Bible Readings
Isaiah 62:1-5
1 Cor 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
Sermon: Jesus is revealled as the one through some signs
Throughout our life we rely a lot on signs
Signs play an essential role in our life
They always point to something
They point to something far more important than themselves
For instance as we drive towards Melbourne we will see a sign pointing to Melbourne
The sign is not Melbourne….but it tells us which way to Melbourne
When we feel our head hurts or our tummy rumbles this is often a sign something is wrong
When our belt buckle moves to the next spot,
this maybe a sign we need to do something about our weight
When a family member or friend won’t talk to us,
this is a sign that reveals something is wrong
We need to explore what is wrong
When the fire alarm makes that piercing noise,
it could mean we need to get out of the house
or that dad has burnt the toast again
Constantly in our lives
We rely on signs to reveal something to us
Often we need to check out what the signs mean
Sometimes we notice the signs and sometimes we don’t
And in the gospel reading from John today we hear
11What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him.
The turning of water into wine was not a magic trick to entertain audiences at the wedding
or church members for years to come
But this event was a sign revealing the glory of God
And within this reading there are also a number of signs that reveal more about Jesus and about us.
Something we will not pick up unless we delve deeper into scripture is the timing of the event
This event took place on the third day…
Jesus was at a wedding with his disciples and his mother
When we dive deeper into scripture we discover that the third day is mentioned at least 40 times in the old and new testament
On many occasions throughout scripture the mention of the third day is connected with the fact that God’s presence is clearer,
in other words God’s presence becomes clearer not straight away but after a passage of time
From
Hosea 6:2 we hear “After two days he will revive us and on the third day he will restore us that we may live in his presence.”
In Esther chapters 4 through to 8 we are told that Esther fasted for three days…
then went to the king seeking to rescue the Jewish people
In the book of Jonah, Jonah is in the belly of the fish for three days before he is spat out
And in the New Testament we constantly here that the resurrection of Jesus took place after 3 days…
Listen to 1 Corinthians 15, verses 3 and 4
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance a: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Every Easter we highlight the importance of the third day….
when we attend both the Good Friday and Easter Sunday service,
we get a clearer picture of what is involved in God’s presence being visible to us.
Also in our lives we can not always see God at work until a passage of time has passed
Often God is at work, however it takes time for us to see Him at work and how He went about His work
Three days indicates God’s presence is about to be seen by some one or some people
Another sign we will miss unless we delve deeper into scripture is the importance of wine in the lives of people of Jesus time and culture
Scripture indicates good and bad uses of wine.
Using wine at celebrations is one of the good uses.
An abundant supply of wine indicated a blessing from God
From Genesis 27, verse 28
28 May God give you of heaven’s dew
and of earth’s richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine.
And when used with God’s favour wine also points to joy,
From Ecclesiastes 9, verse 7
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favours what you do.
With these to things in mind…
Put yourself in the picture of the wedding at Cana
And the wine had run out
Imagine if you were the bride or groom
It is an embarrassment
Now we are not told why the wine ran out
And it is not important
It could have been the fault of the family organising the wine through bad planning or being misers..
thinking that each person should drink half a glass of wine only
Maybe the guests were wine gluttons
Maybe there were unexpected guests, gatecrashers
Perhaps those serving the wine had decided to take some of the wine for their own personal use
The reality is we don’t know why it ran out
But we do know that it was gone
And that this is a problem
And we do know that only Jesus intervened to address the problem
Now think about your life
Particularly when problems occur
The problems in our lives…are the result of sin
Sin that we have committed or sin others have committed that affect us.
And often they are both.
And one of the consequences of sin,
whether we have committed it or someone else has
is that we are embarrassed or feel ashamed
because it highlights our weaknesses, our inadequacies.
Sin often shows the areas in our life where we are inadequate
But like the gospel reading of the wine running out
when we put God in the picture a solution is revealed.
Without Jesus the family and their friends at the wedding would have been stuck with the problem of no wine,
and their joy would have been short lived.
Likewise in our lives without Jesus life, death and resurrection
we would be stuck in this life, with no possibility of a future joy in heaven
And we would be without the Holy Spirit giving us gifts as we as we find in 1 Corinthians 12
and guiding us through God’s Word and God’s community commonly called the church,
we would have no hope of discovering what gives us true and long lasting joy now and in the future
Interestingly Jesus also reveals something more about the way God works
A sign of the way God works
Jesus doesn’t just give the wedding party any old wine
because they had run out the wedding party probably would have been satisfied with some wine,
even if it was a bit ordinary,
But that is not God’s way
Jesus gives them the best wine of the event, from verse 10 we hear
Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.
Many people are looking to God to help them today
They want instant help from God
God does help us deal with our everyday issues,
Sometimes in the way we like…
sometimes in ways we have never thought of.
But we need to remember that the joy he brings to our life now
is only a small reflection of the joy he will bring to our lives in the future
it is there to help us see the future
As God reminds us through St Paul’s letter to the Colossians in chapter 2, and as he reminds us in the final chapters of Revelations
The joy and the good we experience now is only a minute reflection of our life to come
Jesus has prepared something a lot better for us than this earth
Its God’s way to save the best to last
Think about the best time you have ever had a times it by 1000 and that is still only a small reflection of the time to come
Whatever you experience now….
