Enjoying "God"

Mrs Lloyd and I have brought Tim Chester's new book, Enjoying God (Good Book Company, 2018) on holiday. (I should point out that thus far I have only read a tiny bit and not super carefully!).

Chester points out that God is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Agreed!

He therefore argues that strictly, speaking of "God" is always shorthand for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (or perhaps for one of the persons). We do not know God in his essential and mysterious nature but only through the persons.

I think Chester claims that our relationship with God will always be clarified and deepened if we think specifically about the persons and that this will help us to enjoy God more fully.

I wonder how this approach maps on to biblical usage?

Luke 9:1-13 - Some headings

My current attempt:

(Suffering is real and painful and is often given as an objection to the Christian faith)

For Jesus:

Suffering is not simply a hypothetical issue to be discussed (vv1-2)

Suffering is not (normally) a direct consequence of extreme personal sin (vv2-3, v4)

Suffering is a warning of the judgement to come, which we all deserve (v3, v5)

Suffering should lead us to real repentance before God’s patience runs out (vv6-9)

* * *

Bock's outline:

Lessons for Israel (vv1-9)

(a) Tragedy and the need to repent (vv1-5)

(i) Massacre by Pilate and the call to repent (vv1-3_

(ii) Tower of Siloam and the call to repent (vv4-5)

(b) Parable of the spared fig tree (vv6-9)

(i) Instruction to destroy the tree (vv6-7)

(ii) Delay and warning (vv8-9)

* * *

All Souls’ Langham Place, Richard Bewes, Suffering - a dead end? - G027 Series: The Bible Speaks Today (Issues of Topical Concern) - 09/11/1997

 

(1) We are all living in a fallen world

(2) We’re all living in a temporary home

(3) We are all living on borrowed time

 

(4) We’re all living as debtors to love

* * *

St Ebbe’s, Al Gibbs - Questions Of Life: What is Jesus looking for? 15/03/2015

 

(1) The role of suffering: suffering is meant to make us repent.

It shows us that something is wrong and that something needs to be done about it

(2) The need for repentance

Suffering is a foretaste of the judgement of sin and a worked example of the horror of sin

(3) The urgency of the hour

Ethos, logos, pathos

Is this a useful way of thinking about preaching?

Which do we particularly need to work on?

How can we develop these?

Harvest is brought to you by the letter "G"

You could do something for harvest with the allure of alliteration's aidful art.

Maybe the kids would enjoy how many food / harvest words beginning with "g" can you think of?!

The ground has produced a harvest.
The crops have grown.
They are all good gifts of the grace of God.
We should respond not with greed but with gratitude and generosity.

Friendship evangelism?

British evangelicalism has often had a strategy of so-called "friendship evangelism". Tell your friends the good news about Jesus is a no-brainer but there are at least two possible problems with this.

(1) No friendships?

Some Christians have few real friendships outside the church for all sorts of reasons. Maybe quirks of personality. Perhaps busyness at church activities and meetings. Obviously there are some cultural and worldview bridges to cross between contemporary British evangelicals and the average local pagan.

But as a strategy this whole approach is questionable, is it not? We do not befriend people solely for the purpose of propping up our club, as if the Village Hall committee were a bit short of helpers and the current team were tasked to target people they might recruit by getting them round for dinner a couple of times and then popping the question. The friendships must be genuine if there is to be honest and ethical friendship evangelism.

(2) No evangelism?

But I imagine most of us get stuck at the friendship stage. We are for ever building up the friendship. It is too soon to mention Jesus. And then the friendship really matters to us, so it is a bit risky to mention Jesus if that might jeopardise the friendship.

Better than a friendship evangelism strategy, how about this:

If we love people and we believe we have the best and most vital news in the world ever to share, it will be hard to shut us up, though, won't it?

This is of course easier to say than to do. Pray for the Rector in this too!

Consider the ravens

We need to let the context determine exactly what lesson Jesus wants us to learn from the ravens because considered in themselves they could be thought to be pretty anxiously obsessed with getting food for themselves and with sex and such other worldly concerns. Granted that they do not plan barn expansion and luxurious retirements, the raven would protest that he works pretty hard and thinks about little other than feeding himself and the kids. He does not necessarily have his mind fixed on God and his kingdom. Although perhaps I risk being uncharitable to the Christian ravens.

Henry VIII

It is obviously an understatement to say that Henry VIII was a remarkable person.

