Thursday, February 21, 2013
Bread & Wine: Death & new life
I wonder if there is something to be said about bread and wine involving death and resurrection: the seed falls to the ground and dies and so on, the grain is crushed and lives again transformed and renewed as bread; wine is water or grape ressurected. And through this death and resurrection, they are also life giving: they live too in those who participate in them, as believers are vivified and indwelt by Christ and his Spirit.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
A typical service
Today I missed out one of the Ten Commandments. (Murder, since you ask).
I drank up all the consecrated wine with two communicants still to go.
The readings did not correspond with the preacher's sermon.
The CD player wouldn't work. So someone went to get another one. Which arrived after the first hymn. And then the CD kept sticking or skipping or something.
So, a typical service.
Everyone seemed happy and edified!
I drank up all the consecrated wine with two communicants still to go.
The readings did not correspond with the preacher's sermon.
The CD player wouldn't work. So someone went to get another one. Which arrived after the first hymn. And then the CD kept sticking or skipping or something.
So, a typical service.
Everyone seemed happy and edified!
Spiritual health warnings for Lent
On Wednesday I invited the flock in the name of Christ to the observance of a holy Lent by discipline, self-denial, reading of Holy Scripture and prayer and so on. Here are some spiritual health warnings to go with that:
(1) Lent is not in the Bible.
In itself that is an uninteresting point. Neither is Christmas (in this sense) and all sensible people observe that! So you don't have to observe Lent and neither does your "less godly" hyper-Protestant Christian neighbour. This is not a matter for strife or division or one-up-man-ship. Where God has been silent we must not attempt to bind one anothers' consciences.
(2) The observance of Lent and Advent as penitential seasons risks getting the Christian year out of balance.
It is noteworthy that in the Old Testament (a lesser covenant than the New) there was only one compulsary fast day and a number of feast days. That is the basic shape and tenor of the Christian life. Even if we keep Lent, remember that the Sundays don't count. Resurrection Day is always a feast to the Lord. That means chocolate and booze, surely?
(3) The Christian faith is one of daily year round repentance, but also of continual rejoicing.
Don't be a misery guts. Observe Lent happily or not at all. And observe self-denial and discipleship daily - but know that means loving God and loving your neighbour, the weightier matters of the law.
(4) Booze and chocolate are good gifts of God to be enjoyed with thanksgiving.
The Lord preserve us from a low-fat skinny Christianity! We are not Gnostics. The body and food and drink are good things, though of course they make bad gods. Lent might help us to put them in their place, but they don't belong in the dustbin.
(5) Keeping man-made made rules for 40 days does not a godly life make.
Giving up sin and taking up godliness is what its all about. We mustn't kid ourselves that we have our minds and bodies under control if we can avoid cocoa solids for a couple of months. Lower the standard so that you can keep the standard and feel good smacks of Phariseeism.
(6) The Christian faith is first of all about what Jesus has DONE not what we DO. We are saved by Jesus, all of grace, through faith and not by good works.
(7) We are not to observe Lent to be seen by men. If we seek their praise, we may have our reward. It may therefore be best not to broadcast your devotions on Facebook!
No doubt more could be said. What would you print on the fag-packet of Lent?
(1) Lent is not in the Bible.
In itself that is an uninteresting point. Neither is Christmas (in this sense) and all sensible people observe that! So you don't have to observe Lent and neither does your "less godly" hyper-Protestant Christian neighbour. This is not a matter for strife or division or one-up-man-ship. Where God has been silent we must not attempt to bind one anothers' consciences.
(2) The observance of Lent and Advent as penitential seasons risks getting the Christian year out of balance.
It is noteworthy that in the Old Testament (a lesser covenant than the New) there was only one compulsary fast day and a number of feast days. That is the basic shape and tenor of the Christian life. Even if we keep Lent, remember that the Sundays don't count. Resurrection Day is always a feast to the Lord. That means chocolate and booze, surely?
(3) The Christian faith is one of daily year round repentance, but also of continual rejoicing.
Don't be a misery guts. Observe Lent happily or not at all. And observe self-denial and discipleship daily - but know that means loving God and loving your neighbour, the weightier matters of the law.
(4) Booze and chocolate are good gifts of God to be enjoyed with thanksgiving.
The Lord preserve us from a low-fat skinny Christianity! We are not Gnostics. The body and food and drink are good things, though of course they make bad gods. Lent might help us to put them in their place, but they don't belong in the dustbin.
(5) Keeping man-made made rules for 40 days does not a godly life make.
