Election

I don't know if its just because I am tucked nicely away in a quiet street but I have only had one wee bit of paper through the door from a political party (not that I am complaining). There are plenty of posters to tell me the options!

Tomorrow night, Thurs 29th at 7:30 Willowfield parish church is hosting a hustings event ... I had no idea what such an event is ... but it is amazing what happens when you "google it" it explains everything.

Anyway some of the candidates will be there taking questions from the floor chaired by the rector Canon David McClay. I look forward to see what they all have to say for themselves!

We got talking in Bible Study tonight about the importance of praying through our options. The election is indeed important. On this blog / talking to people I WILL NEVER get party political but we must remember that we do have the freedom to vote, that freedom has always been fought & won for therefore we need to inform ourselves of the options and the policies and make a choice.

Our politicians are important, we are told that we are to pray for them. This is really really important --> what they do & say affects the jobs, healthcare, security, education ... of our nation. On the run up to this elections Christians can have a major part to play in voting & then in the leadership. On May 6th we have influence ... let us use our vote!

Sheep?

A sermon preached on Sunday 25th April 2010 at 10:30 Holy Communion Service in St. Columba's Knock

Let us pray

Heavenly father,
you call us to be learners, to be disciples, as we delve into your word this day help us to:
hear your voice,
discern your will
and live out our faith in the world
This we ask in Jesus name,
Amen

In the Gospel reading Jesus said in John 10:27-28

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

Throughout the Bible the imagery of a shepherd is one of the most profound & prevelent in the whole of scripture.

When we think of Shepherds, our minds may be drawn to David as a shepherd boy, using the tools of his trade to slay the giant Goliath
many of the prophets started as shepherds
or perhaps the beloved Psalm 23 … The Lord is my shepherd

or the shepherds in the Christmas Story illustrated so well in many of the nativity plays children with the tea towels on their heads hearing the good news of the birth of Christ from the angelic host.

Jesus, has just, a few verses before the reading from todays gospel, described himself as the Good Shepherd, and then said that he is prepared to lay down his life for his sheep.

This morning I would like to pause and think a little about shepherding and sheep … something which a townie like me knows not too much about.

However, as a family, just before I headed down to theological college, mum and dad made the decision to move house - a couple of miles out of town into the countryside, so when I head home I love standing in our kitchen and see sheep in the field directly behind our house.

I am sure like me you might have a romanicised version of sheep … fluffy white clouds, not a care in the world, munching away on grass.

However, the sheep outside my kitchen window at home, are far from perfect - fight with each other, get very dirty, have to be dipped because they have flees, they need looking after, disease, if one escapes from the field, all the other stupid sheep go with them, they are looking at other fields and think I want to go there → they really are complete eejits!

A strange question to ask on a sunday morning
How are we at being sheep? …

I am not sure if you know the silly kids song … I want to be a sheep baa baa baa baa?
(i'll not sing it here!)

I suspect most of us if we are honest are quite good at being sheep …
… far from perfect
… fighting with each other
… needing someone to look after us
… look at the grass on the other side of the fence and see that it looks greener

How are we at being sheep which Jesus points to as his sheep in this reading
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me”

How are we doing at hearing God's voice? Are we tuned into it?

How do we hear God's voice? Does God speak to us today? How does he communicate with us?

Primarily through the word of God … the Bible … do we know what it says?, are we taking time to feed on it?, are we listening to what God is saying in it? Are we expecting God to speak to us?

Do we find the Bible difficult to understand?, are we prepared to ask questions? Are we prepared to study and make sense of it?

God can also speak through wise counsel, by this I mean, talking things out with people who we know and respect as Christians, people we know who will support us, people who can help us understand.

God can speak to us through prayer – when we take time to listen to him.

My Sheep hear my voice, I know them

I know them.

There are so many promises in the Bible concerning God knowing us intimately, knowing our names. This knowing goes way beyond simply knowing us, we know people to see. He knows us intimately, He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our failures and our triumphs and this knowing is about relationship with us.

My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me .

They follow me

This is where it gets exciting, this is where when we grasp the relationship possible with God through Jesus – things fall into place. The promise of Peace, the meaning of life, the ultimate questions can be answered. This is why we celebrate easter, this is why we are able to sing alleuia.

When we follow Jesus – when we live listening to his voice we are able to see changes, we are able to make changes because he see his example and strive to be like him. We follow what he did.

Later in the service those receiving The bread and wine will come to the rail and those administering will say – the blood of Christ keep you in eternal life, and the body of christ keep you in eternal life.

In our reading we read

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life

Are we prepared to accept that we are sheep?,
are we prepared to hear Jesus voice?,
are we prepared to believe that he knows us,?
are we prepared to follow him?
Are we prepared to accept his promise of eternal life?

If we are then surely we can then proclaim with complete gusto and confidence the opening words to Psalm 23

The Lord is MY shepherd, I shall not be in want
he makest me lie down in green pastures

Sheep cannot lie down and rest unless:
a. They are not afraid in the night
b. They are not infested with bugs
c. They are not fighting among themselves
d. They are not hungry

As Sheep, do we recognise the shepherds voice?, how are we doing at following him? How are we doing at trusting him being my shepherd?

It is a challenge yes, but I am convinced that there is nothing better, nothing worth living for other than being a sheep in the herd of the Good Shepherd … what about you?

Amen

Neglect of the Blog again corrected

I seem to be going through seasons of blogging and not blogging!

Once again, it will be corrected by a burst of blogs in the coming days.

I am back on duty since last tuesday, after a great wee holiday around various areas in Ireland in the green machine.

Today I have been preaching at our morning service then down to dublin and tomorrow I am looking at resources & options which can be used for liturgy in churches. Links etc will be available here when I get back to belfast.

Hope all is well with everyone in Blogosphere

Sermon ... The raising of Lazarus

Sermon preached at service of Compline, 7pm Sunday 14th March 2010 in St. Columba's, Knock.

Text: John 11: 17-44

Let us pray,

Heavenly father, help us to unpack what your word means for us as we consider what it means to know you as the resurrection and the life, here and now.

We pray this in Jesus name
Amen


The old adage – there are two things which we will not be able to avoid – tax & funerals.

Each one of us here this evening will have their own experiences of funeral services, of the run up to them, perhaps planning them and also helping friends and family get through a most difficult time.

There are two sides to the funeral – the very practical side, of making arrangements with the undertakers, of hospitality, of arranging transport for family to come home.

And then there is the grief itself, the realisation that a loved one has died.

Throughout the centuries what Jesus did here in this story and then ultimately at his own resurrection has eternal consequences and significance when it comes to our own day and how we mourn. Mary and Martha in this passage are the chief mourners, they are the ones who are busy doing all the necessary family things in the midst of coping with their own grief. It is into these circumstances which Jesus steps.

He is moved to tears at the Grave of Lazarus, he knows what it is like to loose a friend. This man was dead, he was well dead … four days he had been in this grave. With the heat and the humdity of the climate once the grave is sealed it is well sealed … King James version the body stinketh!

Jesus uses this incident to teach more about his power, and what he has come to do. Throughout Johns gospel, continually Jesus is showing who he is to his disciples, The I am sayings as they are commonly referred to portray something of what he is doing

I am the way, the truth and the life, Bread of heaven, water of life, the good shepherd...

Here we have another one, a common portion of scripture which we use in this church as we process up the aisle at each funeral service … “I am the resurrection and the life says the Lord, those who believe in me, even though they die yet shall they live and everyone who lives in me shall never die” after saying this Jesus goes on a bit further and says to the sisters do you believe that?

