Beckenham Baptist Church

Dear Friends,  Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia!  Happy Easter!  The apostle Paul writing to the believers in Corinth had received from the church there questions sent to him on various topics including on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. There were some who denied that Jesus had rose from the dead whilst others were unsure of what a physical resurrection might look like. Responding, Paul writes, ‘For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve (1 Corinthians 15:3-5). That in a nutshell is the gospel message, and as Paul says, the most important message we can ever hear. It is this message that we celebrate at Eastertime. But just like in Paul’s day there are those who deny the resurrection story and don’t believe in the resurrection of...

Dear Friends, In Luke’s account of the Feeding of the 5000, the event is prefaced by Jesus wanting to withdraw with the apostles to Bethsaida, but the crowds find him and continue following him. In the gospel we read, ‘Jesus welcomed them and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing’ (Luke 9:11). The word translated ‘welcomed’ means to receive someone heartily and gladly, we might say to embrace someone with open arms, and during his earthly ministry, Jesus welcomed all sorts of people in all kinds of settings, seemingly always making time for those in need of his help. To know a warm welcome is such a precious thing, and if we are a stranger in some situation – be it visiting another country, starting a new job or school, or looking for a new church – we would hope that we would be welcomed and not feel like a stranger or an outsider for very long. I’ve recently discovered an ancient Celtic welcome which apparently is found over the door of an old ...

Dear Friends, April 4 th marks the 50 th anniversary of the children’s television news programme, Newsround , which burst onto our screens in 1972 hosted by John Craven who is perhaps today known to us more for presenting the farming programme Countryfile . Those of us of a certain generation grew up with Craven telling the stories of the day, always introduced by his familiar welcome, ‘Hello again’, and his natty collection of jumpers. Initially commissioned as a six-week experiment by the BBC it was the brainchild of TV executive Edward Barnes who was concerned that children were not hearing about stories that were important to them and relevant to their lives. He is quoted as saying, ‘I wanted children to feel that our news was very much their news’, and the presentation of the programme was focused on bringing the news in a way that children could understand and relate to. I for one will never forget that it was Newsround that broke the story of the Challenger Shuttle disaster...

Dear Friends, The American pastor and theologian Tim Keller in an article from 2020 writes that ‘ B iblical justice is not first of all a set of bullet points or a set of rules and guidelines. It is rooted in the very character of God and it is the outworking of that character, which is never less than just’. He goes on to highlight four facets of Biblical justice: radical generosity, universal equality, significant, life changing advocacy for the poor, and both corporate and individual responsibility, saying that as the church and as Christians we are ‘a pilot plant of the future Kingdom of God, a place for the world to get a partial glimpse of what the humanity will look like under Jesus’ kingship and justice’. In the Bible we read in the prophet Micah the promise of a ruler from Bethlehem who will ‘stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord’ and who ‘will be their peace’. It is a prophecy about the coming of Jesus Christ, and we hear it most usually at Christmastime. B...

  Dear Friends, Spring has sprung! On a one-day retreat this week and a walk in the countryside, there were signs all around that the season of springtime is here, from the buds on the trees, the beginnings of the colours of flowers and the richness of God’s beautiful creation once again reawakening after the winter slumber. March 20 th marks the first day of spring in the northern half of the world, and if you live down under then it is the beginning of autumn. Next week the clocks with go forward and the days will be longer, and hopefully brighter and warmer. We’re reminded of the changing of the seasons as we read from Song of Songs, ‘See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land’ (Song of Songs 2:11-12). I’ve discovered a springtime carol this week, written in the 13 th Century and translated from Latin to English in The Oxford Book of Carols , 1928, called ‘The Flo...

Dear Friends, Like me I’m sure you have been following the news of the war in Ukraine and the many stories that we have heard of people struggling against enormous challenges to survive. As Baptists we are a part of the wider Baptist family, our own London Baptist Association, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Baptist World Alliance, and the European Baptist Federation (EBF) which comprises some 800,000 members in 52 countries in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. The EBF are putting together situation reports for what is happening in Ukraine from partners on the ground to inform our praying and the following comes from the report issued on 8 th March: ·          The human cost of the current conflict continues to rise. Between 3 p.m. (EET) 5 March to 3 p.m. (EET) 6 March, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported at least 1,123 civilian casualties, including 364 killed, a more than 410 per cent increas...

  Dear Friends, ‘How are you going to maintain your spiritual life?’ That was one of the questions asked when I was training for ministry at Bristol Baptist College over 25 years ago. It is an interesting question to revisit regularly, thinking about what it is that sustains us in our walk of faith in Jesus Christ. In our ever-increasing busy world just what are the things that help us to connect with God? Over the years I have used various resources to sustain my own spiritual life like daily readings such as Encounter with God , and Everyday with Jesus . I’ve done a Bible in a Year reading plan, and read through the Psalms and other books of the Bible. I’ve used other resources like The Rhythm of Life , a Celtic Daily prayer guide, The Little Office Book , a simple and adaptable form of daily prayer, and I’ve also tried various apps designed to help to sustain and maintain one’s own spiritual fervour and discipline in spending time with God. Time is such a precious and limited ...