One day, when I was at secondary school, the head teacher decided to give me some advice. He sat me down in his study and said to me, “Gavin, you will never be successful in the music industry and you will never be a successful performer.” Reflecting back I suppose he was trying to help me by encouraging me to pursue a more ‘respectable’ career. However, deep inside I felt crushed. Somehow his comment was not just discouraging the career decision of an 17-year-old young man, no he was doing something far more destructive - he was eroding the very core of who I was created to be. Have you ever wondered why human beings are so creative? We are creative with the way we dress, do our hair (if we have any), speak, think, move and have our being. Creativity has been at the heart of humanity since the very beginning. In that collection of books called the Bible, the very first book is also called Beginning or Genesis. At the very beginning of the beginning is a poetic account of God making the world and human beings. And in this poem we discover that for five days God creates the world and then on day six God says, “Let us make human beings in our image.” All we know about God up to this point is that God makes stuff – that God is creative. Christians believe that we are created in the image of a creative God and therefore to be human is to be creative. Every week I perform in schools and churches and I often hear people say, “I’m not creative.” With all due respect, “Rubbish”. You are creative. Some people are creative with numbers, some with buildings, some with food… When you get along side someone who is lonely or broken-hearted and you listen to them, you are being creative. So, when you see creativity in others, whether it is at work, home, in the environment, school – or even in the office of a retro 1950s style grammar school head teacher - may it be celebrated and not discouraged. Today, may you use your creativity to bless the world and those around you. How will you use your creativity today?

It was 3.30am and I was lying in bed craving a cup of tea. I couldn’t get the idea of a hot, sweet cup of tea out of my head. It was no use, I couldn’t sleep. I just had to have a cup of tea. I got up, went to the kitchen and put the kettle on. The dog jumped out of its bed thinking it must be morning and wanted to go outside for a pee. So, while I waited for the kettle, I put on some shoes and took the dog outside. As we walked around the front of our flat, there, sitting on a bench on the other side of the road, in the darkness and drizzle, was a man with his head in his hands. Now I knew why I had the kettle on and why I had been woken in the night. At the very beginning of the first book of the Bible is a poetic account of God making the world and human beings. The very first words of this poem include the line, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the water.” Water is very significant in the Bible because in ancient times water meant only one thing – chaos. From this water or chaos, God starts making stuff. In other words God starts bringing order out of the chaos. This is what God does and is about. He plans and wants to bring order out of chaos in the world. Then God makes human beings in his image - to be like him – to be co-workers with him in the world. Christians believe that we are called to use our God-given creativity to bring order out of chaos in the world - chaos in peoples lives, chaos in relationships and chaos in the environment. The man on the bench was called Graham. He was grappling with some deep issues in his life. On that cold damp night he had been crying out to God for help. I took him a mug of tea and we chatted and we prayed together. I made up a bed for him on the sofa, gave him some more tea and fed him several rounds of toast. In the morning Graham was gone. Two weeks later I had a letter from Graham. Some of the issues he had been grappling with had started to be resolved and he felt a peace that God had heard his prayer and responded to his deepest need. Today, may you be open to allowing someone to help you bring order out of chaos in your own life? And perhaps, if you are able, may you help bring order out of chaos in the lives, relationships and world around you.

A few years ago I attended a local community event - a free occasion being organised by a loving group of committed volunteers. Instead of finding a legitimate parking space a woman parked her red sports car in the disabled parking bay by the doors of the building, she then pushed her way to the front of the queue to get in, and during the event proceeded to speak in a loud voice that the event was not going the way she thought it should. The people around her began to avoid her and even her friends distanced themselves from her. Sadly, she was oblivious to the consequences of her perceived self-importance. C.S. Lewis who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia was a Christian and he wrote lots of books about Christianity. In one of them he wrote this: “There is one vice of which no person in the world is free, which every one in the world loathes when it is seen in someone else, and of which hardly any people ever imagine they are guilty themselves.” In the words of Sir Rolf Harris, “Can you guess what it is yet?” It is pride. For all our advances in technology and collective knowledge, for all our rationalisation that there is no need for God or religion, the world really is in a bit of a mess isn’t it? Christians assert that we are wired to be co-workers with God, to help bring order out of the chaos in peoples lives, relationships and in the environment. And yet the reality is that the world doesn’t seem to be getting any better. There is a problem and I wonder if the problem is pride. Pride is putting ourselves first ahead of God and others. Do you notice that there is an “I” in the middle of the word pride? And when we put ourselves first, when the world revolves around us as individuals, things start to go wrong in the world. Without pride there would be no greed, anger, jealousy, lust, apathy or lack of self-control. Like the self-important woman with the red sports car, pride breaks relationships. The good news is that there is hope. Christians believe that God hasn’t given up on the world; that he loves us despite the fact that we’ve put ourselves ahead of him and ahead of others; that God longs to be joined with us again, for us to be in relationship with God so we can get on with the task of bringing order out of chaos together; that despite our mess-ups and failures, God believes in us. So, today, may you be part of the solution, may you know that you have the capacity for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And may you centre your life around that which is good and true.

