Podcast appearances and mentions of adrian plass

If ever any one ever had an unfair life – it was Joseph back there in the old testament. One step forward, two steps back seems to be the story of so much of what he went through … sound familiar? Yet in the end, he came out in front. At the end of the day, what others meant for harm in his life, God meant for good in the lives of so many others. Hmm.   It's Not Fair One of my favourite sayings when I was a young lad growing up, was "It's not fair!" I just hated things that weren't fair. When my parents made a decision between my sister and me – whether I had to clean up or she had to clean up and the lot fell to me, I'd say, "It's not fair!" I remember a soccer game in the park – with one of my teachers, Mr Moore, who I really liked and he made a bad decision against my team – "It's not fair!" Sometimes I was right, it wasn't fair and other times it was just the way I saw things – my perception, maybe from my selfish position but one of the things I really, really hate in life is when it's not fair. Although, well, I'd have to qualify that – I'm a human being after all – I hate "not fair" when I am on the losing end of an unfair transaction. You know, funny, but I don't mind so much when I am on the winning side. That's pretty natural. "Not fair" only really upsets us when we lose. We are continuing our series today called "Defining Moments" Things that we do or things that happen to us in life that seem to change the course of our lives and last week we looked at Abraham – the defining moment for him was when he responded to God's love and just believed the unbelievable promises of God. He just stepped out into the impossible promises of God and because of his simple child-like faith, imperfect as it was. I mean God overlooked, indeed, God compensated for all of Abraham's blunders. Today we are going to take a look at the life of a man called Joseph because if anyone ever lived a life where he was unfairly treated, it was definitely Joseph. So many things that happened to him were just so incredibly unfair. Really – we will look at that in a moment – and yet there was some real defining moments along the way for Joseph. It's really important to look at this story! We are going to discover something about ourselves and about God. It is so easy to look at defining moments from a human perspective but we need to look at them "top down"; from God's perspective as well. I know we are going to be blessed as we go in search of some of the defining moments in Joseph's life. Now who was Joseph? Last week we talked about Abraham who was the father of the whole nation of Israel and he had this son he called Isaac. Isaac had a son called Jacob and Jacob was actually renamed by God and called Israel. And Jacob or Israel had twelve sons, one of whom was Joseph. Now he was the youngest at the time this story begins and he was pretty much dad's favourite. If you have got a Bible, grab it – open it up with me at Genesis chapter 37, verse 2: Joseph being seventeen years old was shepherding the flock with his brothers. He was a helper to the son's of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives and Joseph brought a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel who was Jacob, loved Joseph more than any of his other children because he was the son of his old age and he made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all of the other brothers, they hated him and they couldn't speak peaceably to him. Once, Joseph had this dream and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said, "Listen to this dream that I just dreamed: there we were binding sheaves in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves, they gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf." His brothers said to him, "Are you indeed going to reign over us? Are you indeed going to have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words. And he had another dream and he told this to his brothers as well saying, "Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon and the eleven stars were bowing down to me." Well, you can question Joseph's maturity at sharing those dreams with his brothers. As we can imagine, they were none too impressed – I wouldn't be, you wouldn't be. "Little brat – dad's favourite – this kid needs to be taught a lesson." So the brothers plotted against him – first they wanted to kill him – "Well", they thought, "that's a bit over the top", so instead they threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery. Have a look – Genesis chapter 37, beginning at verse 23: So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe; the long robe with the sleeves that he wore, and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it, then they sat down to eat and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying gum, balm and resin and they were on their way, carrying it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for his is our brother; our own flesh. So the other brothers agreed. When some of the Medianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him up out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver and they took Joseph to Egypt." And these other brothers went back and told their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. How do you think Joseph felt? It's not fair! I mean, his own brothers! Okay, maybe he did rub them the wrong way. Okay maybe he was dad's favourite but his own brothers? I mean that is so unfair. Isn't that so often the way – our own brothers and sisters; those who are closest to us; those who should love us the most; those whom we trusted – they are the ones who treat us unfairly? It's one thing to be treated unfairly by an associate or even an enemy; you almost expect that but by his own brothers – sold into slavery; into a completely uncertain future; completely lost his freedom – come on, let's walk a mile in Joseph's shoes right now. He is a slave in that caravan, being taken down into a foreign land; into Egypt to be sold into goodness knows what; no future….. I don't know about you, but I would have been tempted to react pretty badly to that. I would have been tempted to be bitter and to swear an oath that I would never, ever forgive my brothers. It would have been so easy for young Joseph to have bitterness and un-forgiveness in his heart – don't you think? Let's bring this right close to home. People who have treated us badly and us unfairly, how have you and I responded? We seem to take their failure, their bad behaviour as our license to behave badly, don't we? How many of us have got un-forgiveness in our hearts? How many of us are carrying a knot of anger in our hearts that's robbing us of life? We will look at Joseph's life in a moment and we are going to look at the defining moment in his life, when life was just so unfair.   From Bad to Worse Sometimes it seems that life is one step forward and two steps back. I mean, young Joseph was dad's favourite; he had great dreams of success for the future, then he is sold into slavery and he is down in a slave market in Egypt, purchased by a man called Potiphar. Have a look at it: Genesis chapter 39, beginning at verse 1: Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man. He was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favour in his sight and attended him. Potiphar made Joseph the overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he had made him overseer in his house and all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge and with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good looking. WOW, things are on the up and up again. What could have been terrible instead ... God puts Joseph in a place where He can use his gifts and his abilities and God blesses Joseph. The word "Joseph" means to be "a multiplier" and that is literally what Joseph's gift was. We see that throughout the story of his life – it is one of the things that Joseph was really good at – being a multiplier. Now you might be thinking, "Well, Berni, now things are going well for young Joe. All that temptation to behave badly, that's all gone away", but you would be wrong! Because one of the things that we love to do is to get some recompense out of life. When we have gone through bad times we can still have bitterness in our hearts. It would have been easy for Joseph to have bitterness in his heart and then the good times start to flow and we decide "Well, it's time to make hay while the sun shines. I am going to get something out of life; I'm going to get some recompense. I'll show those rotten brothers – I'll take whatever I can and have whatever I can have. I'll show them!" Ever experienced that in your heart? Sure you have, so have I and that can be the time of such a great fall. Sure enough, Joseph had exactly that opportunity now that he was on easy street. We are going to have a look at this because I think this is the defining moment of Joseph's walk. Genesis chapter 39, beginning at verse 7: And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Sleep with me", but he refused and he said to his master's wife, "Look, with me here my master has no concern about anything in his house. He has put everything that he has in my hand. He is not greater in his house that I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to sleep with her or to be with her. One day however, when he went into the house to do his work and while no one else was in the house, she caught hold of his garment saying, "Sleep with me," but he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. And when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, she called out to the members of her household and said to them, "See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us. He came in to sleep with me and I cried out with a loud voice and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside." Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home and she told him the same story, saying, "That Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us, came in to insult me but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside." When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, "This was the way your servant treated me," he was enraged. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the King's prisoners were confined and there he remained in prison. Do you see what happened here? See, I think that this is one of the defining moments in Joseph's life. Bad things happen and he had a chance to make amends; he had a chance to take whatever he wanted, in particular, to taste this forbidden fruit. Potiphar's wife kept tempting him and he could easily have said, "Yea, go on, Joseph. Come on, you deserve this! After all, look at what you have been through. Come on!" You know what I am saying! And in the defining moment Joseph said "No!' He refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, with me here my master has no concern about anything in the house. He has put everything in my hand. How then could I do this great wickedness?" Joseph said, "No" over and over again. It's a powerful thing to say, "No" to temptation when life has been unfair - to say, "No" to temptation when we can come up with every reason and every excuse to say, "Yes, come on!" And to make matters worse, Joseph's right doing is rewarded by jail – that is sooo unfair! Do you get it? Right, must be time to behave badly again! But no matter how badly people treated him or life treated him, Joseph remained true to himself. And here is the "top down" view; here is God's view of this defining moment – God saw that and honoured it. Let's pick it right up in Genesis 39, beginning at verse 21: But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love. He gave him favour in the sight of the chief jailer. And the chief jailer committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in his prison and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was is Joseph's care because the Lord was with him and whatever he did, the Lord made it to prosper." Do you get it? Why do you think that these defining moments are hidden? We think that these temptation decisions are hidden from the world and when we have had a tough day or when people have been horrible to us, we are just so tempted to make amends by doing something wrong. The defining moment in Joseph's walk is that Joseph said, "No" to that temptation. Now I want you to hold that thought because we are going to have a look at what all this means to you and me, next.   Do Not Grow Weary There is quite a bit more to Joseph's story. He spent another two years in jail…..two years! I can't begin to imagine that – it was so unfair. And finally, because he had a gift of interpreting dreams, he found favour with Pharaoh. And one thing led to another and Pharaoh made Joseph Prime Minister over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself; over the whole nation. And then famine hits the land and because of Joseph's wisdom and insight from God, he, as the leader, caused Egypt to store up enough grain for the coming famine and so people from all around Egypt came for food – in fact, all round the known world. And all of a sudden Joseph's brothers came down from the land of Canaan, down to find some food in Egypt as well and Joseph recognised them, although they didn't recognise him. Aw, he struggled with that! What a temptation! Finally, there was Joseph, just like in those dreams he had when he was a young man. There was his brothers bowing down to him; now he had them; now he could take revenge. You can read the whole story in Genesis chapters 40 to 44. It is really worth a read. What would Joseph do? Well, let's take a look – Genesis chapter 45, beginning at verse 1: Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me!" So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers and he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers couldn't answer him and they were so dismayed that they were in his presence. (Wouldn't you be?) Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me," and they came closer and he said, "I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt and now don't be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in this land for two years and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors, so it was not you who sent me here, but God; He has made me a father to Pharaoh and the lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt." What an amazing response? Grace, forgiveness and the knowledge that all along, through all the unfair things that happened to him; through all the bad things that happened to him, that what had happened to Joseph was part of God's plan. Talk about defining moment! That defining moment happened for Joseph when he was sold as a slave, wrongly accused, thrown into jail, left there to rot and the temptation in all of that was for Joseph to shout, "It's not fair!" That's the temptation; to turn to sin; to wallow in filth that we have been thrown in and I have no doubt that Joseph struggled with that. He was human after all but what defined him was not the unfairness that the world threw at him, but the decision just to get up every morning, to be Joseph, to honour God. The Apostle Paul, centuries on, said it this way: Do not be deceived. God is not mocked for you will reap whatever you sow - if you sow to your flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, but if you sow to the spirit you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap at harvest time if we do not give up. Unfair things happen to us every day and sometimes what we want is, "God, just give me an easy ride." In fact there is a great poem here that I want to share with you. It's a poem by Adrian Plass – have a listen – it goes like this: When I became a Christian I said, "Lord now fill me in. Tell me what I will suffer in this world of shame and sin." Then God said, "Your body may be killed and left to rot and stink, do you still want to follow Me?"I said, "Amen, I think! I think, amen! Amen, I think, I think I say "amen"! Look, I am not completely sure. Can we run through that again? You said my body could be killed and left to rot and stink, that sounds terrific, Lord. I'll say "amen" I think!" "But Lord, look there must be other ways to follow You," I said, "I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed." "Well, yes", He said, "You could put up with sneers and scorn and spit, do you still want to follow Me?" I said, "Amen, a bit." "A bit "amen" – "amen", a bit. A bit, I say 'amen'. Look, I'm not entirely sure. Can we just run through that again?" You said I could put up with sneers and scorn and spit – oh, yea, I've made up my mind – I say "amen" a bit." Well, I sat back and thought a while. I tried a different ploy – I said, "Now Lord, the Good Book says that Christians live in joy." "That's true," He said, "You are going to need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow, so do you still want to follow Me?" I said, "Amen – tomorrow!" "Tomorrow, Lord, I say it – that's when I'll say "amen". You see, I've got to get it clear. Let's just run through that again." You said, I'll need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow – well, yea, I think I've got it straight. I'll say "amen" tomorrow. He said, "Look, I'm not asking you to spend an hour with Me, a quick salvation sandwich or a cup of sanctity. The cost is "you" not half of you but every single bit. Now tell Me, will you follow Me? I said, "Amen! No, I quit! "I'm sorry Lord, I'd like to follow You but I don't think religion is a very manly thing to do." So He said, "Forget about religion then and you think about My Son and you tell me if you are man enough to do what He has done. Are you man enough to see the need? Are you man enough to go? Are you man enough to care for those who no one wants to know? Are you man enough to say the things that people hate to hear and battle through Gethsemane and loneliness and fear? And listen, are you man enough to stand it at the end, the moment of betrayal by the kisses of your friend? Are you man enough to hold your tongue? Are you man enough to cry? And when the nails break your body, are you man enough to die? Are you man enough to take the pain and wear it like a crown? Are you man enough to love this world and turn it upside down? Are you man enough to follow Me – I'll ask you once again?" I said, "Oh Lord, I am so frightened but I also said, "amen". Amen, amen, amen! I said, "Lord, I am so frightened but I also said, 'amen'." You know, as I look back on the story of the life of Joseph, my heart breaks for that man. He went through so much – the betrayal of his brothers; sold into slavery; thrown into jail for doing the right thing – left there to rot; he went through so much. And it would have been so easy and tempting just to act badly; just to respond; just to have anger; just to lash out. Come on, that's what we want to do! But do not be deceived. Because God is not mocked for whatever we reap, we sow! If we sow in the flesh, we will reap corruption in the flesh, but if we sow in the Spirit we will reap eternal life from the Spirit." Here's the punch line. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap at harvest time if we do not give up. So whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for the family of faith.

