Sermon preached in St. Bartholomew’s Parish – Stranmillis
Sunday 4th January 2009 – Evening Prayer Service
May the words of my mouth and the mediations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight o Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
On this, the first Sunday of 2009, I wonder have you made any new years resolutions? – Maybe giving up something or taking up something
One particular website I was reading this week gives a top 10 of new year Resolutions:
1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends
2. Fit in Fitness
3. Loose weight
4. Quit Smoking
5. Enjoy Life More
6. Quit Drinking
7. Get Out of Debt
8. Learn Something New
9. Help Others
10. Get Organized
All of these are of course great in themselves – getting more out of life. However statistics show
That 52% of were confident of success with their goals only 12% actually achieved their goals.
New Year is a great time to stop and look and listen, to reflect and to take stock of where we are.
As Christians it is important to do the same –we are called to bring our actions, our words, our thoughts into line with Jesus’ teaching, into line with what scripture tells us.
Let us then look into the text of tonight Epistle reading Romans Chapter 12 which can be found on page 1139
One of the drawbacks of the Lectionary which our church uses is the fact we dip in and out of books which is exactly what we are doing tonight.
The first word in our reading is “therefore”. In our studies when we see this word in a passage we simply have to ask “What is it there for?”.
Chapter 12 comes in after 11 chapters in Pauls letter to the Romans explaining the good news of Jesus systematically, answering many of the objections and questions which the Roman Christians had, he has if you like, tackled the major difficulties they had with believing that Jesus is the messiah and lots of the issues people have had with the Christian message.
Now he gets onto the practical outworking of this message – Therefore, he says to his readers, present your bodies as a living sacrifice
To offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.
Let us take a few moments to stop and think about this – what does it mean?
In our day, sacrifice seems such an alien concept when one is looking to get the most out of life and society tells us to get wealthy, look after number 1!
Let us remember the context which this was written, a time when there was many temples to many gods, and the idea of sacrifice was everywhere.
The reasons behind the sacrifices were also diverse – to placate the gods, sacrifice too was in the Jewish mindset – we know that throughout the Old Testament there was many rules around the sacrificial system. When it comes to Christian teaching – what do we mean by a living sacrifice?
We also understand that there are various types of sacrifice – Atoning sacrifice – That is – to remove sin. As Christians we know that Jesus was the all sufficient Sacrifice, however what we are talking about here is the thanksgiving sacrifice.
Well, when we think about sacrifice, it would be an animal who has no idea what they are doing, what is happening to them,
As rational human beings if we are to be a living sacrifice, the altar is not the best place to be, its not a natural place to find ourselves, it is not a comfortable place to be.
The problem with a living sacrifice is that it jumps off, again and again and again.
As Christians we are not tied down on the altar like animal sacrifices – the living sacrifice has the option not to be, we have to decide to be.
What does this look like in every day life. Quite simply it means us surrendering our will to God, it is asking “What would Jesus do” in this or that circumstance. This is not a natural thing to do.
Think for the moment of the offertory prayer which we pray
For thine O Lord is the Greatness, the power, the glory, the victory and the majesty
All things come from thee and of thine own have we given thee
When we look at sacrifice in these terms, if we think that God has given us life then our prayer becomes – we want to know you, we want to give it all back to you God as a thank offering.
It is then amazing what happens when we do – he uses us to be a blessing to others
Although we offer ourselves as sacrifice, we come to realise that it is the only way to live the only way to make sense of the world – things slot into place.
Jesus in John’s Gospel says – in 10:10 I have come that they may have life and have it to the full
In our world today it is not easy being a Christian – In Northern Ireland on the surface we are a peaceful country, no persecution of Christians however there is growing apathy towards the gospel, growing secularisation of society, consumerism replacing the gospel values. However, positively, we do have the opportunity to reach out to those who are seeking answers to the deepest questions.
We as Christians need to realise that we have a radical alternative way of life, answers to the fundalmental questions of existence and to eternal issues.
We can be an iguana – blending into whatever colour of background we find ourselves but surely we should me more like an elephant – standing tall ready against whatever we find.
