Torchwood: Children of Earth

I wasn't overly impressed with earlier seasons of Torchwood, the Doctor Who spin-off, from the occasional episodes I'd seem. The latest season was a slight reinvention - giving us a five part miniseries, screened through the week, though watched on iPlayer in our house.  The format works well and added depth to the story. 

Aliens are coming, speaking through children and they've come to take our children or destroy us all. An exploration of family and of ethics via the medium of entertaining pacey drama. Plenty of spoilers here.

Our place in the universe. Fleetingly we hear that a Christian gives up her faith because science made her feel too insignificant in the universe. Torchwood exists in a godless universe where there are aliens who challenge our place. Does a big universe make us big or small? Does the scale of things tell us about us or about something else?  

This is about children. Along the way we find that Captain Jack has a daughter, and a grandson, and Gwen is pregnant. Children everywhere. The question of whether she would have an abortion is very briefly tackled as we find her saying she wouldn't do that - while Jack has to sacrifice his grandson (and his relationship with his daughter) to save the world. He loses himself along the way and flees to find himself - was the greater good worth it or was this evil... Corrupt politicians are happy to sacrifice the children of others, while a civil servant takes the lives of his whole family to spare his children from being taken by the aliens. Aliens abuse children as narcotics. Gwen ponders the depravity of humanity, giving up its children, concluding that the Doctor must find it so terrible that he wont step in and save us. How are we to make our ethical decisions? What justice and cleansing is there for evil? Is there hope for us and for our children?

Don't tell them how great it was. Show them.

Sounds like something CS Lewis would write. I found it on a Jessops photo printing advert. Paul 'publicly portrayed' Christ as crucified. Full of content, showing how it good it is, arguing the case, not just stating it.

Of Apostolic Spheres, the methodology of movements (Thanks, but no thanks Mark Driscoll)

Last year Mark Driscoll spoke at the Newfrontiers leaders conference, he made brilliant contributions about the need to be missional and get moving with more church planting, he was outstanding on engaging with culture and he made some penetrating insights into movements in his final session 'movements are messy' (mp3). Driscoll noted that many movements become institutions or museums, memorials to the way things have been done and the way they used to be.

From which he concluded that Newfrontiers is a movement led by an old man that needs to think about it's future, finding a successor to marry the movement he birthed to. How you evaluate that depends on how the movement works in the first place. Terry Virgo,69, observes that Driscoll, 38, hadn't quite understood us. Newfrontiers is a name that has been given to Terry Virgo's apostolic sphere of influence.

Here Newfrontiers is making at least two claims which shape the movement (alongside being reformed & charismatic and loving the local church):

1. There are apostles today. This would be disputed by many seeking to defend the sufficiency of Scripture. Seeking to protect the canon is noble, but Terry persuasively argued that most apostles didn't write scripture and that much of the NT isn't written by apostles. More on this in the mp3 or in his book "Does the future have a church". Jesus is an Apostle, so are the Twelve because they met the risen Jesus, and then there are others like Timothy, Silas and Barnabas who are grouped with Paul... it's listed with other gifts in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 and can't be easily explained away. Apostleship is about foundations and influence, about building churches and forming relationships. Apostleship is a gift not something man decides upon.

2. Apostles have spheres (or areas) of influence, as in 2 Cor 10:13-16: "But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence."

Consequently, Newfrontiers is the name given to the relationships that have risen around Terry Virgo's gifting over the past 40 years. This movement spans many nations and has long since become a gathering of the spheres of influence of many apostolically gifted men, such as Edward Buria and John Kpikpi in Africa, David Stroud in the UK, John Lanferman in the USA. What you can observe is a family on a mission driven by apostles.

The point then is that Newfrontiers as a name is nothing.  To try desperately to sustain the name by appointing the right leader would be to fall into institutionalism. The brand simply doesn't matter. Newfrontiers doesn't need to be sustained, but the gospel needs to keep advancing and vital churches need to grow and be planted - whether as one large sphere or via the ministry of many others raised up by God for the work. Not appointed to fill a role but gifted by God.

