Berlin Mission Trip Update 4

Summary thoughts from the trip by Laura Hopkins

I have to say I hadn’t spent as much time as I wanted to preparing for the Berlin mission trip, before I knew it the horribly long half term was over and we had arrived; I was finally in my Easter holiday. I had felt slightly anxious that the trip would be so go go go, pray, pray, pray, heal, heal, heal, share, share, share that I’d be totally exhausted after the first day. I should not have feared. As I always seem to forget and as God always constantly reminds me He always goes before us and never challenges in a way that we can’t cope with. Far from burnt out by the end of the trip, although we’d been busy, I felt totally refreshed and reinspired to go from one amazing city to another.

It is often said that mission trips do more in the participants that those they meet with and I think there probably quite a bit of truth in that. I went from being comfortable in my relationship with God (like an old pair of slippers that are amazing but you sometimes forget are there and are certainly not shared with total strangers in public places) to being reenergized and excited (seeing as we are with footwear….like a pair of brand new springy trainers that make your footsteps light and that you are keen to show others).

How beautiful are the feet that bring good news! The Dutton’s entrance to their flat is full of footwear of differing sizes and colours. As I walked in for the first time this array of shoes along with 12 additional pairs belonging to the trip members I knew that this wasn’t just a place they lived, but a home open to all. As we got the know the family, their heart for the people of Berlin was tangible and very catching. It was a real privilege to share in their vision; that not just Berlin but the whole of Germany can one day again accept authority- not this time of an earthly dictator but of a heavenly saviour- Christ and His kingdom.
Highlights and challenges of my time of the trip link together. I spent most of my German lessons at school stood outside in the corridor so I unfortunately got to wear one flag on my badge during our outreach (I confess I felt very envious when I saw Georgie had at least 5). However, I was pleasantly surprised that the language barrier didn’t pose too much of a problem for me; in fact quite the opposite I found it quite a good conversation starter..“I’m not from round here you see.” The anonymity of evangelising in this way meant I was a lot bolder that I would be at home. My German vocab has now been praised by Paula; I know lots of words suitable for “Kinderschimken” (face painting).

The week ended with team participating in a big Children’s festival where we were to bless the city and start up conversations about the church plant. It was a successful event and we managed to leave Nigel and Clare with a number of contacts to follow up. Please pray for the people that we met, that seeds of the good news sown would be watered and protected by the spirit. It would be so cool for them to have a decent sized first alpha course; I’m really looking forward to hearing what happens!

I think the main thing that I was reminded of during my time in Berlin was simply how much I love God! Being away from home, even for a brief time does wonders for regaining perspective. I was also reminded not to take myself or my mission too seriously (in the best possible way) in the words of Paul, “I resolve to know nothing…except Christ and him crucified” and that is more than enough.

Berlin Mission Trip 3

This post is by Paula Nice - MISSION TRIP UPDATE 3

Another day over - filled with blazing sunshine, encouraging conversations, Darren losing things and finding them again, us losing Darren and finding him again, and mockery of Matt and Steve’s matching man-bags! Today we went back to the canteen on the university campus to spend the afternoon chatting to students.
This is the first mission trip abroad that I’ve been on, and it’s been really interesting doing outreach in another country. Despite Germany being in western Europe and therefore similar to the UK in many ways, there has been a lot for us to learn in terms of culture and mindset. For example, many younger people in Germany see church as irrelevant and out of date, but see charismatic churches as cults or sects - which has proved a challenge when trying to explain about the church plant and what we are doing. We have to choose our words very carefully and this becomes even more challenging when you’re doing it in another language! Thankfully for the non-German speakers among us, lots of the students speak brilliant English. Being English also seems to provide an easy way into conversation, as the people we’ve spoken to are often interested in where we’re from and why we’re here. I imagine it’d be a lot harder to get students talking in the refectory at Leeds Uni!

Today we probably chatted to over fifty students between us (including lots of international students!) and a good number seemed interested in coming to the Alpha launch meal on Saturday night. Georgie (our resident super-linguist) has been putting our pitiful language skills to shame, by managing to talks to students in German, French, Chinese and Japanese. We’ve also met a few Christian students who either haven’t found a church yet or are interested in coming to one of the church plant’s gatherings.

