Sussex Parson: Marc Lloyd's 'Miscellanies'

My New Year Letter

2011-12-30T11:43:00.001Z

The Rectory,Rookery Lane, Rushlake Green, Nr. Heathfield, TN21 9QJ

01435 830421M:07812 054820 Y:07729 557835 (mobile reception poor at home)

marc_lloyd@hotmail.com/ yvonne-lloyd@hotmail.co.uk

marclloyd.blogspot.com

Friday 30^th December 2011 AD

As I (Marc) failed to write a single Christmas card thisyear, and at the prompting of Mrs Lloyd, I thought I’d attempt a New Yearletter. You’ll be pleased to hear that despite their undoubted brilliance, itwon’t consist entirely of boastsabout Jono (4), Abigail (1) and Matthew (0)’s many achievements. I’ll beblowing my own trumpet a little too!

MatthewZechariah Richard Lloyd’s greatest achievement of the year so far was probablybeing born, weighing 8lbs 11oz at 15:32 on 23^rd December. (There aresome snaps on The Face Book). Apart from Our Lord, Matthew was the greatestChristmas present of all and is overshadowing much else, just at the moment.Both mother and baby are doing well and are considering venturing out of thehouse for the first time today. Daddy is rather exhausted but just about bearingup. I’m glad paternity leaves only lasts 2 weeks as I can’t possibly keep upwith producing 3 meals a day and putting the dishwasher and washing machine on.Thank the Lord for the olds and out-laws!

We moved to the countryside last January and so far thenatives have proved reasonably friendly for the most part. I think I’ve onlyreally upset a few batches of locals a few times and clashed with The RushlakeGreen Mafia once. It is true that “Sussex Won’t Be Drove”.

So all is going tolerably at Warbleton and Bodle StreetGreen parish churches as far as I can tell. They were stuffed to the gunnels atChristmas but there remains room for growth week by week, especially at BodleStreet. The plans to add Dallington parish church to my fiefdom are grindingon. “Like a Mighty Tortoise Moves The Church of God”. I’ve been doing a primaryschool assembly there every week which taxes my creativity. Please send ideasand outlines. Progress on my PhD has been similarly speedy.

Mrs Lloyd isenjoying being a more than full-time Mum, wife and unpaid Vicar’s help. Verymuch above and beyond the call of duty she has heroically launched The Little Warblers Toddler Group, whichhas been great. Some weeks there’s been a small band and lots of good chats;other weeks we’ve felt rather overrun with customers and in need of some extrahelping hands.

Jono is verymuch enjoying Daisy Chain Nurserywhere he is learning all about the real meaning of Christmas: Santa! He’s notslow to correct them when they get something wrong! For much of the year he hasinhabited the parallel universe of Octonauts(as Captain Barnacles) but just lately he has become Mike The Knight. All this produces great courage and heroism in hisbetter moments.

Abigailcontinues to be a very live wire, in to everything and not to be left out.

Well, that’s more than enough of that. A very happy newyear to you all. We’d love to get a boastful letter from you too! With our loveand prayers and every blessing for 2012,

Marc, Yvonne, Jono,Abigail, Matthew, Caleb the Dog and Esther the Cat.

God is love - dangerous talk

2011-12-29T07:36:00.000Z

Someone who I don't think I've ever met commented on Twitter to someone else that some other people I've probably never met had said to him on his blog that it is dangerous to say that God is love because if you do you'll end up as some kind of dreadful liberal inclusivist universalist like Rob Bell.

Although the idea is refuted by its own absurdity, I thought I'd dignify it with a response here:

(1) You know you are in danger of losing the plot if Biblical language gives you the willies. 1 John 4:8. Enough said. Incidentally, this argument ought to make us realise that Baptism is a big deal too and much more than getting wet.

(2) Any statement is open to misunderstanding. Sure, if you are going to say God is love you must know who / what God you are talking about, what real love is (that it is jealous, for example) and indeed the nature of being and predication, along with everything else in the universe. Of course. What is is is a jolly good question. It is dangerous to say anything. We only know something completely if we know everything so we cannot totalise the statement "God is love". Or rather, if we said that properly we would say everything. We get in to deep waters whenever we say anything. Our speaking is always different from that of God the Word who spoke and created the world. For us, there is always more to be said. We always lisp. At our best we merely echo God's perfect speech. It is perfectly true that in some circumstances, God's love properly understood implies his wrath since the loving response to sin is holy anger.

(3) Yet, whilst we must not pit God's love againts his wrath and so on, God is love is a statement more proper to God than God is wrath. God's wrath is what we might call his strange, alien work. From all eternity, in His Very Self, the Father has loved the Son and the Son has loved the Father in the bond of the Holy Spirit. Where and when there was no sin there was no wrath. But there has always been love since The Triune God is Love in Himself. And that love overflows to the world. And, yes, love wins.

Parish / Church Magazine Ideas

2011-12-28T10:57:00.001Z

I have the joyful opportunity and the regular responsibility of writing a page of A4 for our church / parish magazine every month. I've been at it for a year now. Here are some idea starters:

Recent or prospective events in:

the locality
e.g. the Sussex Marathon, the Heathfield Show, the shop up for sale

the church
e.g. mission plans, The Year of The Great Parish Visitation

amongst your family and friends
e.g. the birth of a new child, a friend emigrates

national life
e.g. the royal wedding, the Olympics

the media
e.g. what some rock star said, the death of a celebrity

something topical

the church year / feast & festivals
e.g. Valentine's Day

the secular calendar
e.g. New Year, Guy Falkes night

the seasons

a bible passge you've been reading

introduce or review a sermon series

summary, extract or overflow from a sermon

review or reccomend a book, film, play, ballet, opera, theatre production etc.

something from the blogs

something arising from occasional offices of weddings, funerals, baptisms etc.

say thank you, sorry or please about something

find something in a dictionary of quotations to agree or disagree with

write in the form of a diary, letter or notes (i.e. a number of paragraphs as mini articles)

KJV at BGS

2011-10-10T21:28:00.000+01:00

The auido and PowerPoint from Glen Scrivener's excellent and engaging after-dinner talk on the King James Version given the other day at Bodle Street Green village hall the other day is now available on his blog.

Parish Magazine Item for November

2011-10-06T18:41:00.002+01:00

From the Rectory

Areminder!

Novemberis a month that reminds us to remember. On Remembrance Sunday we give thanksfor all those who have laid down their lives in war in the cause of justice andfreedom. And we also “remember, remember the 5^th of November, gun-powdertreason and plot.”

The Bible has lots to say aboutremembering, which is hardly surprising when we recall how forgetful we are.The word “remember” comes 166 times in the Bible and a further 75 times invarious other forms.

Forexample, the preacher of the book of Ecclesiastes counsels us to:

“Remember your Creatorin the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the yearsapproach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"” (12:1)

TheBible talks about God remembering and not remembering too:

“As a father hascompassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; forhe knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14)

We’rerepeatedly told that God remembers his covenant, the agreement he has made withhis people. God makes promises and he keeps them. He alone is utterlytrustworthy and reliable.

YetGod also promises:

“I will forgive theirwickedness and remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12)

Not,of course, that God is absent minded, as we so often are. Rather, God promisesnot to call to mind the sins of believers. Yes, he knows all about them, but hedoesn’t relate to us on the basis of them. God forgives and “forgets”. He doesn’thold our sins against us if we cast ourselves on his mercy.

That’sworth remembering.