Reflecting as an amateur church historian it strikes me that whilst the progress of the church is one of overall advance, movements rise and fall rather rapidly, few sustain on-mission beyond their founders. This is fine. Movements are not about the people who lead them. The people have moments - like Peter at Pentecost - but the important thing is what Jesus is doing to build his church for his glory.

What is a reformed charismatic?

Terry Virgo gave three sessions at our leaders conference last week that captured the essence of newfrontiers. We are a people of the word and the Spirit (reformed and charismatic), a people who love the church, and a people gathered within apostolic spheres of influence (more on that sometime soon).

I was very struck during the church history track on Calvin by the explicit doctrinal foundations of the movement. Andy Johnston, Greg 'Banner of Truth' Haslam and Lex Loizides were all very strong on our emphasis on the authority of Scripture. We are Bible people who love the sovereign rule of God, especially in saving his people.

When we speak of ourselves as reformed we speak of the God of the Scriptures to whom salvation belongs. There is a lot more that could be said about being reformed which flows from this foundation regarding sin, grace, and indeed a deep valuing of all of life. David Stroud's session on the need and value of Christians in the workplace and all of life is a clear illustration of this. A Calvinist mindset is a big-God mindset which is a richness of life mindset. A coffee-appreciating and culture-enjoying, tasty and thinky, colourful and communal, lyrical and lifey mindset.We are a reformed people.

When we speak of being charismatic we say we are people who want to experience the presence of God, knowing God actually is among us, who want our affections effected by him and who eagerly desire the gifts that Christ and the Holy Spirit give to the church for her upbuilding. We are a charismatic people.

Lex illustrated our position from Acts 18:9-11 on John Calvin's birthday:

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Notice:
1. The sovereignty of God who has many in this city - an elect people.
2. This election is motivation for mission not for fear and passivity, though reformed theology is often perceived as the quencher of joy and mission, contra the examples of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, William Carey and Charles Spurgeon amongst others!
3. This doctrine comes to Paul in a charismatic experience, a vision. Somewhere along the line the church decided to make every charismatic experience in the book of Acts an exception, but how many exceptions do you have to list before it starts to look normal?


Together On a Mission Conference, Brighton Highlights from Newfrontiers on Vimeo.
TOAM '09 Highlight video

Download main sessions from the Together on a Mission 2009 conference - I particularly recommend the three by Terry Virgo on newfrontiers, past, present and future, and Joel Virgo's session which is on being part of a team. Stef Liston was also excellent on humility. 


My one plea for the future, given there are 1189 chapters in the Bible, it'd be great to be spared the fourth versions of 1 Samuel 14 and Daniel 1. In 9 main sessions we could actually preach a full series through several possible books, as demonstrated by The Gospel Coalition on 2 Timothy etc.

How to make coffee #4 Enjoy life

I'm known for my love of coffee and for making it strong, I don't make it that strong it's just that most people make it very weak! Like I say, it's not about the caffeine but about the flavour, and a small mug of well made coffee is exquisite with breakfast, mid-morning, or after a meal. A well made coffee goes well with a good book or a newspaper, but it's just as good served with good friends and interesting conversation.

Mark Driscoll says Starbucks is "Where lonely people gather together to drink burnt coffee and ignore one another in community." Which is only true because we all buy into that social convention, why not be sociable - look up and say hello. The modern Espresso Bar has the potential to be a social hub though Driscoll's observation is largely true. It's horrendously expensive to drink good coffee outside your own home, and yet something is appealing about being in a room with others, with the mug, and having a trained barista make the coffee for us. What's lacking is the answer to the observation that it's not good for man to be alone. We're made for relationships.

Coffee is best drunk within about 20 minutes of making but you can stare at an empty cup for some time, savouring the taste. Don't gulp it down, look at the colour and the Crema, wash it around your mouth before drinking. A good strong coffee is comforting and uplifting. Stop, slow down, take your time, pause to enjoy the finer things of life such as the taste of a good cup of coffee. Remember that the coffee, the rain, the technology and discovery, the electricity, the water, the mug and the company are all good gifts from God to be enjoyed as such.

