I’m awful at Art… we used to have Art exams at school and I was given 23%, and I think that was just for turning up and writing my name. But someone who is very good is the Artist Rembrandt. He has produced many notably works, but the one I want to focus on is ‘Raising of the Cross’. Here he depicts Jesus being lifted up upon the cross, but he decides to paint a familiar face onto one of the soldiers… his own.
It was Rembrandts way of saying… i’m guilty, I’m the reason Jesus died.
 
So today as we prepare to look upon the cross it’s as if we are looking into a mirror.
 
Jesus had to die for you and for me.
If you want to know what your sin is like, then look upon the Son of God who died for you. 
If you want to know what your sin deserves then look upon the Son of God who died for you.
If you want to know the price he paid for you to be free then look upon the Son of God who died for you.
This morning why not use the familiar words of Isaiah 53:3-6 to focus your hearts and minds onto the saviour who died for you and for me.
 
4Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.
Ben

    God cannot be fully known
 
     Our God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty
       There are some things God cannot do.
 
C.S Lewis is brilliant. He has written so much gold. I think this is my favourite quote of his and surprisingly, it’s from Prince Caspian!

“Aslan" said Lucy "you're bigger".
"That is because you are older, little one" answered he.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
Aslan of course represents God/Jesus in Lewis’ writing and he’s touching on something truly wonderful: our God cannot be fully known.
 
Psalm 145:3
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
 
This is what clever people call the incomprehensibility of God the idea that cannot be fully known. This may sound like a bad thing; I mean in schools something being incomprehensible is a bad thing (!) like me trying to wrap my head around Standard Deviation I couldn’t comprehend it so I gave up.
But with God, incomprehensibility is BRILLIANT. It reminds us that He is the Infinite Creator and we are Finite Creatures. If we have understood that God is Infinite (see 16.03.21) He has no boundaries or limitations whereas we are finite creatures then how could we ever expect to come to the end of knowing God there will always be more to know!!?
 
Yes, He’s incomprehensible (we’ll never know Him fully) BUT He is knowable. We cannot know all there is to know about God but we can know all we need to know about God. He’s told us in His Word everything we need to know about who He is. We can know Him truly if not fully.
This makes God very different from us! We can be fully known, and we are, by God.
 
This has a lot of implications on us:

1. We are not experts on God.

 
If you were to go on MasterMind, what would your specialist subject be? Mine might be Cypriot Cuisine or Pokemon?! But there is no one on this earth who could say, ‘God is my specialist subject, I know all about Him.’ God is incomprehensible! There is always more to learn, as we plumb His depths and find out about Him we realise there is EVEN more to find out about like Lucy and Aslan above, we can never master the Lord! Isn’t that thrilling? When you come to church or in your quiet times and look over a familiar bit of Scripture, remember God is incomprehensible there is still more to learn!
 

1. We are not experts on ourselves or our neighbours.

 
We are not incomprehensible. We can be and are fully known by God.
So we need Him to diagnose what we’re really like, to see beyond our feelings about ourselves and tell us the truth. This also tracks for how we think about other people; we don’t fully know them, God does, so we cannot and should not judge or pick fault in our neighbour.
God cannot be fully known, let us devote our lives to the joyful study of knowing Him better!
Stephen

Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed to the set up of the Easter garden. Special thanks goes to Steve Funnell, Harold Turner, Sarah Sinden, Carol Head and Kwikfit Hove.
We would love the whole church family, along with the wider community to be involved so do bring a plant with you and use the spades provided to plant it, bring a painted stone or a little cross made out of sticks to leave there too.                                                                                             
As well as this, the garden is there to be enjoyed so why not meet a friend to pray, bring along your children/grandchildren, ask a neighbour to visit it with you or pop in on your daily walk. (Government guidelines apply so see instructions displayed.)                                                 The garden is open to use every day, we’d love it to look amazing by Easter J
Do be praying this garden will be used and point people to other events at BH.
Enjoy celebrating Easter in God’s creation!
  
