Tuesday, 28 September 2010
sorry for lack of posts
The summer rather overwhelmed our efforts to keep the blog site going, but normal service should be resumed this week.
Monday, 19 July 2010
Genesis 3:14-24 -- Excluded
Is life just a random mixture of good and bad things? Is there an explanation for the bad stuff?
Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve taking the fruit as they decided to disobey God and take charge of things. There are immediate consequences as they feel shame & fear, and want to blame anyone but themselves.
We’re all still hiding. But God seeks us out In verses 14-24 it's mostly God who does the speaking, because of course He's the only one who can say how it's going to be from now. He describes our world.
He speaks to the serpent about an epic conflict - the battle between humans and Satan, in a sense it's the battle between good and evil. It's a battle that will continue throughout history. We know evil but we can't defeat it.
God speaks to the woman about pain in family life. What should be love and cherish becomes desire and dominate. Family life still has great joys but from now on it will also have pain - rejections; absent fathers, angry mothers, unwanted children and cruel and violent husbands.
God speaks to the man about hard work. There's a change in man's relationship to creation. Every achievement will be costly. All the paths will be uphill.
God talks to himself about excluding man from the garden (20-23).
The ultimate curse is the separation of man from God and from the blessing of God through the tree of life. Now they would die, returning to the dust from which they were created.
You are experiencing just these things every day of your short uncertain life.
But the curse was not the end of the story
Through Jesus there is victory over evil
One man descended from Eve will crush the devil and win the victory. Jesus will be that man
Through Jesus there is an end to the pain of relationships
We get a foretaste of that in the church family.
Through Jesus' sacrifice there is a way back to the presence of God
When Jesus died it's like He opens a doorway back to the presence of God. That's why the temple curtain was ripped in two. Just like God makes Adam and Eve clothes to cover their shame, God sends Jesus to deal with our shame at the cross and now we can know God without fear or shame.
Through Jesus the earth will be restored
All the imbalance - the things that cause inconvenience and devastation will be restored in the new heavens and new earth
You can listen to the Genesis series of sermons here
Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve taking the fruit as they decided to disobey God and take charge of things. There are immediate consequences as they feel shame & fear, and want to blame anyone but themselves.
We’re all still hiding. But God seeks us out In verses 14-24 it's mostly God who does the speaking, because of course He's the only one who can say how it's going to be from now. He describes our world.
He speaks to the serpent about an epic conflict - the battle between humans and Satan, in a sense it's the battle between good and evil. It's a battle that will continue throughout history. We know evil but we can't defeat it.
God speaks to the woman about pain in family life. What should be love and cherish becomes desire and dominate. Family life still has great joys but from now on it will also have pain - rejections; absent fathers, angry mothers, unwanted children and cruel and violent husbands.
God speaks to the man about hard work. There's a change in man's relationship to creation. Every achievement will be costly. All the paths will be uphill.
God talks to himself about excluding man from the garden (20-23).
The ultimate curse is the separation of man from God and from the blessing of God through the tree of life. Now they would die, returning to the dust from which they were created.
You are experiencing just these things every day of your short uncertain life.
But the curse was not the end of the story
Through Jesus there is victory over evil
One man descended from Eve will crush the devil and win the victory. Jesus will be that man
Through Jesus there is an end to the pain of relationships
We get a foretaste of that in the church family.
Through Jesus' sacrifice there is a way back to the presence of God
When Jesus died it's like He opens a doorway back to the presence of God. That's why the temple curtain was ripped in two. Just like God makes Adam and Eve clothes to cover their shame, God sends Jesus to deal with our shame at the cross and now we can know God without fear or shame.
Through Jesus the earth will be restored
All the imbalance - the things that cause inconvenience and devastation will be restored in the new heavens and new earth
You can listen to the Genesis series of sermons here
Friday, 9 July 2010
Misdirected Love (2 Timothy 3:1-9)
A song by Marillion had these lines
Now when you climb into your bed tonight, And when you lock and bolt the door, Just think about those out in the cold and dark, 'cause there's not enough love to go 'round, No there's not enough love to go 'round.
