Wannabe

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay on 8 October 2023

Prayer

Wannabe

In June 1996 the Spice Girls released their first single Wannabe.  It became a huge hit and is a memorable track – even if you don’t like it.  They ask and answer the question, “Tell me what you want, what you really really want?”

Paul provides his answer in the verses we had read today, and as you would expect, it’s nothing like the Spice Girls answer.  So let’s have a look at what Paul said – because it’s more interesting.

Background - Philippi

Let’s start with a quick re-cap on Philippi, you will have heard this last week in Catherine’s sermon, but you may not remember it.  Philippi was a proud and rich Roman town, situated on the coast, it was ideal for traders.  There had also been a couple of Gold rushes in its history.

Background – Philippian church

Paul had founded the church there about 10 years before this letter was written. When writing this letter he is under house arrest, so cannot visit any of his churches, but there are people who keep him in touch with what is going on.  Paul is particularly close to this church.

Background – Early Christian Judaizers

The early church, which includes the church at Philippi, had many arguments and disagreements.  The most prominent of these were those who saw Christianity as part of Judaism and wanted the new gentile converts to undergo the correct Jewish conversion rituals – notably circumcision. They are known as Judaizers.

In verse 2 Paul writes:

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.

Dogs

‘Dogs’ was a common insult in Paul's day and referred to packs of feral dogs that roamed cities.  They could be dangerous when they were starving, and would occasionally attack people. 

It’s these people’s beliefs that Paul is responding to in today’s reading.

As we go through this part of the letter, I will try to put the images he provides into a modern context where that needs to be done, as we don’t have any Judaizers in our church.

3 sections

The reading splits into 3 sections:

·      4b-6

·      7-10

·      12-14

You might like to follow the text in your Bible, it’s on page ____, if you do.

4b-6 ‘I am the greatest’

When Paul talks about confidence in the flesh, he is talking about confidence in his Jewish heritage.  He and his family have followed the rituals impeccably. The first of these is circumcision on the eighth day – a basic requirement for all male Jewish babies.  This establishes him as a Jew.

More than that, he is an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, the same tribe the first king (Saul) came from you can read about that in 1 Samuel 9.  The tribe is renowned for its military valour and successes.

Hebrew of Hebrews seems to be a claim to purity in the bloodline, and to be a boast.  It was meant to distinguish him from the Hellenistic (Greek) Jews.

As a Pharisee, he has studied the law, and is devoted to its practice, so much so that he was a leading light is the persecution of the new ‘sect’ – the Christians.  Finally, he claims that he follows the law faultlessly.

There is no Jew who could make greater claims.

For us, in our time, as gentiles, we would have to be able to claim that we could trace our lineage back to a Saxon noble family, that we have graduated with a first class degree from Oxford or Cambridge, have at least one PhD and work in an Industry that provides us with a very generous income, or no need to work at all.

In other words, we can rely on ourselves, nothing that happens can affect us.  It is our flesh that we rely on. 

7-10 Strange Accounting

In vv7-10, Paul pushes that all aside, not just to forget it and say it was worthless, but to say that it was a detriment to what he really wants. 

So here are the verses where Paul tells us what he wants, what he really really wants.

All his life he had been moving towards a role as a Pharisee – a comfortable life working for the purity of his religion and encouraging others to join in with the careful and very legalistic way he had chosen to live his life.  I’m sure his mother would have been proud of him too.

Now he has given that up and become a travelling preacher, with little prestige and a lot of suffering.  He had done that because he has found something immeasurably better.

His righteousness is perhaps the most important thing to him.  He now wants to find that through his faith in Jesus Christ, because he’s realised that the Law cannot make him righteous.  You can see even here in these few words that faith in Christ is all that is needed to put us right with God.

Paul wants more than a straight forward faith, he wants a share in the power of the resurrection, to join with Christ in his sufferings, and become like him in his death.  We can see from many of the stories in the book of Acts, how much Paul suffered.

Paul, it is believed, was beheaded during the Neronian persecution.

A true faith so often leads to imprisonment and death because the world simply cannot tolerate God and his followers. 

I looked at three of my Christian heroes to see how they died:

·      Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hung by the Nazis just before the end of WWII

·      Eric Liddle died of overwork and insufficient food, while imprisoned in China

·      James Hudson Taylor died of old age, so an active faith does not always lead to martyrdom.

12-14 Pressing On

Paul knows that he hasn’t already attained what he is seeking, so even now he must keep going.  He is deliberately forgetting past failures and successes.  Now, he can’t actually forget, that’s not something anyone can wilfully do.  I forget loads of things that I should remember, but am unable to forget a few things that I would really like to forget. 

What Paul means by this is that he is not dwelling on the past, he does not care about past failures, except perhaps what they have taught him.  His concern is only to achieve his goal, which, let me remind you, is to attain the resurrection from the dead.

The race

Paul uses the analogy of a race, let’s look at a modern example.  In the 2011 F1 Canadian Grand Prix, Jenson Button started from 7^th on the grid.  In a rain affected race, with a very long stoppage after an accident, he found himself last.  He had been involved in two incidents, one with his teammate, and had plenty that he would like to forget.  At that stage, it was probably the whole race, but he was focussed forward and not concerned about previous errors by him or by other drivers.  In that second stint he overtook every other driver on the track, and on the last lap with the final overtake, found himself in first position to win the race.

That is the type of focus and attitude that Paul is talking about in these last 3 verses.

