Church

This Wednesday our group of international students had a chance to lead the student chapel time--here are some pictures:

Chatting with Dr. Negrov after we finished:



The service as it happens:



Myself speaking:

(note the puzzled look on my interpretor Nikolay's face)



At this moment I was saying:

"that world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you"

jk. I wish I had said that.

A Comic strip depicting the service:



Here are some of the highlights from what I said. The initial joke about not getting into fights in Russia was the worst bomb I have ever experienced. Something must have got lost in translation and I definately didn't know where to find it.

The failed introductory joke:

Things have worked out really well while we've been in Russia.We haven't got lost, got into any fights, or even got sworn at in the grocery school—everything has been much different than school in Canada.

*Pause for non-existant laughter*

-John Chapter 9-

Summary...

After attending Bible school our vision is not improved, and our blindness is not cured. It is only Jesus who can make the blind see. When reading this passage a few days ago I was struck by the thought that if someone were to ask me if I was spiritually blind I would tell them of the theologians I had read, the papers I had wrote, the Bible I had studied, and the understanding I had gained.

This knowledge is important: Christian ministry and worship are often viewed as something completely seperate from studies and school. I have heard people in Canada say that time spent at school is time wasted that could be spent working for God. This view of God assumes that he is a strict boss whose only concern is what we do for him. When God accepts us into his kingdom however, it is as children, it is based on what he did and not what we have done. An education, whether it is in Science, languages, theology, or philosophy focuses on learning what God has done through people, the world, and through history. Understanding what God has done is actually an inseperable half of serving him.

What struck me then about my response as to whether I was blind or not, was not that it centred around the knowledge I had gained—knowledge is important--but what struck me was that I assumed that my studies had given me spiritual sight. After reading this verse it became clear that pride had blinded me to what it is that provides sight. We do not have spiritual sight by our own efforts—it is because Christ came that we see. It is not our studies or ministry that provide ourselves or others with this sight. Pride in either our ministry or our studies can creep into our lives and change the focus from Jesus to ourselves.

We are not made to see by our own efforts, it is not what we can see through our studies or ministry but who we see—on our own we are blind--it is Christ who gives sight.