It is a shame to think that there are so many Christians who are conforming to the worlds beliefs and prevailing cultures – and not standing up for what the Bible teaches.
We are challenged in this passage to be transformed so that we will be able to discern what God’s will is.
So far we have seen that Paul is urging his readers
- to think about their lives lived as sacrifices to God
- to look at the prevailing culture and to critique it and not to necessarily conform to it
Finally I believe that there is challenge to the church corporately in this passage – to realise that each person is unique, different people, different gifts, talents, skills and passions. Your gifting is not my gifting, the circle of your friends are not my circle of friends. Each of us has a different task to do, a different job to do.
Whatever you do – it can be done in a way which brings glory to God.
The word Christian literally means “Little Christ’s”. The church here - St. Bartholomew’s has lots of little Christ’s - people who are living out the gospel in the midst of the community, people who are using the gifts, their talents, their time – both in the church, its societies and through worship. If you are doing that, be encouraged, If you would like to become involved then have a chat with the rector, the wardens.
Paul is urging his readers to:
- Think about their lives lived as sacrifices to God
- To critique the prevailing culture
- To realise that each individual is unique in their gifting and needs the support of one another in the Christian community
Therefore, in light of all of this and to conclude I wonder what our Christian Resolutions could be this year?
How do we know how to live our lives as Christians?
Could we commit to reading the Bible Daily – if we find it difficult some good reading notes are available.
Could we maybe seek to do a bible study in the parish? – maybe speak to the rector or curate.
How do we critique the prevailing culture?
Do we know what is happening in our land? What the issues concerning our neighbours and friends are? What should the church be doing about them?
Could we pray for the church? Either at home or at the parish prayer meeting
If we believe that the church is the body – do we know where we fit in?
Do we know where our gifts are?, what do we enjoy doing? Could we make tea on a Sunday morning? Could we welcome people at the door? Could we do the occasional prayers? Do we know what needs done?
What could we do this year to build the church here in Stranmillis as well as our faith in Christ.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father
We pray that you would challenge us to change those things in our own lives which are conforming to the worlds standards and not to yours and at the start of this new year we pray that you would speak into our lives and help us to identify those areas in which we need to work on. In Jesus name we pray amen.
Showing posts with label Placement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Placement. Show all posts
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sermon – Revelation Chapter 1 – St. Barts 16th November 2008
Prayer
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight – O Lord our Strength and our redeemer. Amen
The Book Revelation,
Is a strange, strange book to the onlooker … it has all the features of a sci-fi fantasy – Dragons, lakes of sulphur, Plagues, a Red seven headed ten horned dragon, stars, horsemen, great cities, giant hail stones.
How then, are we to make any sense of it? Just this week, a friends daughter was told by a teacher that it was written by a mad man. However I must disagree, nothing could be further from the truth. It is a highly structured and historically situated text.
Let me explain …
In Judiasm and the Ancient world generally, numbers are important – and scholars tell us that 7 is the perfect number. In this book we have 7 Churches being addressed and then (for those in the congregation who are involved in Drama) we also see that the whole book is structured as a drama into seven Acts and each of those acts each with Seven Scenes … quite a drama don’t you think?
We begin with the churches and end the play with the glorious revealing of the Heavenly City.
Right from the outset of this book we gain a glimpse into the hope of the Christian, even under the most horrific of persecution the church perseveres and overcomes all that is thrown at it.
So what is this about … let us take a look at the text
It starts on familiar territory
It opens with an introduction quite similar to any of Paul’s writings … or any similar letters written at the time
The writer to the receiver – John to the seven churches that are in asia
And then comes some amazing words as to what it is about
It is making an amazing statement
V4 Grace and Peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
What a magnificent piece of writing, an amazing greeting.
As you know …From any drama - characters are important and understanding them is the key to the plot line. In these opening verses we are introduced to the main character … The main character in this book, the one who sits on the throne is of course None other than God Father and Son. Greetings are brought from both to the churches and to us as readers centuries after these great words were composed.
It would be great to be able to make a study of this book in-depth as there is so much to it, so many truths – I would like to simply highlight some of the things from the opening – of which please do take home and think about.