I have a confession to make – and please, don’t tell the Bishop. I was kicked out of Sunday school. In fact, I was kicked out of nursery school too. It is true to say that my school years were pretty fraught. I was certainly no angel but I had a run of bad luck and suffered both emotional and physical abuse at school. It is true to say that by the time I was 16 and starting my A-Levels I had a serious problem with authority – particularly teachers. I was a bully and what most would call a total pratt. Then, I had a new teacher for one of my A-Level subjects. He was patient and didn’t get angry, and although I pushed him to the point where I was excluded (we called it suspended in those days) he never gave up on me. His words of encouragement still ring in my head to this day, “Gavin, I believe in you. We can do this.” In that subject to everyone’s surprise I got a B. Some years later when I too became a teacher I wrote to him. It turns out that in the 20 years of teaching not one student of his had ever failed. I was amazed by one man’s determination and faithfulness not to give up on a ‘lost’ student and in my years as a follower of Jesus, I have been amazed by God’s determination and faithfulness not to give up on humanity – including me. Christians believe that for some reason, God has chosen to involve us in his plan to redeem, restore and renew the world. We have got the world into a bit of a mess and God wants to work with us to get us out of it. That thousands of years ago, God developed a strategy and chose a bunch of people to form and build a community that would bless and influence the world. The books of the Bible are the writings – the poetry, history, songs, prophecy, stories – of this people. Right at the beginning of the story God promises that he will never abandon this community – and if you ever get to read the Bible you will discover that God keeps this promise even though this community messes up over and over again. Today, if you feel abandoned, if you feel hurt by others, if you feel as if you have messed up so badly that there is no way out, know that there is nothing that cannot be redeemed, restored and renewed. I believe that there is no limit to God’s love and forgiveness. Perhaps the first step is to trust in a determined and faithful God who says, “I believe in you. We can do this.”

Over the Christmas period I wrote and produced a video called the Beatbox Nativity. It was hugely popular but the content – the Bible story – caused extreme reactions from a small group people. They wanted to rubbish it, to pull it off-air, to criticise it – in a word, to ‘kill’ it. Christians believe that thousands of years ago God chose a community and promised them that the world would be blessed through them. A hope emerged that God’s chosen or ‘anointed’ one would emerge who would lead the people into freedom from their enemies and establish God’s rule once and for all. This person was called Messiah or Christ. And so the people of God waited. Two thousand years ago, the area we know as Palestine was occupied by perhaps the most brutal empire the world had ever known – The Roman Empire – and it was into this political and social chaos that Jesus was born. Jesus began his public ministry at the age of 30 and modelled what it meant to put God and others above self. He also demonstrated that God’s plan had never changed – that it was his plan to involve humans in restoring, renewing and redeeming the world. For example, there is a famous story of Jesus walking on water. This was a symbol or sign pointing to what Jesus came to do. Water in ancient times represented chaos and Jesus invited his disciple Peter to get out of a boat and onto the water with him. In other words Jesus was inviting Peter to join in with him in bringing order out of chaos. Peter started to sink but Jesus grabbed his arm and pulled him up. Jesus was saying, “You can’t do this on your own, you need me.” Then the waves were calmed. In the same way, Christians believe that today, God still invites us to bring order out of chaos in the world – in people’s lives, in relationships and in the environment – but that we cannot do it on our own. Within three years of public ministry Jesus had managed to offend just about every political and religious faction and so a small group of people plotted to have him killed. Jesus produced an extreme reaction in people and perhaps, as shown by the reactions to The Beatbox Nativity video last Christmas, he still does. Whether or not you have the faith to get out of the boat and hold on to Jesus, today, may you have the strength to join in with a plan to redeem, restore and renew the world.

