Just rediscovered this amazing song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yimGnqB2iIw&feature=related
Interesting to see different versions on youtube, Janis singing the song in her 20s, 40s, 50s...
I'm trying to learn to play it the way she does, tricky because its an altered tuning, but worth persevering I think. God bless you, Janis Ian.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Sermon - Micah 5.2-5a
Micah 5.2-5a
Advent 4 – 20th December 2009
Introduction – Prophet and Loss
Through this Advent season we’ve been reading some of the OT prophets. Perhaps we should have heeded the warning of Martin Luther, who famously wrote of the prophets:
They have a queer way of talking, like people who, instead of proceeding in an orderly manner, ramble off from one thing to the next, so that you cannot make head or tail of them or see what they are getting at.
Fair comment! But the prophets were also extraordinary visionaries and their books give us unique insights into the human condition and the trajectory of history, insights which point clearly towards later developments in the New Testament and beyond.
Today is the turn of Micah, another prophet who sees beyond the chaos, confusion and hopelessness of exile to a time of restoration and renewal. The passage we are looking at reads like a riddle and contains a remarkable triple movement with regard to hope.
1. Hope concentrated
In the first of these movements, there is a concentration of hope. What do I mean by this? The fears and dreams of any group of people are pretty diverse – take us for example - and Micah’s fellow Jews were no exception. Most people were deeply fearful of the military threat and aware of their nation’s weakness compared to its neighbours. But within this general sense of forboding there was a variety of explanations and concerns. There was a lack of strong political leadership, there was a morally bankrupt religious leadership, a broken relationship with God. There was also great inequality in society, with some living in extreme poverty and hunger, others exploiting the situation and living very comfortably.
For some, the answer would be in the formation of an alliance with a neighbouring country, for others the need was for a strong king in the line of David, for others only a religious revival and purification would do. What we find in Micah 5 is a pulling together of these fears and dreams, a concentration or focusing of hope; firstly into a single place and secondly a specific person.
The place in which hope is focused is Bethlehem (‘the house of bread’), a small and insignificant place and yet also the birthplace of King David. Verse 2 prophecies that Bethlehem will be the place from which rescue and salvation will come and this hope is focused in a greater ruler than David, also born in Bethlehem but someone whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. The birth of this ruler will be a signal that the abandonment of Israel is coming to end and will be the beginning of a dramatic change of fortune. He will have the qualities of king and shepherd and under his reign God’s people will live in peace and security.
The birth of a child and the election of a new political leader are always a reason for hope, but this individual will be unique. All the different hopes of Israel are to be concentrated in this one person and nothing will ever be the same again after his coming.
2. Hope widened
At the same time as hope is concentrated into the prophesied coming of a single person, it is also widened in a surprising way. In verse 3 we are told that his coming will bring about the return of the rest of his brothers to join the Israelites. And in verse 4 that his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
This is a highly significant development because although the OT contains many hints of God’s wider concerns and plans, the OT writers for the most part seem to view the God of Israel as a tribal God, just a more powerful one than the tribal Gods of other nations.
In Micah 5 we have a universalizing of the hope of Israel to become the hope of the nations, the hope of all people and all peoples. The coming ruler, the shepherd-king, will not have a flock consisting only of Israel. He will bring home into his flock all of his brothers and sisters from around the world. This of course has implications for how they should treat their ‘enemies’, implications which will become clearer in the teaching of Jesus.
3. Hope deepened
As well as the concentration of hope into a prophecy of a single person from Bethlehem and the widening of that hope to include all people, Micah also encourages a deepening of hope. To pick this up, we have to pay careful attention to the language he uses.
We have already noticed in verse 2 that the origins of this coming Saviour are from of old, from ancient times, and in verse 4 we read that He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
This is the riddle which Micah presents to his readers, without knowing the answer himself. How can a human being have such ancient origins and how can he act with the strength of God and in the majesty of God’s name?
An even stronger signal comes at the end of our reading, verse 5:
And he will be their peace…
Not he will bring peace or secure peace for them, but he will be their peace. And this is a far deeper peace than the mere absence of conflict. The word translated ‘peace’ is actually the much richer Hebrew word ‘shalom’ – wholeness, security, wellbeing, completeness – these qualities will be embodied in this messiah, this shepherd king, this saviour of all the world. This shalom will be made available to all people through him, healing the deepest wounds of humanity, dispelling the deepest darkness with His perfect life.
