Share: obedience and joy

Preached on: Sunday 3rd October 2021
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 21-10-03 Message PPT slides multi pages.
Bible references: Numbers 9:1-5,14 & Revelation 7:9-14
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Just let you know if you’re watching from home, we are having a few technical glitches so hopefully you’re still tuned in and joining with us.

Let’s come to God in prayer. Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, come among us and soften our hearts to the word of God.
Holy Spirit, draw near and lead us in the way of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, come with power and deep conviction, for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

So, over the last four or five weeks we’ve been in a teaching series that has sought to bring us back to our Purpose and Values and we’ve seen that our purpose is:
to invite encourage and enable people of all ages to follow Jesus
and to help us as a congregation figure out what does that mean, what does that look like, how is this fleshed out, we have four values and we’ve explored three of those values:
the family
the value of meeting, meeting with God in a personal and life-changing way, of being a family a community who journey together towards wholeness
and of growing in our faith growing both in faith and in character so that we mature as followers of Jesus
but along the way this isn’t about us, really, having a nice organizational purpose and and set of values, ultimately, I think what God’s been wanting to do is bring us back to His heart and to reveal His heart to us, rather than just have a nice purpose and some values that we go ‘Yep, that’s us, that’s what we’re about’. He’s wanting to know us, to know what stirs in His heart, what stirs in His heart for you and for this world, so that we might have a greater vision of what it means to be His people and of what He’s called us into and so we’ve seen that God’s heart is to have a people of His own and He will relate to them as Father, and He will take that people on a journey towards His peace, His shalom, His wholeness. Yet, we begin to taste it even now because our God is not just a figment of our imagination and He’s not just a guy from history and He’s not distant or far off. Our God is near’ He is near you right now, He’s near you every day of your life and He wants to meet with you every day, He wants to work through you that others might meet with Him as well and He made that possible, He made that direct dynamic possible with us because He gave His life, He gave the life of Jesus to reconcile us to Himself and so He’s begun to work on us a work that is received by faith and He will bring it to completion on that final day, and, in that in between time, He will mature us, He will mature us in faith and character, He will nurture us if we allow Him.

S as we were thinking about last week, a few weeks ago, to nurture that holy fearful love, that love that is tender and responsive just like His love is towards us, this has been the revelation of God’s heart to us, family, this has been His heart to us. So, to start and as a heart response of our own, I hope it’s not just in one ear and out the other, I hope you’ve allowed it to stir something in your heart because it’s all been building towards today and our final value which is that of Share, sharing our lives and The good news of God’s love in both word and deed. We’ve been building towards this and our passage today has much to share on this value.

But first, let me ask you a question. Who do you think are the two biggest political rivals in the UK today? I’ll give you 30 seconds if you feel able and you’re close enough to turn to your neighbor and share your idea with them. So, over to you who are the two biggest political rivals?

Five more seconds.

Okay. Well, I’m not going to get you to shout out your answers you’ll be glad to hear, maybe, but keep that in mind as we turn to Numbers and dig into our passage.

In our passage today we find the people of God at Mount Sinai still and they are about to move on from there, and it’s a year from the point where they left Egypt, and we find them a year after that point where God has rescued them. He has taken them out of captivity, out of slavery, He has liberated them and He made that possible by exerting His power. Exerting His power on behalf of an entire nation, a few million people who were held in slavery, held against their will, held for no other reason than it suited their captors, and so, God exerted His power, and time and time again He sought to persuade Pharaoh to let his people go but Pharaoh would not listen, Pharaoh would not heed the Lord and so, the Lord judged the nation but to save his people from experiencing that judgment themselves He instructed them to sacrifice a spotless lamb and use its blood to mark the lintel and the door frame and that would safeguard them from experiencing the same judgment, and ultimately it was that sacrifice that led them from that terrible oppression and into the good things that God wanted for His people.
So, there was that first Passover sacrifice.

And so now, in our passage today. we find them a year on and about to remember what led to their deliverance, what led to them being free from that tyranny at the hand of their oppressors. So can you imagine how powerful this would have been for the people, how meaningful, how important it would have been as they shared in the sacrifice but then also the meal and the feast that came with it. Can you imagine what that would have been like to recall that first taste of freedom, that first taste of freedom in 400 years as a people, as a family that their very children had experienced? Can you imagine that any event that’s going to mark that kind of occasion? It’s going to be meaningful; it’s going to be weighty with significance. This isn’t a moment you want spoiled, this isn’t a moment you want intruded upon, this isn’t a moment you want to share with people who don’t know your pain, very real pain. And yet, what does God say? ‘A foreigner residing among you is also to celebrate the Lord’s Passover.’

So, let’s come back to that question about political rivals. Can you imagine Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon – was that, was that who you went for? maybe you went for two different people – can you imagine Boris Johnson being welcomed into the SNP party? I can’t. Can you imagine Boris Johnson being invited to speak at the SNP political party conference? Can you imagine him being given the keynote closing speech of the conference rather than Nicola Sturgeon? Not a chance!

And yet, that’s about the closest I could get to picturing something that might be getting the heart of this. Here are people who are celebrating something so special to them that maybe the height of their year and God says they’ve not to turn inward, they are to keep space for the outsider to be among them and even share in this special moment, they’ve not to allow fear, they’ve not to allow heart to turn them inwards, and again we’re meant to see something here of the heart of God, the heart of God that is full of radical generosity and welcome for the outsider, such that, through His people, He wants to reach through His people to all people, and see them come to know Him as their God and Heavenly Father as well. He wants to see others come in faith to Him and you see the heart of God here friends. Can you see it? But it makes me wonder – how would an outsider get to that point of faith? how would such a person, who maybe doesn’t know anything of the Lord, reach that point where they are willing to identify with the Lord’s people, because remember, for the males, that included circumcision, so that’s a rather big step of faith. What leads to that point?

And the only explanation that I can come up with is that not only is there meant to be space within the heart of God for the outsider, not only is there space for the outsider within the heart of God, there is meant to be space within the life of God’s people as well. Think about it, the only way for the outsider to come to that point of faith of reaching out for the Lord is that they learn about the Lord through His people and the picture here is of one of where outsiders, people who don’t know the Lord, are looking in and they’re hearing of the Lord and they’re asking questions and they’re saying like ‘What’s your story? How did you Jews end up in the desert here or in this land or x, y and z? and they would maybe ask questions about their life choices, and they would maybe observe their celebrations, and, over time, they would be introduced to the Lord.

In this one verse God anticipates that others will be introduced to Him, to the God who loves with a holy love, and He anticipates them reaching that place where they put their faith in Him as well, but it first requires God’s people to make space for the outsider and in doing that they’re simply reflecting the heart of God, within which is space for others to come into His family.

So, I wonder, family, do we have space ourselves for the outsider? And what we do as church, is their space? Is your pew, your pew? Is your job in the church, your job? No one else’s? Is the group you go to just for you and your friends, or is there space for the outsider? What about in your diary? Do you have space for those outside or just for the people inside? Are you creating space to get to know people in local community, that you get to know their story, they get to know your story, and in that shared space maybe something happens, that you get to share a little of your faith a little of this God you follow?

Are you making space for others? and hopefully in the midst of that journey and making that space, hopefully, there will be a conversation about God.

So, as a second point, what would you share about why you bother with church and why you follow Jesus? What would you share?

And I asked this because, back in Israel’s day, in ancient Israel, if people were asking about the Lord they would be hearing about Yahweh, and in the Hebrew Yahweh and they would hear of a God who had rescued His people from slavery and brought them out and into a good place, He had good plans for them. A God who saves. A God who rescues. A God who made a difference.

And so, when you think about sharing your faith, what would you share? Are you sharing anything about or thinking about sharing anything of the difference Jesus has made to your life? Or is He simply some guy in an old book? Is he someone that you know and have found life through? Because, let’s remember, these words of the New Testament – we read ‘John saw Jesus coming towards him and said ‘Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ or in the words of Paul ‘for Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.’ The story of the Passover is meant to point us forward to this perfect lamb, the one who would come to bring forgiveness for any and all who put their faith in him. Jesus. He is that Passover lamb and so in Him, we find true life, in Him we find hope, in Him our lives are changed.

But, when someone asks you about your faith, what are you going to share? Is Jesus just a nice guy, is he a guy who teaches some nice morals? Or is he something more to you? Is he something more? Have you found life through Him? Have you found a cause of hope and celebration through Jesus? Because, friends, if you haven’t, if Jesus does not astound you, and make and fill you with wonder, do you really know Jesus? Do you really know Him as your Savior, as a Passover lamb? Do you really know him?

Because, when we get to know Him and when we get to know what He’s done for us, then that should make a difference in our life, and out of that should come a response. And the same was true of God’s people in Moses time. They knew what He had done, how He’d save them from that slavery, and so at this point in the story at least, they are appreciative of that and live in response to it, and so we read next that ‘Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses’ and so in response to what God has done, we see two responses, the response of obedience and of joy. They, as they say, they did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses, everything, they obeyed it to the letter, they didn’t add to it, they didn’t try and water it down, they just obeyed, but obeyed properly and fully.

And I wonder, friends, in our response to what Jesus has done for us, are we obeying? Are we responding? So, for example, our purpose part of it at least and today’s value is based upon these words of Jesus ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’ Go and make disciples, go share your faith, and it’s a command to every one of us, not just me, not just our elders, not just the Community Outreach Team or those that get involved with CAP in some shape or form. Every one of us is to make space to share our faith, to share something of Jesus, not maybe in the first conversation, but over time. So, are we obeying this command?

And at this point, I’d like to have a bit of confession. On Friday I disobeyed. On Friday I was down in East Ayrshire where Gill and I are buying house, kind of a bolt-hole, holiday home, and something for retirement, who knows what it will be, something for us to benefiting from, and our builder is Craig, great guy, really lovely guy, but the build is six months behind schedule and we’re semi okay with that, and we were saying to them we’d really like to be in for the end of September, the end of September’s come and gone and we’re still not in but hopefully a couple of weeks’ time, but I was down on Friday to let in the carpet fitters and Craig was there and I got talking to Craig and he was just saying how stressed he is, not because we’re necessarily putting a lot of pressure on him, he’s just stressed about the situation and it is affecting his health, and sure I listened, and hopefully I was a bit empathetic and gracious and all those nice things, but the thought came to mind ‘You know I could pray for Craig’ I could offer to pray for him and I must have had three or four opportunities over the course of that day and at the end of the day says ‘I’ve got to go and pick up my daughter, I’ll see you later’ and I missed the opportunity. I missed the opportunity to create space, to introduce Craig to a God who might have given him some strength or peace or greater. Who knows what or just to know that someone cared enough to take that step of faith, or there’s a God out there who is not confined to the walls of a church building, but is there in the everyday of life. I feel like I’ve really let Jesus down. I feel like I haven’t obeyed. I feel like I’ve let Craig down. I’ve not loved my neighbor as I love myself, because I love myself more and allowing my comfort and my fear to control my actions, and I feel a wee bit grieved because I used to be that guy. I used to be that guy who would more proactively say to people ‘Can I pray with you just now’ And I’ve lost that to some degree. Somehow, along the way, and I don’t like being that guy now that I am. I want to be that guy who had the confidence to say ‘Can I pray with you’ and I’m gonna get it back. If you know anything of me, I quite often say to some of the guys ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’ and I’ve got the will, so there’s a way, and so here’s me exerting my will, because we have a choice in this, friends, we have a choice to mature in faith or not.