Rev’dMarc Lloyd

Acoustic Psalms

2011-10-05T16:47:00.004+01:00

A good thing spotted on Facebook: Versions of a number of Psalms by the LORD and Matt Searles performed by Miriam Jones and a guitar. And proceeds to a good cause. (HT: RvdB)

Jesus and Legion

2011-10-05T15:50:00.004+01:00

Commenting on Mark 5:1-20, Tom Wright says:

At the climax of Mark’s story Jesus himself will end upnaked, isolated, outside the town among the tombs, shouting incomprehensiblethings as he is torn apart on the cross by the standard Roman torture, hisflesh torn to ribbons by the small stones in the Roman lash. And that, Mark issaying, will be how the demons are dealt with. That is how healing takes place.Jesus is coming to share the plight of the people, to let the enemy do itsworst to him, to take the full force of evil on himself and let the others gofree.

(Mark for Everyone, pp56-57)

Poemses

2011-09-27T10:13:00.001+01:00

As one who struggles with spelling, I appreciated this, pointed out by John Ross.

We'll begin with box; the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox is oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, and two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose is never called meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a house full of mice;
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.
The plural of man is always men,
But the plural of pan is never pen.

If I speak of a foot, and you show me two feet,
And I give you a book, would a pair be beek?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't two booths be called beeth?

If the singular's this and the plural is these,
Should the plural of kiss be ever called keese?

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his, and him;
But imagine the feminine... she, shis, and shim!

And on English pronounciation, Gerard Nolst Trenité's The Chaos (1922)

Or hear it read here.

A Wedding Sermon on 1 Corinthians 13

2011-09-24T14:42:00.001+01:00

Love.

Love, love, love,

love, love, love,

love, love, love.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

(You ought to be glad I didn’t singthat!

(Perhaps if we need to clear thebuilding at the end!

Profound words!

It may not be the greatest poetry, butit’s true in a way.

Love is all you need.

Well, yes, all sorts of other things(like a house and a car and some money in the bank) would come in handy,ideally.

But all you really need is love.

But you better make sure that it’sreal, true love.

Love as defined and described by ourBible reading.

We read:

“Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps norecord of wrongs.

⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails.”

Often we have a superficial orsentimental view of love.

We confuse lust with love.

It’s easy to be in love on yourwedding day.

Kathryn, you look stunning.

And, Andy, you’ve scrubbed upacceptably too.

But it’s much more challenging to loveone another on a rainy Monday morning 20 years from now.

You may be shocked to wake up and findthat the vision of loveliness you married, is not quite the same a couple ofdecades from now!

Time and gravity may have done theirwork.

It’s at times like that that we needto remember that love is more than a quickened heart-rate and a flow of blood.

Loving is not just about being inlove.

Love isn’t just something that comesupon us, as our eyes meet across a field of bullocks – or however it was foryou!

The Bible commands us to love.

Love is a commitment and a promise aswell as a feeling and an emotion.

Love involves our decision anddetermination.

Today you’ll pledge yourselves to loveone another come what may, whether you feel like it or not.

Make sure you work hard at loving oneanother.

We hope that your married lifetogether will be one of unbroken bliss:

That everything will go from onedegree of marvelousness to another, that each new day will be better than thelast.

How wonderful it would be if 60 yearsfrom now you could truly say you were even more in love than on your weddingday.

But experience tells us that there maywell be tough times, even in the best of marriages.

It’s then that your marriage vowsreally kick in.

You’ll have given your word to bethere for one another for worse, sicker and poorer.

Real love is what you need then.

Love (real love) is all you need.

As we think about real love, all of,if we’re honest, know that we fall far short.

Only this morning, I was grumpy withMrs Lloyd and the kids.

I was in my study, working on thegraveyard regulations, and my 3 year old son came in wanting to shred somepaper with me in my new shredder.

My response was less than ideal.

Not very patient or kind; a bit proudand rude and self-seeking and easily angered.

And there’s no way I’m telling youabout the Vicar’s more serious sins!

But Mrs Lloyd could if she was sominded – which, thankfully, she isn’t!

If love is blind, marriage iscertainly an eye-opener.

And you’ll know each other’s faultsbetter than anyone.

All of us know there are times whenwe’re less than loving.

We all need God’s forgiveness andhelp.

The good news is that the Bible tellsus that God is love.

If we replaced the word “love” in ourBible reading with the word “God” we wouldn’t have a bad description of God.

God is patient and kind.

He does not envy, nor boast.

God is not proud or rude orself-seeking or easily angered.

God does not keep a record of wrongs.

He does not delight in evil butrejoices with the truth.

God always protects, always trusts,always hopes, always perseveres.

God never fails.

The Bible says:

“This is love: not that we loved God,but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1John 4:10)

Or again:

“But God demonstrates his own love forus in this:

While we were still sinners, Christdied for us.” (Romans 5:8)

God loves us, even though we’renot always terribly lovely.

And God never gives up on us.

His love and forgiveness arealways freely available in Jesus.

Love is all you need.

God is love.

God is all you need!

We were made to know God, to love himand be loved by him.

Our hearts are restless until theyfind their rest in him.

All of us are insufficient for thetask of marriage.

But God’s grace is sufficient for us.

What’s impossible for us is possiblewith God.

Kathryn and Andy, my prayer for you isthat you’ll both grow closer to God and to one another over the years.

God is like the apex of a triangle,with you as the base

or the centre of a wheel with you as thespokes.

The closer to God you get, the closeryou’ll be to one another.

The more you love God, the more you’lllove one another.

Andy and Kathryn, may you find God’s incomparablelove to be all that you really need.

And may you love one another, withinthe unfailing love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dawkins' latest book: untrue, absurd, dangerous

2011-09-23T09:44:00.000+01:00

According to the review in The Independent.

HT: Neil Powell, A Faith To Live By

Song of Songs Being Sung

2011-09-21T16:11:00.001+01:00

Ideal for durring the signing of the registers at your wedding. Shall I set the choirs practicing?

HT: Ros Clarke

Video

Lyrics:

Lyrics to Dark I Am Yet Lovely :

Dark I am yet lovely as tents of Kedar
As the pavilions of Solomon either
Don’t hate me because the sun has darkened me
All my mother’s sons were so angry with me
They made me watch the vineyards
My own things I did not guard

On my bed at night I sought whom my soul loves
Oh I sought I sought but I found him not
So I ask U daughters of Jerusalem
Where is my love? Oh tell me have U seen him?

Majestic as Lebanon stately as cedars
His mouth so delicious his fragrance so pleases
Such is my beloved such is my darling
And if U see him say my heart is pining
For the kisses of his mouth and his flavours
Oh the king had brought me into his chambers
Say I delight in his love
Say he's the one my soul was

Vast floods can’t quench love no matter what love did
Rivers can’t drown love no matter where love's hid
So when U do find him out
Bring him to my mother's house
And into the chamber of her who conceived me
Then will he know me and then will he see me
Tell him that love isn’t done
Tell him don’t leave me alone

Next Bishop of Chichester

2011-09-21T13:50:00.002+01:00

Howyou can be a part of it.

Amongthe various consultation processes there is a public meeting foranyone to come along on Wednesday 23^rd November at 7.30pm to StBartholomew’s Church, Ann Street, Brighton, BN1 4GP.

Theemail address for your submissions– next-bishop@diochi.org.uk

Meaningful Christmas Tree Decorations

2011-09-21T13:48:00.002+01:00

A box of Meaningful Chocolate Tree Decorations contains alimited edition Christmas card, a sticker set and six hand wrapped, highquality, Fairtrade chocolate decorations. The Christmas story, which can befound on the card, enables adults or children to read the story while placingcharacter stickers on the decorations. Once completed, the decorations can behung on the tree as a reminder of the real meaning of Christmas. Cost £3.95.Church orders can be made through www.MeaningfulChristmas.co.ukor exclusively from Traidcraft. Orders should be made by 14^th November 2011as supplies are limited.

The Sermon

2011-09-20T17:10:00.002+01:00

One of my excellent church wardens has reccomended this site: The Sermon, which I don't recall having come across before and which looks excellent. As the name might suggest, it contains sermons. By a number of different preachers. Richard Bewes, the former Rector of All Souls, Langham Place seems to be the chap behind it.

