We are gathering together an ever-increasing collection of resources related to Urban Mission.
These include articles, our daily liturgy and a selection of useful links...
Articles
By Stuart Murray Williams
On a recent transatlantic flight I watched The Sixth Day, an adventure set in a world where human cloning was practised, albeit illegally. How far we are from such a world is uncertain, but debates about scientific procedures such as cloning technology and the ethical implications of its diverse applications are reminders, if any were needed, of the rapidly changing, complex and challenging culture of the twenty-first century. This is the context within which we are to incarnate and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the final years of the last century, the Decade of Evangelism, numerous evangelistic strategies were developed. Most were ineffective. Those that worked best were low-key initiatives rather than high-profile activities, rooted in friendship rather than programmes, encouraging dialogue and discovery rather than requiring quick decisions. Although churches continued to decline, revival did not arrive and the overall evangelistic impact was limited, important missiological lessons were learned. Hopefully future mission strategies will build on these foundations and become increasingly holistic, humble, flexible, relational and contextual.
In this decade also church planting became respectable. Previously, even though most denominations began as church planting movements, many regarded it as sectarian, ecumenically disruptive, competitive and threatening. But in the 1990s bishops advocated church planting, denominations endorsed it in national mission strategies, theological colleges trained practitioners for it, advocates set goals for it, and (almost) all spoke well of it. However, the number of churches planted by the year 2000 was no more than in previous decades (though spread more widely across denominations). Despite an initial burst of activity, the practice of church planting declined sharply in the final years of the decade.
But, as with evangelism, the unrealistic expectations and relative failure of recent church planting strategies should not obscure important lessons that have been learned. Perhaps the most important is that cloning inherited models of church simply will not do.
Church planting, despite recent disappointments, remains a critical component in the development of a missional response to our culture. But it is only worth investing in creative, experimental, contextual and diverse church planting. Replicating churches that are failing to engage with contemporary society is counter-productive and will hinder effective mission. The issue is not how many churches we plant but what kinds of churches we dare to imagine.
Church planting is not the only response to a changing and complex culture. Nor is it inimical to the renewal and development of existing churches. What is needed is a symbiotic relationship between inherited and emerging expressions of church: the old needs the inspiration, challenge and pioneering spirit of the new; the new needs the accumulated wisdom, stability and discernment of the old. New ways of being church and new forms of mission will be most effective if they are not disconnected from existing churches and institutions – not just for the sake of accountability but so that the creativity, mistakes, discoveries and joys of what emerges can impact those churches too.
Why is creative church planting so vital?
• Because the church in Britain is declining and in serious trouble.
• Because post-modernity and post-Christendom present mission challenges we have not faced before.
• Because the cultural changes taking place are so significant and rapid that only church planting is flexible enough to develop appropriate responses.
• Because the radical changes needed in church life are too threatening for most churches unless they are pioneered elsewhere first.
• Because our culture is plural and different kinds of churches are needed.
• Because existing denominations, whatever their concern to develop missional congregations, will not achieve this without the catalysing effect of church planting.
• Because those with the capacity and imagination to plant new forms of church will be stifled, frustrated and damaged by the resistance they face if they try to work within existing congregations.
We can take some encouragement from the ecclesiological renewal that began in the 1990s. Seeker-sensitive churches, youth churches, cell churches, children’s churches, alt.worship and other models pushed boundaries, engaged with different aspects of our culture, restored biblical emphases, took risks and offered insights that impacted other churches that did not go fully down these roads. But these experiments are just the start of what needs to become a broad-based and multi-faceted movement.
The 1990s were a Decade of Evangelism. Perhaps the present decade (or realistically until 2025) should become a Decade of Experimentation.
What is necessary for such experimentation? First, freedom to fail. Church culture is not characterised by readiness to take risks or honesty in admitting that initiatives have failed. Creative church planting requires a culture of risk-taking, supportive accountability, careful evaluation and acceptance that not every new church will work. This is one of the core values of Urban Expression, a church planting initiative in East London: it needs to become the norm.
Second, refusal to adopt pre-packaged quick-fix solutions. The enthusiasm with which the latest transatlantic or domestic strategy is hailed as “the” way to do church signals desperation, gullibility, captivity to consumer culture and failure to take seriously our diverse mission context. Even effective strategies only work in limited segments of a plural society. What we need are not methods we can clone but careful listening and cultural exegesis, local and contextual approaches, and patience.
Third, grappling with the implications of post-Christendom. Most attention recently has been on post-modernity and developing responses to this elusive and complex aspect of our culture. But the demise of Christendom is at least as significant as the disintegration of modernity. In ‘Christian Europe’ the church was central, influential, conventional, institutional and static. This position deeply impacted its theology, its ethics, its biblical interpretation, its understanding of mission, and its own identity and role within society. But this position has changed in post-Christendom, and much that has been familiar needs to be re-imagined and redesigned. Among other things we have to learn what it means to be a church on the margins rather than in the centre, to operate as a movement rather than an institution, and to become unconventional and surprising rather than predictable.
Are we willing to take risks? The challenges ahead are significant but there are signs of hope. The widespread recent endorsement of church planting, the experience gained and the availability of trained church planters give many British denominations advantages. Visits to Sweden and Holland earlier this year to train church planters in denominations that had not planted a church in the past 40 years underscored the significance of this. Can we learn from the successes and failures of the 1990s, invest energy again in church planting, release and support church planters while we can still draw on the expertise that has developed, and initiate new strategies that are more creative and longer-term?
And there are already new initiatives all over the country – many small and in marginal communities; some intentional, others accidental; some with clear strategies, others tentative and organic; some mission-oriented, others peopled by refugees from churches. Networks are emerging to support and nurture such initiatives. Some will flourish and fade. Some will never thrive. But some may contain seeds of the future, clues to new ways of being church in a changing world.
These new ways of being church will not, of course, be totally new. Whether church planters realise it or not, they will draw on the accumulated wisdom of missionaries and congregations through the centuries, who responded to previous cultural changes with courage and creativity. Hopefully they will seek inspiration and insight, not in obsolete Christendom practices or the soon-to-be-obsolete mega-church cathedrals of modernity, but in contexts where, like today, the church engaged in mission from the margins, as a powerless community, as one voice among others in a plural culture. Such as?
• The pre-Christendom missionary movement to Europe and North Africa ;
• The Nestorian missionary movement in Asia, which encountered religious pluralism beyond anything European Christendom knew ;
• The Celtic missionary movement on the fringes of Christendom ;
• The Anabaptist missionary movement that offered a powerful critique of and alternative to the Christendom system ;
Post-Christendom is a new and challenging missionary environment. We have not been this way before, so cloning will not help. But creative church planting will – especially if church planters draw on neglected but newly potent aspects of the past as they design the churches of the future.
By Stuart Murray Williams
Arguments about seating arrangements – pews or chairs, straight lines or circles, etc. – have occupied many happy hours at church meetings! Memories of these discussions and the bruises left from such encounters may discourage us from recognising that how we sit together is actually rather important. Our seating arrangements reflect and underpin what we believe about the church community, its worship, ministry and mission.
But it has been wisely suggested that starting with the seats is to start with the wrong item of furniture. Start instead with the table. Once you have discovered where the table goes, the seats tend to follow. I wonder what difference this might make to debates about seating arrangements in some churches.
For some Christians the place of the table has become increasingly significant, especially among those exploring fresh ways of meeting together. For those weary of churches that are focused on preachers, worship leaders and other performers, placing the table at the centre represents a place of gathering, levelling and inclusion. If the table (rather than a lectern, altar, bank of microphones or overhead projector) is the central symbol, the congregation is encouraged to think in fresh ways about its community life, forms of worship and openness to outsiders. Some alternative worship groups have thought deeply about these issues. Others have developed café-style churches where congregations sit around many small tables.
For others, weary of large-scale gatherings and ritualised informality, the dining table has become the place where church happens. Unlike house groups that sometimes share a meal before the meeting proper begins (a shift signalled by a move away from the table, the strumming of a guitar, an ‘opening’ prayer or a call to ‘begin now’, and resulting often in a change of atmosphere and stylised rather than relaxed relationships), these Christians remain at the table all evening. Church happens around the table, around a meal, in a domestic setting.
