Sunday 25th August 2024

Reading Ephesians 6: v10 -20  - The Armour of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Sermon on Ephesians 6: v10 -20

We’ve come to the end of our series of reflections on Pauls letter to the Christian fellowship at Ephesus. It was written while he was in a Roman prison, and was chained to a soldier. Paul had no idea whether he would see the Ephesian Christians again.

So, unlike most of his letters to the churches, which dealt with how to resolve problems of wrong teaching and wrong behaviour, this letter was sent to encourage what was a well-established church, and to motivate them to go and grow further. It deals with major principles of church life, and was expected to be read in the other churches planted in nearby towns and cities to Ephesus. And as Paul was himself in prison, he sent it via one of his team, Tychicus, as mentioned in v21 of ch6.

In the earlier chapters of the letter, Paul has written about some of the mega-themes for a church that wants to truly show Jesus in its midst – particularly UNITY and MATURITY. But in ch6, he deals with probably THE mega-theme for Christians living in a non-believing society (be it Ephesus AD60 or Weston-super-Mare AD2024) and interacting with those around us. It is SOLIDARITY, standing firm, and for this we each need to be properly equipped.

So our passage today starts with the word “Finally”. In another Bible version its “One final word”. I love it. It reminds me of when a member of our family, or a close friend, is rushing out of the door, and we know we need to say something that will stick in their minds.

Paul wants to underline to them that they are in a battle against a hostile set of values and world order, and that they need to be ready to speak and live in a different way. How to convey it? He sees he’s got the perfect illustration to use literally right in front of him – the fully dressed Roman soldier to whom he's chained. His readers in Ephesus would see Roman soldiers individually and in legions on a regular basis……so naturally if you were part of the Jesus legion they would understand you would need to be equipped with Gods armour!

And in verses 13 -17 he lists the parts of armour, so well worn by Isaac a few minutes ago. I’m not going to consider most of the items in detail – we’ve discussed them already, and the Youtube video we’ve watched proves the point that a visual image can beat a hundred words. To summarise – a belt of truth, knowing Jesus words and living with integrity, holds everything together. Makes sense. Protection for our thinking. Protection for our hearts. Then the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. I like to think of them together – the shield to block the negatives that get thrown at us (you’re useless, you’re a bad Christian etc etc) and the sword to fire back the truth (we are fearfully and wonderfully made, we are loved with an everlasting love etc – lots of such statements in the Bible). The best example of the sword and shield use is when Jesus is tempted by the Devil in the Wilderness – Matthew Ch4 vses 1-11. And JESUS WINS.

That leaves us with at first glance the most uninteresting part of the “armour”. The shoes. But think about it. Even in the natural, if your footwear isn’t fit for purpose, you’re going to slip and fall, aren’t you? Same in the spiritual. In our passage, the words STAND or STAND FIRM occur 4 times. Life is not a pleasure cruise, whether you’re a person of faith or not. Roman soldiers knew that, and their boots were fitted with nails or spikes, to help them keep their balance, to STAND FIRM. What’s the equivalent for the Christian? According to Paul it’s the “gospel of peace”. If you were to ask most people today what things were missing from life on a personal, national, international and global level, I bet I know what one of their answers would be. PEACE.

So, in what ways can the Good News of Jesus – and Paul – bring peace? Can I suggest at least 4….

1.PEACE WITH GOD. Humans are designed as spiritual beings to have a connection to God, but that connection gets blocked by our flaws and failures. Jesus died and rose again to restore that connection for all who believe and trust in him.

2.PEACE WITH OURSELVES. We believe awful things about ourselves and/or have awful things said to us – you’re ugly, you’ll never amount to much, worst of all, I wish you’d never been born. Jesus corrected the lies – we are each in Gods eyes beautiful, priceless and born with unique qualities for a unique purpose.

3.PEACE WITH EACH OTHER. We all naturally get on with some people and not others, we put ourselves first, and say and do hurtful things which break up friendships and families. Jesus came to bring forgiveness, to deal with guilt and shame, and by the Holy Spirit living within us, wants to heal and restore what is broken – and even to help us love the unlovely.

4.PEACE WITH THE NATURAL WORLD. From the start, mankind was designed by God to steward and care for the natural world, not exploit it. Once we start to see everything around us from Jesus perspective, we realise that that responsibility hasn’t changed, and we don’t leave it to Climate Activists, the Green Party, and Tim Smit.

Lastly, notice that Paul talks of the “READINESS” that comes from the Gospel of peace. It’s being ready not just to stand firm but to go and share the Good News (as our video showed) and serve our community.

Sometimes, people ask me why there is no armour mentioned for the back. Perhaps it’s simply that Paul could not see the back of his soldier guard – woe betide a guard who turned his back on his prisoner!  But it may be more than that.  As we read the bible, from Noah and Abraham, through David and the Psalms up to the life of Jesus, God consistently promises that He will guide and protect His people; in other words, He will “ have their backs” .  And Jesus said that we were to be His hands and feet after He returned to heaven – read Matthew 25 vses 35-40.  In other words we were to have each other’s backs.  If you care to Google the defensive positions taken up by Roman Legionnaires, you will find that they arranged themselves so as to protect each other’s vulnerabilities.  What’s a prime way of having each others backs?

Well, immediately after describing the bodily armour of God, Paul says this “and pray in the Spirit on all occasions….. be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”.  Do you know how the Hebridean revival started? Two elderly sisters, one aged 84 and blind, and the other aged 82 and crippled with arthritis, committed to pray together in their little cottage 2 days each week. Why? Because they had been told that no young person attended the worship service at their church. And they remained firm and kept praying.

Some 250 years ago William Cowper wrote the following words as part of a hymn – Restraining prayer, we cease to fight: prayer makes the Christians armour bright; and Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees.

It’s as true now as it was then, friends.

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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 Sunday 18th August 2024

Reading Hebrews 12: v1-3 - Run with perseverance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

A Passion for Sport

OLYMPIC sports in the Bible? Joke: Who was the first one to play tennis in the Bible? Ans: 'Joseph Served in the Court of Pharoah' - Genesis 41v46. Also 'Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord' - Gen.32, and 'Joshua’s Triumph was heard throughout the land' - Joshua6v27

There are Seven Passage about Running in the Bible but I will just focus on the  last one.

7. STAY FOCUSSED ON JESUS

In the Message version, we read: Discipline in a Long- Distance Race. 12 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus,  who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

This passage has inspired so many believers including the Olympic  athlete Eric Liddell. ‘I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast…. When I run, I feel God’s pleasure’. In the film ‘Chariots of Fire’, he is given a verse of scripture by a fellow athlete in the 400metres final, after he has refused to run in the 100metres because the heats and the final were on a Sunday. Even though the Prince of Wales (who became George V) entreated him, Eric would not budge. The scripture was a quote from 1 Samuel 2v30 ‘He who honours me, I will honour…’

The context of these verses in Hebrews 12 are the amazing ‘Cloud of Witnesses’ described in Chapter 11, the Heroes of Faith from Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs to Moses and onto Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, David, Samuel and others such as Daniel (though not named).. Like in the great arena in the Olympic Games at the end of a Marathon run, these and many other heroes of faith are cheering on the followers of Jesus who face opposition and persecution and troubles in their race of faith. Indeed, that was the context for the writer of Hebrews, who was writing to encourage the believers, possibly in Rome, from Jewish backgrounds who were tempted to give up on Jesus as Messiah and revert to the ‘safe’ & ‘legal’ religion of Judaism. This letter is sometimes described as the 5th Gospel as it has so much about the Person and Work of Christ – better than Angels, Moses and the Priests… His ongoing work as High Priest in heaven, praying for us is emphasised. And the completed and finished work of salvation ‘Once for All’… no further sacrifice needed!

When I was cycling and running in a Triathlon 3 years ago, I remember being so encouraged by those who cheered and clapped me on. Even the fellow competitors who passed me (there were many of them) also encouraged me to complete the race! So, also we are called to do the same for each other in our race of faith.

But note the three ‘Lettuces'–3 exhortations here (13* in total in the letter)

1) Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that entangles. Travel light, get rid of any bitterness, unforgiveness, besetting sins which could weigh us down or even stop us running at all. Writer includes him/herself in this charge!

2) Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Each of us has a unique race to run and life to lead and calling Hebrews 12v1-3 ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  to follow. We are not meant to try to be like someone else though we can gain inspiration and encouragement from them.

There is a race, a life, a calling that is marked out, planned and sovereignly designed by our Maker especially for us and no one else. So, be true to yourself and seek to live authentically and joyfully and keep going! The Triathlon for me was just seeking to finish the race and not be disqualified. Of the 200 who registered, 60 did not show up or were disqualified for some infringement, like going through a red light when cycling. I did not cycle or run or swim fast but I just kept going and made it in 2 hours 19 mins. The fastest 31 year old male finished in 58 minutes! But I was so glad to finish well. And that is what I hope that we ALL aim and wish to do.

Plodding along and persevering, not giving up, keep going till the end. Are you a plodder?

3) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…  Our greatest inspiration, our coach, our trainer, our partner, our forerunner, our champion, our prize, our goal is Jesus. Fix our eyes on Him. Some Paris Olympic Golds did look to Jesus!  How do we do that? The best way I have found is by reading the account of his life regularly and perhaps also watching the Jesus Video or now the Film Series ‘The Chosen’. Read the scriptures and especially the gospels regularly. In a recent Sermon from Mark 6, I noted two aspects of Jesus’ character and ministry, which we can learn from and follow, that illustrate this reading from Hebrews 12.

i) Perseverance despite opposition and even rejection by those close to us. Jesus met unbelief and rejection from his family and hometown but He kept going and did not give up. He still found time to heal a few people, but unbelief and scepticism hindered much.

ii) Training and Coaching his team. Jesus sent out the Twelve in a training mission with delegated authority. He did not expect to do it all himself and was preparing for the future, when he would no longer be with them. Jesus is the best Coach! Even better than Gareth Southgate! 2021 the Sun newspaper, Gazza was quoted as saying: ‘In Gareth we trust’, but no human coach can compare with Jesus! We are all called to ‘pass on the baton’ to the next Generation. And the passage in Hebrews 12 goes on to describe Jesus’ perseverance in the face of the hostility and opposition that led to the Cross. He had the JOY of Resurrection and future GLORY before Him. We can have the same Joy and Hope of Glory before us as His followers. There is JOY when just One lost person is found!

 Summary and Application:

1. Be Eager to Obey God in His Word. Psalm 119v32 soaked in scripture

2. Seek Divine Strength. Isaiah 40v31 Not our own strength

3. Perseverance. Galatians 5v7 Avoid deflections

4. Pressing On. Philippians 3v13,14 No looking back

5. Training and Discipline. 1 Corinthians 9v24-27 No disqualification!

6. Go for The Prize and the Crown. 2 Timothy 4v7 Finish Well.

 7. STAY FOCUSSED on JESUS. Hebrews 12v1-3

Rev Smon Holloway

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Sunday 11th August 2024

Reading Ephesians 4:1-16 -  Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”

(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Sermon on Ephesians 4:1-16     

Our Ephesians passage this morning is all about unity, as in V4 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace”. Before we dig into this important issue, I want to start with a quote from Checkov. Oh dear your thinking, who’s he ? He was a Russian playwright also writing short stories like ‘Seagull and Cherry Orchard’. Ringing any bells ? No matter, because he had quite a thought on the question of unity and wrote this “ Love ,friendship and respect do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something’.  Repeat.  We experience that kind of unity in our society all the time. Protests about the environment, strikes for more money, pressure groups on racial issues, opposition against building schemes and Far Right now !etc. All evidence that what Checkov said is true. The old maxim ‘United we stand, divided we fall’is part of the American declaration of independence but first coined by Aesop as part of a fable. All these expressions involve people who are united but against a common enemy.

The Christian response about unity is to paint a completely different picture, because to follow Jesus and his teaching  is to see that LOVE is a far more powerful uniting factor than hatred.

The Psalmist wrote 33v1 ‘How good and pleasant it is when people live together in unity, it is like precious oil poured on the head’. Luke wrote at one ppint, that all the believers were one in heart and mind. The significant difference between the protester and the Christian ideal of unity is that the unity for the protesters is held together with usually a degree of anger and often revenge whereas Paul describes the uniting factor as v.3 ‘ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’. In other words the glue that leads Christians to unity is the peace given by the Spirit. So Checkov’s observation was correct from a human perspective. We are more easily united when we have a common enemy. The unity we crave as Christians however, can only come as we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit.

As we look back over history, what are the signs we see of spirit led unity amongst the Christian church ? Well I have to say that it’s difficult and discouraging to be sure about many. In fact signs of disunity were in evidence right from the word go amongst the churches Paul was writing to. Which isn’t to say there weren’t positives because there were. In fact the first two chapters of this letter are full of Paul’s thanksgivings  for the Christians. But we don’t have to move too far into history to find disunity. The Council of Nicea in 382 formed our Nicene creed purely to state the basics of our faith as against the welter of other ideas and the canon of Scripture.(382)

You only today have to look at the huge variation of different denominations to see that unity is a struggle. There are attempts to help with organisations like ‘Churches together’, but in truth unity is in theory not in practice. So we have Methodists, Anglicans, Baptists, Plymouth Brethren, open Brethren, strict Baptists, Roman Catholics, free evangelical churches, black churches, Seventh Day Adventists,  and many more. Each resolutely maintain their individualism and there is very little contact, with exceptions. In an attempt at unity we come up with words like ecumenical and when a new area is being built or extended like Worle 30 years ago we discovered ‘Local Ecumenical Projects’ which then was Anglican and Methodist agreeing to share leadership on a rota basis. Both St Martins, Worle and St Marks are both now Anglican parishes. 

Locking Castle was formed on the basis of 4 denominations sharing leadership. I think that only Baptists and Anglicans are still involved. In practice it’s difficult. Another phrase comes to mind. ‘The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak’.

The challenge of unity was as much an issue in New Testament times as it is for us now. We remember now that in the (19 the church didn’t speak up against slavery and it took Christians like Wilberforce and others to campaign for a united view.

Paul, in this letter is making the principal  of unity as a matter of urgency and perhaps his words can help us understand what Christian unity could be like and how it might be achieved. Yes it’s tricky and difficult which the past of the church shows. Yes we all end up with preferences and fixed attitudes which we all have , including me, but because it is such a strong Scriptural emphasis, we do need to persist in being open to some things that need to change. Paul says in v3 Make every effort. Perhaps this whole unity thing begins with us. So what is it., Well?

Is it losing all our denominational  structures and becoming one big amorphous whole ?

Is it simply worshipping in each others churches ?

Is it accepting the pope as a kind of universal head of the church?

Is it enough simply to work together on local projects?

Lets go back to Paul where in v 4 he reminds us of some central truths. 

V4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. What a fantastic statement that is.

 There is also the phrase ‘When you were called’. So our unity begins once we are individually called to take up God’s offer of forgiveness and become one with God through Baptism and receive His Spirit.

Yes,  there is a richness in our differences but the key to unity is in our attitudes to each other, to all those who take both the Bible as their handbook, and Jesus as their Saviour. There can be no compromise on that. 

Q Have you ever had that feeling on meeting someone new that they are Christians? When that happens, it doesn’t matter where they worship because you have a distinct sense of unity with them and it’s a great feeling.

Paul, towards the end of this section gives a description of how unity could work. Listen again:-

V15 ‘Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is Christ.

V16 From Him, the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.

So Just drawing to a close, and aware that there are so many other   issues, Paul highlights that in our relationships with each other he wants to encourage us to v2 be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.

It would perhaps be a sobering exercise to know how others would mark you and me in these areas. I guess that most of us struggle to some degree, but unity and the fruits of the Spirit go together in a natural way.

Perhaps the whole challenge of unity is so hard that we are tempted to give up, but to do that would be to ignore God’s perfect plan for us. He has designed that as Christians we should live together in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, so that the world may look at us and say “See how these Christians love one another”. 

 Rev Geoff Hobden

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 Sunday 4th August 2024

Reading 1 Kings 2:10-12 and 3:3-14  - Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established. 

Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for - both wealth and honour so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”

Sermon on 1 Kings 2:10-12 and 3:3-14  

Solomon has succeeded his father David on the throne of Israel. From the passage we have had read it would appear to have been a smooth succession. However as is often the case in the Old Testament, if we read around the passage we wm see that it was not without controversy and substantial political intrigue. Several commentaries have likened it to the succession of the crime lord Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather, such is the ruthlessness with which Solomon establishes his power and settles some old scores for his father. 

What springs to mind when you think of Solomon? I would imagine for many of you it would be the word wisdom. The Wisdom of Solomon is legendary. One of my daughter's favourite bible stories is the one that follows immediately on from this passage. Two women come to him, they have both had a baby, but one of the babies has died, and one of the women alleges that the other has stolen her live child and taken him to replace her own who has died. 

Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!"  But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother." 

Where did such wisdom come from? Quite clearly says the writer of 1 Kings it comes from God. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." As we all know Solomon chooses wisdom. But did that make him wise, or did it just make him wiser? 

In Proverbs 19 it says: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. In his dream Solomon says; "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day." 

Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandlnq; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

What would you ask for? I doubt that I am the only one who has rehearsed what they might do if we were faced with a genie who would gran them three wishes. To my shame, even knowing the story of Solomon, I am not sure asking for wisdom ever seriously occurred to me! What even is wisdom? 

It's not to be confused with knowledge, we can know things, we can know lots of things but that doesn't make me wise. Henri Nouwen spent many years living in community at Les Arches with clients who were profoundly physically and mentally disabled. He described many occasions when he was comforted by a client who recognised his own distress. 

One of the best descriptions I've heard to define the difference between knowledge and wisdom is. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. 

A group of children were once asked what wisdom was, one of them presumably from a seaside town defined wisdom as wearing a hat when feeding the seagulls. Another said, when your dad is mad and says Do I look stupid? Don't answer him. 

The appointed verses contain an evaluative description of Solomon's character: "Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David; except he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places" 

Those of us who are around my age will remember Morecambe and Wise and their sketch with Andre Previn, where Eric Morecambe plays the piano, badly. Scolded by Previn for playing the wrong notes, Eric Morecambe comes back with the line. "All the right notes, not necessarily in the right order." 

That is Solomon, he hits a lot of the right notes, but there are some discordant notes. He loves the Lord, and showed it by walking according to the instructions given by his father David, but he offered sacrifice in places associated with Canaanite gods. He was compromised early on in his kingship, in his worship. When he could quite easily have worshipped in a place associated with Yahweh. He married Pharaoh's daughter, and all these things conspired to bring on the downfall of the Israelite kingdom. 

If wisdom is the first word in this passage that is of significance, the second word is except.  Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. 

Except.  I wonder how many of us have an except. Trust in the Lord in all your ways, well I'll just take care of this one myself, not sure I need God's help here, and maybe He might just advise something different.  An except that, that exists as a blind spot, of maybe even a fatal flaw that we are all too aware of. So what can we learn from Solomon? 

Acknowledge God's work in our lives. When we come to verse 6, we see that Solomon began his answer to the Lord the right way by recalling God's work: "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day." Solomon gives praise to God for the fact that he's even sitting on the throne. He knows it was not because of his might, but because of God's mercy. So when we pray, first recall God's work. Give thanks and acknowledge his greatness. 

Secondly; recognise your own weaknesses. In verses 7-8, he calls himself both a servant and a child. He is overwhelmed with the task before him, recognising his inadequacy and lack of experience: "But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number." This is often a missing ingredient in our prayers. We must own up for our own weaknesses, and remind ourselves that we are but servants of the true king, children of the Father, and we can do nothing apart from Him. After recalling God's work when you pray, surrender to Him. When you're overwhelmed, tell Him about it. Resist the temptation to try and fix it without consulting Him. I've lost count of the number of times I've tried and failed to do something practical, and Julie has said "Have you consulted the manual?" 

Thirdly ask for wisdom; Request God's Wisdom. Remember that Solomon could have asked for anything at all. Given all his options, there's one request that stands head and shoulders above everything else. What he asks for is startling in its simplicity. Notice verse 9: "So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" The phrase "discerning heart" can be translated, "a hearing heart." Solomon wanted a heart that hears from the Holy One so that he would have the ability to see issues clearly and distinguish between right and wrong. In short, he wanted wisdom. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as welL" 

Solomon started well, and though we don't see in this passage his kingdom unravel as he wanders further away from God, there is a but, an except. 

The reason Solomon finished so poorly was because of his second mistake: Solomon was a minimalist. He did just enough to get by on. He stopped growing in God. Someone said of a person they knew: "When it came to living for God they would stop at nothing." When it came to the things of God he did the least he could to get by, and as time went by he did less and less - and eventually he would stop at nothing. When I was in secondary school I knew exactly what I had to do to get the grades I needed. I was not that interested in learning what they were teaching. I did the minimum amount of work in order to get by. When I got to university I was among people who were either much brighter than I was, or used to working much harder than me. Many of us are spiritual minimalists. They meet the minimum requirements and leave it to other people to achieve excellence. There is only one problem with that: after awhile, a little becomes too much. Some us may be experiencing that now. Taken a step back spiritually. Taken a little break from God. For a short time he becomes second place. But a short time turns into a long time, and second place turns into third place, and third place turns into last place, until you forget about your relationship with God. In the end, he who does the least gets lost. 

Many of us have no doubt been glued to the olympics coverage, we will have seen the importance of a good start, but even more that that the importance of finishing well. I remember one commentator's comment. "He recovered well from a less than average start, held it together in the middle period and finished strongly." 

I'll finish with a prayer taken from Paul's letter to the Ephesians. 

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen. 

John Birkett

(Lay Reader - Christ Church Weston-super-Mare) 

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Sunday 28th July 2024

Reading Ephesians 3: 14-22 - Praying for Maturity

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Sermon on Ephesians 3: 14-22

How do you see St Paul? We tend to think of St Paul as the great evangelist, someone keen to see people come to know and trust Jesus, in the way he had had his life turned around? Or maybe we read his letters and think of him as a deep-thinking theologian, someone writing dense text to explain the depth of our faith? But Paul was also the passionate pastor, anxious to see people living out their faith, giving advice to quarrelsome churches, enthusiastic to see people grow in their Christian lives. This great prayer in Ephesians sees Paul as the last of these. He had suffered to try and bring the Gospel to Ephesus, had narrowly escaped and seen his new Christians suffer for their faith. So here he prays for them that they may continue to grow in the faith.

In chapter 2 he had explained how great was God’s love for us that he sent his son to die that we might have fellowship with God. He starts Chapter 3 by explain that first ‘because of this‘ he was willing to suffer hardships that others could know Jesus. And then a second consequence – ‘because of God’s great love he prays that the Ephesians may grow stronger by the power of his Spirit. This strength and power are not outward trappings of military might or political clout, rather an inner strength of character, of trust, and of love. 

Pic 1 Advert

It is the phrase that if you are old enough you will remember launched a thousand adverts. The lager Heineken claimed it gave strength to the inner man, reaching parts that nothing else could reach. Well Paul had the same idea about two thousand years before, but for him the source of inner strength, inner lover, inner growth, the refreshment of our inner being, lay in the loving presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

He uses two pictures of what he means. He uses a picture from architecture in saying we are to be ‘Grounded’ for Established. 

Pic 2 Foundation stone

The word he uses is the word used for a building that has a firm foundation. Just as the wise man built hish house on the rock which was the word of God, so our lives are to be built on the foundation stone of the living word of God Jesus Christ. Many buildings have a symbolic foundation stone halfway up a wall commemorating the start of the building, but the real foundation is the firm lump of rock which ties all the walls together at the base of the building. Firm, immovable despite the storms that may come. The Christian life is not a guaranteed walk in the garden, we face the reality, the grounding of a world where we may face challenges from physical or social evils. When will hold us secure is if we know that God is able to sustain and support us whatever we go through. The resilience that knows that in the end the God of resurrection will triumph over all. Trials and tribulations should just just make us more sure of the foundation of our faith.

Pic 3 Roots of tree

Paul’s other picture is more dynamic. Taken from horticulture he prays they may be rooted in God’s love, We explored the great strength of an Oak Tree earlier didn’t we. The roots of any plant are crucial, but for the mighty oak the roots show just how important.

1. Absorption of water and nutrients

2. Storage of these nutrients and food

3. Anchoring the tree to the ground – roots 50% wider than branches.

4. Communicating with other trees! – with all the saints- other Christians.

Pic 4: Rooted in Love

The more we allow God’s Spirit to feed our roots the more we will grow and bear fruit.

It may not be a quick process, but it must be a continuous process. ‘God hasn’t finished with me yet’

Pic 5 Rocket.

Paul says this Love of God in us gives us the power we need. Dunamis – from which Alfred Nonel got the name for his powerful explosive. Dynamite. Able to give us lift off and aim for the stars. A boldness that means we can do more than ever we think.

Pic 6 Grand Canyon

Paul’s use of four dimensions to describe the love of Christ—breadth, length, height, and depth—suggests that his love is beyond description, that it’s multidimensional in expression. That is why he says we will need strength. Because to explore the wonder of God’s love is a mind-blowing experience. 

I was disappointed when first saw Grand Canyon. I expected to see it all but I only saw a tiny bit. It was too great for me to see all at once. I had to spend days exploring it and even more if I really wanted to see depth, length, breadth and height.

Pic 7 Heart Tree

Paul’s aim in all this is that aided by God’s dynamite of his Spirit we can grow to a maturity, to reach up towards what God longs for us to be. And we can do this with boldness – not because of ourselves but because God empowers us from the inside. God at work in us should give us a boldness that we can achieve more than ever we think, or even ask for. 

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians can just as easily be our prayer for ourselves. How are you praying for a maturity? and how are you growing up in Christ?

Rev Terry Baillie

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Sunday 21st July 2024

Reading Ephesians 2: 11-22 - Unity in Christ 

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Sermon on Ephesians 2: 11-22 

When we come to the letters to the various early churches in the New Testament, we normally find that at least part of each is devoted to addressing particular problems or errors that the church was facing. A classic case is the church at Corinth, where we have not one but 2 letters from Paul recorded.

But the letter to the church at Ephesus is different. Paul was in prison in Rome, but prior to that he had spent 3 years at Ephesus and was very close to them. He had heard that this church was going well, and he wanted to strengthen and encourage them (Ch1v15/16) – particularly as he had no certainty he would ever see them again personally.  In a similar vein he prays for them in ch3 v16/17.

So, what does he take as his primary theme…in a single word, UNITY. Unity with and in Christ; Unity with one another.

Marion and I enjoy going on cruises. A few years ago we cruised round the Mediterranean with friends, and our stop on the Western side of what we now call Turkey was – not surprisingly – Istanbul, a huge trading and administrative city, with magnificent buildings. But if we’d been sailing in the same area in what we call the 1st century AD, 30 YEARS AFTER Jesus death and resurrection, we would have been likely to head for Ephesus. That was the place to be. A major trading port, with access to the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean, and therefore to Rome. A cultural melting pot, with many nationalities, including a significant Jewish population. A spiritual place of pilgrimage, dominated by 1 of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world, the Temple of Artemis/Diana. In modern terms, think Jerusalem or Mecca. If you were wanting to spread the Gospel in this area of the world, you’d start at Ephesus, and use it as what we’d now call a resource hub to plant out other churches in the towns and cities around.

And into this multi-cultural spiritual buzz, Paul came to preach that there were not 50 plus Gods you could equally worship, that riches and power were not the meaning of life, that the God of the Jewish people was not an elitist who had built a spiritual barrier between those who were truly pure and the unclean heathen. No, instead, the true God of Gods had come down to earth in human form to tear down the barriers of all types between people groups, religious practices and individuals……….and instead usher in a new era, where servants and masters, rabbis and city elders, temple prostitutes and trading moguls, could gather together and worship a single God, who accepts all who surrender their lives to Him and step into a new way of living. To quote Ch2 v10 “For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

And it was a message that caught on, both among Jews and non-Jews. But it was also VERY counter-cultural. For the Jews, because they believed they alone had the WHOLE truth and should separate themselves from the unclean, and for the non-Jews because the economy of Ephesus was undergirded by income generated from the Temple of Artemis. And anyway, why couldn’t you worship whoever or whatever you liked?

The simple answer is because Jesus showed the ultimate way. His Father, the Creator of all that is, who suffered the first and most absolute rejection – By mankind in the Garden - started his plan of redemption with a single family and man, Abraham, expanded it with a single tribe of people, the Jews, but all this was building to the arrival of another single man, Jesus, Gods son and the perfect fusion of the human and divine, whose sacrificial life, death and resurrection would lead to a new people of God – this people however encompassing all those in every location and age who saw the light and joined the family. Not a clique of the select few but a union of the many. 

Paul highlights 3 changes that occur when we choose to follow Jesus – 

V5. Spiritually dead to spiritually alive

V19. Strangers to fellow citizens 

V22.In Jesus you are being built TOGETHER……into a Temple (familiar words to those who lived in Ephesus) in which God lives by his Spirit.

As it was in Ephesus AD60, so it is in Locking AD2024. Before we individually turned our lives over to Jesus to follow His way, we were spiritually dead. But that is the last point when it’s all about the individual. That’s the last point when its me living in No1 Mendip Rise and Jo living across the road in No9 Meadow Drive. We change from strangers to fellow citizens. A Unity is created in Christ. Last Wednesday afternoon Marion and I went to Dans for coffee and cake and who should be there but Eric and Gill Holdaway. OH, they live in Hutton, don’t they. Yes, but so what! They are brothers and sisters in Jesus. It’s not about the Benefice, which is a man-made thing. It’s about us being fellow citizens of the Christian community and fellow-travellers on lifes journey.

In every church community there will be things on which we individually do not see eye to eye (some of these will be theological), BUT we are to be built together V20 on the foundations of the apostles and prophets (whose writings make up the majority of both Old and New Testaments) with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone…..In Him the whole building is joined together. Why have we, why have Hutton Church, why have we as a benefice, kept functioning despite not having an incumbent? Why did the church at Ephesus keep going despite Paul leaving them? Because they, and we, are built on the cornerstone of faith in Jesus, and the testimony contained in these words.

The Ephesian church continued to grow after Paul physically left them, and we here in Locking believe – and take active steps – to see the church in Locking grow into the future. But if this is to be the case, then it will need to be by prayer to see others drawn into the Christian family, to nurture those at the start of their spiritual journey, to recognise that however different we may be in terms of age, race, background etc etc we are fellow citizens in Gods family, and that we are being built TOGETHER. There is no PLAN B, and Paul knew it, and wanted to communicate it to the Ephesian Christians, and all those who would subsequently read his letter.

 However, this letter is not the last time we hear of the church at Ephesus in the Bible. If you turn to the Book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, God addresses 7 specific churches in the area visited by Paul and his team in his missionary journeys…..and the very first one is…..Ephesus. Ch2 vses 1-7. This is written some 30 years after Pauls letter – in Locking terms, the time difference between the leadership of Jack Mardon and Larissa. What has happened in Ephesus in between? To sum it up,v2 “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…” Tick, tick, tick. But there’s a BUT. It’s v4. “You have forsaken your first love” The Ephesian Christians had spent so much time and energy serving their community, ensuring their doctrine was sound, and keeping false teachers away, that they had lost sight of WHY they were doing it all in the first place ie Their FIRST love for Jesus and their fellow men. And friends, people – irrespective of faith – can sense if there is non judgmental accepting love in a community; it’s an immensely attractive feature…….because it was what we were always designed to be part of by Father God, who has his own family circle of love – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s how and why CAP seeks to work in conjunction with local churches. And it’s one of the core things that is missing from society in UK2024. Sir Keir Starmer wants to see society renewed. Politics can’t do much of what’s needed. But the Christian community can. Are we up for that?

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Sunday 14th July 2024

Reading Mark 6:14-29 

King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”  But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”   “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Sermon on Mark 6:14-29 

How often have you heard or even thought of using the phrase :- LIFE JUST ISN’T FAIR  ?

It may sometimes apply to you or someone you know or hear about, and certainly it applies to some international situations we hear about with folk being driven from their homes and suffering in ways we dare not imagine. How do we as Christians deal with this ? What is our response to the question of fairness ? What is or isn’t fair and who decides anyway?

We heard two different stories this morning, one from Genesis and then, perhaps the more familiar one, about the death of John the Baptist told by Mark.. In Genesis we have the story of Jacob wanting to marry Rachel but her father Laban says it can only happen if Jacob works for him for nothing for 7 years. Jacob agrees, he was clearly very keen on Rachel. Anyway, at the end of the 7 years the bride arrives, but can’t be seen because of veils, and the ceremony proceeds. It transpires afterwards that dad Laban had substituted his older daughter Leah. That’s just not fair. Is it?

Mark tells about the death of John the Baptist. He was beheaded simply because of a stupid promise given by Herod and his pride at not wanting to back down in front of others. That was just not fair. 

Let’s concentrate on that story for a moment and begin by asking:-  What did John’s death achieve? Why didn’t God stop it happeneing?

You won’t be surprised to hear me say that I don’t have an answer to either of those questions but there is something that we need to bear in mind which is, that what other people do and how they behave affects us all. It’s unavoidable. And  that was as true both for John and for Jesus as it is for us. John had the task of Isa 40 ‘Preparing the way for the Lord’. Jesus’s task was also outlined by Isaiah in 52 and 53. As it turned out , the journey for both of them was littered with obstacles, resentments, opposition, fear, jealousy and scheming . John’s mission ended with beheading and Jesus with crucifixion.  Despite preaching good news the end result for both of them was unfair. The pathway of life for them was not smooth and trouble free, and the unavoidable fact is that neither can we expect anything different.

Living out our faith does not rule out problems and opposition. Life is never going to be smooth and trouble free for us either. Now we all know this, I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but I suggest that it’s all too easy at times to ask ‘Why’ when things go wrong and especially when prayers aren’t answered in the way we want. With payer in mind, let me pose a question. What do you suspect that John’s disciples were doing while John was in prison ? Praying for his release ?? Result? He died.

Second question. In Acts 12, what were the disciples doing when Peter was in prison ?.  They were praying for his release. Result ?  A miraculous escape.

We will never know or begin to explain why God allowed one to escape and not the other. God moves in mysterious ways as we sang at the beginning.

When Paul was visiting Derbe and Lystra in Acts 14 we are told that the crowd stoned Paul and left him for dead. He made a miraculous recovery and returned to the city. In Acts 6 we find Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power who performed great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. He was also seized and stoned to death. No miracle this time.

Here also we will never know why God allowed one to die and one to be healed.

Thinking of another story, when Joseph with his wonderfully coloured coat was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, we can confidently say  that that was not a good moment for him. It wasn’t fair.

It follows that for each of us here today we will have our own story of how, along the way, there will have been disappointments, various experiences involving us or those we love. We may have tasted success or failure, perhaps health scares, bereavement, at times feeling it was not fair. But none of these experiences are in any way an indication of the way God sees you. They are not to be seen as rewards or punishments, they are just part of life, because just like both John and Jesus we live in a sinful world and all our experiences are just part of life. 

So where does that leave us ? Our faith in God gleaned for the Bible, teaches us to Trust Him. To trust that whatever life throws at us, God is not only aware but promises, (because He loves),  to always be there and ready to give comfort and strength. His role is not to charge in and prevent any negative or disappointing things happening. As we grow in our relationship with God, He helps us to cope, to learn and to forgive.

At one point in John the Baptist’s ministry he looked at Jesus and asked, ‘Are you the one or should I look for another?’ Maybe he also went on to ask ‘Why am I in prison?’ What advice might other folk offer us when we face a problem , disappointment or a challenge?

I’ve heard, ‘Is God trying to teach you something?’ My answer is probably not, because to say yes is to conclude that God caused it in the first place, and that cannot be true. I think that the only approach is to accept that these things do happen but that God can teach us through them if we look to Him for direction and courage.

To turn this whole question of fairness on it’s head, if we accept that God doesn’t stop and therefore allows negative things to happen, the question follows, why should God  not allow Christians to be ‘rained on’ just like everyone else. That wouldn’t be fair either. Christians do not and should not have some kind of magic bullet that allows them to escape the challenges of life. Going through them is part of our growth and at the same time and as a bonus, enhances our anticipation of what Heaven is going to be like. We have a God of love who wants the best for us. Knowing forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus gives us the promise of Heaven.

Let me draw to a close by making a final important point. That none of what I have said negates the need for prayer. Prayer is not a means of getting what we want, and so avoiding thechallenges. Prayer is a vital part of the process of God helping us to deal with life with all its ups and downs, because, and this is important, prayer changes us. In praying we learn to trust God implicitly for whatever happens.

John died, Peter escaped, Paul survived, Steven died. We cannot explain any of this, but God can be trusted with the answer.

So if in our lives we are tempted to think ‘that’s not fair’ ,remember, that’s only from our perspective and God will be alongside us if we let Him.

Our new politicians have no doubt been promising fairness, but true fairness will only be achieved in Heaven and in the meantime, if we as Christians, follow the golden rule of loving others as much as we love ourselves, we might make some progress in countering the inequalities that do exist.

Rev Geoff Hobden

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 Sunday 23rd June 2024

Reading John 14 : 1 -10 - Jesus Comforts His Disciples  (The Message version of the Bible)

“Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

 

Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”

Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”

Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.”

“You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.

Sermon on John 14 : 1 -10

I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

We’re at the end of our series of thinking about the I AM sayings of Jesus. This month we come, in a way, to the climax. I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. Words spoken by Jesus JUST to his 11 closest disciples/friends. 

Lets set the context first, because although these verses are set in our Bibles as Ch14 of Johns Gospel, actually the theme of these words – mostly spoken by Jesus – starts at Ch13. They have all come to Jerusalem to prepare for the Passover, and they have had the all-time public high of Palm Sunday, with the crowds turning out to adore Jesus. They had got their lodgings and the disciples must have been buzzing – the world was at Jesus feet! They sit down for what we know with hindsight will prove to be their Last Supper together, and Jesus already knows in his spirit (ch13 v1)”that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.”

So, it’s Jesus almost last-time-together session – the chapters that follow, up to the end of ch17, are called The Farewell Discourses  - and we know from our own lives that, if we’re going to be separated from those we love for a significant time, we invest a lot of emotion and ourselves in that last time spent together. Jesus starts by washing their feet – which throws them – particularly Peter – into confusion, as it was always supposed to be the servants who washed the feet of the more important guests, not the other way round. In the middle of the meal he announces that 1 of them will betray him, and Judas leaves the room – the other 11 not knowing where he is going. Then Jesus announces, in v33, “I will be with you only a little longer” and “Where I am going you cannot come”. It’s all too much for them, particularly Peter, who protests - and gets told that within 12 hours he will have disowned Jesus 3 times!

And then, with the Supper party turned into massive bewilderment, we come to the passage that Daniel read for us a few minutes ago. Jesus hits them with the most outrageous claim of all………….one which is incredibly counter-cultural in UK 2024. NOT ONLY does he start his statement with the Jewish words for GOD – I AM – but instead of what our present media would like a respected religious teacher to say ie there are many routes you can take to enlightenment or to engage with a supreme being (whoever you call him/her)…. Jesus instead says there is only one way – and HE IS IT!

No wonder the disciples said – to paraphrase our reading – what are you talking about? And bless him, its “doubting” Thomas who says what they are all thinking “Lord we don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way.” You see, they were used to Jewish law, a set of rules; surely Jesus way must comprise a set of instructions and/or directions? No. No longer would THE WAY be primarily a set of rules but a person, and our relationship to Him.

As a good Evangelical Christian, I mostly use these words in conversations with folk of other faiths or no faith when discussing the uniqueness of Jesus. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it isn’t the context in which Jesus originally said the words. HE was speaking not to non-believers but the inner circle. The words were said not for Gospel outreach but for pastoral care. Listen to the first words of Ch14. Jesus said “ Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me”. He was about to turn their whole world – and seemingly all he had taught them and shown them over the past 3 years – on its head by leaving rather than leading, by allowing himself to be killed not crowned. And as to where he was going – as he said to the repentant thief dying on the cross beside him “Today you will be with me in Paradise”.

HE IS THE WAY – He invites us to simply to hold His hand and invite Him to join us individually on lifes journey…. Together. He knows the journeys end he’s got for us…as he says in v3 “I am going to prepare a place for you in my Fathers house.”

But Thomas is not the only disciple to voice their non-understanding. In v8 Philip says this “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” And Jesus answers him with what for me are some of the most heart-wrenching words in the whole of Scripture “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” In other words, every mans search for truth and reality, ends in Jesus, the pure Son of a Heavenly Father, the one who said I AM THE TRUTH. And there’s a challenge here for each one of us folks as well. It’s this – we may have been around church, or as a disciple, a long time, but how well do we know Jesus, our Lord and Saviour? The answer is that, this side of heaven, there is always more to know, and it is always available to us as we desire it.

Which brings us to the final part, I AM THE LIFE. Jesus doesn’t leave his befuddled disciples hanging on this aspect either. His reassurance comes in v16/18. “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever – the Spirit of truth…You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans.” He knew that was what they were feeling – Jesus was leaving, we’ll be left here deserted, like orphans. Did Jesus’ talk about another Counsellor help them? They probably understood it as little as the rest of what he was saying at the time. But after Jesus had risen from the dead and when 50 days later the Holy Spirit – the same Spirit that had been within Jesus – had come to live within those first disciples, THEN they understood. Jesus might have gone physically, but within them His Spirit lived on, to enable them to live LIFE as He intended, walking in THE WAY for each one of them, and guided by HIS TRUTH.

So did Thomas and Philip finally get it? Lets reflect on Thomas. Nothing mentioned in the rest of the Bible. But when Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, reached India in 1498 to open up the first sea trade route from Europe, he was surprised to find ……Christian fellowships, who traced their history back to the arrival of Thomas in about AD52. Don’t believe the commentators who assert that Christianity in India came with the British Empire and the traders. The faith had been there almost from the start.

What about Philip? Absolutely nothing further mentioned in the Bible either. But Philip is a Greek name and he almost certainly had connections with the Greek trading community. So, naturally, as the Christian church expanded, history tells us he also travelled to spread the Gospel. Guess where? The obvious place – Greece and modern day Turkey. To help fulfil the Commission that Jesus gave – to make disciples of all nations.

 They knew that Jesus was THE WAY, the absolute TRUTH, and that they had been given the Holy Spirit to live THE LIFE. So have we. Lets do it.

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Sunday 9th June 2024

Reading : 2 Corinthians 4: 1-6  Present Weakness and Resurrection Life 

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Sermon on  2 Corinthians 4: 1-6 

I have no doubt that every one of us could instantly recall Corporal Jones’s  catch phrase when faced with a challenge.  “Don’t Panic Mr Mainwaring, Don’t Panic"

When we hear statistics about numbers of people now going to church and huge reductions, especially in the C of E after Covid, we might be tempted to use Cpl Jones’s  phrase. Along with the facts, come the predictions about the future, and it can make sombre reading.