How to make coffee #3 French Press (Cafetiere)

This has to be my favourite way to make coffee. It's simple, quick and always tasty if done correctly.

You can buy a French Press in any number of sizes, I have a four cup and a one cup. Let's run with the one cup. The general rule is one spoon of coffee per cup plus one for the pot. Place the coffee in the bottom of the Caffetiere and boil the kettle.

When the water has boiled wait for it to go off boiling. If you pour it in when its too hot it'll burn the coffee which wont taste good.

Then pour in the water, not too fast but not too slow, you'll see it rise and foam a little. The temptation now is to leave it to stew for a while. Instead take the press and insert immediately, pushing down quickly to the top of the coffee, this traps in the steam and gives some pressure. Now leave it for 2-3 minutes before slowly pressing down. An Espresso-style Crema begins to appear and will transfer into the cup, giving a tasty golden layer on top of the coffee..Failing to use enough coffee or catch the pressure results in a watery coffee, and you may as well have instant. Pour into the cup, adding milk and sugar to taste if you must.

How to make coffee #2 Espresso and Filter

The High Streets of most towns and cities are now littered with charity shops, former estate agents and chain coffee shops. Most of those coffee shops are part of chains and really should be called espresso bars, since that's the main drink on offer at your local Starbucks, Costa or Caffe Nero.

Espresso
The Espresso is made by the Barista and is at its purest form a concentrated coffee hit. It'll be pretty much the cheapest item on a crowded menu of favoured and diluted derivatives which are worth experimenting with. Most commonly the Espresso becomes an Americano, by diluting with hot water. If you ask for a black coffee that's what you're getting. In most cases an Americano is what the white-coffee drinker also wants when they end up ordering a Latte. The Americano comes black but room for milk is an option. A good tasty coffee has a Crèma, a tasty golden layer, on top, contrast that with the thin film around the edges of an instant coffee. The quality of this is a combination of the freshness of the coffee beans and the way the coffee is made.

In some Espresso Bars the Americano can be a rather weak drink, over diluted and verging towards the consistency of an Instant Coffee (though never quite that bad!), requesting a double-shot is well advised, and comes by default at Caffe Nero.

Filter Coffee
The alternative from Starbucks is a filter coffee. Usually they'll have two coffees brewing as a Freshly Brewed Coffee, a strong fair trade coffee and another blend from around the world. This is a drip coffee rather than made at high pressure like an Espresso. It's a fine drink usually nicer than a weak Americano. The thing to watch for is that drip filter coffee kept warm tends to burn after about half an hour and is then a little unpleasant. Starbucks refreshes theirs every so often, usually keeping only one brewing at a time. It'd be worth requesting the other option offered and waiting a few minutes to have it fresh. At Starbucks this is the next cheapest coffee to an Espresso, and is really what the average coffee drinker wants to drink - white or black.

Both Espresso and Drip coffee can be made at home if you buy the right machinery.

How to make coffee #1 Raw ingredients

Kenco promise that they use the same coffee beans for their instant and ground coffee products. That may be true enough, but that's more of an insult to the name of coffee than an enhancement of their instant brand. Instant coffee is to ground coffee what a McDonalds burger is to a steak. It makes a lot of difference.

Once you have binned all your instant coffee the next step is to acquire some ground coffee. This takes a bit of experimenting. To be honest most of the quality of a good cup is to do with the making more than the coffee, but there is some variation in the market.

It's fairly standardly sold by strength of coffee on a scale of 1-5, three is fine though the occasional 4-5 is worth it especially after dinner with some dark chocolate.

I drink for the taste more than the caffeine so you can go for decaf if you want. Grounds like Tesco's own brand are perfectly fine. A bag of Starbuck's Verona will serve you well. A good coffee drinker will get through bags of coffee fairly swiftly so you can afford to experiment a bit, go with the deals, go with what sounds interesting until you find some that you like. It feels more expensive, but compare the price at home with the price in a coffee shop and it's bargainous to drink good coffee at home (not to mention business-genius by Mr Starbucks and co to get us paying so much per cup in their shops... ).

update: I overlooked the question of Fair Trade coffee, see comment from Tom.

