An outline for a Mothering Sunday talk from John 2:1-11

Two things we can learn from Mary in this true story from the Bible (probably not entirely original to me):

(1) Mary does the right thing: she brings the problem to Jesus, knowing that he cares and can help (v3). We would do well to bring our problems to Jesus in prayer. He cares for us and can help us.

(2) Mary gives some excellent advice: she tells the servant to do whatever Jesus tells them, even though it must have seemed strange to them (v5). We should always do what Jesus tells us to do in his Word, the Bible, even if it seems strange to us.

Another quotation that might make it into Sunday's sermon

From a friend's email signature:

“If we have not what we desire, we have more than we deserve.” Thomas Watson [puritan]

The History of Children in Church

I have recently seen this article linked to a couple of times, apparently approvingly. Mr (?) Denlinger argues that perhaps it has not always been as normal for children to be included in the whole of the Lord's Day service as some advocates of that approach suggest.

Certainly the author is right that we probably too easily assume that we can guess what the history of the church has been and, guess what, we probably assume that it agrees with us!

He may well be right that those who argue for children in church need to do more to make the case that history is on their side.

But I have to say that the specific examples he gives (from 16th Century Scotland) are not very impressive to my mind. They are from rather a particular time and place. Had the author said that children were excluded from The Lord's Day Service from the earliest days I would have been all ears. Or that this was apparently the universal practice in East or West for a thousand years. Or that all the mainstream Reformers were agreed on this matter.

Fair enough. More work is needed. Denlinger agrees.

And, I have to say, that I do not find the examples very attractive. This is beside the author's point, really, and historical evidence is there whether we like it or not. But I would be surprised if anyone found these cases very persuasive. As the author says, these days, with carpets and microphones and other practical adaptations, perhaps infants and children can be less of a barrier to adult participation in church anyway.

It seems to me particularly sad that: 'Perth legislation of 1587' ordered that infants about to be baptised "be holden in some secret place til the preaching is ended" and then brought forward for baptism, lest the crying of the baptismal candidate create "din in time of preaching, so that others incoming thereto are stopped from hearing."

Obviously the practical concern for the edification of the majority of the congregation is a good and right one but this seems to me especially painfully far removed from our Lord's own teaching: let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven, we might add, even when the little ones prove a naissance to the ever so important adult disciples.

It is also a great shame that there is 'no evidence that' the advocates of keeping children away 'spent any effort devising a wholesome alternative to corporate worship for the youngsters' or indeed for the adults who presumably had to stay away to look after them. Some progress has at least been made, even if what is offered today is frequently far from perfect.

'Glasgow's churches apparently made 8 years of age the "cut-off" for attending the sermon' which raises the interesting question of when children are to be encouraged back into the main service if there is a Sunday school. One church I knew well had a group of 17-20 somethings and a couple of adult leaders going out of the morning service at one time to flee the sermon! This is obviously absurd.

The case of paedocommunion would be a counterbalancing piece of evidence, including Tommy Lee's work on 'THE HISTORY OF PAEDOCOMMUNION: FROM THE EARLY CHURCH UNTIL 1500'

Ready to die for Christ

An extraordinary story read on Facebook:

"The pioneer missionaries traveling inland Africa did not expect a long life. They were normally young people in their twenties who knew that their ministry would last for a year or two before they succumbed to disease. Consequently they would pack all their belongings not into a suitcase, but in a coffin, and then set sail to Africa. These coffins standing on end with shelves inserted made great cupboards apparently, until required for duties!

The decision to step onto the ship with your coffin can be understood only by appreciating the depth of their conviction that death was not the end, and that such decisions were part of God’s plan to bring back the King to reign ’where the righteous dwells’ . 2Pet 3:13 "


(Discipleship Matters by Peter Maiden, IVP UK 2015,pg 44)

A classic quotation from John Newton I might use (probably again) on Sunday

‘I am not what I ought to be,

I am not what I want to be,

I am not what I hope to be in another world;

but still I am not what I once used to be,

and by the grace of God I am what I am.’

Sounding Like The Proclamation Trust

Here, amongst other things, The Revd Dr Peter Leithart makes the point that we want everyone to be able to speak Bible.

The specialised and specific categories of systematic theology have their place, but we should not lose sight of what Bible words mean: they have Bible meanings.

If we already know what 'justification' means, for example, when we come to the Bible, the Bible can never correct our understanding of righteousness and vindication and so on, which are facets of the Bible concept of justification.