It seems that the church in Corinth may have been having a similar challenge because Paul, in writing to them said in the reading we had a moment ago:- “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”

The fact is that there are other forces at work and I think that we need to treat statistics and predictions with a cynical respect. Come back Cpl Jones and heed his call not to panic.  WHY ??

Because we have a much better source of advice and assurance. It comes right at the end of our reading where Paul says to Corinth, as he says to us. V16. Therefore we do not lose heart.  How does he reach that conclusion ? 

I suggest that this advice to the Corinthians, not to lose heart, must have come from Paul himself having been tempted at some point to lose heart over where this church was heading. WHY did that happen ?  

We need to remember that the founding of the church at Corinth was Paul’s baby, and it’s become clear that the church has developed some problems. They are being misled by some alternative teaching. Some, it seems were even turning against Paul himself through misunderstandings and misrepresentations, and was proving to be quite hurtful. His letter is in effect an attempt to sort things out and is a loving attempt to restore things. He needed to let off some steam and perhaps we can relate to that at times can’t we ? But he didn’t leave them and  go off in a huff or panic having been offended and hurt.

It seems to me that the way that this country is wandering away from God is frustrating and I would add is hurtful, but Scripture guides us in how to respond. After all, God didn’t reject Adam and Eve in the garden after they disobeyed, and in the same way he doesn’t reject us when we continue to let him down, offering us love and forgiveness.

At the very beginning of this chapter Paul begins:- “Since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart”. As a Benefice we have a ministry to our villages.

So, do we, sometimes lose heart? Do we feel like giving up ?  In the context in which we live here in 2024 why might we feel like losing heart? (1) Maybe our own perception of unanswered prayers. (2) There could be a persistent sin that we struggle with. (3)Maybe life is hard with lots of knocks, or (4) even a realisation that clergy are not perfect !!

Why might I lose heart ?  Lack of impact in the community , occasional offices, disappointment when some folk slip away from their faith without asking for help , an impression that some have stopped growing as Christians.

But Paul says to us all ,”Don’t lose heart”. Now this is important. In V2 Paul tells us that to lose heart is to allow temptations to creep in. V2 speaks of “secret and shameful ways “ which includes thoughts and actions. It also includes V2 “deception” i.e. reaching out to others but  deceiving people and holding back on our Christian motives. I can give a personal example. In developing the idea of Hospicecare there was strong pressure from some parts of society, to water down our Christian driving motive. We had to take the brickbats and stand firm.

The 3rd temptation from losing heart in  V.2 Paul  uses the word ‘distortion’, that’s in the context of distorting the word of God by watering it down so making it more acceptable. He says “ by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”

This is so important and any distortion of truth is to be avoided as a temptation for us, and those over us, in our context today. If that should happen, losing heart can  become a reality for many.

Now consider ,have you ever had the experience of sharing the Christian truth with someone and then come away thinking “Why don’t they see it, it’s so obvious !”

Paul explains V4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers”

It is the same now. When Jesus was alive the Jews were blinded by generations of false teaching and they were unable to recognise who he was. So it is today because in our Western culture especially , the trappings and aspirations of success with, for example the idolising of people in the media is so great that there is no room for words like sin, repentance,love, eternityand thruth. They are blinded, the veil covering their eyes is solid.

It is so easy to be trapped by consumerism for those  with disposable incomes and affluence. OR for those trapped in poverty with despair and addiction.OR yet others trapped in living just for today with no hope for the future.

Paul says, and I’ll say it again “Don’t lose heart”.

In history there have been some really black times for our Christian faith not least prior to the Reformation.  Times when it was a miracle that it survived, but it did, for which we praise God.

This is now our generation and it is our privilege to follow Paul’s advice and to set forth the truth. We are those who are to V6 “Let light shine out of darkness”.

We all know that whatever the disappointments, however hard things seem to be, regardless of statistics and predictions about the future, that what we have is the truth that God has given to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

We also know V14 “the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us in His presence”

Therefore,again V16 “We do not lose heart”. How do we help encourage each other ?

We do that by meeting together to worship, to pray , to listen and to seek God’s help. However the future develops we need to hold to the truth and not lose heart.

So in a strange way Cpl Jones and Paul had the same message,

DON’T PANIC   and   DON’T LOSE HEART. God will not desert us. That’s a fact.    AMEN

Rev Geoff Hobden

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 Sunday 2nd June 2024

Reading :  Mark 2:23 - 3:6  Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Sermon on Mark 2:23 - 3:6

Today's readings from Mark describe two dramatic actions in the ministry of Jesus that both occurred on the Sabbath, and both confront the question, "What is it lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  The first action happened in a grain field.  Jesus and his disciples were walking through the field, and the disciples began to pick the heads of the grain.  The Pharisees saw it and were offended.  Is it lawful to do that on the Sabbath?  No, they said, and charged Jesus' disciples with breaking the Sabbath!

The second action occurred on the same day but at the synagogue instead of a grain field.  There was a sick man present in the congregation, and the Pharisees watched to see if Jesus would heal this man in violation of the Sabbath.  Jesus felt the critical eyes of his accusers upon him, and so Jesus gave voice to the question that was silently on the minds of all: "Is it lawful to do this on the Sabbath?"

These incidents illustrate the conflict Jesus had just taught between the traditions of Judaism and the liberty of the gospel. As He went through the grain fields on the Sabbath, His disciples picked some grain to eat, which didn't violate any law of God. But according to the hair-splitting traditions of the elders, the disciples had broken the Sabbath by "reaping" and perhaps even by "threshing" (rubbing the grain in their hands to remove the husks)!

Once a week, all of us, including the Vicar, must decide what we will do on the first day of the week.  "What are you going to do this Sunday?"  That question looms for all of us as the week nears its end.  Will you go to church or find something else to do? The one thing Sunday offers in our society is many choices.  The weekends have become the ideal time for travel away from home.  Sundays make an excellent day for a mini-vacation or a family reunion.  Sunday is the perfect day to take a nice leisurely drive to nowhere in particular.  Most of the major sporting events occur on Sunday.  Many professional sports are played on Sunday afternoons. And then there's shopping!  Many major chain stores are open for shoppers' convenience on Sundays.  The restaurants are busy, and the cinemas, shops, and golf courses are full.  We might go to church if there is nothing else to do.  Every week, we are confronted with the question, "What will you do on Sunday?"

From the perspective of the Pharisees, there was nothing wrong with the actions in either of these episodes; the problem was that they were done on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees had formed an important council called the Great Synagogue about 200 years before Christ.  This synagogue took the Ten Commandments and added interpretations, not by teaching the inner spirit of them, but by adding to them other commandments.

Whereas the Ten Commandments say, "You shall do no regular work," the Great Synagogue translated that into 39 specific prohibitions, and then they added more rules to help carry out the 39 prohibitions. The Ten Commandments say, "You shall do no regular work."  The Great Synagogue says, "Reaping and threshing is work." "plucking the ears of corn is equal to reaping, and rubbing in the hands is equal to threshing."

When the disciples of Jesus plucked the ears of corn and rubbed them in their hands, they were breaking the law.  So argued the Pharisees. (G. Campbell Morgan, Commentary on Luke, p. 82-83).

Jesus defended his actions by citing the actions of David in the Old Testament.  Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for mankind, and not mankind for the Sabbath."

Of course, Christians no longer observe the Sabbath at all.  The Sabbath is the last day of the week, which is Saturday.  Christians observe the first day of the week, which is Sunday.  But we attach the same significance to Sunday that the Hebrew people attached to Saturday.

One of the most amazing transformations of Christianity was this change from observing the Sabbath day to observing Sunday.  Since Jesus' resurrection occurred on the first day of the week, the early Christians thought it only appropriate that they worship the Lord on his Resurrection Day.  In that sense, every Sunday is an Easter Sunday.

G. Campbell Morgan says, "Until Christ had come, man worked toward his Sabbath.  Since Christ he works from his Sabbath.  In the old economy, the Sabbath depended upon the work; in the new, the work grew out of the Sabbath. 

How should we observe the Christian Sabbath?  Should we mount a campaign against the stores for being open on Sunday?  Should Christians refuse to go out to eat on Sunday because our convenience causes someone else to work?  Should we refuse to participate in recreational activities on Sunday?  Should we preach against members who miss church for family activities?

Some Christians would insist that the answer to all those questions is an unqualified "Yes!"  But I think the meaning of the Sabbath principle lies more profound than this.  Jesus was fighting against just this kind of legalism in our text for today.

When we move toward strict observance for our Sunday activities, we are becoming more and more like the Pharisees with their legalistic rituals regarding the Sabbath.  We should come down on the side of grace rather than legalism.  It's tempting for a Vicar to be legalistic about your being in church on Sunday.  The church measures success by the number of people attending church.  When you are not here, we are not successful.

It is far better for our church and members to walk that happy medium between legalism and absenteeism.

An unknown author tells the story of a member of a particular church who had previously been attending services regularly but stopped going.  After a few weeks, the Vicar decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The Vicar found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his Vicor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace, and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the Vicar took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember, and placed it alone on one side of the hearth. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.  As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow, and its fire was gone. Soon, it was cold and "dead as a doornail." Neither man had spoken since the initial greeting.  Just before the Vicar was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately, it began to glow again with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

So, what is the real meaning of the Sabbath principle?

The Sabbath is not one day given to God while we are permitted to keep the six for ourselves.  Instead, it is a peculiar sign and symbol of the most profound things in life.  The Sabbath principle reminds us that there must be a time in our week when we stop and take note of God.  It is a sin to let our lives become so rushed, so full of busyness, that we fail to take care of two vital human needs – rest and worship. As early Christians knew, the particular day of the week was insignificant.  You can rest and worship on Saturday or relax and worship on Sunday.  Some people have to work on Sundays, and their days off may be Tuesday or Saturday.  They can still accomplish the Sabbath purpose, whatever day of the week it is.  The Sabbath reminds us to take time to rest and to take time to worship.

In Bill Moyer's intriguing book on Genesis, several Biblical scholars discuss the meaning of the Sabbath.  Walter Brueggerman comments, "I like very much the statement of (one man), who says that the Sabbath is the day in which he hands his life back to God every week to remember that it is not his own.  That acknowledgement that we belong to a generous God changes how we live the other six days of our lives."  Another scholar observed, "The Sabbath is not a place, it's a structure, a cathedral in time" (Genesis, p. 14).

I want to read you a poem by Pilot Officer John G. Magee, a 19-year-old American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force in England.  Officer Magee died when his Spitfire collided with another aeroplane inside a cloud in December of 1941.  Several months before his death, he composed his immortal sonnet "High Flight," a copy of which he fortunately mailed to his parents in the U.S.A.  In the poem, he describes the thrill of flying. Wouldn't it be amazing if this was how we all would feel about being in church on Sunday?

Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward, I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds–and done a hundred things you have not dreamed of
Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlight, silence. Hovering there,
I've chased the shouting wind along and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind, I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the hand of God.

Do you have that kind of thrill from worshipping God on Sunday? What does Sunday mean to you?  And to your family?  

 Let us pray that everyone could feel that Sunday would be a special day, a cathedral in time, when we soared to the heavens and touched the hand of God. Amen

Peter Richardson - Reader

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Sunday 12th May 2024

Reading Luke 4:14-21 - Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Sermon on Luke 4:14-21

So in this Luke reading this morning we have Jesus back home. Back to where he had been brought up. In this early period of His ministry after his temptations on the widerness, he is maybe having a short rest with his family. We are told that he had been moving around and speaking in synagogues  in different towns and villages and was receiving good feedback.V. 15 everyone  praised him. So what changes and why when he goes with his family to the  synagogue in Nazareth ? When Instead of praise it ends with rejection ? These were local people who knew him. He was a child playing in the streets. We are led to conclude than he lived in Nazareth until the age of 30. Nothing indicates that he went anywhere else before then. Attendance at the local synagogue, being part of the congregation would have been a regular feature of his life. I think that we sometimes forget that Jesus led a normal life amongst the society of the day for quite some time. And now, here he was on the Sabbath, but instead of sitting quietly in the pews he gets up to preach. Did they expect that?  I wonder, did the local synagogue  have a board outside announcing him as the preacher for that Saturday? However, whether they expected him to preach or not, it was what he actually said  that raised eyebrows. The synagogue leaders clearly knew which passage he was going to read, as v.17 the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, but they didn’t know what he was going to say. And it was this that later caused the fireworks resulting in their rejection of him.

Initially after he had spoken v22 all spoke well of him and they were amazed at his gracious words, but things changed when the session developed into a discussion. Jesus had used the Isaiah passage about the prophesied Messiah which included the claim that the Messiah would bring, amongst other things, healing. Let me remind you of the words.

V18 The Spirit of the Lord has sent me to proclaim freedom and recovery of sight for the blind. Remember that health was a huge factor for the population and  Jesus, as always, knew what they were thinking. So in v23what does he do?  He verbalises what they are thinking. Why aren’t you, Jesus,  doing here in your home town what we have been hearing about in Capernaum.  They’ve heard about some healing miracles , why aren’t you doing that here ? His reply now becomes the real cause of their anger. Without going into detail, Jesus in his answer, quotes two Old Testament stories involving Elijah healing the widow of Zarephath and Elisha healed Naaman of leprosy stories that they would have been well aware of, but, and this is the point, stories of healings involving  two people who weren’t Jews instead of healing  many Jews were also struggling . It was this really infuriated them and led to the  violence. They couldn’t cope with the notion that God would give preferential treatment to pagans rather than the Jews who were also suffering . They were incensed:-

V29 They drove Jesus out of town, took him to the brow of a hill in order to throw him down a cliff. But Jesus simply walked away.

So the congregation changed from v22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. To v29 an attempt to kill him. It’s fair to conclude that this home congregation had heard, but not understood what Jesus had actually said . The words he read from Isaiah were a prophecy about the Messiah and he finished the reading by then declaring v 21 Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your  hearing. This was a very clear statement that He was the promised Messiah, but they didn’t seem to grasp it. Yes V22 words of appreciation and even amazement, but Jesus knew that they hadn’t grasped the reality of who he was. If they had really cottoned on, their reaction  would have been a response of wonder and  worship, even fear because here was the Messiah, God made man, promised from long ago.

Isaiah Chap 61 is worth reading. It is a  prophetic statement about the Messiah. Jesus read out the words and claimed them as his own. S0…

 v18 The Spirit of the Lord is on ME. He has anointed ME..   He has sent ME.  After reading it he stated ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing .An incredible statement !!

So it was a momentous day for that synagogue, but for all the wrong reasons. They attempted to silence the very one who had come to save them, something the authorities achieved 3 years later, or rather thought they had. This was for Jesus a foretaste of what lay ahead.

`When Jesus chose to read that particular text from Isaiah with reference to the poor who need freedom , healing and release from oppression, He is thinking more in terms of the whole world, and not only Jews. He is also thinking of 2024 because our society needs those things now. Our towns and villages  are full of people needing freedom, healing  and release from oppression. That is needed even more now as we look at our world. There is a huge volume of people who have no understanding of God, absolutely no concept of his willingness to love and forgive. The good news is that repentance is the key to being released and set free and giving hope for the future. Through Isaiah, Jesus was proclaiming the most powerful story, the global message of God’s love to all who will hear and receive His love. I hope that we are all still overawed by the simplicity yet magnificence of this Biblical truth. That we are still amazed at the eternal significance for every individual who turns to Christ.

In our everyday  human relationships, the depth of our love for each other necessarily evolves into something deeper over time.I wonder, Is your relationship with God evolving and growing as it should? Are you still grieving for those who are lost and have given up praying for them? The truth is, we may so easily become dispirited in our Western culture with such a negative response and a determination to shelve long accepted Christian standards at national level, not to mention some of our own bishops! 

If we are individually part of God’s new creation , forgiven and full of hope then we are also disciples of Jesus, ideally emulating his unstinting desire to see others come to faith.

Today, the Good News is needed more than ever. In the words that Jesus used from Isaiah, the world on our doorstep is full of those who are captives, blind and oppressed needing healing and they don’t know it. It’s a huge challenge. We may only be a small congregation in a village in rural England but we still have a part to play. We continue to have the life giving Good News of Jesus bringing God’s love, and there are many in this village who need to hear it. We continue to have God’s authoritative Word in the Bible about our need to hold fast to what it says about sin.  Let’s be positive in our prayers that God will use us in the future, and if we are serious, He will.

Pray

Rev Geoff Hobden

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 Sunday 5th May 2024

Reading John 15: v9-17 - A new Commandment

 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.

Sermon on John 15: v9-17

The root of the Christian faith is not a set of propositional beliefs we have to assent to.Nor is it a way of behaviour we have to adhere to. The root of the Christian faith is a loving relationship. God loves us, and living in relationship with him we love him.

Jesus has demonstrated the love of God to his disciples and is about to do so in a dramatic finale of death and resurrection – the triumph of love. The love Jesus talks about is not the romantic love of two people, nor the friendship of two people in harmony travelling a similar path. It is the Agape love of giving unreservedly to another without any necessary reciprocation. A sacrificial love, purely for the sake of the other. 

This love is the way we are to live as God’s people. Jesus emphasises this in two ways: First - He commands us to love one another in that way.  God’s rules were never meant to restrict our experience of life but to enhance life by giving us boundaries. They were given in love. Therefore, it is not a command of religious compliance but a positive call to action. Then he says we are not to fulfilling them out of dull duty, slavishly obeying some master who owns us, but out of friendship to one who loves us. No longer slave to fear but as a member of a loving family. 

The reason for loving one another is simply so that others can see and believe the love of God as shown in Jesus. How does showing an open and giving love help? People should see in our love a love that is healing, life-giving, and transforming. And we know this from those who have been drawn by Christian love to discover the love of God. Our loving should produce fruit – in our lives and in others.

Love is healing

Love that is healing. Salve – a healing ointment and salvation have the same root. Salvation is about restoring wholeness. Loving others can be healing. Megan was brought up in a Christian home but just coasted through church, something the family did on Sunday’s.  But at 13 her best friend was murdered and her lif fell apart. How would God allow such things? Who could you trust in this world. She gave up church and a bit cynical, finding it hard to make relationships. When she went to Uni though she met a boy on her course who seemed very friendly with everyone. He leant about her friend being killed and seemed to take a special interest in her. It wasn’t a come on, he already had a girlfriend and the two of them often asked her to come with them if they were going out anywhere. He never seemed to put others down at all, and seemed to be always ready to shrug off the hurtful things that people may say or do. These two talked with her about their Christian faith and helped her process the painful past. She started going to church with them soon discovered a live faith in the God who loved her in good times and bad. Their love helped heal Megan from the past.

Love is reviving

Jack was a successful man. He loved his wife and kids, he ran a successful business and they had few financial worries. But he wasn’t satisfied. They had long dreamed of having a holiday home to get away and relax. And the previous year they had managed it. But now what? Jack was vaguely dissatisfied; he didn’t know why. What was it all about? He had the dream life so now what? It all seemed so pointless. A bit treadmill. He kept these ideas to himself, but they got darker. He contemplated suicide but couldn’t bear to put his family through the trauma. He had a neighbour nearby who always seemed happy and often sang out loud as he walked down the street, not in the secret of his own bathroom. So Jack , niggled, asked him one day @Why are you so happy?’ and the neighbour Giles asked him why he wasn’t happy, as there was so much to be thankful for.  He listened and was concerned as Jack told him how he felt. And Giles then told him about his faith.  They continued the discussion over some weeks and eventually Jack started to explore the Christian faith for himself via Jack’s church. When he became a Christian his life seemed to spark alive again. He had purpose, he felt alive again. Although when he shared his new found faith with his wife and told her what was going on she said it seemed as if he’d been captured by aliens! God’s love is life giving, refreshing the soul. 

Love is Transforming 

 Andrew was planning to get married. He was a quiet, shy chap who had met a quiet slightly shy girl. They wanted to get married at their local church and were encouraged to come and hear the Banns called. The banns were called at the start of the service at the end of the inevitable notices, so Andrew was concentrating when the notices were read and he heard how the Chaplain at the BRI was asking if people could help on a Sunday morning to wheel patients who wanted to come down to the Chapel from their ward and then wheel them back afterwards. Andrew was a member of the St John Ambulance and knew how to handle people who were ill, he also worked on the accountancy side of the hospital. He thought that was something he could do because he had nothing else on on a Sunday morning. So he volunteered after the service and started a few weeks later. He didn’t know what to do while the service was on so he stayed and listened. After about a year he had heard so much he asked the chaplain if he could take communion too. The chaplain asked if he was confirmed, to which Andrew had no clue. The Chaplain thought he was busy enough with his patients so suggested Andrew go back to the vicar who married them. Andrew did and started on a preparation course. Suddenly by week three the penny dropped and Andrew became a Christian. Before the end of the course he told the vicar that he wanted to tell others about Jesus and wondered if God was calling him to go into the ministry. The vicar thought this was a bit quick so cautioned patience to be sure. He never became a clergyman but the shy man did become a good Lay Reader and led worship and preached in front of congregations for years. His life was transformed by discovering the love of Jesus from getting involved with Christians in action helping others.

Asking – Thy Kingdom Come.

Jesus knew that his friends would never amount to doing much in their own strength, only by God’s power. So this loving one another would only work if they sought God’s help in prayer. And we are to do the same. 

Not rush headlong but to seek God’s help to love others and know how best to show that love.

Over the past few years our Archbishops have asked us to use Ascensiontide as a time of prayer and waiting on God ta ask for God to be at work. Under the banner of ‘Thy Kingdom Come we are asked to spend the ten days before Pentecost waiting on God and praying to him that His Kingdom may grow. We are to pray for our country and our community but also they urge us to pray for up to 5 friends or family members who we would like to see become Christians. If you want to know more you can go online where there is a wealth of resources to help you. If we want to love one another we start asking our heavenly father for help. 

Rev Terry Baillie

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Sunday 28th April 2024

Reading John 10: 11-21 - I am the good Shepherd

 [from The Message version] “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”

 This kind of talk caused another split in the Jewish ranks. A lot of them were saying, “He’s crazy, a maniac—out of his head completely. Why bother listening to him?” But others weren’t so sure: “These aren’t the words of a crazy man. Can a ‘maniac’ open blind eyes?”

Sermon on John 10: 11-21

Did anybody watch Pilgrimage: The road through North Wales? It was on TV in the run-up to Easter. It’s a periodic series in which “celebrities” are randomly thrown together to go on a “pilgrimage” and are encouraged to have “Moments of Real Meaning”. A review of the latest Pilgrimage offering included these words. “The finest moment came when Spencer Matthews, an Old Etonian who is also the Princess of Wales brother-in-law, tried to grasp how history worked. Sitting in a peaceful Welsh church, overlooking the Conwy valley, he asked the comedian Eshaan Akhbar, who was brought up a Muslim, if Jesus Christ was in fact “made up”. “He’s a real person” Akhbar said, slowly. “I kind of thought he was fictitious” said Matthews, confused.”

That would be funny if it wasn’t so sad, coming as it did from someone close to the heart of the British monarchy, a family currently under the shadow of poor health, and in need of the reassurance of a life guide who doesn’t leave you on your own in times of trouble.

We’re on our 4th Sunday Pilgrimage through the I AM sayings of Jesus, and we’ve arrived at…. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD (JOHN CH 10.VSES 11 – 21),

Jesus answer to a question that many people – from King to commoner - ask in one form or the other, particularly in those hours of the night when uncertainties show themselves – Is there anyone who I can trust to help guide me through this life?

John places this episode – not coincidentally – after a passage of blunt talk to the Pharisees about spiritual blindness, and from the response noted in v19/20 to His statement about being the Good Shepherd…“He is demon-possessed and raving mad”, you can guarantee that the Pharisees were still sounding off.

But can you blame them? They knew their Bibles. Psalm 23 was as popular to them as it is now……and how does it start? “The Lord is My Shepherd”. Jesus was not just claiming as His own the words for God – I AM – which were revealed to Moses, but He was using the EXACT same imagery as King David had used in the Psalms. It’s 1 plus 1 = 2. I am the Good shepherd, The Lord is my Shepherd………Hmm, you can’t get any more Good than the Lord, therefore Jesus is saying I AM THE LORD! No wonder listeners reactions were both divided and agitated. “Why listen to Him?” “ And yet How can a madman open the eyes of the blind? “

And they had seen Him restore sight to the blind!!

Either Jesus was, and is, no-one of universal importance – although perhaps with as good a story as Superman – or He was, and is, who He claimed to be……

Including to be THE GOOD SHEPHERD to all who believe in Him. When Christmas comes round, whats one of the carols we love to sing – While shepherds watched their flocks by night! And we tend to major on the thought that the angels chose to announce Jesus birth first of all to Shepherds, because shepherds were the lowest of the low, ordinary people. But the Bible doesn’t waste words – it says that these shepherds were WATCHING OVER THEIR FLOCKS. They were doing what GOOD SHEPHERDS do. And in doing so, they were invited to witness the birth of the ultimate GOOD SHEPHERD.

 Lets just bring 3 points out this morning from our passage

Firstly, Jesus love was self-sacrificial. He didn’t come just to talk the talk, he came to walk the walk. And by this time in His ministry he knew that part of that walk was to give up his own life. Have you noticed that there is an inbuilt instinct in humans to applaud such actions – especially when its parents for children, or when its for strangers? To think that someone would think our individual lives to be of such importance that He would give up His own life for us, isn’t that mind-blowing? In Jesus time, the closest illustration He could give to people was that of a Good Shepherd who loved his sheep so much that He would die to protect them. So that was the example He used.

Secondly, His love and his shepherding is for everyone. The Jewish race thought that the Messiah was coming for them alone. They were wrong, and Jesus spelt it out clearly in v16 “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also.” His mission was for everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike, every people group, every country, every generation. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t be here this morning.

Thirdly, Jesus ministry and invite to us will always be, not a set of rules, but a living relationship. “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Just as the sheep in a shepherds flock followed him because they knew him, so Jesus invites us into a similar relationship. How do we join the flock – which is the largest in the world? Simply by acknowledging He is who he said he was and is, and handing over the guidance of our lives from ourselves to Him. And how do we get to know Him? Similar to the sheep, by spending time with Him, in prayer, in reading or listening to the Bible, by learning to hear His voice as it whispers to us in our daily lives. Like getting to know your closest friends or your partner, it grows with time but you have to put the effort in by spending time together.

In the Churchs year, we’re in the 50 days between Jesus being raised to life on Easter Sunday and the giving of the Holy Spirit to live inside those first believers at Pentecost – the same gift of the Holy Spirit as is given to all of us when we put our hand into the hand of Jesus to journey through life together.

Stuff happens in life, and some of it is not pleasant to put it mildly. You only have to look at Jesus life. But there is a promise – we are never alone. Jesus came from Father God, he lived day by day with His Heavenly Father, and when He had finished his job on earth, He returned to His Heavenly Father. And only on one brief occasion was that link with His Father broken – on the Cross  when he gave his life for all the wrongs, large and small, committed by the human race. And in that moment he restored the link between God and Man that had been broken when Man decided he didn’t need Gods guidance and instead could do it our own way ……. 

 If that’s not being the ultimate Good Shepherd, I don’t know what is. 

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Sunday 21st April 2024

Reading Jeremiah  29: 1-14  - A Letter to the Exiles

This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jehoiachin  and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Sermon on Jeremiah  29: 1-14  

A couple of weeks ago, I was returning From an evening game at Plymouth, it was on the whole a good journey, though by the time I got home I was beginning to have some concerns about the brightness of the main beam, and was contemplating a trip to the garage the following day. It was only as I tiptoed quietly into the house that I saw in a mirror that I'd driven all the way back in sunglasses!   As we enter prayer now before opening God's word, my prayer is that we will take our sunglasses off and see more clearly what God is asking of us. 

 May these words be your words, may they speak into our hearts. May the Holy Spirit minister to us in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. 

Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter. We are moving from resurrection through to Pentecost. I want to start by sharing two verses that have been on my mind, throughout this Easter season. 

John 3: 16, you'll all know this I'm sure:  "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

In John 17, Jesus said these words to His disciples;  "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." 

The coming and suffering of Jesus and our reconclliaflon with God, that was made possible by His death and resurrection, was foretold throughout the Old Testament. Isaiah spoke of us as sheep who have gone astray, Jesus spoke of the Good Shepherd searching for that one lost sheep, and it is personal, for God so loved the world, not just the spinning globe, but each one of us, separately, as individuals. 

We are going to be looking at the passage from Jeremiah today, a passage that takes the form of a letter to the exiles in Babylon from Jeremiah. The sheep have been scattered, but not forgotten. 

Letter writing is becoming so much less common these days, isn't it. I am, as many of us are, I suspect, old enough to remember life before e mails and mobile phones. However did we cope?  Letters are frequently remarkable for what they don't actually say. Reading them often says a lot about the relationship between the sender and the recipient. I recently came across a letter I had sent to my parents. 

"Dear Mummy and Daddy", it began, before going on to detail the numerous travails involved in flying as unaccompanied minors with my 9 year old sister to stay with our grandparents in Switzerland. I described the journey in minute detail, down to how much we liked the hot beverages, (yes beverages, I was pretentious even then!), even down to the journey in my aunt's new car to my grandparent's house. But letters are often remarkable for what they don't say. "We stopped on the way in a bar where we had some drinks and saw some colour TV" For context this was July 1969, and while details of the journey such as the quality of the drinks are now lost in the mists of time, I remember vividly that the colour TV we saw. It was the moon landing. Didn't rate a mention! 

There is no beating about the bush with this letter, it begins; This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and settle down; Marry and have sons and daughters; Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 

It is a letter to the Jews in exile, it comes to us through the centuries but it might well be written to us here in Locking, citizens of the kingdom of God, in the world but not of it.  We are where we are, a village in Somerset in 2024. We may remember better times, we may hanker after the days when the High Street was more vibrant, when times were more certain, when food banks were not so necessary. But we are where we are, and each of us has our own unique perspective on where we find ourselves. 

Jeremiah's letter is telling the Israelites, and us that it's not okay, but it's not the end. You may remember the song by Boney M based on Psalm 137 

By the Rivers of Babylon where we sat down . 

And the wicked carried us away in captivity, requiring of us a song, but how can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land. 

What are they to do? 

Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 

Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 

Do exactly what they would do if they were still at home in Israel, eat drink, marry have children. They are to plant gardens, and to work for their own welfare by seeking the welfare of of the place where they live. 

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.  Yes, and another thing, pray. 

Centuries before Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said:  I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your Father in heaven. 

Jeremiah was exhorting the Israelites to pray for their captors, for Babylon. This call to pray represents a shift from an understanding of God, of YHWH as a territorial deity, to a recognition of God as a universal God who rules over all the earth and all the peoples of the earth. This God who is with you in Jerusalem, in Babylon and in Locking. 

This is a letter that has two distinct halves, the second part is the promise; 

I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

But the first part deals with the reality of the current situation. 

Victor Frankl was a psychotherapist and an Auschwitz survivor. In his book Man's Search for Meaning he wrote this: 

"The death rate in the week between Christmas, 1944, and New Year's Day 1945, increased in camp beyond all previous experience. In my opinion, the explanation for this increase didn't lie in the harder working conditions, nor the deterioration of our food supplies nor a change of wealth or new epidemics. It was simply that the majority of the prisoners had lived in the naive hope that they would be home again by Christmas. As the time drew near and there was no encouraging news, the prisoners lost courage and disappointment overcame them. This had a dangerous influence on their powers of resistance and a great number of them died." 

Frankl developed a concept he called "tragic optimism," that is, an optimism in the face of tragedy. It enforces both the idea that you can be positive and believe you will overcome all difficulties, while at the same time you are confronting the most brutal facts of your current situation. 

There is a hope, but we are where we are. We are where God, in his infinite wisdom has placed us. The paradox, we need to hold in tension is both the hope we have for the future and the reality of our current situation. We have to have both, if we focus just on the hope, we risk disappointment, if we focus purely on our current situation we risk misery. There is a saying made popular by John Lennon; 'everything will be okay in the end and if it's not okay, it's not the end.' 

And this is how to sing the Lord's song in a strange land. 

That's the reality, we are where we are, we are where God has placed us, and we are here to sing the Lord's song.  To live, to work, to pray, to seek the prosperity of the place that we live, to play our part in the work that God is doing. 

Then comes the promise, and it is a promise, and like all God's promises a one that will be kept.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". 

43 years ago I was a medical student, very London centric, I had no idea that Locking existed, I was relatively settled in an outlook that didn't deviate far from hospital medicine and London.  May 11th 1981 my world turned upside down, I had been sent to Plymouth (I didn't know where that was either), for 3 weeks to deliver babies. I arrived at Freedom Fields Hospital around 1:25 in the afternoon. By 1:30 I had introduced myself to the midwife on duty, and my future wife. God knows the plans he has for us, sometimes we are in alignment, sometimes it's a complete bolt from the blue. 

The next verses unlock the whole passage.  "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you," declares the Lord, ""and will bring you back from captivity. When you seek me with all your heart I will be found by you. 

I find myself guilty at times of having lots of things I'd like to do or achieve, but in the end I don't. Maybe because I don't want it enough or another shiny thing comes along and grabs my attention. I wonder if that is something that you can empathise with.  Jeremiah brooks no compromise. It's both a promise and a command; God will be found by us, when we seek him with ALL our heart.  "I will be found by you." declares the Lord "And I will bring you back from captivity." 

Letters really do say a lot about the relationship between sender and recipient, this letter is no different. This is what the Lord the Almighty says. The command and the promise, you will find me, when you seek me with all your heart. But in between the lines, not actually said, I am your God, but I am also the God of all the people you live amongst. Pray for them. Let's close in prayer: some verses from Psalm 34. 

Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God 
I hate those who cling to worthless idols; 
as for me, I trust in the Lord, I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul 
You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. 

 Amen

John Birkett
(Lay Reader - Christ Church Weston-super-Mare)

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Sunday 7th April 2024

Reading John 20: 19-31  - Jesus Appears to His Disciples

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Sermon on John 20: 19-31

Good Morning everyone. It’s so wonderful to be with you this morning. 

Prayer: Lord God. I pray that you would direct my lips as I speak and that you would prepare all our hearts to receive all you have for us this morning from your Word. Amen

Our readings this morning take us into the book of Acts to the life of the early church, formed after the Jesus ascended and the Holy Spirit came. And we also have our reading from the book of John where John is reminding us listeners of WHY Jesus came and lived and died and rose again for us. 

Now, there is so much in our John reading, more than we could possibly cover in this short time together, so there a couple of points I’d like us to look at together this morning and I am going to focus my attention on v.30-31:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

Now, just to establish the context here, many of you will be familiar with the story, but let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. A quick overview.

Jesus has been crucified, and in John’s gospel Jesus appears first to Mary Magdelene after he has risen, she and runs to tell the disciples. That evening Jesus then appears to all the disciples, except for poor Thomas, who happens not to be there. Now when then tell Thomas what has happened, he utters his well-known phrase – ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

Now, a quick side note, I think it’s important to note that disbelief was not the exclusive domain of Thomas. Jogn only records Thomas’s specific disbelief but in the other 3 gospels they are all at it!! 

In Mark 16 we read this ‘when they [the disciples] heard he [Jesus] was still alive and had been seen by her they would not believe it….

Matthew tells a similar tale, stating that when they heard the news ‘some doubted’…And in the gospel of Luke, the risen Jesus stood before them and directly asked the disciples ‘why do doubts rise in your minds?’

So, its’ cleat that doubt was not the exclusive domain of Thomas by any means.  And as we layer all the different accounts up, one on top of the other, it gives us a much fuller picture of these events. And, of course, once Thomas has seen Jesus for himself, he declares ‘My Lord and My God.’  To which Jesus says to him… ‘because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed. And it’s straight after this statement that our two verses from John appear…

Now, there are three things that have bubbled up for me as I have been praying and pondering what God might want to have us think about this morning, that I want to share with you.

The first is this: it’s clear from our reading in John, that believing is key to our Christian living. Now, that may sound obvious, but I’d like to unpack that a little bit as we think about this together.

I wonder how easy we find it to believe? I’d imaging it’s very different for all of us.

Personally, for a big chunk of my adult life I had trouble believing any of these stories of Jesus were true beyond myth and cute Sunday stories from my childhood. But after a fairly long journey exploring faith, and hanging around with Christian who did believe, I came to believe it to be true for myself and gave my life to Christ.  And I’d assumed that once I believed, my level of belief would just exist, you know at a sort of full capacity, I’m all in, Jesus is amazing level. And like Thomas, I would be declaring ‘My Lord and my God’ each morning as I sat to pray. 

And whilst I have never stopped believing, I have discovered that some days I seem to have more belief than others!! But I think it’s okay – from what we read in the Bible, looking at the disciples I think we are in good company on that!  

I was at a Christian event some time ago…and a speaker shared with us that she struggled with anxiety and depression…(share this story)

v30 tells us that Jesus performed many other amazing signs, in the presence of His disciples that are not recorded here – and John is referring here to the fact that he records 7 of Jesus signs, or miracles, but across the 4 gospels there are over 40 miracles of Jesus recorded and we’re told this is still on a fraction of what Jesus did.

And it’s interesting that these same disciples who had such a hard time believing, who were filled with doubt, had personally witnessed Jesus at work, they had SEEN, with their own eyes Jesus performing miracles, and they have now SEEN Jesus in His risen form. They have SEEN and personally witnessed, it all. And NOW they believe.

And then v31 is speaking directly to all of us that have come after these events, hundreds and thousands of years later, to say to us….these things are written, these signs so that YOU may believe, like Thomas – that Jesus is the Messiah - your Lord and your God. 

The purpose of the signs was so show us that Jesus Christ is who he said he was – the Messiah. God himself. And the purpose of these signs being written down was so that we, all of us sat here, on the first Sunday after Easter in 2024, could believe!!! Because we hold in our hands, the first hand, witness account of those who did see. And yet, as Jesus tells us ‘Blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed’ – that’s us folks!!

The point of reading our Bibles is not simply to know our Bibles, or tick of our allocated reading for the day, though both of things are good, of course! The purpose of reading our Bibles is that it shows us Christ, The Messiah – that we might believe. And that in believing we have life in His name. 

And this brings me to my second point – what does it mean then to have life in His name?  

Life in Christ’s name – it’s a rather strange phrase really, isn’t it.? Interestingly, the synonym most used for the word salvation in the Bible is LIFE. So we could say ‘salvation in Christ’s name’. Or eternal life in Christ’s name. 

In believing we enter into a new life, or to use John’s phrase: life in His name. We believe, we become followers of Jesus, and we step into life in his name. An eternal life. And in the New Testament the terms these terms - life in his name, salvation, eternal life, Kingdom of God - they all speak into this life altering reality we step into when we become followers of Jesus.

Yet, I wonder what image that most frequently comes to mind when you hear words such as ‘eternal life?’ I think for many of us it can refer to our life AFTER this one. After we die. 

In Mark Twain’s the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck says:

“The widow Douglas told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She said it was wicked to say what I said; she was going to live so as to go to the good place. She said all a body would have to do there was to go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever. Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try for it.” 

This might make us laugh, but I think reminds of an important truth. There can be a danger that this sense of living for what will come next, after we die, can rob us of the fullness of life that we already have now. 

As followers of Jesus we are already living our eternal life. Because our eternal life started the moment we believed. Our eternal life is the life lived everyday in the presence of God – whether in this physical body we have now or the one we will have for all eternity with the Father. 

Eternal life, or life in His name as our reading puts it, our salvation life, Kingdom life – these are all ways of describing our lives, lived with God, now and forever.

The Christian writer John Ortberg says heaven isn’t a destination but a way of being. That our salvation, our life in His name, isn’t about us getting into heaven, it’s about heaven getting into us! It’s about how we live in the here and now, knowing God’s intimate presence moment by moment AS WE LIVE.

And that brings me to me final and briefest point! 

We’ve looked closely at this phrase that as we believe we have life in Christ’s name… and we live that life in community with each other. 

As a community you have travelled some extremely hard and difficult times over the years and you now find yourselves currently in this new exciting season of seeking your new minister.  Our reading from Acts 4 shows us the first believers doing life together, in Christ’s name: ‘All the believers were of one heart and mind’, and echoes the same sentiment of Acts 2 where it says:

‘They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’

That word fellowship is the Greek word Koinonia is used over 20 times in the New Testament. It can be translated fellowship or partnership or holding something in common, or in today’s language community. Being in community isn’t always easy, we all know that I’m sure, but it is how Jesus and the early church modelled how, as believers, we live out the Christian life.  

When we might be struggling to believe it’s in community that we can find rest, like the story of that speaker I shared earlier. It’s where we, like the four gospel writers, overlay, one on top of the other, all our different life experiences and ways of living with and knowing Christ, that help each other, and the community and people all around, a much richer picture of who God is. 

As we live this shared life together, we are, like the first followers of Jesus, a collective witness to who Christ is and all has done for us.

(Hold up my Bible) These things were written so that we could believe, and have life in His name, that we too might show who Christ is to others by how we live. And we do all this through the equipping of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that Jesus breathed on his disciples as he gave them his peace and commissioned them to his service, as we heard read in v17 of our John passage.

So, as we conclude I thought we could ask the Lord to do the same again for us this morning. That we use our next hymn as a time of personal reflection for us. 

 We will go straight into singing number MP67 ‘Breath on me breathe of God’, as we stand in the intimate, personal, eternal presence of Christ, and as we do I will read these words of Jesus over us. The words Jesus spoke over his first disciples that day and over us all now…“Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you. And with that He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

Donna Pilgrim
(Lay Reader - Christ Church and Emmanuel, Weston-super-Mare)

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Sunday 31st March Easter Day

Reading Mark 16:1-8  - Jesus Has Risen

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

 Sermon on Mark 16:1-8

Put yourself in place of three women going to Jesus tomb. What do you feel? Grief, despair, confusion. But there is also unflinching devotion. Devotion is :

- Courageous. The other disciples had fled. They had kept by cross, when the others were behind locked doors they openly showed their love.

- Is passionate: Oblivious to risk, cost of spices, 

- Is Impractical: No logical reason, just a desire this dead person should smell nice, without any thought as to how they would get to it.

Devotion to God beyond human explanation. But the response to our devotion has to be worked out. These women begin to respond to what they have experienced. Distrurbingly we are not told how stone was moved, who the figure was, we see what they see so that we can come to this experience through the eye witnesses. 

