Streetpaper 81

CHURCH ISCHURCH IS

REALREAL LIFLIF

FORGET DULL RELIGION - GET A LOAD OF THIS!INSIDE:

PULL-OUT EXTRA

44 BONUSPAGES

rawREAL AND WILD

P3P3PHIL PHIL FINDS FINDS FAMILYFAMILY

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COLOURFUL, YOUTH-FUL, lively, attractive: that’s Jesus! And that’s how the Christian faith must show itself in the UK today. Brimful of ener-gy and cutting-edge: a modern, spiritual army bringing healing to the hurting, love to the lonely, forgiveness to the guilty. Such an army will fight against the moral and social evils which are wrecking people’s lives today. Jesus said His Church must be as light shining in the world’s darkness, visible and welcoming, loving people and shar-ing with them, espe-cially with those who are marginalised, rejected, isolated, abused, or con-demned. The modern Jesus army aims to be friends with everyone. Perhaps as you read this, you feel something stirring in you. That’s God’s pres-ence, His love. Don’t give up on yourself. We must help one another through. Because of Jesus there is hope, life and a future for us all.

modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 81 Page 1

modern Jesus army: bringing spiritual and social help to all people No. 81 FREE

HAVE YOUR HAVE YOUR SAYSAY TEXT US NOW0774 0774 [email protected] www.jesus.org.uk

The modern Jesus army march from London’s Marble Arch to Trafalgar Square

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“COMING HERE has put me on the straight and narrow. They're kind lov-ing people, make you feel welcome. I've met a lot of new friends, good friends.” says Adam Bradford, 26, of Coventry. “I've made more friends, I've found healing, found faith” adds Mark Gaunt, 39. Both have been regular visitors to “The Bridge” drop-in at Coventry Jesus Centre for some time. The Bridge provides subsidised breakfasts, showers, laundry facili-ties, haircuts, friendship, and much more to its visi-tors – mainly homeless or

Bridge got me over my trouble For more than 5 years “The Bridge” drop-in at Coventry JesusCentre has been providing friendship and hope for many

disadvantaged people. Piers Young, Coventry Jesus Centre manager says: “It’s been a hectic five years but worth it to see so many people helped and lives changed. Apart from meet-ing basic needs, we help people to get a useful life again by breaking cycles of deprivation and negative outlook. God is in it and we couldn’t do this without His grace.” The modern Jesus army has had an affinity with the disadvantaged or margin-alised since the church first started in the late 1960s. A charity, Jesus Army Charitable Trust was cre-

ated with the aim of set-ting up and running Jesus Centres: places of worship, friendship and care for every kind of person. They would have a particular emphasis on befriending and supporting the poor. As well as the Jesus Cen-tre in Coventry, there is a bigger one in Northampton (based on an old Art Deco cinema) and a third Jesus Centre is due to open at the end of the year in cen-tral London (just off Ox-ford Street). If you would like to give to the Jesus Centres or to find out more visit www.jesuscentre.org.uk

The king’s ketchup: a moment of concentration at the “The Bridge” drop-in

1,226 free phone callsSince opening over five years ago:

75,000 visits 75,000+free teas or cof-fees

This year so far: 10,200 visits 57.9% of visitors with-out their own home 1,000 showers taken 1,866 items of clothing and 231 pairs of shoes giv-en away 181 laundry loads at £1 a load 82 blankets or sleeping bags given away 1,226 free phone calls 214 prayers with people

Piers Young, Coventry Jesus Centre manager.

Adam: “on the straight and narrow”

ChristianPotter

AUTHOR, JK Rowling, has told a TV audience that her Harry Potter novels draw on Christian themes and refl ect her own “struggle” to “keep believing”. Deathly Hallows, the last in the Potter series, shows Har-ry visiting his parents’ grave where the headstone bears the inscription “The last enemy to be destroyed is death”. The fi nale features Harry choosing death so that others might live and includes a last battle result-ing in death and resurrection. Speaking of her own faith, Ms Rowling said that she is a Christian but her “struggle re-ally is to keep believing”.

We’re sorry,y,Planet EarthFESTIVAL-GOERS at this year’s Greenpeace Festival in August were able to ask forgive-ness for neglecting the environ-ment inside a confessional box built from recycled doors by Benedictine parish priest Dom Anthony Sutch. Instead of “penances” they were then given advice on green topics such as travel impact and renewal energy. At home in his own parish, Dom Anthony grows his own vegetables and has received a mixed reception from his parishioners after turning down the heating in his church to reduce electricity consumption.

