Sermon - James 3.1-12 The Taming of the Tongue

James 3.1-12

·         A neglected part of scripture and an unheeded message.

·         Infused with the teaching of Jesus. Written by the most respected leader of the Church at the time of Peter and Paul. The man who decisively and sensitively chaired the most important and potentially controversial Council of the early church (Acts 15). A Council at which Paul, Peter and all the other apostles were present. The Lord’s brother (older half bro or younger full bro?) who needed no introduction or references.

·         Today’s passage from James’ letter to the churches gives a firm warning in strong language about the dangers of the tongue. How this small body part has disproportionate influence and is prone to cause all kinds of damage.

·         Every week we can see examples in public life of people and organisations trying to limit the damage of things which have been said.

·         This week we’ve had the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Sun newspaper trying to undo the damage of crass statements they made in the wake of the deaths at Hillsborough football ground over 20 years ago. A storm of riots, attacks on US branded restaurants and consular staff and properties was started by the words of an idiotic film maker. A well loved and respected US diplomat with a great love for the Arab world was one of the tragic victims.

·         Then seeking to gain political capital in the wake of that tragedy, presidential candidate Mitt Romney made some regrettable and factually incorrect accusations, potentially damaging his campaign and making a lot of work for his campaign team. President Obama took advantage, claiming that Governor Romney “tends to shoot first and take aim later”.

·         A nice quote from the President, but isn’t this true of all of us? At least some of the time? We actually don’t have to look further than our own families, ourselves in particular, to find many examples of the damage caused by careless or angry or foolish words!

Teachers beware

It was certainly true of the early church leaders – look at Peter in today’s gospel passage Mk 8.27ff). And James is pointing to himself as much as anyone else when he speaks of the special responsibility of teachers (of the Christian faith).

·         Teachers will be judged more strictly, because of the influence their words have on the lives of others. And one of the reasons teaching Christianity is a high risk occupation (to be avoided if possible!) is that the main tool of the trade is this desperately dangerous instrument, the tongue.

·         Take a look at verse 2. A well known Christian teacher with a prophetic and healing ministry once announced at a conference that he was pleased to say he had finally fulfilled the conditions of this verse and reached a state of maturity where he was in complete control of his whole body, including his tongue. This claim was unfortunately proved false when the man next to him on the platform poured a cup of cold water over his head!

·         But before you relax and switch off, thinking these warnings are for someone else, bear in mind that there is a sense in which we are all teachers, people who teach others what Christians or British people (or whatever our nationality is) are like.

Tongue metaphors

Look at the illustrations James gives to show the power and danger of the tongue.

·         Both the horse’s bit and the rudder of a ship are far smaller than the animal or vessel they control. And yet they do control it, making it go in directions and reach destinations it would not have gone to.

·         His main point is that the tongue is also very small in relation to the influence it has. But perhaps he also has in mind the way the tongue and its words can lead us off course, astray, into dangerous territory.

·         Certainly the next image, of the tongue as the spark, the carelessly dropped cigarette end which starts a forest fire, speaks of the devastation that words can cause.

·         Of course we can’t blame the tongue itself; we need to pay attention to the source of the words it speaks. As Jesus said in our gospel reading a few weeks ago; “What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit…” and so on (Mk 7.20-21)

·         In his final illustrations James also turns to the source of what comes out of our mouths and points out that fresh and salt water cannot come from the same spring.

Lessons we can draw

·         Verse 9 relates directly to the great commandment. We need to learn to love both God and neighbour wholeheartedly and consistently. If we do we will be less likely to use the same tongue to praise God and also to curse our neighbour.

·         Know your trigger points – tiredness, provocation, feeling undervalued for your work, sitting in traffic jams – the situations where you are most likely to put your foot in your mouth.

·         Silence is golden – ears and mouth should be used in the proportion that God gave them to us, as the saying goes. And I think it was the writer of Proverbs who said somewhere that even a fool appears wise, so long as he keeps silent!

·         We also need to be people who actively seek reconciliation for the damage caused by our words, or the words of our community. Don’t just let it fester – deal with it, take responsibility.

·         Our success in all of this will be much more likely if we are part of a loving Christian community where trust is growing, where forgiveness is practiced, where the example of Christ is studied and followed, where honesty and compassion are prevailing. That’s the underlying theme of the letter of James and that’s what we are trying to build here at St George’s.