Why? Some point to many occasions in the Gospels when Jesus and his disciples are at the table as a ‘biblical basis’ for this practice. Others have rediscovered the link between the Eucharist and meals, with hunks of bread and flagons of wine replacing the ‘nip and sip’ of formal communion. Some note that in a culture where fewer homes possess a dining table because families graze individually rather than eating together, church around the table is counter-cultural, subversive and attractive. Others reflect on the significance of eating together for the success of the Alpha course and have found that many people who would not attend a church service do accept an invitation to a meal.
For some church around the table is essentially about mission – a place of invitation and open conversation. For others it is a safe place for learning to pray and worship in new ways, for exploring faith and discipleship, for rediscovering church as community rather than institution. Some groups have written table liturgies, so Bible readings, songs, prayers, silence, the use of candles, sharing bread and wine, and other liturgical elements are woven into an extended meal. Some have rediscovered church as community and speak of friendship rather than the over-used and emasculated term ‘fellowship’. Church around the table has been a place of refuge for over-committed church members, a place of discovery for those exploring faith and a place of reconnection for those who had dropped out of church.
Is this really church? It is not easy to foster transcendent experiences around a dining table. It is not easy to be genuinely open to all in a living room. It is not easy to avoid charges of cosiness and self-indulgence, especially if such tables operate mainly in comfortable suburban homes. Many do, but not all. I know a church for homeless and marginalised people that operates as a table church, empowering all to choose the menu and help with the cooking.
It will be some time before such groups can show they have enduring power (the oldest I know is nine years old). Some may be mission groups that help people find their way into (or back into) congregational forms of church. Others may take their place as one expression of an apparently global (though not unchallenged) shift towards small-scale, relational forms of church. They will not suit all individuals or fit every sub-culture. But they may represent one faithful and relevant expression of church in a postmodern and post-Christendom culture. If nothing else, they move the goalposts for discussions about seating arrangements!
Mark & Josephine Wakeling, UE Associates, have made available to us the first two resources in the new Signpost Series produced by the National Christian Alliance on Prostitution (NCAP).
These resources - on prostitution and substance abuse - are available below.
A number of people involved (currently or previously) in Urban Expression or as Associates have written books or contributed chapters to books on church planting, urban mission or other related subjects.
Here is an annotated list of such books/authors, which we will try to keep updated:
Colin Marchant: Signs in the City (Hodder & Stoughton, 1985)
An introduction to the urban context - its struggles and signs of hope.
Colin Marchant: Shalom, my Friends (Marshall Pickering, 1988)
Study of the potent biblical word 'shalom' and its implications for building community.
Mark Perrott: 'An Incomer's Tale' in Michael Estman & Steve Latham (Eds.) Urban Church: A Practitioner's Resource Book (SPCK, 2004)
A personal account of involvement in urban ministry and mission.
Derek Purnell: 'Urban Mission' in Michael Estman & Steve Latham (Eds.) Urban Church: A Practitioner's Resource Book (SPCK, 2004)
Reflections from Manchester on the practicalities of urban mission.
Juliet Kilpin: 'Church Planting' in Michael Estman & Steve Latham (Eds.) Urban Church: A Practitioner's Resource Book (SPCK, 2004)
Church planting in the urban context.
Stuart Murray: 'New Models of Church' in Michael Estman & Steve Latham (Eds.) Urban Church: A Practitioner's Resource Book (SPCK, 2004)
A brief exploration of emerging forms of church and their relevance to the urban context.
Kathryn Copsey: Become Like a Child (SU, 1994)
By the project leader of CURBS, which provides resources for those working with children in urban contexts.
Kathryn Copsey: From the Ground Up (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2005)
An introduction to the spirituality of children.
Illtyd Barrie Thomas: Compassion and Community (Piquant, 2005)
The story of the work of the Living Well Trust on an estate in Carlisle.
Derek Purnell: 'Urban Presence' in John Vincent (Ed.): Faithfulness in the City (Monad, 2003)
The work and context of Urban Presence in Manchester.
Matt Wilson: Eden: CAlled to the Streets (Kingsway, 2005))
Stuart Murray: City Vision (Darton, Longman & Todd, 1989)
A biblical perspective on the meaning of the city and urban mission.
Stuart Murray: Church Planting: Laying Foundations (Paternoster, 1998)
The theological, historical, biblical and missiological foundations for the practice of church planting.
Stuart Murray & Anne Wilkinson-Hayes: Hope from the Margins (Grove, 2000)
One of the first investigations of new ways of being church and the issues these raise.
George Lings & Stuart Murray: Church Planting: Past, Present and Future (Grove, 2003)
A summary of church planting in Britain during the 1990s with suggestions for lessons to be learned.
Stuart Murray: Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World (Paternoster, 2004)
An examination of the implications of the end of Christendom for mission in a changing culture.
Peter Neilson, Church on the Move, New Church, New Generation, New Scotland (Glasgow: Covenanters Press, 2005)
An account of the Emerging Church in Scotland over the last 5-6 years.
Stuart Murray: Church after Christendom (CTBI, 2006)
The second title in the 'After Christendom' series, exploring mission, community and worship in a changing culture.
Stuart Murray: Changing Mission (CTBI, 2006)
An introduction to the emerging church scene and its implications for mission in contemporary culture.
Juliet Kilpin & Stuart Murray: Church Planting in the Inner City: the Urban Expression Story (Grove, 2007)
An account of the first ten years of Urban Expression and lessons learned about church planting in the inner city.
Eleanor Williams: Fresh Expressions in the Urban Context (YTC Press, 2007)
An exploration of the significance of 'fresh expressions of church' for urban communities.
There are 2 parts to this our liturgy: the liturgy itself, the daily readings which accompany it and the prayers.
The liturgy, Praying Our Values, is included below, where it can also be downloaded as a Word document.
The Daily readings can also be accessed below. However, the most helpful way to access read them might be alongside the liturgy. So, on each day of Praying Our Values, you will find the daily reading displayed alongside in the right-hand column.
There are two cycles of reading to choose from: The Peace Cycle or The City Cycle. If you are a registered user of the site then you can choose which cycle displays in the side-bar, by editing your settings here, under 'Block configuration'.
The Liturgy gives space for open prayer, but also includes the Lord's Prayer each day.
‘Praying our Values’ is a 28-day cycle of prayers, readings and exercises based around the core values and commitments of Urban Expression. It can be used in various ways:
• For personal prayer or prayer in small groups
• Regularly or occasionally
• During one calendar month or for any 28-day period
There are two cycles of readings – the City Cycle and the Peace Cycle – that can be used as part of this daily liturgy. These focus on biblical texts that explore these themes, ranging from Genesis to Revelation (using for freshness The Message version).
Those who use ‘Praying our Values’ daily during a calendar month will, of course, find that most months have additional days 29, 30 and/or 31. Additional material is provided for those days.
We welcome feedback on this material. If you notice any errors or have suggestions that might enhance it, please let us know. If you are interested in developing a further cycle of readings, please contact us to discuss this.
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Relationship
Call to mind where you live.
Imagine that you’re in a balloon floating over the roofs and parks, people and traffic, houses and flats.
Hear the sounds of where you live; breathe its air; feel its life and stay with this for as long as you like.
This is where God has invited you to live.
Notice what part of the neighbourhood is uppermost in your mind.
What’s calling out for transformation today? Silently offer that to God.
God
we come before you just as we are
with all our frailties and vulnerabilities
our baggage and prejudices
our hopes and dreams
our life and love
and we offer it all to you.
Take all we are and hope to be.
Use us here where you’ve brought us
and help us to be like Jesus.
Use our hands, our eyes, our ears,
our words, our silences,
our work, our rest
our hearts and minds,
and let your kingdom come
in the lives of all who live
next door and round about,
in this street and square
in the whole neighbourhood.
Confirm in us your invitation
to be your people here.
Deepen our commitment to it.
In our experience of the
heights and depths of life here
help us to know your surging and renewing love.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Relationship
Call to mind the relationships in your life that you carry in your heart today - family, friends, neighbours, your church community - and as you focus on each of them, imagine God's arms surrounding and holding them.
Are any particular relationships calling for your attention?
Offer your thoughts and feelings about them to God, or simply pray, 'Lord, have mercy,' confident
in the loving work of the God who knows you and the relationships in a way which does not demand
words of explanation.
God
thank you for all those that you’ve placed in our paths
for the sorted and the centred
for the muddled and bemused
for the broken and the fractured
for the searching and confused
In all our relationships
let the piercing light of your love
infuse us and flow through us
challenging the depths of the darkness
offering the hope of new beginnings
providing warmth where hearts are cold
giving strength where wills are weak
In us and through us
let all those we meet today
be touched by your Spirit,
and may we see your presence
reflected in the faces of
friends and strangers
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Relationship
Reflect on all those in your life today.