I think that must have been a very hard question, they had, no doubt like us been to lots of funerals, they had seen many people buried in tombs and while they may have seen jesus doing lots of things there is something about death, the great unknown which we do want to know about. OK jesus you are the resurrection and the life but there is no hope for our brother is there? He has been dead 4 days now so he aint coming back.

Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died … They knew that Jesus could heal … he was a healer but there is more to Jesus than simply healing. Jesus was moved to tears. In this moment … Jesus told martha that see would see the glory of God. Lazarus, come out and he did.

Jesus did it … he turned death into life, he turned mourning into celebration.

This is indeed an amazing scene … no one had ever seen this done before!

One of the things we always do try to do is ask week after week in our sermons here in St. Columba's is what does this text mean for me in my walk with God.

Well this text cuts to the core of human life and questions about death, mourning and our relationship with Jesus.

Firstly, mourning, grieving and tears is entirely natural and needs to be gone through after a death of a loved one – Jesus wept, he was gratefully disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.

Then we remember that we are in a relationship with God, with Jesus, the one who has the power over death – it is that hope of the Christian, not in a airy fairy I hope that I will win the lottery type of hope but rather in a sure and certain hope of the resurrection.

Jesus throughout his ministry we remember that he raised

Jarius' Daughter, The son of the widow at Nain and here Lazarus from the dead and then ultimately he himself was raised from the dead.

As we are here this evening … are we able to rest in the assurance in those familiar words I am the resurrection and the life says the Lord, those who believe in me even though they die Yet shall they live

The thing about this is if we know this then we can get on with living, with priorities of life sorted then we can live lives prioritised with the important things

I love the hope that is in the Easter Hymn – Thine be the Glory … the second verse says it all

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
let the Church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

Yes, funerals are extremely sad times, yes we miss our loved ones when they die of course we do. But our Christian hope, our christian faith tells us that what happened at the graveside of lazarus is a foretaste of what will be. And ultimately we are Easter people, we do as we are doing during lent- journey to the cross and the grave but we know the story does not end there, we are people who can rest assured in our relationship with Christ and in his resurrection.

Let us pray.

Lent 2 - Imitation & Citizenship

Philippians 3: 17 - 4: 1

17 Brothers and sisters,* join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ;

I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.

19Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.

20But our citizenship* is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21He will transform the body of our humiliation* so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,* by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

41Therefore, my brothers and sisters,* whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved

----

Let us Pray

Heavenly Father, take my words and speak through them, take our minds and think through them take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you, through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen

In the New Testament, many images are used to show how Christians are to live out their lives – Disciples, that is Learners, friends of God, household of faith, servants of God.

In our Epistle reading this morning we see two others

Imitators and Citizens of Heaven. By using these two images Paul is speaking into the culture of the hearers.

In Chapter 2 of this epistle Paul has gone to great lengths telling his readers about the humility of Christ, Verse 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit rather in humility value others above your selves not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had. In other words we have to imitate Jesus



It is with this background, this living out of faith with the example of Jesus, Paul is portraying the best example of how to live – modelling Jesus – He is the source of our lives.
What does that look like? … he says look at us.

Paul is content that he is living up to the mark, that his life, though not perfect is enough of an example to show the believers in Philippi how to live, and not only his life but the others who are living as he does.

What does Paul's life look like? What makes him so special? Well from this letter we know

• He is a person full of joy
• He is a person who has learnt to be content whatever comes his way
• to live in need and in plenty
• He is ready to rest in God's Strength
• He considers everything loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
• He is living in the power of the resurrection.
• He is pressing onwards knowing that the future is sorted and living each day for Christ.

Paul was asking the church to live as he is living, knowing what he knows … through the good days and the bad days knowing God and living in God's power is the way to live. He know's the the power of imitation.

In our day imitation is not popular we don't like people to copy us but when we think of the apprentice in a trade, a skill is past on when someone who knows what they are doing shares the secrets of their trade with someone who is starting off, the life of a disciple is about picking up tips and tricks, of making mistakes and correcting them.

Personally I know that there are certain things which I have picked up from people who are living out their Christian journey and who have taken time to share with me some of the things they have put into place to ensure that they continue staying close to God. It might be Bible reading, it might be priorities of finance, it might be praying for each other … whatever it may be are there things that you would like to imitate from others in your life.

How many times have we said .. I would love to do that but I would never be able to do it or she is such an example, I would never be able to do that. We do so often put limitations on ourselves and our faith which are of ourselves.
Perhaps we might say I would love to know the Bible better … well what is stopping you?

I would love to have the faith of such and such, he's gone and done something for God somewhere … well could that not be God speaking to you?

I would love to be able to chat to my friends about God … why not do it? Imitate Paul, Imitate people who are living out the teachings of God in this place … in this generation.

We are called to be imitators of Christ and imitators of those who are living out faith in him.

We are called to be imitators, we are also called to be citizens of Heaven

Chapter 1 verse 27 says

Whatever happens, as citizens of heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel Christ.

Citizens, whatever the country ancient or modern have rules to live by, they have rights and they also have responsibilities, they can be identified with their citizenship.

Our identity is linked to our citizenship. Living in 21st Centry Belfast we all take our citizenship for granted. I know my passport is filed in the cabinet in the office, it only comes out if I need to travel , it proves for others who I am and allows me to travel and gives me rights should I need them.

As Christians, we are citizens of heaven … how does that affect our every day life? … I suspect that for most it is something which like my passport is tucked away in the cupboard for someday that we might just need it. But actually that is not the way Paul speaks about Citizenship of Heaven, Citizenship of Heaven for Paul is a way of living every single day, it is about living out our lives everyday, living with the joy that we are citizens of heaven today, we are called to live every single day whether we have good news or bad, whatever decisions that need to be made, we are called to let our citizenship of heaven affect our decisions.

When we think of it citizenship is much more than a passport to get somewhere, or to get help. Good citizenship in our world is about interacting with government, on the street it is about looking out for the poor, it is about informing the police of suspicions, about looking out for the common good.

Bringing these things together, this is the second Sunday in Lent, a time when we think about our lives and our walk with God. Paul throughout the epistle is at pains to show practically how to live out faith in Christ, to not only talk the talk but also to walk the walk. The two images, of imitation and as citizenship of heaven do not allow us to simply talk the talk. It wasn't just about the people of Philippi listening to paul he wanted them to put into practice what he was saying and showing them.

Let us live as citizens of heaven, let us imitate christ's attitude, let us not be afraid to chat to each other about what resources we have found helpful in our walk with Christ. And let us remember that here in St Columba's we are all disciples, living, working, learning and making mistakes together but what we are striving together to do is to reach out with the same love which Christ had, to make a difference to others. And let us also remember that it is by grace through faith alone that we can be called citzens of heaven let us rejoice in that fact.

Amen

In the wilderness

Sermon preached in St. Columba's Sunday 21st Feb 2010

... First Sunday in Lent ... Luke 4:1-11

Let us Pray

Heavenly Father, as disciples We pray help us discover more about your word this day and help us to apply eternal truths to our lives by the power of your holy spirit In Jesus name – amen

The two reading this morning focus on the wilderness – The first the Old Testament – the Israelites remember their journey from egypt to the promise land which we know included time spent in the wilderness and then in the New testament we see Jesus directly after his baptism being brought into the wilderness before his ministry

The wilderness is seen as somewhere where one does not want to be, somewhere where there is danger, uncertainty and where the individual is on their own. For the Israelites centuries before, they trekked through the wilderness not for forty days but for forty years – guided by God, even though they grumbled, they moaned, they obeyed God, they disobeyed him. When they eventually get to the promised land they in their sinful nature were faithful but they also fell away.

In Jesus' wilderness experience we see him being tempted but he was able to withstand the temptation unlike the israelite people who folded under the pressure … creating Golden Calf, moaning about food, leadershship …

In the temptation of Jesus we see three times the devil tries to out smart Jesus – The first is quite a physical
temptation – you're hungry … go on change the stone into a loaf.
Which doesn't seem an unreasonable request … he has already spent 40 days fasting but actually Jesus knew that there is more to life than the physical things of life.

Then there is the question of worship – Jesus worshiping satan … could you imagine the consequences of that? Worship … what we give our everything to is so important.

Then there is question of showmanship and fame … Jesus wasn't going to create a spectacle

A few things from Jesus' temptations to look at …

firstly he knew his Bible … this might seem a bit obvious … he is God's Son afterall …of course he knew his Bible ... Well yes he is but it was in his Childhood that Jesus learnt the things of God – In Chapter 2 of Luke's Gospel there is a wee verse which I Love … Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and men. He was in the synagogue each week.

Last tuesday the Rector and myself were away at the Diocesan Clergy Quiet day, (an oxymoron??)where the Bishop of our link diocese Albany was leading us through the devotions … one thing he said which jumped out at me... Jesus the Son of God placed immense importance of coming along week by week to the place of worship … which got me thinking about … did he enjoy going?, what about sermons … did the preachers always get it right when he was sitting in the congregation?,
what did he think about the people leading … surely he could have done better himself! ... However it went what we do know is that he had a sure grasp of what is right and what was wrong in God's law from what was said in worship and what he studied at home.

What we see of Jesus' life and ministry from the gospels is only the tip of the iceberg of all that went on in his life, like us what we present to each other each sunday, or to our friends and our work collegues during the week is only a very small percentage of what is going on in our lives, or has been in our past.

Jesus' foundation was sure, Luke spends a few chapters outlining his background, the things that are below the waterline in Jesus' life so that when the wilderness experience comes he has the resources to draw upon. When he is alone, when he is at his most vulnerable he knows who he is and what resources are important.

This is crucial.

In life we prepare for lots of things:
In case of thieves we put in alarms
In case of something happening to our cars and homes we put in insurance
In case of fire we put in smoke alarms
In case of unexpected visitors we pack our cupboards full of food

How are we going to cope for wilderness times?
– By wilderness I mean times when
somewhere where one does not want to be,
somewhere where there is danger,
uncertainty and where the individual seems completely on their own.

In our world today, when we look around at the context in which we are living, so many people are searching for meaning, searching for “the promised land” of happiness. This promised land for some is thought to be the next high, the next club, the next job promotion but actually we as Christians know that peace, that promised land can only be found in a relationship.

As we walk through, as the psalmst puts it … through the valley of the shadow of death, or through the tough times wether it be illness or other types of trial whatever that may be… what resources do you or I have to call upon to sustain us, to protect us.

I have mentioned before in sermons the image of the iceberg where only the tip of it shows ... 50%-99% is below the waterline. In our lives it is the things that we put into place below the waterline as Christians are important and will dictate how we respond and cope with the wilderness times when they arrive in our lives.
The first thing in our relationship with God – do we have one, do we trust in that relationship, do we prioritise it? Prayer for others, for ourselves are we prepared to ask for prayer?,

Then our reading of the Bible – do we know what is in its covers? Are we prepared to study it? Are we prepared to ask questions about what we read? Why not get together with a few friends and study it together? Why not come to our parish Bible study on a wednesday evening?

Then there is coming to church – do we enjoy coming to church? Getting involved in the church community is so important, for fellowship, for connecting with others, when you come to church what are you taking away with you? One of the things I a certainly very keen and open for is people to chat about the readings, I'm very happy to chat to anyone during the week about things I have spoken about on Sunday's from the pulpit.

We also need to rest in the promises in the words of scripture:
New Living Translation (©2007)
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure
1 corinthians 10:13

2 Peter 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation,


Each one of us, I am sure can identify areas in our lives where we fail, where we again and again would love to get sorted out. Also we may know others perhaps in our own families or friends who we have a desire to see get sorted out. I wonder this lent when we ask the question how are you are we prepared to make the change required- are we strong enough to make the changes ourselves, to remove whatever we may be going through and run with perseverance the race laid out before us.

What priorities do we need changed? , What preparations are we making for the wilderness times?

In Hebrews Chapter 4 we read
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.



In time of help and need let us cling to Jesus, But also let us remember the God is not just there for the wilderness but also whilst we are dwelling in the promised land.



Let us pray

Ash Wednesday --- How are you?... Really

A short sermon preached at Ash Wednesday Service in St. Columba's Parish Church on 17th Feb 2010



If you happened to be in church in Zambia, or on the street in the capital lusaka and someone came over to you, you would be more than likely be greeted with the word … Mulishani to which your automatic reply without fail would be bueno Mulishani?

This equates to the english How are you … to which the reply is normally without thinking I'm fine thank you … how are you.

Today we come together as we begin lent, a time in the churches year when we are focused inward, a time when we stop and take stock, a time when we ask what do we need to do to make changes. A time when we focus on God and our relationship with him. A time when we ask ourselves how are you?

The Ash Wednesday service has grown to become one of the most profound and penitential of the Church's calendar. It is a time when we can stop and think about our lives to date and how we can serve God better.

In church we use words and symbols which mean more than they would first appear and you can dig down deeper and deeper to get to the core of the meaning. Within the celebration of Ash wednesday itself there are layers of meaning.



For some the start of lent is about giving up chocolate, of watching less tv, of denying yourself some of the luxuries of
life.

For others it is no smoking day – when they make a commitment to life without cigarettes – and that is great

However if we dig deeper – Ash Wednesday has been a day which has echoes of passages throughout the Bible, passages which we might hear in other circumstances.

For example in Genesis we read you are dust, and to dust you shall return. A sure echo of the funeral services.

Elsewhere in scripture when things were not going well – the king of a nation would call a fast and the people would wear sackcloth and put ashes on their face to show repentance and their lowly humble state before God.

It is a day of penitence, of being lowly before God but it is also a day when we can be confident in the assurance of forgiveness of sin proclaimed in the Good News of Christ.

In a world of Busyness, in the midst of everyday life, of full diaries, of family concerns Ash wednesday stands as a signpost in the middle of a week – It is a different service from the normal communion service ...asking us a very normal question – to which we are all expert at giving an answer to … it is a very simple question … how are you?

I'm fine thank you … or if we are feeling good on a
particular day we may give a bit of enthusiasm and say … I'm great!

As the driving comes along one thing I have learnt as you are coming up to a junction which has a STOP sign. One cannot simply slow down a little, look both ways and go on. You have to actually stop, change into first gear look both ways and go if its safe to do so.


Today – Let us Stop for a moment, let us ponder the question … “How are you?”

How are you really … beneath the shell (which we all have) … how are you? … in your relationship with God … how are you getting on with Bible study? …. how is your prayer life? … how are you? … are there things which you would love to get rid of, habits, things you know that really need cut out, things you would like to add to your life. As you stop here today at this junction at this service, are you willing to change direction, or keep going.

