tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32172138968502675382024-03-13T13:16:34.320+13:00Inspiration in Jesus NameDiane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comBlogger223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-73742952805422293362016-08-28T13:41:00.000+12:002016-08-28T13:41:58.806+12:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WY8PUFRlk251RGQRyefCR8kpjHzPh54CHPCe1_2eGZKJtycvxp_Xy3-fgTnzcRMIkIzo6IxVPR436TGegUYm9vwwcEv6kSHsrb8TnDK3lWZCQnPFfodIHxUznt2tsTVhBBErzkd9ow3o/s1600/Entertaining+Angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WY8PUFRlk251RGQRyefCR8kpjHzPh54CHPCe1_2eGZKJtycvxp_Xy3-fgTnzcRMIkIzo6IxVPR436TGegUYm9vwwcEv6kSHsrb8TnDK3lWZCQnPFfodIHxUznt2tsTVhBBErzkd9ow3o/s320/Entertaining+Angels.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Entertaining Angels</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Pentecost
15 year C </b>Sermon Luke 14:1-14, Hebrews 13:1-2<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Celtic Rune slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Celtic rune of hospitality<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I saw a stranger yestereen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I put food in the eating place,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drink in the drinking place,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Music in the listening place. <u>[pause]<o:p></o:p></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And in the sacred name of the Triune<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He blessed
myself and my house,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My cattle and my dear ones. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And the lark said in her song:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Often, often, often, goes the Christ…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the stranger’s guise<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">John Chrysostom slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A quote from St John Chrysostom… echoes
this<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you can’t find Christ in the beggar at
the church door <br />
you won’t find Him in the chalice<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Letter to the Hebrew’s slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the letter to the Hebrews reminds us
today<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don’t forget <br />
to show hospitality <br />
to strangers, <br />
for by so doing <br />
some people have shown hospitality to angels <br />
without knowing it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Entertaining angels slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Regardless of
whether you believe in angels…I’m sure you can hear that <u>each</u> of
these is poetically trying to capture
something about the will of God…something about the Kingdom of God…and our place in it as it breaks <u>in</u>…to our human dimension of
time and space. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jesus does the same thing in our Gospel
reading today… invoking an image of the God’s kingdom… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and once again…he uses a banquet to do it…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Banquet slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He’s the guest of course…he’s also a stranger who wanders around teaching…what the breaking <u>in</u> of God’s reign <u>looks</u> like. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And by the way…if you’re in any doubt about
that…<br />
it’s clear from Jesus’ teaching… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that the Kingdom looks like seriously <u>good news</u>…like a party even…particularly if you’re one of the lost
and the least…<br />
the broken and unclean.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There’s a sense in which Jesus is teaching about etiquette…for living in God’s
dimension…which he insists is at hand…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">when you’re a guest in God’s kingdom…and if you care
about …being a good guest…well…just
be grateful you’re invited …don’t
assume you’ve got a special place…
above anyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And as a host…well…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">model yourself on the ultimate host.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When you offer hospitality, don’t just invite people who can invite you back…but when you give a banquet…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poor cripple word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">just like the ultimate host…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
and the blind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And you will be blessed…<u>Why</u>? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because they can’t repay you…that’s true
generosity…true graciousness… just like you’ll find in God’s dimension.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So be clear…Jesus
instructs…you are offer hospitality without strings… just as God offers you. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eastbourne slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So how are <u>we</u> doing…here in Eastbourne…As a church here at St Ronan’s? How are we doing as neighbours? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh don’t be silly Diane… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The poor the cripple and the lame and the <u>blind</u>…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that’s not Eastbourne…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">you can’t compare that story to Eastbourne…to
our church…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to my
neighbourhood. <u>[pause]</u><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh yes I can…and so can <u>you</u>…so
can we…in fact we’re supposed to do it! It’s called doing contextual theology…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">talking about God in our context.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You already know that to preach a sermon
I have to exegete <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a biblical text…I have to analyse it…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To apply
Jesus teaching to our lives today…to
our context…<br />
we have to exegete our own community…we
have to ask questions about it…God
sort of questions...Contextual theology sort of questions…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is if we want to apply Jesus teaching…to our lives where we are…and to our life as a faith community in Eastbourne…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I’m sure we do…If we aspire to show
the hospitality of Christ in this
community …in this neighbourhood…then
we need to build a contextual bridge
between Jesus teaching to those first century Pharisee’s and our community in 2016 Aotearoa…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to the Pharisees…Jesus’ list of who to invite…next time…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the poor beggar, the crippled, the lame,
and the blind…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">were unclean…their afflictions viewed… as
evidence of sin… unclean…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To build a contextual bridge with our community
in Eastbourne that’s faithful to
Jesus’ intensions… we have to ask
ourselves – who are the people in Eastbourne we’d normally exclude…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as unclean…or ‘sinful’ or strange…or to be
avoided?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let’s take a little time with that…Talk to
those closest to you…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you think of any people or groups in
Eastbourne who might fall into those
categories? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Discussion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">White
Board…<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If
they get stuck ask who are the people or groups who might think they’re not
welcome or worthy?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When St Ronan’s make plans to offer an
event of hospitality to our community…what’s our motivation… [Don’t
forget mainly music…no strings attached!]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Discussion
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">White
board<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How deliberate are we to include people who might not think they’d be welcome? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok…these are things we might think about
in the year ahead as we make our plans. We live here…we know from Jesus’
teaching how we are to live…how we are to show the hospitality of the Kingdome
of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Angel slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So let us pray.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bless us with strangers, Lord. Bring
before us, in our midst, the presence of Your
Presence, in the frame of the Familiar Stranger. Bring the thought of them to our
minds, with Your sweet Presence. Help us we imagine what might become. In faith
we ask that you cast them bodily into the light of our day, and make them Your
messenger to <u>us</u>, by some
bizarre God-incidence. And cause them
to be blessed as we are blessed, perhaps even seeing you in us, as you in us unite, and as we both partake of that gift that can only
come from You.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Make me to see as they depart us, as they
skip a merry tune,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the vision of that resonating truth in the
warble of the lark. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Often, often, often, goes the Christ<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the stranger’s guise. In his name AMEN.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane/OneDrive/St%20Ronan's/Pentecost%2015%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Luke%2012.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let us sing Korowai Tapu…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane/OneDrive/St%20Ronan's/Pentecost%2015%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Luke%2012.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Adapted from a prayer by Steve Wickham.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-26483065512787310472014-04-18T10:27:00.000+12:002014-04-18T10:27:19.075+12:00How did it come to this?<h3 style="margin-right: 7.6pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Good Friday year A </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">April 18, 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieX5wWuoowsDSYlJR7n8IgJNTRQoi8ZyrMixRItFrphd2tDX4RafxV8VHlKpMIFudDbyMrL3IEijmWWoR0u_xQFW0s3MO85AjbQteh999hrsiZYem574vxqB3HBpeHLDtAvTfeDBNxaYtL/s1600/Crucify+him.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieX5wWuoowsDSYlJR7n8IgJNTRQoi8ZyrMixRItFrphd2tDX4RafxV8VHlKpMIFudDbyMrL3IEijmWWoR0u_xQFW0s3MO85AjbQteh999hrsiZYem574vxqB3HBpeHLDtAvTfeDBNxaYtL/s1600/Crucify+him.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></div>
</span></span></h3>
<h3 style="margin-right: 7.6pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The drum beats as the Bible is brought in</span></span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US">Call
to worship:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today we join
those… who stand at the foot of the Cross… wondering… how it ever <b>came</b> to this…<br />
that the one we thought would <b>avenge</b>
us against our enemies… <br />
and win <b>back</b> for us… <b>everything</b> we rightly deserve…<br />
<br />
The one we believed to be the <b>Messiah</b>…sent
from God…<br />
is too <b>weak</b> even to save <b>himself</b> … <br />
<br />
How did it <b>come</b> to this… that the
one who <br />
spoke <b>out</b> so <b>strongly</b> against the powers and principalities of <br />
this <b>world</b>…against the greed and injustice
and corruption… <br />
how <b><u>is</u></b> it he can’t even <b>muster…</b> a mild <b>rebuke…</b> <br />
for those who <b>ridicule</b>… abuse and
torture him…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus has been
betrayed by those he loves…time after time…<br />
but why does he choose the Psalm he
cries from the Cross? Suppose even <b>God</b>