The other option is to buy beans and get either a hand grinder or an electric one. This certainly adds freshness but does add effort. With a hand grinder you'll be immersed in coffee aromas before you even boil the water. Once bought, store in the fridge, or in a sealed container - I use a couple of air tight tins, one for decaf and one for caffeinated.

Then satisfied always, and yet be ever bewildered by the love of Christ

Andrew Bonar reflects on the Day of Atonement:

There is a yearning in the heart of God towards this happy time [the day of Jubilee]. Jesus Himself is He who says in the Song, "Till the day break and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense" (Song iv.6); and these repeated types, at every new period of time, days, months, and years, intimate the same desire. Oh, how should we long for that day of God - for what Paul calls, in 2 Thess. i.7, "rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven!" - Andrew Bonar, Leviticus, p444.

I love the way he captures the heart of God and sees it elucidated in Leviticus and The Song. The Day of Jubilee is a highlight in the book of Leviticus along with The Day of Atonement, but I've been turning to Bonar to better understand Burnt Offerings, something that Noah, Abraham and Jethro all make before we get told what they're for.

All the offerings area  means to an end, pointing to the cross which secures for us the ultimate day of Jubilee, when with Christ and his people we find our home in his renewed creation.

Song of Songs - can you read it this way?

I have advocated reading the Song of Songs first as about Christ and the church (corporate not individual), and then to secondly for marriage. In this 'She' is the church the bride, and He is Christ, who loves her.

Darrin Patrick notes: The transfer of the role of the bride from the community to the individual is one of the main theological errors that promotes consumerism.
And a whole lot of other problems!

Tom Gledhill, author of the BST Song of Songs and the article on it in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is not so keen on this Christ-Church approach:

"Whilst the NT never quotes or alludes to the Song, it is nevertheless true that the OT uses the love and loyalty of the lover-beloved relationship as an illustration of the relationship between God and his people...  (citing Ezekiel, Hosea, Jeremiah and then Ephesians and Revelation) ...thus there is some biblical justification for a moderate typological approach. But the danger of this hermeneutic is that of thinking that the relationship between the believer and God is highly emotional or even erotic. It is far safer to look for spiritual stimulus, encouragement and rebuke concerning the spiritual life in the straightfoward and explicit admonitions of the NT. The typological approach also almost inevitably leads to excessive allegorization,... of the little foxes that ruin the vineyards as the little sins that spoil the church.."
p215.

So Gledhill says a moderate typology is fine, but we're to abandon it because:

a) we might take it too far, but can we not restrain ourselves? And what if we permit ourselves to ask whether a less cautious hermeneutic might be fruitful? I'm not saying be wreckless, but let's not run scared. Sounds like an argument for abstinence from alcohol for risk of drunkeness...

b) the NT gives us 'straightfoward' words but Matthew Henry suggests: "when the meaning is found out, it will be of admirable use to excite pious and devout affections in us; and the same truths which are plainly laid down in other scriptures when they are extracted out of this come to the soul with a more pleasing power" Can we not have poetic theology?

c) it's prone to excessive allegoratization, but it's ok for Mark Driscoll to follow Gledhill's lead and interpret the foxes as sexual temptation? Excesses all round I guess, but might we miss some of the riches if we pass over details?

I appreciate there are dangers, but I think Gledhill over reacts. Given he concedes there is some basis for this typological approach it seems a shame to throw away the opportunity for this book to testify about Christ and the church for fear of getting carried away with it. I accept it's possible to over-read the text, but perhaps we're more likely to under-read it...

Dave K takes an alternative and thoughtful approach this evening too

Newfrontiers Bloggers at Together on a Mission

It's our church family conference next week, bloggers welcome to an informal hello on Thursday, 1pm in the Main Hall, right hand side.

