Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Matthew 1 Sermon
Sermon outline – 19th Dec 2010
Advent 4 – Matthew 1.(1-17) 18-25
The Family Tree
• Strange way to start a book – not even a brief family history, just a list of ancestors. Not exactly gripping. If you sent it to a potential publisher they might not get past the first page. And maybe this is why we usually give one of the other gospels to new Christians rather than Matt?
• Temptation is to skip the genealogy or just glance at it and decide it is simply to prove Jesus’s ancestry confirms he is the Messiah. Just a list of Israel’s noble kings and other leaders right back to Abraham, right?
• Wrong! Actually all kinds of characters – good, bad and ugly – and full of important details, pointing towards some of biggest gospel themes.
• Let’s listen to four characters from J’s family tree telling their own stories:-
Tamar’s story
All I wanted was justice, but the family of my dead husband denied me my right to marry his youngest brother and continue the family line of Judah. They didn’t care what happened to me or what was written in their law. Maybe its because I was a foreigner, an Aramean. In my desperation I resorted to deceit, tricking my father-in-law into thinking I was a prostitute and getting pregnant by him. He would have had me burned to death if I hadn’t kept his signet ring. Then he had to admit he was more guilty than me. I’m not proud of what I did but don’t judge me. God has shown me mercy. The family line had to continue because God has revealed that one of my descendents will save the world, I don’t know how, but God will do it.
Rahab’s story
I had a hard early life in Jericho and I’m not proud of my first job, working on the streets. I’m ashamed to say that my door was open to any man but, incredibly, that’s how God found me. Some Israelite spies came to hide in my house and begged me to hide them. They had been seen, and word got to our King, who demanded I turn them over, because they were a threat to our country. But somehow I knew that their God was the one true God and I decided to risk everything and put my trust in that God. I helped the spies escape and, true to their word they came back and saved me and all my parents’ household. I married one of the Israelites and came to know and trust their God as well as anyone. Somehow I know that one of my descendents will be the greatest King the world has ever seen. I don’t know how, but God will do it.
Ruth’s story
I’m a Moabite but my husband was Jewish. My heart was broken when he died young, but it was even harder for his mother, who lost her husband and her other son as well, one after the other. She sent us home to our own people, me and my sister-in-law. But somehow I knew I had to stay with her and her people. I don’t know where the words came from, but I really said them “wherever you go, I shall go, wherever you live, I shall live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” I meant it, and God has helped me keep that promise.
I found a new husband from Naomi’s family, a good kind man, Boaz. His mother Rahab is a foreigner too. I like her a lot and she has this crazy idea that one of our descendants will be a great King. But how could that happen?
Bathsheba’s story
The answer to your question is “Yes”, I did deliberately use my charms to attract King David - it wasn’t just his fault. I cheated on my first husband, poor noble Uriah, and what I did led indirectly to his death and the death of the first child I bore David. I’m not proud of any of that. David’s confession is in your Bibles (Psalm 51). Mine is not, but I confessed too and was forgiven and healed by God. God only knows why he accepted me, after what I’d done, but if there’s hope for me, there’s hope for anybody. In God’s mercy I was able to have another son with David. And somehow I know that the Son of David will be the Saviour of the world.
• What’s the first thing you notice about these four characters from the family tree of Jesus? Yes – all women. Surprising in a Jewish family record which would only usually name the men.
• Secondly at least two are definitely not Jewish (R and R), Tamar was probably not Jewish and Bathsheba was first married to a non-Jew. Again very surprising in a Jewish family history.
• Thirdly, a mixed group of saints and sinners. All changed history and furthered God’s plan through their intelligence and bravery, but apart from Ruth, they all had serious flaws too. Rahab worked as a prostitute, Tamar, in her quest for justice, deceived and slept with her Father-in-Law, Bathsheba probably deliberately courted the King’s attention and certainly committed adultery with him, while her noble husband was away fighting in the war.
• Matthew’s family tree of Joseph, the family into which Jesus was adopted, does not consist of a line of perfect, holy people, but flawed people – we’d see this even more clearly if we went through all the men too – murderers, liars, cheats and cowards, foreigners, outsiders and losers … so there is hope for us all, for the whole human race.
Joseph the bit-part player?
And what about Joseph, who speaks not a word in our Bibles and even in Nativity plays is usually no more than a walk on, walk off part, a strong, silent, rather docile type. But is this the right way to think about Joseph?
In Matthew’s eyes he is actually the main player in the story. Let’s hear it from Joseph himself:-
Joseph’s story
So as if it wasn’t bad enough growing up as an ordinary kid with a ‘royal’ family name – being teased; ‘King of the Planks’ they called me at carpentry school – this Mary, this young virgin my parents had chosen as a wife for me, got herself pregnant before I’d even been anywhere near her. Your Bibles might say I ‘considered’ this before deciding what to do, but that’s a poor translation of enthymeomai ; it should say I was angry and distressed about it. It was a disgrace
and I was fuming! … I know what people were all thinking and I could hear the sniggers behind my back.
I’d have been perfectly within my rights to have her stoned to death – Deuteronomy 22.24, you can look it up – and that’s what everybody thought I should do.
But I couldn’t do it. And something told me God didn’t want me to harm the girl. You know which Bible stories I enjoyed most when I was growing up? The Servant Songs of Isaiah. You’ve heard them;
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”
I guess that’s the God I’ve always believed in. A God who doesn’t stone the guilty… he saves them. His justice is healing, not punishment.
So I found a loophole in the Law allowing me to just divorce the girl quietly by writing out a certificate (Deuteronomy 24.1!) and that’s what I decided to do. Not a perfect solution but at least she’d survive, probably.
Then I had a dream straight from God, I’m absolutely certain it was. And then I knew … everything. Mary’s not even guilty, the Father of the child is not some stranger, but God. And I don’t have to be afraid. I know what I have to do. This is my destiny. I must love and protect and nurture them both. I must adopt this child as my own, into the family line of my ancestors Abraham and David – God hadn’t forgotten them after all. I must name the boy Jesus, which means “He Saves”. And I don’t know how he’ll do it but he will save them, everybody.
Conclusion
And so Joseph the bit-part player turns out to be an incredibly important player in the story of salvation. And what an example he sets for his adopted son and for those who will believe in him.
In humble circumstances yet of noble blood Joseph displays his nobility not by a show of power or an angry demand for his legal rights, but by showing mercy and living by faith in God’s promise. The words he then hears from God defy all logic, all evidence and yet he turns away from the cultural prejudice of his day and walks by faith.
The lives of Mary and Jesus are saved by the choices Joseph makes – the marriage, the adoption. Painful, difficult and unselfish choices which paved the way for the salvation of us all and our adoption into God’s family, God’s people.
What a plan! What a God!
Advent 4 – Matthew 1.(1-17) 18-25
The Family Tree
• Strange way to start a book – not even a brief family history, just a list of ancestors. Not exactly gripping. If you sent it to a potential publisher they might not get past the first page. And maybe this is why we usually give one of the other gospels to new Christians rather than Matt?
• Temptation is to skip the genealogy or just glance at it and decide it is simply to prove Jesus’s ancestry confirms he is the Messiah. Just a list of Israel’s noble kings and other leaders right back to Abraham, right?
• Wrong! Actually all kinds of characters – good, bad and ugly – and full of important details, pointing towards some of biggest gospel themes.
• Let’s listen to four characters from J’s family tree telling their own stories:-
Tamar’s story
All I wanted was justice, but the family of my dead husband denied me my right to marry his youngest brother and continue the family line of Judah. They didn’t care what happened to me or what was written in their law. Maybe its because I was a foreigner, an Aramean. In my desperation I resorted to deceit, tricking my father-in-law into thinking I was a prostitute and getting pregnant by him. He would have had me burned to death if I hadn’t kept his signet ring. Then he had to admit he was more guilty than me. I’m not proud of what I did but don’t judge me. God has shown me mercy. The family line had to continue because God has revealed that one of my descendents will save the world, I don’t know how, but God will do it.
Rahab’s story
I had a hard early life in Jericho and I’m not proud of my first job, working on the streets. I’m ashamed to say that my door was open to any man but, incredibly, that’s how God found me. Some Israelite spies came to hide in my house and begged me to hide them. They had been seen, and word got to our King, who demanded I turn them over, because they were a threat to our country. But somehow I knew that their God was the one true God and I decided to risk everything and put my trust in that God. I helped the spies escape and, true to their word they came back and saved me and all my parents’ household. I married one of the Israelites and came to know and trust their God as well as anyone. Somehow I know that one of my descendents will be the greatest King the world has ever seen. I don’t know how, but God will do it.
Ruth’s story
I’m a Moabite but my husband was Jewish. My heart was broken when he died young, but it was even harder for his mother, who lost her husband and her other son as well, one after the other. She sent us home to our own people, me and my sister-in-law. But somehow I knew I had to stay with her and her people. I don’t know where the words came from, but I really said them “wherever you go, I shall go, wherever you live, I shall live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” I meant it, and God has helped me keep that promise.
I found a new husband from Naomi’s family, a good kind man, Boaz. His mother Rahab is a foreigner too. I like her a lot and she has this crazy idea that one of our descendants will be a great King. But how could that happen?
Bathsheba’s story
The answer to your question is “Yes”, I did deliberately use my charms to attract King David - it wasn’t just his fault. I cheated on my first husband, poor noble Uriah, and what I did led indirectly to his death and the death of the first child I bore David. I’m not proud of any of that. David’s confession is in your Bibles (Psalm 51). Mine is not, but I confessed too and was forgiven and healed by God. God only knows why he accepted me, after what I’d done, but if there’s hope for me, there’s hope for anybody. In God’s mercy I was able to have another son with David. And somehow I know that the Son of David will be the Saviour of the world.
• What’s the first thing you notice about these four characters from the family tree of Jesus? Yes – all women. Surprising in a Jewish family record which would only usually name the men.
• Secondly at least two are definitely not Jewish (R and R), Tamar was probably not Jewish and Bathsheba was first married to a non-Jew. Again very surprising in a Jewish family history.
• Thirdly, a mixed group of saints and sinners. All changed history and furthered God’s plan through their intelligence and bravery, but apart from Ruth, they all had serious flaws too. Rahab worked as a prostitute, Tamar, in her quest for justice, deceived and slept with her Father-in-Law, Bathsheba probably deliberately courted the King’s attention and certainly committed adultery with him, while her noble husband was away fighting in the war.
• Matthew’s family tree of Joseph, the family into which Jesus was adopted, does not consist of a line of perfect, holy people, but flawed people – we’d see this even more clearly if we went through all the men too – murderers, liars, cheats and cowards, foreigners, outsiders and losers … so there is hope for us all, for the whole human race.
Joseph the bit-part player?
And what about Joseph, who speaks not a word in our Bibles and even in Nativity plays is usually no more than a walk on, walk off part, a strong, silent, rather docile type. But is this the right way to think about Joseph?
In Matthew’s eyes he is actually the main player in the story. Let’s hear it from Joseph himself:-
Joseph’s story
So as if it wasn’t bad enough growing up as an ordinary kid with a ‘royal’ family name – being teased; ‘King of the Planks’ they called me at carpentry school – this Mary, this young virgin my parents had chosen as a wife for me, got herself pregnant before I’d even been anywhere near her. Your Bibles might say I ‘considered’ this before deciding what to do, but that’s a poor translation of enthymeomai ; it should say I was angry and distressed about it. It was a disgrace
and I was fuming! … I know what people were all thinking and I could hear the sniggers behind my back.
I’d have been perfectly within my rights to have her stoned to death – Deuteronomy 22.24, you can look it up – and that’s what everybody thought I should do.
But I couldn’t do it. And something told me God didn’t want me to harm the girl. You know which Bible stories I enjoyed most when I was growing up? The Servant Songs of Isaiah. You’ve heard them;
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”
I guess that’s the God I’ve always believed in. A God who doesn’t stone the guilty… he saves them. His justice is healing, not punishment.
So I found a loophole in the Law allowing me to just divorce the girl quietly by writing out a certificate (Deuteronomy 24.1!) and that’s what I decided to do. Not a perfect solution but at least she’d survive, probably.
Then I had a dream straight from God, I’m absolutely certain it was. And then I knew … everything. Mary’s not even guilty, the Father of the child is not some stranger, but God. And I don’t have to be afraid. I know what I have to do. This is my destiny. I must love and protect and nurture them both. I must adopt this child as my own, into the family line of my ancestors Abraham and David – God hadn’t forgotten them after all. I must name the boy Jesus, which means “He Saves”. And I don’t know how he’ll do it but he will save them, everybody.
Conclusion
And so Joseph the bit-part player turns out to be an incredibly important player in the story of salvation. And what an example he sets for his adopted son and for those who will believe in him.
In humble circumstances yet of noble blood Joseph displays his nobility not by a show of power or an angry demand for his legal rights, but by showing mercy and living by faith in God’s promise. The words he then hears from God defy all logic, all evidence and yet he turns away from the cultural prejudice of his day and walks by faith.
The lives of Mary and Jesus are saved by the choices Joseph makes – the marriage, the adoption. Painful, difficult and unselfish choices which paved the way for the salvation of us all and our adoption into God’s family, God’s people.
What a plan! What a God!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Slowing down with Matthew and Hauerwas
Forced to slow down this week because of conjunctivitis and losing my voice. Ah well, not a bad thing. New year of church calendar has started and we concentrate on Matthew's gospel. Stanley Hauerwas is my guide, with his excellent SCM Theological Commentary. A book full of wisdom and humility which draws you deeper into the gospel's meaning. So, thankyou Professor Hauerwas, and thank you God for slowing me down!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Romans 13 Bible Study
Bible Study – Romans 13.8-14
Begin by having a look at the context of the passage within the ‘practical’ section of Romans which started at 12.1. From 12.9 Paul exhorts his readers to live a life of love and gives some specific instructions. In 13.1-7 he addresses the question of Christian attitudes to the (non-Christian) governing authorities. This leads him back to the subject of love in action from 13.8 onwards.
Bear in mind that chapter and verse divisions are a later invention and were not included by Paul, or any other Bible writer!
Now, read from 13.7 to 13.10 and respond to the following questions:-
Q1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of comparing Christian love to the payment of a debt or tax? How helpful do you find this metaphor?
Q2 What strikes you about the way Paul summarizes God’s commandments? Do you think people need a detailed code or just a general principle to follow?
Q3 What does it mean to you when Paul writes that love is the fulfilment of the law? How does this relate to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5.17-20?
Next, read Romans 13.11 to 13.14 and respond to the following questions:-
Q4 When Paul writes here about salvation, do you think he is referring to individual salvation or something bigger?
Q5 Why does Paul introduce a sense of urgency? How much urgency do you sense in our Church and in Christians generally today?
Q6 Writing to Christians, does it surprise you that Paul finds it necessary to give the warnings of verse 13? What relevance does ‘the sinful nature’ (v14) have to Christians?
Q7 From your experience, what does it mean to ‘clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ’ (v14) or to ‘put on the armour of light’ (v12)? How can we make sure our ‘wearing’ of Christ is not just a disguise or cover up?
Q8 What do you think are the most pressing needs for the Church and society, ‘understanding the present time’ (v11)? Do you think God’s priorities have changed since the time that Paul was writing?
Q9 Is there a particular way in which God is prompting or challenging you through this Bible passage?
Begin by having a look at the context of the passage within the ‘practical’ section of Romans which started at 12.1. From 12.9 Paul exhorts his readers to live a life of love and gives some specific instructions. In 13.1-7 he addresses the question of Christian attitudes to the (non-Christian) governing authorities. This leads him back to the subject of love in action from 13.8 onwards.
Bear in mind that chapter and verse divisions are a later invention and were not included by Paul, or any other Bible writer!
Now, read from 13.7 to 13.10 and respond to the following questions:-
Q1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of comparing Christian love to the payment of a debt or tax? How helpful do you find this metaphor?
Q2 What strikes you about the way Paul summarizes God’s commandments? Do you think people need a detailed code or just a general principle to follow?
Q3 What does it mean to you when Paul writes that love is the fulfilment of the law? How does this relate to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5.17-20?
Next, read Romans 13.11 to 13.14 and respond to the following questions:-
Q4 When Paul writes here about salvation, do you think he is referring to individual salvation or something bigger?
Q5 Why does Paul introduce a sense of urgency? How much urgency do you sense in our Church and in Christians generally today?
Q6 Writing to Christians, does it surprise you that Paul finds it necessary to give the warnings of verse 13? What relevance does ‘the sinful nature’ (v14) have to Christians?
Q7 From your experience, what does it mean to ‘clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ’ (v14) or to ‘put on the armour of light’ (v12)? How can we make sure our ‘wearing’ of Christ is not just a disguise or cover up?
Q8 What do you think are the most pressing needs for the Church and society, ‘understanding the present time’ (v11)? Do you think God’s priorities have changed since the time that Paul was writing?
Q9 Is there a particular way in which God is prompting or challenging you through this Bible passage?
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Advent Sermon 28th November 2010
Sermon outline 28th November 2010 Advent Sunday
Romans 13.11-14 (Matthew 24.36-44)
Pink Pyjamas
• During her last day or two in hospital Billie was wearing her favourite pink Pyjamas. This was a big improvement after the open backed hospital gown BUT when the time to come home finally came, B was anxious that I should take her some daytime clothes to wear. She’d have felt very embarrassed if she’d had to travel home in her pink Pyjamas!