This season of Lent gives us the space, the time and even the excuse to do things differently, to look inside, to get priorities re-organised. It is not about looking around for people more holy, people on the street who are putting on a show of their piety- the gospel reading this morning will not permit that.

But rather what it does say is that what happens in the secret, in the quiet place, behind your front door is what God is interested in. It is about the relationship you have with God after church is just as important than what happens in the public arena.

I am continually struck by the image of the iceberg – the tip of the iceberg shows only a small percentage of what is going on - 50% to 99% is underneath the waterline. Lent allows us the space to sort out what is happening in our spiritual lives, in our relationship with God – that which is hidden from view. What needs sorted?

As we come to think about the things we have done and the things left undone, shortly we will come to the prayer of penitence … before we get there I would love to read that for you

<<>>

The fantastic news, the promise of God is that last line of this prayer … he will lead us from darkness to walk as children of Light.

Prayer, Bible Study, journalling, taking a quiet time, spending time with God are all part of the Christian Discipleship, of living for him, of living life to the full – there is absolutely nothing better. This Ash Wednesday the question I would like to leave you as we Stop today is very

simple … How are you? Really?
And as with other things in life do not be afraid to ask for help or advice from those you know are living as Christian disciples – Nobody is an expert on these things we are all learning together but we can share what has worked for us.

How are you really?
Amen

Late Evening Office - St. Columba's Parish Church Sunday 14th Feb 2010 @ 7pm

Bible Text

John 12: 27-36a

27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ 29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ 30Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people* to myself.’ 33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah* remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ 35Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ (NRSV)

Sermon

Let us pray,
Help us O Lord to apply your word to our lives, your teaching to our circumstances – Help us O Lord to be disciples living each day learning from you. In Jesus NameAmen.

Spec-savers have a new ad on TV running at the moment – an older couple have taken their cheese sandwiches to the beach for a nice day out they find an empty seat with a view of the sea. And suddenly their whole world changes as the bars come down and suddenly they are propelled round a very big roller coaster. Twists and its turns, it propelling the higher and higher round and round at all sorts of angles. Eventually the ride stops and they get off. The husband says to his wife …that was strange cheese.



Sometimes life can feel like a rollercoaster, sometimes its stationary, not moving, then suddenly something unexpected happens, we feel we are not in control – sometimes it can get very scary indeed, sometimes life is moving so fast we want it to slow down, other times we are really enjoying life, othertimes we just want to get off, sometimes we enjoy the views.

The life of Jesus' disciples could be described as a rollercoaster – sometimes they were really enjoying being with Jesus, some great teaching everybody happy, then times of adventure as they are sent out, scary times when they encountered evil or felt like they were going to die when jesus was sleeping in the boat admist the storm, moutain top times, such as the transfiguration when Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah or when they saw Lazarus raised from the dead. But there were disapointments and discouargements along the way – Jesus kept talking to them about when he would die, he was ready to die …. this is not what they wanted to hear … this was definitely a time when the disciples and the wider crowd wanted keep him quiet this wasn't the way the messiah was ment to behave.

The roller coaster, the dramatic ups and downs of life, the tight corners, the changes in direction leave us all unsettled, perhaps daunted ...asking what is life about?, what should I do?.


In our reading this evening we see ups and down as Jesus speaks to the crowd

At the beginning we see Jesus – uncharacteristically down – Now my soul is troubled he said .. but a corner is turned … should I say save me … no – he yields to the father's will which is a high point … the reading progresses through Jesus explaining what will happen. He knows that things are uncertain at this time but appeals to the crowd to stay … in the light.

In Johns Gospel Jesus teaches much about darkness and light and the contrast between them.

Darkness in Johns Gospel is seen as … uncertainty, death, sin, not of God

In the great chapter one the distinction is drawn between darkness and light
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not

In tonight's reading we see that we are all called to become Children of light. We are called to overcome darkness, we are called to overcome all that darkness means – sin, death

I wonder how we are all doing … I started off by thinking about a roller coaster … ups and downs, tight corners, scared, afraid of what is ahead. Jesus, as he looked at the road he must travel down was troubled but he did not loose focus, he did not say I don't want to do this, he did not say … “im your son get me out of here” ... what he did say was … father glorify your name.

In our world today – there is so much darkness – turn on the news and you see sin so prevelent, so much darkness in the mindsets of people, so many lives who see nothing but despair, grief, uncertainty and sadness.

However our reading tonight calls us to be people, disciples living a different way … people whose hope and trust is in God, people who are living as children of the light, people with purpose, with love, who face the darkest of nights with the knoweldge that whoever they encounter, whatever they come across, whatever they face they know that Jesus will help them through.

This is not simply wishful thinking but it is core to the Christian faith – Jesus knew the darkest of places and he knew how to overcome the darkness with light. Last week, at our dedication Bishop Harold spoke on the worry we can have and Jesus saying that we are not to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear. So often our attention is drawn to worry about the darkness,
worry about all kinds of things which may or may not happen.

As disciples, we need not worry about the darkness but rather be living as children of light, of getting on with the business of the things which God has called us to do. Of getting out into our dark communities, of loving our neighbours, caring for those who are lonely, of strengthening our Christian faith, praying, reading our bibles, getting to know strangers in our church, of living out our faith wherever we are.

Let us trust God, that he has a plan for our lives, not wasting time worrying but rather living life to the full. When we do that, when we talk about our faith, when we live out our faith – life becomes an adventure, when we focus on darkness it is very difficult to see light. But if we are focused on the light, when we are living in the light – we can have a profound effect on the darkness around us.

Are we prepared to live life to the full?

Let us pray.

Prayers

Jesus said "Now my soul is troubled"

We pray for all those within our community who today can relate to this … those who have troubles, worries, concerns and issues of whatever kind. We remember how the disciples journeyed with Jesus through the highs and lows of life. How they supported each other, how they allowed Jesus' teaching to inform their actions when faced with difficulties

We recall the fact that Jesus did not take the easy road, he did not promise a problem free life but what he did promise that he would be with us, that he is able to walk with us through the darkness and through the despair.

Jesus in our reading challenged us to live as "Children of Light"

We pray for the challenge to all those, including ourselves, who call ourselves Christian to live as Children of light, ridding ourselves of the sin which so easily entangles and to run the race with perseverence.

O Lord you know that it is not easy to stand up for what is right, to find time in the busy-ness of life to prioritise reading the Bible and praying. Help us Lord to do the things you would have us do, help us to cut out the the things of darkness in our lives and transform us to be beacons for you wherever we may find our selves this week.

In Jesus name we pray
Amen

Bible Study - Deborah

Over the last few weeks, things have been busy on Wednesday's and I haven't managed to get to the parish Bible Study. That however was rectified this week. At the moment we are going through the LifeBuilder Bible study looking at "women of God".

Tonight being week 4 we were looking at the character of Deborah, the Judge.

Looking at the narrative in the story in chapter 4 of Judges, then her subsequent song in Chapter 5. It was great to come to this passage afresh - my first time coming to it since college.

Deborah was a woman of her convictions who certainly stood up against the tide of the culture, bringing law & order as a (charismatic!) leader. Who spoke God's word to Barak, who could be seen as a weak leader (maybe) but maybe he thought having Deborah with him would ensure his soldiers would be more content with the messenger coming with them ...

She certainly made it clear that God was speaking and would not take no for an answer.

There is also the story of Jael and Sisera - and the tent peg! ... Jael knows what is to show courage and initiative. Sisera is there and she knows he needs to die, for the future of Israel so she does what needs to be done!