See video below for a virtual tour of what the garden looks like so far.​

“[Christ] himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one.” (Ephesians 2.14)
We tend to be familiar with the idea that through the cross, Christ reconciles us to God. Yet through the cross, Christ also reconciles us to all who are in him.
That reconciliation doesn’t simply mean the absence of conflict, or that we’re pretty friendly to each other. Rather, we are “one”. Consider your body. Although it has many parts, it is one. Now consider your church. It is not simply a group of different individuals and households who happen to regularly worship the same God together. You and they are one.
When you next spend time with Christians – or even just think about another Christian – wouldn’t it be good if this was one of your thoughts: “they and I are one.” The more of us who do that, the more Christ – who “himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one” – will be glorified.

The first of the Easter Reflection Services is tonight at 7:30pm. For more information and to book your place click on the picture.  Booking will remain open until 4:30pm this afternoon.

So Bad So Soon
You may, like me, have read this in your morning bible reading on Wednesday.
Adam’s oldest son kills his own brother. A deliberate, planned, murder. Cain and Abel.
Why?
A whole load of answers to that one. Life was all about himself. God had rejected his offering (v5) and Cain was furious. But his offering wasn’t the best he could have done (unlike his brother’s). He had done wrong and he wouldn’t admit it. He was at the centre of his own universe; the epitome of sin. And his resentment and jealousy ended up shedding his own brother’s blood and taking his own brother’s life. So soon after the Fall. It’s terrible; and it’s just like us, because our hearts are just the same as Cain’s.
Next Friday is about blood too. Shed blood. Jesus’ blood. Shed not out of resentment and fury, but shed out of love, sheer love. For you and me. So that our Cain-like hearts may be healed and we may have a new life. Next Friday is so important that it’s worth preparing for, and that’s why we have services each evening during the week before Easter, called ‘Holy Week’ in some places. Our little series starts on Sunday (morning and evening) and we’re doing to work our way through the ‘Servants Songs’ in Isaiah. We’re going to think about the Suffering Servant, shedding his blood for us, and we’re going to prepare for Good Friday, and the glories of Easter Sunday.
Prepare well. We’re heading for a wonderful weekend.
​

​

Don't forget to book your place at the Easter services.  Full details of the services and how to book can be found by clicking on the picture.

​
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.

As a young leader in the church there’s obviously a reason why this particular passage strikes a chord with me but I think there’s an incredible message which we all can learn from.
We can often get into the habit of saying ‘no’ to God, making excuses “I’m too young, too old, too stupid, too ugly, too weak, too tired, too stuttering, too depressed, too anxious, too useless” to do great things for you.

But do you see what God says to this; “Before I formed you in the womb” I had set aside great things for you to do. As we’ve been looking at in our morning services in Ephesians lately; God chose us before the creation of the world. Before he formed us, he had chosen us and set aside things for us to do

He has called us all to do great things for him. Whether that’s preaching in front of stadiums, speaking to everyone we know about God like Jeremiah, or prayerfully absorbing his word each day and being an encouragement to those around us. God has chosen us to do those things and will provide us with all we need to do them. He will give us the spirit that 2 Timothy tells us is not the spirit of timidity but the spirit of love, power, and self-discipline. He will use that spirit to remove fear from us. He will reach out and put his words in our mouths.
If you see me at any point soon, please remind me of this passage! It’ll probably be the thing I most need to hear.
​Alex.

Few things are more important to our growth as Christians than to be able to understand the Bible, and so to feast on the Word of God.
Phil & Ben have set up two workshops to help us grow our skills in handling the Bible:
Monday 7th June, 7.30pm
Monday 27th September, 7.30pm
Come to one, come to both.
They’re for anyone who wants to be better at understanding the Bible. So that’s everyone then!
But we’d really like all preachers, future preachers, small group leaders, youth and children’s leaders to come, along with anyone doing a 1-1, or anyone who would ever lead a bible study.
We hope to meet in person, it may have to be on Zoom, but for now, it’s two dates for your diary.​

​

“ CAMEO = Come And Meet Everyone Online”
 For the next couple of months, at least, Cameo won’t be meeting  in the Church buildings so we would love to invite anyone who is able to access Zoom on a Thursday morning, between 11:00 and 12:00 approximately, to join us for refreshments & chat, topics of interest, quizzes, discussions and more...please come along using the link in ChurchSuite and we look forward to meeting you there.