News from Waterloo communicated from ship to shore by telegraph lantern. But mist came down – Wellington defeated.. then could not see any more. When fog lifted whole message was sent Wellington defeated the enemy. That is the difference Easter Day makes to Good Friday.

Whilst we can argue the evidence of the resurrection, that it happened in history we also need to respond to the experience we have of Jesus being alive. How did these women respond to the confusion of events? 

1. Open to change

We all have an inner map,  a set of views that helps us make sense of the world we perceive It is made up of what we regard as facts but may be prejudices. E.g. the Germans have no sense of humour (not true although most don’t understand irony in English). 

The women have to re-evaluate their map about what is alive and what is dead. About who this Jesus is a prophet, story teller, miracle worker or something more. The facts are sealed inside us as Jesus body was sealed in tomb. Seen facts of crucifixion and burial, like stone across tomb they are immovable. But suppose they are wrong. Maybe confusing and frightening but to make sense of Easter they have to be open to change. They left trembling and bewildered. Yet God is in control and they will find that he has opened up that inner map and led them to a strange and new country. So with us the resurrection means that the old boundaries and prejudices of our world can never be taken for granted again. God can always open up new vistas. The barrier between earthly and heavenly is now always open to cross. It does not lead to a happy ever after state but to the possibility always of change, of renewal and rebirth.  

God is the God of Resurrection. It is never defeat – it is victory.

2. Something to know.

Know this that Jesus is going ahead of you. Later he would assure the disciples that it means he will always be with us travelling ahead of us to the end of the journey into eternity. 

Yes Ezekiel, these dry bones can live. Yes Hosea you can redeem your wife and family and bring them home, Yes Ezra, we can build a lasting temple to worship God but it will be a living temple made of human bodies. Yes Mary and |Martha, your brother returns to you for a while.

John Donne realising that Death is not to sleep forever, death brings us to our last awakening – into eternity.

God has changed everything and we have to re-evaluate the whole of our lives to live in the light of the resurrection.

3. Something to say

Do this go and tell. This is not a secret for a favoured few. This is the beginning of a faith that is not for the chosen but a faith that is for the benefit of non-believers. History of Christianity is in telling others. Go and tell: The women’s response is less of a going somewhere than a fleeing. and they said nothing. Perhaps that too is typical of us. The risen Lord does not give up on them, nor on us.

Conclusion

To hear the call and know the facts is not enough. The resurrection leads us into disturbing places:

• To be open to God bringing change in our perspective, in our world map.
• To know his presence with us as we go.
• To go and tell of what experience we have of a risen Lord and saviour

Rev Terry Baillie

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Sunday 24th March Palm Sunday

Reading John 12:12-19  (The Message)

The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: 

Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!  
Yes!  Blessed is the King of Israel!

Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:

    No fear, Daughter Zion:
    See how your king comes, riding a donkey’s colt.

The disciples didn’t notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.

 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: “It’s out of control. The world’s in a stampede after him.”

 Sermon on John 12:12-19

Palm Sunday, one of the most well-known times of our Church’s year. One of the most vivid episodes in Jesus ministry and mentioned in all 4 gospels……. Which means that, as each gospel looks at Jesus life from a slightly different perspective, this is an event of great importance. Imagine it – up to Jerusalem, the heat and the dust, the crowds, the noise, the waving of the palms, the shouts, the throwing down of the palms and cloaks in front of the man as he rides on ……”Hosanna to the Son of David”, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”. All this celebrating and, after the event, we know we haven’t even got to Easter Day.

And in a sense that’s why I often feel uncomfortable on Palm Sunday. With the benefit of history we know what comes between Palm Sunday and Easter Day – we can’t just hop from one to the other! I love to celebrate all the high points of Jesus ministry but we always think of next week – Holy Week – as a particular time to reflect, rather than break out the streamers and party poppers. We’ve read the book, and that first Palm Sunday turned out to be a false dawn of hope for the first followers of Jesus, primarily because the world – or the crowds specifically – completely misunderstood Jesus mission, ministry and kingship.

As we remember Palm Sunday, then, lets think about the 2 images which always come to my mind…firstly THE PALMS, and secondly THE DONKEY.

In Jewish history, the cloaks and the palms were signs of royal welcome. Isn’t it appropriate though that what we hand out each year are not Palm branches but Palm crosses. For the crowds here were probably some of the same people who a few days later shouted “Crucify Him!” and even “We have no King but Caesar”. Has it ever crossed your mind – how could they change so extremely over a few days? In a sense that’s also the answer – it’s precisely because we are earthly creatures that such a change was, and is, possible. Let me suggest 3 contributing factors – 

(1)The Fickleness of the Human Heart. Naturally speaking, we blow hot and cold. Look at the prime example, a SPORTS crowd! Magnified when it comes to the England team. One week they’re everybody’s darling, next week we get “what a load of rubbish”.

(2)Pressure from opinion-makers, friends and family. The chief priests and the elders persuaded them to turn against Jesus. Crowds act as a pack and can easily be influenced – going back to the SPORTS crowd, just read the news to see how the press can sway mass opinion. No man is an island. Other peoples opinions have a great influence on us – particularly those  closest to us either at home or at work.

(3)Disappointed Expectations. What did the crowd expect of Jesus? Well, there would no doubt have been many different expectations, but making life better for them as opposed to what Herod and the Romans meted out would probably have been high on most peoples list. Allowing himself within days to be arrested and handed over to Herod and the Romans must have been a crushing blow to peoples hopes. It would inevitably make them question their own belief in him. What about us? It is ever so easy for us to make our picture of Jesus the way we would like, wanting Him to answer our prayers the right way, helping our life to go the way we think best. But what if He doesn’t do it our way?

But if the crowd hadn’t understood, Jesus certainly did. By His actions – riding in on a donkey not a fine warhorse – he showed absolutely clearly the nature and foundations of his Kingship.

(1)Humility not an outward display. Would there have been the temptation for Jesus to make the sort of triumphal entry that Roman generals would? Fine horses, trumpets, razzamattaz – the sort of stuff we see in Biblical epic movies. Possibly - Satan was always trying to get Jesus to compromise his mission. But Jesus was always consistent. He had been born with domestic animals around him, so the pinnacle – in the worlds eyes – of his ministry saw him seated on a humble, slow moving, donkey. The Son of Man coming to His Fathers City, but No Pomp. No Cant. No sound bites to the Press. No appearance on Celebrity Big Brother. Riding on an animal which, like all other donkeys, would have had on its back a marking in the shape of a cross.

(2)The attitude of a Pilgrim. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” is from Psalm 118, one of the songs sung at Passover time as a blessing on all the pilgrims coming to the Temple for the festival. Jesus understood that He, and all Christians down through the ages, are in this world on a journey of pilgrimage. We enjoy the good things in this earthly life but it never completely satisfies. That satisfaction can only come through the Kingdom of God living in our hearts through the presence of the Holy Spirit, as a foretaste of the life to come in a New Heaven and a New Earth. Our greatest hymn writers have always understood this……Guide me O thou great Jehovah, PILGRIM through this barren land; He who would valiant be gainst all disaster……there’s no discouragement, shall make him once relent, his first avowed intent TO BE A PILGRIM.

(3)Following the Word of God. Why the donkey? Jesus knew the book of the prophet Zechariah (Ch9 v9). He knew the scriptures; and he knew how he fulfilled his lifes purpose. WE have both Old and New sections of the Bible...but we have to know them to live by them.

(4)A heart of worship. What did Jesus do as soon as He reached Jerusalem? Did He have a public meeting? Did He lead an assault on the Romans? No, He went to the Temple – the house of his Father God, the place of worship and prayer…. and the only assault He carried out was on the stalls of the salesmen and the loan sharks. Its no coincidence that we as His followers, draw strength from rooting our lives in worship and prayer, both on our own, and together as a fellowship. It’s the way its meant to be.

And so Palm Sunday – through Jesus actions – shows the root values of His kingdom…..humility in action, pilgrims in this world, taught by the word of God, and with hearts committed to worship and prayer.

I think that will do as our lifes aims and priorities, don’t you?

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Sunday 10th March Mothering Sunday

Readings Colossians 3:12-17

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Luke 2:33-40  

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Sermon on Colossians 3 and Luke 2:33-40  

We live in a fashion conscious world. Whether it is what we wear or what we eat. What is the new black this year? I am reliably informed that the fashion this summer in the shops will focus on rather dull colours -black, white and possibly beige and the only hint of the usual colours of spring and summer will be a vivid red accent. White lace dresses and Shorts will be in for ladies and short shorts for men. Really?

Yet it is no different with other consumables, the badge on our car, or even its size – SUV’s and their higher fuel consumption are gaining in popularity even if you choose a hybrid 

We live in a time when the fashion is if anything increasingly to espouse non Christian values. From those who govern all the way down. If our faith is to mean anything than we must demonstrate that there is a real difference to see between a Christian lifestyle and the way of the world. We cannot be the same as everyone else. Christ must change us.

Whatever we may think, we are affected by our environment and have to consciously think through what we deem important. Our Gospel this morning reminds us that Jesus had a mother who cared for him and would weep for him, that his upbringing was in a normal family home of his time. He played with other children even if none of them had a Nintendo switch. He would have seen how his parents worked and worshipped.  It is easy to see how Mary becomes somehow a representation of what we might call family values. Now in times and places the role of Mary has been overdone within the Christian Church can support the myth of mothers as a domestic goddess. But Mary’s nurture of Jesus is vital in how Jesus the man developed. And it wasn’t the way she dressed. 

Mothering Sunday arose out of a misunderstanding about Paul’s writing about how the Church mothers us spiritually loving, encouraging, guiding and training us in our faith and there moved to celebrate the role our own  human mothers cared for us. Which, of course is a good thing to celebrate anyway. Despite the failure of an earthly mother that some may have suffered, it’s good to celebrate the image of a good mother. But that image must be the standard of all who live in the Kingdom of Christ in all their ways of life..

How do we nurture the image of a community of believers who have been renewed in knowledge according to the image of the Christ? In our epistle this morning Paul talks about us rowing up in faith as being like taking off our old clothes an putting on fresh. The old clothes are dumped in the laundry bin and our new clothes show us not as a dedicated follower of fashion but as belonging to God’s new family.

1.  A different way to live: – compassion, kindness, meekness, humility, patience

Our new clothes show the values we espouse. Not the ephemerals of fashion nor the cold bottom line of profit margins.

 Instead we embrace the pain of the world in compassion; A shared passion for the brokenness of our human and our non-human neighbours. The God who sent Jesus, is a God who hears the cry of his people and knows their suffering. We need to demonstrate what compassion means in a world where violence, both legitimised and illegal violence, is used to uphold power. We place Kindness at our heart. The self aggrandisement of modernist or the self constructed ego of the post modernist is in direct antithesis with the community that seeks to value meekness. Laughable, scorned and derided meekness will get you nowhere unless you believe it is the way to inherit the earth rather than pillage it. humility was not seen as a virtue until Christ came. Only after Christ do we see people able to live in the humility that all we have is not ours but a gift from the hand of our creator. Yet there are stirrings in the eco-minded prophets that it is just this attitude which could leave the earth as an inheritance for our grandchildren.

The immediate gratification of a society that calls for you to buy now pay later has no hold over a community that has learnt patience. We are here for the long haul, for what we have is a blessing for eternity

2. Sustainable Relationships: forgiveness, love, peace, thankfulness.

We can’t make Idolise motherhood. We make mistakes as children and parents make mistakes as well. The practicalities of maintaining family and community are not easy. So we can only sustain our community by exercising forgiveness. 3 times in one sentence he uses forgive, Because we can only stay together if we forgive each other. Forgiveness rather than revenge or retribution is the reflection of the founder of the community.  When we do not behave as we should, when we are let down the path to healing, reconciliation and renewal is not by condemnation but by forgiveness. But such an attitude is only sustained where there is a deep well from which we can draw love. Paul portrays Love as the garment we wrap around us to keep all the other things together. Not so much a belt as a cloak. The rule of the family and the community is to be by the Peace of Christ.- the rule of  the victim of the empire, the cross shaped peace that requires us to sacrifice, renounce our pride for the sake of the other. 

And be thankful, in a culture of perpetual dissatisfaction. Three times in three verses. The counter-cultural way we live is to have lives that do not moan for what we perceive we lack but are thankful for what we have - forgiveness, love, peace, thankfulness

The World pays lip service today to what it knows and wistfully envies - A world of different values. We celebrate Mothering Sunday when we think about the Church that mothers us, and those who were Mothers caring for us. It is simple Christian gratitude and simple Christian care we espouse.

Today the world wants to keep  Mothers Day.  So it celebrates Mothers with an ideal we can never hope to match. It loads all the aspirations for different values onto the ideal Mother in a masterful application of Kitsch The ideal that is portrayed in the hype and the sickly sentiment. But it also wants to pay some homage to the longing for different values.

Not just mothers but all of us have a role to play in dressing our lives with the values of Christ’s Kingdom to demonstrate what it means to live differently.

Rev Terry Baillie

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Sunday 3rd March 2024

Reading John 2:13-22  - Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts, he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves, he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!" His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."

The Jews then responded to him, "What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" 

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."

 They replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then, they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Sermon on John 2:13-22

Today would have been my 51st wedding anniversary; thinking about that fantastic day and all the stress and worry that went into the preparation, it occurred to me that there is a similarity to our reading from John this morning. Jesus was not preparing for a wedding but was undoubtedly preparing for His death and resurrection. He was preparing the people, particularly the disciples, who would later recall his words. 

I am sure that most of us here have at some time been involved with the preparations for a wedding or a special family gathering. So, you will know the difficulties and pitfalls of negotiating with many differing opinions and requirements. Jesus could have sorted out everything instantly as he did with the water at the wedding in Cana, the story of which comes immediately before today's reading. So, how is the situation in the temple related to a wedding or family gathering? It isn't except in the effort involved in organising a big event. What is the big event? Throughout Lent, we are preparing ourselves for this big event. It is Jesus's crucifixion, death, and resurrection. It is the Passover for the Jewish people; for us, it is the first Easter. 

This event was going to be a life-changing experience; it was going to be a world-changing experience. Jesus went up to Jerusalem near the time of the Passover. Travellers were said to go "up" to Jerusalem because of its elevation. Passover was celebrated in the early spring, commemorating the Jewish people's deliverance from Egypt when the firstborn Israelites survived, but the firstborn Egyptians did not. 

The temple was a marketplace, so He made a whip and drove them out. He overturned the money changers. He told them to stop turning my Father's house into a market!" They asked for a sign: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." His disciples later recalled what he said after He was raised from the dead. 

When Jesus arrived at the temple, he saw that it was a marketplace. He made a whip out of cords and drove everybody from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle, overturned the money changers' tables, and scattered the coins. Wow, who is this table-turning, animal-driving, whip-carrying Jesus? Maybe Jesus was upset about the animals and the money changers in the temple.  Maybe, but there's more to this story than that. Jesus could hardly be surprised by the animals and money changers. He grew up as a faithful Jew going to the temple. He didn't show up that day and say, "Wow! There are animals and money changers in here. 

John's reference to the temple courts refers to the area surrounding the temple proper. Buying and selling took place in the court of the Gentiles. Jesus was outraged that God's temple had become a marketplace. The temple tax was to be paid in local currency, so foreigners had to have their money changed. The money changers often charged exorbitant exchange rates. The people were also required to make a sacrificial offering as well. 

Since many pilgrims came from great distances, they could not bring their animals, which meant that animal merchants had a flourishing business in the temple courtyard. The price of the sacrificial animals sold in the courtyard was much higher than elsewhere. The animals and money changers had always been there. That's how the system worked. It was business as usual for them to be there. Business as usual, meant changing Roman coins to temple coins, purchasing an animal, and offering a sacrifice. 

Jesus knew what was before Him and the change it would make to the world, and it would certainly not be business as usual. 

Zechariah 14:21 ERV At that time there will not be any merchants buying and selling things in the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. 

John 2:16 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, "Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace!" 

What is it that Jesus is so angry about? He had visited the Temple many times throughout his life and must have seen the merchants selling sacrificial animals and the money changers at work. So what was different this time?

This important feast had come to be treated as an opportunity for trade at the expense of worshippers. Every male over twenty years of age had to pay a half-shekel temple tax. The authorities had ruled that payment had to be made with the exact amount, and they charged heavily for changing shekels to half-shekels. Those with only foreign currency had to pay the equivalent of one penny for every half-shekel given as change. This was an exceedingly high charge since there were six pennies in a half-shekel, and a labourer's pay was only four pennies daily. 

The requirement that only flawless animals could be sacrificed is also being used to take advantage of worshippers. The men who inspected the animals had an agreement not to pass animals bought from anyone except the group referred to as the 'sons of Annas' (Annas was the ex-high priest and the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the current high priest). These animals cost five or six times more than animals bought elsewhere. Rather than providing a helpful service to worshippers, the authorities were exploiting the worshippers. Commercialism had overtaken them; making money and not worshipping God had become the focus of the leadership. So when Jesus found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and others sitting at tables exchanging money, he took strong action driven by his zeal for the house of the Lord. 

(Ps 69:9). 9 for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

Jesus was promptly challenged by people asking him what authority he had to act like this when the leaders, including the high priest, permitted this trade in the temple. They wanted proof of his authority in the form of a miraculous sign. So Jesus promised them a sign: 

Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.

The Jews thought he was speaking of the magnificent temple that Herod had begun to build in 19 BC. Their incredulous response,  It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, which shows that they did not understand what Jesus meant and implies that this episode occurred around AD 27.

Jesus did not bother to explain that he was speaking about his body, which the Jews would later destroy, and was predicting his resurrection. The Jews were not ready to receive him anyway. However, the disciples did not forget these words, even though they may not have known how to interpret them until after Jesus' resurrection. Then they were amazed that what he had predicted had been fulfilled, and they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 

They saw in Jesus the fulfilment of Scripture and realised again that the death of their master was not an accident but part of an eternal plan. In the past, God had manifested his presence and glory in the Jerusalem temple. However, now it was (and is) displayed in the person of his Son. Only later did the disciples understand the significance of the event. Jesus' life was fueled by zeal for his Father's honour. 

How do we relate to this situation in our own lives?  Does your daily life consume so much time that God is moved to the sidelines? Are you letting the pressure of everyday living push God to the sidelines?

Who am I to tell anyone how to change their life to let God find more room within it? I can't, but I can tell you how I changed my own.

I am now two-thirds of the way through a year-long course in the Diocese, "Exploring Your Spiritual Journey". The most important thing I have learned so far is that it is challenging to change our everyday routines to make more room for God daily. 

Fortunately, I am retired, so I don't have to conform to someone else's timetable. But I am still tied to a timeline: Church, preparing meals for my Son when he gets home from work, life group meetings, shopping, cleaning, gardening, and many other demands. When caring for my lovely Margaret, I knew God was with me as I gave Him all my problems throughout the day. Eventually, I realised that getting up an hour earlier could allow me time to myself before she needed me. That hour allowed me to put God first, read my bible, and pray, usually without interruption, before the cares and worries of the day overtook me.

Of course, not everyone is in the same situation as I am, and since losing her, I have had more time. But the world seems to have got much busier, faster and more demanding. Everyone is in a hurry to be somewhere, to do something immediately. Next week's delivery is now tomorrow or even same-day delivery. In all that hectic pace, how do we find time for God? 

How do we find time to prevent God being erased from our lives by commercialism? I believe that the most important thing we can remember is that God is always with us, even amid our busy commercialism. We can include Him in our lives by pausing momentarily before each day's demands and giving them to God. 

This dramatic event, the "cleansing of the temple", meant that its corrupt system was under God's judgment. The city of Jerusalem and the "temple", the presence of God, were to be a light to the world. Instead, the religious leaders had turned God's house into the commercial oppression of the poor. God's forgiveness was no longer free.  Through Christ's death and resurrection, we know that God's forgiveness and grace are free. We cleanse our temple by accepting God into every situation and difficulty of our life. 

 Through my personal experience, I can heartily recommend it because it works wonders. Amen.

Peter Richardson - Reader

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Sunday 11th February 2024

Amos 8 - A Basket of Ripe Fruit

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit.  “What do you see, Amos?” he asked.

“A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered.

Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!

Reading Colossians 1: 15-28  - The Supremacy of the Son of God

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—  if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

Sermon on Amos 8 and Colossians 1: 15-28

If there’s one thing I don’t like seeing it’s a  bee, butterfly or moth trapped in our conservatory ! I will do my best to open doors and windows, but their level of cooperation is very frustrating. I can make the exit so obvious but they keep banging against the glass ! I’m sure you know what I mean. I usually eventually manage to release them, especially with my new machine that sucks them into a tube.

This is a simple illustration of the message of Amos the prophet to the Israelites, and picked up by Paul in his letter to the Colossians which I will explain later.

Amos is one of the really early prophets in the life of the Jewish nation and what we read is that the Lord showed Amos a basket of ripe fruit. Although it was obvious what it was,  God asked Amos ‘What do you see’ and Amos simply replied ‘a basket of ripe fruit’. You know sometimes it’s quite good to actually verbalise what we see even though it might be obvious. Remember the time when  Jesus asked the blind man, what do you want me to do for you. Again, it was obvious, but the man had to respond, ‘I want to see again’. There’s something important about putting a situation into words, however obvious it might be. It’s taking a thought and giving it more weight. You might think ‘that person needs help’ but if you actually say it, actions are more likely to follow. This has a bearing on our prayers, of putting into words our thoughts, concerns and failings.

Any basket of ripe fruit needs to be eaten soon otherwise it deteriorates very quickly. It’s time has now come to be eaten. God’s point to Amos in asking the question is in v 2 “The time is ripe for my people Israel. I will spare them no longer.” The ripe fruit is running out of time, as is God’s patience with Israel.

Amos is being given this message so that he can warn the Israelites about what the future holds if they don’t turn from their sinful ways. It’s a final call to repentance. Amos had already been given the illustration of a plumb line showing that the nation was out of line with God’s direction for them. They are being given every opportunity to escape from the things that will happen if they don’t listen to the warning. Like the bees, butterflies and moths the nation seem intent on ignoring the way out . The warnings are clear, there will be wailing and financial ruin, there will be floods and unusual weather and famine. There will be no escape. This is to be Amos’s message and the future was certainly going to yield evidence of all this happening. Remember that Amos comes well before the northern kingdoms being taken over by the Assyrian empire and later on the rest i.e. Judah also taken captive into Assyria.

Later on in the history of the Jews there comes a space  of 300 years between the Old and New testaments when God’s voice was absent from the Jewish nation. Listen to this…

v.11 The days are coming declares the Lord, when I will send a famine through the land, NOT a famine of food or water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

It happened !!  You see, prophecy is rarely instant and can spread over a long period of time

So to end that 300 year period of silence, between the testaments,  comes Jesus who will bring God’s complete answer to the challenge of human sin. We have recently celebrated his birth,and rightly so because there is nothing that is more significant than the birth of Jesus in the history of creation.I hope that you believe that?  Paul, in his letter to the Colossians is quite clear about the massive importance of Jesus, but as we know, that  as far as the Jews were concerned , Jesus was rejected. Despite the quality of his life, the truth of his words, the evidence of the miracles, Jesus was seen as a threat and had to be eliminated. Jesus reached a few to become disciples, but the vast majority refused to see the truth. It’s a bit like those bees, butterflies and moths ignoring the escape route, blindly going in the opposite direction. Isn’t that what people are doing now? Isn’t that what people have always done ?. Avoid the obvious truth, latch onto something else or simply stick your head in the sand. When it comes to spiritual issues people can’t see for looking. It’s so frustrating because as Christians, it is so obvious. Like those early disciples, including Paul, as Christians, we have each of us, found the open window and escaped to freedom.

Just imagine that you were leading a person, who had been blind from birth, into the world for the very first time with sight restored.  What would you show them first? People….themselves……sky….nature…..buildings ?

In the New Testament that is exactly what is happening as those who have seen the light of Jesus, the disciples, attempt to share it with us through their writings. They are painting pictures in words, almost too much for us to grasp, as they explain how   the life , death and resurrection of Jesus offers the gift of forgiveness now and the promise of eternity later which is the escape the escape route. The important thing is for each of us to know and be sure that we have found that open window of new life because of Jesus, and that we can then add our witness to that of the Bible to help others also find that open window.

In the Colossians passage we had this morning, it is headed in my Bible “The supremacy of Christ”. Paul, in trying to describe Jesus to help us understand how unique he was, uses words and phrases about him that do not, and have not ever applied to anyone else. Paul wants his readers to grasp the magnificence of Jesus and as a result to open our eyes to the sheer wonder of God’s offer of forgiveness and eternity.

Some years ago the Sun Alliance Ins coy rebranded themselves “More Than”. Presumably attempting to persuade us that they offer something more than all the others. In Paul’s writings both here in Colossians and elsewhere he is describing Jesus as  “More Than” anything we can imagine or know. In other words we can never plumb the depths because Jesus is More Than. What do I mean by that?  That he was there at creation. That he is the image of God. That he is the supreme being. That he is our Saviour. That he was and is the long promised Messiah.

Whatever we discover about Jesus in our lives , there will always be more. Paul in Colossians, shares his objective in putting his views down on paper . So v26 Paul says he wants to open up the mystery which has been hidden for ages, and then v27 to reveal the hope of glory in Christ, and  v28 to proclaim Jesus so that many may have confidence in eternity, and stating his own intention  v29 to work hard to share this powerful truth, which is the window of truth for everyone.

This was Paul’s life’s work. With his help and the rest of Scripture, we too can  open the window for others to find true freedom which is more than we or they deserve, but which is nevertheless offered freely through the death of Jesus.

A bee trapped in my conservatory faces certain death unless I help it escape . In the same way, each of us has the capability of opening the window for others to discover the truth about Jesus. May we pray for our willingness and the opportunity to play our part in opening that window for others.

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Sunday 4th February 2024

Reading Mark 5: 1-20 - Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”.  “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”  And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Sermon on Mark 5: 1-20

This season at Christ Church and Emmanuel we’ve been thinking about being ambassadors for Jesus and about being reconciled to God and to one another.  And I thought I would introduce this idea this morning.  If you were to draw a picture in your mind of what an ambassador might look like, he or she probably wouldn’t look like the man in our reading today.  

We tend to think of an ambassador a bit more like the Ferrero Rocher advert where a large pyramid of chocolates is presented on a silver plate at the ambassadors reception.  I want to suggest to you that Legion is a model ambassador for us.  A really powerful example to us.  And his life story is a picture of reconciliation, made possible through Jesus’s example and power.  

I think when we read our Bibles and hear a healing narrative, our imaginations stop at the healing.  But actually all the healings are much, much bigger than that.  The physical, psychological or supernatural healing only affects this life.  Whereas actually that reconciliation that we’re thinking about, goes beyond our earthly life to our life in the new creation, when God will complete and perfect us.  

But let’s start with the Bible passage in front of us.  I want to unpick Legion’s story a little.  The thing that stands in our way of being reconciled to God is sin.  And there are some particular sins present in this story: 

- oppression and 
- isolation.  

And I’ll explore these further later in my sermon.    

I’ve opted to continue to call the man Legion because this is how he self-identifies in the Gospel.  It seems the voices he hears, and which control his behaviour, have become part of his identity. I don’t think we can certainly know what caused Legion’s behaviour. 

What we do know for certain is that Legion experienced ostracism, stigmatisation and discrimination and Jesus was not happy about this.  What we do know is that Jesus overturned in the most spectacular way the loneliness, the isolation, the deprivation that Legion endured.  

Jesus brought Legion restoration and reconciliation.  And as a newly liberated man, Legion became an ambassador for Christ and an agent of God’s peace.  The first evangelist for the Gospel according to Mark.  

All those people healed by Jesus were considered unclean by their contemporaries. Those folk had to live outside the general living area.  They had to shout “unclean, unclean” to alert folk to their presence, and they had to wear torn clothes to identify themselves.  Their employment prospects were limited to collecting dung and handling dead bodies.  If they had physical contact with another person they’d make them unclean too, and that person would need to perform a ritual to spiritually cleanse themselves.  So family life and physical affection were prohibited for these folk.They were excluded from worship.  

We read that Legion lived among tombs and among pigs.  So he was quadropoly ritually unclean:  He was unclean through his affliction; through his contact with dead bodies, through his contact with pigs and because he was living amongst pigs he must have lived within a Gentile area, outside his religious community.  He was quadropoly unacceptable and untouchable.  

Mark’s view is that the purity laws disempowered and stigmatised those who were different in one way or another.   There were some good things about the purity laws.  But Mark seems to be saying that the purity laws caused Legion’s dehumanizing treatment that kept him outside mainstream society until Jesus reconciled Legion to his old life. As I said Legion is an outstanding ambassador for Jesus.  

The first evangelist.

Let’s take a look at how meeting Jesus changed him?  We see spiritual potential in Legion even before his healing, in spite of everything he was going through.  

Despite his isolation, Legion overcomes the pressure from the voices to flee, and was drawn to Jesus.  We see in verse 7 that Legion  astutely recognised Jesus’ power.  His first instinct was to worship Jesus and understand his divinity. Post-healing, Legion was clothed, returned and restored to his hometown, with a specific vocation of witness and preaching, (Mark 5:20) 

Legion was desperate to stay close to Jesus, begging Jesus to let him stay with him.  But instead Jesus told him to go to be a witness and advocate.  Legion was known to both Jews and Gentiles so he was particularly valuable as his transformation is witnessed by both groups. Legion’s mission field, the Decapolis, was 10 towns with a mixed Jew and Gentile population. This shows us Legion had a story to tell and a role as witness to both peoples.  You might say Legion was a forerunner to the Apostle Paul.  A home grown mission and ambassador.  

What does the story of Legion tell us about how Jesus reconciles?  

It tells us Christ’s kingdom will not be stifled by evil.  And that’s whether it’s supernatural evil, the realities of living in a fallen world, or whether it’s every day human sin.  The spiritual forces that have oppressed Legion are drowned and the ordinary human sin of hostility and exclusion are reversed.  

A lot of the sin and hurt and pain in the world comes from us getting relationships wrong.  The relationships in Legion’s life weren’t as they should have been.  Likewise I suspect there isn’t a person in this room whose relationships are perfect.  Who wouldn’t change something about a relationship.  All relationships need some healing.  Legion’s story shows us what God will do for our relationships in his Kingdom.  They’ll be fully healed and restored.  People will be judged from God’s view rather than their peer’s earthly view.  We will see one another as God sees us.  Our good and bad intentions out in the open.  Not in the shadow of our or anyone else’s sins, because all that sin will be wiped away.  Jesus’ work will be over.  God’s love, sympathy, generosity and forgiveness will reign.  We’re reconciled to what we have been, and where we’ll have a peace filled future with God.  

Jesus’s encounter with legion shows us the possibilities for reconciliation and healing in heaven.  So justice must be sought on earth, ahead of, and in faithfulness to, God’s ultimate completion.  When God’s mercy and peace will reign supreme.  Eventually God will 100% prevail over everything that oppresses his children.   The challenge to live all this out begins now.  

We tend to think of ambassadors as like the ambassador in the Ferrero Rocher advert.  But God has a much more ambitious idea of what it means to be an ambassador.  And his making the world a better place will be far more spectacular.  And Legion embodies this.  If God was able to use Legion as an ambassador, he can certainly use us too!  Ambassadors have an important role in keeping the peace.  So we are called to be people of peace now.  To bring about God’s peace in our hearts and in our relationships.  

Do you try to live out your Christian transformation as the healed Legion did?  Are you desperate to stay by Jesus side, but you obediently go out and tell the people you meet about him? You probably have the same mission as Legion:  “To go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 

We are called to be ambassadors and reconcilers among people who we regularly spend time with. And if you think you can’t be an ambassador, Legion’s witness tells us otherwise….  God was able to use Legion as an ambassador, and he can certainly use us too!

Rev Larissa Trust (Curate Christ Church in Weston-super-Mare)

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 Sunday 28th January 2024

Reading John 8:  12-20  - I am the Light of the World 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”  "You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”  He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Sermon on John 8: 12-20

The Beatles were almost right. Remember they sang “All you need is love”. But their love had a small ”L”. Beatles member George Harrison said on another occasion, and I paraphrase - “There are 3 great questions we all have to face. ‘Who am I?’ ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘Where am I going?’” Those can only be answered by reference to love with a big “L”, that embodied in the man known to human history as Jesus of Nazareth, but known to all Christian believers down through history as Jesus Christ, Gods Son, who claimed as his own a Jewish name for God “I AM”

In our culture where celebrity is everything, there are testimonies many times over that you can have everything material and yet not know the answers to Harrisons 3 questions. And Harrison was saying that the answers aren’t immediately obvious from the time we are born.

Jesus agreed. Regularly in the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John he is recorded as saying that there is a darkness of unknowing that every human being faces……..but that the darkness could be dispersed, if you looked and listened to Him.

And here in our reading He makes possibly the most extraordinary claim ever – I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD……..and please note that He says this in the midst of a debate with the hardcore religious people of His day, people who were steeped in the rules and regulations of worship, but had no concept of personal contact with the God who had given them the 10 Commandments and had brought them out of slavery.

They were completely in the dark, and they had in front of them the 1 person who could disperse their darkness, could answer George Harrisons questions ……. And they couldn’t see it.

In 21st century Locking we also don’t appreciate the context in which this conversation took place.  It was in the Temple at Jerusalem, but it was in a quite specific location….the place in which lit candles were present to celebrate the pillar of fire which went in front of the children of Israel to lead them from Egypt to the Promised Land. A pillar of fire which signified Gods presence, guidance, and provision of their needs like food and drink.

So why did Jesus use just that timing to publicly state I am the Light of the World? LOOK AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE “whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” And the sentence starts “When again Jesus spoke to the PEOPLE, he said”. This wasn’t a specialists seminar, it wasn’t a TED talk, it was to whoever happened to be around at the time. In other words, it was for you and for me. So in answer to George Harrisons question “Where am I going”?, Jesus says “Follow me”. Please note Jesus does NOT say “Follow me and you won’t have any problems, you won’t have pain or hurt or challenges” – those things are common to every human being in the present age – including Jesus Himself; what He does promise us are the resources of Heaven and, as the first followers found out at Pentecost, the very presence of God living within us day by day by the Holy Spirit. Exactly what Jesus offers to us in 2024.

And how does it work day by day? It’s a continuous process, like the heart pumping blood around the body. Imagine the Christian life is a triangle, with each one of us within our own one. The top of the triangle is UP, the connect between us and Jesus – we reach up to give our lives to Him and He pours down to us his Holy Spirit. The bottom left of the triangle is IN. Someone once said that Jesus loves us so much that He always takes us as we are, but He also loves us too much to leave us as we are. The job of the Holy Spirit within us is to day by day change us into the people we were always created to be – more like Jesus; that means working changes in our thoughts, our words, our deeds, our relationships. SPOILER ALERT. That means He needs our ongoing co-operation……..which means His will in and for our lives outscoring our own will and preferences when necessary. Now we come to the 3rd point of the triangle, the bottom right; it is marked OUT. As we connect up, and we change within, our lives are to reach out to those around us, into our communities and our society, with the same message and the same values that Jesus has spoken to us – in other words, with light. Remember, there are 4 Gospels, which we should read in parallel with each other; it’s not a question of choose your favourite. In John 8 Jesus says “I am the Light of the World”; in Matthew 5 – in no less place than The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also says this to the assembled crowd “YOU are the Light of the World…..let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Please note the words Jesus uses…..its not “If you feel you’re the light of the world; its not, when you’re having a good day, you’re the light of the world. It’s you and me ARE the Light of the world. FULL STOP. It’s the promised outcome of the Holy Spirit in us. Look at the natural world. The light is still there, even if Storm Isha is raging. Let’s be encouraged!

And see that Jesus spoke these words to each individual BUT in the context of a group TOGETHER. It’s one of the reasons I like the video clip of the shining light bulb. It starts with a single light bulb shining as he walks along……but it finishes with 3 bulbs walking along together. The light penetrates the darkness whether there’s 1 or multiple light bulbs, but its better together. It’s the way it was intended to be. It’s why that old gospel song “Jesus bids us shine……..you in your small corner, and I in mine” doesn’t tell the whole story.

If you read newspapers and the like, or listen to politicians, you’ll regularly hear one phrase “Broken Britain”. But what neither the journos nor the politicos have faced up to, is that for Britain to be fixed, its citizens – from king to commoner – need to rediscover the message of Jesus and respond to it. That is the sure foundation on which rebuilding can take place. That is where our prayers and our lives need to focus. Are we up for that? If you read our parish Profile, its what we’re asking of our new vicar!

 I started with the Beatles; I’ll end with them. John Lennon once said that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. He also wrote a song called Imagine; the battle hymn of all good atheists and humanists. It contains these words “Imagine there’s no heaven; its easy if you try…….no need for greed or hunger/a brotherhood of man/imagine all the people/sharing all the world”. He wrote it in 1971; 9 years later a deranged fan, hearing voices in his head, shot Lennon to death. Exclude Jesus, the Light of the World, and you have no brotherhood of man. Today 40 years after Lennons death, that is clearer than ever.

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Sunday 21st January 2024 - Epiphany 3

Revelations.19: 6-10 - The wedding of the Lamb has Come.

Mark 1: 14-20 -  The Time has Come.

The Kingdom has Come near.
So, repent and believe the good news.
Come, follow me….. and I will make you fishers of men.

Sermon on Mark 1 and Revelations 19 - On the theme 'Come'

Have you ever received a Royal Invitation?  In our last parish, Elana, an autistic young woman was invited to celebrate King Charles III coronation at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party. She had done SWYM training and helped lead accessible worship in the Village church. I did also in 1968, to collect my Gold DofE Award from Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace. However, it was just 6 weeks after I sustained a bad rugby injury and I went from my hospital bed. Stood for 2 hours waiting and then fainted immediately after receiving my award. Ambulance to Paddington Station – no tea party, no photos! But I accepted the invitation!

But we ALL have received a ROYAL Invitation and it is important that we ALL respond, accept it and enjoy the benefits of it!  Both of our readings today are about an Invitation

1. COME – Jesus’ Invitation to Change..Mark 1v14,15.

After John’s preparation and now put in prison, out of action, Jesus his cousin continues with a similar but fuller message. Jesus proclaims the good news of God  from God. We see three aspects here.

i) The time has come. Or is fulfilled. Greek word for time is KAIROS – opportune time rather than CHRONOS – linear time.

Paul writes (Gal 4v4) ‘When the time had fully come, God sent His Son…’

Yes, Jesus came to earth at just the right time to fulfil the prophecies and when the world was ready, for the gospel to spread rapidly… there was a common language = Greek; safe travel across the Roman empire – pax romana. Also, Jesus was 30 years old, the age for Jewish men to begin their work as priests (though Jesus came from Judah not Levi tribe!). John had prepared the way; Jesus was prepared by the Father, baptised by John, anointed with the Holy Spirit and ready for His unique work of salvation and ushering in of the kingdom of God.

It was the right time, in good time, timely, enough time…. Not the wrong or bad or inconvenient time or wasted, lost time…. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: Today is the day of salvation. So, ‘Now is the time…. To come to worship, give our hearts and respond to God’s offer of salvation now available through Jesus’! 

ii) The kingdom of God is near. Jesus is the King and is now among them. ‘Song: The King is among us, the Spirit draws near… Golden Graham Kendrick. 

Jesus would teach many parables about what the Kingdom of God was like; His miracles would show the power of the Kingdom, stronger than any other kingdom. But His Kingdom is both now and not yet, as we wait for the full coming of God’s kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.(Romans 14:17) (Song!)

What is the Kingdom of God?  Hans Kung ‘Creation Healed’. Wrong is put to right when Aslan comes in sight (CS Lewis). Two circles represent our Broken world and the World being Healed by Christ.  Healing Circle has Christ at the Centre, then His church as a foretaste of the kingdom, then the whole of Creation – everything…. Have a BIG vision – restoration of our broken world in every way. So pray for every sphere of life – whole life discipleship, LICC emphasis. Put Christ the King in charge! The Kingdom of God has come near as Jesus the King has come. Our Long Term Big vision can be ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ… and He shall live forever and ever’ SONG: MESSIAH!

What did Jesus do for 40 days after His resurrection? He taught his disciples about the Kingdom of God. David Pawson, Tom Wright… Five Acts 1. Creation, 2. Fall, 3. Israel, 4. Christ, 5, Heaven on Earth!  Ephesians 1v10…. When the times will have reached their fulfilment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.’

However, there is still a battle on now as there was in the time of Jesus between the powers of darkness and light, evil and good, fear and faith, despair and hope. So, Jesus’ call to all both then and now in response is:

iii) Repent and believe the good news. It is ‘time to change’.

Repentance means – change your mind, change your direction of travel, change your behaviour and attitude, change your loyalty and loves. Turn around, do a u-turn. Admit that you are wrong in what you believe, think, love, do…

Then confess it to God. Ask Him for help to change, to be different, think differently, love differently, act differently (see earlier passage from 2 Peter 1 and Galatians 5 and Philippians 4). It’s nothing less than a whole New Life and New Lifestyle…. A New Birth, born again by the Spirit. However, this is also an ongoing process as God reveals to us more and more aspects of our life that need changing – like peeling layers of an onion. It is so good to have a Spiritual MOT regularly. The early Methodists had bands of four (single sex) to share honestly and be accountable to one another.  We sometimes need to ask for help from others to be set free from bad habits, attitudes, experiences, hurts and wounds from the enemy of our souls or sometimes even from friends, family and others. (Consider the help from Christian Prayer Ministry, Harnhill Healing Centre, Wholeness through Christ etc). John preached for a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins v4 but also spoke about One who would baptise in the Spirit v8. We need the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to new birth and new life. It is a divine work and an ongoing work also.

Believe – trust, accept, receive, faith in and towards God (see Hebrews 6v1,2 – foundations of faith, repentance, baptisms, laying of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment)

This means that we take God at His word, receive His promises. ‘What You say is what you get’. Eg: Never again list:

1. Never again will I say ‘I can’t’ because ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ Phil.4v13

2. Never again will I confess fear, because ‘God has not given me a spirit of fear but of love, power and self-control’ 2 Tim.1v7

Take the positive affirmation and acceptance of God’s Truth, His Word, the good news which can replace the bad news we read all the time in our world.  Rest of the gospel will expand on this…

Good News: 

2.COME – Jesus’ Invitation to Follow. V15-20

George Verwer, founder of OM ‘Come, Live, Die’. Dietrich Bonhoeffer ‘Come to take up your cross, not cheap grace’. Jim Elliott ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose’ 1956 Martyred in Ecuador by those he and others were seeking to reach for Christ.