Ministry Training Scheme Opportunity

2011-09-20T12:18:00.001+01:00

We're looking for someone to come and join us in Gospel ministry in the beautiful Sussex Countryside. Could this be for you or someone you know? We'd love to hear from anyone who's interested.

Please give me, Marc, a call on 01435 830421 or email marc_lloyd@hotmail.com to find out more.

Warbleton is in East Sussex. It's about a half hour drive north of the beach at Eastbourne and south of Tunbridge Wells. The smaller towns of Heathfield (10 mins), Hailsham (15 mins) and Battle (20 mins) are near by. It's a 20 minute drive to Stonegate station from which trains to London Bridge take 1 hr 2 mins.

Volunteer Ministry Training Scheme

atWarbleton Church of England Parish Church

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has asked the Rector (Marc), in consultation withthe Churchwardens, to seek to appoint a suitable volunteer to participate in a Ministry Trainee Scheme. This is a bit like what some churches call an Apprenticeship, Lay Assistant or Associate role. The opportunity might be compared to an internship / gap-year. The ethos of the scheme is influenced by 9:38.

We hope the volunteer’s involvement will allow us toimprove what we currently do and take new initiatives. An extra pair of handswill be especially useful with the Rector looking after 3 churches / parishes.

Ideally, the volunteer might start in September 2012 (although other dates would be possible) forone academic year with the hope of renewing for another year if all goes well.

The role might suit someone who graduates from Universityin 2012 and perhaps is thinking of training for ordained ministry in The Churchof England in the future but we are keen to hear from any Bible-believing Christian who is keen to grow, learn and serve. We hope the scheme would benefit any Christian, helping them to get to know how a church and ministry really ticks (and develop transferable skills!), whatever their future job plans. Applicants from a Free Church or other background are welcome.

We would offer:

(i) Training and opportunities in ministry

(ii) A means tested grant towards living expenses of participatingin the scheme of up to £5000 per annum depending on circumstances

(iii) Free accommodation, perhaps in a parishioner’shome.

(iv) Fees for a training / study / correspondencecourse. Something like The Sussex Gospel Partnership Ministry Training Course or The Open Bible Institute / Moore College Course might be suitable but other options would be considered.

(v) Assistance with the cost of a car / use of a carif needed

(vi) Expenses

(vii) The PCC would pay for the volunteer to attendone suitable residential conference and one Christian summer camp each year

We would encourage the volunteer to seekto raise funding (e.g. from sending church, family, friends or trusts) eitherto off-set the cost to the church or to supplement her or his[1]income, depending on circumstances, but the church expects to cover all the costs if necessary and participation in the scheme is not dependant on being able to secure a certain level of funding.

Because of our rural location it seems the volunteer would need to be able to drive.

The scheme is meant for training, to invest in the volunteer andhis future ministry, not exploit him. We want to help him to develop hischaracter, skills and knowledge and reflect on his future vocation. We would seek to give him opportunities andexperience in as many aspects of ministry and parish life as possible.

Except for training purposes, we want to avoid giving thevolunteer things to do that other volunteers in the parish would otherwise dohappily and well. We will want to focus the volunteer’s efforts in areas mostlikely to grow the church.

The volunteer would have a weekly meeting with the Rector.We would seek to appoint a mentor outside the parish situation who would meetwith the volunteer once a term or more frequently if needed.

What the volunteer might do would depend on hisexperience, abilities, interests etc.

The role would include 3 areas:

(1) Ministryopportunities

These might include:

Preaching

Leading and planning services (including music), readingthe lesson, leading the intercessions etc.

Midweek services

4 For All monthly Family Event in village hall - church with craft / games etc. followed by tea and snacks

Leading homegroups / small groups / prayer meetings /book group(*)

A prayer triplet

One to one Bible reading

Pastoral or evangelistic visiting

Toddler Group

School assemblies in the local C of E primary school and community primary and maybe elsewhere

After school clubs (we run one called Warblers in the local community primary school)

Christian Union at Heathfield College

Children's Sunday Club

Youth Group / Club(*)

Christianity Explored Courses

Breakfasts (we run monthly men's and ladies' breakfasts)

Involvement with weddings, funerals, baptisms,confirmation preparation / follow-up

Informal opportunities through attending groups e.g.lunches for the elderly

Heathfield Street Pastors
Other new evangelistic, pastoral or discipleshipinitiatives

(2) Practicaltraining and experience

Examples might include:

Admin

Sound system and PowerPoint etc.

Producing / distributing publicity flyers / posters

Input to parish magazine

"Verger"ing / setting up for events / service

Churchyard clear up

Organisation of special events e.g. evangelistic dinners

Musical abilities would be a real advantage, as would ITskills (especially websites!)

We wouldn't expect the volunteer to do everything on these lists!

(3) Study

Up to a day one week for study not directly related to preparation for immediate ministry in the parish (that is, in addition to work on talks etc.), probably with through at a courseor a formal course of study by correspondence.

We would expect the volunteer not to be available for onefull day a week and for 5 weeks of the year (including 5 Sundays) and bankholidays or “time off in lieu” (e.g. for Good Friday).

The volunteer would not be employed by the PCC.

We are just in the early stages of setting up our church website, but you can find out more about the church there, on The Church of England A Church Near You website or on Facebook.

An “(*)” indicates thatthese groups are not currently running in the church.

[1]The role would suit a man or a woman. For convenience we have used “he” etc.generically here. The Rector would not encourage a female volunteer to preachin church on a Sunday to men or to a mixed congregation of men and women, butviews on women’s ministries vary within the congregation.

Wedding Sermon on the Beattitudes

2011-09-17T13:30:00.001+01:00

Reading: Matthew 5:3-10

If you're coming to the wedding at Bodle Street Green today at 3pm, please look away now.

Mr & Mrs Harding!

Congratulations!

I take it you know that you’re now sitting next to theperson who’s statistically most likely to murder you?

I’m a very kind-hearted, generous sort of Vicar, youunderstand.

You might say, I’m a Vicar who likes to say “yes!”

And so I get wedding couples to choose their own Biblereading.

And Michael and Eliza have chosen a great reading.

I mean, all the Bible is good, but you couldn’t get muchbetter than the Beatitudes.

It’s just a shame it’s not about marriage!

Anyway, I like a challenge – so here we go!

Jesus is talking to his disciples about what hisfollowers will be like, and about the blessings of his kingdom.

That word “Blessed”, it sounds terribly holy andreligious, but it just means “happy”.

Jesus is describing The Good Life.

How to be happy, we might call it.

The best way to live in God’s world, is God’s way.

Life is best lived according to the Maker’s instructions,with Jesus as your king.

And one thing to say at a wedding is that marriage is agood, happy way of life – a blessing.

You’d hardly think it would need saying, but, sadly, withfewer people getting married and more people getting divorced, perhaps it does.

Today we’re celebrating marriage as a good thing.

This is a happy, hopeful day.

One of the reasons there aren’t more gags in this sermon,is that so many jokes about marriage are cynical.

Aisle, altar, hymn (joke)

Or do you know this one:

Marriage is like a deck of cards:

In the beginning all you need are 2 hearts and a diamond.

By the end you'll wish you had a club and a spade!

Obviously that won’t be so in your case…

If love is blind, marriage is certainly an eye-opener.

(Tough crowd)

Anyway, that’s the kind of cynicism we’re avoiding.

Marriage is a good, happy, blessed way of life.

(As singleness is too, by the way

(The Bible says that marriage and singleness are both differentgifts

(The Lord Jesus himself was single, so singleness must begood!

In the Bible account of creation, God repeatedly lookedat what he’d made and said that it was good.

But then he comes to something that’s not good.

He says, “it’s not good for man to be alone.”