I found this comment from MacCulloch's Cromwell interesting:

"Henry, when not showing off his masculinity in sports and open-air pursuits, was... an addict of books, even though he often got other people to read them to him. The large accumulations of them in his various palaces were one of the most genuinely individual features among his displays of monarchical conspicuous expenditure. He spent laborious but clearly enjoyable hours annotating his collection, usually with some particular political or theological purpose in mind." (p141)

Luke 12:22-34 - Do Not Worrry - A draft handout

FWIW the handout went through a bit of an iteration this AM so I am going with this version 2 if the printer co-operates!

LUKE 12vv22-34 (p1045)

FOR WHAT SHALL WE THEN LIVE?

(1) DON’T LIVE FOR TREASURE THAT FAILS AND FADES

What is life all about? (V15, v23)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore…” (v22)

Anxious about the necessities of life?

·       Illustration 1: God feeds the ravens (v24)

·       Worry is pointless (Vv25-26)

·       Illustration 2: God clothes the lilies (vv27-28)

·       Worry is unnecessary (v28-31)

The antidote to worry: trusting your loving heavenly Father (v30)

(2) LIVE FOR TREASURE THAT SATISFIES AND STAYS

Don’t worry / Don’t think of a pink elephant!

The alternative to setting your heart on food and drink and running after such things: seeking God’s kingdom (vv29-31)

Irish logic? (Vv31-32)

The motivating power of grace: Seek the kingdom which God has been pleased to give you – not anxious worry about God and his kingdom!

Invest in heaven! (v33)

You / your heart will follow your money! (v34)

What is life all about? God and his kingdom! Cf. The Lord’s Prayer

Luke 12: The kingdom of God, worry and giving

I am not planning to use them, but just in case anyone finds these little headings from Hugh Palmer useful:

The rich fool: greed without gain

Worry: ulcers without profit

(1) Kingdom priorities (v31)

 

(2) Kingdom confidence (v32)

 

(3) Kingdom generosity (v33)

Evangelical preaching: diagnosis, application, exposition, explanation

I have been listening to The Revd Vaughan Roberts, who is one of my favourite preachers to plagiarise.

I would say that significantly more than half of the sermon could be called diagnosis and application rather than exposition or explanation, though there is certainly a good measure of that. The theological ideas are arguably relatively few and simple but we are shown our need of them and the difference they might make.

The preaching actually connects to how we might think and act.

For example, we are encouraged to think about what produces excessive emotional reactions in us and to chase down the rabbit holes to discover what we are really running after.

We feel that at least to a degree the preacher empathises with us and is seeking to understand us.

Issues of identity and security are explored and related to relationship with God our heavenly Father. What determines your sense of self? What or who are you trusting?

I would say that is less than typical of some evangelical preaching, or at least of how we typically think of it, and that there is much to learn here.

Worry (Luke 12:22-26)

A little quaint, perhaps but...

“The Robin and the Sparrow"

Said the robin to the sparrow,
“I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”
Said the sparrow to the robin,
“Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”

― Elizabeth Cheney

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/714001-the-robin-and-the-sparrow-said-the-robin-to-the 

Luke 12:22ff

I may use this on Sunday AM so you may wish to look away now:

Most preachers re-use some of their material from time to time.

And it seems that the Lord Jesus was no exception.

Who knows how often Jesus preached.

Maybe most days, perhaps several times a day or for several hours.

And so he probably didn’t have time for lots of extra sermon preparation as he travelled around.

You can imagine the disciples saying to him, “O, Jesus, tell us the one about the whited sepulchres again!”

Or, “Jesus, what about the one about the man with the plank in his eye?!”

The oral tradition of the time depended on repetition and that helps to account, under God, for the remarkable preservation and agreement between the gospels.

We’re more familiar with this famous passage from the version in Matthew’s gospel where it forms part of the sermon on the mount.

And we’ve looked at that passage together before.

But here it has a different context which brings out particular aspects of its meaning.

Starting the reading at v22 is really starting mid-way through!

When we come to the “therefore” in v22, we ought to know from our Bible study training that we should ask: “What is the therefore therefore?”

What is the logic of the passage that is being pointed out here?

Because of that, therefore this.

Because of what Jesus has previously said, now here comes the application which follows from it.

So the application of what exactly?

Let’s recall that brilliant little parable of the rich fool which Jesus told which we studied last week.

Towards an evangelical theology of place II: church buildings

Evangelicals are sometimes fond of saying that church buildings are really a nothing: rain shelters, more or less glorious.