God promises eternal life will be far superior
A final sign we can see from today’s reading is that of Mary
Mary is portrayed as many things in scripture
A faithful servant willing to do whatever God asks
In today’s gospel reading we can pick up two signs from Mary that help us as we live our lives
As we interact with others, and be God’s missionaries in the world.
The first comes from verse 3
When the wine was gone,
Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
Now there is much debate amongst scholars about this comment from Mary and Jesus’ reaction
But what can’t be debated is that Mary brought the problems of someone else to Jesus attention
And you to can do the exactly the same thing, in your prayers
Often we pray only for those things that directly concern us
But each one of us is called also to pray for others….
In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that we are constantly to remember others in our prayers
When you notice someone in trouble, experiencing difficulties
Be like Mary and bring this trouble to Jesus
The other thing Mary does is that she points people to Jesus for advice and help
Listen again to verse 5
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Many people are either keen to give advice or to say nothing
But when was the last time you said to someone
Let’s go to Jesus and see what he says
When was the last time you listened to Jesus
To get God’s perspective on the way life should be
The way you should approach issues and problems in your life
Mary understood that only Jesus can provide the solution
So she directed people to Jesus
And we can do the same…
Through how we live
and by helping our friends and family explore the pages of scripture
We help them gain Jesus’ insight for our life now and in the future
And in doing so we become like Mary
Signs pointing to God’s generosity, God’s way of life, God’s forgiveness and who God is
Today’s reading from John has many signs about who Jesus is and who we are
It highlights and reinforces that Jesus is God, the Messiah, the chosen one
That God is about bringing long lasting joy to people’s lives
That God deals with our problems, even smallish problems like running out of wine
And that God is focussed on our future
But it also suggests there is a time of waiting for us to see God’s work fully in our lives
Amen
Showing posts with label Lent Sermon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent Sermon. Show all posts
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
PoWeR SuRGeS Worship Series: Being boosted by God to be His disciples
Bible Readings
Matt 4:18-22
Eph 4:7-16
Matt 18:21-35
Sermon
Today we begin a new worship series focussed on developing as God’s disciples.
Every Christian is called by Jesus to be a disciple.
From the moment you were baptised God was acknowledging that you were now one of His disciples.
A person called to follow him.
To learn from Him.
To grow with Him and other disciples.
Our baptism is the beginning of a new life with God.
In Matthew chapter 4 verse 19 we heard…
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Come follow me when you are able to be fishers of men
Or come follow me if you can be fishers of men
But come follow me an I will make you fishers of men.
Jesus’ call to His early disciples highlights that being a disciple is not based on what or who you know,
what you have achieved
or that you have everything in place.
It is based on God calling you and you responding by being loyal to him.
And as a result of this loyalty God continues to mould, change and have an affect on our lives.
As disciples God calls us into a unique and special relationship with Him and others, who are following Him.
He continues to offer us help, to bless us and to develop us.
Unfortunately, not everyone sees being a disciple this way.
At times being a disciple of Jesus is not easy.
There will be troubles.
The scriptures and life’s experiences reveal that from time to time there will be difficulties
However being loyal to Jesus helps us be prepared for these difficulties.
It enables us to be nurtured and cared for throughout our lives.
It helps us experience how God changes something bad into something good for us.
As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
And being a disciple means experiencing Jesus
and being influenced and changed by Jesus.
Our worship series Power Surges is about helping each of us grab hold of 7 tools in our life called marks of discipleship.
God uses these to influence, form, nurture and guide us.
And Underpinning our lives as disciples is the whole area of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is an essential component of any church and every Christian.
I heard a slogan once that is very true of the church.
Our business is forgiveness.
The truth is we are God’s forgiven people and we are God’s forgiving people.
And why is forgiveness so essential?
Because the truth is we live in a world where sin is present.
Matthew 18:21 makes this clear
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Did you notice Peter didn’t ask,
will my brother or sister sin against me, but how many times will I have to forgive.
In other words, how many times do I have to put up with His sinning, and offer forgiveness.
Have you ever asked that question?
How many times do I have to forgive that imbecile, my brother, my sister, the person I thought was a friend?
That’s not only Peter’s question, that is often our question.
Like Peter, we live in a world where sin is a part of life.
And in asking the question we recognise that our lives are not only impacted by people sinning against us,
but also our own sin of not wanting to forgive others.
God’s response to this question is
that He expects us to forgive an infinite number of times,
that is what is meant by Jesus’ response to forgive seventy times seven.
As forgiven people, we are expected to be forgiving people.
But before we go much further it is important to recognise
that forgiveness from a biblical perspective is not about pretending that everything is ok, it recognises sin exists.
Think about it forgiveness is only needed because sin exists.
The forgiveness which Jesus taught asks that we set aside our need for “pay back” or revenge.
But at the same time we can learn from the hurt sin brings.
Biblical forgiveness doesn’t mean that we immediately put ourselves back into a situation to be sinned against over and over again.
In fact, we may make changes to the way things are done to stop sins being repeated and people being hurt.
However, God’s standard is that as His disciples forgiveness is essential.
As forgiven people, we are expected to be forgiving people.
The truth is we are all forgiven sinners.
None of us are perfect.
We all sin.
We are in fact a community of forgiving sinners.
One thing that still surprises me is that paradox of what it means to live in a Christian Church.
On one hand many people expect there to be no conflict in the church.
Yet the truth is we are a community of sinners, so sin will exist.
Yet we allow behaviours that no business or government organisation would tolerate,
as if being nice will make up for everything.