has abandoned him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;">Psalm 22 slide</span></b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you
so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O my God, I cry out by day, but you don’t answer,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by night,
and am not silent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet you’re enthroned as the Holy One;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b>you</b>
are the praise of Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In you our fathers put their trust;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> they trusted
and you delivered them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They cried to you and were saved;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> they trusted you and weren’t disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I am a worm and not a man,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> scorned and
despised by the people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All who see me mock me;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> they hurl
insults, shaking their heads:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <sup>PS 22:8</sup>
"He trusts in the LORD;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> let the LORD
rescue him. Let the Lord deliver him,
since he delights in him." <sup>PS
22:9</sup> Yet you brought me out of the womb;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <sup>PS 22:10</sup>
From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. Don’t be far <b>from</b> me, for trouble is
near<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and
there is no one to help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From <b>you</b> comes the theme of my <b>praise</b> in
the great assembly;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">before
those who fear you I’ll fulfill my vows.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my song…The poor will eat and be satisfied;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> they who seek
the LORD will praise him--<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> may your
hearts live forever!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus and Cross slide then song slides<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">Diane: </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">And as we stand looking up
at the old rugged cross we know Jesus desolation is for us and for the
salvation of the world.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 10pt;">Hymn: </span></i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 10pt;">The old rugged cross three verses
only<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Father forgive them slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<h4 style="margin-right: 7.6pt; tab-stops: 153.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The Gospel </span><span lang="EN-US">Luke 23:26-34 </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h4>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Crucifixion of Jesus <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 26 As
the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in
from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and
wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do
not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time
will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that
never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and
to the hills, “Cover us!”’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 31
For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it
is dry?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 32 Two
other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When
they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with
the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good Friday year A Sermon 11 Father, forgive them! <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He could have said other words, but he didn’t…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">yes we heard him right…it was those particular words
which came from Jesus’ lips…‘Forgive them, Father. They don’t know what they’re
doing.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He didn’t call for his friends to avenge his death… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he did not demand an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth…instead he prayed with words shot through with understanding and
compassion…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for the criminals who hung on either side of him…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and for the crowd shouting abuse below…and maybe we
hope… understanding and compassion for us too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Forgive them, Father. They don’t know what they’re
doing.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A pardon… freely offered…to people who… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by any human standard of justice… just don’t deserve
it…. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, out of unendurable pain… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus cries out… God’s justice…and from the Cross
…proclaims the paradox of grace…forgiveness of sins… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">not earned…but offered freely as a gift. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the cross we hear no words of condemnation…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">nor anger…nor self-pity…but only words <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that echo what Jesus taught about who we should love <br />
and who we should forgive…<br />
and the blessed place of mercy in the divine scheme of things…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the suffering vantage point of God...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the cycle of reprisal…revenge and retribution…born
from nationalistic ethnic and personal un…forgiveness…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">would simply never… ever… save the world…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but forgiveness and mercy…would.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of all the religions of the world…the idea of grace <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is unique to Christianity… the Gospel of Jesus
proclaims there’s no way… we can work or earn our way… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">into God’s love.
It’s just there for us offered freely. There is no other religion on
earth that announces this good news.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet even when we’ve heard it a thousand times…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we still don’t get it…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The notion of God’s mercy and forgiveness and grace…
is hard…for even Christians to accept… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and even harder for us to imitate. To even try to
follow Jesus in this way… remains completely counter cultural ...and even in
the news this week…continues to be labelled naïve... idealistic…even crazy…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as though God revealed by Jesus on the Cross…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">doesn’t really understand how the world works…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and we do.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two reasons why... though we aspire to
follow Jesus… we will refuse to extend this mercy and this grace to others…and
even to ourselves…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two reasons… one’s about the cost…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and the other’s about ignorance…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see Jesus revealed on the Cross that forgiveness
always costs the forgiver something<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">… maybe to the extreme of… pain and ridicule and
death… <br />
God in Christ…was prepared to suffer and die rather than retaliate…against a
humanity free to reject their creator’s love…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, as Jesus’ disciples… sometimes we are called… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to take up our Cross…just as he did. But more often
than not… the cost of loving and forgiving…is less expensive <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sometimes all we have to give up…is our pride …<br />
all we have to let go… is our anger and our bitterness… <br />
all we have to sacrifice…is our dream of payback and revenge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as for ignorance…well it’s clear from Jesus words
… that from a divine perspective…those who betrayed and tortured <br />
and killed Jesus… didn’t really understand… the full impact…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of their actions.
‘Forgive them, Father! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For they don’t know what they are doing.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some people… just stood by… and let the atrocity
happen… others were actual perpetrators of the violence and the abuse…still
others like Jesus’ mother were victims along with her son…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">none of them… really knows the full story…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and what about the pain and grief… endured by the One
…to whom Jesus prays…who understands that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it’s true for us today…who understands… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for God’s love to prevail…having created us in love
and in freedom…God has no choice but to forgive us… because God knows… we can never
fully understand the cosmic consequences of what we do… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to ourselves and one another and to the earth. We are
fallen and we need to be saved from ourselves…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God bears the full cost of forgiveness on the Cross.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in our ignorance we don’t even understand what
forgiveness is. We don’t realise that it’s a decision not a feeling…Jesus is
suffering and dying on the Cross ….forgiving doesn’t make him feel better…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this kind of love hurts…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We just don’t get…that Jesus decision to forgive
means…the betrayer…the abuser…the murderer…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">no longer owes him anything…no longer owes God
anything …their debt is cancelled. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the divine court room… the justice of demanding
retribution…just doesn’t work… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">because no one could afford…to pay back what they owe<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Often Christians make the mistake of thinking Jesus
somehow changed God’s mind… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but that’s completely inconsistent <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with Jesus being fully divine…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead it’s clear from the Gospel we proclaim…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that Jesus reveals God’s mind… Jesus reveals God’s
will and God’s purposes…and calls us to follow him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re
doing…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pray you will trust Jesus words from the cross and
that you will walk with humility and obedience out these doors <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to respond to that love and that grace with mercy
ourselves. <br />
In this is the salvation of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is finished Michael Hyndman on guitar
[type into power point]<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">Hymn</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> When I survey the wondrous
Cross<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Father forgive us slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prayer of Confession <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beloved God…Creator Redeemer and Spirit… <b>forgive</b> us… <br />
for we don’t know what we’re <b>doing</b>.
