Alistair shares from Judges 16:6-21 and John 4:7-15

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Alistair shares from John 8:1-11

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The Line In The Sand

They were ready to stone me.

Why would he want to save me— even if he could?

They had the law on their side.

Why would he break it— even if he dared?

They put to him an impossible question— any answer would catch him out.

Why would he outwit them, even if he knew how?

They used me to bring him down but he brought himself down.

Without a word,

trailing a finger through the dusty sand.

His head bowed,

They keep on badgering him, goading him into tripping himself up.

But without a stumble, he stood straight and made clear his line in the sand.

“Stone her then, whoever is without sin.”

Bending down once more, trailing fingers,

Silence.

Slowly, shuffling footsteps.

Accusers departing.

No-one left to condemn me.

“Go well now,” he said to me, “Be without sin.”

What a way to save a life.

Alistair reflects on Psalm 17:1-9 and Mark 12:38-44 on the First Sunday of Lent - www.knec4jesus.org,uk

Alistair shares from Hosea 11:1-11 and Mark 5:25-34

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"You don’t need a lot of faith or be very religious in order to show faith. I often meet people who say they are not very religious but that doesn’t mean they can’t show faith. Sometimes they just need to see something attractive."

Alistair shares from Ezekiel 16:1-22 and Mark 7:24-37

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In this kingdom, women and men, girls and boys are all treated with the same love and compassion, the outsider finds a place to call home, the deaf learn to hear words of life and the speechless learn to speak in the language of grace. Everyone feeds from the same Bread. And there’s more than enough to go around.

Alistair shares from Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Matthew 12:33-37, 46-50

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Alistair shares from Matthew 4:12-23 on why the ministry of Jesus began where it did and what it means for us today.

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“The church will need to be turned inside out in order to bring those outside in. It will not suffice simply to invite the seeker to come to us to hear the gospel on our own turf. Instead, the church will have to be the church in the world – gathering for worship in order to go out in mission. Its programmes must be geared to equip and support the people of God in the strategic locations where the Lord has already placed them to serve as his representatives.”

(Extracted from Church Next by Eddie Gibbs and Ian Coffey)

Alistair shares from Isaiah 60:1-6 and Luke 2:41-52

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“God is calling every one and every thing, not just a few chosen ones, to God’s self (Genesis 8:15–17; Ephesians 1:9–10; Colossians 1:15–20). To get every one and every thing there, God first needs models and images who are willing to be “conformed to the body of his death” and transformed into the body of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10). These are the “new creation” (Galatians 6:15), and their transformed state is still seeping into history and ever so slowly transforming it into “life and life more abundantly” (John 10:10).”

(Richard Rohr)

Alistair shares from Luke 2:22-38

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36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Alistair reflects on Matthew 1:18-25 as part of the nativity service on the Fourth Sunday of Advent 2022.

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