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Troubled times

28/1/2015

A number of us are experiencing tough times at the moment, for a variety of reasons. Some of it shared, some of it more individual. It so happens that in our readings in the bible, we are reading of some of the darkest times in the journey of the people of God - rebellion, destruction, exile, weeping and loss. Life can be pretty hard to take.

One of the realities of these times is that the same event can either be reason to turn against God, or to go to him in all our mixed emotions of anger, grief, sadness, failure, disappointment and disillusionment - (delete as appropriate!). We want to run to him, not from him, just as we are.

We have read the words of Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations, writing in the middle of all that was going on for the people of God, and saying this:

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words
I will never forget this awful time
as I grieve over my loss
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore I will hope in him!"
The Lord is good to those who depend on him
to those who search for him
So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord

Lamentations 3 v19-26 NLT

Let's pray for soft hearts, and openness to God - let the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ flood in, and the comfort that comes as the Spirit lives in us.

Here's some of the prayer response suggestions from last Sunday:

- Thank God that he is the One who can bring hope, even in the times when it feels like there is no remedy.
- Ask God to speak to your heart as you read the words of the prophets. If there are areas of resistance or rebellion, invite the conviction of God's Word to cut through them and open your heart to repentance.
- Ezekiel expresses God's desire for the nations to know that he is the Sovereign Lord. Ask God to use your life as a signpost to declare his might, presence, love and sovereignty.

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'She just got there before us...'

16/1/2015

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We have mourned this week for, and with, friends who were part of the Urban Life family when they first arrived in Derby. We grieve with the Pawson family as they suffer the loss of their daughter and sister Franchesca. Tim, Elsa and Phillipe, we are so sorry. She was a lively and wonderful girl who loved God and was a good friend especially to the other girls in Urban Life.

As we, here, have been learning and thinking on Sundays about the big story of all God is doing through history, we have talked about it as the 'upper' story that all our 'lower' stories connect into. Many times our lower stories are painful and confusing, but somehow, even though there may be evil and hurt, God is able to weave all of that into his upper story - which doesn't make suffering any less real, but it does mean that it is possible to trust our loving God, that there is a bigger horizon; that the story is ultimately still heading towards a wonderful conclusion.

What is that conclusion? It's that all God's people will one day be gathered in what the bible describes as a new heaven and earth, where we will live in amazing joy and freedom forever. All sadness, suffering, pain, evil and struggle will be gone, and we will live in peace and happiness with the God who made us and loves us - we will be completely fulfilled and perfectly happy.

And this is something that, actually, we all long for. Whenever we see or experience something that is evil or painful, there is often a sense of anger against it, isn't there? It's a feeling of injustice and outrage. We feel instinctively that it should not be this way. And that's right - it shouldn't be this way.

There are always many questions about why bad things happen, and sometimes answers people try to give can be unhelpful or trite - especially about particular circumstances. But what we can know, as we read the words of Jesus and of others in the Bible, is that it has not always been this way and secondly, that it will not always be this way. There is hope. There is a certain hope that can be ours as we entrust ourselves to our Lord and Maker. Franchesca very clearly had that hope in Jesus and now she is with him.

One of the things that stuck with me this week was a comment that Franchesca's mum made, which was simply this: 'she just got there before us...'. That is an amazing statement of faith and confidence in Jesus Christ; he has made it possible for us to know the reality of eternal life through his death and resurrection. We can all have that hope that one day we will be gathered as God's people in his kingdom. Some of us will have lived til our 80's or 90's before we arrive there, some will have had much shorter lives. Yet in the big scheme of the 'upper story' through eternity, it will not seem as significant, then, whether we lived in this world for 12 years or 112 years; we will experience, together, the joy of God's eternal kingdom forever and ever and ever and ever.

Right now we do mourn, and we cry out 'why?'. Right now the separation hurts. It really does. But we remember this: Franchesca just got there before us.

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The greatest story ever told...

14/1/2015

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Shai Linne:

Each of our lives is a story
And with each new person we meet
We become a part of their story
And they become a part of ours
The God who created the universe
Has somehow woven these billions of stories
Into one story which is
The greatest story ever told

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The Story so far...

10/1/2015

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Up to the summer, we had been going through the big bible story - from the beginning. The bible is made up of 66 different books from different times, places and written by different people, even in different languages, and yet by the power of God, all of it comes together to tell us one story; telling us about THE big story of God and all he has done, is doing, and will do. And the amazing thing is, we feature in that story. As followers of Jesus Christ, part of his kingdom, our lives are part of something so much bigger.

This weekend we are picking up the story again, after our break from it in the Autumn as we looked at our values for a few weeks. But this weekend we are back on it. We are going to be remembering the story so far, and then picking it up again.

Can you remember where we left off? Which parts of the story most stick with you?

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Urban Life communities - followers of Jesus living life and bringing life in an urban setting!

The blog gives a snapshot of our life together as we post things we are learning about; things we believe; songs we love; readings and prayers to strengthen and help us; and general information about what is happening in our communities.

So here are updates, reviews, reminders and support for those who are part of our communities, and a chance to 'look in' for those who are interested and wondering what we are all about.

Troubled times

'She just got there before us...'

The greatest story ever told...

The Story so far...

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