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    • Not in Vain: 1 Corinthians Devotional
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    • Explore Ecclesiastes
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That Happy Certainty - Gospel | Culture | Planting
Refill

The Sunday Refill – 7 Links for Your Weekend (25/9/22)

Seven up…

1) Queen Elizabeth II – Lord Michael Farmer writes about remembering her as ‘Elizabeth the Faithful’. Stephen McAlpine reflects on Elizabeth’s funeral calling it ‘One Last Magnificent Porous Day’. Bishop Graham Tomlin reflects on what the nation’s response to her death might mean, arguing it reveals a ‘latent spirituality in the UK’. Peter Stanford reflects in The Guardian on our approach to grief.

2) Pray for Iran – In light of the protests and violence in Iran after the death of Zhina Mahsa Amini, Christians around the world are looking for ways to pray for Iran. This prayer was shared by Elam Ministries, who are serving the Church in Iran. It was written by Asrin, an Iranian Christian leader who, like Zhina Mahsa Amini, is Kurdish and so understands the repression that both Kurds and women have faced in Iran over many decades. You can read the original prayer and learn more about Elam’s work here.

3) How Much Time and Energy Do We Waste Toggling Between Applications? – Interesting tech perspective on how much we ‘toggle’…

4) Divine comedy: the standup double act who turned to the priesthood – This is a fascinating account of Christian conversion, more so because it’s in a UK national newspaper. This paragraph especially stood out: “Recently Jack has started picturing his life as a great house comprised of many rooms. There are rooms for your friendships, your love life, your career, rooms that you put signs outside declaring: I do not want this changed by my religion. Gradually, though, God starts knocking on the doors of more rooms, asking to join you in there, too. “And it’s difficult and painful and annoying,” he told me. But God’s presence also changes your experience of the rooms. You realise this was how they were supposed to look all along. You realise they have become brighter.”

5) Otherness with Jen Wilkin – Fascinating discussion on this podcast about family discipleship on the ‘otherness’ we experience in all seasons of life.

6) 9 lessons from the most watched sermon ever – I got the chance to reflect on Archbishop Justin Welby’s sermon from Monday’s funeral. Here are nine lessons I wanted to take away.

7) How to keep the seat next to you empty – For something a bit different, this seems to work on buses, trains and planes… but what about church?!

 

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September 25, 2022by Robin Ham
Refill

Responding to the Death of Her Majesty, The Queen Elizabeth II – Some Links to Help Us Ponder, Share & Serve

It is with huge sadness that we have all learned of the death of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II. In this moment the nation – and indeed most of the world – has been gripped by a surreal sense of significance, loss, and privilege at having lived with Her Majesty as our Queen. Elizabeth the Great, Elizabeth the Humble, Elizabeth the Queen who knew her Saviour.

It is a unique time. Beyond a once-in-a-lifetime moment. A time that therefore brings unique opportunities, pressures and rhythms.

I thought it might be helpful to try and compile a set of links that capture some of the most useful resources at this time…

1) Go Chatter Video – ‘In Remembrance of Her Majesty’ – Thanks to the Go Chatter team for putting together this family-friendly video to play in church or share on social media. Available to purchase for a small cost to support their valuable ministry.

2) Leading the Church in Reflection on Elizabeth II – Credit to the team at FIEC for putting together this helpful half hour video conversation about navigating such a unique time, pastorally, missionally, and personally.

3) Thoughts for Preachers After the Death of The Queen – This is a helpful set of punchy reminders from LICC for those of us writing and rewriting sermons for this weekend.

4) Helping Parents Help Children Navigate The Queen’s Death – This ‘cribsheet’ is a helpful starter for parents pondering difficult questions or conversations with their children.

5) Tim Farron’s Tribute to The Queen’s Faith in the House of Commons – As Tim said, “Let us not forget, the bedrock of her life was her faith in Jesus Christ. Hers was not a perfunctory, ceremonial faith. It was a living and active faith in a living Saviour.”