On Saturday and Sunday we are assisting with a children’s festival near to where the Duttons live. Amazingly the church plant has been chosen to be one of a few organisations supporting the event, and so we will be providing face painting, egg painting, a climbing wall, a bungee run and a bouncy castle. Today Nigel was asked to take part in a press conference at the Town Hall for the festival. He had chance to chat to the Mayor, as well as two TV presenters who will be presenting on stage at the festival, and got to answer questions about why they’ve moved to Berlin, why they’re planting a church and what their vision and values are for the church. Incredible! He said that the last time he was in the Town Hall, he was in the basement grudgingly being given permission to reside in Berlin - a big contrast to today’s events. It reminded me of Joseph, and how he started off in Egypt as a slave, and through his faithfulness ended up as Pharaoh’s right-hand man! God is definitely on the move in Berlin!

Paula

Mission trip update 2

Day 3 by Rob Wager

Here we are in Berlin for day two of our mission trip.  In case you were wondering, the weather here is pretty stunning!  We’ve certainly been enjoying this somewhat unexpected bonus of life in the German capital.  

So, suncream and trendy sunglasses donned, today we headed to the campus of one of Berlin’s four Universities with the intention of speaking to students (and anyone else we happened to encounter) about Jesus and inviting them to church.  I have to admit I was a little nervous.  With my extremely limited grasp of the German language and the fact that I graduated three long years ago (!), I wondered how it would go; but I was also excited to see what would happen and who we would get to speak to.  

I needn’t have worried!  So many people on the campus spoke fluent English that the language barrier here made little difference.  Chatting with students over lunch in the Mensen (cafeteria), we were able to speak to them about life in Germany, their experience of faith and church, and share our faith in Jesus explain why we were in Berlin.  People were often very open, and really interested to speak to someone from the exotic UK!  We had a lot of very positive conversations with a number of students, from a variety of backgrounds and from a variety of nationalities.  There were many highlights, including a number of people whom God seemed to have really prepared to meet us!

Please pray for the people that we spoke to today.  So many had an interest in church, a sense that God is real, and a family member or friend who is a Christian.  Please pray that the seeds that have been sown will come to fruition; and please also pray for the church plant here as they follow up with the encounters we had, and hopefully see many saved and added to their community.  Pray for this great city to become a place of faith once again, and all divisions healed in Jesus name.  

Now, off to sit in the sun for a while!  

Berlin mission trip - update 1

During the build up to Easter, a team from Mosaic has travelled to Berlin to serve the church plant lead by Nigel and Clare Dutton.

After a day’s orientation ( where we learnt about the culture, history and unique challenges and opportunities in Berlin) we finally got talking to people this afternoon.  In the hot afternoon sun we painted faces, completed questionnaires, and handed out flyers. The idea is that we are trying to find people who are interested in joining the church plant or finding out more about Christ.

The church plant was started by the Duttons and their four kids when they moved out last Christmas.  They now gather between 10-20 people in their home every Sunday Afternoon and every other weds evening.  Nigel lead Kings Church in Hastings for the last ten years and they have a vision to build a church that is committed to the capital of Germany. 

Please pray for all the people we have chatted to today.  We are hoping some will come to a meal on Saturday night where we will advertise the Alpha Course (an introductory course to Christianity).  Tomorrow we head to the University campus and look to serve families in the local park.  We have found it challenging to find people that are happy to speak English and who actually live in Berlin. 

We will also try to have someone new write this blog each day. 

Blind Bartimaeus

Keith did 3 things with us on Sunday - (1) answered some unanswered questions, (2) drew the series to a close and (3) led us into Easter Week. Here are some of his notes

(1) What should I give to? When do I know when to stop giving?

Try and discern whether you initial response to a request for resources is a prompt of the Spirit or a pull on the heart strings. It may be helpful to ask the following questions:-

Is it helpful to give? —Does it enable & empower or create & sustain dependence
– Does it give or take dignity?
What form should my giving take? – should it be cash or in kind?
Am I clear as to where my giving goes?
What % of my gift gets to the need?

Is the need :- crisis / short term – chronic / long term
covenant for a season and then review

It may be helpful to covenant for a season and then review your giving so as not to get locked into a relationship that you then find difficult to change. When the appropriate time to end the support of a cause or individual arrives – give notice – express appreciation – be generous in final gift.