4. Living in hope
In Micah we see the hope of Israel becoming concentrated into a single person, widened to include all people and deepened to deal with the deepest needs of humanity and of each individual person. As Christians it is easy to see this hope fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but we should also allow these verses to challenge our understanding of Jesus and our level of engagement with him. What God asks us to do may well run against what society expects and against our natural inclinations.
• When I studied Investment as part of my banking diploma one of the most important principles I learned was that you should spread your risk – don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as the saying goes. But this is precisely what the Bible teaches us to do – put all our hope in Christ alone. To do this may be against our instinct and against our personal interests, but it is what we need to do if we are to flourish as Christians, to experience ‘shalom’ and to share it with others.
• How wide is our vision of God’s mercy? Do we think it is just for a few or for everyone? What Micah and Isaiah and the other prophets prophesied, Jesus made a reality, blasting open the gates of the kingdom and inviting everyone in. In the book of Acts we see the apostles living out the implications of this and spreading the gospel far and wide. We need to share that vision and continue that work. How tragic it is when the church restricts the wideness of God’s mercy.
• How deep is the hope we have in Christ? Are we happy to keep it as a fairly superficial lifestyle choice or do we see and hope for the depth of transformation which is needed in ourselves and in our society?
Advent 4 – 20th December 2009
Introduction – Prophet and Loss
Through this Advent season we’ve been reading some of the OT prophets. Perhaps we should have heeded the warning of Martin Luther, who famously wrote of the prophets:
They have a queer way of talking, like people who, instead of proceeding in an orderly manner, ramble off from one thing to the next, so that you cannot make head or tail of them or see what they are getting at.
Fair comment! But the prophets were also extraordinary visionaries and their books give us unique insights into the human condition and the trajectory of history, insights which point clearly towards later developments in the New Testament and beyond.
Today is the turn of Micah, another prophet who sees beyond the chaos, confusion and hopelessness of exile to a time of restoration and renewal. The passage we are looking at reads like a riddle and contains a remarkable triple movement with regard to hope.
1. Hope concentrated
In the first of these movements, there is a concentration of hope. What do I mean by this? The fears and dreams of any group of people are pretty diverse – take us for example - and Micah’s fellow Jews were no exception. Most people were deeply fearful of the military threat and aware of their nation’s weakness compared to its neighbours. But within this general sense of forboding there was a variety of explanations and concerns. There was a lack of strong political leadership, there was a morally bankrupt religious leadership, a broken relationship with God. There was also great inequality in society, with some living in extreme poverty and hunger, others exploiting the situation and living very comfortably.
For some, the answer would be in the formation of an alliance with a neighbouring country, for others the need was for a strong king in the line of David, for others only a religious revival and purification would do. What we find in Micah 5 is a pulling together of these fears and dreams, a concentration or focusing of hope; firstly into a single place and secondly a specific person.
The place in which hope is focused is Bethlehem (‘the house of bread’), a small and insignificant place and yet also the birthplace of King David. Verse 2 prophecies that Bethlehem will be the place from which rescue and salvation will come and this hope is focused in a greater ruler than David, also born in Bethlehem but someone whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. The birth of this ruler will be a signal that the abandonment of Israel is coming to end and will be the beginning of a dramatic change of fortune. He will have the qualities of king and shepherd and under his reign God’s people will live in peace and security.
The birth of a child and the election of a new political leader are always a reason for hope, but this individual will be unique. All the different hopes of Israel are to be concentrated in this one person and nothing will ever be the same again after his coming.
2. Hope widened
At the same time as hope is concentrated into the prophesied coming of a single person, it is also widened in a surprising way. In verse 3 we are told that his coming will bring about the return of the rest of his brothers to join the Israelites. And in verse 4 that his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
This is a highly significant development because although the OT contains many hints of God’s wider concerns and plans, the OT writers for the most part seem to view the God of Israel as a tribal God, just a more powerful one than the tribal Gods of other nations.