MP3s: Love the church

The MP3 and PDF resources from the Love the church weekend I spoke at for Reading Family Church are now online.

I love them as a local church and it was a real highlight to serve them last month particular on a subject so close to my heart as this. 


Centrality of the church 68mins (Dave Bish) -
I belong to the church (Richard Walker)
Ambition for the church 54mins (Dave Bish)
PDF sessions 1-3 outline
The Wedding Day 39mins (Dave Bish) 
PDF homegroup notes

The content of these sessions captures part of a larger writing project I'm working on at the moment. I'm looking forward to developing this further in written form and teaching on the subject a number of times later this year.

Further thinking on Exodus 18...

Most of my 'heroes' seem to skip Exodus 18 which has left me with a small selection of commentaries to turn to for assistance as I prepare to preach this chapter in a couple of weeks...   Thus far:

v1-12, A God shaped mission. Moses tells Jethro about the LORD's salvation, and Jethro belives in the Triune God. We're on mission because he is. Jethro the Gentile comes because he's heard, hears and becomes a friend of God (Jethro is later called Reuel = friend of God, Numbers 10v29)

Why wouldn't we see this or do this? Have we forgotten his great salvation... having sojourned in a foreign land (Gershom), the LORD has helped us and delivered us (Eliezer). Hear again, rejoice with Jethro! Celebrate the LORD, greater than all 'gods' - Matthew Henry: "The magicians were baffled, the idols shaken, Pharaoh humbled, his powers broken, and God's Israel was rescued.... God will show himself above those that by their proud dealings contest with him. He that exalts himself against God shall be abased."Forget yourself by observing what he has done, above all in The Cross of Christ. 


Only in view of what he has done do we return to the LORD and join his people, and not only us - but all peoples are welcome, even Ishmalites like Jethro can come, even all the ethnicities and tribes of our city that we might not think are welcome.

v13-27, A God shaped community. Jethro tells Moses to avoid burnout by including more people, Moses listens and appoints trustworthy heads (ESV), men like The Trustworthy Head of the Church, to form a Trinitarian structure to judge cases. The nature of God shapes our strategy and methodology, albeit imperfectly.

Why wouldn't see do the same? Preference for tradition, clinging to power or wanting to, our own ideas of how to do things...  Hence we restructure our home groups, go to back to back meetings etc. Not because multiple meetings is our ideololgy, but because our value is mission flowing from the overflowing love of the Triune God and this is the best way we can see to go his way. This is true for us as a church, but likewise our marriages practice Christlike headship, in our employment we know we work in the sight of Christ, use of money and possessions we remember his generosity to us etc.  All of our living flowing from our relation to the Triune God. 


All of us obey our gods in life, the ethics of atheism or capitalism or narcissism flow from what is believed about god, reality, morality, humanity etc. The challenge to us is to be consistent, to portray the excellence of a Trinitarian life, and to engage with the alternative approaches that surround us. 

Wiki News: When a famous person dies

ht: Ami Loizides

The Audacity of Hope (Barack Obama)

Sat in the garden this morning I finished reading Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. It's a relatively easy read that lays out his thoughts on the American Dream.

I found it a refreshing insight into US politics. Having enjoyed The West Wing and visited the centre of Washington DC last year it's good to hear from someone at the heart of it all. Obama comes across as a thoughtful man who looks at things carefully. On page 59 he comments:

"Values are faithfully applied to the facts before us, while ideology overrides whatever facts call theory into question."

I don't think that's a bad summary of where he's trying to come from. The downside is it makes him feel a bit slippery and middling because he can see both sides of every argument. I sympathise with a lot of what he's saying. I appreciate his differentiation between saying something is wrong and the question of whether to legislate that. I'm refreshed by his honesty about mistakes and his learning that it's best not to presume you know everything about someone from a position they hold on something else.

