The Sunday Refill (1/9/24)

Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu / Unsplash

Seven up...

1) 19 Christian Para Athletes to Root For at the Paris 2024 Paralympics - Slightly odd headline, but you can definitely pray for them - and be inspired by their stories and example!

2) Enough - I shared a Joyful Noise song the other week, but I've got to also share this one which has just been released ! As the musical collective put it on their socials, "We're so pleased to be able to announce the release of 'That's Enough' across all platforms. So many church songs are anthems of praise, but so often we are confronted by and caught up in the brokenness of a fallen world. We need songs that walk in the footsteps of the Psalms; crying out to God in our grief, and expressing our deepest hurts whilst also holding firmly onto the truth that God, our Father, has promised that He will never abandon us":

I don’t know the reason but I know the one who does. / O my heart is grieving but I know your heart is love! / Even as I'm weeping I will lift my eyes above / you are my Father, that's enough

3) The '20-5-3' Rule Prescribes How Much Time to Spend Outside - A bit like the '5-a-day' challenge with fruit & veg, but for life outside - and I guess you've got to start somewhere. I wonder what % of us would struggle to get anywhere near 20-5-3...

4) We Can’t Be Friends - 'Men don’t know how to be friends anymore. Have you noticed?' Another post on friendship, but from a different source. Applicable to men and women I'm sure, but interesting to consider whether men have lost ground on this.

5) Lausanne Movement Introduces the ‘State of the Great Commission’ Report - The Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization takes place in 20 days in South Korea and brings together over 10,000 representatives of the global church, both online and in person. This report is a 'fundamental pillar' of the Lausanne process and 'aims to catalyse the collaboration of the global church toward the discipling of the nations and the shaping of the world by 2050'. I can't say I've given it more than a brief glance, but I'd like to my teeth stuck into this in the coming weeks!

6) Is 'We Pray' Coldplay's Most Christian Song Yet? - You might have seen this already if you subscribe to this blog, but Premier Christianity kindly published this piece (albeit a slightly less nuanced headline!). I think it is fascinating that global icons like Coldplay are releasing a song like We Pray in 2024. What does that tell us about our cultural moment?

7) A Song for Every Book of the Bible - For something a bit different, wow, respect to David Rowe, who compiled this! Apparently five years ago the historian Tom Holland suggested someone should find a song for every book of the Bible. And David has taken up the challenge! What would you change?

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