It’s not just that men are inadequate and need women tosort them out!

Men and women are meant for one another, to becomplementary.

Michael and Eliza together, are so much more than Michaeland Eliza separately.

And Michael and Eliza are much better than 2 Michaels!

Today they become a kind of BOGOFF: Buy One Get One Free!

Marriage is a great blessing.

And if you marriage is to be as good as it could possiblybe, you’ll need the qualities that come from following Jesus – the characteristicspictured in these beatitudes.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek”.

That doesn’t mean that either of you should be doormat.

Meekness isn’t weakness: it’s power under control.

Meekness is humility and gentleness.

Michael, it means that if Eliza wants to go on holiday tothe beach and you want to go to the mountains, you might say,” dear, let’s goto the mountains”.

It means being caring and considerate, putting oneanother first.

After all, a happy Eliza will make a happy Michael, andvice-versa.

The Bible says, a man who loves his wife loves himself.

Michael, I think the best thing you can do for your ownhappiness is to dedicate yourself to doing all you can to make your wife happy!

Jesus said: “Blessed are the merciful”.

All of us need mercy, forgiveness, understanding.

And when you’ve lived with one another for 70 years you’llknow one another’s, what shall we call them, eccentricities? Weaknesses? Sins?,better than anyone else.

In our marriages we should all say “Sorry, thank you” and“please” often.

It’s easy to be irritated by your partner’s bad habitsand forget that you’ve got plenty of “foibles” of your own.

“Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Even great marriages might need a bit of peace-makingfrom time to time.

Some of these Beatitudes might seem a bit negative.

Remember you picked them: it’s your fault!

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst forrighteousness.”

Michael and Eliza, we hope you’ll be wonderfullysatisfied in your marriage.

Yet I hope you’ll always be hungry and thirsty too – not complacent.

It would be great if when you’re old and grey you stillwant to know and love one another better.

Be dedicated to having a great marriage: work hard at it.

“Blessed are those who mourn.”

Even in the best of marriages, and the most charmed oflives, there will be times of struggle and sadness.

But you’ve promised today to be there for one another in sickness,and poverty and worse, as well as health and richer and better times.

May you be a comfort to one another when times are tough.

But marriage isnot the be all and end all of life.

The best marriage isn’t the answer to all your problemsor a garuntee of happiness.

Even the best of us will let one another down.

None of us is perfect.

Husbands and wives are great, but they make dreadfulSaviours.

We mustn’t make an idol of marriage or of one another.

It is good for us to know that we are all poor in spirit.

We need Jesus if we’re to know the fullness of God’sblessings.

Marriage has great blessings.

Life as a Christians is wonderful.

But most of God’s blessing are yet to come.

Those who trust in Christ will possess the kingdom ofheaven, they will know lasting comfort, they will one day inherit the earth,and be filled with righteousness.

The will see God and be his true children.

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Bible often pictures heaven as a wedding party.

I hope we have the most fantastic party today, and thatit reminds us of the even greater wedding feast to come.

May we trust in Jesus, and look forward to the ultimateblessings of the wedding party of heaven. Amen.

What does the world say?

2011-09-15T09:33:00.001+01:00

Peter Leithart quotes Jonathan Edwards:

I am not ashamed to own that I believe the whole universe be full of images of divine things, as full as language is of words.

If Edwards is right, then there's a lot more study of the universe to do, a lot more images of divine things to be seen there. Language is, after all, very full of words: it is words! It seems Edwards would have said that the universe speaks of God in a million ways. This is something a bit more developed and varied than "the world looks as if it was made by an inteligent designer" or "the order of the universe suggests God is a God of order". Lots more work and thinking to do!

A week in the life

2011-09-12T09:54:00.000+01:00

So far, I know this "normal" week includes:

Morning Prayer

A hospital visit in Eastbourne

8:15am Midweek BCP Communion

Church Primary School Assembly, Governors’ Meeting and Friends’Meeting

Church Walking Group

PCC

An evening about mission work in Rwanda

A funeral at Tunbridge Wells Crematorium

A wedding (and rehearsal)

A barbeque with the curates I trained with

Church yard clear up

Sunday: 8am, 9:30am, 11am, 4pm Family Event, 6:30pm ChurchesTogether Service

And I probably won’t go to:

Chaps who lunch meal in the pub

The Parish Council Meeting

Various homegroups

And I might try out the History Society meeting

One Line Psalm Summaries

2011-09-10T16:45:00.001+01:00

Mr Williamson has done it again: One Line Psalm Summaries. A great help. Now it's much easier to find a Psalm for any occassion!

I think (or at least, a bit of Googling seems to remind me) that the 2nd Council of Nicea stipulated that Bishops should have memorised the Psalter.

Ben's summaries might at least make us a step nearer being able to pass this ordination exam.
I'm sure someone must have done one line summaries of each Bible book and each Bible chapter. They'd be a great resource too.

Child Communion

2011-09-10T16:20:00.001+01:00

The admission of children to Holy Communionbefore confirmation

(in The Church of England)

Historically the normal practice in The C of E has beenthat children are admitted to Communion only after confirmation[1].

It’s hard to say anything precise about the normal age ofconfirmation. Some Bishops set lower limits. Somewhere between 10 and 16 wouldbe usual but some children just never get round to it!

The C of E does allow those who “are ready and desirousto be confirmed” or who are baptised and in danger of immediate death toreceive Communion before confirmation (Canon B15A)!

In March 1997, the House of Bishops issued guidance onthe admission of baptized persons to Holy Communion before confirmation. Sincethen the practice of Child Communion has been growing in the Church of Englandand General Synod passed new regulations in 2006. The Church of England websitesays that about 15% of parishes have so far introduced Child Communion.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has commented: “If there arerisks, they are worth taking for the sake of really sharing Christ's life inhis Body with the children whose company he loved on earth and loves still.”[2]

Under the regulations, Incumbents may apply to the bishopof the diocese to introduce child communion in their parish(es) with anaccompanying resolution from the PCC in support of the application.

Personally, I am keen to see baptized children who areregularly receiving Christian nurture at home and in church, admitted to theLord’s Table. I would not want the church children to feel excluded or likesecond-class Christians because they can’t receive the bread and the wine.

However, some parents (or indeed some children) may wantto wait until after confirmation for the first Communion. That is absolutelyfine and we would carefully avoid any pressure to rush children into takingCommunion.

Incumbents may only admit children to Communion prior toconfirmation with the parent’s permission. I would want to discuss with parentswhen and how children might best be prepared for Communion. We will want towork together on the on-going Christian nurture of our children and seek togrow their understanding of the Holy Communion and other aspects of the faith.

Recall that Jesus said: “Let the little children come tome, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such asthese." (Matthew 19:14) and “I tell you the truth, anyone who will notreceive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark10:15). I don’t think we should worry too much about our children notunderstanding everything about the Holy Communion. Which of us does? We hopethat their participation will aid their understanding and their growth ingrace, as it does ours.

We would, of course, admit adults with learningdifficulties to Holy Communion even though we might suspect that they might notunderstand everything that’s going on. Faith is the key to receiving theblessings of Holy Communion, and this faith can include different degrees of understanding.Of course, none of us can see into one another’s hearts.

The guidelines state that a register should be kept ofthose admitted to Communion before confirmation and the child’s baptismalcertificate should be endorsed or, failing that, they should be given anothercertificate to show that they have been admitted to Communion in the Church ofEngland.

Once a child has been properly admitted to Communion in aC of E church, he may receive Communion in any other parish church regardlessof the policy in that church.

The expectation is that even when children have beenadmitted to Communion before confirmation, they will still be confirmed in duecourse in the normal way.

Further reading:

http://www.churchofengland.org/education/children-young-people/ministry-with-children/children-and-holy-communion.aspxincluding the Children and Holy Communion regulations.

