The Future of Denham Village Fayre
/0 Comments/in Article, Events, NEWS /by Christoph LindnerMany people have asked whether the Fayre will be back this year.
Remembering Mike and Pam Dymott
/0 Comments/in Article, Interview, Magazine, Story, Testimony /by Christoph LindnerToday, 14 February, is the funeral of Pam Dymott. To thank God for her and her husband Mike and to remember them, you can download an article here from 2020 about their 60th wedding anniversary.
How to disagree well
/0 Comments/in Article, Big Questions /by Christoph LindnerOn Sunday, 19 February, we will be thinking about Jesus’ difficult teaching on loving our enemies (Matthew 5.43-48).
Disagreeing well is getting harder in the age of social media. Here are some helpful principles:
- Talk face to face as full human beings whenever possible. Try to build a relationship
- Acknowledge differences. Stand up for what you believe but treat the other person’s view with respect.
- You may win an argument but lose a friend! Be willing to say, “I don’t know the answer.” Our confidence is in the love of Jesus, not our perfect arguments.
- Learn to listen well. Make sure you understand the other person’s viewpoint.
- Jesus didn’t say “Go and sock it to them!” but “Love your enemies”. Remember that God loves this person and that Jesus died for them.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15
This post is based on a conversation between Justin Brierley and Cris Rogers. You can watch it here:
Why do bad things happen to good people?
/0 Comments/in Article, Big Questions /by Christoph Lindner(This article was first printed in Denham Parish News at Christmas 2018.)
By James Leach
‘Here’s something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: Good people get what’s coming to the wicked, and bad people get what’s coming to the good. I tell you, this makes no sense. It’s smoke.’ (Ecclesiastes 8:14, The Message)
As this quote from the book of Ecclesiastes shows, the writers of the Bible were well aware of the theological questions raised by suffering. Bad things happen to good people and it seems to make no sense. We see it in the world around us all of the time, in the news headlines and closer to home. So, can we make sense of these things from a Christian perspective?
Ultimately, all suffering results from the fact that we live in a world that has been broken by humankind’s rebellion against God, what the Bible calls “sin”. In Genesis chapter 3 and Romans chapter 8 we see that this has affected the whole of creation in a way that seems to include natural disasters and disease. We also read, in Ephesians 6 and elsewhere, of spiritual forces that are opposed to God and which cause suffering in the world.
While all suffering has its roots in the effects of sin, the Bible explains particular instances of suffering in different ways. Occasionally, it comes to individuals as a punishment for particular sins (think of David’s adultery in 2 Samuel 11 or the lying of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5), but this is by no means always, or even usually, the case. In the Old Testament book of Job, Job is a good man who suffers terribly, losing wealth, status, family members and his health. Is this God’s punishment for some sin he has committed? His friends say yes, because that’s how they understand the world to work. Job is adamant that this is not so, and in the end he is vindicated (though, interestingly, he never does find out why he has suffered so much).
Sometimes God allows suffering in order to develop perseverance or humility in the life of a believer (Paul describes this in his own experience in 2 Corinthians 12). And sometimes suffering is the direct result of living faithfully as a follower of Christ, as in the case of persecution. Sometimes both of these things will be going on, or something else entirely. On the other hand, we also see occasions where God intervenes miraculously to end suffering, for example when Jesus heals people in the gospels and when similar healings, as well as miraculous escapes from prison, happen in the life of the early church in Acts.
In the final analysis, when we see someone suffer, or when we suffer ourselves, there is often no easy explanation. We know we live in a broken world, but why this particular person and this particular suffering? We may simply not know. But we can, and should, respond with compassion and practical help and prayer to a God who has demonstrated that he loves us more than we could possibly imagine. In fact, when we look at what God has done, and is doing, to remove suffering in the world we realise that none of us gets what we deserve. In the light of eternity (and we have to see things in that perspective for suffering to make any sense at all) we get far more than we deserve.
You see, God’s response to his world being broken is not to destroy it and start again but to let sin run its course, while at the same time working to rescue the world from the inside. He starts with Abraham and his descendants and his work reaches its climax when he comes to earth himself in the person of Jesus and takes the brokenness, the sin and suffering of the world, on himself on the cross. God has shared our suffering. And when Jesus rises from the dead it shows that the days of sin and suffering are numbered. Their power has been defeated and we can look forward to the day when Jesus will return, sin and suffering will be eliminated completely, and we can live with God in a renewed, suffering-free world.
When it comes to suffering, we do not know all the answers. But we do know The Answer. He is the one who says ‘I am coming soon’, to which we reply, ‘Amen. Come Lord Jesus’ (Revelation 22:20).
Revd Dr James Leach is the Vicar of St Mary’s, Whitchurch and St John’s Whitchurch Hill.
Our Faithful Queen
/0 Comments/in Article /by Christoph LindnerAs we mourn the death of Her Majesty the Queen, we are bringing back some of the articles from our Jubilee edition earlier this year. We hope you enjoy them. Here, we explore her 70 years of faith and service.
A Winsome Life
/0 Comments/in Article, Faith at Work /by Christoph Lindner
“Have you seen the Queen?”
/0 Comments/in Article /by Christoph LindnerAs we mourn the death of Her Majesty the Queen, we are bringing back some of the articles from our Jubilee edition earlier this year. We hope you enjoy them. Here, members of St Mary’s Church share their own memories of the Queen.
From New Age to Jesus
/0 Comments/in Article, Big Questions, Testimony /by Christoph LindnerWhy a successful author is asking people not to read her old books anymore.
Dorreen Virtue found fame and fortune as the author of self-help and New Age books. Her publisher treated her as a rock star. She lived on a 50-acre ranch in Hawaii. Yet, despite all of this …
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Understanding the religious aspects of Russia’s war against Ukraine
/0 Comments/in Article, Big Questions, NEWS /by Christoph LindnerSome of us will have been unsettled by the unquestioning support of the Russian Orthodox Church for Putin’s war.
James Emery White writes an excellent blog about “Church and Culture” and offers a condensed summary of the history and the present reality:
How can we pray?
Welcome
If you’d like to explore the Christian faith, we’d love to be part of your journey of faith. There are also some helpful websites as a starting point:
Where to find us
St Mary’s Church Office
Village Road
Denham UB9 5BH
Tel: 01895 832771
Our Office Hours
Monday 10.00am – 12.30pm
Tuesday 10.00am – 12.30pm
Wednesday 10.00am – 12.30pm
Thursday 12.30pm – 3.00pm
Friday 10.00am – 12.30pm