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Sermon Notes - Page 15

  • 5 March 2006 - St. Andrew's

    Mark 1:9-15

    Genesis 9:8-17

    Out of the wilderness - kingdom

    Mark -  place of deliverance - place where God is to be found place of safety – but also a place of danger and horror - where Satan and the wild beasts are to be faced. (disclosingnewworlds)

    Out of the wilderness, kingdom.

    Noah - awful, deliverance & judgement - faithfulness,  from watery wilderness - kingdom.

    This mornings Hymns have all come from a time of wilderness - 
    Now thank we all our God  was written in the depths of the Thirty Years War when the whole land was devastated 
    If you believe and I believe comes from Zimbabwe's independence struggle - we sing it today as we launch our   Commitment for Life appeal and support our friend Marian.
    O love that wilt not let me go came from George Matheson's personal distress and has been used through the years to acknowledge grief and pain.
    Were you there when they crucified my Lord? comes out of slavery and the faith of a people oppressed and abused who found in Jesus liberation.
    By gracious powers is a translation of a hymn written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in New Year 1945 whilst in a Nazi prison knowing that he was unlikely to survive. Amidst the pain is a wonderful confidence in God's goodness and grace.

    From war, hopelessness, distress, slavery, imprisonment, comes release, healing, freedom, grace, justice, hope - out of wilderness - kingdom. 

    Lent is created wilderness - fasting, prayer, reflection seeking God and God's will in our lives.

    Real Lives often involves real wilderness - there is no known time scale, no planned Easter.
    The programme “Facing the Truth” told powerful stories from the conflict in Northern Ireland, it has been a long wilderness for all of those involved - has the kingdom come?  in healing, in reconciliation, in forgiveness, we saw the kingdom come - people building a future with hope. Out of the it wilderness, kingdom.

    Your wilderness - if remembered - where did the the kingdom come, where was the healing, reconciliation, new beginning? If it is now, be encouraged by other peoples stories, be aware that in the wilderness as you face Satan and the wild beasts - God is present and out of wilderness can come Kingdom. If it is created for this Lenten period, then may your seeking allow you to know God's call on your life at this time.


  • 26 February 2006, Hallfold & Bamford

    2 Kings 2;1-12 
    Mark 9: 2-9

    "On a Mountain Top"

    Epiphany - revelation of Jesus - child, man, now as the one bringing the past into the future - “My beloved Son - listen to him”

    Some see a Resurrection story - a hint at the glory to come - only risen Jesus story in Mark - letting the reader know that it will be alright in the end - but for the disciples more confusion - don’t talk until you understand - never seem to understand

    Other see the shadow of the Cross - a reminder of suffering - white robes of martyrs (Daniel) - deny yourself, take up the cross, follow. - be a disciple to one who suffers and calls us to suffer with him! - for the sake of the kingdom, for justice for righteousness we are called to battle the powers of the day - whatever they may be and in whatever context we find ourselves.

    On the mountaintop is to dream a dream and to know the struggle that lies ahead - MLK “from every mountainside let freedom ring” - he knew the struggle ahead.

    When we come to the mountain top - we are allowed to dream - to have a hint of the future God promises to us - but also to know the struggle that lies ahead.

    I’ve dreamt that dream - and I still wonder how it can be - I dream of a church 
    where all people are valued - not just those who push themselves forward, 
    where everyone is listened to - not just those with the biggest voices,
    where people in pain can know healing, 
    where people in fear can know safety
    where people with creative ideas can express themselves and be encouraged, 
    where everyone works together to seek God’s way.

    where people are prepared to take risks for the kingdom’s sake

    Is that the church you know?  glimpes - but too often self-interest, small-mindedness, fear, inaction, lack of imagination, looking to the past, no self-denial, no taking up of the cross, no following - no discipleship. - kingdom comes by way of the cross.

    Go to a mountaintop - consider the future - your discipleship - your willingness to follow Jesus - the path God is calling you to at this time - see the struggle, the self-denial, the cross involved - and may God’s glory be revealed.

  • Bamford 22 Jan 2005

    "The time is now"
    Jonah is a wonderfully comic story of a reluctant miserable prophet. On hearing God's call he runs away, tries to hide, as if he could really hide from God. Spewed up on the beach covered in fish he heads for Nineveh - with all the enthusiasm of a teenager sent to make their bed! And we have the a brilliant eight word sermon - which brings repentance m- and still Jonah isn't happy. How many of us have head God's call and behaved like Jonah? - running, hiding, getting busy  -doing anything except God's will - there is no place to hide - but still excuses are heard and God's call ignored.

    Simon, Andrew, James and John didn't prevaricate with excuses. They had  work - a family business for James and John, families - a mother-in-law, so presumably a wife, perhaps children for Simon,-  fears, doubts, uncertainty, risk - but it was time to follow- time to listen to God’s call - time to repent (turn around) believe - Believe in God, Jesus, self

    The time to follow Jesus is now - not some indeterminate time in the future, we can’t plan the future, in a moment everything changes ....

    And not a lifestyle choice - To “repent and believe” - is to turn around, to embracing a new set of values and norms.  It will change forever the way in which those who respond – the disciples – will view the world and live in it.  It is a call to take up the struggle against all the powers that hold the world and its people captive – demons, sickness, hatred, discrimination, political and religious authorities.  disclosing new worlds
    The call to fish for people picks up on Jeremiah, Amos, Ezekial where “hooking of fish” is a euphemism for judgement upon the rich - Jesus mandate “inviting common folk to join him in his struggle to overturn the existing order of power and privilege.” 

    Our lives? - Repent?
    private life - shame?, unworthy? - can’t be hidden from God
    working life - transforming?, liberating? “hooking fish or fattening the fish? - 
    kingdom life - This is an active faith - come, go, follow, on the way, producing fruit, go out, proclaim, heal, - putting faith into action, living as the people of God. And in the kingdom there is a role for each of us - perhaps within the church, our work, our daily life. We don 't have to go far to find the mission field it is here, it is now. 

    The time is now - to become a kingdom person  - it is time to put down your nets, to break with business as usual - to follow Jesus, are you coming or hiding?