Looking at HIS/tory

An extremely committed group of people have been working together passionately to produce a history of St Philips for our centenary.I commend them and the project to you.Ably led by Barbara Davidson and Rod Eagelton, individuals have set about researching chunks of time; gathering as much information as they can and then ordering it to the best of their ability.I want to thank them publicly for this labour of love which for them is nearing completion. We have engaged Ruth Marchant James to author the book. Ruth is the benchmark for history writers interested in Perth's west.History should be living and active, recording what happened so we learn ....... and vision a better future.History can be; 'look, we survived' or 'look we won and they lost' or, from time to time, an objective look at what happened. There are many better qualified than me to explain what makes 'good history'.The Bible is a His/story book and much more. It records God's saving acts among his people as Lord of heaven and earth. It lines us up with something bigger than ourselves. We are defined by Him, he isn't defined by us. We are made by him and for him and he loves us with an everlasting love. His priorities and expectations are clearly outlined. We are to live in to who he is and what he has done and then live into the future out of that. We are the writers of the history of his saving acts moving forward.Unfortunately, as the cliché goes; if there's one thing we learn from history, it's that we learn absolutely nothing from  history. If history stays a dead record of old events it serves little purpose but if what has happened informs and propels us into a new future it is transformational.The bible is a living word that still speaks. Hebrews tells us it's sharper than a knife stuck between the bones of your knee and twisted- Ouch! - it judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts (4:12).It is a history book that lives.As we consider the publication of the recollections of St Pips last hundred years, it's my prayer that it comes to us with a living sharpness. Salutary lessons from the past, celebrations of vibrant successes, passionate, Godly characters and, above all, a sense of responsibility, commitment and passion under God to be and do all in our power to ensure that we remain and grow our commission to go into the world, make disciples and be good news in Jesus name. As Brad said last week, not so much to be blessed, as to be a blessing.In the AdventureMalcolm