Simon's Blog

Comments and thoughts from our senior minister, Simon Harris

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Fasting

This morning I will continue our series on prayer: Lord, teach us to pray. Here are some practical suggestions to get us started with fasting.

Suggestions for the practice of fasting

If you have NOT Fasted before:

Plan a fast of two or more meals’ duration – breakfast to breakfast, lunch to lunch etc when you will consume only fruit juice and water. “Seek a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings” during your fast. Afterwards reflect on your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual responses to the fast.

If you have fasted before:

Plan a fast of whatever duration is right for this coming week. Give the time saved to God and use the time to reflect on your spiritual journey since becoming a Christian.

Whilst a routine fast can become legalistic and therefore fail before it begins, try repeating the exercise on a regular basis. It is only after a number of months that the real benefit will become apparent.

Practise a form of prayer or meditation that you have been using and combine it with a fast.

Consider a time of prayer and fasting:

before a major event
whilst making an important decision
as part of preparation for something you are involved in
as a special “holy” day – a quiet day for personal spiritual development

Consider a partial fast by abstaining from a particular kind of food or beverage (e.g. caffeine)

Fast from some activity unrelated to food as a way of breaking a pattern or desisting from behaviour that is in some way compulsive, unhealthy, or problematic. For example, you might feel led to fast from

watching TV
the media (as a gratification of the need for ‘instant information’ about anything and everything; instead, use the time to reflect on what is significant in life, and see if this gives you a clear perspective on social events)
self-deprecating remarks
offering an opinion before being asked
excessive busyness (a period of enforced inactivity)

Suggested Scripture passages

The example of Christ – Luke 4:1-13
God’s chosen fast – Isaiah 58
A partial fast – Daniel 10:1-14
A normal fast – Nehemiah 1:1-11
An absolute fast – Esther 4:12-17
The inauguration of the Gentile Mission – Acts 13:1-3
The appointment of elders in the churches – Acts 14:19-23

Posted Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:03:58 +0000 - View in WordPress

Inspire Counselling and Training

This morning Burlington hosted a leaders breakfast for Inspire. I was reminded of the great work they are doing just a stone’s throw from our buildings.

Posted Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:53:20 +0000 - View in WordPress

Longing for the day of “no-more.”

I held my daughter as tightly as I could as I told her the news: her friend’s father had just died. A cruel blow at any time but so much more when you’re still in year 7.

Sometimes life sucks. Really sucks.

I find myself longing with greater intensity for the day of “no more” (Revelation 21:4), and longing that I would pray and live more fully the words of Jesus: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

We pray for all who mourn.

Posted Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:50:16 +0000 - View in WordPress

Burlington Welcomes Parliamentary Candidates

The following formed the basis of an article that I wrote for Network Ipswich in February 2010.

Religion and politics don’t mix. I’m sure you have heard that said more than once, and it may be true! However, Jesus, His coming kingdom, a society in disarray and the people of God certainly should mix. Whichever way you ‘read’ Jesus, we, his people, must get involved. Salt in the salt-shaker is useless.

At Burlington we are always looking for different ways to get involved. So, with the General Election just a few months away, we decided to invite the prospective parliamentary candidates for Ipswich (of the major parties) to join us on a Sunday to be interviewed and to meet and chat with our community.

We are part way through but it has already proved to be a very worthwhile opportunity. Here are a few of my reflections:

An opportunity to listen: It has been great to listen to these potential representatives responding to some of the issues that concern us as Christians. I asked them publically about their values, their approach to freedom of speech and expression in the workplace, their commitment to family values and their priorities for Ipswich.

I think our community will feel more informed when they face the ballot box this year. I certainly will.

An opportunity to speak up: Welcoming these guests has also given us the opportunity to speak up -

To speak up about the church being the largest volunteer organization in the UK and that here in Ipswich the church wants to be involved.
To speak up about our values, concerns and convictions.
To speak up about the change Jesus has brought to our lives. (Each candidate has joined us for worship, prayer and bible teaching).

An opportunity to pray: We are called to pray for those ‘over us.’ It has been a privilege to pray publicly for those who may serve us, and who are serving us currently, asking God’s blessing on them and their families; asking God’s wisdom on their decisions and asking God’s values to be reflected in all their dealings.

We will pray for them more earnestly now I am sure.

This small journey has spurred us on to get more involved and get more salt out of the shaker. For more details and to listen to the interviews go to: www.burlingtonbaptist.org.uk/generalelection

Posted Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:33:40 +0000 - View in WordPress

Burlington is on Facebook

Posted Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:05:01 +0000 - View in WordPress

Impressed by Christ Church, Felixstowe

It was a real privilege to be invited to speak at Christ Church Felixstowe’s church weekend at Sizewell Hall. Christ Church have just celebrated their 20th anniversary.

I spoke on Mark 5:19 and the power of our story.

Many things encouraged me about Christ Church including:

Their infectious informality. Here was a family. They knew and loved each other. You could see and feel it.
Their willingness to share openly, and honestly, what God was doing in their lives. When, at the end of the weekend, they were invited to share what God had been doing, there wasn’t the long embarrassed silence common to so many church gatherings at such a moment. In fact, quite the contrary, one after another they got up to share. I was impressed.

You can pick up my talks and notes here.

Posted Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:58:55 +0000 - View in WordPress

My interview with Chris Mole MP

Here is my interview with Chris Mole, the current Labour MP for Ipswich. This is part of a series of interviews I am doing with prospective candidates for the next General Election. More here

Posted Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:03:44 +0000 - View in WordPress

Celebrating what God is doing in Ipswich

God is at work across the town of Ipswich as churches come together. Take a moment (6 minutes) to reflect and be thankful by watching this video. Then pause to pray.

So much of what is now happening has been born out of a movement of prayer started by Liz Beaton. As Ipswich in Prayer celebrates its 10th anniversary, Liz reflects on the journey here.

Posted Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:44:02 +0000 - View in WordPress

Ipswich police sergeant speaks of the power of prayer

The Ipswich Town Pastors have gone from strength to strength and I am very proud of them, us. It’s probably the best thing I’ve achieved in my police service. It’s certainly reduced crime in Ipswich Town Centre. Sexual assaults went down by 70% (compared to the previous year) on that first Christmas when the Town Pastors patrolled.

These are the words of Ipswich Police Sergeant, Neil Boast. He is not a Christian but he cannot deny the power of prayer or the impact that Christians have had on the town. Read his full testimony here.

Posted Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:43:30 +0000 - View in WordPress

The “Crown Him With Many Crowns” Event

The “Crown Him With Many Crowns” event hosted by Heart for Ipswich and held at Burlington last Saturday was brilliant because:

A packed congregation, drawn from across the churches of Ipswich, was expectant and excited about all that God would do in 2010. We need more of that.
Everyone was amazed to hear all that God had done across Ipswich in 2009. We need more of that.
The worship singing raised the roof. We need more of that.
The preacher, George Miller, was powerful and passionate and spoke out of the depth of his experience on the transforming power of prayer. We need more of that.
Our togetherness for the mission of Christ in our town was visible and palpable. We need more of that too.

Read Network Ipswich’s article here.