Stephen Lake, LetThe Children Come to Communion (SPCK, 2006)

[1]It seems likely that children received Communion from ancienttimes (as they still do in Eastern Orthodox Churches) until the rise of thedoctrine of Transubstantiation in the 12th Century. See further Tommy Lee, ‘TheHistory of Paedocommunion: From the Early Church until 1500’ available at http://www.reformed.org/social/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/sacramentology/tl_paedo.html

[2]Rowan William’s foreword in Stephen Lake, LetThe Children Come to Communion (p.vii)

Child Communion in C of E

2011-09-10T14:59:00.001+01:00

It appears that according to figures published in 2005, virtually every diocese in the Church of England was giving permission for parishes to admit children to Communion before confirmation. Sodor and Man was not. Carlisle, Hereford and York were holding discussions or consultations.

57 churches in our own diocese of Chichester had been given permission.

1064 parishes had permission in 2001 and 1650 had permission by the middle of 2005, about 10% of the total.

ABC on Child Communion

2011-09-10T14:40:00.001+01:00

The Archbishop of Canterbury seems to be in favour of admitting baptised children to Communion before confirmation. In his brief foreword to Stepen Lake's Let The Children Come to Communion (SPCK, 2006) he has a number of positive things to say about the practice and adds:

If there are risks, they are worth taking for the sake of really sharing Christ's life in his Body with the children whose company he loved on earth and loves still.... I hope [Stephen Lake's]... vision will invite and persuade... (p. vii)

Christian Andent Calendar with Chocolates!

2011-09-08T11:56:00.000+01:00

What more is there to say?

Psalm Wordles

2011-09-08T09:00:00.000+01:00

Ben Williamson has cleverly provided wordles for the Psalter and for each of the 5 books of the book of Psalms. (You know the things, size of word proportional to the number of times its used). I wonder how this would compare to our hymn books or our contemporary worship songs?

Parish Magazine Item for October

2011-09-08T08:43:00.002+01:00

Fromthe Rectory

As well asbeing Halloween, much more happily, 31^st October is also ReformationDay. On 31^st October 1517, the German monk and scholar, MartinLuther, nailed his 95 Theses to thedoor of the Castle Church in Wittenberg and sparked the Protestant Reformation.Europe, and indeed, the world would undergo a cultural and spiritual, not tosay, political, revolution.

So what was theReformation all about? Far more than Henry VIII’s desire for a divorce, thoughof course that helped it along in England. Theologians have summed up theessence of Reformed Theology in the following 5 slogans, all in Latin, ofcourse, with which you can impress your friends when next the dinner-partyconversation turns to 16^th Century doctrine!

Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone. The Reformation was a greatrediscovery of the Bible. It is the only ultimate God-given authority. Thechurch and the Pope are subject to the Word of God. It was in this period thatthe Bible was becoming available in English and other vernacular languages andpeople could check up on what the Vicar had been preaching! When forbidden totranslate the Bible into English, William Tyndale had famously said: “I defythe Pope and all his laws. If God sparemy life, ‘ere many years I will cause a boy that drives the plough to know moreof the Scripture, than he does!”

Sola Gratia – Grace Alone. We are saved by grace alone, that is,by the undeserved love of God. However many good works we might do, or howevermuch penance, or however many Masses we might attend, or pay the clergy to sayon our behalf, we can never earn or deserve God’s favour. The good news is wedon’t have to: it’s a free gift.

Sola Fides – Faith Alone. We are justified (put right with God)by faith alone. It’s not possible to buy an indulgence to get your sinsforgiven. You need simply to put your trust in Jesus.

Solo Christo – Christ Alone. The way to God is through Jesus. Youdon’t need a priest to be a mediator. And nor do you need Mary or the Saints topray for you. You can go straight to the top, direct to Jesus!

Soli Deo Gloria – For The Glory of GodAlone. God alonedeserves the glory for our salvation. And all of life is to be enjoyed andlived to the glory of God. Thankfully, it’s not necessary to sign up to a monasteryto really please God.

Why notgive yourself the treat of reflecting on these riches of Reformed theology on31^st October?

Bible By The Beach 2012

2011-09-07T12:40:00.002+01:00

Dates for the diary: 4th-7th May. Subject: Christ in all the Scriptures. Speakers.

Independent Living in East Sussex

2011-08-30T09:18:00.000+01:00

The Independent Living Service (formerly managed by the Anchor Trust) seem to provide all sorts of free useful help to people who might need some assistance living independently in East Sussex, including advice on benefits, handymen, aids for daily living, community activities etc. I haven't spotted a website? but you can read a bit more blurb here. Phone 01424 464890 or freephone 0800 9174569 - email ils@intouchsupport.co.uk

Nice

2011-08-27T16:51:00.000+01:00

We just walked past a church with a large poster outside saying:

It's nice to be important
but it's more important to be nice

Well, yes, I guess so, but we couldn't help thinking that perhaps they could find something a little more Christocentric, gospel-filled etc. to say to the world.

The difference Jesus makes

2011-08-21T13:29:00.000+01:00

Again by popular demand (!) some jottings from this week's sermon. Readings: Hosea 2vv14-23 & Mark 2:18-22:

Don’t you just love a good wedding?

It’s not just the delicious canapés, and the champagne and everyone in their glad rags.

A good wedding is such an occasion of happiness and hope.

Weddings are full of joy.

It would be most odd if the guests at a wedding were gloomy and miserable, if they refused all the food and drink and behaved more like they were at a funeral than a wedding.

That’s the argument that Jesus uses in our reading.

Some people ask Jesus (v18),

“How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

Jesus answers (v19):

“How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

They cannot, so long as they have him with them.”

It would be totally inappropriate for Jesus’ disciples to fast during his ministry on earth because he’s the bridegroom and the’re like guests at a wedding.

Guests at a wedding are meant to rejoice.

The point is that Jesus brings joy.

For Bible readers, it’s charged with significance that Jesus calls himself the Bridegroom.

Throughout the Bible, God is described as the husband of his people.

Israel is an unfaithful bride, she flirts with other gods and becomes a prostitute, but God is determined to win her back.

That’s what’s going on in our reading from Hosea.

Despite her unfaithfulness, God says he will allure his people again and speak tenderly to her.

God will be his people’s husband and they will be betrothed, engaged, pledged to one anotherm for ever in righteousness, justice, love, compassion and faithfulness.

In the Bible, God is the bridegroom and his people are his bride.

And now Jesus turns up, claiming to be the bridegroom.

So, implicitly, Jesus is claiming to be God, The Bridegroom, come to win back his people.

It’s rather like the healing of the paralysed man, earlier in the chapter, that we thought about a couple of weeks ago:

Only God can forgive sins,

Jesus can forgive sins

Therefore Jesus must be God.

God is the bridegroom,

Jesus is the bridegroom,

Therefore Jesus is God.

The Bible often describes the climax of history as like a wedding banquet.

Jesus is throwing a wedding party, and we’re all invited to the feast.

The Lord’s Supper that we’re about to share together is a little foretaste of that wedding feast.

It’s meant to be a joyful celebration, yet we often make it more like a funeral that a wedding!

We’re meant to enjoy this Communion together.

You don’t have to stare seriously at your boots!

You’ll allowed to acknowledge the other guests at the fest.

In Jesus’ ministry on earth, the future was breaking in to the present.

Jesus was always feasting, and remember last week, 2vv15-16, eating with sinners.

That’s exactly what Jesus does at Communion: he shares his bread with sinners.

Jesus’ ministry was like a bit of heaven on earth, a bit of the future in the present.

Jesus’ healing miracles, for example, are a sing of the way Jesus is going to transform and renew the whole creation.

Of course, we’re not in heaven yet!

Jesus says, v20:

“But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”

On Good Friday, Jesus will be taken away from his disciples, his life will be taken away.