Paul’s suffering

He has been through much suffering – his life has been threatened many times, he had been beaten up, flogged and otherwise assaulted, but none of that matters, only the prize – only the resurrection is worth any focus at all.

Followers suffer

For a follower of Jesus, the world can be a nasty place.  We are fortunate, in some ways, that we are rarely, if ever threatened.  But the ridicule and the rejection can be painful too.  Sadly, it is not only the secular world that can cause us to be troubled, the church can do that too.  That can be either intentional, such as the many unresolved sexual abuse cases we hear about.  Or it can be caused by thoughtlessness or selfishness from those around us.

Whatever set backs we suffer, how ever serious they may be, and however hard dealing with them may become, we must remember that the main prize is the attainment of the resurrection.  That does not mean that we simply let bad things happen to ourselves or others, there are processes to follow and actions to take, that may be difficult in themselves, but the prize is the prize, and should not be lost sight of.

Tell me what you want

Paul’s calling was to be the Apostle to the gentiles, that is not our calling.  Of all of us here, I only know of one calling in great detail – that is mine.  I have some idea of some others, but not a detailed understanding.  Each of our callings come with a prize, and the prize is the same – to be raised from death and accepted by God at the final judgement.  We – all of us – attain the prize by faith in Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection – and in the power that brings.  But what we do with it on the journey, is between each of us and God.

Question for us

So, each of us should ask ourselves today, “What do I really really want?”

 

References

https://mypastoralponderings.com/2022/04/02/pressing-on-toward-the-goal-my-sermon-on-philippians-34-14-and-john-121-8/

https://sermonwriter.com/biblical-commentary/new-testament-philippians-34b-14/

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/straining-till-the-end-dan-bentz-sermon-on-faith-39480?page=1&wc=800

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_martyrs

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Taylor

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Liddell

• Died of overwork and undernourishment

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

• Hung by Nazis

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Canadian_Grand_Prix

https://www.learnreligions.com/book-of-philippians-701040

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/463971/jewish/Saul-First-King-of-Israel.htm

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-was-the-tribe-of-benjamin-important.html

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/34825/the-phrase-hebrew-of-hebrews-in-philippians-35

https://www.learnreligions.com/book-of-philippians-701040

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannabe

Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-_EsOFsuPk from 18:56 - 33:05

 

"Goodness" from the fruits of the Spirit, for Pensioners Praise.

Preached 7 August 2023 at 14:00 at Christ Church, Billericay

Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 18:18-19

Title: ‘Goodness’

Purpose: Pensioners Praise look at the fruit ‘goodness’

Reading Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 18:18-19

Young Boy

A young boy had been sent to his room for bad behaviour. After a while, he emerged and told his mother he had thought it over and prayed about it.

"That's wonderful", said the mother. "If you ask God, He will help you to be good."

The boy responded, "But I didn't ask God to help me be good, I asked Him to help you put up with me."

The boy had discovered the path of least resistance. He realized life would be easier if others would just change in relation to him. Let's face it, life would be easier for all of us if people would just tolerate our weaknesses, and put up with our shortcomings. In other words, if everybody else had the fruit of the Spirit, we would not have to bother being good. We could continue being a pain, to give others an opportunity to exercise their fruits.

Fantasy

But that's not going to happen, is it? It’s just a fantasy, a dream, perhaps. The reality is that we all need to be able to be good, to show goodness.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is an enormous amount about ‘good’ in the Bible. It’s impossible for me to cover it all in just one sermon, so today will just be an overview.

The start of Good and Evil

Let’s start at the beginning, before human beings were aware of good and evil. In those days God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree at the centre of the garden.

Genesis 2:9b In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

2:17b you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

But the serpent deceived them, and persuaded them that the fruit was good for them, and would make them like God. So, they ate, in direct dis-obedience and their eyes were opened, and their lives were ended (that is an end was put on their lives).

The fall as a good deed

I can hear this story spun as a good deed. Would you follow a God who kept His creation in ignorance, unable to make important decisions for themselves. Surely the serpent did the right thing in taking the action He took, and giving human beings the ability to manage their own lives.

Relationship with God

The only reason that there is still the possibility of a relationship with God, is because God is good. We are all stained with evil.

Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

The sins of my youth are a long time ago now, I can barely remember them, but God could, if He chose to. It’s God’s goodness that makes Him care for us, He wants us to know Him and His truth. While we are evil, we cannot see God’s goodness, that’s why we need Jesus as our saviour.

Taste and see

Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Here’s an extract from a book called “The Christian's Secret Of A Happy Life”, by Hannah Whitall Smith.

"I shall never forget the hour when I first discovered that God was really good. I had, of course, always known that the Bible said He was good, but I had thought it only meant He was religiously good; and it had never dawned on me that it meant He was actually and practically good, with the same kind of goodness He has commanded us to have.

I came in my reading of the Bible across the words, "O taste and see that the Lord is good, " and suddenly they meant something. The Lord is good, I repeated to myself. What does it mean to be good? What but this, the living up to the best and highest that one knows. To be good is exactly the opposite of being bad. To be bad is to know the right and not to do it, but to be good is to do the best we know. And I saw that, since God is omniscient, He must know what is the best and highest good of all, and that therefore His goodness must necessarily be beyond question.

I have been brought up short by the words, ‘The Lord is good’; and I have seen that it was simply unthinkable that a God who was good could have done the bad things I had imagined.”

