Tarantino would be proud!

Ever seen those movies where there's blood and guts (tomato sauce?) flying everywhere as the shotgun fires into the room while people are mown down in some revenge attack? Some people love these movies because its all blood and guts but the bible has a story that's similar if we know the facts.

Jesus dies by execution. At the time when he lived the Romans has invaded the country and they had rules everyone had to live by. If people did as the Romans said they could live a good life under the rule of the invaders. If, however, someone broke the law or rebelled, they could be tried at court and be crucified. Jesus was tried under these conditions and it unfolded that he was to be crucified.

The bible tells us that Jesus knew what was to happen to him, that he was to stand in our place for the judgement we deserve for sin. It turned out that he was to take our punishment by the most brutal form of torture. First, the criminal was to be nailed to a beam of wood. The nails were hammered into the hands causing severed nerves to send electric shock pain throughout the limbs. As the feet are also nailed to the cross, incredible agony would shoot through the entire length of the upper and lower body. The criminal would begin to lose blood. the structure would be raised into the air and the weight of the body would hang onto the nails hammered into the wood. This was a public event and the idea was to show the public that if the disobeyed the Roman way, the Romans would nail you!

After some time of hanging in searing pain, weakness would sweep over the body as blood is lost. The body would slump forward and the chest would push out as the criminal is unable to hold upright anymore. In turn, the windpipe where you breath in your chest would close. Desperately trying to breath, the criminal would try to pull himself up on the nails in the hands and push up on the nails in the feet to open the restricted windpipe. Imagine trying to put pressure on the open wounds!

After some time of doing this the oxygen levels the body requires gets less and less and cramps shoot like lightning through every muscle in the body. This torture goes on for hours and hours with no food or water. All sorts of issues occur as the internal organs cease to operate without oxygen and under incredible stress. Poisons from the liver, failure of the kidneys and eventually the heart stops beating. The criminal has suffered appalling and gruesome torture.

With Jesus, he was not guilty of his crime yet went through these things for you. God saw this as Jesus taking our punishment for sin and dying in our place. Before Jesus went to the cross the Romans and Jews made sure he was beaten and abused. They lashed his back until bone could be seen and put a crown of sharp thorns on his head. He also had to carry his own cross.

Most movies tell us flash cars, guns and money make you a hero but God shows us that a smashed, bloody corpse rescues us all for real! Jesus wasn't a criminal! He never did anything wrong and came alive three days later! How? God did it and I know why! It is so we can see that nothing that happens to us, even death, can separate us from God if we choose to follow him.

Quentin Tarantino, Director of twisted gore movies would be proud, but when it comes to reality - God did this for you! Ask staff for more information on this!

"I'd be a rubbish Christian, I cant do anything!"

When you see people in church on TV, or sometimes when you have to go to church, it often seems as if everyone is either good at music, a great singer or amazing at getting on with people. The truth is that Christianity is nothing to do with what you can or cant do. So God hasn't picked a load of talented people to be Christians like someone picking the best football players for the team!

One day the parents of their 14 year old were frustrated at her progress on piano. They got her a piano 4 years ago and wanted her to become a great musician. Years of nightly practice and all she could play was chopsticks! Time went on and eventually they paid for lessons. The tutor came to the house twice a week and after a year the tutor asked the parents to come and hear the progress after their investment. Sitting on the sofa they waited as the nervous teenager paused and recited perfectly the dulcet tones of.... chopsticks! On the brink of anger the father rushed the tutor out of the door paying the final installment and sat head in hands on the chair next to his daughter. Not wanting to crush her he whispered, " Ill take you to the grand-master."

The following week the family parked outside the stately home of the grand piano player. Just some advice, a little coaching or just encouragement may be the key to unlocking his daughters talents. One knock and the butler opened up the door to a central staircase flowing graciously up to several doorways. The mother gasped as she saw the grandeur of the hallway! Suddenly the daughter ran at full speed towards a corner of the room. "No!" the father shouted as she sat on the biggest grand piano you have ever seen. Exited she lifted the lid and the keys mirrored the smile on the daughters face. Immediately the daughter began her floundering rendition of chopsticks! utterly defeated the mother and father walked towards the piano. "Stop!" the whispered, and "Shhhhh...." At that moment the grand master pianist entered the room. The parents were now waving their hands at the girl to stop, their embarrassment reaching its peak. The grand master walked, unfazed towards the girl and sat beside her. Suddenly he began playing chopsticks, improvising on the girls simple version. The father began to apologise but the grand master shook his head towards him and with a smile continued to weave the intricate patterns around what was now a masterpiece.

The point of the story? The girl was not really very good on the piano but with the help of the Master, together they made it all work! Its not about what I can or cant do, it's about what God can accomplish with the simplicity of our lives!