A few things come from this study

- The need to be faithful with what God has given us to do. - What if Deborah hadn't shared what God had told her to share with Barak? ... would Israel be conquered?

- The need to step out in faith ... the need to rely on him ... how do we know that God really said these things?

One image I shared which I have found very useful comes from a team I was on in Africa, when we were sharing what it means to be a Christian.

In African Culture, the father is head of the household, he gets the seat in the house, when important decisions need to be made, he sits on the seat and directs the household. The children and wife are kneeling. The question is if we need to make important decisions where are we. Are we head, are we sitting on the seat, or are we kneeling taking our direction from the Father, asking his advice, allowing him to be head of our household.

The Body of Christ ... in this place

A sermon preached at 10:30am Service Sunday 24th January
May the words of my mouth and the mediatations of our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight O lord our strength and our redeemer – Amen.

The Human body is an amazing creation … just some facts about it gleaned from various sources

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In our epistle reading this morning Paul writing to to Corinthians goes to great lengths in his imagery to portray a vision of fully functional, active and co-ordinated church community. Where each member is playing their part and where all are working together in common purpose

If you look at the passage – you will see the background of church members is not important –
Jews or Greeks,
slave or free – they were all baptised into one body.

Then we have the working of this body – because one is a hand, it can't say because I am not an eye I'm not part of the Body

If we look at the Human body when all parts are functioning well the whole body is healthy and active.

As we all know when something is up – even with a very small part it disturbs the other parts.

From personal experience in the autumn after my accident on my bike in my elbow … it stopped me from doing some things. When you are sick – it impedes you from fulfilling your potential. Part of my job entails me going into hospital and visiting those who are ill. Usually when people are in hospital there is a bit of frustration of not being able to do whatever they are used doing.

But on the other hand when you are fully healthy and active – the human body is able to do amazing things – Just think of the accomplishments which have happened in the last 100 years

Astronauts in space
Usain Bolt set a new 100m world record by clocking 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix meeting in New York. 2008
Sir Edmund Hillary -29 May 1953. Everest

And not just the physical – but in the world of thought, science, technology.

The body is an amazing creation – it can accomplish much.
The challenging part to all of this is we are called to be a part of a body ourselves … every single one of us. We are all called. The question is are we prepared to play our part.

In St. Columba's here today we see people using their time and their talents to serve.

When you came in you were greeted by sides people & Church wardens,
the organist was playing,
the choir sang,
a reader read the epistle,

Behind the scenes – we have a select vestry, fundraising, glebe wardens, parish secretary, committees who run various organisations, prayer chain praying for those who are ill

lots of people playing their part in their own ways. And that is great. The Body is working well in St Columba's

The challenge for each one of us is how we can improve, how we can encourage others who are part of this church to get themselves involved. There is a part for everyone to play. And it should be all our vision to encourage each other and those outside to get involved.
Today as you will see from your Pew News – our church is the focus for the diocese prayer and we have asked for prayer for three very important aspects of our ministry.

The first: For all involved in the ministry and witness of St. Columba's as we serve God in our parish and community

It is vitally important that we acknolwedge all the really great work that is going on in this parish and pray for each other.

In the confines of this parish we have a rich variety of gifts, talents, experience. Day by day parishioners here have links to so many different people. Each of us has the potential to change lives – to speak words of encouragement, to show our Christian Faith in action.

I wonder how on a daily basis do we use our gifts and our circumstances as followers of Christ?

The second prayer which people are praying for us today is - For God's guidance and direction as we reach out to those parishioners outside parish life

In our reading we cannot say to another part of the body we dont need you –
there are many people in our parish who are on our list but are not taking an active role in the body – and this is sad …

...can you imagine if your foot our even your little finger decided to stop working … for no reason or if there was a reason would you not want to get it looked at?

In St Columbas there is room for everyone, imagine if everyone played their part. We have around 650 families on our books could you imagine what we could do as a church if everyone got involved and used their skills, talents and their insights.

At the moment, as you will see from the Magazine the Rector and I are visiting all houses – whether they be active members of the body or not. We can only do so much.

It is the responsibility of everyone to talk about St. Columba's, to encourage and to invite your friends, your family along, to come up with ideas as to what we can do to reach those parishioners outside parish life, to get them involved. So much in our world today is about personal recommendation and experience.

The third prayer point is around fundraising for causes and for the upkeep of the parish - For our fundraising initiatives as we support Mission and Charity work at home and overseas and raise money for our Building Fund

All of this is so important, that the body all of us play our part in the ministry and mission of the church here in St. Columba's and beyond.

---
As we come to celebrate Holy Communion today, at the heart of this sacrament is the knowledge that we are all parts of the one body, whoever we are, whatever we do during the week, we are all different yes but we are all called to work together for the well being of each other.

Let us celebrate being together, let us also encourage those members who are absent for whatever reason.
And let us remember that we can be answer to the prayers which people are praying this week.

Amen

Good News v's Bad News

After Christmas – Good News v's Bad News … Sermon preached St. Columba's Sunday 3rd January 2010 - Evening Prayer

It is great to be back to some sort of normality after Christmas, with shops back open at the normal times, and life back to some sort of routine. On Monday I came up to Belfast to have a look at some of the sales and the town was completely manic … I queued just to get onto an escalator and when I got up to the menswear department there were only two rails of sale items left … why the rush?.

Before Christmas … people were rushing around getting all the preparations done.
At Christmas … people were rushing round doing the last minute things.
Then After Christmas ... there is more rushing around buying things in the sales.

The pace of life is indeed hectic to say the least... hopefully you will have had a little bit of time over the holidays to sit back and relax and enjoy a bit of space for yourself.

In church life, we have come through advent, a time of preparation, a time when we prepare ourselves once again to hear the message of good news, On Christmas day we celebrated that good news -the Birth of Christ, the Baby in a manger and directly after this we are presented with some really bad news in our reading

We have good news until King Herod comes in and decides to slaughter the boys in Bethlehem under two. Its not a story we like to remember, its not a story which is usually mentioned in the Christmas Nativity plays we sit around and watch in schools and churches. It is polemic to the good news of the angels, star, the shepherds and mary and Joseph, inn keepers, wise men. But it is very much part of the story of humanity - Good and Bad experiences existing together in tension with each other.

The slaughter of the Holy innocents as it is called, the church remembers only 3 days after christmas, year in year out, continually reminding us that – where God is active there is always someone/thing out to twart the plans. We see it here, we see it throughout Jesus ministry, the opposition of many, ultimately at his death. However it doesn't stop there - for his followers throughout the book of acts & in historical record where Jesus' Disciples are plauged with persecution.

This episode in the gospels does not fit into a nice fairytale ending … young boys are killed because the ruler does not like what God is up to. Does this sound familiar? Hopefully the answer is yes!





Looking back the things which Matthew writes in the passage we read tonight does echo some of the greatest stories in Israels past
Flight to Egypt
Dreams of Joseph
The killing of the first born (Moses was saved)
Call out of Egypt (Moses)
Working within David's Line

Yes God was up to something new with the incarnation, God becoming Man, God with us but it certainly was in continuity with the past, and Matthew was at pains to ensure that his readers were made aware of all the references which had gone before.

So what does all of this mean for us today?
We are here at the start of a new year – 3 days in. New year is traditionally a time when we start into thinking about what has gone before, and what is about to come.

