City Life Church Luton

Although the state of our planet has been in dire straits for quite some time we were prompted by the COP26 summit to spend last Sunday's gathering contemplating and reflecting on creation itself. Abby leads this powerful Creation Prayer.

A few weeks ago a number of church members attended the Retreat In Daily Life. The retreat included personal spiritual direction and group workshops that introduced various methods of praying. The Examen was one such method. This form of prayer involves reflecting on the events of the day, week, month or year and in doing so invites us to notice when, where and how we have experienced God's presence. So here is a rather raw walking Examen wonderfully led by Abby.

A few weeks ago a number of church members attended the Retreat In Daily Life. The retreat included personal spiritual direction and group workshops that introduced various methods of praying. Imaginative contemplation is one such method. As a particularly active way of praying that places the individual in to the centre of the story, imaginative contemplation engages both the heart and the mind. Abby leads this contemplation on the experience of pentecost, the events that took place in Acts 2:1-13.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 143, read by our friend Luke.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 142, read by our friend Mark.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 88, read by our friend Hazel.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 77, read by our friend Roxanna.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 55, read by our friend Ellis.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 38, read by our friend David.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 31, read by our friend Neil.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 22, read by our friend Gry.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 13, read by our friend Rach.

During our recent 24/7 prayer week we recorded a few Psalms of lament to help with reflection in the prayer room. We decided to upload these so that you can access them wherever you are, whenever you want. This is Psalm 5, read by our friend Liz.

Rounding up the series and reflecting on the last four weeks, Lucie and Neil takes us through their thoughts on how to approach the doubt and hope that may come from looking at the Bible in this manner. Things we mentioned you might want to look up: Ludwig Wittgenstein - 20th century Austrian philosopher. He worked on the nature of language etc. Socrates - ancient Greek philosopher. Was executed, probably for being annoying. Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri - A film I quote but don’t say when at least twice this episode. See this clip… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2mjcQ8dMCgMichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and his painting ‘The Incredulity of St. Thomas’ - A painting I mentioned. Google it and have a look!Ann Griffiths - Welsh Christian poet Lucie mentioned (18th century not 14th)John Dryden - An English poet from the 17th century, who Neil mixed up with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Don’t believe everything you hear folks. The poem we mention is called ‘Religio Laici’ (or ‘Layman’s Faith’)Bhagavad Gita - A Hindu scripture. A poetic dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Krishna where they talk about ethics and the nature of the self, among other things.

Heard the one about when the sons of God took human wives and had babies, immortal babies!? But God put a stop to that little episode (Gen 6:1-4). There are several seemingly weird vignettes like this in the Torah. In this episode, Neil and Helen have a look at a few of these, to see if they can make sense of them and, as always, add these snapshots to the bigger picture of Scripture. Things we mentioned that you might want to look up: Bible translations - we talk about a few different translations of the Bible, for example the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) and the NIV (New International Version). Both are translations from the original Hebrew (when we’re talking about the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible), but translate in slightly different ways. As we see here those differences can be very important (though often not).Rabbinic Judaism - refers to a time from about the 3rd century BC when groups of Jewish scholars, called Rabbis, were discussing the Bible in a particular way. Modern Judaism is descended from Rabbinic Judaism.‘Makes the hands unclean’ - a phrase from Rabbinic Judaism (e.g. in Mishnah Yadayim 3:5). The idea seems to be that certain holy things, like the books of Scripture/the Bible, have a sort of ‘holy contagion’. Seems backwards, but i think it might help explain some of the laws around menstruation. One thing against this interpretation is the long time difference between the Rabbinic writings (recorded in the Mishnah and Talmud) and the Biblical laws.Laws around rape discussed - the laws we discussed are in Deuteronomy 22:25 and 22:28. They say:25 But if in the countryside a man finds a young woman who is betrothed, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 You shall do nothing to the young woman; the young woman has not committed an offense punishable by death, because this case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbour.28 If a man meets a virgin who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are caught in the act, 29 the man who lay with her shall give fifty shekels of silver to the young woman’s father, and she shall become his wife. Because he violated her he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives. The first law seems to be about rape, the second about consensual sex (though ‘seizes’ (taphas) seems coercive). The Hebrew word translated ‘forces’ in 22:25 is ‘chazaq’ and that in 22:28 ‘seizes’ is ‘taphas’. The NIV translates both words as ‘rape’. No matter how we should understand these laws, it seems clear enough that we shouldn’t use the same word to translate the two different words. A lot more needs to be said about this, but those are the basic facts about the words used.