We think we understood your <b>word</b> to
us made flesh in Jesus Christ… but we continue to <b>ignore</b> his plea for humility and mercy…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we want the world to live in peace yet we applaud the
spilling of blood for our own cause…we accept the poverty of others without
speaking out and standing up for them…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We hold six inch nails in our own hands…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
And yet you <b>pursue</b> us with your
love…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
God of everlasting covenants,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we come to you this day in sorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We come with self-inflicted pains<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of broken trust and chosen wrong,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">half-free, half-bound by inner chains,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">swept along by social forces,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">confined by powers and systems left unopposed<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">seeking hope for humankind while holding on to
resentment and angers and judgment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stand at the foot of the Cross hearing words of mercy
spoken our of unbearable pain and in the shadow of death… God help us have the
strength and courage to resist evil in <b>all</b>
its forms…particularly in our own hearts as we confess all we’ve done to
crucify you in our own lives. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">together as your broken body…trusting in your infinite
mercy…<br />
we dare to ask for the fullness of your forgiveness and your grace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This we pray in the name of the one who came to save
us…Jesus Christ. AMEN.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Assurance of Pardon slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus Christ our servant king spoke forgiveness from
the Cross, today receive the assurance of his pardon; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God continues to forgive…God’s love is stronger than
death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Song slides<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">Hymn</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> How deep the Father’s love
for us<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Diane walks to the back as Reg reads.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the power of Christ’s submission on the Cross <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the powers have been disabled, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but they’re still rebellious (as we are), <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and still need to be reminded of their place <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in God’s creation. (As we do)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so as his followers we look to the example of
Jesus. who acts boldly and speaks loudly
against the powers to bring things out into the open…[pause] and then submits
to the consequences...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and in apparent weakness… endures a suffering <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in which the hostility… and pride and arrogance and
fear…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of the offender are absorbed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we who follow him still seek the signs of the
continuing Passion of God in the world…not in abstract ideas… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but in the human grief and suffering which refuses to
retaliate…and continues to show mercy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Diane sings </span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were you there </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-32260307303077606492014-04-13T17:23:00.000+12:002015-03-28T15:19:15.551+13:00Wedding Feast of the Lamb<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMeSACgjckogw14A9qq8TXgsHDkK1U6sr9iAf89pbWJC5I6lk2E08Nk_mzffrGSLxrY0l-MXp7vZm4zOQJO-E6aUa_HFtN2wxnE82OLxjzfXMTi3jyFicePVEJN9-VTJGNh5ZJKpoPCSk/s1600/Jesus+breaking+bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMeSACgjckogw14A9qq8TXgsHDkK1U6sr9iAf89pbWJC5I6lk2E08Nk_mzffrGSLxrY0l-MXp7vZm4zOQJO-E6aUa_HFtN2wxnE82OLxjzfXMTi3jyFicePVEJN9-VTJGNh5ZJKpoPCSk/s1600/Jesus+breaking+bread.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMeSACgjckogw14A9qq8TXgsHDkK1U6sr9iAf89pbWJC5I6lk2E08Nk_mzffrGSLxrY0l-MXp7vZm4zOQJO-E6aUa_HFtN2wxnE82OLxjzfXMTi3jyFicePVEJN9-VTJGNh5ZJKpoPCSk/s1600/Jesus+breaking+bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Lent 6 year A Sermon Palm Sunday</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus has come to
town for a meal</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like all the other…
tired and dusty… Jewish pilgrims on the road that day…Jesus and his friends…
are arriving in Jerusalem… for a sacred meal…for the Passover…the oldest Jewish festival…
to honour the saving acts of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus has been travelling
toward Jerusalem for months…
preaching and teaching and healing…<br />and
given the edict out for his execution…you’d think he’d stay out of
town. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of those
who travel with him…have come to believe
he’s the promised messiah…<br />the anointed one of God …<br />
the one to restore the throne of David <u>and</u> Israel… <br />
to their rightful place against the
Romans…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But lurking in the shadows…are
others…who track his every move… certain that he’s dangerous… a trouble
maker… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">out to challenge the religious authorities and upset the nice cosy relationship they have with the
Empire .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As well… Roman spies
are watching Jesus closely…<br />
wanting a trouble free festival… with so many thousands… coming in to the city…for
the Passover…<br />
Kind of reminds me of Wanaka at Easter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is Jesus…riding into the city…<br />
among throngs of Jewish pilgrims. Here
is Jesus <br />
already disturbing things…making an
elaborate and dramatic claim… to the
royal throne of David… <br />
riding in on a donkey…just as Israel’s kings had before him<br />
Disturbing the peace…<br />
daring everyone…to compare his
arrival to the ancient prophesy … See Jerusalem…
daughter of Zion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> See, your king comes to you, <br />
gentle and riding on a donkey <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not <u>one</u> of
the pilgrims entering the city that day… <br />
would miss the symbolic reference to
Israel’s kings…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like the great pilgrimages…we
see today in the Middle East they flooded into the city gates in their
thousands…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And still today
every observant Jew…longs to celebrate <br />
the Passover in Jerusalem…at least
once in their life time. Next year in
Jerusalem! [Pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The focus
of the Passover pilgrimage... <br />
<u>and</u> the meal they share...always
was and always <u>is</u>… hope <br />
<br />
Hope in God. Hope in the only one…who can bring deliverance out of suffering… hope kindled by the telling... and retelling...
of the story of how God delivered the
people … from slavery in Egypt. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even in Jesus’ time… the Passover was the oldest
religious festival...based on ancient
memories and rituals... handed down by Jewish storytellers through the centuries...
<br />
and finally preserved in the scroll
of Exodus by the priests in exile in Babylon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
Passover…the story of </span><span lang="EN-US">the tenth and final plague...
<br />
that broke the will of Pharaoh… to let
the people go...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a pestilence that killed every unprotected…firstborn child...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the only
thing saving the children of the Israelites...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">was the
blood of a sacrificial lamb...</span>poured
out... <br />
and streaked across the <u>door</u>posts
of their homes... <span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="sup"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The scroll of the Exodus
recalling how God instructed Moses
to tell the people <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="sup"><span lang="EN-US"> ‘</span></span><span lang="EN-US">And the blood
shall <u>be</u> to you for a token upon the houses ... and when <u>I</u> see the blood, I will pass <u>over</u> you...<br />
and the plague shall not be upon you
to destroy you <br />
when I smite the land of Egypt. And
this day shall be a memorial…and you
shall keep it a feast ... forever.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The blood of the sacrificial lamb... would save them. <br />
God would deliver them from bondage. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so the pilgrims come... wave after wave... <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">into the
sacred city of the Jews... itself a symbol <br />
of the day when <u>all</u> God’s
promises are fulfilled...<br />
when one day </span>all oppression, exploitation
and cruelty… <br />
would be ended…<span lang="EN-US">the day when </span>all
<u>creation</u> is restored <br />
to right relationship with God. [pause…………..]<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So naturally <span lang="EN-US">there’s an atmosphere of celebration <br />
as they approach Jerusalem...not
only for what God <u>has</u> done... but in anticipation...of what God will continue to do...to bring salvation and deliverance <br />
to those still enslaved… to bondage and tyranny.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it’s right into <u>this</u>
very context…Jesus chooses to make his audacious…
and unmistakably <u>regal</u>… <br />
entry into Jerusalem…<br />
The symbolism of riding on a donkey <br />
could not be missed by any Jew…it <u>is</u> a piece of high and sacred
drama…carefully planned by Jesus… <br />
to announce for all to see…they
don’t have to wait any longer… God’s anointed
one has <u>arrived</u>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The one who’d bring about the salvation of the world… <br />
has <u>entered</u> the city gates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So you can kind of understand
<br />
why the religious authorities… see
him as such a threat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Supper slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And isn’t it interesting…<br />
when Jesus finally sits down to that
last supper <br />
with his friends…instead of <u>downplaying</u>…<br />
that dangerous declaration of his identity…<br />
<br />
Jesus then dares… to reshape and reinterpret…<br />
the whole sacred <u>tradition…</u> of
the Passover. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you notice in our
reading…<br />
when Jesus proclaims the Passover…is fulfilled.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s how he does it…<br />
<br />
Right there in that upper room…just as
father’s are doing <br />
in every household in Jerusalem… <br />
Jesus takes on the role…of the head
of the family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He offers his friends…the
broken… unleavened bread… <br />
of the Passover meal… and he blesses his cup of wine… <br />
And as Jesus tells them…their ancient story…
<br />
of freedom and salvation…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">his words… confirm their worst fears <br />
for his life… and maybe even… his sanity. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just as the lamb… sacrificed by their ancestors in Egypt<br />
was a sign from God… of <u>their</u> deliverance… <u>Jesus’</u> life… will now be offered
<u>up</u>…as a sacrifice… <br />
to bring deliverance for all people…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their teacher… their
friend…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">understood himself to <u>be</u>
the sacrificial Lamb of God... <br />
and in this way…the Passover would
be fulfilled… <br />
for all the world. [pause……….]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h5 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
And there in the face of their fear</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">for his </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">life</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> <br />
and maybe even his </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">sanity...</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Jesus </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">comforts</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> his followers <br />
And gently </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">recites</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">… the words they’d heard a hundred times at </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">engagement</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> parties…<br />
<br />
the tender promise</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> made… </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">by</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">every Jewish </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">bridegroom <br />
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">to his </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">bride</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
<h5 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></h5>
<h5 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
<h5 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">in my Father's house are many rooms; if it
were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back... and take you
to </span><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">be</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> with me that you also may be where </span><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> am.<o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
<h5 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></h5>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Jesus speaks these words along
with the symbolic language of the Passover...the
last supper<br />
becomes the wedding feast of the lamb... <u>[pause….]</u><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And all he asks of them… is that they be faithful
<br />
to this new covenant...<br />
and love each other…just as he has
loved them... <br />
so the whole world will know they’re
his disciples. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
hospitality of the table of our Lord…<br />
the wedding feast of the Lamb…<br />
has occurred already… and Jesus has presided over it…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking
forgiveness from the cross…for the salvation of the world. And we are to do
this ourselves… <br />
every time we remember him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You
see…here at the ends of the earth…beneath these mountains and beside these
lakes…<br />
we are a people of Jesus new covenant…<br />
who gather around this table…each week to remember him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Whether it’s communion Sunday or not…<br />
you… are a people gathered around that same table…as they did in the Upper
Room…you are a people bearing good news…sharing the same wedding feast…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People bid
Jesus to love one another and carry that love into this community and into the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So in the
years ahead…as you worship together and share the sacred meal in the company of
another minister…<br />
may you always show love and hospitality…to one another and to those who come… and
they will come…strangers and orphans who need to know that in Jesus Christ they
are forgiven set free.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: -9.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: center 131.05pt;">
<br /></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-P8hJuZvGE5c%2FU0oecW-k_yI%2FAAAAAAAAPxk%2FO8ZN96ZUKj0%2Fs1600%2FJesus%2Bbreaking%2Bbread.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMeSACgjckogw14A9qq8TXgsHDkK1U6sr9iAf89pbWJC5I6lk2E08Nk_mzffrGSLxrY0l-MXp7vZm4zOQJO-E6aUa_HFtN2wxnE82OLxjzfXMTi3jyFicePVEJN9-VTJGNh5ZJKpoPCSk/s1600/Jesus+breaking+bread.jpg" -->Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-60938223358658679082014-03-30T10:44:00.002+13:002014-03-30T10:45:52.541+13:00The pearl<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuu_Mum1Kgc6riJUbnDU1RVgpu9WgmRODTt7pVJf8HtUmv8-rMWKy-p2d4y_xsWgVf1OmT8XvmnhXsRrDHE3Prj1g8gZ7UHa6tKuWPN94sROTNeqqJ49JiF5WQERJWbgOL9iLLYXSMEJBi/s1600/The+Pearl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuu_Mum1Kgc6riJUbnDU1RVgpu9WgmRODTt7pVJf8HtUmv8-rMWKy-p2d4y_xsWgVf1OmT8XvmnhXsRrDHE3Prj1g8gZ7UHa6tKuWPN94sROTNeqqJ49JiF5WQERJWbgOL9iLLYXSMEJBi/s1600/The+Pearl.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lent 4 year A Sermon </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Kingdom of God is like the