So, here’s me making my choice. If I’m standing at that front door and you’ve got something you want prayer for, I’ll pray for you on the doorstep, if you’re willing. If you’re not willing, hang about here at the end of church and when I come back in, you might need to wait 10 minutes, I’ll pray for you. I am not going to settle. I am, I want to be a follower of Jesus who obeys the words of Jesus and gets over his embarrassment and awkwardness so that, the next time I see a Craig I don’t bottle it, because I can’t call you into this if I’m not doing it. So, I need your help church, I need your help to grow in faith again. So, there’s the invitation, not a challenge for you, a challenge for me. Today if I’m at the door or if you see me around church, I will offer to pray for you and if I don’t you’ve got permission to pull me up in it. Okay, okay? Because sometimes, in the life of faith, we just have to do things and get over the hump and the first couple of times are really awkward but you know eventually we just get used to it and that’s how we do it and that’s the way that culture changes because I’ve got used, I get used to it again. The Church of Scotland culture of faith is private and unless I’m doing a pastoral visit, I maybe don’t offer as much to pray and I want that to change for me. So, will you help me? But you know with obedience can come joy, and when we obey, joy can come and the people they were told to celebrate the Passover, it wasn’t a choice, it was a command, but I don’t think God was imagining someone doing just a religious textbook ‘Oh, there’s the Passover done and dusted and it was a dreary affair’ this was a feast, this was a celebration. God could have said mark the Passover do the Passover, have the Passover but He chose the word celebrate, celebrate. It’s meant to be joyful. From obedience comes joy and there’s a joy to be known as we share our faith and seeing people come to share in that great multitude and imagine if I had said to Craig ‘Could I pray with you’ and he had said ‘Sure, that’s fine’ I would have been bouncing in here today and telling you a completely different story, but maybe he would have known joy as well because the joy is not just for us, the joy is for others in our community, and so if we want to see people in our community come to that place of joy for themselves, of knowing the Lord for themselves, of following Jesus and being part of that great multitude of people, friends, we can’t just keep zipped, we really do need to find a way of sharing our lives making space, and then when the opportunities arise taking them to share our faith.

And, if we will obey, joy will come, joy will come. A joy for you, and a joy for me, and a joy for the people of this community, as they come to know the lamb who was slain for them, who loved them that much, he died for them. I pray it may be so. Amen.

Sharing + Risky Faith

Preached on: Sunday 11th July 2021
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 21-07-11 Message PPT slides multi pages.
Bible references: Mark 6:30-44
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Let us take a moment to pray before we think about God’s word.

Come Holy Spirit, open our hearts to the word of God.
Come Holy Spirit, help us to follow Jesus.
Come Holy Spirit with power and deep conviction, for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen

What are you watching on tv just now or maybe on a streaming service like Netflix or Now TV what things are you watching if I was with you I’d get you to actually shout out some of your top programs in the sanctuary so since we can’t do that feel free to add your ideas on the live chat whether at home or in the sanctuary recently I got pointed towards our relatively new tv series about the life of Jesus it’s been viewed over 214 million times and counting and has crowdsourced something like 22 million dollars with a total angle of 100 million dollars so that there can be seven series on the life of Jesus the project is called the chosen and you might be wondering why anyone would want to have a tv series about Jesus or you might be wondering about why anyone would spend so much money on it to give you some context the church of Scotland spent something like 30 million dollars on minister stipends last year but even that might raise some questions for some of us why do people do this why are billions of pounds and dollars spent every year all around the world on projects and people relating to Jesus why do some people see this person as important we might ask what is so special about this man

it’s these kind of questions that are at the heart of the four accounts of Jesus life and it’s at the heart of our passage today who is Jesus what is so special about him why is he important and why would that ever affect my life and yours there are two things that mark wants us to see in the story today too clues to the importance and identity of Jesus firstly mark thinks that Jesus is important because Jesus is seen as greater than who came before in the old testament our passage today is another story of power as part of our series on stories of power and parable but you know what the old testament had incredible stories of power as well the power of God intervening in this world and a good number of them were in the life of Moses one of the founding fathers of the Jewish faith we might see Moses was a revered figure in Jesus day and still is in ours for it is thought that Moses authored the first five books of the old testament which is called the Pentateuch indeed it was said of Moses in the scriptures no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses whom the lord knew face to face for no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel

in fact it was with Moses that something very similar to our passage occurred in the book of numbers we read that God’s people began to crave food as they journeyed in the wilderness and so they grumbled to Moses about the issue and he in turn goes to the lord who says that he will provide for the people but this seems too much for Moses and he replies here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot and you say I will give them meat to eat for a whole month would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them sounds a little bit like the disciples doesn’t it and in Jesus day the people were in the wilderness as well nevertheless God did provide in the time of Moses providing quail to eat on top of the manna he had already given each day mark wants us to see that Jesus echoes Moses and power and miracles through Moses came manna and quail through Jesus came bread and fish but with Moses there was limitation because the manna and quail were given daily and could not be kept to the next day yet not so with Jesus because his disciples pick up 12 basketfuls of broken bread and fish to take on their journey there’s also another even bigger difference between Moses and Jesus in Moses day the lord sent the quail and the manna the lord brought it to the people Moses is barely involved but with Jesus he takes the bread he takes the fish and gives it to be distributed it is from his hands that food is given to the people in the wilderness of that day Jesus might echo Moses but Jesus is greater says more Jesus is greater in power and status because here we see God providing yet not in an unseen way here we see God and human form displaying his power

i wonder friends who is Jesus to you is he merely a man or a good teacher is he simply a figure from ancient times and someone for the kids at Christmas if that’s your picture of Jesus you will think that money spent on projects and people in the name of Jesus is probably either a waste or simply crazy but mark wants us to see that in Jesus God came near God did the miraculous again and Jesus deity is met and Jesus we see God in human form that was a struggle for jews of the time to accept and still is it’s also a struggle for folks of other faiths before because for God to become human is an unthinkable condescension yet it’s the claim of Christianity it is what sets Christianity apart from all faiths it is what makes Jesus unique if this is who Jesus is if this is why people see him as important then friends is he enough for you or does it have to be Jesus plus something you know many people and many groups over the years and still even today even in our own community say or suggest that it must be Jesus plus something it might be in terms of salvation that for you to be saved it must be Jesus plus a particular behavior it must be Jesus plus a certain right or a certain action or a certain secret knowledge when it comes to worship or being part of our faith community or taking part in mission we often show by our actions that we believe it must be Jesus plus something I’m not going to church unless it’s the style or preacher I want I’m not going to give to church unless I have the things I want in my life first I’m not going to get involved with that group of people at church unless they show me that I’m important to them I’m not going to get involved in sharing my faith if I don’t feel comfortable doing that

whether you are searching for God and wouldn’t call yourself a Christian yet is Jesus enough is he enough to start following or maybe you are a Christian as Jesus important enough is he enough for you to worship and serve and make known do we see the importance of Jesus and what mark shares

but maybe you need more convincing so let’s see another echo and something else of the character of Jesus we read when Jesus landed and saw a great crowd he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd so he began teaching them many things

not only are we meant to see in the feeding of the 5000 that Jesus is greater than Moses because he’s God in the flesh it’s also through this verse that we’re to see Jesus is God as well before Moses died the lord said that Moses would not enter into the promised land and so Moses cried out to the lord may the lord the God who gives breath to all living things appoint someone over this community so that the lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd Moses knew that God’s people all people even need a leader need a king a shepherd and if Moses can’t be with them then he wants the lord to provide one over the years of israel’s history many rose up to positions of leadership but most were poor substitutes including in Jesus day just before this passage we can read of herod taking the life of john the baptist while at a party and we’re meant to see the contrast between our brutal converting selfish leader and that of Jesus the Jesus who was so moved by compassion that he had to do something for these people he had to be the shepherd they needed

because Jesus did this he echoes a very similar a very familiar psalm psalm 23 where we read the lord is my shepherd I lack nothing he makes me lie down in green pastures he leads me beside quiet waters he refreshes my soul he guides me along the right path for his name’s sake let’s note the similarities again in Jesus day he told the people to sit down in groups on the green grass verse 38. we often don’t picture the scenes of the new testament as green places yet with the coming of the spring rain the grass did flourish and so Jesus the shepherd has the people rest on the green grass just as the lord the divine shepherd does in the psalm likewise the shepherd provides for his flock that is one of the principal duties of a shepherd to meet their needs and so as we’ve seen Jesus provides the miracle of the bread and fish to feed the people but the psalmist speaks of the lord as a shepherd who leads along the right paths who guides in righteousness who shows the way to go the way to live what did we see Jesus doing he began teaching them many things before he even provides the food he begins with teaching and so Jesus echoes the divine shepherd again and echoes Moses here as well because Moses was seen as a great teacher yet even here Jesus is greater because Jesus wasn’t receiving revelation from God like Moses did rather Jesus taught as one who had authority mark chapter 1. friends Jesus is important because he is God in the flesh his is the power to do the miraculous his is the authority to teach and give revelation of the kingdom of God yet we also see that he is a humble compassionate God the divine shepherd who goes after the lost sheep who gives his life for the sheep who honors his servants friends what is your picture of God what is your picture of Jesus do you see him as grudging strict easily art slow to care in our passage it’s the disciples who come across that way yet Jesus who’s tired from ministry is moved with compassion in the depths of his being he is stirred with love to do something is that your picture of Jesus because your picture of Jesus will affect your attitudes to worship and church as well as how you treat others and how you reconcile Jesus’s God in the midst of a broken world with Jesus as shepherd we see God does care we see he is the one we are to follow he is the one we are to submit to with Jesus a shepherd we can treat one another with humility with gentleness we can give the benefit of the day because he’s God not us he’s full of compassion and so we can be full of compassion friends what is your picture of Jesus and why is he important to you will you allow his word today to maybe even reshape your picture and allow the importance of Jesus to increase in your life

in our story today Jesus is center stage but the disciples are also there and from their part in the story one final point arises the reply of Jesus to the disciples is really startling in verse he answered you give them something to eat five thousand men plus women and children which probably means there’s ten to fifteen thousand people and after a brief search all they find is five loaves and two fish when in reality what they maybe need is the equivalent of 10 000 pounds how do you quickly raise that and go buy stuff for 10 or 15 000 people yet that’s when Jesus steps in

and he but he does so only as the disciples share what they have and only as the disciples respond in faith if the disciples had turned around and said lord why are we putting these people into groups there’s only five loaves and two fish why bother what then might have happened might the miracle have been lost it was only when the disciples both shared what they had and exercised risky faith to follow Jesus that then divine provision was made and God still calls his people even this day to this we are called to share what we have and exercise a risky faith history is full of examples where followers of Jesus have responded in this way we might look at the example of william wilberforce who together with many others sought and achieved the abolishment of slavery within the british empire they shared what they had they exercised a risky faith and something amazing happened

i shared earlier about the tv program the chosen the story of the feeding of the 5000 is key to how that project came about it’s too long a story to share just now but the project got started in the midst of failure and brokenness a wilderness we might see and the director shares how the lord put upon his heart two things firstly it’s not your job to feed the five thousand only to provide the loaves and fishes and then secondly he felt God saying I do impossible math brothers and sisters when you see Jesus as God in the flesh such that he is important to you and that Jesus is also the divine shepherd whose compassion is so very deep for you and for this world well then the question is how will you live in light of this will you give yourself to his way and to adventures of risky faith because it’s just your job to provide the loaves and fish and it’s his job to do impossible math where is God calling you to risky faith is Jesus important enough and powerful enough and compassionate enough that you are willing to risk it and follow him I pray it might be so

amen

The grace of sharing

Preached on: Sunday 6th June 2021
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. There are no PowerPoint slides this week.
Bible references: Acts 4:32-37 and John 15:9-17
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Friends, sorry I can’t be with you in person today – the side effects of the Covid jab got a little bit of the best of me but I had already prepared my sermon and felt it would be a little bit unfair just to throw Ian completely in at the deep end so I’ve done this recording and as we turn to God’s word now let us pray.