Luke 18

Ad Jesus said in our reading from Luke, only God is good, and here we see from Hannah that God is only good. All and any good that we do or experience comes from God.

Bad things

Even so, bad things still happen to good people. That is NOT because it is the will of God, In fact, God forbids anyone doing bad things to their neighbour.

Pharisees (Saul-->Paul)

The Pharisees were highly religious and carefully followed their hundreds of rules, but you could hardly call them good. Paul, before he met Jesus, is a perfect example. He was cruel, hard-hearted and extremely violent, promoting the stoning of those he didn’t approve of, in his promotion of the Jewish faith and it’s ways. After he met Jesus, however, there is no record of any coercive activity, no threats, instead, just simple, but serious argument and debate. Indeed, he became the one who was suffering for his faith. Paul had converted to follow Christ and also to goodness.

Evil Christians

It is not like that for everyone, conversion, accepting Jesus into your life, does not automatically mean you become good.

The greatest failure in Christendom, is believers who do not show the fruits of the spirit, particularly love and goodness. Our lack of goodness had led to factions and splits, which in turn have led to wars, with one Christian killing another in the name of Christ.

It has been so since the earliest days, and from what we can see in our world today, it shows no sign of changing in the immediate future.

However, we should always try to follow God, and do the Good that He intends. The best we know as Hannah put it.

Effect of doing Good

That does not guarantee that we will make converts. Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, and did many good things for all sorts of people. It did not mean that they followed him or believed the rest of his message. If we are trying to convert people, goodness is not any guarantee of success. The social gospel that we see today, with things like food banks, and debt relief, seek to do good for people, but they do not necessarily bring in converts. Our social action (our doing good) is not an alternative to speaking God’s word, but a necessary addition to it.

The best we know

All we can do is the best we know. Do you know the saying, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish …”. Do you know how it ends?

The root of the saying comes from a novel called “Mrs Dymond” by Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie. The idea, though, is much older and can be found in the writings of the 12th-century philosopher Maimonides. It can be summed up as "The most meritorious act of charity is to anticipate poverty and prevent it, this can be done by teaching a trade, or putting a person in business."

Many organisations take this approach, and I remember one birthday receiving a certificate for a goat, that had been purchased for someone in need in my name. So, today you not only hear about goodness, but get some great gift ideas too.

Wider concerns

There are wider concerns, today, and I hear the ‘give a man a fish’ saying expressed differently.

“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you deplete the oceans.”

That comes directly out of what we know, and, if I’m being charitable, a genuine concern for the environment.

It can also be seen as putting a negative spin on a positive idea, just as I tried earlier to put a positive spin on the serpents work in the garden of Eden earlier.

I mention it, to emphasise the idea that we can only do the good that we know, it is impossible for us to know some things that later may mean that the good we try to do is flawed. That will always be the case, living in a fallen world, and should not stop us in our efforts to do good.

Sheep and Goats

The story of the sheep and the goats, reminds us that it is God’s assumption that real faith leads to good works. Just as James says, faith without works is dead, because the lack of works, which we could call doing good, shows that the professed faith means nothing.

Our Judgement

We cannot judge people, but we can learn to distinguish good from evil, as Hebrews 5:14 tells us.

Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

In this way we will be able to see quite clearly that the boy I talked about at the start had not made a good choice in his prayer, it was him that needed to change, not his mother.

Conclusion

There is much more to say, but, now I must finish, so in conclusion let me read Hebrews 13:20-21

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Or, perhaps put more simply, this is apparently engraved on a tombstone in Shrewsbury, England:

For the Lord Jesus Christ's sake
Do all the good you can
To all the people you can
In all the ways you can
As long as ever you can.

Amen.

 

References

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/6fruit-of-spirit-goodness-wade-martin-hughes-sr-sermon-on-christian-love-47073

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-fruit-of-goodness-glenn-pease-sermon-on-spiritual-fruit-254062

https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/give-a-man-a-fish.html

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/08/28/fish/

 

 

 

Pathway to Prayer (Summer Series 2023) – Introduction

Preached 6 August 2023 at Christ church, Billericay

Title: Pathway to Prayer – Introduction

Purpose: Intro session for series – Why?, Who?

Reading: Ephesians 6:18-20; Matthew 6:5-8

Intro – Pathway to Prayer (Summer Series)

Today we start our summer series for 2023. We have given it the title ‘Pathway to Prayer’, and we will be looking at various aspects of prayer in each of our sessions. As usual, there are craft activities to enjoy, if you would like to.

What is Prayer?

It is interesting to note that the Bible speaks of prayer a lot, that shouldn’t surprise you, and it is full of prayers. It often says things like ‘when you pray ...’, but I couldn’t find a line that started ‘if you pray ...’. So, the assumption is that everybody prays.

We should, therefore, start our introduction by trying to define prayer.

Do I have any suggestions?

- Asking for things?

Well, yes, that’s intercessory prayer, that’s what we do in each of the services we hold, and I’m sure that’s what we do at home as well. Many times the Bible reminds us to pray for those in any sort of need, for example:

James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him

- Talking with God?

Well, yes, prayer should be two-way, not only us telling God what we want, or our hurts and pains, but us also listening for His replies. This is part of what it means to ‘pray in the spirit’ on all occasions.

God is there ready to listen to us at any and at all times. Even when we are at our lowest, He is keen to hear from us. Even when we are at our worst, and don’t know what to say, or how to say it. The Israelites prayed some awful prayers when they were defeated by the Babylonians and exiled.