Don’t ppickon hoodies

A JAR marked “Pickled Hoodies”, standing over two metres high, greeted journalists invited by a coalition of sixty youth agencies to the launch of some new research into how society sees young people. Under the slogan “Labels R4 Jars, not people” the event aimed at drawing attention to the way young people are often lumped together as “ASBOs”. The total number of crimes committed by young people has actually dropped by 21 per cent. Yet, youth agencies say, young people are still “demonised” and “scapegoated” by the public at large.

Prayyers banish bluesTHE CHURCH of England has published some new prayers to help workers overcome their Monday morning blues. They include the thoughts of a curate from Catford on the stresses of fi nding a seat on the train or getting stuck in a tunnel. The collection also includes writings from famous hymn-writer Charles Wesley and a prayer called “Brrring, brrring” about the stress of telephone conversations. Another prayer aims to help pray-ers to assess themselves by some of God’s “performance measures”: virtues such as patience, self-control and love.

Is religgionanyy ggood?

NEARLY HALF (42 per cent) of the 2,200 people interviewed on behalf of the writer and broadcaster John Humphrys think religion is harmful. “One reason might be the publicity attracted by a handful of mad mullahs and their hate-fi lled rhetoric” writes Humphrys in his latest book In God We Doubt. At the same time the poll which he commissioned also showed that more than half be-lieve in God “or something” and only sixteen per cent would call themselves “atheists”, with a further nine per cent regard-ing themselves as “agnostics”.

THE GOSPEL of Mark is part of the Bible and tells the story of the Life of Christ. Packed into 60 pages you can fi nd how one man bridged the gap between man and God. Read

about angry Jesus driving out money changers. Read about compassionate Jesus heal-

ing people. Test for yourself the claims of Jesus. The Bible in its entirety has now been translated into 414 languages, and parts are now available in over 2,000 languages. If listed in the bestsellers, it would regularly top the list in all its versions.

For your FREE copy of Mark’s Gospel contact us (see address below). Or text on 07969 679 501 or phone on 0845 123 5550 to reserve your copy.

Get a bestseller

FREE

ALL GOOD armies have an HQ, and we are no exception. We will answer your queries, provide you with free literature or a Mark’s Gospel, even pray with you over the telephone if you are in special need.

You can call us: our National Helpline is 0845 123 5550 (local call rate), and generally there are real people to talk to, not machines.

Email us at [email protected] Want to have a look at what the mJa is all about? Check us out from anywhere in the world on our website: www.jesus.org.uk

But in these days of hi-tech, we still have an address and lots of people write in.Jesus Fellowship, FREEPOST, Nether Heyford, Northampton, NN7 3BR

Across the UK you are welcome to call one of our local churches if they are near you. There are Jesus Army congregations and groups around the UK. They are not all the same size, they meet in differ-ent sorts of premises, but they are all made up of people who love Jesus and are ready to help you on in your faith too.

Belfast ........................................................... 0845 123 5552

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Chester/ North Wales.................................... 0845 123 5561

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Leeds ........................................................... 0845 166 8167

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Preston .......................................................... 0845 123 5554

Sheffi eld ........................................................ 0845 166 8183

Stoke-on-Trent .............................................. 0845 123 5334

Swansea ........................................................ 0845 123 5556

Wolverhampton ............................................. 0845 123 5563

GET IN TOUCH GET IN TOUCH

JESUS Fellowship Church is an evangelical Christian Church with a charismatic emphasis. It upholds the full historical, Christian faith, in particular it upholds the doctrine of the Trinity and the full divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Fellowship Church is a part of the Multiply Christian Network and a member of the Evangelical Alliance. To receive Jesus Fellowship literature regularly, free, send the response form on page 6 to Jesus Fellowship Central Offices, FREEPOST, Nether Heyford, Northampton NN7 3BR. Tel. 0845 123 5550. modern Jesus army Streetpaper No.81 © 2007, published three times a year by Jesus Fellowship Church, Nether Heyford, Northampton NN7 3LB. Editor James Stacey. All photographs supplied and copyright by Jesus Army Photo Library or Public Domain unless stated otherwise. Printed by BGP Ltd., Bicester, Oxon. Reproduction of any part of this newspaper in any form requires written permission. All Bible quotations are from the Contemporary English Version © 2000 Harper Collins unless otherwise indicated. All articles are contributed by members of the Jesus Fellowship Church, also known as the modern Jesus army. Some members live as part of the New Creation Christian Community. Readers wishing to contact authors may do so by writing to the Jesus Fellowship Central Office.

