As it’s Friday, and it’s nearly the weekend, I thought I would start today’s podcast with a little quiz……See if you can guess which famous landmark I am describing…….

* This landmark took 6 years to build

* It is 61 metres high

* Inside it there are 311 cantilevered stone steps which take you to a viewing platform

* It cost £13,450 to build

* It is the tallest free standing stone pillar in the world.

REFLECTION

The answer is the Monument in central London. Completed in 1677, this pillar was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke to commemorate the Great Fire of London. And it was also built as a celebration – a sign of the hope to come as London was re-built. This pillar was built with a purpose and it was designed to be seen. This pillar was built with a purpose and it was designed to be seen.

Keep this in mind as we look at the Bible verses for today, which are 1 Timothy 3 vs 14 and 15:

“Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household – which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.”

The church is to be a pillar of truth. It was built for a purpose and it is designed to be seen.

As people look at the Monument, they remember the Great Fire of London. As people look at the church they should see Jesus, and be reminded of what he has done for us. As people looked at the Monument, they saw it as a sign of hope for the future. As people look at the church they should see the promise of hope, of lives re-built and restored.

I don’t know if you have ever visited the Monument? I have, and I have climbed all the steps and got the certificate to prove it! Although it is still standing, what is sad about this great pillar of stone is that it is now crowded and hemmed in on either side by office blocks and banking buildings. The Gherkin, the Shard and the Walkie Talkie skyscrapers are what everyone photographs and looks at now. The Monument – this great pillar – is lost and hidden. Is this true of the church as well?

The answer is that it shouldn’t be because, unlike the Monument, the church is not a structure or a building; it is God’s household and, as we saw yesterday, this means it is all about people.

If developers decided to build tower blocks all around STC Sheffield over the next 6 months, and it was completely blocked from view, it shouldn’t matter one bit.

Because it is us – the people – who have been given the purpose of revealing Jesus to the world. When people see us or spend time with us, they should be reminded of who Jesus is and what he has done for the world. When people see us or spend time with us, they should learn about the promise of hope – of lives rebuilt and restored.

When faced with the skyscrapers of the world that are all about money, power and image, we may feel hemmed in and overlooked. A landmark of an age gone by.

But we are not called to be just a building, or just a stone structure from the past. We are designed to be a whole city on a hill. Our purpose is to be seen; never able to be hidden. And the living God dwells within us.

When you visit the Monument you learn about its story. The story of the Great Fire of London – quite literally a story of death and destruction, followed by resurrection and rising to new life. You also learn the story of how it was built, its design, the ideas that Wren and Hooke had for what people would do inside this great pillar (Google this for yourselves – it’s really interesting, but I only have 7 minutes in total for this podcast!)

If we, God’s household, really are going to be a strong pillar of truth then we need to know our story as the people of God. Where we have come from, God’s great rescue plan, and where we are going to.