Beckenham Baptist Church

Dear Friends,  In my daily notes, Life with Lucas , we have been looking at the book of Proverbs over this last quarter beginning with the question, ‘how should we live?’ Jeff Lucas tells of an encounter with a taxi driver who ‘was lamenting some of the crazy ideas now commonly touted, and then he said, “The trouble is – we just think we’re so clever and sophisticated.”’ It is not hard, as we look around at the world today, to agree with this taxi driver’s wisdom is it. Just think about the varied ways in which people try to escape from the reality of life rather than face up to life’s struggles and problems. Alcohol, drugs, sex, power, fame and money are just some of the vices which can look tempting to begin with but actually only lead to more distress and misery. At the beginning of Proverbs we read, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline’ (Proverbs 1:7). My daily notes say, ‘When we take God out of the picture, there is no...

Dear Friends,  I’m sure like me you will have been amazed at the survival story of the four children who were found safe and well after spending 40 days in the Colombian jungle following a plane crash that killed their mother and two pilots. The BBC reported that ‘army radios crackled into life with the message the nation had been praying for: “Miracle, miracle, miracle, miracle.”’ The children, 13, nine, four and one, had fought against all the odds for six weeks and had endured the elements and often deadly terrain to survive and Colombia’s president called it ‘an example of total survival which will remain in history.’ In his book Soul Fuel , the adventurer Bear Grylls reminds us that struggles develop strength, and that Jesus never offers a trouble-free life. But what he does promise to all who follow is peace and confidence, help and rescue. When he promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples he said, ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world w...

Dear Friends,  Next week sees the Baptist Assembly being held in Telford with the theme ‘Mission is…’. General Secretary of Baptists Together, Lynn Green says, ‘The mission theme of this year’s Assembly has emerged directly as a result of feedback and the conversations we had when we gathered in Bournemouth last year. We pray that our being together will shape, encourage and inform our mission and discipleship as we seek to follow Jesus in the places he has called us’. So what is mission? Our mission as followers of Jesus Christ is to heed his call as set down at the end of Matthew’s gospel and known as the Great Commission, ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ (Matthew 28:19-20).    Grace and peace, Neil 

Dear Friends,  The Sunday after the celebration of Pentecost is always Trinity Sunday which focuses on the mystery of God in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At Bristol Baptist College during my training I can remember being asked to find examples of the Trinity in songs and hymns that were in use at that time. There were a number: ‘Holy, holy, holy’, which has the line ‘God in three persons, blessed Trinity’; ‘Father, we adore you’ with the same verse just changing the first word (so Father, Jesus and Spirt); and in a similar vein ‘Father, we love you, we worship and adore you. Glorify your name in all the earth’ (and again each verse being the same just with a different opening word: Father, Jesus, Spirit). But perhaps one of my favourites is the simple but profound Doxology written by Bishop Thomas Ken, an Anglican priest of the 17 th Century. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him, above ye heavenly host; ...

Dear Friends,  As we reflect on the Day of Pentecost, I’m reminded of what Jesus promised his followers in John’s gospel, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth’ (John 14:15-17) and ‘the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you’ (John 14:26). Sometimes when life is tough and we are struggling to make sense of things, we need that help that only comes from God, only comes from the Holy Spirit who not only lives with us, but also lives within us. The Spirit provides the inner help from God that enables us to endure, and in moments of struggle reminds us of everything Jesus says, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled…’, ‘Love one another…’, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ If you are facing some trial or difficulty in life at present, remember to depend on t...