As the Christian Church we have responsibility to deal with sin by forgiving those who sin, but also protecting those who could be sinned against.
Perhaps though this is not a paradox.
Maybe it is because we do not take the bible and our theology seriously.
We are unprepared to be honest about the future
and the conflicts we face.
We get ourselves into major problems when we deny the reality that sin exists in the world, even in the church and even in ourselves.
And we get ourselves into even more trouble when we do not deal with sin with appropriate forgiveness and boundaries.
So lets be a real church.
A church full of forgiven sinners, who recognise that sin exists
And we deal with sin through appropriate forgiveness and appropriate care.
That is Christ’s church in action.
As God’s forgiven people…we are to be God’s forgiving people.
In other words as you have been welcomed by God into His discipleship team,
you are to go about welcoming others.
Welcoming others is an important part of being disciples.
So who are you going to welcome?
Who do you know needs to know they are welcome here?
That God is wanting to forgive them and welcome them?
Is it time to start being proactive?
Be one of the 20% of Christians who invite someone to church.
This whole business of being proactive only makes sense when you realise that
“you have been bought by Jesus”
None of us belong to ourselves.
We are God’s investments.
God has bought us.
1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 20 says
You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
And that price is the body and blood of Jesus
But God has not bought us to sit and wait for Him to return.
He calls each of us to be His active disciples
And Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11, along with 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 remind us that each of us have been equipped by God for ministry in the church
and in our daily lives.
Each of us are given gifts, talents, skills, authority and opportunities from God.
as part of His Spiritual investment in the world.
And this investment is for a purpose.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 12 to 13 tells us we are called to grow one another.
This wisdom from God says
We are gifted to prepare God’s 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.
In other words Jesus death of the cross and God’s gifts to us
is God giving us an important role to play in His investment.
As people who belong to God,
God is calling each one of us not to bless ourselves
but to bless others with our skills and talents, and the gift of forgiveness.
God gives us the privilege of being a gift for others.
Ephesians 4:14 speaks to us about what it means to be a gifted disciple.
Many people with gifts often use them for their own means,
to build their own empire
or they take them for granted
or they aren’t interested in sharing them
or they develop big heads and think they are better than others.
Yet God is calling each of us to use our gifts maturely,
which the scriptures reveal as using them for the benefit of others.
And as Ephesians 4:14 suggests this means being aware of what God is on about.
14 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 men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Being mature means living a life that understands we rely on Christ for the future,
and allow ourselves and others be influenced by Him.
Our Power Surges worship series
in focusing on the seven marks of discipleship
help us realise and take hold of the tools that encourage us to develop a real faith that works in a real life.
These Marks of Discipleship are the tools to help us grow further in faith.
They are not demands any more than a screw demands a screwdriver.
Ever had a loose screw?
Every now and again one of the screws in my glasses becomes loose.
Often I will use my fingernail to tighten it.
Occasionally a nail file.
But what works best is a screwdriver of the right size
when I have a screwdriver I don’t even think about using a finger nail or nail file.
Because the screwdriver is the best tool to use.
Like wise in our personal and congregational lives the seven Marks of Discipleship are the best tools to help us engage and remain in relationship with God,
the one who has bought us away from sin controlling us.
God’s active and forgiving love is the basis for every Mark of discipleship.
These Marks of Discipleship help us explore and put into practice
what it means to be forgiven people who live lives forgiving others.
People who have a close and ongoing relationship with God are able to survive the storms of life.
Someone once commented if you live, you will experience the storms of life.
You will be affected by rejection, failure, loss, abuse, natural disasters, bad decisions, lies and the list goes on.
Each of these storms have the potential to destroy us and lead us away from the great future God has prepared for us.
Yet God through Jesus is offering us what is needed to live through the storms of life.
And the Marks of Discipleship help us remain connected to Jesus
so that we have His strength.
They help us become Spiritually mature.
And in doing so we are able to distinguish the truth that comes from God’s wisdom that is focused on the long term
to the wisdom developed by humans that is often focused on pleasing ones self and short term rewards.
And if we truly live out our lives as one of God’s disciples,
not only will we see storms
we will walk right into them.
This is because God is always sending us out into the world,
to our family, our friends, our workplaces and the wider community
to bring change from Christ into the world.
Change that comes from God forgiving you and you forgiving others.
And when we do so we will encounter storms,
because we are moving into a world of people wanting to primarily please themselves
look good
and not wanting to recognize they are involved in sin.
As disciples we will inevitably need to walk against these winds
Living our lives focused on God and serving others.
Living our lives as God’s forgiven people, who are active in forgiving others.
But remember God is with us,
God is wanting to help us move through these winds and bring strength to others.
Remaining connected to Jesus through the Marks of Discipleship will help you do this.
Be the witness, the disciple God is calling you to be.
Be His forgiven sinner, actively seeking to forgive others.
And over the next seven weeks join us in exploring and discovering the Marks of Discipleship
Of Praying daily
Worshipping Weekly
Reading and studying the Bible frequently
Serving in and outside our congregation
Being in Christian Relationships for your own and others benefit
Giving proportionally, regularly and cheerfully
And Sharing the Great News from God
If you can not be here for one week of the series, please contact the office and we will forward you a copy of the sermon and other information
Let’s pray
Amen
Matt 4:18-22
Eph 4:7-16
Matt 18:21-35
Sermon
Today we begin a new worship series focussed on developing as God’s disciples.
Every Christian is called by Jesus to be a disciple.