In Micah 5 we have a universalizing of the hope of Israel to become the hope of the nations, the hope of all people and all peoples. The coming ruler, the shepherd-king, will not have a flock consisting only of Israel. He will bring home into his flock all of his brothers and sisters from around the world. This of course has implications for how they should treat their ‘enemies’, implications which will become clearer in the teaching of Jesus.
3. Hope deepened
As well as the concentration of hope into a prophecy of a single person from Bethlehem and the widening of that hope to include all people, Micah also encourages a deepening of hope. To pick this up, we have to pay careful attention to the language he uses.
We have already noticed in verse 2 that the origins of this coming Saviour are from of old, from ancient times, and in verse 4 we read that He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
This is the riddle which Micah presents to his readers, without knowing the answer himself. How can a human being have such ancient origins and how can he act with the strength of God and in the majesty of God’s name?
An even stronger signal comes at the end of our reading, verse 5:
And he will be their peace…
Not he will bring peace or secure peace for them, but he will be their peace. And this is a far deeper peace than the mere absence of conflict. The word translated ‘peace’ is actually the much richer Hebrew word ‘shalom’ – wholeness, security, wellbeing, completeness – these qualities will be embodied in this messiah, this shepherd king, this saviour of all the world. This shalom will be made available to all people through him, healing the deepest wounds of humanity, dispelling the deepest darkness with His perfect life.
4. Living in hope
In Micah we see the hope of Israel becoming concentrated into a single person, widened to include all people and deepened to deal with the deepest needs of humanity and of each individual person. As Christians it is easy to see this hope fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but we should also allow these verses to challenge our understanding of Jesus and our level of engagement with him. What God asks us to do may well run against what society expects and against our natural inclinations.
• When I studied Investment as part of my banking diploma one of the most important principles I learned was that you should spread your risk – don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as the saying goes. But this is precisely what the Bible teaches us to do – put all our hope in Christ alone. To do this may be against our instinct and against our personal interests, but it is what we need to do if we are to flourish as Christians, to experience ‘shalom’ and to share it with others.
• How wide is our vision of God’s mercy? Do we think it is just for a few or for everyone? What Micah and Isaiah and the other prophets prophesied, Jesus made a reality, blasting open the gates of the kingdom and inviting everyone in. In the book of Acts we see the apostles living out the implications of this and spreading the gospel far and wide. We need to share that vision and continue that work. How tragic it is when the church restricts the wideness of God’s mercy.
• How deep is the hope we have in Christ? Are we happy to keep it as a fairly superficial lifestyle choice or do we see and hope for the depth of transformation which is needed in ourselves and in our society?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Short Sermon - Philippians 4.4-7
Philippians 4.4-7
Advent 3 – Rejoice in the Lord always!
The season to be merry is almost upon us …
Our Bible reading catches the theme
Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: rejoice! (4.4)
None of us want to be party poopers, but all this celebrating and rejoicing can sometimes feel a bit hollow and shortlived and escapist. What do we actually have to rejoice about?
The teaching of the New Testament is that we have a great deal to rejoice about – summed up in four words at the end of verse 4 –
The Lord is near.
This is the GOOD NEWS in a nutshell. God is not non-existent, as many people think, nor is he some distant angry judge, stamping around above the clouds, getting madder and madder with what he sees until one day he’s going to destroy the whole sorry mess… No! God is near – in fact God is with us as we see through the Christmas story and beyond.
This is something to rejoice about, however bleak circumstances are, however long it seems we are having to wait for the coming of the Lord. The message is that we are not hated or forgotten by God, neither is the world out of control. The Lord is near, the Lord to whom one day ‘every knee will bow’ (2.10)
How should we respond?
Verses 5 and 6 show us how to respond to the nearness of the Lord – with gentleness (compassion might be a better translation), thankfulness and a lack of anxiety.
COMPASSION for others should be the hallmark of every Christian’s life because we are no different from anyone else, all of us are beneficiaries of God’s amazing grace.
THANKFULNESS means seeing life in the context of God’s loving care and provision; past, present and future.
ANXIETY may of course be perfectly reasonable at times, but it can also be unhealthy and destructive. The advertising industry, the press and the media all know what makes people tick and sometimes promote anxiety for their own ends.