But Paul explains to Timothy that the reason for bad things in the world between people is not a lack of love. It’s just that love is pointing in the wrong direction.
If we direct our love away from God and towards ourselves (mostly) and just a few others (slightly), then all relationships go wrong and people are boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, treacherous, rash and conceited.
It all starts with misdirected love. It’s the explanation for all that’s wrong in the world. We love ourselves and pleasing ourselves more than God and that’s just not natural! I so need the gospel, because self love threatens my relationships every day. I need forgiveness for my failure to love right, and instruction how to love right.
Sadly this same attitude can creep into the church. Some leaders have a “form of godliness. They are religious but it’s just an outer coating. They don’t really believe and depend on the power of God.
Beware religious gurus – teaching and preaching for the buzz of it. Beware becoming a religious groupie. Beware becoming just religious. Maybe you talk a good religion but in your heart you the deny power so you don’t pray to express dependence and you rely too much on the strength of intellectual argument.
We need the good news of Jesus Christ to tell us who to love, how to love, how to call others to love and when we fall flat on our faces He still loves us.
You can hear the full sermon here...
Now when you climb into your bed tonight, And when you lock and bolt the door, Just think about those out in the cold and dark, 'cause there's not enough love to go 'round, No there's not enough love to go 'round.
But Paul explains to Timothy that the reason for bad things in the world between people is not a lack of love. It’s just that love is pointing in the wrong direction.
If we direct our love away from God and towards ourselves (mostly) and just a few others (slightly), then all relationships go wrong and people are boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, treacherous, rash and conceited.
It all starts with misdirected love. It’s the explanation for all that’s wrong in the world. We love ourselves and pleasing ourselves more than God and that’s just not natural! I so need the gospel, because self love threatens my relationships every day. I need forgiveness for my failure to love right, and instruction how to love right.
Sadly this same attitude can creep into the church. Some leaders have a “form of godliness. They are religious but it’s just an outer coating. They don’t really believe and depend on the power of God.
Beware religious gurus – teaching and preaching for the buzz of it. Beware becoming a religious groupie. Beware becoming just religious. Maybe you talk a good religion but in your heart you the deny power so you don’t pray to express dependence and you rely too much on the strength of intellectual argument.
We need the good news of Jesus Christ to tell us who to love, how to love, how to call others to love and when we fall flat on our faces He still loves us.
You can hear the full sermon here...
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Genesis 3:1-7 Falling
In Genesis 3, there was a day that changed every day in the history of the world. It is the sin that changed the world and also sets the pattern for temptation and sin in our lives. It explains our world and it explains how we follow the pattern of failure.
Satan comes in the form of the serpent.
Firstly, Satan tried to get the woman to distort the word of God. He raises questions designed to raise doubts. The woman’s reply starts well but she makes God sound more restrictive than he is and begins to water down the serious consequences if they choose to disobey.
Then comes Satan’s great lie "you will not surely die." "What are you talking about... God’s not really being serious about judgement."
It’s a lie that continues throughout history. Will you trust God’s word?
Secondly, Satan encourages them to doubt the goodness of God. He’s really saying that the forbidden fruit would actually make them better people and so really God is being unfair. We face daily challenges to our belief that God is good
Thirdly, Satan provokes a desire for the authority of God. The fruit is attractive fruit as the key to knowledge of good and evil. They are basically claiming the wisdom to discern right from wrong declaring independence from God.
And in all this Adam is there but silent. He outrageously shirks his responsibility to be a teacher and a leader to Eve.
But it's not enough to know the story of the fall as an explanation for our broken world. We so need to depend on the mercy of God. Not on our own judgment and ability. We remember that one man succeeded where Adam failed. That man was Jesus. We need Him. Do you know Him?
You can listen to the Genesis series of sermons here
Satan comes in the form of the serpent.
Firstly, Satan tried to get the woman to distort the word of God. He raises questions designed to raise doubts. The woman’s reply starts well but she makes God sound more restrictive than he is and begins to water down the serious consequences if they choose to disobey.