Life in all it’s fullness
‘
Rivers of living water will flow from within them’ John 7:38
 
Near to where I live in Lewes is the Winterbourne Stream. As it's name suggests, it's a stream that only flows in the Winter months. It's a chalk stream, that begins to flow when the downs around become fully saturated with rain water, then, like a sponge, can hold no more. At that point the Winterbourne flows. One day it's not there, the next day it is. The water is clear and fast flowing - I love it, and walk by it into town most days.
 
Here in John chapter 7, the Lord Jesus invites the 'thirsty' to come to Him and drink. He means, of course, the spiritually thirsty. For those that do come and 'drink' of the saviour - those who 'believe' in Him (v38), there begins a flow of 'living water' that flows out from within them. This 'living water' is the Holy Spirit (v39). Not only does this water satisfy the believer, but it overflows to be a blessing wherever the believer goes. God's love is a river that flows out, not a lake that stays still.
 
The Winterbourne stream ceases to flow in late Spring. God's living stream never ceases to flow. It's a spring of water that 'wells up to eternal life’ (John 4:15). 'Give me this water' cries the Samaritan woman at the well.
 
Why not make her words your prayer today?
 
'Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life'
Revelation 22:17
Phil

​I wish…
This poem is taken from Paul Tripp’s Lent Devotional ‘Journey to the Cross’. I found it really stimulating and hope you will to!
Enjoy!
Ben

I wish I could say I asked you,
But I didn’t.
I wish I could say I reached for you, but it didn’t happen.
I wish I had thought that I needed help,
But my mind was elsewhere.
I wish I had sought your wisdom,
But I saw myself as wise.
I wish I had leaned on you, 
But I thought I was standing up straight.
I wish I had cast myself on your grace,
But in the mirror I looked like someone who didn’t need it.
I wish I’d begun each day with you,
But I was too busy.
I wish I had ended the night with you,
But I was too tired.
I wish I had spent more time in your word,
But I had people to see, places to go.
I wish I had looked ahead to a pathway I couldn’t traverse alone,
But I was too focused on the here and now.
I am older now with more life behind me than in front of me.
I mourn my 
assessments of strength,
my appraisals of wisdom,
tagging myself righteous,
my quest for independence.
I regret the moments lost,
Opportunities gone, 
Dreams now faded.
I would spend my last days
In the cloud of despondency,
beating myself up,
hoping to get back what is forever gone,
if it were not for your grace.
I would not be able to
look up as I
look back.
You went to the cross knowing
every choice I would make,
all that your mercy would need
to cover.
I can be honest about my choices.
I can confess it all,
and I can rest
because your grace is that
thorough
and your love has that much power.
Through the years I have learned
that to find strength to
look back,
I need the grace to
look up.
 
Question to consider… What resonates most with you in the poem and why?
 
Lets these words refresh you as you repent and receive God’s forgiveness…
 
‘Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,  and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you – even Jesus.’                                      

Please click on the link below:
https://mailchi.mp/b9ba082cc9d9/noticias-3941646?e=714c4585fc

Divine Peace
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
  
Most of us know the words of John 3:16 by heart, but perhaps 2 Thessalonians 3:16 should also be added to our memory banks.
 
The Apostle Paul concludes his letter to the church in Thessalonica by praying a profound blessing of peace over their lives. During seasons of difficulty, suffering and even persecution, we who have put our faith in Jesus can experience an unshakeable, divine peace. The constant presence of Jesus in our lives helps us to walk forward with calm; we are confident that He is sovereign over our circumstances.
 
God’s presence with us is not wishful thinking; this is a promise from His Word – and He always keeps His word! See Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, Zephaniah 3:17 and Matthew 28:20.
 
God’s peace is always available to us – and in every way. Jesus is our peace, and through the power of the Holy Spirit His presence is always with us. His grace will guide us step by step and fill us with peace – even when we face problems and difficulties.
  