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JESUS taught: Two men prayed to God. One was a human rights worker, the other a drug dealer. The human rights worker declared openly: “Oh God, I thank You that I am not like so many other people, I don’t cheat or steal, I don’t sleep around. I give to charity and buy organic food. And I’m defi nitely not like that thug over there.” The dealer just hid in the cor-ner, he could not even look up but hid his face and said. “God,

have mercy on me, a sinner.” It was the drug dealer who went home accepted by God, not the human rights worker. Anyone who holds himself proud will fall fl at on his face, but if anyone is humble before God, he will be made to stand tall. What kind of person are you? Sometimes God does choose to ignore our prayers, but if we are humble He will always listen to us. Check out the original in Luke 18:9-14

PRESENT-DAY PARABLES #1

Drug dealer goes free

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PHIL FINDS FAMILY

ONE MAN’S JOURNEY INTO FREEDOM

The shocking difference betweenPhil’s chaotic and painful

childhood and his life now

Phil says his Christian friends have stuck with him

3 3

“WHACK!” Phil’s head hit the banisters. His step-dad had thrown him against the staircase. Head split open, blood oozing down his tee-shirt, thirteen-year-old Phil felt pain and fear – but not surprise. This was what “normal life” had been like for him for six years. “My dad left my mum and us three children when I was three” Phil Tearle, now 29, explains. “The next four years I remember a lot of shouting and swearing but that wasn’t too bad compared with what h a p p e n e d next when my step-dad

Background o

came on the scene. “It was always me that got it. Often I’d be shut in my room with the door bolted – I’d have to bang and plead to be let out to the toilet. “Once he made me stand for seven hours with my hands on my head. “But the worse thing was the sexual abuse which h a p p e n e d when my mum was out. It started when I was seven and didn’t stop till I was 13. It made me feel so disgusted but I was scared to tell anyone.” In 1990, so-cial services heard ru-mours about Phil’s treatment and came to the house to investigate. Phil broke down and managed to talk about the bullying and abuse. His step-dad was sent down for five years and Phil was taken into care, losing contact with his family, apart from his twin sister. “After the care system I was given a council room in Milton Keynes,” says Phil. “I was an easy target for bullies. If you have a family you’ve got people to guide and guard you. I didn’t have that. I hung around the wrong groups trying to fit in but I was bullied and manipulated.” One day, when he was 19, a friend gave him an address: “Some of the Jesus Army live there together, Phil – go and see them!” “They were so different!” says Phil. “Through them I found God.

“I did fine for a while and then one day walking down the street some guys attacked me. I was so scared I decided to move to Northampton where I was born. I linked up with the Jesus Army there and got baptised. In the wa-

ter I couldn’t stand up, God’s pres-ence was so powerful!” However Phil’s trou-bles weren’t over: “A guy I was with got para-noid smok-ing weed and thought I was eyeing up his girlfriend. So he beat me up. “I turned up for church all kicked and

bruised. I was really surprised when the leaders asked if I’d like to see how I got on liv-ing in Christian community. I moved straight in – it was not a hard decision. In society at large most people seem out for what they can but now I’d found people who wanted to give rather than take.” Phil has now lived with his friends in the Jesus Army for ten years. “It’s not all been easy. It took me ages to trust and I used to have problems respecting myself. A lot of that’s because of the abuse. “God has used friends in community to give me back my confidence and respect for myself. I haven’t always been easy to help but they’ve stuck with me. “People love you and give to you but it works both ways – now it’s my turn to care for others.”

f abuse

TWO MEN owed money to a debt collector. One owed him £1,000, the other owed £100. Neither of them was able to pay him back so he forgave both of them their debt. Out of the two who do you think will be the more grateful? The answer, of course, is the one who had the bigger debt. Jesus told this story be-cause He was criticized for letting a prostitute care for


Him. But what the critics didn’t realize was that Je-sus was simply willing to forget the woman’s past and show her the acceptance she needed. In the same way Jesus is willing to forgive everyone their wrongs no matter how big they are. But are we ready to be grateful and receive the love He offers? It’s when we do so that He welcomes us into heaven.Check out the original in Luke 7:41-43

Debt written off

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What makes several hundred young people deck themselves out in the brightest coloursthat they can find and parade through the centre of London singing “Amazing Grace”?