·         May God help us and enable us to go beyond the superficial to a deeper engagement with God and each other, in a way which pleases God and which draws others into friendship with him.

Like a snake on a pole? Sermon - John 3.14-21

John 3.14-21

The Juggler

·         You are sitting in your car at the traffic lights, perhaps you are a bit late for an appointment. A young man in fancy dress steps out in front of you and starts juggling. He’s pretty good – and you can’t go anywhere until the light changes. How do you respond? On a good day your mood lightens, you relax, smile and when he walks towards you holding out his hat, you roll down the window and give him a coin or two. On a bad day…

·         Other things people do (or suffer) have a deeper, longer lasting effect on our emotions and behaviour. Examples – your neighbour suffers a racist attack; you visit a holocaust memorial; you witness a surprising act of forgiveness.

·         When we see things like this, we may be healed of a prejudice; snapped out of complacency; led to consider a change in the direction of our life.

Jesus and Nicodemus

·         Towards the end of his famous conversation with Nicodemus (born again, born from above), Jesus reminds his confused Pharisee friend of that strange story we heard about the time Moses put a bronze snake on a pole:

·         The Israelites were in a mess, grumbling and turning away from the God who had brought them out of slavery.

·         Moses didn’t juggle, but he did something very unusual to grab their attention, confront their wrong attitude and give them a sign of God’s powerful, healing presence with them.

·         When the people saw this they were healed and changed (notice it was the people who needed to change; not God).

·         Nicodemus knew that story but he didn’t see what was coming next. Jesus predicted that the same thing that happened to the bronze snake was going to happen to Jesus.

·         And for essentially the same reason. Religious people like Nicodemus had lost their way and had become disconnected from God.

·         Jesus being “lifted up” in front of them would be both a visual aid to startle the people into deep, long lasting change AND would be the means of healing of all that was wrong with the human race (Isaiah 53.5).

Was the crucifixion extraordinary?

·         I said earlier that it is usually the really extraordinary things we see which have the power to change our lives in a deep and lasting way.

·         But the crucifixion of a convicted criminal – even an innocent man – was nothing unusual in the Roman empire; it was an everyday event.

·         What made it unique in the case of Jesus was who he was – in John’s terms he was the Word made flesh, the Light of the World, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

·         These things were evident in the extraordinary life of healing, teaching and confronting hypocrisy and injustice, which Jesus had lived.

·         Then there was the extraordinary way he behaved during his trials and execution; saying nothing to defend himself, forgiving his persecutors, fixing up his mother with a new son (John the gospel writer).

·         Then after his death came another “lifting up” of Jesus on the third day – a unique event which would change the world – more of that at Easter.

What effect does the lifting up of Jesus have?

·         Next week’s reading will take us deeper into the meaning of the cross for us, as we look at John 12. In the meantime I suggest we need to think about what we are reading and be careful not to jump to conclusions.

·         It is tempting to just link 3.16 (the most famous verse in the Bible?) with 3.18 and assume it is all about God’s desire to divide humanity into 2 groups; “good” believers and “bad” non believers, so he knows whether to send them to heaven or hell after they die.

·         BUT that wouldn’t do justice to 3.17 which tells us Jesus did not come to judge but to save the world (the kosmos), or to verses like 1.7 and 1.9 which indicate that Jesus came to save everyone.

·         It is also tempting to see these verses as confirming the mediaeval theory that God had to punish his innocent son in our place, so that he could have a change of heart and not punish us (at least some of us).

·         BUT that wouldn’t do justice to the clear teaching in Numbers and in John that it is US who need a change of heart, NOT God.

Keep looking, keep thinking…

·         The lifting up of Jesus in crucifixion and resurrection is a mystery which defies simplistic explanations, so we need to keep looking and keep thinking, to stay in its light instead of turning away.

·         Maybe as we do so we will experience a change of mood, like when we are confronted by a juggler at the traffic lighhts.

·         Maybe on a good day we will feel more grateful and generous and put a few coins in the bag.

·         But perhaps as we see the face of God on the cross, not raging in his agony, but forgiving the world that put him there … we will receive healing and be challenged to make some deeper and more lasting changes. I want to end by singing a great hymn by Isaac Watts, who had a great understanding of thes things (“When I Survey”)

The Feeding of the 5000 - All Age Sermon

Matthew 14.13-21 The Feeding of a Large Crowd

READY STEADY COOK

• Who has seen this British TV programme?