Dear Lord, fill me to overflowing with Your peace today. Help me to focus on Your holy presence, not on my problems. Amen
​

A video from Laura about the Easter garden in case you missed it at the services yesterday

​“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.” John 6:44-48
 
Quick context: Jesus has just fed the 5000, a miracle that reminds the people of what Moses did in the desert, and they are suddenly clamouring for him to give them more. In fact, they want to make him King (v14) and overthrow their oppressive overlords.
 
Jesus has just told the people “I am the bread of life”. It’s some statement isn’t it: How can belief in a man lead to physical hunger being abated? The people don’t get it. We might miss it ourselves; Jesus is the single and most important thing we need. And not just day to day, but as v40 says, for eternal life.
 
And then we get Jesus’ response to the people after they grumble about his words: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them…”
 
This is challenging isn’t it? It’s a reminder that God is the only one who can open eyes. We can present the most logical and rationale of arguments for belief in God, live a moral and upstanding life, but however much we may try, only God can draw people to himself.
 
I don’t want that to be a discouragement for us in our evangelism! Rather the opposite, that it would spur us to pray. Particularly for family members and friends whom we would desperately love to see turn to Christ. Pray verse 44, that the Father would draw those for whom we pray, so that Jesus may raise them at the last day for eternal life with him.

​If you would like to support the BH Lent Appeal please see the details in BH News or contact the church office office@bhmc.org.uk
​ 

Do you remember that moment on the school playground? 
Everyone lined up for a game of footy, the self-appointed team captains chose their favourite players, and everyone was desperate to be picked.  I can tell you from personal experience it felt pretty awful being the one left until last!
​
 It feels like that is the story of life a lot of the time.  We LONG to BELONG. 
 
Ephesians 2:19-22 says that our inherent human desire for belonging is profoundly fulfilled in the gospel.  Paul has been saying how the Gentile Ephesian believers (and therefore all of us who aren’t Jewish) did not belong.  But Christ’s death has destroyed the barrier bringing peace, reconciling believing Jew and Gentile into one new humanity.  The incredible result of that is that ALL believers belong together as the people of God.   
 
Ephesians 2:19-22 
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.  
 
Previously, Gentiles were like Brits abroad sticking out like a sore thumb (imagine the locals playing spot the tourists!)  They were like someone watching through a window into a cosy home but having to stay out in the cold.  They were foreigners and strangers, excluded from any of the benefits and blessings of belonging to God.  Now, in Christ, they DO belong!  Paul has three images he uses to describe this belonging: 

1. Citizens: Gentile believers are not 2nd class citizens but fellow citizens.  They have the full rights of inclusion into God’s kingdom.  This citizenship transcends all national or ethnic identities as God gathers a people from every tribe, tongue, language, and nation.   
   
   
2. Family: Believers are not just welcomed into the kingdom but given a place at the family table.  Regardless of our experience of earthly families, how wonderful that the gospel brings believers into God’s household- adopted by our Heavenly Father and made brothers and sisters with other believers.   
   
   
3. Temple: Believers are not just like children who live in the house but also the bricks that make up the house.  Whereas the temple was where God lived, now – remarkably – it’s his people!  Built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets (i.e. the gospel) and with Jesus himself as the essential part of the construction, God is growing his magnificent building project brick by brick as more people trust in him.   

 
Human beings do have an 'inherent' desire to belong.  Our culture tries to find all sorts of ways to make that happen, creating boxes to fit people into.  However, when circumstances change then we no longer fit into that box and we need to find another one.  The world will never be able to offer a fully satisfying solution for our desire to belong.  But Jesus does- he demolishes the worlds boxes and gives us a sense of belonging that transcends all the categories our world could come up with.  Therefore, if you are a Christian your story of life doesn’t need to feel like lining up on the school playground being picked for football!   
 
You belong… in the most profound of ways. 
You belong... to something precious, stable and eternal. 
You belong… to the big thing God is doing on planet earth. 
You belong… as citizens of the king, family members of our heavenly Father and a temple dwelling where the Spirt of God lives. 
 
You belo​ng, with me and with every other believer, TOGETHER AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD! 
Rich

Following the first part of the JHMT Lent Appeal earlier this month in which the Frith's new Ayla Project was featured please click on the link below to view their video again:
https://youtu.be/R2SfUPA1N0g
Please also find the link below to the written information: