John 10:1-18 I am the Good Shepherd
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
I am the Good Shepherd
“I am the Good Shepherd” has a sort of comforting feel about it doesn’t it? But when Jesus says it in this passage his listeners may not have had the same response. They would have realised that he was saying something very significant; in fact, making a claim that no-one should dare to make.
Now I imagine you know that sheep and shepherds in the Old Testament were a well-known metaphor for the people of God.
For example, in a couple of weeks we’ll be reminded again of those words from Isaiah: “All we like sheep have gone astray. We’ve all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah was referring to the nation of Israel as he wrote those words, though we understand that they apply to us as well.
Today we often refer to Christian ministers as pastors. Ministers even refer to their congregation as their flock. So it’s still a common metaphor for God’s people.
Mark 6:1-29 - What Should We Expect?
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
What Should We Expect?
I guess one of the most difficult questions we’re faced with as a Christian is “Why do bad things happen to good people?” For those who might want to reply that “no-one is good, no not one”, I could rephrase the question to “Why do bad things happen to people who have committed their lives to God’s service?” And I could think of many examples of such bad things.
So my question today is “What should we expect?” There are plenty of examples of promises in Scripture of blessings and prosperity for those who serve God with a pure heart. So is that what we expect? Do we give to God’s work, as we saw two weeks ago, out of generosity and thankfulness, or because we’re hoping to be rewarded by God?
Do we rely on the promise that all things work together for good to those who love God, expecting that all will be well, all manner of things will be well - in our lives here and now?
Well, I think Mark may have had those questions in mind when he was compiling his gospel and he put these three instances together in the passage that we just heard read.
2 Cor 5:6-21 New Creation
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
New Creation and Reconciliation
Who’d like a new body? I’d say put your hands up but I wouldn’t want you to pull a muscle in your eagerness. Well today we follow up on what we heard last week, from Howard, of the reality of our hope of eternal life, of the fact that Jesus’ resurrection assures us of our own resurrection and, what’s more, that the presence of his Holy Spirit within us assures us that we’re already experiencing that eternal life with God, even if that is limited by our mortal bodies. Today we’re thinking about what that experience of God’s presence with us might mean for us in our present circumstances.
Paul begins this section reminding us that we remain always confident, not of our own strength or ability, but of God’s promise. One thing about Paul is that he understands what it’s like to struggle with life as a Christian. You’ll remember, if you were here 2 weeks ago, how he used that metaphor of having a great treasure in jars of clay. The jars of clay, of course, are us; our weak bodies and our less than perfect willpower.
Mat 18:21-35 - The Nature of Grace
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Nature of Grace Audio
I think we can all relate to this story. We empathise with the poor servant who only owes a few dollars and is thrown into gaol by the culprit of the story. We feel the sense of powerlessness of the poorer servant. We feel the outrage of the other servants as they see this injustice being played out. We cheer when the master finds out and justice is finally done.
I wonder though, how often we find ourselves identifying with the unmerciful servant. Do we ever wonder whether Jesus is telling this story to warn us?
Do you see how the story starts? Peter has asked Jesus a question. It’s a question that arises from the previous discussion. There’s a danger with a catchy story like this. It’s so easy to take it out of context; to read it as a stand-alone event when it’s not. You see, Jesus has just finished talking about the question of discipline in the church. What do you do if someone in the church offends someone else? What do you do if someone is doing something that the Church considers sinful? How do you deal with that person? And the answer Jesus gives is that you first gently confront them in the hope that they repent and are restored to fellowship with you. If that doesn’t work you take a couple of witnesses along and only if that fails do you take it to the whole church.
Matt 13:1-13 - It all Depends on the Soil
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
It all Depends on the Soil
You’d have to say that Jesus’ ministry was a success wouldn’t you? Here in Matthew 13 we see a scene reminiscent of a Taylor Swift appearance. There are so many people flocking to hear him that he has to get the disciples to bring a boat for him to get into before he gets pushed into the water. People are flocking to hear him, willing to endure hunger and thirst because they’re hungry for God’s word - here is the evangelist’s dream. What more could you ask for?
And yet as Jesus proceeds to teach them, there’s a sadness in the story he tells - reinforced by his brief commentary on the purpose of parables in vs 10-12. What on the surface might appear to be a charming story of rural life has a barb to it. It contains a warning to us, the hearers, to be careful about how we listen to God’s word and how we persevere in following that word so it bears much fruit in our lives.
The sadness in the story is that it points out how often, and how easily, the divine seed of God’s word is destroyed.
Rom 8:26-39
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Life in the Spirit -Help and Assurance audio
Well, how’s life treating you? That’s a fairly common question people might greet you with; commonly responded to with “Fine, thanks.” But is it fine? Or is life a bit tough at the moment, even if you don’t feel like sharing that with a mere acquaintance? Are you worried about some issue in your life? Are you concerned about the future?
Over the past few weeks we’ve been reading Paul’s letter to a church that were certainly doing it tough at a number of levels: at both the personal and external level. They were struggling with living lives that please God, and they were struggling with the pressure of living in a world where normal expectations and lifestyles were opposed to Christianity. In other words they weren’t that much different from us. Suffering is very much a universal experience.
Last week, though, Steve pointed out that we need to give thanks to God because the sufferings of this world can’t be compared to the glory that awaits us and now Paul goes on to build on that theme of thankfulness.
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