When I was about 8 years old I was sat with my mate Matthew on the back seat of ‘Nelly’ the school bus. In the car behind two punks started sticking up two fingers up at us. So, giggling, we returned the favour. However, the deputy head who was driving the bus heard what we had done (no doubt from some snivelling tell-tale – probably that Melanie Parfitt). Anyway, when we got back to school the deputy head asked both Matthew and I if we had done the dastardly deed. I confessed but Matthew denied doing it. The next morning in school assembly I was made to stand up and was publicly shamed in front of the whole school. And as a punishment the head teacher asked all the pupils not to speak to me for a day. (you can say ‘ahh’ now) I’m not entirely sure that the punishment fit the crime, and although it hurt deeply, I was after all, guilty. Think for a moment. If your whole life stood trial – do you think that anyone from any period in your life could come up with a single thing that you ever did wrong? If it was me I’m sure the authorities would have to come up with some sort of system to manage the queues! When Jesus stood trial for his life a very strange thing happened. No-one could think of a single thing he had ever done wrong in his entire life – nothing. However they did come up with one charge that stuck. Jesus had made the outrageous claim that he was God. In first century Palestine that was blasphemy, a no-no, and a crime punishable by death. And so because of this one thing – and because of nothing else - Jesus was tortured and then crucified. Jesus’ friends and his followers completely deserted him – he clearly wasn’t the one everyone thought was going to lead the people into freedom. Then three days later the tomb in which Jesus body had been laid was empty. Christians believe that God had been putting into action a plan that was bigger and better and more exciting than anyone could possibly imagine. God’s plan was to close the gap between himself and humans so that we could work together to redeem, restore and renew the world. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection had made this possible. It shifted things in the spiritual realm – for the whole world – for everyone - forever. The first century people who chose to follow Jesus called this ‘good news’ or the gospel. Today, if you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, perhaps these words of Jesus are for you? “Come to me all who are heavy laden and I will refresh you.” Today, if you want to change the world and know that you cannot do it in your own strength, Christians believe in a God who says, “Surely, I am with you to the very end of the age,” and that it really is good news.

When I was a child I went along to church with my mum and dad. All I remember of the worship was that the building was cold, the women wore hats, the vicar wore a dress, we sat on wooden pews and we sang Victorian hymns. When they did provide Sunday School it seemed that all we ever did was colour in pictures of Moses. I swear that it wasn’t long before I had a whole collection of Mosai decorated in multiple colour combinations. Church was boring, out-of-touch and irrelevant – well, to me anyway. God had left the building. You can imagine my surprise when at the age of sixteen, after moving house, I went along to my local church to discover a warm building, lively songs, engaging talks and a whole heap of families and children. But more than that, what really threw me was that when these people talked to God they claimed that God talked back! Either they had completely lost it or they were onto something. These Christians claimed that God had come in the person of Jesus and somehow made humans spiritually clean so that God’s presence could come and be with them – even 2000 years later. They made the outrageous claim that God was now living in them by his Holy Spirit and this is what I was witnessing. So, at the age of sixteen I discovered that the church is not a building, nor is it a bunch of people sitting in pews singing Victorian hymns on a Sunday morning. No, the church is a community of people filled with the Spirit of God who are called to redeem, restore and renew the world. A community called to use their God given creativity – under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit – to bring order out of chaos – in peoples lives, relationships and the environment. To cut a medium story short I’m now a vicar (I didn’t see that coming). I’m a leader of a church and this is exactly what we are about. We try to care for the elderly, bereaved, lonely, marginalised, sick and needy in our community. We help to support families – children, young people, parents (whether they are double or single), and those who are on their own, engaged or married. We do our best to support our local school – the staff, teachers, governors and pupils. And we support communities in rural Zambia by providing fresh running water and sanitation so that 11-year old girls don’t have to walk through three miles of dangerous wilderness to fetch water. We love God and we love what he is doing through us. Our church has a strapline - “Joining in with the mission of God” and our message is simple – come and join in. So today, may you be filled with strength, love and commitment and may you find your place in a community that is called to change the world.