feel like giving up.  One of the purposes of church is to help one another to keep on keeping on.  Some months a go I spoke about how John Wesley established what he called “Bands” which in many ways operated like our Core Groups.  They were regular meetings where within the context of loving and trustworthy relationship we can be held accountable.  We can be asked how we are running the race?  How we are maintaining discipline in the spiritual life?  What efforts we are making to co-operate with the Holy Spirit within us?

How much you grow in the spiritual life is up to you. There is no lack of will on God’s side he has already declared he wants you “conformed to the likeness of his son.” (Rom 8:29)

So here are some questions that will help keep you on track. You can use them in your own prayer time or in a Core Group.

1. What is your experience of prayer and of being attentive to God this week?
2. What temptations did you face this past week?  How did you deal with them?
3. How did the Holy Spirit work in your life this week?
4. What opportunities have you had to serve others this week?  Did you?
5. In what ways have you encountered the Living God in your study of the Bible this week?

This week I will speak from the closing chapter of the letter of James.  It is a letter full of the challenge to run the race, fight the good fight and persevere to the end.  It is a letter that never allows you do God without engaging with the reality of a broken church and a hurting world.

This is our last opportunity to all be together on a Sunday until late August.  There will be an update on Christians against Poverty, testimony of a glorious answer to prayer and much more including news on how we are planning to replace Lisa (who is sadly moving on as you know). You may be in for a surprise or two!

In the Fathers love and keep on running!

Mark

Market this week… 10th July 2010 (last market for 3 weeks)

Transform the Rest

God likes rest.

God wants you to rest.

He sets apart specific time from the very beginning for work to stop and rest to be taken (Gen 1:31).

It seems to me that Sabbath (time of rest) is about our relationship with God.

We rest because God does, God rests because he wants us to…

So our rest is designed to be with God, alongside Him, in Him, Holy for Him.

And when we spend time with God, even in rest, we get transformed.

Real sabbath rest should be defined through a transformation that happens by just being with God, no agenda, no system, no ‘work’ or ‘do’ but just being.

As we rest everything that has gone before can settle, be made sense of, fade or sharpen.

As we rest everything that may be coming God can prepare us for, strengthen us for, equip us for.

So as we rest from the Market and other Oaktree ministries this summer, let’s rest with God.

Ask God to lead you in the rest that He knows you need.

I believe that in this way, with Godly rest as our preparation, we could see these Acton streets become gracious and God-filled.

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK and 7th and 14th August…

This week: 2 spaces 10-12, 2 spaces 12-2

Hots: 2 spaces both 10-11 and 11-12

7th August – all shifts and Hots spaces available

14th August – all shifts and one Hots space 10-11 and two 11-12.

____________________________________________________

Rest well.

mb

Rev. Mark Bishop

Out there and Curate

Oaktree, Acton.

OakTree.org on WordPress 3.0

The Oaktree site has been upgraded to the latest version of WordPress. We are hopiung to take advantage of some of the new features and to do some tidying up of media in the background so that the whole site will be delivered faster and smoother.

Hopefully you wont notice a thing except a faster website!

Market this week… 19th June 2010

mb

Rev. Mark Bishop

Out there and Curate

Oaktree, Acton.

Market this week… June 12th 2010

Market Football

So the World Cup is fast approaching!

And I was thinking…

The Market stall is just like football really.

It’s a team game, individual confidence and skill is important but it’s how those things come together that counts

There are manager and coaching roles to get the details in place.

There are tactics learnt in training.* *There are different formations.

Sometimes we are more attacking and sometimes more defensive.

God is like owner (Father), manager (Jesus) and coach (HS)!

In theory God’s like the ultimate player-manager, he plays too.

Acton is our pitch and the church is our team!

But in some ways we are very different…

On our team, everyone is selected to play, no just any elite.

On our team the people we serve are not opposition, they are the prize worth fighting for.

On our team God is the fitness coach, calling us to be disciplined but not reliant on human strength.

________________________________________

THIS WEEK

STALL: *3 spaces 10-12, 3 spaces 12-2 *HOTs: *2 spcaes 10-11 and 11-12

could you let me know if you have booked (to check my records) OR would like to book in any shift from this Saturday- July 10th (last Market stall before summer)- thankyou!

Also please volunteer for June 19th – inflatables for families AND the Rabuna Style cafe – get involved!

________________________________________

Go team!

mb

Rev. Mark Bishop

Out there and Curate Oaktree, Acton.

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