Then comes Satan’s great lie "you will not surely die." "What are you talking about... God’s not really being serious about judgement."
It’s a lie that continues throughout history. Will you trust God’s word?
Secondly, Satan encourages them to doubt the goodness of God. He’s really saying that the forbidden fruit would actually make them better people and so really God is being unfair. We face daily challenges to our belief that God is good
Thirdly, Satan provokes a desire for the authority of God. The fruit is attractive fruit as the key to knowledge of good and evil. They are basically claiming the wisdom to discern right from wrong declaring independence from God.
And in all this Adam is there but silent. He outrageously shirks his responsibility to be a teacher and a leader to Eve.
But it's not enough to know the story of the fall as an explanation for our broken world. We so need to depend on the mercy of God. Not on our own judgment and ability. We remember that one man succeeded where Adam failed. That man was Jesus. We need Him. Do you know Him?
You can listen to the Genesis series of sermons here
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Genesis 2:18-25 One Flesh
Marriage is a beautiful relationship designed for us to be happy and to be ready to serve God.
In Genesis 2, God is looking for a suitable helper for Adam in the task of ruling and subduing. The animals area great, Adam rules over them and has the fun of getting being introduced but it’s not enough.
It’s really not good for Adam to be alone, he needs a suitable helper – not inferior but complementary. So God Makes Woman (verses 21-22a). And he did a pretty good job didn’t he?
Man is not simply a lonely person needing company or a half finished person. He is those things, but the focus is on the fact he needed a companion for the task to cultivate, procreate and relate.
The woman is brought to Adam by God and we have the prototype wedding. Adam says “at last” someone like me. He names her “woman” which in Hebrew (even more than in English), sounds like the word for “man”. Adam’s saying you are so like me... you complete me.
Moses, the author, tells us this marriage sets the pattern for all marriages - a man leaves his family and joins with a woman for life – one in sexual union and in partnership to serve God. Clearly, intimacy is for the grown up and the committed.
We are social beings and marriage is the usual way to fulfil the need for friendship in the shared purpose of working and taking care of the world.
If you want to listen to the full sermon click here
In Genesis 2, God is looking for a suitable helper for Adam in the task of ruling and subduing. The animals area great, Adam rules over them and has the fun of getting being introduced but it’s not enough.
It’s really not good for Adam to be alone, he needs a suitable helper – not inferior but complementary. So God Makes Woman (verses 21-22a). And he did a pretty good job didn’t he?
Man is not simply a lonely person needing company or a half finished person. He is those things, but the focus is on the fact he needed a companion for the task to cultivate, procreate and relate.
The woman is brought to Adam by God and we have the prototype wedding. Adam says “at last” someone like me. He names her “woman” which in Hebrew (even more than in English), sounds like the word for “man”. Adam’s saying you are so like me... you complete me.
Moses, the author, tells us this marriage sets the pattern for all marriages - a man leaves his family and joins with a woman for life – one in sexual union and in partnership to serve God. Clearly, intimacy is for the grown up and the committed.
We are social beings and marriage is the usual way to fulfil the need for friendship in the shared purpose of working and taking care of the world.
If you want to listen to the full sermon click here
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Genesis 2.4-17 One Simple Rule for a Special Person
Genesis 2 is a re-run of the creating that went on in Genesis 1 but with a different focus - now we're looking at the man in his special place
Man is a Special Person. He's like all the animals, made in a similar way as a distinct species but more than just another species, man is unique:
He's made in God’s image (Ch1). God breaths life into him showing a direct intimate act of creation. God speaks to him directly directing and commanding.
We share characteristics with animals but are made separately from dust, not from another animal. We are all descended from Adam (Acts 17:26)
The second thing about man is that he is to worship God in a Sacred Place (4-6; 8-15)
The earth was an uncultivated and unproductive area waiting for the arrival of man.
