The turning point - Who do you say that I am?

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay at 8:00 15 September 2024. This sermon was not recorded.

Reading Isaiah 50; Mark 8v27-38

Introduction/Background

In today’s NT reading, we are almost in the middle of the book of Mark. Our reading marks a turning point in the book. Until now, the narrative has been mostly positive – miracles and healings. The teaching has been mainly fairly easy, and occasionally it has made things easier for his followers – in Chapter two, for example, he permits them to pick grain and eat on the Sabbath. He starts to draw a crowd, and He becomes well known in the area, and soon has many followers. The crowds follow Him wherever He goes. In chapter 6 the Twelve are learning from him, and practising their new-found skills – healing and driving out demons.

In Caesarea Philippi

Just before our reading today, they were in Bethsaida. Now, they are in the region of Caesarea Philippi, about a day’s walk further away from Jerusalem, and almost as far north as they go. The town is in modern day Lebanon. They are now over 100 miles from Jerusalem.

Caesarea Philippi was a Roman town, dedicated to the god that was the Roman emperor, and before that the god Pan. It had once been called Paneas. It is here that Jesus chooses to ask his question.

“Who do people say I am?”

“Who do people say I am?” Jesus sounds like some insecure celebrity or influencer asking for the uncritical support of his closest followers. That’s not how it is though, the reality is that he is teaching His disciples, and working them gently up to the most important lesson so far.

The answers they report are all quite reasonable considering what they have done and what they have seen. There was an expectation that Elijah would return before the messiah came, but none of the people they have heard from have gone so far as to say that Jesus is the Messiah.

What about you?

So, Jesus narrows the question. “What about you? Who do you say I am?” The disciples have seen things and heard things that the crowd have not. Also, they have seen Jesus closer up and for a much longer time than the crowd. They must suspect more – surely?

The Christ

Peter is the leader of the disciples. I can picture the scene, Jesus asks the question, instantly everyone looks at Peter. What is he going to say? Is there a pause? Does he need time to think about it? Or is this a typical Peter response – the first thing that comes to mind is spoken straight away?

“You are the Christ”. It’s quite a jump. The Christ or the Messiah was, in the popular belief of the time, the one who would restore David’s kingdom. That’s a political and military leader. Three specific things were required:

1. Rebuild or cleanse the Temple
2. Defeat the enemies of God’s people
3. Bring God’s, justice to Israel and then the rest of the world.

Do not tell

Jesus immediately warns them not to tell anyone what Peter has said. He knows that He is not what the popular culture believes that the Christ should be. He is not going to live in a palace, raise an army, or start a war in Israel. That’s probably why he has preferred to call Himself Son of Man. That title mostly just means ‘Human Being’, but in Daniel 7, it undoubtedly refers to the Christ.

Jesus predicts His death

Now, the focus of the teaching changes. It’s no longer about lifestyle, it is about the Christ and what will happen to Him.

“the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”

Jesus is using the suffering servant in Isaiah (52:13-53:12) as the model for how his life will go.

Peter takes Him aside

That’s appalling, Peter has just said out loud that Jesus is the Christ, the glorious leader who will solve all the problems Israel faces, and now Jesus is saying He must suffer and die! So, Peter takes aside.

“Er, Lord, can I have a word with you in private for a minute”.

Of course, it can’t be private, they are out in the open, but Peter can’t take this, he will have to tell Jesus how it really is. Only Matthew gives us some of Peter’s words:

“Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Of course, Peter has a point. Who is going to follow someone whose future is to suffer and to die at the hands of the authorities they are hoping to overthrow? It sounds like madness.

Jesus’s Rebuke

Jesus recognises Peter’s words. He has heard them before. He spent forty days in the desert listening to words exactly like these.

Luke 4:13: When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Now is that time, just when Jesus starts talking to His followers, the ones who He knows will be the basis for the spread of His story, and the redemption of millions, there is Satan, trying his best to kill the church before it is even born.

Jesus’s response, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” is crushing for Peter, but essential for Jesus’s mission.

Jesus’s Teaching

Now, after that drama with Peter, Jesus turns to the crowd, calls them to come closer so that he can begin his teaching.

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Denying Self

Denying yourself, simply means not putting ourselves first, pushing our own desires into the background and focussing on the gospel.

Cross

Taking up your cross, means putting ourselves in the line with the condemned on the way to a Roman crucifixion, death is the only thing that awaits us.

