by Margaret Killingray (Word for the Week 17-11-08) 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:2

The commandments must come very high in the world’s list of all-time most influential writings, but many of us, even those who are Christians, would have difficulty listing them off the top of our head.  Today, however, according to 2004 NOP survey, 10% of young people have never heard of them and nearly half of those between the ages of 15 and 24 could not name a single one.  for many others they lurk in the  but sadly often only as evidence that Christianity is a judgemental, legalistic, joyless kind of faith. 

 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy…It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart… Phil.1:4, 7

Astonishingly, Paul, who met so many people on his constant travels, appears to have remembered the individual Philippian believers, holding them all in his heart, and ‘longing for them with the affection of Christ Jesus’ (v.8). He wrote to the Philippians from prison; yet, far from going on about his own problems, his concern was focused on them.

Innumerable people come into and out of our lives, year after year. But how many of them do we consciously remember? Of all the people that I have known, the one with the most phenomenal memory is John Stott. Over the years, in his teaching ministry, John met thousands of Christians all over the world. When a man from India, say, whom John had met three years before in Chennai, came to London to attend a course at LICC, John would welcome him by name, and then ask by name after his wife and children. An extraordinary memory and meticulously kept records, no doubt. But also an extraordinary love. A love that cherished every individual. A love that prayed.

The story is told of a young man who forgot an appointment with John. When he rang up, mortified, to apologise, John replied, ‘I used to forget engagements too, until I started praying through my diary every morning’.

We are often embarrassed when we forget people – particularly if they remember us! But there is a more frequent – indeed, almost daily – forgetfulness, which is less excusable. When I forget a phone call, a neighbour’s operation, or a colleague’s child’s illness…When my personal concerns stop me from listening to someone else’s… isn’t it often though a lack of prayer and a lack of love?

In a climate in which people don’t really listen to each other, and so readily forget others’ needs, an outstanding witness to Christian love is simply this: to remember and to ask: ‘Is your wife better?’ ‘How did your son do in his exams?’ ‘How did that difficult meeting turn out?’

And sometimes one can say, ‘Would you like me to pray for you?’ And surprisingly often the answer may be ‘Yes’.

by James Featherby

How do we react to that trumpet call in this ancient hall?

The shock of it may have been a bit like the coming of Jesus as Messiah 2000 years ago.
I wonder if there are parallels between how we just reacted and how the people back then might have responded.

The sight of stunned employees carrying their personal possessions in cardboard boxes out of the Lehman Bank building is etched in my memory.  Gathering in a state of shock in local bars, some dulled their pain with alcohol and tried to rebuild self-worth through group support.

Redundancy is often caused by factors outside the control of any single organisation, like the banking crisis, or a general economic downturn, or a takeover. Yet redundancy is also regularly triggered by management choice – through planned relocations, restructuring, centralisation with economies of scale, and through mechanisation and the increasing use of IT. It is therefore part of organisational life in the modern economy.

Mark Greene wonders whether Obama can restore our faith in politics

Barack Obama could well become the next President of the United States and, as far as much of the world’s ordinary citizens are concerned, that is much better news than the alternative. Indeed, apart from Mandela, no politician over the last ten years has caught the imagination of people beyond his own country more than Barack Obama, and no politician in the top 21 economies has managed to re-invigorate an interest in politics in his own nation in the way Obama has.

Nevertheless, Obamamania has caused hundreds of thousands of previously disengaged Americans to register to vote in the Democrat leadership race. Similarly, though McCain’s Republican fundraising machine has raised more than the Democrat Party machine, some 500,000 individuals gave money to Obama’s campaign in August alone. In fact, he goes into the closing weeks of the Presidential race with considerably more in his campaign treasury than McCain.

In sum, Obama has not only rebuffed Hilary Clinton’s considerable challenge but has overcome the cynicism or the apathy of many US citizens. And he has done it with a combination of breathtaking rhetorical skill, adept campaign management and a consistent, focused message that centres on two linked concepts – change and hope. And it is in their linkage that their power resides.

After all, it is one thing to call for change – every opposition party does the same – it is quite another to actually make people believe that it is possible and that it will be the right kind of change. And that is why Obama’s focus on hope is so important. In his Iowa acceptance speech, he put it this way:

“Many months we’ve been teased, even derided, for talking about hope but hope is not blind optimism. It is not ignoring the enormity of the
tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It’s not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists that despite all the evidence to the contrary that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and work for it and to fight for it…”

LICC’s 2008 Christmas card features a previously unpublished and inspiring poem by Mark Greene – ‘The Invitation’.

It’s perfect for those wanting a card that captures the essence of Christmas in a way that is clear and contemporary, and that will capture people’s attention amidst the festive bustle, giving them cause to stop and reflect on the reason for the season.