finest pearl…its value is worth selling everything in order to possess it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you ever got to that point
in your faith…that you were prepared to give up everything…everything…to buy
that pearl…to take your place in the Kingdom of God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abraham was…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before there were even a people <b>called</b> the Hebrews, before a single <b>word</b> of the Bible was written…before
Moses received the <b>Law</b>…before <b>David</b>…<br />
before Jesus…Paul reminds us……<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abraham
side<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">an old <b>man</b> named Abraham… was right with God …reached the point in his
faith… that he didn't waver regarding the promises of God…but was strengthened
in his faith and gave glory to God…being <b>fully</b>
persuaded that God had <b>power…</b> to do
what he promised. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abraham <b>couldn’t</b> have kept the law… it didn't exist…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abraham’s <b>faith</b> is why it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham was <b>totally</b> convinced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Paul tells us… the words “it
was <b>credited</b> to him” were written
not just for Abraham alone…but also for us, who believe in him… who raised
Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death because of <b>our</b> sins and raised to life for our
justification. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For us who believe…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pearl
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just before our Bible readings
this morning… <br />
we all stood and said I believe…<br />
<b>together</b>…we recited The Apostles’
Creed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And for a brief moment before we
began… we stood at a crossroad of faith…waiting to take a step…<br />
waiting to make…or renew our confession of faith…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that is what we did…we vowed…
our belief <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you realise you were doing
this…<br />
were you fully <b>conscious</b> of what you
were about to do as you spoke those words…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were you paying attention…or did
you <b><u>engage in <br />
</u></b>what a friend of mine calls… ‘ritual inattention’?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now ask yourself honestly… which
of the following motivated you…I promise I won’t ask you to tell…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Compliance, identification or
absolute faith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ask</b> yourself, ‘was I simply being <b>compliant</b> with Diane’s request for us to stand and speak?…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or…‘maybe it was about identifying
with others in our church family’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or was I fully <b>conscious</b> that I was publically
proclaiming a vow of faith…stating for all to hear…<br />
what I truly <b>believe</b> …expressing the
faith that’s embedded and internalised…in my heart and in my mind <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What’s truly <b>amazing</b>…is that <b>regardless</b>
of what <b>motivated</b> you…what
underlying <b>process</b> <br />
was going <b><u>on</u></b> for you…the <b>external</b> result was the same …you
stood, you spoke a Christian Confession of Faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These three <b>reasons</b> for expressing belief – compliance, identification and
unwavering faith – are actually the normal stages <b>everyone</b> goes through <br />
in their faith journey…<br />
<br />
As <b>little</b> children… we come to
church and sing the songs and say the prayers in <b>compliance</b> to our parent’s wishes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">YAK slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we’re a bit <b>older</b> and finally have the power to say
‘no I’m not going…I’m going to sleep in’…we’ll be very blessed it there is a
youth group like YAK where the food is good and where other Christian kids we
can <b>identify</b> with…are studying the
Bible… as we continue to <b>grow</b> in our
faith. New Adult Christians also benefit by identification with a study group
as <b>their</b> faith matures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word
slide <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It might take us a very very long
time in life… to make it to the third stage…of embedded…internalised faith.
We’re we can say with absolute certainty…yes…I really believe what I said in
the Apostle’s Creed…and from now on my life will reflect what I believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As children it’s natural for us
to adopt the behaviour encouraged by our parents so they’ll approve of us…and
to avoid their disapproval. But later as
teenagers what’s important to us is identification…the actual ideas, beliefs
and <b>reasoning</b> behind our responses aren’t
so important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of us might <b>stay</b> in the identification stage our
entire <b>lives</b>…conforming to <b>group</b> expectations so we can have
satisfying relationships with other people and even with God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when our faith continues to
grow beyond that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at the level of internalised
faith… we choose to make our public profession of faith…not because other
people expect us to or will like us better…but because the <b>vow</b> we make are fully <b>consistent…</b>
with the values embedded in our hearts. Speaking out what we believe feels good
for its <b>own</b> sake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When our faith is embedded in
us…we make a decision …that isn’t dependent on <b>anyone</b> else’s opinion… <br />
or judgement of us – we claim an <b>internal</b>
source of authority… that reserves the right to choose… <br />
and take responsibility for our choices. We decide for ourselves that God is
real…and God’s <b>will…</b> <br />
revealed in Jesus Christ… is the way we want to live…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you ever stood at a faith
crossroad…at the intersection where you must choose between following Jesus or
walking away from faith? <br />
<br />
At such a crossroad we’re faced with the choice … no it’s not for me or…yes…this
<b><u>is</u></b> what I believe… <br />
and from now on it’s going to influence the way I live. From now <b><u>on</u></b> I’m going to walk the walk <br />
and not just talk the talk…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some of us this <b>faith</b> crossroad occurs every <b>day</b> …<br />
if we intentionally ask ourselves the question…<br />
‘what would Jesus do <b>now?’</b><br />
Though we often push it to the back of our minds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will <b>never</b> forget the day I stood at the crossroad of faith for the
first time and made a personal commitment praying specifically to Jesus… asking
him into my heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sure, I was baptised as a baby,
went to Sunday school and church right till I was 16, I was confirmed as a twelve year old and was
given this Bible…<br />
<br />
I had to memorise the shorter catechism…I had to be able to recite the
answers…what is the chief end of man…to love God and enjoy him forever. I
always had a sense of God love and conversational presence…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that stuck with me…even when
church was to boring I quit going…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but it wasn’t till I was in my
mid-thirties that I faced a time of real decision…a friend of mine in
television was determined to get me to ask Jesus into my heart...and so I started
to develop a deeper understanding of God…<br />
Father Son and Holy Spirit – even did a course on the Trinity at Otago…which
really inspired me and deepened my faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I will never forget the day I
gave myself to Jesus… And you know what motivated me to do it? Simply this…I
had a weakness…I wanted something…I hoped God would give it to me if I made
this decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I’m not very proud of that
reason…but there it is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But God who’d always been there
for me… <b>used</b> my weakness….as a
crossroad of faith…into a decision to follow Jesus… the decision which is <b>actually</b> makes Christianity Christian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found my pearl of great price
worth giving up everything else to possess…I stepped across the threshold of
the kingdom of God… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And today it’s true… like the old
song…he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So whether you’re skating along on
the coat tails of your parents in the compliance stage of your faith, or
whether you just really like <b>belonging</b>
to this warm and wonderful family of God, today I invite you to take a
step…make a conscious intentional decision…that what you are saying is truly
where you stand…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year is the 200<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the planting of the seed of the Gospel in Aotearoa New Zealand.