From the moment you were baptised God was acknowledging that you were now one of His disciples.
A person called to follow him.
To learn from Him.
To grow with Him and other disciples.
Our baptism is the beginning of a new life with God.
In Matthew chapter 4 verse 19 we heard…
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Come follow me when you are able to be fishers of men
Or come follow me if you can be fishers of men
But come follow me an I will make you fishers of men.
Jesus’ call to His early disciples highlights that being a disciple is not based on what or who you know,
what you have achieved
or that you have everything in place.
It is based on God calling you and you responding by being loyal to him.
And as a result of this loyalty God continues to mould, change and have an affect on our lives.
As disciples God calls us into a unique and special relationship with Him and others, who are following Him.
He continues to offer us help, to bless us and to develop us.
Unfortunately, not everyone sees being a disciple this way.
At times being a disciple of Jesus is not easy.
There will be troubles.
The scriptures and life’s experiences reveal that from time to time there will be difficulties
However being loyal to Jesus helps us be prepared for these difficulties.
It enables us to be nurtured and cared for throughout our lives.
It helps us experience how God changes something bad into something good for us.
As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
And being a disciple means experiencing Jesus
and being influenced and changed by Jesus.
Our worship series Power Surges is about helping each of us grab hold of 7 tools in our life called marks of discipleship.
God uses these to influence, form, nurture and guide us.
And Underpinning our lives as disciples is the whole area of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is an essential component of any church and every Christian.
I heard a slogan once that is very true of the church.
Our business is forgiveness.
The truth is we are God’s forgiven people and we are God’s forgiving people.
And why is forgiveness so essential?
Because the truth is we live in a world where sin is present.
Matthew 18:21 makes this clear
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Did you notice Peter didn’t ask,
will my brother or sister sin against me, but how many times will I have to forgive.
In other words, how many times do I have to put up with His sinning, and offer forgiveness.
Have you ever asked that question?
How many times do I have to forgive that imbecile, my brother, my sister, the person I thought was a friend?
That’s not only Peter’s question, that is often our question.
Like Peter, we live in a world where sin is a part of life.
And in asking the question we recognise that our lives are not only impacted by people sinning against us,
but also our own sin of not wanting to forgive others.
God’s response to this question is
that He expects us to forgive an infinite number of times,
that is what is meant by Jesus’ response to forgive seventy times seven.
As forgiven people, we are expected to be forgiving people.
But before we go much further it is important to recognise
that forgiveness from a biblical perspective is not about pretending that everything is ok, it recognises sin exists.
Think about it forgiveness is only needed because sin exists.
The forgiveness which Jesus taught asks that we set aside our need for “pay back” or revenge.
But at the same time we can learn from the hurt sin brings.
Biblical forgiveness doesn’t mean that we immediately put ourselves back into a situation to be sinned against over and over again.
In fact, we may make changes to the way things are done to stop sins being repeated and people being hurt.
However, God’s standard is that as His disciples forgiveness is essential.
As forgiven people, we are expected to be forgiving people.
The truth is we are all forgiven sinners.
None of us are perfect.
We all sin.
We are in fact a community of forgiving sinners.
One thing that still surprises me is that paradox of what it means to live in a Christian Church.
On one hand many people expect there to be no conflict in the church.
Yet the truth is we are a community of sinners, so sin will exist.
Yet we allow behaviours that no business or government organisation would tolerate,
as if being nice will make up for everything.
As the Christian Church we have responsibility to deal with sin by forgiving those who sin, but also protecting those who could be sinned against.
Perhaps though this is not a paradox.
Maybe it is because we do not take the bible and our theology seriously.
We are unprepared to be honest about the future
and the conflicts we face.
We get ourselves into major problems when we deny the reality that sin exists in the world, even in the church and even in ourselves.
And we get ourselves into even more trouble when we do not deal with sin with appropriate forgiveness and boundaries.
So lets be a real church.
A church full of forgiven sinners, who recognise that sin exists
And we deal with sin through appropriate forgiveness and appropriate care.
That is Christ’s church in action.
As God’s forgiven people…we are to be God’s forgiving people.
In other words as you have been welcomed by God into His discipleship team,
you are to go about welcoming others.
Welcoming others is an important part of being disciples.
So who are you going to welcome?
Who do you know needs to know they are welcome here?
That God is wanting to forgive them and welcome them?
Is it time to start being proactive?
Be one of the 20% of Christians who invite someone to church.
This whole business of being proactive only makes sense when you realise that
“you have been bought by Jesus”
None of us belong to ourselves.
We are God’s investments.
God has bought us.
1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 20 says
You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
And that price is the body and blood of Jesus
But God has not bought us to sit and wait for Him to return.
He calls each of us to be His active disciples
And Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11, along with 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 remind us that each of us have been equipped by God for ministry in the church
and in our daily lives.
Each of us are given gifts, talents, skills, authority and opportunities from God.
as part of His Spiritual investment in the world.
And this investment is for a purpose.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 12 to 13 tells us we are called to grow one another.
This wisdom from God says
We are gifted to prepare God’s 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.
In other words Jesus death of the cross and God’s gifts to us
is God giving us an important role to play in His investment.
As people who belong to God,
God is calling each one of us not to bless ourselves
but to bless others with our skills and talents, and the gift of forgiveness.
God gives us the privilege of being a gift for others.
Ephesians 4:14 speaks to us about what it means to be a gifted disciple.