JESUS ARMY’S ON THE TOWN
IN THE MIDDLE of August, in the middle of London, the modern Jesus army’s youth took to the streets in an extravaganza of noise and colour. Streetpaper asked one of their leaders, Laurence Cooper, 32, to explain what was going on. He said: “It’s enthusiasm unlim-ited; the unchained heart. Young people who’ve found a new way of living and just want to tell the whole world! It's the force of the living Spirit in us all that sings of Jesus. We don’t want to protest, but to de-clare in the loudest, happi-est, freest way possible that Jesus is alive today and that He rocks our world!” The singing, dancing, grinning, waving crew rev-elled their way from Picca-dilly via Soho to Leicester Square before spreading out to talk with anyone who wanted to know about the life-changing love of Jesus.
B

Banners flying: we’re the Jesus Army

Super-size Jesus

Bright lights

rothers in arms

What’s it about, mate?Prayer in the
T air
We’re talking God here

he mustering of the troops

Send us your pictures:You may have pictures of mJa action or similar. Send your mobile phone images to Streetpaper mms number 0774 0774 200 or email them to [email protected] Or submit them at www.fl ickr.com/groups/jesusarmy

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modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 81 RAW pull-out extra Page 1

STREETPAPER pull-out extra

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WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?RAW (Real and Wild) is a

Christian youth movement,

initiated by the modern jesus

army, calling young people

to be a Jesus Generation.

last august, more than

400 young people

gathered for the RAW

event. and momentum is

gathering for RAW 08...

This Streetpaper “pull-out

extra” takes a look at this

growing youth movement.

rawREAL AND WILD

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RAW copyoutline.indd Sec1:2RAW copyoutline.indd Sec1:2

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Josefa, 18, Oxford I don’t want to be a plastic Christian, have a comfortable life and go to church on Sundays. Simplicity and sacrifi ce, 24-7 church – that is RAW.

I really want to show off I’m a Christian, especially that I’m Jesus Army!

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ow more about

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orking with. It’s up

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Emmaline, 16,

BrightonRAW was outrageous,

different, counter-

cultural. RAW is about being

contagious for God even

when it hurts. Persevering

even when you’ve lost hope, for the

glory of God and not for myself.

Anthony, 24, LondonRAW is about doing what Jesus

is actually doing rather than

making an airy-fairy thing out of

it: serving people, bringing people

to Jesus, being real with what

it says in the New Testament,

what Jesus said.

Jess, 25, NOne afternoon

local estate, p

cleared someo

local little kid

It was like som

Absolutely bea

RAW was not a

religious, not trying to be

was about being totally r

RaJ, 26, London,

from Nepal I’ve never had this

experience before. I’ve met

so many different people.

They are very, very

crazy for God and when

you see them, you feel like

joining it. I feel very new and

energetic.

Vicky, 29,

SheFfIfi eld My highlight was

seeing a friend get

freed who’s been

battling for years –

desperate for God and pleading

for God. When we prayed for

her, I felt God’s power, proper

electricity, go through me

too: I found freedom too. She

felt free to dance so I threw

myself round as well.

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orthampton’ve really drawn closer to God

nd found His love in a deeper way.

veryone’s so at one when we

orship God, it’s made me be free

nd made me want to worship as

ell. Now I’m not afraid to do

nything, to do anything God calls

e to: I’m unashamed.

orthamptonwe went out to a

ainting a subway, and

ne’s garden. These

s joined in with us.

ething out of a fi lm!

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bout trying to be

something I’m not; it

eal with myself.