Note that Jesus is walking by the sea of Galilee to find his first disciples, not amongst the priests or Levites in Jerusalem. Just as the Angel of the Lord appeared to ordinary working men – shepherds out in the fields at the birth of Jesus – so now, Jesus himself chooses 4 fishermen as his first disciples. Working men, used to catching fish but now called to fish for people instead. Why did he chose them? Expectation, willing to leave all and follow him, teachable, available, loyal, not too independent (used to working with others)…. Yet they did have so much to learn.

Two sets of brothers, they left their nets and their father…

The invitation is to belong, join, learn, listen, observe, partner, walk ‘in His steps’, become like Jesus. Become a disciple….

Bonhoeffer Biography. Two key books ‘Living Together’ and ‘Disciple’. He coined the term ‘cheap grace’, where so-called followers of Jesus think that they can live as they please and then just ask God to forgive them when they mess up. He developed his thinking about grace during the time of the Third Reich in Germany, when the Lutheran state church became a heretical church called ‘German Christians’, banning anyone with Jewish blood from belonging and redefining the gospel and allegiance to the Fuhrer in Messianic terms. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others were leaders in the Confessing Church, an underground church with a secret seminary to train potential pastors and eventually Bonhoeffer joined the group who plan to assassinate Hitler. Sadly, he was arrested and after 2 years in prison was executed just 3 weeks before the end of WW2. He made the costly decision to return to Germany from a brief visit to America, where he could have stayed longer, just weeks before the outbreak of war in September 1939.

‘If anyone would follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. …. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it….What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul.’ Luke 9v23-25

Bonhoeffer lived out this calling of costly discipleship and grace. Grace is costly because it cost Jesus His life and it may cost us also. But it is FREE and cannot be earned or deserved in any way! ‘Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling…’ Augustus Toplady, Rock of Ages, Burrington Coombe 18thC.

Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John all experienced great suffering for Christ and three of them were martyred and John was exiled on Patmos ‘because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus’, but there God gave him a wonderful vision of King Jesus and a message to the suffering church – ‘God wins…. In the end!’ And so to the final Invitation from Revelation 19.

3. COME – to the Wedding of the Lamb. Rev.19v7-10

‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear… (righteous acts of the saints)….  Then the angel said to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ …… Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Preparation, timing, invitation, celebration, rejoicing, union….

On our wedding day 9 September 1978, a special song was sung:

‘Thou dost seek a bride all pure and holy…’ and of course this refers ultimately to the Bride of Christ – His church. Note in John’s vision that the bride’s special clothes are GIVEN to her. They are a gift of God’s grace. Never earned or deserved but bought with a price, the blood of Jesus. He then clothes us with righteousness as a pure and holy garment.

Great blessing is in story for ALL who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.  

Come to the wedding. All is now ready. Do not make any excuses. I will provide you with all that you need. Just accept my invitation and COME!

Jesus is Coming again. Revelation 22.

V7 ‘Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book….

v.12 ‘Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End….

v.17 ‘The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”. And let him who hears say “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life…..

v20 ‘He who testified to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.’

 Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you for your invitation to Come to you with all our burdens and sin, to receive your refreshing Holy Spirit and to follow in your steps. Please forgive us where we have failed to deny ourselves and not taken up our cross daily to follow you. Help us to rededicate ourselves to follow you wholeheartedly and with great joy today. We pray ‘Your Kingdom Come’ for our world and for our own lives. We also look forward to your coming again and cry out again, ‘Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus’. And as we wait we need the help of your Holy Spirit so we call out also ‘Come, Holy Spirit…..’   (wait and pray further).

Rev Smon Holloway

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Sunday 7th January 2024 - Epiphany

Reading Matthew 2:1-12  - The Magi Visit the Messiah

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 

 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 

Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12

This morning's Gospel reading is about magi going on a journey. Here’s a true story of a man who took an unusual journey:

Larry Walters was a 33-year-old man, who lived in the Los Angeles area, who decided he wanted to see his neighbourhood from a new perspective. He went down to the local army surplus store one morning and bought forty-five used weather balloons. That afternoon he strapped himself into a garden chair, to which several of his friends tied the now helium-filled balloons. He took along a six-pack of beer, a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, and a pellet  gun, figuring he could shoot the balloons one at a time when he was ready to land.

Walters, who assumed the balloons would lift him about 100 feet in the air, was caught off guard when the chair soared more than 11,000 feet into the sky -- smack into the middle of the air traffic pattern at Los Angeles International Airport. Too frightened to shoot any of the balloons, he stayed airborne for more than two hours, forcing the airport to shut down its runways for much of the afternoon, causing long delays in flights from across the country.

The helium balloons gradually emptied and he drifted slowly back to the ground. After he was safely grounded and cited by the police, reporters asked him three questions: 

"Were you scared?"  "Yes." 
"Would you do it again?" "No." 
"Why did you do it?"  "Because," he said, "you can't just sit there."    [from Leadership, Summer 1993, pp. 35.]

Happy New Year!
It’s a leap year, which means that you have 366 days; that is 8,784 hours. Yesterday was the day known as Epiphany, which is a festival celebrating that God’s glory is revealed.  Epiphany comes from the Greek word for manifestation or appearance.  Epiphany refers to the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus, but the word ‘epiphany’ has another popular meaning: a sudden flash of understanding or insight.

In Matthew 2:1-12, God’s glory is revealed through a miraculous occurrence – the star.

There are three aspects to this passage - Magi from the East; Divine Guidance; and Devoted Worship

1. Magi from the East

Matthew 2:1-2: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

You might ask, what are they doing blundering about Jerusalem, asking questions about a new king of the Jews? Some have said, this was not a particularly wise thing to do!

Did their precious star seemingly brought them to the wrong place? Not only are they in the wrong place, but they're looking for quite the wrong kind of King. As they left Herod, the star continued to guide them

Matthew 2:9: After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

The Magi were among the first ones to recognise the significance of Jesus's birth beyond Joseph. The first ones to come and worship him.

Application:  Notice who God uses to manifest his glory. Who have you dismissed and discounted, but who may be playing a role in God’s purposes?

2. Divine Guidance

Guidance by a miraculous occurrence – the star

Matthew 2:  v2. ‘We observed his star at it’s rising’ -  v9. ‘And there ahead of them went the star’ - v10 ‘When they saw that the star had stopped..’

There have been various attempts to identify the ‘star’  as a regular astronomical phenomenon. These have generally focused on three possibilities – a planetary conjunction; a comet; a nova (a star which, owing to an explosion, appears temporarily with extraordinary brightness), but no known astronomical phenomena account for the movement of the star as described here in Matthew. 

These words can only mean that the star itself moved to guide the Magi. – to them it brought ‘great joy’

King Herod's desire was to destroy the things of God

Look at how eager the Magi were to worship Jesus, compared with the apathy of the Jewish leaders

Application: Are you open to divine guidance? Are you willing to seek out those with a prophetic gift, to confirm his guidance of you? 

3. Devoted Worship 

Matthew 2:  v10  ‘When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.’ - v11 ‘On entering the house, they saw the child… and they knelt down and paid him homage.’

The homage of these learned Gentiles is intended to indicate the fulfilment of passages such as Psalm 72 and Isaiah 60 – ‘Arise, shine for your light has come.’

‘To pay homage to’ means ‘to worship’

Martin Luther: “I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first 3 hours in prayer.”

‘they were overwhelmed with joy.’ ‘they bowed down and worshiped him.’

Devoted worship

Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Gifts fit for a king - God, Frankincense and Myrrh.  Gold - suggested His royalty as King of the Jews and Lord of lords. Frankincense - they saw His divinity. Myrrh represented His humanity - and that to the fullest extent because myrrh suggests death and burial. 

Thus, the gifts came to show Jesus as King, God, and Man.

Application: New Year!
366 days and 8,784 hours from 1 January As we use our time for worship, let’s ensure that we too discover and maintain that sense of overwhelming joy. Let’s make this a year of pure adoration and worship

Summary

 I guess we all have a choice in this New Year - whether to just ‘sit in our chair’, or whether with God’s divine guidance we can soar to high places and sit in His presence, discovering and maintaining that sense of overwhelming joy.

Rev Paul Larcombe

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Sunday 17th December 2023  - 3rd Sunday in Advent

This is the 3rd ADVENT SUNDAY and in our calendar and with the lighting of candles, it marks the countdown to Christmas and the birth of Jesus. However, I feel very strongly about the importance of the meaning of Advent itself, not as a prelude to Christmas but as a vital part of our belief as Christians. We are soon to celebrate the first coming of Jesus but Advent is about rejoicing in His promise to return. Our readings reminded me of a song I remember from the past which I haven’t heard for some considerable time. Each verse ends with the words 

‘ Is what’s turning the world upside down‘ Remember it?  

And you are always making all things new
What is wrong you forgive, and the new life you give
Is what’s turning the world upside down.
The world’s only loving to it’s friends
But your way of loving never ends
Loving enemies too, and this loving with you
Is what’s turning the world upside down.
That is what our faith can do!

If we genuinely take on board the fact that Jesus is returning, and celebrate Advent for what it means, then we are aligning ourselves with a creed that wants to turn the world upside down. That is not what the world, in which we live, believes. We are part of an alternative society. To believe the Advent story  marks us out as distinctly different from everyone else. It is not the world view, it is specifically the Christian view. In summary, as Christians  we have a clear concept of past, present and future. Our past is rooted in God’s creation of ourselves and where we live. Our present is an acute awareness of our need for forgiveness from God and to follow the example of Jesus, and our future is one of anticipation because of God’s promise of eternity with him after Jesus returns.

If everyone believed this it would lierally turn the world upside down. Everything would change.

In Pauls letter v4 he writes ‘I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus’. The past is significant for every Christian because we know that it has changed us. We would be different if we hadn’t become Christians. Wouldn’t we ?  Because of that we can anticipate the promise of Jesus returning which will be even more dramatic than the past. This is what these 4 weeks of Advent are about and we shouldn’t rush past it eager to reach the birthday celebration. Why do I say that the second Advent will be dramatic? In history at the first Advent of Jesus, much of the world was either unaware or chose to ignore it with the exception of some who just wanted to stamp it out and kill him. When the second  Advent happens we are told quite clearly that absolutely everyone in the whole world will know that it’s happening. Mark reports Jesus as saying v33 ‘Be on your guard.  Be alert. You do not know when that time will come’. 

Matthew reports Jesus as saying Chap 24v 30 ‘The Son of man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory, and his angels will gather the elect (that’s Christians) from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other’. That is the equivalent to the angels visiting the shepherds many times over and would include Hutton and Locking !!

That for me is the point at which Christians will stand up tall , looking up, with hands raised, as that scenario should hold no fear for us. We know that we are justified through the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can look forward to His return with no fear because we are confident in the promises of God. We have no reason to be proud as only the death of Jesus made it possible for us.

That is what the future holds out for us. What does the future look like for those without faith in God ? How do they face death? I must confess that I have no idea how they do. I remember a report of a discussion between a Christian and a non-believer, where the Christian ended it by offering to continue the discussion after death. Having seen quite a few people who had died in my time, I cannot believe that the spark that made them who they were and which has so blatantly disappeared, was down to a heartbeat, blood cells and brain function. Scientists will never be able to produce a person with character and personality. That is God’s work, that is Spirit, that is unique and indestructible . The humanist sees nothing beyond the grave. Reincarnation is only attractive to some faiths because it avoids the finality of death.

One of our hymns includes ‘We have a faith that is steadfast and certain, gone through the curtain and touching the throne’. This is a statement about the death of Jesus and His resurrection and it also will be true for us. At our homegroup only this week, when thinking about the death of Jesus, we were reminded about the curtain separating the Jews from the holy of holies, a curtain which was torn in two from top to bottom at the moment  Jesus died, so opening up access to God  by all of us.

The Advent truth is a massive encouragement and is, in a way a test of the strength and clarity of our faith. As Christians, having been changed by the past through coming to faith, by being confident about the future, so we can be positive about the present. Paul in that short passage in 1 Corinthians has so many positive things to say. V3 Grace and Peace to you. To live as a disciple is to have access to that grace and peace. To be peacemakers and gracious in our relationships comes from the example of Jesus in a world where it seems that to get anywhere you have to be a bit pushy or even rude. That is not what God wants for you and me. Paul also says v 5 that we are enriched in every way. That sounds pretty positive but there’s more v7 you do not lack any spiritual gifts as you wait and V8 we will be kept strong to the end. V9 gives the final and eternal truth that we need to hold onto which is that ‘God who called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is Faithful.

My uncle who died two years ago aged 94 proclaimed to us every time we visited him. God is Faithful. May that be our sure faith, and may we not rush through Advent.

 We can yet turn the world upside down if we live that out until either we die or the Lord Jesus returns. Amen

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 19th November 2023

Matthew 25:31- 40  The Sheep and the Goats

When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation.

And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?'

 Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me - you did it to me.’

Talk on Matthew 25:31 - 40

The Bible is consistent in its teaching in that (1)The history of our world will come to a climax (2)At that point Jesus will return, not as a Christmas baby but as King of kings and Lord of Lords, and will draw a line under mankinds abuse of each other and the earth (3)There will be a dividing and accountability. But we aren’t thinking about that future event today, we’re thinking about our lives in the present, and their impact!

If you’ve been with us during the autumn, you may remember that, back in September, we thought about STAYING CONNECTED TO JESUS, as branches of a vine. Then at the start of October, we thought about the marks of a healthy church as described by Paul in Philippians, STAYING CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER. Today we’re thinking about the 3rd essential element for a group of Christians looking to be authentic followers of Jesus… STAYING CONNECTED TO THOSE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH BUILDING, in other words, OUR COMMUNITY.

In Jesus day, sheep and goats often grazed together until it was time for the sheep to be sheared. Then they would be separated. The identity of the sheep when Jesus used it in a parable setting would have been clear to the disciples listening – Jesus had already spoken about Him being the Good Shepherd who looks after his sheep and protects the flock. The disciples were the sheep. Jesus also knew that most disciples were very aware that they lived less than spotless lives. Ring any bells?

BUT HERE in our reading Jesus – in his role as King of Kings – not only welcomes the sheep-disciples but praises them for their lives of sacrificial serving and giving to those in need. The sheep-disciples are astonished – as far as they are concerned they’d done nothing special! But Jesus challenges them - and us – to change our perspective.

Firstly, our context. In the passage Jesus talks about all the nations being brought before Him – not just believers, but atheists, people of different faiths, kings and beggars. People who worship regularly in a church, those who come on high days and holidays, those who come for births, deaths and marriages, those who never set foot inside a church building. And he calls ALL of them “His sisters and brothers”. It’s what the Church of England parish system is about – being here for everyone.

Next, Jesus doesn’t speak about the help and support the sheep-disciples have given to each other. We do not belong to a “we just look after our own” club. Jesus feels there is no need to commend their help for fellow sheep-disciples – it’s assumed! As fellow Christ-ones of course they would act as Jesus would have done…. to each other…wouldn’t they?

But Finally, Jesus raises the bar – He says that giving support to ANYONE in need is the expected/natural response of a sheep-disciple, seeing a reflection of Jesus in all mankind.

But why does he describe the sheep-disciples reaction as astonishment – not “well we tried to do our bit”? Let me suggest this. The Bible speaks about those who give their lives to Jesus as being transformed little by little by the Holy Spirit into more and more likeness to Jesus in attitude and action. Part of that will result in sheep-disciples NATURALLY reaching out to those in need, whether they are “of the faith” or not. JUST AS JESUS WOULD AND DID. Just as Paul urged in Galatians Ch6 V10 ….as we have opportunity, LET US DO GOOD TO EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY TO THE FAMILY OF FAITH. As this church does……..

Think about the mission partners we support. CAP. Not just Christians working against poverty in the Christian community, but in THE community. Hoveraid – providing medical and other aid to those in need – some people walk for hours to get to a Hoveraid medical clinic. And all this in a part of the world where the Christian population is a small %. Shoebox – Christmas presents for children in 130 countries across the world whose lives are marginalised by poverty, war etc. All those groups work in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and offer the Gospel as part of their outreach, BUT their help is NOT conditional on joining a church or personal faith.

And what about us individually? What is Jesus saying to us ordinary Joes? Do we know people literally in prison? Most of us probably No – but we know that folk around us are imprisoned by many more things than a police cell. Do we know those who are hungry, poor, isolated? Ooh, close to home this one. It’s why we ran the Parish Pantry, its why we still give to Weston Foodbank and Somewhere To Go. It’s why The Lounge is still open each Tuesday afternoon.

We now live in a highly individualistic, increasingly dislocated society, where outward image and success are considered desperately important. And its all a sham, it always has been. And sooner or later all of us find ourselves in trouble… And all of us have a circle of friends, neighbours, people we bump into in the street, people who are friends of friends……

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GOATS? If you read a bit further on in Matthew 25, you find this group also address Jesus as Master, just as the sheep did. But Jesus says Who are you? Do you know what % of people in England and Wales TICKED THE WORD Christian in the last census? 46%. That’s approx 30 million people. So why haven’t we got standing room only in every church in the land…including Locking?

Well of course that’s a complex question, but 1 answer is this. As a country whose laws and moral standards were built on Christian principles for centuries, the default religious position for the average resident of the UK has always been Christian……….even if you don’t know what being a follower of Jesus actually means in practice. Now, as Christian knowledge declines, guess whose got the job of explaining what a Christian is, and encouraging goats to change to sheep? And that also means we need to have a contact circle that includes true believers and vague believers, and gatherings that are goat-friendly.

And we’re currently looking for a new vicar who will lead us on in that direction…….see how it all fits together.

 I’m going to finish with popular culture, with Evan Almighty. Who’s seen the film? The lead is a news reporter elected to the US Congress on the boast that he is going to change the world. He even prays to do so. And God, in the form of Morgan Freeman, walks with him and says this “Do you want to know how to change the world, son?” “One Act of Random Kindness at a time.” Being an A-R-K for a person in need. Terry Baillie used the same phrase in his talk here last month. I’d conclude the Lord is highlighting something for us, wouldn’t you?

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Reading for Sunday 19th November 2023

Matthew 25:14 - 30  The Parable of the Bags of Gold

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Sermon on Matthew 25:14-30

We’ve just heard the familiar parable of 3 different men being given various amounts of gold/talents and what they did or didn’t do with it, and how that affected the master’s response when he returned. That response varied from rewards to a penalty for not doing anything with it. There is a  challenge here for us about handling what we do or don’t have. Let me ask you this question.

As we are now in the build up to Christmas, what is coming through your letter boxes ? Requests from charities. My Radio Times envelope this week included 5 respectable good charities and that is on top of others in the post plus hand delivered ones. All good causes. What do you do ? On top of that we are then encouraged to buy with the  temptation of making  huge savings on black Friday, maybe taking out more credit and working on the’ live now, pay later’ basis. This is a challenge to our priorities.

The point of this and other parables is that the master will return, which for us signifies the return of Jesus. Matthew’s gospel includes other stories in chap24 and 25 with the clear message from Jesus that he is coming back and that we need to be ready, and by the way, it doesn’t matter  whether we are still alive or not when his return happens. We have basic certainties from these stories:-

1. Jesus will return.
2. The time is unknown.
3. We need to be prepared.
4. We are all accountable to God.

Luke 12.40 says “ You must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect”.

Rev16v 12 Blessed are they who stay awake.

Matt 25v 13 “ Keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour”.

Now going back to the parable we heard earlier, you may not have been given bags of gold, well some of you might have, but the real challenge to us, is our use of the personal gifts God has given us. Those gifts will have varied hugely between every one of us. There are some very gifted people who have a huge contribution to make to society. The majority are more like us, with many of us feeling that we really aren’t sure what our gifts are. We also have the huge gift of time, so one of  the questions is how we choose to use that time and what decisions we make. Have our motives often been driven by selfish desires or have we wanted to help others? 

In the parable, the servants were given different gifts. 5 bags is a great deal, 2  is kind of average and 1 is small. That applies to us in the gifts  we have been given. The challenge in the story is the same for all 3 of them and not least for the one who only had 1. So even though we might feel that we don’t have many gifts there is still the challenge to use well, what we have been given. As Christians of course we have been given a massive gift. What would you say that gift is for you ?

What would you write down on a piece of paper ? It would need to include 3 words. Jesus…Forgiveness..Eternity.    That is the very backbone of our service this morning and our understanding of Communion.

The challenge is what we do with that gift. How do we share it? How do we live it out every day? How much do we want others to see it in our lives and to have it in their lives?

The servant in the parable who had the minimum amount claims he was afraid of the master so v25  I hid your gold in the ground. Is that the way you see God, as a God to fear that we will all be accountable to ? Or do you see a God of Love who wants nothing but good for all of us. I wonder what examples of bosses you have had in the past ? Bosses that I was accountable to when I worked for the Halifax  over 15 years have all been different. Mr Harvey, Green, Maidens, Beaumont, Cartwright. One of them could be sarcastic and had favourites of which I was not one. Which one did I work best for  ?  The ones who offered  a good relationship and who I could trust and respect. But later I had no problem changing to God as my boss. But then that had happened many years ago when I became a Christian. But God is not a boss in that sense, he is a father who loves us, a father who goes on giving us gifts, not least the Holy Spirit. And when our relationship with Him is firm He gifts us according to our abilities. That’s what v 15 says:-

To one he gave 5 talents of money, to another 2 talents and to another 1 talent, each according to his ability.

God knows best, but I think an important factor is not just our ability but also our willingness to serve, to put ourselves in a position where we need to rely on God to serve in the way he is asking us to. When that happens he will continue to give us the gifts we need. When we are personally secure in our relationship with God we can set about using the gifts he wants us to have, which especially includes Spiritual gifts.

The Biblical picture of the Christian body working together is so clear, you remember…….   I Corinthians 12v 12 the foot can’t say to the hand we aren’t part of the same body. And the ear can’t say because I’m not an eye I’m not part of the body.  Conclusion ? V 20 As it is, there are many parts but one body.

We are all part of the Christian body in the world, in the U.K and, especially in the congregation here in Locking. What is the part God wants us to play now ? Are we using the gifts He has already given us and are there other gifts he wants us to have? Is there a sense in which we have, or are, burying the talent, bag of gold we already have ? Every individual Christian’s response to this directly affects  the growth and witness of the church. We are all part of the body of Christ.

These are wonderful yet challenging truths and they stay with us for the whole of our lives and we all look forward to hearing :- 

“Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord”  

As Christians, that is what we will all hear because , in the words of the service this morning “Christ died for us”. That is what gives us the key to eternity regardless of how gifted we were or how effective we were or how influential we were. Our eternity is guaranteed but in the meantime we can help to carry that news to others as we use the gifts God has given to us. It has nothing to do with being successful and everything to do with serving in obedience with the gifts we have been given.

In the words of God to Joshua as he took over the mantle from Moses, Chp1v5  “I will be with. I will never leave you or forsake you”

Joshua chap 1 v 7 “Be strong and very courageous and be careful to obey all my laws”.

These promises also apply to us as we use our gifts for God’s glory.

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Remembrance Sunday 12th November 2023

Sermon on Love, Hate and Peace

How often do you use the word LOVE ? You might use it to describe something you enjoyed eating. “I loved that curry”. Or a certain book you have just finished reading. If you’re sporty you probably love what you do, for me it was hockey. Hopefully you will use it in a stronger sense to express feelings for close family. Mum, dad, grandparents.

What is the opposite of Love?  Hate. You might use that word from time to time as well. Some might say they hate going to school or work, whereas others might have an argument and end up hating the other person. You might also use the word about someone’s opinion about politics. You might even say you hate what somebody is wearing.

The really important thing to realise is that the effects of these two words are so completely different. The one, love being very positive and the other hate very negative. To love has the great potential for good things to happen, write a thank you note or maybe buy a small present, whereas to hate will probably lead to something bad or nasty, perhaps spread a rumour or tell lies or even worse.

Genuine love will always want the best. Hate will always want the worst. Love sees things in the best light,  hate does the opposite which is exactly what happened to Jesus. History and the Bible only tell us  that Jesus  did nothing but good things  and yet the church leaders of the day felt threatened. They hated his popularity, they even criticised him for making other people well. Their hate led to his death.

We are here today because of the effects of hate on our world. Hitler hated the Jews, Putin hates the west and in the Middle East there is a longstanding hatred between Arabs and Jews. Hate is always in there somewhere.

When Jesus talks about love, as he did in that short passage, he is offering a love way beyond when you might think about loving a cream cake. It is a substantial love, significantly deeper and stronger than most of the times that we use the word. He uses the word in asking us to love him, the end result of that is God loving us. It is a love which, if everyone in the world followed him, there would be no more wars. Wow There’s a thought. That would be perfection, but as we know none of us is perfect, including Christians, and as we know there have been wars even in Christian circles. None of that reduces the sense of what Jesus is saying. God understands that we are not perfect and that’s why we begin our services with a confession. 

But knowing that we are unable to love as Jesus asks, need not reduce our desire to achieve it. If our world wanted to genuinely avoid repeats of the many wars throughout history , following Jesus would help them to  become peacemakers not warmongers. The people we remember today were fighting for peace. Many of them gave their lives for that peace. We were up against warmongers who neither knew nor cared nothing about the kind of love Jesus was speaking about. 

Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers. We can’t be peacemakers if we are quick to hate, because hate only causes suffering and sadness, as in some family relationships where a hurt has happened and has grown over the years into a deep resentment and rejection. We as individual people and families may not have a direct impact or influence on the world at large, but we can have an impact in the day to day world we live in. Those we live with, those we work with, those we celebrate with or come across in public situations. Genuine, forgiving love as Jesus points us towards, will help us to be peacemakers, and the wider world will be a better place. The starting point is a recognition that individually we have the choice  as to how we live our lives and that the teaching of Jesus about love is the only way that makes sense.

The peace that we are remembering today, and the peace we have as a result of the sacrifice of others, is a gift  to cherish and learn from, not just once a year, but every day in our decisions and relationships, becoming peacemakers in following the example of Jesus through love.  My God’s love fill our lives to His glory and our peace.

 Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 29nd October 2023

Thessalonians 2: 1-16 - Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children[a] among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

Sermon on Thessalonians 2: 1-16

Do you remember the Greenham Common protests? It was at an airbase in Berkshire when nuclear cruise missiles were being allowed  to be stored there alongside an American base. It was 1981 when some Welsh women went there to protest. Numbers swelled into thousands and a Peace camp was set up and remained until 2000. They made their presence felt, as do the current Just Stop Oil protesters who are being effective, but I would draw the line at disrupting the snooker final as they did. Opposition groups can cause a huge  number of challenges , and that is exactly what was happening to this new church in Thessalonica. Paul was the founder, and in v2 he says “we dared to tell you the Gospel in spite of  strong opposition”. The opposition went as far as physically hounding Paul out of the city. Paul is writing this letter a couple of years later after Timothy had gone there on a visit and discovered that against the odds the church had survived. However, Timothy left knowing that  during the two years life had been no picnic with opposition that had been constant and organised. Paul was understandably encouraged  with the news but still had concerns. The main opposition were the Jews who were upset at the prospect of this new sect. Their intention was to squash it altogether. One of their ploys was, as in all good courtroom scenes, to try and discredit the main witness. If some doubt can be raised in the character, history or motives of the main witness, then the force or their evidence is reduced or even discounted altogether. The Jews worked hard to raise doubts about Paul, and Timothy may have been concerned that some mud might have been sticking and that even some in the church were beginning to wonder if there was some truth. This still is a frequent ploy of satan  to try to undermine the Good news of the Gospel. We may not be in the same situation as the Christians at Thess but we need to be on our guard against any attempt to undermine our total belief in the message and we also need to avoid being  carriers of some piece of news/gossip about someone/something which is a fabrication of the truth.

When Paul got this news from Timothy about the lies spread around by the Jews ,  now being received by the Christians, it would have stung him to think that they might be willing to believe it. For all his gifts, Paul was human, and it’s felt that these words in chapter two were a response to that. If you simply read through this chapter without knowing the context you might conclude that Paul is on a bit of an ego trip. Let me pick out some phrases:-

We speak as men approved by God.v4

We were gentle among you.v7

We worked night and day.v9

Among you we were holy, righteous and blameless. v10

But this is no self -congratulatory letter. It is a serious attempt to counter the rumours being put out about him by the Jews. Quite simply he is defending himself to this young church of how he and Silas had conducted themselves as they preached the Gospel.

But there is one other area that the Jewish protesters refused to accept about the Christian faith  It is  the suggestion that the  Christian  message they had and we have is uniquely   different from all the other faiths around. It is so easy for people today, as it was then, for folk who have never bothered to explore, to put all  faith groups into  the same bracket . It is an excuse, but it is convenient to take that view, and our enemy the devil, will fan those flames. It seems to me that we are increasingly witnessing  this kind of thinking in this country. The Christian ethos of our country is waning rapidly  and it is quite possible that  the Christian faith may end up as having simply a cult status, as it has been in France for some time.

In his letter Paul is at pains to draw a distinct contrast between his message and that of all of the others. V13 says

‘When you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted  it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God which is at work in you who believe,

So those who were preaching then, as we who preach now about Jesus, are quite different from the other faiths. We have a saviour who was crucified and rose again. We have a God who promises forgiveness and eternity. We cannot earn God’s love . Our Gospel is totally different from the others.

In v3 Paul points to other differences. He talks about truth, motivation and methods. He speaks about our faith as the truth, and there can only be one truth. He reminds them of his and our  motives that come from love in response to God’s love for us. He speaks about our methods of reaching out, which do not include being devious or cunning or with pressure. Those are the marks of those who do not have the truth. 

Just towards the end of this section Paul reminds this church, made up of converted Jews, that the very people who are so against them, are the very people who v15 killed the prophets and the Lord Jesus and drove himself and Silas out of the city.

If any witnesses can be discredited, rather than Paul, it is the Jews themselves whose history is damning . Paul’s conclusion v15 “They displease God and are hostile to all men in their efforts to prevent us from speaking to others so that they may be saved.”

More recent generations have never been free of those trying to discredit Jesus and the bible. It can often be subtle perhaps through the media including news, plays and films and the church has not always held to the truth of the authority of scripture which is even being tested at the present time. As Christians we are by God set a high standard for our everyday lives, attitudes and words, and if we step out of line there will always be somebody who will notice, and the gospel we proclaim will be discredited . In v12 Paul speaks of living lives worthy of God who calls you into his kingdom and glory. Are there times when God would be disappointed by things we allow or say ? 

At the very beginning of his letter, what was it  Paul said to this congregation who were under pressure from the world around them? He said V3 “We continually remember your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

It was a tough call for them and it is the same for us. We live in a different world to them, but people are the same, and in the same way our work, our  labour and our endurance need to be produced by faith, prompted by love and inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. The message to us doesn’t change and neither does God’s promise of forgiveness and eternity.

The protests of the world will go on, but so will we with the message of God’s love open to everyone.  Amen 

 Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 22nd October 2023

Thessalonians 1: 1-10 (International Children’s Bible) - The Faith of the Thessalonians

From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

To the church in Thessalonica, the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God’s grace and peace be yours.

We always remember you when we pray and thank God for all of you. When we pray to God our Father, we always thank him for the things you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers, God loves you. And we know that he has chosen you to be his. We brought the Good News to you. But we did not use only words. We brought the Good News with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with sure knowledge that it is true. Also you know how we lived when we were with you. We lived that way to help you. And you became like us and like the Lord. You suffered much, but still you accepted the teaching with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.

So you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Southern Greece. The Lord’s teaching spread from you in Macedonia and Southern Greece. And your faith in God has become known everywhere. So we do not need to say anything about your faith. People everywhere are telling about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell about how you stopped worshiping idols and changed to serving the living and true God.And you changed to wait for God’s Son to come from heaven. God raised that Son from death. He is Jesus, who saves us from God’s angry judgment that is sure to come.

Sermon on Thessalonians 1: 1-10

This morning we hear from Paul’s letter to Christians in Thessalonia.  Where do you think Thessalonica was? It is in Northern Greece, the Macedonian part.  And it’s still there. It’s now called Thessaloniki and is the second biggest City in Greece. 

In modern Thessaloniki there was a Bus Station. But when they decided to move it in 1962 they discovered the remains of the ancient Greek Forum. It was there that Paul would have talked with other orators and philosophers explaining about Jesus. The main church today has a crypt goes back to at least the fifth century and there is evidence of an older church being there. So the Church that was started by Paul and Silas has continued right up to the present day.

Paul began his ministry here by going to the local synagogue – the biggest in the region – and talking about Jesus. Both there and at the Forum he quickly built up a good number of believers both Jews and gentiles. But not everyone was happy and local Jews conscripted a gang of ruffians who attacked the believers. They couldn’t find Paul so the beat up poor Jason who had been putting Paul up.  The believers smuggled Paul away under darkness. But although Paul journeyed on he was worried what would happen to these new Christians. So sometime later he sent Timothy to find out and Timothy came back with a good report about how the church had thrived despite opposition continuing. 

So Paul sits down to write a letter of encouragement. He is full of gratitude to God. Paul begins by thanking God for all the blessings he has given to this small new church and how its survival has made Paul so glad. 

How many ways can you think of to express thanks in our everyday English?  What things does Paul mention to thank God for in our passage? Things done by faith, work done in love, continue to be strong (in hope), for their survival as a church, for the reputation they have.  In fact Paul breaks out into thanksgiving elsewhere in the letter. He remembers to Thank God for everything.

What about us us? Do we forget? We pray to God and when he answers by blessing us we’ve moved on to something else and forget to say Thank You. Do others see us as those who take things for granted? Or those who are never satisfied, or do they see us as thankful people. As an elderly man in a congregation once said – people who don’t go to church – who do they thank? 

Let us be people who remember the source of our blessings, and let’s be people who are known as Thankful.

But Paul has another word of encouragement that comes from these Thessalonians. He reminds them that when he came to them he worked hard – he was a tentmaker – and rather than expect the people to pay for his stay, ne worked to raise his own keep. Now he hears how the Thessalonians have also worked hard but are also known as helpful people. Those who have given time, money effort to help other people. Being a Christian was tough going but they showed their faith in the kindness they showed others. They were helped Paul knew by God’s Holy Spirit but the help they gave brought them great joy as well. The thing is that being kind is very difficult to argue with. People find it hard to complain about a genuine kindness that they have received. In fact their kindness was so obvious they got a reputation for it. 

Paul mentions several things to encourage them in being Kind. They are to remember that Paul helped them and they should help others because we know that God loves us and has been kind to us in giving us the grace of Christ. They are to love one another in the Church so that people see how we can love But that love is also to spread to others – even though that may be tough We are not to give up. This hard life will not last for ever and we have the hope of heaven.  

When I was younger all the discussion about the Christian Faith was all about ‘was it true or false? ‘ Did Jesus really live? Did he rise from the dead etc. But in our more modern age What is truth has been nuanced so that people will dismiss truth as relative. They do not want to spend time arguing about what is true. They want to know what works. Does our faith really mould who we are and how we behave and is that for better or for worse? Then they will take notice. Those who are surprised by our Kindness will be more willing to listen to the why. Curate helping man with problem. At end that was helpful, could I employ you as my personal Trainer? No but I can introduce you to my personal trainer and he’ll do it for love.

There is quite a bit of talk about the surprise and blessing both giver and receiver get from Random acts of Kindness, the ordinary everyday small gesture. Some places promote a Day for Random acts of Kindness. One day? We are called to live a life that shows God’s kindness all the time.

So this morning we are to be encouraged – driven on – to seek this week to be Thankful to God, and Kind to all.

 Rev Terry Baillie

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Reading for Sunday 8th October 2023

Philippians 2: 1-11  - Imitating Christ’s Humility

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothingby taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

10 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Sermon on Philippians 2: 1-11

Can I begin by putting a fairly wild thought to you? It is this, that if for some obscure reason we didn’t have the whole Bible as it is, that if that were the case then I would propose that this chapter 2 of Paul’s letter to the Philippians would have still given us enough to base our human lives on needing a relationship with our creator God through Jesus.

In the first 4 verses Paul brilliantly sets out  for us, what the marks are, of being a follower of Jesus, a disciple. He does it not by making statements but by asking questions. Questions that are intended to make us think seriously about how we live our lives as professed followers of Jesus.  Each of the 4 question start with the word ‘If ….’ Which then becomes an invitation to individually respond to a very positive suggestion. Let’s take the first one.

‘If…. you have any encouragement from being united with Christ’. That’s got to be a good thing…YES? So do we find that a real encouragement or not , being united with Christ?

The second one….’If…. any comfort from His love ’So  are we comforted by knowing Christ’s love?

Thirdly ‘If…. any fellowship with the Spirit’  Are our lives enhanced with the understanding of God’s gift of the Spirit?

Lastly….’If….. any tenderness and compassion’  Are these strong marks of our lives or are they overruled by selfishness ? 

Believe it or not that’s all in V.1, and Paul continues by making the assumption that we are all on board with positive responses to those questions , that we are encouraged by being united with Christ,  that we are comforted from His love, that our lives are enhanced by the Spirit, and that we are tender and compassionate. So Paul goes on to say V2

If that is the case ‘make my joy complete’ HOW?

By being of the same mind of myself V2
By having the same love, and
By being united in spirit and purpose.

Paul goes on to put some flesh on the bones of what all that means in V3.  There is to be no selfish ambition or conceitedness . I wonder why he puts that first ? I’ll leave that Q in the air. His next point is a vital one as he specifically pinpoints the necessity of humility in our attitudes to others, pursuing their interests rather than our own.

The overall message is one of imitating Christ Jesus, and it was of course His life that was and still is the perfect example of everything that Paul is challenging us about.

The message we get from Paul is that the desire to imitate the Lord Jesus is, for every believer, not an option but a necessity. As Christians, it needs to become part of our D.N.A. and Paul’s inspired words are highlighting to us  the examples of Jesus which need to be imitated in our lives. The questions Paul faces us with can only become a reality for us as we open ourselves daily to Jesus and His Spirit. That is the only  path to becoming imitators of Jesus in our everyday lives. And one word which jumps out at me as a bedrock of that kind of faith is HUMILITY,  because that was a constant mark of the life of Jesus.

Our humility starts with an understanding that we are not perfect and need forgiveness. That lifelong understanding of how we don’t measure up to God’s standard becomes the key to all the things raised by Paul.  That humility leads to love and unity, and living the kind of lives that can only come from the example of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Paul in V.1 links  comfort coming from our understanding of the  love of Jesus, and that comfort is simply a reflection of God’s promise firstly to forgive every time we say sorry and secondly God’s promise of eternity for all believers. We have so many hymns that spell this out to us :-

God is our strength and refuge
To God be the Glory great things he has done
O let the son of God enfold you.

God’s words of comfort to us are legion. We have every reason to be humble in the face of God’s promises. We have every reason to imitate the humility of Jesus in the way we love and deal with each other.                                                                                                                                                                                          How do we measure up to the challenge of humility? I think that maybe it’s a bigger factor than we want to accept. 

Just consider for a moment about the  motives which drive our decisions. Can we always be 100% sure that our motives are always driven by a desire to serve as against wanting to look good in the opinion of others . It’s been said that our motives are always mixed. The only one who could dispute that statement is Jesus and it is his humility that we aspire to. .Humility is not weakness. Jesus was the perfect example and had a strength that shone through him and impacted others.  His humility was a natural outworking of His love both for the world and us as individuals. Perfect love and perfect humility go together and, as the old song goes, you can’t have one without the other. As we respond individually to God’s claim on our lives and the call to imitate Christ, all of us must be ready recognise our need to say sorry for our lack of love and humility. 

As I said at the start, this passage is sufficient on its own in preparing us for God’s call our lives to imitate Jesus so it seems appropriate to repeat  the words used by Paul.V5” Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself NOTHING, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbledhimself and became obedient to death….even death on a cross!

We are called to imitate Jesus !!! This flawless, sinless character. Now, Imitating a famous person is one thing, copying a regional accent is something that most of us have a go at sometime, but imitating the perfection of human nature knowing that failure is guaranteed is something else. But, however lofty the ideal, however challenging and daunting the prospect, it remains a non-negotiable target, to imitate Christ.

In Shakespeare’s Henry 4th we are all familiar with the speech..’Once more into the breach dear friends’. But do you know how it goes on?

‘In peace there is nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility’.  Stillness and humility, these are the keys to where we begin. This rules out selfishness, mixed motives and lack of love for others and ourselves. The love and humility of Jesus is what we need to imitate His life and sacrifice. With an attitude of servant hood and  opening ourselves to God’s action on our lives, who knows what God can do. 

Out of humility God saved the world through Jesus. We might just  be amazed at what he can still do through us if we will let him.

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 1st October 2023

Philippians 2: 1-16 - Imitating Christ’s Humility

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothingby taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

10 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Sermon on Philippians 2: 1-16

If you were with us in the Centre last Sunday, you’ll know we looked at the question “What makes a fruitful Christian?” Answer “One who Stays Connected to Jesus”, not just on Sunday morning but 24/7. I promised that today we’d look at how that works out practically, so we’ll be thinking about “What makes a healthy Church Fellowship?” We’ve switched from the individual to the group because Jesus always spoke that way – it starts with individual life changes but works out in a group setting.

Pauls letter to the Philippians is a positive, joyful one -and it’s a Thank You letter. It’s addressed to “all the saints” in Philippi, not just the leaders. They were a generous church and had sent him numerous gifts in his hour of need; if you read Acts ch16 the fellowship included the wealthy businesswoman Lydia, who was the first person to respond to Pauls preaching, and in whose house at least some of the church gatherings took place, and Paul himself actually stayed. This was not a “male leadership only” church. It was also a church which included the prison jailer – who had been converted when God had miraculously opened the prison doors while Paul was in the stocks inside. In other words it was a diverse inclusive fellowship.

Also, although Paul was the founding Father of a good number of Christian groups during his Missionary journeys, the church at Philippi was special in another way as well. He had never intended to go to the place at all! It took a special Godly vision, while he was asleep, of a Man of Macedonia asking for his help, for Paul and his team to divert to this city. Father God wanted a Christian presence in Philippi! And it is clear from the tone of this letter that the Philippians first love for the Gospel had not diminished.

Paul was not in a position to physically be with them to lead the church, so he wanted to both thank them and point them to the way forward to continue to be a healthy witness of Gods love for all in their “parish”. They would be sustained by Gods Spirit, not by human hands.

