As those regular visitors to the Sofa know, I normally attempt to do some sort of round up of stuff that has happened in the past week at this point. But its hard not to focus on the political news in the UK this weekend.
As those in the UK know, it feels like the present season of Brexit Britain has reached its season finale with the announcement that a new PM is on its way. Will the new PM kick cans, light fires, throw stones within greenhouses? Who knows… Tune in next season I guess.
In the mean time, here’s some meaningful church advertising…
As 2018 draws to a close, I’m going to steal some some inspiration from a recent Facebook post from Barack Obama, and share some bits and pieces I’ve enjoyed seeing / reading / listening to over the last 12 months. They’ve all particularly inspired, or held my attention in some way.
There will also be Church Sofa highlights thrown in there as well.
There may well be affiliate links thrown in to the mix, but if you dont know any of the below I’d encourage you to check it all out.
This post called also be called “Not celebrating your victory in other peoples faces”, “Nice Things To Make People Smile”, “How not to fight with people who have a different opinion to you”, or indeed, “How not to be a jerk”.
I’m not going to write about how messy peoples feelings can get after an election / referendum / regeneration / big political news*, as I would find myself trying to find new ways of writing the same points every few months.
So instead of trying to fight over the result of the above mentioned event, why don’t we try doing something more positive instead?
Here’s a number of ideas of different ways that we can spread love and acceptance to people around us.
Do The Flippin Dishes.
There’s no point looking after people in the neighbourhood, if you don’t take care of those nearest to you. Do the washing up every now and then.
Hit The Block Button.
We all know people that share and write stuff online that at best, you don’t agree with. At worst you wonder if they are trying to make people angry.
Why don’t we just block them? Or at least Mute them or something. Dont choose to see their stuff if they are going to make you angry.
Hand Out Free Hugs.
Something like this?
Or like this?
Drop a Letter On The Ground
Write a letter to a stranger, and leave it somewhere for them to find. Something like these guys.
Face it.
Kids movies are awesome. Theres normally bright colours, wide eyed characters, wonder, and songs.
Or educate yourself on the innocent wonder of Sarah and Duck…
Volunteer For A Local Charity / Organization.
Because volunteers are awesome, and there’s probably something out there you’d like doing. (I personally know of opportunities to cook, and build lego.*) If nothing else, doing something good might help to improve your CV.
Like EVERYTHING
Step 1. Order loads of these stickers from Amazon.
The political world of 2017 seems a funny place. In the wake of the festival of nightmares that was 2016, the terms Fake News and Alternative Facts have emerged around the internet.
Obviously it can be argued that these are both fancy marketing terms for well placed lies, or at least, a way of helping the establishment make its point of view.
What if the Bible was re-edited for an age of alternative facts?
What would that look like?
Would an alternative fact bible look something like this?
Any other ideas for verses that could have the alternative fact treatment?
So, lets face it. 2016 is an interesting year. With arguably negative political campaigns held on either side of the Atlantic, leading to negativity spilling out of the newspapers and impacting people in a real way. It feels like the world is leaving 2016 in a far more negative place then when it entered it.
I’m not going to write a full discourse looking at why this may be the case, instead I’m going to look at a few ideas of what could be done to improve matters. (There’s no way of phrasing the next sentence without being cheesy) How can we spread more love in 2016?
Read The Gruffalo…
Kids books are awesome, and the world needs more awesome. Try The Gruffalo for a flavour of awesome. Actually try anything from Julia Donaldson.
Volunteer For A Local Charity / Organization.
Because volunteers are awesome, and there’s probably something out there you’d like doing. (I personally know of opportunities to cook, and build lego.*) If nothing else, doing something good might help to improve your CV.
Everything on this earth changes. TV Shows end, The Doctor regenerates, and pizza gets eaten. On a similar note, you may not stay at your church forever. One day, you may well find yourself looking for a different church to worship at.
The reasons why you’re looking for a new church may vary, perhaps there were theological differences about the arrangement of the chairs? Maybe you were put off by the new lady preacher? Or maybe… you either just fancy a change / ‘called’ to a different church / moved to a different area.
Whatever your reason, here are 10 things to look out for in a new Church:
Does the Church meet at a reasonable time on a Sunday morning?
Obviously your new church must be exactly like the Church in Ephesians Chapter 4.
Make sure the preacher agrees with your understanding of the Bible.
Ensure the worship music is YOUR style of music.
Is it a mature Church?
Does this church have the correct understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit and how that work is manifested?
Is the truth spoken by people “in love”?
Is the coffee drinkable?
The minister is someone who is charismatic, sensitive, clever, musically gifted, open to questions, a natural charismatic, time for everyone, always smiling, and driving the growth of the church.
Remember. Looking for a church exactly the same as your old church is ridiculous. No one can clone that many people at an affordable price. Yet.