RAW copyoutline.indd Sec1:3RAW copyoutline.indd Sec1:3
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RAW.indd 4RAW.indd 4

modern Jesus army

presents

raw 08

date: 7-9 August 2008

Venue: Jesus Centre,

abington square

northampton uk

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HEAVENHEAVEN & HELLThere is life after the here and nowThere is life after the here and now

MOST PEOPLE instinctively feel that death is not the end. The Bible says that we have “eternity in our hearts”. This feeling comes to us in various different ways. Take our immensely powerful desire to live. We weren’t meant to just breathe for seventy years or so and then stop. Inside we feel it: we want to live on. Then there’s justice – right and wrong. We sense that we live in a moral universe and that there will be a reckoning. People who die having experienced a raw deal – poverty, unfairness, oppression – ought to have something better. And those who’ve lived to hate and hurt deserve to pay for it. Not that this means believing in cartoon stere-otypes – clouds and harps or devils with pitchforks.

But the Bible does describe heaven and hell: a place of bliss with God and a place of punishment apart from God. Jesus described heaven most often as a party, a celebration; He described hell as being left out of the celebration. To put it simply, heaven is “totally knowing God” and all His goodness and beauty. Hell is “totally not knowing God” and being separated from all good-ness and beauty. So the crucial question is: do you know God? Those who know Him before death will be those who know Him after, totally. Those who don’t know Him now, won’t know Him then – and then they won’t even know “God’s side effects” like love, peace, beauty. It will just be dark and empty. None of us can answer that question about any-

“The crucial question is:

do you know God?”

one else with complete certainty: in the end, it is a question we must answer ourselves. One day we all “stand before our Maker”. Jesus has made it possible for us to know God. He has made it possible for us to go to heaven. Through His sacrificial death He has taken away the sin be-tween us and God. We can know Him. We can start heaven now – and look forward to it then. “God loved the people of this world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who has faith in Him will have eternal life and never really die.” (The Bible, John 3:16)

Your shout: Have your say - email [email protected]

Info: t: 0845 123 5550 e: [email protected] www.jesus.org.uk/dates Jesus Fellowship, FREEPOST, Nether Heyford, Northampton NN7 3BR

WHAT’S ON?Jesus Army events around the UK

SATU

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3 N

OV

2007

MEN ALIVE FOR GODFrom 11.00am Jesus Centre, Abington Square, NORTHAMPTON NN1 4AE

SATU

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24 N

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2007

SATU

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EC

2007

MULTIPLYLEADERSCONFERENCEFrom 10.30am Cornhill Manor, Pattishall, NORTHAMPTON NN12 8LQ

UK JESUS CELEBRATION2.00pm & 6.00pm Jesus Centre, Abington Square,NORTHAMPTON NN1 4AE

SATU

RD

AY

26 J

AN

2008

ALL FREEALL WELCOMENO PREJUDICE

CHURCH GROWTHCONFERENCEFrom 11.00am Jesus Centre, Abington Square, NORTHAMPTON NN1 4AE


Party to end all partiesA MAN decided to have a big party. He was an important man and so he was able to invite the big celebrities and politicians. He even organized the limousines to pick people up. But his guests all began to make excuses. One said “I have to look after the decorating of the new house I’ve just bought.” Another sent apologies, “I’m preparing for my new fi lm.” Still another said. “Sorry, just got married.” When the limousines came back emp-ty the man was furious. He told the chauf-feurs, “Quick! Get back out there. Go to the council estates and back streets, col-lect everyone who is poor or needy. Also go to the hospitals, bring anyone who is able to come.” The party organisers re-ported back, “There’s still room for more people.” So the man said, “Empty the hostels, go to the country lanes, bring in

anyone you fi nd sleeping under a bush. I want this place to be full!” Few people realize that heaven is going to be the biggest party ever and that God wants everyone there, including you! Not everyone wants to accept His invitation though. Do you?Check out the original in Luke 14:16-24

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“I love your new hairdo”

Love is...

JUST ABOUT everyone agrees that love is important. But what is love? It has to be the most over-used (and abused) word in the dictionary. “I love Hagan-Daaz ice-cream.” “I love Grandad”. “I love your new hair-do”. “I love gory action movies”. Given all that, what does it really mean when someone says “I love you”? The Bible defi nes love very simply and very amazingly: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). “God?” you might say. “Well, I’ve never seen Him.” But then, no-one’s actually seen the love they have for their mum (or their kids or their friends) have they? Love can’t be seen. But it is very, very real. And God shows us what love truly is. “God loved the people of this world so much that He gave His only Son”. Love is totally unself-ish, totally courageous giving. It is Jesus who shows us God’s love most clearly. And His love has big implications for the way we live our lives. “We know what love is because Jesus gave His life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other.” (1 John 3:16)

