This Sunday

After a number of quiet Sundays it was good to be a little fuller yesterday. It was a great blessing to welcome Erika back from the States. She is working with a mission here in London and needed a new visa to return. An answer to prayer that she was able to return so swiftly. She had with her Christine who will be with the mission for 6 months or so as well.
We are aiming to start homegroups in February. Will likely be just one to start with, but the plan is to try and grow that group until we can split it and make 2. We're also hoping to start a new Christianity Explored group in Feb. Haven't done one for a while so praying we will get a good group up and running.
Was preaching on Mark 11v27-12v12 yesterday - God's great reversal. It is fairly depressing to see how the Jewish leaders would not humble themselves before God's messengers and accept their authority. An unwillingness to admit the guilt in their hearts and have their "righteousness" masks removed and a desire to retain control seem to be at the heart of their rejection. Sadly these traits are not unfamiliar to our own hearts either. Wonderfuly though God does a great reversal in Jesus. He is the last messenger and "The Son he loves", and though these leaders (builders) rejected him and killed him, God raised him from the dead. "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; and it is marvelous in our eyes!"
So now Jesus lives forever holding a message of mercy and an opportunity to return to God even for those in a state like these leaders. I wonder if a young Saul the Pharisee was around at this point? Perhaps not. But certainly the light of the resurrection and the glory of the "capstone" transformed him from just this condition. There is hope for all of us who hide behind masks of good Christian behaviour and don't want to lose control. The hope is in God's great reversal.
God's blessing to all of you.