And this is where 1st Century Philippi and 21st Century Locking intersect!I don’t know about you, but when I stand in this church – both among the pews and up front here – particularly if its quiet, I can sense the faithful prayers and sung worship that have been offered here down the centuries. And in recent years we as a congregation have been blessed by the ministry of Jack Mardon, then Mike Cotterell, then Chris Turner, and latterly Anne Wilkins. And all of them would have the same words to say to us now as Paul said to the Philippians in ch2. And I believe they would emphasise 2 things in particular…..

V2 “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”

V14 “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation”

And sandwiched between these 2 verses, like the filling that holds the 2 parts of a cake together, lie vses 5 to 11, which hold the key to any church fellowship being able to achieve the aspirations of vses 2 and 14. This is believed to have been a hymn sung by the early church and it is introduced by the following words “ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” If you and I remember anything from this mornings time together, it needs to be those words.

Lets start where Paul does, vses 1 – 5. At its best, a time of inter-regnum, a time of between vicars, can be a space for a church to reflect. Why? Because our God is always speaking to his people, and we can be sure that He will also be speaking to the person who will be appointed our next vicar. And He will be speaking in a way that ensures we are in step with each other when he/she/they arrives, and the next phase of Christian witness in the parish begins. How can we ensure we are ready? By being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind – exactly as v2 says. It doesn’t mean being clones of each other; we are each given our own individuality and perspectives BUT we are meant to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw rather  than an out-of-tune group of musicians. A period of pause, of reflection, lets us identify any areas of fellowship life where we are discordant one with another, as well as highlights where we are in harmony. And I now speak personally rather than part of the Leadership Team – if we DO identify areas where we are NOT in harmony, lets face them up NOW and deal with them, for the sake of our Gospel witness to the parish. What does Paul say should be the spurs for a fellowship to be of a single mind? Firstly, the fact of us being individually UNITED WITH JESUS when we first came to faith and entrusted our lives to Him. Secondly, the privilege of knowing his unqualified love daily as we journey through life with him. Thirdly, because the same Holy Spirit of God dwells in all believers…….and produces fruit in our lives like tenderness and compassion – reflecting the same compassion and tenderness that He has for us. And what does Paul say in v5 will be a prime hall mark of a church which is united….. we look not to our own interests but to the interests of other fellowship members and beyond – in other words to serve , or look after, one another. And that is a statement that needs no explanation!

In our passage we then have vses 6-11, which describes Jesus attitude of mind – in other words the “gold standard” – which was to be a servant.

Then follow vses 12-16, which start with the word “Therefore”. In other words, you’ve read whats come before; now you need to respond! Paul then follows with the words “my dear friends”; this is not a teacher telling off naughty children, this is the same spirit in which Jesus said to his disciples in last weeks reading John 15 “I call you friends” and the words of PROV 18.24 “There is a friend who stays closer than a brother.” This is intimacy. And he urges us and the Philippians to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. This is another Bible phrase which is often quoted….completely out of context. It does NOT mean (1) we have to earn our salvation/Gods pleasure. We could never do that because we are not perfect human beings ; salvation comes simply and solely from our trust in what Jesus did for us on the Cross. (2) the words “with fear and trembling” do NOT mean we serve a cruel and vengeful God who is ready to zap us with a taser if we mess up; it recognises that God is holy, and for our lives to point towards Him we need to take care to live in a way that states without words that there is a different way to “the way of the world”. As Paul says in v13 “God works in you to will/desire and to act to fulfil his good purpose. Remember last week the grapes on the vine?

But Paul then says something fascinating. To be blameless Children of God, shining a light to and on our generation, he highlights 2 things for us to avoid. What would you expect those 2 things to be? If you were a modern journalist, I suppose you’d say corruption and sex scandals. But no……Paul highlights…grumbling and arguing! But think about it. There’s wisdom here. If we as a fellowship do our activities eg Community café, not out of love for our parish, but with a “I suppose we’d better do something” attitude, …….it taints the whole thing. And let me say that, if you live in a village community, sooner or later people spot the sham attitude! I love the comment on a managers annual review that I heard about once - “His team follow him, but only out of morbid curiosity.” May that never be true in our fellowship here or in our benefice as a whole! And Paul didn’t just pluck “grumbling and arguing” out of the air as theoretical problems. If you fast forward to ch4, you’ll find he calls out by name 2 senior members of the Philippian church and pleads with them to be of one mind! Theirs was not a spat over what type of coffee to serve after church.

Incidentally, I quite deliberately suggested a modern journalist might assume the 2 biggest problems to be corruption and sex scandals. Paul describes the society among which the Philippian Christians lived as warped and crooked. So what has changed over 2000years? Think MPs and Prime Ministers. Think the Police. Think the Scottish Nationalist Party. And yes, as he’s the latest in a long line of fallen celebrities, think Russell Brand. And we make substitute Gods of the NHS and National Sports Squads, only to heap criticism on them when they prove less than perfect. And just in case you haven’t noticed, it is assumed that Churches – particularly the Church of England as the “official” national Church, are just the same. It’s for us, and other Christian congregations however large or small, up and down this country, to expose that cynical assumption as the lie it is.

And it all starts with things like avoiding grumbling and arguing, and being one in mind and spirit. Or as Paul says in our reading….and I end with this. VSES 5 – 10…….

 Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Sunday 24th September 2023

John 15:1-16  - I am the Vine

Jesus said -   

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love.

Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.

Sermon on John 15:1-16

I love the “I Am” sayings of Jesus. There are 7 of them in all, and they deal with the fundamental questions asked by most humans. This one is the question…….Is my life of any real value?

The answer is in v16 NIV “I appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last”.

The process of fruitbearing is the rest of the passage. There are lots we could think about, but today I just want to highlight 3 parts of the process……

STAY. In this passage we usually use the word “remain”. In the NIV the word is used 11 times in these 16 verses. It’s the opposite of go somewhere else/dip in and out. Have you ever thought how much our lives are based around NOT staying, even from our earliest years. Nursery. CHANGE. Pre-school. CHANGE. Primary School. CHANGE. Secondary School. CHANGE. College/Uni. CHANGE. Job. CHANGE. Flat/House CHANGE. Fashion. CHANGE. Some changes are good, some inevitable, some unnecessary. All cause a degree of disruption, of unsettling. The great thing about staying, about remaining, in an area of life, is that we get to know our surroundings, we get to know folks around us, we build relationships.

CONNECTED. The opposite of which is disconnected/isolated. It’s represented by the word “in” in our reading. In the NIV the word is used 15 times in these verses. You don’t need to be a Christian to read the words of Father God in Genesis “It is not good for man to be alone”, and to instinctively know He’s right. You need look no further than the negative impact of Covid restrictions on gathering together – be it in school, visiting care homes, meeting as families or friendship groups. Mental health issues and struggles to relate to each other normally abound as a result. Digitally, thanks to the Internet and Social Media, we are more “connected” than ever before….but at a distance. For the human being it’s not enough; it’s not deep rooted enough. A few slides ago you saw the vine we have in our back garden, all rooted in and flourishing. Here’s a few branches I chopped off a few days ago….not so flourishing.

So Jesus says STAY DON’T DRIFT OFF, BE CONNECTED DON’T BE ISOLATED………but stay where? Be connected to who/what?

Who has seen the film Groundhog Day? Bill Murray, playing the egocentric media “CELEBRITY” stuck in a cycle of endlessly reliving the same day, is in a bar with 2 of the locals and asks this question “What would YOU do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing you ever did mattered?” And his drinking buddy replies “That about sums it up for me.”

Well, our reading today gives Bill Murray’s character an answer. It’s this….

STAY CONNECTED ……TO JESUS. Am I saying that its only Christians who can live fruitful lives? Of course not. We are all born in Gods image, and designed to reflect his attributes, whether we acknowledge his existence or not. There will always be Albert Einsteins, Stephen Hawkings, David Attenboroughs etc. But Jesus says this, to little you and little me. Stay Connected to me and you will live fruitful lives…….just as grapes grow on a vines branches, simply because they are connected to the vine itself. No grape has to force itself to grow, no tomato has to force itself to grow, it’s the natural process of being part of the plant.

Just because we’ve had Anne and Chris transplanted up to Long Eaton, it doesn’t mean that we are just a load of branches lying around on the ground. Why? Because our source of nourishment, our source of growth, our source of sustenance through difficult as well as easy times, comes from God himself, living by his Holy Spirit in all those who look to follow Jesus day by day. How do we draw strength from that connection? By prayer, by getting to know the contents of this book, by keeping our minds and spirits open to Gods presence and prompting 24/7. An hour on Sunday morning isn’t what Jesus is talking about here!

And what does some of the fruit look like in daily life? We didn’t read v17….because I wanted to finish with it. It says this “This is my command; love one another”. Jesus has already hinted at it in v13, and I love The Message translation “Put your life on the line for your friends.” Why? Because Jesus did that, and more so, for us and for all humanity. Literally. 

It still makes me choke every time I read Jesus words in v15 “I have called you friends” – Him the untarnished self-sacrificing Son of God, and us the far from perfect, far from self-sacrificing men and women who stumble to be His followers and seek to show His love to a Broken Britain, desperately in need of knowing His love as 2023 draws to a close. Friends.

And I’m going to leave it there. If you want to think more about what living it out looks like day to day, individually and as part of a healthy, connected, church, join me over the road next Sunday when we’ll be looking at how the Christians in Philippi were getting on, and the wisdom Paul the church planter had for them.

 Until then, may we all remain in and draw strength from, the love and presence of Jesus.

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Sunday 17th September 2023

HARVEST TALK  2023

Silly question?????     What is Harvest all about???  VISUAL of large MOUTH.

It’s all about this . If we didn’t need to eat, we wouldn’t need a harvest in the first place. It’ s  all about us pushing food through the letterbox on our faces.

So where does the food go ??  VISUAL DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

So far so good, the system works well  UNTIL………

Something goes in that IS BAD.  CONTAMINATED !

What happens next  ? NO PICTURE HERE !!!

Probably be sick. I hate that !!!

Why does it happen ? The body decides it’s not good so gets rid of it. IT REJECTS  IT.

We have to learn how to spot this. A baby is liable to stuff all kinds of things into the mouth. Results are clear.

If you want to pick wild mushrooms or berries, need to learn which are ok.

We live in a world where lots of folk without decent food and getting sick because not enough good food. Harvest a time to remember and pray and support them if we can. HoverAid. Tear Fund are examples of practical support.

GOD also talks about a harvest of souls, that is, people learning about and trusting Jesus. We can be involved in this harvest, and this also involves our mouths , not just to eat but to speak. The truth is that what comes from our mouths as words, reflects what we have taken in.

The Bible uses one part of our body to describe where our words, love and emotions come from.  Any guesses ?

It’s THE HEART.  

How we speak to others, how we express ourselves comes from how we feel in our hearts. Which is ok, unless we don’t happen to like them very much !  What can happen is that instead of good things coming out of our mouths , that rubbish and hurtful things can come out instead.

What sort of rubbish ?

Gossip…………….Lies…………spiteful words………..being rude……….dirty jokes……………….bad language……hurtful words.

It’s a bit like eating bad food making you sick, that if you get involved in bad things , bad things will come out of your mouth. So we avoid them. Avoid the gossip and lies. Avoid reading, watching, listening to or taking part in anything that involves them. They will not do you any good, and they will prevent you from being those who carry the good news of Jesus to others. Let me quote words of Jesus from Matt 12 

“ For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks”

James wrote chap3. “Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing”

None of  us want to be rude or hurtful or spiteful using language that upsets others. DO WE ?

This is part of our daily spiritual battle. Asking God to forgive us is the way to cleaning up our hearts so that we use our mouths only for good purposes and be a part of the harvest that God wants.

This is what the Good News is. It is the message that can change hearts and change lives. Everyone needs this message because when we take into our hearts the love of God as shown in the life of Jesus, it can change us and prevent the rubbish coming out of our mouths.

Today we especially thank God for our food and those who grow it, so we also thank God for his love.

 As we share our food with those who  are hungry so we can also share the Good news of love by keeping our hearts free of the rubbish that is prevalent everywhere. The more we do that, the greater the harvest of souls.

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 10th September 2023

Romans 13:8-14  - Love Fulfills the Law

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

 11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh

Sermon on Romans 13:8-14

Are you keen to watch out for the postman ? You may not be expecting anything in particular but it’s always nice to receive a letter or card. Sometimes at home we get a wadge of stuff, most of which goes straight in the bin ….advertising/appeals. It’s easy getting to the interesting bits and I reakon that when Timothy arrived in Rome with a letter from Paul, the church there would have been quick to open and read it. Mind you the roles of papyrus would have been fairly substantial for all 16 chapters. I wonder what their reaction might have been and the letter would certainly have been a surprise. 

Paul begins his letter very positively, and no, we aren’t going to go through the whole letter this morning, and he tells them basically that there is much to rejoice about because he has heard good reports about them. There are however problems, but it’s not until chapter 16 that he pinpoints the issue that really concerns him. So just before we look at chapter 13, I just want to read one verse from chap 16 which gives the context for the whole letter. Paul writes this to them :-

I urge you brothers and sisters to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.   

From chap 1 to 16 there is some strong theological meat and for us this morning Chap 13 is no different. Paul has clearly sensed an element of complacency.V11the time has come to wake up from your slumber. V13 Let us behave decently.V14 Clothe  yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Have they lost some of their enthusiasm ? Is there a greater readiness to compromise ?

On the M5 just before the Junction to Tiverton there is a big sign  TIREDNESS KILLS!  Similarly, Paul’s letter is  a wake up warning call to these Christians in Rome and the fact is that we are not immune from the same temptations. When I get a flashing red sign on the car dashboard I know there’s a problem. Paul in this chap 13 alone is flashing up red signals about the fellowship. I will briefly highlight 4 areas.

1. He writes about the 10 commandments, about adultery, murder, stealing etc and says that they are making the same mistakes as the Jews did with them, of watering them down. He says it’s really all about V9 loving your neighbour as much as you love yourself.  Love does no harm to anyone. V10  Love is the fulfilment of the law.  If you lose the priority of  love,  it will be replaced by jealousy, pride, arrogance judgmentalism. Trivia takes over, and our personal preferences can cause division which can include choices in styles of worship. Back to basics is Love God First and then love others as much as you love yourself. It is A simple but profound basis for our Christian lives and relationships both within and outside church.

2. In v 12 Paul is reminding them (and us) that they are in danger of missing the signs of the times.

 There is always  an urgency about living out our faith.  Paul writes,  ”The night is nearly over, the day is almost here ”referring to the return of Jesus.

What is Paul hinting at here ? I would suggest that they had grown too lazy in their standards, maybe too tolerant of evil in all its guises. Maybe they had lost a sense of direction having taken their eyes off God’s promises and standards, perhaps the Gospel message had lost its edge and become blurred with the pressure from the world around.

Are we immune from that ? No we aren’t . It is equally a danger for us as individuals so we must stay faithful in reading the scriptures and worshipping together. Paul writes V12 Put on the armour of light. Can you imagine that every time we involve ourselves in things of the Lord, that God is bathing us in His light. It’s happening this morning, as we share Communion.

3. In V 13 Paul comes out with a list of things to avoid. We know it well because every time we hear it read we are thinking to ourselves, ‘that’s not me, nor that’. You know  it well,  Orgies, drunkenness, sexual matters etc. We can’t feel smug however because V14 it is part of our sinful nature and can invade out thoughts. It comes under the heading of ‘Deeds of Darkness’ in V12. That includes temptation in all its forms which might include wandering minds or going along with the crowd or compromising on decisions. Temptation can be very subtle in influencing our lives. V13 Behave decently is all part of Paul’s wake up call to them and is always going to be relevant to us as well, especially as we now embrace the future possibilities.

4. This last but essential message from Paul centres around V14 and ‘Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ’.  How much time do we spend each morning in deciding what we are going to wear? What is it that drives our decision ? A bit of comfort depending on the weather of course. There is also the question of how others see us. We don’t want to feel out of place or uncomfortable. We want to be liked and don’t want to offend. I have always found the effect a dog collar can have to be very revealing. As a brand new curate in Exeter I was walking back from  the city and ahead I saw a group of folk all crowding around something. As I approached, the crowd simply parted allowing me to see and help the person on the floor. What does being clothed with Jesus mean ? The key word is discipleship of course, of taking Jesus with us wherever we are going. It means being a dynamic Christian rather than a passive one so that in every situation we are switched on to the law of love that Jesus lived by. It means always acting and thinking in a Christian manner, alive and wide awake to opportunities to serve others.

Can we do it ?? Certainly not. It’s beyond us in these fallible human frames. Paul often refers to his weaknesses. His one encouraging quote is to say that “I do what I don’t want to do, and I don’t do what I do want to do “. Yes it’s a battle but God knows that and as we sing sometimes ‘The battle belongs to the Lord’.

It comes down to our need to constantly ask God for help. And we do that by reading the Scripture and prayer because by doing that we are opening ourselves to His Spirit  transforming us into the likeness of Jesus. 

Clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ as Paul was encouraging the Christians in Rome to do, is want God wants for each and every one of us, no exceptions. 

 The letter was opened and read carefully by those Christians in Rome. God’s love and care for each of us is exactly the same as for them. We can, all of us, Put on the armour of light and clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 3rd September 2023

Matthew 16: 21 - 28  - Jesus Predicts His Death

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Sermon on Matthew 16: 21 - 28

Next month on 1st October I will have been ordained for 28 years. I’ve often thought that if I had been shown a film of my life over those 28 years would I have still gone ahead.  And I think the answer would be yes, I would. It’s been a long journey – which Hutton and Locking share a big chunk of.

I was ordained because I had experienced the amazing difference that Jesus can make to your life. How he can bring change, new life, a new start and I knew it to be true – and I knew I must share that with other people. I knew that I wouldn’t have been here without him.  I didn’t want to be ordained so I could wear a dog collar or robes, that I could lead loads of meetings or be called Rev or talk about ancient buildings. No, I knew God was calling me to this ministry so that I could spend my time and energy in sharing the good news of Jesus and in enabling others to do so.  I trained at St John’s Nottingham, which has now closed. Their motto was ‘Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.’

The one thing that I hope that I have left behind is people who have grown in their faith in Jesus Christ and also people who have made a commitment to Christ for themselves. In the reading we heard how Jesus tried to explain to his disciples what would happen – he would suffer, be killed and rise again. That is the essence of our faith. Yet it is not just something we say or believe in, but that we must accept Jesus for ourselves and have that relationship with Him. It is only through Jesus that we are saved.  Going to church, being baptised as a baby, believing in God, giving to charity, being a nice kind person and doing good things, having high morals, being a warden, in the choir, doing the flowers, cleaning the church – does not make you a Christian. Jesus says ‘For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.’ He’s not talking about us becoming martyrs but about surrendering our lives to him and in dying to self and allowing Jesus to take control. It is knowing that we are sinners and need forgiveness and a new start. That Jesus died in our place and that our place in heaven is not because we are good people but that we belong to Jesus. It is the person knowing that Christ loves them and loving Him in return and then this overflowing to loving others and being willing to suffer at times for this, If we gain everything in life but do not have Jesus then we are lost. My question to you this morning is – have you given your life to Christ? Do you know you are safe with Him – for now and all eternity. 

Second thing I want to say is that I have written a letter to both churches. 

To the churches in Hutton and Locking

I give thanks for you all.  For your faith, hard work and commitment. Before I leave you, I wish to say some things as you go into the future. Keep Jesus as your focus for everything you do. Never take your eyes off him. Know in your hearts and minds that the church is not the building but that you are the church – you are the body of Christ in this place. As two churches work as one – take down all the barriers that prevents this happening – do not be a stumbling block to unity, turn from your unwillingness to meet together for worship. For together you are greater than individual churches. Remember that church is not what we do on a Sunday but church is everyday – seek to build God’s kingdom wherever you go in the week. You are Christ’s ambassadors. Know that you are not church for your own benefit but for those who are not yet belonging. Put aside your own wants and desires and seek to make church accessible to all people, all ages, all backgrounds. Never be afraid of change or taking risks because it’s through that you will learn to trust God. 

Welcome and love your new Rector – but they do not come to do ministry and to solve all the problems – they come to enable you to minister. Pray, pray pray. Come together to pray about all things. Never underestimate the power of prayer.  Praye people into the kingdom, pray for all people but especially for families and children – for you will never grow without them. Do not think of this time as a time of waiting but expect God to be at work and to work through you enabling you to grow in love and faith for Him and each other. Always be kind – especially when you disagree and feel under stress. Offer forgiveness and say sorry and be reconciled. Stop talking about closing – you won’t. But seek to change your thinking to that of – we will grow. Encourage commitment – to worship (that’s essential), to prayer, to learning, to serving. It is time to stop being lukewarm and half – hearted.  Remember Christ gave His very life for you – may you give back to Him your all. Shine as a light in Hutton and Locking and be different. Rid yourselves of gossip, of being a cliché, of being separate. Instead, be known as a church who serves the community and where God is at work and changing lives. Go out there and make a difference. Thank you for allowing me to lead you. You will always have a place in my heart. I will pray that the Holy Spirit will fill each one of you to overflowing and that you will know the presence of Jesus with you all the way.

Bless you and keep you. 

Rev Anne Wilkins

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Reading for Sunday 23rd August 2023

Matthew 16:13-20 - Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” hen he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Sermon on Matthew - Matthew 16:13-20

Rumours, gossip, chit chat, second hand news, whispers, ‘did you hear the one about? ooh, you don’t say.... It’s easy to talk about people behind their backs, maybe making up things which are only half truths, maybe embellishing a little bit of news to make it juicier. It’s so easy to do this. But there comes a time when the truth comes out, when things come into focus and the subject in question becomes clear.

I want to ask you a question and I’d love you to think about this for a moment and call out your answers.

I’ve been coming to St Mary’s here in Hutton for about 28 years, leading and preaching for the last 13 years.  I’ve been leading and preaching for the last 9 years at St Augustine’s here in Locking.  And also been your administrator for the last 9 years.

I want to ask you the question that Jesus asked his disciples: Who am I? How would you describe me? Physical attributes, personal attributes, relational attributes, child of God? 

In the reading from Matthew this morning, Jesus asked the disciples the same question. Who do people say I am? The disciples must have had their ear to the ground; they had a pretty good idea of what people thought. Their replies though showed that people didn’t really know who Jesus was. It was a bit woolly, sort of on the right track, but not quite. ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

Jesus is good at asking questions and getting an accurate response. He’d asked a general question - Who do people say I am? This has got the disciples thinking about Jesus’ identity and mission. Now Jesus asks a question which gets to the core of the matter. ‘But what about you?’ he asks. ‘Who do you say I am?’ I want to ask you the same question – who do you say Jesus is?  Please call out your answers.

Jesus asked the disciples. ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter was the first to answer, probably being a mouthpiece for the other disciples, so he was sharing his own and a corporate view from the others of who Jesus is.

This sounds very much like the usual impetuous Simon Peter – the first to answer, the first (and only – apart from Jesus) one to walk on water. Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ The Messiah (or Christ in Greek) was the figure that the everyday Jewish person in the street was looking forward to appearing, someone in the form of a king descending from the line of David whom God would send to restore his people to national independence and to their rightful pre-eminence as the people of God. But Jesus came to inaugurate God’s Kingdom in a completely different way, a completely different unexpected way, a way which led to the cross, with its suffering and death. In Jewish eyes, that was not what was expected. Neither did Simon Peter expect this, as a bit further on in the chapter, when Jesus is talking about his impending suffering and death, Simon Peter says that this shouldn’t happen, to which Jesus rebukes him.

Jesus’ reply to Simon Peter’s description of who Jesus is has a congratulatory feeling. Jesus says that Simon Peter is blessed. One could say that Simon Peter is fortunate or even well off for having this God given insight. It was as if he could suddenly see a spiritual truth about Jesus, that the light had dawned. Yes, says Simon Peter, you are the Messiah, the one who is going to save his people, but as we know, not from the Romans, but from their sins. 

Simon Peter has answered Jesus’ question of ‘Who do you say I am?’ by stating his familial relationship, by saying ‘You are the Son of the living God’. This emphasised Jesus’ relationship to his Father in heaven. Jesus, in the lovely way that his often does, builds on this comment and reflects on Simon Peter’s earthly relationship with his father Jonah, by calling him  Simon, son of Jonah. 

The insight that Simon Peter has made about Jesus though, was not made from a human viewpoint, as most of these views were describing Jesus as John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets, no, Simon Peter’s declaration of faith was revealed to him by Father God in heaven. Simon Peter’s declaration of who Jesus is demonstrated his ability to be a spokesman, a pioneer, a natural leader for the group of disciples and this naturally leads into Jesus’ statement of the role Simon Peter is going to take with building Jesus’ church here on earth. So by calling Simon Peter (btw Peter means ‘rock’) Jesus is saying that his church is going to be built not on Simon Peter’s character (which had questionable stability and reliability) but his function, Simon Peter’s function as a spokesman, a pioneer, a natural leader. This is shown to be true in the book of Acts, how, for example when he stands up on the day of Pentecost, preaches the gospel and about 3000 people believe that Jesus is the Lord and Messiah and are baptised. This is the Good News of Jesus, who died on the cross so that we can have forgiveness of sin, but more than that, we are brought into God’s Kingdom here and now and that death and hell will have no more power over us, so we know that when we die, believing in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, we will not pass through the gates of hell, but through the gates of heaven to eternal life with God.

So what of the keys that Jesus is pictorially giving Peter? The Rabbis, those learned people who taught in the Jewish synagogues, had legislative power to bind, or forbid and to loose or allow. In the early days of the church, there was debate as to how to allow the gentiles, those non-Jewish believers, into the Christian church. It was through the dream that Simon Peter had, recorded in Acts 10 – 11, which convinced him that it was heaven’s will to allow gentile converts into the church and then he went on and argue this case with the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, where he finishes his speech by saying ‘No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.’ In other words, all people are saved from the effects of sin and the powers of death and hell through the unmerited favour and love of God, rather than family descent as a Jew. So Simon Peter loosed or allowed on earth what he had been shown by his dream from heaven.   

Finally, Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. This was because Jesus didn’t want a political uprising, that wasn’t the sort of Kingdom he was ushering in, but it was one of love, forgiveness, a change of an individual’s heart and mind, where Jesus was Lord and saviour, ruler and King and where one’s motivation came from a desire to serve God as a response to God’s boundless love and not just to look to one’s own  life and to be only out for one’s own self interests and desires. 

So going back to the beginning, I asked you to say who you thought Jesus is.

You gave some good answers. It is one thing to acknowledge who Jesus is, but I want you to reflect on what difference that makes in your life and what difference does that make in the church. Jesus’ church. The Apostle Paul sums up well how we should live in his letter to the Romans in chapter 12, vs 1 – 2. 

I’m going to read this through three times, slowly, and it would be good to reflect on what God might be saying to you today. So I ask the Holy Spirit to come and speak to each one of us here today. The Message Bible puts it like this:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Amen

 Chris Wilkins (Lay leader)

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Reading for Sunday 13th August 2023

Romans 10: 5 - 15

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.’’

Sermon on Romans 10: 5 - 15

The Wallace and Grommit cartoons are great fun. Do you remember the Wrong Trousers where each morning Wallace was woken with an alarm which included the bed rising and Wallace sliding through the ceiling into a pair of trousers below ? During our working lives and beyond, we can  become very  dependent on alarm clocks. Years ago we had a teasmade that made a cup of tea. But that is only the start of everything that we become dependent on in our daily lives. Any travelling needs a car to start, a bus or train to arrive. To contact others needs a ‘phone. Our dependency includes the kitchen with ovens, Kettles, and tea bags ! And at the end of the day you depend on getting into a comfortable bed.So every day we are depending on many conveniences and I haven’t even mentioned computers. These have become an integral part of 21st century lives and are responsible for so much that happens. We depend on them all the time whether we realise it or not.  You hear of folk  arriving at a large supermarket just as the computer system collapses.  No-one cn buy anything and they hand out vouchers to persuade folk to come back later.

 Perhaps like Richard Branson you dream of owning your own island ? The fact is that we are all so tied in to and dependant on so many things and  it’s all too easy for Christians to  lose sight of the importance of our dependence on God. That can make growing in our faith challenging  because we get so caught up with life and forget that  while most of our modern existence is extremely comfortable due to all the conveniences we depend on,  that in fact they are not essential. Granted it would be difficult,but cars, T.V. dishwashers, processed food etc  are not essential . It wouldn’t be easy without them and there’s nothing wrong with them of course, but when we come here on a Sunday we come to a different truth. We come to consider, from the Bible, what is really essential for our lives, not just for tomorrow but for eternity. On Sunday at least, our thoughts are diverted onto a truth upon which every single human being is totally dependent. What is this truth? That we are totally dependent on the patient love of our creator God.

So, when all the ‘phones have stopped ringing, all the computers closed down. When all the cars have run out of fuel and all supermarkets shut, there will still be God. And it’s on Him that our current and future lives depend 100%. It follows that having a relationship with him while we live down here is far more important than anything else. What does that mean in practice?

 Well we heard earlier from Paul writing to the Romans Christians that just as they, like us, are dependent on God, so also other people are dependent on Christians. How does that work ?   In his letter Paul asks the question “ How can other people hear about God without someone telling them ?”  

The wonderful fact is, we can all be that essential link in the chain of someone finding out about  the essential nature of our dependence on God. What that must mean is that for any of us to have ended up as Christians in a relationship with God, almost inevitably depended at some point on the ministry of a Christian who was willing to share their faith with you. I have a very clear cut memory of who that was for me. But however your particular journey progressed there would have been others willing to share what it meant to them.

Now moving on in my theme this morning of what we, as Christians can depend upon, there is one short verse which highlights what is utterly dependable for us . Paul writes in V 11

As the Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Jesus will never be put to shame” this verse has two parts and gives us two clear things we can depend on as well as God. Firstly we have ‘as the Scripture says’. The truth is that the Bible is our one and only reference point to what God wants us to know. Everything we know about God, everything we believe about God comes from the Bible. 100%.Down through the centuries the Christian church in its various forms, has tried to teach and explain whilst setting up systems and structures, much of which is good and helpful. It is inevitable that the Church in all its forms  wil also contain human error and imperfection. It is not perfect, then or now. The Bible is the only source of truth about God and the role of Jesus and our need to repent.

The second thing we can depend on is the message about Jesus. He was the ‘beautiful feet’ taken from the prophesy of Isaiah 52 which spoke of the one who would come bringing good news, peace, good tidings and salvation.  These dependable truths about the Bible and Jesus, are essential for our lives both now and for ever.

Let me ask a question. Can you imagine ‘no Bible’? No Bible would mean no God and no God would mean that we don’t exist. So the Bible in a way is part of creation. It is God’s way of making his purposes clear, of setting standards, of explaining how we can know forgiveness, of promising and then sending Jesus and of promising eternity to Christians. These are the only dependable essentials that we have and in large measure they are being ignored by the world we live in, just as most of the Jews in Jesus’s day rejected him.

This is a personal challenge to us as individuals as to how seriously we involve ourselves with Scripture. A survey some years ago amongst Christians revealed that the proportion of those who read it daily is very small. So it seems that the most important thing God has given us next to Jesus is being treated so casually and, as a result  reducing our confidence as we mingle with the world.

Yes, it’s a big book. No-one pretends to know it all or understand it all, let alone read it all. Neither do we remember everything we have read which is why we need to keep going back again and again. We have the very best text to help us. As Christians, we haven’t simply chosen a worldview that appeals to us, as many do. We have the view of our creator who loves the world. When push comes to shove, we can depend on God.

To summarise :-

The challenge to us  in this passage is in V8.

“The word is in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of we are proclaiming”

And that word ‘proclaiming’ doesn’t simply mean verbal. It means proclaiming the word in our lives and attitudes and relationships and conversations. Our contact with Scripture is essential for this to happen and not just on a Sunday.

We will all of us go on enjoying and depending on the modern conveniences of our daily lives, but never losing sight of our ultimate dependence on God’s love.

Our Communion service this morning  is a statement  and reminder of God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus, and the song we will sing shortly draws our attention to the presence of Christ through His Spirit as we share.

Let’s pray

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 30th July 2023

Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Sermon on Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

Is anyone going to go to somewhere really good over the summer or perhaps you have already been?  ASK When you go to somewhere amazing or something amazing happens to you the first thing that you want to do is to tell others.  The problem is that it’s really difficult because they weren’t there.  You might show photos… and then you say ‘but that doesn’t do it justice’ or ‘it was bigger than that or more beautiful than that’.  Or you might say … it looked a bit like this or was similar to that.  You would use the things that the other person knows about to describe the place or the experience. 

The last few weeks in our readings we have had lots of stories that Jesus was telling.  Jesus had been trying to teach people about what the kingdom of heaven is like.  In other words, how God is at work in his world, how he deals with people, how his power works.  It’s not talking about when we die but about now. When Jesus came to earth it was like heaven coming to earth.  Jesus is now trying to describe it using the things that people know about in their everyday lives.  We had a man sowing seed and it falling on different sorts of ground, we’ve had a man sowing good seed and then having weeds sown.  Now we have some other stories that Jesus is telling.  The first 2 go together because they are about little things that grow into bigger things.  Jesus talks about a very small seed that grows into a huge tree.  A bit like our acorns that grow into enormous oaks.  In Palestine still today these trees grow to ten feet and in the autumn all sorts of birds come and perch there – the word used is tent – make their home there.  Jesus also talks about yeast – you only need a tiny bit to make the dough grow into a big loaf.   

So what’s Jesus saying – well he seems to be saying with God it only takes a little for something big to grow.  Today we often look down on anything small – bigger is best we say – big cars, big shops, big houses, big kitchen, big money, big countries, big companies, even big churches.  Jesus is saying small is good, but in God’s kingdom it doesn’t stay small.  Everything starts small and so we should never scorn small things. In a way this parable is prophetic. The church began with just a handful of men and women – now the Christian church is the biggest family in the world.  Both these parables show that God’s kingdom grows outwardly – like the tree.  We can see the growth in numbers and in people coming to Christ, we can see growth in service and ministry.  It also grows inwardly like the yeast – you only know the bread has had yeast in because it has risen. Christ’s kingdom, his rule is not about what we know but about it entering into our hearts, our very being, and slowly but surely changing us. You may feel that your faith is small – but that is OK – as if you feed it with prayer and worship and reading God’s word then it will automatically grow.  Adults stop growing in their bodies – but they never stop growing in faith and in their relationship with God.  Are you growing?  When did you last have a growth spurt?  What are you doing to encourage growth in your life?  The kingdom of God is what this is all about – it’s about growing things, about God changing us bit by bit, about transformation.  I love the quote about feeling small - “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”  You are never too small if you follow Jesus because you have the Holy Spirit in you – that same spirit raised Jesus from the dead.  That is amazing power.  

 The second 2 stories are also about God’s kingdom.  Jesus says it is like treasure buried in a field- a man finds it and then buries it again to keep it safe and then he goes and sells everything and buys that field with the treasure in.  Jesus also says the kingdom of God is like pearls.  Again, a man sells everything he has and buys the one of great value.  What Jesus is saying is that God’s kingdom is like treasure.  It can’t be bought but it demands our all.  You cannot buy God’s love or his peace and joy.  You can’t buy your way into heaven. With the man who found the treasure in the field he was not looking for it – he just stumbled across it. It sort of just happened out of the blue – a bit like Paul on the road to Damascus.  Later in Philippians 3: 8, 9a he wrote ‘What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ’. Paul considered all that he had as rubbish in comparison to knowing Christ and he was willing to give everything up for that. 

In the second parable of the pearl the merchant was looking for the most valuable pearl. When he found it, he sold everything he had to buy it. Many people today are really searching but they are not prepared to surrender their lives to Jesus for fear of letting things go. In our lives we spend an awful lot of time and energy working to buy things – some of things we possess we regard as treasure – do you have any treasure?  Apart from your family what is your most precious things you own.  What our treasure is tells us a lot about ourselves.  In Matthew 6 Jesus says ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’  He also tells us ‘Do not store up for your selves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.’ What we spend our money on and how we spend our time tells us where our heart is.  If we spend all our lives accumulating things/stuff then one day we will be left with nothing.   The Christian faith is about a relationship with God and about a lifetime of loving and following Jesus.  As part of that we receive things that money can’t buy – peace in our hearts, being loved by God – knowing we belong to him, forgiveness of the wrong things in our lives, and assurance of a place in heaven.  Although we can’t write a cheque to become a Christian Jesus does ask that we give him the most precious thing we have – and that is our lives.  Following Jesus is the most important thing you will ever choose to do.  The last story is about catching all sorts of fish in a net – it’s a lot like the story of the wheat and the weeds last week.  It is saying again that when Jesus returns there will be a sorting of people – those who belong to the King and those who do not.   If we belong to Jesus then we have no need to fear. Let us all do all we can do help our faith grow – even if it is small.  And let us all know that if we have chosen to follow Jesus and to give our lives to him then we have the greatest treasure that nobody or nothing can take away – and that is something to fill us with joy.  I want to finish with a quote from a commentary I read while preparing for this – ‘Have patience, exercise faith, keep on praying and keep on working, God’s programme or plan cannot fail.’ Amen.

Rev Anne Wilkins

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Reading for Sunday 2nd July 2023

Matthew 10:  40-42 - Hospitality and Encouragement

“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

Sermon on Matthew 10: 20-42

Well, we’ve arrived in our Gospel readings at the final verses in Matthew 10, a chapter in which Jesus is talking simply to his 12 close followers, as he sends them out to share their message of Good News. He’s talked about them getting a very mixed reception, being arrested, being hated even by family members, that they should shake the dust off their feet and move on when households or towns don’t accept them…….but also that God will give them the right words to speak, the authority to heal sickness and that they are not to be afraid. Also, as we thought about last Sunday, they were individually highly valued by Father God, as his children and would nevder be alone.

And in these last 3 verses, Jesus – having talked about His evangelists’ actions and their opposition, comes finally to the blessing on those who react favourably to the disciples. It’s a very tender passage – Jesus refers to the 12 in v42 as “little ones”; he’s not just talking about physical children. And he talks about them this way, in the context of them – strangers – arriving in a new place and some people showing them practical kindness…what we would call hospitality.

Hospitality is another of those words which our society has distorted in recent years. You regularly hear of “The Hospitality Industry”, which refers to hotels, restaurants, even theme parks and event planning………..but I went back to the English Dictionary definition of hospitality, and do you know what it is? Simply this -  kindness in welcoming strangers or guests. And here in our verses Jesus is saying that such welcoming is welcoming not just the person but God himself. Even in such a small way as to offer a cup of water.

And this attitude, friends, is what Christians have been known for over the centuries – remember that hospitality has the same root as hospital and hospice. And its why the world points the finger when we get it wrong.

Remember, it’s the natural next step in the working out of Jesus words in John ch13. “A new commandment I give you; love one another…By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” If we love one another WITHIN THE FELLOWSHIP, we are just acting as natural children of our God, who is Himself a Trinity of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Love between us as fellow Christians is just the baseline.

We have our Lay Pastoral Assistants and our Parish Visitors, to reach those who need visiting at home……but that’s only a start. While last Sunday morning we were having our Table Talk about who makes us feel valued, Chris Sceeny said something very important “What about those who have no family or friendship group?” It’s why we started – together with the Parish Council – the Community Lounge and Parish Pantry in the Church Centre during the height of Covid ……. And why we’ve kept it going! For a cup of water in Matthew 10 read a nice cup of tea now, in 2023. It’s why we hold a monthly Community Café ……. But we try to do it on the weekend when Dans Café isn’t open. We work WITH the Community.

But there’s a further step in hospitality. How do we react when - uninvited – a stranger or a fresh family turn up in our midst? Or the stranger we bump into in the Post Office? Or the new occupiers of the house up the road? As of September, we can’t rely on the Vicar and Church Administrator to welcome them! We live in an increasingly individualised society, not helped by an often misquoted article in Womans Own in 1987 when a certain politician said “People must look after themselves first…..and then, also, look after our neighbours.” Many only heard the first half of that sentence.

Anyone else like the Father Brown series on TV? I love the one where they find Michael, a homeless man, asleep in the confession box, and house him temporarily in the Rectory, much to the horror of Fathers Browns prim and proper religious housekeeper. The Father quotes the scripture about needing to be hospitable “as some have entertained angels unawares”, only to gradually realise that Michael is indeed one such. Michael drops various hints of his identity “I have sung in the finest choir in existence,” “I was apprenticed to a master carpenter back in the day” but only with the priest do the words register. And having saved the Christmas celebrations, Michael leaves the rectory … and just disappears. How would we have reacted?

Or a true-life example from Rob Parsons, the head of Care for the Family, who as many of you know run all sorts of courses and produce all sorts of Christian resources for families. Before he founded Care for the Family, Rob was a Solicitor, living a normal family life; but something happened which, I believe, prepared him for all that God had for him to do in the future. And again it was at Christmas time……..

“We had only been married for a few years when one night just before Christmas we heard a knock on our door. When I opened it, there was a man standing in the darkness. I had not seen him for a while, but I recognised him. When Dianne and I were children he used to attend Sunday School with us. He had some learning difficulties and had spent almost all his childhood in care, but every week our faithful Sunday School superintendent would drive to the care home and pick him up. To us as youngsters he had seemed an unusual boy, but he became a weekly presence in our young lives. His name was Ronnie.

“When Ronnie left care aged 16, he didn’t do so well and as he stood there on our doorstep, now in his late 20s, he was practically sleeping rough. In his right hand he held a black plastic bag containing all his worldly possessions, and in his left hand a frozen chicken. I said ‘It’s Ronnie, isn’t it?’ He nodded. ‘Where did you get your chicken, Ronnie?’ He told me that somebody had given it to him for Christmas, but he had no way of cooking it. I invited him in and promised that we would cook his chicken for him. When I brought him into our living room, Dianne quickly said, ‘Ronnie, why don’t you stay with us tonight?’ He never left.”

Which brings us neatly to our second reading today ….. and Barnabas. Prior to this episode, he only appears once, a single sentence at the end of Acts Ch4 “ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus who the apostles called Barnabas, sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles feet.” But just that sentence, taken in context, speaks volumes. Firstly, it comes at the end of the well-known passage about the early Christians being united in heart and mind, and sharing all they had. From time to time, when some were in need, others sold land or houses, and gave the proceeds to the apostles to distribute among the poor. Barnabas was fully clued into the church’s vision and values….and when the time came, he literally put his money where his mouth was. And note it wasn’t to big HIMSELF up – he gave the money to the apostles to distribute as THEY sought fit. He was a good church member, just doing his bit. But secondly, this clearly wasn’t just a one-off gesture; it spoke to his whole heart attitude. It was THE APOSTLES themselves ie the church leaders, who called him Son of Encouragement; he was KNOWN for his words and acts of encouragement.