This is the Proclamation Trust point that we must not impose our system on the Bible. What does this passage say and mean? It is only when we have truly heard this that we can begin to put it together with what we understand from other Bible passages already (our Systematic Theology, as we call it).

Of course, ideally there is always a complicated interaction (a virtuous spiral) between text and system: our systematic theology helps us to understand the Bible and the Bible corrects our system.

But Leithart and PT are surely right to remind us that Bible must always trump System if we are to be Evangelical Bible believers.

Good News

I have decided that The Revd Dr Joe Book is worth listening to.

He makes the interesting point here that we might say that the first good news in the Bible is that God has created a very good world. This is very important for understanding the gospel. Salvation is not an escape from creation / physicality / flesh. "Mind" or disembodied "spirit" are not the ultimate goal.

Boot's wider point is that the Gospel cannot be reduced to a headline or even to the cross, resurrection and Parousia. The whole story from creation to new creation is really needed if we are to understand and appreciated the goodness of the good news and its implications. We need to understand the nature of the Fall if we are to appreciate the Redemption. The gospel is about time, history and events. It is not merely an idea. We should expect the gospel to impact everything.

Some Bible / Old Testament Overviews / Summaries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I400jhY2DF0 - Dan Hait – The Old Testament Told in Only 5 Minutes [and a bit] by an American

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYmvTP9kJlY – Andrew Wilson from King’s Church, Eastbourne - <12 and="" bible="" books="" characters="" covenant="" dates="" font="" how="" involved="" it="" jesus="" key="" mentioning="" minutes="" points="" to="" with="">

(1)    Eden

(2)    Election (of Abraham)

(3)    Exodus

(4)    Empire

(5)    Exile & Return

http://rosclarke.co.uk/beginningtoend/ - Dr Ros Clarke – The Bible from Beginning To End

Part one: TIME OF CREATION AND COVENANT

Part two: TIME OF CONQUEST

Part three: TIME OF CONFLICT

Part four: TIME OF CONSOLATION

Part five: TIME OF CONSUMMATION – (NT) fulfilment in Christ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkT_GqLAP7s – Desiring God – The Old Testament in Ten Minutes - Jason DeRouchie

Vaughan Roberts – God’s Big Picture (IVP) - http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/bible-study/bible-overview/gods-big-picture

• 1. The pattern of the kingdom
• 2. The perished kingdom
• 3. The promised kingdom
• 4. The partial kingdom
• 5. The prophesied kingdom
• 6. The present kingdom
• 7. The proclaimed kingdom
• 8. The perfected kingdom

Need a super-confessor?

According to the BBC News website, to mark the Vatican’s jubilee year, the Pope has ‘sent more than 1,000 priests [nicknamed ‘super-confessors’] on a global mission to forgive grave sins that normally only he, or a top Church official, may pardon.’ Such ‘grave sins include defiling consecrated bread and wine, violating confessional secrecy, and plotting to kill a pope.’

You can read more about the story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35543998

Now, I cannot claim to be an expert on contemporary Roman Catholic theology. For what it's worth, I would actually have quite a bit of time for Pope Francis, and no doubt he would give a more sophisticated account of this than a brief piece on the BBC website. But let me say something from an Anglican Evangelical point of view (which of course I would claim is faithful to the Bible) about the confession of sin and forgiveness, against the background of this story. Much more could be said but perhaps this short post will be sufficient to suggest an approach.  

In our Sunday services, we often introduce the prayer of Confession with these words from the Bible:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

            1 John 1:8-9, quoted in The Book of Common Prayer & Common Worship service books.

The confession here is surely to God himself. There is nothing in the context to suggest confession to a priest, or indeed only in a church service. It is of course God who forgives, and notice that he promises ‘to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ if we seek his pardon. It is because Jesus has taken the punishment for all those who will put their trust in him that God is just to forgive our sins.

According to The Prayer Book, ‘God… hath given power and commandment to his Ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the Absolution and Remission of their sins’. What the minister does here is remind the congregation of God’s promise and preach the good news to them. God ‘pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and unfeignedly [that is, genuinely] believe his holy Gospel.’ Again, it seems clear that God forgives all our sins when we turn from all that we know to be wrong, and put our trust in Jesus. There is no implication that some sins require special absolution from certain senior clerics.