In the 3rd episode of the Red Thread Podcast, Neil and Harry take us on a fairly brisk but in depth look through some key moments in the creation stories, and thoughts about what this means for our ideas of Scripture.Things we mentioned that you might want to look up: Genesis - the first book of the BibleCreationism - Belief that the universe was created in 6 or 7 days. This comes in a variety of flavours, with people thinking ‘day’ means either a literal day or just ‘a period of time’. What all Creationists share is a commitment to the ‘literal’ truth of Genesis 1-2:4.Documentary Hypothesis - The theory that the first five books of the Bible are made up of earlier written documents. The editors of the Torah took these documents and wove them into a single text. The theory was introduced in the 19th century by Julius Wellhausen. Though the theory has started to be picked apart by scholars, the basic insight remains that the Torah is made up of earlier stories, passed on in songs, liturgy, written sources and oral traditions. There’s a lot of discussion about all of this at the moment, so when I talk about it in the podcast, I’m mostly giving one version.Priestly source - When Wellhausen came up with the Documentary Hypothesis he said there were 4 written documents from which the Torah was made. The Priestly source is one of them. Even though people doubt the existence of all 4 of these sources now, they still think the Priestly source might have existed.Jahwist - Another of the 4 sources Wellhausen talked about (the other 2 where the Elohist and the Deuteronomist, usually shortened to their first letters, so JEPD).‘Seams’ - The bits in the Bible where two of the ‘sources’ are joined. Sometimes an editor will have added a sentence or a few words to smooth the transition. Worth looking for, I think we’re supposed to notice the seams.Myths from Mesopotamian by Stephanie Dalley - a book I mentioned which has all these older stories we’ve been talking about. There are easier versions. For a start, to get into this material, I’d go for the Penguin version of the Gilgamesh Epic. Enuna Elish - A Babylonian poem about the rise of the god Marduk to being the top god at Babylon. It contains a section describing how Marduk created the universe, and Genesis 1 echoes it at several points. It’s in the Dalley book just recommended.Tiamat - A goddess in Babylonian mythology. The ‘baddy’ in Enuma ElishQingu - Tiamat’s main general. His blood, mixed with clay, is used to make humanity in Enuma Elish.Canaanite - the people just to the north of the Israelites. The poems/stories of the Canaanites can be read in Ugaritic Narrative Poetry by Simon B. ParkerBaal - a god in Canaanite mythology. A storm god.King James Version - An older translation of the Bible, from the 16th century. Was the standard translation for several hundred years.

If you want to understand a culture you have to understand its stories. What culture and what stories stand behind the text of Scripture as we have it? When we watch a film or read a book there will often be nods and references to other films or books. Getting these nods helps us/can be essential to get what’s going on. The same is true with the Bible. This episode, Neil talks to Roxanna about some of the older Mesopotamian myths we can hear the echoes of in our reading of the Hebrew Bible. Talking about the myths and stories of ancient Mesopotamia and a few other places where the biblical writers drew their stories from, they show a few places where the echoes are very clear, and what the Hebrew theologians do with them.Things we mentioned that you might want to look up: Mesopotamia - Modern-day IraqThe Epic of Gilgamesh - A poem from ancient Mesopotamia, about a king called Gilgamesh. He and his friend Enkidu go on adventures, and when Enkidu dies Gilgamesh goes out to seek the secret of eternal life. This leads him to travel to meet Utnapishtim (spelled various ways) who tells him the story of when he survived the great flood. The poem is available in Penguin Classics and in other places (if you read it you’ll get the details better than from my telling).Cuneiform - the writing system of ancient Mesopotamia. Written on clay tablets.Rob Bell - writer and speaker on biblical and theological themes.Greco-Roman myth - the myths and stories coming out of ancient Greece and Rome.Norse myth - the myths and stories coming out of Scandinavia. We have records of them going back to the middle ages but they are definitely older than that.Metanarrative - a big picture story we fit our lives into. For example, that the society is constantly progressing.The Exile - when the Israelites were forcibly removed from the land of Israel/Palestine and taken to BabylonCanaanites - the people who lived in Palestine before the Israelites, or the people from whom the Israelites are descended (people differ on this point). They had their own culture and religion, we have recently found some of their written works (available here for instance)Deuteronomistic History - the books of the Bible from Judges to 2 Kings. Many now see this sequence as the work of one master editor who put them all together, though using earlier materials.Martin Noth - German biblical scholar who, among many other things, came up with the idea that the Deuteronomistic History was one continuous work.Frozen - a Disney movie, children quite like it.

In the first episode of our Red Thread podcast series, Neil introduces the series and talks to Lucie about their thoughts and attitudes to the Bible.A few words on method: ‘Don’t think but look’ (Wittgenstein). Leave generalisations behind for the moment. We’re taking pictures of the landscape, building an album (also Wittgenstein…) Treat the Bible like any other ancient document. Critical, scholarly approach. Everything we say is open to correction. Part of the aim is to prod listeners into thinking critically for themselves. Things we mentioned you might want to look up: Ludwig Wittgenstein - 20th century Austrian philosopher. He worked on the nature of language etc. Plato - ancient philosopher. Wrote his philosophy in the form of dialogues, imaginary conversations between 2 or 3 people. Socrates was Plato’s teacher, and a very famous figure in the history of philosophy. Socrates is the main character in all of Plato’s dialogues. Sam Willis - member of City Life Church. Works on making Hightown a better, nicer place to live. ‘This rice-pudding isn’t going to eat itself.’ Pentateuch - the first 5 books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). Also known as the Torah or The Five Books of Moses. Is Scripture/the Bible ‘inspired’? - we’re asking how God was involved in the writing of Scripture. Did he take over the mind of the writer? Did he whisper in their ear? Lucie used the phrase ‘The 5 acts of Scripture’. - This is referencing a well-known paper by N. T. Wright called How can the Bible be authoritative?’, available here. Ecclesiastes - a book of the Bible. The Hebrew name for it is Qohelet. Philip Larkin - a very cynical English poet. Interpolation - a bit that has been added into the text of the Bible by later editors. A rare phenomenon. (I mention the word once when talking about Ecclesiastes, but on reflection I reckon the bit I mean is more of an editorial insert than an interpolation, strictly speaking).

