S04E001, Back To Basics, Endurance
Endurance is your weekly spiritual workout, whether you think of yourself as a beginner, an intermediate, or advanced!
Explore with us as we kick of this new season with our first episode, ‘Back to Basics’.
To read the transcript, click here.
#GoDeeper
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he talks about going back to basics.
Andy mentions supermarkets’ basic items ranges as he looks at how the word ‘basic’ means different things to different people.
He refers to the life of a character in the film called The 100-foot Journey, as a means of demonstrating how important it is to go back to basics at times.
He looks at John 3:16, default positions, roots, and more…
You can find the Great Commission posts on a blog we enjoy - andy-brown.org, and his first post on the Great Commission - which we highly recommend, can be found here, titled "Bowing and Doubting"
To read the #GoDeeper transcript click here.
#GoDo
Nathan and Steven discuss today’s theme, going back to basics, and provide three simple challenges:
Firstly, they recommend memorising John 3:16.
Secondly, they remind us of the importance of sharing the gospel with all those around us, through our actions not just words.
And lastly, they suggest writing a 100-word testimony as a short, concise answer for your faith.
Steven and Nathan
Download
Transcript
Steven 1:07
We're back for Series 4 of Endurance. I'm Steven.
Nathan 1:12
I'm Nathan.
Steven 1:13
And this week we're looking at going back to basics. So Nathan, what's the subscribe, like,
Nathan 1:19
Oh yeah. The whole, all of that. Just need to, well, you can, subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook. And if you want, you can sign up to our website, just go on to www.BerryBunch.family. And there'll be an obvious sign up line at the top.
Steven 1:38
Cool. So yeah, Back to Basics. We're looking at John 3, 16. Going Back to the Basics of being a Christian, what it's all about, which Andy B will unpack for us after the break
Andy 1:57
So what's your, what's the best part of your marriage so far?
Jo 2:03
Oh, my goodness. I suppose, to be honest, coming to 25 years, I'm quite chuffed that I've we've lasted this long.
Andy 2:11
I'm trying not to spit my tea out.
Jo 2:15
I am. I was like, oh, wow, what an achievement. Sorry, i didn't know I was gonna say that. I'm quite chuffed with meself, you know, like I've lasted this long.
Andy 2:24
Oh, great, that's really making me feel great before I go to bed.
Nathan 2:42
Even as a Christian, you are not the finished article. At no point, have you finished training for godliness. It's a lifetime's work. #SpeakTruth.
#GoDeeper Transcript
Andy 3:02
And, here we are, with another GoDeeper, as we look at Back to Basics.
Andy 3:08
Now basics can mean all sorts of things. If you are of a certain age, like me, and mid 40s, and you grew up in England, in the United Kingdom, the basics range might give you a bit of a weird twitch, as you remember a particular supermarket who had their basics range. It was, I'm not gonna say what it was, but it was very basics range in white boxes, and white packets, and white cartons. And it was very, very basic. And I had a friend in Manchester who worked their way through this particular supermarket chains range of these particular basic foods. And most of them were pretty much inedible. But, there are some real gems in there as well.
Andy 3:51
So, the word basics can mean different things. There's supermarket chains today, different ones, that have a basics range. And the basic principle, of a basic range, is it's cheaper, it's simpler.
Andy 4:04
Interestingly, through COVID, it's been observed, by those that watch these things, that the basic ranges of most of the main British supermarkets have gone up in price. So, the stuff that people would buy, for the, for a real, a bit of a generalisation here. But, generally speaking, the people who buy the basics ranges are people who have less money. And, what was observed is the basic ranges of foods have gone up in value. Whereas their exact equivalent, with the same ingredients, same everything else, have stayed the same. And sometimes the basics can get very confused. And we've seen the basics ranges of foodstuffs, in all the different supermarket chains in the UK, pretty much, going up in price when everything else hasn't.
Andy 4:48
So, basics can mean different things. And when we're talking about going Back to Basics, we're talking about going back to your roots.
Andy 4:55
Now, if we think about roots, it means different things as well. For me, personally, I grew up in a part of the West Midland conurbation, in the United Kingdom. It was called the Black Country because originally there was lots of coal mining, and heavy industry with soot and all sorts. That was where I grew up. That's my roots. But I don't go back to there to get back to my basics. Because the basics, that we're talking about, is about being a Christian. Basics can mean supermarket foods. And it can get very confused as we've seen with prices rising. But,we're talking about going Back to Basics.
Andy 5:28
What is your first love as a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Andy 5:33
Let me read a bit of Scripture. 1 Peter, chapter 3, verse 18. And I'm gonna jump backwards to verse 15.
Andy 5:42
"But Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit."