Where are they on their faith journey?
What do they struggle with?
What do you struggle with?
What have they taught you of God?
Where has God been present in your interactions?
Hold them quietly in your heart and imagine what life would be like for them if God was more fully in their lives. What prayer does that image call from you? Offer it to God.
Now reflect on your faith at the moment. What would change for you if God was more fully present to you and in you? Is that a change that you desire? Offer your response to God.
Our God
we are a part of that great crowd of people
who are learning what it means to abide in your love.
We thank you that we are not alone in our journey,
but from the beginning of human experience,
right through Scripture,
right through the stories of faithful people
you have invited us to travel with you
in this journey of salvation.
We recognise the journey takes us
through desert landscapes
sometimes dotted with oases
sometimes arid, dry and forbidding
as far as the eye can see;
through beautiful landscapes
filled with water, trees, sky and hills
where all creation cries Alleluia!;
through urban landscapes
noisy with change yet a place
where nothing really changes.
We offer you our journey and pray
that, while you lead us to where we
need to go,
you’ll help us to be fully present today
to your Spirit,
ever beckoning,
ever calling,
ever inviting
to life in all its fullness.
And we offer to you the faith journey
of those we know
praying for them your peace and hope,
and an ever deepening awareness
of your love and life.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Relationship
Who are the most despised in your neighbourhood?
What label does the rest of the neighbourhood give to them?
In your work, recall the faces of individuals from that group who you’ve spoken with or spent time with.
What are their names?
Created uniquely by God in God’s holy image, what has this person, or group of people, taught you about Jesus?
Imagine what their life would look like if they knew good news and the one who brought it?
What action does this reflection call from you? Offer that to God.
God
we pray for all Christians in this place
that, as yeast in the dough, you will
use us to be a transforming presence.
We confess our own labelling of those
who are not like us;
our standing apart from strangers
as we surround ourselves with friends.
We are sorry for the ways in which
we scaffold up the walls that divide us
and pray that you’ll give us a vision
of this community fully reconciled, redeemed
with the rubble of walls building
places of meeting and eating together.
We pray for all those who are
most neglected and most unloved;
those used as scapegoats for the
deeper sin which besets us all.
Help us to challenge wrong attitudes
and destructive behaviours
and in our churches to create
communities which are truly inclusive,
filled with justice and peace
and flowing with life-giving love.
And God,
where the old ways of introducing
people to Jesus seem to have lost
their power,
ignite our imaginations and give us courage
to share his life in ways that truly connect,
truly empower, truly transform.
We ask for this, because we have
no-one else to turn to.
You are our God
and we are your people.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Relationship
Write a psalm of lament for the reasons why Christians move out of cities and then a psalm of hope for the inner city, celebrating its unique gift and challenge, affirming God’s presence in all that it holds.
God our hope,
you have called your people
to live lives of fullness
throughout the world.
We pray today for brothers and sisters
who find it hard to live that calling
in the inner cities and who,
wearied or frightened,
crowded out or isolated,
have clashing aspirations
and seek what they don’t have
somewhere else.
We pray for those facing questions today
of whether to stay or go
and ask that you guide them in their discerning,
fill them with your love
and give them a vision
for your city redeemed.
Let your people come here and grow here
and may we be the community they need
for them to flourish and fulfil the potential
that you have given each of them.
Let your church grow!
Let your people be free!
Let your kingdom come!
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Relationship
Reflect on an idea you’ve had for the wider community. Hold it before God.
Think about the people or groups of people in the neighbourhood who share the vision for a healed community.
Are there any groups calling for our special attention today? Groups we could work with creatively? Groups we could work in partnership with that could make a new idea flourish? Groups that we’ve never worked with before? Groups that we know well?
Offer the potential for synergy to God.
God our shaper
thank you for calling us into community
in this community.
Thank you for its colour and vibrancy,
its texture and life.
Thank you that we can’t do all that you’ve asked of us on our own.
But it’s together with all the people here
that we’re asked to build your commonwealth
of justice, peace and fullness of life.
We offer to you our hopes for this community
and name them before you now.
(pause)
We pray for partners in this community
with whom those hopes could be made real and
name them before you now.
(pause)
We pray that you will take from us any pride,
any assumption that we know best,
and that you will give hearts open to
receive your word and life
from the friend and stranger we will meet today.
In all our work, keep us humble,
conscious that without you we are nothing
and without our neighbours we are a clique.
Bless our partnerships and our dreams
and let your kingdom come!
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Relationship
Are there situations you’re facing, or questions in your mind that could be helped by sharing them with the team today? What’s the core issue that you’re concerned about? How are you feeling about it? How will you phrase it?
Are there things other team members are facing that you want to hold before God today? Is there something you can do to encourage them or help them? How can working together and mutual accountability be made real today?
Thank you God
for bringing us together,
working as a team,
held by a vision,
committed to a way
of living and working
in which Jesus is known.
We readily confess our need
of support and encouragement,
of honest listening and talking,
of friendship and laughter,
of each other.
Bless each of our relationships,
and help them to reflect
the depth of relating
known in the holy Trinity -
mutual,
flowing,
life-giving,
abundant,
free.
God, we’re human enough to know
that sometimes relationships become strained.
Wherever this is true for us,
may your reconciling Spirit
work among us,
repairing and deepening
our mutual understanding,
respect and love.
God thank you for this team!
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Creativity
Hold in your heart something that’s difficult for you today.
What risks are you invited to take with this situation?
What are the possible outcomes?
What would the situation look like if the best outcome happened?
God does not demand that we are successful, but that we are faithful and real.
Let us own again the glorious permission to fail!
Acknowledge the difficult situation and how you feel about it before God.
God our encourager,
you know the many things in which we’re involved.
We offer to you
our frailty and fragility,
our fears and inadequacies,
and pray that you’ll use them all
to build up your church and world
Sometimes we retreat onto safe ground,
keeping our borders well defended,
our protocols and policies in sharp relief.
And in doing that,
we forget the tender hearts
of the people around us
and their need of your presence in us.
Whatever we’re facing today,
give us courage to be creative,
and take the risk of
opening our hearts and minds
to your pioneering Spirit,
recognising that you might call us
to do something new for you
and this neighbourhood.
Help us know that
no defence mechanism
however secure
can protect us from
danger and failure here.
But assure us in our deepest places
that we walk into today
with you before us, beside us and behind us.
And you, our God, are all we need.
Thank you God.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Creativity
Reflect on the patterns of living expressed in your church community.
How typical are they of patterns lived out in the wider community?
What are the differences?
What can you celebrate?
What is calling a question from you?
Name one new thing that would help your church to become a truer community of God’s people
So much, Lord, so much!
Talents, gifts, personalities, temperaments;
Histories, stories, influences, backgrounds;
All here in this neighbourhood,
this street,
this church.
So much to hold that it weighs us down;
So much to unlock that its potential is overwhelming;
So much to discover that it knows no boundary.
God,
help us to receive this diverse community as your gift to us;
your creativity to celebrate
your people to love
your kingdom come
And help us to see it as you do,
attentive to the parts that need mending
the signs of your coming
the glimpses of redemption
And help us to say ‘Yes!’ at the tops of our voices
to all that you ask us to be and to do.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Creativity
Note down the questions that have been raised for you in the last month.
Offer them to God in prayer
Is any one demanding your attention over the others?
What’s God’s invitation to you in the question?
Are there steps that you need to take as a result of it?
As you share this process and reflect with others in your church and team – are there implications for your common life?
Our God
you call us to a cycle of life
that involves growth, pruning, renewal and new growth.
As we engage our minds with your calling of us
we meet people and situations, issues and questions
that disturb us, provoke us, challenge us, deepen us.
Sometimes the questions can scare us
as they rattle our cages and raise anxieties.
Sometimes the questions can thrill us
as they make possible new things, new directions.
Lord in your mercy,
hold the questions we’re living with today.
Infuse us with your peace
and help us to work with them
so that we become more truly yours, more truly ourselves
and more truly followers of Jesus.
Thank you for the people who help us to reflect well,
and those who give us the courage to deal with the consequences.
Thank you for our fragile communities
in whom you live
and grace with your hope.
Jesus invited us to a full and overflowing life.
Today we again gladly accept that invitation.
Grow us, prune us, whatever it takes
for your commonwealth of love to be known.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Creativity
Where have you been moved by creation recently?