Have your say:Email: [email protected]

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Jesus Armyyloungge onthe Downs

A JESUS ARMY team recently used a sofa to help spread the Christian gospel on the Downs near Bristol. “We put our ‘lounge’ out on the grass and sat eating and drinking, and singing,” said the Jesus Army team leader, Simon Cooper. “People came to sit with us, relaxed and talked. Sixth form-ers thought the scene was ‘well cool’.” That evening, a new mJa member was baptised and strong friendships were made. The Jesus Army even got onto Bristol radio enthusing about their faith.

Haves andhave-nots

ggapp widensTHE GAP between rich and poor people in the UK is as wide as it has been for 40 years, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warns. The think tank said the num-ber of “poor” households had risen over the past 15 years. And since the 1980s, wealthier people have moved to the sub-urbs while the poor remain in inner cities. During the 1980s and 1990s inequality increased, and a “po-larisation” in British society had occurred. Rich and poor are also less likely to be living next door to one another than in the 1970s.

Third JesusCentre

meets needTHE JESUS ARMY will open its third Jesus Centre in London in January 2008. The third Jesus Centre is right in the middle of the West End: well situated to be a place of help and hope to the many disadvan-taged people in the area. On an average night there are as many rough sleepers in Westminster as in the rest of the UK put together. Many others, including families with children, are in temporary or insecure ac-commodation with poor facilities and overcrowding. And sky high property prices mean that many have no hope of a home.

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WHEN THE end of the world comes there’ll be a great sort-out of everyone who has ever lived into two groups: one on the right, one on the left. Those on the right will hear this amazing an-nouncement: “Blessed peo-ple, heaven is open! It is


Lovers get their reward

yours to enjoy because when I was hungry you fed Me and thirsty you gave Me a drink, when I was homeless you in-vited Me in. If I needed clothes you gave them to Me. Sick? You cared for Me. In prison? You visited Me.” Those people will say “When did we do this for You?’ The re-ply? ‘If ever you did this for the most unimportant member of My great family, you did it for Me.” Then those on the left will

hear their doom: “Get away cursed people! Go to your de-struction because you never fed Me, you never gave Me a drink or a bed or clothes. You never cared for Me.” They’ll protest, “How? We never saw You needing care or clothes!” The reply: “Whenever you failed to do it for someone over-looked or ignored, that was Me – you failed to do it for Me.” These people will be pun-

ished forever but the people on the right will receive ev-erlasting life.Heaven is about love, and love is not as easy as you might think. If you are se-rious about being there ask yourself: how much do I look after the least im-portant people? Take your focus off yourself and be-come a helper of Jesus.Check out the original in Matthew 25:31-46

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PEOPLE EXTRA

Nun of Nun of the abovethe aboveWhat makes a lively, attractive, young woman like Doris Kahnes,29, leave her home country, give up all thoughts of marriage or children and live for other people? She tells Streetpaper her story
“IT WAS a ‘silly little thought’ that crossed my mind when I was 18” says Doris. “Why ‘make’ more children when so many exist but live without love?” Two years later Doris left her home in Germany, with thoughts of working in an orphanage in Africa. But, while in London, Doris soon realised that “de-prived children” are every-where: of any age and from all over the world. “They are our neighbours, our workmates. They are found in every layer of socie-ty: top managers and clean-ers, doctors and prostitutes, musicians and the unem-ployed – everywhere there are ‘children without love’. “Ten years on I’m a celi-bate and live in a former con-vent. But I’m not a nun.” Doris lives in the Jesus Army’s large house in cen-tral London – formerly the original mother house of the “All Saints Sisters of the Poor”. It is now home to two families with six children between them, two couples, seven single men and eight single women. Doris says: “Like the nuns I pray in the chapel; how-ever, I don’t kneel down in the benches but sit in a comfy chair or walk around the coffee table. A few peo-ple have managed to play
shbgriSdthsdit mthlemb“hg

7 7

ome wonderful old ymns on the organ, ut mostly we play uitars, tambou-nes and bongos.” he laughs. “I on’t know what e saints on the

tained glass win-ows make of .”One of the ost driving oughts which d her to vow yself to celi-

acy, aged 24, was you never know ow long you’ve ot”.