On that day, it was appropriate for Jesus’ disciples to fast.

There were other times when the first Christians fasted too, and we might fast from time to time.

Jesus is not with us now in the same way that he was with his first disciples in his earthly ministry.

Now, Jesus is both with us by his Spirit, but also absent, bodily.

We have some of the blessings of Jesus’ presence now, but not fully and finally.

The Wedding Supper of the Lamb is yet to come.

We live looking forward to that day.

The Christian life is a battle.

We’ll have our struggles and sorrows.

Jesus often spoke of the cost of following him.

Our lives won’t be one long wedding party from now until eternity.

Yet we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that Jesus brings joy.

The Christian life is the most blessed life, the most happy and hopeful life.

It’s the best way to live.

The Apostle Paul says:

“Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

It’s possible for us to get this all out of balance.

The Old Testament required just one fast day a year, on the Day of Atonement.

And yet some of the Jews of Jesus’ day were fasting every Monday and Thursday.

We too can get the balance wrong.

Joy is to be the key-note of our Christian lives.

Do we know the joy that Jesus brings?

Have we pledged ourselves to Jesus, the bridegroom, are we seeking to be faithful to him?

Jesus brings joy.

Secondly and finally, Jesus brings radical transformation.

That’s the point of all this talk of new and old cloth and new and old wineskins in vv21-22.

I’ve never tried this, and I’m not about to, but apparently, v21, a new unshrunk piece of cloth, patched into an old garment, will pull away and make the tear worse.

V22: new wine will burst old wineskins.

New wine requires new wineskins.

Jesus is doing something new, and it requires new structures, new ways of life.

Jesus brings in a New Covenant, and so we no longer live under the law of Moses as the people of Old Testament times did.

Jesus is doing something radically different, something new and explosive.

Jesus can’t be fit in to our existing way of living and thinking.

Jesus changes everything.

Jesus is not an add-on or an optional extra.

Jesus came to be our husband, not our hobby!

It’s no use getting married and living as if you were still single.

Jesus claims the first place in our lives.

We can’t follow Jesus on our terms, as long as he’s not too inconvenient.

Jesus is Lord.

Trying to fit Jesus in to the existing way of things can be the worst of both worlds.

A compromised Christian will be a miserable Christian.

Following Jesus wholeheartedly isn’t easy, but it’s the way to joy.

Jesus brings joy.

And Jesus brings radical transformation.

Let’s commit ourselves afresh to following him and allow him to radically transform us, to dictate the way we think and live.

10 Commandments for Preachers

2011-08-18T16:49:00.000+01:00

Some moments from Sinclair B. Fergerson's Themeolios article, 'A Preacher's Decalogue' (Vol 36, issue 2, Aug 2011):

systematic exposition did not die on the cross for us; nor did biblical theology, nor even systematic theology or hermeneutics or whatever else we deem important as those who handle the exposition of Scripture. I have heard all of these in preaching . . . without a center in the person of the Lord Jesus.

And later on imagination in preaching:

Imagination in preaching means being able to understand the truth well enough to translate or transpose it into another kind of language or musical key in order to present the same truth in a way that enables others to see it, understand its significance, feel its power—to do so in a way that gets under the skin, breaks through the barriers, grips the mind, will, and affections so that they not only understand the word used but feel their truth and power.

Luther did this by the sheer dramatic forcefulness of his speech. Whitefield did it by his use of dramatic expression (overdid it, in the view of some). Calvin—perhaps surprisingly—did it too by the extraordinarily earthed-in-Geneva-life language in which he expressed himself. So an overwhelming Luther-personality, a dramatic preacher with Whitefieldian gifts of story-telling and voice (didn’t David Garrick say he’d give anything to be able to say “Mesopotamia” the way George Whitefield did?), a deeply scholarly, retiring, reluctant preacher—all did it, albeit in very different ways. They saw and heard the word of God as it might enter the world of their hearers and convert and edify them.

And J. C. Ryle's, "preach as though you has asthma" made me smile!

J. C. Ryle’s counsel: “Have a clear knowledge of what you want to say. Use simple words. Employ a simple sentence structure. Preach as though you had asthma! Be direct. Make sure you illustrate what you are talking about.”

Introducing "new" songs

2011-08-18T09:39:00.000+01:00

Any suggestion for good content-full newer / contemporary feeling Biblical songs to introduce to a congregation more used to traditional hymns? And how to go about it?

Our usual musical accompaniment is a keyboard. Occasionally there's a guitar.

Our regular play-list is Hymns Old and New plus the following at the back of our in-house poduced service book:

The Lord's My Shepherd (I will trust in you alone), Stuart Townend
Jesus is Lord - the cry that echoes through creation
Before the throne of God above
How Deep The Father's Love For Us
We are heirs of God Almighty
In Christ alone my hope is found
Light of the world (So here I am to worship)
From the squalor of a borrowed stable

Would you ditch any of those to replace it with something else?

I suggested He Walked On Earth Showing Glimpses of Heaven (Behold The Lamb of God) but the choir thought it wasn't very suitable for congregational singing and that perhaps more syncopated stuff might be tricky.

I'm wondering about:

Oh To See The Dawn

and

See What A Morning

What do you think? Other ideas?

Do you think it would help for the choir to listen to a CD of the song at their practice?

In our music I want us to aim for the best of the old and the best of the new. Generally speaking, I'd like us to be able to sing one of these newer songs most weeks. I think it might be best to begin and end with a strong traditional hymn (e.g. Praise My Soul The King of Heaven, Christ Triumphant, How Great Thou Art, something like that), sometimes there might be a children's song (either traditional like The Wise Man Built His House on The Rock or more modern like Our God Is A Great Big God), maybe something 60s-90s ish, Kendrick-esque (e.g. Meekness and Majesty), and a newer song. Oh, and we really need to sing the Psalms...

The Bible Works. Jesus works.

2011-08-17T13:07:00.000+01:00

I don't know much about Andy Hawthorne OBE, but this is an impressive presentation about the power of the Lord Jesus to transform lives, including the lives of young people and the most struggling.

Fonts

2011-08-16T21:35:00.000+01:00

A friend recommended dafont.com as a good source of free fonts for producing striking publicity and so on.

Getting Started in Personal Bible Reading & Prayer

2011-08-16T10:46:00.002+01:00

Is the following helpful? What else would you say / say differently?

It would be great to aim to read the Bible and pray briefly most days.

Be realistic. Starting with a few minutes each day is better than setting the alarm for 5am, hoping to do an hour’s Bible Study, but hitting the snooze button.

Where and when would work for you? Lots of people prefer first thing in the morning, but another pattern might suit you better.

Bible Reading

Begin by praying, asking God to help you.

Use a modern translation of the Bible. At church, we use the New International Version (NIV), which would be a good choice for most people. Children or those for whom English is a second language or those who struggle with reading might go for something like The Good News Bible (GNB) which uses simpler language. The English Standard Version (ESV) might be good for in depth study.

Read systematically rather than opening the Bible at random. Use a bookmark! Perhaps start with one of the Gospels, e.g. Mark.

Stop to think about what you read.

Perhaps ask yourself questions like:

What does this passage tell me about God / Jesus / myself / the world / following Jesus?

Is there a promise to obey or a command to follow or a warning to listen to?

Are there examples to follow or avoid?

What do you find striking / surprising about what you’re reading?

What do you think the main point or big idea of what you’re reading might be?

Pray in the light of what you’ve read:

What could you praise or thank God for?

What could you ask for his help with?

You might find some Bible Reading Notes would help you. The Good Book Company sell a good range! http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/bible/daily-bible-reading

Prayer

Just talk to God naturally in your own words. You could sit or stand or kneel or whatever works for you. Some people find it helps them to concentrate if they put their hands together and close their eyes, but you don’t have to. It may also help you to pray out loud quietly under your breath.

