When You Make Heaven Stop (Revelation 8:1-4)

The book of Revelation is both a confusing and exhilarating read.
It is confusing largely because of the amount of imagery and picture language that John uses. But this very same language makes it an exhilarating read. Right from the start it is a fast-paced read which is more like holding on to a bob-sled than like sedate cross-country skiing.

And so in the fast-based book, it is a suprise to get to chapter 8:1 and this:

"When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (NIV).

What on earth could possibly bring silence to heaven when so much has been happening in heaven as the seven seals are opened? Prayer. When heaven stops 'for about half an hour' it stops for the prayers of the saints:

"3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand" (NIV).

Isn't that amazing? All of heaven stops to hear the prayers of the saints. In short, as we live out our lives hear awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus, we can be assured that God listens to the prayers of his people.

As amazing as this is, if you are anything like me you probably find prayer hard to do. Partly because we perceive ourselves to be busy; partly because we are by nature independent; and partly because we don't plan to.

Is it time to pray? After all nothing happens in all the world outside of God's command. Unless we depend on God for our own perseverance as a Christian, we struggle in vain; as much as we put systems in place for 5pm church for loving one another, unless we depend on God for the fruit we are spinning the wheels; as much as we may desire change in the lives of those around us, without bringing to God the needs of others in prayer change will be far off.

Is it time to pray? After all, life is short and there is no good reason to put it off. Perhaps you could consider joining a prayer team to have a regular forum for prayer and the encouragement of others to actually do it!

Is it time to pray? After all, the throne of God is quiet, ready and waiting to hear your prayers.

What do you think?

Photo courtesy of Ernest von Rosen, www.amgmedia.com

PABS Groups at 5pm Church

PABS groups are our mid-week Prayer And Bible Study groups for 5pm church regulars. There are a number of reasons that PABS groups are an important part of our life together.

The first reason is to change and to be changed. When we meet to study the word of God we should expect God to be at work - because God's word is powerful to change (Heb 4:12). Studying God's word is no mere academic exercise. It is a life-changing exercise! And when we meet to pray to God we expect God to be at working aswering our prayers. God loves to hear from his people and we have the incredible privelege of being caught up in God's purposes for His world as we bring our requests to him.


Just as importantly, we meet in PABS groups in love. On a Sunday night at church it can be very difficult for us all to care for one another as individuals. A small group is one of the best ways that we can actually love one another as individuals. At the same time, each of us should be in a small group because that is the best way that we can be loved. If your aren't in a small group, it you probably won't feel a part of 5pm Church properly and it will be difficult for you to be cared for properly.


A final reason that our mid-week PABS groups are important is because through them we grow in our knowledge of God and of one another. As we meet together week by week with 8-10 other people reading the Bible and praying together and sharing our lives together, right there do we begin to really get to know each other and develop significant relationships with one another. Even more important is this: as we meet to study the Bible we actually grow in our knowledge of God. John Calvin, the great 16th century Protestant reformer said:

"no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves [..] On the other hand, it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he have previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself." (Instit. I.1.i-ii).

Are you up for a year of change, love and knowing God?

Why We Got Rid Of The Bible At 5 O'Clock Church

.. well actually that is not quite true, but we have stopped printing the Bible passage at 5pm church. Why did we do that?

Well, there are arguments both ways. The main argument for keeping-on printing the bible passage is for the newcomer who arrives at 5pm church but obviously doesn't have a Bible with them. Everything we do should be sensitive to the newcomer, and their needs do need to be considered with the change.

However, there are a number of arguments for dropping the printing of the passage from our service outline.

The first is that context mattters. Late last year when Kanishka was preaching on Joshua and we only had a small amount of the passage printed, it came home to me that we miss out on where this slither comes from in the Bible (like editing a PhD thesis on a computer screen that only can display one page at a time).

The second is that when it comes to your own Bible, familiarity matters. It is a great asset to be able to get familiar with your own Bible, and a good way of doing that is to bring it to church each week and open it up to the passage.

The third is because newcomers matter. One way we can meet the person sitting next to us who doesn't have a Bible with them is to lean over and offer them ours to use. On Sunday I said that love was 'an active commitment to the good of others'. Here is one commitment we can all make!
What do you think?