Doris puts it bluntly: “I want to make all my life count for eternity. Mar-

riage is only for this present life. I had always wanted to get married and have my own children but when I read what Jesus said about stay-

ing single for His kingdom I thought, “Yes! Surely only by the grace of God but I can do this. Yippee! “The Sisters of the Poor cen-

tred their lives on prayer and serv-ice to the poor, especially children, and kept vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They recognised them as a ‘three-fold cord by which the believer is bound to God – a

binding of love through which one is set free.

“As celibates, we too are seeking to be ‘bound to God’ and to have less ‘attach-ments’. Our time, our energy and our love are in a constant proc-ess of surren-der to God so that He may bring healing and love to the people

around us. “This is why I am celi-bate. In this way I seek to love ‘children’ who have not known much love. Not a silly little thought – but a gift from God!”

(Left) Doris: “I want to make all my life count for eternity”(Right) Doris in action: sharing Jesus on London’s streets

Jesus said:

“Some people…stay single

for the sake of the kingdom of

heaven. Anyone who can accept

this teaching should do so.”

Matthew 19:12, The Bible

Watch an online fi lm about living single for God at www.jesus.org.uk/cinema/celibacy

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Colour in your cheeks: Nick Woods, 18, and Matthew Bowers, 16, after painting the subway

FLYING COLOURSFLYING COLOURSJESUS ARMY YOUTHS PAINT A SUBWAY

(( p p

mJa paints mJa paints the town red the town red

and yellow andand yellow andink and green) ink and green)

AS A voluntary act of service to the local community, a band of youngsters from the Jesus Army in Northampton recently painted murals on both sides of a local subway. Leader of the council-backed project, Ian Oakey commented: “We wanted to create something that

would last and that people would re-member why it had been done. It was also important for us to complete the project with the ideas and help from local youths, enabling them to have ownership of the achievement. As the local church we wanted to present an image of hope – that the normal downward spiral of criminal life that is all too common on an estate like ours can be escaped”.

One of the murals was comic strip-style showing a character reforming from a life of crime to a family man with a sense of responsibility. The oth-er was a memorial to three young peo-ple from the area who died recently. One local commented: “This is a great idea, really colourful and eye-catching; and it’s touching to see those lads who died remembered like this.”

The other wall tells a redemption story

Makeover: one wall of the subway in Briar Hill, Northampton

mJa UK: 0845 123 5550 (local call rate)www.jesus.org.uk Email: [email protected] For help/info: Jesus Fellowship, FREEPOST,

Nether Heyford, North amp ton NN7 3BRTel: 0845 166 8171 Fax: 0845 166 8178

NEWS PA PERS SUPPORT RECYCLINGRe cy cled paper made up 80.6% of the raw ma te ri al for UK news pa pers in 2006


Lost son returnsTHERE WAS once a business man who had two sons. The younger decided his relation-ship with his father was over so he said, “give me my inherit-ance now!” Now rich, the son went travelling and wasted all he had on drink and women. Then hard times hit: prices rocketed, there were no jobs and he found himself shovelling pig manure to survive. He was so hungry even the pig swill began to look good to him. He knew that even his father’s staff were better off than him so he thought, “I’ll go back, admit how hurtful I’ve been and beg him to give me a minimum wage.” And he began the journey home. While he was still a speck on the horizon his father saw him and he ran and ran till he reached him. The son started his rehearsed speech: “I know I’ve wronged you and God…” but his father was not listening; he was say-ing, “Do you want some food? Do you need

some clothes? Here’s my credit card. Son, I’m going to throw a party. You can wear my best suit. We’re going to celebrate your return!” And the father was telling everyone, “My son is home! He was lost but is here again, he was dead to me but now he’s alive! We’re going to celebrate!”Do you want to come to God? You only have to begin the journey home and God will receive you. There will be a party in heaven and a party in your heart forever.Check out the original in Luke 15:11-24

Pray (talk to God) like this: God, I admit I’ve wandered far from You, doing my own thing. I turn back to You now. Please come into my life, pour in Your love and forgiveness. Please save and heal me. I freely choose to follow You for the rest of my life. If you prayed like this, get in touch with some local Christians who can help you on the next step (or phone the Jesus Army on 0845 123 5550).

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