The New Testament does encourage us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another (James 5:16) but this confession could be to any other believer, not just a priest. For some, it might sometimes be helpful to discuss some of your struggles with your pastor, but other Christians might be just as helpful, and this kind of ‘confession’ is not a condition of the reassurance of forgiveness that we all receive each Sunday as the minister reminds us of God’s Word. I’d always be happy to speak with any parishioner whose conscience is troubling him or her, but I wouldn’t be assigning penances. If we feel a burden of guilt, we need only look with faith to Jesus. He would speak words of comfort to us, as he did to the penitent thief who died on a cross beside him.

The Bible teaches us that there is ‘one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men’ (1 Timothy 2:5). The clergy are essentially Bible-teachers and pastors, not go-betweens between people and God. One of the great themes of the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament is that the Lord Jesus Christ is our all sufficient High Priest. He has offered himself once and for all for sins, and so the way to God is open through him. Because Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, we can bring our confession directly to him knowing that he understands our human condition and sympathises with our weakness. Hebrews urges us to approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, trusting in Jesus (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is, if you like, the super-confessor we all really need.  

The wrong date

I had a very short introduction to my sermon on love today to do with St Valentine's Day.

An attentive parishioner noticed that I said that Donne, who died 31 March 1631, had written a poem for a wedding in 1632. Possible, of course, but perhaps a little odd.

It seems there is a misprint in the book I used (Saints on Earth: A biographical companion to Common Worship by John H. Darch and Stuart K. Burns, Church House Publishing, 2004). They say that Princess Elizabeth and Frederick 5^th married on St Valentine’s day, 1632, but the interweb says it was 14 February 1613.

Swarm

Back in July of last year, David Cameron got into trouble for making human beings sound like insects when he spoke about a swarm of migrants coming across the Mediterranean wanting to seek a better life in Britain.

The prophet Joel does the opposite in chapters 1 and 2: he speaks about insects as if they are human beings when he describes a plague of locusts as like a great army.

Creation procliams

One other little thing that has so far interested me in reading a bit of Athanasius, On The Incarnation is that the great man appears to think of creation as proclaiming not merely 'God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature' (Romans 1:20) but as 'confessing Christ as Lord.' (ch 3, section 15, Fig book edition p26).

The Image of God

What exactly it means for men and women to be created 'in the image of God' (Genesis 1:27) is much discussed.

I've been reading a little bit of Athanasius, On The Incarnation, and I've been struck by the way in which he relates humanity's creation in the image of God to Christ the Image of God (Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

For example:

'Upon them, therefore, upon men who, as animals, were essentially impermanent, He bestowed a grace which other creatures lacked—namely the impress of His own Image, a share in the reasonable being of the very Word Himself, so that, reflecting Him and themselves becoming reasonable and expressing the Mind of God even as He does, though in limited degree they might continue for ever in the blessed and only true life of the saints in paradise

ch 1, section 3, my Fig Books edition 2013, p12

Man, who was created in God's image and in his possession of reason reflected the very Word Himself, was disappearing, and the work of God was being undone.

ch 2, section 6, p15

He saw the reasonable race, the race of men that, like Himself, expressed the Father's Mind, wasting out of existence, and death reigning over all in corruption.

ch 2, section 8, p16

But, in fact, the good God has given them a share in His own Image, that is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, and has made even themselves after the same Image and Likeness. Why? Simply in order that through this gift of Godlikeness in themselves they may be able to perceive the Image Absolute, that is the Word Himself, and through Him to apprehend the Father; which knowledge of their Maker is for men the only really happy and blessed life.

ch 3, section 11, p21

If so, what was the use of having made them in His own Image originally? It would surely have been better for them always to have been brutes, rather than to revert to that condition when once they had shared the nature of the Word.

ch 3, section 13, p23

What, then, was God to do? What else could He possibly do, being God, but renew His Image in mankind, so that through it men might once more come to know Him? And how could this be done save by the coming of the very Image Himself, our Savior Jesus Christ? Men could not have done it, for they are only made after the Image; nor could angels have done it, for they are not the images of God. The Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father Who could recreate man made after the Image.

In order to effect this re-creation, however, He had first to do away with death and corruption. Therefore He assumed a human body, in order that in it death might once for all be destroyed, and that men might be renewed according to the Image. The Image of the Father only was sufficient for this need.

ch 3, section 13, p24

We have seen that to change the corruptible to incorruption was proper to none other than the Savior Himself, Who in the beginning made all things out of nothing; that only the Image of the Father could re-create the likeness of the Image in men, that none save our Lord Jesus Christ could give to mortals immortality, and that only the Word Who orders all things and is alone the Father's true and sole-begotten Son could teach men about Him and abolish the worship of idols.

ch 4, section 20, p30'

Whether or not we follow Athanasius in all the details, I reckon it is worth pondering the relationship between humanity as God's image bearers and Christ as the Image of God.