(2) How do I know if my motive is pure?

Ask yourself, am I:-

—giving to get
—giving to gain favour
—giving to grow in generosity?—2 Corinthians 9:11

Motive is important but when ever pure?! Err on the side of generosity – not a bad mistake to make! Be a risk taker!—Matt 25:14-30 – put your faith and resources to work!

(3) What about the tithe?

A good place to start – a bad place to end
a principle as to proportion – but not the only form of giving

The tithe one of many gifts in old testament. Other gifts included:- first fruits / thank offerings / free will offerings – calculated to total well over 20% of income! Only proportion N.T. mentions – in proportion to your income—
What about first fruit – first pay check in new job?
Thank offerings – tithe of profit from house sale, bonus or inheritance?

Macedonians – first gave themselves as to the Lord and then to the ministry of giving.

Ask the right questions
Don’t ask what should I give how much should I give / to what should I give
—Give all we have, all we are in total – in recognition that we are no longer our own bought with a price

– Jesus – Lord of our labour
—Lord of our leisure
—Lord of what we release /and Lord of what we retain

“For from Him and through Him and to him are all things, To him be glory for ever and ever!”—Rom 11:36. 1 Corinthians 13 – the most excellent way in terms of Spiritual gifts. A most excellent way in terms of work, and finances

Two characters that we come across in Mark chapter 10:17-25; 46-52

Rich young Ruler  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?  He seems to have been driven by legalism, self righteousness, and the attempt to gain salvation by works. Jesus looked at him and loved him – “sell all you have and give to the poor.” Face fell—went away sad – because he was very rich – Jesus in love confronts his idol.

Blind Bartimaeus receives his sight. For Bartimaeus a usual day – sat in the dust – totally dependant on the mercy of others who traveled the road in and out of Jericho. On this occasion he sensed something different—far more footfall than even on a busy day in Jericho – a large crowd moving into the city and then on mass moving back out of the city. He begins by asking members of the crowd what’s happening – they reply—“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Now the story moves from Bartimaeus’ lack of physical sight to his remarkable spiritual insight! Bartimaeus on discovering the nearness of Jesus begins to shout:- “ Son of David, have mercy on me!”—1st use in Mark’s gospel

A remarkable Contrast

Rich young ruler                   Bartimaeus
Rich became impoverished spiritually   Poor became rich
Knew of no need                         Admitted his need
Held on to everything                   Let everything go
His face fell, Went away sad               Jumped up to followed Jesus, praising God
                                              At head of the 1st Palm Sunday crowd?
Sought to earn favour – law               Called for mercy—grace
                          Both loved by Jesus

“a completely new work ..... would never have been possible if we had not been uprooted completely in every way and if in that uprooting we had not decided to pray for God’s solution and leading in every step of the path as it wound through unknown territory.”—Edith Schafer L’Abri fellowship

The Rich young ruler decided to remain rooted to his spot, Bartimaeus leaves everything and gives all to following Jesus.

As you approach this Easter take time to prayerfully evaluate your:-

Work
Leisure
Giving

Allow Jesus to expose any idol, and bring freedom and fullness of His Spirit. Are you ready and willing to be uprooted – for God to to do a completely new work and lead you in every step of the path as it winds through unknown territory?

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”—Mark Twain.

It has been said that faith is spelt RISK – where and how will you trade your talents to produce an increase for God’s Kingdom and glory?

Questions/Reflections

(1) Do you have any remaining questions from the series?
(2) How does Mark contrast the 2 characters?
(3) What do we learn about how to respond (and not respond) to Jesus as we commence Holy Week?
(4) In what ways do feel provoked to be uprooted and take risks?