This sermon, titled "Living on the Edge – Faith and Resources," was delivered by Nick Lugg at Meadowhead Christian Fellowship in Sheffield. It serves as a spiritual launchpad for 2026, challenging the congregation to move beyond mere belief into active, dependent trust in God. Sermon Summary As the church stands at the threshold of a new year, Nick Lugg explores the concept of "living on the edge"—the space where human certainty ends and divine provision begins. He argues that while standing at the edge of the unknown can be unsettling, it is the only environment in which true faith can grow. Using the context of the church's upcoming building projects (146 development) and the personal financial struggles he experienced as a missionary in Zambia, Nick emphasizes that God often intentionally pushes His people to the edge of their resources to teach them dependence. He defines a maturing faith through three distinct qualities: Generosity: Choosing to live open-handedly even when resources seem scarce, confronting the fear of "not having enough" with the reality of God's goodness. Resilience: Refusing to interpret difficulty as God's absence, instead asking how a challenge is an invitation to trust Him more deeply. Courage: Moving forward in obedience despite feeling afraid, focusing on the next faithful step rather than the entire path. The message concludes with a call to stop relying on bank balances or personal talents and to put one's hand into the hand of God, stepping into 2026 with an "honest" faith that makes space for the miraculous. Quoted Bible Passages (NIV) Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Philippians 4:11-12 "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Full Transcript Nick Lugg: Amen. Bit of a mixed-up day today. It's great that we've been able to share communion together. Obviously, there are things that we pray for. Great to hear encouragement from Mel there as well about how God has been sustaining her. But it's also—I want to speak this morning on the title... it sounds very grand: "Living on the Edge – Faith and Resources." I think when I say "living on the edge," many people will know what that means. We can feel like we're sometimes toppling over the edge. But I just want to spend a few minutes bringing some thoughts about what it means to live on the edge and what it means to grow in faith as we step into a new year. So let's pray again, shall we? Father, we thank you for your word. Pray that you'll bring it alive in our hearts, bring it alive in me, that I might be able to communicate what I know is on your heart for us as a church, for me, for all of us as a community. Lord Jesus, I pray that this would be a year of growth, a year of learning the reality of what it means to trust in you. And so we place it all into your hands. We just ask that you'll speak to us this morning, in Jesus' name. Amen. [Offering segment omitted for the summary; see audio for details.] So, as I said, I want to speak on living on the edge, faith and resources. This is a standalone, like a one-off thing that I want to speak about. I've planned this for a little while. And then next week, we're going to start a series on John's Gospel. It's actually two years since we started Genesis. And only about six months since we finished it. So that was a great exercise and a journey through Genesis. And many times, you know, we found that although there was biblical history and there were things that we learned by looking back thousands of years, we also see the reality of Jesus coming through those pages. We learned a lot about our faith and our response to Jesus today through looking at the first book in the Bible. But one of the things we want to do for the next few weeks and months is focus on John's Gospel, which has a very clear focus on Jesus himself—the actual account of Jesus' life and ministry and his death and resurrection. So we're going to spend some time in John's Gospel and make resources available if groups want to use them as well, so that we don't just have the 20-25 minutes we have on a Sunday, but we can have, as a church community, wherever we gather, an opportunity to look into what God is saying to us through those things. So that will start next week. But today, as I said, I want to speak on living on the edge, faith and resources. So we're on the edge. We're on the edge of a new year. It's always an interesting place to stand. You know, I'm old enough to remember the millennium and the millennium bug and all the chaos that it didn't cause, but the... and all the fireworks that went off for the first time. I think more or less the first time we had all those fireworks. Now it's every year. We've got these massive millions and millions of pounds going off, everybody celebrating, and there's almost a question of, well, we're not quite sure what we're celebrating. It's just like lots of bangs and flashes and "oh, it's a new year, how exciting it is." But for people of faith, it really is... it's nothing different from New Year's Eve to New Year's Day in actual reality, but it is important for us to stand and to reflect sometimes. And so for some, it is exciting, a feeling of fresh starts, new possibilities. For others, it can be unsettling—unanswered questions, unresolved pressure, uncertainty about what lies ahead. And often it's both at the same time, isn't it? So it can be standing on the edge of the unknown, which isn't always a very comfortable place to stand. Christmas 1939, as Britain faced the Second World War, King George VI quoted a poem in his Christmas speech, and it captured that moment. And these words—you may know them, but if you haven't heard them, I'm going to read them now. It said: "And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'" "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of Go1d. That shall be to you better2 than light and safer than a known way." So our circumstances are different than 1939. Some would have you think they're not that different, but they certainly are different. But the principle is the same. And one thing as I prepared this, I wanted to emphasize is that I believe that 2026 is not just a year for us to continue our belief in God. You know, we believe in God, we're a church, we come together Sunday by Sunday, we worship, we hear His word, and we go and we live our lives. It's not just about believing in God, but it is a year to put our faith in Him. To really lean on Him, to trust Him, to depend on Him, not knowing all the answers in advance. And it's a really powerful question to ask ourselves: are we ready for that? Are we ready not just to say "I believe in Jesus," but actually "I will trust Him. I will trust Him with everything that makes my life what it is and makes our life what it is as a church." Will we trust Him and allow Him to take us beyond that which we know and beyond that which we can see? Because faith grows where certainty ends. And as a church, we know that God is calling us to big things. We know that we've got the development of 146—God willing, all of that will begin to develop much faster now we come into the new year and builders come back from their holidays and all of that. We're praying and believing for greater impact in our community. We want to see the Gospel changing lives. Not just touching people to say "oh, that's a nice church," but actually "this Jesus has changed my life from the inside out." And that is a sustaining transformation. That isn't just a flash in the pan of people saying "oh, this was great, I had a good experience in the church," but actually it's a lifelong transformation. That's what we want to see in our lives and in the lives of our community. And we want growing clarity about God's vision for our future. Why is it that God has placed us here? We can say we have a mission to our community, we have a mission to Jordanthorpe, Batemoor, we have a mission to Sheffield, but what does that really mean? What does that really look like? What is God calling us to be? And how is He calling us to shape ourselves? And as we grapple with those questions, we know that none of them come with guarantees. And for many individuals and families, 2026 already feels uncertain. You're looking and you're not sure. There's change on the horizon. Things are moving, things are shifting. Faith doesn't mean certainty about events. It can be certain of things we hope for, certain of things we do not see, but not certainty about events or certainty about the way things will work out. And in Proverbs it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding," because faith begins where our understanding runs out. We love to understand everything, don't we? Love to have a handle on everything and say "I know," that's why we... fear and insecurity makes us controlling. We try and control everything, and faith teaches us that we can't, but we can trust in Jesus. Psalm 23 doesn't promise that we avoid the valley, but it says "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." So the comfort of God's presence is discovered in the valley, not instead of it. He doesn't allow us to bypass the valley. He says "Even though I walk through the valley, I'll still find you there. I'll still know your presence there." And that's really uncomfortable because we would love a faith that said, actually, I can call down all the favors of heaven and I will avoid all the valleys of life and all the challenges and all the difficulties. And we know—you know—that's not real, is it? That's not fact. We know that sometimes we have to face the valleys head-on. But even though we walk through those valleys, we will fear no evil, for you are with me. Fear and anxiety are the oldest burdens of the human race. From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, we've known what fear is. When they sinned and they ran away from the presence of God and God found them, and Adam said, "Actually, we hid from you because we were afraid." Where did that come from? That came because of the deficit that had come in the human heart because of sin. But where fear and anxiety are present, then we know that faith can grow. It's an opportunity for faith to grow. It's a fertile ground for faith to grow. And so we can be stepping into 2026—we can jump and cheer and whoop at the fireworks, but there's a nagging feeling in the back of our minds that perhaps we have more questions than answers. Maybe about finances, maybe about your health, relationships, direction that your life is taking or should take. And if you have those questions, that's not a bad place to be. That doesn't mean that we're failing; it means that we're standing in the right place for faith to grow. God pushes us to the edge and allows faith to grow in that place. Why does God provide at the edge? Why doesn't He just give us everything that we want? He's got all the power, He's got all the resources, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He could just give it to us. You know, why is the funding of God's vision for 146... why is it a struggle? He could just give it to us. But He doesn't; He pushes us to the edge. Why do we need to go through struggle in life? He pushes us to the edge in order that faith can grow. So He made Israel dependent on daily manna from heaven. Elijah was fed by ravens. The disciples were asked to feed thousands with nothing. God has all those resources—God has more than five loaves and two fish. But there was something that He wanted to teach, something that He wanted to drill into their hearts. And He tells us those stories not so that we can replicate them, not so that we can all walk on water... I read—it's not a funny story, it's a tragic story—but it is a weird story of a pastor somewhere who thought, "You know, I've got so much faith, I can walk on water," and he stepped out on the water and sank and never came up. You know, it's not about walking on water, or like, if you're old enough to remember The Secret Diary of Adrian Plass, making paperclips move by faith or any of that sort of stuff. But it's so that we learn never to plan without God. Never to enter a period of time without budgeting for God, without making room for the actions of the Holy Spirit. We're not entering a new year without thinking: what can God do? Our New Year's resolutions are a faithless effort to shore everything up. "I know what this year holds because I've made a resolution." Well, we all know that they all fall apart on the second of January. So there's no point in trying to control the year ahead, but there is a point in making space for God to move. God's provision stories are about creating space for Him to act, not about us being heroes. So what are you anxious about right now as you go into 2026? What are you hoping to achieve? What's on your mind? What's on your heart? And maybe it's only you that knows it. But the question is: have you made space for God in all of that? Have you made space for God in your planning? Or have you already decided what's possible or what's impossible? So easy to decide what's impossible, isn't it? "Oh, it couldn't happen." But in actual fact, what I believe God is calling us to do is to make space in our planning, make space in our thinking, give margin for God to move. Whether it's as individuals or families, or whether it's as a church, we have to... we can't plan our year as a church just by looking at what happened last year. So easy to do that. Look back, "oh yeah, we did all this in the planning, we'll just photocopy the planner from last year and just shift it on a date and everything..." and we'll get back to next year and we'll all be happy. Well, we won't all be happy. There's so much that God wants to do as we put our faith and our trust in Him. Now, I realized actually this year that I've been a Christian for 40 years. That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? I know I don't look that old, but... I could give countless testimonies of what God has done over those years and how He's shown Himself strong in my life. It's just amazing when you think back—miracle upon miracle. I'm sure the same for any of us here; we could give stories about what God has done. And sometimes those things have happened when faith has felt the weakest. There are many, many things that I could tell you that are probably... I've got one story that just came to mind, but I could tell you so many that are more significant, that are maybe even life-and-death situations. But there's one that reminded me when I was thinking about what it means to be pushed to the edge. And we lived in Zambia for a number of years, as many of you will know, and we lived among people that struggled an awful lot and were an inspiration to our faith in so many ways. But we encountered—for us it was serious, but in terms of everything else it was probably quite mild—but we had one particular time when a perfect storm hit us and we ran out