Come Holy Spirit, come with revelation and wisdom from our Father.
Come Holy Spirit, soften our hearts to the word of God.
Come amongst us Holy Spirit with power and deep conviction, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

We’re now halfway through our sermon series on Grace, seeking to understand more of this incredible word.

Previously we saw that grace can refer either to the spiritual gifts that God gives us by his Spirit living within us, or to God’s power to sustain us particularly in hard times, and we thought how the grace of Christ is sufficient.

Today we come across a different working or a different impact upon the church. When we read about God’s grace in our passage from Acts, we read “all the believers were one in heart and mind, no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own but they shared everything they had. With great power the Apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there was no needy person among them.” These are the principal verses we’ll focus on today and we won’t simply focus on the last bit which mentions grace, as the context is important as well, to give some structure to our thinking. We’re going to work in reverse order within these verses starting with the mention of God’s grace.

We see here that God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all, that there was no needy person among them. In the NIV translation this is put as a separate sentence whilst in some other translations they link it to the previous sentence. Seeing the link between grace and power once more as we did, wherein the Apostles testified with great power, we’re told however, all translations are united, and saying that God’s grace was upon them all, and in the surrounding verses it is the collective attitude of believers that is highlighted, not simply the Apostles. So, it makes sense I think, for this to be a separate sentence so as to highlight the fact that it was God’s grace upon them all which brought such radical sharing. This wasn’t normal behavior, it wasn’t something they worked up amongst themselves, rather God’s grace nurtured a different perspective and a sacrificial way of life. We read in the surrounding verses what helped to ensure that there was no needy people, no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had, From time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the Apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. When we read these verses, I wonder if you thought the early church practiced the form of communism, but in fact they didn’t because we see here that the sharing was voluntary, it didn’t involve all personal property only as much as was needed, and thirdly, this sharing was not a requirement to be a member or part of the church.

Nevertheless God’s grace brought about our perspective and way of life, where there was continuous sharing and also extraordinary acts of sharing. These believers did have personal possessions but they did not consider them to be private possessions held exclusively for their own use and enjoyment, rather they understood what they had as belonging to God primarily and that we are but stewards of these resources. Out of this perspective, as God’s grace worked upon them, we see here a group of generous people who are sensitive to the needs of others such that no one went to bed hungry because they could prevent it, no one slept on the street because they could give a bed, no one went without clothes because the members took care of one another, and the wealthy even sold property in order to ensure this reality. The wealthy who sold this property would be what we call today landlords so it wasn’t that everybody made that particular choice yet everyone did have a right perspective about their possessions and gave what they could to support others.

One of our church values is Sharing, it says “Sharing our lives and the good news of God’s love in word and deed”. Our elders chose this because we see it as a biblical value which we are to aspire to grow in, and we see it in part within our DNA already. Yet, there’s always room to grow and I’m not sure we can say that we evidence the generosity of the early church quite yet.

So, how do we grow in this? Well to know what needs there are and to be able to feel able to share those needs we need a depth of relationship of community. We know from Acts chapter 2 that the early church spent time sharing together in meals within one another’s homes. Now, clearly, that’s been difficult to do this past year but I wonder over the summer might we do something with one another because, here’s the thing, do we care about one another, do we care enough to invest in one another, will we be intentional and will we be sacrificial? Because the outworking of God’s grace upon the early church was seen in these ways and if this is to be seen in our lives then maybe we need more of God’s grace upon us, to change our heart,s to change our minds, and help us to obey Jesus. After all, Jesus said “My command is this – love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

How are you going to lay down your life? Because following Jesus should be more than simply turning up to church for an hour, or switching on Youtube at home as Francis Chan says in the book we’re reading this summer. in many churches you have about as much of a connection to the people who are supposedly your spiritual family as you would to someone who visited the same movie theatre as you.

So, how are you going to lay down your life? How are you going to connect with your church family? How will God’s grace be seen in you?

Now, it’s interesting that our value of Sharing said “sharing our lives and the good news of God’s love in word and deed” Notice, we captured both our lives and the good news and this will be shared in both word and deed. We’ve just thought about sharing our lives and the time we give and the needs we meet as we learn of them, but it’s striking that in the midst of a short passage about meeting material needs, that we also read this “with great power the Apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” It kind of seems out of place at first, doesn’t it, kind of wedged in there, yet, as our value says sharing should also include the sharing of the good news of Jesus and our words and this is important because with such a strong emphasis on being a community who share our lives with one another, on being a family together, then a potential danger arises that all our attention is given to this alone, possibly to the detriment of other things.

So, let’s learn from the example of the early church. A shared community life is not the goal, it is not an end in itself, because when this becomes the goal of a church, sadly, church becomes maintenance focused, it turns following Jesus into a cozy holy-huddle which is all about us, and very inward looking as such. Alongside sharing our lives, there still needs to be sharing the good news and deep conviction of its importance, because the perspective which can say what is mine is actually God’s, and so I’ll be open-handed with it to help others. That kind of perspective is nurtured and sustained by a deep conviction that there was a man called Jesus, he really did die for us, he really did die for us, rise from the dead and he will return one day. Such a perspective enables a person to know that this life is not all there is, and the values of our world are not the most important values. Without a deep conviction about Jesus we won’t be willing to financially give in a sacrificial way, and we won’t invest time in one another, and we won’t even bother to speak about our faith.

So, for example, and this is not to boast, but from the day we were married 16 years ago Gill and I have given away about a tenth of our income each year to our local church, or what some Christians call a tithe. We give up some sunny holidays, we give up various other things and we choose to have less, all because we really do believe in Jesus. Likewise we have consistently invested time in our church family wherever we’ve been, and before I was a minister, and we’ve done this because we really do believe in Jesus and that this church is his family, and so, is our family as well.A belief in Jesus and that He truly is alive even today is what helps to rightly shape our individual and corporate lives not only with a care for one another but with an outward concern as well, and I don’t simply mean that we should be evangelistic, though that would be lovely, instead, what I mean is, do we have a right balance between an inward and an outward focus? Do we have a right balance between an inward and an outward focus? And this affects everything in church life. The just retired moderator of the Church of Scotland, Martin Fair, wrote an article in the March edition of Life and Work, our denominations magazine – Martin said near the end “Let it be asked of every worship service – Is it being designed with young people in mind? Let it be asked of every group and organization – Is it being run with the express intention and hope of engaging new people? Let it be asked – Of every pound spent, is this expenditure intended to keep the show on the road or to bring good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, sight to the blind?”

Now, maybe you would take issue with that last quote, particularly around worship, but we need to face facts, as Martin also said in his article, we have been declining numerically for 60 years and the decline in numbers of young people has been nothing short of catastrophic. So, let’s remember that context nevertheless, in every area of church life what is the balance between an inward and an outward focus? Are we willing to right that balance even if it is costly and sacrificial to do? So, because that sounds like a choice which also needs God’s grace.

Our final point today draws from the first verse of our passage which said “all the believers were one in heart and mind.” This unity was of heart and mind, the heart that core place where we are driven to make our choices by both emotion and values, and the mind, the place of reasoning and identity in both spheres. There was unity, and not a superficial unity, but a real unity, a unity displayed in their way of life. What helped them reach that place of unity? What helped them to be willing to sacrifice for the other?

Well, a couple of things, firstly, in just the previous verse we can read after they prayed they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God boldly. There’s that deep conviction again, that deep conviction about Jesus, and it came after they prayed and they were filled with the Spirit. Friends, are we gathering for prayer? Do you make time to come on a Thursday evening, to our time of prayer or to pray in your Fellowship Group? As we pray together, we are brought closer together, and do we pray to be filled afresh with the Spirit? After all, Paul exhorts us to do that as well, but this unity was encouraged and sought in all of the early churches such that Paul, writing to the Philippians said “Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, of any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

We see again many of the same elements as we’ve already spoken about this morning, but the unity of heart and mind is tied here to our unity to Jesus, and are following after his example as Paul will go on to say in that chapter. As such, what brought unity to the early church, was not warm fuzzy feelings, indeed the church was made up of groups that had previously been at odds with one another, instead, what brought unity was a new identity, a new identity founded in Jesus, and a deep sense of call to His mission. It was through this identity and through that mission they were able to focus on something greater than themselves.

I wonder, brothers and sisters, what shapes our identity first and foremost? What shapes our priorities? Is it Jesus and His kingdom?

If we are to have such unity, if we are to embody the value of sharing, then we must pursue Jesus and His kingdom first. Towards that end I do pray that God’s grace will be poured out in greater measure upon us all and so may it be so, Amen.

Pick up the keys of grace!

Preached on: Sunday 23rd May 2021
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 21-05-23 Message PPT slides multi pages.
Bible references: Romans 8:1-8
Location: Brightons Parish Church

And Amen! Thank you sister, thank you.Growing up in Whitburn uh yet going to high school in Bathgate which is about five miles away as a young 17 year old I had a lot of motivation to learn to drive I duly took my lessons and then sat my test and somehow managed to pass with no minors which would never happen nowadays and it was great to pass but there was no way I was content with that, I had to get driving, I had to have my own car, and so, I used my savings, I used my wages, I even think I got a loan from my parents, so that I could buy my first car a red Fiat Cinquicento. It was the smallest box on wheels, a bit of a death trap probably, but I valued getting the keys and putting what I learned into practice so that I could have my freedom and a real sense of adventure even, and Paul’s letters kind of have some of this expectation in them as well, including the letter to the Romans.