Then we see are recurring scene – that of the throne – Where the character sits – reigning over the kingdom.
In this sermon I would like to ask a few questions
The major question I would like to focus upon is – Whom is this that we worship?
Sunday, by Sunday we come to church, To Holy Communion, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Sung Compline, To Family Service … we sing hymns, chant psalms, we pray, we listen to the word, we receive communion. This chapter, contains amazing truths about the one we proclaim as Lord, the one we worship. This passage gives us some great descriptions about the God we worship
The one who is, and who was and is to come – What a statement about God
Present, past and future. (Remember Moses asking for God’s Name at the burning bush –
“I am”)
The one who is – is with us now, in the present
The one who was – The ancient one, right from pre creation, who told moses his name “I am” – through judges, the kings, the exile, the one who sent Jesus, then through the centuries. In a few weeks time we will be reading the Chistmas Gospel – In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God.
The one who is to come – This is the fantastic bit … he is always going to be … is to come … Time ticks away … I do not know what the future holds – it is probably just as well that I don’t - but the one constant, the one who was in the past, the one who is in the present is the same as the one who will be in the future …. That is an amazing constant.
He who knew my birth, loved me through my life, who I depend on now as I live each and every day is the same one who will be there at the moment of my death, and the one whom I will spend eternity – That is the God – father, son and spirit who we worship – Sunday by Sunday.
We also need to remember who these churches are … they are based in asia minor – modern day turkey … Are churches who are suffering percecution – they are indeed Christians who are facing death – being martyred for professing the name of Christ with this in mind we can then read who Jesus was
He is the faithful witness – the word “witness” in this instance comes from the word martyr – he stood and died to witness to God, he was the example for all who would go after him.
He is the first born from the dead – He is the only one to have risen eternally from the dead – The power that brought him, that is Jesus from the dead is now the one who will be our example. And that same power, that brought him from the grave will bring all those who die in the Lord from the gave – He is the firstborn – meaning that we all have the hope of eternal life. That Good news is the Gospel we proclaim Sunday by Sunday
And he is the ruler of the kings of the earth – At that moment the churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor were being threatened by the government of the Imperial Guard so, let us realise the amazing impact that this statement would have had on the lives of church members – The emperor who was seen by many as a deity has been replaced by this king Jesus, who is not only king of an empire but King of all the kings of the earth. What amazing news!
So if that is who he is,
What are we doing when we worship?
When we worship we should be doing it as an act of LOVE, an act of dedication, an act of natural response to him.
As human beings we are all worshippers – every one of us. It is what we worship defines who we are.
One of the things which is clearly seen throughout the pages of the bible is the number of places where we find other gods. One Just has to turn to the 10 commandments – “You shall have no other gods’ before me” – there are alternatives – you can “Choose life”
If we take revelation in its entireity the throne is the centre of worship – and what is on the throne receives our worship we have to ask – what are we putting on the throne. Every individual has something which is receiving their worship.
Idols Past and present – We think of the Golden Calf in the exodus story – which critiques the need for graven images; In our world today there is so many people who have put something else in the place of God on the throne. Whether that be
Wealth
Power
Fame
Drugs
Alcohol
Negativity
The pursuit of Youth & beauty
If we search for a while all of us know instinctively that there are times when we have worshipped other gods. Of course this worshipping of wealth dosen’t mean going to the church of money and singing hymns and songs to the god of money. But it could mean being engrossed with it, spending so much time thinking about it that it becomes top priority to make more and build bigger houses.
The Bible calls that sin – putting something on the throne in our lives that is God’s place. One just has to look around the world today to see the effects of replacing God with something else – something less.
When we come to church, we are saying – Nothing is more important that you God.
We are responding to his love and his dying on the cross for us
We remind ourselves that – we are doing this worship, we are coming Sunday by Sunday not because it is a nice thing to do – but because God took the initiative he first loved us and continues to love us with an unfailing love and freed us from our sins by his Blood.
What are the outcomes of our worship?