Andy 5:54
Now, John 3,16, is a very well known piece of scripture. But, that one I just read out from 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18, is also similar. It is something of the gospel in a nutshell. And when we become a Christian, when we become a follower of Christ, a disciple of Jesus, things change. But, at that moment of deciding to make that decision to follow Jesus Christ, that's the, us, at the basic point. Everything's new. We don't know how to do this whole Christian thing. It's all new. So we're at the basics stage, of really simple stuff.
Andy 6:26
And, actually looking in scripture, this is mirrored, because new Christians, ii's great to have simple teaching. It's good to get your teeth stuck into stuff, too. But, it's also really good and, depending on who you speak to, someone will lead somebody into Salvation with Jesus Christ, and they'll have their particular book. It might be go and read the book of John. Or go an read this Psalm. Or go and read the book of Matthew. Or go and read Romans. And there are things that we point to. And the reason we point to them, is less about what's there, but I think more to do with what it means to us. Because, it helps us go back to our roots.
Andy 7:02
Now, verse 15, same chapter,
Andy 7:05
"But in your hearts, honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason, for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect."
Andy 7:16
And part of being saved is about having to, it's that memory, it's remembering what it was to be first in love with Jesus Christ. So by getting back to our roots, by going back to basics, we can remember, and recall who we were and what changed for us. What was the contrast, the difference, when we first met Jesus Christ.
Andy 7:36
Now, personally, if I want to go back to basics, I go into the Bible, and I go to the very first verse, of the very first chapter, of the very first book, which says this.
Andy 7:46
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Andy 7:50
If you're getting confused with theology, and all this stuff that can go around . Eschatology and end time theology, and you're thinking what's that got to do with it, it can be good to reset. And, sometimes, that reset is as simple as going back, for me personally, anyway, to Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 1,
Andy 8:07
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Andy 8:09
If life has thrown you some curveballs, and you're very confused by what is life right now, just remember that God made the heavens and the earth.
Andy 8:20
Now, I've lost my notes here. This is well scripted, isn't it? When am I going? Default positions!
Andy 8:30
One of the things that's interesting when you come to a hard time, is, we often default. We go to this original setting, almost. it's a bit like when you reboot your computer, because it's not working, or even your car. You can reset the computer, and it's not very good for a while, but it's gone Back to Basics to relearn, to re-remember, so to speak, what it's supposed to be doing. With a car, it's the Engine Control Unit. And it, sometimes, we can mess with things and it you can get confused. And, by resetting it, we're going Back to Basics and helping the car remember what it's supposed to do, and it can improve itself.
Andy 9:03
And as Christians, we can get so confused with all this theological stuff, we forget our first love. And our first love is that Jesus Christ died for you, and died for me, and He loves us. And the reason that's important is so that we can remember how to talk about our faith to the people that we meet.
Andy 9:21
Now, I've mentioned this before. Dr. Michael Brown, who's a brilliant preacher, and theologian, in the in the United States, he talks about his coming to faith journey. And how, when he came to faith, he had a friend. They came to faith at the same time, and they would read the Bible for hours, and hours, and hours, and hours, and hours a day until they'd fall asleep. And he talks about the excitement of reading the scripture for the first time. 'Cos it was giving him life, and it was alive, and it was amazing. But he also talks about the fact that that isn't something you can sustain. It's good to keep on reading your Bible. But if you've got a family and you're reading your Bible 18 hours a day, yeah, that's great for your Bible knowledge. But, now, you're upsetting God because you're neglecting your family. So we need to hold these things in balance, and part of that is remembering where we came from, in Christ, remembering that Jesus loves us, which is why we can love others. If we don't forgive others, He won't forgive us. There's a direct correlation, a direct relationship between us, and God, us and Jesus, and how that affects who we are, what we are, where we going.
Andy 10:27
There's a film I personally, particularly, enjoy. It's called the 100 foot journey. It's based on a book and it's about the idea of these 2 opposing restaurants on different sides of the road. One is a very upmarket, classical, perfectly prepared, Michelin star restaurant. And across the road is, is a, is a family that have come in. Their heritage is Indian, so they prepare Indian food. And you've got this tension between classic French dishes, and Indian food. There's a great line where there's, it's said, "But we can't do French, we're not French, we're Indian." And they're remembering their roots.
Andy 11:09
But, in in the film, there's this one particular character who is this amazing chef, wonderfully gifted. He, he finds an opportunity. He goes off to Paris, and he learns how to be a chef. And he is at the top of his game. He's risen to the top. He's lonely, and he's sad, and he's depressed quite evidently.
Andy 11:26
And there's somebody in the food preparation area, long after everybody's gone home. I guess probably one of the cleaners you'd imagine at that time of night. And he's eating his food out of his little tub. And the smell grabs this Top Chef. And there's this lovely little dialogue, and 'Well my, my wife makes this' and 'it reminds you of home, doesn't it?' And as this Top Chef starts eating this really super simple food, all the basic flavours are there, and he's taken back home.