of cash completely. The ATMs weren't working. There wasn't any fuel so we couldn't get out of town. The internet was down so we couldn't send out a prayer letter. We couldn't contact anyone. We couldn't do anything. We had no food. We couldn't feed the children. They were supposed to be going to school and they needed stuff for school. And for the first time, we experienced what it meant to have absolutely no power to fix the situation. And so you know what we did? We thought, "Oh well, we better pray." Because that's where God pushes us to the edge. If we're not at the edge, if we've got all of that surplus and all of that abundance and all of that... why do we need God? But we ended up in a situation where we could have said, "Well, where's God? He's supposed to provide for us." But in actual fact, we found that we had nothing and so we were pushed towards Him and we prayed. Not long, impressive prayers, just honest ones that culminated in us making a list of what we needed. And as we basically—as we wrote that list or as we finished it off—there was a knock at the gate. And two ladies—two old ladies that we loved, women who have very little themselves, suffered so much in their lives—stood at our gate with two carrier bags, inside with almost exactly the things that we'd written down on our list. And they said, "Well..." and we were praying—this was like because it takes them quite a long time to get from where they live to the shops to our house. So they'd done all this before we started praying. But they said, "God, we were praying this morning, God told us to buy these things for you." The supplies didn't last long—you know, bread and jam and whatever—but the lesson has lasted a lifetime. And faith grows when we experience God in the impossible situations. And if you're facing an impossible situation, whether it's a small thing like that or whether it's a really big thing, you're in the place where faith can grow. Faith can grow this year in 2026 as we face impossible and challenging, difficult situations. So our faith is about formation, not the outcomes that it brings. Paul the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4: "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstance, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." He thanked the Philippians for their generosity—they'd sent him a gift—and he said, "I don't need that gift, but what it shows me is what is happening in your heart. What it shows me is your faith—that out of your poverty, you have chosen to give to me. And that to me gives me pleasure. I know," he said, "that God will provide for me whatever happens, whether it's through you or through anybody else. But nevertheless, my joy comes from seeing that you've done it, that your faith has grown, that you have met these needs." And so faith—growing in faith is not about guaranteeing outcomes. It's not about... it's not like the prosperity gospel where we're thinking about all the time "what are we going to get by our faith?" But it's about knowing God more deeply. Because God is faithful even when we are faithless. I have found that to be absolutely true. That God has never—when we sing those songs "You have never let me down, you've never failed once, you won't fail now"—those things are absolutely true. But not because of my prayer life, or not because of my righteousness, or not because I've got all the... all the ducks in a row and everything all in order and so therefore God is ready to answer my prayers. He's simply faithful, even when we are faithless. But He invites us into the process because faith changes us. So He's faithful to provide. He is Jehovah Jireh. He will provide all our needs because of who He is by nature of His character. But nevertheless, He invites us into the process, invites us to exercise our faith, invites us to do our bit. And so when faith moves from belief to trust, it doesn't just change what we think, it changes how we live. So the reality is that uncertainty, pressure, and limited resources are here to stay, because that does us good. God owns all the resources of heaven and earth, and yet if He gave it all to us, we would just fall in a heap in terms of our faith. So uncertainty, pressure, limited resources, unanswered questions—those things are good because they push us into a situation where our faith grows and where our faith can take on three visible qualities: our faith can be generous, resilient, and courageous. So faith is generous. Do you know that faith—I've said it over and over again this morning—faith doesn't begin with abundance? It begins with trust. To be generous in our hearts is not about how much we have; it's about what we believe God is like. If we believe that God is reluctant, if we believe that He's limited or unreliable, we hold tight to everything that we've got. Because we don't... we believe if we let go of it, He can't replace it. He can't give to us, He can't pour out His abundance. We can't trust Him—that I need the resources that I have, I need the money, I need the time, I need the energy, I need all of those things held tightly to me because if I give them away, I'll be finished because God is not reliable. But if we believe God is good, faithful, and a provider, we can live open-handed. We can live generous, we can live free, we can live with joy. And that's why generosity in all areas of life is such a powerful act of faith. Because it confronts our fear directly. Not just financial fear, but to be honest, that is the one that comes very often in our lives. Those are the things that trouble our minds the most—fear of not having enough, fear of not being enough, fear of not being secure enough, fear of what might happen. Because we're not that sure that God is who He says He is or He'll do what He says He'll do when He says that He's a faithful provider, when He says that He's a strong protector, when He says that He's our security and our strength. We're not too sure that if we put Him to the test, if we'd find out that that was true. But if we attend to what we believe about God and we put our faith and our trust in Him and we actually decide that regardless of what our life looks like, regardless of what the circumstances are appearing to suggest to us, dare we believe that God is good? Dare we believe that God is faithful? Dare we believe that God will see us through? Dare we believe that God will part the sea and do the miracles? Then we won't be disappointed. But we struggle... you know, we don't struggle to believe that He provides, but we struggle to act as if He does. We struggle to shape our lives according to that. And so we'll speak a good game when it comes to our faith, but will we act it? Will we do it? Will we put it into action? Will people looking from the outside see "this is the God they believe in"? Because they might actually listen to the words that we say, but will they see it in the way that we live? Will they see faith in the way that we respond to challenge? Will they see faith in the way that we are generous? Will they see faith in the way that we interact with one another? And so there's a challenge for the new year—not a resolution, but a challenge. Where am I living closed-handed because of fear? And what does generosity look like for me? It might be finances, it might be time, it might be hospitality, it might be forgiveness, it might be encouragement, it might be attention. It might be any one of those things. But let's choose an intentional act of generosity that actually stretches our trust in God. Not driven by guilt, not driven by "I ought to" or obligation, but faith-filled generosity that demonstrates to God and to those around us that "God, I trust you more than I trust what I can see." There was a lady in our first church who really struggled with this. She was a single mum, she'd been deserted by her husband, she'd got no money—or very little money to live on—and she had no idea. And she was challenged in the idea of giving. And her first response was, "I cannot afford to give anything. This is just my lot in life." And without anybody twisting her arm or getting into her mind or saying "you really need..." she started to get challenged and convicted by the Holy Spirit. And so she did this: she tried to work out an intentional act of generosity. She struggled to actually give, but she said, "What I can do is the amount that I want to give, I can put it in an envelope and I can put it on my mantelpiece in my house. And then when I run out of money, I'll be able to use that money. But I just want to see what is possible." And so she started doing all of that. And guess what? The month passed and the money stayed there, because God had proved Himself to be faithful to her in every way. And so it took that intentional act. She could have stayed in her mind and said, "Well, I know what is impossible. I know what cannot be done because of my circumstances and because of my difficulty." But she chose to step away from those things to look to God and say, "Actually, I will trust you more than what I can see." And God proved Himself over and above. And let 2026 be a year when we prove to ourselves and we see God move in miraculous power. Have you ever recently put yourself in a position where you need God to move in your life? Let's be intentional about putting our faith into action this year. Faith is resilient. Resilience is not pretending things are fine when they're not. We're good at that, aren't we? You know, "yeah, God is great," whatever, but inside we're collapsing. Faith doesn't eliminate hardship but gives us a place to stand within it. Like I said, Paul said he learned contentment in every circumstance. Not because circumstances were easy, but because God is faithful. So resilience grows when we stop interpreting every difficulty as God's absence. Instead of asking all the time "God, why is this happening?", why don't we ask "How are you inviting me to trust you here?" Resilient faith doesn't deny pain, but it refuses to allow pain to define God. And so think about this year, going into this year: where have we been tempted to give up, disengage, or withdraw? Let's decide in advance—even before difficult circumstances have come—that those difficulties will not silence our worship or prayer or our obedience. Resolve, if we're going to make a resolution, let's resolve that we keep showing up, we keep praying, we keep trusting even when answers are slow. So that we can say at the end of 2026 that through it all, Lord, you have been faithful. Thirdly, faith is courageous. Courage is not confidence; it's obedience in the presence of fear. Most significant steps in the Bible, most significant steps in life, happen with trembling knees. It doesn't happen when we feel ready, when we feel able, when we feel strong enough. But it happens when we decide to trust regardless of how we feel. And if we make an honest assessment of the challenges ahead—whether it's for us personally, as families, or as a church—they can easily overwhelm us. So easily. If you... we keep reminding ourselves and laughing about when we bought 146—use that as an example—and somebody said, "Oh, you won't get much change out of £250,000 for renovating." And then somebody said "It's going to cost a million pounds," and we said "No, no it won't." And then of course you add it up and it's going to cost more than a million pounds. And those sort of things are the things that can overwhelm your faith. They can overwhelm you and you think, "Actually, wow, this is more than we thought. This is bigger than we imagined it was going to be." But courage doesn't begin with analysis; it begins with God. It begins with what He can do. When God says "go," our courage says "I don't know how it's going to work, but I trust who you are, God." And we can honestly say that through that project, God has been faithful right up until today. God has been faithful and as we look forward into 2026, we see a year where we see that project coming to completion by God's grace. Is there anything you've delayed in your life because you don't feel ready? Where is God prompting you to step up, speak out, step out? Is there a step of obedience that you've been avoiding? Take it this year. Not ten steps, not a leap into the unknown, just the next faithful step that you know God is asking you to do. What is God challenging you about? Where have you decided to settle back and think "Actually, I'll stay with what I know, I'll stay with what is safe"? Because in actual fact, staying with what is safe is not safe at all, because things change all the time. Things crumble around us, things move, things shift. Faith requires us to trust in God—not to see the whole path, but to trust Him with the next step. It's not about being heroes of faith. Sometimes the stories of the heroes of faith discourage us rather than encourage, don't they? Think, "Well, I couldn't do that." But it's about being honest Christians choosing to trust God when our certainty runs out. And so standing at the edge of 2026, the question isn't "Do we have enough faith?" or "Do we have enough resources?" but the question is simply "Who do we trust? What do we trust?" Do we trust our bank balance? Do we trust our family? Do we trust those closest to us? Do we trust our understanding of the future? Do we trust our own abilities or our talents or our resources or whatever it is? Or do we trust God? Do we put our hand into the hand of God and walk into the unknown with Him? And so as we live on the edge of 2026, our takeaways are that: Faith is generous—trust God enough to give even when it feels risky. Faith is resilient—stand firm when life challenges you. Faith is courageous—step forward in obedience even when you feel afraid. And so let's pray and maybe the team can come back and as we worship, let's turn our hearts to God and think about what that means. I believe that God has application for us in all sorts of different ways—different responses that we might have. You might be carrying different challenges. And if as we worship, you know that there are steps that you need to make to establish your trust in God—you know you need to trust Him but you don't know how, you don't feel it—then take this opportunity to step into 2026 and step forward and come and pray. Because there is an opportunity for us to pray together. Don't even need to know the details, don't even need to know what's going through your mind or through your head or through your heart, but we can stand together and pray. Make a statement to God that, "Yes, I'm going to trust you, whatever happens in 2026, or with whatever is burdening me now, I'm going to give it to you, Lord, and I'm going to trust you and I'm going to believe you and I'm going to make space for you to do the miraculous." And so let's worship, and if you need to make a response, please do, and please do step forward so that we can pray together.