Many people with gifts often use them for their own means,
to build their own empire
or they take them for granted
or they aren’t interested in sharing them
or they develop big heads and think they are better than others.
Yet God is calling each of us to use our gifts maturely,
which the scriptures reveal as using them for the benefit of others.
And as Ephesians 4:14 suggests this means being aware of what God is on about.
14 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 men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Being mature means living a life that understands we rely on Christ for the future,
and allow ourselves and others be influenced by Him.
Our Power Surges worship series
in focusing on the seven marks of discipleship
help us realise and take hold of the tools that encourage us to develop a real faith that works in a real life.
These Marks of Discipleship are the tools to help us grow further in faith.
They are not demands any more than a screw demands a screwdriver.
Ever had a loose screw?
Every now and again one of the screws in my glasses becomes loose.
Often I will use my fingernail to tighten it.
Occasionally a nail file.
But what works best is a screwdriver of the right size
when I have a screwdriver I don’t even think about using a finger nail or nail file.
Because the screwdriver is the best tool to use.
Like wise in our personal and congregational lives the seven Marks of Discipleship are the best tools to help us engage and remain in relationship with God,
the one who has bought us away from sin controlling us.
God’s active and forgiving love is the basis for every Mark of discipleship.
These Marks of Discipleship help us explore and put into practice
what it means to be forgiven people who live lives forgiving others.
People who have a close and ongoing relationship with God are able to survive the storms of life.
Someone once commented if you live, you will experience the storms of life.
You will be affected by rejection, failure, loss, abuse, natural disasters, bad decisions, lies and the list goes on.
Each of these storms have the potential to destroy us and lead us away from the great future God has prepared for us.
Yet God through Jesus is offering us what is needed to live through the storms of life.
And the Marks of Discipleship help us remain connected to Jesus
so that we have His strength.
They help us become Spiritually mature.
And in doing so we are able to distinguish the truth that comes from God’s wisdom that is focused on the long term
to the wisdom developed by humans that is often focused on pleasing ones self and short term rewards.
And if we truly live out our lives as one of God’s disciples,
not only will we see storms
we will walk right into them.
This is because God is always sending us out into the world,
to our family, our friends, our workplaces and the wider community
to bring change from Christ into the world.
Change that comes from God forgiving you and you forgiving others.
And when we do so we will encounter storms,
because we are moving into a world of people wanting to primarily please themselves
look good
and not wanting to recognize they are involved in sin.
As disciples we will inevitably need to walk against these winds
Living our lives focused on God and serving others.
Living our lives as God’s forgiven people, who are active in forgiving others.
But remember God is with us,
God is wanting to help us move through these winds and bring strength to others.
Remaining connected to Jesus through the Marks of Discipleship will help you do this.
Be the witness, the disciple God is calling you to be.
Be His forgiven sinner, actively seeking to forgive others.
And over the next seven weeks join us in exploring and discovering the Marks of Discipleship
Of Praying daily
Worshipping Weekly
Reading and studying the Bible frequently
Serving in and outside our congregation
Being in Christian Relationships for your own and others benefit
Giving proportionally, regularly and cheerfully
And Sharing the Great News from God
If you can not be here for one week of the series, please contact the office and we will forward you a copy of the sermon and other information
Let’s pray
Amen
September 20th 2009, Receiving and sharing God's healing Mark 1:29-34
Bible Reading: Mark 1:29-34
Sermon available at http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=139382&Sermon How God heals by Richard Schwedes
Sermon available at http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=139382&Sermon How God heals by Richard Schwedes
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Lenten Sermon Matthew 27:32-44 Loving through suffering
Have you ever said if I was God I would….
If I was God there would be no weeds in my garden.
If I was God no one bad would get good things.
What would you do if you were God?
What about if you were in the situation that Jesus faced in the reading from Matthew what would you have done?
If you were being insulted…
If you were being beaten…
If you were being mocked
Or unfairly punished…
What would you have done?
Would you seek revenge?
Pray that your attackers who hurt you would be hurt.
Say one day…you wait just one day…you will get your just deserts….
Our natural instinct is to exert the power we have.
To show people we are good and that we have it together.
If I say to my son Zackary, don’t climb on the fence because you may get hurt.
He will climb on the fence and say see I didn’t get hurt.
Interestingly Jesus didn’t exert the power he had
Instead when he was suffering he took it all.
And sometimes I wonder why?
Why did he bother?
Have you ever been in that situation where people ask you why?
Why do you put yourself through this or that difficulty?
There are many personalities who will reveal stories of pain and suffering.
They will boast about the hard yards they have put in.
Their early mornings.
Their long hours.
How their family suffered.
The difficulties they have faced.
So that they can achieve their goals, obtain some greatness…
And that is why they suffer!!!
What about you what are some of the sufferings you are going through now.
Maybe some of them are because you have goals.
Perhaps some of them aren’t.
Do you know why you are enduring them?
Maybe you are even suffering as a Christian…
Some of your family doesn’t take you seriously.
You are scared to be open with some of your friends…
You cry for your children.
You may even feel deprived…
But what happens if we used the suffering we experience as an opportunity…
An opportunity to live as God calls us to live…
To love through suffering…
I invite you to listen to a story as told by Robyn Claydon in one of her books Doors are for walking through…
Last year I met a Christian women from a Middle Eastern country which is entirely closed to Christian witness. Those who are known to be Christian are imprisoned or worse assassinated. She told me that she and her husband had been holding a very small house church in their home for some months. A few friends visited once a week and over a meal believers read the scriptures and encouraged each other.