All great <b>missionaries</b> know… that
the clay pot in which the gospel is carried to a new land must be broken so the
good news can take root in new soil. It’s the same with our hearts…when the good
news is planted…that in Jesus…God has invited all of us into a personal
relationship with him that is eternal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Jesus said I am the
resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though
they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you believe this?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Presbyterian Church spent
many years drafting its own kiwi confession of faith. It’s called the Kupu
Whakapono which in Maori <b>means</b>
statement of faith…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I invite you now to stand and say
it with all the faith you can muster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From this land of Aotearoa New
Zealand<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we confess that we believe in and
belong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to the one true and living God,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">who is Father, Son and Holy
Spirit,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love before all love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We believe in God the Father,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sovereign and holy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Creator and nurturer of all,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Father of Jesus Christ,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sender of the Holy Spirit,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and Judge of all the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We believe in God the Son, <br />
Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">truly human and truly divine,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">who lived among us full of grace
and truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For our sin he was crucified<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and by the power of God was
raised from death,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">forgiving us, setting us free and
bringing to birth God’s new creation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now ascended, he calls us to
repentance and faith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and restores us to God and to one
another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We believe in God the Holy
Spirit,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the giver of life at work in all
creation,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">who inspired the Scriptures and
makes Christ known,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">who transforms hearts and minds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and gathers us into the community
of Christ,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">empowering the Church in worship
and in mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We belong to this triune God,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">women and men,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">young and old,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from many nations,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in Christ he iwi kotahi tatou,
[we are one people]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">witnesses to God’s love in word
and action,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">servants of reconciliation,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and stewards of creation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As God’s people,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we look forward in hope and joy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to the return of Christ,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to the new heaven and earth,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">where evil and death will be no
more,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">justice and peace will flourish,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and we shall forever delight in
the glory of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-12960068890902868762014-02-17T13:20:00.000+13:002014-02-17T13:20:00.812+13:00Why do you persecute me?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Epiphany 6 year A Sermon </span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMv_ZWDsrfwBoCyPiHaaLkoI4aA3dU_9BUr4-iwSu1CXNI4YKQpZJZaKKCM2BnmW4LYr7E-tRT5nFrk7tp9oQx91rmFGy4_3nba0QkV8t_c8Mb8ma7ORSI0i19KSAqGqR3XV9WS6JX0qm/s1600/Conversion+of+Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMv_ZWDsrfwBoCyPiHaaLkoI4aA3dU_9BUr4-iwSu1CXNI4YKQpZJZaKKCM2BnmW4LYr7E-tRT5nFrk7tp9oQx91rmFGy4_3nba0QkV8t_c8Mb8ma7ORSI0i19KSAqGqR3XV9WS6JX0qm/s1600/Conversion+of+Paul.jpg" height="320" width="253" /></a></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Deuteronomy
30:15-20 Acts 9:1-4</span></b><span style="font-family: "Corbel","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What
will Paul choose…life or death…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Continuing
the metaphor we encountered in last week’s sermon…Jesus is about to invite Paul
on a fishing trip…just like the <b>disciples</b>
were invited…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
before he can become an effective fisher of men… Paul has to make a choice…
between relationships that bring life and relationships that bring death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Just
like the Hebrew people passing through the Jordan River into the <b>promise</b> land. When Moses tells them…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
have set before you… life and
death….blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may
live and you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to
him. For the Lord is your life… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For
the ancient Hebrews it’s a choice between life for the community or death…for <b>Paul</b> nothing less is at stake than life
for Jew and Gentile alike in the Kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul
would later write…that his encounter with the risen Jesus… was an <b>apocalypse</b> – remember that word <br />
from our series on revelation … <b>revelation</b>
<br />
is what apocalypse <b>means</b>…<br />
<br />
Paul writes… ‘God revealed his <b>son</b>
in me.’ Right there on that dusty road…<br />
when Paul was hell bent… on the destruction of the new break away Jewish sect…
of <b>Jesus</b> followers…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
right there in a flash…there’s a sense in which the deep molecular <b>structure…</b> of this rabid rabbi …<br />
the <b>heart</b> of this religious <b>assassin</b>…was <b>changed</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
the blink of an eye…Paul’s entire way of <b>thinking</b>
is shattered and rebuilt...on a new foundation…Jesus… the Christ...so to the
Corinthian’s Paul writes… ‘<br />
<span style="color: red;">slide words</span><br />
For no one can lay <b>any</b> foundation…
other than the one already laid…which is Jesus Christ.’ The way Paul had
perceived and directed his <b>life</b> up
to that <b>moment…</b> <br />
was entirely transformed. <br />
<br />
The book of Acts records that Paul was blinded by a dazzling light. Would you say Paul converts to Jesus <br />
and is saved and promised heaven when he dies?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Is
that what really happened?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Not
by a long shot. <br />
<br />
Jesus doesn’t ask Paul if he’s heard of
the four spiritual laws. Jesus doesn’t ask him to be born again…Paul isn’t even asked if he’d like to become a
Christian <b>convert</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What
<b><u>does</u></b> Jesus ask him… [ask and
wait for replies] <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">He
is asked about his violence… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Slide words</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
‘Saul…Saul…Jesus says… why do you persecute me? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> was the big question for Paul. <b>Why</b> was he persecuting Jesus by
persecuting Jesus’ <b>followers</b>? <br />
What was it about Jesus… that deserved <b>persecution</b>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul
<b>speaks</b> to this question… in his
letter to the church at Philippi …in a rare autobiographical remark Paul
writes…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If
anyone else things he has reason to put confidence in the <b>flesh</b> I have more… circumcised on the eighth day…belonging to the
people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin…a Hebrew of Hebrew’s…in regard to the
law – a <b>Pharisee</b>…<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Slide words</span></b><br />
as for <b>Zeal…</b> for heaven sake I was a
persecutor of the church…as for legalistic <b>righteousness</b>
– I was <b>faultless</b>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul’s
religious <b>pedigree</b> is
excellent. His zeal can be measured in
concrete <b>terms</b>…is was a persecutor …Saul’s
zeal knew no <b>limit</b>…even death…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What
was Saul’s zeal <b>for</b>? For <b>Torah</b>…for
the <b>Law</b>…<br />
as the Pharisees <b>interpreted</b> it…such
a zealot was <b>unconditionally</b>
prepared to use force…in order to turn God’s wrath away from <b>Israel</b>…for their understanding of God…
was of a wrathful God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
Saul… could follow the logic of his understanding of scripture perfectly…he
could watch Stephen stoned to <b>death</b>
– and <b>still</b> be a model of perfection…
<br />
when it came to fulfilling the requirements of the <b><u>Law</u></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
through the blinding <b>light</b>…the risen
<b>Christ <br />
</b>speaks the question Saul needs to hear <br />
right into his <b>heart</b>…why do you
persecute me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
the coming days while still blinded… Paul would have a lot of time to ask
himself this question…if I thought I was doing everything right…but <b>now</b> I know I was doing something very wrong
– including how I read my Bible…then everything I <b>used to think</b> about God now has to be <b>changed…<br />
<br />
</b>in light of God <b>exalting</b> Jesus
of <b>Nazareth</b> <br />
to the right hand of <b>majesty</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Christian
thinker Michael Hardin warns…if we are going to call this a <b>conversion</b>, it certainly isn’t Paul’s
conversion from Judaism to <b>Christianity</b>…
<br />
Paul doesn’t change <b>religions</b>. <br />
<br />
It’s his conversion from persecutor to persecuted…<br />
from villain to martyr…from blameless Pharisee… <br />
to in his own words…least among the apostles and chief among sinners. This
moment for Paul doesn’t bring about <br />
a change in his <b>faith</b> tradition.