Take a look at verse 6
He loves us
He has freed us
He has made us
He has made us to be a kingdom and priests
He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords – and he wants each one of us to be part of his establishment. Not just those who wear robes and have collars round our necks. All of us have been made priests. The priesthood of all belivers. A priest in the Jewish system was the one who made the sacrifices and who offered prayers for the people. They worked under the great High priest
We now have one great High Priest and thus we are working under him. We all have access to God now.
If all of us as priests and our worship is to mean something on a Sunday, it is worked out right throughout the week – in our homes, in our offices, in our universities, in stranmillis, in Royal Avenue wherever we find ourselves.
The Kingdom of God, The Kingdom of Heaven. If it is to mean anything - it will take all Christians who pray the Lords prayer seriously to act in their own calling and be the body of Christ where God has placed them.
Let us recap
Whom is it that we worship tonight in this Church?
The God who is Past, Present and Future – Who Knows the end from the Beginning – the alpha and the Omega
What are we doing when we worship?
We are responding to his Love – we are giving him his worth
What are the outcomes of our worship?
We are commited to his will, his Kingdom and His Glory
Let us Pray
Heavenly Father,
I pray that the words I have spoken which are of you may so take root in our hearts, so that your kingdom may be built up and your name Glorified
In Jesus name I pray
Amen
Prayer
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight – O Lord our Strength and our redeemer. Amen
The Book Revelation,
Is a strange, strange book to the onlooker … it has all the features of a sci-fi fantasy – Dragons, lakes of sulphur, Plagues, a Red seven headed ten horned dragon, stars, horsemen, great cities, giant hail stones.
How then, are we to make any sense of it? Just this week, a friends daughter was told by a teacher that it was written by a mad man. However I must disagree, nothing could be further from the truth. It is a highly structured and historically situated text.
Let me explain …
In Judiasm and the Ancient world generally, numbers are important – and scholars tell us that 7 is the perfect number. In this book we have 7 Churches being addressed and then (for those in the congregation who are involved in Drama) we also see that the whole book is structured as a drama into seven Acts and each of those acts each with Seven Scenes … quite a drama don’t you think?
We begin with the churches and end the play with the glorious revealing of the Heavenly City.
Right from the outset of this book we gain a glimpse into the hope of the Christian, even under the most horrific of persecution the church perseveres and overcomes all that is thrown at it.
So what is this about … let us take a look at the text
It starts on familiar territory
It opens with an introduction quite similar to any of Paul’s writings … or any similar letters written at the time
The writer to the receiver – John to the seven churches that are in asia
And then comes some amazing words as to what it is about
It is making an amazing statement
V4 Grace and Peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
What a magnificent piece of writing, an amazing greeting.
As you know …From any drama - characters are important and understanding them is the key to the plot line. In these opening verses we are introduced to the main character … The main character in this book, the one who sits on the throne is of course None other than God Father and Son. Greetings are brought from both to the churches and to us as readers centuries after these great words were composed.
It would be great to be able to make a study of this book in-depth as there is so much to it, so many truths – I would like to simply highlight some of the things from the opening – of which please do take home and think about.
Then we see are recurring scene – that of the throne – Where the character sits – reigning over the kingdom.
In this sermon I would like to ask a few questions
The major question I would like to focus upon is – Whom is this that we worship?
Sunday, by Sunday we come to church, To Holy Communion, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Sung Compline, To Family Service … we sing hymns, chant psalms, we pray, we listen to the word, we receive communion. This chapter, contains amazing truths about the one we proclaim as Lord, the one we worship. This passage gives us some great descriptions about the God we worship
The one who is, and who was and is to come – What a statement about God
Present, past and future. (Remember Moses asking for God’s Name at the burning bush –
“I am”)
The one who is – is with us now, in the present
The one who was – The ancient one, right from pre creation, who told moses his name “I am” – through judges, the kings, the exile, the one who sent Jesus, then through the centuries. In a few weeks time we will be reading the Chistmas Gospel – In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God.
The one who is to come – This is the fantastic bit … he is always going to be … is to come … Time ticks away … I do not know what the future holds – it is probably just as well that I don’t - but the one constant, the one who was in the past, the one who is in the present is the same as the one who will be in the future …. That is an amazing constant.