• Most of you have also made the effort this morning – for which we are all grateful…
• Of course it is important that we are not just wearing “Christian clothing” but also living real Christian lives – living actively as gospel people, spreading the influence of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Dozy Christians
• Paul was writing to a Church full of dozy, half-asleep Christians. How do I know this? Because he writes “Understand what time it is! The hour has come for you to WAKE UP from your slumber!”
• If Paul were here this morning I wonder what he’d think of us? Might he think we are also half asleep? Might he cry out “Come on! The sun rose at 7am – half the day is gone! Look lively!” (If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?)
• This is not just because Paul had an active nature and hated seeing people laze around with no sense of urgency and no awareness of the needs of others... Paul was also aware that “the sinful nature” doesn’t disappear when you become a Christian. It hangs around and will try to regain control when the opportunity arises (eg when we are lazy, bored or complacent).
• He gives three pairs of examples:- carousing and drunkenness; sexual immorality and debauchery; dissension and jealousy. Maybe we can wave away the first two pairs (maybe) as unlikely to apply to us, but the third is more subtle (our enemy IS subtle).
• Our enemy is strong but Jesus is stronger and will protect his followers if they turn to him and wear him like a suit of armour. But we need to be honest with him – if we try to wear him like a disguise, to cover up who we really are, it doesn’t work:
• The Roman Christians were not an unusual case either. ALL OF US are prone to be dragged down from our calling into these typical sins – and we are especially vulnerable to this kind of fall at times when we are lazy, bored or complacent. Trust me – No, trust Jesus!
How are we Waiting?
• ADVENT is the season of waiting – waiting for Christmas and waiting for the return of Christ – and we may feel like singing the song “Why are we waiting?” or asking the question children often ask “How long do we have to wait?
• But according to Paul and Jesus these are the wrong questions. The question which we should be asking (and answering) is HOW are we waiting? Because there are different kinds of waiting.
• In ANXIETY like in a hospital bed or waiting room.
• In TERROR like a death row prisoner (Juan Melendez’s testimony in last week’s Church Times. See www.humanwrites.org).
• In COMPLACENCY – a particular danger for religious people who are certain they are right and others are wrong.
• In BOREDOM and RESENTMENT – a hopeless waste of a human life.
NONE of the above are true to the kind of waiting that Paul and Jesus want their followers to be engaged in. Christian waiting must always be coloured with hope, as the double meaning of the Spanish verb “esperar” suggests. I chose “Esperamos” as the name of my blog because it means we are hoping as well as we are waiting.
Waiters, good and bad
The English verb “to wait” also has a double meaning, one which might help us here. Some people “wait” as a job… waiters and waitresses (who has done this job?)
• We have all probably come across some really bad waiters and I’m sure we could share some funny stories about them – rude, unhelpful, clumsy, unaware of their customers and seemingly in a world of their own.
• If you get a bad waiter you might well decide you are never going back there again, even if the food was good.
• A bad waiter forgets that his sole purpose in the restaurant is to serve his customers and build loyalty on behalf of the chef/owner of the restaurant.
• But what a difference a good waiter or waitress makes – friendly, attentive, efficient, polite and caring; aware of the customers’ needs and able to advise on menu choices… if you are served like this you want to keep on going back whenever you can afford to – and bring your friends.
• Like a good waiter, a good Christian knows their only purpose in this world is to serve others and to build loyalty to the world’s owner and maker of all things.
Conclusion
In the sentence before today’s reading Paul reminds the Roman Christians, as he learned from Jesus, that love is the fulfillment of the whole of God’s law. And as Jesus taught by word and example, and graphically demonstrated, above all at the cross, we are called to love not just the people who are our friends and family members, or people we find agreeable. Our love is to be shown persistently, generously and recklessly, even to those who least deserve it.
In this way we anticipate and bring nearer the joy and healing of the Kingdom of Heaven.
When people meet us, may they find that we are clothed with Christ, not as a disguise but with with healing words and compassionate deeds. And when Jesus returns may he find us waiting as good waiters in the family restaurant.
Romans 13.11-14 (Matthew 24.36-44)
Pink Pyjamas
• During her last day or two in hospital Billie was wearing her favourite pink Pyjamas. This was a big improvement after the open backed hospital gown BUT when the time to come home finally came, B was anxious that I should take her some daytime clothes to wear. She’d have felt very embarrassed if she’d had to travel home in her pink Pyjamas!
• Most of you have also made the effort this morning – for which we are all grateful…
• Of course it is important that we are not just wearing “Christian clothing” but also living real Christian lives – living actively as gospel people, spreading the influence of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Dozy Christians
• Paul was writing to a Church full of dozy, half-asleep Christians. How do I know this? Because he writes “Understand what time it is! The hour has come for you to WAKE UP from your slumber!”
• If Paul were here this morning I wonder what he’d think of us? Might he think we are also half asleep? Might he cry out “Come on! The sun rose at 7am – half the day is gone! Look lively!” (If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?)
• This is not just because Paul had an active nature and hated seeing people laze around with no sense of urgency and no awareness of the needs of others... Paul was also aware that “the sinful nature” doesn’t disappear when you become a Christian. It hangs around and will try to regain control when the opportunity arises (eg when we are lazy, bored or complacent).
• He gives three pairs of examples:- carousing and drunkenness; sexual immorality and debauchery; dissension and jealousy. Maybe we can wave away the first two pairs (maybe) as unlikely to apply to us, but the third is more subtle (our enemy IS subtle).
• Our enemy is strong but Jesus is stronger and will protect his followers if they turn to him and wear him like a suit of armour. But we need to be honest with him – if we try to wear him like a disguise, to cover up who we really are, it doesn’t work:
• The Roman Christians were not an unusual case either. ALL OF US are prone to be dragged down from our calling into these typical sins – and we are especially vulnerable to this kind of fall at times when we are lazy, bored or complacent. Trust me – No, trust Jesus!
How are we Waiting?
• ADVENT is the season of waiting – waiting for Christmas and waiting for the return of Christ – and we may feel like singing the song “Why are we waiting?” or asking the question children often ask “How long do we have to wait?
• But according to Paul and Jesus these are the wrong questions. The question which we should be asking (and answering) is HOW are we waiting? Because there are different kinds of waiting.
• In ANXIETY like in a hospital bed or waiting room.
• In TERROR like a death row prisoner (Juan Melendez’s testimony in last week’s Church Times. See www.humanwrites.org).
• In COMPLACENCY – a particular danger for religious people who are certain they are right and others are wrong.
• In BOREDOM and RESENTMENT – a hopeless waste of a human life.
NONE of the above are true to the kind of waiting that Paul and Jesus want their followers to be engaged in. Christian waiting must always be coloured with hope, as the double meaning of the Spanish verb “esperar” suggests. I chose “Esperamos” as the name of my blog because it means we are hoping as well as we are waiting.
Waiters, good and bad
The English verb “to wait” also has a double meaning, one which might help us here. Some people “wait” as a job… waiters and waitresses (who has done this job?)
• We have all probably come across some really bad waiters and I’m sure we could share some funny stories about them – rude, unhelpful, clumsy, unaware of their customers and seemingly in a world of their own.
• If you get a bad waiter you might well decide you are never going back there again, even if the food was good.
• A bad waiter forgets that his sole purpose in the restaurant is to serve his customers and build loyalty on behalf of the chef/owner of the restaurant.
• But what a difference a good waiter or waitress makes – friendly, attentive, efficient, polite and caring; aware of the customers’ needs and able to advise on menu choices… if you are served like this you want to keep on going back whenever you can afford to – and bring your friends.
• Like a good waiter, a good Christian knows their only purpose in this world is to serve others and to build loyalty to the world’s owner and maker of all things.
Conclusion
In the sentence before today’s reading Paul reminds the Roman Christians, as he learned from Jesus, that love is the fulfillment of the whole of God’s law. And as Jesus taught by word and example, and graphically demonstrated, above all at the cross, we are called to love not just the people who are our friends and family members, or people we find agreeable. Our love is to be shown persistently, generously and recklessly, even to those who least deserve it.
In this way we anticipate and bring nearer the joy and healing of the Kingdom of Heaven.
When people meet us, may they find that we are clothed with Christ, not as a disguise but with with healing words and compassionate deeds. And when Jesus returns may he find us waiting as good waiters in the family restaurant.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Just one touch from the King changes everything!
by Godfrey and Gill Birtill - my favourite worship song at the moment - get ready to sing this soon at St George's BCN!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Zacchaeus bible study
Bible Study - Luke 19.1-10
The story of Zacchaeus is great material for the children in Sunday School; “Zacchaeus was a very little man and a very little man was he” etc! But what does it have to say to us grown ups??
Q1 What do we know about the status of tax collectors in first century Palestinian society?
Some have speculated that Zacchaeus might have been VERY short, possibly a dwarf or hunchback. Have a look at Leviticus 21.17-20.
Q2 Does the Bible encourage us to view disability, illness or unusual appearance as a sign of God’s disfavour? (Compare Deuteronomy 28.15ff with John 9.1-3)
Q3 Is there a contrast between a merciful, forgiving Jesus and a harsh, judgmental Old Testament God? How should we explain this contrast? Which picture most accurately portrays the true image of God?
Q4 Is there a link between people experiencing prejudice or exclusion and their being drawn into dodgy occupations and activities?
In spite of his faults there was hope for Zacchaeus, because he recognised that he needed to change and because Jesus was coming.
Q5 What else do you notice about Zacchaeus’s meeting with Jesus (v1-6)?
Q6 In verse 7, who were the “they” who disapproved of Jesus’ socialising with someone like Zacchaeus? Are we ever guilty of this kind of attitude?
Q7 Who are the Zacchaeuses of our day, of our society? How likely are they to encounter God’s grace? What can we do to improve the odds?
Q8 What do you make of Zacchaeus’s promises in verse 8? (See Leviticus 6.1-5 or Numbers 5.5-7 for the restitution that was due). Do you think he would have actually followed through with all this? Does it matter whether he did or not?
Q9 What were the spiritual results of the meeting of Jesus and Zacchaeus?
Q10 Verses 9 and 10 are a concise summary of the Good News, the Gospel. How closely do the Church’s aims and priorities match those of our Lord and Saviour?
The story of Zacchaeus is great material for the children in Sunday School; “Zacchaeus was a very little man and a very little man was he” etc! But what does it have to say to us grown ups??
Q1 What do we know about the status of tax collectors in first century Palestinian society?
Some have speculated that Zacchaeus might have been VERY short, possibly a dwarf or hunchback. Have a look at Leviticus 21.17-20.
Q2 Does the Bible encourage us to view disability, illness or unusual appearance as a sign of God’s disfavour? (Compare Deuteronomy 28.15ff with John 9.1-3)
Q3 Is there a contrast between a merciful, forgiving Jesus and a harsh, judgmental Old Testament God? How should we explain this contrast? Which picture most accurately portrays the true image of God?
Q4 Is there a link between people experiencing prejudice or exclusion and their being drawn into dodgy occupations and activities?
In spite of his faults there was hope for Zacchaeus, because he recognised that he needed to change and because Jesus was coming.
Q5 What else do you notice about Zacchaeus’s meeting with Jesus (v1-6)?
Q6 In verse 7, who were the “they” who disapproved of Jesus’ socialising with someone like Zacchaeus? Are we ever guilty of this kind of attitude?
Q7 Who are the Zacchaeuses of our day, of our society? How likely are they to encounter God’s grace? What can we do to improve the odds?
Q8 What do you make of Zacchaeus’s promises in verse 8? (See Leviticus 6.1-5 or Numbers 5.5-7 for the restitution that was due). Do you think he would have actually followed through with all this? Does it matter whether he did or not?
Q9 What were the spiritual results of the meeting of Jesus and Zacchaeus?
Q10 Verses 9 and 10 are a concise summary of the Good News, the Gospel. How closely do the Church’s aims and priorities match those of our Lord and Saviour?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Bible Sunday Sermon
Billie warned me not to make ‘Bible Sunday’ boring. So I thought I’d begin by showing you my collection of bibles...
6 very different books – one thing they have in common is that none of them are in fact bibles!
QUESTION:- What are the publishers of these books claiming by including the word ‘Bible’ in the title?
Elicit:-
• Authority and Expertise
• Full Coverage of the Subject
• Answers and Guidance
• ...
These are the kind of things that many people (myself included) would claim for THE Bible, the HOLY Bible, the book which tops the bestsellers list year after year.
A famous passage from the Bible tells us that:-
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2Timothy 3.16-17)
This makes the Bible sound wonderful and indeed it is! But it isn’t always easy to understand and can be a real struggle, even with expert help. Unlike a reference book about knitting or collecting mushrooms, the Bible is not set out in the most helpful order and does not give up its treasures and truths easily. Perhaps this should not surprise us in a collection of writings that was composed over about 1500 years by many different writers and editors.
Understanding the Bible and meeting God through the Bible involves hard work and struggle which not everybody would consider worthwhile. The great Welsh preacher Martin Lloyd Jones once said how good it was that every house in Wales contained a big black leather Bible, but he added that, unfortunately, most of them had plant pots standing on top of them!
My Bible will do me no good if it has a plant pot on top of it, or even if it is gathering dust on a shelf. But if I’m going to discipline myself to read and study and struggle with the meaning of my Bible, I need to have good reasons for doing so.
Our reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans suggests some.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Romans 15.4
Life was not easy for the early Christians in the Roman empire. They needed to be encouraged and to develop qualities of endurance and a perspective of hope. Paul tells them that this is what the Scriptures (OT) are for. The reason the OT has this focus is that most of its books were collected/finalised during the Babylonian captivity – looking back over the Israelites’ up and down relationship with God to the Exodus, when God had previously heard their cry and set them free.
Our lives today are very different but we all have to cope with the pressure and stress and often the hopelessness of life. We also need encouragement, endurance and hope and the same help is available to us, thanks to the work of Bible translators and publishers.
As well as the OT, Paul points to the example of Jesus. Here we have an advantage over Paul’s original readers in that our Bibles include the 4 Gospels, as well as the writings of Paul and other Apostles. The key quality of Jesus that Paul points to – and which the gospel writers confirm - is his complete unselfishness and commitment to the needs of others (see 15.3, 5). This is the way he lives consistently, all the way to the cross and beyond. Paul sees that Jesus is God in the form of a man and that he shows us exactly what God is like.
Paul urges his readers to imitate these same qualities so that God will be glorified in the world (15.5 and 6).
Jesus and the Old Testament
A bit more needs to be said about the relationship between Jesus and the OT. Some of you are reading your way through the whole OT and raising a lot of questions. I know many of you who study your Bibles struggle with the difference between the loving, gracious, forgiving and non-violent picture we have of Jesus - and OT portrayals of a God who is often angry, vindictive and cruel.
The way we resolve this tension is very important and basically the Christian answer is to read the OT through special lenses – like watching a 3D film – the lenses of
Jesus and especially his death on the cross. Jesus clearly told his disciples and the religious leaders of his day that they had misread the OT, as we can see in today’s gospel reading from very early in his ministry:-
Read Luke 4.16-21
The people all started talking about Jesus and were amazed (or shocked). Soon afterwards they chased Jesus out of the synagogue and he narrowly avoided being thrown off a cliff. Ever wondered why?
Because he had missed out their favourite verse! Quoting Isaiah 61.1-2 Jesus stopped before the bit about the day of God’s vengeance, closed the scroll and sat down. The part he left out was the bit they liked most - the verse that would be cheered to the rafters! They were looking forward to the day when the Messiah would come and pour out God’s vengeance on their enemies.
The Jewish religious leaders had not read their Bible in a way which led them to love, serve, forgive and pray for their enemies and they were offended by Jesus’ reading of the passage.
And it wasn’t just the religious leaders who had got the wrong end of the stick, it was Jesus’ disciples too. When he was rejected by the people of one town, the disciples asked if they should command fire to come down from heaven to destroy them. Jesus gave them a severe telling-off for this.
Jesus consistently claims authority over the Old Testament and reinterprets it in a way that shows the central message is about mercy, forgiveness, healing and reconciliation.
Think of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus keeps on saying ‘You have heard that it was said... but now I tell you this.’
‘You have heard that it was said ‘love your friends, hate your enemies.’ But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven.’
Each time he refers to the OT Jesus fills it with deeper meaning and clarifies God’s nature and intentions. This claim of authority to reinterpret the Scriptures and to reinterpret God offended the religious leaders but it was his right as the Son of God, as God in human form.
We might wonder at times why God didn’t just make himself clearer the first time around, so Jesus wouldn’t have to come and explain and reinterpret ... and suffer.
But another way of looking at it would be that people could only be led out of the darkness of sin gradually; in the same way as the rescued Chilean miners had to be protected from sunlight and allowed to adjust gradually.
We could go a lot further with this and I’m happy to recommend further reading to anyone who is interested. But the central point is simply that when we read the Bible we need to remember to put on ‘Jesus lenses’, because when we see Jesus, we see God. Without those lenses we are likely to draw wrong conclusions and ideas.
On Bible Sunday I want to challenge and encourage all of you to read and study your Bibles more, taking advantage of all the help which is available (Study notes, commentaries, home group, Roots and Routes courses etc).
Somebody once wrote that ‘The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.’ (Vance Havner)
Remember your Jesus lenses and remember also that the help of the Holy Spirit is promised to everyone who sincerely wants to know God and follow Jesus (John 16.13-14).