Life

If, at any point, we try to save our lives, we will lose them, but whoever loses their life for the sake of Jesus and for the gospel, will gain eternal life.

Soul / Self

Jesus goes on to say:

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Or what can someone give in exchange for their soul?

The word ‘soul’ here can also be translated self, if read like that perhaps we get a better understanding. If we give up ourself for the world, we have no self to own the world with! I think this is a way of Jesus saying we must be in or out, either we believe he is the Christ or we don’t – there can be no half way position. Verse 38 seems to underline this idea.

End of the gospel

I started by saying we were in the middle of the book, and today’s verses are a turning point. The teaching has changed, in these verses the emphasis is now on belief and sacrifice. As we approach Jerusalem and particularly as we come to the crucifixion narrative and to Jesus’s death, we see that everyone has melted away and Jesus is alone.

It would seem to be madness to follow such a leader, and the world increasingly seems to take that view. As we have seen, even Peter was opposed to God’s plan for redemption because he was thinking in a worldly (or satanic) way.

Challenge

This is our challenge, and one that the church of God faces in every generation, can we look at the world we live in from God’s point of view, when everything around us is telling us that that is madness?

It all hinges on the question that Jesus, at some point, asks each of us: “Who do you say that I am?”

What is your answer this morning?

Do you recognise Him as the Christ?  Are you willing to follow Him to Jerusalem, to death and ultimately receive the resurrection?

Amen

Summer Series 3 – Biblical Teaching

Preached 11 August 2024 at Christ Church, Billericay. It is based on Holy Habits in Messy Church.  I will add the slides later, so that it will make better sense.

The recording can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX8AAlUgffM from 28:15

I did go a bit off script at the end.

[Slide 1 – Title]

Prayer

Introduction

[Slide 2 – Mealtime cards]

 

Favourite story about Jesus?

What is your favourite story about Jesus?

[get answers]

My favourite story about Jesus is: His conversation with Pilate in John 18. Jesus is under extreme pressure, and being sentenced to death, but He has the presence of mind to have a conversation with Pilate that really unsettles him and makes him think about who Jesus is.

Bible at home? Would you like one?

If you haven’t got a Bible at home, would you like one?

[get answers]

Most (all?) of us have – I have loads – many different translations and different sizes – small ones that are difficult to read now, and larger ones with embedded cross-references. I also, have access to multiple versions on my phone.

If you have got a Bible, where is it kept?

[get answers]

My main one is next to my bed.

Activity 1 – Minute to Win it

[Slide 3 – Books of the Bible]

 

Time for an activity. Hopefully you haven’t opened your envelopes yet – because if you have, that would be cheating! We’re going to have a look at how much you know about the Bible. There are 66 books in the Bible. In your envelopes you will find the names of 14 of those books on slips of coloured paper. Your task is to put them in the correct order. The colours of the paper are not significant. If you are fortunate, you will have two slips with the same names on them, although I hope not. If you aren’t fortunate you will have an extra slip, but again, I hope not.

If you’re doing this from home, and don’t have a pack, try working out those on the screen.

So when the next slide comes up, you have one minute to get as many of them as you can.

[Slide 4 – Minute to win it video autoplay and auto advance to 5]

How did you do, check your list with the index page of a Bible?

[get answers]

 

What is the Bible?

So, what is the Bible? And Why is it so important to Christians?

It is a collection of writings (or books), from around 3200 years ago, to about 2000 years ago. In many cases, the writings are recording events that have come to their hearers by being told and re-told over many generations. The writings record peoples interactions with God, and how they behaved because of, or despite, those interactions. It tells us of their ups and downs, their successes and failures. They recorded songs, poetry, prophecy, biography, letters, and philosophical thoughts as well as a little history. All aspects of their lives are covered. All the writings are focussed on God and His people. We can see how His promises are fulfilled, and most importantly, how His plan for the redemption of the world is progressing.

Sequence

The writings are kept in a particular sequence, as we have seen. This is not a historical sequence, even though the first book deals with creation and the last with the end of this world and the establishment of the next. Rather, Jewish writing that make up our Old Testament are first, and the Christian writings that make up the New Testament are second, after that the sequence loosely categorises the writings by type.