6) Three ways to help children thank God for the life of the Queen – Faith in Kids have got you sorted with your kids’ slot in Sunday’s service.

7) Prayers & Reflections on the death of Her Majesty – My friend Mark Walley collated a series of readings and quotations from The Queen’s Christmas speeches, and I’ve put these together into a booklet for churches here. You can add a church logo on the front. The idea is you might have this available in a church building over the weekend.

8) Thank You, Your Majesty – Written by a Brit for a mostly American audience, I appreciated this reflection from Carl Laferton of The Good Book Company.

9) Perhaps my favourite anecdote about The Queen – Loved this anecdote, delightfully told by former Royal Protection Officer, Richard Griffin, during the Jubilee Celebrations earlier this year…

10) Clips of the Queen’s Speeches on her Christian Faith – Thank you to Neil Robbie who put this together!

11) Obituary: Queen Elizabeth II, Beacon of Grace – A stunning piece from Mark Greene.

12) The Kingdom is Not in Our Hands: On the Death of Queen Elizabeth II – This is such a winsome and perceptive long-form piece of cultural apologetics. Worth your time.

13) Tears & Celebration – Christian charities LICC and Bible Society have released ‘Tears and Celebration’, a new hymn featuring world-renowned mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, written by Andy Flannagan with Sam Hargreaves. It looks perfect for churches to use in Sunday services. You can stream it from this YouTube link, or download scores, guitar chords and a backing track from the Jubilate website.

14) All Souls Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II – This is a lovely montage of Her Majesty’s own words put together by All Souls Church, including her coronation vows and the words said to her at coronation.

God Save The King.

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September 9, 2022by Robin Ham
Refill

The Sunday Refill – 7 Links for Your Weekend (4/9/22)

Well helloooo there, it’s been a while…

1) Antipsalm 23 vs Psalm 23 – Love this old look at Psalm 23 from the late David Powlison, as if there were an ‘anti-psalm 23’…

2) The Beauty of Bluey – We’re fairly new to Bluey in these here quarters, but as “kids’ shows” go, it’s a gem, isn’t it?

3) Like That New Church Worship Song? Chances Are, It Will Be Gone Soon. – Yep, fair point.

4) How to Embrace Doing Nothing – Maybe this is the kind of article many of us transitioning back from holiday mode would like to see… but there’s got to be something in it. I love the ‘soft fascination’ idea and totally get the benefits of providing that ‘idle’ space for the mind to unwind but also process and daydream and think creatively…

5) Free eBook: Psalms for You by Christopher Ash – The ‘For You’ series is a brilliant aid for ministers especially, part commentary, part application, part devotional. And Christopher Ash’s work on the psalms – and especially how they relate to Christ, is really helpful. Snap this up for free by registering for the publisher’s newsletter.

6) Louise Perry on The Case Against the Sexual Revolution – This is a fascinating interview on Speak Life with the author Louise Perry, a columnist at the New Statesman. Whilst not identifying as a Christian, her book challenges whether the so-called sexual revolution has really been as good for women as is often made out. Glen Scrivener asks some really pertinent questions for Christian listeners.

7) When the Worship Leader Shares A Bit Too Much – For something a bit different, I could watch these 50 seconds over and over… so good! 🙂

Oh, and if you’re looking for a prayer to say as a family on your school run each day, why not try this…

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September 4, 2022by Robin Ham
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About Me

 

Hello, my name is Robin. Welcome to That Happy Certainty, where I write and collate on Christianity, culture, and ministry. I’m based in Barrow-in-Furness in South Cumbria, England, where I serve a church family called St Paul’s Barrow, recently merged together from two existing churches, St Paul’s Church and Grace Church Barrow.

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“If we could be fully persuaded that we are in the good grace of God, that our sins are forgiven, that we have the Spirit of Christ, that we are the beloved children of God, we would be ever so happy and grateful to God. But because we often fear and doubt we cannot come to that happy certainty.”
- Martin Luther

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