Paul was a <b>Jew</b> just like <b>Jesus</b>…they never ceased being Jews… <br />
and from the beginning to the end of their <b>lives</b>
<br />
they expressed their faith in a Jewish <b><u>way</u></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Again
we need to be careful how we use this word ‘conversion’ ….when we’re thinking
about what it <b><u>means…</u></b> to
become fishers of men and women… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="color: red;">fishing slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When
Jesus passes by Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John on the sea-side in
Capernaum… and calls them from their boats and their <b>nets</b> …to <b><u>follow</u></b>
him…<br />
to become fishers of <b>men</b>…<br />
they are just as Jewish as Paul is…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Conversion</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> is the wrong way to describe what’s
going <b><u>on</u></b> …Simon Peter,
Andrew, James and John <br />
are being <b>called…</b> to <b>follow.</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Was
Paul’s Damascus Road experience a conversion or a <b>call</b>? If it wasn’t a change of <b>religions</b>
but a <b>call</b>...<br />
then to what was he being called…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">a
<b>fishing</b> trip…in his own words… ‘called
to be an <b>apostle</b>… sent not <b>from</b> men nor <b><u>by</u></b> any man…<br />
but by Jesus Christ and God the Father.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul’s
language echoes the calling of the Jewish prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah…my
friends Paul isn’t converted <b>from</b>
Judaism…he’s changed <b>within</b> it. Next
week our guest speaker, Jacob Damkani has had the same experience and is now
possibly the greatest messianic Jewish evangelist in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Paul slide again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">No
if Paul was converted <b><u>from</u></b>
anything… it was his zealous interpretation of <b>Torah…</b>which was leading him down the road… of <b>death</b>…<br />
<br />
before his encounter with the risen Christ…Paul’s zealous <b>interpretation</b> of the law lead him to identify Jesus… as an <b>heretical</b> teacher and a dangerous <b>agitator</b>… <br />
whose deeds had brought him to justice…on a Cross. <b><u>[Pause]</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
face to face with Jesus on the road to <b>Damascus</b>…
Paul <b>recognises</b> this to be a <b><u>false</u></b> judgment …<br />
a <b>judgement…</b> he must <b>abandon</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When
<b>Torah</b>…when the <b>Law</b> was interpreted from the perspective of the <b>persecutor</b>…it seemed to <b>authorise</b> social retribution in the
name of <b><u>God</u></b>…<br />
That’s what Paul saw in it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
interpreted in the light of the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth…the law demands
love… <br />
through the lens of what <b><u>Jesus</u></b>
says is the greatest commandment <br />
love the Lord your God with all you’ve <b><u>got</u></b>…<br />
love your <b>neighbour</b> the same way…<br />
in fact love your enemy the same <b>way</b>…<br />
the law’s ultimate demand is love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When
the <b>persecutors</b> selected their texts
<br />
the law became a death dealing <b>instrument</b>…<br />
allowing the <b>community…</b> to sanction <b>death</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
as we can see from Jesus choice of <b>greatest</b>
commandment… the problem lay not with the <b>Law…<br />
</b>but with human <b>interpretation</b> of
the Law. <br />
<br />
<b>Later</b> in his letter to the Galatians…
Paul draws a sharp contrast between the blessing/promise voice of God <br />
and the cursing/<b>enslaving….</b> voice of
the <b><u>Law</u></b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Following
his encounter with the risen Jesus… <br />
on the road to Damascus…<br />
for Paul the <b><u>law</u>…</b> is now <b><u>secondary</u></b>… to Christ.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">While
many of Paul’s <b>contemporaries…</b> and even
some of <b>ours</b>… interpret <b>God</b> through the scriptures… <br />
as <b>retributive</b> and <b>punishing</b> of sin…<br />
Paul <b>now</b> understands… that God
revealed in Jesus… <br />
is compassionate and <b>forgiving</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Later</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Paul would say… it’s all about how
you read the <b>scriptures</b> …you can read
them veiled… or <b>unveiled</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">He
writes… followers of Jesus aren’t like Moses <br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">slide words</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">who
put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the <b>radiance</b> was fading away. But their
minds were made dull for to this day the same veil remains when the <b>old</b> covenant is read. It hasn’t been
removed because only in <b>Christ</b> is it
taken away. <br />
<br />
Paul writes… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Change slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">even
to this day when Moses is read a veil covers their hearts…but when anyone turns
to the Lord the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the
Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. <br />
<span style="color: red;">slide words</span><br />
And we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory are being
transformed into his likeness with every increasing lorry which comes from the
Lord…who is the Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When
the scales finally fell from his eye…Paul saw clearly…It’s not the <b>letter</b> of the text that is revelation…<br />
but the <b>interpretation</b> of the text <br />
in the light of the Spirit… who is <b>Jesus</b>.
[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Will
you and I read through the veil of <b>zeal</b>
<br />
that authorises <b>killing</b> in God’s
name… or will we read through the lens of Christ...who was killed in the name
of the text?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So
like Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John…<br />
Jesus asks Paul to let go of something… <br />
so he can grab hold of the net of God’s love <br />
for the salvation of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
when he lets go he becomes the greatest evangelist to the Pagan world who ever
lived…the one whom Jesus would call… my chosen instrument… to proclaim my name
to the Gentiles… and their <b>kings</b>… <br />
and to the people of <b>Israel</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> My thanks again to Michael Hardin for inspiration for this sermon. His book <i>The Jesus Driven Life</i> can be purchased on Amazon.</span></div>
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Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-80419176872363739942014-02-09T12:07:00.000+13:002014-02-09T12:07:18.673+13:00Taking our place at the net<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8Td5WVaHM949jc1A7ZqRdSsYAj7Du-qDy3QkQeuoMZmjV29BYg0A5S09vy8U7BZ91e3aFIN5_TBaIlWaheCdaQt0p_gY_-Ro2n58KE7WhZEo2oaJsvbrJSRrEdI6WY_kJ_OrL6TUHB9R/s1600/fishermen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8Td5WVaHM949jc1A7ZqRdSsYAj7Du-qDy3QkQeuoMZmjV29BYg0A5S09vy8U7BZ91e3aFIN5_TBaIlWaheCdaQt0p_gY_-Ro2n58KE7WhZEo2oaJsvbrJSRrEdI6WY_kJ_OrL6TUHB9R/s1600/fishermen.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Epiphany 5 year A Sermon </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;">Matthew 2:18-23</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;">and 1 Corinthians 2:1-5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">catch</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that? Paul says to the </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Corinthians
</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…summarising </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">all</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the wisdom… </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">all</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the good news he brought to them
during his </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fishing</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> trip to Corinth…</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For I resolved to know <b>nothing</b> while I was with you except
Jesus <b>Christ…</b> and him crucified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes… Paul’s <b>was</b> a fishing trip!!!…just like the one Jesus invites Simon Peter…Andrew,
James and John to go on …there in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee …the sort of <b>fishing</b> trip which is… part of any
Christian’s personal <b>mission</b>
statement…<b><u>right</u></b> we’re to fish
for <b>people aren’t we</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus cousin <b>John</b> had emphasised <b>repentance</b>
during <b>his</b> ministry…but Jesus adds <b>new</b> dimensions doesn't he …teaching,
healing and bringing about the reign of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think Jesus’ choice of <b>fishing</b> trips…is a <b>good</b> metaphor <br />
for the work of discipleship… don’t <b>you</b>?