• I need some children to demonstrate how it works (…)

• What a challenge - to make a great meal in a short time from a few cheap ingredients. Today’s Bible story is about an even bigger challenge!

I WANT TO BE ALONE

• Who said those words? (Greta Garbo)

• Different reasons for wanting to be alone (some good, some selfish … examples?)

• Jesus had a good reason to want solitude. Does anyone know what it was? (see Mat 14.1-12). But as he and the disciples sailed to a quiet place, a big crowd (attracted by Jesus’s teaching and healings) followed on foot.

• This makes what happened next all the more remarkable. How would YOU react if you really needed some time on your own and suddenly a great crowd of people arrive - needy people who you could help?

• Jesus responded with compassion (a very strong emotion). In Mark’s version of the story (and earlier in Matthew 9.36) it says he had compassion because he could see that the crowd were like sheep without a shepherd.

• So he healed the illnesses of all the sick people in the crowd.

IS THAT ALL YOU’VE GOT?

• This took a long time and the disciples (v15) urged Jesus to send the crowd away to buy themselves some food in the villages (maybe the disciples were worried about having to share their food, maybe they wanted some time alone with Jesus, maybe they were looking out for him – he must be exhausted and needed to rest and grieve).

• Jesus replied “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” The disciples reply “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish” (John’s gospel says they got this food from a boy in the crowd).

• And Jesus said “IS THAT ALL YOU’VE GOT?!?”

• Actually he didn’t – I just read that on somebody’s teeshirt the other day (its a quote from the famous boxer, Muhammad Ali).

• Jesus in fact went on to teach the disciples an important lesson, at the same time making sure nobody went home hungry.

JESUS SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY

I’m going to ask the children to hand out some cards with Bible verses written on them. These verses will help understand what happens next.

• When Jesus looks at the tiny amount of food and the big, hungry crowd, he sees things differently from the disciples – Why do you think this is ..?

• He’s God (see John 1.1, Colossians 1.15, Hebrews 1.3) !

• He’s got history. What Old Testament story can you remember where hungry people are fed by God in the desert? That’s right, Exodus 16, Moses, manna etc. A story you might not know, in 2 Kings 4.42-44 is also very interesting – let’s hear that now…

• He knows how the story will end – not just this little story, but the whole big story of the history of everybody and everything. Let’s look at a few Bible verses about that now …

DISCIPLES NEED TO LEARN

• … to see things Jesus’ way.

• … not just by understanding and believing something, but by doing something!



LET’S ACT OUT THE REST OF THE STORY

1. Jesus asks the disciples to give him all the food they have got (this doesn’t take long!)

2. Jesus tells the people to sit down on the grass, ready to be fed (the disciples are thinking he’s going to look really bad when there isn’t enough food).

3. Jesus looks up to heaven, gives thanks to God, breaks the bread (do you think he broke the fish as well? Mark’s gospel says he did. Matthew left that bit out – maybe it got a bit messy!) What do these actions remind you of..?

4. Jesus gives the broken food back to the disciples to feed everybody with (do you think they are nervous?)

5. The disciples feed the crowd until everybody is full.

6. Then comes the biggest surprise for the disciples, when they collect the leftovers and find … they have more than they had to begin with – in fact 12 baskets full (one for each disciple or representing an infinite supply).


CONCLUSIONS

• Let’s try to pull together what this story means for us as followers of Jesus today. Let me start with a question. What do you think when you look at the physical needs (eg…) and the spiritual needs (eg…) of all the people in the world around you – and consider your own resources?

• Do you have just enough for you and your family, or too much or too little? Does it seem that there is just not enough to go round – whether we’re talking about food, water and medicines, or about peace, safety, hope and love? Maybe there isn’t enough and it is only possible for some people to be happy and secure and healthy, well fed and hopeful…

• JESUS DISAGREES. He challenges us to see things differently, to believe differently and to behave differently – putting our faith in him into action.

• Jesus challenges us, not necessarily to sell all we have and give it to the poor, but to give him control of all we have.

• Jesus calls us to follow him by stepping out in faith and meeting all the physical and spiritual needs we can see. And if you’ve got TV or Internet, that’s a LOT of needs.

• So how far can it go? How many people can receive the food and drink they need, the healing, the forgiveness, peace and safety they crave, the salvation from sin and death and evil they need?