Jesus Our Big Brother (Hebrews 2:10-end)

A sermon introduction & outline:

Whether or not we have an elder brother, I guess we could imagine the ideal, perfect big brother.

Someone we loved and admired, who was a role model for us – perhaps even a hero to us.

Imagine you were about to start secondary school.

It would be good to have an older brother who had gone there before you.

He’d know just what it was like to go from being one of the oldest in your little village school of about 100 pupils, to the one of the youngest in a school of nearly 2000.

He could sympathise when you got lost, or when you were bewildered by the range of subjects.

He understands that all the different teachers take a bit of getting used to.

And he can help you out:

He can alert you to the ways of Mr Smith, the geography teacher.

And he can explain to you how the canteen works – recommend to you the best puddings and tell you what meals to avoid.

Perhaps there’s a bully at the school:

A pupil in the year above who terrorises all you first years.

To you it seems like the whole school is in the bully’s power.

But your big brother can come and sort him out.

He beats him up and the bully won’t mess with you again: he’s utterly defeated, his grip is broken.

Maybe you don’t turn out to be such a good student as your big brother.

Your coursework is due and you’ve done next to nothing for it.

You’re bound to fail.

It would be a total disaster.

Leaving aside the ethics of it for a moment, wouldn’t it be amazing if your big brother handed in his assignment for you, and you got top marks?

Perhaps you get into dreadful trouble at school and you’re about to be expelled, but your big brother takes the punishment for you.

Our passage suggests that we can see these things reflected in the Lord Jesus, the perfect big brother:

(1)   Jesus became our big brother so that he could understand what it’s like to be human, sympathise with us and help us (v18).

(2)   Jesus became our big brother so that he might destroy that bully the devil who held the power of death against us (vv14-15)

(3)   Jesus became our big brother so that he might solve our big problem by making atonement for our sins (v17)

The full audio version should be available here in due course.

Two Things Every Christian Needs (from Romans 1)

Paul's description of his intentions for his ministry in Rome gives us 2 useful reminders:

(1) Every Christian needs encouragement from other Christians.

Even the Apostle Paul expects to receive encouragement from the Christians at Rome (v12).

(2) Every Christian needs the gospel. Paul is eager to preach the gospel to the Christians in Rome (v15).

The gospel is for believers as well as unbelievers. It is the same basic message through which we first received life in Christ that God uses to sustain our life in Christ.

Romans 1:8-17 - an outline / handout

Romans 1:8-17 (p1128) – The Difference The Gospel Makes

Paul’s summaries of the gospel (vv2-6 & 16-17) sandwich this passage. In these central verses we can see the difference the gospel makes to Paul, and the difference it might make to us:

Paul gives thanks (v8) for the faith of the Romans

Paul prays (v9-10) for the Romans and for his visit to them

Paul plans (vv10-13) to visit Rome, but recognises God is in control

Paul is obliged / indebted (v14) to both Greeks and non-Greeks, to the wise and the foolish, to all people

Paul is eager (v15) to preach the gospel (to the Christians) in Rome

Paul is not ashamed (v16-17) of the gospel

Why is Paul eager to preach the gospel and unashamed of it?

The gospel is such good news!

The gospel is the power of God (v16)

Salvation / rescue is at stake (v16)

The gospel is for everyone (v16)

The gospel requires the response of faith (vv16-17)

The gospel reveals the righteousness / faithfulness of God, keeping his promises and justly making sinners right with him (v17)

Vv16 & 17 are crucial for the rest of the letter

1vv18-3v20 will show why everyone desperately needs this gospel

3vv21-end will show how the gospel works

May God make us thankful, prayerful, eager, unashamed planners of gospel ministry.

The Screwtape Letters - some questions for reflection / discussion

Which of the errors described in the Preface (p.ix) do you think we are most likely to fall into? i.e. disbelieving in devils (the materialist) or taking an unhealthy interest in them (the magician)?

Do you agree with Lewis’ suggestion that the devil is currently following in the West a policy of denying his own existence? (p31)

Do you fall into the comical view of the devil which Lewis suggests plays into the devil’s hands? (p32)

But should we find the devil laughable / absurd? (The quotations from Luther and More at the beginning, p118)

What tactics which Screwtape suggests most stuck in your mind?

Which do you think would be most effective and why?

Were there moments when you thought Lewis had understood something about you and your temptations?