Paul has spent 11 chapters explaining the Good News saying why it was necessary for Jesus to come and declaring what Jesus had achieved, and then its impact upon individuals who respond in faith, and our previous series in Joshua kind of ended on a bit of a similar note, of focusing on the great sacrifice and work of Jesus who died for broken, rebellious, humanity are people who keep breaking trust with their Maker and yet, in that series, we time and time again came back to the Cross remembering what we have through Jesus, that we are justified before our Heavenly Father and so, we are now part of His family.

We have received mercy, upon mercy, and He has come to be with us, not only as a body of believers, but within us, residing within us, by His Holy Spirit, confirming our redemption as heirs of the Kingdom of God. Yet, for Paul, it’s not enough just to end there at chapter 11. There’s more, there’s drive, there’s expectation of what this should mean in the Christian’s life and so he goes on for four more chapters.

Because there should be a response there should be something coming off this, a taking up of keys we might say, and so Paul says “Therefore I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship.” Here’s the expectation of Paul, it’s not enough just to impart or rehearse knowledge of God, but that this reconciled relationship with the Lord should lead to something in a person’s life. Paul says we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, we’re to yield, we’re to give over our lives to God, and underpinning this is Paul’s understanding of a person, because in his Hebrew understanding, talking of the body would speak of a whole person, all of life, and so we’re to give all our lives in worship to God, a yielding, a giving over as a living sacrifice. It’s to be in the day-to-day, moment by moment, parts of lives, and, if we do this, he says, it is pleasing to God, but it is also holy and that is given over to His purposes, it is dedicated to Him it says, also it is worship. Worship is more than just turning up to church, it’s more than singing songs, it is the giving of our lives and if we will do this he says it is true worship, true worship that is more than ceremony or obligation, it is more than just an abstract thinking process in our heads, or even a purely inward spirituality, true faith, true worship is seen in how you live your life – picking up the keys, picking up the keys God has given you and entering into all of that, and to do anything else, his final word I want to draw is proper, because to do anything else would be unthinkable, improper. The only appropriate response to the mercy, upon mercy we have received, is to give our lives in worship, to give our lives in worship.

So, can I ask friends, do you have faith, do you have faith, is that faith in Jesus and if it is, if you have that, are you offering yourself in worship, are you offering your life to God throughout the week, throughout the week. But how do we do this? what does that look like?

Even well Paul will spend the rest of his letters detailing this, but in the verses we’ve got remaining for us, three brief things to highlight for us:

He says, firstly do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. His good pleasing and perfect will. Paul is saying don’t be pressed into the mould of this world, with its values and priorities, don’t let it continue to stamp its mark on you, or as one commentator put it, ‘do not follow the fleeting fashion of this world but undergo a complete change’. Fashions come and go, one minute it’s flares, then it’s a straight before you know it we’re back to flares. Aren’t we yet, instead of swaying back and forth with the fashions of the this world, or allowing it to force us into its shape, we’re to follow the example of Jesus way. For he said ‘I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.” To do the Father’s will was the core of Jesus life. When we learn the will of God and allow it to shape our lives, Paul says, by having our minds renewed, we learn to think God’s thoughts, after Him, His values, His ways.

Now, of course, it’s a process and it takes time, and yet it’s made possible through His word and by His Spirit. Paul says elsewhere ‘all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training.’ and elsewhere he also says ‘live by the Spirit and then you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.’

So, I wonder, friends, are we in our Bibles, are we reading His word, making space for it and it’s not even enough just to be doing that, I would say, I think in that space and time you’ll grow all the more if you will engage in relationship with Him as you read His word, if you say ‘Lord, what does this look like in my life? How have I to change?’ Talk to Him, pray over it, tell Him your honest struggles, and your hopes and dreams, cry out to Him for help and as we do these things, we create space for the Spirit to draw alongside us and shape and change us.

Now, as we do this, and our thinking and our character changes, such that we increasingly are worshiping God by living according to His will.

Paul adds our third thing, that we’re to be humbly involved in the church. He says ‘Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you in Christ. We though many, form one body and each member belongs to all the others.’ Paul’s saying, remember your faith journey. That’s what he means of ‘the faith God has distributed’, remember the faith journey. We’re all incomplete, we we’re all imperfect, we’ve broken trust with God, and yet He has lavished His love upon us by reconciling us to Himself through Jesus and so, there’s no place for boasting, there’s no place for it, there should only be humility, there should be something of Jesus seen in us, Jesus who made Himself nothing and took the very nature of a servant and so, likewise, we are called to emulate Jesus in that way, and be part an active part of our local church, That’s where we belong, here with one another, warts and all, so what about us, what about us brothers and sisters, do we look down on anyone, do we do we say to someone ‘Well this is my church more than it’s your church.’

And as things begin to open up and restrictions ease, alongside planning your Summer holidays what else are you planning? Are you planning to give any time to your church family? Are you planning to reconnect and encourage?

Because it is our Father’s will that we humbly recognize that we belong to one another.

He died to make it so and as part of that belonging finally Paul says, we have a part to play and this is where we read of God’s grace today. We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. You can see I’ve added in the Greek for the two words of gift and grace and you can see how closely tied they are that gift actually comes from the word grace in the Greek and Peter says something very similar he says each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Before the service ends today we are ordaining four new elders for the form of grace, God’s grace, upon their lives is of leadership and shepherding God’s people.

Today is also Pentecost Sunday, if you weren’t aware, that day when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the church as a gift as God’s grace and our lives, to enable us to be part of all He would purpose, Because to each of us who claims faith in Jesus the Spirit is given to reside in us, to reside in us and He gives spiritual gifts, God-given enablement, grace in action, we might say, to serve His purposes and His people.

Now the gifts listed here are not all of the gifts. We know from other letters there are more besides, but as I was working through the New Testament Reading Plan and preparing for this series I was mindful of seeing these gifts just pop up time and time again. Recently, in the Book of Acts, sure we see the apostles but we see prophets as well, we see teachers, but we also see people serving, we see people being encouraged and giving encouragement but also sacrificially giving to generously support one another, and we see mercy in the darkest and hardest of times. It’s all there, every one of the gifts and they’re all still for today including the supernatural gifts because there’s nothing in scripture to say they’ve done away with.

Now, does your natural gifting help you understand what your spiritual gifts are? – not necessarily. Is your spiritual gift connected or unconnected rather to your natural gifts? – not always. So how do you know how can we figure out what our spiritual gifts are?

I’m not sure there’s a quick or easy fix to that so you’re not probably going to walk away with an answer by the end of today, but there’s a few things to say.

Firstly you’ll never figure it out if you don’t get involved often you need to step out in faith first, and give something a shot, maybe even something you think ‘I could never do that!’ I didn’t just jump into a pulpit one day, it was a journey, it was a journey.

Secondly, we discerned together as a church family and that’s what we did with our new elders today, your names came forward because the elders, the existing elders said ‘Yeah, we see something in them.’ and then that was processed with you through a conversation and prayer and giving time, and then they were presented to the wider church family saying ‘Are we off the mark here?’ nothing came back, just to let you know you’re all good, because over the years we’ve seen something in you that suggests to us God has gifted you for this call.

But we’re all called, we’re all gifted, so I wonder, brothers and sisters, how are you serving? where are you offering your gifts? We’re all called to play our part in the purposes of God. He calls us to take out what’s been given. He’s given us the keys so that we might experience an adventure with Him, not just a religion of morals and nice stories and turning up to oddly shaped building once a week. We have more than that because friends, we are reconciled to the living God and so will we offer our lives in worship to Him and will that offering be done with humility sure, but will it be done with enthusiasm as well? Church with enthusiasm, because He’s called us to be part of His family and to every one of us He has gifted us by the Spirit.

I hope and pray that we will, and so, in a few moments, we’re going to ordain our new elders and then together, both here in the sanctuary and at home, we’re going to share in a renewal of commitment as a church family but first we have our hymn of preparation.

Advent: welcome and sent pt.2 (Tuesday evening)

Preached on: Tuesday 1st December 2020
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. There is no PowerPoint PDF associated with this sermon.
Bible references: Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Luke 10:1-3, 8-9; Acts 11:19-21; John 3:5-6; Luke 15:20-24
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Good evening everybody welcome to Tuesday Evening Sermon where we dig a bit more into God’s word. Thank-you for putting in the time to be here and to grow in your relationship with God. Sometimes Tuesday Sermon is about recapping a previous series but tonight is a bit of a touching point on some extra reflections on Sunday’s sermon and a bit of a transition I guess to aid that transition from our last series into our Advent series and into the new year potentially.Today we’re also going to look at a number of different passages in the scriptures and we’re going to look at shorter portions than we did with our sermon last month but still a number of portions we were going to jump about and draw out different things from different parts of the scriptures. So get ready with your Bible and whether it be a Bible App or a hard copy, get ready with your Bible so you can follow me through with us because there won’t be any slides on screen.

But before we do that let us take a moment to pray so let us pray:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our strength and our Redeemer, Amen

So in our last series we had seven weeks on the theme of justice and we saw how core justice is to the heart of God, that he is a God who loves justice and so His people need to be your people who seek justice and hopefully that series began to sow some thoughts and ideas or maybe brought affirmation. If you’re someone who seeks justice maybe in your everyday work or in your volunteering and maybe up till now you’ve not really heard the Church speak much about justice and so hopefully that series was of some help and I’m grateful for the folks that introduced elements within Community Corner just to get trying to help make it practical as well. I’m sure that we’ll need to return to the theme of justice again in future years and to help us grow in this because I’m not sure it’s something that we often think about and we need to grow and mature in that way but as we saw on Sunday we’re not only called to justice we’re called to another important role. So let me recap a few verses for us this is from Matthew chapter 28 at verse 18 – Matthew 28

Then Jesus came to them and said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Soly spirit and teaching them to be everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”

Likewise we could jump into the book of Acts chapter 1 at verse 8; Jesus has risen from the dead and he has been meeting with the disciples teaching them further about the kingdom of God and he says to them: Acts 1 verse 8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

So “Yes” we are called to justice, to seek it, to make it a priority, but we are also called to go and share our faith and to help others grow and become Christians themselves. And so, part of our purpose here at Brightons is to invite people to follow Jesus and I’m so encouraged that the Kirk Session agreed with the Strategy Group that this should be part of our purpose, to invite people to follow Jesus and so it’s got to be a core part of our Church life and more than just words on a nice document or a website because Jesus calls us to go and make disciples; He calls us to be His witnesses, His ambassadors to the nations and to our neighbors, and often, sadly, in the Church, it seems to have been one or the other between justice and what we call evangelism, that we are either a Church that pursues justice and ignores evangelism or a Church that does evangelism but we ignore justice. And from since the beginning of the Church, since the beginning of God’s people thousands of years ago, beginning with Israel, there has been that duel call of justice but also to be a light to the nations and so seek to share the faith with others. Because if you don’t have evangelism you miss out on a lot of important things being realized and we’ll touch on a few of those just now. But if you don’t have justice your message just doesn’t help particularly in today’s society and world that if you don’t show that compassion, if you don’t show that concern, then it just feels like empty religion and it’s not just today that that’s been a case. One of the huge times of growth within the Church was about 300 day or so when there was a huge plague in the Roman Empire and it was the Christians who put their lives at risk and showed compassion to neighbors when the rich Romans fled to keep themselves safe, but because the Christians showed that care and concern then the people began to become much more receptive to the Christian message and people came to faith and the Church grew

And I see that in other organizations as well. CAP (Christians Against Poverty) pursues justice, seeks to help people in the midst of brokenness but it’s very clear also about giving the opportunity to hear more about the Christian faith about what fuels us. Now they don’t force it down anyone’s throat. I believe it is very gently done having known workers in that field of work, but they hold them both together, they seek to hold them in tension and one they help people get out of debt but two they often help people to meet with Jesus and both elements transform their lives in the more complete way that God hopes for us when we experience his shalom. It’s the physical and the spiritual. Or one of my other favorite organizations is One Life and One Life it seeks to earn the right to speak into the lives of young people and I think that is key in our generation we have to earn the right now we’re not in Christendom any longer we don’t have an automatic right to go into schools or to share with people we have to earn the right and so it’s keeping that tension between justice and evangelism. But both are part of the mission of God.

