A regular Friday round-up of articles which I have found interesting / thought-provoking / challenging / amusing during the week, pointing you in the direction of some stuff you might have otherwise missed.
This week featuring Diamond Geezers, one six-year-old boy’s fightback against poverty, evidence of widespread British church growth, an encouragement to evangelism, signs of spiritual death, and the Eurovision Russian Grannies.
Bible Society: Say thanks to your Diamond Geezer
To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, Bible Society would like to invite you to say ‘thank you’ to your Diamond Geezer. In the Bible, Jubilee was a special year when wrongs were forgiven and debts written off. So in this very special Jubilee year, Bible Society is asking Christians across the country: ‘who are you indebted to?’
It could be an old school teacher, a midwife who delivered a baby or someone who prayed steadfastly for you – just someone to whom you feel ‘indebted’ because of their kindness and help.
With our busy lives it is often easier to text a quick ‘thank you’ but wouldn’t it be great to take the time and hand-write a letter to that person to thank them for everything they’ve done. After all, don’t we all appreciate a ‘thank you’ card?
Martin Saunders: Joel vs Poverty
My son Joel is six years old. He is quite an amazing boy, for lots of reasons. One of them is this: he has worked out that the world is unjust; he has learned that poverty exists, and he is not happy about it. He had heard a few things at school and church, but when we watched a short video made by Tearfund, he decided that he couldn’t just stand by and let this happen.
. . . and you can sponsor Joel here
Anglican Mainstream: Startling academic research shows widespread church growth in Britain
Jesus remains such as magnetic as he was 2,000 years ago. The Holy Spirit is just as widely at work – if we have eyes to see him. Research into church growth in contemporary Britain shows that when people step out in faith God uses that faith to grow churches and bless communities.
Dennis Pethers: Tattoo Evangelism
I asked Rhys why he believed in God and if he had ever been to church. He told me that he had never been to church because he didn’t think he was really good enough to do that and wasn’t sure how going to church would help him to have more faith in God anyway. I began to explain to Rhys that church wasn’t a place for good people to go to but is in fact not a place but a group of people who had come to know that God loves them even though they are not good enough.
Pastor Mark: 5 Signs You’re Spiritually Dead
“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Revelation 3:1 Jesus didn’t have anything nice to say to the church in Sardis . . . As the members of the body who make up the church, we are just as susceptible to decay and death as the people who made up the church in Sardis. So, we need to ask ourselves, “What is there in my life and the church that would lead Jesus to say the same thing about me and my church that he said to Sardis?”
Anglican Journal: Rocking Russian grannies to build church with prize winnings
A group of six Russian grandmothers who won second place in Europe’s Eurovision Song Contest have pledged to use their prize money to build an Orthodox church in their tiny home village . . . [the] church was destroyed in 1939 during World War II and was not restored during the time of the Soviet Union. Villagers now have to travel 40 kilometers to the nearest church. The grannies “dream of building a church in their home village,” according to the site, which was “one of the main reasons for grannies to go to the stage.”