• Think back to the crowd in our Bible story. Who can remember how many people were fed (don’t forget the women and children … so maybe 10-15,000?) That was a vast crowd from a huge area, at a time when the population was much smaller than now. For instance Nazareth had about 500 people then.

• NOBODY left that day without being healed and nourished physically and spiritually. And what about the leftovers. What do they tell us?

• Think back also to those Bible verses about how the story is going to end.

• One lesson from the story is that a little can go a long way (a little food, kindness, compassion)… especially when we hand it over to Jesus. And surely there will be enough for everyone.

Paul defends his Universalist belief - Romans 6

Romans 6.12-end

Many thanks for all the birthday greetings, to all who came to my party and to all who gave me gifts or contributed to the beautiful new Ashbory bass guitar. I am very grateful and very blessed to have a gorgeous, yet devious wife, who managed to hide all the preparations from me and an amazing church family which is a blessing beyond anything I have experienced in my life. A big thankyou from the bottom of my heart!

But now I have reached a funny age (50), there will likely be consequences. Men of my age often begin to do strange things. Perhaps I will dye my hair green, buy a motorcycle, start wearing an earring or tattoos. Anything could happen!

One thing I am resolved to do is to engage in discussions about controversial issues, the kinds of things that Christians disagree with each other about, as well as disagreeing with other people in society. I intend to do this not because I enjoy starting fights or being difficult, but because I think conversation with people of different viewpoints is healthy and is part of the way in which we learn and in which God reveals the truth. Some of these discussions will be on separate “discussion group” evenings, some in a special Sunday morning sermon series later in the year, others will just come up when certain readings appear in the Church calendar.

Context – universalism?

Today’s reading from Romans gives me an opportunity to mention a belief I have arrived at which, although a minority view in evangelical churches, has always been accepted by some Christians since the earliest days of the Church and has been an allowed belief within the Church of England ever since Queen Elizabeth I’s days. It is a belief which a growing number of Christians around the world in all kinds of Churches are coming to accept, especially since Rob Bell’s recent book on the subject, “Love Wins” came out. It is the belief that in the end everybody without exception will be saved and reconciled to God, so that hell whatever hell is, will in the end be empty. The name for this is Evangelical Universalism or Universal Reconciliation.

People react to this idea in a range of different ways, and that’s understandable. You can use the Bible to make a case for or against it, and whilst I personally believe the evidence in favour is far stronger than the evidence against, you don’t have to agree with me!

Now, much of the biblical evidence in favour of universalism is in the writings of St Paul and one of the places he states it most clearly is in Romans 5.12-21 where he contrasts Adam and Jesus. In verse 18 for example he says:
“Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for ALL men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for ALL men.”

The majority view is that the second ALL cannot mean ALL because we know that universalism is not true, that some people, perhaps most, will be in hell forever and what’s more, we know that Paul was not a universalist. Well I disagree with that majority view (and I’m not alone in this). I think Paul was making a clear universalist claim and one piece of evidence to support this is the argument he presents in Romans 6.

Romans 6 - Paul responds to his critics

Let’s start by looking at 6.1 and 6.15; verses which indicate what Paul was arguing against in chapter 6:-

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means!
Romans 6.1

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
Romans 6.15

I can only think of two reasons why Paul would write in this way:

1.Perhaps he was being accused of being a libertine or hedonist, someone who was teaching “Anything goes for Christians. We are free from the law and any other kind of moral restraint.”

But how could anybody think this of Paul? In all the descriptions of his life and teaching throughout Acts and his Letters, Paul never advocates anything like a libertine or hedonistic lifestyle. On the contrary, he teaches the exact opposite, urging his readers to live holy and Christlike lives marked by self-control and unselfish love.

2.His universalism was raising objections. This makes sense because the most common objection to universalism is this (quoting a friend who I recently discussed this with):
“So you are saying that the way we live this life and what we believe do not ultimately matter, because we are all going to heaven anyway.”

I think this is the accusation Paul was rejecting so clearly in Romans 6. I believe they could only conclude this from his universalism, clearly expressed in his letters and perhaps most clearly in Romans 5. And Paul rejects this criticism very strongly, “By no means!” His opponents have misrepresented his gospel message and have completely misunderstood God’s grace.

Remember Baptism

Paul answers in two stages. In verses 1-13, bearing in mind he is writing to baptized believers, he uses the imagery of baptism to emphasise that Christians have DIED to the old (sinful, libertine) way of life and have been RAISED to new life in Christ.