But if we don’t heed the great commission, if we don’t seek to share our faith, then we face some serious issues and problems and we miss out on a lot as well and I want to briefly talk about three things that we miss out on and that are so crucial for us to bear in mind.

Firstly, as I was speaking about on Sunday, part of sharing our faith is partly as part of growing in our maturity as children of God, as followers of Jesus, and we sought to give that idea about sharing the Christmas card this advent season with a neighbor or a friend and inviting them to watch a service. And so sharing our faith is so key in helping us grow. Let me take you to Luke chapter 10; Luke chapter 10 and we’ll read a couple of verses here 1 to 3 and then 8 to 10; Luke 10 at verse 1 – “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into his harvest field. Go, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. When you enter a town (this is verse 8) and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you, heal those who are ill and tell them the kingdom of God has come near to you.”

Here we’re seeing part of the training model of Jesus, how he discipled his disciples verse 1 says “the Lord appointed seventy-two others” others to the 12 disciples and sent them out two by two. So we can see here that the going out to share the gospel, to share the good news, to evangelize wasn’t just for the apostles, it wasn’t just for the big-yins, those that are super confident and got a really important role. Every disciple of Jesus was called to this. He began with the 12 and then moved on to the 72. And we see it just replicated time and time again in the life of the Church and we’ll speak more about that in a moment. Jesus says the harvest is pointing about the workers are few and so he calls more he grows this movement which will one day be the Church to go and share the good news of the kingdom of God. That the kingdom has come near through Jesus breaking into our world, coming into the world as a babe. Growing up and entering into this ministry, anointed by the spirit. The kingdom has come near and he sends out the 72 others. Likely this 72 had been journeying with Jesus for a while as his ministry grows, as he shows compassion and seeks justice. It begins to open doors and people become receptive. He begins to gather people around him a huge crowd of people and he initially picks the 12 but then he’s gotten 72 others that he has picked and he sends them out. He’s taking them under his wing to grow them and his disciples and in maturity. But the time comes when they have to go out. Can you imagine being the 72 others? Like you’ve seen the other 12 get picked and they are like the superstars; they are like your models and heroes, and now it’s your turn! He’s probably sent them out two by two again because that was the model of Jesus. Can you imagine being one of the pairs in that 72? “Jesus you want me to go out? You want me to go out and heal and preach? Like Jesus, Okay, you can do it because, well, you’re the son of God – and the 12 can do it because they’re the special guys, they’re the ones that you’re going to build your Church upon.” But, but us? Me? That would have been really scary. But in the model of Jesus of how you grow in faith and disciple others, there comes a time when you have to go and share your faith. And if you don’t take that step, and if you don’t follow the model of Jesus, eventually your growth, my growth, our growth as a Christian becomes stifled, stunted. We get capped. And I wonder if that’s part of the reason that the Church in Scotland, the Church of Scotland is in such dire straights, because we are not particularly mature in our faith. Sure we can probably do the justice thing reasonably okay. We are very active and we help other people and we try our best to be good people, but that has capped us because we have bought into that thing that “well I’m an introvert our faith is very personal” or “I don’t feel comfortable with this” and so we hit a ceiling. But we need to get through that ceiling if we are to grow and if we are to see the Church grow as well.

I think I was very blessed that when I came to faith at nineteen. Within a month I started university and I came into an environment within the Christian Union there where it was just natural that you shared your faith, you sought to do it. Now we did it in some terrible ways – surveys and street preaching and different things and I’m not advocating any of that! But I grew phenomenally in my faith, in confidence in my faith, and until actually you have to try and articulate what you believe and why you believe it and help others to engage with that,
your growth is stunted. Or trying to share your testimony – if you can’t share your testimony, and I’m not saying you have to do it on Testimony Tuesday, but if you can’t share that testimony, if you can’t share how you journeyed in faith and came to faith and have grown in faith and how your faith has made a difference to you, again, your growth will be capped, And the number of people who have said either during Testimony Tuesday or after Testimony Tuesday “Actually, that was really scary at first but it really helped me” – there’s quite a few who have said that – and so if we are to grow as ambassadors, if we are to grow as disciples we need to follow the model of Jesus and we need to learn ways to share our faith. Now it might not be in public ways, it might not be in Testimony Tuesday, it might not be as I do it, but somehow, some way we need to learn to grow and share our faith.

Because point two of the really important reasons for sharing our faith is about the future of the Church in this area and in Scotland, anywhere. Let’s turn to Acts chapter 11 at verse 19. Acts 11 verse 19 – “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed, travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”

Another key reason for heeding the call of Jesus to be as ambassadors, to go make disciples, to share the good news of the Lord Jesus and of His kingdom, is that’s how the Church grows. If the disciples had just stuck to the Jews or if the disciples, because they faced persecution in difficult times, had decided just to become very personal about their faith or retreat, then things would just have died out, in that area, maybe even more broadly. But they didn’t. They were bold. They would not allow what they had experienced to stay for them and so they spoke about the good news and the Church grew. A great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

You know I think most of us are aware that the Church is declining in Scotland and particularly in the Church of Scotland i think the statistics are something like in the last 20 years the membership of the Church of Scotland has halved, halved, has halved. It is really quite small now in comparison to what it used to be. The population that would identify as Christian and as having an active faith is much smaller than it used to be. And this is true also of Brightons. I don’t think we always are aware of it because when we’ve been able to gather in person and we we’ve also had quite a busy Sunday service and we so we think we’re doing pretty well and we feel quite secure and it kind of insulates us a little bit. But, for example, in the last two years in my time we’ve had 23 deaths and by the end of January, hopefully, we’ll have about 17 new members because there’s hopefully some new members joining us just before Christmas. So that’s pretty good but that is not average and still we are declining there and let’s not overlook that.

Or, for example, I dug into some of the statistics as well: currently only 35% of our membership is under 65 versus 81% nationally within Scotland. 35% under 65, 81% nationally. And that’s important because, well the Church doesn’t just happen. If we are to sustain what we do, if we’re to expand what we’re going to do, then we do need to see people coming in. We do need to go out and be able to share our faith because in 10 years time, if things don’t significantly change, we’ll have 20% under 65 versus what is projected to be 76% nationally. 20%, 20%! And, to be honest, that 35 to 20% just now, it’s already stretched in a lot of ways. If I look around and I’m looking around for someone to do a job or do something else I’m often having to ask people who are already doing a lot.

We need to understand that Brightons faces this issue as much as any other Church. Yes, we’re unable to do a lot just now but if things don’t change there is going to come a point in the next five, ten years when we’re gonna have to stop doing what we do if things don’t change. We’re gonna have to not shut up shop, but we might not be able to keep running Boys Brigade, Girls Brigade, Sunday School, Pre-Fives as we’ve been doing. All these things that we take great joy in and we’ve got history and we’ve been running it for decades. Some of this is going to stop if we’re not more active about sharing our faith, and that’s a reality we just have to become aware of.

And we all have to be part of it. It can’t just rest on me or select group, the extroverts, those that are comfortable and confident in their faith. We all need to be involved in this because a large part of my time, for example, is getting taken up with other things. And that’s okay because I think we’re in a season where ministers across the Church of Scotland are going to have a much broader kind of remit. It’ll be a bit more strategic. It’ll be a bit more strategic and where time is invested to grow and train up others because the model that we’ve inherited of ministers being heavily pastoral and kind of neglecting the development aspect and the strategic aspect, is just not working anymore. That has to change. We probably have to go back to a little bit more of what Jesus did where he had the 12 and he invested heavily and then he had the 72 and we see that kind of transition in ministers. Aand so that does require us to transition in how we do Church as well.
So, for our own maturity and growth, we need to get involved in sharing our faith. For the future of our Church, for the spread of the gospel we need to get involved in sharing our faith.

But also, for those that we are seeking to reach out to, we need to share our faith as well.

Let’s jump to John chapter 3. John chapter 3 at verse 5 – “Jesus said to Nicodemus “Very truly I tell you, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.”

Again and again across the scriptures, in every gospel, nearly every letter there is mentioned somewhere to the necessity of sharing the faith and helping others to choose to follow Jesus for their own benefit. Not just in the present time, because there is great benefit in the present time to following Jesus, that hope, that light, that joy, that peace that can only come through a relationship with Him is there, is for now, but they is also that eternal dynamic and we don’t speak often of it and I doubt you’re going to hear very many sermons of fire and brimstone from me you’ll be glad to hear, but there is an eternal dynamic to all this and we need to remember that. No-one can enter the kingdom of God unless they’re born of water and the spirit.

Doesn’t give very much leeway – and I know we get pretty uncomfortable with that. I get pretty uncomfortable with that. It’s not often part of my chat with people but it seems to be a reality within the scriptures.
,
And then, particularly in today’s society, we are uncomfortable with that dynamic and we seek maybe to try and get ways around it or we allow ourselves to be shaped by the culture rather than by the scriptures. So, for example, there was there is a Christian author called Rob Bell – he was a pastor in the States and for a long time. I really revered Rob Bell his messages were relevant understandable, very helpful, and we did some DVD series called Nooma and they were great, very powerful. And I think I’ve maybe read a couple of these books but I had friends that read his material and I think I’d listen to sermons and such like, but then Rob Bell produced a book called Love Wins and on this cover that sounds very appealing. Doesn’t it? Love Wins! Who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want to share that message? But really his message wasn’t watertight. It lacked substance and you read the book and got to the end of it and basically all that he had was a hope and a prayer. Even if that, to be honest. A hope that there might be another chance that once we die maybe we’ll have the opportunity to appreciate something of God in Jesus and there’ll be another chance, that was where he ended up kind of landing –

but he his argument was pretty flimsy.