Jesus our Sabbath Rest

When you view the whole bible-story, you can't talk about work without reference to the Sabbath so this week we looked at what it meant for us to practice the Sabbath today - looking at Hebrews 4.1-13

3 types of rest
- Physical rest
- Relational rest (no enmity between loved ones)
- Spiritual rest (rest of the soul - contentment in who we are)

We all long for and delight in all 3 types of rest but we can’t get it. We are more driven than ever before we seem unable to live and enjoy the present (we either live in the past or the future). So how do we get the rest we long for

vs3-4: The Original Sabbath Rest

God’s rest is the climax of the creation story (not mankind). What does it mean for God to rest? It can’t mean physical rest (Isaiah 40 + Psalm 121). It can’t mean Relational Rest (John 17.1-5). It must be a different kind of rest. It is the rest that comes from finishing your work and being satisfied that it is good and nothing more needs to be done. And this rest was never supposed to end. Adam and Eve were invited into and enjoy God’s eternal Sabbath rest. That is what we were made for - our whole being to be defined by God’s finished work.

But at the fall all that was lost - physical (work became toil), emotional (there was enmity and murder) and spiritual rest (we felt ashamed and needed to cover up) - we became restless wanderers on the earth (Genesis 4.12-14.). We felt the need to prove ourselves, to cover up, to earn our rest.  And that is the sad story of the remainder of the Old Testament of the people of God trying to earn their rest but failing to achieve God’s rest and dying in the desert.

And so the search for rest continued and David Prophesied about it in Psalm 95 (Hebrews 4.7-10) and that rest was only found when Jesus turned up…..

Jesus our Sabbath Rest

Matthew 11.28-30 - he is the one that gives us Sabbath. As he dies on the cross, Jesus experiences a cosmic restlessness so we can be brought back into the divine rest. In Christ we enter back into God’s Sabbath Rest - and as what he has done for us sinks into our hearts, how much he loves and approves and values us, it frees us from all the other things that we run to to find rest. Verse 10 helps us understand this link - for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his - as we enter into God’s rest through Christ, we can also rest from all our work of self-justification (the need to prove ourselves).

5 ways you know you’ve entered into God’s Sabbath Rest

(1) You’re able to fail
(2) You’re able to say ‘no’
(3) You’ll not feel like life is a constant performance
(4) You’ll be able to enjoy ‘the moment’
(5) You’ll be able to face death with confidence

Practising the Sabbath Principle Today

(1) Work from a position of rest
(2) Rest is weekly (as a general rhythm)
(3) Extra times of rest are good
(4) Regular rhythms mean you can cope with pressure times
(5) Rest is active – physical, emotional, spiritual
(6) Rest involves stopping ‘normal work’

Reflection, Questions and Applications

(1) How do people practice the Sabbath at the moment?
(2) In what way has Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath-law for us? What does it mean for him to be our Sabbath-rest?
(3) Why and how does knowing Jesus as your Sabbath-rest mean you can do the 5 points above?
(4) What does it mean to practice the Sabbath well today - going through the 6 points.
(5) What happens if you don’t practice the Sabbath?

Transforming Work and Finances - GIVING

This week we looked at Matthew 6.1-4 and the motives for giving and then we briefly looked at the practice of giving by trying to answer the question 'should Christians tithe?'

MOTIVES FOR GIVING

Whenever you read the New Testament passages on giving the motivation for giving is far more important than the amount one gives (though that isn’t unimportant). Internal motivation is everything (not external law - see 1 Corinthians 13.3, Isaiah 64.4). In Matthew 6.1-4 Jesus looks at 3 things that can motive our giving

(1) Give seeking the praise of men - PRIDE (vs1-2) We want others to think well of us and therefore we give and make sure others see. At the bottom of this is pride (to be known as a ‘good Christians’). This is something we ALL struggle with. The result? Our reward is people’s praise and the judgement of God.

(2) Give seeking to congratulate oneself - GUILT/PRIDE (vs3) Not only do we not tell others, there is a sense we don’t even tell ourselves - our left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. We give and then we forget about it. We don’t dwell on it. We don’t use our previous giving to make ourselves feel good. Why do we do this? Because there is nagging sense of inadequacy and guilt which we want to be rid of…so we give not wanting others to know, but just so our own conscience is at ease.