Psalm 137 verses 8&9 says:

⁸ Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
⁹ Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them against the rocks.

We may pray like this, if we need to, God wants to hear from us even in our worst times. Sometimes, though, we will not have the words for the prayers we want to make, and in those times, God himself, through His Holy Spirit, is there to help us. Romans 8 tells us:

²⁶ 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. ²⁷ 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.

Who? / Why?

Now it seems I’ve begun to move on to answering the other questions set for this session – Why? And Who?

Let’s start with ‘Why?’, because we’ve sort of answered the ‘Who?’

Why?

Well, the first two answers to ‘Why?’ are easy, they are found in Philippians chapter 4. They are:

- because God commands us to, because we learn from God that way

because God commands us to

because we learn from God that way

and here’s what Paul writes to the Philippians in chapter 4:

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Anxiety

We all get anxious about things from time to time, it seems to me that people are more anxious now than they used to be, but that could just be my impression. Either way, God tells us that we do not need to be anxious, instead we should take our concerns, our worries and our fears to Him.

Thanksgiving

We bring these things to God with thanksgiving, for all the incredible things He has already done for us. The experience of praying and petitioning God will give us peace – because we will know better than we did when we started that God is in control and has everything in hand. Truly, being in His presence means that the problems of the world are just that little bit more removed from our immediate worries. That does not mean, of course, that we can simply pray and that is all. There will still be things we need to do, and sometimes they will be difficult or dangerous. Our attitude, though, will be changed, our assurance that our actions are necessary and correct in whatever situation will be clearer.

- because we are now friends, not servants

The next reason is that we are now friends with god, not His servants. Jesus says...

John 15:15 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.

The final reason I have today, although, I’m sure there are others, comes from the few verses that led into our reading from Ephesians.

- because we are in a war

That is because we are in a war. This is what Paul said:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Then he says “ … and pray in the spirit …” because prayer is spiritual warfare. It’s a way of fighting off the devil and all his temptations and all his evil in the world. If more of us took this approach, I’m sure the world would be a better place, because God has chosen to work through His people, their prayer and their acts.

Matthew 6:5-8

Our other reading has a little to say about how we pray, that is not really my topic, but right at the end it tells us that ‘your Father knows what you need before you ask him’.

Just like us, with a toddler, it’s easy to see what’s needed, you can often know exactly what they want and need, but we still like to be asked, and we know that it is good for them to ask. And our Father in heaven is just like that with us too.

So, I’ll end with a slight variation on one of my other answers to Why pray?

- Because God likes to be asked

That’s because God likes to be asked and learning to ask, as I’ve already said, is part of our training as we seek to become mature Christians.

Amen.

Paul at the Areopagus

Preached at Christ church, Billericay at 10.00 on 14 May 2023

Reading Acts 17:22-31

At Stratford Station

A few days ago we were outside Stratford station. It was quite busy, but I’ve seen it busier. People going in all directions, most of them seemed to be in a hurry. There, in the middle of it all, was a guy preaching. Just like a busker, he had a small amplifier – you wouldn’t have heard a word he was saying otherwise. I am in awe of people who can do that. But I also have a problem with it in this instance. Publicly preaching the gospel is great, don’t get me wrong, but here he is not engaging with anyone. People are just walking past, not even turning their heads. Perhaps he’s there a lot and people know he will be there, but I think that’s rather unlikely. People are just busy, so they’re not listening. He’s a minor nuisance. If you’re going to tell them about Jesus you have to pick your time more carefully. Look for the opportunity.

Opposition

You’ll know if you’re getting through to people, because you will come up against opposition.

In our reading from Acts this morning we find Paul preaching the good news in a very public place.

How Paul get here

He has been to a few Greek cities already, if you look back a bit before the reading. He was chased out of Thessalonica, then spent a few days in Berea, before the Thessalonians found out where he was and chased him from there also.

Now he’s found his way to Athens, or rather been taken there.

The synagogue

Paul does his usual thing. Whenever he arrives in a new place, he first goes to the synagogue. There he reasons with the Jews, and the God fearing Greeks (those we might call converts).

Market Place

Here, in Athens, he also goes to the market place and debates with people who happen to be there. I suppose that’s his nearest equivalent to being outside Stratford Station. I think the preacher there would have done better in the Westfield food court. There people might have listened and even debated, but I’m also pretty sure security would have evicted him quickly.

Athens

Athens, at the time, was probably the cultural capital of the Roman Empire. Although it had been conquered by Rome, they left it alone and it managed itself. I’ve seen it described as like a freeport, but I’m not sure whether that really covers the sort of independence the Athenians had. Verse 21 tells us:

All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.

So, it was an ideal place for Paul to be. There are two main groups of philosophers, the Epicureans and the Stoics. They are more than happy to dispute with Paul. Here’s a quick summary of their beliefs.

Epicureans

The Epicureans believe that the world and the gods are a long way away from each other, with little or no communication. So believers should get on with life as best as they can, discovering how to gain maximum pleasure from a quiet, sedate existence.

Stoics

The Stoics believed that divinity lay within the world and within each human being. The divine force could be discovered and harnessed. Virtue consisted of getting in touch with and living according to this inner divine rationality.

Babbler - preaching foreign divinities

After Paul’s debate in the market place, he is accused of being a babbler. Tom Wright translates the word ‘word-scatterer’, which in that place is a term of contempt. He is accused of being like a Jackdaw, picking up shiny ideas and dropping half of them before he gets back to the nest.