You could think of using a structure like:

SORRY – say sorry to God for anything you’ve done or said or thought or failed to do, since you last prayed that comes to mind.

THANK YOU – say thank you to God for his forgiveness, for Jesus and the good news about him and for any other blessings for conscious of e.g. your sleep, your breakfast!

PLEASE – ask God to help you. Pray about the day ahead. Pray that you might be more like Jesus today and that you’d be a blessing to others.

It’s good to remember to pray for others too e.g. your family and friends.

Local or national or international events might inform your prayers.

You might like to make a note of a one or two different things to pray for each day to broaden your prayers and give variety.

E.g.:

MONDAY: Uncle Ted

The missionaries we support in Japan

TUESDAY: The local school

The government

WEDNESDAY: The God-children

The Vicar!

You might like to finish your prayers by saying The Lord’s Prayer or use other written prayers from time to time too (e.g. The Collects from the church notice sheet).

Diagnosis Sin

2011-08-14T19:09:00.000+01:00

By popular request (i.e. at the request of one of my church wardens) here are my notes from this morning's sermon on Mark 2:13-17 - with due acknowledgements to those previously cited. There's even a paragraph cut and pasted from Rev'd Glen Scrivener, I think.

Notices

We’re going to be thinking in our sermon today about someone who invited his friends to a meal to meet with Jesus, and I’d like to ask you to think about doing the same.

Sermon

This week we’ve seen astonishing scenes of rioting and looting in London and elsewhere.

The kind of thing we expect from failed states in Africa or the Middle East has been spreading across England.

As far as I know, there was no looting in this parish!

But its still a shock to us that such things could happen in towns and cities we know well.

Commenting on the London riots, David Cameron said:

“parts of our society are not just broken, they’re sick”.

We live in a sick society.

In v17 of our Gospel reading, Jesus too talks about people being sick.

Jesus said to them:

“It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

So, let’s consider those comments from Cameron and from Jesus.

Are we sick?

What is the nature of our sickness?

I want to think with you about the symptoms, the diagnosis, the causes, the prognosis and the treatment.

Symptoms:

Plain enough.

Obvious something is wrong.

Peaceful protest à rioting, looting, criminal damage, arson, lots of other crimes, 3 men are dead as the result of a hit and run incident.

The death of Mark Duggan, which sparked it all, was quickly forgotten and we saw opportunistic theft.

Greed was rampant.

There was a casual disregard for the law.

Mobile phone theft: headlock - “oh, don’t bother” – walked off

More than 1600 people have so far been arrested

Daughter of a millionaire Company Director was looting too.

Student at Exeter University – an intelligent person.

Poverty is obviously not the cause!

Lack of education is obviously not the problem.

Diagnosis:

Parts of our society are sick.

But we need a deeper, more far-reaching diagnosis than that.

Ed Miliband (political balance!): “we all need to look in to our own souls…

We need to confront irresponsibility wherever we find it.

We need a sense of right and wrong.”

Soul

Heart

The actor and comedian, Russell Brand said he’d committed criminal damage during a previous anarchist demonstration partly because of the void inside.

He said the solution to the London riots must be spiritual.

At the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart

Later in this gospel Jesus says:

“What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’.

For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.

All these come from inside and make a man unclean.”

(Mark 7:20-23)

Sometimes we excuse ourselves when we read a list like that.

Well, I’m not a murderer!

But think about the list again:

What about evil thoughts, greed, malice, deceit, envy, arrogance, folly?

Can you see any traces of any of those things in your own heart?

I know I can.

Our sins? Our sickness?

Not just black youths.

MPs expenses – the amounts involved make some of the recent thefts seem trivial.

MPs had to repay over a million pounds in falsely claimed expenses, and there aren’t that many of them!

One MP broke the rules to get an £8000 flat screen TV and home entertainment system.

He did it by filling out forms, but it’s not so different from helping yourself through the window of Commet, is it?

The irresponsibility of the bankers – global economic crisis.

Phone hacking – influential people in our society.

Closer to home?

What would you do if you thought you could get away with it / if no one would know?

If there were no consequences, what would you do?

Would you be fiddling you taxes or your expenses?

Would you run from your responsibilities?

Gossip.

Thoughts of our hearts: murder, lust.

Pride, censoriousness, judgementalism (v16) – holier than thou attitude

In v17, Jesus speaks of the healthy who do not need a doctor, the righteous.

But the Bible says: “There is no one righteous, not even one”

Jesus hasn’t come for those who think their healthy and righteous.

They see no need for Jesus and so he has nothing to offer them.

Jesus is like a doctor.

And no one goes to the doctor if they think they’re in perfect health.

We have to admit our need, before we’ll come to Jesus.

Jesus came for the riotous not for the righteous.

There are no righteous people!

All of us are riotous by nature:

We’re in revolt against our maker.

All of us are sick within.

We suffer from a heart-condition that affects the whole human race.

We have a soul-sickness.

Causes:

What are the causes of our societies’ ills?

Government cuts.

The end of education maintenance allowance.

A consumer society.

The looters had bought in to consumerism!

They are being good comsumers.

A lack of responsibility.

Schools.

Families.

Ultimate cause: Our root disease: Rebellion against God.

Lawlessness.

A rejection of God leads to a rejection of all authority.

God has established the authority of the family, state.

Reject God, and its not surprising that the state and the family follow.

Atheistic Darwinism, why shouldn’t I help myself to designer trainers, jeans and the latest i-phone if I can get away with it?

After all, there is no God.

There’s no ultimate meaning to the universe, no objective morality.

We’re all just the product of time and chance.

Laws and private property are just human constructs.

Survival of the fittest is the name of the game.

Prognosis:

Society going from bad to worse.

Anarchy? Tyranny?

We will reap what we sow.

The Bible says: “The wages of sin is death.”

The judgment of God.

God putting the world to rights.

There is hope for all who will admit that they are sick sinners.

No one is beyond Jesus’ cure.

Don’t write off anyone.

In our reading, the religious crowd thought that Jesus shouldn’t be interested in Levi or his friends.

Surely he was beyond the pale?

But Jesus would heal and transform Levi and use him as his disciple.

Treatment:

Education, character, virtue.

Where do character and virtue come from?

Character and virtue don’t grow on trees!

Something must be done!

The government must do something.

Some good proposals might emerge.

But there’s a great danger of sticking-plaster solutions, of treating some of the symptoms but not reaching the root of the disease.

Jesus the doctor!

He is an expert physician, a soul surgeon.

He can make anyone healthy, whole, clean, righteous.

The only qualification for coming to Jesus is sin.

All you have to bring is your sin.

It’s those who know their need of Jesus for whom he has come.

Jesus is a Doctor for sick sinners.

He did not come into this world to congratulate the healthy

He did not come to condemn the sick.

He came to heal the sick – that’s what a Doctor does.

He did it by taking our spiritual sickness into Himself.

He deliberately contracted our terminal illness.

On the cross he died the death of sick looters, sick politicians, sick hypocrites, sick me and sick you.

That’s how much He is for the sick.

Then He rose up again and offers to meet you in your sickness – not with condemnation but with healing.

Communion

Did you notice the emphasis in our passage on Jesus eating with sinners?

The idea comes in v15 and twice in v16.

Eating with someone in Jesus’ day was a special sign of friendship and fellowship, of partnership and belonging.

And often it’s the same in our day.

How many of our occasions with family or friends or business associates involve eating together?

Our word “companion” literally means one with whom we eat bread.

As we come to the Lord’s Supper, Jesus welcomes sinners to eat with him.

Jesus shares his bread with us: he makes us his companions, his friends, his partners.

We share and participate with Jesus.