(3) Give seeking the reward of your father - GRACE (vs3) All that matters is that he knows and he is pleased and he will reward us. His love overwhelms us and is enough for us. What is the reward? (a) seeing the need met (the hungry fed etc) and (b) hearing his voice say ‘well done good and faithful servant you were faithful with what I gave you.” (Matthew 25.21/23)

Grace is the motivation for giving - see 1 Corinthians 8.9. Paul does not say “there is a law that says you must give and if you don’t you’re a bad Christian (guilt) and if you do you’re a good Christian (pride).” He says, let me tell you about how Jesus became poor for you…..so you could come into a relationship with your heavenly father and be richer than you ever imagined! Understanding your status as a child of God (by grace) is the key. Grace humbles us out of pride and heals our guilt and sets us free to give joyfully, willingly and sacrificially (2 Corinthians 8.12, 9.7). You’ll be able to give in secret, you’ll be able to forget (and not dwell on it, not compare yourself to others and not feel guilty).

THE PRACTICE OF GIVING - Should Christians Tithe?

In this passage, giving is assumed but the tithe is not mentioned. And the church is not mentioned either, it is giving to the poor. Why was the Tithe given?
(1 )To care for the Levites and the Priests (Numbers 18.21ff)
(2) To care for the poor (Dent 26.12ff). But the tithe was part of a large system of economics for God’s people which included
      - Harvesting of fields (Deut 24.19, Ruth 2.2)
      - 7th year cancel of debts (Deut 15)
      - 50th year redistribution of land/people (year of jubilee – Lev 25)
(3) To honor, acknowledge and thank God (Lev 27, Deut 26) - it was all his anyway and therefore you gave your firstfruits back to him as “holy to the Lord”

In fact, if you added all the tithes together in the Old Testament it would come to about 18-23% of your income (not including extra free-will offerings). The tithe is only mentioned in the New Testament when Jesus critiques the Pharisee’s legalistic obedience of it (Matthew 23.23 and Luke 11.42). Jesus is interested in the heart and the spirit of the law not the letter of the law. The tithe can be helpful for us as it encourages us to give (a) regularly (b) proportionally (c) to the people of God and to the poor. And for many people the 10% of your income might be a good place to start, but it is a terrible place to finish. The standard for NT giving is not the 10th but the Cross!

(A) Giving in debt (or as a student)? - Mark 12.41-44 may help you. If you can’t give when you have a little you won’t give when you have a lot (the heart is the issue not circumstances - Proverbs 4.23). And if you have any disposable income which you spend on yourself for pleasure (which is fine) you have money to give

(B) Giving and motives - should I wait till my motives are perfect? No just get on with it, deal with your motives and heart issues as they arise. Ask God to change your heart. The key thing is that you recognise it and allow God to change you

(C) Giving and the church/poor - which do I give to? Give to whatever you decide is right in your heart (2 Corinthians 9.7) but the scriptures seems to imply that it is good to give to both. But give to the church because you say “I belong here…I want to commit to the vision.” Don’t give because you say “I feel I should.” Often people have said “Give 10% to the church and give extra elsewhere.” That seems like a healthy principle.

Reflection and ApplicationPlease feel free to answer the questions that are most appropriate to your group and leave other questions out

(1) Read Matthew 6.1-4
(2) What 2 things does Jesus say not to do and why?
(3) What are the 2 rewards on offer?
(4) Why are our motives the most important thing when it comes to giving (see 1 Corinthians 13.3 and Proverbs 4.23)?
(5) In what ways do we do our acts of righteousness (including giving) to (a) impress people and (b) impress ourselves?
(6) How does understanding your identity as a child of God (by grace) help you give from the right motives (see also 2 Corinthians 8.9, 8.12, 9.7)
(7) How should Christians view the tithe? How can it be a helpful principle for us? How can it be unhelpful?
(8) If the New Testament never tell us to ‘tithe’ how are we to decide how much to give and what to give to?
(9) What is the one thing you want to take away and apply from Matthew 6.1-4?
(10) What questions have been raised that you’d like to pursue further?
(11) Are there people or projects you give to within or outside the group?
(12) Pray that God would raise up in all of us a generous spirit in response to his generosity to us.

TRANSFORMING WORK & FINANCES - Redeeming Work

Many of us will spend 30,40, 50+ hours a week at work yet do we understand why we work?

By ‘work’ I like John Stott’s definition ‘work is the expenditure of energy, mental, manual or a mixture of both, which brings fulfilment to the worker, benefit to the community and glory to God”  In other words – doesn’t have to be paid, can be done in your spare time as well as full time. So it includes things like Studying, being a parent, DIY, gardening, volunteering, even job seeking.