Clayton was excited to chat to the most influential writer in his life. Adrian Plass uses humour, tears and a cutting wit to equally encourage and chasten the church.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a kind of community that our soul longs for; a kind of community we were created for. We see reflections of it in the stories we tell and the movies we make. We read about it in anthropology, see it in human history, find it in the scriptures, watch it in the early church, and hear about it in places like Africa, China and the Middle East. So why is it so hard to find in the modern American church?Special thanks to Tyler Staton, Victor Turner, Sabastian Younger and Adrian Plass for their contributions to this episode. 

Adrian Plass talks about the Father's love. Anne Glenconner explains to Michael Berkeley how she coped with the difficulties in her life. Larry Gentis continues his tale of rebellion amongst the people of Israel. MUSIC 1. Edinburgh University Singers - Christ Triumphant, ever raising 2. Kingsway Voices of Worship - I shall not want 3. Daniel O'Donnell - Footsteps

Adrian Plass talks about a Job for Life. Kat Arney explains the fascination of Cancer and Genetics. Larry Gentis , as Moses, faces rebellion from the people of Israel. MUSIC 1. Chester Cathedral Choir - As the Deer Pants for the water. 2. Guy Penrod - What a friend we have in Jesus. 3. Clifton Cathedral Choir - O God you search me and you know me. 4. Jim Reeves - the evening prayer.

Adrian Plass imagines Heaven. Michael Moseley recommends Meditation for the good of our health. Ian Myerscough explores John's Gospel. MUSIC 1. Come people of the Risen King - Stuart Townend 2. Dear Lord and Father of mankind - City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus

Adrian Plass examines the advantages of Giving. An Afghan refugee explains how he became a well qualified Doctor. Ian Myerscough looks at John's Gospel in detail. MUSIC 1. St Michael's Singers - Take my life and let it be. 2. Brother let me be your servant.

Adrian Plass advocates Cuddling the Kids. Osman Yousefsada recommends embracing different versions of Islam. Matthew Rodger shows how Generosity pays off. Leolio describes the work of Fear fund. MUSIC Coventry Chorale choir - God so Loved the World - from Stainer's "Crucifixion". Alistair MacDonald - the Selkirk Grace.

Adrian Plass talks about Decay and Renewal. Ernie Rea examines the plight of the Uyghurs in China. Kenneth Steven describes the delights of Jura in the Hebrides. MUSIC 1. Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah - Treorchy Male Voice Choir. 2. Christ be our Light - Frank Brownstead Choir. 3. He will hold me fast - Selah

Stephanie Shirley tells Michael Berkeley about her successful career in business and philanthropy. Adrian Plass has thoughts about being lifted by Love. The Holy Island in the Outer Hebrides is described by Kenneth Steven.

Adrian Plass sympathises with the victims of Sarcasm. Ernie Rea talks to enthusiastic Young members of different faiths. Kenneth Steven explores the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides. MUSIC 1. Cambridge Singers - For the beauty of the earth - John Rutter. 2. Sarah Lacy - How deep the father's love for us - Stuart Townend. 3. Daniel O'Donnell - Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling.

Kenneth Steven describes the features of Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides. Philip Noble encourages us to see the signs all around us. Adrian Plass says he has a fear of Landing! Mary Haddow tells the story of Greyfriars Bobby. MUSIC 1. Prom Praise - Safe in the shadow of the Lord. 2. Bernadette Farrell - Christ be our Light. 3. Robert Coaches - Will you come and follow me.

Out of the Ordinary Reflections: This season is full of expectations but we aren't living the expectations we see on Hallmark.  We are living in real lives, needing a real Jesus in the darkness. We all need a balm of hope to nourish our hearts during this season that helps us take a deep breath.    Winter is a pause and gives us space to reflect on where we really are, not where consumer culture is wanting us to be. Where is your heart today?  Lisa-Jo is reading from The Shadow Doctor by Adrian Plass. Christie's is reading from: A Child in Winter: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with Caryll Houselander, edited by Thomas Hoffman. Follow Lisa-Jo Baker @lisajobaker and Christie Purifoy @christiepurifoy Please let us know how this podcast encourages you in the comments. Podcast links: Click here to join the conversations we have with listeners every week around the podcast. https://www.blackbarnonline.com/ _______ Sponsor appreciation: We're so grateful to partner with show sponsors that keep making our work possible. Click here to join over 1 million people taking charge of their mental health through the online counseling offered by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month. http://www.betterhelp.com/ordinary Click here to visit Green Chef and use code ordinary10 to get 10 Free Meals including free shipping! The #1 Meal Kit for Eating Well! https://greenchef.com/ordinary10 Click here and download the Zocdoc app to sign-up for FREE and book a top-rated doctor. https://www.zocdoc.com/ordinary Click here for Pretzel.com and Click here for Licorice.com and get 20% OFF your order when you use our code ORDINARY. https://www.pretzels.com/ _______ Click here to sign up for your own digital Paper&String care package curated by Christie, Lisa-Jo and friends. http://outoftheordinarypodcast.com/ps  

This week on The Literary Life podcast, we are excited to bring you a much anticipated interview with Dr. Carolyn Weber, author of the popular memoir, Surprised by Oxford. She is also currently a professor at New College Franklin. To keep up with Carolyn, visit carolynweber.com or follow her on Facebook. Angelina and Cindy kick off the conversation by asking Carolyn about her childhood and how she came to love reading. They talk about her experience in school education and whether that differed from her personal reading life. Carolyn talks about her love of teaching and her immersive literary education experience at Oxford. She also expands on the way that reading the Bible for the first time opened her eyes to so many more of the truths in the literature she had read. Commonplace Quotes: Unexpectedly, it was Oxford that taught me it was okay to be both feminine and smart, that intelligence was, as a friend put it, a “woman's best cosmetic.” Carolyn Weber I'm like an addict when it comes to books. Compelled to read, understand, savor, wrangle with, be moved by, learn to live from these silent companions who speak so loudly. Surely some language must have a word for such a “book junkie”? Carolyn Weber We must not, that is, try to behave as though the Fall had never occurred nor yet say that the Fall was a Good Thing in itself. But we may redeem the Fall by a creative act. Dorothy Sayers Batter my heart, three-person'd God by John Donne Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new. I, like an usurp'd town to another due, Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end; Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain, But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me, untie or break that knot again, Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. Book List: Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber Holy Is the Day by Carolyn Weber The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Robertson Davies Margaret Atwood Stephen Leacock Flannery O'Connor Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv Mousekins books by Edna Miller Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell Paradise Lost by John Milton The Crosswicks Journals by Madeleine L'Engle Elizabeth Goudge Frederick Buechner Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Epic of Gilgamesh Number the Stars by Lois Lowry The Giver by Lois Lowry The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass by Adrian Plass A Small Cup of Light by Ben Palpant Letters from the Mountain by Ben Palpant Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon Come Away, My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

A sermon by Jamie Howison from Sunday September 5, 2021, on  James 2:1-17 and Mark 7:24-37.Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to audio and recommend this episode to your friends. We invite you to rate us or write a review of what we are doing on Apple Podcasts. Reviews help others join the conversation.* * *This podcast is created at saint benedict's table, a congregation of the Anglican Church of Canada in Winnipeg, where we've been making great audio since 2006. Listen to other recent episodes on our website and see our entire catalogue of well over 500 shows on our hosting page.Our MissionTo provide rich and stimulating audio resources to the wider church and engage topics and issues relevant to the concerns and questions of the larger culture in which we live.

Michael Berkeley explores Alex Harris's love of Medieval music & literature. Adrian Plass thinks about Cuddling the Kids. Malcolm Guite meditates on Psalm 19. Judy Gentis imagines herself to be Naomi. Mary Haddow has a story about salt.

Steve Volke ist der Leiter der Organisation "Compassion" in Deutschland. Compassion setzt sich weltweit gegen extreme Armut ein. Das tun sie vor allem über 1 zu 1 Patenschaften mit Kindern die in extremer Armut leben. Hast du Ideen zur Corona-Folge? Schreib uns deine Vorschläge doch einfach per Mail (gebhardtsilas@gmail.com), auf Instagramm (https://www.instagram.com/ecclesiopod/) oder per Whatsapp (004915789254576). Oder schick uns eine Sprachmemo. Leite die Nachricht auch gerne weiter und lass in dieser düsteren Pandemie-Zeit die kleinen und großen Lichtblicke für andere hell aufleuchten. Unsere Webseite: https://ecclesiopod.de Podcast bei Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecclesiopod/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecclesiopod/ Podcast unterstützen: https://ecclesiopod.de/spenden Shownotes https://www.stevevolke-blog.de/ https://www.compassion.de/ Just People Kurs: https://www.just-people.online Bücher Über den Schmerz, C.S Lewis: https://amzn.to/3fdmvOA Tagebuch eines frommen Chaoten, Adrian Plass: https://amzn.to/3obawoX Denn sie tun nicht, was sie wissen, Ronald J Sider: https://amzn.to/33BMObY Vielen Dank fürs Zuhören. Es würde uns und dem Podcast sehr weiterhelfen, wenn du den Podcast bewerten würdest und deinen Freunden davon erzählst. Wir freuen uns außerdem über Feedback. Schreib uns einfach auf Instagram oder per Mail an: gebhardtsilas@gmail.com

Michael Berkeley talks to poet Caroline Bird about her problems with depression. Adrian Plass explains how he was helped by a loving and sympathetic couple. Malcolm Guite reads his version of Psalm 15. Iain Ramsden has a powerful modern parable. Juli Wilson Black from Alexandria talks about her visit to some of Perthshire's big trees.