So he says “Count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. DON’t let sin reign in your body and obey its desires. DO offer your body to God. Live a new way. Don’t let the old way control you.

Then in the second half of the chapter, the bit we are concentrating on today, Paul uses the imagery of slave ownership, something his Roman audience were very familiar with.

Whose slaves are you?

Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6.14

Don’t be like a driver who looks only in his rear view mirror. He will inevitably crash and may harm others. Don’t be like a football player who has transferred to a new club, but continues to follow the instructions of the coach of his old club.

Paul knew that in fact many of his opponents were legalists. They held to a treasured system of rules which enabled them to decide who was in and who was out. This is why, like Jonah and like the prodigal son’s elder brother, they found God’s universalist tendency so offensive. Everybody will be in eventually, so what’s the point of living by the rules?
But like Jesus, Paul was aware of the hypocrisy of many legalists, who piled burdens on others whilst allowing loopholes in the law for themselves. Like Jesus, Paul hoped they would see their foolishness and change their ways.

Verse 15 anticipates the legalists’ objection that Paul was supposedly advocating a “lawless” lifestyle (implied by his universalism). By no means!

People, he argues, are obedient to whoever we offer ourselves as slaves. And there are essentially only two choices. We can be slaves to Sin (personified as a slave owner, but this will lead to the “death” of a fruitless, pointless life.

Or we can live in obedience to God, in response to God’s grace (love undeserved but freely given). This way leads to righteousness, to right-living, to LIFE.

Pauline Humour!

Now a joke from the Apostle we probably picture as being serious and miserable. Look at verse 17. He’s saying “Come on guys! You’ve already shown how good you are at being obedient. Remember how obedient you were to your previous master, “Sin”. Now show that same commitment to obedience to your new master, God. Come on, you can do it, I know you can!”

A Personal Challenge

Now I want to make a personal challenge to nobody in particular, or rather to everybody in particular (myself included). In 25 years as a Christian, almost 10 as an ordained minister, if one thing has surprised and amazed me even more than the transforming grace of God, it is this:

... the capacity of Christians to self-deception and compromise. The ability we have to compartmentalise our lives so that this part is yielded to God but that part is not. Sin is allowed to control these other parts of oour lives. Can you see how foolish this is? Because you can fool me and you can fool your family and friends but you can’t fool God. God is not pleased by outward allegience, he wants your heart. Right now, not just at the end of your life when you are full of regret and fearful of what is to come. He wants your loyalty and commitment now.

Concluding thoughts

When a house changes ownership, it still needs redecorating and furnishing so that the new owners can live in it and enjoy it. We are like that house, and all of us are work in progress, none of us is perfect yet.

When we move to a new country, we have to adopt at least some of the laws and customs of the country we have moved to. For instance, when I moved to Spain from England, I stopped driving on the left side of the road and started driving on the right. I could have continued driving on the left but it would not have gone well! I’ve also tried to learn Spanish so I can understand and make myself understood.

The cell doors of the fear of death are burst open. How sad it would be if we just stayed in the cell, as if locked in, our wrists together as if still handcuffed.

We need to live now, free from the rule of sin and the fear of death – like our mission partner Sister Pilar who spoke to us last week.

Paul’s universalist claims triggered a reaction from those who were scandalised by the extent of God’s grace which he was teaching. But Paul showed that, far from promoting a sinful, libertine lifestyle, his gospel leads to a beautiful new life which answers God’s love with an obedient, grateful, fruitful and unselfish life.

How you live and what you believe are intimately linked. You can’t live a double life.

Let’s pray.

Trinity Sermon

TRINITY SUNDAY – Matthew 28.16-20

• Short sermon today because I’ve been away at a busy ICS conference. Also because we are also going to be hearing from one of our mission partners Sister Pilar, about her work in Pakistan.

• Today is Trinity Sunday and I want to explain this key Christian doctrine as simply and clearly as possible (laughter? Impossible task?).

• Jesus said “Who do people say that I am?” His disciples replied “Some say you are John the Baptist returned from the dead; others say Elijah or another of the prophets.” Jesus replied “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered “You are the Logos, existing in the Father as his rationality and then, by an act of his will, being generated, in consideration of the various functions by which God is related to his creation, with each member of the Trinity being coequal with every other member and each acting inseperably with and interpenetrating every other member, with only an economic subordination within God, but causing no division which would make the substance no longer simple.” And Jesus answered “What?!?”