One day, the authorities came to the door and arrested the woman and her husband putting them in prison. I met her just a few weeks after they had been released. In prison they were the object of great curiosity from the other prisoners. They were asked “Why are you in prison?”
“Because we are Christians.”
“Why are you imprisoned for that?”
“Because we were meeting with a small groups of friends to read the Bible.”
“Tell us about the Bible.” They asked.
The women told me that in prison she and her husband had more opportunities to talk about Jesus than they ever had when they were free. Not only did the prisoners ask questions, but the guards too would stand on the edge of the room and listen.
When their sentence expired and they were told to leave, the guards said,
“We’ve enjoyed having you here in prison. Please come back again!” My friends said to me with a smile, “we probably will be back there soon. We are about to start up our little house church again and we will probably be arrested and imprisoned. But even, if we don’t end up in prison, we have an open invitation to go back and visit!”(Doors are for walking through by Robyn Claydon, page 54 available at http://www.spcka.org.au/PublishingList2007.pdf)
When you are suffering maybe it is worthwhile asking how can I love through this suffering.
For Jesus accepting suffering was not because he felt helpless.
But taking the insults he knew he was one step closer to securing what He was sent to earth for.
Securing your future….
Every time you see the cross.
That is a sign of how Jesus secured your future.
And in securing a future in this way God also knows what we experience.
We can be assure we have a God who knows not only about suffering…but actually knows suffering…
Knows what it is like when we suffer.
John Stott a well respected author and theologian makes the following observations in his book the Cross of the Christ
In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time, after awhile I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wretched, brow bleeding from thorn pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside His immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. ……There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross of Christ...is God's only self-justification in such a world" as ours.
So as we prepare for Easter
As you live your life….
Maybe we don’t’ ask how can we avoid suffering?
But what suffering is needed to help others to know the love of Jesus….
And how can we love through our suffering.
Because it is through suffering that Christ loved us.
Amen
If I was God there would be no weeds in my garden.
If I was God no one bad would get good things.
What would you do if you were God?
What about if you were in the situation that Jesus faced in the reading from Matthew what would you have done?
If you were being insulted…
If you were being beaten…
If you were being mocked
Or unfairly punished…
What would you have done?
Would you seek revenge?
Pray that your attackers who hurt you would be hurt.
Say one day…you wait just one day…you will get your just deserts….
Our natural instinct is to exert the power we have.
To show people we are good and that we have it together.
If I say to my son Zackary, don’t climb on the fence because you may get hurt.
He will climb on the fence and say see I didn’t get hurt.
Interestingly Jesus didn’t exert the power he had
Instead when he was suffering he took it all.
And sometimes I wonder why?
Why did he bother?
Have you ever been in that situation where people ask you why?
Why do you put yourself through this or that difficulty?
There are many personalities who will reveal stories of pain and suffering.
They will boast about the hard yards they have put in.
Their early mornings.
Their long hours.
How their family suffered.
The difficulties they have faced.
So that they can achieve their goals, obtain some greatness…
And that is why they suffer!!!
What about you what are some of the sufferings you are going through now.
Maybe some of them are because you have goals.
Perhaps some of them aren’t.
Do you know why you are enduring them?
Maybe you are even suffering as a Christian…
Some of your family doesn’t take you seriously.
You are scared to be open with some of your friends…
You cry for your children.
You may even feel deprived…
But what happens if we used the suffering we experience as an opportunity…
An opportunity to live as God calls us to live…
To love through suffering…
I invite you to listen to a story as told by Robyn Claydon in one of her books Doors are for walking through…
Last year I met a Christian women from a Middle Eastern country which is entirely closed to Christian witness. Those who are known to be Christian are imprisoned or worse assassinated. She told me that she and her husband had been holding a very small house church in their home for some months. A few friends visited once a week and over a meal believers read the scriptures and encouraged each other.
One day, the authorities came to the door and arrested the woman and her husband putting them in prison. I met her just a few weeks after they had been released. In prison they were the object of great curiosity from the other prisoners. They were asked “Why are you in prison?”
“Because we are Christians.”
“Why are you imprisoned for that?”
“Because we were meeting with a small groups of friends to read the Bible.”
“Tell us about the Bible.” They asked.
The women told me that in prison she and her husband had more opportunities to talk about Jesus than they ever had when they were free. Not only did the prisoners ask questions, but the guards too would stand on the edge of the room and listen.
When their sentence expired and they were told to leave, the guards said,
“We’ve enjoyed having you here in prison. Please come back again!” My friends said to me with a smile, “we probably will be back there soon. We are about to start up our little house church again and we will probably be arrested and imprisoned. But even, if we don’t end up in prison, we have an open invitation to go back and visit!”(Doors are for walking through by Robyn Claydon, page 54 available at http://www.spcka.org.au/PublishingList2007.pdf)
When you are suffering maybe it is worthwhile asking how can I love through this suffering.
For Jesus accepting suffering was not because he felt helpless.
But taking the insults he knew he was one step closer to securing what He was sent to earth for.
Securing your future….
Every time you see the cross.
That is a sign of how Jesus secured your future.
And in securing a future in this way God also knows what we experience.
We can be assure we have a God who knows not only about suffering…but actually knows suffering…
Knows what it is like when we suffer.