Where was it? What were the distinctive shapes, scents and colours there?
Is there an act of human creativity that has inspired you?
What was it that touched your heart?
Simply hold the delight of these before God in prayer.
God we are alive and we thank you!
Your creative heart beats around us
in colour and sound, sight and scent.
We are blown away by your vision,
awed by your imagination,
which is so much bigger than we could dream of.
But you have planted in us
an imagination that can soar to the highest places
and release in us gifts well hidden and under-used.
Our God,
let your Spirit unlock in us new ways
of thinking, of being,
of behaving, of creating,
and give us the eyes to see potential
in ourselves,
in others,
in our neighbourhood,
in our families.
And use us all to make the world
more beautiful,
more whole,
more integrated,
more centred,
more lovely,
just as Jesus did.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Creativity
Visualise people in your church community
Which of them have been catalysts for community growth?
Who has been influential in recent decisions?
How is leadership being exercised?
Think of one thing that’s happened involving others in the church for which you can give thanks.
Loving Lord
you built your church with a mixed bag of people
gentle, impulsive, schooled and uneducated
men, women, young and old
and somehow through it all
you formed a community
charged with loving the enemy
welcoming the stranger
living with values
that others laugh at,
and all this so that the world might be redeemed.
We are part of that mixed bag
and while we struggle with its clashes
we rejoice in its diversity
and we’re committed to it
because we’ve seen you at work
doing impossible things
in this crucible of love.
Help us to be attentive to those around us
who can be
holders of hope
makers of peace
catalysts for change
who can help shape our future life in good ways.
And help us, Lord,
to help them be all that you call them to be.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Creativity
Reflect on the times of prayer that you’ve experienced recently.
What has moved you?
What has made you react negatively? Why?
Where has God been in the experience?
Is today the day for changing your pattern of prayer to something different?
• A day held in silence
• A day for a prayer walk
• A day for being attentive to God in the strangers we meet
• A day for praying with music
• A day for journaling/painting/composing/dancing
• A day for ………………(feel free to fill in the gap)
God of the city
You are here in
the lives of the people
the bricks of the buildings
the pavements we walk on
the scrub ground we pass by
the trees in the park
the voices in the market
the hopes and dreams
of all our neighbours.
We thank you for that.
Give us the eyes to see you at work
and minds that can quickly glimpse
your growing kingdom.
And when we see it,
help us to sing an Alleluia!
A jazzed up, street sourced Alleluia!
A grating, soaring, garage Alleluia!
A rap, urban, Bangra Alleluia!
You are the beginning and end of our worship
and we want to worship you honestly and boldly.
Help us to work out ways of worship and prayer
that aren’t borrowed ways
but ways that our community
our environment
our churches
are aching to express.
Give us eyes to see and ears to hear.
Alleluia!
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Creativity
Where have you known the Spirit’s movement recently?
Is there any aspect of your work which calls for more time from you?
Where’s the spark in what you do?
Is that God saying ‘be more attentive to this in your life’?
What aspect of your work is life-denying?
Is God inviting you to move on from it?
Hold all this before God in prayer.
Living God
thank you that you don’t leave us simply maintaining
ways of worshipping
ways of meeting
ways of being your people
but that your invitation is to an abundant, overflowing life.
Help us to see our lives in seasons
when there is a time
to sow and reap
to plant and establish
to harvest and enjoy
to prune and wait.
What we do is all yours.
You are our guide, our leader,
our protector, our nourisher.
You build up and you tear down.
Help us not be so attached to what we do
that we miss your voice saying
‘Enough!’ or ‘Move on’.
But in all that we do,
and in your mercy Lord,
help us to hear your voice saying
‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’
Because when times are hard
we need to know that this matters to you.
And it’s only because all these people
and all their situations matter to you
that we are here at all.
Bless us Lord, we pray.
Free prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Humility
Bring to mind all that God has done in your life recently.
What's your response?
Who has been praying for you?
Bless them with a prayer.
Rest in God's presence for a while
Our brother Jesus
without you we are nothing
we can do nothing
create nothing
You are the vine
we are the branches.
And you call us your friends
and invite us to dwell in your love.
When life gets busy
and the demands never-ending
we find that hard.
It's hard to be still
and to stop our minds from whirring,
and thinking about the next
thing that needs doing.
But we say again that
we need you
we yearn to be closer to you
we long to deepen our understanding
and our following.
In spite of the noise in our lives
hear the quiet convictions of our hearts
and lead us on.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Humility
Call to mind people you've met this week.
Picture their faces.
Remember the conversations you held with them
Or the impressions they left on you.
And hold them before God.
Holy God
the Bible is filled with stories
of you working through
the unlikely,
the despised,
the stranger,
the enemy,
and you constantly shocked
those who were called your own
and offended their sensibilities.
And for that we thank you!
When we get precious about
who's in and who's out
remind us again of our role models:
Abraham and Sarah, the travellers
Shiphrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives
Ruth and Boaz, the boundary breakers
Cyrus and Darius, the faithful outsiders
and all those restored by Jesus
to their full humanity,
and all those in the history of your people
who have defied convention
in subversive ways.
In Jesus you showed us how to love
those who are not like us
but who are adored by you.
Help us to love our neighbours too
and to see you reflected in their faces.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Humility
Call to mind colleagues and partners in the work in your area.
Are any calling for special attention for prayer today?
What have they taught you about God and about yourself?
Who are the saints who have gone before you?
Do any give you real inspiration for what you're doing now?
Celebrate them before God!
Risen Lord
thank you for the inner city
with its clashing needs and hopes.
It's here that we find you
constantly working to make broken lives whole.
Thank you for calling us to be partners in your work
and thank you for those who work alongside us.
Deepen our friendships;
let our vulnerabilities be shared;
envision us with a fiery passion;
we are your body, one body, and we thank you.
We thank you, too, for all those
who pioneered kingdom building here
for Muriel Lester, Ken Leech,
Catherine Booth, Colin Marchant ..... (fill in names)
who lived prophetic lives
that truly transformed the neighbourhood.
Help us to be like them.
Use us to speak and act prophetically,
and to live lovingly.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Humility
Where have experiences been shared recently?
What have you taken from that sharing?
What have you contributed to it?
Is there something else that needs to be shared your with church, your team?
Living God
thank you for never leaving us alone
in the work you call us to do.
We thank you for Urban Expression
and everyone who works within it.
Thank you for the richness of experience
the diversity of gifting
the depth of hope
the quality of commitment
all held here.
We pray that our relationships
will be honest, open and true;
that we will never fear vulnerability with each other
but help to build each other up;
through sharing our experiences
reflecting on your presence in them
discovering who we really are
and working out what we should do.
Help us to listen well to each other
to speak words wisely
to hold silences sensitively
to be as willing to learn as to teach
so that in all things
you are glorified.
Let your kingdom come!
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Humility
Picture the other churches in the area.
Is one calling for your attention today?
Dream a dream: what could this church be?
Hold the present and potential before God
Living God
your story of our salvation
began with your world's beginning;
and we thank you that you've
invited us to be part of that story today.
Disciples have come before us
and will come after us
and you choose to use us all
in loving the world.
We thank you for brothers and sisters
in other communities around here;
people with hope and vision
people with questions and concerns
people searching for truth
people longing for healing.
In all that we do
keep us attentive to their needs,
their aspirations,
their boundaries
so that we never call from them
something they just can't give
or do
or be
but help us in all our relating
to deepen friendship
and welcome strangers
as we journey on together.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Humility
Is there anything consuming your mind at the moment?
Is it a gift to be held or a distraction to be let go?
As a sign of commitment to today's value, pass something onto a neighbour, throw something out, or have a good holy tidying session!
God
all that we are and all that we have comes from you.
Our possessions, our money,
our breath, our life,
all comes from you.
Where we get tied to stuff
and obsess about acquiring more;
where we fall into thinking
that retail therapy is good for us;
where were find our attitudes
shaped by the advertising we see
rather than the gospel we know;
forgive us - and turn us round again
to see the wonder of your gifts
the generosity of your heart
the magnitude of your love
and bring us to our senses!
Preserve us from consumerism;
help us to live more simply;
keep reminding us what you've called us to be;
and in that we will find our joy and our freedom.
Thanks be to God!
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Humility
Have there been any occasions when we've been a bit prickly, or self-absorbed, or just a bit too intense recently?
Anything we need to say sorry for?
Let's offer our confession to God and words of regret to each other.