Waiting
Paul promises that if we reject worldly anxiety and demonstrate in our prayers and our actions the qualities of thankfulness and compassion which reflect God’s heart and God’s priorities, our reward will be that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
It is in this attitude of thankful, prayerful, generous hope that we wait for the coming of our Lord and the fulfillment of his promises.
Advent 3 – Rejoice in the Lord always!
The season to be merry is almost upon us …
Our Bible reading catches the theme
Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: rejoice! (4.4)
None of us want to be party poopers, but all this celebrating and rejoicing can sometimes feel a bit hollow and shortlived and escapist. What do we actually have to rejoice about?
The teaching of the New Testament is that we have a great deal to rejoice about – summed up in four words at the end of verse 4 –
The Lord is near.
This is the GOOD NEWS in a nutshell. God is not non-existent, as many people think, nor is he some distant angry judge, stamping around above the clouds, getting madder and madder with what he sees until one day he’s going to destroy the whole sorry mess… No! God is near – in fact God is with us as we see through the Christmas story and beyond.
This is something to rejoice about, however bleak circumstances are, however long it seems we are having to wait for the coming of the Lord. The message is that we are not hated or forgotten by God, neither is the world out of control. The Lord is near, the Lord to whom one day ‘every knee will bow’ (2.10)
How should we respond?
Verses 5 and 6 show us how to respond to the nearness of the Lord – with gentleness (compassion might be a better translation), thankfulness and a lack of anxiety.
COMPASSION for others should be the hallmark of every Christian’s life because we are no different from anyone else, all of us are beneficiaries of God’s amazing grace.
THANKFULNESS means seeing life in the context of God’s loving care and provision; past, present and future.
ANXIETY may of course be perfectly reasonable at times, but it can also be unhealthy and destructive. The advertising industry, the press and the media all know what makes people tick and sometimes promote anxiety for their own ends.
Waiting
Paul promises that if we reject worldly anxiety and demonstrate in our prayers and our actions the qualities of thankfulness and compassion which reflect God’s heart and God’s priorities, our reward will be that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
It is in this attitude of thankful, prayerful, generous hope that we wait for the coming of our Lord and the fulfillment of his promises.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Malachi and John the Baptist - Advent Bible Study
Malachi 3.1-4 and Luke 3.2-20
This week’s readings focus on our preparations for the coming of the Lord. We think about the words of two prophets, who lived 400-500 years apart.
First we look at Malachi 3.1-4
Malachi was probably a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah and his prophecies are addressed to the Jewish people who had been allowed to return from exile in Babylon. From the focus of his prophecies it seems that although they were very religious, their religion was only skin deep. At heart they were self-centred and corrupt.
Q1 Why do people go through the motions of participating in a religion, without having any real commitment at heart? Have you ever been in this position yourself?
Q2 What two predictions does Malachi make in 3.1? What is the identity of the two people referred to in this prophecy?
Q3 Comparing verses 1 and 2, it seems the people wanted God to come to them but were quite unprepared for his coming. What do the images of refiner’s fire and launderer’s soap teach us to expect when we encounter God? Is this something we should desire or run away from?
Q4 What do you know about the Levites? Why does the prophet single them out here in verse 3? Who are the equivalent of the Levites today?
Now let’s turn to Luke’s gospel. The writer clearly sees John the Baptist as fulfilling Malachi’s (and Isaiah’s) prophecies of someone who would prepare the way for the incarnation, for the coming of God in human form (Luke 1.17, 1.76).
Now we read Luke 3.2-6
Q5 What prompted John to begin his ministry? The core of his message is in verse 3. How would you express this in your own words?
Now we read Luke 3.7-9
Q6 Why did John speak so harshly to these people who were coming to him seeking baptism?
Q7 What do you make of the references to Abraham’s children in verse 8?
Q8 How does verse 9 fit in with your understanding of judgement? Are we judged for our beliefs or our actions? Is this fire a destroying or a refining fire?
Next we look at verses 10 to 14
Q9 How do the examples John gives here relate to the biblical concept of justice, which we discussed in last week’s study on Jeremiah? What examples might he use if he were speaking today, to people like us?
Finally we read verses 15 to 20
Q10 Why did some people think John might be the Messiah?