Get stuck into your Bibles and don’t be shy about sharing what you learn with others. The Bible Society is calling tomorrow Take your Bible to work day. (I do that every day, you’ll be pleased to know!) They are encouraging churchgoers to take their Bible to work, to make the point that the Bible is not just for Sunday, it is for every day and every part of our lives.
I pray for each of us here today and for our neighbours, that we would increasingly find this to be true as we discover the treasures of the Bible.
Reading list
This list of books and websites are ones that I have found helpful in recent years, and may be helpful for others in their own faith journeys. All are available through amazon.co.uk or as Kindle downloads from amazon.com (apart from those marked with *).
1) Bell, Rob & Golden, Don. Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Zondervan, 2008): This inspiring retelling of the Bible story shows how the Gospel addresses the biggest problems and fears of humanity.
2) Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistable Revolution (Zondervan, 2006): A contemporary prophet, Claiborne calls us to join Jesus in a provocative but non-violent revolution.
3) Gaston, Ray. A Heart Broken Open (Wild Goose, 2009): A stunning contribution to Christian/Muslim dialogue.*
4) Greig, Pete. The 24-7 Prayer Manual (David C Cook, 2008): A challenging and inspiring book, which is helping many Christians around the world rediscover the power of prayer.
5) Jersak, B & Hardin, M, eds. Stricken by God? (Eerdmans, 2007): A strong collection of essays that question the violent and judgmental picture of God that many people hold. I found the chapters by Sharon Baker and Denny Weaver especially helpful.
6) MacDonald, Gregory. The Evangelical Universalist (SPCK, 2008): The author makes a biblical case for his belief that, although salvation is found only by grace through faith in Christ, in the end all people will be saved.*
7) McLaren, Brian. A New Kind of Christianity (Hodder & Stoughton, 2010): Brian asks the hard questions that the Church needs to face if it is to impact society in the ways Jesus intended. An alternative way into McLaren’s ideas in story form is the A New Kind of Christian trilogy.
8) Morisy, Ann. Bothered and Bewildered (Continuum, 2009): A clear thinker and communicator, Ann helps us understand how to be truly Christian in a time of crisis.*
9) Newbigin, Lesslie. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (SPCK, 1989): A classic book by a highly respected missionary and ecumenical leader. Very relevant for Christians living in a multi-cultural and multi-faith
context.
10) Talbott, Thomas. The Inescapable Love of God (Universal, 1999): A powerful vision of the love of God and an articulate and passionate challenge to the traditional doctrine of hell.*
11) Wright, Tom. Surprised by Hope (SPCK, 2007): One of the best books by this prolific scholar and former Bishop. The gospel of hope is centred on the resurrection of Jesus.
www.therebelgod.com
By Derek Flood: This website has been the single most helpful resource for me during the past two years. Derek is a clear thinker, an excellent communicator and a passionate advocate of the gospel of grace. Check out his articles and essays as well as the blog entries, which are often followed by interesting discussions in the comments. He always responds in a respectful and helpful way, whether the comment has come from an ordinary reader or a heavyweight theologian.
www.gregboyd.org
By Greg Boyd: A wonderful blog with masses of other useful resources and a brilliant Q & A section. His 28 September 2010 blog entry, titled "Revelation and the violent, prize-fighting Jesus", is brilliant. Equally good is 21 August 2009, "Did God send a tornado to warn ECLA?"
http://godscharacter.com
By Brad Cole and others: Lots of helpful articles, Bible studies and videos of good quality teaching.
1) Bell, Rob & Golden, Don. Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Zondervan, 2008): This inspiring retelling of the Bible story shows how the Gospel addresses the biggest problems and fears of humanity.
2) Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistable Revolution (Zondervan, 2006): A contemporary prophet, Claiborne calls us to join Jesus in a provocative but non-violent revolution.
3) Gaston, Ray. A Heart Broken Open (Wild Goose, 2009): A stunning contribution to Christian/Muslim dialogue.*
4) Greig, Pete. The 24-7 Prayer Manual (David C Cook, 2008): A challenging and inspiring book, which is helping many Christians around the world rediscover the power of prayer.
5) Jersak, B & Hardin, M, eds. Stricken by God? (Eerdmans, 2007): A strong collection of essays that question the violent and judgmental picture of God that many people hold. I found the chapters by Sharon Baker and Denny Weaver especially helpful.
6) MacDonald, Gregory. The Evangelical Universalist (SPCK, 2008): The author makes a biblical case for his belief that, although salvation is found only by grace through faith in Christ, in the end all people will be saved.*
7) McLaren, Brian. A New Kind of Christianity (Hodder & Stoughton, 2010): Brian asks the hard questions that the Church needs to face if it is to impact society in the ways Jesus intended. An alternative way into McLaren’s ideas in story form is the A New Kind of Christian trilogy.
8) Morisy, Ann. Bothered and Bewildered (Continuum, 2009): A clear thinker and communicator, Ann helps us understand how to be truly Christian in a time of crisis.*
9) Newbigin, Lesslie. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (SPCK, 1989): A classic book by a highly respected missionary and ecumenical leader. Very relevant for Christians living in a multi-cultural and multi-faith
context.
10) Talbott, Thomas. The Inescapable Love of God (Universal, 1999): A powerful vision of the love of God and an articulate and passionate challenge to the traditional doctrine of hell.*
11) Wright, Tom. Surprised by Hope (SPCK, 2007): One of the best books by this prolific scholar and former Bishop. The gospel of hope is centred on the resurrection of Jesus.
www.therebelgod.com
By Derek Flood: This website has been the single most helpful resource for me during the past two years. Derek is a clear thinker, an excellent communicator and a passionate advocate of the gospel of grace. Check out his articles and essays as well as the blog entries, which are often followed by interesting discussions in the comments. He always responds in a respectful and helpful way, whether the comment has come from an ordinary reader or a heavyweight theologian.
www.gregboyd.org
By Greg Boyd: A wonderful blog with masses of other useful resources and a brilliant Q & A section. His 28 September 2010 blog entry, titled "Revelation and the violent, prize-fighting Jesus", is brilliant. Equally good is 21 August 2009, "Did God send a tornado to warn ECLA?"
http://godscharacter.com
By Brad Cole and others: Lots of helpful articles, Bible studies and videos of good quality teaching.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Chilean mine rescue - all 33!
Like me, I'm sure many of you were gripped by the unfolding story of the dramatic rescue of all 33 trapped miners after more than 2 months underground. We rejoice with the people of Chile and thank God, as they did, for their rescue. And of course, the greatest rescue in the history of Chile has many parallels with the greatest rescue in the history of the universe - our salvation by and in Christ.
When I think about the rescue capsule I think about our salvation in Christ.
When I see the rescuers going down 625 metres to rescue those who are trapped I think of God who opened the heavens and came down (Psalm 18.9).
When I see President Pinera celebrating the rescue of the first miner, but insisting that there will be no real celebration until all 33 are saved, I think of God who wants to save all people (1 Timothy 2.4) and of the good shepherd who will not rest until all his lost sheep are found. I remember that God is love (1 John 4.8, 16) and as such, he always protects, hopes and perseveres (1 Cor 13.7).
When I see the rejoicing and thankfulness of each rescued miner and his family, I think of Jonah's words 'I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice... I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me for ever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.' (Jonah 2.2, 6).
As we rejoice in the Chilean rescue and in our own salvation, we must not forget the other miners who are still trapped (as I write, 2 of 4 trapped in a gold mine in Ecuador have been found dead). Many others are trapped in physical, emotional and spiritual dark places. We are all Chileans; we are all miners and as followers of Christ, we are all called and equipped to be rescuers, in the power of our great and loving God:
When I think about the rescue capsule I think about our salvation in Christ.
When I see the rescuers going down 625 metres to rescue those who are trapped I think of God who opened the heavens and came down (Psalm 18.9).
When I see President Pinera celebrating the rescue of the first miner, but insisting that there will be no real celebration until all 33 are saved, I think of God who wants to save all people (1 Timothy 2.4) and of the good shepherd who will not rest until all his lost sheep are found. I remember that God is love (1 John 4.8, 16) and as such, he always protects, hopes and perseveres (1 Cor 13.7).
When I see the rejoicing and thankfulness of each rescued miner and his family, I think of Jonah's words 'I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice... I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me for ever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.' (Jonah 2.2, 6).
As we rejoice in the Chilean rescue and in our own salvation, we must not forget the other miners who are still trapped (as I write, 2 of 4 trapped in a gold mine in Ecuador have been found dead). Many others are trapped in physical, emotional and spiritual dark places. We are all Chileans; we are all miners and as followers of Christ, we are all called and equipped to be rescuers, in the power of our great and loving God:
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Helpful Books and Websites
I thought it might be useful to put together a list of books and websites which I have found helpful during my first two years at St George's. I have put this information into a table which, for the books, includes author, title and publisher information, as well as a brief description and an indication of availablity through Amazon.co.uk or as a 'Kindle' download from Amazon.com.
Please contact me if you'd like me to email you a copy of the list.
Happy reading!
Please contact me if you'd like me to email you a copy of the list.
Happy reading!
Sermon - 2 Timothy 1 - Pass it On!
2Timothy 1.1-14
Criteria for Success
We often wish each other Success and Happiness when starting a new job, moving to a new home or country, taking on a new responsibility etc.
What does success look like in these situations? What would YOU hope for, for yourself or for a friend?
(elicit…) to be comfortable, secure, confident, valued, respected, healthy, financially well-off, surrounded by loyal friends etc.
(Reading comes here)
NOW let’s look at PAUL’s situation when he wrote 2Timothy…
• He’s in prison (1.8)
• Worse, he’s on ‘Death Row’ (4.6)
• His friends have mostly deserted him (1.15, 4.10,16)
• His ministry has included lots of suffering and persecution (3.11-12)
• Early Church tradition is that Paul was beheaded by Roman authorities in about 65AD
HOW was he doing against our criteria for success? Apparently a complete failure!
Famous Last Words
2Tim is almost certainly P’s last letter to the outside world, his ‘famous last words’ to his son in the faith, his loyal apprentice. You might expect him to be warning Timothy:-
‘Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made, go and get a proper job. There’s no future in this preaching the gospel – look where it got me! I’m sorry I’ve wasted my life and led so many other people astray as well. What a mess I’ve made of things. God help me!
What Paul actually wrote to Timothy is quite different:-
• ‘I am not ashamed’ (of being in prison for being a follower of Jesus (1.12)
• He also urges Timothy not to be ashamed of Paul or his example (1.8)
• He suggests Timothy should teach the same things (1.13)
• And join Paul in suffering for the gospel (1.8)
• Paul must have been crazy. So must Timothy because he did what Paul asked, with the same result. Church History records that he became first bishop of Ephesus and around 97AD he was killed by pagans because of his opposition to their drunken orgies for goddess Diana. The fact that 2Tim is in the Bible is further evidence that Timothy followed Paul and Jesus faithfully all the way to his death.
WERE Paul and Timothy deluded or mentally ill? If so, the letter is surprising. 2Tim is clear and well reasoned. Underlying it there is a calm, unshakeable confidence and peace and lots of sensible, practical advice.
Paul’s Confidence
What is P’s confidence based on?
The EXAMPLE of Jesus – who had taken the nature of a slave, emptied himself of privilege and lived a life of total obedience to God. This included explaining and promoting the values of God’s kingdom against the selfish and aggressive values of human society. Following the example of Jesus was central to P’s understanding of his own place and purpose and that of all Christians.
The SALVATION of Jesus – From the Damascus Road turning point (Acts 9.3) – Remember Paul as Saul had been a Pharisee and a violent opponent of the Christian ‘Way’ - Paul was convinced that death had been defeated (2Tim 1.10) and no longer something to fear. He wasn’t eager to die, but he wasn’t afraid to die. He knew that all he had committed to Christ’s care – his life – was in safe hands (1.12). This truth freed him to live completely for God and others. He
The COMMISSION of Jesus – Paul knew he was called by God to the work of an Apostle (1.1) from the beginning of time (1.9), not because Paul himself was anything special but because it was God’s will and purpose (1.9). He was certain that God would complete what he had started. He saw Tim as equally gifted and set apart through ordination/confirmation for the same work.
Paul’s Priority
In these final moments of Paul’s life what does he see as the most important priority? He hints at it at the start of the letter
1.3 I am grateful to God whom I worship… as my ancestors did
1.5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you also.
1.14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you.
In the next chapter he states it clearly:
2.2 and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.
As Paul sees it, the key task of the Church is to PASS IT ON to the next generation of Christian disciples, followers of Jesus. This is because the Christian gospel is God’s plan for the rescue of the whole world.
The Gospel is to be shared in word and deed, wholeheartedly, with all people.
So how can we be a success?
The task can seem so big that it is hard to know where to start. How can we get the balance right, especially in a society which is multi-faith, mainly secular and in which Christianity is regarded with suspicion and associated with a dark and abusive past?
Let’s concentrate on the advice Paul gives in 1.6-7
Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
From this:-
1. We need to use the abilities and spiritual gifts God has given us for the purpose of building up the church and blessing others. They will be no use unless ‘fanned into flame’. Gifts need to be identified, trained and used. Prayerful discernment and the help of a pastor or spiritual guide can help.
2. Power or Courage. Our natural timidity, caution or cowardice needs to be replaced with a boldness and confidence in God’s ability to work through us. Our Christian ‘muscles’ will get stronger as we use them and see the results. (Rugby – go into a tackle hard and you won’t get hurt. Or if you do it will have been worth it!). Worship can help us develop our awareness of and openness to God’s power.
3. Love. Power is no good without love – as Paul explains in 1Corinthians 13.1-3. Unless genuine love of others motivates all that we do, it will be empty and worthless and will not serve God’s purposes.
4. Self-discipline and Wisdom are also necessary – journaling can help, also prayerfully thinking things through with trusted friends.
I recently came across an interesting quote from a Catholic activist which is very similar to what Paul is saying:
Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as with the ordinary intellectual. But the one who has love, courage and wisdom moves the world. (Ammon Hennacy 1893-1970)
That quote is on the inside cover of a book I’m reading at the moment ‘The Irresistible Revolution’ by Shane Claiborne, a young Christian leader following in the footsteps of Paul and Timothy. On p64 he writes ‘we decided to stop complaining about the church we saw, and we set our hearts on becoming the church we dreamed of.’
Seems like a good idea!
Criteria for Success
We often wish each other Success and Happiness when starting a new job, moving to a new home or country, taking on a new responsibility etc.
What does success look like in these situations? What would YOU hope for, for yourself or for a friend?
(elicit…) to be comfortable, secure, confident, valued, respected, healthy, financially well-off, surrounded by loyal friends etc.
(Reading comes here)
NOW let’s look at PAUL’s situation when he wrote 2Timothy…
• He’s in prison (1.8)
• Worse, he’s on ‘Death Row’ (4.6)
• His friends have mostly deserted him (1.15, 4.10,16)
• His ministry has included lots of suffering and persecution (3.11-12)
• Early Church tradition is that Paul was beheaded by Roman authorities in about 65AD
HOW was he doing against our criteria for success? Apparently a complete failure!
Famous Last Words
2Tim is almost certainly P’s last letter to the outside world, his ‘famous last words’ to his son in the faith, his loyal apprentice. You might expect him to be warning Timothy:-
‘Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made, go and get a proper job. There’s no future in this preaching the gospel – look where it got me! I’m sorry I’ve wasted my life and led so many other people astray as well. What a mess I’ve made of things. God help me!
What Paul actually wrote to Timothy is quite different:-
• ‘I am not ashamed’ (of being in prison for being a follower of Jesus (1.12)
• He also urges Timothy not to be ashamed of Paul or his example (1.8)
• He suggests Timothy should teach the same things (1.13)
• And join Paul in suffering for the gospel (1.8)
• Paul must have been crazy. So must Timothy because he did what Paul asked, with the same result. Church History records that he became first bishop of Ephesus and around 97AD he was killed by pagans because of his opposition to their drunken orgies for goddess Diana. The fact that 2Tim is in the Bible is further evidence that Timothy followed Paul and Jesus faithfully all the way to his death.
WERE Paul and Timothy deluded or mentally ill? If so, the letter is surprising. 2Tim is clear and well reasoned. Underlying it there is a calm, unshakeable confidence and peace and lots of sensible, practical advice.
Paul’s Confidence
What is P’s confidence based on?
The EXAMPLE of Jesus – who had taken the nature of a slave, emptied himself of privilege and lived a life of total obedience to God. This included explaining and promoting the values of God’s kingdom against the selfish and aggressive values of human society. Following the example of Jesus was central to P’s understanding of his own place and purpose and that of all Christians.
The SALVATION of Jesus – From the Damascus Road turning point (Acts 9.3) – Remember Paul as Saul had been a Pharisee and a violent opponent of the Christian ‘Way’ - Paul was convinced that death had been defeated (2Tim 1.10) and no longer something to fear. He wasn’t eager to die, but he wasn’t afraid to die. He knew that all he had committed to Christ’s care – his life – was in safe hands (1.12). This truth freed him to live completely for God and others. He
The COMMISSION of Jesus – Paul knew he was called by God to the work of an Apostle (1.1) from the beginning of time (1.9), not because Paul himself was anything special but because it was God’s will and purpose (1.9). He was certain that God would complete what he had started. He saw Tim as equally gifted and set apart through ordination/confirmation for the same work.