I think most of us would like that to be the case. I think most of us really want love to win,

and we see that in – I think we still see that in the scriptures that the love of God wins. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. Love still wins, but love is still just love does not delight in evil, and so God can’t overlook sin. There is an eternal dynamic to things.

And I think we have a hope that stands up and is greater than Rob Bell’s flimsy argument that let’s hope that there’s another chance on the other side. We don’t need that flimsy hoping argument, We have a hope in Jesus and all you need to do is put your faith in Him and bow the knee to Him. And yeah that’s huge, and it’s costly in different ways but Wow! I would never turn my back on Him now, because following Jesus, having bent the knee to Jesus, has changed my life for the better, And His wisdom, His ways are so much better than mine or any others I’ve ever come across.

So, there’s an eternal dynamic, but as we know, and see within Luke chapter 15, we have a heavenly Father who welcomes us home, who is waiting to welcome us home, and not only waiting to welcome us home, he sacrifices something of Himself to welcome us all.

Luke 15 at verse 20 – “So the younger son got up and went to his father, but while he was still a long way off his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants “Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened in calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate for this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and this found. So they began to celebrate.”

In Advent we remember the love of God that sent his Son into the world. The person, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, God himself came into our broken world, into our darkness, to seek and save the lost. You and me, This world. And He’s not just waiting, He’s pursuing. There is that welcome home to everyone, and we are called to share that message. To make it known. We are called to be ambassadors of this incredible good news, this incredible invitation, this incredible welcome home from God.

And if we want to grow in our faith, if we want our Church to grow and if we want individuals to know, the joy, the blessing, the hope that only comes through Jesus, both for this life and for the next, we need to share our faith. We need to learn how to share our faith. We need to have boldness and not allow the excuses that we’ve used and utilized for so long to hinder us and cap us and restrict us and stunt us. We need to cast them aside Church.

And we need to go out into our neighborhoods, into our families and friends and one way or another share the faith.

I’m not saying I have all the answers. I’m not even sure necessarily how to do this, but if we don’t have a deep conviction, our future actions won’t change.

So, may we heed the invitation of Jesus. May we have that deep conviction and begin to explore ways, even this advent season, of sharing the welcome of God.

Amen

Let us take a moment to pray.

Our God and Heavenly Father, through Your Son You have called us to a high calling, an important calling, to share the good news of Jesus and of Your kingdom breaking into the world, of that welcome home to one and all. I pray that You would come and fill us afresh with Your Spirit and give to us a holy boldness to invite someone this Advent, to consider the welcome of God and then into the New Year Lord teach us your ways, give to us opportunities, help us to become more proactive in sharing our faith. Maybe it’s as simple as saying “I will pray for you” maybe even there in person on the phone “Can I pray with you just now?” Lord, who knows there are many ways that You might lead us in this and equip us but Lord it begins with a deep conviction and I would ask that we would have a deep conviction and that from us empowered by Your Spirit, Your gospel, Your message would ring out loud and clear across this area and through your people, to see Your Church grow. to see Your Kingdom grow, to see You receive more glory and honour in Your rightful place and to see people come to know You, come to know Your joy and Your hope and Your peace and Your love and Your purposes both for now

and for all eternity

I ask this Father in Jesus name. Amen

Justice: life for all

Preached on: Sunday 1st November 2020
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 20-11-01-Message-PPT-slides-multi-page.
Bible references: Isaiah 11:1-10 & John 8:1-11
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Text: Isaiah 11:1-10 and John 8:1-11
Sunday 1st November 2020
Brightons Parish ChurchLet us take a moment to pray before we think about God’s Word.May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of all our hearts, be true and pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.Friends, can I ask you, when was the last time you were challenged about something? When was the last time you were open to a challenge from God or someone around you? After last week’s service, I was talking with Gill, my wife, about something I needed to get from the shops – an item of clothing – and I was just going to go to a local shop, where I knew I could get it quite easily, quickly and probably quite cheaply. It was at that point I became challenged, because at that point Gill spoke out and queried if we should be buying clothes from this particular shop, because the price of the clothes might indicate that the labourers are not paid a fair wage, unlikely to be paid a living wage, and so maybe it would be better to find out more and buy from places we are more confident about their approach to justice.At the time it was hard to hear and it up-ended all my plans and my schedules, I got a bit flustered, I got a bit stressed, but you know – Gill was right, and she was right to speak out and challenge me. Because in that moment she was speaking God’s heart, His heart for justice, and God’s people, God’s leaders, must be open to His challenge, to His discipline, so that life may come for them and for all the nations.
In our passage today, the Lord through Isaiah speaks in verse 1 of the ‘stump of Jesse’ and from this ‘a shoot’, ‘a branch’ will come. This is reference to the royal line of King David, to whom God promised that his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel for ever. But because of the waywardness of these leaders, God had disciplined them, God had chopped the tree down to a stump. These leaders had led the nation astray, but as we’ve seen the nation was not innocent either, for there was selfishness and oppression – the nation had become corrupt as well, and so God brought challenge and discipline to His people to turn them to His ways and into the life He wished them to have and to share with all.

He would accomplish this, as we saw last week, by raising up a new King, a shoot, a branch, who would bear fruit, the fruit of shalom, peace, which we read in verses 6 to 9. There we read that the natures of creation will be transformed such that there is harmony where today there is only division and strife and enmity. But a glorious hope, once more, is held out – and it will be brought to fruition by this great King, a king upon whom the Spirit of the Lord will rest, such that with wisdom He will be able to judge all things rightly, with understanding He will see to the heart of the issue, with counsel He can devise a right course of action and His might will see it through.

I suspect , I hope, that we might like the sound of this, we might like the sound of this new King, and as we saw last week, the New Testament teaches that these promises have been begun to be fulfilled in Jesus, that He is this promised King, upon whom the Spirit rested such that His Kingdom began to break into this world.

But our passage today has a middle section that I think we could be a little uncomfortable with, for it reads: ‘He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.’ (Isaiah 11:3b-4)

I wonder, does that stack up with your mental picture of
Jesus? More often than not, I think we have a picture of Jesus as simply meek and mild, that we dumb down gentleness, compassion and love to something that never ruffles feathers or brings a word of challenge.

But the peace, the shalom, described in verses 6 to 9, is hard-won, it follows judgment, it follows challenge and discipline. The Lord doesn’t do it to grind them down, but that they might be led into life, true life and life for all, and so He champions justice for the poor and calls His people to show a righteousness that went beyond simple, external religion.

Again and again in the New Testament we see Jesus doing the same. In our second passage today, a woman has been caught doing wrong, but where is the man? Where is justice against him? The Pharisees are ready to fulfil the Law, but of these same Pharisees Jesus will say:

‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices…But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former.’
(Matthew 23:23)

In Jesus and in Isaiah, we see that living rightly, righteousness, is more than refraining from sin or ticking religious boxes, it is also actively turning towards others to help them know life. As a result, Jesus challenges the Pharisees, He calls them out, and yet, to the woman, He is still challenging, but with gentleness – He is not ready to condemn her, but nonetheless He does not ignore Her choices, and says to her, ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’ (John 8:11) In Jesus there is this perfect balance of love and gentleness, with righteousness, justice and even discipline.

I wonder friends, where is Jesus challenging us and calling us to a way of life that seeks life for others? Where is He calling us to stand alongside the poor and the oppressed? Where do we need to change our practices, our way of living, so that we don’t just buy the cheap clothes? In our series so far, what issues of justice have you responded to? What next step have you taken?

Within these same verses, it’s interesting that Isaiah says this King will ‘…with justice…give decisions for the poor of the earth.’ (v4) It makes me wonder, why does God seem to side with the poor? Isn’t He the God who shows no favouritism? Well, I think it’s always been the case, across human history, and even today, that it is the poor who have been disproportionality vulnerable to injustice and victims of injustice, and so God gives particular attention to them and calls His people to seek justice for such as these that they might know life.

In the New Testament, Jesus said, ‘“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I

was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?”

‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”’ (Matthew 25:34-40)

Are you rich? Could your decisions be deliberately, or inadvertently, affecting the poor such that they are victims of injustice? It is said that if you have sufficient food, decent clothes, live in a house or flat, and have a reasonably reliable means of transportation, you are among the top 15% of the world’s wealthy people. If you have any money saved, a hobby that requires some equipment or supplies, a variety of clothes in your closet, two cars (in any condition), and live in your own home, you are in the top 5% of the world’s wealthy people.

So, most of us are in the top 15% and many might be in the top 5% or higher, and so our choices matter. The clothes I choose to buy, matter. But if my heart is not right, if my heart is hard, I won’t care about such things and I won’t receive the challenge, even the discipline, of Jesus, no matter that He delivers it with gentleness, or so that I and others can know life.
So, finally, how can we have hearts that are receptive to His call, to His challenge? Well, in our passage from Isaiah today, this future King would be marked by something that was missing from the leaders, and that future Kingdom would be marked by something missing amongst creation. We read today: ‘The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him… the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord… They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’
(Isaiah 11:2-3, 9)

In our day, we think of ‘knowledge’ as information, ‘knowledge’ for us is knowing about something. But in the Scriptures, to know someone, is not knowledge about them but having a personal, intimate relationship with them, such that it could be said of the prophet Samuel, before his call by the Lord, that he ‘did not yet know the Lord’ (1 Samuel 3:7). To know, is to have relationship, and when that relationship is with the Lord, there is a fear of the Lord that is good and healthy, a fear that even Jesus showed to the Father because He rested in the Father’s love. And so, this fear, as seen perfectly in the life of Jesus, as seen in that future kingdom, is a fear that shows itself in obedience, in choices aligned to the Word of God, and in hearts open to His challenge, His discipline even, because we know He does it for love of us and for this world.
Friends, as people who claim to follow Jesus, do we also delight in the fear of the Lord as He did? Are we a people, who have that personal relationship with God, and so will receive our heavenly Father’s challenge? Will our living, be more than ticking various religious boxes, such that we actively make choices to seek justice, defend the oppressed, and so by the challenge and discipline of God, we and the nations come into the life and the peace of God? I pray it may be so. Amen.

Called to Share

Preached on: Sunday 23rd August 2020
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 20-08-23-Message-PPT-slides.
Bible references: Matthew 9:35-10:8
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Text: Matthew 9:35-10:8 (NIV)
Sunday 23rd August 2020
Brightons Parish ChurchLet us take a moment to pray before we think about God’s Word. May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of all our hearts, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

In the last few months, even in the last few weeks, there has been a lot of transition, often difficult transitions. We saw last Sunday, our young people moving up the schools years, and our primary 7’s going into S1 may not have had the usual transition they were expecting. I wonder if they felt “in at the deep end” rather quickly. Or what about our school leavers? Those going on to work, college, apprenticeship or university – do they feel ready for the transition they are now facing as they go into the workplace or their new campus?
Transitions have also been felt by those of us who are beyond these stages. As we came out of a tight lockdown, the transition to a measure of freedom was unsettling, especially if we were maybe shielding. So, this summer we’ve all felt the impact of transitions and often these can be difficult experiences which we don’t feel ready for.