I was amazed on New Years eve to watch the fireworks on TV at the London Eye – an amazing spectacle on BBC, just before they started – the presenter gave a run down of the decade years beginning at the millennium → The good, the bad and the ugly
nature of our news bulletins.
Non-event of the Millennium Bug,
through the developments in technology,
the big news stories of the decade 9-11,
war in Iraq and Afghanistan, London Bombings, President Obama,
the mix between Good and Bad news.

In the Belfast Telegraph likewise, last week they had a countdown of 50 monumental news stories from the decade – good news and Bad News all mixed in together – a Decade that has seen so much progress and life in Northern Ireland Change – images such as the big wheel at city hall, changes in the police, stormont assembly, 11+, developments in infrastructure and new shopping experiences. But again and again we are living in the tension between Good and Bad. It has been there from early days.

But now that we are living in the time post the birth of Jesus – the hope that that little baby provided and the means that that child provided humanity with to restore the relationship we have with God allows us to be confident with the future.

Before Christmas … many were running around preparing all sorts of things
At Christmas … there were many Jobs to be done
Now that Christmas has past us by for another year … why not, at the beginning of this new year … Stop and reflect on the past, how it relates to the present and how things can be different in the future.

God is a creative God, the story of the israelite nation is one of good news of the relationship they have with God, how that relationship is sustained even in the tragedy they find themselves in and how he delivers them. In this story this evening we see Good News, we see Bad News, but above all we see the greatest hope of all – Jesus safe and well.

All of us I am sure can relate to the Good News stories of life, and all of us I am sure have had Bad News stories affecting us at one time or another. One thing is for certain – God is able to walk with us through them all. That is the good news of the Christmas Gospel which is able to sustain each one of us when we have to walk through the Valley of the shadow of death as the psalmist puts it. He is with us.

At the beginning of a new year as we reflect on our relationship with God and with one another, as we think of the good and the bad things of our lives - if we were to think over the past decade, if we were to choose 10 or 20 events from the past ten years which have shaped us as people what would they be? And as we think back then how do we move forward?
are we prepared to do something new, are we prepared to do things that God wants us to do?,
are we prepared to journey with God into new places, into new situations, to use what he has provided for us, are we prepared to trust him, wherever he may lead. Are we prepared to step out of our comfort zones?

If you don't know what that involves why not ask? … who knows what sort of adventures God has planned for you?

Sermon - What if ...??

Sermon Preached at Holy Communion Evening Sunday 20th December St. Columba's Parish Church

Matthew 1 Joseph's Dream

Let us Pray – Heavenly Father, take my words, our thoughts and our hearts this evening and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit help us to understand more fully your Word. We ask this through the name of Jesus Christ – Amen.

Well I wonder how you are doing in your preparations for Christmas – are you sorted? Are the decorations and cards up? When are you collecting your turkey? … In the curatage The Christmas Tree went up on Saturday! And the gifts … well they are getting sorted as we speak.

This evenings Gospel reading is familiar if not even second nature to many if not all of us here. If I were to pick someone and ask them to tell me the story of Jesus Birth I am sure they would able to without too much difficulty. Mary and Joseph, angels, shepherds, wise men, Herod, inn keepers. Little donkey?, shinning stars

We are still in Advent, still looking at the preparations which were made for the first Christmas. As we look at this reading this evening let us come to it with fresh eyes and see the scandal in God's plan. And look at the what if's in the story

We firstly need to understand Mary and Joseph's Relationship – they were engaged (betrothed) which unlike today did have legal and moral status – you couldn't simply throw off an engagement ring in the way that happens in so many soap operas today. It was an agreement between families and no doubt everyone in the vacinity knew Mary and Joseph and were happy for them. Two upstanding teenagers … sure they'd be very happy for them both … a perfect little family

Then Joseph's life is completely turned upside down Mary is expecting a Child … a CHILD, How could she do that to him? Why would she do that to him? Who is the father?

Public disgrace … not only for Joseph but for Mary and their families … Mary's life would be ruined perhaps even in danger.

First what if … Joseph is within his rights to publicly disgrace her, drag her through the courts which could eventually have ended in Mary's stoning … she was an adulteress wasn't she??

But we do see that Joseph took another line … he decided to do the divorce quietly to minimize the disgrace. But before that God intervened as he did on numerous occasions before … in a dream letting Joseph in on the plan that was unfolding and allowed Joseph to be a part of the plan.

In the dream the are certain points to note –
Firstly it is Jospeh who is of the David's Line (from where the Messiah is to come!)
Then the Holy Spirit who has conceived the Child,
Then it is up to Joseph to name him Jesus meaning “God Saves”- which was a common name Yeshua which is the name Joshua
but the reasoning is not like the others – a hope for what God will do but it is an expression of what this child will do. As John would say the Word became Flesh

Our Second what if … What if Joseph woke from his sleep and either just forgot about the dream or wrote it off as simply his own brain activity going wild in the face of the trauma he was going through? -

But what we do see is that Joseph remained faithful to the vision he had, to the instruction he received from God and did all that was asked with him.

The two what-if's identify two possible areas of vulnerability in God's Plan, but also the part human beings had in the bringing about of God's purposes, later in the plan we see God using Joseph to protect the new baby from Herod's soldiers.

As we look towards Christmas – there are no doubt skeptics about these events – a few weeks ago I was over on a Sunday afternoon in Speakers Corner in Hyde Park where people step up and speak about whatever takes their fancy. There is usually a good few street preachers trying to defend themselves from hecklers who love to argue about anything and everything. Thankfully in St. Columba's we do not have too many hecklers in our congregation, but I have no doubt that questions do indeed rise about stories.

When we look at the scandal of the Christmas story, from within Mary and Joseph's relationship we also should ask the question about God and the scandal this brings for Him.

He has stepped down to have a relationship with us –
the creator becomes the created
In Jesus – we get in one Fully God and Fully Human which is the mystery of the incarnation itself
the sinless one in the sinful world – how does that work … I don't know
It can only be described as grace – freely lovingly, given.

A couple of other what-ifs
What if Jesus was just born as any other human being … no conception by Holy Spirit....
Then we get into very dodgy ground - where do we get his divinity from? … he is just the same as the rest of us he has no power over sin, nature, death ...

What if Jesus had just floated down … no birth … Jesus is God no problem but he is not human, no understanding of human nature, and ultimately has ramifications with the atoning sacrifice on the cross.

But only a fully human and fully God- virgin Birth Jesus– makes sense - everything else rests on these facts.

We have just proclaimed our faith in the words of the Nicene creed which was very much borne out of the need to produce a clear statement of beliefs about the person of Christ counteracting heretics who were leading people astray with ideas such as the denial of either the humanity or the divinity of Jesus

Lee Strobel, A Masters Graduate of Law from Yale and award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune was a hardline atheist, set about writing a book when his wife became a Christian, his books A case for have become very good reads for anyone asking difficult questions about the Christian faith. Whilst I was reading one of the interviews he had with a theologian I was struck by the simplicity of the answer that was given. Book Case For Faith - p60

Strobel – OK, Dr Craig, you are an intelligent and educated individual, tell me how can a modern, rational person still believe in babies being born from virgins, people walking on water and bodies rising from tombs

Craig smiled – It's funny you should ask specifically about the virgin birth because it was a major stumbling block to me becoming a Christian. I thought it was totally absurd”



When the Christian message was first shared with me as a teenager I already had studied biology. I knew for the virgin birth to be true, a Y chromosome had to be created out of nothing in Mary's ovum, because Mary didn't possess the genetic material to produce a male child. To me this was utterly fantastic. It just didnt make sense.