John Stott a well respected author and theologian makes the following observations in his book the Cross of the Christ
In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time, after awhile I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wretched, brow bleeding from thorn pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside His immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. ……There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross of Christ...is God's only self-justification in such a world" as ours.
So as we prepare for Easter
As you live your life….
Maybe we don’t’ ask how can we avoid suffering?
But what suffering is needed to help others to know the love of Jesus….
And how can we love through our suffering.
Because it is through suffering that Christ loved us.
Amen
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Lent Service 3 sermon Matthew 26:69-75
In the novel The plague by Albert Camus
a North African coastal city has been hit with the bubonic plague.
They are cut off from the rest of the world.
Imagine that, living in a place where no one could get in or out.
By law no one was allowed in to the city and no one was allowed to leave.
You could almost here the worry...
Where would our food come from?
Where would our fuel come from?
As a result of this isolation small businesses popped up everywhere
to fulfil the demands and desires of this coastal town.
And not all of them legal businesses.
One enterprising family who owned some boats offered anyone who was healthy the opportunity to leave the city for a mammoth price.
And heaps of people were willing to illegally buy a ticket out of the place to avoid the plague.
When someone brought a ticket they were instructed to wait in a warehouse so they wouldn’t be infected by the disease and wait for their boat to arrive.
But you guessed it, the boats never came.
And once the plague was over they left the warehouse.
But they were too afraid to tell the authorities that they had been ripped off because not only were the boat owners acting illegally, they too were also acting illegally.
Now fortunately this is only a story,
however it highlights a problem that each of us face.
The temptation that we look after ourself at any expense.
For Peter in this evenings gospel reading it meant him denying being one of Jesus’ disciples.
Listen again to what happened reading from Matthew 26:69-75
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Now in just a few verses prior to our reading we hear how Jesus was being treated and Peter most likely was aware of this.
Reading from Matthew 26:65
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?”
Now imagine if you were Peter.
What would you have done, if someone asked you are you with him?
The character who was being beaten up.
Would you have been tempted like Peter to deny Jesus,
to save yourself?
It is real temptation isn’t it?
In some places, throughout the world,
being a Christian means risking your life.
One of the refugees from Liberia in Launceston shared with me one day that she had just got news that the head usher of a church where she worked had been killed on his way home from church.
Apparently his attackers waited until the last person left the church and followed him home.
They ambushed him, sliced him up and spread his body parts around the streets of the church as a warning to others.
Would you be willing to be the last person to leave church?
Could you imagine living in that sort of situation?
In Australia we are fairly fortunate that not too many people get killed or beaten for being a Christian.
Yet we often fall for the temptation of not revealing we are one Jesus’ disciples so as to protect ourselves.
Now you might be saying hold on a moment.
I am here, I have made the extra effort to attend a Lenten service.
I have never denied Jesus or knowing him.
But think about when you are interacting with other people.
Do we always follow the commands of Jesus.
The commands to make disciples of everyone.
The command to love God and to love others.
I know of a lady who said it is hard being a Christian
because not everyone respects us.
She had some children who had drifted away from the church and thought that going to church was not that important.
Whenever they came to visit she said she it was always tempting to keep the peace,
by not going to church or praying grace at meals but doing what they wanted to do.
She said I realised some years ago whilst it might be comfortable for me now
that if I did this I was missing the opportunity to share Jesus love
and possibly missing out on spending eternity with them.
Ever since then she has gently invited anyone visiting her to church and to pray grace at meals.
And to her surprise more often than not they accept her invitation than they reject it.
Often she simply says on Sunday I am going to church, you are invited to come but if you won't here are the keys and i will see you after church and coudl you please do the dishes.
What about you, can you think of other ways you are tempted to deny Jesus so that you feel comfortable or at ease?
Maybe it is by not being graceful.
Perhaps it is by being more concerned about money than Jesus’ mission for you and us.
Maybe you worry about how you look or that you might miss out on something or what people say about you
Or that something may not work.
Or how people may react?
Dealing with this temptation is not easy.
Our natural thing response is to look after ourself first, without considering God and others.
That is what will always happen when we rely on ourselves to deal with any temptation.
We will think of ourselves.
And that is why when we are confronted with temptations we need to rely on God.
We need to turn to God for help.
From Galatians 5:17 we hear
17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature
And so our first reaction in dealing with temptation is to rely on God.
As Romans 13:14 says
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature
In other words surround yourself with God.
Now what does this practically mean.
It means having hope that what God says is true.
That God’s promise of eternal life means that He is stronger than any other power.
In other words that even if things look tough and difficult we make decisions and live lives that reflect his grace, his compassion, his love.
I love the story of a beggar in India who automatically shares everything she gets with someone else.
When she gets a bowl of rice, which maybe her only food for the day she divides it in two and gives half of it away.
And why?
So others can experience and be encouraged God’s generosity
that she received.
And relying on God means for each one of us
Praying regularly to God
not just seeking his protection,
but also his will in every situation.
It means frequently opening up our bibles and being familiar with God,
his perspective on life now
his way of life that is summarised in the Greatest Commandments of loving God and loving others.
and the future he promises.
It means having forgiveness as a major theme in our lives.
It means worshipping God with others
And it means being involved with each other, not just for a good time, but to encourage each other, be accountable to each other and to help each others.
Because ultimately your future is not limited to this place and it doesn’t only involve yourself.
But it is a future created and secured by God and involves many other people.
It is a future that Jesus wants you and others to have so much that he said, “not my will but my Father’s will.”