Mary Haddow has a dramatic illustration of Perfect Peace. Adrian Plass sympathises with victims of sarcasm. Malcolm Guite updates Psalm 14. Mariella Frostrup quizzes award winning novelist Leila Aboulela about her latest book on Islam.

Larry Gentis and friend tell the story of Samuel's call by God. Michael Berkeley talks to Tim Harford about making the most out of life. Malcolm Guite reads his updated version of Psalm 13. Adrian Plass says he fears Landing more than Flying! Mary Haddow encourages us to reach out in Love.

Why was Abraham blessed in the first place?After looking at the Abrahamic covenants in Genesis 15 and 17 last week, we backtrack slightly in the story to explore what God had in mind when He called Abraham. The "call of Abraham" is in Genesis 12, and we end up discussing some intriguing details of Genesis 23. This episode is a slightly disjointed because Cameron's recording somehow vapourised, so you'll need to exercise your imagination about his comments in places. As always, comments are welcome at sabbathschoolfromhome@gmail.com - and bonus marks if you can deduce where Cameron would have quoted Adrian Plass or Lewis!

Nadifa Mohamed chooses Purcell's Dido's Lament and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater as her favourite songs. Malcolm Guite reads his version of Psalm 5, followed by Tchaikovsky's Cherubic Hymn. Adrian Plass describes an amusing visit to his local hardware store.

Melvyn Bragg completes his survey of early Methodism. Adrian Plass describes the early disciples as a Motley Crew. Malcolm Guite brings Psalm 12 up to date. Michael Berkeley introduces the novelist Nadifa Mohamed.

Melvyn Bragg talks about John Wesley's experiences in America. Malcolm Guite reads his version of Psalm 9. Adrian Plass reads from his book "The Unlocking". Judy Gentis takes on the role of Eve in the garden of Eden. Mary Haddow tells a story about a snowflake.

Melvyn Bragg discusses George Whitfield and Welsh Methodists. Malcolm Guite reads his version of Psalm 8. Adrian Plass talks "Through Gritted Teeth". Larry Gentis explores the attitude of the Rich Young Ruler. Mary Haddow shows how Jesus brings "Peace which passes understanding".

Roger McGough talks to Kenneth Steven about the influence of Highland Perthshire on his poetry. Melvyn Bragg looks at John Wesley and the origins of Methodism. Adrian Plass discusses "Children of the Night". Malcolm Guite reads his version of Psalm 7. Larry Gentis takes on the role of Peter the Fisherman.

"The Visit" - Adrian Plass

"The Visit" - Adrian Plass

"The Visit" - Adrian Plass

"The Visit" - Adrian Plass

Mariella Frostrup leads a discussion about Catholic literary figures. Adrian Plass talks about being lost in a crowd. Malcolm Guite reads his own version of Psalm 6. Larry Gentis imagines himself to be the disciple Philip encountering the Ethiopian eunuch.

Ernie Rea asks experts to analyse the uniqueness of the Dalai Lama. Adrian Plass reads from his book "The Unlocking". Ramsay Beattie talks to Neil Glover about the community togetherness engendered by the Covid 19 Pandemic. Brain Moore explains to Michael Berkeley the special motivation behind successful high achievers.

Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason talks to Michael Berkeley about her musical family. Malcolm Guite meditates on Psalm 4. Adrian Plass wonders whether we can ever be Good Enough.

Larry Gentis re-enacts the experiences of Simeon in the Temple. Adrian Plass talks about doing things God's Way. Ramsay Beattie asks David Barrie what the Pitlochry community is doing during the Pandemic. Ernie Rea tries to understand what the church is going through in Hong Kong.

Malcplm Guite meditates on Psalm 3, followed by a song by Morten Lauridsen. Neil Glover discusses the Creation story with members of the Scottish Bible Society. Mike Brearly compares family life with running a cricket team. Adrian Plass examines how we can be saved even though we are not perfect. Ernie Rea sympathises with someone coping with the loss of their brother to Covid 19.

Malcolm Guite reads his sonnet on Bliss. Adrian Plass talks about the importance of Faith. Michael Berkeley talks to novelist Sarah Perry. Judy Gentis takes on the role of Lydia in the Acts of the Apostles. Ernie Rea questions Richard Gamble about his wall of Answered Prayer (a million Bricks!)

Malcolm Guite reads a poem by John Keats on December. Physics Professor Brian Greene celebrates the wonders of Creation. Adrian Plass encourages us to show Compassion. Larry Gentis imagines what it would be like to be the father of the Prodigal Son. The three Vicars discuss some more of their Christmas experiences.

The theme today is Saints. Malcolm Guite reads his poem on St Patrick. Cherith Nixon reviews a book about St Patrick's Breastplate. Adrian Plass describes Gideon going into battle. Matt Canlis tries to explain what a saint is to a group of Primary School children.

Jeffrey Archer talks about his experiences in prison. Adrian Plass describes Gideon' revelation in the enemy camp. Ian Walker explains the improvements to disabled facilities in the Atholl Centre. Malcolm Guite reads his sonnet to celebrate the visit of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.

Malcolm Guite has a sonnet for Remembrance day, Margaret MacMillan describes the horrors of the First World War. John Greenshields tells the story of David and Goliath in a broad Scots dialect. Adrian Plass continues the adventures of Gideon. Larry Gentis outlines the conversion of Saul the Pharisee into Paul the Apostle.

Ernie Rea discusses facial markings used in different religions. Adrian Plass compares himself with how God treated Gideon. Ann Wroe talks about the skill of writing Obituaries, and also the book she has written on the life of St Francis. Malcolm Guite reads his poem for All Saints Day.

INSTAGRAM: @youth_bioyPSALM READING: Psalm 108:1–5NEW TESTAMENT READING: Galatians 3:26–4:20OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 43:1–44:23‘This seemingly insubstantial fact revolutionised my life,’ wrote Adrian Plass, author of The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37¾. He continued, ‘I became a Christian when I was sixteen years old, but it wasn’t until I was thirty-seven that I absorbed an essential truth. God is nice and he likes me.’

From Revd John Davies, priest in charge of Clapham with Keasden and Austwick with Eldroth in the Diocese of Leeds. Prayers and reflections from the Churches Weekly Newsletter in a time of the coronavirus: Sunday 6 September 2020, The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. Featuring 'Spirit of God, unseen as the wind' (A.D. Miller, Richard M.S. Irwin & Traditional) performed by A.D. Miller, Commotio Chamber Choir & Griselda Sherlaw-Johnson from The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems, and 'Take My Life and Let It Be' (Henri A. Cesar Malan) performed by Baggaley Clifton Blythe & Adrian Plass from Shipwrecks and Islands. Including my talk for the day, Naive or emancipating? Jesus' formula of 'forgiveness first', also available here as a stand-alone podcast.

Malcolm Guite reads his sonnet on "The Good Shepherd". Willie Wright talks about Slave Trader, John Newton, and we hear two versions of his hymn Amazing Grace. Adrian Plass experiences Physical Fear, and Les Brown describes the miraculous appearance of a new car battery!

Malcolm Guite has a sonnet about Jesus as the Door to the Sheep Fold, Les Brown descibes a miraculous escape when flying over Kenya, Willie Wright talks about the marvellous work done by the hymn writer Horatius Bonar, and Adrian Plass experiences "When the cruch comes!" There is music between each item, including some hymns by Horatius Bonar.

This episode has Les Brown explaining the miraculous arrival of the money he needed just in time for him to apply for Bible College. Malcolm Guite describes the creative process involved in writing his poem about Jesus being the Light of the World. Willie Wright examines the life of hymn writer Graham Kendrick and Adrian Plass continues the series from his book "The Unlocking". Between each item there are several of Graham Kendrick's songs.

This week Les Brown explains how God meets our needs just in time, and Malcolm Guite talks more about the "I am" sayings of Jesus, particularly "I am the Bread". Chris Bowater is the subject of Willie Wright's researches this week. Adrian Plass examines how Jesus experienced being in a dark Place. Between each item there is music chosen by Howard Simpson to go with the theme.

