Haven’t seen it all yet, but it’s gonna be good. Matt Chandler is the preacher outsider of my church that I listen to most at the moment, I’m regularly encouraged and convicted through his preaching – currently going through Luke.

So… Friday night I did indeed go to London with my best pal Karen to attend the awards ceremony for the Christian Blog and Web Awards. We went to a mini-St. Paul’s Cathedral, a church in London called St. Stephen’s Walbrook. Champagne reception kicked off the evening followed by a 3 course dinner: Goats cheese salady thing, fillet of beef with safron rice and spinach, and creme brulee and strawberies for pudding, alond with nice coffee and plenty of wine.

Sat next to some guys from Release International, up for best news site, and Andy Frost from Share Jesus International. The awards were opened by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, and then hosted by Jeff Lucas and Maria Toth.

I was up for best young Christian blog (under 25) – and I won – although I don’t know if anyone else actually entered?! So I was the proud recepient of a glass trophy and a Nintendo Wii… so I set that up today and have been boxing, golfing, bowling, and playing baseball and tennis. I needed to get another controller, which was ridiculously expensive, but at least I didn’t have to pay for the Wii (thanks to the Evangelical Alliance)!

I actually already knew I’d won, so it was no surprise… which meant I was able to prepare a joke for the acceptance speech – it was a joke based on sarcasm, the impact was lost as I feel the audience thought I was being serious! Although BIG surprise was the final award – best church website (£1000 prize) – to my shock the (unfinished) Bishop Hannington site (which I have to change because some people at church don’t like black) was shortlist as one of 5 finalists!! It’s the biggest award with by far the most entries, in some ways more impressed to get to the final 5 of the church one than to win the young blogger!

Other awards… I can’t really remember who won, they weren’t written down anywhere – thebandwithnoname won the best music site, and UCCF won the most creative site with Theology Network. Hopefully Premier will put the list on the website next week. Adrian Warnock was runner up for the best leadership blog – afterwards he approached me and made rude comment about my coke-belly, all good banter.

Hopefully there’ll be some picture or video content from the event courtesey of Premier coming soon.

I was fearing the worse when I looked on IPlayer to see a show called The World’s Strictest Parents, this week they go to Alabama… “Naomi and Ross must spend a week under the strict regime of the God-fearing Garnett family in Alabama.” I feared the worse because they put God-fearing in, you know it’s going to just bash the Christian stereotype, it’s going to be Ned Flanders and everyone’s going to laugh at him. To be fair that’s how it started off. Very conservative family, strict rules, room searches, curfews etc. But as the show goes on the impression changes.

Two British teenagers, Ross and Naomi go and spend a week with this family because they’re dysfunctional. Ross is obsessed with MySpace and has big issues with self-esteem and sexuality. Naomi is struggling after bereavement and divorce in her family. At first they hate the rules, the apparent lack of trust, but by the end they are struck by the Dad, Mark. He actually cares about them, he has their best interests at heart, he loves them. He takes Naomi out on a Dad-Daughter date and talks with her, and takes Ross on a Father-Son fishing trip. He talks frankly with them about their struggles and problems, and they open up to him, he doesn’t judge them, he just loves them and wants to help them change.

The point of this post isn’t so much to talk about Christian parenting (what would I know?) or about God, our great Father, but simply to say that there was for once a documentary about American Christians where the stereotype was challenged, in fact they were quite stereotypical, but we saw love, we saw what it means to be a good dad!

Here’s a sermon I preached last week at the 8am service at BH.

I do note form, so you need to get in my brain to work out what goes in between!

…so this morning, I want to spend the first few minutes looking at the book of James as a whole – what’s it all about? Then the rest of our time in today’s passage, James 1:1-12

So what do we know about the book of James?

READ:      James 1:1

It’s an early LETTER

Written by James…  an apostle, church leader in Jerusalem, and the brother of Jesus

It’s written to Jewish Christians   (12 Tribes)

…who have been persecuted  (scattered among the nations)
…Acts 8:1 (after Stephen got stoned)

A very PRACTICAL book

…short, punchy, to the point   …often little explanation  …just do it!

BUT… James knows we don’t do things to merit God’s love… we do because of God’s love

James 2  -  “show me your faith without deeds”… faith that leads to action

Famous Verse…    James 1:22
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

As church goers… We are in danger… we hear the word… but we must do what it says!

Let’s make that our prayer throughout this series on James (and any other time)… that we would HEAR the word and DO what it says.

Let’s pray that our hearts may be gripped and changed by the word!

PRAYER
READ:      James 1:1-12

Were you thinking what I was thinking??  Did he just say what I think he said??

v.2    Consider it pure joy… ??    Wow, what a way to start a letter!

Context:    Religious persecution (v1)  +  Poverty (v9)

Wider Context:    “Trials of many kinds”  (v2)
Make it personal…  Bereavement, Unemployment, Sickness, Loneliness etc.

“Whenever” – expect them to come, expect them to come again

BIG QUESTION  -  How do we move from trials to joy?

Follow James’ Argument…

Trials = Testing of Faith (v3)  -  (not Judgement for the Christian)

Testing develops Perseverance

Perseverance must finish it’s work so you may be Mature + Complete

This is Joy… being mature + complete in Christ!

But there’s a problem!!

v.4 – mature, complete, not lacking anything …that’s joy!
But…  v.5 – If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God

We need God’s wisdom to persevere through trials!

v.5 God gives wisdom to those who ask in Faith

What is wisdom??

Wisdom  =  Seeing things God’s way

Seeing…    the BIG picture, God’s plan, Hope in despair, God’s sovereign hand at work

Seeing the Big picture takes us to verse 12  -  CROWN OF LIFE… a picture of Joy!!

I don’t know your trials… But let’s persevere!
…and lets ask for God’s help, his wisdom
…and lets focus on the prize, the joy of knowing Christ now, and reigning with him forever!

Just lead a student interactive Bible study on the topic of discernment… here’s where I went:

I suggested that there were perhaps two types of Christian discernment; discernment of God’s will, what we might call guidance, and also discernment of truth, from error – particularly focusing on the truth and error in doctrine, what we believe as Christians.

The second type, discerning Truth, comes with a big premise, namely that there is Truth and error. So already with this premise we are battling against prevailing worldviews: post-modernism that says there is no ultimate Truth, and relativism which says there are many truths – which taken to it’s logical conclusion also affirms there is no ultimate Truth.

So… What is discernment?
Groups looking at:  Hebrews 5:11-14, Philippians 1:9-10, Romans 16:9, Ephesians 5:8-10, Romans 12:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, 1 John 4:1

We need to have a good grasp of the gospel to be able to discern truth from error!

What is the Gospel?  – 1 Corinthians 15:1-5

Gospel – it’s good news!

It’s apostolic – Paul preached it!

It’s a first-order, fight over, go to the stake issue – FIRST IMPORTANCE!

Cue 6 points nicked from John Piper: Planned, Historical, Objective Accomplishment, Free offer to faith, Application to the individual, joyful eternal future.

Warning against false gospels! -  Galatians 1:6-9

It’s not good news – no gospel at all. Perversion of the true gospel. Eternal condemnation!

Case studies

Here’s the PDF handout from the study, complete with case studies – wonder if you can guess who the dodgy quotes are from…