Paul’s Priority
In these final moments of Paul’s life what does he see as the most important priority? He hints at it at the start of the letter
1.3 I am grateful to God whom I worship… as my ancestors did
1.5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you also.
1.14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you.
In the next chapter he states it clearly:
2.2 and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.
As Paul sees it, the key task of the Church is to PASS IT ON to the next generation of Christian disciples, followers of Jesus. This is because the Christian gospel is God’s plan for the rescue of the whole world.
The Gospel is to be shared in word and deed, wholeheartedly, with all people.
So how can we be a success?
The task can seem so big that it is hard to know where to start. How can we get the balance right, especially in a society which is multi-faith, mainly secular and in which Christianity is regarded with suspicion and associated with a dark and abusive past?
Let’s concentrate on the advice Paul gives in 1.6-7
Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
From this:-
1. We need to use the abilities and spiritual gifts God has given us for the purpose of building up the church and blessing others. They will be no use unless ‘fanned into flame’. Gifts need to be identified, trained and used. Prayerful discernment and the help of a pastor or spiritual guide can help.
2. Power or Courage. Our natural timidity, caution or cowardice needs to be replaced with a boldness and confidence in God’s ability to work through us. Our Christian ‘muscles’ will get stronger as we use them and see the results. (Rugby – go into a tackle hard and you won’t get hurt. Or if you do it will have been worth it!). Worship can help us develop our awareness of and openness to God’s power.
3. Love. Power is no good without love – as Paul explains in 1Corinthians 13.1-3. Unless genuine love of others motivates all that we do, it will be empty and worthless and will not serve God’s purposes.
4. Self-discipline and Wisdom are also necessary – journaling can help, also prayerfully thinking things through with trusted friends.
I recently came across an interesting quote from a Catholic activist which is very similar to what Paul is saying:
Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as with the ordinary intellectual. But the one who has love, courage and wisdom moves the world. (Ammon Hennacy 1893-1970)
That quote is on the inside cover of a book I’m reading at the moment ‘The Irresistible Revolution’ by Shane Claiborne, a young Christian leader following in the footsteps of Paul and Timothy. On p64 he writes ‘we decided to stop complaining about the church we saw, and we set our hearts on becoming the church we dreamed of.’
Seems like a good idea!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
God of my night - new verses
Remember this worship song I'm working on? I've written two more verses. Comments / suggestions for improvement are welcome. Hoping to post a video demo soon.
1. God of my night, God of my day
You are my light, You are my way
Whenever I reach for You,
You will answer me
You will lift me from despair
My comforter, my counsellor
my Saviour and my friend
2. Sometimes I fall, sometimes I stray
Hiding my face, running away
But Father, You search for me, You rescue me
You surround me with Your care
Protecting me, correcting me
My Saviour and my friend
3. Open my eyes, show me Your way
Help me to love, teach me to pray
Forever I'll cling to You
I will follow You
and Your mercy I will share
For You are my security
My Saviour and my friend.
1. God of my night, God of my day
You are my light, You are my way
Whenever I reach for You,
You will answer me
You will lift me from despair
My comforter, my counsellor
my Saviour and my friend
2. Sometimes I fall, sometimes I stray
Hiding my face, running away
But Father, You search for me, You rescue me
You surround me with Your care
Protecting me, correcting me
My Saviour and my friend
3. Open my eyes, show me Your way
Help me to love, teach me to pray
Forever I'll cling to You
I will follow You
and Your mercy I will share
For You are my security
My Saviour and my friend.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Rich Man and Lazarus Bible Study
Bible Study – Luke 16.19-31
Background
Q1 What can you remember about the reasons for the growing tension between Jesus and the Pharisees in Luke chapters 13-15?
The tension continues to build in chapter 16. After Jesus’s warning about the dangers of loving money (16.13, cf 1Tim 6.10), Luke comments that the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus because they were lovers of money.
One more piece of background. Most scholars now agree that the parable is based on a well-known folk tale, popular amongst the poor, which was circulating at the time.
As Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, he is probably still addressing a mixed audience made up of ‘tax-collectors and sinners’ on the one hand and an increasingly angry group of ‘self-righteous Pharisees’ on the other.
Q2 How does the parable fit into the context of Jesus’s conflict with the Pharisees? How did His ideas of goodness and perfection compare with theirs (compare Matt 5.46-48 with Luke 15.2)?
Q3 Looking at verses 19 to 21. Who do you think the rich man and Lazarus represent, in Jesus’s version of the story? What about the dogs… (see Mark 7.26-28)?
For the next few questions we focus on verses 22 to 26.
Q4 In the story, on what basis is the fate after death of the rich man and that of Lazarus decided? (a) their faith, (b) their deeds, (c) something else, (d) don’t know?
Q5 What is the tone of the description of Heaven and Hades and of the conversation which takes place? Do you think that reality is being described? How does the story relate to Pharisee expectations about resurrection and the afterlife?
Q6 What conclusions can we draw from this parable about the geography and mechanics of Heaven and Hell and about Jesus’s own beliefs concerning the afterlife?
Q7 Is it possible to be rich and to live a life which is pleasing to God? What does the parable tell us on this subject (compare also 1Timothy 6.17-19).
Q8 Is there a Lazarus outside your gate? What are you doing about it? WWJD?
Finally we look at verses 27 to 31.
Q9 What had the Pharisees missed in the books of Moses and the Prophets? In what ways was their use of the Bible wrong?
Q10 Is verse 31 intended as a prophecy? How do you think Jesus said these words and what result was he looking for?
Background
Q1 What can you remember about the reasons for the growing tension between Jesus and the Pharisees in Luke chapters 13-15?
The tension continues to build in chapter 16. After Jesus’s warning about the dangers of loving money (16.13, cf 1Tim 6.10), Luke comments that the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus because they were lovers of money.
One more piece of background. Most scholars now agree that the parable is based on a well-known folk tale, popular amongst the poor, which was circulating at the time.
As Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, he is probably still addressing a mixed audience made up of ‘tax-collectors and sinners’ on the one hand and an increasingly angry group of ‘self-righteous Pharisees’ on the other.
Q2 How does the parable fit into the context of Jesus’s conflict with the Pharisees? How did His ideas of goodness and perfection compare with theirs (compare Matt 5.46-48 with Luke 15.2)?
Q3 Looking at verses 19 to 21. Who do you think the rich man and Lazarus represent, in Jesus’s version of the story? What about the dogs… (see Mark 7.26-28)?
For the next few questions we focus on verses 22 to 26.
Q4 In the story, on what basis is the fate after death of the rich man and that of Lazarus decided? (a) their faith, (b) their deeds, (c) something else, (d) don’t know?
Q5 What is the tone of the description of Heaven and Hades and of the conversation which takes place? Do you think that reality is being described? How does the story relate to Pharisee expectations about resurrection and the afterlife?
Q6 What conclusions can we draw from this parable about the geography and mechanics of Heaven and Hell and about Jesus’s own beliefs concerning the afterlife?
Q7 Is it possible to be rich and to live a life which is pleasing to God? What does the parable tell us on this subject (compare also 1Timothy 6.17-19).
Q8 Is there a Lazarus outside your gate? What are you doing about it? WWJD?
Finally we look at verses 27 to 31.
Q9 What had the Pharisees missed in the books of Moses and the Prophets? In what ways was their use of the Bible wrong?
Q10 Is verse 31 intended as a prophecy? How do you think Jesus said these words and what result was he looking for?
Friday, September 24, 2010
Lesson from a Banking Crisis Luke 16.1-13
Luke 16.1-13
The Dishonest Manager
If you find this parable difficult to understand, you are in good company! I’ve spent a good deal of time over the last few days reading textbooks and commentaries. There are different ways of understanding the parable, but what I think we have here is the Bible’s version of a BANKING CRISIS.
As an ex Banker myself, I am allowed to remind you that the definition of a Banker is somebody who will happily lend you an umbrella, but will demand it back when it starts raining! My favourite Bible verse for Bankers is Psalm 112.5 “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely.” BUT believe me, if a Bank Auditor evaluated your lending in those words, anything but good would be coming to you!
Background
Under the Old Testament Law, Jews were forbidden from taking interest from fellow-Jews when they lent them money (Exodus 22.25, Leviticus 25.36, Deuteronomy 23.19). Those who wanted to make money from loans reasoned that this Law was there to stop the poor being exploited, it was not meant to stop ordinary deals between honest businessmen, where the payment of interest amounted to a sharing of profits. So they found a way around God’s Law, a ‘legal fiction’:-
The amount borrowed would be given a value in a common item like oil or wheat (say 80 measures of wheat) , the interest would be added on (say 20 measures of wheat) and a bond, like an “IOU”, a promise to pay back, would be written out for the total amount in wheat (in this case 100 measures). Interest was effectively being charged on the loan, but the Bond gave no indication of this. Commonly , such deals were handled by a steward or manager, supposedly without the bank owner’s knowledge.
With this background in mind, the parable is telling the story of a “bank manager” who, faced with the loss of his job, protected his future by calling in the bonds owed to his master and getting the debtors, those who owed money, to rewrite their bonds so they no longer carried interest. He hoped these debtors would then be generous to him in their gratitude, after he had lost his job.
This put the owner of the “bank” in a difficult position. He would have difficulty proving the original debts, now that the first bonds had been destroyed. In any case he could not complain about the manager’s action without proving himself guilty of breaking God’s law by charging interest.
SO he put the best face possible on the situation by pretending that he hadn’t known interest had originally been charged and by thanking the manager for putting things right. The manager would now be seen as belatedly complying with God’s law, and the pious and godly owner as applauding this! Today we might refer to this as a “win/win situation,” although the owner didn’t get his interest of course.
Lessons
As the worldwide banking crisis unfolded in 2007, we saw the banks’ senior management, seeing that they were heading for a crisis, taking decisive action in approaching their national central banks in their role as “lender of last resort” in order to balance their books. We also saw millions of investors, believing their savings to be at risk, queuing for hours, all night in some cases, and passionately demanding the withdrawal of their money, so they could put it somewhere safer.
There are similarities with the behaviour of the dishonest bank manager in the parable, because he also took decisive action when faced with a crisis. This is what he was praised for, NOT for being dishonest.
Jesus implies in verse 8 that he’d like to see more of that PASSION, that URGENCY and that DECISIVENESS in his followers with regard to their discipleship.
• When was the last time you queued up impatiently to get into a church service or prayer meeting?
• When was the last time you argued passionately about your faith in Christ?
• And bearing in mind that the human race seems to be living on borrowed time, how urgently are you sharing the Good News of God’s love and mercy with your neighbours?
Do we challenge the use of blasphemous language? Racist sentiments? Exploitation of old people and minorities?
...Or do we just let these things slide by?
Perhaps we are too casual and laid back about our Christian commitment, so that it doesn’t seem all that important to others and maybe starts to become less important to us... This is NOT what Jesus wants for his followers!
Secondly, in verse 9 Jesus indicates that believers should use what wealth they have wisely, to build friendships for eternity. This is a difficult verse in a difficult passage, but it links with other teachings of Jesus about sharing what we have with those in need, regardless of their ability to repay (turning the basic rules of banking upside down again!) Money is not evil in itself , however the love of money is a great temptation. Jesus often warns that money is capable of destroying our relationships and our integrity and he urges us to spend it while we can for the benefit of others.
Finally, in verses 10-12, Jesus points us beyond our relatively unimportant earthly Bank Account to our account in Heaven. This is where true and lasting riches are stored by living humble and unselfish lives for Christ. This is where our debts have been wiped out by the victorious sacrifice of His life on the cross. This is where our Lord reigns, not as a “lender of last resort”, not as a divine umbrella snatcher, but as our merciful saviour, deserving of total loyalty, faith and commitment. The ‘deposit guarantee scheme’ He freely gives is safer than anything the Government could ever provide!
May God find us trustworthy with our money and possessions, in all our dealings with other people, and even more in our handling of his truth and his mercy, which we have a responsibility to share with all people.
The Dishonest Manager
If you find this parable difficult to understand, you are in good company! I’ve spent a good deal of time over the last few days reading textbooks and commentaries. There are different ways of understanding the parable, but what I think we have here is the Bible’s version of a BANKING CRISIS.
As an ex Banker myself, I am allowed to remind you that the definition of a Banker is somebody who will happily lend you an umbrella, but will demand it back when it starts raining! My favourite Bible verse for Bankers is Psalm 112.5 “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely.” BUT believe me, if a Bank Auditor evaluated your lending in those words, anything but good would be coming to you!
Background
Under the Old Testament Law, Jews were forbidden from taking interest from fellow-Jews when they lent them money (Exodus 22.25, Leviticus 25.36, Deuteronomy 23.19). Those who wanted to make money from loans reasoned that this Law was there to stop the poor being exploited, it was not meant to stop ordinary deals between honest businessmen, where the payment of interest amounted to a sharing of profits. So they found a way around God’s Law, a ‘legal fiction’:-
The amount borrowed would be given a value in a common item like oil or wheat (say 80 measures of wheat) , the interest would be added on (say 20 measures of wheat) and a bond, like an “IOU”, a promise to pay back, would be written out for the total amount in wheat (in this case 100 measures). Interest was effectively being charged on the loan, but the Bond gave no indication of this. Commonly , such deals were handled by a steward or manager, supposedly without the bank owner’s knowledge.
With this background in mind, the parable is telling the story of a “bank manager” who, faced with the loss of his job, protected his future by calling in the bonds owed to his master and getting the debtors, those who owed money, to rewrite their bonds so they no longer carried interest. He hoped these debtors would then be generous to him in their gratitude, after he had lost his job.
This put the owner of the “bank” in a difficult position. He would have difficulty proving the original debts, now that the first bonds had been destroyed. In any case he could not complain about the manager’s action without proving himself guilty of breaking God’s law by charging interest.
SO he put the best face possible on the situation by pretending that he hadn’t known interest had originally been charged and by thanking the manager for putting things right. The manager would now be seen as belatedly complying with God’s law, and the pious and godly owner as applauding this! Today we might refer to this as a “win/win situation,” although the owner didn’t get his interest of course.
Lessons
As the worldwide banking crisis unfolded in 2007, we saw the banks’ senior management, seeing that they were heading for a crisis, taking decisive action in approaching their national central banks in their role as “lender of last resort” in order to balance their books. We also saw millions of investors, believing their savings to be at risk, queuing for hours, all night in some cases, and passionately demanding the withdrawal of their money, so they could put it somewhere safer.
There are similarities with the behaviour of the dishonest bank manager in the parable, because he also took decisive action when faced with a crisis. This is what he was praised for, NOT for being dishonest.
Jesus implies in verse 8 that he’d like to see more of that PASSION, that URGENCY and that DECISIVENESS in his followers with regard to their discipleship.
• When was the last time you queued up impatiently to get into a church service or prayer meeting?
• When was the last time you argued passionately about your faith in Christ?
• And bearing in mind that the human race seems to be living on borrowed time, how urgently are you sharing the Good News of God’s love and mercy with your neighbours?
Do we challenge the use of blasphemous language? Racist sentiments? Exploitation of old people and minorities?
...Or do we just let these things slide by?
Perhaps we are too casual and laid back about our Christian commitment, so that it doesn’t seem all that important to others and maybe starts to become less important to us... This is NOT what Jesus wants for his followers!
Secondly, in verse 9 Jesus indicates that believers should use what wealth they have wisely, to build friendships for eternity. This is a difficult verse in a difficult passage, but it links with other teachings of Jesus about sharing what we have with those in need, regardless of their ability to repay (turning the basic rules of banking upside down again!) Money is not evil in itself , however the love of money is a great temptation. Jesus often warns that money is capable of destroying our relationships and our integrity and he urges us to spend it while we can for the benefit of others.
Finally, in verses 10-12, Jesus points us beyond our relatively unimportant earthly Bank Account to our account in Heaven. This is where true and lasting riches are stored by living humble and unselfish lives for Christ. This is where our debts have been wiped out by the victorious sacrifice of His life on the cross. This is where our Lord reigns, not as a “lender of last resort”, not as a divine umbrella snatcher, but as our merciful saviour, deserving of total loyalty, faith and commitment. The ‘deposit guarantee scheme’ He freely gives is safer than anything the Government could ever provide!
May God find us trustworthy with our money and possessions, in all our dealings with other people, and even more in our handling of his truth and his mercy, which we have a responsibility to share with all people.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Luke 15.1-10 Bible Study
Bible Study – Luke 15.1-10
Context
Let’s begin today’s study by looking back into chapters 13 and 14.
13.31-33 The Pharisees, threatened by J’s growing popularity and his challenge to the status quo, try to scare him away. He refuses to be diverted from his mission, even though he is sure that he will be killed in Jerusalem.
13.34-35 Notice the compassion and commitment of Jesus to Jerusalem.
QUESTION 1: What does Jerusalem represent here? How should we understand Jesus’ words in verses 34-35?
14.1-6 Luke then records an incident which took place at the house of a Pharisee ‘one Sabbath’
QUESTION 2: What signs are there of growing tension between Jesus and the Pharisees? What difference of attitude is at the root of this tension?
14.7-24 Jesus’ observations at the meal further increase the tension. When one of the Pharisees seeks reassurance (15), Jesus tells the parable of the Great Banquet, predicting a surprising reversal in fortunes.