Claire helps us start a conversation on what it looks like to be an upstander in the face of racial injustice instead of a bystander

Liz explores what it might look like to love and be loved by God and neighbours in the present moment in time

A recording of the content Tiffany and Robbie prepared for us for this week’s Reflection in the Wild. “A Spotless Rose” sung by Robbie A spotless Rose is blowingSprung from a tender root,Of ancient seers' foreshowing,Of Jesse promised fruit;Its fairest bud unfolds to lightAmid the cold, cold winterAnd in the dark midnight.The Rose which I am singing,Whereof Isaiah said,Is from its sweet root springingIn Mary, purest Maid;For through our God's great love and mightThe blessed babe she bare usIn a cold, cold winter's night.Instrumental: Song Sparrow Serenade by Chad Crouch

Liz explores what it might look like to love and be loved by God and neighbours in the present moment in time

John talks about the similarities between Judas and Peter, and what it looks like when we bring our expectations into a situation.

Laura and Lucie reflects on the material from Session 2 of Radical Presence which we based our conversation on when we met together in smaller groups on a Sunday evening.

John reflects on the moment in time we find ourselves in, with all the turmoil it has brought, and how we might be church in the midst of it.

Tim explores the good news that because of Jesus we are free to be uniquely ourselves.

Using her gap year as an example of feeling trapped, Roxanna explores the various things Jesus came to set us free from, and what that means to her.

This week the other Liz (Liz P) is doing her version of The Gospel According to: Liz - just to make it confusing! Using the greek word “Splagchnizomai”, meaning “gut-wrenching compassion”, she explores her experience of God as Emmanuel (God with us) in the midst of suffering.

As our series on “the Gospel According to: …” Liz HW explores the idea that God is our friend.

Laura takes us on a whistle stop tour through the history of small groups in City Life Church, before delving into exploring what they might look like going forward.

John presents what the good news means to him, in the midst of the suffering and perceived meaninglessness of life.

Lucie summarises our “The Gospel According to… Romans” series from last term, and moves us into a new series on “The Gospel According to…You” in which we will have various people in our community share what the good news looks like to them.

As we come to a close on our series on “The Gospel According to… Romans” Laura talks us through how we can contribute through our gifts, our presence and belonging, and even through our shadow side and faults.

Sam takes us on a journey of the necessity of judgement for human society throughout history

This week Laura goes deep, talking about our human instinct to ignore our own mortality, and how part of learning to not be scared of death, is to allowing ourselves to come face to face with it.

John summarises our series on Romans so far, and invites us to reflect on the gift as communicated throughout the themes we have talked about.

Plodding along through the themes of Romans in our series “The Gospel According to… Romans” John P shares about the difficulty of accepting the gift of grace.

As we continue the series on “The Gospel According to… Romans” Andrew shares about his experience of allowing himself to not always be put together, and how God does not demand us to be. Rather He shows up in our weakness.

Lucie continues our series on “The Gospel According to… Romans” by thinking through what it looks like for God to be judging God, yet still being good.

John introduces our new series on “The Gospel According to… Romans”

John recaps and summarises our year-long series on Acts, whilst looking ahead to the year to come.

John P explores the part of Acts that is most often used to talk about Mission, and helps us see it in a slightly new light.

Our friend Pete explores traditions of Discernment throughout church history, and talks about how we might experience Discernment in our lives.

Jamie takes us through what discernment is, and how the early church used acts to discernment in different ways in order to figure out the course of action for different situations.

Lucie helps us think about how we might live out the radical inclusion Jesus modelled in our everyday lives. What does it mean for someone to feel on the outside of our church community, and how can we bring them in? What are practical steps we can take to being a more inclusive community?

Lahna explores how the early church wrestled with who was in and who was out, and what we, the church today, can learn from that.

For those of you unable to join us on the Friday night of our weekend away because of childcare or traffic, we’ve pre-recorded much of what’s going to happen in that time and made it available for you to download and enjoy in your own time. Hopefully this will allow you some space to reflect on our theme of reconciliation before our time together on Saturday and Sunday.

Our dear friend Luke shares his insights on persecution in scripture.

We begin to look at what Scripture says about Liberation in terms of socio, political and economic aspects, as explained by our friend Elizabeth.

Lucie makes an introduction of the day the Holy Spirit made Its appearance and changed the world, through the eyes of Scripture. Powerful!

Why do we worship God? What did Church tradition say about worship over time? How do we recognise our lives as worship today? In this talk, Jane helps us answer these questions in great detail.