• The Bible of course does not use the word “trinity” but an understanding of it is behind all the NT gospels and epistles, most clearly in John and in today’s short reading from Matthew, traditionally called the “great commission”.

• WHERE in this short passage is the doctrine of the trinity explained? Apparently in the baptism formula – v19. But this really doesn’t explain anything, it just begs the question. The fact that Jesus tells the disciples to baptize new followers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit must be because there is a trinity, a relationship between the 3 persons named, but without explaining what the relationship is or how it works.

• Fortunately in the rest of the reading there are some very clear pointers to what the trinity is about.

• V17-18 Bear in mind that the first disciples were all Jews and that for them it was of first importance that there is only ONE God and you should worship that true God and no one else. Yet when they saw Jesus here (between resurrection and ascension) we are told they WORSHIPPED him (even though some doubted – a very human and authentic touch!).

• Jesus would of course have stopped them worshipping him if it had been wrong. So here we have a clear statement that when Jesus is present, God is fully present. This is backed up by many other NT passages, e.g. John 14.9, Colossians 1.19, Hebrews 1.3.

• So whereas muslims, jehovah’s witnesses and many others would agree that Jesus was a great prophet and teacher sent by God, the Christian claim about Jesus has always been stronger than that, right from the start. When Jesus is present, God is fully present, we see the exact likeness of God and the right response is worship.

• This is reinforced in v18 where Jesus tells the disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. Again these Jewish disciples knew that all authority in heaven and on earth belonged only to God, but believed the claim of Jesus and obeyed and followed him. It was obvious to them that when Jesus was present, God was present. That when Jesus spoke, he spoke the words of God, that when Jesus acted, he did the works of God, displayed the attitudes of God…

• Its not just that Jesus is the most obedient, man who ever lived, the most submissive to God’s will – more than that is claimed. Jesus is God, from the beginning to the end.

• The SECOND aspect of the trinity is clear in the final verse when Jesus says “I AM with you always, to the very end of the age.” He will BE WITH THEM even though this risen body is about to leave them, to return to heaven. He will be with them and indeed IN THEM in a new way, by the presence of his Holy Spirit which will soon be poured out.

• Again this is supported by other bible passages, e.g. John 14.17, 20, Colossians 1. 27. When the Holy Spirit is in you, Jesus is in you, and when Jesus is in you, God is in you, part of your essential being, no matter how you might hide that truth, deliberately or accidentally.

• (Joke) The Trinity were planning a holiday. The Holy Spirit, showing the creative part of the divine nature, was coming up with the ideas. “Let’s go to New York” she suggested. “No, no, no” said the Father, “They are so liberal there they’ll probably start calling me Mother and it will drive me nuts.” So the Spirit said “I know, let’s go to Jerusalem. Its beautiful and then there’s all the history and everything.” “No way!” said the Son. “After what happened the last time, I’m never going there again.” At this point the Spirit went off in a huff. Later she returned and was surprised that the Father and the Son had an idea they agreed on. “Why don’t we go to Barcelona?” they said. “Perfect!” said the Spirit “I’ve never been there before!”

• A sermon on the trinity should have three points! My third point is simply this… don’t try to explain it, just show it! Not by striving to be something you are not, but by yielding control of your life to the Holy Spirit who is God in you and God for everyone you meet.

• This needs to be more than just being obedient to what God says in the Bible. Billie and I enjoyed watching paragliders soaring on the Alpine air currents with joy and freedom. But an even better final illustration of the way the Spirit carries us where we need to be, enables us to be who we were made to be, is a HOT AIR BALLOON – warmed by God’s flame within, to soar, to serve and to save!

Pentecost All Age Sermon

Acts 2.1-21 (John 7.37-39)

(Gospel is read in different languages)

(Children gather at front)

Imagine Pentecost sights and sounds – LET”S MAKE sound of a rushing violent wind! (Rattles, shakers, everything!!!) Imagine also seeing tongues of fire on the disciples’ heads!?!

ACTUALLY Bible says “a sound LIKE the blowing of a violent wind” and “what seemed to be tongues of fire” – the writer of Acts is seeing and hearing something too unusual and amazing to describe!

WE TEND TO FOCUS on these spectacular effects which were signs of the coming of the Holy Spirit coming BECAUSE we want people to know Church isn’t boring (or hasn’t always been boring) – it can be as exciting as any theme park or Hollywood film!!