I suspect that the disciples were feeling a bit like that in our passage today. Up until this point, it has been Jesus alone who has shared the good news that the Kingdom of God is breaking into this world. He has healed the sick, raised the dead, set people free and made known the love, power and ways of God in word and deed. But now, a transition comes.

As Jesus sees the crowds, His heart wells up with compassion for them, with such deep concern that He is moved to action. Jesus looks out over that multitude who need help, who need good news, and He discerns that the time is ripe to begin the next stage of His ministry, and it is going to involve the disciples. He says to them: ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ (v37-38)

The next stage of the ministry of Jesus is to have others involved in sharing the work; one man can only be in one place at one time, and so the plan of Jesus is to involve others. He instructs the disciples to pray about this, but lo and behold, what happens? We read: ‘Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and illness…These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘…Go to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”’ (10:1-2, 6-7)

I wonder how the disciples felt at that point. I wonder if they felt ready for this transition? As Jesus calls them to Himself and then sends them out to make known the Kingdom of God in word and deed, were they shaking in their boots? Had they realised that they were going to be the answer to their prayers? I doubt it, because that wasn’t how rabbi’s worked back then – you learnt from the rabbi, and after many years you might get to carry on his teaching, but you certainly weren’t expected to do the miraculous or make known a provocative message!
So, here is Jesus, sending out a group of inexperienced nobodies; in fact, in their midst is a hated ex-tax collector, another is an insurrectionist (or terrorist we might say today), and still another will prove to be a traitor. Jesus has deliberately selected the dregs of society and instils them with the charge to go share His message, His love and His power! It is mind-blowing – but it is the way of Jesus: He calls the most unlikely of candidates and asks them to share in His ministry.

The same is true of us friends, because every individual who calls themselves a Christian, every member of a church, is called to share in the ministry of Jesus and go make known the Kingdom of God through word and deed. Now, you might say, that this was only for the Twelve, the apostles, those closest to Jesus and who helped found the church. But if you read the book of Luke at chapter 10, you’ll see that Jesus sends out the 72 other disciples to do exactly the same thing and they come back reporting that the forces of evil submitted to His name. ‘Apostle’ simply means ‘sent one’, a representative, and yes the twelve do hold a special place and authority since they were eye-witnesses, but let’s remember, Jesus said to them: ‘go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ (28:1920) What did Jesus command them? Go and proclaim the kingdom of heaven has come near and meet the needs of this broken world through His love and power.

So, we are all called to go share the good news of God’s love in word and action. Do we feel ready for this? Probably not, but Jesus doesn’t really seem to take that as a serious excuse. Do we know what to do? I doubt it, I often don’t, but if we don’t try to go and share then at least two questions might arise.

First, do we care enough about others? Remember, Jesus was filled with such compassion that it brought about this transition for the disciples. Jesus didn’t just feel a little pity or a lukewarm concern; He cared enough that He did something. If we don’t respond to the call of Jesus to share the love of God in word and deed, maybe it’s because we simply don’t care enough about others.

Secondly, do we care enough about Jesus? Specifically, do we see Him as Lord, as King, as the one to be obeyed? You see, Jesus instructed the disciples to pray: ‘Ask the Lord of the harvest…to send out workers’ (9:38) and then what does He do? Jesus sends out the Twelve. He does it. He sends them out. So, Jesus is claiming to be Lord of the harvest, claiming to be God of all creation. So, if we don’t respond to the call of Jesus to share the love of God in word and deed, maybe it’s because we simply don’t care enough about Jesus.

What’s to be done then, brothers and sisters? Do we care enough about others? Do we care enough about Jesus? Will we heed His call to share the love of God in word and deed in the Braes area? I hope we will, I hope we’ll respond, and I want to give you a few ideas to get started.

Firstly, prayer. From the place of prayer sharing flowed. So, we need to get praying, and in a few weeks’ time we’ll start a preaching series on prayer. But, equally, start praying now. Maybe use the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ prayer idea – of having 5 people you’re asking God to help find faith in Jesus. Or simply pray, ‘God, help me make You known to the people I meet today.’ So, let’s get praying.

Secondly, sharing the love of God in our words is important, and not just for the confident, extroverted and qualified people because the membership of the Church of Scotland is going off a cliff, and even in the Braes area it is going down across all 7 churches. If that is ever to change then there must be the sharing of the love of God in our words because the young people I see coming along to church, who I see as active in the life of churches, are people in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s who are talking about faith and who want to know about this faith. Most young people do not need more activity or another organisation to belong to, but the one thing they are not getting anywhere else is the good news of God’s love for them and to share that we have to use words.

To make this very practical for you, we are running an online Alpha Course starting Wednesday the 16th of September and more details are in the notices. So, let’s get asking and invite someone along, because last year’s course was so encouraging, many people grew in faith, and many more are joining online Alpha at this time.

Finally, sharing the love of God in our actions. Jesus met the needs of the people around Him. So, who are the people around us? Do we know our neighbours’ names? Or, have we had a conversation with someone who needs a helping hand? Or, do we donate food to the Foodbank when we’re down at the supermarket? There are people and needs all around us, and if we create space to become aware of them and reach out, then in meeting them we can share the love of God in action.

Friends, our core purpose is ‘to invite, encourage and enable people to be disciples of Jesus.’ That begins with an invitation into relationship with Jesus, to be part of His family, and so we must vocally share this with others. But being a disciple of Jesus requires us to follow His example, and Jesus shared the love of God in action as well.

May we be a people who share the love of God in word and in deed, caring enough for others and for the command of our Lord. May it be so. Amen.

King of kings (Passion Wk.4)

Preached on: Sunday 5th April 2020
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 20-04-05-Brightons-Powerpoint-Scott-morning-message.
Bible references: Luke 17:11-19
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Text: Luke 17:11-19
Sunday 5th April 2020
Brightons Parish Church

Let us pray. May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of all our hearts, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

Three weeks’ ago, we began our journey towards Easter, with Jesus resolutely setting out for Jerusalem. Along the way, we looked at those parts of Luke’s gospel where Jesus met with, or spoke about, Samaritans – those people who were outcasts, despised, usually forgotten or ignored by their neighbours.

But today, Jesus reaches Jerusalem, the journey is at an end. Boys and girls, have you ever been on a really long journey? Was it in a car? Or did you walk? Why not tell someone that you’re with just now? I’ll give you ten seconds. (PAUSE)
We’ve all been on a journey that has seemed long, we might have done it in a car which was nice and comfortable. But for Jesus, the journey has not been so easy. He has walked mile after mile, up through the winding, sandy hills from Jericho, which is the lowest town on the face of the earth, but now He reaches the heights of Jerusalem. Jesus has crossed through Judean desert, climbing steadily uphill, up what feels like a mountain. It has been dusty, because it’s almost always hot, and it seldom rains.

This was the way of pilgrims, those journeying to Jerusalem for the annual festival. We know that Jesus chooses this journey because Luke reminds us that ‘After Jesus had [finished teaching], he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.’ (v28) Jesus leads the way. This is to be the climax of His story, of His public ministry, and He knew well what lay ahead, yet He set His face to go and meet it head on.

About two miles from Jerusalem, Jesus comes to Bethany and Bethphage, and He sends two disciples ahead to get something. Boys and girls, can you remember what Jesus asked them to get? Can you remember?…It was a donkey! And…had anyone ridden it before? Can you give me a thumbs up for “YES” and a thumbs down for “NO”?…The answer is… “NO”. No one had ridden this young donkey and yet Jesus gets onto it without any problem, and carries on towards Jerusalem.

What happens next, boys and girls? Does Jesus manage to sneak into the city? No – that’s not what happens! So, what does happen?…As Jesus journeys into Jerusalem, the people start to lay down…their cloaks on the ground – this was like [PHYSCIALLY TAKE OFF JACKET] taking off their jacket and putting on the ground in front of them for Jesus to walk on, for His donkey to walk on. That seems a bit strange to us, but there’s a story in the Old
Testament where the new king is welcomed into Jerusalem by people doing the very same thing.

And then, in the story of Jesus, we start to hear something – we start to hear the crowd say things. They said things like, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ (v38) Do you think the people were happy, or sad? Put your hands up for happy, or down for sad…I think they were happy!
They thought Jesus was the King that God had promised to send, and that King would make the world a better place. So, they sing part of an old song, written in the Psalms, it’s a song of victory, a hymn of praise to the God who establishes His kingdom upon the earth.

In all of this, Luke is trying to help us see something about Jesus; we’re meant to see that Jesus is the King, the Messiah, God promised. But what kind of King do you think Jesus is? The story gives us a number of clues. Why don’t we all, adults and children alike, think about that for a moment, either on our own or with the folks beside us, and don’t forget to write it up in the live chat if you want to do so, I’ll give you thirty seconds. (PAUSE) So, what did you come up with? Let me share what I see.

I see a King who has power and authority; that comes across in a number of ways. In v31, the reason to give for the request of the donkey, is that ‘The Lord needs it.’ God needs it, and that Lord, that God, is Jesus.

What is more, we know from v30, that this animal has never been ridden before, you would think it would throw Jesus off, because He’s just a carpenter and rabbi after all. But low and behold, no such thing is recorded, we’re meant to see that Jesus is King of all creation, including what might otherwise be wild and untameable.

Now, we remembered that when Jesus came in, the crowds put down their…cloaks and sang songs of…joy, they did this because they believed Jesus to be King. But Luke especially reminds us in v37 that ‘the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.’ Countless miracles, things beyond explanation, things only the promised Messiah, the promised King, could do, because He came in the name and power of God.

It’s because Jesus is such a King, that even though some of the Pharisees in v39 object, even then, Jesus says the praise of the disciples is fitting because otherwise the stones would cry out in praise themselves! Such a King is Jesus, that He is due praise even from the inanimate parts of creation.

I think we’re meant to see in Jesus a King who has power and authority. But that’s not all we see of Jesus, what else does the passage show?
Well, remember, what is He riding?…A donkey! Not the kind of grand animal you might expect of a king. But as our opening Scripture from Zechariah reminded us, a King who comes riding on a donkey is a King who is humble, lowly – He comes in humility and to serve.

And Jesus does so, because He cares. We’ve seen that along the way in His journey – boys and girls, who did Jesus care for in the journey? What were those people called?… Samaritans, that’s right! Jesus cares for people who think they are outcasts. Jesus cares for people who think they are forgotten or insignificant. Jesus cares for all the nations of the world.

But we also Jesus cares because of the final verse we read today, for in v41, it said, ‘As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it…’

Now, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem for a particular reason and we’ll get into that more with our Tuesday Evening Sermon. Yet, notice this: Jesus, the Lord, the One who is God in the flesh, weeps. Surrounded by people who are joyful and euphoric, this King, weeps. Imagine what the disciples must have been thinking and feeling, to see their Messiah so upset when this is His greatest moment.