Strobel then probed a bit – other skeptics have problems with it too... how did you proceed ?

Craig thought for a moment “Well I sort of put that issue aside and became a Christian anyway, even though I didn't really believe in the virgin birth. But then, after becoming a Christian, it occured to me that if I really do believe in a God who created the universe then for him to create a Y chromosome would be child's play. … the interview continued


In conclusion, there are many what ifs, many discussions that can be had, but at some stage we must move to faith, of trusting the word of God, of saying God you are in control, of saying thank you for sending your son, thank you for the promise you give us – that you are immanuel – God with us and that you are Jesus – the embodient of God Saves.

Yes God made himself vulnerable, he sent his son as a baby to human parents who would bring him up as their own then eventually that boy would become a man and then die on a cross and then rise again.

This Christmas time let us Remember what it is all about – not about the perfect Christmas Dinner, of all the business parties, the best presents in the tidiest house but rather the simple message of God coming amongst his people that first Christmas day.

Let us pray

wishing away the year ?

Today was a busy day off in the curatage, getting things set up for Christmas ... shopping, stamps etc just as I picked up the tree and decorations ... just packed them in the car, popped round to the garage to get come milk and what was sitting at the tills... not selection boxes nor chocolate Christmas puddings.

But rather Cadbury's cream eggs, mini eggs and kitkat bars displaying easter.

Are we really wishing away the year or perhaps its just the desire to get brands noticed ... more profits for the chocolate manufacturers.

Surely we need to simply take a day at a time ... do what we can.

Philipians 4

4 Rejoice* in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.* 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 


Heavenly father,

I pray that you would take our minds and think through them, take my words and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen

The Epistle reading this morning is Christianity in a nutshell – take a look at it. It is full of Joy, it is full of great advice for dealing with any circumstance we find our selves in and it has the assurance of God's presence. What more could you ask for?

As we delve into it for a short time this morning let us ask ourselves what we can learn from it for our walk with God.

Let us begin with Joy – It is the underlying theme of Paul's letter many times in this letter he uses either the word joy or rejoice – It is also the theme of today's Candle – and coming up to Christmas it is the theme of many of the songs we sing – Joy to the world etc.

When we talk about Joy or rejoicing in the Lord it is not simply a nice happy smiley face that we put on for show, it is much, much deeper than that. If we think about the situation which Paul found himself in when writing this – in Chapter 1 he has already stated his situation – He's in prison and facing death head on but is determined to keep going

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.

But throughout all of this he is able to speak of Joy in the Lord. Rejoicing in the Lord comes from knowing him, realising what the Christian life is about, knowing that the future is secured, knowing how precious you are in his sight.

Once you know that you can really rejoice, knowing that relationship with him. Christmas is special not because of the commercialism and the Coca Cola Lorry arriving in the town but because God came down to us and made it possible for us to have a relationship with him.

The Joy which we rejoice with is only possible because we can have an intimate relationship with him – If our joy is founded on anything else it is inferior.

For some they rejoice in the latest technology or the latest fashion styles – nothing wrong with that but if that is where their identity is then they will always be striving for something more. But the thing is that with Joy founded in Christ brings meaning and fullness of life. Paul knew that – even in the midst of life locked up in a Roman jail.

As we move on in the passage How amazing it is to hear Paul re-iterate the words of Jesus – Do not worry about anything. Says he who is facing imprisonment and even death – Don't worry about anything … instead pray

I wonder what is concerning us this day. On the run up to Christmas what is worrying us, on the cusp of a new year what is scaring us? In our work life what is bearing down on us? In our familes are there worries we have? In these days of financial hardship are there things which are concerning us?

What are we to do … we are to pray about our worries. It is not a magical formula – pray and all your worries will disappear there and then but it is about gaining perspective, its about allowing God to minister to you, its about sharing your burdens with Him. Over the course of my time in St. Columba's it is such a privelige to go round on pastoral visits and share peoples burdens and pray with them – and leave the answers up to God. We do believe God does answer our prayers. As clergy we are only to delighted to pray with people in their joys, in their sorrows, in their concerns.
Please, if there is anything we can pray for please do not hesitate to ask us anytime.

In this passage it is interesting at the end – Paul concludes with a cresendo – if you do rejoice in the Lord, if you bring your requests before him – the result will be peace.

The word peace in the Bible as many will know – doesn't just simply mean a cessasion of violence or quietness but it means the deep fullness of life –

Paul was saul a jew before he became a follower of Christ so he would have known the fullness of the term shalom although he was now writing in Greek. If Chaos is disorder in the world – shalom is a restored order – The wholeness and health life in its proper place. The kind of life we sometimes dream of.


And he is saying that this peace will guard our hearts. Think about where Paul is … he is being guarded by soliders – he is illustrating here that the peace which God can provide is able to protect us from the harassment and fear which the world so often throws at us.

As we make our preparations for Christmas this year – let us remember what Paul is writing from his prison cell.

Let us rejoice in the incarnation, the fact that God is with us. On our Parish Christmas Card we have that reminder – Behold Emmanuel – God is with us. Our Joy needs to be grounded in that fact – if it is elsewhere then we are on shaky ground

Then let us bring our worries to God in Prayer … He is in control. Pray continuously … There is no problem too trivial or too Big for God. Share your prayers with others who can join you in prayer.

And finally rest assured in the Peace of Christ – know that he is God

Advent Reflections

I know I said that I would put up a thought a day for advent ... however things are quite busy here in St. Columba's but I have come across a new type of advent calendar ... a video a day.

This free automatic Advent Video Calendar will display a different thought provoking video each day from 1st - 24th December, featuring speakers such as Philip Yancey, Krish Kandiah, Anna Robbins and Nick Pollard

Advent thoughts #2 - Ministry of Healing ... Celebration

Healing and wholeness is a whole area of ministry which is central to the Gospel and one in which Jesus spends a lot of time on. Over the course of my time in Dublin I did quite a bit of thinking about, through projects and other essays etc.

Tonight I was down in my home parish of Banbridge at the Diocesan Ministry of Healing Celebration where there was testimony of people being healed, where people were prayed for, worship, lighting of candles, prayers of intercession and where Bishop Harold spoke about the wholeness of healing.

As a text he used Psalm 126 a psalm about the Israelites experience of desolation, of captivity, of brokenness.

Psalm 126 (New International Version)

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

¹ When the LORD brought back the captives to ^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} Zion,
we were like men who dreamed. ^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]}

² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."

³ The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, ^{c]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[c]} O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.

⁵ Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.

⁶ He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 126:1 Or LORD restored the fortunes of
2. Psalm 126:1 Or men restored to health
3. Psalm 126:4 Or Bring back our captives

We see from this a few things

- God's desire for restoration, his over-arching plan to restore all things

- The reminder that there will be tears

- Incidentally +Harold spoke about the tears (there will be in ministry) over those whom we love who go their own way, those whom we minister to who do pass away, those for whom we pray and their illness continues.

- The reminder that those tears will be turned someday to joy

Concentrating on verse 5 - something which I hadn't really thought about before. There is a choice when we are sowing - we can look at the short term and those who are hungry can eat the seed now or in faith we can bury it in faith that it will produce a harvest sometime down the line. This is the message of the harvest.

Advent thought #2 ... as we prepare for Christmas - for whom do we have tears this day? are we prepared to sow so that sometime in the future we may reap with songs of Joy.

Who do we know that needs God's healing this day? are we prepared to surrender our prayers to God?