Giving up sin and taking up godliness is what its all about. We mustn't kid ourselves that we have our minds and bodies under control if we can avoid cocoa solids for a couple of months. Lower the standard so that you can keep the standard and feel good smacks of Phariseeism.
(6) The Christian faith is first of all about what Jesus has DONE not what we DO. We are saved by Jesus, all of grace, through faith and not by good works.
(7) We are not to observe Lent to be seen by men. If we seek their praise, we may have our reward. It may therefore be best not to broadcast your devotions on Facebook!
No doubt more could be said. What would you print on the fag-packet of Lent?
Friday, February 15, 2013
Husbands, get your wives to submit to you
The Bible doesn't say that!
Wives ought to submit to / obey their husbands.
But its not the husband's job to "get his wife to submit" - at least not directly! Telling your wife to do so is unlikely to work. You shouldn't try to "make her", and in any case you can't since submission is a matter of heart, spirit and demeaner not outward conformity. A wife who does as she's told and rages against you inside isn't gonna be much fun!
The husband's duty is clear: love your life as Christ loves the church - with all her sins and imperfections. And with yours! And do all the other stuff that flows from that, like provide and protect and so on. And probably buy flowers and chocolates at regular intervals and tell her how lovely she looks.
In short, the husband ought to try to be Christlike - the kind of husband to whom its not so hard to submit.
Wives ought to submit to / obey their husbands.
But its not the husband's job to "get his wife to submit" - at least not directly! Telling your wife to do so is unlikely to work. You shouldn't try to "make her", and in any case you can't since submission is a matter of heart, spirit and demeaner not outward conformity. A wife who does as she's told and rages against you inside isn't gonna be much fun!
The husband's duty is clear: love your life as Christ loves the church - with all her sins and imperfections. And with yours! And do all the other stuff that flows from that, like provide and protect and so on. And probably buy flowers and chocolates at regular intervals and tell her how lovely she looks.
In short, the husband ought to try to be Christlike - the kind of husband to whom its not so hard to submit.
Live to work or work to live?
Perhaps this dilema is lessened if we begin to think of our work as part of God's mission.
If our work is aligned to the creation mandate and the great commission, then, in part, we live to work. God's plan is to rule and fill the earth through the disciples of Jesus Christ and, in part, this plan is fulfilled by our work, in union with Christ and in the power of the Spirit by the Word of God.
If we are a bank robber or a prostitute it is clear that (more than likely!) we work to live. But any other lawful calling is part of the very purpose of our existence. We were put in the garden to guard and keep and fill it and to grow the family buisness untill its a global operation. We do not live merely for evenings, weekends and holidays. Neither do we live merely for church on a Sunday, homegroup or seeking to talk about Jesus at the water cooler. Work is part of life lived in obedience to God, part of his plan and purposes. Sweeping the streets is as much part of that plan as the ministry of the gospel or being a teacher or doctor.
Oh, and of course, we also work so that we might live: to provide for ourselves and our families and to give to others.
If our work is aligned to the creation mandate and the great commission, then, in part, we live to work. God's plan is to rule and fill the earth through the disciples of Jesus Christ and, in part, this plan is fulfilled by our work, in union with Christ and in the power of the Spirit by the Word of God.
If we are a bank robber or a prostitute it is clear that (more than likely!) we work to live. But any other lawful calling is part of the very purpose of our existence. We were put in the garden to guard and keep and fill it and to grow the family buisness untill its a global operation. We do not live merely for evenings, weekends and holidays. Neither do we live merely for church on a Sunday, homegroup or seeking to talk about Jesus at the water cooler. Work is part of life lived in obedience to God, part of his plan and purposes. Sweeping the streets is as much part of that plan as the ministry of the gospel or being a teacher or doctor.
Oh, and of course, we also work so that we might live: to provide for ourselves and our families and to give to others.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Mark 13 - It's not the end of the world
If Mark 13 is largely or entirely about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple etc. in AD70, we are left with the challenge as to how to preach it as relevant to today.
It obviously does not mean the same to us today after the event as it meant for the apostles before. We do not need to pray that it will not take place in winter or get ready to flee to the Judean hills.
Anyway, my attempt should appear on our church website this week.
After lots of introduction and preamble, my headings were:
(1) Jesus is the true prophet - listen to him, believe his word, do what he says etc.
(2) Jesus is the true Lord and Judge - submit to him, trust him, flee to him for mercy etc. Thank God for our friend on the throne
(3) Jesus is the true temple, the place to meet God and the ultimate sacrifice for sin - come to him in his Word, trust in him for forgiveness and access to God
It obviously does not mean the same to us today after the event as it meant for the apostles before. We do not need to pray that it will not take place in winter or get ready to flee to the Judean hills.