He who knew my birth, loved me through my life, who I depend on now as I live each and every day is the same one who will be there at the moment of my death, and the one whom I will spend eternity – That is the God – father, son and spirit who we worship – Sunday by Sunday.
We also need to remember who these churches are … they are based in asia minor – modern day turkey … Are churches who are suffering percecution – they are indeed Christians who are facing death – being martyred for professing the name of Christ with this in mind we can then read who Jesus was
He is the faithful witness – the word “witness” in this instance comes from the word martyr – he stood and died to witness to God, he was the example for all who would go after him.
He is the first born from the dead – He is the only one to have risen eternally from the dead – The power that brought him, that is Jesus from the dead is now the one who will be our example. And that same power, that brought him from the grave will bring all those who die in the Lord from the gave – He is the firstborn – meaning that we all have the hope of eternal life. That Good news is the Gospel we proclaim Sunday by Sunday
And he is the ruler of the kings of the earth – At that moment the churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor were being threatened by the government of the Imperial Guard so, let us realise the amazing impact that this statement would have had on the lives of church members – The emperor who was seen by many as a deity has been replaced by this king Jesus, who is not only king of an empire but King of all the kings of the earth. What amazing news!
So if that is who he is,
What are we doing when we worship?
When we worship we should be doing it as an act of LOVE, an act of dedication, an act of natural response to him.
As human beings we are all worshippers – every one of us. It is what we worship defines who we are.
One of the things which is clearly seen throughout the pages of the bible is the number of places where we find other gods. One Just has to turn to the 10 commandments – “You shall have no other gods’ before me” – there are alternatives – you can “Choose life”
If we take revelation in its entireity the throne is the centre of worship – and what is on the throne receives our worship we have to ask – what are we putting on the throne. Every individual has something which is receiving their worship.
Idols Past and present – We think of the Golden Calf in the exodus story – which critiques the need for graven images; In our world today there is so many people who have put something else in the place of God on the throne. Whether that be
Wealth
Power
Fame
Drugs
Alcohol
Negativity
The pursuit of Youth & beauty
If we search for a while all of us know instinctively that there are times when we have worshipped other gods. Of course this worshipping of wealth dosen’t mean going to the church of money and singing hymns and songs to the god of money. But it could mean being engrossed with it, spending so much time thinking about it that it becomes top priority to make more and build bigger houses.
The Bible calls that sin – putting something on the throne in our lives that is God’s place. One just has to look around the world today to see the effects of replacing God with something else – something less.
When we come to church, we are saying – Nothing is more important that you God.
We are responding to his love and his dying on the cross for us
We remind ourselves that – we are doing this worship, we are coming Sunday by Sunday not because it is a nice thing to do – but because God took the initiative he first loved us and continues to love us with an unfailing love and freed us from our sins by his Blood.
What are the outcomes of our worship?
Take a look at verse 6
He loves us
He has freed us
He has made us
He has made us to be a kingdom and priests
He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords – and he wants each one of us to be part of his establishment. Not just those who wear robes and have collars round our necks. All of us have been made priests. The priesthood of all belivers. A priest in the Jewish system was the one who made the sacrifices and who offered prayers for the people. They worked under the great High priest
We now have one great High Priest and thus we are working under him. We all have access to God now.
If all of us as priests and our worship is to mean something on a Sunday, it is worked out right throughout the week – in our homes, in our offices, in our universities, in stranmillis, in Royal Avenue wherever we find ourselves.
The Kingdom of God, The Kingdom of Heaven. If it is to mean anything - it will take all Christians who pray the Lords prayer seriously to act in their own calling and be the body of Christ where God has placed them.
Let us recap
Whom is it that we worship tonight in this Church?
The God who is Past, Present and Future – Who Knows the end from the Beginning – the alpha and the Omega
What are we doing when we worship?
We are responding to his Love – we are giving him his worth
What are the outcomes of our worship?
We are commited to his will, his Kingdom and His Glory
Let us Pray
Heavenly Father,
I pray that the words I have spoken which are of you may so take root in our hearts, so that your kingdom may be built up and your name Glorified
In Jesus name I pray
Amen
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