God does not live in temples made by human hands. Absolutely.

But consider 2 things which give our buildings significance:

(1) Meaning and value are partly socially and historically constructed.

Which sounds fancy. What it means is that Elton John's glass or Elvis Presley's guitar are worth much more than any old cup or instrument to many people.

Say your church has been at the iconic, religious, cultural, physical heart of your village since AD 800 and that prayers have been offered there every day time out of mind. Does that make the building magic? Of course not. Does it physically change it? Probably only fairly minimally. Does it matter? I think any reasonable person would say it does. Even if it does not matter to the Evangelical preacher, he can be sure it matters to the villagers, even those who rarely attend!

Calvin would not want you to play ping pong on the Lord's Table, though it is just a table. Consider that.

(2) Neutrality is impossible.

Even an empty white box of a building has a significance and sends a message (maybe God hates stuff, or beauty, or something!). You building must have some sort of shape, so maybe a cross is not a bad one.

If you are Christian at all you need some kind of Table and you need to put it somewhere. You probably want a pulpit or lectern of some description.

So we need to think about this stuff.

Don't worry - easy?!

 Don't worry (Matthew 6 / Luke 12)

(1) "That’s easy for you to say!"

Well, yes, it is. Relatively. Maybe. We’re not exactly living the high life at the Rectory but we are relatively comfortable and secure compared to many, in some ways, I suppose.

But remember that these are the words of Jesus. He was born in relative poverty and had lived in exile as a wanted baby. He had no where to lay his head. He would die as the worst sort of common criminal, seemingly with only the clothes on his back to his name. He was buried in a borrowed grave. He knew whereof he spoke.

(2) "That’s easy to say!"

Well, yes, it is.

But Jesus gives us good reasons not to worry. Worry is pointless and unnecessary. We cannot add to our lives by worry. And we need not worry because our loving heavenly Father will take care of us and bring us at last to the promised land of the New Creation.

We might have money worries, but we do not have to cultivate them. Jesus is not saying that we are never to think of money or plan for the future. But we need not be consumed by worry about these things. We can cast our anxieties on him, knowing that he cares for us. 

Rather than just saying "do not think of a pink elephant" / "do not worry", Jesus gives us a positive focus: seek first the kingdom of God. 

Christians Against Poverty are Christian Shock!

The BBC2 documentary Debt Saviours available on iPlayer is well worth an hour of your time.

The crew did lots and lots of filming and they have, of course, chosen the most engaging, striking material. Naturally they had an eye to any issues or angles. A bit of controversy is good for ratings.

And though the BBC is not a bastion of evangelicalism (!) I would say CAP comes out excellently. Even if you are not a God-botherer of exactly their brand, there is so much to admire.

One issue is that perhaps CAP are doing what some think the government or maybe the financial services industry should do. Well, I don't buy that. But the government aren't doing it, are they?

As someone has on Twitter, in fact, it is the Christians who are working with the most vulnerable most effectively and this could be multiplied in many other areas. When Richard Dawkins and the National Secular Society run food banks and schools and drug rehabilitation, maybe we should listen to their arguments a bit more carefully. Until then, as someone else said, by their fruits you shall know them.

And, surprise surprise, Christians, like, believe in God and the Bible and Jesus and prayer. And they invite people to church. And give them free literature. Of course! They think the gospel is good news worth sharing which actually works. Trusting Jesus and church membership would actually help people in debt if they gave it a go.

But this is done with gentleness and respect and the highest possible ethical standards. Say, "thanks, I'm not interested in all the God stuff, but can you help with my debt?" and bob is your father's brother.

If I knew anyone with debt issues, I know what I would Google, even if I were a militant atheist.

Sam Harris' argument summarised

Look, we are just going to have to agree that we know what rationality is and that it works. And what "good" and "bad" are, at least at the extremes.

Peterson's (and other right thinking persons') response: These are problems!

How do we go from "facts" to values?

Peterson v Harris

Peterson seems to benefit from much more specific science and knowledge of the philosophical tradition. His arguments seem much more precise and there is less need for hand waving.

"I can't believe, even if I wanted to"

Nah. I don't buy that. You have to doubt your doubts.

What does your atheism do for you? Are you willing to give that up?

You can believe lots of things that don't seem possible to you.

And you can feel profoundly lots of things you think are untrue.

You can do what you want in this area.

You've got to get over yourself.