They think he may be ‘preaching foreign divinities’, which was the charge on which Socrates had been tried and condemned. They are worried about a mystery cult, where only initiates are allowed to know the philosophy being taught. So they take him to the Areopagus. It is not a friendly invite.

Areopagus

The Areopagus is a rocky out crop to north-west of the Acropolis. It is also the place where the city fathers met, and that council had inherited the name of the rock.

Now, Paul has a challenge. He has to speak to them and explain the Christian faith. But, they have no Jewish background, and most of the people he debated with did. There’s also the problem, that he may be found guilt of some crime, and ejected from the city, or worse.

Luke 12:11-12 promises us that ‘When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.’

Before the Areopagus – Make a connection

He starts in verse 22 with:

Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.

He’s trying straight away to make a connection with them. If we want to get our message across to someone, it helps a lot if we have some things in common, and can share some mutual understanding.

Before the Areopagus – Be prepared

²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

Paul has done his research, he’s looked around the city and found it full of idol worship. That would have been upsetting for Paul, but he’s found something that he can use to hook his message on. This is not a foreign God he’s talking about, just a God they don’t know yet. Now he will show both the groups of philosophers that God can be known.

Before the Areopagus – Creator God

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.

²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

Now Paul begins to explain God to them, still picking up on ideas that were common at the time. There were plenty of gods that created or formed the world. The idea God cannot be served by us and that God does not need anything from us was also common.

Before the Areopagus – Involved God

²⁶ From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

And the Judeo-Christian belief in one original created being is introduced, and how that led to the nations and that God was in charge of determining were people live – God is involved in their lives. But we haven’t got to the God that Paul knows in much detail yet.

Before the Areopagus – God wants to be found

²⁷ God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Now, Paul introduces the idea that God wants to be known and has designed things so that people will try to find Him. This will split his audience, but that is also one of Paul’s strategies. Before we move too far, there’s another piece of common ground – Paul quotes from their own poets. The audience will be back with him again. Give a little, take a little.

Before the Areopagus – God is not an idol

²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.

Now Paul is getting to the point of what he is trying to say. He is clearly against all the idols he has seen and that part of his message must be given.

Before the Areopagus – Repent

³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

We might recognise this message, but for his hearers this is new, now, if he has engaged them, they should be all ears. Repent and turn away from idols is a key part of the Christian message.

Before the Areopagus – Judgement

³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

At the climax of his sermon, Paul has introduced judgement, and resurrection, but there is no promise here of eternal life for them.

No Scripture

Paul has done all this without a single reference to his beloved scriptures. If we ever need to explain the gospel to people who are sceptical of the Bible, or just dead set against it, Paul’s sermon at the Areopagus is a great example of how to do it.

The result of the sermon is, in the next few verses, a few men became followers. Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus is mentioned, and also a woman named Damaris.

He has succeeded in gaining converts in one of the most difficult places that he has been called to speak. Which shows us the power of the Holy Spirit when someone is called to a particular mission.

Our mission

What does all this teach us for our particular mission?

It will soon be Ascension day. Thy Kingdom Come challenges us to pray for five people to come to know the God who is, at the moment, unknown to them. Many of the principles that Paul used in his ministry, and in particular at the Areopagus might prove useful to us as we engage with those we are praying for, or others that we have the opportunity to speak to, from time to time.

Our Mission – Strategy and Planning

Perhaps we can go a little further than “God loves you”, and really engage with them.

Perhaps we could pray, not just for the people on our list, but also for the strategy to reach them. We could ask the Holy Spirit to help us to be more intentional – to help us to see the common ground, and the big difficulties. So that we can speak the right truths at the right time.

At least we won’t be preaching into thin air, to a crowd that barely knows we exist.

Amen.

 

References 

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/sixth-sunday-of-easter/commentary-on-acts-1722-31-5

-Paul does not quote scripture 

https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2020-05-11/acts-1722-31-2/

https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/preaching-to-a-postmodern-culture-derek-geldart-sermon-on-post-226348

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areopagus

 

R&B (Repentance & Baptism)

Title: R&B (Repentance & Baptism)

Purpose: To look at repentance, baptism and the Holy Spirit

Reading: Acts 2v14a&36-41

Prayer

Father, may these spoken words be true to the written word and lead us to the living word – Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Scary Movie

Anyone a fan of the Scary Movie Franchise?

Picture the scene. There’s a young woman running through dark streets (it always a young woman). Every so often she sees a bright sign, it says something like:

Go back
Turn around,
Don’t go on
Return
run the other way

She couldn’t possibly miss them, but she ignores them and runs straight on into the even darker night. Maybe it starts to rain, or becomes a little foggy, but she runs on. Eventually, she is in front of a creepy house. She pauses, looks back, and you think just for a minute she won’t approach the house. Of course, she does, and goes up the steps to the heavy blackened wooden door. On the door, there is a flashing neon sign that says “Certain death to all who enter”. The door is ajar. Ignoring the sign, she pushes the door, that creaks, long and low and moves just enough for her to squeeze through. Making absolutely no attempt to switch on the lights, she starts to look around, although it’s way too dark to really see anything. Suddenly there is a bang, now she turns around to see the large wooden door is firmly closed, and try as she might, it will not budge. Her only hope, if there is any, is to be rescued.

Well, what do you think? Has it been done, or would it make a good opening for "Scary Movie 6"?

