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Add a headingLENT EDITION: Lent 5
John 18 WHAT IS TRUTH?... 


I recently read “The Gospel according to the Beatles” by Steve Turner. It is a telling of the story of the Beatles’ search for meaning. They were influencers of the 1960’s generation and beyond. They undoubtedly influenced a generation and much of the map of the decades that followed.

Yet church had left them cold.

Paul McCartney’s Father McKenzie writes sermons that no one will listen to in Eleanor Rigby. This shows what Paul and John, who wrote most of the songs, were left with from their Christian upbringing. Instead, the young men who were thrown into fame and fortune at a heady rate, were existentialists – interested only in the here and now.

They succumbed to a belief that this life is all an illusion and sought higher knowledge through expanded minds turning to drugs, especially LSD,  and meditation through eastern religions. They sought  ways to find out true meaning. The essence of the teaching was “Clear your mind and kill your ego”. Then, it was claimed,  you will experience something greater than you and see the world as it truly is rather than how we perceive it now.

I finished the book profoundly disturbed.

What they were searching for was Jesus. He needs no mind expanding or letting go of self to be found. He seeks us, as we are. In our messy humanity. Turning on and dropping out opens a huge opportunity but for the wrong side – the empty expanded mind that has distorted perception is one that is at threat from the enemy and his lies and deceptions.

St Paul clearly states it in 1 Corinthians 15. “2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance..” (1 Cor 15:2-3)

Christian writers do not separate mind and body in the same way that the Beatles were seeking truth. St Paul again wrote “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:1-2) We are called to love God with all our minds, bodies and souls (or word to that effect).

It is the self that is transformed, for life in its fullness now in Christ and life to come, eternal life. Mind, body and soul together. Intertwined. Not separated. You come as a package!

The Beatles famously broke up by 1970, irritable and unfulfilled. They never found what they were looking for. Because it was Jesus,  and they did not find him.

They came seeking truth. They did not find it.

Because there is one truth.

Jesus made various claims to be “I am” in John’s gospel and in 14:6 it was :

I am

The way

The truth

The life

No one comes to the Father apart from me.

When faced with the reality of Jesus’ mission, out in the courtyard after the arrest,  Peter denied that he knew “the truth”, denied Jesus, for he knew that he too would be arrested. 

Jesus was inside giving testimony that he had spoken openly in the world.

The officials slapped and beat him. Jesus challenged them to say either why what he said was not true or to explain why he was being struck for telling the truth.

They had no answer.

Pilate questioned Jesus. “I was born to testify to the truth” Jesus said.

 ‘What is truth?’ asked Pilate.

Jesus had already answered that question, in the upper room, to the disciples…….. “I am”.

Current postmodern thought challenges all “truths” and concludes that there is no such thing as one truth. Postmodernist truth is that there is no absolute truth.

The paradox here of course is that to assert as a truth that there is no truth cannot itself be absolutely true, and therefore opens up the possibility that there is a single truth if postmodernism is untrue.

Confused?.....

You need not be.

Because of first importance to your life and that of anyone you meet is this.

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared” (1 Cor 15:3-5)

And “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matt 27:54)

We know this to be true because it is :

God’s

Honest

Truth

Preparation lesson 5: Jesus, the Word,  is the truth, of that you can be certain.

Blessings all

Doug
vicar@christchurchpurley.org.uk



LENT EDITION: Lent 4 – John 16-17 I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD…. 

LENT EDITION: Lent 3 – John 15 and 16 THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE ISN’T HATE…IT’S APATHY 

LENT EDITION: Lent 2 - John 14  INCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVITY… 

LENT EDITION: Lent 1 - JOHN 13-21  BOTH/AND….HOLD THEM IN TENSION.. 

Hello
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
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Planning your Visit

Welcome to Christ Church Purley 

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The following information is aimed initially at those planning a visit but is useful for anyone visiting Christ Church Purley for the first time on a Sunday.


Where and When
We meet at Christ Church Purley (click here for directions). For our Sunday Services starting at 8:45am and 10:15am, for your first visit, we recommend arriving 15 minutes early to help you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard and will be happy to help.

We serve tea and coffee between the first and second services from 9:45am and then after the service at 11:30am. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. There are disabled toilets off of the Foyer.

Our Services 
Our 8:45am Service is traditional in style with Holy Communion, liturgy and hymns on an organ. You will be lead through the service throughout by the leader. 

The 10:15am service is relaxed in style and led by a band. It is broadcast online and past services can be watched here. It begins with a warm welcome from one of our team and opening prayer. We typically have two or three songs and notices lasting approximately 15 minutes.

At 10:30am the children and young people leave for their groups. A speaker will give a talk that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday lives after which there is usually a song and a led-prayers. One of our leaders will share news and notices, usually about what is going on in the life of the church and we then finish with a final worship song and blessing.

Every second Sunday of the month we share Holy Communion and the children and young people return to join as a whole church family otherwise parents will pick up their children at 11:30am.

On the first Sunday of the month at 10:15am we all worship together in a Worship for Everyone service, with round tables and activities.

Third service:  This is a extended worship and word service led by a band and happens at 11.45am on the first and second Sundays of the month.

Gospel Service: On the last Sunday of each month at 6:30pm, an informal service of worship and word in the Foyer space.

Children and teenagers
We have a great programme lined up for children of all ages:

Stay & Play (Pre-school years). Parents/carers remain and join in with the fun
Kids 1 (5-7 years)
Kids 2 (8-11 years)
Youth (11-18 years)

Parents register their children aged 5-11 years prior to the start of the service from 10am and stay with their parent or grown-up for the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices.

The children’s group activities vary depending on the age but usually there are topic-themed activities, games, craft, bible story, music and ministry. Youth fill up on doughnuts whilst discussing how God is relevant to their every-day and those under five, stay and play with their adult whilst enjoying coffee, tea and chatting with other parents. Free-play and themed activities precede an interactive story and song time learning about Scruffy the puppet dog’s latest dilemma and Mr Bible’s always-great advice.


Getting Connected:

Discipleship Groups
While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our discipleship groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other through biblical study. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some morning and some evenings. If you would like to join one we can put you in touch with a discipleship group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering
If you want to get involved in the life of the church and community throughout the week, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Why not complete our Newcomer form and sign up for the Newsletter?