Do you think what Screwtape would call the efforts of ‘the Philological Arm’ matter?

What examples does Lewis give? (puritanical; unselfishness rather than charity (p141)) Can you think of other instances where how we describe things influences how we think about them?

Do you agree with Lewis’ implication that we have largely lost the art of argument and are not primarily influenced by what we reason to be true or false? (p1-4)

If it’s not good arguments, can you think of some things that keep people from believing in Christianity or doing what they should?

Screwtape suggests a focus on the imperfections of other Christians and of church (p5, 8-9). How would you counter this temptation?

Do you agree that we sometimes have a (supposedly) super-spiritual neglect of the obvious and real? (pp11-13)

Is Lewis right to criticize ‘prayer’ which aims at something entirely spontaneous, inward, informal, falsely spiritual and unrealized, trying to produce a vaguely devotional mood? (p15f, p148)

What advice would you give to a recent convert on prayer?

How does Lewis suggest dealing with distractions in prayer? (p147)

Do you think that bodily posture makes a difference in prayer, that because we are animals the body affects the souls? (p16)

Do you agree with Lewis that we can be distracted from God by focusing too much on our feelings or trying to stir up certain feelings in ourselves? (p16f)

Do you think we sometimes pray to our idea of God rather than to God himself? (p18)

Do you agree that hopes and fears about the future can pre-occupy us such that we neglect getting on with our duty? (p25f)

Why and how might the devil distract us from eternity and from the present? (p75-79)

How does Lewis suggest that the devil can use both self-consciousness and unself-consciousness? (p26f)

Why would the devil like us to catch ourselves being humble? (p69)

How would Lewis define humility? What notion of humility does Screwtape suggest Wormwood should encourage? (p70-3)

Do you find the idea of ‘the law of undulation’ (pp37, 45) persuasive and helpful?

In what ways would you say that the ‘troughs of dryness / dullness’ which we might experience afford opportunities to God or to the devil? (pp38-46)

How might the devil make use of the pejorative term ‘Puritanical’? (p51-2, 56)

Do you agree that flippancy is a dangerous habit? (p56) How does it differ from joy, fun and jokes? (pp53-56)

How might a sense of the ridiculous aid godliness? (p145)

Does a (vague?) consciousness of sin of which you have not repented keep you from wanting to think of God? (p58)

What innocent, humble, self-forgetful, disinterested enjoyment of something for its own sake could you cultivate? (p66) Why does Lewis think this is valuable?

What difference does it make to realize that all created things are good and can only be used by the devil if twisted? (p118, see also p159)

Why does Lewis prefer fidelity to the parish church over always seeking a ‘suitable’ church? (pp81-82)

Do you recognize ‘the gluttony of delicacy’ as an issue? (p87-90)

Do you agree with Lewis that we tend to stress ‘being (feeling) in love’ as the only possible basis for a good marriage, with negative consequences? (p93)

Are we ill-tempered because of injury and a sense of entitlement? (p111) e.g. the idea that our time is our own (p112-3, p166)

Do you agree that God is ‘a hedonist at heart’? (p118)

Is the desire for novelty and ‘the horror of the Same Old Thing’ a spiritual danger? (pp135-139)

Have you ever been involved in ‘the Generous Conflict Illusion’ or an elaborate / false self-conscious ‘selflessness’ which wants to be noticed? (p143-5)

What does Lewis think of as particular temptations of middle age? (p155)

Romans 1v16

I am preparing to preach on Romans 1vv8-17.

A number of application questions suggest themselves from v16:

'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.'

'the gospel':

Do we forget / underestimate the goodness of the gospel?

Does the gospel delight and grip us as the best news in the world ever?

'it is the power of God':
Do we forget / underestimate the power of the gospel?
Do we realise that the gospel can save and transform anyone regardless of the difficulty of their past, or the complexity of their needs or their ignorance, indifference or hostility to it?
'for salvation':
Do we forget / underestimate the necessity / urgency of the gospel?
Do we realise that without the gospel everyone faces the wrath of God and a lost eternity?

'of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile'
Do we forget / underestimate the scope / universality of the gospel?
Are we unashamed, eager and sensing our obligation to take this gospel to all sorts of people and all the nations?

Fighter verse songs

Some of the exact words of the ESV bible made into songs so as to be memorable for adults and children, and hopefully not tooooo annoying when repeated.

http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/resources/resource.php?id=16&productPageId=1

All of the Narnia books free online audio

C S Lewis', Chronicles of Narnia - free online audio