14.25-35 Jesus speaks of the cost and the challenges of discipleship, emphasizing the importance of ‘salt’ remaining salty and ending with the challenge ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’
QUESTION 3: Why might the Pharisees be offended by what Jesus said about salt?
Now read Luke 15.1-3
QUESTION 4: What would a crowd of ‘tax collectors and sinners’ normally expect to hear from a religious leader in New Testament times? What about today? Why is the teaching of Jesus so different?
QUESTION 5: Could the Pharisees’ complaint about Jesus ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them’ equally be said of you or of the Church you attend? Or why not?
Now let’s read the first parable, 15.4-7
QUESTION 6: What is the main point of this parable? How does it fit into the story of the growing conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees (compare 14.5-6)?
QUESTION 7: Should we draw any conclusions from the treatment of the 99 in this parable?
QUESTION 8: In what ways are our attitudes and priorities challenged by Jesus here? How are we going to respond?
Jesus continues with another parable, 15.8-10
QUESTION 9: What new perspective does this parable add?
QUESTION 10: How would you respond if you were challenged in the way Jesus challenged the Pharisees through these parables? What would help us to respond in the way God wants us to?
Further reading
The rest of Luke 15 is taken up by the parable of the lost son, which could also be called the parable of the Father’s love. This deserves a separate study, but it may be good to end today’s session by reading it slowly and prayerfully.
Context
Let’s begin today’s study by looking back into chapters 13 and 14.
13.31-33 The Pharisees, threatened by J’s growing popularity and his challenge to the status quo, try to scare him away. He refuses to be diverted from his mission, even though he is sure that he will be killed in Jerusalem.
13.34-35 Notice the compassion and commitment of Jesus to Jerusalem.
QUESTION 1: What does Jerusalem represent here? How should we understand Jesus’ words in verses 34-35?
14.1-6 Luke then records an incident which took place at the house of a Pharisee ‘one Sabbath’
QUESTION 2: What signs are there of growing tension between Jesus and the Pharisees? What difference of attitude is at the root of this tension?
14.7-24 Jesus’ observations at the meal further increase the tension. When one of the Pharisees seeks reassurance (15), Jesus tells the parable of the Great Banquet, predicting a surprising reversal in fortunes.
14.25-35 Jesus speaks of the cost and the challenges of discipleship, emphasizing the importance of ‘salt’ remaining salty and ending with the challenge ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’
QUESTION 3: Why might the Pharisees be offended by what Jesus said about salt?
Now read Luke 15.1-3
QUESTION 4: What would a crowd of ‘tax collectors and sinners’ normally expect to hear from a religious leader in New Testament times? What about today? Why is the teaching of Jesus so different?
QUESTION 5: Could the Pharisees’ complaint about Jesus ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them’ equally be said of you or of the Church you attend? Or why not?
Now let’s read the first parable, 15.4-7
QUESTION 6: What is the main point of this parable? How does it fit into the story of the growing conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees (compare 14.5-6)?
QUESTION 7: Should we draw any conclusions from the treatment of the 99 in this parable?
QUESTION 8: In what ways are our attitudes and priorities challenged by Jesus here? How are we going to respond?
Jesus continues with another parable, 15.8-10
QUESTION 9: What new perspective does this parable add?
QUESTION 10: How would you respond if you were challenged in the way Jesus challenged the Pharisees through these parables? What would help us to respond in the way God wants us to?
Further reading
The rest of Luke 15 is taken up by the parable of the lost son, which could also be called the parable of the Father’s love. This deserves a separate study, but it may be good to end today’s session by reading it slowly and prayerfully.
Lost Sheep talk (All Age)
Luke 15.4-7
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (Luke 15:4-7, NIV)
When I was young, I used to collect stamps. A lot of people still do that. I know that because last week Bevan gave Billie a whole load of stamps for ICS. ICS sell all the stamps to stamp collectors. Now I’m older, I don’t collect stamps, but, since marrying Billie I’ve noticed that we seem to be collecting teddies and other furry animals! (Hold up a few)
... but now we’ve managed, sorry, I’ve managed to lose one and I’m really hoping that some of you guys can help me find it... it’s a sheep and I’m really worried, because if Billie realises, she’ll as angry as a very cross thing ... and believe me, you DO NOT want to get Billie angry!!! Please find our sheep! .... thank you!!!
Right, now, what were we going to talk about today – anyone got any ideas? Yes, the parable of the lost sheep! Well, I guess you all know the parable anyway, it’s something you will have looked at in Sunday School and I think George has even painted pictures of it... who can tell me what happens in the story?
Who gets lost?
What happens?
That’s right, and what does the story mean? Who is the shepherd? Who is the sheep? That’s right, the story shows how God loves us. If one of us turns our back on God and stops believing in Him and loving Him, he doesn’t stand there telling us off, or punishing us, he goes out there to try and find us and bring us back to him. JC tells this story because the Pharisees, (you remember the Pharisees? They’re the ones who hang around the temple and they’re miserable and they go round saying ‘we’re the good guys, we follow all the rules, you’re no good, you’re SINNERS!!’) Well, anyway, the Pharisees were being completely self-satisfied and saying ‘look at him! He’s hanging out with homeless people, criminals, the losers! Who does he think he is?!’
You see, the Pharisees thought God was like them, busy watching everyone else to see if they did anything wrong so they could go ‘Ha! Gotcher! You’re a SINNER! Not like us good guys!’ they thought God was just watching and waiting so He could point a finger and say SINNER too. So JC is telling them the story to try and show them that they’ve got God wrong. God doesn’t judge, he is so concerned, he will leave the 99 sheep and go after the one who is wandering off away from God, the sinner, and bring him back.
OK, we could leave it there. As I said, we all know this story, we could just move on to coffee hour now. The thing is, I think we miss something if we do. You see, the thing that bothers me, is what about the 99 sheep? If I was the shepherd, I wouldn’t have left the 99 sheep unprotected where wolves or other wild animals could catch them, where they too could have wandered off.
I wonder how you would have felt if I had started today’s service by walking out of the door shouting ‘you lot stay here – I´m going out to look for someone who is lost!’
(It made me remember a time when I was on holiday with my eldest 2 children.... The point is, I wouldn’t have dumped one child alone and vulnerable, in a place he didn’t know, while I went off to look for the other...)
So, what about these 99 sheep then? In the story, the sheep represent people, so all 100 sheep were representing humanity. They are ALL in the wilderness, living in a world where Christian values don’t seem important anymore but the 99 sheep don’t realise they are lost, they think they’re doing OK. The one sheep does know he’s lost and he needs help, he needs a Saviour. The 99 sheep are trying to exist on their own, they don’t want to be saved. God can't do anything for the 99 who walk past the Church, who think they are perfectly fine, and simply have no use for God. But God can and will search for the person who knows he needs God, and wants to be rescued. That's the kind of God we have, but it’s also showing the kind of people we are, people who are proud and think we can manage on our own.
But God can, and will, do something about the one person who knows he needs God in his life. He will pick him up, take him home and have a party! Two points to notice here: first, God isn’t judging, like the Pharisees, he’s just loving and accepting someone who has turned to him. Second, the shepherd takes the sheep home, not back to the other sheep. God takes Christians into his own family and then celebrates. As Christians, we are part of God’s family. ‘In the world, but not of the world’ Find quote.
So, now, how does this work for us today? Well first of all, let’s look at the numbers. In the story it was one person who knew he was lost and 99 who thought they were OK as they were. I would say that it’s pretty much the same now. All of us here today, are realising that we can’t live life to the full without God - we need God in our lives to make sense of our lives and give our lives meaning. For every one of us here today, there are probably 99 – or 999 - out there who think they can manage without God, they don’t realise how alone they really are. So perhaps the church should be doing more to reach out to them? I’ll come back to that.
Well ...Secondly, do you remember why JC was telling the story in the first place? It was because the Pharisees were grumbling about JC eating with the ‘bad guys’, he was breaking the rules, he wasn’t ‘behaving’.
Instead of using their ears to hear the gracious words of the Son of God, they used their lips to condemn him... ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them!’ they grumbled. And they were right!! That’s EXACTLY what Jesus does – so who do we want to be? Followers of Jesus or followers of the Pharisees?
Jesus answered his critics with these three parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, and I often wonder how Jesus told these parables? Was he shouting and confronting the people who didn’t like him? Actually I think he told them with warmth and gentleness, aiming to melt the hearts of some of his opponents and turn them back to God.
You see, the point of the parables is that God cares passionately about lost people – whether they’ve ignored or rejected him, whether or not they even know they are lost – and God seeks them with the urgency, the skill and the bravery of a shepherd looking for a sheep, with the patience and persistence of a woman searching for a missing coin.
There is nothing grudging or half-hearted about this search. God is wholehearted, committed, reckless, driven by a love stronger than we can imagine.
Application
We are not told how the grumblers responded to Jesus that day, but how should we respond? What is the challenge for us?
1. The priorities of the Church (all of us!) should be the same as the priorities of God (we are after all the Body of Christ). If God’s priority is to bring home the we lost, that’s what our priority should be.
2. We might expect the shepherd to stay with the 99 sheep who didn’t stray, counting them, stroking them, feeding them, making little jackets for them – but no! He’s out looking for the silly strays who keep wandering off. And he keeps on looking until he finds them.
3. Perhaps we aren’t mixing with the right people. Perhaps we should be devoting more of our energy to reaching out, without judging, and showing God’s love to people who we find difficult, who might not even realise they are lost? Who do you know who this could apply to and what could you do to reach out to them with God’s love?
I like to remind people (including myself) that the Church is not a hotel for saints, it is a hospital for sinners. My hope is that people will have the same complaint about St George’s that they had about Jesus:-
That Church welcomes sinners and eats with them!’
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (Luke 15:4-7, NIV)
When I was young, I used to collect stamps. A lot of people still do that. I know that because last week Bevan gave Billie a whole load of stamps for ICS. ICS sell all the stamps to stamp collectors. Now I’m older, I don’t collect stamps, but, since marrying Billie I’ve noticed that we seem to be collecting teddies and other furry animals! (Hold up a few)
... but now we’ve managed, sorry, I’ve managed to lose one and I’m really hoping that some of you guys can help me find it... it’s a sheep and I’m really worried, because if Billie realises, she’ll as angry as a very cross thing ... and believe me, you DO NOT want to get Billie angry!!! Please find our sheep! .... thank you!!!
Right, now, what were we going to talk about today – anyone got any ideas? Yes, the parable of the lost sheep! Well, I guess you all know the parable anyway, it’s something you will have looked at in Sunday School and I think George has even painted pictures of it... who can tell me what happens in the story?
Who gets lost?
What happens?
That’s right, and what does the story mean? Who is the shepherd? Who is the sheep? That’s right, the story shows how God loves us. If one of us turns our back on God and stops believing in Him and loving Him, he doesn’t stand there telling us off, or punishing us, he goes out there to try and find us and bring us back to him. JC tells this story because the Pharisees, (you remember the Pharisees? They’re the ones who hang around the temple and they’re miserable and they go round saying ‘we’re the good guys, we follow all the rules, you’re no good, you’re SINNERS!!’) Well, anyway, the Pharisees were being completely self-satisfied and saying ‘look at him! He’s hanging out with homeless people, criminals, the losers! Who does he think he is?!’
You see, the Pharisees thought God was like them, busy watching everyone else to see if they did anything wrong so they could go ‘Ha! Gotcher! You’re a SINNER! Not like us good guys!’ they thought God was just watching and waiting so He could point a finger and say SINNER too. So JC is telling them the story to try and show them that they’ve got God wrong. God doesn’t judge, he is so concerned, he will leave the 99 sheep and go after the one who is wandering off away from God, the sinner, and bring him back.
OK, we could leave it there. As I said, we all know this story, we could just move on to coffee hour now. The thing is, I think we miss something if we do. You see, the thing that bothers me, is what about the 99 sheep? If I was the shepherd, I wouldn’t have left the 99 sheep unprotected where wolves or other wild animals could catch them, where they too could have wandered off.
I wonder how you would have felt if I had started today’s service by walking out of the door shouting ‘you lot stay here – I´m going out to look for someone who is lost!’
(It made me remember a time when I was on holiday with my eldest 2 children.... The point is, I wouldn’t have dumped one child alone and vulnerable, in a place he didn’t know, while I went off to look for the other...)
So, what about these 99 sheep then? In the story, the sheep represent people, so all 100 sheep were representing humanity. They are ALL in the wilderness, living in a world where Christian values don’t seem important anymore but the 99 sheep don’t realise they are lost, they think they’re doing OK. The one sheep does know he’s lost and he needs help, he needs a Saviour. The 99 sheep are trying to exist on their own, they don’t want to be saved. God can't do anything for the 99 who walk past the Church, who think they are perfectly fine, and simply have no use for God. But God can and will search for the person who knows he needs God, and wants to be rescued. That's the kind of God we have, but it’s also showing the kind of people we are, people who are proud and think we can manage on our own.
But God can, and will, do something about the one person who knows he needs God in his life. He will pick him up, take him home and have a party! Two points to notice here: first, God isn’t judging, like the Pharisees, he’s just loving and accepting someone who has turned to him. Second, the shepherd takes the sheep home, not back to the other sheep. God takes Christians into his own family and then celebrates. As Christians, we are part of God’s family. ‘In the world, but not of the world’ Find quote.
So, now, how does this work for us today? Well first of all, let’s look at the numbers. In the story it was one person who knew he was lost and 99 who thought they were OK as they were. I would say that it’s pretty much the same now. All of us here today, are realising that we can’t live life to the full without God - we need God in our lives to make sense of our lives and give our lives meaning. For every one of us here today, there are probably 99 – or 999 - out there who think they can manage without God, they don’t realise how alone they really are. So perhaps the church should be doing more to reach out to them? I’ll come back to that.
Well ...Secondly, do you remember why JC was telling the story in the first place? It was because the Pharisees were grumbling about JC eating with the ‘bad guys’, he was breaking the rules, he wasn’t ‘behaving’.
Instead of using their ears to hear the gracious words of the Son of God, they used their lips to condemn him... ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them!’ they grumbled. And they were right!! That’s EXACTLY what Jesus does – so who do we want to be? Followers of Jesus or followers of the Pharisees?
Jesus answered his critics with these three parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, and I often wonder how Jesus told these parables? Was he shouting and confronting the people who didn’t like him? Actually I think he told them with warmth and gentleness, aiming to melt the hearts of some of his opponents and turn them back to God.
You see, the point of the parables is that God cares passionately about lost people – whether they’ve ignored or rejected him, whether or not they even know they are lost – and God seeks them with the urgency, the skill and the bravery of a shepherd looking for a sheep, with the patience and persistence of a woman searching for a missing coin.
There is nothing grudging or half-hearted about this search. God is wholehearted, committed, reckless, driven by a love stronger than we can imagine.
Application
We are not told how the grumblers responded to Jesus that day, but how should we respond? What is the challenge for us?
1. The priorities of the Church (all of us!) should be the same as the priorities of God (we are after all the Body of Christ). If God’s priority is to bring home the we lost, that’s what our priority should be.
2. We might expect the shepherd to stay with the 99 sheep who didn’t stray, counting them, stroking them, feeding them, making little jackets for them – but no! He’s out looking for the silly strays who keep wandering off. And he keeps on looking until he finds them.
3. Perhaps we aren’t mixing with the right people. Perhaps we should be devoting more of our energy to reaching out, without judging, and showing God’s love to people who we find difficult, who might not even realise they are lost? Who do you know who this could apply to and what could you do to reach out to them with God’s love?
I like to remind people (including myself) that the Church is not a hotel for saints, it is a hospital for sinners. My hope is that people will have the same complaint about St George’s that they had about Jesus:-
That Church welcomes sinners and eats with them!’
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Philemon Bible Study
Bible Study – Philemon
It may seem strange that such a short and personal letter is included in the Bible however Philemon can be very useful for us (see verse 11)!
Paul probably wrote it at the same time as Colossians, about AD60, while he was in prison in Rome or Ephesus, and delivered it with the same travelers, Onesimus and Tychicus. The recipient of the letter, Philemon, was a member of the Colossian Church and a slave owner. One of his slaves, Onesimus, had apparently stolen from him and run away. Whilst on the run, met Paul and become a Christian.
Verses 1-3 Greetings
Q1 What does the greeting reveal about the kind of relationship Paul has with Philemon and his church?
Verses 4-7 Thanksgiving and Prayer
Q2 What two personal qualities of Philemon does Paul draw attention to, and why?
Verses 8-22 Paul´s plea for Onesimus
Q3 Why does Paul believe he has the right to order Philemon to do the right thing? Why does he choose not to exercise this right?
Q4 Why do you think the name of Onesimus is not even mentioned until verse 10?
Q5 What change in Onesimus’s life had enabled him to start living up to his name (which means ‘Useful’ or ‘Profitable’?
Q6 In what ways has our acceptance of the Christian faith made us useful (a) to those who helped us come to believe or (b) our employers and neighbours?
Q7 What do you make of Paul’s appeal in verses 12 to 16? Is he being manipulative or does he have a purer motive?
Q8 In what ways does Paul pile on the pressure in verses 17 to 22? How do you think you would feel if you received a letter like this?
Verses 23-25 Final Greetings and blessing
Q9 So how did Philemon respond? Does the fact that the letter was included in the Bible prove anything?
Q10 How can Christians challenge, correct and bring out the best in each other? Can this kind of activity only begin to take place in a mature Christian community, or is it the way to build one?