To believe is to give intellectual assent and to trust, to depend, not so much to feel persuaded or be able to prove something.

Carry on!

Towards an Evangelical Theology of Place

It is really hard to think about anything for 10 minutes. But say you made an evangelical think for 10 minutes about place or the related idea of space, what might he say?

(The is interesting as the C of E thinks about the parish system. And as society things about Anywheres and Somewheres).

Though Christians have had something to say about time, space and place are perhaps less discussed in our Systematic Theologies.

Space and place are created things and are good.

Place is space with meaning and purpose, space with stuff in it or viewed from a point of view.

In the Old Testament place really matters. There is Eden and the land and the world. There is the temple and the promised land. There can be special and common places and clean and unclean places. And the goodness is to spread. The earth is to be made more like heaven.

The earthly scheme somehow is modelled on heaven according to the book of Hebrews. Heaven is a place too, mysteriously.

People are embodied and that is good and makes place necessary.

The incarnation, resurrection and ascension require a place. Though there is also a extra - the divine nature.

The Spirit can bridge spaces e.g. between earth and heaven.

What happens in the NT? Does all the Temple / Land stuff go to Jesus or is there more?

What of church buildings? Are they mere rain shelters (however glorious)?

Can there be a kind of sacred space?

In Acts there could be said to be a kind of salvation geography and a scheme which is somewhat place oriented: Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the Ends of the Earth.

A friend pointed out that Acts 17:26 might be relevant. God is sovereign over places and is at least in some sense interested in them with respect to nations.

Discuss!

Harris v Peterson

One of the most interesting things about the Harris / Peterson discussions on the interweb is that both nights the audience "voted" to shut itself up (no Q&A) so that the grown ups could go on talking. That showed a certain intellectual humility which they can be proud of, I think.

A Christian Response to Dr Jordan Peterson

What are the best Christian responses you have seen to the work of Dr Jordan Peterson?

I should stress there is so much to appreciate in Peterson's work: a sense of responsibility, truth speaking, taking suffering seriously, the Bible as a fundamental guide, insights to human nature, the snakes in my own heart etc.

Some first points of response might be:

(1) Sometimes his mythological psychological readings of the Bible are a bit weird and sometimes traditional Christians would call them plain wrong. They are also not necessarily the chief concern of the Bible writers / the church who, like, really care about God!

(2) God actually does exist and that really matters. Likewise the specifics of the life and teaching of Jesus, the Word of God etc. The after life.

(3) Peterson says he lives as if God exists. But doing so would mean active involvement in the community, life and discipline of the church and this would give important spiritual and ethical shape to life. The Christian vision is of a community, a people, not just the honest seeker after truth on his own with his books and You Tube.

(4) Even if you buy a kind of evolution, it is questionable to what extent that should shape how we ought to act.

(5) It is right to encourage responsibility etc., but you probably need rather more forgiveness, grace and external power (The Holy Spirit) in your system than much of Peterson's teaching sometimes seems to imply.

(A friend kindly pointed out that Dr Alistair Roberts has thought about this rather more than I have: https://alastairadversaria.com/?s=Peterson )

Meaning, purpose, morality

Sam Harris seems to argue that it is a bad question to ask what the meaning or purpose of life is. He thinks we all agree that something extremely horrible is bad and that we can imagine something "better". We move away from pain. But he seems to struggle to explain and ground the good in something objective. He struggles to speak of a real deep down ought. Evil is just a maladaptation.

Fundamentalists

Sam Harris is also wrong that the fundamentalists are basically right because for one thing it ignores context. The Christian is not intended to live like an ancient Israelite under the Old Covenant.

Basic intuitions

Seem to be the best foundation that Sam Harris can offer. He has to fall back on language like "we are clearly designed to have these intuition". But he presumably does not think we are designed.

Literalism

Sam Harris is also wrong to think that sophisticated metaphorical readings are modern rationalistic things e.g. driven by science. The Fathers loved that sort of stuff!

Canonical Interpretation

Surprisingly, perhaps, Jordan Peterson is good on the fact that the twist at the end of the Bible story (say, the cross and resurrection) shapes how we should read the whole. The overall context, the end of the developmental narrative, shapes how we should read the whole.

Rationalism

Sam Harris is quite wrong to think that it was scientific rationalism / humanism that "corrected" Christian fundamentalism either historically or philosophically.

The thing is, you need God to have rationality. And that is what we in fact needed.