Advent Reflections 1

This is the first of a series of brief reflections as we prepare to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus and look forward to God's return at some time.

Tonight the churches in the Belmont Council of churches came together for a service in Knock Methodist. Revd Robin Waugh gave two short reflections. He reminded the congregation that Christmas is all about communication - God communicating with us and Us communicating that message with the world.

One story which he told, and I had heard way back in the distance past but which was really good to be reminded of:

Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish theologian, tells the story of a prince who was running

an errand for his father one day in the local village. As he did so, he passed through a very

poor section of the town. Looking through the window of his carriage, he saw a beautiful

young peasant girl walking along the street. He could not get her off his heart.

He continued to come to the town, day after day, just to see her and to feel as though he was near her. His heart yearned for her, but there was a problem. How could he develop a relationship with her? He could order her to marry him. It was in his power to do so. But he wanted this girl to love him from the heart, willingly. He could put on his royal garments and impress her with his regal entourage, and drive up to her front door with soldiers and a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the girl loved him or was simply overwhelmed with his power, position and wealth. The prince came up with another solution.

As you may have guessed, he gave up his kingly robe and symbols of power and privilege.

He moved into the village dressed only as a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their

interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time, the young peasant girl grew to

know him, and then to love him.

As we look towards the incarnation this year this seems to be a good place to start.

Happy new year!

Now that we are in the season of advent, its a new liturgical year ... so happy new year.

This morning at St. Columba's we were looking at the importance of preparation. We do go to great lengths to prepare things

... Cleaning

... on holidays we prepare passports, guidebooks suncream

... in our cooking we prepare food by recipe books

... when cycling we make sure we have helmets and hi vis jackets

The question which I posed to myself and the congregation this morning is how are we going to use this season of advent to prepare ourselves for christmas.

beyond the tinsel and food how are we going to prepare for this season?

The Gospel reading reminded us that Jesus has said that he is returning ... are we preparing our hearts and minds for him?

We do all the prep for everything else ... how are we preparing for him?

Over the course of Advent I hope to be able to think about the readings of the day (beginning tomorrow) and put a few thoughts up here on my Blog as I get to grips with God's word in this season of preparation and waiting for Christmas.

Oh Mary, this London's a wonderful sight ...

Over the course of the past few day, this blogger has been off rambling around London seeing lots of sights.

After doing a bit of research I resided at a Christian conference centre in Highbury ... it is a great place, simple and straightforward. It is a 5/10 min walk from the Tube station, one stop from King cross which makes it a very simple process to get into the city centre.

Over the course of the last few days I have been chillin' out, catching up with wee sis, been in Oxford, Slough and Windsor as well as checking out the sights of London Town. Yesterday (sunday morning I went along to Mattins at Westminister abbey - a fantastic choir and a great sermon.

Later in the day made my way around to Holy Trinity Brompton (home of the Alpha Course) for one of their services, the place was packed and Nick Gumbel was preaching on the the gift of faith from Hebrews By faith Moses was able to do what he did.

Unfortately the camera was not packed so no photos this trip but now it is back to porridge ... or cornflakes to be more exact as I head back to Dublin, heading down to Braemor park for an overnight before heading to LAC in the morning.

PS. Just wondering if Ryanair will let this blogger onto the plane with an overweight bag and an umbrella... it would be nice but we'll see ;-)

W5 Kingdom of God/Heaven

Sermon preached at St. Columba's - 7pm Holy Communion Service - Sunday 15th November 2009. Service included the dedication of the Beatitudes Choir new Carol Books.

The First Reading - Daniel 3 or Daniel 3: 13-30

The Psalm - Psalm 95

The Gospel Reading - Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

Click here to view the readings

Heavenly father I pray that you would take my lips and speak through
them, take our mind and think through them, take our hearts and set
them on fire with love for you. Through Jesus name we pray Amen

<<>>

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which
someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he
has and buys that field.”


The kingdom of heaven is like … this is one of the features of
Matthews account of Jesus’ ministry is that he mentions the kingdom
many many times. Jesus is concerned with bringing in the kingdom reign
of God. Of course this was not the popular perception of how a kingdom
would be brought about.

Those living in the 1st Century knew about kings coming and going –
the Jewish people knew about being conquered. In our Old Testament
reading we see one of those conqueroring kings … Nebuchadnezzer who
threw people into a firey furnace. Was this the type of King Jesus
was? NO!

We know that the kingdom which Jesus came to inaugurate wasn’t a
political conqueroring kingdom to overthrow the roman overlords but
something else. Is it possible to define?

In the Lords prayer we pray … Thy kingdom come

Is that something which we want?, is it something we desire … do we
really know what we mean when we talk about God’s Kingdom.

Down at the Odyssey in Belfast there is an area … W5 which looks at
science and asks 5 Questions

Who, What, Where, When, Why

In a few moments I would like to cover the answers to those questions
about the Kingdom of God/heaven

Who is in the kingdom?
This is one which is easy and difficult at the same time! We are all
called and it is God’s will that each would inheritors of the kingdom.
We are not judge anyone but it up to individual to either accept the
citizenship offer or reject it.

What are the responsibilities of citizens of the Kingdom?

As a citizen of the UK we have certain responsibilities and privileges

Our responsibilities include
• Sticking to the laws of the land
• Paying our taxes

If we do those then we have the privileges of
• Security
• Social care
• NHS

Within the Kingdom of God we too have Responsibilities
We are to live our lives in accordance with the ethics of the Bible
We are to look out for the poor and the widow
We are to be attentive to what God is doing and do what he tells us to do

We then also have privileges
We are called sons and daughters, friends of God
We have the promise of eternal life

Where is the Kingdom?
With no earthly king, no boarder, no government – where is the kingdom
is an enourmously troubling question … it’s a problem! The Kingdom of
God at the moment is in the hearts and minds of those who are
citizens. Those who are living their lives for God.

The Christian knows that some day the full realization of the kingdom
will be found … that great and awesome day when Jesus will come back
in his full glory.

Which links to the fourth of our five questions

When will the kingdom be established?
At the moment we are living between the establishment and the full
realization of the kingdom… we are longing for the day when death,
illness and all the other consequences of sin are defeated, when Jesus
returns. At the moment the treasure is hidden but it will be found. It
will come.

We both as citizens work for the kingdom to be established but also
wait in expectation that Jesus will come.

There are many warnings in the Gospels that people will come along
claiming that the kingdom is come and that they are the messiah …
devastating consequences result. Wako and other such tragedies. What
we need to do is remember that none of us will know when the full
realization of the kingdom of God will come until it does.

That does not stop us from working as hard as we can for the kingdom,
God’s rule to be established in our families, in our friendship
groups, in our city, in our country.

Why should we be concerned about the kingdom of God?

To be honest, it boils down to priorities. The kingdom is the one
thing that will last. It is the one thing that we know spans from
birth through life and then beyond the grave. There is nothing more
important.

The Kingdom of God as we see from the parables this evening, is a
precious thing that one may simply happen upon accidently, or perhaps
one may undertake a search round lots of different things but it is
the most precious thing.

What we do need to realize is that this is an upside down kingdom, it
is one which provides hope in the midst of despair, it is one which
the first will become last and those who are at the bottom of the heap
will become first, those who recognize themselves as sinners will be
counted as righteous.

Some Questions ...
This is great news but the question raised by this passage is are we
prepared to surrender all that has gone before for the treasure?

Do we understand our role & responsibilities as citizens of the
Kingdom and how we can and should live for him?