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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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.
Rom 7:14-25 - Living in the now and not yet
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Living in the Now and Not Yet
When John writes his first letter to the churches in Asia- minor he reminds them that God loves us so much that he’s made us his children; and then he says “3:2Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” In other words our future life has to shape our present life. If we’re to live with God in the future then we need to start learning to live now in a way that pleases God.
So how are you at living a god pleasing life? You don’t need to answer that out loud. Nor do you need to give yourself a score. But my guess is that if you’re like me you may regularly find yourself thinking back on something you’ve done and realising that you should have done the exact opposite if you wanted to please God? How often do you realise that you’re repeating those mistakes over and over again? And if so, what do you do about it?
Matt 26:36-46 Jesus: The Last Battle
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Take the Cup Away
We come today to the final stage of this series on prayer; to a prayer prayed in a situation that none of us would ever want to be faced with. Words poured out in the moment of impending death and suffering beyond imagining.
The scene is one familiar to us from reflections on Good Friday. Jesus has come from the last supper with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives. He knows what’s coming. Several times in the previous week he’s told his disciples that the Son of Man must be put to death and now the moment approaches.
Notice he takes with him the 11 disciples who are still there after Judas leaves. Why does he take them with him as he goes to commune with his heavenly father? Well, because he’s a human being just like us, who need friends around us in the worst moments of our lives. This is the Son of God, but he is also a real human being with all the needs of a normal human being. See what he says to them: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