Good friends

want the best for the best you. They will cry with you and celebrate with you. They want to move towards a better future with you.

(More stealing from Peterson).

The Big Story

You are hardwired to want to know the big story of humanity and how you fit into it and move it on.

Thankfully, the Bible.

What makes us "happy"?

Jordan Peterson thinks it is experiencing success in pursuing a goal we value. We should go after meaning not just pleasure.

How To Develop Yourself / Your Personality

Stolen from Jordan Peterson.

So, you know the big personality traits?

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

Peterson argues that you could persuade yourself to do some little stuff that would help you to extend your range, perhaps again and again. Repeated small steps might be really powerful.

For example, if you think you are perhaps over controlling, a bit rigid, hyper-organised, disagreeable etc. you could get a dog. You would have to think of it's needs and live with the fact that it leaves hair around the place.

Or if you lack openness and creativity, you could read a book slightly outside your usual choices.

If you are over conscientious, find some way to relax a little bit some time.

You get the idea! Enjoy!

Remembrance - Parish Magazine Article / Sermon Outline

From The Rectory

Since this year marks 100 years since the end of the First World War, it seems especially fitting to devote this November letter to the subject of Remembrance.

Remembrance Sunday happens to fall on 11^th November this year too.

All three churches in the benefice will observe the traditional two-minutes silence at 11am and details of the services are included later in the magazine. We hope you’ll be able to join us for this important community occasion even if you’re not a regular in church. There is even a bring and share lunch at Bodle Street Green village hall if you’d like to extend the occasion. I’m sure those from Warbleton and Dallington could get away with turning up too, but I didn’t say that!

So much could be said about war, peace and remembrance and there will be an opportunity to reflect further in these themes at our services. For now, maybe I could make three simple points:

(1) We are such forgetful creatures, and there are some things we ought especially to remember.

You probably know the experience only too well of walking in to a room and wondering why you went there. Often I can’t remember the most basic details of the last fortnight, and I don’t think that is just because I am now the wrong side of 40. We are forgetful. Sometimes necessarily and even thankfully so.

But there is so much we really ought to remember. Not least the horrors of war. And the sacrifices of all those who died that we might know peace. We should take seriously the pledge we make each year: “We will remember them.”

Above all, however, the Bible urges us to remember God our Creator and Redeemer. We owe him everything and it is in relationship to him that meaning and purpose are to be found.

(2) God remembers.

Although we too easily forget, God always sees and knows. He remembers and cares. Every life, every moment matters to him. And all will be called to account. Justice will be done. Wrongs will be righted. In the end peace will reign. All those who are forgotten by history and by their descendants are remembered by the Almighty and Eternal God.

(3) But surprisingly there is one thing God says he will not remember.

It bears saying again it is so unbelievable. Amazingly, there is one thing God says he will not remember. Not literally that it will slip his mind, of course. Rather, he will deliberately refrain from calling it to mind and acting upon it. God will forget his people’s sins. He will put them away and wipe them out. Because of the supreme sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, all our foolishness and rebellion can be erased. Sometimes we have to live with the consequences of our mistakes, but in eternity they will never be brought up again. God has pledged himself to remove believers’ sins from them as far as the east is from the west. He will bury our wrong-doing in the depths of the ocean. Not because he turns a blind eye to vice or winks at evil, but because Jesus has fully paid the price for sin. Jesus’ victory over sin and death and hell towers over all the conflicts of human history and of the human heart. That is worth remembering.

Respect Assembly

Today's Collective Worship Assembly: Theme of respect - things people are afraid of (images) - the Bible tells us many times to fear God - it means awe / reverence / respect not cringing terror. Enjoy your day!

The Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21) - A handout

Luke 12:13-21 (p1045) – The Parable of the Rich Fool

A parable =

(1) A good thing: blessed with success (v16)

How should we respond to success?

(a) Gratitude to God

(b) Generosity to others

(2) A questionable thing: “I will build bigger barns” (v18)

Reasonable provision for self and others but…

(3) A bad thing: hording, selfishness and laziness (v19)

(4) A bad thing for the rich fool: God will judge him (v20)

He makes 2 great mistakes:

(a) He forgets about God

Notice the frequency of “I / my” etc. on the lips of the rich fool

(b) He forgets about death and the judgement to come

(5) A good thing: God will judge the world with justice

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed

A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (v15)”

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself

but is not rich towards God (v21)”

V22: Therefore… - read on for how Jesus applies this parable!