I wonder if this jumps out for me because of an article I read this week about Christianity and coronavirus. What the writer sought to highlight is that rather than coming up with a reason to explain suffering, maybe it is better
to realise that God, that Jesus, laments. He cries; the word in v41 actually means, He wails. Some Christians like to think of God as above all that, knowing everything, in charge of everything, calm and unaffected by the troubles in His world. But that’s not the picture we get in the Bible. Here is King Jesus, full of power and authority, yet vulnerable, honest and caring enough, that He cries, He laments, for us and with us.

Friends, what do you see of Jesus this Palm Sunday? What do see of the One who journeyed to Jerusalem for love of you and love of me? In these difficult days, as we maybe hang a branch and cross upon our front door, what is the Jesus we share with the wider world? I pray that we and our neighbours will know Jesus as the King of Kings, but also as the King who weeps with us and for us. May it be so. Amen.

The Father who accepts

Preached on: Sunday 9th June 2019
The sermon text is given below or can be download by clicking on the “PDF” button above. Additionally, you can download the PowerPoint PDF by clicking here 19-06-09-Brightons-Powerpoint-Scott-sermon-morning.
Bible references: Luke 15:11-24
Location: Brightons Parish Church

Texts: Luke 15:11-24
Sunday 9th June 2019
Brightons Parish ChurchFollowing on from Easter, we’ve been working our way through a 9-week sermon series on Luke chapter 15, where we’ve been exploring what these three parables of Jesus reveal to us of our heavenly Father. Because, whilst the temptation is to focus on the sheep, the coin or the rebellious younger son, the true central character throughout is God, portrayed as the Father in the third parable. We’ve seen that Father God is prodigal Himself – He is extravagant in His love, He is patient, compassionate and forgiving. And along the way, we’ve paused to wonder if we can still hold such a view of God in the midst of a broken world and we’ve seen that for the elder brother too there is an invitation to come home to Father God.

That idea of coming home, of returning, is central to all three parables because to know that we belong somewhere has a profound impact upon us. I wonder, would you turn to your neighbour in a moment, and for one minute, share with them either something serious, or something silly, which helps you to know that you belong to your family or your friendship group? For example, when I come home after a busy day, and I walk in that door and Hope gives me a big cuddle, then I know that I’m home, that I belong. What are the serious things, or the silly things, that help you know you belong to your family or your friendship group? You’ve got one minute – so it’s over to you!

In the parable of the prodigal Father, the younger son has left home, he has rebelled, disgracing his Father, because he thought true life was to be found elsewhere. But things don’t turn out as he plans and in time he comes to his senses and returns home to the Father. As we saw in earlier weeks, the Father had been waiting and watching, and so when He sees His son He is flooded with compassion and He runs to His youngest child. In the midst of that initial welcome, we read these words:

‘the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet…”’ (v22)

We’ve said throughout this series, that knowing the culture, knowing the context, of these parables can help us understand what Jesus was trying to convey about our heavenly Father. So, what do the robe and the ring signify?

Well, the Father asks for ‘the best robe’, which would have been the Father’s own robe, as he was head of the family. It would have been a long flowing gown, a very special garment, reserved for unique occasions such as festivals. It was a sign of favour and honour, and yet the Father gives it to this son. This son who had been living off of the pig feed, who would be in an unkempt condition and so dirty and smelly that one poet wrote that the younger son was ‘the boy who had gone from being affluent to effluent.’
It is to this son that the Father gives His best robe – so, what’s going on here? What does Jesus seek to convey? Well, what we have here is a great exchange – the son’s shame is covered by the Father’s honour – that robe is a sign of the Father saying of the younger son: “I have forgiven him completely, I am wiping the slate clean, this boy is totally pardoned.”

In this, Jesus conveys the means and scope of forgiveness which has always been at the heart of the Christian faith, a means and scope which comes as a shock to many people, including in the 16th century to renowned church leader Martin Luther. For much of his early life Luther wrestled with the imperfections in his own life and how distant he felt from God…
He increasingly struggled with the implications this had for his present life and then beyond the grave.

But eventually Luther, by God’s help, came to understand the Scriptures afresh – that a healthy, positive relationship with God, a relationship described in the Bible as being righteous, of being in right standing with God, that kind of relationship is offered to one and all by a great exchange, a great exchange provided for us through Jesus: that on the cross, Jesus faced the justice of God so we might only know Father God’s delight in us; that on the cross, Jesus, the perfect son of God, was rejected by Father God, so that we could be brought into God’s family as sons and daughters.

I remember when I became a Christian that someone explained it to me like this: that Jesus is like my open palm, nothing separates Him from God, He is perfect, He is righteous, Father God delights in Him fully. But we are like this other hand, and our rejection of God and His ways, what the Bible calls sin, that is like this black book on my palm – it creates a division between us and God, it is a big black mark over us, and because of it our relationship with God is not only marred, it is broken completely – God still loves us, but He can’t delight in us fully, and that big black book is going to affect our lives both now and for all eternity.

But on the cross, a great exchange takes place: Jesus willingly takes our black book, our sin, our rebellion, upon
Himself, breaking His relationship with God…
and facing the eternal consequences for our sin in His own body.

And the effect is that we gain what Jesus had before that great exchange: we gain a perfect relationship with God, we gain the full delight of Father God, we gain an eternal hope and welcome from God into His family.

The prophet Isaiah described it this way: ‘I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.’ (Isaiah 61:10)

In the early sixteenth century, Martin Luther came to own this great exchange for himself – he put his trust in Jesus and came in to a new relationship with Father God,… where fear was gone and joy came in its place, for he knew that God had pardoned him, and covered his shame with the best robe of all, the robe of God Himself.

I don’t know what you make of all this – you might very well be thinking, “well Scott, I got invited here by my friend, and I really wasn’t expecting to hear about sin and all that – this doesn’t really feel like a weekend of invitation or welcome; I’m perfectly aware of God being Judge and I don’t need you judging me.” And if you’re feeling like that, I can understand that, I can resonate with that even – but the reason I had to start there is because of what comes next in the story. For we read:

‘the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger…’

Rings feature in many stories, inside and out of the Bible, across so many cultures, for a ring is a powerful and enduring item – in this small and simple form a great deal of meaning can be communicated.

In the story of the prodigal Father, the ring speaks of the rebel being restored as a son. The ring would have been like a family signet ring and it signified a child’s position as a son or daughter in the great family. In giving this ring, the Father was saying that this rebellious child was restored to his position as a son. The Father was saying that He accepted His youngest child; the Father accepted Him back in, that He was in effect adopting this rebellious child back into the family, and through that adoption, the Father was opening the way for His child to know a wonderful new future and life.
Jesus Himself said, ‘I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.’ (John 10:10)

That is the purpose of Jesus, that is His reason for being, the goal behind His teaching and His death on the cross – that you and I can have life in all its fullness.

But do we know this? Not only in our heads but in lives. Do we know this? We might know that Father God sent Jesus to die in our place to secure our forgiveness, to give us a new robe, and so we know that Father God is like a Judge, and Jesus paid the penalty so that we can have life beyond death, and that’s good news, but it can seem a bit remote and distant, something to think about nearer the time or on sad occasions.

But is that all Jesus meant in His words? Is Jesus simply our get into heaven ticket? Or is there something more to being an adopted son or daughter of the Creator of all things?

If you can’t answer that question, or if you are waiting for me to provide the answer, maybe it suggests that whilst we know God as Judge, we maybe don’t know Him very well as Father. Indeed, Martin Luther himself struggled with this, struggled to pray the Lord’s Prayer because the words “our Father” were wrapped up in a picture of a hard, unyielding and relentless individual. But the parable of the prodigal Father, portrays a very different portrait of Father God, and a much fuller understanding of what it means to be adopted by Him.

Imagine that the younger son, after returning home, receiving the robe and the ring, then participating in that night of celebration, imagine after that he felt he had to watch his step, toe the line, that he was to stay in his quarters, adopt a quiet and reserved life, and not do anything with the pardon and position of a true son. What do you think the Father would feel? Do you think the Father would feel that the younger son had entered into the full life symbolised by the robe and the ring?

I doubt it!? I reckon the Father would be crestfallen – here is this son that he has rescued, that he has forgiven and restored, here is the son who was given pardon and position so that the path in front of him might lead to a full life, one of meaning and purpose and joy…
yet here is this son being a nice boy but a bit of a boring one, a good son but with the life gutted out of him. I think the Father would be heartbroken to see his son misunderstand or underappreciate all that had been given to him by his Father. This younger son has been given pardon through a robe and position through a ring, he has been accepted and adopted by the Father, so that as a son he can come into fullness of life, not live a tame and boring one!

And you know what – I wonder if Father God ever feels bamboozled by what we’ve done with the Christian faith? Jesus came to give us life in all its fullness, but then we seem to reduce the life of faith to being nice and religious, or having Jesus as our ticket to heaven…
rather than seeing the life of faith as an adventure to be lived – as the video said earlier, God is on an adoption adventure, accepting and adopting us into His family, and then involving us in His plans and purposes, plans and purposes which are full of adventure and joy and life, and He invites us to be part of that, part of changing the world!

Friends, if this is not evident in our own lives maybe one of the reasons is that we have not grasped a full enough picture of God: we know Him as Judge, which He is, but we really don’t know Him as Father; we know we’re forgiven but we don’t really know what it means to be adopted by God and to have Him as our heavenly Father, that we are accepted…
We not only need to know that Father God clothes us with a robe, we need to know He gives us a ring as well.

But here’s the thing, it is a two-part deal: you don’t get the ring, without getting the robe first; you don’t get position without pardon; you don’t get adoption and acceptance, without forgiveness. So, you can’t know the life that Jesus offers, life in all its fullness, if you don’t know Jesus. And so, that’s why we began with a focus on the cross, with the great exchange.

And if you want to be part of God’s great adventure in this world, then you need to share in that great exchange for yourself. If you’re unsure how to do that, then come speak with me after the service, or start coming around church a bit more often,…
and hopefully one way or another you’ll come to know the Father draping His robe over you.

But if you know you’ve shared in that great exchange, if you know you’re a Christian, can I ask you, as an adopted son or daughter of God, are you sharing in the great adventure? Or have you tamed the life of faith to something comfortable, something familiar, but something less than God wanted for you? If that is you, and it can come upon us at any stage in the journey of faith, but if that is you, then maybe it is time for you to become reacquainted with the heart of Father God.

One of the best ways to do that, is to be in the Scriptures and talking with the Father about what you read, and being open to what He might say to you.
But a number of years ago, to help people grasp something of the heart of God, someone took many of the promises of God from the Bible and crafted them into what became known as “The Father’s Love Letter”. A video of that has now been made and I would like to play it for us now. As we listen to it, may the words reach deep into our souls, and reveal something of our heavenly Father and what it means to be His child.

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