Andy 11:55
It's a very emotional moment of the film. And he comes back and it's all good at the end. But he's drawn back to basics. Yes, I can do all these amazing things, but what's my heritage? What's my culture, and that's really important.
Andy 12:08
And as Christians, what is our culture and our heritage? It's what Jesus did for us.
Andy 12:13
Let me flick to Matthew 28.
Andy 12:17
I've got a really good friend. His name's Andy Brown. He has a fantastic blog, Andy brown.org, which we'll link to for you. And he has done a wonderful series on the Great Commission, which it just opens up this piece of scripture really simply over 6 days of posts that he's been putting out. Blog posts.
Andy 12:34
But what's the Great Commission mean for us? Well, the great commission is part of our heritage. It's going back to basics. Why are we Christians? How do we be Christian? Well, you go back to your roots, and part of that is in here, Matthew chapter 28, verses 16 through 20.
Andy 12:38
"Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age".
Andy 13:22
As a Christian. As a follower of Christ, as a disciple of Jesus, this Great Commission is so important because it's the heritage of how, and who, and where, and what we do as Christians. Everything gets tied into this. Our reason for doing anything, why have we got a church service at 1030 in the morning? It's the Great Commission. Does it fit the Great Commission? No, dump it! Start again! This is the source. This is the basics. This is the root. This is the thing from which everything should feed. The whole of Scripture is important, but this is the start of it.
Andy 13:54
This is the point from which the church is sent out around the world. If you're not sure how to evangelise your friends. Or whether you should. Or maybe there's this theological pattern. Or you've read this book. Or that person says, 'you must follow this person', go Back to Basics and read Matthew 28.
Andy 14:11
You don't need any theological position. You don't need a book. And you don't need advice. You need to follow what Jesus said in Matthew 28, and share the gospel with the people that you meet.
Andy 14:21
Going Back to Basics, is remembering, is all about remembering why we are who we are. Jesus often, ofte, Jesus often referred to the church as being a bit like a marriage. So, He is the groom. We are the bride of Christ. That's a really good illustration, that's what Jesus used it. But, the point of this is, when we're thinking about falling in love, or any relationship to some degree, but certainly much more within the intimacy of a marriage. Jo, and I have been married for 25 years. The excitement, and the passion, and the zeal, and all that stuff. The kind of the bouncing up and down because I'm going to go and see my bride to be. That's really important, because if I didn't feel that way to her, why would I want to get married to somebody I don't like! But, actually, you can't sustain that level of excitement either.
Andy 15:11
So many years into marriage, so many marriages fail because they think, well, we don't love each other like we used to anymore and it's, it's died, and it's gone. No, it hasn't died and it hasn't gone! It's adapted. It's changed. It's evolved at some level. Because, you can't sustain that high level of energy, and passion, and zeal for 50 years. That is absolutely not the same as 'it gets dull and boring.
Andy 15:34
I can say at 25 years, I am more in love with Jo, and I am more in love with being married with Jo, than I was 25 years ago. It gets better, and better, and better. But, I'm also really glad that we haven't got that same level, of the kind of intensity of, we want to see each other and it's really amazing, and important. Because, it's quite tiring! It's important at the start. And one of the reasons why having a regular time with each other, is to remind each other of those early times. Because? You're going back to your roots. Going back to basics.
Andy 16:03
Why are we married? Well, we've got 3children, and Jo's got a job, and we've got a car to look after, and we've got to fill the log burner. And yeah. That's all part of life. But why do any of those things exist? Well they exist because Jo and I first, 25 years ago, got married. That's where it comes from. That's the source for our marriage. Well, as a Christian, it's Matthew 28, the Great Commission.
Andy 16:25
If as Christians, as leaders as churches, we're doing things, that have got nothing to do with drawing people to Christ, we need to stop them, get rid of them, and move on! Because anything we do as a Christian, should be, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Andy 16:41
That isn't the same as dumping your church service, because it's a bit tired. Sometimes, a little refresh can be all you need.
Andy 16:48
Interestingly, with COVID, what we saw was churches, for the most part in the UK, which is what I'm more able to talk about, do nothing, apart from 'When are we going to get back to normal?' And 'Oh, we don't like this!'. And 'We want to get back into the church.' And 'We want to get things the way they were'. And that's not going back to basics, that's clinging on to the past. That's very different!
Andy 17:07
Going back to basics is a very refreshing, liberating thing to do. To say, 'why are we doing this?' 'What is the real heart and passion and core of what we're doing?'