Then, get out some old and new photographs - enjoy the friendships celebrated, the events attended, the signs of God's presence they represent - and give thanks for God's perspective on us!
Lord
you've called us to be pioneers
and we have gladly responded
even if some days are hard.
We know that we're looked to
by those searching for more
cutting edge ways of being church
and we carry that responsibility
because we want others to
get the vision.
Sometimes, though,
this adventuring heart
can get a bit full of itself
and we take greater pride
in what we do
rather than who you are.
God save us from
our own self-absorption
our own puffed-upness
and bring us down to earth,
gently if possible.
We know that we are just
a part of your work in the world
and that your Spirit is
healing and transforming
in places we haven't heard of.
But we thank you for this
place, where you've put us now,
knowing that it's as wonderful
and valuable to you
as the whole universe.
Thank you God.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Commitment
During the past month, where have you experienced powerlessness and weakness, either in yourself or others?
Where was God in it?
What did you learn of the kingdom through it?
Did it leave you with a sense of pain?
Of hope?
Of a decision to be made?
Gently offer it to God in prayer
Lord of the universe,
Lord of the smallest particle of dust,
we meet you in the broken and the despairing
we know you in the unlikely and the unimagined.
We live alongside the bent and bruised
and we see you there
We worship with the damaged and deranged
and we see you there
We work with the oppressed and yearning
and we see you there
and we meet our own fragmentation there too.
In encountering powerlessness
we see Jesus;
In our weakness
we meet Jesus;
In living in the gaps
we follow Jesus;
who is our power,
who is our strength,
who is our Lord,
and who leads us on.
You are working to make all things new,
to help us to embody that hope,
to express that vision,
and to work for its coming.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Commitment
What have we noticed in our reading of the Bible recently?
What verse, story, image, person has impacted on us?
Have we met something new in Jesus?
What is God's invitation to us in our noticing?
Creator God,
we thank you for giving the Word
flesh and bones
in Jesus, our friend and brother.
In him we find our life,
we find our hope,
we find our joy.
In him we find out what it means
to be fully human.
We thank you for his centre
a life completely grounded in you.
We thank you for his compassion
which welled up uncontrollably
when he met brokenness.
We thank you for his vulnerability,
being fully alive in the hard places
with no protection, no defence.
We thank you for his playfulness
enjoying parties, good food and fine wine.
We thank you for his tenderness
in dealing with men and women.
We thank you for his vision
of lives, the neighbourhood,
the country and the world
healed and whole,
filled with peace and justice.
We thank you for his sacrifice
that carried all the ugliness,
the bruised and battered stuff,
on a cross.
We thank you for raising him to life,
giving us a brand new place of standing
and through him a whole new future
Lord, we long to be like Jesus.
Keep converting us,
and help us to be like Jesus
and walk with Jesus
through today
and this coming season.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Commitment
The Bible gives wonderful images of the kingdom - yeast in dough, salt, light.
When you think about the signs of the kingdom in your neighbourhood, what images come to mind?
Write them down.
Today, do something to symbolise the coming kingdom in your area - shake a packet of wild flower seeds over waste land; have a blitz on litter in one area; brighten something up with a lick of paint; go and stand and pray somewhere which has known pain and sorrow recently .... feel free to add your own initiative here .....
Lord you surprise us in so many ways!
A smile from a person we hadn't even noticed;
A flower defying the ugliness around it;
A laugh heard from an open window;
The scent of a curry floating down the road;
The glory of a sunset lighting up the flats.
You are God!
You care for each person living here.
You love us overwhelmingly
and passionately.
You have invited us to be your people
of salt and light
and smiles and beauty
and joy and fragrance
a people who reflect your glory.
And you have invited us to work together
with people like us and people not like us.
Lord, show us what your
kingdom shaped communities
can look like here;
encourage us in the building of them,
and lead us into deeper ways
of faithful and risky living.
In our yes to you,
keep our eye on the ball
on your love and purpose
on your touch and word
on your life and energy
for that is all we have
and all we need.
Thank you Jesus.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Commitment
Hold before God the people and situations known to you who are crying out for justice and peace and the destruction of all that makes them less than human.
Name them, cup your hands and lift them to God.
What shape of justice is needed?
What tenor of peace?
How can their full humanity be restored?
In lifting and offering your cupped hands to God, imagine that a vision for each person or situation named is being poured into your hands as God's gift to you.
What does that call from you?
Lord, we know that you intend for us
a world filled with shalom,
your gift of complete well-being
to all people, the whole of humanity,
all who you've created in your image,
who hold holiness and hope
and love and laughter
and peace and purpose
and justice and joy
deep inside their hearts.
But we see too much of
lives held down by
systems and sin
oppression and hate
domination and darkness
and we are angry!
So much potential!
Jesus you hold us in your prayer;
you know what life could be for us;
you see how things could change;
you move to drench us in your
transforming love and life.
Help us to see the
possibilities and purposes
in the most broken
of people and places.
Help us to feel your
justice and peace
and your
shalom-filled
creation.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Commitment
Where has life become cluttered, unfocussed, or dislocated recently?
What gifts are needed in the local church, the local community at the moment?
Jesus asked blind Bartimaeus, ‘What do you want me to do for you?'
How do you answer Jesus?
Jesus, preserve us
from the trappings of church life,
from endless discussions
about things that have no weight
or relevance in your kingdom.
Jesus, protect us
from distractions and trinkets
that blur your vision in us.
Jesus, deepen in us
a love for the rhythms
that surround us;
the cultural joys of
our streets
and parks
and homes
and places of refuge.
Raise up among us
men and women
young people and children
with the gifts needed
to build your kingdom here.
Give us the sight to spot
the gifts already here that
need to be encouraged,
and given oxygen, light,
compost - whatever it takes
for these gifts to grow!
Make us muck-loving
gardeners in your kingdom!
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Commitment
Think back to what you offered of yourself at the beginning of your journey with Urban Expression.
What were your hopes?
What were your fears?
Has anything changed in you now?
Is there anything that needs to be offered to God that blocks a full ‘yes' to the season ahead?
Spend time in silence with open hands before God.
Lord you have given us everything.
There is nothing we have
that doesn't come from you,
a holy gift of divine grace.
You gave us your life
and every breath that we breathe
reminds us of that.
We come to you in humility and hope
offering ourselves to you again
knowing our own frailty.
You know the demons that lurk
within us
of weaknesses and compulsions
addictions and obsessions;
of lack of confidence
and self limitations.
Lord, you are much more generous
to us than we are to ourselves
and you see us for who we are,
with our confused motives
and clashing hopes and fears.
But we want to be your people here
who point to your coming kingdom
and your sacrificial love.
So in our fragility
take us,
make us,
and use us.
We are yours.
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
Readings
Silence
Commitment
Recall recent conversations with people of other faiths and none.
Where has God been present to you in them?
Is there a stranger around whose name you want to know?
Is there someone who needs to become a friend?
Is there a situation of manipulation or oppression which needs addressing?
Is there a call here for you, your church or the wider team?
Jesus you have placed us in a
place of such difference!
We offer to you our neighbours,
Muslim, Hindu, Sikh,
Jew, Buddhist,
and those of confused faith
or no faith at all.
Help us to see you in their eyes,
celebrate you in our relating,
embrace new truths of you
that we learn in our common life,
and may our words and actions
be filled with gentleness and respect.
You call us to be a people of dissent
where prevailing culture and ways
deny a voice to the voiceless;
and we pray for strength and courage
to speak out and act up
when basic human rights are trampled on.
And in so doing, help us to address
the manipulative tendencies in our
own hearts that damage others
and limit ourselves.
You are Lord!
And we will live in freedom!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
After praying the values during the past 28 days, spend time today reflecting again on the first set of core values (with biblical texts for further reflection):
We believe that, in Jesus, God is revealed locally, and that we should be committed to our local community or relational network and active members of it.
(John 1:14, 1 John 1:1)
We believe that the gospel works through relationships and that serving God consists largely in building life-giving relationships with others.
(1 Thessalonians 2:8)
We recognise that Christian faith is a journey and we are committed to helping people move forward, wherever they are at present.
(1 Corinthians 3:1-2)
We focus on under-churched areas and neglected people, trying to find ways of communicating Jesus appropriately to those most frequently marginalised, condemned and abused by society.
(James 1:27)
We challenge the trend of some Christians moving out of the cities and encourage Christians to relocate to the inner cities.