So flip forward to our reading from Acts 9. Barnabas is still in the Jerusalem church, encouraging people, and Paul/Saul arrives, fresh from his Damascus Road experience and having avoided a plot by the Jews there to kill him. All the Christians know about this man is that he’s the No1 persecutor of Christians …….. who now suddenly claims to have had a miraculous conversion experience. In our context, it would be as if well-known militant atheists such as Richard Dawkins or Ricky Gervais suddenly turned up to a morning service. Wouldn’t your instinct be one of suspicion? Think about it, there are countries in our world today – like China and North Korea – where Government agents try to get accepted as Christians just so they can help the state police raid and arrest believers. What Saul needed was a welcomer – a show-er of hospitality to him – and that was just what he got in Barnabas; and he would have got a heap of encouragement as well.

Barnabas acted out exactly what Jesus described in our Matthew reading – he welcomed a stranger, of dubious history, as a child of God and gave him the equivalent of a cup of water by vouching for him in front of the apostles. Without that, where would the subsequent missionary activity of the early church have come from? Certainly not the way or speed it did thanks to Paul.

Simple acts of service, done for their own sake, and without the need for recognition. All Father Brown, Rob Parsons and Barnabas were doing was acting from hearts changed by the Holy Spirit. We were thinking last Sunday morning about Gods great love for us and the value he puts on us. This week we’re thinking about the other side of the coin- our response to other people because of Gods great love for us.

And here’s the thing. When that same apostle, Paul, was writing his letter to the Christians in Rome, he listed in ch12 the God-given gifts members of the church would have. So of course he lists being prophets, teachers and leaders. But in the same breath he says this - “ if his gift is serving, let him serve, if it is encouraging, let him encourage, if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously”

 We will need all these gifts in abundance as we look to serve God in this place, and in this parish, in the months to come.

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Reading for Sunday 24th June 2023

Matthew 10:  24-39 - Do not be afraid

“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn  a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household."

 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."

Sermon on Matthew 10:  24-39 

Are you quivering in your boots after hearing that reading from the gospel? If not, I think you should be! But not as much as I’ve been quivering, trying to preach on it. This is Jesus challenging us, telling us about the challenges of following him whilst at the same time telling us about God’s love for all he has created.

Putting it in context, Jesus is preparing his disciples before sending them out, so that they can do everything that he is doing: preaching, healing, casting out demons, preparing the way for the coming of the Kingdom of God. Basically he’s warning them this is going to cause bother. It’s going to ruin their reputations, it’s going to make them fall out with their families, and if you read all of Matthew Ch. 10, you’ll find that Jesus had more to say which is a whole lot worse! 

But stop for a moment and think about which command is repeated most often in the bible? Not a Ten Commandment but a command. Any ideas? It’s the command we heard in v26, 28 and 31 of Matthew 10: ‘don’t be afraid.’ We can see easily enough why Jesus is saying this to his disciples, not to be afraid. After all, he’s warned them that they are going to be at risk from the authorities; that they will suffer physical and emotional violence and now that people will start calling them the sort of names that they are calling Jesus. Plenty to be afraid of but yet he says ‘Don’t be afraid’. 

They shouldn’t be afraid because what they are going out to spread is the truth, even though people can’t see it. Jesus is telling them that the time will come when everything will be uncovered and when their truth, their loyalty and faith will be recognised by all. 

But even though they shouldn’t be afraid, they must be fearful, on their guard.  There were obvious enemies who would harm them physically, but other enemies would harm their souls if allowed to. Call it sin, call it the devil, there are powers of darkness which try to overcome the people of light.

And it’s here that Jesus gives one of his most striking promises about the detailed love and care of God: God sees the little sparrow fall; he knows every hair on our heads. We do not have to fear God: indeed we can trust him with our loves, our souls, our bodies, our everything. Nothing is too great for him to; nothing is too small. God knows and cares about the details of our lives even as we face temptations and dangers and he is stronger than the strongest opponent we will ever meet. 

And some of that opposition might come close to home. In verse 34 Jesus warns: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.’ Surely these are not the words that should come from the Prince of Peace. Jesus did come to bring peace between God and believers and peace among humankind. But the inevitable result of Christ’s coming meant conflict between those of light and dark, between those of Christ and not of Christ. Jesus is not saying that everyone who follows him has to cut themselves off from families and friends; he is saying that allegiance to him has to come first. It’s not easy: look at Peter, Judas, the disciples who ran away. But the challenge remains for us all. Jesus came to begin and establish a new way of being God’s people: look at the Sermon on the Mount again. Jesus’ challenge to the disciples, to those in that society and to us now had to be sharp. We have to live for Jesus: whatever we do for Jesus, we do for God. We have to take his message to the world in which we live.

In his commentary on this passage Tom Wright, former Bishop of Durham, writes ‘If Jesus’ people today could learn this simple but profound lesson the church might once again be able to go out with a message to challenge people’s hearts.’ If we obey Jesus’ command to not be afraid, what can we do next? We can start be asking ourselves about ourselves. If God knows us intimately, how much do we really think about his purpose for each one of us? Are we willing to go out and spread the message? What is it that each one of us is afraid of? Are we afraid to tell people that we believe in Jesus Christ, his teachings and that we try and follow him, even though we often get it wrong? Do we tell people about the joy, the comfort, the strength that our faith gives us? Do we wonder why people don’t come to church anymore when we haven’t invited anyone to come with us because we’re afraid of being rebuffed? Do we tell people that we are praying for them? Do we not want to talk to people about Jesus because we ‘re afraid that we don’t have all the answers (of course we don’t!)? Do we not challenge people when they are being unfair, judgemental, prejudiced and in our silence condone those judgements. We are living through hard times for many: we need to be spreading the love, the promises and the hope that God offers to all. We have to take the stance of looking at ourselves, other people, situations, through Jesus’ eyes, through his teaching, through his life. In Roman 6, Paul explains that God’s love and forgiveness are freely offered: it does not have to be earned and it never can be. But accepting it means stepping out of one life into another and the only way to do that is stepping into the life of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.  Jesus tells his disciples, tells us, that’s it’s not going to be easy, but we are not alone and therefore we should not be afraid. 

 Jesus gives us a lot to think about! The challenge might make us quiver in our boots, but we must walk in those boots into the world that so badly needs the good news and love of our Lord, Jesus Christ, remembering that God knows each one of us and will be with us to the end of our journeys. We must not be afraid.

Jane Barry (Reader)

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Reading for Sunday 18th June 2023

Romans 5: vs 1 - 5  - Peace and Hope

 1. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2. through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
3. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4. perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Sermon on Romans 5: 1 - 5

At the end of May 2010 I was reaching the end of my time at Christ Church and came upon this reading in Romans 5, which is the one set for this morning. It always comes a couple of weeks after both Pentecost and Trinity Sunday and continues that theme. Over the years I have met the challenge many times of both encouraging a greater understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit and at the same time unravelling the mental gymnastics of understanding how 3 can be one and one can be 3 in the Trinity. In my preparation time I suddenly had a real burst of understanding that this conundrum about the Trinity is really easy. It seemed to me that actually we have been making it all far too complicated, and that God must be tearing his hair out over the time given to it. As I read these 5 verses from Paul to the Romans I definitely had one of those ‘oh I see’ moments. So for what it’s worth, and you will be the judge of whether I succeed or not, I’m going to share that with you and then move on to another part of the passage. The reading is set out on the screen, so that you can check the verses as I refer to them.

So after that build up, my explanation about the unity between  God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is simply this. That each person of the Trinity is God’s perfect way of expressing His love for us. Let me elaborate. Our chief need as humans V1 is to have peace with God, peace having been justified by faith through  Jesus. That’s what  verse 1 says (read it). So Peace with the God who loves and created us. Peace with a father who could have walked away from a rebellious human race and washed his hands of us, but who didn’t because His love overcame His sense of justice. And that powerful love enables Him to go on giving you and me, giving everyone the opportunity to say sorry and begin to love Him in return. That is the role of his father heart and it is exactly what we need. Moving on to V2 it is only because of God’s Love as shown in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that we can have forgiveness and  see how to share that love with others. God’s love in Jesus shows us just that.  The Son lived out God’s love,  not least in His willingness to die on the cross. Could there be a greater statement of love than that ? Even those who reviled Jesus and planned to kill him were not excluded from the invitation to find peace with God. 

So love from the Father and love through the Son.

Thirdly from V.5  God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Scripture makes us aware of the potential for the power of the Spirit in our lives, which is vital, but this aspect of God pouring His love into us has got to be the number one priority, because without love, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians  chap 13, we are nothing but noisy cymbals or clanging gongs. This statement of God’s love reaching us through the Spirit is essential.

There you have the Trinity. It’s all about love, nothing less than our creator choosing to make His love as clear as He can so that we can choose to respond. So we praise God for his created and forgiving love. We praise God for the sacrificial love of Jesus. We praise God for the Spirit who wants to fill us with God’s love.

It seems to me that simply being here this morning is an expression of God’s love for us and importantly, our love for Him and each other. That love for God and each other can fill us with hope both for the immediate and long term future.

Song from Carousel  'When you walk through a storm'.

That could almost be a Christian song. Do we face a storm? Do we have hope in our hearts ? Do we walk alone ?    Answers?

Yes we do face a type of storm. V5  tells us that hope in God does not disappoint and no, we do not walk alone because God’s love is secure.

V2 We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. All very re-assuring stuff.

This is the outcome of our faith as Christians. Hope, peace with God, freedom, and most importantly, love. All this comes from what Jesus achieved on the cross.

 You may remember that Paul begins many of his letters to the churches with the words ‘Grace and peace to you’.  These are both good things, Grace and Peace. I am going to take them in reverse order.

Surely no-one would dispute that Peace is a good thing. At home, in our families, in industry, in government and between nations, but peace with God is the starting point. That is the best place to be. Unfortunately it is all too obvious that the world ignores and avoids this simple but profound truth. Paul, in his opening comments to his friends in Galatia, Ephesus, Phillipi, Colosse and the others, is reminding them and us that Peace should be the first blessing of being saved. Peace is the Shalom of God’s kingdom which is a kingdom completely at peace overseen by Jesus the Prince of Peace. On this earth He frequently arrived amongst his disciples with “Peace be with you”. Towards the end of his life he said “ My peace I give you, my peace I leave with you”. Wouldn’t we all like a lot more of that ?

As Christians, as well as having access to Peace, V2 we are standing in a state of Grace. V2 Through Jesus we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. To stand in the presence of our Holy and awesome God is not somewhere we deserve to be. It is only by the grace of God that we will be able to stand before God at the judgement. Here and now, we are distracted by the physical reality of our everyday lives, but we can nevertheless anticipate that future point of being in the presence of God for ever, of standing in His grace. The wonderful truth is that even now, as Christians we stand in that grace. It is how God sees us because we are forgiven because of Jesus.

Just a final comment about V’s 3 and 4, and our ability to rejoice. Not only can we know God’s peace and grace, we can also rejoice in aspects of human life which are not on the surface easy to cope with. God’s love and forgiveness doesn’t exclude us from the normal things of life. Paul makes a link in these two verses between suffering and hope, by way of perseverance and character . It’s a powerful and testing thought that although suffering on its own is nothing to rejoice about, when harnessed to God’s promises it can take on a new dimension because the suffering is always temporary and can include those changes in us which promote hope. And V5 hope does not disappoint, why? Because V5 God has poured out his love by the Holy Spirit.

To finish, the Holy Spirit is for all believers. God’s love to us through His Spirit is an integral gift to everyone who is justified by faith through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Trinity is a simple  representation of God’s love for each and everyone of us, for which we praise God.

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 4th June 2023

 Matthew 28: 16 - end - The Great Commission

 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Sermon on Matthew 28: 16 - end

As a lot of you know, I have been studying at Sarum College, in Salisbury, for the last 22 months, for a Certificate in Theology, Mission and Ministry, to be able to be licenced as a reader in the Church of England. On Friday, I submitted my final assignment. Over these last 22 months, I have produced 14 assignments, a video and a podcast!

I thought that that was going to be it for assignments. However, last week I was talking to Derby Diocese’s Director of Studies. I had sent her the titles of all the modules and after reviewing them, she said that I needed to do a module in Lay Pastoral Skills, which starts in September and runs to December. This has the advantage of giving me the opportunity to getting to know the cohort of readers in training with whom I will be licenced. This is going to happen on April 20th next year, which is just after the obligatory six month wait when a new reader moves to a new parish before they are licenced. This is so they can get to know the parish and the PCC are happy with asking the reader to minister in the parish. It also gives time for the reader and the incumbent to get to know each other, but as Anne and I are married, I don’t think that that will be a problem!

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday.  My penultimate module for Sarum was on church history and doctrine. For one of the two assignments at the end of the module, we had a choice of subjects. They were: 

1. Did Nicaea and Chalcedon resolve the question, 'who is Jesus Christ?', for the church of yesterday, today and tomorrow?

2. The doctrine of the Trinity 'has no practical relevance at all' (Immanuel Kant). Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

3. Is there one right way to speak about salvation? Explain your answer with reference to a range of theories of the atonement.

4. 'If Christianity is not altogether thoroughgoing eschatology, there remains in it no relationship whatever with Christ.' (Karl Barth) How does the doctrine of eschatology contribute to Christian faith and practice today?

After reading them, the only one which excited me was entitled ‘The doctrine of the Trinity 'has no practical relevance at all' (Immanuel Kant). Do you agree or disagree with this statement?’ At my next zoom tutorial group, it transpired that I was the only one to pick the assignment about the Trinity.   This sermon is based on my assignment.

The doctrine of the Trinity aims to describe the relationship betweeen God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and how God, in their single united three faceted form, relates to and can be understood by humans.

In the New Testament, there are references to God the: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but no description of them being called ‘The Trinity’. Tertullian (150 – 240) was the first to use this word, coming from the Latin trinitas or trinus, meaning triad or three-fold. I believe that the triune God can be seen as active in the Gospels as follows: At Jesus’ baptism, where the Holy Spirit is represented as a dove and the Father’s voice from heaven saying ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:16-17). At the Transfiguration, with the Holy Spirit as being the bright cloud and the voice of the Father saying ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ (Matthew 17:5). At part of Jesus’ upper room discourse where he talks about the Holy Spirit imparting Godly information and the intimate mutuality he has with his heavenly Father (John 16:13-15) and at The Great Commission, where the disciples are sent out to baptise ‘in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ (Matthew 28:19). It could also be suggested that John 11:41-43, the death of Lazarus, is an example of Father, Son and Spirit all working together, as Jesus prays to the Father and the Spirit raises Lazarus back to life.

In the Epistles, the Trinity can be infered in: Paul signing off his second letter to the Corinthians ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.’ (2 Corinthians 13:13) and in Peter’s first letter, which starts with ‘who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:2). This shows some examples of triune description in the New Testament.

Many have tried to adequately describe the Trinity. It’s bee said that ‘God exceeds our designations, even our wildest imaginings’. The first major attempt was the Council of Nicea in 325, where the discussion ranged around: The relationship between the Father and the Son, where they equal? Subordinate? Was Jesus man, God, was he selected by the Father to be the Son on earth? However, in my opinion, it can be seen that the Holy Spirit almost feels like a forgotten addendum because the creed finishes with the words ‘And in the Holy Spirit.’  The Council of Nicea was followed by the First Council of Constantinople in 381, where the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son was defined, but stopped short of calling the Holy Spirit ‘God’. However, this definition raised the importance of the Holy Spirit to that equal to the Father and the Son.

Discussions also revolved around the origins of the Holy Spirit. Was it from the Father, or the Father and the Son? The Greek or Eastern idea of defining the Trinity was that the Father begat the Son and the Father breathes the Spirit, so that God the Father is the source of the two other parts of the Godhead. However, the Latin or Western idea was to say that the Spirit comes from both the Father and the Son. This slight amendment to the creed produced in Constantinople, was by Augustine of Hippo and caused a debate known as ‘The Filioque Controversy’, which ended up leading to the split of the Catholic West from the Orthodox East in approximately 1054.

The writer wonders if, in John 20:22, where Jesus breathes on the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit, showing the Spirit being sent from the Son, along with Jesus baptism already mentioned above, where the Spirit descended from heaven, so sent by the Father, that this is good enough evidence to illustrate that the Spirit can emanate from both Father and Son. One is also mindful of the passage in John (14:16) where Jesus says that he will ask the Father to send the Spirit, and also John 15:26 (and John 16:7), where Jesus will send the Spirit from the Father, both of which seem to back up the theory of the Spirit being sent from the Father and the Son.

It feels that all this discussion is somewhat technical and cold. There is one theme which I believe is missing, or if not missing, then somewhat hidden from sight, which is that of love, the love that the Father has for the Son. This is evident in John 16:14-15 where Jesus says ‘[The Spirit] will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine.’ In these two verses, it shows the love and mutuality that the three parts of the Godhead have for each other. This seems to be lost in the filioque (meaning ‘and from the Son’) controversy and it is all the poorer for this. The love shown by the Trinity is strongly evident though in the writings of Julian of Norwich. She was an English mystic and anchoress, born around 1342. She had revelations, or ‘showings’ of God, of which this is part of her fourth one:

For the Trinity is God, God is the Trinity; 

the Trinity is our Maker, 

the Trinity is our Keeper, 

the Trinity is our everlasting Lover, 

the Trinity is our endless Joy and Bliss,  by our Lord Jesus Christ. 

(And this was shown in the first revelation and in all of them, for when Jesus appears, the blessed Trinity is understood, as I see it.). 

Julian of Norwich’s revelation and love for the Trinity is not coldly philosophical or something which needs to be wrestled with, but one which ‘is endless bliss [...and...]the Trinity is God and is indivisible’. I would like to suggest that this is a complete and most welcome contrast to the earlier discussion about Filioque and is a breath of fresh air to the somewhat lengthy and dry debates.

Pictorially, the painting by Rublev called Trinity is a fine example of a representation of the relationship between Father, Son and Spirit. It was painted in the early 15th century. In the West, beliefs are formulated mostly by discussion and thought, so this suggests head knowledge alone. The heart needs to be brought into equation, which leads to a deeper understanding of God. I believe that this is where art is most useful. Rublev’s pictorial icon of the Trinity was initially about the three angels appearing to Abraham at the oaks at Mamre (Genesis 18). However, it has been developed to be picture of the Trinity. They are, from right to left, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For me, there are two important features shown in this picture. The first one is the relationship between all three persons, how they are looking at and positioned with each other. It feels as if there is a strong bond of love, acceptance and trust. There is a gentleness generated between and among them. The second important feature is this; in the centre of the painting below the chalice is a square, on which art historians have found traces of glue. It is believed that this might have been where a mirror could have been attached, so that the observer of the picture becomes the fourth person in the icon, drawn into the dynamic dance of love and relationship of the trinity.

For this assignment, I had to agree or disagree with the statement by Immanuel Kant ‘The doctrine of the Trinity 'has no practical relevance at all'’ 

I disagree with Kant’s statement. I believe that the doctrine of the Trinity has a supremely practical relevance for today’s world with regards to the experience and practice in the context of: discipleship, mission and ministry. In today’s postmodern world, the metanarrative is one of ‘difference, plurality, fragmentation and complexity’, where one is trying to make sense of life from one’s own perspective, which, is most likely to fail. However, God made humans with an inbuilt desire to seek and find him (Jeremiah 29:13). When God is found, all three members of the Trinity are active, working in harmony with each other inviting the person seeking God and a fuller experience of life into the dance of the Trinity. A more modern definition of this Trinitarian dance can be found in the fictional book The Shack, where Mack, having suffered the abduction of his daughter, receives a note from God inviting him back to the place where she was found and where he subsequently meets with the three different but united parts of God. This is one alternative approach learning about God’s love and presence, which could be appropriate to those who view church with apprehension and who might not want to read the gospels in the New Testament.

Richard Rohr paints a picture of the Trinity, not as a God who is ‘an old man with a white beard on a throne’ but as a triune God being the ‘Ultimate Participant – in everything – both the good and the painful.’ It is, I believe, this God whom the world (and also the church) are seeking and once found, have total practical relevance to: discipleship, mission and ministry because we are all invited into the loving divine dance as part of the ‘divine and loving actions of the three.’ Yes, we are all invited into this dance, this loving divine relationship, on the one hand believing this invitation and enjoinment is available and possible, but on the other hand, knowing that there is also an air of mystery, as God is never fully understandable, but, as the dance with the divine God matures, even though God is never totally understood individual and corporate faith and trust in God will grow, so that areas of: discipleship, mission and ministry will subsequently flourish.

By being part of this divine dance, I suggest that this will provide a springboard to be able to overcome the biggest obstacles faced by humanity today, which are ones of disconnection and polarisation. We are disconnected from God, our selves, others and the physical world, but also, the writer believes, we are often polarised into disagreeing factions with those around us. One only has to look at Trump’s American followers, the war in Ukraine, the results of Brexit in this country and even the recent discussions within the Church of England about Living in Love and Faith. The Trinity is not like this. If God was a single entity, God would be lonely, if God was just two, then there would be an attraction towards one or the other, but because there are three, this leads to something which is ‘inherently moving, dynamic and generative’.

There have been attempts to describe the Trinity, such as: three leaved clover, three legged stool, ice, water and steam, St Patrick’s shield etc, but the most descriptive one the writer found, is that of an atom, which is the building block of all matter. The proton, neutron and electron are three elements all bound together by their attraction and relationship to each other. There is space and energy between them. This mirrors the Trinity, where the Father and Son are bound together by the love of the Holy Spirit, where even though they are one God, there is space and energy within and between them and from here emanates ‘all the power for infinite renewal.’ God invites us into this divine energy and flow, which is similar to the picture from Ezekiel 47:1-12, of a river flowing from God’s temple, showing God’s love and life giving presence affecting everything it flows through. How deep do we let ourselves be drawn into and carried away by the flow of his love? This is letting go of the control of our lives and entering into the freedom only available from God through the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17).

The apostle John writes that ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8), God has to love, because that is his nature; he can’t not love. The Father showed his love to the world by sending his son Jesus to atone for our wrongdoings (1 John 4:9-10), so those who know this love of God, which is in them through the power and will of the Holy Spirit, are able to show this love to others and also talk about God (1 John 4:13-14) which energises and forms a basis of our: discipleship, mission and ministry. These are all the three parts of the triune God at work showing their interconnectedness which is then mirrored in those who believe in God, because by having the same Spirit within each one of us, God has broken down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14) and ushered in a new one-ness between all who believe (Ephesians 4:4-6). This has the effect of removing the disconnection from God and others and also the negative polarisation between people. There will still be differing views, which is healthy, but I believe that there will not be the animosity previously present, as the Holy Spirit part of the Trinity will be present in each person, bringing: liberation, love, peace and reconciliation to all.

To sum up, some poetry from Meister Eckhart, the fourteenth-century German Dominican mystic: 

Do you want to know  what goes on in the core of the Trinity? 

I will tell you. 

In the core of the Trinity the Father laughs and gives birth to the Son. 

The Son laughs back at the Father and gives birth to the Spirit. 

The whole Trinity laughs and gives birth to us. 

So going back to the reading from Matthew, Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

 Therefore go and make disciples says Jesus. So brothers and sisters, lets go and make disciples and in doing so we take the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit with us to extend the Kindom and enable God’s love and desire for all of his creation to be realised, which is to have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).     Amen.

Chris Wilkins (Lay leader)

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Reading for Sunday 14th May 2023

John 14: 15 - 21  -  Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

 “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Sermon on John 14: 15 - 21

INTRODUCTION: Famous last words.

Spike Milligan: I told you I was ill. Epitaph on gravestone.

Stockland Church, East Devon Epitaph –‘Remember friend as you pass by, as you are now so once was I. As I am now you soon will be. Prepare for death and follow me’. Underneath someone wrote in chalk ‘To follow you I’m not content, until I know which way you went!’

David Watson (through whose ministry I came to faith in 1971 at Sussex University) said to his wife Anne shortly before dying ‘ It’s time now to go home’

But what were Jesus’ last words before His death? John 14-16 give us Jesus’ parting words to His disciples, after the Last Supper, which included the footwashing mentioned in John 13.  Of course, the most famous last words are on the cross just before He died… father forgive, today you will be with me in Paradise, I thirst, My God, my God why? It is finished….

In the first part of this chapter, Jesus comforts and reassures his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them and that there are many rooms in His father’s house. He also answers Thomas’ question about knowing the way to this place. Jesus Himself is the True and Living Way to know God as Father.  He then also responds to Philip’s question about seeing the Father. Jesus and the Father are One. Whoever sees Jesus also sees the Father. And Jesus also gives amazing promises of ‘greater works’ (probably in extent and location rather than quality) and  promises answers to prayer in His name.

But now, Jesus moves on to talk about three related subjects – Love, Obedience and the Spirit.

DISCIPLES IN NEED OF ENCOURAGEMENT.

These disciples of Jesus are about to lose their leader, their Shepherd, their teacher, their friend and companion. He is about to surrender His life on their behalf and to show His love for them to the end by dying in their place.

‘He came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many’ Mark 10v45. The first part of this verse was referred to several times during the King’s Coronation, but it originally refers to the sacrificial death of Christ to free us from sin and to buy us back from our slavery to the Evil One.

LOVE AND OBEDIENCE.

In our passage today, there are two bookends in v.15 and 21 which both refer to love and obedience. Jesus’ message is not just about love, but he qualifies this love by saying that it will lead to obedience and keeping his commands, which are many in John’s gospel….  There is an echo here of the Torah in Deuteronomy 6v4-9 which gives the famous Shema ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength…’ and the New Commandment of John 13v34,35. Love one another … as I have loved you (that is sacrificially).

Impossible, none of us can love like Jesus by our own strength. Our love will always fall short and so that is why Jesus goes on to ask the Father for the Spirit of Truth, another Counsellor, Friend, Advocate, Paraclete, to be with and in them. V.16,17

Another Counsellor etc. uses the word alia = another of the same kind (not hetero – different kind). So, just as Jesus loves, cares, guides, guards, provides, teaches and comes alongside his disciples, so the Spirit of Truth will do the same.  And He does the same for us 21st Century disciples also.

Illustration: Two week’s ago we were on grandparent duty in London. Our daughter was going to a Clergy Wives’ retreat at Swanwick for two nights and three days. She left us very detailed instructions of what to do when each hour of the day for our three grandchildren ages 2,4,6 years. We kept to these commands closely and our three granddaughters felt secure. Their Dad helped before and after his work at the Cornhill Trust at Elephant and Castle. Because we love our daughter, we kept her ‘commands’ and we became ‘ another of the same kind alongside’ her children.

We NEED the Spirit to help us to keep God’s commandments and to love Jesus.

The Spirit has both a formal role as our legal counsel, defending us from the false accusations of the enemy but also an informal role as encourager, guide and to reassure us.  In I John 2v1 John also refers to Jesus as our Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous and He is the Propitiation for our sins (Comfortable Words in BCP HC).

It is the Spirit who inspires our affectionate love for Jesus, often expressed in songs of worship. Nigerian chorus ‘How excellent is your name O Lord….’ How beautiful, wonderful, powerful, faithful…. The more we worship and adore Jesus, the more we want to do what He tells us to do and are given the inner strength by the Holy Spirit to do so.  The Holy Spirit is WITH us as we go into situations where we need a companion and supporter but He is also IN us to give us inner strength and resolve.

At his coronation, the King was anointed with special oil flown in from Jerusalem, but we can all experience the same anointing as God’s royal priesthood and know the same inner strength, resilience and joy as we serve others and face trials and difficulties and share the good news.

However, the ‘world’ cannot know, understand, see or experience the Spirit in this way. God loves the world and gave His Son so that all who believe will not perish (have a wasted life) but have eternal life. But the ‘World’ in this context is the system of this fading world in rebellion against God.  John in his letter refers to the world this way:

‘Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives for ever.’ 1 John 2v15-17

PROMISES. NEVER WALK ALONE.

But Jesus promises that the Spirit will live with them and be IN them. He then goes on to promise his ongoing presence v.18 ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.’  And later, in response to the other Judas’ question, Jesus promises that ‘My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’ Again the promise is conditional on loving and obeying Jesus, which we can only do as the Spirit enables us.

‘You’ll never walk alone….’ Famous Liverpool anthem. Sir Tom Moore No.1 hit with Michael Ball. However, only with Jesus by your side will you truly never walk alone!

Twice in this chapter, Jesus refers to HOME. Coming home to the Father’s house, where there are many rooms prepared, a place of eternal security and belonging. Never alone.

What do orphans need? Love, care, guarding, provision, guiding… and much more as any good parent (or grandparent) knows. Jesus promises all that by the presence of His Spirit within and alongside us and with His people also who become Jesus to us.

Later in this chapter, Jesus promises a few more things which the Holy Spirit will give to his disciples:

     V26. The Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything that I have said to you.

    V27 ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’

In a troubled and confused world, Jesus’s gift of the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor just like Him, will be there to give us the right words and the inner peace and strength to face whatever fearful and dangerous situations we may meet.

CONCLUSION

How can we face the future with hope and assurance that God is with us? 

Love Jesus, know His inner strength and presence by the blessed Holy Spirit. Rely upon His words to guide and support you, so that you can know that you will never walk alone.

And if you have not yet experienced that anointing of the Spirit or need perhaps a refill, then after the service there is an opportunity to receive pray and anointing yourselves for your own life of Royal Service for the King of Kings!

Prayer/Song:

‘I serve a risen Saviour, He’s in the world today

I know that He is living whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,

And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and He talks with me along life’s narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart.

 

Rev Simon Holloway

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Reading for Sunday 16th April 2023

John 10: 1 - 10  - The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Sermon on John 10: 1 - 10

I wonder what having life to the full means to you? I guess it means different things to different people. Being happy, healthy, having enough money to pay the bills and also go out socially, having good friends or a lovely family. One person who has really inspired me is the late Dame Deborah James who died from bowel cancer last June. Facing death and all the treatment she had to keep the cancer at bay, she had a remarkable attitude to life. No wonder she was called Bowel babe with her dancing and dressing up.  Her situation caused her to see life and what was important in a new way “I was on autopilot – my career took precedence, my relationships came last,” she said. “Never did I realise more that the life I had been taking for granted would be the one thing I now desired above all else.”  Such inspiring and wise words. It sometimes takes crisis times in our lives to wake us up to what is important in life. This resonates with Jesus’ words ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’. As followers of Jesus what does this mean for us as sometimes life can be a real struggle?  The answer lies in Jesus talking about sheep and the shepherd.

In the reading from John 10 there are 3 images – the gate, the shepherd and the sheep. The picture is of a sheepfold – a place where the sheep are kept together and kept safe.  In this part of the world there was no made sheep pens – like on One man and his dog – no instead the shepherd will make a sheep pen from rocks leaving an entrance for the sheep to get in.  At night – time he would get the sheep inside and then he would lay in the entrance.  So when Jesus is talking about the gate he is talking about this.  He says ‘I am the gate for the sheep.  I am the gate (he says it twice) whoever enters through me will be saved.’ It was essential that the shepherd lay in the entrance to the sheep fold as he needed to protect his sheep.  At night if a wolf or other animal came along it would be the shepherd who came face to face with that animal first – he was putting his life in danger for the sheep.  This is what Jesus means in verse 11 ‘the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’ The gate is the only way that you can get into the sheepfold.  What Jesus is saying is that you can only know salvation, life to the full and eternal life through him – John 14: 6 ‘I am the way, and the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me.’ It’s about knowing that we are safe with Jesus the Good Shepherd – He will protect us, give us security by His presence with us – because He has laid down His life for us on the cross. It is that relationship with Him that will get us through the tough times and storms of life. Jesus mentions the thief who climbs in and who comes to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus was talking about the religious leaders, but for us today there are many thieves who would want to do us harm and take us away from Jesus. What things in your life do harm to your relationship with Jesus – what thieves prowl around? 

As well as being the gate Jesus is the good shepherd – in fact the word good means beautiful or excellent – he is the best shepherd ever.  The shepherd’s job is to do all he can to care for the sheep.  Ten years ago we had terrible snow and all the sheep were caught in drifts that were 3- 4 metres high – that’s 12 feet in old money.  The shepherd did everything he could to save them – his dog found 80 of the buried sheep.  It was in March lambing time and many of the lambs were found dead.  That man would not give up though to rescue and save them.  That is a picture of the good shepherd – he loves and cares deeply for you.  Do we really know that deep in our hearts – he died for you.  One thing that the shepherd does is shout and call.  He tells them where to go, he calls them so that they can be rounded up, he knows each of them by name and leads them.  A friend of mine was a shepherd at Lee Abbey in Devon and he looked after his flock – they were Jacob sheep with huge horns.  To me they all looked the same but he knew each one by name and what their temperament was like.  He knows your name and what you are like.  Like in the Narnia stories the 4 children each have their name and their character that Aslan (who is Jesus) calls them.  Lucy the Valient, Peter the Magnificent, Edmund the just, Susan the gentle.  What does the good shepherd call you?  Jesus talks about other voices that are not his and says that these are from strangers who the sheep run away from.  I wonder what voices shout at us – or whisper maybe – the voice of friends, the media, family, neighbours, advertising, politicians – all trying to tell us what to do. All trying to influence our decisions and the way we live our lives.  Our inner voice also can be very loud or voices from the past – words that have been said to us what don’t go away.

 We need to learn to know the voice of the good shepherd which will be different from that of friends, politicians and of our inner self.  We hear that voice through prayer, we also hear it through the Bible.  We need to know our Bibles by reading them every day.  So finally the sheep who are us – I love sheep – they are cute and woolly – but they also like to do things their way.  1 Peter 2: 25 ‘For you were like sheep gone astray’ and in Isaiah 53: 6 ‘We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.’  Sheep get lost easily and get detached from the rest of the flock – they wander off looking for better food or they get spooked and scared or they are just nosey.  But there is no such thing as a solitary sheep – if a sheep is on its own its probably lost.  Same with Christians really – no such thing as a solitary Christian – they have probably lost their way or they soon will.  To stay safe a sheep needs to listen and stay close to the shepherd.  When a sheep does things his way then they are in danger.  When we make decisions either as individuals or as a church based on what we want then we are in danger.  If we don’t keep listening to the voice of the shepherd we will get lost.  We need to keep asking ‘what would Jesus want’ what would he say about this – what does his word say.  We need to remember that Jesus wants the best for us – he wants us to have life and have it to the full.  Jesus is not mean but generous – he wants to bless us, to feed us, to protect us, for us to enjoy life fully and for others to join that flock, so that they may enjoy too. Having life to the full is not about what we own, or what is happening in our lives, but it is knowing that we are in the sheepfold, safe with the best shepherd ever, that he will bring us to good pasture, that He will be there for us always – today, tomorrow and always. Amen.   

Rev Anne Wilkins

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Reading for Sunday 16th April 2023

John 20:19 - 31  - Jesus Appears to His Disciples

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name

Sermon on John 20:19 - 31

It’s Sunday April 16th, 33 A.D. early in the evening at a location somewhere in Jerusalem. The 11 disciples, not including Thomas,   have been there in this upper room all day,  having locked themselves in. It is now nearly 12 hours since Mary came back with the news that she had seen Jesus alive, added to which both Peter and John were able to confirm that the tomb in which Jesus had been laid was empty. So imagine what kind of 12 hours it had been for them. Lots of ………..Discussion……Debate……Silence…….Expressions of fear and confusion…….Disappointment………Speculation…..Argument even.

Q.What were they to believe ?  Could the concept let alone the fact of a resurrection actually be true? They may even have questioned as to whether  Mary, Peter and John were telling the truth anyway? Confusion reigned, and if you put yourself in that situation it’s not difficult to see why. And maybe even for some folk today a reaction to this story might be challenging, with some dismissing it as just a story, others not sure and doubting, and yet others accepting it as fact and the foundation of our faith. Maybe there are even some here who have yet to be convinced like some of the disciples.

Can you ever recall  having heard some news about someone you knew well and was highly respected and yet has apparently done something utterly appalling? “You must be joking, it can’t be true” you might say. And because of this person’s reputation, you may not actually believe it until you hear it from another witness. In fact, that’s exactly what the disciples were going through. Jesus would have understood their dilemma.

Consequently, for the disciples, everything was about to change. V19 Jesus appeared to them, despite the locked door. After pronouncing Peace, he showed them his hands and side. They were, not  surprisingly, totally convinced and overjoyed. This was great, except for one thing. Thomas had not been there! When he eventually turned up they were full of it. “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas would have none of it, and laid down his conditions for him to be able to  believe. Unless I also see and touch (he added) what you saw, I will not believe. This would have been a huge disappointment to the disciples. They wanted Thomas to share in their joy. I have no doubt that they didn’t get much sleep after Jesus left the evening before and wanted him to share in the joy.

I wonder why he didn’t?  It is understandable that Thomas might have felt a bit left out because Jesus appeared when he wasn’t around and maybe his reaction is not so much disbelief as a bit of a tantrum ?  He was left out and despite the testimony of 11 of his really good friends who he had lived close to, for 3 years, he wanted to see for himself.

I suggest that we can see a human trait here can’t we ? A tendency to be a bit awkward about something if you feel that you might have been slighted or left out.

A simple illustration might be that from your personal contacts, all except you, get a wedding invitation. Yours does arrive eventually but you then aren’t sure that you are free.

Feeling left out, sidelined, ignored or simply forgotten, can lead us to react in a less than helpful way and just maybe Thomas’s reaction was because of that. We call him doubting Thomas but I suspect that he was not so much doubting as feeling the odd one out, so accepting the testimony of the other 11 was never going to be enough. He knew they were telling him the truth !!

What we need to do now as we consider Thomas, is to take hold of the wonder of the fact that Jesus, WHO IS GOD, graciously allows Thomas to satisfy his unreasonable criteria for believing, BUT v26……….. He does make him wait for a whole week !! We can speculate, not unreasonably, that it would have been a miserable week for Thomas. He would have known that his reaction was not right. Surely he knew deep down that the other 11  would not lie about something so serious? So while the 11 spent a week rejoicing, Thomas remained miserable and unable to join the others in their joy.

Now if we apply Thomas’s reaction, to the world in which we live and the people we meet who do not share our faith, we can ask “What is disbelief?” Perhaps it is like Thomas, ‘An unwillingness to accept something they have not personally experienced or tested’. But there are a multitude of reasons why folk don’t seem to want to listen let alone believe. Being honest if you or I made the same demand as Thomas, we would still be waiting to believe, because we haven’t experienced what Thomas was asking for. Our belief stems from the testimony of others, the testimony of Scripture and perhaps some events in our lives. Thomas had the unique privilege of a physical revelation from Jesus himself. That’s the kind of God we have ! So this part of the story is  an example of the generosity of God’s nature in meeting Thomas’s demand. From V 29 however, we also receive confirmation from Jesus himself that for those of us who believe without the experience of Thomas are blessed indeed.

Jesus says to Thomas “ Because you have seen me you have believed; BLESSED are those who have not seen and yet have believed”.  

I want to draw to an end by highlighting two main points that come from this well known story of doubting Thomas.

My first point is that Jesus met the unreasonable demand of a petulant Thomas. He didn’t have to. He could have left Thomas to stew until he came to his senses, as he would have done eventually. But there was a delay and I think a necessary delay, but we can trust God not to leave us indefinitely to stew when our reactions are a little less than positive at times. Are our reactions to other people and situations always as holy as they should be ? The fact is that  there can’t be too many people who don’t have some sharp edges, which annoy us and  others at times. Maybe even we have that effect sometimes dare I suggest ?  But God isn’t put off by our sharp edges and loves to help us through as Jesus helped Thomas.

My second point, again from V29 is the huge reassurance to us  that because  our faith has not come through a physical revelation of the fact of the resurrection, we are indeed Blessed by God. Whatever we may think of ourselves and the weakness of our faith, as far as God is concerned, He is out to Bless us. Every time someone becomes a Christian the Bible tells us that there is much rejoicing in Heaven and that’s when we remember that ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’. This is important stuff because it means that every single Christian can live out and serve knowing that God wants to bless with His love, patience and guidance through the Holy Spirit. God does not set out to pick up our faults. He is not out to trip us up, criticise and find fault. That’s not what we do as parents and neither does he. He is not looking down at us through half eye glasses with a withering look of disapproval. On the contrary, He oozes love and support because he knows how hard it is to believe without seeing the evidence for ourselves.

This well known story has very relevant teaching for us all, and we are all, without exception, in the same boat.

 The God who created the world, who raised Jesus from the dead and forgives when we say sorry, that same God responded to Thomas and is still full of love for the whole of his creation, and especially for those who have not seen but still believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Be encouraged and bask in the certainty of your future. But if you have yet to believe, ask God to help you. Human life has no better way to live than with God’s blessing and eternal promise. 

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 12th March 2023

Romans 5:  1 - 11  - Peace, Dreams and Hope

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Sermon on Romans 5:  1 - 11

I wonder if you remember this song by Andy Williams :-  'To dream the impossible dream..The fight the unbeatable foe…To bear with unbearable sorrow…To run where the brave dare not go…' ending with:-  'This is my quest that my heart will be peaceful and calm when I’m laid to rest.'

Having dreams that take us beyond what we know and experience is quite difficult. We tend to dream within the context of what we know. When Aladdin rubbed the lamp he could only think in terms of wealth and fame for his wishes. There are those who are given the ability to go beyond our limitations, to have a hope which seems impossible. On Aug 28th, 1963 Martin Luther King spoke to a massive crowd of what he described as negros but including some white people, exploring his dream of something beyond their experience. That meant civil and  economic rights for all and an end to racism in the U.S. His dream was for a symphony of brotherhood for freedom. His dream was in 5 sections all based on equality. It was an inspirational speech. I have a dream….  For freedom to reign across the U.S. Has it happened yet?

Others have had dreams, others have explored and invented and as a result moved everyone forward.  But for example, someone who lived in the stoneage could not possibly conceive of what we take for granted. I heard the story of a young Amish mother who belongs to a religious sect  who live quite separately from society. They live in large groups who don’t have contact with the world outside. This mum however was at the entrance to a large shopping mall. She saw an old bent man standing facing a metal wall. With his finger he pressed a button and the wall opened up. He stepped inside and it closed. Intrigued, she watched and waited and soon the door opened again and out walked a young fit man. She turns to her son and says “Quick, go and get your father”.