Fantasy

That’s a little piece of fantasy, but it illustrates where the Israelites have got to in our reading today. In the Gospel of Luke, and in the preceding Old Testament, there has been warning after warning (sign after sign) that the Israelites are headed in the wrong direction. They do not look after the poor, they do not look after those with other needs, they do not readily admit foreigners, and they are not proclaiming the word of God to the surrounding nations. Worse, they regularly mistreat God’s messengers, the prophets. They have kept God for themselves, and refuse to let others near.

All hope is gone

Now, in their misguided zeal – accusing Jesus of blasphemy – they have killed the son of God – the longed for Messiah, who was going to save the nation. The door is firmly closed, but they are locked out of God’s presence. Their hope is gone, and they have just realised it. They have been listening to Peter’s sermon (Which I suspect was a lot longer than the record we have of it.), and suddenly it is all clear to them. They were “cut to the heart”. Now comes the question – “Brothers, what should we do?”

The answer is quite straight forward – “repent and be baptized”. It’s not simple, though. The Hebrew word for repent originally meant “an afterthought, a change of mind”. We change our minds all the time – about what we will do and when we will do it. That’s not quite what repent is getting at. In Jewish thought the person is considered as a single entity, whereas in Greek thought, our inner life is separated from how we behave in front of others. The Greek word for repent means to turn around, just as our young lady needed to do before she entered the house.

Change of Actions

Perhaps we should say that repent means a change of actions. That we regret our former actions and are intent on not repeating what we now see as a mistake. That would certainly include turning back in many situations.

Here, Peter is asking them to accept the one who they have so recently decided was a blasphemer, and deserved the death penalty. He asks each one of them to:

“Repent and be baptized, ... in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

That means joining the Apostles – Peter and his crew. It’s a real turn around.

Baptism

Baptism was usually reserved for proselytes (converts to Judaism), and would have been seen as unnecessary because those born into a Jewish family were by nature Jewish and therefore loved and protected by God. But now, having killed His son, they can see that they are completely separated from God.

Christ’s Baptism

Some of them will have heard the message “repent and be baptized” before, that is what John’s baptism was all about. Baptism is a sign of repentance. This baptism though is different, this baptism is in the name of Jesus, who forgives our sin, once and for all, and puts us right with God – it is also a sign of our repentance.

Promise of the Holy Spirit

The other difference about this baptism is that it comes with a promise of the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit which connects us to God and lives in us. This is what Paul says when he writes to Timothy:

2Tim 1:13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Normal Order of conversion

Peter has described the normal order of events when someone accepts Jesus as their saviour.

1. Repent
2. Be baptized
3. Receive the Holy Spirit

Of course, God can and does do it in other orders, but all three elements are always present.

3000

What an amazing offer the 3000 accepted. A way back to God, not only that but a permanent connection with God, and, of course, an escape from certain death.

Whose Offer?

It is not Peter’s offer. It’s a promise that comes from God via the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the whole story can be viewed as a work of the Holy Spirit, but that’s another sermon. Peter is just the messenger.

Offer to all

The offer (the promise) isn’t just to those Israelites either, it is made to their children, so their descendants and those who are far away, geographically or spiritually.

Christians

The offer has been accepted by many here. We now rely on that promise, it becomes an important part of our lives, perhaps the most important part. Even so, we are still capable of running away, ignoring all the signs, and entering the creepy house, but now the door can never lock us inside.

So, I thought I would end with a prayer of repentance. Yes, I know we’ve already said the confession, but sometimes our liturgy just becomes one of those signs that gets ignored.

I’d like you to join with me in saying this prayer, I’ll read it through first.

[The prayer]

Heavenly Father, thank you for everything you do for me. I come before You to repent of my sins. Please help me turn away from my sins and turn toward you, Through your Holy Spirit, give me the power and strength to follow you faithfully. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen

If you think that this is something you’d like to join in with, please say it together with me now.

[Say prayer together]

Amen. 

 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/6JkFGRc1bW0

 

References

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/now-what-responding-to-the-holy-spirit-rev-matthew-parker-sermon-on-repentance-193729

 

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-of-easter/commentary-on-acts-214a-36-41-2

 

https://prayforeverything.com/repentance-prayers/ 

 

 

Failures in the Crucifixion

Preached on Good Friday, 2023

Reading Psalm 22v1-11; John 18v1-19v37

Introduction

At the lent course this year we looked at the Archbishops Lent book – Failure by Emma Ineson, bishop of Penrith (and now Kensington). Failure, we said, is when things don’t go to plan – and that happens to all of us all the time (well, nearly all the time).

God uses our failures

God uses our failures as well as our occasional successes to make things happen in the world. So I thought this morning I would look through this very long reading and examine a few of the failures that occurred.

Jesus, by John

John’s report of the crucifixion, presents Jesus as totally in control. He knows what needs to happen, and he knows how to get to the next step. The other gospels do not present Jesus quite like this. So Jesus, in John, provides a great contrast to the failing human beings around Him. John shows God doing His work with our failures or despite our failures.

Limited Highlights

Obviously, this is just a small selection, as we don’t have sufficient time to cover things in great depth.