(Matthew 9:9-12)
We believe in doing things with and not just for communities, sharing our lives with others and learning from others who share their lives with us.
(1 Thessalonians 1:5-6)
We see teamwork, networking and mutual accountability as vital, recognising that individuals and churches need each other.
(Ephesians 4:11-13; Acts 2:42-46)
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
After praying the values during the past 28 days, spend time today reflecting again on the second set of core values (with biblical texts for further reflection):
Creativity
We recognise the importance of taking risks and the demands of mission in the inner city, and we believe that it is acceptable to fail.
(Hebrews 11:32-40)
We value courage, creativity and diversity as we try to discover relevant ways of being church in different contexts.
(Joshua 1:6-9)
We believe that questions and theological reflection are important as we learn together and so discern the way forward.
(Jude 17-23, 1 Peter 3:15)
We aim to be catalysts, encouraging and releasing creativity in both church and community as we seek and share God in the inner city.
(Mark 4:26-29)
We believe in discouraging dependency and developing indigenous leadership within maturing churches that will have the capacity to sustain and reproduce themselves.
(Acts 14:23)
We are excited that God can be discovered in the heart of the city and commit ourselves to explore various forms of prayer and worship that are appropriate here.
(Hebrews 10:19-25; Revelation 21:1-4)
We realise that God's Spirit blows freely and so we will not assume our work should continue indefinitely.
(John 3:7-8)
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
+ We draw near to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Silence
After praying the values during the past 28 days, spend time today reflecting again on the third set of core values (with biblical texts for further reflection):
Humility
We acknowledge our dependence on God and affirm our continual need of prayer and God's empowering Spirit.
(Proverbs 3:5; Mark 10:14-15; Ephesians 5:18)
We believe that all people are loved by God, regardless of age, gender, education, race or class, and that God works through all believers - and others besides.
(Galatians 3:28)
We respect others working alongside us in the inner city and are grateful for the foundations laid by the many who have gone before us.
(1 Corinthians 3:5-9, 1 Corinthians 16:15-18)
We want to learn from others, seeking to shape what we do in light of the experiences, discoveries, successes and mistakes of fellow-workers.
(Ecclesiastes 12:11; Romans 15:14; Colossians 3:16)
We are careful not to drain other local churches of their often limited resources, but hope to be an encouragement and support to them.
(Hebrews 10:25, 1 Corinthians 14:12)
We realise the importance of living uncluttered lives, holding possessions lightly and recognising that all we have is to be at God's disposal.
(Luke 12:32-34)
We know we are not indispensable and what we attempt to do is part of a much bigger picture, so will try to keep ourselves in perspective.
(Romans 12:3-5)
Free prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Lord, in your mercy
Let your kingdom come!
The City Cycle of daily readings can be downloaded from the attachment, or accessed day-by-day below.
Genesis 4:8-17
Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him. GOD said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘How should I know? Am I his babysitter?’ GOD said, ‘What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.’
Cain said to GOD, ‘My punishment is too much. I can’t take it! You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I’m a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me.’ GOD told him, ‘No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.’ GOD put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him. Cain left the presence of GOD and lived in No-Man’s-Land, east of Eden. Cain slept with his wife. She conceived and had Enoch. He then built a city and named it after his son, Enoch.
Genesis 11:1-9
At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. It so happened that, as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down. They said to one another, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and fire them well.’ They used brick for stone and tar for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let’s make ourselves famous so we won’t be scattered here and there across the Earth.’ GOD came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built. GOD took one look and said, ‘One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they’ll come up with next – they’ll stop at nothing! Come, we’ll go down and garble their speech so they won’t understand each other.’ Then GOD scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. That’s how it came to be called Babel, because there GOD turned their language into ‘babble’. From there GOD scattered them all over the world.
Genesis 18:17-33
Then GOD said, ‘Shall I keep back from Abraham what I’m about to do? Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I’ve settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe GOD’s way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that GOD can complete in Abraham what he promised him.’ GOD continued, ‘The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I'll know.’ The men set out for Sodom, but Abraham stood in GOD’s path, blocking his way.
Abraham confronted him, ‘Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?’ GOD said, ‘If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them.’
Abraham came back, ‘Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master? What if the fifty fall short by five – would you destroy the city because of those missing five?’ He said, ‘I won’t destroy it if there are forty-five.’ Abraham spoke up again, ‘What if you only find forty?’ ‘Neither will I destroy it if for forty.’ He said, ‘Master, don’t be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?’ ‘No, I won’t do it if I find thirty.’ He pushed on, ‘I know I’m trying your patience, Master, but how about for twenty?’ ‘I won’t destroy it for twenty.’ He wouldn’t quit, ‘Don’t get angry, Master – this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?’ ‘For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.’
When GOD finished talking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went home.
Numbers 35: 9-28
GOD spoke to Moses: ‘Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When you cross the River Jordan into the country of Canaan, designate your asylum-cities, towns to which a person who accidentally kills someone can flee for asylum. They will be places of refuge from the avenger so that the alleged murderer won’t be killed until he can appear before the community in court. Provide six asylum-cities. Designate three of the towns to the east side of the Jordan, the other three in Canaan proper – asylum-cities for the People of Israel, for the foreigner, and for any occasional visitors or guests – six asylum-cities to run to for anyone who accidentally kills another.
‘But if the killer has used an iron object, that’s just plain murder; he’s obviously a murderer and must be put to death. Or if he has a rock in his hand big enough to kill and the man dies, that’s murder; he’s a murderer and must be put to death. Or if he’s carrying a wooden club heavy enough to kill and the man dies, that’s murder; he’s a murderer and must be put to death. In such cases the avenger has a right to kill the murderer when he meets him – he can kill him on the spot. And if out of sheer hatred a man pushes another or from ambush throws something at him and he dies, or angrily hits him with his fist and kills him, that’s murder – he must be put to death. The avenger has a right to kill him when he gets him.
‘If, however, he impulsively pushes someone and there is no history of hard feelings, or he impetuously picks up something and throws it, or he accidentally drops a stone tool – a maul or hammer, say – and it hits and kills someone he didn’t even know was there, and there’s no suspicion that there was bad blood between them, the community is to judge between the killer and the avenger following these guidelines. It’s the task of the community to save the killer from the hand of the avenger – the community is to return him to his asylum-city to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the High Priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
'But if the murderer leaves the asylum-city to which he has fled, and the avenger finds him outside the borders of his asylum-city, the avenger has a right to kill the murderer. And he’s not considered guilty of murder. So it’s important that he stay in his asylum-city until the death of the High Priest. After the death of the High Priest he is free to return to his own place.’
Joshua 6: 1-16
Jericho was shut up tight as a drum because of the People of Israel: no one going in, no one coming out.
GOD spoke to Joshua, ‘Look sharp now. I’ve already given Jericho to you, along with its king and its crack troops. Here’s what you are to do: March around the city, all your soldiers. Circle the city once. Repeat this for six days. Have seven priests carry seven ram’s horn trumpets in front of the Chest. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, the priests blowing away on the trumpets. And then, a long blast on the ram’s horn – when you hear that, all the people are to shout at the top of their lungs. The city wall will collapse at once. All the people are to enter, every man straight on in.’
So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and told them, ‘Take up the Chest of the Covenant. Seven priests are to carry seven ram’s horn trumpets leading GOD’s Chest.’ Then he told the people, ‘Set out! March around the city. Have the armed guard march before the Chest of GOD.’
And it happened. Joshua spoke, the people moved: Seven priests with their seven ram’s horn trumpets set out before GOD. They blew the trumpets, leading GOD’s Chest of the Covenant. The armed guard marched ahead of the trumpet-blowing priests; the rear guard was marching after the Chest, marching and blowing their trumpets.
Joshua had given orders to the people, ‘Don’t shout. In fact, don’t even speak – not so much as a whisper until you hear me say, ‘Shout!’ – then shout away!’ He sent the Chest of GOD on its way around the city. It circled once, came back to camp, and stayed for the night. Joshua was up early the next morning and the priests took up the Chest of GOD. The seven priests carrying the seven ram’s horn trumpets marched before the Chest of GOD, marching and blowing the trumpets, with the armed guard marching before and the rear guard marching after. Marching and blowing of trumpets!
On the second day they again circled the city once and returned to camp. They did this six days. When the seventh day came, they got up early and marched around the city this same way but seven times – yes, this day they circled the city seven times. On the seventh time around the priests blew the trumpets and Joshua signalled the people, ‘Shout! – GOD has given you the city!’