God plants a garden and puts man there with a command to work. It's a pattern that's repeated in the temple worship - sacred space with the presence of God and God's people worshipping him. In the garden the worship is to rule, subdue explore, work take take of the world. To extend the garden to the world. All we can do to serve and take care of creation, whether we get paid or not is a blessing, it's worship.
It's also really clear that man is not an imposter in an otherwise perfect world. Yes he does spoil things pretty soon but it's not true that by design man is an unhelpful addition to creation. Creation is lost without him. It has not purpose, no production.
Adam was to Serve in Dependence and Trust (verse 16,17).
Man lives by the breath of God and the word of God. He depends on God for the wonderful garden and a world to explore Man is dependent on God for life daily expressing this by eating from tree of life. But he also has to trust God's word. God gives a command: eat anything but this one tree. And then there's a warning: ignore me and you’ll die which means you begin to die losing access to tree of life. Our daily experience is of either dependence and trust or independence and unbelief
Which leads us to realise something has gone wrong because we're not in the garden and we all die. How do we get back to garden?
Only Jesus Fulfils the Mandate. We get back to Eden by Jesus. well that's not quite true. We actually get to somewhere better. To the new Jerusalem. Jesus perfectly fulfils the creation mandate for service, dependence and trust. Jesus made all the right choices. Jesus gives the right to eat from the tree of life
We need to be the best at serving God in working in this world in dependence and trust but we so need a Saviour for all the bad choices we've made.
We need the new Adam, Jesus Christ.
Do you know Him?
Here's a few questions for you:
1. How does the OT temple copy from the garden?
2. What does it mean that Jesus breathes on His disciples?
3. What do you think is meant by the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil"?
4. Do you think Adam and Eve were immortal before the ate the wrong fruit?
5. Have you got any other questions?!
Listen to the full sermon here...
Man is a Special Person. He's like all the animals, made in a similar way as a distinct species but more than just another species, man is unique:
He's made in God’s image (Ch1). God breaths life into him showing a direct intimate act of creation. God speaks to him directly directing and commanding.
We share characteristics with animals but are made separately from dust, not from another animal. We are all descended from Adam (Acts 17:26)
The second thing about man is that he is to worship God in a Sacred Place (4-6; 8-15)
The earth was an uncultivated and unproductive area waiting for the arrival of man.
God plants a garden and puts man there with a command to work. It's a pattern that's repeated in the temple worship - sacred space with the presence of God and God's people worshipping him. In the garden the worship is to rule, subdue explore, work take take of the world. To extend the garden to the world. All we can do to serve and take care of creation, whether we get paid or not is a blessing, it's worship.
It's also really clear that man is not an imposter in an otherwise perfect world. Yes he does spoil things pretty soon but it's not true that by design man is an unhelpful addition to creation. Creation is lost without him. It has not purpose, no production.
Adam was to Serve in Dependence and Trust (verse 16,17).
Man lives by the breath of God and the word of God. He depends on God for the wonderful garden and a world to explore Man is dependent on God for life daily expressing this by eating from tree of life. But he also has to trust God's word. God gives a command: eat anything but this one tree. And then there's a warning: ignore me and you’ll die which means you begin to die losing access to tree of life. Our daily experience is of either dependence and trust or independence and unbelief
Which leads us to realise something has gone wrong because we're not in the garden and we all die. How do we get back to garden?
Only Jesus Fulfils the Mandate. We get back to Eden by Jesus. well that's not quite true. We actually get to somewhere better. To the new Jerusalem. Jesus perfectly fulfils the creation mandate for service, dependence and trust. Jesus made all the right choices. Jesus gives the right to eat from the tree of life
We need to be the best at serving God in working in this world in dependence and trust but we so need a Saviour for all the bad choices we've made.
We need the new Adam, Jesus Christ.
Do you know Him?
Here's a few questions for you:
1. How does the OT temple copy from the garden?
2. What does it mean that Jesus breathes on His disciples?
3. What do you think is meant by the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil"?
4. Do you think Adam and Eve were immortal before the ate the wrong fruit?
5. Have you got any other questions?!
Listen to the full sermon here...
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