Obama makes me cautiously optimistic, but the whole thing is more complicated than the thoughts of one man, in one wing of the US political system that is designed to contrain and limit him. In days when British politics is underfire, the also imperfect US system does seem to have some admirable qualities.
It's not that I agree with all of his angles on things. I'm not sure any of us can find a politician we agree with totally. And even if I found someone who would vote for my cause in every senario I'm not sure that would necessarily make them the best person to lead, represent or legislate for us. For example, as a Christian I'd like everyone to worship Jesus but you can't pass laws for that, but you can create freedom of worship.

In any event, it's a good read and it's fascinating to get some insight into the mind of leaders, past and present.

iPreachers and the Podcast Pulpit

I think preaching is really important. Paul's final chapter of the New Testament centres on a charge to 'preach the word'. The preached word is the heartbeat of a local church life, as God comes to address his people.

Today we can download Piper, Driscoll etc and spend our weeks listening to their sermons. My guess is that there are some (young/male) Christians who spend all week working through the archives of these guys, and then whole loads more who've never done that. I used to listen to quite a lot of their mp3s but I think I can probably count on one hand the number I've listened to this year. I still download sermons to aid my own sermon preparation, either to help with my exegesis, as a form of audio commentary, or to help with my communication skills by exposing me to different ways of preaching. I also download for more educational reasons from Theology Network, Bethinking etc, but a Sunday sermon is surely meant for something more. Something special goes on when God commissions this preacher to bring this word to this people on this occasion, Christ coming to his people in the power of the Spirit so that they can once again believe the gospel.

The temptation is to either blindly embrace the benefits of this new technology or be highly suspicious of it. My take on technology is that it's a good servant and a bad master. I blog, I like writing it but it's no big deal to me. I've tied my blog in with Twitter and Facebook to make it accessible to those who might want to read it, such technology makes life easier. On the positive side of new technology I can get access to gifted teachers who can help me to love Jesus more, just as in previous generations I could have read the sermons of a Spurgeon or a Lloyd-Jones alongside commentaries and other Christian books. On the negative side, it's easy enough to be a sermon junkie who is ever listening and never responding to the preached word. The technology simply makes such things available easily, and on balance that's probably good for the church (though there's inevitably more tosh out there than good stuff).

I've cut back because it's hard enough for me to really wrestle with Sunday's sermon from my own church, a word prepared and ordained for our local church at this time. It takes time to apply it with my wife and with our home group. It's very easy to get to next Sunday and realise that I never really took to heart last week's word let alone being ready to receive again. The other difficulty is that I might expect the preachers at our church to be Piper&co when God made them to be who they are for the good of our church. No harm in downloading some supplements but nothing can beat being in the room with God's people as the word is preached.

Slow Portraits by Funky Pancake

The Funkypancake took slow portraits of my wife and I when we visited his home for dinner last weekend.



My failure to stay still is due to my wife making me laugh. She made me cry with laughter whilst trying to keep a straight face.

The Unquenchable Flame: Introducing the Reformation

Mike Reeves' book The Unquenchable Flame is out, and Theology Network has a whole host of resources to accompany it

'With the skill of a scholar and the art of a storyteller, Michael Reeves has written what is, quite simply, the best brief introduction to the Reformation I have read.'
Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC


Very much looking forward to reading this whenever my copy arrives from IVP.

Seven years married!

The man said,

"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for she was taken out of man."

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

...This is a profound mystery—
but I am talking about Christ and the church.
However, each one of you also must love his wife
as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Jesus is Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-36)

MP3: Jesus is Wisdom - Dave Bish (20mins)

These are my notes not a script so please forgive lack of detail:
Ever felt out of your depth – in need an expert? Try Parenting. Or, see Gordon calls Sir Alan. Everyone’s an expert in the age of Google and Wikipedia. Progress or regress? People build libraries – curiosity killed the cat, but I don’t see cat’s at uni in the SW. Curious like Zach. God made us to be wise – but wisdom is to be received not grasped.

Proverbs read wrong is holy self-help. Not in church! Proverbs is about Jesus – how to live, not what you expect – Proverbs 8:22-36 hear the supreme expert – hear wisdom speak, speak to all of life. Makes British Library and Internet look like a post-it note.

