The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Youth

['Years ago, I was speaking to a friend of mine who is not a Christian. He said this to me:\n‘I don’t understand. You Protestants and you Catholics, you look exactly the same to me. You both have church buildings that look the same. You both say the Lord’s Prayer and do stuff with bread and wine. Whatever it is you disagree about (and I have no idea what it is) has absolutely nothing to do with my life. However, whilst you are fighting each other I am not interested.’\nIt struck me then how damaging disunity is to the church and our witness to the world. No wonder Jesus prayed for ‘complete unity’ (John 17:23) and the apostle Paul was passionate that we should be ‘perfectly united’ (1 Corinthians 1:10).\nUnity is at the core of our faith. We believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is unity in the Trinity. Disunity, on the other hand, has been the curse of humankind ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin.\nJesus died to bring reconciliation and unity. Thank God that today, all around the world, we are seeing a lowering of denominational barriers and a greater unity in the church.', None]

Years ago, I was speaking to a friend of mine who is not a Christian. He said this to me:

‘I don’t understand. You Protestants and you Catholics, you look exactly the same to me. You both have church buildings that look the same. You both say the Lord’s Prayer and do stuff with bread and wine. Whatever it is you disagree about (and I have no idea what it is) has absolutely nothing to do with my life. However, whilst you are fighting each other I am not interested.’

It struck me then how damaging disunity is to the church and our witness to the world. No wonder Jesus prayed for ‘complete unity’ (John 17:23) and the apostle Paul was passionate that we should be ‘perfectly united’ (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Unity is at the core of our faith. We believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is unity in the Trinity. Disunity, on the other hand, has been the curse of humankind ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin.

Jesus died to bring reconciliation and unity. Thank God that today, all around the world, we are seeing a lowering of denominational barriers and a greater unity in the church.

['The average person will spend approximately 150,000 hours at work in their lifetime – that is to say, about 40% of our waking lives are spent at work, whether it be paid or voluntary employment, or as a carer or full-time parent.\n‘Is God interested in our work? Many people do not see God as a 24/7 God, but as a withdrawn actor confined to a Sunday show with a declining audience. There is a widespread view that God and work simply don’t mix: the competitive, cut-throat demands of the working world are seen as the obvious enemy of Christian compassion and love. But the God who created and sustains the world is also the God of the workplace. If the Christian faith is not relevant in the workplace, it is not relevant at all.’\nWrites Ken Costa, in his book God at Work (see also godatwork.org.uk). For over forty years, Ken has been living out his faith on the frontline of Christian ministry – in the ‘secular’ workplace in the City of London. And he sees that as his primary calling as a Christian.\nWhatever kind of work you are called to, whether it be paid or voluntary employment, or as a carer or full-time parent, it will probably occupy a large proportion of your life. Work is an important part of God’s ‘economy’. It is part of what you were created to do, and will be part of what you do in heaven. Work has an intrinsic value. The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of our work.', None]

The average person will spend approximately 150,000 hours at work in their lifetime – that is to say, about 40% of our waking lives are spent at work, whether it be paid or voluntary employment, or as a carer or full-time parent.

‘Is God interested in our work? Many people do not see God as a 24/7 God, but as a withdrawn actor confined to a Sunday show with a declining audience. There is a widespread view that God and work simply don’t mix: the competitive, cut-throat demands of the working world are seen as the obvious enemy of Christian compassion and love. But the God who created and sustains the world is also the God of the workplace. If the Christian faith is not relevant in the workplace, it is not relevant at all,’ writes Ken Costa, in his book God at Work (see also godatwork.org.uk). For over forty years, Ken has been living out his faith on the frontline of Christian ministry – in the ‘secular’ workplace in the City of London. And he sees that as his primary calling as a Christian.

Whatever kind of work you are called to, it will probably occupy a large proportion of your life. Work is an important part of God’s ‘economy’. It is part of what you were created to do, and will be part of what you do in heaven. Work has an intrinsic value. The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of our work.

['The Duke of Wellington once remarked about Napoleon, ‘I used to say of him that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.’ The presence of a strong leader has a powerful effect. How much greater is the impact of the awesome power of the presence of God!\nThere is a deep spiritual hunger in all of our hearts that can only be satisfied by the presence of God himself. Adam and Eve lost this sense of his presence through their sin. Thereafter, the presence of God was not known as it was before.\nGod is holy. We cannot take his presence for granted. It is only through the cross and resurrection of Jesus that a way into his presence and the gift of the Holy Spirit living within you is made possible. Now you can know the power of his presence.', None]

The Duke of Wellington once remarked about Napoleon, ‘I used to say of him that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.’ The presence of a strong leader has a powerful effect. How much greater is the impact of the awesome power of the presence of God!