Anyway, my attempt should appear on our church website this week.
After lots of introduction and preamble, my headings were:
(1) Jesus is the true prophet - listen to him, believe his word, do what he says etc.
(2) Jesus is the true Lord and Judge - submit to him, trust him, flee to him for mercy etc. Thank God for our friend on the throne
(3) Jesus is the true temple, the place to meet God and the ultimate sacrifice for sin - come to him in his Word, trust in him for forgiveness and access to God
Monday, January 21, 2013
Marriage Resources
Any of these you'd particularly reccomend? Anything good I've missed?
Timothy & Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God (Hodder & Stoughton)
Dan B.
Allender & Tremper Longman III, Intimate Allies (Tyndale)
Dave
& Joyce Ames, Looking up the aisle? A framework for exploring a life long
relationship (Mission to Marriage)
Christopher
Ash, Married for God: Making Your Marriage the Best it can be (IVP)
Christopher
Ash, Marriage: Sex in the service of God (IVP)
John
and Ann Benton, Don't they make a lovely couple? Six important questions you
need to face about your marriage (Christian Focus)
John
& Anne Coles, Making More of Marriage (New Wine)
Amelia
& Greg Clarke, One Flesh: A Practical Guide to Honeymoon Sex and Beyond
(Matthias Media)
James
Dobson, Love for a lifetime: Building a marriage that will go the distance (Multnomah Press)
Brian
& Barbara Edwards, No Longer Two: A Christian Guide for Engagement and
Marriage (Day One)
David
Harvey, When Sinners Say “I do”: Discovering the power of the Gospel for
marriage (Shepherd Press)
Pete
Jackson, Preparing for Marriage – study guide & leader’s guide (Good Book
Company)
Timothy & Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God (Hodder & Stoughton)
Andreas
Kostenberger, God, Marriage and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation
(Crossway)
Nicky
& Sila Lee, The Marriage Book: How To Build a Lasting Relationship (Alpha)
Nicky
& Sila Lee, The Marriage Preparation Course (Alpha)
Kevin Leman, Sheet Music: Uncovering the secrets of
sexual intimacy in marriage (Tyndale)
Peter
Leithart, A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons (Canon Press)
Rob
Parsons, The Sixty Minute Marriage: Transform Your Relationship in One Hour
(Care for the Family)
Rob
Parsons, Marriage By Design DVD (Care for the Family)
Rob
Parsons, 21st Century Marriage DVD (Care for the Family)
Michael
& Hilary Perrott, The Highway Code for Marriage (CWR)
John
Piper, This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence (IVP)
John
Piper & Justin Taylor (ed.s), Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (Crossway)
Gary
and Betsy Ricucci, Love that Lasts: When marriage meets grace (Crossway)
Douglas
Rosenau, A Celebration of Sex: A Guide to Enjoying God’s Gift of Sexual
Intimacy (Nelson)
Winston
T. Smith, Marriage Matters: Extraordinary change through ordinary moments (New
Growth Press)
Derek and
Rosemary Thomas, A Biblical Guide to Love, Sex and Marriage (Evangelical Press)
Paul
David Tripp, What did you expect? Redeeming the realities of marriage (IVP)
Ed &
Gaye Wheat, Intended for Pleasure: Sex technique and sexual fulfilment in
Christian Marriage (Scripture Union)
Douglas
Wilson, Reforming Marriage (Canon Press)
Douglas
Wilson, For a glory and a covering: a practical theology of marriage (Canon
Press)
Simon
Vibert, The Diamond Marriage: Have Ultimate Purpose in your Marriage (Christian
Focus)
Friday, December 21, 2012
Ministry Mottos
No doubt there are all sorts of ministry mottos I ought to have, pithy phrases which I ought to remind myself and others of often. Things like:
Jesus loves you.
Love God; love your neighbour
God's in charge.
All things work together for good to us.
Faithfulness, not necessarily results.
Faithfulness in small things.
Grace not works.
The ministry of the Word and prayer.
Pray now.
Do to others what you would have them do to you.
This probably reveals my Godlessness, but two things I find myself thinking and saying most often are:
(1) People are wierd. They have their funny ways and foibles and entrenched ideas. It's key to remember that no doubt I do too. They may think I'm a bit mad and a bit bad and they may well be right! We're all sinners - but not necessarily in the same sorts of ways.
(2) Life is never simple. Sometimes this is related to (1)! But you should also expect the printer to break down at a busy time with 15 minutes to go. The most straightforward things can become fiendishly complicated or difficult and things which might seem easy can cause a great deal of upset, strife or confusion and require lots of time and energy.
(1) and (2) should probably make you smile. They should certainly make you pray.
No doubt you can suggest some better ministry mottos for 2013?
Bill Hybels, Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs may be of interest.
Jesus loves you.
Love God; love your neighbour
God's in charge.
All things work together for good to us.
Faithfulness, not necessarily results.
Faithfulness in small things.
Grace not works.
The ministry of the Word and prayer.
Pray now.
Do to others what you would have them do to you.
This probably reveals my Godlessness, but two things I find myself thinking and saying most often are:
(1) People are wierd. They have their funny ways and foibles and entrenched ideas. It's key to remember that no doubt I do too. They may think I'm a bit mad and a bit bad and they may well be right! We're all sinners - but not necessarily in the same sorts of ways.
(2) Life is never simple. Sometimes this is related to (1)! But you should also expect the printer to break down at a busy time with 15 minutes to go. The most straightforward things can become fiendishly complicated or difficult and things which might seem easy can cause a great deal of upset, strife or confusion and require lots of time and energy.
(1) and (2) should probably make you smile. They should certainly make you pray.
No doubt you can suggest some better ministry mottos for 2013?
Bill Hybels, Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs may be of interest.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
How much was the widow's mite actually worth?
According to Mark 12v42, the widow gives “2 very
small copper coins” (NIV), 2 lepta in
the Greek.
The lepta was the smallest coinage in circulation –
so we might compare it to an offering of 2p.
Mark says (v42) a lepton is a quadrans - the equivalent
Roman coin, which the NIV says is “worth only a fraction of a penny”.
James R. Edwards (Pillar Commentary on Mark) says a
lapton was 1/64th of a denarius.
A denarius was the standard wage for a day’s labour
(Mt 20:8-10).
Say a labourer is paid £7.25 and hour, making the
daily wage £54.25
£7.25 X 7 = daily wage of £54.25
So we might guess that the widow’s offering would be worth roughly £1.70
today
£54.25 X (2/64) = £1.70
Though
that might not be quite the point.
Jesus
says her offering was worth more than all the others (v43).
“They
all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything –
all she had to live on.” (v44)
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Unwanted Gifts
I wonder if any of this might be usable in a Christmas sermon:
Last year we spent £594 million on unwanted Christmas gifts as at least 1 in 10 of the gifts the average person received was not really what they wanted.
And people were very quick to get rid of their unwanted gifts with 1.5 million new items for sale were listed on eBay Boxing Day 2011.
Reported in Daily Mirror 12th Sept 2012 http://eauk.co/UdKLxs and Daily Mail 16th December 2010 http://bit.ly/GTGQRL
Source: http://www.eauk.org/culture/statistics/christmas-facts-and-quotes.cfm
Last year we spent £594 million on unwanted Christmas gifts as at least 1 in 10 of the gifts the average person received was not really what they wanted.
And people were very quick to get rid of their unwanted gifts with 1.5 million new items for sale were listed on eBay Boxing Day 2011.
Reported in Daily Mirror 12th Sept 2012 http://eauk.co/UdKLxs and Daily Mail 16th December 2010 http://bit.ly/GTGQRL
Source: http://www.eauk.org/culture/statistics/christmas-facts-and-quotes.cfm
Monday, November 19, 2012
The importance of seating arrangements
I noticed that in Mark 12:35-40 there's some important talk about important seating arrangements, which I don't remember the commentaries especially picking up on:
The teachers of the law forget that Christ is to be seated at
the right hand of God the Father (v36).
Jesus has the most important seat in the universe, but
the teachers of the law love the most important seats in the synagogue and the
places of honour at banquets (v39).
They care about their own honour, not the honour of
Jesus.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Some principles of Christian Giving
From 2 Corinthians 8 & 9:
(1) Christians should be eager (8vv1-4; 9v1), enthusiastic
(9v2)and cheerful (9v7) for the privilege of giving, not grudging (9v5),
reluctant or as under compulsion (9v7)
(2) Christian giving flows from giving ourselves first to
the Lord (8v5)
(3) Christian giving demonstrates the sincerity of our
love (8v8)
(4) Our generosity is motivated by and modelled on the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (8v9)
(5)
Christian giving is “according to our means”
(8v11) and “according to what we have” (8v12)
(6) Christian giving is to be carefully administered with
obviously high standards (8vv18-23)
(7) God blesses those who give and is more than able to
provide for us (9v6, 8-11)
(8) Christian giving results in praise and thanks to God
(9v11-15)
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