Going The Extra Mile-Jeremiah 29

If you are old enough you may remember the film [before they became known as movies] "The good, the bad and the ugly". When you read the bible you soon discover that this is good title for its contents: there are cert 18 stories containing sex and violence in the extreme- rape, prostitution, adultery and fornication there is swearing there is treason and treachery and there are wars and rebellions But there are also heart rending stories such as the loyalty of Ruth the love poetry of Solomon and the divine love expressed by Paul and then there is the gospel account which speaks of the great grace of God who came to rescue us from certain death. Then there is the sheer ugliness of the cross where men were executed for treason as decided by Rome The days of Jeremiah were difficult days for the whole nation as they came to terms with their change in circumstances- here we have the people of God living in exile under the heal of a foreign dictator. The Psalmist expresses their turmoil well when he says, rememmering their days in exile- Ps 137 v1 "By the waters of BVabylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion" The question the Jews were aasking was is God still sovereign even in this foreign land, even in this god-forsaken place? V4 The answer comes from their personal experience and it is a clearl yes, even here. Jeremiah goes further than this and he tells them to pray for the welfare of the city , even that heathen city because they have a vested interest. Go into the street and ask the question- "do you think it has ever been this bad?" and many will say an emphatic no- it has never been so bad. It grieves me that so many are leaving or have left North Belfast- seeking out the "godlife2 in the subburbs just mimicking the way of the world when here we are at the cutting edge with a great opportunity to demonstrate the power of the gospel . Even though we have been called to preach the gospeland make disciplesofall nationsmany evangelical Christians are heading out of the city. One preacher said that as he was returning to the city the church was leaving!. If we run away we only give evil an opportunity to gather momentum- if we surrender, it wins- we need to be clear about this - there is no sense in complaining about the darkness if we are unwilling to light a candle. When you really love someone there is nothing you would deny them or refuse to do for them, if it is for their welfare. Here is a question for each of us as we begin a new session of work, both in the vine and in the church- do you love this place? Do you love this city? I came back to Belfast, to the streets were I was born and bred because this is my city- you cannot minister effectively to any people unless you love them- that was one of the lessons of Jonah. Yes God will do His work anyway but we will miss the blessing. If you really love this place you will want to go the extra mile- for you this work is not just the thing you do- not just what you are paid to do, it will be your very life blood, the thing which motivates you to get out of bed and face another day it is this divinely given love which keeps you going even though the feud is ongoing, even though there is more sectarian violence only a "stone's throw away" [forgive the pun] We are called to be enablers- helping people to be reconciled to God and to each other, called to be the conscience of the community and so we must be in the community- yes we are to go the extra mile because God loves us with an extra-ordinary love.

Invasion North

Invasion North

What a fortnight we have had in Crumlin Road Presbyterian Church. Invasion north is an initiative under the leadership of Global Passion which seeks to send young people to various places all over the world to serve the global church. This was a joint initiative between the Americans from California, and Nevada, and the Irish churches of Crumlin Road Presbyterian and the Rock, assemblies of God church on the Shankill Road in North and west Belfast. On the face of it we are separated by theological, ecclesialogical and geogrphic differances but united in our desire to see Christ presented in an attractive and positive way so that the people of this area are equipped to make a decision about the relevance of Christ to them personally.


During the first week we cleaned up the streets and painted some parts of the church and got to know each other. We also had -B-Qs and a street party and a couple of trips to the ulster Folk and Transport Museum and to the Giants Causeway. On Saturday evening we walked up to the top of the Cavehill and prayed over the city.

During the second week we had a children's Bible club in the afternoons and then An American Dinner for the teenagers in the evening. I have to say that Pastor Drue, from Las Vegas and Robin from California led a very dedicated bunch of people whose aim was merely to serve the kingdom of God.I also have to praise the servant attitude of Johnny Caldwell and those at the Rock Centre.

On Thursday last the loyalist feud spilled out onto the streets and there was fair degree of anxiety on the part of some of our visitors who were living in the hall. Some made their way onto the roof of the church and others remained in doors but we took some time to walk the teenagers home and then settled down to pray and tpo praise the God we serve and asked him to quieten things down and to bring glory for his name.

on Friday I was asked to appear on TalkBack on BBC Radio Ulster and was able to give a very positive witness to the work of Christ which had been going on all week. Our feeling was that when you rattle the cgae of the devil he will respond but that Christ has already won the victory and we have nothing to fear. As far as I know everyone has arived home safely and was able to sleep in a real bed, cot, for the first time in 14 days.

we are grateful to God for His work among us- he has begun a work here - it's a work in progress but he will finish the work he began and we need prayer support
we need the energy to work creatively for him
and we need a committment to him and the resources to do the work.

Thank you Drue and your team
Thank you Johnny and your team
We look forward to the fure when we can co-operate together once more for the sake of the kingdom of God.