BUT it wasn’t these SFX which impressed the crowds – Jews & others from all over Roman Empire – after all the signs happened INSIDE the house where the disciples had been waiting and praying.

It was what happened AFTERWARDS which was really amazing, as we will see …

The HS is a very special gift which was given to the Church at Pentecost (7 weeks after the first Easter). The Spirit was given first to the disciples (give out envelopes of balloons & pens to the kids & get them to look inside)

But this was NOT because God wanted to make a special little group of people with a secret gift. It was for the OPPOSITE reason – because God is INCLUSIVE – God wants to bring everyone under his gentle kingdom rule, in which, as Jesus said, “his yoke is easy and his burden light”. This is GOOD NEWS not just for Jewish people, or people of a particular racial or religious background, not just for intelligent people or people who have lived perfect lives, but for EVERYONE!

(Now send children to “choir pews” with balloons - God’s good news - and pens. Written instruction for them with adult help is to blow up balloons and write on each one ‘Jesus loves you’ in different languages, and a picture of a cross or a fish).

While they are doing this…

The importance of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was that the followers of Jesus, under the control of the Spirit (or Helper) are enabled to tell the good news of the Kingdom in a way which can be understood by all kinds of people.

This should challenge us – in an age when the gospel doesn’t seem to be having much impact in our society and where the Church’s teaching seems archaic, irrelevant or unintelligible to most of our neighbours.

What IS the Gospel?
If we are going to turn things around we need two things so that the Gospel is heard by the people around us in a language they can understand – FIRST to be clear about what ‘the Good News’ IS… and I think we overcomplicate it – I’m as guilty as anyone.

The message Jesus actually preached is simply:-

‘Repent for the kingdom of God is here’.

He taught a lot of other things, but all based on that simple message. The kingdom of God has come in Jesus… and if people will live as citizens of that kingdom here and now, in this world, they can undermine and heal all that is wrong and ungodly and sick and dangerous about the world system that human beings have made.

‘Repent for the kingdom of God is here’ … or to put it another way ‘Think again, because the vision of God has been made achievable’.

Spread the Good News
Now Jesus made it clear to the disciples that their task was to take this good news to all people and all countries. In fact he said (Acts 1.8) that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. That’s a big task! If these (empty) balloons represent the good news, let’s try to hit them to the four corners of the Church (including the balcony) using a tennis racquet (one of our tennis players to help!)

That didn’t work too well – why not? No air! Yes, the balloons need to be filled, and with the right stuff – not helium or they would go straight up into the sky (or make us speak with funny voices).

We need the Holy Spirit

SO, as well as learning again the simple, pure message of Jesus we also need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come and fill our lives as the lives of those first disciples were filled. Just like the balloons I gave the children need to be filled with air – otherwise they just DON’T WORK – they CAN’T DO what they were made to do!

SOMETHING I often hear from people is that they don’t think they are good enough or clean enough to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but the Bible’s promise is that the Spirit will be poured out on ALL people. God doesn’t wait until we are good enough – which will never happen – the work of spreading his love is far too important for that… (if you don’t believe me, read Acts 10 later!)

So HOW did the disciples get filled with the HS? It was an act of God, outside their control but THEIR PART was to

• Gather together
• Pray expectantly
• Be patient

None of which come naturally to us. But unless we do them we are unlikely to be filled with the HS or equipped for our task…

Like the disciples we need to be able to SHOW and TELL the good news of Jesus in language that can be understood by people outside the Church. In deeds as well as words… acts of service which go the extra mile, acts of welcome and hospitality and kindness which break down barriers of suspicion, and new ways of communicating truth which are not limited by history.

(Now the balloons can be batted from person to person until they are in all parts of the church)

Let these balloons remind us of the work of the Holy Spirit, taking God’s love and truth and mercy to all corners of the world, all races and languages and nations!

Conclusion

What happened at Pentecost was essential to the progress of God’s kingdom. The signs of the Spirit were spectacular – showing people that something very important was happening – but the EFFECT of the Spirit was more important and still is – GOD’S LOVE WAS BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY.

FINALLY let’s use those words from John’s gospel as a prayer for a fresh outpouring of the HS on us so that God can work through us and take his love, his good news to the world with boldness and power.

Jesus says to us… ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

AMEN!!!