Some things are just beyond our wildest dreams because we can’t see beyond where we are now. In Paul’s letter to the Romans we are given sight of something beyond, something out of sight and yet something attainable which is being held out to us as attainable ie. a genuine hope. In those 11 verses we heard earlier from chapter 5, we have the core essence of what God has done and what he offers us. Imagine, if all the rest of Scripture had been lost to us except these 11 verses, we would still have enough to hope in God and his promises. These verses spell out the prospect of something which really is beyond the wildest dreams of any human being. These verses spell out the Easter hope and point us to the possibility of something which, for us, is impossible. These really are the original words to the Andy Williams impossible dream song, words which can encourage us as Christians so that we genuinely can, in the words of the song,  have hearts that will lie peaceful and calm when we are laid to rest. 

So what is this Impossible dream? I suggest 3 stages. Impossible dream  number one for us is, that being acutely aware of God’s perfection that we, as sinners can actually be forgiven. What do I mean by that ? Lets look backat the dealings God had with the Israelite nation as they were travelling through the desert. This often  involved punishment and death for those who opposed them which shows us a God who can have no truck with evil. It can all come across as being very  black and white because God’s standard is so high, that all evil must be dealt with. So in reality it’s more than we could hope for, that our sins could be forgiven. Is it really possible that God is willing to forgive our sinfulness?

v.8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

To be forgiven is to be justified in God’s sight. V.1 We are justified by faith and v9, that we are justified by Christs blood and saved from God’s wrath. The magnificent Christian truth is that through the death of Jesus, God has created the possibility of the impossible, that is, that we can be forgiven, justified and saved. Now we know that forgiving others can be hard at times. God found it hard sending Jesus to die, but he did. V6 At just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. That’s us.

Impossible dream number two is reconciliation. V11 We also rejoice in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation”

I think you will know what I mean when I say that forgiveness doesn’t always mean reconciliation. It is so easy to hold onto the original hurt and the relationship is not restored. It is a hard step beyond forgiveness. We may forgive someone but never want to see the person again. That for me is a measure of the degree of difficulty involved for us as humans in embracing reconciliation after a deep hurt. For God, forgiveness includes reconciliation. With God it’ s automatic that when we genuinely repent and ask for forgiveness that God’s response is…. not only to say YES ,….. not only to say I Love you,…… not only  to go on forgiving,……. not only to say you have a place in Heaven,……. but also to say, you are a child adopted into my family. How could we possibly dream that there could be a God who will do this? Not in our wildest dreams. With reconciliation comes peace and joy. V1 Justified through faith we have peace with God” and v11. We also rejoice in God.

As Christians, we know the reality of this impossible dream for ourselves and we can be led to dream it for our world. Martin Luther King dreamed something that seemed impossible, and so can we as Christians, as people who know justification, forgiveness and reconciliation, we can dare to dream what seems impossible to us, that others may find that peace and joy which is so desperately needed.

We need to move on to Paul’s impossible dream number 3. We have considered already both justification and forgiveness with reconciliation but then v.3-5 gives us another impossibility, that of rejoicing in our struggles. How on earth do we do that ? V5 Because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The fact is that we , even as Christians, face sufferings, disappointments and sorrow. Life can get difficult with old age, death, upsets and there is a clear indication that God doesn’t simply intervene to stop or protect us from these things. We would like all our prayers to be answered in the way we want. But God doesn’t leave us on our own. Through the gift of His Spirit he gives us His presence and strength to be able to cope. So from V3 we can have access to perseverance, character and hope which can come as the result of suffering V3 .

Jesus said, I will not leave you comfortless. Scripture tells us that the Spirit is our helper and strength. He is a channel of God’s gifts and fruit. He encourages and prompts us. He convicts us of sin, he reveals and inspires. So God has provided not only for our past  with forgiveness, not only for the future with reconciliation and adoption, but specifically for the now, in living out our lives every day.  God is God beyond our wildest dreams, beyond  what we could dream of or deserve.

Within the context of God in his generous love opening up for us these impossible dreams, we nevertheless have to live in the reality and squalor of both our and others sins. And it can be challenging and painful. To be a Christian is to have taken hold of these impossible dreams, of forgiveness, reconciliation, adoption and the Holy Spirit We need to learn to trust Gods love and power, to live for Him now, and demonstrate to the world that despite on the one hand our frailty and on the other hand the eagerness of others to put us down and crow about statistics of falling numbers in church, we know who holds the future don’t we?

The Amish lady left the shopping mall disappointed. We shall not !!!

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 5th March 2023

John 3: 1 - 17 - Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Sermon on John 3: 1 - 17 - Truth and Trust

“What is truth?” Uttered by a politician, Pontius Pilate. Was he being sarcastic? Did he actually not know? Perhaps more importantly, did he want to know the answer? And, to protect his own position, he transfers a difficult decision and the consequent blame onto other people…… And the phrase “to wash ones hands of the matter” is born.

Has much changed over 2000 years? In the world of politics we have had Partygate? We have had lockdown trips to Barnard Castle to have an eye test…..  How have we gone so wrong?

Well, let me suggest that, in part, its down to Frank Sinatra; and if you’ve read Rev Annes REFLECTION in the latest Stay Connected, so does she. As his song about self-importance – sadly played all too often at life celebrations – reaches its crescendo, he sings these words…”What is a man? What has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels, AND NOT THE WORDS OF ONE WHO KNEELS. The record shows I TOOK THE BLOWS, and did it MY WAY! Don’t think he’d be in our congregation this morning…..far too much kneeling already!

Frank started it……the American rock star Jon Bon Jovi continued it in his song “Its my life, its now or never, I aint going to live forever, I just wanna live while I’m alive…….like Frankie said I did it my way….”

Then to the Welsh rock group, interestingly called the Manic Street Preachers, with one of their song collections entitled “This is my truth; tell me yours” Its actually a quote from Nye Bevan, but not with the same context. Its saying I’m happy to listen to what makes you tick, but don’t put it on ME. And as you see from the phrase, “MY TRUTH” comes first.

My Way. My Truth. The me society. And then you have the truth and the way explained in our passage today by Jesus, the Radical Street Preacher from Nazareth. Let me suggest that if you compare most of the current “wisdom” with the words of Jesus, you realise either how shallow it is or that, in fact, Jesus has already said it and mankind has chosen to ignore it.

The encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus in our Bible passage just read to us by Jo is extraordinary in many ways – and would have been considered even more so by Jews listening to or reading it at the time. Here we have a senior Jewish religious leader – a guardian and teacher of the Jewish faith, the cornerstone of life in Roman-occupied Judaea – starting a respectful discussion about faith with a young itinerant preacher from an ordinary family based up North in Galilee, and being told by Jesus bluntly that Nicodemus doesn’t know what he’s talking about! But what if Jesus is right? What if its not about debating religion, its about ABSOLUTE TRUTH? And what if that ABSOLUTE TRUTH is embodied not in all the religious teachers before and since, but in the person and words of one man, Jesus Christ of Nazareth?

Lets be clear, in this well-known passage, Jesus is describing himself in both Divine and Messianic terms. In calling Himself The Son Of Man in Vses 13/14 he was saying he was FULLY HUMAN, but he was also using a term that Jews of the time knew very well – the term for the Messiah, the one who was to be the Saviour of the Jewish nation. But Jesus goes much further. In v16 He describes Himself as Gods one and only Son – therefore claiming to be FULLY DIVINE as well; a claim he continues over the next few chapters with the 7 “I am” sayings eg I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world. And in v17 He goes further again, saying that God had sent His Son into the world, that THE WORLD would be saved – not just the Jewish people, who considered ONLY THEMSELVES to be Gods chosen people.

If you were with us a couple of weeks ago, Anne quoted in her sermon the well-known observation by CSLewis – the Narnia man – that (and I paraphrase) you cannot claim that Jesus was JUST a first rate moral teacher. In making the claims he consistently did about Himself, you can only come to 3 conclusions – he was mad, he was bad, or He was and is, God in human form. And if you conclude he was and is, God, then His words have ABSOLUTE, not relative, TRUTH.

Another astonishing thing about the Nicodemus encounter, is that after Jesus has made these statements about Himself, the conversation ends and Nicodemus goes away……… but later in Johns gospel Nicodemus appears at 2 crucial points, and it is clear that Jesus words had sunk in and increasingly he came to believe that Jesus really was who He claimed to be.

Nicodemus had initially come to Jesus both literally in the dark and spiritually in the dark, but God had been stirring something in his Spirit that he needed to examine Jesus face to face. And he took a big risk – if he was seen in contact with Jesus and it got back to the Jewish Ruling Council………….; the sort of risk that many Muslims and Hindus face today if they seek to know about Jesus. And the decision to find out about Jesus is where, my friends, our faith journeys and that of Nicodemus, intersect.

There are 3 points in the passage – in vses 3, 5 and 11 – where Jesus starts his answers to Nicodemus questions with the words “I tell you the truth”. Not, “This is my take on things; how do you see it?” but THIS IS THE TRUTH; LET ME EXPLAIN IT”. And Jesus lays out the 3 changes that are needed in all those who are spiritual seekers…..and that none can occur without being “born again”.

V3 A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE. Jesus says we cannot even see the kingdom of God ie where and how God is present and at work in the world, nature and the environment and where people and groups are looking to function as God intended, unless we look at things through “God glasses”  How can this be? Nicodemus said.

V5 A CHANGE OF RESOURCES. Jesus says we must be born of water and the Spirit. The phrase implies several things, but for me, most importantly, water signifies cleansing us from the mistakes and failures of our old pre-Christian lives – which Jesus did on the Cross – and instead giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit living within us as we seek to live as his followers daily. How can this be? Nicodemus said.

V11 A CHANGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Jesus says that for those who believe in Him and His words – belief not meaning just intellectual agreement but surrendering ones life to Jesus to go forward HIS way – death will NOT be the end. Life the other side of the grave will continue – just as it did for Jesus – but fuller. How can this be? Nicodemus said.

Its all this “born-again” business! Has anyone ever said to you “Are you one of those born-again Christians?” Yes, me too! How do you answer graciously? Sometimes not easy because, as our passage lays out, Jesus is very clear……to be a Christian AT ALL you need to be born again. There is no such thing as a “cultural Christian”, which I’ve heard some in the media and academia say.

Everyone has a different route to faith, to being born again. Some will talk of being aware of Gods presence with them from a very young age, and as they grew in years, so did their awareness of God. That was the way for my Mum and Dad.  Some, like me, will say they had no awareness of God at all for years, until the idea of some higher power awakened their interest. But for all of us, there comes a point when – consciously or unconsciously – we acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives. We acknowledge the TRUTH of Jesus words, and because of that we TRUST that all the things he said, like being with us through thick and thin, satisfying all our deepest needs, can be relied on day by day. I know – and by experience as a Christian I’ve proved – that I’d rather have the Jesus way than My way. Just like Nicodemus. Lent is our prime time in the year to reflect on our Christian lives – TRUTH and TRUST are good words to be part of our reflecting.

I’ll finish where I started, with popular music. Last Thursday, Marion and I went to the Playhouse to listen to a concert by the Cornish shanty band, Fishermans Friends. One of their most popular songs talks about lifes journey, and includes these words “Have a little faith in the dream-maker in the sky/Theres glory in believing Him/And its all in the beholders eye.”

Its enough to have a little faith in a big God, who speaks the TRUTH and can be TRUSTED. It opens our eyes to the BEST way of living, both here and hereafter.

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Reading for Sunday 12th February 2023

Romans 8: 18 - 27   - Present Suffering and Future Glory

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Sermon on Romans 8: 18 - 27

Are you feeling confident about the future? There’s a question to ponder over. Let me throw another one at you. Are you feeling positive about the present ? Some may ask in response, what is there to be confident or positive about? It is after all so easy to feel gloom and  despondency as we look at the world with the news that seems to get worse by the day,  with pictures of death and grieving populations be it Ukraine, Turkey and  Northern Syria. Nearer home, there are situations that affect us personally such as strikes in the NHS and ambulance services which bring fear about being ill and delayed appointments. The list could go on with inflation, the threat to the environment, species of various kinds becoming extinct. Old age brings an awareness of our aging bodies. Well ,If you didn’t feel depressed when you arrived you probably do now !!

Depressed that is, until hopefully you were reminded of that fantastic passage we heard read from Paul’s letter to the Romans.  The heading for this passage is shown as ‘Future Glory’, which is a clear reference about God’s plans for our futures, but Paul begins with where we are now, that is , struggling with problems. Paul uses words and phrases like, ‘our present sufferings’ and make no mistake, they had them. Paul refers to ‘creations bondage to decay’, which we also recognise. Creation is also ‘groaning as in the pains of childbirth’ and as a result we also ‘ groan inwardly’ .  It seems clear that ‘present sufferings’ are a given, but Paul doesn’t leave it there. All this apparent negativity is infused with some huge and essential positives that we as Christians can hold onto. The passage is called ‘Future Glory’ for very good reasons. Firstly we have v18 the anticipation of the glory that will be revealed to us enabling us now to v19 wait in eager expectation for it all to happen. He goes further v21 telling us that creation (which is us) will be liberated from its bondage and experience the glorious freedom as children of God.

What then begins to happen is that Paul reminds them and us of the opening words of this chapter about the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. It is headed ‘Life through the Spirit’, and  that same life giving Spirit is an essential element in us being able to cope with the now, and anticipate our future eternity. V26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes  for us with groans that words cannot express. So we are not on our own because v27 the Spirit intercedes for the saints (believe or not, that’s us) in accordance with God’s will. 

‘In the beginning’, so begins the book of Genesis, there were 3 distinctive elements. Firstly the created order of all created matter, including sun, water land trees and animals.  Secondly human life with it’s special role to play, and thirdly our creator God. We get to know from the earliest days in the story that things go wrong and that from that moment , both creation and human beings will all be waiting for God to somehow put it all right. The challenge and struggle we face each day has always been there and it affects the whole of creation. Paul is pointing out that all of creation is eagerly waiting for the end, waiting for the freedom that was taken away because of human disobedience. God does have a plan and as we wait we have been given the first fruits of the Spirit to help us.

That is a vital truth because the Spirit gives us a foretaste of heaven. Through the Spirit we know that as disciples of Jesus, that God will accept us and adopt us as His children alongside Jesus. And that is worth waiting for and looking forward to. Not that we are in any hurry to leave loved ones and go to Heaven, but at the same time it’s understandable that we have every reason to anticipate that it’s going to be pretty special. This is what Paul is saying, but he goes on to point out that whilst we are still here confronting  the tension we face constantly between the flesh and the Spirit, that there is going to be a bit of groaning. The picture of what lies ahead for us as Christians after death is so tremendous, with it’s total freedom from evil and complete absence of pain it’s not surprising that we may feel a little impatient. Why is God delaying the return of Jesus ? Paul says v 25 ‘If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently’.  It’s not always easy to be patient.

As a parent, with a child’s birthday looming, you might decide to buy your them a bike. (I remember my first one !) You see the very one you want advertised at a good price a month in advance. You put in the shed and cover it with a sheet. No child is going to be fooled by that and each day they sneak a peak through the window and imagine what it might be like. Drop handlebars, bright red, 10 gears. The gift is already there but it’s not time until the day arrives.

The period that we are living in now is a bit like that month of waiting for that child. The promise for us is already there, but the time is not yet  right. Christ has come, He has resurrected and ascended, He has gone to prepare a place for us but it’s not yet time. The life of Jesus is the promise to us for the future which has yet to happen. Our faith tells us that we are saved. V24 ‘For in this hope we are saved’ but we still await our salvation. Through the guidance and power of the Spirit we already share in the resurrection life of Jesus and yet we wait to live that life to the full. We are in a period of ‘already but not yet’, and the Spirit is the down payment to help us through. The truth that we now have to take hold of, is that the more we allow the Spirit to influence us as individual people and as a consequence the life of the church, the more we experience the future hope now. The life we are going to have with God in the future can begin to be lived in part, even now. This is what Paul is saying in this passage, that the work of the Holy Spirit is to, as it were, draw together the past fact of Jesus’s death and resurrection on the one hand,  and the future hope of life in God’s presence on the other, so that they overlap. The years of waiting, now over 2000 years, can become as nothing compared to how it will be. Our patient expectancy of the future can help us through the tests of struggle and disappointment we all live with day by day. Our lives of waiting can be filled with the love, joy, peace etc which is when the already but not yet come together through the influence of the Holy Spirit. When that happens, those outside will sit up and take notice. 

The Spirit is the seal of our belief in the Gospel message of Christ’s death that through repentance we can know the certainty of Heaven. The Spirit is the channel for the gifts of the Spirit to infect every aspect of our lives. He helps us in our weakness. He intercedes for us directly with the Father. If we are willing the Spirit will teach us more about the God who loves and created us. The God who wants each of us to become his adopted children. As with everything to do with faith it’s down to us as individuals. We are never forced or cajoled by God, but simply loved and encouraged with promises of an existence without sin. Please be clear as to where you stand with these life changing issues . They are too important to be ignored.

I’ll finish with some words written by Paul and would encourage you to read this passage again in the week to come. V21 ‘The creation itself will be liberated from it’s bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God’.  Amen

Rev Geoff Hobden

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Reading for Sunday 5th February 2023

Matthew 5: 13 – 20 -  Salt and Light

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Sermon on Matthew 5: 13 – 20

In Matt 5 verse 13 Jesus says we are the Salt of the Earth. So is that our opinion of ourselves are we living up to Jesus’s expectation of what he wants us to be the salt of the earth?

One of the earliest pieces of evidence of salt processing dates to around 6,000 BC, when people living in the area of present-day Romania boiled spring water to extract salts; a salt-works in China dates to approximately the same period. But our doctors advise us to cut it out of our diet confused? Well, it may seem a silly question, salt of the earth whatever does that mean? Well in our reading from Matthew and as part of the Beatitudes Jesus asks quite clearly of his listeners  Are you the salt of the earth and I think we still use a similar saying today have you ever been told that you are the salt of the earth.

Salt in Jesus time on earth was a very precious commodity and we need to understand just how much it was valued. What we take for granted today and can buy in whatever quantity we want in any supermarket was like pure gold to them.  As you know, salt is a preservative, and 2,000 years ago people had no means of keeping food cool, no refrigeration. I can remember in my younger days having no fridge using the coldest room in the house to store food, mind there wasn’t much difference in our house between one room and any other room when it came to temperature. Well in my young days keeping things fresh especially meat relied on salt as a preservative.

Did you know Roman soldiers were often paid in salt?  Maybe we should go back to those days of payment, your pension or salary will be arriving in a Morrisons packet of salt use sparingly it can be bad for your health. I didn’t know until I researched it that in fact, the word salary is derived from the word for salt. If a Roman soldier didn't do his job, he wouldn't get all of his salt. That's where we get the phrase, "He is not worth his salt," if someone did not do a good days work their salt ration would suffer.

But getting back to our reading from Mathew just what was Jesus saying to his disciples in the sermon on the mount. You are the Salt of the Earth but if salt loses it saltiness its useless and has to be thrown out. What did Jesus mean by this metaphor? In studying for this message, I found there are many references to Salt in the Scriptures – I expect we all know at least one. I am informed that the bible contains 43 references to Salt no I didn’t count them but Mr Google did. We know Lot’s wife was turned into a Pillar of Salt – that’s a sermon on its own.

King David won at least two terrible battles, one in the Valley of Salt, killed 18 thousand, read for yourself the gruesome facts in Samual 8 verse 13 the area was thought to have been a large area of salt marshes in a desert valley in Israel. The Bible also refers to the SALTY SEA several times, better known today as the DEAD SEA. The Dead Sea has the highest concentration of salt of any body of water in the world. In fact, the concentration of salt in the Dead Sea is ten (10x) times greater than any Sea or Lake on earth. Did you know every litre of its water contains an average of 30 grams of Salt and other minerals.

In the ancient biblical world, salt was a precious commodity.
- It gave flavour and zest to Food
- It served as an important preservative

Salt also made people thirst for something more. Jesus wanted his disciples to give flavour and zest to the world through His teaching, and to Preserve the truth, the truth as is proclaimed in the bible today and he wanted them to proclaimed it to the world. He wanted for them to proclaim the truth in order to make the world thirst for more, more of God’s word. And by gum doesn’t the world, more than ever before need to thirst for peace and faith. Jesus takes a simple image – no ambiguity - no hidden meanings - nothing out of the ordinary -- just common, everyday salt.  Just as a pinch of salt unlocks the flavour, my mum would never boil Potatoes without a pinch of salt.

So can we a small band of believers here say in Locking help to transform the village or indeed the world around us into the Kingdom of God? God says we can Remember the day of Pentecost when a band of believers were filled with the Holy Spirit. The world needs filling with the power of the Holy Spirit today nothing else will do the trick not right or left of the government not legislation or any other man-made intervention, but only the power of the Holy spirt to make the salt salty again. So are we the salt of the earth and are we the light of the world? If we are then we are told do not hide your light under a Bushell. Does the light of Christ shine out of us his disciples and  do we let it shine so that all may see the wonder that God has for us all. 

These are not just words of 2 thousand years ago, these words are from Jesus and they are words for us here and now. He’s talking to a crowd that have followed him. They had come from everywhere. They’ve come to see the one they’ve heard about.They’ve come to listen and learn, to be healed, and to have their lives put back together. They’ve come in search of meaning, direction, and purpose. Today there is so much false teaching in our world people are continually being pulled in the wrong direction. Why are we here this morning, is it not for the same reason as the crowd were 2 thousand years ago to learn the truth of God’s word and to live as salt and light to a stricken world a world that is dispirit to be brought back from the edge of destruction. It is the life we long for and the life God desires us to have.  Are we a light on a hill a light that all can see many want to experience that light but for whatever reason are unable to make that transition from darkness to light, therefor we must show them the way the way to the real light and we can start doing that by the example of how we live our lives in this broken world

We’ve looked at two paragraphs from Matthew 5.  Firstly, the importance of remaining salty when everything in our modern world wants to drain our saltiness away so that we can no longer preach and live and display Gods word. And the importance of shining out so that all can see, remember Jesus said you are the light of the world shinning out to all. If our saltiness is drained away, we can no longer shine so all may see 

But we have a final sentence paragraph 17-20. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Many including many Christians believe that Jesus’ came to give us new laws, to do away with the old laws the laws of Moses. This part of Jesus’s sermon is aimed at Teaching us about the law its focus is on teaching us that the Kingdom of God—this new Kingdom which has arrived with Jesus and this kingdom which we now live in —is to be a Kingdom overflowing with a righteousness that is wholly of a different kind than the so-called “righteousness” that the Israel’s scribes and Pharisees lived in.

So then to sum up Christ words to those who were with him on that hill top that day. Jesus say’s to them that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. These metaphors represent the impact Christians should strive to have in the world. That's why it matters so much that they and us here this morning understands and do the good works God has given us.  I had to look up the exact definition of a metaphor. A word that helps us understand just what Jesus was telling his listeners a word that helps us understand the truth. That's why it matters so much that they and us understand Gods words to us. A metaphor is a figure of speech that helps explain an idea, or make a comparison and that is exactly what Jesus was doing on the hill top. 3 very short sentences but all with so much to say to us

- Keep salty with Christ words so that others will want to read and benefit from its teaching
- Keep shining bright as we should in the power of Gods HS
- Remember the laws if Moses the 10 commandments EXODUS 20 same to day as the day Moses brought them down from Mt Sinai. Nothing given by God has changed his son came to enhance the law to offer himself as a sacrifice for all sins 

So this morning each and every one of us I pray goes away from this service remembering and displaying through our Christian faith and beliefs the message of those 3 paragraphs if we do that then we will reap Gods rewards. Amen

Bill Dredge (Reader)

Note: This is Bill's last sermon. He is stepping down from Lay Reader after 43 years of preaching in St Augustine's Church. 

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Reading for Sunday 29th January 2023

Luke 2: 22 – 40 - Jesus is Presented in the Temple

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”, and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,  you may now dismiss[c] your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Sermon on Luke 2: 22 – 40

With all the news at the moment being so dark and gloomy the BBC seem to be trying hard to finish the news with a good news story.  The one that really touched me a couple of weeks ago was of this elderly gentleman called Peter Davies.  He had lost his wife 7 years ago and was now going into school as a reading volunteer.  And he is wait for it - 100 years old. 

There is something truly wonderful when older people and young children come together. I think of the special relationship that my children had with their grandparents.  It’s unique and to be treasured. In this reading we have all ages coming together. We have Simeon and Anna – 2 older people – Simeon must have been old as it says that he feels ready to die. Anna we are told is at least 84 – it says she is very old.  Then we have Mary and Joseph – Mary was probably still a teenager and Joseph older than her.  Then we have the baby.  Now the baby Jesus is 40 days old Mary and Joseph take him to the temple to be presented to God.  It was the normal and expected thing to do.  To bring your firstborn son to the Lord.  It was accompanied with the bringing of animals to be sacrificed.  So, in a sense 3 generations all together in this one special moment.  A coming together of ages and strangers and the focus was Jesus. So, let’s begin by looking at Simeon and Anna. I have known several Simeon and Anna’s in my time.  Age was not a hindrance to their ministry. Simeon was waiting for the coming of the Messiah.  We read he was righteous and devout. He took his faith seriously – he was faithful in worship; he had a relationship with God and was right with God and his neighbour. Old age had not meant he neglected his faith or devotion to God.  And also, it says he was filled with the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit in him spoke to him. And remember this is before Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit to all people.  Simeon was filled with God’s spirit. 

Often, we think the filling of the Spirit is just for the young – those who go to events like New Wine and is accompanied with loud modern music.  It’s not for the old and the traditional and certainly not in the Church of England. Wrong!  It is for the old, the young and the in – between.  Without the Spirit we are not fully functioning as Christians.  It says here that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon, it revealed to Him he would see the Christ and He was moved by the Spirit.  The Spirit spoke and directed him.  Because of this he is able to make this declaration – he knows salvation has come for all people, that Jesus is the light. He blesses the young couple and brings a prophetic word to them.   He is in no way redundant or on the scrap heap.  Never ever think that you are on the scrapheap! Anna is a prophetess – she speaks out God’s word, she is a widow too and has been for many years.  She was committed 100% to worship and to prayer.   She is also a witness and gossips the good news. Anna never left the temple and worshipped night and day, fasting and praying.  Simeon and Anna were committed to the Lord and committed to prayer and worship. We don’t need to live in the church building like Anna did, but we are called to be committed.

I need to share with you about the situation in the Diocese that relates to us and our commitment. I’m not going to talk about money today, but the Diocese are facing huge financial difficulties because of the pandemic and how it has affected people’s commitment.  Many Deaneries are having to cut paid clergy posts.  Locking Deanery, which we belong to, has 15 allocated paid posts (does not include curates or chaplains) and we have 15 paid posts.  We are OK at the moment – but this might not be the case in the future. If the situation continues then more paid posts will be cut.  Our Deanery is putting together a plan to justify why we need 15 posts and each parish is giving figures of regular worshippers, number of schools, population, new housing and also saying how they intend to grow. The important figure is the one for regular worshippers.  That is those who worship once a month or more. For Hutton this is 54 and for Locking this is 45 and 8 children – making 99 for the Benefice. Numbers pre- covid were 55 for Hutton and for Locking 58 and 15 children. For Locking a big drop. What also matters is the number of people worshipping on a Sunday – both churches do not reach 54 and 45. These figures will be looked at. Our commitment (or lack of) may determine the future of our churches.

In Hebrews 10: 24, 25 we read ‘And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’ Worshipping regularly is not just about keeping the churches open and keeping the post of Rector – it’s about our Christian discipleship, that we worship together as Christ’s body, that we pray together and for each other, that we are fed by God’s Word, that we encourage each other. When you are not there then the body is incomplete. You are also missing out. We need to act now about this and I want to challenge you to become more committed to prayer and worship like Simeon and Anna.  I am setting a goal of 40 worshippers each week.  We will put the numbers in Stay Connected to see how it’s going.  And let’s aim to raise the number of regular worshippers – I’ve been thinking of the 99 and the parable of the lost sheep. So, thinking of Simeon and Anna is the call to commitment.

Secondly God’s kingdom is for all ages. Simeon and Anna were kingdom people – they had been watching and waiting for the coming of God’s kingdom through the Messiah.  Now as the baby is held in Simeon’s arms, he isn’t just holding a baby – but the promise of God’s kingdom that was coming.  Simeon and Anna probably would not live to see Jesus grow up and to die and to witness the resurrection.  Though here they are part of the kingdom coming.  God’s kingdom has also come to Mary and Joseph too – they have witnessed amazing things – seen angels, had dreams, given birth to God’s Son.  God was bringing His kingdom to them and also through them.  God’s kingdom is for all ages and for all people – not just the old.  In Acts 2 when Peter speaks to the crowd, he quotes Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’ If the church is the instrument by which God brings in God’s kingdom, then we need to be bringing that kingdom to all ages. 

Since the pandemic the number of children attending church in England  has gone from 95,000 to 55,000. It has been proven that churches who don’t have families will never grow. In the Church of England an initiative called Growing Faith is encouraging churches to put children and young people at the heart of everything we do. That’s not to ignore other ages – but it is vital we focus on families and children. It’s not them and us but all ages together. May we embrace young families and children as Simeon embraced this young family. We have so much potential and opportunity – our schools, Messy Church, the toddler group, Celebration Sunday, Church in the Village Hall. And we are aiming to make Sundays all – age too (Locking Family Service and church in VH.) Finally Simeon declares that He has seen salvation – in fact he has held the Saviour in his arms. And that Jesus came as a light to all peoples – Jew and Gentile alike. I don’t know what light means to you – it gives life, it chases away the darkness, it brings revelation, it guides us, it shows up the dirt. Jesus said of Himself ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ As we face so much uncertainty and darkness in the world, in the nation and even in the church – may we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  He is the one Simeon was longing and waiting for. He is the one who Anna gave thanks for and told others about. We MUST remember that what we are about is Jesus and the good news of the new life he offers. In a film we saw last week there was the quote ‘Nothing happens without light’ and so we can say ‘Nothing happens without Jesus.’ So let’s be truly committed to Him and His church, pray for, welcome and invite families and seek Jesus for all that we  need. Amen.

Rev Anne Wilkins

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Reading for Sunday 15th January 2023

John 1:  29-42 - Revealing Jesus

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.  When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”  “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.  The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.

 Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

Sermon on John 1:  29-42

Well, we’re continuing in the season of Epiphany,  that part of the worldwide Churchs year where, according to where you live, you celebrate either the visit of the Wise Men/Kings/Magi, or the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by his relative, John the Baptist. As we’ve already discussed, the Jewish people had been waiting for a Saviour to come for centuries, but at the start of his ministry only a very few individuals had been made aware of Jesus full identity. The Christmas shepherds, as far as we know, had gone back to watching their flocks by night, the Wise Men had gone back whence they came – to the East – and Jesus had grown up among the ordinary folk in Nazareth, working for Joseph and Sons, Carpenters. If you like, he was hidden in plain sight, just like the words in a Word Search. 

 Then, the latest in a line of Messianic groups appeared, led by John, a seemingly eccentric recluse living out in the desert and telling people to get their lives in order, as the Messiah was coming. Many folks, longing for him to be right, came out from their towns so that he could baptise them in the River Jordan, as a sign they were ready for their Saviour. And one day, there in the crowd, was Jesus. But, as we know from our reading, when JESUS came to be baptised, something different happened. John had a vision of a dove (a mark of the Holy Spirit) coming down and resting on Jesus and, as we know from the other Gospels, John also heard a voice from Heaven announcing that Jesus was Gods true Son. But even then, the voice was only heard by John and Jesus; as for the rest of the crowd gathered round, all they heard was a loud noise….

So we arrive at a tilting point in human history. Jesus was anointed for his lifes mission, but only a very privileged few knew …. and that by a direct revelation from God. How then to reveal Jesus to the crowd? To ordinary folk like you and me? Well, 3 principles emerge in our passage, and the principles haven’t changed between 2000 years ago in Israel and the 21ST Century unbelieving United Kingdom.

Firstly, The Witness. The person who knew Jesus full identity was John the Baptiser. So what does he do? He tells people what he knows to be true. And who does he tell first of all? Those who are closest to him. Vses 35/36. A few minutes ago we were discussing the impact OUR friends and family network have to influence – and hopefully enrich – our lives. We talk about things with them and listen to them; we share important stories and information……naturally. Did you know that Scripture Union assesses that, currently, approx. 95% of children and young people in this country have NO meaningful connection with a Christian community. And SU continually review and adjust their projects, after school and holiday clubs accordingly. But who DO children and young people have natural and consistent contact with? Who do their parents have similar contact with? You and me. And we can tell them naturally our Jesus story.

 Secondly, The Gathering. What happens after John testifies to his own close followers about Jesus? 2 of them go to find Jesus. One of the things I love about John the Baptist is that he knew his role – it was to point the way to Jesus. He never tried to form his own denomination or cult as an alternative to Jesus. To the best of our knowledge Jesus had never met either of these disciples before, but He saw their intent – they were physically following Him. And so he asks them “What do you want?” Notice their reply…they don’t say “Hi Jesus, what are you up to?” Its much more respectful – they call Him Rabbi (ie Teacher) and ask him where he is based. And see Jesus response.  It wasn’t “I’m at 13 High Street, drop in if you’re passing”. It was V36 Come and See……and they spent the day with Him. Friends, this is ALWAYS Jesus response to you and me, and to all those who are looking for purpose, who are looking for lifes meaning, who are simply … curious. Come and see, come and stay. Its why courses such as Alpha and Christianity Explored are so useful in a world where whole generations in this country know woefully little about Jesus and the life and purpose he offers. The national media, who are arguably more ignorant about Jesus than the man in the street, recently got very excited about the latest census results showing “only” 46% of respondents identifying as Christians, with 37% ticking the box “No religion”. But of course they missed the point entirely. In the additional questions for the non-religious, both in the census and other recent surveys, it transpires that many of these believe in SOME form of the supernatural or higher power - and the power of prayer - as well as more New Age things such as reincarnation, the healing power of crystals etc. As G K Chesterton, the author of the Father Brown stories, once remarked, “When people stop believing in God, its not that they believe in nothing, its that they believe in anything.” And if 46% describe themselves as Christians, it potentially means that we could have upwards of 1000 people through St A’s doors over the course of, say, a month. That would give us a whole new set of issues to address!

Come and see, come and stay. We were never designed to be solitary islands, we were designed to be in relationship – with each other and our Heavenly Father. Its how our lives are enriched….and He calls us to stay close to him in 2023.

A thought which leads to my final point, The Changing. When Andrew brought his brother Simon Peter to meet Jesus, look at the words of v42. Jesus didn’t need to talk to the fisherman to get to know him, he simply looked at him and saw everything about him. Simon would have identified himself as the son of John – in other words by his natural family line. Jesus acknowledged this in his words, but went much further in saying you will be called Cephas, a rock. Was He having a play on words with Peter? Partly, as Peter and Cephas both translate as rock in their respective languages. But Jesus saw long term what Peter would become. By the end of the Gospel accounts, which expose all Peters flaws, you would think Jesus got it wrong big time. Once you’ve read the Book of Acts, and Peters letters, you see Jesus was right all along. He sees us as we are, and he sees what we will be, whether we’re 8 or 80.

If you and I want to make New Year Resolutions, you cant get much better than this passage for suggestions. Firstly, resolve to SAY what our faith in Jesus means to us. Secondly, resolve to STAY close to Him this year, not ebb and flow in our contact with Him. Thirdly, resolve to LIVE A NEW WAY, to let him shape further the way we live our lives among our own network and community. I’m up for that – are you? Are we as a church family? I think we are !

 Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Reading for Sunday 8th January 2023

Matthew 2:  1-12, - The Magi Visit the Messiah

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’[”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Sermon on Matthew 2: V 1-12

What quickens your pulse ? What gets you really excited ? As we look at society as a whole it seems quite clear that we live in an age of the celebrity cult. I can easily feel a bit negative about that but at the same time have to admit that actually meeting a celebrity is something that can excite us. I can confess that I have a very nice picture of me standing close to Jill Dando. She was a fantastic patron of Weston Hospicecare and visited frequently. I guess that most of us might have some story of a brush with a celebrity. Our story this morning is about some celebrities, be they Magi, or Wise men or even Kings who would take some stories back to their homeland.

On a Bakers coach journey into London quite a few years ago now, as Hazel and I entered the city we became aware of a buzz of excitement and above that buzz rose the phrase “It’s the Queen”.Sure enough as we looked out there was the instantly recognisable car with crest and pennant with the Queen in the back. The atmosphere in the coach was electric which was an understandable response. There is a story I must tell you of a lady  in the States, on a hot day fancying a Hagen Daz icecream cone. As she turns from the counter with the cone, she came face to face with (pause)Paul Newman. He said Hello and her knees turned to jelly. Outside the shop and regaining her composure she realised that she didn’t have her icecream cone. Heading back to the door she again met Paul Newman coming out and he asked if she was looking for her icecream cone. She nodded, unable to speak. He said “You put it in your handbag with your change!” An example of someone finding themselves in the presence of acting royalty. God doesn’t want us to feel like that with him, but nevertheless

I wonder when was the last time that being in God’s presence quickened your pulse ? When did you last feel emotional when singing some of the words in our wonderful hymns and worship songs, or sharing Communion with the fantastic underlying truth of forgiveness and eternity. 

Matthew reminds us that the Magi , when they arrived in Jerusalem as part of their search, made no secrecy that their objective was v2 to Worship Jesus. The intent is carried out in v.11.. ‘On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, and they bowed down and worshipped him’.

For the Magi, after a long and no doubt tiring journey across country, I have no problem in anticipating that their pulses were quickened .From whatever old manuscripts they had read and from a long journey planned, they followed the star and found God’s promised Messiah. A physical bowing down simply paid tribute to who they believed Jesus to be. There was no set form of worship for them to use, it was an act of the heart which included some thoughtful gifts.

I have a few brief observations to add which I hope might be helpful. Firstly, who were these Magi ? What we glean from other parts of the Bible is that they were set apart as wise men who were religious and also astronomers. However the most important information is that they weren’t Jews, they were Gentiles from the east. Their pilgrimage to worship the new King is quite simply a confirmation of the O.T. prophecy that the Messiah was for ALL people, Jew and Gentile alike, and that the nations of the world will come to His light. Read  Isaiah 11…Jeremiah 16…Malachi 1…. And later, the song of Simeon proclaims Jesus as the light for revelation to the Gentiles. So Jesus was visited, firstly by lowly Jewish shepherds and later on by these highly respected Gentiles.

We might ask, where were the Pharisees and Saducees, the teachers and experts in the law who knew their Scriptures ? When asked by Herod where the Messiah was to be born, they were very clear. They knew! They directed the Magi to Bethlehem. That’s where it will happen. So it begs the questions, where are they?  What are they thinking?  Why are they waiting ? We are aware of how the story unfolds and that for the leaders both fear and jealousy take over, guaranteeing their opposition to Jesus. These learned Jews were so familiar with the prophecies  and yet strangely, when the Messiah arrives they both failed and refused to accept it. Their familiarity with the story did nothing to aid their enjoyment of the event. Is it possible do you think that we too might just be a little subject to that danger of familiarity? Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Harvest are all so familiar and for myself having prepared services around those themes for over 30 years now I recognise that it’s easy for that familiarity to dull our senses of the magnitude of the truths we are celebrating. The Magi were undoubtedly putting the Jewish leaders to shame and their negative reaction creates a shadow over the ministry of Jesus which leads to the crucifixion. 

Our familiarity with the story must not blind us from  a heart response every time we come to worship. Whilst 2000 years of worship is a cause for celebration, it must not weaken our grateful appreciation of God’s love and promises. When the Magi reached Jerusalem they asked questions and had also been following the star which marks them out as being both observant and determined. With careful observation they had concluded that this star was indeed unusual and worth studying. Despite the challenges, the inevitable expense and danger they embarked on a journey into the unknown because the prize was life changing. So it is for us. As Christians we need to be observant about the world around us, aware of the pressures and tensions, aware too of the shifts in standards and behaviour but at the same time ready also to be the voice of God in our daily lives and words. As God guided the Magi to the baby Jesus so he guides us to be his disciples each and every day.

Drawing things to a close let’s take a re- run of v11 . ‘On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh’

What this verse tells us is that the Magi had found what they were looking for. Just imagine for a moment their meeting with Mary and Joseph. It would undoubtedly have included conversations between them and a sharing of their stories . The result was that they were convinced as to the truth of the birth of the Messiah. The story points us to a great God who can do things his way, perhaps when we least expect it. As the Magi were convinced and returned home with a story to tell , so we too can be convinced about the continued relevance of God’s message of love, forgiveness and eternity through the life and death of this  baby who grew up. The story both for the Magi and the story for us is so tremendous, that for  them and us the response can be none other than to worship our God . They brought gifts of value and symbolism. For us, the Christmas carol askes ‘what can I give him poor as I am’ and gives the answer ‘Give my heart’. We can do that again today.

The Magi had 4 characteristics. We have already seen 3, that of observation, determination and conviction, but finally they were also obedient when a dream warned them about avoiding Herod on the way home. We need those all those characteristics as well and more so in the current and deteriorating climate of the world in which we live. God will help us, and as we worship, may our pulses quicken with the same determination and conviction to serve Him every day.

Rev Geoff Hobden 

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Reading for Sunday 4th December 2022 - 2nd Sunday in Advent

Romans 15: V4-13, - The God of Hope

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. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews[a] on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”

Again, it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him.”

And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.”

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sermon on Romans 15: V4-13

I was speaking this same Sunday last year, and spoke on the Gospel reading – John the Baptiser. But this year I want to share some thoughts from our other passage, Pauls letter to the Christians at Rome. 

Its believed Paul wrote Romans about 57AD, while he was living in Corinth, as a way of introducing himself to the Christian church in Rome, who he was eagerly wanting to visit. They weren’t exactly having an easy time, this being the start of the rule of Emperor Nero – and it was soon to get a lot worse. A pretty good time then for Paul to write about Christian belief and, at the end, including Chapter 15, about Christian behaviour, particularly in a time of stress. As I read the passage a single word leapt out at me - hope. It is mentioned 4 times, and in v13 it forms part of a phrase “God of hope”.

Now hope is a word we use a lot in everyday language – but not necessarily in the way Paul was using it. I consulted the Oxford English Dictionary and, sure enough, it can mean a range of things…..from “a thing, situation or event that is desired” like I hope that England win the World Cup, to a feeling of desire for something and confidence in the possibility of its fulfilment....