In this episode Michael Berkeley talks to Peter Stanford about his interest in Prison Reform, and also about child abuse within the Catholic church. Willie Wright discusses Charles Wesley's hymns, and Adrian Plass examines how we can help the helpless. We also hear the final part of Matthew Robertson's talk to the Pitlochry Guild about his life as a Parish Minister.

Listen again to Heartland FM weekly religious programme, Heart & Soul, this week featuring Peter Stanford, Willie Wright, Adrian Plass and Matthew Robertson.

This is TWENTY of our favorite Christmas stories! Buckle up, here come a smorgasbord of our very favorite Christmas reads! Last December we'd created a special bonus podcast episode that folks were able to download as a standalone paid episode. This summer, we thought it would be fun to finally release this nearly two hour binge listen to our whole audience. Lisa-Jo and Christie share their Top 10 Christmas reads that include novels, cook books, mysteries, picture books for the kids, faith reads, fiction, and poetry. What better time than the heat of summer to curl up with a book that reminds us of cold, crisp winters and the promise of new beginnings? This is a deep dive into our favorite Christmas-themed books in an episode that includes read-alouds from our favorite passages and the reasons why we think these books will be good company in this season! Here's your list of all 20 books featured in this bonus episode for you to take to the library this season! Click here to download the full book list.  Lisa-Jo's Top Ten The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Read  A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass (aged 37 3/4) by Adrian Plass A Circle Of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle It's a Magical World: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection by Bill Waterson Betty Crocker The Jubilee Poems by John Blase Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No by Henry Cloud and John Townsend  Break In by Dick Francis    Christie's Top Ten  Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette Winterson Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas, various authors Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston What the Land Already Knows: Winter's Sacred Days by Phyllis Tickle The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder Accompanied by Angels: Poems of the Incarnation by Luci Shaw The Irrational Season by Madeleine L'Engle _______ Sponsor appreciation: In these uncertain times we're so grateful to partner with show sponsors that keep making our work possible. Click here to check out Laurel Springs for your waived registration fee and their flexible online K-12 program that is designed to encourage each student’s individuality and support their growth through a personalized approach to learning. http://laurelsprings.com/ordinary Click here to try Thrive Market and become a member risk-free! Join today and you’ll get up to twenty dollars in shopping credit toward your first order. http://thrivemarket.com/ordinary

Another episode from Heartland FM, the voice of Highland Perthshire. Michael Berkeley talks to Peter Stanford about Guardian Angels, Adrian Plass reads a chapter from his book "The Unlocking", Willie Wright talks about Henry Lyte (composer of "Abide with me") and Rev Matthew Robertson describes his time as an Army Chaplain in Ireland. Between each item there is music, chosen and presented by Howard Simpson.

Heart and Soul is the weekly religious broadcast on Heartland FM, the local radio station for Highland Perthshire (see www.heartland.scot). This edition features Roy Lawrence's article on Inner Healing, Malcolm Guite with a poem based on Psalm 2, Adrian Plass with a section from his book "The Unlocking, and the Rev Matthew Robertson talking about his life as an Army Chaplain. Between each item there are hymns and religious songs chosen and presented by Howard Simpson.

I have just recorded this lovely night-time prayer. A chance to be still hear some Taize music, a bedtime story by Adrian Plass and a moment of calm before we sleep. Enjoy and sleep well.

A chance to be still hear some Taize music, a bedtime story by Adrian Plass and a moment of calm before we sleep. Enjoy and sleep well.