Q11 What is ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire’ all about? Who or what is to be burned with unquenchable fire? Is this ‘good news’ or bad news?
Q12 What was the result of John’s ministry of fearless truthtelling? Are there any particular lessons you can learn from him?
This week’s readings focus on our preparations for the coming of the Lord. We think about the words of two prophets, who lived 400-500 years apart.
First we look at Malachi 3.1-4
Malachi was probably a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah and his prophecies are addressed to the Jewish people who had been allowed to return from exile in Babylon. From the focus of his prophecies it seems that although they were very religious, their religion was only skin deep. At heart they were self-centred and corrupt.
Q1 Why do people go through the motions of participating in a religion, without having any real commitment at heart? Have you ever been in this position yourself?
Q2 What two predictions does Malachi make in 3.1? What is the identity of the two people referred to in this prophecy?
Q3 Comparing verses 1 and 2, it seems the people wanted God to come to them but were quite unprepared for his coming. What do the images of refiner’s fire and launderer’s soap teach us to expect when we encounter God? Is this something we should desire or run away from?
Q4 What do you know about the Levites? Why does the prophet single them out here in verse 3? Who are the equivalent of the Levites today?
Now let’s turn to Luke’s gospel. The writer clearly sees John the Baptist as fulfilling Malachi’s (and Isaiah’s) prophecies of someone who would prepare the way for the incarnation, for the coming of God in human form (Luke 1.17, 1.76).
Now we read Luke 3.2-6
Q5 What prompted John to begin his ministry? The core of his message is in verse 3. How would you express this in your own words?
Now we read Luke 3.7-9
Q6 Why did John speak so harshly to these people who were coming to him seeking baptism?
Q7 What do you make of the references to Abraham’s children in verse 8?
Q8 How does verse 9 fit in with your understanding of judgement? Are we judged for our beliefs or our actions? Is this fire a destroying or a refining fire?
Next we look at verses 10 to 14
Q9 How do the examples John gives here relate to the biblical concept of justice, which we discussed in last week’s study on Jeremiah? What examples might he use if he were speaking today, to people like us?
Finally we read verses 15 to 20
Q10 Why did some people think John might be the Messiah?
Q11 What is ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire’ all about? Who or what is to be burned with unquenchable fire? Is this ‘good news’ or bad news?
Q12 What was the result of John’s ministry of fearless truthtelling? Are there any particular lessons you can learn from him?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sermon - Malachi and John the Baptist
Luke 3.2-20 and Malachi 3.1-4
Advent 2, December 6th 2009
Malachi
Last week we looked at Jeremiah, the great prophet of doom and destruction who ended up bringing an extraordinary message of hope. Today we start with the final OT prophet, Malachi.
Malachi wrote 400 or 500 years before the birth of Jesus, to the Jewish people who had returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. On the outside they were pretty religious; attending the right ceremonies, reciting the right words - but on the inside their commitment was to themselves rather than to God. This showed in corrupt behaviour, dishonesty and cruel treatment of the poor.
Malachi warned that God could see through their superficial religion and predicted that things would be put right through the intervention of two people:-
‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 3.1
1. a messenger – perhaps a return of Elijah himself (4.5) – whose responsibility would be to prepare the way and prepare the people’s hearts for…
2. the Lord himself whom they –at least in their words – were seeking and hoping for.
But when this happened, when their prayer was answered, the people would get more than they had bargained for:-
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites (that is, the priestly tribe of the day) and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness…
Malachi 3.2-3
A deep inner change is necessary if people are to live lives which please God and God will come in person to bring about this change:-
‘So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 3.5
Malachi warns his people, especially the priestly tribe, those who are supposed to be representing God, that God can see their hearts – and that God alone can purify them.
John the Baptizer
Then just at the right moment in history, John comes – the messenger to prepare the way for God, for Jesus the Messiah, the Christ. John preaches the need for a baptism of repentance – a turning away from all that is wrong and a symbolic washing clean so that new life can begin. Crowds of people respond and meet him in the wilderness by the river Jordan.
