Pastor's Letter October 2011

Dear Friends

If you have seen the news at all lately you would have doubtless been aware that some of the foundations of our society are yet again being rocked, as the Euro continues to go through crisis and nobody seems really sure what will happen. Indeed the whole global economy seems to be in somewhat of a mess. I have to admit that I have never really understood economics (and I wonder if anybody really does!) but it seems that everyone is in debt. In a world that places so much faith and trust in financial wealth the current economic situation undoubtedly starts to rock our foundations and leaves us feeling very vulnerable.

In another news article I heard last week, it appears that scientists have discovered a particle (neutrino) that seems to travel faster than the speed of light. This might not mean much to most people, and certainly doesn’t seem to have as big a direct effect on our lives as a financial crisis, but in the world of science this is huge. In my previous life I studied physics, particularly light theory, and so much of what scientists believe, and what we know about our universe, is based on the principle that nothing travels faster than the speed of light. To find something that does, even if it is only by the tiniest amount, kind of messes up Einstein’s theories and rocks the foundations of the scientific world. I do wonder if God just threw this little particle into the mix simply to keep us humble!

Last month we began our studies on the Sermon on the Mount and one of the very first truths we encountered was that we are nothing without God. We need to come before God recognising our emptiness and placing our trust in him. Apart from him we can do nothing. He needs to be our starting point. He is our only sure foundation. Both of these news articles, though quite different in nature, have the same effect of rocking some of the basic principles and foundations of our society, leaving us with some big questions. Neither wealth nor science are bad things, indeed they are good things, but when they, or anything else apart from God, become our foundation, we are setting ourselves up for a fall.

The last part of the Sermon on the Mount is the parable of the wise and foolish builder and Jesus highlights the fact that the wise man is the one who builds on a sure foundation and that means putting his words into practice. As we continue through the Sermon on the Mount together, let me encourage you to listen to what God is saying to you and to his church, let me encourage you again to find a Life Group where we can learn to grow together and to put into practice those things that build sure foundations in our lives.

I believe that this time, maybe more than any other time in our recent history, will be a time when people cry out for a firm foundation, an absolute truth. It is time for God’s people to truly understand what it means to trust in God and to point others to the rock that cannot be shaken.

Much love and blessing


Jon