There is a deep spiritual hunger in all of our hearts that can only be satisfied by the presence of God himself. Adam and Eve lost this sense of his presence through their sin. Thereafter, the presence of God was not known as it was before.

God is holy. We cannot take his presence for granted. It is only through the cross and resurrection of Jesus that a way into his presence and the gift of the Holy Spirit living within you is made possible. Now you can know the power of his presence.

['Twenty-one-year-old Matthew had been homeless for three years. Mark Russell (who was appointed head of the Church Army aged only thirty-one) met him on the streets of Charing Cross in London, bought him some food and led him to Christ.\nAs he was getting up to leave he said, ‘Matthew, over the next month I am going to be on platforms speaking to thousands of people. What piece of advice do you want me to give to the Church of England today?’\nMatthew replied, ‘The church’s job is to stop arguing and to bring people hope.’\nMark Russell commented, ‘I have never heard a better definition of what we should be about: Don’t we have a gospel of hope? A gospel that brings hope? A gospel of life, a gospel of transformation and above all a hope of eternal life, the hope of Jesus.’\nMany people see only a hopeless end; but with Jesus you can enjoy an endless hope.\nHope is one of the three great theological virtues – the others being love and faith. As Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa writes, ‘They are like three sisters. Two of them are grown and the other is a small child. They go forward together hand in hand with the child hope in the middle. Looking at them it would seem that the bigger ones are pulling the child, but it is the other way around; it is the little girl who is pulling the two bigger ones. It is hope that pulls faith and love. Without hope everything would stop.’', None]

Twenty-one-year-old Matthew had been homeless for three years. Mark Russell (who was appointed head of the Church Army aged only thirty-one) met him on the streets of Charing Cross in London, bought him some food and led him to Christ.

As he was getting up to leave he said, ‘Matthew, over the next month I am going to be on platforms speaking to thousands of people. What piece of advice do you want me to give to the Church of England today?’

Matthew replied, ‘The church’s job is to stop arguing and to bring people hope.’

Mark Russell commented, ‘I have never heard a better definition of what we should be about: Don’t we have a gospel of hope? A gospel that brings hope? A gospel of life, a gospel of transformation and above all a hope of eternal life, the hope of Jesus.’

Many people see only a hopeless end; but with Jesus you can enjoy an endless hope.

Hope is one of the three great theological virtues – the others being love and faith. As Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa writes, ‘They are like three sisters. Two of them are grown and the other is a small child. They go forward together hand in hand with the child hope in the middle. Looking at them it would seem that the bigger ones are pulling the child, but it is the other way around; it is the little girl who is pulling the two bigger ones. It is hope that pulls faith and love. Without hope everything would stop.’

['The referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU resulted in a 52:48 split in favour of leaving. The campaign was hostile, the nation was divided, and the main political parties soon descended into infighting and division. This is one example of what we see across the globe. Every news update seems to include stories of arguments, disputes and fighting.\nWhen sin entered the world, arguments, disputes and fighting began. Adam blamed Eve. Cain murdered his brother. The history of the world ever since has been one of conflict of all kinds.\nWhen people turn away from God, they start fighting one another. We see the breakdown of relationships wherever we look: broken marriages, broken homes, broken relationships at work, civil wars and wars between nations. Sadly, the church is not immune. Right from the start there have been arguments, disputes and in-fighting.\nHow should we handle conflict?', None]

The referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU resulted in a 52:48 split in favour of leaving. The campaign was hostile, the nation was divided, and the main political parties soon descended into infighting and division. This is one example of what we see across the globe. Every news update seems to include stories of arguments, disputes and fighting.

When sin entered the world, arguments, disputes and fighting began. Adam blamed Eve. Cain murdered his brother. The history of the world ever since has been one of conflict of all kinds.

When people turn away from God, they start fighting one another. We see the breakdown of relationships wherever we look: broken marriages, broken homes, broken relationships at work, civil wars and wars between nations. Sadly, the church is not immune. Right from the start there have been arguments, disputes and in-fighting.

How should we handle conflict?