If ever any one ever had an unfair life – it was Joseph back there in the old testament. One step forward, two steps back seems to be the story of so much of what he went through … sound familiar? Yet in the end, he came out in front. At the end of the day, what others meant for harm in his life, God meant for good in the lives of so many others. Hmm?   It's Not Fair One of my favourite sayings when I was a young lad growing up, was "It's not fair!" I just hated things that weren't fair. When my parents made a decision between my sister and me – whether I had to clean up or she had to clean up and the lot fell to me, I'd say, "It's not fair!" I remember a soccer game in the park – with one of my teachers, Mr Moore, who I really liked and he made a bad decision against my team – "It's not fair!" Sometimes I was right, it wasn't fair and other times it was just the way I saw things – my perception, maybe from my selfish position but one of the things I really, really hate in life is when it's not fair. Although, well, I'd have to qualify that – I'm a human being after all – I hate "not fair" when I am on the losing end of an unfair transaction. You know, funny, but I don't mind so much when I am on the winning side. That's pretty natural. "Not fair" only really upsets us when we lose. We are continuing our series today called "Defining Moments” Things that we do or things that happen to us in life that seem to change the course of our lives and last week we looked at Abraham – the defining moment for him was when he responded to God's love and just believed the unbelievable promises of God. He just stepped out into the impossible promises of God and because of his simple child-like faith, imperfect as it was. I mean God overlooked, indeed, God compensated for all of Abraham's blunders. Today we are going to take a look at the life of a man called Joseph because if anyone ever lived a life where he was unfairly treated, it was definitely Joseph. So many things that happened to him were just so incredibly unfair. Really – we will look at that in a moment – and yet there was some real defining moments along the way for Joseph. It's really important to look at this story! We are going to discover something about ourselves and about God. It is so easy to look at defining moments from a human perspective but we need to look at them "top down"; from God's perspective as well. I know we are going to be blessed as we go in search of some of the defining moments in Joseph's life. Now who was Joseph? Last week we talked about Abraham who was the father of the whole nation of Israel and he had this son he called Isaac. Isaac had a son called Jacob and Jacob was actually renamed by God and called Israel. And Jacob or Israel had twelve sons, one of whom was Joseph. Now he was the youngest at the time this story begins and he was pretty much dad's favourite. If you have got a Bible, grab it – open it up with me at Genesis chapter 37, verse 2: Joseph being seventeen years old was shepherding the flock with his brothers. He was a helper to the son's of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives and Joseph brought a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel who was Jacob, loved Joseph more than any of his other children because he was the son of his old age and he made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all of the other brothers, they hated him and they couldn't speak peaceably to him. Once, Joseph had this dream and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to this dream that I just dreamed: there we were binding sheaves in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves, they gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed going to reign over us? Are you indeed going to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words. And he had another dream and he told this to his brothers as well saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon and the eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Well, you can question Joseph's maturity at sharing those dreams with his brothers. As we can imagine, they were none too impressed – I wouldn't be, you wouldn't be. "Little brat – dad's favourite – this kid needs to be taught a lesson." So the brothers plotted against him – first they wanted to kill him – "Well", they thought, "that's a bit over the top", so instead they threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery. Have a look – Genesis chapter 37, beginning at verse 23: So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe; the long robe with the sleeves that he wore, and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it, then they sat down to eat and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying gum, balm and resin and they were on their way, carrying it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for his is our brother; our own flesh. So the other brothers agreed. When some of the Medianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him up out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver and they took Joseph to Egypt.” And these other brothers went back and told their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. How do you think Joseph felt? It's not fair! I mean, his own brothers! Okay, maybe he did rub them the wrong way. Okay maybe he was dad's favourite but his own brothers? I mean that is so unfair. Isn't that so often the way – our own brothers and sisters; those who are closest to us; those who should love us the most; those whom we trusted – they are the ones who treat us unfairly? It's one thing to be treated unfairly by an associate or even an enemy; you almost expect that but by his own brothers – sold into slavery; into a completely uncertain future; completely lost his freedom – come on, let's walk a mile in Joseph's shoes right now. He is a slave in that caravan, being taken down into a foreign land; into Egypt to be sold into goodness knows what; no future….. I don't know about you, but I would have been tempted to react pretty badly to that. I would have been tempted to be bitter and to swear an oath that I would never, ever forgive my brothers. It would have been so easy for young Joseph to have bitterness and un-forgiveness in his heart – don't you think? Let's bring this right close to home. People who have treated us badly and us unfairly, how have you and I responded? We seem to take their failure, their bad behaviour as our license to behave badly, don't we? How many of us have got un-forgiveness in our hearts? How many of us are carrying a knot of anger in our hearts that's robbing us of life? We will look at Joseph's life in a moment and we are going to look at the defining moment in his life, when life was just so unfair.   From Bad to Worse Sometimes it seems that life is one step forward and two steps back. I mean, young Joseph was dad's favourite; he had great dreams of success for the future, then he is sold into slavery and he is down in a slave market in Egypt, purchased by a man called Potiphar. Have a look at it: Genesis chapter 39, beginning at verse 1: Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man. He was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favour in his sight and attended him. Potiphar made Joseph the overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he had made him overseer in his house and all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge and with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good looking. WOW, things are on the up and up again. What could have been terrible instead ... God puts Joseph in a place where He can use his gifts and his abilities and God blesses Joseph. The word "Joseph" means to be "a multiplier" and that is literally what Joseph's gift was. We see that throughout the story of his life – it is one of the things that Joseph was really good at – being a multiplier. Now you might be thinking, "Well, Berni, now things are going well for young Joe. All that temptation to behave badly, that's all gone away", but you would be wrong! Because one of the things that we love to do is to get some recompense out of life. When we have gone through bad times we can still have bitterness in our hearts. It would have been easy for Joseph to have bitterness in his heart and then the good times start to flow and we decide "Well, it's time to make hay while the sun shines. I am going to get something out of life; I'm going to get some recompense. I'll show those rotten brothers – I'll take whatever I can and have whatever I can have. I'll show them!" Ever experienced that in your heart? Sure you have, so have I and that can be the time of such a great fall. Sure enough, Joseph had exactly that opportunity now that he was on easy street. We are going to have a look at this because I think this is the defining moment of Joseph's walk. Genesis chapter 39, beginning at verse 7: And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Sleep with me”, but he refused and he said to his master's wife, “Look, with me here my master has no concern about anything in his house. He has put everything that he has in my hand. He is not greater in his house that I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to sleep with her or to be with her. One day however, when he went into the house to do his work and while no one else was in the house, she caught hold of his garment saying, “Sleep with me,” but he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. And when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us. He came in to sleep with me and I cried out with a loud voice and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home and she told him the same story, saying, “That Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us, came in to insult me but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This was the way your servant treated me,” he was enraged. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the King's prisoners were confined and there he remained in prison. Do you see what happened here? See, I think that this is one of the defining moments in Joseph's life. Bad things happen and he had a chance to make amends; he had a chance to take whatever he wanted, in particular, to taste this forbidden fruit. Potiphar's wife kept tempting him and he could easily have said, "Yea, go on, Joseph. Come on, you deserve this! After all, look at what you have been through. Come on!" You know what I am saying! And in the defining moment Joseph said “No!' He refused and said to his master's wife, “Look, with me here my master has no concern about anything in the house. He has put everything in my hand. How then could I do this great wickedness?” Joseph said, "No" over and over again. It's a powerful thing to say, "No" to temptation when life has been unfair - to say, "No" to temptation when we can come up with every reason and every excuse to say, "Yes, come on!" And to make matters worse, Joseph's right doing is rewarded by jail – that is sooo unfair! Do you get it? Right, must be time to behave badly again! But no matter how badly people treated him or life treated him, Joseph remained true to himself. And here is the "top down" view; here is God's view of this defining moment – God saw that and honoured it. Let's pick it right up in Genesis 39, beginning at verse 21: But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love. He gave him favour in the sight of the chief jailer. And the chief jailer committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in his prison and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was is Joseph's care because the Lord was with him and whatever he did, the Lord made it to prosper.” Do you get it? Why do you think that these defining moments are hidden? We think that these temptation decisions are hidden from the world and when we have had a tough day or when people have been horrible to us, we are just so tempted to make amends by doing something wrong. The defining moment in Joseph's walk is that Joseph said, "No" to that temptation. Now I want you to hold that thought because we are going to have a look at what all this means to you and me, next.   Do Not Grow Weary There is quite a bit more to Joseph's story. He spent another two years in jail…..two years! I can't begin to imagine that – it was so unfair. And finally, because he had a gift of interpreting dreams, he found favour with Pharaoh. And one thing led to another and Pharaoh made Joseph Prime Minister over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself; over the whole nation. And then famine hits the land and because of Joseph's wisdom and insight from God, he, as the leader, caused Egypt to store up enough grain for the coming famine and so people from all around Egypt came for food – in fact, all round the known world. And all of a sudden Joseph's brothers came down from the land of Canaan, down to find some food in Egypt as well and Joseph recognised them, although they didn't recognise him. Aw, he struggled with that! What a temptation! Finally, there was Joseph, just like in those dreams he had when he was a young man. There was his brothers bowing down to him; now he had them; now he could take revenge. You can read the whole story in Genesis chapters 40 to 44. It is really worth a read. What would Joseph do? Well, let's take a look – Genesis chapter 45, beginning at verse 1: Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers and he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers couldn't answer him and they were so dismayed that they were in his presence. (Wouldn't you be?) Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” and they came closer and he said, “I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt and now don't be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in this land for two years and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors, so it was not you who sent me here, but God; He has made me a father to Pharaoh and the lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” What an amazing response? Grace, forgiveness and the knowledge that all along, through all the unfair things that happened to him; through all the bad things that happened to him, that what had happened to Joseph was part of God's plan. Talk about defining moment! That defining moment happened for Joseph when he was sold as a slave, wrongly accused, thrown into jail, left there to rot and the temptation in all of that was for Joseph to shout, “It's not fair!” That's the temptation; to turn to sin; to wallow in filth that we have been thrown in and I have no doubt that Joseph struggled with that. He was human after all but what defined him was not the unfairness that the world threw at him, but the decision just to get up every morning, to be Joseph, to honour God. The Apostle Paul, centuries on, said it this way: Do not be deceived. God is not mocked for you will reap whatever you sow - if you sow to your flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, but if you sow to the spirit you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap at harvest time if we do not give up. Unfair things happen to us every day and sometimes what we want is, "God, just give me an easy ride." In fact there is a great poem here that I want to share with you. It's a poem by Adrian Plass – have a listen – it goes like this: When I became a Christian I said, “Lord now fill me in. Tell me what I will suffer in this world of shame and sin.” Then God said, “Your body may be killed and left to rot and stink, do you still want to follow Me?”I said, “Amen, I think! I think, amen! Amen, I think, I think I say "amen"! Look, I am not completely sure. Can we run through that again? You said my body could be killed and left to rot and stink, that sounds terrific, Lord. I'll say "amen" I think!” “But Lord, look there must be other ways to follow You,” I said, “I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.” “Well, yes”, He said, “You could put up with sneers and scorn and spit, do you still want to follow Me?” I said, “Amen, a bit.” “A bit "amen" – "amen", a bit. A bit, I say ‘amen'. Look, I'm not entirely sure. Can we just run through that again?” You said I could put up with sneers and scorn and spit – oh, yea, I've made up my mind – I say "amen" a bit.” Well, I sat back and thought a while. I tried a different ploy – I said, “Now Lord, the Good Book says that Christians live in joy.” “That's true,” He said, “You are going to need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow, so do you still want to follow Me?” I said, “Amen – tomorrow!” “Tomorrow, Lord, I say it – that's when I'll say "amen". You see, I've got to get it clear. Let's just run through that again.” You said, I'll need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow – well, yea, I think I've got it straight. I'll say "amen" tomorrow. He said, “Look, I'm not asking you to spend an hour with Me, a quick salvation sandwich or a cup of sanctity. The cost is "you" not half of you but every single bit. Now tell Me, will you follow Me? I said, “Amen! No, I quit! “I'm sorry Lord, I'd like to follow You but I don't think religion is a very manly thing to do.” So He said, “Forget about religion then and you think about My Son and you tell me if you are man enough to do what He has done. Are you man enough to see the need? Are you man enough to go? Are you man enough to care for those who no one wants to know? Are you man enough to say the things that people hate to hear and battle through Gethsemane and loneliness and fear? And listen, are you man enough to stand it at the end, the moment of betrayal by the kisses of your friend? Are you man enough to hold your tongue? Are you man enough to cry? And when the nails break your body, are you man enough to die? Are you man enough to take the pain and wear it like a crown? Are you man enough to love this world and turn it upside down? Are you man enough to follow Me – I'll ask you once again?” I said, “Oh Lord, I am so frightened but I also said, "amen". Amen, amen, amen! I said, “Lord, I am so frightened but I also said, 'amen'.” You know, as I look back on the story of the life of Joseph, my heart breaks for that man. He went through so much – the betrayal of his brothers; sold into slavery; thrown into jail for doing the right thing – left there to rot; he went through so much. And it would have been so easy and tempting just to act badly; just to respond; just to have anger; just to lash out. Come on, that's what we want to do! But do not be deceived. Because God is not mocked for whatever we reap, we sow! If we sow in the flesh, we will reap corruption in the flesh, but if we sow in the Spirit we will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” Here's the punch line. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap at harvest time if we do not give up. So whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for the family of faith.

Nick interviews writer and all-round top bloke Adrian Plass. We talk about church, living in community, speaking honestly, some surprising answers to prayer and how he’s finally come to really like God. Also, check out Adrian’s latest books The Shadow Doctor, and Shadow Doctor: The Past Awaits.

Azt már Adrian Plass óta tudjuk, hogy az egyház nem egy ház. De vajon mi a gyülekezet az eredeti, bibliai értelemben? Miért létezik? Ki irányítja? Mi a dolga, és mi nem?

Justin Brierley meets bestselling author Adrian Plass to talk about his new book The Shadow Doctor. Plus, Malcolm Guite drops by to share his life story and talk about his poetry.

Adrian Plass - well-known author of The Sacred Diary books - is interviewed by John Cheek for this Flame Radio documentary which also features excepts from a live performance.

Magánszám