Anyone here who writes a Christmas newsletter to send to friends? Well, we do and I was writing ours while we were away. And I closed with this……..I dare you to say that, as you celebrated New Years Eve 12 months ago, you foresaw 2022 bringing……. War in Europe, the death of the Queen, Flood devastation in Pakistan and Nigeria, Fixed deal mortgage interest rates at 6%, Inflation at 10.1% by September, 3 Prime Ministers, 4 Chancellors, people preparing to choose between feeding their families and heating their houses, Public Living Rooms and Parish Pantries opening in Locking etc etc. And Covid is still with us. What the UK needs, what ordinary families need, what you and I need, is…hope.

But what hope is there around? Is it of the I hope England wins the World Cup type, founded on very little realism, or is it of the Cconfidence in the possibility of its fulfilment type of hope? In other words, is it Slender hope, or is it sure and certain hope?

St Paul in Romans was clear; the hope that we all, and the UK as a whole, need is  of the sure and certain kind, founded on the nature, promises and the track record of God in his dealings with mankind. And hope fulfilled is what Advent, and Christmas, is all about.

Uniquely of the World Religions, Christianity offers three Hopes – Firstly, the Hope of the coming in human form of a Saviour who would take away the sins of the world. A hope that we here in the UK celebrate each December as having been fulfilled 2000yrs ago. Secondly, the hope that this same Jesus, whose birth as a baby we celebrate this month, will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to draw a line under mankinds determination to destroy each other and this planet, and bring, in its fullness, Gods kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Thirdly, in between Jesus first and second coming, the hope that Gods presence by his Holy Spirit is available to all who believe and trust in Jesus, every day of our lives, in every situation. A hope, first fulfilled at Pentecost, that every Christian and congregation celebrates as we see prayers answered, lives changed and situations transformed – sometimes miraculously, sometimes by the hands of ordinary human beings such as Christians Against Poverty. 

But how do we focus on such Hopes when things are tough? And how do we share it with our sceptical and unbelieving friends and neighbours? Well v4 of Ch15 of Romans says this….”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”… And Paul was talking about the Old Testament scriptures – which he then quotes in verses 9-12. The Christians in Pauls time had only the Old Testament – we have both the Old Testament and the New Testament! But we need to know our scriptures, and there’s no easy way round, other than for us to read them. If we then look to v8, it talks about the promises to the patriarchs (primarily Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) being fulfilled. Starting with Abraham, God made a series of promises, mostly to start with being about a Promised Land for a people who would be special to God. It gave them hope to keep going through some very trying times, but it happened. And as time passed, Gods spoken word – mainly through the prophets – spoke about the Israelites exile in Babylon not being forever, but more importantly that a person would come, born of King Davids line, who would be a Saviour, who would be born in Bethlehem. The return from exile in Babylon happened;hope once more became reality. And then John the Baptiser arrived, as predicted by the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming the soon appearance of the hoped-for Messiah. A hope that was clearly based not on fantasy, but instead based on a history of fulfilled promises. A God who could be trusted. As the Carol of that 1st Christmas says “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” And then in v13 of our reading Paul talks about trusting in God “so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”. When Jesus came, he made many promises about living so that when he physically left the earth, believers hope levels would not be diminished – that he was preparing a place in heaven for them, that they need not worry as God would provide them all they needed…..and that He would be with them always when the Holy Spirit came to indwell believers at the first Pentecost. And why could they, and we, hope for these things? Because God had a track record, over many centuries, of making good his promises. As my dictionary says, we can have a hope based on confidence in the possibility of the fulfillment of what we hope for.  Sure and Certain. And Jesus gave the ultimate promise – not that we would have an easy life (his own life showed that wasn’t going to be the pattern) but that he would return and make all things new, sweeping away all the evil in the present world and the bodged attempts at remedies by man working in his own strength. Why should we trust that our hope in these things is solid? Because God has a track record of delivering.

So, if that is what we can believe, how do we live it out? Particularly in times when the TV and the papers shout constantly that everything is a chaotic mess, and no-one has any answers. Chapter 15 gives some very practical pointers. Verse 1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak. Not that there are 1st and 2nd class Christians – simply that there will always be Christians at different stages in their faith journey, and at any one time some people will be close to God and some struggling. Bear with one another – next week it may be that other people have to bear with you! V2 Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up. It’s the next step. First we bear with one another, then we support those who are struggling, to help them through and forward. V7 Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you. Not just bear with each other, not just try to build each other up, but accept each other whatever our state. Why? Because Jesus accepted each one of us, warts and all. V5. May the God who gives you endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, be in unity. We’re all different, we’ve all rough edges, but there is nothing like Unity to make you have hope that, however dark the tunnel, there is light at the end of it. The world looks for and expects disunity in the church; when it sees Unity it takes notice. A small example in Weston is the work of Street Pastors.

As v13 says, we have a God of Hope. He wants us, as his children, to imitate him. He’s put it in our DNA. Let me finish by referring to the most well-known verse from Pauls writings to the Corinthians.  Three things remain…..faith, hope, and love. The greatest is love, but in there, in the middle of the sandwich, is hope. And the promise is that, just like Faith and Love, Hope is here to stay. Isn’t that something worth reminding ourselves and sharing with our friends and neighbours?

 Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Reading for Sunday 30th October 2022

Luke 19: 1-10 - Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Sermon on Luke 19: 1 – 10

Sometimes I call on people unannounced.  When I do I always ask if it is convenient to call.  Often they say yes but please excuse the mess (especially if they have children) or they say – please ignore the washing up to be done or the pile of ironing.  I then always say – I haven’t come to see your house, I’ve come to see you.  When people do know that I am coming I suspect that they have a tidy up.  When people come to stay we always have a big clean and tidy.  If someone really important was coming you would want it immaculate.  I wonder who the most important person is who has visited your house.  Today’s reading from Luke is about someone visiting a home unexpectedly.  It’s the story of Zacchaeus which we know so well and sing songs about as children. But let’s go beyond the familiar and see what’s really happening and what it says to us. 

So we have this man called Zacchaeus. We know quite a bit about him – he is the chief tax collector – the head of the local tax department.  Taxes were as controversial now as they are today. You keep it quiet if you work for HMRC. Zacchaeus wouldn’t have collected taxes for himself but would have employed others to do it. He had a very important role. He was also stinking rich because of it. BUT because of that he was very unpopular, hated and despised even and wouldn’t have had much of a social life or friends. He was rich in wealth but poor in love and friendship. He couldn’t have been very happy at all.  A bit further back in Luke 18: 18 we have another account about a rich man - the rich young ruler coming to Jesus to ask about how he could inherit eternal life. He tells Jesus that he keeps all the laws but then Jesus says to him ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.’ But the man becomes sad because he can’t do this. Then Jesus warns about it being hard for the rich to enter into God’s kingdom.  It’s also interesting to note that at the end of chapter 18 we have the account of Jesus healing the blind poor man who said Lord I want to see and Jesus heals him.  So here now with Zacchaeus we have a bit of a repeat. We have a rich man and we have a man who wants to see Jesus.  Jesus is passing through Jericho not intending to stop.  Word must have got out about this and like when royalty are due to go somewhere the crowds gather in the hope of getting a glimpse of Prince William or even the king. And I can relate to this being short – Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. I usually use my elbows to get to the front or just push but being who Zacchaeus was and not being liked, nobody would have given way.  Zacchaeus didn’t just want to see Jesus, it says he wanted to see who he was. He’d heard about him and was curious and wants to see for himself. He wants to see physically and I also believe he wants to see spiritually.  Maybe deep down he was very unhappy and he wanted his life to change. So not being able to see he runs on ahead and climbs a tree that was near the road – 10/10 for being resourceful. 

So my first point is – we need to see Jesus. We need to know him, not just know about him.  We shouldn’t rely on the faith of others but should seek to know Him for ourselves. Zacchaeus did all he could to get a glimpse – a grown man climbing a tree was undignified but he was intent on seeing him. I’m just finishing another Alpha group and it is always wonderful to watch people seeing Jesus – seeing him for the first time, seeing him in a new way, starting to see him again. We can’t climb trees but we can see who Jesus is through His word, through prayer and through other Christians. If you or those you know are wanting to see Jesus then come along to Alpha – in fact everyone should do it. No exceptions. So often people have a distorted view of Jesus – they are blind as it were.  I remember vividly having glasses for the first time and the optician taking me to the door and putting on the glasses. I was shocked at the colours and the detail and also sad that I had thought my blurred world was normal. I often wondered why people thought I ignored them in the street and I was amazed I managed to get the right bus. Have you seen Jesus for who He really is? So Zacchaeus was expecting a glimpse but instead he got an encounter, a meeting. A bit like the King coming to speak to you and then saying I’m coming for tea!  He must have been amazed and overjoyed. Then Jesus speaks to him – Come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. Can you feel the urgency and the command?  Not – can I come to your house please – but I must stay at your house. Come down immediately.

So my second point is – Jesus’ call is urgent.  Jesus was only passing through but he saw the need and the opportunity and knew this man’s heart and he stopped and he called him.  If we sense Jesus calling us, do we respond – because when Jesus speaks and calls it’s for now – not tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late. "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Hebrews 3: 15. And in 2 Corinthians 6: 2 Paul writes For God says, "In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation.’ God’s time is now. It’s now for us and also we need to have an urgency in reaching out to others and being willing to seize the opportunity as we are passing through our day. So Jesus goes to Zacchaeus house – I wonder if he’d done the dishes!  The people are cross because they believe that he is a sinner – and he is – and so are they. Jesus had met with Zacchaeus and he came into his house and then immediately Zacchaeus knows what he must do – sort his life out. He is a changed man. We are not saved through good works but when Jesus comes into our lives then things should not stay the same.

We become a new creation – my 3rd point – a new man or woman. Paul says ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.’ 2 Corinthians 5: 17 Zac knew what he had to put right – he had taken people’s money and cheated on them and would pay back more than the law said. He was putting right the sins of his past. Can you see the change in your life? Have you changed your old habits, have you asked forgiveness of people you have hurt, have you paid back anything you owe, have you got rid of all bitterness and malice and gossip, have you broken off your relationship with your addictions – money, drink, food, your phone, possessions, power – whatever it is that binds you? Are there things in your life that you keep putting off changing – because the time is now. If Jesus came to your home today you would clean and tidy – yet if Jesus has come into your life the result should be a clean- up and a throw out. Let’s ask ourselves what still needs sorting. Jesus brought salvation to Zacchaeus – he brought new life, new hope, friends probably, forgiveness and acceptance. Jesus says ‘Today salvation has come to this house. Because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.’ Jesus would soon go to the cross to bring that salvation and to deal with all our wrong and rubbish. Zacchaeus was rescued by Jesus and he became a son of Abraham – not in that he was a Jew but that he followed in the faith of Abraham. Jesus had brought fresh air to the house, and maybe to the whole family.

4. How has salvation come to your house – what difference does Jesus make to your family life, your single life, your married life and your relationship with your children. This is such a good news story – the whole community would have seen the change and have been affected. Jesus sought out Zac, he called him, he changed him and he brought him salvation. Do we know that for ourselves and do we feel the urgency to share this with others. My Tom loves a band called Foals – he has all their records, been to their concerts and met them. One of their albums is called ‘Everything not saved will be lost.’ They are not Christians but it speaks to me of the urgency to bring salvation to people. So have we seen Jesus, do we know that now is the time, have we allowed Him to change us and have we allowed him into our lives and our homes. 

Rev Anne Wilkins

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Reading for Sunday 23rd Oct 2022 

Luke 18: 9-14 - The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Sermon on Luke 18: 9-14

A topical question: which people have you made judgements about in the last week or two? An intriguing question: what judgements have people made about you? A personal question: what judgements have you made about yourself? As Christians what have we learnt about judgement? Do we remember Jesus’ words in Luke 7: 

"Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.’

Luke’s parable today continues the questions about judgment and justice raised by the persistent widow last week.  We know that in our legal system there are trials by jury, but most civil cases are heard by a judge, who weighs up the cases presented and makes a judgement. In ancient Jewish law courts, all cases were like that. You had to bring a charge against the person who had wronged you and that person had to argue against your case and the judge decided, vindicating one party or another, deciding in their in favour. And so those listening to this parable of Jesus wouldn’t have been surprised at the Pharisee’s approach to his praying.  He is listing the things he didn’t do things that others did: robbery; evil; adultery, and the things that he did as he should: fasting (actually doing it more often than he needed) and tithing. He is bringing to God’s attention the things that he felt he had got right and compares himself to those he felt were doing things wrong, exalting himself. ‘ God I thank you that I am not like other men… even this tax collector’. 

Some of those listening to Jesus may well have thought that the Pharisee was justified in saying what he did. Didn’t Pharisees live exemplary, religious lives, trying to keep the law as perfectly as possible so as to the usher in the golden age when the Messiah would come to rule the world? We are so used to thinking the Pharisees were awful that we can miss the point that they were seen as pillars of their religious communities. But their approach could become an end rather than a means, a way of doing things rather than being. Listen again to the Pharisees words: he is talking to himself, rather than praying to God, justifying himself rather than asking for God’s justification, God’s forgiveness of his sins that he doesn’t even mention.

The other man however needs few words. His whole demeanour is one of humility, even shame.  He has faced the truth about himself. He won’t look up to heaven, he beats his breast. All he says is ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner.’ There is no list, there are no comparisons. There is the knowledge that God knows all of his life. The tax collectors of Jesus’ time were part of a group who squeezed as much as possible out of people so that they could pay the Romans and still have a profit left over, for they were not paid for their work. They were hated, ostracised. But they had a part to play in society. Earlier in Luke’s gospel some tax collectors had gone to John the Baptist asking to be baptised and they asked him, 'Teacher, what are we to do?' Don't collect more than is legal, he told them." And Jesus saw more than the tax collector role. In Luke 5 Jesus sees a tax collector sitting in his booth and calls to him: ‘Follow me’. Levi does and then throws a great banquet for Jesus. The Pharisees then challenge the decision. Jesus’ answer is  “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” And Levi became known as Matthew, one of the twelve disciples and the writer of the gospel. Jesus had seen what was really in Matthew.

The words of Jesus in today’s parable must have caused real offence to the respectable, pious people who heard him caricature the presumption of the Pharisee in the parable. Luke begins: ‘To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable.’ In this little parable Jesus is once again challenging people’s perceptions and conceptions. The Pharisee’s ‘prayer’ shows his judgement of others and his spiritual pride; the tax collector’s prayer shows that he knows God knows everything about him, that he repents and that he seeks God’s mercy. There is no judgement of others in his mind. The outcome of the prayers of the two men was that the Pharisee, the icon of spirituality, left the same way that he came in, whilst the tax collector, the symbol of sin, left justified before God. In his mercy, God reckoned him to be righteous, forgiven.  Jesus said: ‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. ‘For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted’.

Jesus, the Son of God, who was judged by men, falsely convicted and died for us, who rose again to show his victory over sin, was and is exalted and is our example and our guide.

So how do we judge ourselves? Well I would suggest we have to face the truth of ourselves. In our prayers we have to throw ourselves on the mercy of the God in whom we trust. And sometimes, or often, the words ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner’ are a good start! We approach God as forgiven sinners with the certain knowledge that we are loved and accepted by God’s grace alone. We have no claim on God’s mercy except for our need and our openness to receive it.  And having received, we then to listen to what God wants us to do or to be in our lives. That is the truth of our faith, which Jesus showed us in his teachings, in his example, in his understanding of people and through his words in John’s gospel: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

And that love and mercy is to be celebrated and to be shared. No matter what life brings for each one of us, God will always be with us. The end of Paul’s letter to Timothy, where Paul views his approaching death as the pouring out of his life as an offering to Jesus Christ, shows us a person reflecting on his faith journey. Paul again uses the metaphors of a race, of a fight for his life as apostle. Paul has done his best for his faith, keeping his faith and guarding the faith too so it might continue to be spread. He looks forward to the ‘crown of righteousness’, the fulfilment of God’s promise to us all, because God is ‘the righteous judge.’ Paul further writes that he was judged unfairly in Acts 28 when he was first imprisoned but was strengthened and saved by God so that he, Paul, could continue his mission to bring the word to others. “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” We may not face the same dangers and challenges that Paul encountered but we have the same God, who knows us and will be with if we open ourselves to Him, and to ourselves, and ask for his mercy, strength, guidance and love.

So do we leave church each time we come knowing that we have been truthful to ourselves and about ourselves as we have come before God, our righteous judge, in penitence and faith? In our prayers do we pray for his mercy because we know how much we need it? And then, having been forgiven, do we live to God’s praise and glory, with a deep awareness of his presence and his love for us and for all of his creation? Do we look for the good in others, for the needs of others, for the ways we can serve others, rather than judging others? Are our lives rooted in our faith, in our experiences of how God meets our needs? 

Let our lives be full of praise for God, our righteous judge of all, knowing that He loves us, He will not fail us and He will always be with us.

 Amen

Jane Barry (Reader)

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Reading for Sunday 9th Oct 2022 

 Luke 17:11-19 - Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Sermon on Luke 17:11-19

We changed our car back in January, and when we went to pick it up, the salesman came out to show us how everything worked. When it came to the radio he asked which channels we wanted and we said that we were usually  plugged in to Classic F.M. He mentioned that he had discovered Scala Radio and how good it was. Our radio is now normally on Scala. I want to thank him for passing that on, but haven’t seen him since.  I am determined however to thank him for that recommendation even if it means waiting until the next service. This is just a simple insignificant example, but saying thank you to him is important for me and will I’m sure be appreciated by him. This simple bit of advice has made a big change to our music listening experience and he didn’t have to do it. We are grateful.

On a different scale completely, our story about Jesus healing 10 men suffering from leprosy involves a marked contrast between them as regarding saying ‘thank you’ to the one who brought it about. Remember, 10 healed, one came back to say thank you. Getting around to saying thank you can be a challenge at times but our reasons for not doing it can be varied. E.G.

1.Simply not a convenient time  or just too busy at the moment.

2.I’ll have more time later/tomorrow perhaps.  The moment passes and you then  forget OR you do eventually remember but think it’s now too late.  I have a feeling that this happens quite often, and not just with relatively unimportant experiences like my own radio channel, but for experiences that have more significance. Genuine appreciation for a service or an act of kindness does not always lead to an expression of thanks. I know that I have been guilty of this but if you never have then I bow to your clear conscience.

I wonder if you would agree that saying ‘thank you’ can be very therapeutic.? It doesn’t mean that you perform the service expecting a thank you, but it can bring a smile to the face of both giver and receiver when it happens. It points to the fact that we haven’t taken something for granted.

Going back to the story, I don’t know how familiar you are with the symptoms of Leprosy? It’s a bacterial infection which attacks the nerves of bodily extremities. It is progressive without treatment and leads on to skin ulcers, muscle weakness, disfigurement and significant disability. It produces lumps on face and ears and removes eyebrows and eyelashes, also leading to blindness and hairloss. Arms, legs and feet turn very pale sometimes needing amputation. A bleak future !!

These 10 men who were approaching Jesus, were in varying stages of these physical symptoms and the result was that they were completely ostracised from their families and the whole of society, relegated to living in caves or leprosy colonies. It was a painful lifelong sentence and must have been a miserable life. Who can think  that they were other than absolutely elated  to be cured, to be grateful in the extreme when suddenly their future world was turned on its head. It all began with a prayer :-

“ Jesus, Master, have pity on us “.  Jesus gave them a simple direction. Show yourselves to the priests. Understand that it was normal for folk to go to a priest to be declared clean after an illness, but Jesus never did anything by accident, and so they moved away. As they went they were cleansed. Just imagine that moment of recognition turning to joy. Gratitude would have been there in spades as they realised (1)what had happened and )2)what changes it would bring to their lives. Back to the family for a huge party? What about saying thank you ?

Whether they thought about it or not, it clearly wasn’t a priority and the fact that the only one who seemed keen, was a Samaritan didn’t help because of the history of the antagonism between the two nations. The result is as Jesus tells it ”Where are the other 9 ? Was no-one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner ?”

As I suggested earlier, gratitude doesn’t necessarily lead to an expression of thanks. Surely we’ve all experienced that at some point when, after being able to be of help in some way to another person, that there was not a thank you after the event. You didn’t give help to get a thank you but are nevertheless surprised when it doesn’t happen. It’s even possible that you might also have forgotten to say thank you at some time ? So what is the teaching here for us ? Is it simply about saying ‘thank you’ which is a valid reminder for everyone , Christian or not? No, I think that for us as Christians there is a more fundamental issue to this story.

It concerns our relationship with our father God. We may not have experienced Leprosy, but our ongoing issue is the fact of our sinful natures. Because of the death of Jesus however, we know for sure that we are cured of our past sin. Sins dreadful consequences are removed because of God’s love and that by  continuing  to say sorry as we do, God goes on forgiving. So to have the threat of eternal death removed with the alternative of living in Heaven is the best news ever and no doubt we are grateful. Sharing in our Communion this morning is remembering this wonderful fact of forgiveness, just as those 9 lepers were rejoicing in their healing, but does our gratitude lead to saying ‘thank you’ as well ? The 9 failed,  and in reality the challenge faces us as to how much we really praise and thank God for His love and forgiveness. So in our service this morning , are we both grateful AND  thankful in our response. Grateful for our release from the stain of sin, but at the same time , also thankful to the God who gives and keeps his promise of forgiveness.

As the old song goes ‘Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage’.

So it  for us, that in our relationship with God, gratitude and thankfulness are inextricably linked together. An old friend of mine, Bishop Ryle who lived in 1879, said of Christians in his day “that the widespread thanklessness of Christians is the disgrace of our day”. If that was true then, do we think that it has improved ? Can we say that we are regularly thanking and praising God for his gifts or rather are we more disposed  to taking it all for granted ? This is such an easy thing to do. Paul was aware of this tendency and  wrote to the Philippians about this issue. In Chap 4v6 “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition , WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God “ 

Perhaps in all honesty, we are more ready to pray than praise? Something for us pray and to ponder on perhaps.

In the day of the 10 lepers and their healing, they uttered a cry for help to Jesus because of the terrible state that they knew they were in. It seems to me that the society in which we now live in the affluent West, has no understanding of the state of depravity and sin that enfolds our world. They are simply not likely to utter that prayer of the lepers asking for healing. There is a blindness and a deafness to the  situation . They may not find our gospel message to their taste but if the church continues to compromise in it’s message they will never hear it.

Whatever you take away with you after this sermon this morning, yes, there is a general reminder about the importance of saying ‘thank you’ in a general sense, but saying and continuing to say ‘thank you’ to God is the key point to take note of. May we constantly be aware that the gift of God’s forgiveness is the only way we have an assurance of eternal peace with Him.

 Rev Geoff Hobden 

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Readings for Sunday 2nd Oct 2022 

John 17: 5-10 - Jesus Prays for His Disciples

 I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

2 Timothy: 1 1-14 - Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Sermon on John 17: 5-10 & 2 Timothy: 1 1-14

I guess all of us at some time in our lives have either been in hospital I mean as a patient or at the Drs surgery describing some sort of pain level problem And one of the questions were likely to have been asked was... Describe your pain level 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Well, this morning I am going to ask that same type of question but not related to physical pain but to our prayer life. What is the level of importance that we put on prayer in our lives? 1 being of very little importance just use it when nothing seems to work last resort sort of thing and at the other end of the scale 10 which donates it as the most import event in my daily life.

Our readings from John 17 and from 2 Timothy 1 are all about prayer and both readings seem to me to be very special in that the texts are very clear in what they have to say to us here this morning. These short verses as well as being very comforting, and reassuring are certainly to me a constantly reminder and I hope to you as well, of the importance of a daily prayer life. Of course, as Christians we all know and I hope believe that all scripture is the word of God and therefore by that implication is of great importance in leading and directing us in our Christian lives. I believe for us all its important to know and believe that we can’t do Gods work unless we follow the instruction book, and that of course is the bible which is for me and I hope for you, is Gods manual for the Christian life compiled over the centuries by loyal and faithful God-fearing people acting on the word of God and guided by prayer.

These verses from John 17 Verses 5-10 which were read to us just now are also known as The Priestly Prayer. I hope you like me find it extremely reassuring and calming when you know that someone is praying for you not only in your hour of need but every day of our lives. So many people just use prayer as a backup tool when all else fails and maybe even when they don’t really believe in prayer will still turn to prayer when all else fails. God wants to help and he wants us to pray. It's even more reassuring when you realise that Jesus’ also prays to his father God. Remember in the garden of Gethsemane.  

For we need daily prayer by others on our behalf, Jesus’ prayers to the Father on behalf of all his children, described as our advocate which means on our behalf praying on our behalf, and we are well assured  of these facts in John 17 verses 9/10. Verses 1-5, the verses just before our reading form part of this dialog from Listen to what Jesus, is saying to his disciples. He is saying to his disciples that he will soon leave them. And that they must prepare to go out on their own to continue his work of bringing others to know the Lord. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you", what Jesus is saying is this I don’t what the glory the glory must go to you.The text says in Christ own words "Father, I have brought you glory during my time on earth and I have done this by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."

Now let’s be assured that Jesus does not ask for his father to glorify him for his own gratification or for his own glory, but that all he has done while here on earth will glorify his father God in who’s name, he has done it. He asks his father God to give him glory only so that he Jesus could bring more glory to his father God. We see in that plea that through Jesus’s perfect life and sacrificial death and to his obedience to his father,s will. He had brought His Father God great glory. We read and see that Jesus prayed that the Father would receive glory through his work during his time on earth. And that through his sacrificial death on a cross, his resurrection and through his returning to his father’s glory in the ascension all this would complete the scriptures, but also bring great glory to his father God. Yes, Jesus had completed all the tasks asked of him by his father God.

I’ve just visited my old school friend who now tells me he’s become a stoic which is a philosophy founded in the 3rd century BC. He showed me his daily manual. One of the things it said was ignore, and don’t waste time on the things you can’t fix and concentrate only on the things you can improve. My friend then said to me Is that not like what your bible says. Well I said we see and know that we alone can’t fix many of the big problems of our world today on our own war’s famine droughts and so on but I know a man who can. The bible tells us to pray about all things especially to the man who can. Pray, to our Father God through our advocate JC, pray about those things that we know are beyond our own mortal help and resources. We read on to see that Jesus thanks his father God for all those who have responded, to his word and hopefully that’s you and me, yes all of us who have responded to his word, or as John puts it all whom God has given over to Christ to be his followers. So, our priestly prayer reminds us in no uncertain way that Christ listens and answers prayers, which no other religion does because all lack Christ death and resurrection as an atonement for our sins. 

Our other reading is from 2 Timothy chapter 1. Firstly, who was Timothy we don’t hear or read much about him. Well, he was from the city of Lystra in Asia Minor, which today is part of modern-day Turkey. He was born of a Jewish mother who had become a Christian believer, and a Greek father. And so, from his mother’s side, we presume had a Christian upbringing So, who wrote the 2 books of timothy?  Of which the 2nd one we glance at this morning. Did he? that is Timothy write the 2 books named after him? he was we guess about 20 years old at the time. Well, the answer is in both books 1 & 2 with verse 1 in both saying. These letters are from the pen of Paul an apostle of Christ written to his dear friend Timothy whom he calls his dear son. The Apostle Paul met him during his second missionary journey and he became Paul's companion and missionary partner along with Silas. But once again we find Paul in prison, but does this inhibit him from expressing his delight in their companionship and shared faith? No. And the prayer connection, well let’s listen to verses 3 and 4. " I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, at night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy." Yes, Paul longed to meet up again with Timothy so as he says I can be filled with joy. 

So are we filled with joy when we meet up with fellow Christians? Do others see that Christian joy streaming from us in all we do and say, yes, it’s a big ask. But Paul seems to have been able to do it, so then can we? Was it always easy for Paul, I guess not but he never wavered. Let’s remember we are not in prison as so many of our modern-day Christians are we have the freedom to speak God's word and demonstrate it in our daily lives to all we meet. And maybe we can learn from the examples given to us by Paul and others.

Prayers with all their implication are vital to our Christian life. Prayer is far more than just putting one’s hands together and saying a few words it’s the whole way, the holistic way we conduct our lives So, let’s be strengthened and directed by Christ words in John 17 and Pauls words of encouragement to Timothy and all those who know and love the Lord.

Let’s pray: Father God thank you that we can come and pray, knowing that you know each and every one of us as your individual child and hear and answer prayers in a way that you know is best for us. We pray that by our daily pray life and the way we conduct our lives that we may so encourage others to follow suite.

Amen

Bill Dredge (Reader)

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Sunday 18th September 2022

Service of Commemoration for the late Queen

Over these past eleven days we have heard so many words, we have seen ritual and tradition – some things have never been televised before, we have seen people queuing in Edinburgh and now in London for the late Queen’s lying-in state, we have seen carpets of flowers, people interviewed, the King and Queen Consort attending services and civic and state events in the four countries of the UK and Northern Ireland.  We have also seen a family who have lost their mother, grandmother and great – grandmother – and their grief has very much been on public show.

I felt for her four children as they stood around her coffin in vigil on Monday and as people passed them looking at them. And for our nation we have passed from one era to the next, on top of a time of great uncertainty, instability and concern for the future. And for ourselves we may have felt great grief and sadness – many people have been surprised at their reaction, there is a sense of loss at someone who has been always been there, always reliable, who we are so familiar with, although most of us have never met her. She was somehow what it means to be British. As we look ahead to the funeral tomorrow it is good and right to take time to reflect on her life, to give thanks for it, to commend her to God and to be inspired by her life and all that she stood for.

The first word that comes to mind is family – they are the Royal Family and they somehow belong to the nation.  With the Queen at the head of the family she had to hold things together when there were challenges – on top of this putting on a public face. Many people say that the Queen was out of touch but she faced many family troubles that people face all the time – yet she did not waver. In 2002 when both her mother and sister died she said ‘I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God!'

Which leads me to her fortitude. She was a little lady – I have never met her but I realised that at Madame Tussauds that she was short. Despite her size she was a woman of great strength. The Queen demonstrated the best of qualities – wisdom, kindness, compassion, duty, service, determination and humour. Despite this she knew that she was not perfect and needed a Saviour. In 2011 she said about this ‘Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are) – but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.' 

Over the last 11 days the word faith has been mentioned many times in relation to the Queen.  She was a woman of faith – faith in Jesus Christ as her Saviour and Lord – and she was never afraid of telling others about her faith. I wonder if that challenges us. As a Christian she knew the power of prayer, she knew her Bible, she was a regular worshipper and a fantastic witness in both word and action.  She lived the life and talked the talk. In 2000 she said ‘For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.' 

As the Queen got older it seemed that she became bolder to speak of Christ. Despite who she was, Queen Elizabeth knew her need of Christ in her life.  Her sense of duty and service arose from this.  Christ came to this world for all people – rich and poor, men and women, Queen and commoner. He knew that the human need for love and forgiveness was great. Without Christ I believe that the Queen would have been a very different monarch. Following Christ makes a huge difference to our lives if we choose to invite Him in. If we invite Him in now then He will go with us through death into eternal life. The reading from Revelation 21 gives us a picture of the future – of eternal life.  We read of a new heaven and a new earth, a new city, and we have a King on the throne – the King of kings Jesus Christ. ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.’ The Queen is with the Lord Jesus – not as her majesty but as Elizabeth a daughter of the King of kings. ‘I will be their God and they will be my children.’ The Queen knew where she was going and she said that she was going home – going home to the Lord.

This morning do we know where we are going, do we have that strong faith of Queen Elizabeth and if we do are we bold and ready to share it? This account of a new heaven and earth also mentions a new era – a glorious era that will never end – when Jesus will wipe away the tears and where death, mourning, crying and pain will be all gone forever. This is because of the death and resurrection of Jesus who on the cross dealt with death. We live in the time of the kingdom of God – but one day that kingdom will come fully. The Queen was part of that kingdom and is now enjoying a life without tears and suffering. She and her Saviour are face to face. She knew Him in life… “I have been—and remain—very grateful to … God for His steadfast love. I have indeed seen His faithfulness,” she knew Him in death and now she knows Him fully in eternal life. So today let us indeed give thanks, let us remember, let us shed tears but also let us be inspired by Elizabeth – a child of God – our Queen – let us follow in her footsteps and accept the King of kings into our own lives – and like her may we after death be received with joy into eternal life with the words. ‘well done good and faithful servant.’ Amen.  

Rev Anne Wilkins

St Augustine's Church, Locking

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Reading for Sunday 17th July 2022

Philippians 3: 1 - 11  -  Joy in Believing

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Sermon on Philippians 3: 1 - 11

Today we continue with our series of reflections on the letter of Paul to the Christians in Philippi, and we’ve arrived at Ch3.

To recap, the letter was written while Paul was in prison in Rome, uncertain of his future on earth. It was written – unlike some of Pauls letters – specifically to the Philippians and was triggered by the receipt of gifts from them (see the end of ch4). What was his state of mind when the gifts arrived? We don’t know, but whatever it was, their arrival resulted in him wanting to convey, not just a thank you, but his great joy, and to encourage them in their own faith…..and to rejoice! If you so care, check out the number of times the words rejoice and joy occur in the 4 chapters. And to underline his thankfulness, it would appear he was shortly going to sending to them no less than Timothy, his right hand man in his Missionary Team.

It's an intensely personal letter, building as the chapters evolve. In ch1 Paul talks about Joy in Suffering, in ch2 Joy in Serving…..but in ch3 its about Joy in Believing, in being a person with a Christian faith – the wellspring from which everything else flows. The chapter, particularly the first 11 verses, serve as his personal testimony……much of it written in terms which seem very strange to us in the UK in 2022.

 Israel and the surrounding regions, including Pauls birthplace of Tarsus, was a very religious area and, of course, the Israelites believed themselves to be the forever special favoured God anointed society. It had been ingrained in Paul from birth and he had enthusiastically focussed his early life on doing all the right things to be thought of as a “true believer”. He was even a Pharisee, whose group meaning in the original Hebrew was The Set Apart/Separated Ones. And then Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus……..

And in that divine meeting, among other things, Paul realised that true devotion was not about us Trying to do things for God to make Him especially proud of us (none of us can achieve that) BUT us Allowing God to do something for us (opening our eyes to what Jesus did for us when he died on the cross, and evoking a response from us to surrender our lives so that by His Holy Spirit living in us, we can be changed piece by piece into the people we were created to be). In essence that is the difference between the Words “In the flesh” and “In Christ” that Paul uses in our passage today.

I tried to rewrite Pauls “credentials” for being the sort of person who MUST be acceptable to God in the language of 2022? Actually, it’s almost impossible, as we live in a country where, even at the last census, the % of people describing themselves as Christians was less than 50%, and below the age of 50 that % was considerably higher. To make any sort of comparison I think I need to go back to the late 1960s, when society was changing at a rapid pace, and I was growing up in the eastern suburbs of London. For the people of my parents generation, and their parents, you would call yourself a Christian if you had been christened as a baby, and tried to live a “decent” life (YOU defined what classified as decent) including turning out on a Sunday at your local church (normally your parish church if you were CofE) on high days and holidays, particularly Christmas and Easter.  Your level of zealousness would determine how often you were seen in church; you would always wear your “Sunday best” and you would “put something in the collection”. Mostly you would keep your religious belief to yourself, because that’s what British people did. That was what God was looking for in a Christian, wasn’t it?

Apparently not, when we come to Phil 3 vses 7-11. Pauls words ring true, whatever our generation. All our good works, all our religious lineage, never could and never can earn us a “ticket to Heaven”. How could any sane person honestly think they could! Paul, as always, writes with extreme passion – he calls all he once thought gave him special entrance into Gods presence “rubbish”, things to be discarded and swept away “that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own…..but that which is through faith in Christ.” What a relief for us – instead of having to strive to be good enough, what we have to do is to accept by faith the free gift of Gods forgiveness that Jesus made possible by taking all our sins, all our imperfections, on Him on the Cross, and opening up the way for us to be changed by Gods Holy Spirit living within us. To be “in Christ” in practical terms, means our in-timate connection with Christ – His spirit dwelling in the core of our beings, whether we feel it or not. It’s his promise; it’s part of the package.

But there’s the rub, to make the most of living the Christian life, it requires us – like Paul – to actively put away our old lives and ways of doing and thinking, and actively look to Jesus to start His changing process in us. 

Paul talks about “knowing Christ”. How can we, ordinary individuals as we are, come to “know” the King of Kings, the Son of God? Well, think about how we get to know any human well…. We learn to recognise them and what they do, we talk with them, we spend time in their home and with their family etc. It’s not a perfect comparison, but it helps somewhat. Yes, there will be difficulties, Yes some friends and family will struggle with our faith, but we have the resurrection power of Gods Holy Spirit living within us to sustain us. AND the assurance that as we progress in the Christian walk, we will actually learn to know Jesus. In a world and nation of very dubious role models and influencers, that is a wonderful promise.

In my family, when I got converted and started talking about a personal relationship with Jesus, it shook my Mum and Dad. They actually wondered – individually, as they never talked to each other about such things – whether they really were Christians, as neither could point to a specific time in their lives at which they had committed themselves to Jesus. It so happened that the evangelist Dick Saunders was conducting a Crusade in a nearby park, and without telling me they went along one night, and both went forward at the end to talk to the team. And……. Well, well, they found that their faith and commitment were both valid and no different to mine – they had accepted the truth of the Gospel quietly early in their lives and they’d just grown physically and spiritually in parallel since that time.

It would never have occurred to them that by their own efforts they could earn their salvation, to get a pat on the back from God – that had already been bought for them when Jesus died on the Cross. They just got on with quietly living for Him.

I always think, as I read our passage, that the paragraph should end at v12 – with the words “Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”. I love that. Individually, we realise we can’t live a Christian life by our own efforts. We reach out our hand for someone to steady us, to stop us from sinking, and Jesus takes hold of us, you and me. He has never loosened that grip and he never will; in and with His strength we press on.

Let me finish by quoting the words of 1 verse from a modern worship song by Bethel Music called “Homecoming”. Lord I confess I’ve been a prodigal/Made for your house but I walked my own roads/Then Jesus came, He tore down my prison walls/Death came to life when He called me by name…Scarlet sins had a crimson cost/You nailed my debt to that old rugged cross/An empty slate, at the empty grave/Thank God that stone was rolled….away.

Cliff Dumbell (Lay Leader)

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Reading for Sunday 19th June 2022

Sermon 1: 12 - 30 - Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,  so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. or it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

 Reflections on Philippians 1: 12 - 30

I wonder it you have ever been in a situation that you honestly believed you would never recover from and at that moment in time things looked pretty hopeless. Well if you haven't, I have and I suspect if you think about it many of you here this morning will remember that terrible feeling that this might be the end.  And that's the situation that I suggest and suspect Paul is in our reading from Philippians this morning.  And it was, a situation that I could only describe as a pretty awful mess. 

I wonder if vou have ever been inside a prison? I mean of course as a visitor! I have in my role as a GPO engineer or on behalf of the firm that is now known as BT.  In the early 70s, myself and a collage looked after all the telephone equipment in Shepton Mallet prison. And I can tell you that the conditions inside were pretty squalid, yes it  was an experience, and most certain not one I would like to ever have exprienced as an inmate. But however as dark and dismal bleak and scary Shepton Mallet Prison was in the 70's, I guess the conditions were 5 star compared with the conditions that Paul was experiencing in his confinement in a 1st century prison some 1600 years before Shepton prison was even built. 

He must have been at his wits end, scared to death unable to continue the vital word that God wanted him to do, and that work of course was to continue to spread the gospel the good news of Christ and God's Kingdom. But that is not how Paul saw it, in fact quite the opposite. Paul writes in 1 Phillipians  Now I want you to know brothers and sisters that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the Gospel. Served to advance the Gospel? Whatever could Paul mean - perhaps the long isolation the terrible conditions wereaffecting his mind? No, Paul was not going out of his mind, Paul was as sane as I am. No, sorry let me correct that statement, Paul was as sane as you all are in the congregation here this morning. 

Anyway here was Paul chained to a prison guard 24 hours a day and I guess in a stinking dark damp cell. So come on Paul let's speak sense - just how could you advance the Gospel in those conditions. But my friends let's also not forget this was Paul one of the greatest 1st century Christians to walk this earth  And we know from his history that he would not allow anything to stop him completing the task that he had set before him.  And of course apart from his dogged determination to achieve his goal he was not alone in that cell.  No I don't just mean the prison guard. So, who or what else was with Paul over those long years in prison?  Of course, it was the Lord the lord who had turned him from a sinner to a steadfast follower of Christ. Yes his Lord,  our Lord who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yes that was his company during his long isolation in that prison block. 

Listen again to Paul's words. Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.  So just for a moment before we continue to look at Pauls life lets briefly look at our reading from Luke. A man who had been possessed with evil spirts he was I suspect avoided by all because of his evil madness.  But did Jesus avoid him? No Jesus did the complete opposite - he healed him. And because the man then wanted to follow Jesus  who was about to leave in a boat, but Jesus said to the man go home and tell everyone what Jesus has done for you. 

We see here that Jesus never misses an opportunity to encourage us to spread the good news and that's what he wanted the man to do.  And it was the same with Paul despite his circumstances. Paul was able to encourage others to spread the Gospel message supported by and through the Holy Spirit. And his prison guards had little option but to listen. They in turn would tell others and so the Gospel was spread throughout the entire prison complex and beyond. 

And so, we here in the 21st century can learn from Paul. We learn that living for Christ can and will make our circumstances and our lives so much better. Paul's life was not good, he was surrounded by enemies both physical and spiritual on every hand.  But despite all, his one and sole aim was to tell others about the Lord Jesus. Paul's life was the extreme of hardness yet even when he could have been facing death he never strayed from the Lord, not even in the face of torture and death  Yes, God is good he never deserts us. Pauls imprisonment had a good effect on the other Apostles and the Christians around him.  They became stronger and more determined to spread the Word. When we who are here this morning are living for Christ that can help enhance the lives of others who maybe struggling. Even now as you and I study this verse, we read and study the man who once tried and convicted believers putting them to death, but now we see this man as a believer, ready to both live and die for Christ. 

Paul's influence on these people was so strong that they met his physical needs as often as they could. The pastor of the church brought to the prison food and other items to help bring comfort to Paul while in jail.  We also can bring comfort to others both Christian and non-Christian just as Paul did centuries ago  Yes, living for Christ should be at the very substance and meaning of life. Let's use this account of Paul's incarceration as an example for the way to live our lives.

Let us pray 
Father we sometimes feel as Paul must have felt sometimes while locked away imprisoned and far away from you.  But deep-down Lord we know that you never leave us not even for a single second.  So Father God help us to have increasing faith in you love a concern for us we pray.Amen 

 Bill Dredge (Reader)

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