You’d think he would be pleased to see them but, no:-
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (v7)
Not the friendliest greeting from a preacher to his congregation! John’s concern is that their repentance is real, that they are not just going through the motions in responding to his call. So he challenges them to:-
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (v8)
Show that you mean it, by living the way people live when they are truly committed to the ways of God, not just pretending or going through the motions. They ask him for some examples of how they should be living and he gives several:-
• To the rich – anyone with more than enough clothing or food – he says ‘share it with those who don’t have anything.’ In short BE GENEROUS and unselfish.
• Even tax collectors came to be baptized – ‘don’t collect more money than you are required to’ he says, ‘don’t line your pockets by conning people’. BE HONEST and trustworthy.
• Some Roman soldiers even came to be baptized. What should they do to show they were genuine? ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely - be content with your pay.’ BE GENTLE and DON’T ABUSE POWER
These are not rules to follow so you can earn God’s approval, they are examples representing an attitude of heart which matches God’s heart. His heart which is love and justice and righteousness.
Let’s just pause for these examples to sink in and challenge us, because they apply to us too. The same things that were going on in Malachi’s day and in John’s day are still going on now. We all look like good Christian people but are we really showing the fruit of repentance in every part of our lives? Are we consistently gentle, honest and generous? Are we showing fruit that comes from a heart which belongs to God.
JOHN asks some penetrating questions and people ask him ‘So.. are you the Messiah?’
‘No I’m not’ he replies, but don’t take this lightly because I’m the one sent to prepare the way for the Messiah – for God himself in human form.’
‘You can fool me – but you can’t fool the one who is coming soon…’
Appearances can deceive
The outward appearance of something or somebody is relatively easy to change, but to please God we need a change of heart. Linda and Ernest, Godparents, this morning you have promised to bring little Precious up as a member of the Christian faith. How easy is it? We can improve our building, redesign our website, run some courses and start discipleship groups and home groups. We can baptize our children and praise God and preach and listen to sermons. We can do all these things really well and on the outside everything looks great - but unless we are really prepared to yield our hearts to God’s control, to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, all these things will just be an empty shell. My aim here isn’t to make you feel guilty but to highlight the fact that we need to recognise where we fall short, where we need to improve, and trust that if we open our hearts, God will help us. Linda, Ernest, Godparents, bringing children up to love and follow God isn’t easy. You can’t do it on your own; no-one could. But with God’s help, you can.
Christian commitment is not just about coming to the right church, saying the right prayers and receiving a heavenly ‘get out of jail card’. It is about our need to be set free and transformed on the inside, which results in a way of life which pleases and glorifies God.
It comes down to a question of trust. Who do I trust most, myself or God? God promises through Malachi:-
Return to me, and I will return to you Malachi 3.7
In Jesus we see God, a God who is completely trustworthy and who wants to heal and be reconciled with all his creatures, to set things right, to make things new.
This Jesus is coming again soon. Let’s prepare the way for him and commit ourselves to him and to his mission.
Advent 2, December 6th 2009
Malachi
Last week we looked at Jeremiah, the great prophet of doom and destruction who ended up bringing an extraordinary message of hope. Today we start with the final OT prophet, Malachi.
Malachi wrote 400 or 500 years before the birth of Jesus, to the Jewish people who had returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. On the outside they were pretty religious; attending the right ceremonies, reciting the right words - but on the inside their commitment was to themselves rather than to God. This showed in corrupt behaviour, dishonesty and cruel treatment of the poor.
Malachi warned that God could see through their superficial religion and predicted that things would be put right through the intervention of two people:-
‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 3.1
1. a messenger – perhaps a return of Elijah himself (4.5) – whose responsibility would be to prepare the way and prepare the people’s hearts for…
2. the Lord himself whom they –at least in their words – were seeking and hoping for.
But when this happened, when their prayer was answered, the people would get more than they had bargained for:-
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites (that is, the priestly tribe of the day) and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness…
Malachi 3.2-3
A deep inner change is necessary if people are to live lives which please God and God will come in person to bring about this change:-
‘So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 3.5
Malachi warns his people, especially the priestly tribe, those who are supposed to be representing God, that God can see their hearts – and that God alone can purify them.
John the Baptizer
Then just at the right moment in history, John comes – the messenger to prepare the way for God, for Jesus the Messiah, the Christ. John preaches the need for a baptism of repentance – a turning away from all that is wrong and a symbolic washing clean so that new life can begin. Crowds of people respond and meet him in the wilderness by the river Jordan.