And in doing so he made that future possible for you everyone else.
Now isn’t that someone worth relying on for every situation you face.
Someone who is prepared to say not my will but my Father's will even though it cost Him his life so that you and everyone else can have the opportunity of new life.
Amen
a North African coastal city has been hit with the bubonic plague.
They are cut off from the rest of the world.
Imagine that, living in a place where no one could get in or out.
By law no one was allowed in to the city and no one was allowed to leave.
You could almost here the worry...
Where would our food come from?
Where would our fuel come from?
As a result of this isolation small businesses popped up everywhere
to fulfil the demands and desires of this coastal town.
And not all of them legal businesses.
One enterprising family who owned some boats offered anyone who was healthy the opportunity to leave the city for a mammoth price.
And heaps of people were willing to illegally buy a ticket out of the place to avoid the plague.
When someone brought a ticket they were instructed to wait in a warehouse so they wouldn’t be infected by the disease and wait for their boat to arrive.
But you guessed it, the boats never came.
And once the plague was over they left the warehouse.
But they were too afraid to tell the authorities that they had been ripped off because not only were the boat owners acting illegally, they too were also acting illegally.
Now fortunately this is only a story,
however it highlights a problem that each of us face.
The temptation that we look after ourself at any expense.
For Peter in this evenings gospel reading it meant him denying being one of Jesus’ disciples.
Listen again to what happened reading from Matthew 26:69-75
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Now in just a few verses prior to our reading we hear how Jesus was being treated and Peter most likely was aware of this.
Reading from Matthew 26:65
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?”
Now imagine if you were Peter.
What would you have done, if someone asked you are you with him?
The character who was being beaten up.
Would you have been tempted like Peter to deny Jesus,
to save yourself?
It is real temptation isn’t it?
In some places, throughout the world,
being a Christian means risking your life.
One of the refugees from Liberia in Launceston shared with me one day that she had just got news that the head usher of a church where she worked had been killed on his way home from church.
Apparently his attackers waited until the last person left the church and followed him home.
They ambushed him, sliced him up and spread his body parts around the streets of the church as a warning to others.
Would you be willing to be the last person to leave church?
Could you imagine living in that sort of situation?
In Australia we are fairly fortunate that not too many people get killed or beaten for being a Christian.
Yet we often fall for the temptation of not revealing we are one Jesus’ disciples so as to protect ourselves.
Now you might be saying hold on a moment.
I am here, I have made the extra effort to attend a Lenten service.
I have never denied Jesus or knowing him.
But think about when you are interacting with other people.
Do we always follow the commands of Jesus.
The commands to make disciples of everyone.
The command to love God and to love others.
I know of a lady who said it is hard being a Christian
because not everyone respects us.
She had some children who had drifted away from the church and thought that going to church was not that important.
Whenever they came to visit she said she it was always tempting to keep the peace,
by not going to church or praying grace at meals but doing what they wanted to do.
She said I realised some years ago whilst it might be comfortable for me now
that if I did this I was missing the opportunity to share Jesus love
and possibly missing out on spending eternity with them.
Ever since then she has gently invited anyone visiting her to church and to pray grace at meals.
And to her surprise more often than not they accept her invitation than they reject it.
Often she simply says on Sunday I am going to church, you are invited to come but if you won't here are the keys and i will see you after church and coudl you please do the dishes.
What about you, can you think of other ways you are tempted to deny Jesus so that you feel comfortable or at ease?
Maybe it is by not being graceful.
Perhaps it is by being more concerned about money than Jesus’ mission for you and us.
Maybe you worry about how you look or that you might miss out on something or what people say about you
Or that something may not work.
Or how people may react?
Dealing with this temptation is not easy.
Our natural thing response is to look after ourself first, without considering God and others.
That is what will always happen when we rely on ourselves to deal with any temptation.
We will think of ourselves.
And that is why when we are confronted with temptations we need to rely on God.
We need to turn to God for help.
From Galatians 5:17 we hear
17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature
And so our first reaction in dealing with temptation is to rely on God.
As Romans 13:14 says
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature
In other words surround yourself with God.
Now what does this practically mean.
It means having hope that what God says is true.
That God’s promise of eternal life means that He is stronger than any other power.
In other words that even if things look tough and difficult we make decisions and live lives that reflect his grace, his compassion, his love.
I love the story of a beggar in India who automatically shares everything she gets with someone else.
When she gets a bowl of rice, which maybe her only food for the day she divides it in two and gives half of it away.
And why?
So others can experience and be encouraged God’s generosity
that she received.
And relying on God means for each one of us
Praying regularly to God
not just seeking his protection,
but also his will in every situation.
It means frequently opening up our bibles and being familiar with God,
his perspective on life now
his way of life that is summarised in the Greatest Commandments of loving God and loving others.
and the future he promises.
It means having forgiveness as a major theme in our lives.
It means worshipping God with others
And it means being involved with each other, not just for a good time, but to encourage each other, be accountable to each other and to help each others.
Because ultimately your future is not limited to this place and it doesn’t only involve yourself.
But it is a future created and secured by God and involves many other people.
It is a future that Jesus wants you and others to have so much that he said, “not my will but my Father’s will.”
And in doing so he made that future possible for you everyone else.
Now isn’t that someone worth relying on for every situation you face.
Someone who is prepared to say not my will but my Father's will even though it cost Him his life so that you and everyone else can have the opportunity of new life.
Amen
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