Seven up…

1) BBC’s religion editor Martin Bashir: Why Christianity is still relevant this Easter – Fascinating and honest article from the BBC’s religion editor. Encouraging to see this in the national press. This was my attempt to do something similar in our local paper!

2) Viral Videos – You might like or want to share illustrator & animator Danny Yap’s work to accompany City Alight’s Easter-themed song, Jerusalem. Also, if you missed it last week, Phil Knox has filmed The Comeback. There’s a bunch of other Easter videos here at Go Chatter’s page that you might like to share on social media or include in church services, etc.

3) Coronavirus and Christ – John Piper has just released this free eBook, which I’m told is very good – although I haven’t got round to it yet. I was also interested to read this perceptive piece in The Spectator, ‘Will coronavirus hasten the demise of religion – or herald its revival?‘

4) YourNeighbour.org – This looks like an interesting initiative that churches have been invited to sign-up to, pledging their support for their communities at this time.

5) Easter for Kids – On Easter Sunday, Faith in Kids have organised a special Easter Watch Party at 2pm, featuring Awesome Cutlery and Michael Tinker. It looks set to be epic! Also, Crossway are offering free streaming of their 26-minute kids’ film, The Biggest Story: The Animated Short Film, based on the on the best-selling book by pastor Kevin DeYoung. It seeks to show kids how all those classic stories in the Bible connect to Scripture’s overarching message about God’s glorious plan centred on Jesus. You need to watch it before the end of Easter Day though!

6) If Easter Is Only a Symbol, Then to Hell with It – Really appreciated this article from Tish Harrison Warren on why Jesus’ resurrection being physical and real makes all the difference in the world.

7) I Want to Break Free – For something a bit different, you’ve got to watch this video to the end (30 seconds)! It really cracked me up. Happy Easter!

Oh, and if you haven’t, why not consider sharing what difference Jesus’ death and resurrection make to you as a ‘selfie-style’ video on social media to your friends, using the hashtag #EasterChangedMyLife. More info over at the Facebook page. You can also read this piece I wrote for Premier on the value of sharing our story – and why it doesn’t need to be dramatic ‘Damascus Road-style’ conversion.

This is also a great evangelistic website you might to share: Easter Means Hope. Glen has come up the idea of adding empty tombs to the rainbows of hope adorning our windows this weekend. You can also add a Facebook cover picture, etc.

Quote of the Week: 

“The stakes could not be higher. As a deadly virus speeds its way around the world bringing chaos, destruction, and death, it’s painfully clear that the Resurrection is either the whole hope of the world—the very center of reality—or Christianity is not worth our time.”

— Tish Harrison Warren

Sharing is caring. Know someone who might find these links interesting? Why not forward it on?

Seven up…

1) The Comeback – Loved this spoken word piece for Easter from Phil Knox: “So thine be the glory, death’s lost its sting. Here’s to Jesus, the comeback King.” Great for sharing this week.

2) Trusting God In Suffering, Sacrifice, Disease and Death: A Lost Art? – This article by Peter Adam reflects on the attitude of Christians of previous eras who seemed to have a more positive attitude to facing suffering, disease, and death.

3) Building Stronger Marriages During the Coronavirus Crisis – Last week we shared some thoughts on caring for those who are single in lockdown. Here’s a helpful conversation for couples in lockdown.

4) Pastorally Speaking the Deep Things of the Cross: Tim Keller, What Christ Lost, & How to Talk About It – With Good Friday coming up, this article Is pitched at church leaders to get us thinking about the language we use to describe the mystery of the cross.

5) Zoom, Zoom, Zoom – I’m guessing we’ve all see the hilarious mock-up of Da Vinci’s Last Supper as a Zoom call? Susie Leafe has put together a very helpful guide for churches on ‘building church using Zoom’. And this is a fascinating Twitter thread on why everyone’s so exhausted after video calls: “It’s the plausible deniability of each other’s absence. Our minds tricked into the idea of being together when our bodies feel we’re not. Dissonance is exhausting…”

6) Where is God in a Coronavirus World? – Here’s a preview of John Lennox’s new book on this subject. You can also listen in to him talking with Collin Hansen on the new Gospelbound podcast: “It’s the tale of two crowns: the so-called coronavirus that looks like a crown under the microscope, and Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. Can God be good when thousands around the world get sick and die from something they cannot even see? Where is he, and what is he doing?”

7) Mummy, Mummy, Mummy in a Lockdown World – For something a bit different, this is top class home-schooling…

Bonus link: You can download the NIV Audio Bible App, read by legendary actor David Suchet, here – it’s currently free to download – until tomorrow I think! Amazing!

Quote of the Week: 

“Change like we are going through affects us in different ways. It can be stimulating, to be problem-solving, facing new challenges, and rising to them. It can also be very draining, as plans change, precious resources dwindle, relationships feel poorer and more distant. It’s easy to grow a very strong relationship with change – thinking about it, processing it, resisting it, driving it – and then much of your heart suddenly belongs to a faceless power that sometimes drives and often drags us..”

— Andrew Nicholls

Sharing is caring. Know someone who might find these links interesting? Why not forward it on?

For most of us, daily routines & rhythms have gone out the window. One response to that from me has been ‘Brew & Chew’ – a live bitesize dig into God’s word each midweek afternoon at 1.30pm for about 15 minutes.

We’re looking at the book of Ecclesiastes, a book that is well-acquainted with the fragility of life.

If you’d like to catch up on this week’s videos, you can do so below:

Day 9 (Mon 30/3) – Ecclesiastes 4:7-16

Day 10 (Tues 31/3) – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Day 11 (Weds 1/4) – Ecclesiastes 5:8-20

Day 12 (Thurs 2/4) – Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

Day 13 (Fri 3/4) – Ecclesiastes 6:1-12

If you want to watch the previous week’s videos, Week 1 is here and Week 2 is here.

You can ‘like‘ Grace Church Barrow on Facebook to follow along…