Nehemiah 2: 1-6, 11-20
It was the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king. At the hour for serving wine I brought it in and gave it to the king. I had never been hangdog in his presence before, so he asked me, ‘Why the long face? You’re not sick are you? Or are you depressed?’
That made me all the more agitated. I said, ‘Long live the king! And why shouldn’t I be depressed when the city, the city where all my family is buried, is in ruins and the city gates have been reduced to cinders?’ The king then asked me, ‘So what do you want?’
Praying under my breath to the God of Heaven, I said, ‘If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it.’ The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, ‘How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?’ I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me.
And so I arrived in Jerusalem. After I had been there three days, I got up in the middle of the night, I and a few men who were with me. I hadn’t told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with us was the one I was riding. Under cover of night I went past the Valley Gate toward the Dragon’s Fountain to the Dung Gate looking over the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken through and whose gates had been burned up. I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and headed for the King’s Pool but there wasn’t enough room for the donkey I was riding to get through. So I went up the valley in the dark continuing my inspection of the wall. I came back in through the Valley Gate.
The local officials had no idea where I’d gone or what I was doing – I hadn’t breathed a word to the Jews, priests, nobles, local officials, or anyone else who would be working on the job.
Then I gave them my report: ‘Face it: we’re in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come – let’s build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer.’ I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up. They said, ‘We’re with you. Let’s get started.’ They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work.
When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they laughed at us, mocking, ‘Ha! What do you think you’re doing? Do you think you can cross the king?’ I shot back, ‘The God of Heaven will make sure we succeed. We’re his servants and we’re going to work, rebuilding. You can keep your nose out of it. You get no say in this – Jerusalem’s none of your business!’
Psalm 24
GOD claims Earth and everything in it, God claims World and all who live on it. He built it on Ocean foundations, laid it out on River girders.
Who can climb Mount GOD? Who can scale the holy north-face? Only the clean-handed, only the pure-hearted; men who won’t cheat, women who won’t seduce.
GOD is at their side; with GOD’s help they make it. This, Jacob, is what happens to God-seekers, God-questers.
Wake up, you sleepyhead city! Wake up, you sleepyhead people! King-Glory is ready to enter. Who is this King-Glory? GOD, armed and battle-ready.
Wake up, you sleepyhead city! Wake up, you sleepyhead people! King-Glory is ready to enter. Who is this King-Glory? GOD of the angel armies: he is King-Glory.
Psalm 46: 1-6
God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea storm and earthquake, before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us; GOD of angel armies protects us.
River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city, this sacred haunt of the Most High. God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn. Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten, but Earth does anything he says.
Psalm 48
GOD majestic, praise abounds in our God-city!
His sacred mountain, breathtaking in its heights – earth’s joy.
Zion Mountain looms in the North, city of the world-King.
God in his citadel peaks impregnable.
The kings got together, they united and came.
They took one look and shook their heads, they scattered and ran away.
They doubled up in pain like a woman having a baby.
You smashed the ships of Tarshish with a storm out of the East.
We heard about it, then we saw it with our eyes –
In GOD’s city of angel armies, in the city our God
Set on firm foundations, firm forever.
We pondered your love-in-action, God, waiting in your temple:
Your name, God, evokes a train of Hallelujahs wherever
It is spoken, near and far; your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.
Be glad, Zion Mountain; Dance, Judah’s daughters!
He does what he said he’d do!
Circle Zion, take her measure, count her fortress peaks,
Gaze long at her sloping bulwark, climb her citadel heights.
Then you can tell the next generation detail by detail the story of God,
Our God forever, who guides us till the end of time.
Psalm 122
And now we’re here, O Jerusalem, inside Jerusalem’s walls!
Jerusalem, well-built city, built as a place for worship!
The city to which the tribes ascend, all GOD’s tribes go up to worship,
To give thanks to the name of GOD – this is what it means to be Israel.
Thrones for righteous judgment are set there, famous David-thrones.
Pray for Jerusalem’s peace! Prosperity to all you Jerusalem-lovers!
Friendly insiders, get along! Hostile outsiders, keep your distance!
For the sake of my family and friends, I say it again: live in peace!
For the sake of the house of our God, GOD, I’ll do my very best for you.
Isaiah 1: 21-27
Oh! Can you believe it? The chaste city has become a whore! She was once all justice, everyone living as good neighbours, and now they’re all at one another’s throats. Your coins are all counterfeits. Your wine is watered down. Your leaders are turncoats who keep company with crooks. They sell themselves to the highest bidder and grab anything not nailed down. They never stand up for the homeless, never stick up for the defenceless.
This Decree, therefore, of the Master, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the Strong One of Israel: ‘This is it! I’ll get my oppressors off my back. I’ll get back at my enemies. I’ll give you the back of my hand, purge the junk from your life, clean you up. I’ll set honest judges and wise counsellors among you just like it was back in the beginning. Then you’ll be renamed City-That-Treats-People-Right, the True-Blue City.’ GOD’s right ways will put Zion right again. GOD’s right actions will restore her penitents.
Isaiah 61: 1-11
The Spirit of GOD, the Master, is on me because GOD anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. GOD sent me to announce the year of his grace – a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies – and to comfort all who mourn, to care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them ‘Oaks of Righteousness’ planted by GOD to display his glory. They’ll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage. They’ll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new. You’ll hire outsiders to herd your flocks and foreigners to work your fields, but you’ll have the title ‘Priests of GOD’, honoured as ministers of our God. You’ll feast on the bounty of nations, you’ll bask in their glory. Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever.
‘Because I, GOD, love fair dealing and hate thievery and crime, I’ll pay your wages on time and in full, and establish my eternal covenant with you. Your descendants will become well-known all over. Your children in foreign countries will be recognised at once as the people I have blessed.’
I will sing for joy in GOD, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jewelled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, so the Master, GOD, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations.
Isaiah 65: 17-25
‘Pay close attention now: I’m creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten.
Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I’m creating: I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight. I’ll take joy in Jerusalem, take delight in my people: no more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish; no more babies dying in the cradle, or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime; one-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal – anything less will seem like a cheat.
They’ll build houses and move in. They’ll plant fields and eat what they grow. No more building a house that some outsider takes over, no more planting fields that some enemy confiscates, for my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work. They won’t work and have nothing come of it, they won’t have children snatched out from under them.
For they themselves are plantings blessed by GOD, with their children and grandchildren likewise GOD-blessed. Before they call out, I’ll answer. Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard. Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow, lion and ox eat straw from the same trough, but snakes – they’ll get a diet of dirt! Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill anywhere on my Holy Mountain,’ says GOD.
Jeremiah 19: 1-15
GOD said to me, ‘Go, buy a clay pot. Then get a few leaders from the people and a few of the leading priests and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom, just outside the Potsherd Gate, and preach there what I tell you.
‘Say, “Listen to GOD’s Word, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem! This is the Message from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel. I’m about to bring doom crashing down on this place. Oh, and will ears ever ring! Doom – because they’ve walked off and left me, and made this place strange by worshiping strange gods, gods never heard of by them, their parents, or the old kings of Judah. Doom – because they have massacred innocent people. Doom – because they’ve built altars to that no-god Baal, and burned their own children alive in the fire as offerings to Baal, an atrocity I never ordered, never so much as hinted at!
“And so it’s pay day, and soon – GOD’s Decree! – this place will no longer be known as Topheth or Valley of Ben-hinnom, but Massacre Meadows. I’m cancelling all the plans Judah and Jerusalem had for this place, and I’ll have them killed by their enemies. I’ll stack their dead bodies to be eaten by carrion crows and wild dogs. I’ll turn this city into such a museum of atrocities that anyone coming near will be shocked speechless by the savage brutality. The people will turn into cannibals. Dehumanised by the pressure of the enemy siege, they’ll eat their own children! Yes, they’ll eat one another, family and friends alike.”
’Say all this, and then smash the pot in front of the men who have come with you. Then say, “This is what GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies says: I’ll smash this people and this city like a man who smashes a clay pot into so many pieces it can never be put together again. They’ll bury bodies here in Topheth until there’s no more room. And the whole city will become a Topheth. The city will be turned by people and kings alike into a centre for worshiping the star gods and goddesses, turned into an open grave, the whole city an open grave, stinking like a sewer, like Topheth.”’