Peter [18:1-18:11]

Let’s start with Simon Peter’s first failure at the betrayal, that’s in 18:1-18:11. At the betrayal, Judas comes with about 50 people to arrest Jesus. Knowing what to expect, Jesus takes them by surprise and acts to protect His disciples. Despite all of Jesus’ teaching about what must happen, and the fact that they are outnumbered by at least 4 to 1, Peter decides to start a fight. He’s a fisherman, not a soldier, so he misses, and only manages to cut off an ear – that must have been a relief for him looking back on it later. His intent – to prevent the arrest, is wrong. His assessment of the situation is clearly completely bonkers, and his execution (poor choice of word?) is way off. Peter has failed miserably, maybe he was panicked by events, or maybe he just misunderstood the situation. But look what it does. Apart from requiring Jesus to heal Malchus, it also provides Him with the opportunity to tell all those present, most importantly the disciples, that His way is different, and that He will go through the painful death that He is facing.

Peter [John 18:16-18]

Let’s skip ahead now to Peter’s second failure. That’s in 18:16-18. When we come across phrases like ‘another disciple’ in John, it often means he is talking about himself, so I’ll make that assumption here. So Peter and John arrive at the high priest's courtyard. John is known to the high priest, perhaps because he’s sold them fish in the past, so he is let in and Peter has to wait. The bouncer, sorry, the girl on duty, asks Peter “You are not one of his disciples, are you?”.

With John

It’s a strange way to pose the question. Surely she can see that they’re together, so why not ask “are you with those two?” or something like that. Perhaps this is Satans ploy to trick Peter, but somehow, I don’t think he needed any help. So he replies, “I am not”. There’s that little lie, not much at all really, can’t be any serious consequences of that.

Why lie?

What was he thinking? Was he afraid she was making a list and that he would be next? If she was, she would already have John on the list, so Peter would easily be found. It doesn’t make any sense – if you think it through. But that is the problem, Peter doesn’t do his thinking BEFORE his talking. We are all put in that situation sometimes, and it’s very easy to give a stupid answer. Peter has failed, already Jesus’ prediction has come true. Once you’re there, you kind of have to stick with it.

Peter’s 2^nd & 3^rd denials [18:25-27]

The lie is the lie, and it must be defended, or he will look stupid (in his own mind, at least). So let’s move on to verses 25-27. It’s cold and those standing outside, where Peter is, are warming themselves by a fire. One of them asks that question again, phrased in exactly the same way, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” to which he provides the same answer. As I said, the lie has to be defended, some of them may have heard what he said before, so even if he’s had a chance to think about it, he’s never going to say “err, well, yes, actually I am” – even if that’s exactly what he should have said. So there it is, the second denial, the second failure.

Another challenge

You can never tell who has seen what and who knows who amongst a group of people. There is a relative of Malchus there amongst the crowd around the fire. He hears what Peter says, and perhaps recognises an out of town accent, and thinks “Yes, this is the man I saw attack Malchus”, so he asks “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” If we read Luke’s report of the incident, Peter’s response is, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”. That sounds like he is starting to get angry because his lies are being tested, and he can’t defend himself.

Cock crow

Then the cock crows, and Peter is instantly transported back to his conversation with Jesus, and the prediction Jesus made has come true. It is too much for Peter. All his promises that he will never leave Jesus, no matter what, have come to nothing. His failure is final, or so it seems to him. There will not be an opportunity for an apology, because Jesus will be crucified before he has the chance to speak to him again.

Because we know the end of the story, we know that there is a way. That is always the case with God – there is always a way back, even if we don’t have the opportunity to reconcile with those we have offended.

Pilate [18:29-40]

I think I just about have time to look at Pilate’s failure. Whereas Peter doesn’t think, you might say that Pilate overthinks. His failure is political, and as carefully constructed as he can get it, but it is still a failure, because his plan was clearly to release Jesus.

He is in a no-win situation. The high priest wants Jesus dead, because he claimed to be the Son of God. That’s not a charge that will stick with Pilate, so after a conversation with Jesus, he tries to set Jesus free.

He starts out trying to do the right thing (for himself, for his governorship, and for Rome). He does not want to be involved in the Jewish law, that is not his concern, and it will not benefit him in any way to become involved in debate about their laws. But there is one punishment that is banned by Roman law, the death penalty. If that is to be imposed, only Pilate can do it.

Jesus is a King

Pilate is willing to believe that Jesus is a king, but like so many today, he is not prepared to acknowledge an objective truth. He wants to release Jesus, maybe so that he is not seen as giving in to the high priest, so he appeals to the crowd.

“But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

They shout for crucifixion, so Jesus is flogged and mocked, and one last attempt is made to free him. But the chief priest has out manoeuvred the politician that is Pilate, and he gives up.

Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

That’s a rather simplified account, but it shows up Pilates failures – he denied the existence of Truth, and he failed to stand up for what he knew was right in the face of political pressure, a man died as a result.

Jesus

What about Jesus, did he experience any failures. Certainly not the way John reports it. But he did experience the result of failure and sin.

Jesus, the lamb of God, is completing the sacrifice that saves us from separation from God. His blood, like that of the blood of the passover lamb, saves us from death. God looks at him, for our sin, instead of us. At that moment Jesus feels the separation from God and cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Amen.

God cares like a mother (10am)

Reading Exodus 2:1-10

Paddington

[Slide 1 – Paddington Bear]

Introduce Paddington Bear

Tell the story (with questions?)

From – Darkest, Peru. After their Marmalade factory is destroyed in an earthquake and his uncle killed, he is put in a lifeboat on a ship headed to London, by his Aunt Lucy.