Important

The Bible is important because it is the word of God. Each of the books is inspired by God, and eventually, written down and then copied and copied again by people who recognised its importance. The Bible stories we read, both the historical ones, and the made up ones, like the parables, tell us something about ourselves and how we relate to God. They also tell us something about God and how He relates to us. The Bible itself says that these writings are sufficient for us, so during the reformation, in 1561, this confession was written:

[Slide 6 – Belgic Confession]

“We believe that those Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein.”

and in the following century the Westminster Assembly said:

[Slide 7 – Westminster Assembly]

“The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men [Gal. 1:8–9; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Tim. 3:15–17].”

So our Bible has everything we need to live our lives as God wants us to. We just have to work out the what and the how.

Activity – What’s Missing

Slide 8 – What’s Missing

One of the ways we can use the Bible is for guidance. In the following activity, the guidance the items provide will help us get from one place to another.

Watch the screen carefully. You will have only 30 seconds to study it’s contents and store them in your short term memory. Then, the picture will change and one of the things will be missing. Now, normally this game would be played with a tray and a cloth covering it, I would them take an item and uncover it. But it’s almost impossible to show a tray of items to those who worship from home, so I’ve created a video.

Right, here goes:

[Slide 9 – 9 items that give direction
Slide 10, slide 11 follow automatically]

What was missing?

 

Did you manage to see what was missing?

[get answers]

[Slide 12 The Missing Item]

So, there it is, a small black arrow, I hope you spotted it.>

 

Life as a Journey

[Slide 13 What does the Bible say about]

It’s a bit of a cliché these days to say life is a journey, but that is still a valid way of looking at life. Often we find ourselves lost and don’t know what to do next, or how to respond to a certain situation.

Many years ago, as a young Christian, I was given a book, simply called ‘Help’. Each chapter, consisted of a page or two of Bible verses that answered some question about life, or gave indications of how to pray and respond. These days we simply have to do an internet search “What does the Bible say about …?”. But we have to be careful when we look at the results and only read results that list Bible verses. If the Bible is to give direction, we don’t necessarily want other peoples interpretations. Read the verses, and perhaps check to see if there are any other references that relate to those verses. It’s rarely a good idea just to read one or two when there are about 31,100 to choose from.

Road to Emmaus

[Slide 14 Road to Emmaus pictures]

In our reading today, the disciples on the road to Emmaus were lost and confused, because the man they thought was the Messiah was dead. Then an apparent stranger comes along and speaks to them about their scriptures, and shows them how all the scriptures point to Jesus, and His death and resurrection. They didn’t recognise Him until he broke bread with them, then they understood.

It can work in similar ways for us, if we are prepared to listen to and absorb the contents of the Bible, and to learn from it, not just remember it. Then, when we have need the words and their meening will come back to us and provide us with clarity and understanding.

Amen

Seeds for the Kindgom

Preached at Christ church, Billericay on 16 June 2024 Online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQZ5OJ4lpEg from 13:45 to 34:15

Reading Mark 4:26-34

Prayer

Introduction

Today we are looking at the parable of the growing seed and the parable of the mustard seed.  Jesus has been teaching the crowd that followed him with various parables, some are quite complicated, but these two are short and simple.  Most of the people He is talking to would be farmers, or involved in jobs related to farming.  So, by using seeds as his subject, He can be sure that the people he is talking to will understand what he is saying.  Wheat is their most important crop, and mustard seeds are common.

Identifying Seeds

[Activity 1 – Identifying seeds – carrots]

 

Before we plant seeds, it’s important to know what they are, that is especially true if you’re a farmer who is growing crops to support your family.

Each year, I collect the seeds from the last few tomatoes on my tomato plants, carefully dry them and store them safely away from anything that might try to eat them, then the following year I plant them, and we will have another nice crop of tomatoes from late July through until about the end of October.

[Activity 2 – Seed Packets]

I plant my seeds in special trays and, just as Jesus says in the parable, wait patiently.  Perhaps only God know what exactly happens.  I’m always excited when the first leaves appear in the seed trays.  That usually takes about five days.  So, once I’ve planted them, I just have to wait.  Be patient and hope that the seed is good and that germination will occur, and after that the seed will continue to grow.

As with the farmers in the parable, I have no idea what is going on under the soil, I just have to be patient.

Wheat in the field

My tomatoes take a bit more work than the wheat in the fields.  After the seeds germinate, they have to be put in big pots, and watered and fed regularly.  The wheat, though, is just left to get on with growing.

“All by itself the soil produces grain”, the Greek word has the same root as our word “automatically”.  So we could say that the soil produces grain automatically.