Then Jeremiah left Topheth, where GOD had sent him to preach the sermon, and took his stand in the court of GOD’s Temple and said to the people, ‘This is the Message from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies to you: “Warning! Danger! I’m bringing down on this city and all the surrounding towns the doom that I have pronounced. They’re set in their ways and won’t budge. They refuse to do a thing I say.”’
Jeremiah 33: 4-11
This is what GOD, the God of Israel, has to say about what’s going on in this city, about the homes of both people and kings that have been demolished, about all the ravages of war and the killing by the Chaldeans, and about the streets littered with the dead bodies of those killed because of my raging anger – about all that’s happened because the evil actions in this city have turned my stomach in disgust.
‘But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost to Judah and Jerusalem. I’ll build everything back as good as new. I’ll scrub them clean from the dirt they’ve done against me. I’ll forgive everything they’ve done wrong, forgive all their rebellions. And Jerusalem will be a centre of joy and praise and glory for all the countries on earth. They’ll get reports on all the good I’m doing for her. They’ll be in awe of the blessings I am pouring on her.’
Yes, GOD’s message: ‘You’re going to look at this place, these empty and desolate towns of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, and say, “A wasteland. Unliveable. Not even a dog could live here.”
‘But the time is coming when you’re going to hear laughter and celebration, marriage festivities, people exclaiming, “Thank GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies. He’s so good! His love never quits,” as they bring thank offerings into GOD’s Temple. I’ll restore everything that was lost in this land. I’ll make everything as good as new. I, GOD, say so.’
Ezekiel 22: 1-16, 27-31
GOD’s Message came to me: ‘Son of man, are you going to judge this bloody city or not? Come now, are you going to judge her? Do it! Face her with all her outrageous obscenities. Tell her, “This is what GOD, the Master, says: You’re a city murderous at the core, just asking for punishment. You’re a city obsessed with no-god idols, making yourself filthy. In all your killing, you’ve piled up guilt. In all your idol-making, you’ve become filthy. You’ve forced a premature end to your existence. I’ll put you on exhibit as the scarecrow of the nations, the world’s worst joke. From far and near they’ll deride you as infamous in filth, notorious for chaos. Your leaders, the princes of Israel among you, compete in crime. You’re a community that’s insolent to parents, abusive to outsiders, oppressive against orphans and widows. You treat my holy things with contempt and desecrate my Sabbaths. You have people spreading lies and spilling blood, flocking to the hills to the sex shrines and fornicating unrestrained. Incest is common. Men force themselves on women regardless of whether they’re ready or willing. Sex is now anarchy. Anyone is fair game: neighbour, daughter-in-law, sister. Murder is for hire, usury is rampant, extortion is commonplace. And you’ve forgotten me. Decree of GOD, the Master.
Now look! I’ve clapped my hands, calling everyone’s attention to your rapacious greed and your bloody brutalities. Can you stick with it? Will you be able to keep at this once I start dealing with you? I, GOD, have spoken. I’ll put an end to this. I’ll throw you to the four winds. I’ll scatter you all over the world. I’ll put a full stop to your filthy living. You will be defiled, spattered with your own mud in the eyes of the nations. And you’ll recognise that I am GOD.
Your politicians are like wolves prowling and killing and rapaciously taking whatever they want. Your preachers cover up for the politicians by pretending to have received visions and special revelations. They say, ‘This is what GOD, the Master, says…’ when GOD hasn’t said so much as one word. Extortion is rife, robbery is epidemic, the poor and needy are abused, outsiders are kicked around at will, with no access to justice.”
“I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defences of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn’t have to destroy it. I couldn’t find anyone. Not one. So I’ll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they’ve done. Decree of GOD, the Master.”’
Daniel 9: 15-19
‘Master, you are our God, for you delivered your people from the land of Egypt in a show of power – people are still talking about it! We confess that we have sinned, that we have lived bad lives. Following the lines of what you have always done in setting things right, setting people right, please stop being so angry with Jerusalem, your very own city, your holy mountain. We know it’s our fault that this has happened, all because of our sins and our parents’ sins, and now we’re an embarrassment to everyone around us. We’re a blot on the neighbourhood. So listen, God, to this determined prayer of your servant. Have mercy on your ruined Sanctuary. Act out of who you are, not out of what we are. Turn your ears our way, God, and listen. Open your eyes and take a long look at our ruined city, this city named after you. We know that we don’t deserve a hearing from you. Our appeal is to your compassion. This prayer is our last and only hope:
’Master, listen to us!
Master, forgive us!
Master, look at us and do something!
Master, don’t put us off!
Your city and your people are named after you: you have a stake in us!’
Jonah 4: 1-11
Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at GOD, ‘GOD! I knew it – when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness! So, GOD, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!’
GOD said, ‘What do you have to be angry about?’ But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city. GOD arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up. But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: ‘I’m better off dead!’
Then God said to Jonah, ‘What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?’ Jonah said, ‘Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die!’ GOD said, ‘What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than a hundred and twenty thousand childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?’
Zechariah 2: 1-13
I looked up and was surprised to see a man holding a tape measure in his hand. I said, ‘What are you up to?’ ‘I’m on my way,’ he said, ‘to survey Jerusalem, to measure its width and length.’ Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out met another angel coming in and said, ‘Run! Tell the Surveyor, “Jerusalem will burst its walls – bursting with people, bursting with animals. And I’ll be right there with her” – GOD’s Decree – “a wall of fire around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.”’
‘Up on your feet! Get out of there – and now!’ GOD says so. ‘Return from your far exile. I scattered you to the four winds.’ GOD’s Decree. ‘Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home – now!’
GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, ‘Anyone who hits you, hits me – bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I’ll give the signal and they’ll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants.’ Then you’ll know for sure that GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.
‘Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion! I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighbourhood!’ GOD’s Decree.
Many godless nations will be linked up with GOD at that time. (‘They will become my family! I’ll live in their homes!’) And then you’ll know for sure that GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. GOD will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He’ll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice. Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before GOD. Something’s afoot in his holy house. He’s on the move!
Luke 2: 1-11
About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s city, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
There were shepherds camping in the neighbourhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: a Saviour has just been born in David’s city, a Saviour who is Messiah and Master.’
Matthew 5: 13-15
Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand.
Luke 19: 28-44
After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: ‘Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you’ll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, or asks, “What are you doing?” say, “His Master needs him.”’ The two left and found it just as he said. As they were untying the colt, its owners said, ‘What are you doing untying the colt?’ They said, ‘His Master needs him.’ They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street. Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed: ‘Blessed is he who comes, the king in God’s name! All’s well in heaven! Glory in the high places!’
Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, ‘Teacher, get your disciples under control!’ But he said, ‘If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.’ When the city came into view, he wept over it. ‘If you had only recognised this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it’s too late. In the days ahead your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They’ll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn’t recognise and welcome God’s personal visit.’
Luke 24: 44-49; Acts 2: 1-7
Then he said, ‘Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: all the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.’ He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, ‘You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations – starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.’
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force – no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, ‘Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?’
Acts 16: 9-12, 16-31, 35-40
That night Paul had a dream: a Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us!’ The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans. Putting out from the harbour at Troas, we made a straight run for Samothrace. The next day we tied up at New City and walked from there to Philippi, the main city in that part of Macedonia and, even more importantly, a Roman colony. We lingered there several days…
One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out, ‘These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out the road of salvation for you!’ She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, ‘Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!’ And it was gone, just like that. When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, ‘These men are disturbing the peace – dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.’ By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood. The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’ clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black and blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jail keeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that – threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.
Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose. Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: ‘don’t do that! We’re all still here! Nobody’s run away!’ The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, ‘Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?’ They said, ‘Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live – and everyone in your house included!’
At daybreak, the court judges sent officers with the instructions, ‘Release these men.’ The jailer gave Paul the message, ‘The judges sent word that you’re free to go on your way. Congratulations! Go in peace!’ But Paul wouldn’t budge. He told the officers, ‘They beat us up in public and threw us in jail, Roman citizens in good standing! And now they want to get us out of the way on the sly without anyone knowing? Nothing doing! If they want us out of here, let them come themselves and lead us out in broad daylight.’ When the officers reported this, the judges panicked. They had no idea that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They hurried over and apologised, personally escorted them from the jail, and then asked them if they wouldn’t please leave the city. Walking out of the jail, Paul and Silas went straight to Lydia’s house, saw their friends again, encouraged them in the faith, and only then went on their way.
Hebrews 11: 8-16
By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations – the City designed and built by God. By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That’s how it happened that from one man’s dead and shrivelled loins there are now people numbering into the millions. Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in