The ABC on the riots

2011-08-13T12:53:00.000+01:00

Some jottings from half listening to his House of Lord's speech:

Virtue. Character. Education. Ethos. Citizens not consumers. Young people & Communities - generous, imaginative, supporting, helping, deserving the best. Breakdown of a sense of shared civic responsibility and identity / solidarity. A moment of anger, hope and opportunity to rebuild.

Report, full text and audio on ArchbishipOfCanterbury.Org

Riot Reflections

2011-08-13T11:54:00.002+01:00

After reading my excellently insightful comments below, you might also want to check out:

Mike Ovey
Glen Scrivener
Daniel Blanche
David Baker
Paul Perkin
Martin Saunders in the Guarniad
Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden
The Archbishop of Canterbury
The Bishop of London

Ed Miliband

Russell Brand

Any other good stuff?

The rock of stability

2011-08-13T11:18:00.000+01:00

Chancellor George #Osborne seems to have said on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme:

The 'rock of stability' on which to build the UK economy 'is a credible deficit reduction plan'

I can think of a better rock of stability for us to build on.

Matthew 7:24ff. 1 Corinthians 10:4, and about a million other places.

Sick Society: healing for the riotous not the righteous

2011-08-11T14:43:00.000+01:00

The Rev'd Mr Scrivener has kindly prepared my Sunday sermon on Mark 2:13-17 for me.

Today I spoke about our sick society using the headings:

The symptoms

The diagnosis

The prognosis

The treatment

Traditional Confirmation Preparation

2011-08-10T17:32:00.002+01:00

From the C of E website:

In The Book of Common Prayer it is envisaged that this preparation will take the form of learning by heart the Apostles Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and The Book of Common Prayer Catechism.

Sick Society

2011-08-10T12:16:00.000+01:00

Mr Cameron has said that parts of our society are not just broken, they are sick.

He is quite right. But the problem and its root cause go much deeper. The basic fault is not a lack of responsiblility: it is rebellion against God, and therefore against all authority - the family, the state and so on. In fact, all of us are sick. At the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.

It seems fitting to be preaching on Mark 2:13-17 this coming Lord's Day. Thankfully, Jesus is a doctor who has come for those who know they are sick.

Confirmation Preparation

2011-08-09T17:22:00.002+01:00

Read through the Confirmation service. Does it sound like what you might like to do?

(This can be found at: http://www.diochi.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=resources.content&cmid=190 – we are in the Lewes episcopal area).

Some questions to think about / topics for discussion

Don’t worry: this is not an exam!

Who was Jesus?
Why did he come?
What does it mean to follow him? What response does he call for?

What is a real Christian?

What is (baptism and) confirmation?
What will happen in the confirmation service?
The Lord's Supper / Holy Communion

Living as a Christian: Bible reading, prayer, church

The Church of England

What does Jesus mean to you? (How did you become a Christian?) What do you love about Jesus / being a Christian? Why would you recommend the Christian faith to someone else?

How would you explain the Good News of Christianity briefly to a 10 year old?

Why do you want to be confirmed?

Some further reading:

One of the gospels (e.g. Mark) in a modern English translation (e.g. The New International Version) see: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+1&version=NIV

A brief summary of the Christian Gospel: Two Ways To Live: The Choice We All Face - http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/

John Stott, Your Confirmation: An Essential Guide To Christianity (Hodder Christian Paperbacks, 1995) ISBN: 978-0340630174 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Confirmation-Essential-Christianity-paperbacks/dp/0340630175/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312959714&sr=1-2

What the C of E website has to say about Confirmation - http://www.churchofengland.org/weddings-baptisms-funerals/baptism-confirmation/confirmation.aspx

Other introductions to the Christian faith:

Christianity Explored & Christianity Explored Youth - http://www.christianityexplored.org/

Just For Starters: 7 Foundational Bible Studies (3^rd edition) http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/just-for-starters

John Stott, Basic Christianity (IVP, new edition 2008) ISBN: 978-1844743049 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basic-Christianity-50th-Anniversary-Stott/dp/1844743047/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312959965&sr=8-1

Vaughan Roberts, Turning Points (Authentic Media, 1999) ISBN: 978-1850783367 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turning-Points-Vaughan-Roberts/dp/1850783365

John Chapman, A Fresh Start (The Good Book Company, 2^nd edition 1997) ISBN: 978-1873166017 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fresh-Start-John-Chapman/dp/187316601X

(I may be able to loan you some of the above books. Please ask!)

Any other hints, tips, suggestions, resources (for adults or teenagers)?

Added value

2011-08-09T11:28:00.000+01:00

1 Timothy 4:8 says:

while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

I can tell you from more than a week's personal experience that going to the gym is a pretty boring experience. Yet it does (hopefully) have some value. However, going to the gym with the Bible or a some Christian music on your MP3 player could have great value in every way and hold promise for the present life and for the life to come. All I need now is a version of the Psalms with a good beat to encourage faster, harder rowing!

Lawlessness

2011-08-09T11:25:00.002+01:00

The riots in London and elsewhere are astonishing, shocking and appauling. In a way. But in another way they are exactly what one might expect from a Godless society. It's not easy for the Darwinian atheist to say why I shouldn't help myself to a free pair of trainers if I can get away with it.

Mrs Lloyd's birthday

2011-08-08T18:03:00.000+01:00

The people who are playing for Mrs Lloyd's birthday. Also, here. They also play as part of this band.

Tues 18th Oct, 7:30pm, Warbleton Parish Church. All welcome.

Going out on Thursdays?

2011-08-08T13:55:00.002+01:00

If you live within striking distance of Eastbourne, this could well be the place to be on Thursday evenings from September.

Rushalake Green - The Song

2011-08-08T13:45:00.000+01:00

It appears the village in which we live has its own tune on YouTube. HT Village Leaf.

3 Rectors

2011-08-07T18:51:00.000+01:00

Of Warbleton & Bodle Street Green. Taken at the Rushlake Green Flower Show, 2011.

Last Word on John Stott

2011-08-06T07:06:00.000+01:00

Last Word, the Radio 4 obituary programme, features Rev'd Dr John Stott at the top of this week's programme. It is available on BBC i-player.

Coming Soon

2011-08-04T10:27:00.002+01:00

www.warbletonchurch.org.uk

Right, anyone able to show me how to use WordPress?

Thanks to the excellent Hugh Bourne we're off the ground for £50!

If

2011-08-04T09:41:00.002+01:00

My latest offering for the Parish Magazine:

Being a kind, generous, open-minded sort of a Rector, I allow wedding couples to choose their own readings – within reason. The law states that they have to have at least one Bible reading, and I make some recommendations, but they can have whatever they want. I might add in another one if they chose something very obscure! And they can pick any other reading they want, as long as it’s not indecent or blasphemous.

If…

On Saturday (as I write) I’m taking a wedding where the couple have chosen St Paul’s famous words from the Bible in his first letter to the Corinthian church, chapter 13 – a classic exposition of true love. And If, by Rudyard Kipling.

Kipling can, of course, claim to be a local(ish) boy. And it’s a great, great poem. The Nation’s Favourite, according to the BBC poll, no less.

You’ll remember it says:

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

…

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

“If you can….” The problem is, you haven’t, you can’t and you won’t! Even the best of us fail in a myriad of ways. None of us is the person we hope to be. If we can’t live up to our own standards, what hope of living up to Kipling’s or, more to the point, God’s?

We all need God’s forgiveness and help. An inspirational poem is not enough.

And the poem is fascinating for its view of masculinity too: what makes a true man? A controversial subject in our age!

Only Jesus truly fulfils 1 Corinthians 13 and If. He is the most loving man who ever lived. And also the most manly man – not in a machismo way, but in the sense that he had great power under control, strength that he used to bless and serve others, not exploit or tyrannize them. Jesus is the antithesis of the cruel, lazy or absent male. He was the True, Proper, Ultimate Man, the true Son of his Father, the Second and Last Adam. Let us engage ourselves in his service.