You’d think he would be pleased to see them but, no:-
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (v7)
Not the friendliest greeting from a preacher to his congregation! John’s concern is that their repentance is real, that they are not just going through the motions in responding to his call. So he challenges them to:-
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (v8)
Show that you mean it, by living the way people live when they are truly committed to the ways of God, not just pretending or going through the motions. They ask him for some examples of how they should be living and he gives several:-
• To the rich – anyone with more than enough clothing or food – he says ‘share it with those who don’t have anything.’ In short BE GENEROUS and unselfish.
• Even tax collectors came to be baptized – ‘don’t collect more money than you are required to’ he says, ‘don’t line your pockets by conning people’. BE HONEST and trustworthy.
• Some Roman soldiers even came to be baptized. What should they do to show they were genuine? ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely - be content with your pay.’ BE GENTLE and DON’T ABUSE POWER
These are not rules to follow so you can earn God’s approval, they are examples representing an attitude of heart which matches God’s heart. His heart which is love and justice and righteousness.
Let’s just pause for these examples to sink in and challenge us, because they apply to us too. The same things that were going on in Malachi’s day and in John’s day are still going on now. We all look like good Christian people but are we really showing the fruit of repentance in every part of our lives? Are we consistently gentle, honest and generous? Are we showing fruit that comes from a heart which belongs to God.
JOHN asks some penetrating questions and people ask him ‘So.. are you the Messiah?’
‘No I’m not’ he replies, but don’t take this lightly because I’m the one sent to prepare the way for the Messiah – for God himself in human form.’
‘You can fool me – but you can’t fool the one who is coming soon…’
Appearances can deceive
The outward appearance of something or somebody is relatively easy to change, but to please God we need a change of heart. Linda and Ernest, Godparents, this morning you have promised to bring little Precious up as a member of the Christian faith. How easy is it? We can improve our building, redesign our website, run some courses and start discipleship groups and home groups. We can baptize our children and praise God and preach and listen to sermons. We can do all these things really well and on the outside everything looks great - but unless we are really prepared to yield our hearts to God’s control, to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, all these things will just be an empty shell. My aim here isn’t to make you feel guilty but to highlight the fact that we need to recognise where we fall short, where we need to improve, and trust that if we open our hearts, God will help us. Linda, Ernest, Godparents, bringing children up to love and follow God isn’t easy. You can’t do it on your own; no-one could. But with God’s help, you can.
Christian commitment is not just about coming to the right church, saying the right prayers and receiving a heavenly ‘get out of jail card’. It is about our need to be set free and transformed on the inside, which results in a way of life which pleases and glorifies God.
It comes down to a question of trust. Who do I trust most, myself or God? God promises through Malachi:-
Return to me, and I will return to you Malachi 3.7
In Jesus we see God, a God who is completely trustworthy and who wants to heal and be reconciled with all his creatures, to set things right, to make things new.
This Jesus is coming again soon. Let’s prepare the way for him and commit ourselves to him and to his mission.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thought for the day
When things are going well and looking good I go back to Eugene Peterson's 'The Contemplative Pastor' for a reminder of why I'm here. Here's a flavour:-
"How can I keep from settling into the salary and benefits of a checkout clerk in a store for religious consumers? How can I avoid a metamorphosis from the holy vocation of pastor into a promising career in religious sales?"
Don't let me do it folks - keep me on my knees!
"How can I keep from settling into the salary and benefits of a checkout clerk in a store for religious consumers? How can I avoid a metamorphosis from the holy vocation of pastor into a promising career in religious sales?"
Don't let me do it folks - keep me on my knees!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
New St George's website launched!
Phil, Juliana, Ola and all at digitalHappy - you have done a fantastic job. Thank you so much. Take a bow. :)
www.st-georges-church.com
www.st-georges-church.com
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Advent Bible Study - Jeremiah 33.10-16
Jeremiah 33.10-16 – Bible Study
Jeremiah is known as the prophet of doom and gloom. His name is synonymous with miserable, critical pessimism.