A. YOU NEED THE ULTIMATE EXPERT (v22-31)
(muchly helped by Matthew Henry in this section, Henry notes these five characteristics)
Listen and hear: First, His personality.
V22 brought forth by the LORD, V24 given birth, V25 given birth, V30 at his side
Zach not concept, photos, records. A person – as is Wisdom. Who? The person Christ. Lady Wisdom, in story of father teaching son how to work and who to marry shows us Christ, the one the church is to marry.

Second, His eternality.
V22 Before the deeds of old, V23 From eternity, V23 There before the world
Jesus: before Abraham was, I AM. Wisdom precedes all created. He’s before all people.
2nd Adam b4 1st Adam. Unlike all others – his books stand above Waterstones Spirituality – human ideas vs. the heart of God. He wrote the book on life.

He is before the sea. V24 He was there when there were no oceans. Devon! He is before the sea! Makes the pyramids look like prefabs. Makes Stonehenge look like a new build. Prov 28v2: Four managers NUFC get relegated. Ecc 1v10: innovation is repetition. Recessions come and come again. Political corruption comes and comes again. Precedes all: ‘in him was the life of men’.

Third, His creativity.
He can ask: where were you at creation? We’re speechless. By Jesus all that has been made was made.
We imagine: masters of universe, makers of god. He made us. Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, ‘lady wisdom’ with the Father at creation. 1st Day God said, ‘let there be light’ – Jesus spoke, turned on the lights. 2nd Day God made the expanse of the heavens – v27 –Jesus marked out the horizon. 3rd Day Waters were gathered – v27 – Jesus put the clouds in place. BBC Jet Stream Doc. Jesus made clouds.
Jesus, creator, recreator.

Fourth, His delight, by his Father. How can we know God? Son reveals Father. Son signifies Father. Zach and Dave.V30 Jesus was with his Father. William Cowper: “Myself the Father’s pleasure” 
The Father delights in his Son!


Fifth, His delight in us. Cowper “Myself the Father’s pleasure, and mine the sons of men”. Man climax of creation – even planned salvation & the cross before creation. Joy in us! (though how can he delight in us...?) - how amazing that he who has the eye of the Father would take joy in us... such is adoption!... such is the glory of the cross..

B. YOU’RE INVITED TO COME AND FEAST (v32-26)

LIFE TO THOSE WHO HEAR.
V32 Listen to Wisdom! V34 Daily watch at wisdoms doors, wait in his doorway. For, V35!! Take all opps to get. Come daily to the door. Hang on every word. Bible to adore him. Eternal life is to know Jesus.
Remarkable! Cowper: “Thus wisdom’s words discover, your glory and your grace, you everlasting lover of our unworthy race!” And See the Wisdom of the Cross: “Your gracious eye surveyed us, before the starts were seen above, in wisdom you have made us, and died for us in love” Majestic personality, eternality, creativity and delight. How can he delight in us!? THE CROSS!! Shame + folly, History. Secures favour where there was deserved wrath

DEATH TO THOSE WHO REFUSE
Sin isn’t wrong ideas or broken commands – it’s personal turning from Jesus. V36: harms self. What does it look like to refuse wisdom?
a) taking on Stephen Hawking at theoretical physics or Usain Bolt at running. Puffed up self-obsession. Instead of Jesus-obsession and self-forgetfulness.
b) Pity, self-fixing. Puffed up self-obsession. Instead of Jesus-obsession and self-forgetfulness.

Refusing Jesus is to go to the house of Madam Folly to eat. House of death. Wisdom, v36, passes sentence. We all try to solve the riddle of life ourselves – we and all in Arb, Rdg, Wok. We turn from Wisdom to self. 17 year old passes test – unconsciously incompetent. Confess our folly. Face wisdom we can become consciously incompetent and enter his house, v35, 9v5. Eat + drink, know him! Have him! Personal, eternal, creational, delighted. Cowper: “Unfathomable wonder, and mystery divine! The voice that speaks in thunder, says ‘sinner I am thine!’