Parent (Mother) – Aunt Lucy

Sent – Put on a boat to London for a better life

[Slide 2 – London Skyline]

Does Aunt Lucy love Paddington when she puts him on a boat?

- Get answers

[Slide 3 – Paddington Station]

Found – By the Brown family at Paddington Station

Slaves in Egypt

[Slide 4 – Moses in the river]

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt at the time, Moses was born. They were having more babies than the Egyptians, so there would soon be more of them than there were Egyptians. If that happened, the Egyptians feared it would be too difficult to keep them under control and there would be a revolution. So, pharaoh had taken a decision that all the young boys should be killed as soon as they were born.

Kill Order

He ordered the midwives that if the woman gives birth to a boy, kill him, if she gives birth to a girl, let her live. But they didn’t obey the order, because they love God more than they fear the Egyptians.

Moses Mother

Jochebed, Moses mother, (Numbers 26:59) already had at least two children when Moses was born. His big brother Aaron was just a few years older and had not been subject to this order. And his sister, Miriam, who was quite a lot older. She would help out with the saving of Moses.

Baby Noticeable

Moses is now 3 months old, and Jochebed and the family have so far succeeded in keeping him hidden, but that’s now becoming impossible. Something has to be done. I’d love to know how much of what follows is the plan that was discussed by the family. If it was their plan, it is certainly high risk. If it wasn’t, what were they expecting to happen?

Crocodiles

So, his mother gets a basket, and makes it waterproof, puts him in it, and puts it in the reeds at the edge of the river.

[Get the crocodile]

[Slide 5 - Crocodile]

In those days, it is believed that there were crocodiles along much of the river, covering a much greater area than they do today. There’s the first risk – the baby is eaten by a crocodile. There’s not much that the watching Miriam could have done about that. Crocodiles are not known for being easily shooed away.

Pharaoh’s daughter

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, probably not to wash herself, most likely some sort of religious cleansing ceremony. We must assume that this was something she did regularly and Jochebed knew roughly when she would arrive. There is still the risk that she might not notice the basket, or might not take any interest in it.

Her attendants stay on the bank, perhaps keeping an eye out for crocodiles, and to ensure she remains safe and undisturbed by the Israelite slaves.

At least one of the attendants (all probably slaves, but probably not Israelites) gets wet retrieving the basket, Pharaoh’s daughter is immediately in love with the child. Even though she knows he is a slave baby, she decides to keep him.

Back with his Mother

Then Miriam plays her part, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”. He is not on solid food yet, and there was no baby formula milk in those days, so someone had to be found who could feed the baby, and the obvious choice, is his mother.

But there is still the risk that Pharaoh’s daughter could have decided to take him to the palace and find someone who could feed him there.

Now, as a bonus, Jochebed is being paid for a few months to look after her own son. He is protected from the Egyptian order to kill the baby boys, because he belongs to Pharaoh’s daughter. Now he will get an Egyptian education, which will be of great use later on.

Parallels

Question – What are the parallels in the two stories?

There’s a boat in each story and a baby or child is sent away by a mother, in order to keep them safe.

There’s a new chance at life, safety.

A mother acts out of love.

There’s a new family caring for a child – who remembers their roots.

[Slide 6 – Parallels]

Where is God?

You may have noticed that God is not mentioned in this passage. Maybe we would expect a prophet, or at least a warning, or even a plan for the baby’s rescue. There is no evidence of a direct word from God to Jochebed, which surely would have been recorded if it had happened. So where is God? Is He just an observer, watching and waiting?

What God is doing

That’s not the God I know. The God I know, has his eye on the baby, and is looking after him. We know that Moses frees his people from the slavery they are experiencing in Egypt. He will be the man that future generations look back to, and the model for how to be a good Israelite. God will have been there, working to ensure that the right things happen at the right time. Making sure that Pharaoh’s daughter goes to bathe just as the baby is put in the water. Making sure that she notices the basket and is curious enough to look inside. Making sure that the baby is crying at just the right time. Maybe making sure that the local crocodiles, if there were any, are well-fed and sleepy.

How God works

When we look back on things, that is how we see God working in our own time. We rarely get a message from a prophet or a vision of angels, but somehow the things God wants to happen just seem to work out. He shows his love for us in many ways, sometimes that is by providing us with a loving mother like Jochebed, or someone who takes the place of a mother, like Aunt Lucy, or pharaohs daughter.

Mother God

We see in this story that God can be mother for us just as well as he can father for us. (Why not? He created both mothers and fathers). We see His provision of motherly care for Moses, not only by his birth mother, but also by pharaoh's daughter, who became his adoptive mother.

Moses didn’t forget

We are not told any more about Moses’ upbringing, but we know that he knew he was a Hebrew (an Israelite), and worked with Aaron to free the Israelites from slavery.

We also know that Paddington remembered Aunt Lucy, and in the second film was trying to bring her to London. When he couldn’t, he bought a book to send to her.

[Show copy of book]

[Slide 7 – Paddington pop-up London]

God in Control

The Egyptians wanted to reduce the numbers of the Israelites, and make them easier to manage, but God had other ideas, other plans for his people and especially for this family. Out of their number, from the tribe of Levi – the priestly tribe – God chose new leaders in a way that showed His supremacy over the Egyptians. So much so, that He even made them pay for the baby’s care for a few months.

That’s the God that I know!

Amen.

 

For references, see https://3cephas-notes.blogspot.com/2023/03/god-cares-like-mother-8am.html