Yet late in his active life, God gave him a new message – a message of hope and forgiveness and restoration to come after the period of exile. Chapters 31 to 33 of Jeremiah contain some of the most encouraging passages in the whole of the Old Testament!
Ironically, this change in Jeremiah’s mission happened during the siege of Jerusalem, just when people were beginning to realize his prophecies of doom had been correct.
Q1 Can you think of a time when you had to give somebody a warning that unless they changed their ways they were heading for serious trouble? How did this make you feel? Was your warning heeded?
Q2 The siege of Jerusalem had gone on for about a year and a half. What do you know about sieges? What would conditions have been like?
(Lamentations 4.4-10, traditionally by Jeremiah, gives an idea).
Read Jeremiah 33.10-11
Q3 In his prediction of a return of joy and gladness to Jerusalem and Judah, Jeremiah refers to weddings and worship? What is so powerful about these images? What kind of faith and hope do we express in wedding celebrations and in worship?
Jeremiah had of course previously predicted an end to wedding joy in 7.34, 16.9 and 25.10.
Q4 What other action expressing confidence in the future did Jeremiah carry out in Chapter 32?
He now goes on to give another powerful example of the coming transformation.
Read verses 33.12-14
Q5 How do these verses add to the picture of restoration? How do they encourage hope? Is there an echo of Psalm 23 here?
Q6 What promise is God referring to in verse 14? (See also verse 17 and 2Samuel 7.16). How does this relate to Psalm 72, which we looked at a few weeks ago in the study of Christ the King?
Now read Jeremiah 33.15-16
Q7 Who is the righteous Branch in verse 15? Would your answer be different if you were Jewish and not a Christian?
Q8 What qualities will characterize the reign of this ‘righteous Branch’? Do we see the fulfillment of this promise now, or will it come in the future?
Finally a couple of general questions
Q9 What kept Jeremiah going through 40 years of extremely unpopular prophecy? Is unpopularity a virtue?
Q10 Are we open to the possibility of receiving a change of direction and a new mission from God after many years of heading in the same direction? How can we stay tuned in and make sure we don’t miss the call?
Jeremiah is known as the prophet of doom and gloom. His name is synonymous with miserable, critical pessimism.
Yet late in his active life, God gave him a new message – a message of hope and forgiveness and restoration to come after the period of exile. Chapters 31 to 33 of Jeremiah contain some of the most encouraging passages in the whole of the Old Testament!
Ironically, this change in Jeremiah’s mission happened during the siege of Jerusalem, just when people were beginning to realize his prophecies of doom had been correct.
Q1 Can you think of a time when you had to give somebody a warning that unless they changed their ways they were heading for serious trouble? How did this make you feel? Was your warning heeded?
Q2 The siege of Jerusalem had gone on for about a year and a half. What do you know about sieges? What would conditions have been like?
(Lamentations 4.4-10, traditionally by Jeremiah, gives an idea).
Read Jeremiah 33.10-11
Q3 In his prediction of a return of joy and gladness to Jerusalem and Judah, Jeremiah refers to weddings and worship? What is so powerful about these images? What kind of faith and hope do we express in wedding celebrations and in worship?
Jeremiah had of course previously predicted an end to wedding joy in 7.34, 16.9 and 25.10.
Q4 What other action expressing confidence in the future did Jeremiah carry out in Chapter 32?
He now goes on to give another powerful example of the coming transformation.
Read verses 33.12-14
Q5 How do these verses add to the picture of restoration? How do they encourage hope? Is there an echo of Psalm 23 here?
Q6 What promise is God referring to in verse 14? (See also verse 17 and 2Samuel 7.16). How does this relate to Psalm 72, which we looked at a few weeks ago in the study of Christ the King?
Now read Jeremiah 33.15-16
Q7 Who is the righteous Branch in verse 15? Would your answer be different if you were Jewish and not a Christian?
Q8 What qualities will characterize the reign of this ‘righteous Branch’? Do we see the fulfillment of this promise now, or will it come in the future?
Finally a couple of general questions
Q9 What kept Jeremiah going through 40 years of extremely unpopular prophecy? Is unpopularity a virtue?
Q10 Are we open to the possibility of receiving a change of direction and a new mission from God after many years of heading in the same direction? How can we stay tuned in and make sure we don’t miss the call?
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