Today wheat is sown in nice straight lines, in Jesus’s day the wheat grains were scattered by hand.  No nice neat rows that you can walk along, the stalks grew here, there and everywhere, and the weeds with them.  There is no easy way to water those crops, farmers had to rely on the rain.  All the wheat and the weeds would be harvested at once, there was no other way – they had no weed killer to kill the weeds.  But I’m straying into another parable now.

Kingdom of Heaven

[Slide 9]

 OK, enough about my gardening, how does all this apply to what Jesus is saying.  He’s trying to let his hearers know what the Kingdom of heaven is like.  Before you heard this passage today, how would you have described the kingdom of heaven.  Perhaps as an incredibly opulent palace, with gold and diamonds everywhere or something like the description in Revelation 21:11-14:

“It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb”

Kingdom of God like a seed

But we’re not talking about the new heaven and the new earth, we’re talking about the Kingdom of God as it is now, and only the part of it that is on Earth.

So, how is the Kingdom of God like a seed?

[Slide 10 - Wheat]

Well, the seed is planted in someone, and it might germinate soon, or it might lay dormant for months or years – real seeds can do that, and remain viable.  At some point, the seed will germinate and begin to grow. 

Growing Inside

What is growing inside that person is a faith in God and Jesus.  We will not see it at this point; it is still under the soil – it is still hidden inside the character of the person.  But as the seed continues to grow, it will change the person it is growing in.

We know that, because Paul tells us, using a slightly different analogy:

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness and self-control.

Nature of the Kingdom of Heaven (on Earth)

You will, almost certainly, not notice that people are changing, that they are becoming more loving, or more tolerant, kinder, more prepared to do good.  That is the very nature of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth – it is imperceptible.  Until, that is, something big happens and suddenly there is a church providing support and protection for all sorts of people.  This is what the parable of the mustard seed is telling us.  You look and ask yourself, “Where did that come from?”  The answer is of course that is has been growing for years, it was just that no-one saw it – perhaps because no-one was looking.

Encouragement

This should be an encouragement to us – God is working, growing the seeds that we have spread in all sorts of places.  Indeed, this is an important part of our faith – that God is always at work, in someone, somewhere.  Really, that should be in lots of people, all over the place.

In a video I watched, in preparation for this, the Reverend Dr Ian Paul (the Associate Minister of St Nic's, Nottingham) says “Enough churches have been planted in the North East in the last 20 years to fill an Anglican diocese.”  That is how growth occurs – it ‘just happens’ and we don’t hear about it.

Reap

So, the farmer waits, night and day (that’s how the Jews count, because their day starts in our evening), so not day and night.  Until the crop is ready, and then when the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it and there is the harvest.

This, of course, will only happen once with the Kingdom of God – when the time is right, when the harvest is ripe, Jesus will return and His work of redemption will be complete.  For the farmer of course it happens season after season, just like it does for me as I pick tomatoes from my plants for three months or so.

Lesson

[Slide 11]

The main lesson from these two parables for us is to constantly scatter seed.  How might we do that?

For me, it means that we must be prepared to share Jesus’ teaching whenever we see the opportunity.

What teaching would you share with others?

Take a moment to think of something, then write it down, and we will collect it in our seed packets.

 

Amen.

 

References

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-powerful-word-of-god-just-keep-sowing-mark-4-26-34-darrell-ferguson-sermon-on-sower-276089

https://sermons4kids.com/activities/planting-seeds-group

https://sermonwriter.com/childrens-sermons/a-tiny-seed/

https://sermonwriter.com/childrens-sermons/mark-426-34-scattering-words-edstrom/

https://ministry-to-children.com/tiny-faith-mark-426-34-sunday-school-lesson/

https://garynealhansen.com/a-childrens-sermon-on-mark-4-26-34-the-mustard-seed/

https://rfour.org/childrensmessage_b_29.html

https://shortpowerfulsermons.com/mark-426-34-the-mustard-seed-miracle/

https://pcpe.smu.edu/blog/surprising-seeds-reflections-on-mark-4-26-34

https://pcpe.smu.edu/blog/surprising-seeds-reflections-on-mark-4-26-34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8AXq5CW4JQ

https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/the-kingdom-of-god-grows-all-by-itself-in-mark-4/

https://www.bibleref.com/Mark/4/Mark-4-26.html

https://getbusygardening.com/easy-seed-envelopes/

Commentary 

Joel 3:13

‭Joel 3:13 NIV‬

[13] Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the wine press is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”