Andy 17:18
So, I'd encourage you go Back to Basics. Remember why you decided to follow Jesus. We've all got a story. There's always a point for some of us, we chose to follow Jesus. For me, I was 7. Jo was in her early 20s. My 3 sons were all 4, apart from Peter who was 3. Tthere's a point at which that journey begins. And that's really important! Because when we're getting a bit tired, and life has given us a curveball, or lemons, or we're really struggling, go Back to Basics and remember why you followed Jesus, all those weeks, months or years ago, and it refreshes our soul.
Andy 18:06
We love making resources for you. Resources to inspire, and encourage you. Resources you can stream, share and download, in your church, your family or home, whatever your situation. But perhaps there's a Dave the Dog story you'd love us to cover for your work with children, or an All Age service.
Andy 18:26
We've been asked to do videos on teaching. So, we've covered topics like Reverence, Prayer and Faith, Broken Dreams and Hope.
Andy 18:35
Any money we make from commissions like these goes straight back into the BerryBunch, to keep everything else that we do free, for everyone that needs it.
Andy 18:43
So, get in touch. Let us know what your needs are. And we'll see what we can do.
Steven 18:57
So, we're now at the last segment of Endurance, and we've shaped things up a bit. So, what are we talking about, we're talking about
Nathan 19:04
Welll, we're talking about what Andy B talked about. We're talking about the, you know, Great Commission.
Steven 19:09
Yes, yes. Going Back to Basics, right. John 3, 16. That was the main scripture, going Back to Basics, Go on, read it for us.
Nathan 19:17
Which translation would you like? Which version? I mean, I know a few.
Steven 19:20
English will do.
Nathan 19:21
English, okay. I'll do CSB.
Nathan 19:24
"For God love the world in this way. He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
Steven 19:32
And that is the gospel in a nutshell. So it's great to come back to that basic point of Christianity. Next point.
Nathan 19:38
Great Commission.
Steven 19:39
Great commission. Yes. What was the Scripture?
Nathan 19:40
Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20.
Steven 19:43
And I suppose you've memorised that?
Nathan 19:45
Obviously. 19 to 20, verses 19 to 20 say this,
Nathan 19:50
"Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I've commanded you. And remember, I will be with you always the end of the age."
Steven 20:06
So have you done that?
Nathan 20:08
Yeah, I think so. But I think, obviously, as Christians, a lot of our preaching, and sharing the gospel is through our actions. Nonverbal communication. We, we show the love of Christ, because the Spirit Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit in us.
Steven 20:23
Absolutely. And the last point would be, that one from Peter.
Nathan 20:28
Yeah.
Nathan 20:28
"Be always be ready to give a defence".
Nathan 20:30
1 Peter 3.
Steven 20:31
What was the Scripture?
Nathan 20:33
Yeah, 1 Peter 3,15, which says,
Nathan 20:37
"But in your hearts regard Christ as holy, ready at any time to give a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you."
Steven 20:46
Very good. What translation was that?
Nathan 20:47
CSB, of course.
Steven 20:50
So a good one to do for this is 100 word testimony, as a way of sharing the gospel, as a way of giving a defence of the faith that we have.
Nathan 20:58
In a way that's short, and concise, to the point.
Steven 21:01
Yeah, have you done one yet?
Nathan 21:03
No. I'm working on it.
Steven 21:04
Working on it. Okay, so there's 3 things we can do. If you haven't memorised John 3, 16 yet, that's a good one to memorise
Nathan 21:11
Yep.
Steven 21:12
The second one is go share the gospel with other people. But, as you said, through actions, not just words.
Nathan 21:16
Yeah.
Steven 21:17
And the third point, write a 100 word testimony. It's a really good one. I think I have done one. It'll probably go out on TestimonyTuesday, or the website.
Nathan 21:25
Show off! But also on John 3, 16. If you have memorised it, try memorising different versions, because it can be really useful, or languages. You never know! You might come across someone who speaks a different language and you want to share the gospel. You know, you can't speak their language.
Steven 21:39
Yep.
Nathan 21:44
GoDo
Steven 21:45
Yep. GoDo. Yep, sorry.
Andy 21:57
There are loads of ways to stay in touch with the BerryBunch. The best thing you can do is to visit our Website, sign up to our Newsletter, and you can be sure to always stay up to date with our latest news videos, posts and updates on our seasonal events.
Steven 22:12
Like us on Facebook, where we hang out and post extra stuff to encourage and inspire you.
Nathan 22:18
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and be the first to see our latest brand new videos and resources.
Peter 22:24
We're on Instagram too, and share extra photos when we're out and about.
Jo 22:30
If you've seen something you've enjoyed, why not share it with a friend and brighten their day too. And, if you want to be part of the BerryBunch family ministry, and help us as we continue to provide free resources for people to stream, share, download and use, you can do so at Patreon by supporting us financially each month. And if you just want to say thanks. You could just buy me a coffee.
Steven Berry, 27/02/2022