It may seem strange that such a short and personal letter is included in the Bible however Philemon can be very useful for us (see verse 11)!
Paul probably wrote it at the same time as Colossians, about AD60, while he was in prison in Rome or Ephesus, and delivered it with the same travelers, Onesimus and Tychicus. The recipient of the letter, Philemon, was a member of the Colossian Church and a slave owner. One of his slaves, Onesimus, had apparently stolen from him and run away. Whilst on the run, met Paul and become a Christian.
Verses 1-3 Greetings
Q1 What does the greeting reveal about the kind of relationship Paul has with Philemon and his church?
Verses 4-7 Thanksgiving and Prayer
Q2 What two personal qualities of Philemon does Paul draw attention to, and why?
Verses 8-22 Paul´s plea for Onesimus
Q3 Why does Paul believe he has the right to order Philemon to do the right thing? Why does he choose not to exercise this right?
Q4 Why do you think the name of Onesimus is not even mentioned until verse 10?
Q5 What change in Onesimus’s life had enabled him to start living up to his name (which means ‘Useful’ or ‘Profitable’?
Q6 In what ways has our acceptance of the Christian faith made us useful (a) to those who helped us come to believe or (b) our employers and neighbours?
Q7 What do you make of Paul’s appeal in verses 12 to 16? Is he being manipulative or does he have a purer motive?
Q8 In what ways does Paul pile on the pressure in verses 17 to 22? How do you think you would feel if you received a letter like this?
Verses 23-25 Final Greetings and blessing
Q9 So how did Philemon respond? Does the fact that the letter was included in the Bible prove anything?
Q10 How can Christians challenge, correct and bring out the best in each other? Can this kind of activity only begin to take place in a mature Christian community, or is it the way to build one?
Philemon sermon
Philemon 1-21
Introduction
• Paul a thoughtful and prayerful leader & a good example
• Philemon = shortest of his letters in Biblel’
• A warm, personal letter which reveals his leadership style & priorities
• Full of faith, love and wisdom
• Paul tactfully deals with a sensitive situation
• He provides appropriate leadership which is both bold and humble
Background
• Addressed to Philemon, a ‘dear friend and co-worker’ with Paul, also to Apphia (Phil’s wife), Archippus (their son), & the church which met at their house.
• Written same time as Colossians, Paul in prison at Rome or Ephesus
• Situation: a slave called Onesimus has run away from his master Philemon, probably robbing him (18), or just failing to return from an errand, so ‘robbing’ P in sense of depriving him of his services
• Law: Anyone finding a stray slave was obliged to return him to his master or sell him and send the money instead.
• A returning slave would be severely punished, perhaps killed
• BUT while on the run O met Paul, became a Christian and a valued friend.
• Paul is obliged to return O to Phil but he sends WITH him this tactful and tender letter, appealing to Phil to receive him as he would P himself and to treat him AS A BROTHER.
• Paul also promises to pay anything O owes Phil and asks for continued prayer for his own release, so he can visit them.
Giving a dog a bad name…
• Onesimus means ‘profitable’ or ‘useful’ however he had proved to be anything but! Paul plays on this meaning in (11):-
Formerly he was USELESS to you, but now he has become USEFUL both to you and to me.
• Names are important in the Bible and for us today – we take great care naming our children and even pets, boats, churches. We give them A GOOD NAME TO LIVE UP TO.
• A baby girl born in Switzerland to ambitious parents was given the same name as a champion tennis player … and sure enough Martina Hingis followed in the footsteps of Martina Navratilova.
• Of course it doesn’t always work out! Not ALL of the current crop of babies called Leo will become great professional footballers!!
• I was born the year after Prince Andrew and look how I turned out!
• On the other hand you wouldn’t name your ship ‘Titanic2’.
• Giving someone a bad name can be dispiriting and self-fulfilling.
• How many people have been written off as Stupid, as a Failure, an Underachiever, a Liability, Useless… and how many of us have unthinkingly attached these labels to others?
• PAUL gives the people he sends AND the people he writes to a good name to live up to.
• Not flattery or manipulation – he just longs to see people fulfil the potential God has put in them.
• Nobody is Useless, everyone is created for a purpose and every life submitted to Jesus will be transformed by His Spirit and made useful and profitable.
Responding to grace
• Why is such a short, personal letter in the Bible? See verses 6 & 7:-
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
• Paul gives the highest priority to sharing the faith with others, and he knows this is best achieved NOT by telling people what to believe but by DEMONSTRATING Christian love.
• His appeal to Phil & his Church echoes words of Jesus in Jn 17
• Paul prays that the love at work amongst Christians will make their social status, slave or free, irrelevant, and will attract others to commit their lives to become followers of Jesus.
• Phil and co must have accepted Paul’s challenge, or the letter wouldn’t be in the Bible! We should also accept it:-
• By loving , serving and taking responsibility for each other in a way that demonstrates the life of Jesus
• By praying for the church and the world with thankfulness and hope
• By taking special care of the vulnerable and underprivileged
• By actively seeking reconciliation of any break in fellowship
• By helping each other to grow in godliness and Christian maturity.
I pray that this will be our story and that God will bless, transform and unite us as we journey together.
Introduction
• Paul a thoughtful and prayerful leader & a good example
• Philemon = shortest of his letters in Biblel’
• A warm, personal letter which reveals his leadership style & priorities
• Full of faith, love and wisdom
• Paul tactfully deals with a sensitive situation
• He provides appropriate leadership which is both bold and humble
Background
• Addressed to Philemon, a ‘dear friend and co-worker’ with Paul, also to Apphia (Phil’s wife), Archippus (their son), & the church which met at their house.
• Written same time as Colossians, Paul in prison at Rome or Ephesus
• Situation: a slave called Onesimus has run away from his master Philemon, probably robbing him (18), or just failing to return from an errand, so ‘robbing’ P in sense of depriving him of his services
• Law: Anyone finding a stray slave was obliged to return him to his master or sell him and send the money instead.
• A returning slave would be severely punished, perhaps killed
• BUT while on the run O met Paul, became a Christian and a valued friend.
• Paul is obliged to return O to Phil but he sends WITH him this tactful and tender letter, appealing to Phil to receive him as he would P himself and to treat him AS A BROTHER.
• Paul also promises to pay anything O owes Phil and asks for continued prayer for his own release, so he can visit them.
Giving a dog a bad name…
• Onesimus means ‘profitable’ or ‘useful’ however he had proved to be anything but! Paul plays on this meaning in (11):-
Formerly he was USELESS to you, but now he has become USEFUL both to you and to me.
• Names are important in the Bible and for us today – we take great care naming our children and even pets, boats, churches. We give them A GOOD NAME TO LIVE UP TO.
• A baby girl born in Switzerland to ambitious parents was given the same name as a champion tennis player … and sure enough Martina Hingis followed in the footsteps of Martina Navratilova.
• Of course it doesn’t always work out! Not ALL of the current crop of babies called Leo will become great professional footballers!!
• I was born the year after Prince Andrew and look how I turned out!
• On the other hand you wouldn’t name your ship ‘Titanic2’.
• Giving someone a bad name can be dispiriting and self-fulfilling.
• How many people have been written off as Stupid, as a Failure, an Underachiever, a Liability, Useless… and how many of us have unthinkingly attached these labels to others?
• PAUL gives the people he sends AND the people he writes to a good name to live up to.
• Not flattery or manipulation – he just longs to see people fulfil the potential God has put in them.
• Nobody is Useless, everyone is created for a purpose and every life submitted to Jesus will be transformed by His Spirit and made useful and profitable.
Responding to grace
• Why is such a short, personal letter in the Bible? See verses 6 & 7:-
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
• Paul gives the highest priority to sharing the faith with others, and he knows this is best achieved NOT by telling people what to believe but by DEMONSTRATING Christian love.
• His appeal to Phil & his Church echoes words of Jesus in Jn 17
• Paul prays that the love at work amongst Christians will make their social status, slave or free, irrelevant, and will attract others to commit their lives to become followers of Jesus.
• Phil and co must have accepted Paul’s challenge, or the letter wouldn’t be in the Bible! We should also accept it:-
• By loving , serving and taking responsibility for each other in a way that demonstrates the life of Jesus
• By praying for the church and the world with thankfulness and hope
• By taking special care of the vulnerable and underprivileged
• By actively seeking reconciliation of any break in fellowship
• By helping each other to grow in godliness and Christian maturity.
I pray that this will be our story and that God will bless, transform and unite us as we journey together.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Sermon - The Magnificat
Luke 1.46-55
Introduction
• Protestants shy away from RC/Orthodox excesses, but M really is important.
• The Magnificat may be the Bible’s greatest song of faith and the clearest expression of the heart of the gospel.
What God has done for Mary (v46-49)
• Becoming pregnant as an unmarried teenager was no joke. M was also given a huge responsibility that she must have felt incapable of carrying through.
• Bitter, fearful and overwhelmed?
• No, she responds with praise and thanks, and an “unrealistic” confidence that God will bring about untold good through her:-
“From now on all generations will call me blessed.”
What God “has done” for others
• M also sees the wider implications of what God has done for her. She sees that God’s mercy will actually extend to all who fear (revere, respect) him for all generations.
• The series of past tenses in verses 51-54 seem puzzling/optimistic. Has God really scattered the proud, brought down rulers, filled the hungry etc?
• Mary is speaking prophetically, with the eyes of faith and with a deep understanding of God’s priorities and purposes – justice, compassion, a breaking down of pride/riches and other barriers to fellowship with God.
• Mary knows that SOMEHOW, the new life that God has put in her womb will bring about the answer to pain, suffering, evil and injustice.
How is Mary an example/inspiration for us?
• Mary’s relevance to those of us living today goes way beyond devotions to paintings, carvings or statues of an idealized, saintly woman. It comes down to our deepest fears, needs and insecurities and shows us the way out.
• Perhaps you can think of a time in your life when you were anxious, uncertain, overwhelmed. Perhaps something like that is going on for you now.
• When you are in that kind of place it makes a difference if you are a person who shares the faith of Mary. A person who can say “my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.”
• = A person who believes that God performs mighty deeds and fills the hungry with good things. A person who believes that God has put his new life in them, his Holy Spirit, to transform the way they act and cope and live.
• OR, perhaps you can think of an “insoluble” world problem – AIDS, economic meltdown, terrorism, the extreme poverty of much of the world’s population.
• When we think about these problems it makes a difference if we are Christians, people who share the faith of Mary.
• = people who believe that God is all powerful and that he values justice, integrity, peace and love above all things. That he has come into the world in the form of a human being in order to radically change the way things are and has poured out his Spirit to enable us all to live in a new way, a way which advances the influence of the Kingdom of God on earth, day by day. It makes a difference!
Not so easy?
• You might be thinking it is not so easy to have the faith of the New Testament’s Mary, or even the faith of a vicar, a religious professional!
• This is where the Church comes in. You are not alone! Mary herself had Joseph to support her and later, after the trauma of the cross, she was part of the earliest Church community (Acts 1.14).
• The Bible makes it clear that the Church is not just a random collection of individuals who happen to hold similar religious beliefs! We are here for each other; we are meant to be dependent on each other.
• I’m very happy to see this mutual support in prayer and action already happening fairly strongly at St G’s (…examples?) and I’d be happy to see a lot more of it!
• Together we can grow in the faith that Mary had in the Son of God who she was carrying in her womb when she sang this great song of praise.
• Together we can praise God for his past, present and future mercies and live in a new way which transforms the world into God’s Kingdom.
Let’s take on board the Magnificat as our song, our hope, our prayer by saying these words together now, with confidence… Luke 1.46-55!
Introduction
• Protestants shy away from RC/Orthodox excesses, but M really is important.
• The Magnificat may be the Bible’s greatest song of faith and the clearest expression of the heart of the gospel.
What God has done for Mary (v46-49)
• Becoming pregnant as an unmarried teenager was no joke. M was also given a huge responsibility that she must have felt incapable of carrying through.
• Bitter, fearful and overwhelmed?
• No, she responds with praise and thanks, and an “unrealistic” confidence that God will bring about untold good through her:-
“From now on all generations will call me blessed.”
What God “has done” for others
• M also sees the wider implications of what God has done for her. She sees that God’s mercy will actually extend to all who fear (revere, respect) him for all generations.
• The series of past tenses in verses 51-54 seem puzzling/optimistic. Has God really scattered the proud, brought down rulers, filled the hungry etc?
• Mary is speaking prophetically, with the eyes of faith and with a deep understanding of God’s priorities and purposes – justice, compassion, a breaking down of pride/riches and other barriers to fellowship with God.
• Mary knows that SOMEHOW, the new life that God has put in her womb will bring about the answer to pain, suffering, evil and injustice.
How is Mary an example/inspiration for us?
• Mary’s relevance to those of us living today goes way beyond devotions to paintings, carvings or statues of an idealized, saintly woman. It comes down to our deepest fears, needs and insecurities and shows us the way out.
• Perhaps you can think of a time in your life when you were anxious, uncertain, overwhelmed. Perhaps something like that is going on for you now.
• When you are in that kind of place it makes a difference if you are a person who shares the faith of Mary. A person who can say “my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.”
• = A person who believes that God performs mighty deeds and fills the hungry with good things. A person who believes that God has put his new life in them, his Holy Spirit, to transform the way they act and cope and live.
• OR, perhaps you can think of an “insoluble” world problem – AIDS, economic meltdown, terrorism, the extreme poverty of much of the world’s population.
• When we think about these problems it makes a difference if we are Christians, people who share the faith of Mary.
• = people who believe that God is all powerful and that he values justice, integrity, peace and love above all things. That he has come into the world in the form of a human being in order to radically change the way things are and has poured out his Spirit to enable us all to live in a new way, a way which advances the influence of the Kingdom of God on earth, day by day. It makes a difference!
Not so easy?
• You might be thinking it is not so easy to have the faith of the New Testament’s Mary, or even the faith of a vicar, a religious professional!
• This is where the Church comes in. You are not alone! Mary herself had Joseph to support her and later, after the trauma of the cross, she was part of the earliest Church community (Acts 1.14).
• The Bible makes it clear that the Church is not just a random collection of individuals who happen to hold similar religious beliefs! We are here for each other; we are meant to be dependent on each other.
• I’m very happy to see this mutual support in prayer and action already happening fairly strongly at St G’s (…examples?) and I’d be happy to see a lot more of it!
• Together we can grow in the faith that Mary had in the Son of God who she was carrying in her womb when she sang this great song of praise.
• Together we can praise God for his past, present and future mercies and live in a new way which transforms the world into God’s Kingdom.
Let’s take on board the Magnificat as our song, our hope, our prayer by saying these words together now, with confidence… Luke 1.46-55!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Rich Fool - Luke 12.13-21
Luke 12.13-21
Jesus told this parable in response to a man who wanted more than his legal share of the family estate. The man tried to recruit Jesus as an ally of his covetousness – instead, Jesus warned of the danger of all kinds of greed. The words with which he prefaced the parable speak directly and powerfully to our consumerist, materialist society:-
“A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
One useful way of analysing the parable which follows is to think about what the rich fool remembered and what he forgot.
What he remembered
The first thing he remembered was himself! This was a man whose life revolved around himself, his comfort, his security, his possessions. We can see this simply by noticing in his little speech how often the words “I” and “my” come up. (Read vv 17-19). He planned for himself a life of ease and enjoyment, without any other consideration whatsoever. It has been said that Jesus came to abolish the words “I” and “mine” from life and replace them with “we” and “ours”. Through this parable Jesus condemns all for whom the word “I” is the most important in the language.
The second thing he remembered was this world with all its wealth and attractions. He had no concept of any other world beyond what he could see and touch. From that perspective his plan made perfect sense. Accumulate and store as much stuff as you can, then sit back and enjoy it for many years to come.
What he forgot
A clue to what this man forgot can be found in Jesus’s summary of the law (Matthew 22.36-40).
He actually forgot the most important things of all.
Firstly he forgot his NEIGHBOURS. Faced with the dilemma that his land was producing more crops than he had room to store, the rich man could have looked around and seen many less fortunate or capable people and shared some of his abundance with them. (Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan – anybody in need is our neighbour). But this idea was just not on his radar.
Again his idea of enjoyment was to eat, drink and be merry - no thought for feeding others, or bringing enjoyment to them.
Secondly he forgot his own MORTALITY. Dying that night was not part of his plan (nor anyone’s) but it happened to him and it could of course happen to anyone. He had lived as if he were immortal…
Thirdly he forgot GOD – he forgot who the giver is, who the owner is (our life and possessions are only ‘on loan’) and he made plans for the future without reference to God. We are reminded in James 4.13-15 of the foolishness of this.
As he sat back and poured himself another aperitif, he congratulated himself on his cleverness and good fortune – then to his surprise he heard God’s verdict on his life … “you fool!” and learned to his horror that his life was over.
Finally he forgot that a man’s life consists not in what he has but in WHO HE IS. He worked hard at building up a store of things he could not take with him beyond this life and neglected to develop the attributes which do live beyond death…
As we are reminded in Micah 6.8 “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”
Not just individuals
All of this warning against living a selfish and greedy lifestyle could be applied to NATIONS as well as INDIVIDUALS. If an individual can be a rich fool, so can a nation, or a group of nations, or a whole cultural system, a way of life.
Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions… Don’t the words of Jesus speak to us today? Has there ever been a society more anxious and obsessed about food, drink and clothing? A society which has rejected the truth that God is the provider; a society where people strive and struggle but are never satisfied. A society which exploits poorer and weaker societies by every means possible, but whose material riches are matched by its spiritual poverty.
Make Poverty History campaign reminded us that 800 mil people in the world go hungry each day and a child dies of starvation every 3 seconds (remember the powerful finger click illustration).
We may be poor and dreaming of a more comfortable life.
We may resent other people who have the things we deserve.
Or, like the man in the parable, our barns may be bursting and we may be considering building bigger ones – but surely instead we have a corporate as well as an individual responsibility to change things; by praying, by giving and by campaigning for justice.
There are encouraging signs of changing attitudes but we must not let them be a flash in the pan.
Remember, Jesus told this parable to everyone present, not just the rich. Because its not about what we have, its about what we DESIRE.
May we understand and truly believe that our lives do not consist of the abundance of our possessions.
May we be people who do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.
And may we seek first the kingdom of God and his justice.
Jesus told this parable in response to a man who wanted more than his legal share of the family estate. The man tried to recruit Jesus as an ally of his covetousness – instead, Jesus warned of the danger of all kinds of greed. The words with which he prefaced the parable speak directly and powerfully to our consumerist, materialist society:-
“A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
One useful way of analysing the parable which follows is to think about what the rich fool remembered and what he forgot.
What he remembered
The first thing he remembered was himself! This was a man whose life revolved around himself, his comfort, his security, his possessions. We can see this simply by noticing in his little speech how often the words “I” and “my” come up. (Read vv 17-19). He planned for himself a life of ease and enjoyment, without any other consideration whatsoever. It has been said that Jesus came to abolish the words “I” and “mine” from life and replace them with “we” and “ours”. Through this parable Jesus condemns all for whom the word “I” is the most important in the language.
The second thing he remembered was this world with all its wealth and attractions. He had no concept of any other world beyond what he could see and touch. From that perspective his plan made perfect sense. Accumulate and store as much stuff as you can, then sit back and enjoy it for many years to come.
What he forgot
A clue to what this man forgot can be found in Jesus’s summary of the law (Matthew 22.36-40).
He actually forgot the most important things of all.
Firstly he forgot his NEIGHBOURS. Faced with the dilemma that his land was producing more crops than he had room to store, the rich man could have looked around and seen many less fortunate or capable people and shared some of his abundance with them. (Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan – anybody in need is our neighbour). But this idea was just not on his radar.
Again his idea of enjoyment was to eat, drink and be merry - no thought for feeding others, or bringing enjoyment to them.
Secondly he forgot his own MORTALITY. Dying that night was not part of his plan (nor anyone’s) but it happened to him and it could of course happen to anyone. He had lived as if he were immortal…
Thirdly he forgot GOD – he forgot who the giver is, who the owner is (our life and possessions are only ‘on loan’) and he made plans for the future without reference to God. We are reminded in James 4.13-15 of the foolishness of this.
As he sat back and poured himself another aperitif, he congratulated himself on his cleverness and good fortune – then to his surprise he heard God’s verdict on his life … “you fool!” and learned to his horror that his life was over.
Finally he forgot that a man’s life consists not in what he has but in WHO HE IS. He worked hard at building up a store of things he could not take with him beyond this life and neglected to develop the attributes which do live beyond death…
As we are reminded in Micah 6.8 “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”
Not just individuals
All of this warning against living a selfish and greedy lifestyle could be applied to NATIONS as well as INDIVIDUALS. If an individual can be a rich fool, so can a nation, or a group of nations, or a whole cultural system, a way of life.
Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions… Don’t the words of Jesus speak to us today? Has there ever been a society more anxious and obsessed about food, drink and clothing? A society which has rejected the truth that God is the provider; a society where people strive and struggle but are never satisfied. A society which exploits poorer and weaker societies by every means possible, but whose material riches are matched by its spiritual poverty.
Make Poverty History campaign reminded us that 800 mil people in the world go hungry each day and a child dies of starvation every 3 seconds (remember the powerful finger click illustration).
We may be poor and dreaming of a more comfortable life.
We may resent other people who have the things we deserve.
Or, like the man in the parable, our barns may be bursting and we may be considering building bigger ones – but surely instead we have a corporate as well as an individual responsibility to change things; by praying, by giving and by campaigning for justice.
There are encouraging signs of changing attitudes but we must not let them be a flash in the pan.
Remember, Jesus told this parable to everyone present, not just the rich. Because its not about what we have, its about what we DESIRE.
May we understand and truly believe that our lives do not consist of the abundance of our possessions.
May we be people who do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.
And may we seek first the kingdom of God and his justice.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Colossians 1.15-28 World Cup sermon
Colossians 1.15-28
Did anyone notice it was football’s WORLD CUP FINAL last weekend? Some of us may have been celebrating, others drowning their sorrows, some people in this region unsure whether to cheer or not (in spite of fact that more than half the players in the winning team came from a local club), others wondering what all the fuss was about! It was certainly a great sporting victory for Spain.
As always the match generated a lot of comment – much of it concerning the very rough, almost violent approach of the Dutch team. One headline writer called it a “Total Disgrace”, referring to the Dutch tradition of playing in an attractive style called “Total Football”. Ironically it was Dutch coaches, Cruyff, Van Gaal and Rijkaard who introduced and this style at FC Barcelona – so the Spanish victory was really “made in Holland”!
We’re not here to talk about football, but there is a lot about football in the Bible. Here are a few examples:-
Psalm 121.5 “The LORD is your Keeper.”
1 Samuel 16.17 “Bring me a man who can play skilfully.”
Proverbs 4.27 “Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot away from evil.”
Philippians 3.13-14 “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal…”
SOME GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE WORLD CUP
1. It brings people together – within divided countries to support their team AND brings different races and nations together on the field and in the crowd to enjoy sport together.
2. At its best, the “beautiful game” is a demonstration of breathtaking skill, courage and honest endeavour.
3. The World Cup gives hope and inspiration to millions of people around the world (a) because ANY country can win the trophy (in theory at least). (b) because any boy from the poorest ghetto of the poorest nation can dream of becoming an international hero with incredible wealth.
4. Football has filled the gap vacated by religion. Modern stadiums are architectural masterpieces – the cathedrals of our day – where people gather in huge numbers to sing, hope, dream, worship!
SOME NOT SO GOOD THINGS ABOUT WORLD CUP
1. Encourages xenophobia and disorder – an opportunity for racist violence and alcohol abuse – an excuse for all that is worst inhuman society.
2. Matches are a showcase for bad sportsmanship, cheating and deception of referees. Rich players can set an appalling example to our children all too often.
3. The World Cup hopes and dreams of most individuals and nations are doomed to failure. Even for the winners, the World Cup is unlikely to deliver any real or lasting benefits. England won in 1966 and look at us now…
ST PAUL enjoyed some success in his day, yet he considered all his worldly possessions and successes RUBBISH and longed for something BETTER, something REAL and PERMANENT…
So, what SHOULD people put their faith in today? Is the cross of Jesus Christ any more reliable than the crosses of Lampard or Xavi?
Our Bible reading from Colossians is, amongst other things, about IMAGE, about VICTORY and about PARTICIPATION.
Image
The first part of our reading is a wonderful poem about Jesus and was probably used as a hymn or creed in the very earliest days of the Church. It begins with the bold claim that Jesus is the IMAGE of the invisible God. But what does this mean?
If I tell you that my mate Geoff is the image of Brad Pitt, what do you understand by this? Probably that I think he looks quite like the film star – nothing more than this. But when Paul describes Jesus as being the image of God he’s saying a lot more. So do other Bible writers:
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. (Hebrews 1.3)
For Paul and the other NT writers, Jesus is not just a “lookalike”, his identification with God is total. He is God made flesh, He is God in human form.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Col 1.19).
Victory
Paul spells out what this means:
• Jesus didn’t just come into existence when Mary became pregnant, he existed before time began and was fully involved in the creation of all things (v15-16). He continues to create and sustain all life (v17).
• Jesus was fully involved in God’s victory over sin and death and his work of repairing the broken relationship of all his creatures with him, his work of bringing peace and reconciliation to all creation (v20).
Notice the repetition of the words all things which come up five times in these few verses. Paul is describing a TOTAL identification of Jesus with God, a TOTAL victory and a TOTAL reconciliation of all people and all things with God.
Paul describes a big vision and a big victory for Jesus, this man who is the image of God in the deepest and most intimate sense. But even as we sit like spectators at the world cup, celebrating the victory of Jesus and cheering, even worshipping our hero, we know that more is required of us.
Participation
Jesus is the image of God in a way that no one else can be, and yet that word image reminds us of something we’ve read before. In the very first chapter of the Bible we read this:
Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image… So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Gen 1.26,27)
God’s intention was clearly that not just one but all human beings would be his image. But we know from history, from the Bible and from our own experience that human beings are a selfish and rebellious lot and so surely this idea of all people being in the image of God is doomed to fail… but this is where the Church comes in.
As well as being the image of God , Paul describes Jesus as being the head of the body, the church … and the firstborn from among the dead (v18).
He goes on to describe how the Church is full of the life and power and potential of Jesus and how its purpose is to share this gift with everyone (v27).
Are we taking this seriously enough here at St George’s, here in Barcelona? Paul was prepared to suffer great hardship in the cause of the gospel (v27-28), but are we prepared to suffer even minor inconvenience?
Are we content to have a good image? Or will we strive with Paul to BE the image of God, the life-giving Body of Christ for the benefit of all people? As we saw in the pictures, what matters is not what we look like but how we show God to the world in the way we live.
If we join with Paul as wholehearted players in Jesus’s team, we can be sure of winning a greater prize than any world cup.
Did anyone notice it was football’s WORLD CUP FINAL last weekend? Some of us may have been celebrating, others drowning their sorrows, some people in this region unsure whether to cheer or not (in spite of fact that more than half the players in the winning team came from a local club), others wondering what all the fuss was about! It was certainly a great sporting victory for Spain.
As always the match generated a lot of comment – much of it concerning the very rough, almost violent approach of the Dutch team. One headline writer called it a “Total Disgrace”, referring to the Dutch tradition of playing in an attractive style called “Total Football”. Ironically it was Dutch coaches, Cruyff, Van Gaal and Rijkaard who introduced and this style at FC Barcelona – so the Spanish victory was really “made in Holland”!
We’re not here to talk about football, but there is a lot about football in the Bible. Here are a few examples:-
Psalm 121.5 “The LORD is your Keeper.”
1 Samuel 16.17 “Bring me a man who can play skilfully.”
Proverbs 4.27 “Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot away from evil.”
Philippians 3.13-14 “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal…”
SOME GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE WORLD CUP
1. It brings people together – within divided countries to support their team AND brings different races and nations together on the field and in the crowd to enjoy sport together.
2. At its best, the “beautiful game” is a demonstration of breathtaking skill, courage and honest endeavour.
3. The World Cup gives hope and inspiration to millions of people around the world (a) because ANY country can win the trophy (in theory at least). (b) because any boy from the poorest ghetto of the poorest nation can dream of becoming an international hero with incredible wealth.
4. Football has filled the gap vacated by religion. Modern stadiums are architectural masterpieces – the cathedrals of our day – where people gather in huge numbers to sing, hope, dream, worship!
SOME NOT SO GOOD THINGS ABOUT WORLD CUP
1. Encourages xenophobia and disorder – an opportunity for racist violence and alcohol abuse – an excuse for all that is worst inhuman society.
2. Matches are a showcase for bad sportsmanship, cheating and deception of referees. Rich players can set an appalling example to our children all too often.
3. The World Cup hopes and dreams of most individuals and nations are doomed to failure. Even for the winners, the World Cup is unlikely to deliver any real or lasting benefits. England won in 1966 and look at us now…
ST PAUL enjoyed some success in his day, yet he considered all his worldly possessions and successes RUBBISH and longed for something BETTER, something REAL and PERMANENT…
So, what SHOULD people put their faith in today? Is the cross of Jesus Christ any more reliable than the crosses of Lampard or Xavi?
Our Bible reading from Colossians is, amongst other things, about IMAGE, about VICTORY and about PARTICIPATION.
Image
The first part of our reading is a wonderful poem about Jesus and was probably used as a hymn or creed in the very earliest days of the Church. It begins with the bold claim that Jesus is the IMAGE of the invisible God. But what does this mean?
If I tell you that my mate Geoff is the image of Brad Pitt, what do you understand by this? Probably that I think he looks quite like the film star – nothing more than this. But when Paul describes Jesus as being the image of God he’s saying a lot more. So do other Bible writers:
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. (Hebrews 1.3)
For Paul and the other NT writers, Jesus is not just a “lookalike”, his identification with God is total. He is God made flesh, He is God in human form.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Col 1.19).
Victory
Paul spells out what this means:
• Jesus didn’t just come into existence when Mary became pregnant, he existed before time began and was fully involved in the creation of all things (v15-16). He continues to create and sustain all life (v17).
• Jesus was fully involved in God’s victory over sin and death and his work of repairing the broken relationship of all his creatures with him, his work of bringing peace and reconciliation to all creation (v20).
Notice the repetition of the words all things which come up five times in these few verses. Paul is describing a TOTAL identification of Jesus with God, a TOTAL victory and a TOTAL reconciliation of all people and all things with God.
Paul describes a big vision and a big victory for Jesus, this man who is the image of God in the deepest and most intimate sense. But even as we sit like spectators at the world cup, celebrating the victory of Jesus and cheering, even worshipping our hero, we know that more is required of us.
Participation
Jesus is the image of God in a way that no one else can be, and yet that word image reminds us of something we’ve read before. In the very first chapter of the Bible we read this:
Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image… So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Gen 1.26,27)
God’s intention was clearly that not just one but all human beings would be his image. But we know from history, from the Bible and from our own experience that human beings are a selfish and rebellious lot and so surely this idea of all people being in the image of God is doomed to fail… but this is where the Church comes in.
As well as being the image of God , Paul describes Jesus as being the head of the body, the church … and the firstborn from among the dead (v18).
He goes on to describe how the Church is full of the life and power and potential of Jesus and how its purpose is to share this gift with everyone (v27).
Are we taking this seriously enough here at St George’s, here in Barcelona? Paul was prepared to suffer great hardship in the cause of the gospel (v27-28), but are we prepared to suffer even minor inconvenience?
Are we content to have a good image? Or will we strive with Paul to BE the image of God, the life-giving Body of Christ for the benefit of all people? As we saw in the pictures, what matters is not what we look like but how we show God to the world in the way we live.
If we join with Paul as wholehearted players in Jesus’s team, we can be sure of winning a greater prize than any world cup.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sermon - Luke 9.51-62
Luke 9.51-62
Intro
• Key moment in Luke – cf military receiving orders to pack up & board transport to war zone – reality dawns, adrenalin flows, heart beats quicker…
• Alan Jones “when the flag drops, the bulls**t stops”
• At these moments questions are raised about our real values, our beliefs, our courage and our commitment.
• These kind of Qs are raised by Jesus here. Begins (51) when J sensed his time had come and “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Ends with J saying “No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” In between, tough Qs are raised for J’s disciples and other people.
• These questions should challenge us too.
Context
• Jesus has been preparing for this turning point through Ch9
• Predictions of his rejection and suffering (22, 44)
• Radical commitment required of followers (23-25)
• BUT his words weren’t understood by disciples. Were they just dull?
• How strange/unexpected his words after Peter’s insight that J was Messiah
• No Jew expected Messiah to suffer. J’s combination of 2 separate streams of OT prophecy was totally unexpected
• They probably just ignored J’s statements with a nervous laugh – as if he were an eccentric inventor with a wild idea for a flying machine. As J prepared himself to strap on his wings and stride to the cliff edge, disciples concerned themselves, as Christians often do, with questions of membership and status amongst his followers!
• The Qs Jesus wanted to pose his followers and potential followers were aimed at 2 groups:- those who refuse to follow and those who say they will follow.
Those who refuse to follow
• Represented by Samaritan villagers. Refuse to receive J (let alone follow) because he is heading for Jerusalem
• Their hearts are locked into old tribal enmeties and religious pride
• Jerusalem must not be valued above their own religious sites (cf John 4)
• Hand of friendship will not be accepted from one of the old enemy race
• NOTICE it is not just Samaritans who are locked into old ways:- there is a lesson for James and John as they suggest calling down fire from heaven to
•
• destroy God’s enemies (as Elijah did). Jesus rebukes them (55). This is not the way for his disciples…
• Jesus will not join in the old vendetta, he will not curse his enemies…
• Instead he will love them, responding to their hatred by continuing his journey all the way to the cross, on which he will die for their sins and ours.
• Those who refuse to follow are like the seed which fell on the path and was snatched away by the devil (8.12)
Those who say they will follow
Jesus gives three examples:
1. A willing volunteer who says he will follow J wherever he goes (57). The offer seems sincere but J perceives this man has no idea about the discomfort and hardship disciples have to endure (58).
• Following J is an adventure, but there is no 5 star accommodation.
• Committed in word but not in heart, this kind of follower will not be able to survive the time of trial (like the seed which fell on rock (8.13).
• Disciples who want to follow Jesus in comfort are of no use.
2. A second man called by Jesus agrees to follow after burying his Father (59) i.e. in his own time.
• It is unlikely that the Father has already died, or he’d already have been mourning and making arrangements.
