Permission to have fun

It was 7:30 pm on Saturday evening, the guests were all huddled together in the kitchen, 'sshh, i think that's them' and the room went quiet. The guest of honour opened the door to be greeted by loud cheers of  'Surprise 'Happy Birthday' and even a few 'hip hip hooray's' Surprise parties are great fun especially when in this case the guest of honour had no idea the party was being planned.

The tone for the evening was set, good food and refreshments, good company, chatting with old friends, making new friends, by the end of the evening everyone left the party smiling - it had been a great night, we'd all had fun.

Sunday afternoon; a house full of friends, a feast of food on the table, laughter and joking, music playing in he background as the warm riviera sun streamed through the windows. Then to ease the meal down, a scramble over the rocks down by the sea, exploring new caverns and collecting starfish.  Reflecting on the day over  cup of tea there was really only one way to describe the afternoon, it was good fun.

On Sunday mornings at UV we've been thinking about the life of Nehemiah and the incredible challenge he faced of rebuilding the city walls of Jerusalem. Yesterday was a passage I'd never really noticed before where Nehemiah gives his workers permission to have fun.....

'Fun'?
'In the Bible'?
'Church people having fun'?
That doesn't sound right does it?

But there it is - a reminder to just kick back from time to time, enjoy being with friends, have a laugh, enjoy ourselves, have a party - a surprise party even (just make sure you invite me!)

Life is to be enjoyed and there's lots of enjoyment to be had.
One of the great party goers of the Bible once said 'live life in all its fullness', Its not all about being serious and intense.  That's why I love that book - it still surprises me.

So this is my challenge this week:
Our Senior Pastor gives us permission, Nehemiah give us permission, the Bible gives us permission, even Jesus gives us permission.......

This week think of something you really enjoy doing, something that gives you joy, something that makes you smile, and take some time out to do it.
You have no time? well skip that meeting you were going to come to. No one will mind, we'll understand
You have permission to take some time out
You have permission to have fun.

Religious Liberty put into practice

Our theme last Sunday was 'Religious liberty' and I've spent the last couple of days reflecting on David Coffey's excellent message that laid out clearly the current issues that raise concerns for Christians in the UK.  I thought that it was significant that following such a provoking talk we demonstrated our own religious liberty and  freedom by taking the street teams out for an hour of evangelism in the public places of Torquay.

Street teams have been running for nearly 2 months now, and every time we go there's a story to tell. So off we walked carrying our 'free hot chocolate' signs wondering who we might meet this time around.  After just a few minutes serving drinks we had a crowd around us enjoying the free hot drink and chatting with the team.
It's wonderful to stand back and watch 'the church' active on the street talking and praying with people who have not come to church that morning - in fact may not have been in a church for a long time.

The current climate is troubling for our religious liberty and freedom in the UK so now is the time for us to make our voice be heard clearer and louder than ever. That's why we take the church on to the streets and offer to pray with people.  That's why we should take the challenge seriously to contact our MP's, write to Parliament and stand up for religious freedom.

The next street team goes out on Sunday March 4th - Why not come and join us