• The man is probably saying I can’t make more of a commitment until my family responsibilities have eased and I have more free time.
• Most of us have these kind of commitments – to grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren etc – they ebb and flow at different stages in our lives. It is important to honour these relationship commitments (Exodus 20.12)…
• BUT Jesus would challenge them where they are used as an excuse for avoiding wholehearted commitment to God (like the seed that fell amongst thorns, whose fruitfulness was choked by the worries and pleasures of the world 8.14) e.g. my decision to move here, against my parents’ wishes!
• A true disciple will live in a way which serves God and proclaims the gospel, whatever other responsibilities he or she has.
3. Another potential disciple displays his lack of commitment, asking permission to go back and say goodbye to his family before he will follow.
•
•
• He wants to follow on his own terms but Jesus wants followers who will keep their eyes fixed on him, not keep looking back to people or things they have left behind.
• (As Paul argues throughout Galatians – today’s reading Gal 5.13-15).
Time for a reality check?
• Luke 9.51 a “reality check” for the disciples
• They’d begun to enjoy status of being his close companions. He’d shared his amazing powers with them & they were wondering which of them would be “top cat” & who they would allow to join the gang.
• Suddenly the strange things he’d said about suffering and dying became more pressing as he turned towards Jerusalem.
• He became less comfortable to be with and they were pulled in two directions – BACK to the familiar, comfortable, safe – FORWARD to a strange, rocky road with Jesus striding ahead, calling them to follow.
…for us too!
• We face similar choices and are also pulled in two directions:-
• Where are you on your journey?
• What pressures are pulling you away from real commitment to following Jesus?
• Are you refusing to follow, insisting on hanging onto the familiar, the comfortable?
• Or are you committed to following Jesus in your words but not your actions?
• Is your heart “good soil” for God’s word and are you being as fruitful as he wants you?
• Wherever we are on the road, Jesus is ahead of us, calling us to follow him.
Intro
• Key moment in Luke – cf military receiving orders to pack up & board transport to war zone – reality dawns, adrenalin flows, heart beats quicker…
• Alan Jones “when the flag drops, the bulls**t stops”
• At these moments questions are raised about our real values, our beliefs, our courage and our commitment.
• These kind of Qs are raised by Jesus here. Begins (51) when J sensed his time had come and “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Ends with J saying “No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” In between, tough Qs are raised for J’s disciples and other people.
• These questions should challenge us too.
Context
• Jesus has been preparing for this turning point through Ch9
• Predictions of his rejection and suffering (22, 44)
• Radical commitment required of followers (23-25)
• BUT his words weren’t understood by disciples. Were they just dull?
• How strange/unexpected his words after Peter’s insight that J was Messiah
• No Jew expected Messiah to suffer. J’s combination of 2 separate streams of OT prophecy was totally unexpected
• They probably just ignored J’s statements with a nervous laugh – as if he were an eccentric inventor with a wild idea for a flying machine. As J prepared himself to strap on his wings and stride to the cliff edge, disciples concerned themselves, as Christians often do, with questions of membership and status amongst his followers!
• The Qs Jesus wanted to pose his followers and potential followers were aimed at 2 groups:- those who refuse to follow and those who say they will follow.
Those who refuse to follow
• Represented by Samaritan villagers. Refuse to receive J (let alone follow) because he is heading for Jerusalem
• Their hearts are locked into old tribal enmeties and religious pride
• Jerusalem must not be valued above their own religious sites (cf John 4)
• Hand of friendship will not be accepted from one of the old enemy race
• NOTICE it is not just Samaritans who are locked into old ways:- there is a lesson for James and John as they suggest calling down fire from heaven to
•
• destroy God’s enemies (as Elijah did). Jesus rebukes them (55). This is not the way for his disciples…
• Jesus will not join in the old vendetta, he will not curse his enemies…
• Instead he will love them, responding to their hatred by continuing his journey all the way to the cross, on which he will die for their sins and ours.
• Those who refuse to follow are like the seed which fell on the path and was snatched away by the devil (8.12)
Those who say they will follow
Jesus gives three examples:
1. A willing volunteer who says he will follow J wherever he goes (57). The offer seems sincere but J perceives this man has no idea about the discomfort and hardship disciples have to endure (58).
• Following J is an adventure, but there is no 5 star accommodation.
• Committed in word but not in heart, this kind of follower will not be able to survive the time of trial (like the seed which fell on rock (8.13).
• Disciples who want to follow Jesus in comfort are of no use.
2. A second man called by Jesus agrees to follow after burying his Father (59) i.e. in his own time.
• It is unlikely that the Father has already died, or he’d already have been mourning and making arrangements.
• The man is probably saying I can’t make more of a commitment until my family responsibilities have eased and I have more free time.
• Most of us have these kind of commitments – to grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren etc – they ebb and flow at different stages in our lives. It is important to honour these relationship commitments (Exodus 20.12)…
• BUT Jesus would challenge them where they are used as an excuse for avoiding wholehearted commitment to God (like the seed that fell amongst thorns, whose fruitfulness was choked by the worries and pleasures of the world 8.14) e.g. my decision to move here, against my parents’ wishes!
• A true disciple will live in a way which serves God and proclaims the gospel, whatever other responsibilities he or she has.
3. Another potential disciple displays his lack of commitment, asking permission to go back and say goodbye to his family before he will follow.
•
•
• He wants to follow on his own terms but Jesus wants followers who will keep their eyes fixed on him, not keep looking back to people or things they have left behind.
• (As Paul argues throughout Galatians – today’s reading Gal 5.13-15).
Time for a reality check?
• Luke 9.51 a “reality check” for the disciples
• They’d begun to enjoy status of being his close companions. He’d shared his amazing powers with them & they were wondering which of them would be “top cat” & who they would allow to join the gang.
• Suddenly the strange things he’d said about suffering and dying became more pressing as he turned towards Jerusalem.
• He became less comfortable to be with and they were pulled in two directions – BACK to the familiar, comfortable, safe – FORWARD to a strange, rocky road with Jesus striding ahead, calling them to follow.
…for us too!
• We face similar choices and are also pulled in two directions:-
• Where are you on your journey?
• What pressures are pulling you away from real commitment to following Jesus?
• Are you refusing to follow, insisting on hanging onto the familiar, the comfortable?
• Or are you committed to following Jesus in your words but not your actions?
• Is your heart “good soil” for God’s word and are you being as fruitful as he wants you?
• Wherever we are on the road, Jesus is ahead of us, calling us to follow him.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Suffering, Punishment and the Cross
There's a fascinating dialogue going on over at Derek Flood's blog arising from a recent article Derek posted called "a non-penal understanding of Isa 53". Others including theologian Andrew Perriman have got involved and the latest posting "Penal substitution and the OT narrative of judgement", with comments following, broadens the discussion somewhat. Big issues which trouble us all are in view here - the relationship between sin and suffering, the meaning of the cross etc. I haven't felt brave enough to join in with these heavyweights but I'm enjoying listening in. Why not take a look??
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Bible Study - Galatians 3.23-end
Bible Study – Galatians 3.23-end
Q1 What can you remember about the circumstances which led to Paul writing this
letter? Who were his opponents?
First, let’s look at verses 23 to 25:-
Q2 According to Paul, why was the Law necessary?
Q3 Why is the Law no longer necessary? What has changed?
Q4 What does the phrase “justified by faith” mean to you?
Now we turn to verses 26 to 29:-
Q5 How do we become children of God and what does this mean for us?
Q6 In what ways is the idea of clothing ourselves with Christ helpful? How might this
thought help us in our relationships with God and with other people?
Q7 How revolutionary is Paul’s teaching in verse 28, bearing in mind the kind of society
he lived in? How challenging is this verse to both Church and society today?
Q8 What difference should verse 29 make to our lives as Christians? Does this idea
discourage evangelism? Why should we want to share our inheritance with anyone else?
Finally, a couple of general questions:-
Q9 What are the advantages and disadvantages of a rules-based religion? What is the
alternative and which approach did Jesus teach?
Q10 In what ways do you feel challenged to deepen your relationship with God?
Q1 What can you remember about the circumstances which led to Paul writing this
letter? Who were his opponents?
First, let’s look at verses 23 to 25:-
Q2 According to Paul, why was the Law necessary?
Q3 Why is the Law no longer necessary? What has changed?
Q4 What does the phrase “justified by faith” mean to you?
Now we turn to verses 26 to 29:-
Q5 How do we become children of God and what does this mean for us?
Q6 In what ways is the idea of clothing ourselves with Christ helpful? How might this
thought help us in our relationships with God and with other people?
Q7 How revolutionary is Paul’s teaching in verse 28, bearing in mind the kind of society
he lived in? How challenging is this verse to both Church and society today?
Q8 What difference should verse 29 make to our lives as Christians? Does this idea
discourage evangelism? Why should we want to share our inheritance with anyone else?
Finally, a couple of general questions:-
Q9 What are the advantages and disadvantages of a rules-based religion? What is the
alternative and which approach did Jesus teach?
Q10 In what ways do you feel challenged to deepen your relationship with God?
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sermon - Galatians 3.23 to end
Galatians 3.23-end
Galatians is Paul’s angry letter against the Legalists who had followed him into various
churches he had started in Galatia and who were determined to corrupt the gospel of
grace into a system of rules.
This is a very human tendency. Just last week we were speaking to a friend who was
left by medical staff bleeding from a head injury until all the necessary paperwork
had been completed. Presumably these medics were people who had a vocation to care
for the sick, but form-filling and following rules had become the priority for them.
The Legalists in Paul’s day were saying “having faith is all very well but in order to be
one of God’s people you have to follow all the rules of the Law of Moses.” In today’s
reading Paul answers them in two ways.
1. He tells them what the Law was for (v23-24)
As Paul sees it, the Law was basically a NANNY, employed to look after God’s children
until they could look after themselves. The Message Bible puts it like this:
The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children
to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will
really get to the place they set out for.
We see this a lot in Barcelona. (Some of you may know people who employ nannies,
others work as nannies! ) The Law worked well in this nanny role for a while but it was never intended by God to be permanent; just as parents don’t plan for their children to have a nanny for their whole lives!
God always planned for a time that the Law would not be required, because his people
would be able to respond freely to him in faith. The prophet Jeremiah predicted this
change in these words:
“This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time,”
declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 31.33
This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus came, as Paul writes;
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.(v24)
2. He tells them the Law is no longer required (v25-27)
Now, says Paul, everything has changed. The Law-Nanny has done its job and is no
longer required...
Paul reminds his readers that a completely new way of life has begun with their
Christian baptism. The Message again expresses this well:
But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct
relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh
start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe – Christ’s life, the
fulfillment of God’s original purpose.
Let’s unpack that a little.
Part of the meaning of becoming a Christian and being
baptized is being washed clean and having a fresh start, but it doesn’t end there.
The most important thing is that because of Jesus we are in a new relationship with
God, free of guilt and fear, with the status of sons and daughters. Every family needs rules, but it is loving relationships which keep families together, help them get through crises and enable each family member to flourish.
Going back to a rule-based religion would be as ridiculous as an adult dressing as a
baby…
It would be like bringing back the nanny to look after our grown-up children and tell
them what to do all the time. This may be what some people want, but it is not the
way to live a mature and effective adult life and it is not what God wants for us as
Christians.
Rather than baby clothes, Paul reminds Christians that at their baptism they were
clothed with Christ. This is an interesting metaphor because our clothing has a
number of functions:-
• It can protect us from the weather
• It can cover our unattractive parts
• It can make a statement about us (who we are/what we stand for)
Our relationship with God in Christ is like clothing because it protects us and not only covers but corrects our faults. It should also be visible to others, so that when people look at us they see the likeness of Jesus and are drawn to him.
Now I know I am a fashion icon and everybody tries to look like me :) – but I’m not
talking about the way we look! I’m talking about the way we speak, behave, treat
people; our goal should always be to be Christlike – and we need help to attain that
with any degree of consistency.
We also need courage because not everybody cheers when they see a Christian and
the life of a child of God isn’t easier than other ways of life.
3. Life in God’s family
The key for Christians is to live as members of God’s family. Paul ends this chapter
with a strong and clear statement about the equality of God’s children. It is a verse
which has often been ignored by the Church down the ages, but Paul (who often gets
quoted out of context as being against the equality of women) could hardly make
himself any clearer:
In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal.
All are equal; all are in the same relationship with Jesus; all are equally heirs of God’s promises to Abraham, the prototype man of faith.
A large part of the old religious Law was about excluding non-Jews and about keeping
slaves and women in their place. Paul insists those days are over, but unfortunately
the Church has not been at all consistent in putting his teaching into practice. The
current argument about whether or not women can be bishops illustrates this, but we
also need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves some hard questions…
• Do we treat everyone as equal, as brothers and sisters in Christ? Or are we
like George Orwell’s Animal Farm , where all the animals were equal but some
were more equal than others?
• What about our Christian “clothing”? When people see us do they see Jesus?
When they encounter us do they encounter the love and truth and
unselfishness of Christ?
• How can we as a Church fellowship become more consistent as ambassadors of
Christ, without lapsing into the kind of rules-based religion which Paul hated
but which can so easily take over?
I think these are important questions and I don’t have
all the answers. Let’s end with a short time of silence
and a prayer…
Galatians is Paul’s angry letter against the Legalists who had followed him into various
churches he had started in Galatia and who were determined to corrupt the gospel of
grace into a system of rules.
This is a very human tendency. Just last week we were speaking to a friend who was
left by medical staff bleeding from a head injury until all the necessary paperwork
had been completed. Presumably these medics were people who had a vocation to care
for the sick, but form-filling and following rules had become the priority for them.
The Legalists in Paul’s day were saying “having faith is all very well but in order to be
one of God’s people you have to follow all the rules of the Law of Moses.” In today’s
reading Paul answers them in two ways.
1. He tells them what the Law was for (v23-24)
As Paul sees it, the Law was basically a NANNY, employed to look after God’s children
until they could look after themselves. The Message Bible puts it like this:
The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children
to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will
really get to the place they set out for.
We see this a lot in Barcelona. (Some of you may know people who employ nannies,
others work as nannies! ) The Law worked well in this nanny role for a while but it was never intended by God to be permanent; just as parents don’t plan for their children to have a nanny for their whole lives!
God always planned for a time that the Law would not be required, because his people
would be able to respond freely to him in faith. The prophet Jeremiah predicted this
change in these words:
“This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time,”
declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 31.33
This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus came, as Paul writes;
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.(v24)
2. He tells them the Law is no longer required (v25-27)
Now, says Paul, everything has changed. The Law-Nanny has done its job and is no
longer required...
Paul reminds his readers that a completely new way of life has begun with their
Christian baptism. The Message again expresses this well:
But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct
relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh
start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe – Christ’s life, the
fulfillment of God’s original purpose.
Let’s unpack that a little.
Part of the meaning of becoming a Christian and being
baptized is being washed clean and having a fresh start, but it doesn’t end there.
The most important thing is that because of Jesus we are in a new relationship with
God, free of guilt and fear, with the status of sons and daughters. Every family needs rules, but it is loving relationships which keep families together, help them get through crises and enable each family member to flourish.
Going back to a rule-based religion would be as ridiculous as an adult dressing as a
baby…
It would be like bringing back the nanny to look after our grown-up children and tell
them what to do all the time. This may be what some people want, but it is not the
way to live a mature and effective adult life and it is not what God wants for us as
Christians.
Rather than baby clothes, Paul reminds Christians that at their baptism they were
clothed with Christ. This is an interesting metaphor because our clothing has a
number of functions:-
• It can protect us from the weather
• It can cover our unattractive parts
• It can make a statement about us (who we are/what we stand for)
Our relationship with God in Christ is like clothing because it protects us and not only covers but corrects our faults. It should also be visible to others, so that when people look at us they see the likeness of Jesus and are drawn to him.
Now I know I am a fashion icon and everybody tries to look like me :) – but I’m not
talking about the way we look! I’m talking about the way we speak, behave, treat
people; our goal should always be to be Christlike – and we need help to attain that
with any degree of consistency.
We also need courage because not everybody cheers when they see a Christian and
the life of a child of God isn’t easier than other ways of life.
3. Life in God’s family
The key for Christians is to live as members of God’s family. Paul ends this chapter
with a strong and clear statement about the equality of God’s children. It is a verse
which has often been ignored by the Church down the ages, but Paul (who often gets
quoted out of context as being against the equality of women) could hardly make
himself any clearer:
In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal.
All are equal; all are in the same relationship with Jesus; all are equally heirs of God’s promises to Abraham, the prototype man of faith.
A large part of the old religious Law was about excluding non-Jews and about keeping
slaves and women in their place. Paul insists those days are over, but unfortunately
the Church has not been at all consistent in putting his teaching into practice. The
current argument about whether or not women can be bishops illustrates this, but we
also need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves some hard questions…
• Do we treat everyone as equal, as brothers and sisters in Christ? Or are we
like George Orwell’s Animal Farm , where all the animals were equal but some
were more equal than others?
• What about our Christian “clothing”? When people see us do they see Jesus?
When they encounter us do they encounter the love and truth and
unselfishness of Christ?
• How can we as a Church fellowship become more consistent as ambassadors of
Christ, without lapsing into the kind of rules-based religion which Paul hated
but which can so easily take over?
I think these are important questions and I don’t have
all the answers. Let’s end with a short time of silence
and a prayer…
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