<b>Using</b>
it… <br />
we can <b>imagine</b> the community of
Jesus <b>followers</b>… <br />
like a <b>boat</b>…a vessel of God’s Shalom…<br />
of well-being and <b>equality</b>…and peace
with justice… <br />
<br />
a new kind of <b>family</b>…formed by
people who've heard and <b>accepted</b> the
good news embodied by Jesus Christ…<br />
that <b>everyone</b> is welcome at the
Table…and loved by God … where <b>everyone</b>
is served and celebrated... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a strong sense in which
all of us <b>here</b> today<br />
well…we<b><u> are</u></b> this boat…this <b>vessel</b>… of Shalom…<br />
not our <b>building</b> of course…but our
community of <b>faith</b>. Called to follow
<b>Jesus</b>…we as a <b><u>people…</u></b> are to be <br />
a place of healing and restoration where no one is left out….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s why the <b>invitation…</b> to learn to fish for <b>people</b> <br />
made so much sense to Simon Peter… and Andrew and James and John…and the
metaphor <b>worked for them…</b> because they
were <b>used</b> to fishing with <b>nets</b>…not <b>hooks</b>…<br />
<br />
As Jesus <b>disciples</b> their aim would
be… to get all the fish they <b>could</b>
into the net…so the more the <b>merrier</b>…<br />
could celebrate God’s grace and invite even <b>more</b> people in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus <b>parables</b> of the lost sheep and the lost coin make it <b>clear</b> that no one is… to be left <b>out</b>. In <b>Jesus</b> revelation of the will of God…and in Jesus <b>interpretation</b> of the Hebrew Bible… it’s
clear… God doesn’t want anyone to be left out …God wants every last <b>one</b> in the boat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This becomes a problem when we <b>wrongly</b> identify the boat with a church
<b>building</b>…because… <b>then</b> our mission becomes getting people
into the <b>building</b>…getting people to
worship with us here on Sunday morning…<br />
getting people to join <b>our</b> church…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those are <b><u>great</u></b> things to do…<br />
But the boat we’re trying to get people into… <br />
isn’t a building at <b>all</b>…it’s a new
way of being <b>family</b>…<br />
side by side with… <b>others</b> created by
God…learning to live and love like brothers and <b>sisters</b>… <b><u>all</u></b>
those <br />
made in God’s image. A family…a kingdom… of <b>love</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the <b>nets</b> in Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John’s <br />
<b>method</b> of fishing<b>…</b>well these nets…help them understand
what Jesus means …we’re not just fishing for a <b>particular</b> variety of fish…as you would with a carefully selected <b><u>lure</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’re not just fishing for <b>good</b> people or people from a particular
<b>ethnic</b> groups or religious
backgrounds …<br />
because Jesus’ good news is for everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s why we’re using nets and
not <b>fishing</b> rods. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And just as Paul did in <b>Corinth</b>…you and I are holding <b>onto</b> …a part of the net of the good <b>news</b>…of the Gospel…<br />
you and I… take our place at holding onto the net …<br />
when we decide to be an obedient follower of <b>Jesus</b> <br />
<br />
…side by side… you and I… grasp the net of God’s love <br />
and walk the walk Jesus taught us to walk… until every last person in the world
is scooped up…until every last person in the world…understands the meaning of
the incarnation and the cross of Christ…until every last man and woman and
child… <b>knows</b> God loves them…and <b>joins</b> us <br />
in holding the net for <b>others</b>.
[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But <b>before</b> we can <b>go</b> on this
fishing trip… before we can take hold of the net… we may have to let <b>go</b> of <br />
some of the things we’re already hanging onto…otherwise our hands are full..<br />
<br />
letting go of these things…<b>turning</b>
from these things… <br />
are <b>one</b> way to describe <b>repentance…</b>letting go of whatever <b>prevents</b> us from talking hold of the
net of God’s love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simon Peter, Andrew, James and <b>John…</b> <br />
all had to leave some things <b>behind</b>…they
had to walk <b>away</b> from some of their <b>security</b>…let go of the cultural and religious
<b>prejudices</b> which… kept them from
becoming fishers of men…the way <b>Jesus’</b>
meant it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
They had to learn to <b>accept</b> people
they’d kept <b>away</b> from <b>before</b>…and hold on to the net <br />
right <b>beside</b> people who were <b>different</b>…even offer God’s net of love…to
their traditional <b>enemies</b> …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They had to leave behind what
they’d always considered to be <b>normal</b>
attitudes and ways of living… ways that weren’t <b>consistent…</b> with life in <b><u>God’s</u></b>
kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Instead</b>…just like <b>Paul</b>…they
had to <b>adopt</b> ways… <br />
that by the standards of the world are <b>foolish</b>
– loving mercy, living <b>justly…</b> sharing
what they had…so everyone has enough…forgoing arrogance and pride…walking
humbly with God…and forgiving others…just as <b><u>they</u></b> were forgiven <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other words… in order to fish
for <b>people</b>… <br />
they had to <b><u>be</u></b> the good news
for them…<b>embody</b> the good
news…personify the good <b>news</b>…to the
poor and the sick and those living in darkness. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see there’s no <b>bait</b> in a net is there…only the <b>net</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…the <b>net</b>…the lived <b>example…</b>of
the <b>community</b> of good news…the
community of <b>love</b>…the community of
the <b>Gospel</b>…and you might just say…fish
<b><u>know</u></b> they’re in the
net…because they can’t find a way <b>out</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the same way <b>people</b> know they’re in the net… because
everywhere they <b>turn</b>…there is love…[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some find taking hold of the net <b>easy</b>…<br />
they look <b>forward</b> to
participating…in the net of love that catches people up in the good news. But
others are <b>afraid</b> to go
fishing…because they’ve <b>misunderstood</b>
<br />
what fishing for people is…and they shy <b>away</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I want to look at three
misunderstandings or false beliefs… that may be… preventing <b><u>you</u></b> <br />
from taking <b>your</b> place at the net…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First is the <b>false</b> belief that God doesn’t love you <b>unconditionally </b>…that you’re not good enough to be a disciple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second is the <b>false</b> belief that fishing for people means converting them so they won’t
go to hell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The third is a fear of
contamination from extending love to the wrong kind of people…unclean people…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If any of these three false
beliefs can prevent you from taking your place at the net…If you suffer from
one… you might like to note that one down on your service sheet. We’re going to
deal with them one by one <br />
along with the <b>remedy</b> provided by <b>Christ</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First let’s say you suffer from the
false belief God <b><u>doesn’t</u></b> love
you unconditionally…you think you’re not <b>good</b>
enough to be one of those at the net on a Jesus fishing trip. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usually we believe this diabolical
lie…because we’ve been taught the heresy of a works based salvation …taught
there are things we have to do to get God to love us…to <b>earn</b> God’s love…taught that… <br />
if we give God what <b>God</b> wants…God will
give us what <b>we</b> want...<br />
<span style="font-size: 6.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>but that isn’t what <b>Jesus</b> teaches
in the parable of the prodigal son…in face he teaches the <b>remedy</b> for this false belief…in the <b>parable</b>…the <b>father</b>
offers love <b>before</b> the son can say or
do <b>anything</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to <b>ditch</b> this false belief and take <b>your</b> place at the net of love… fishing
for <b>people</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br clear="all" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">find someone who <b>understands</b> the grace of God and ask <b>them</b> to pray with you and for you…to help
you<u> </u>embrace God’s unconditional love for you. <br />
<br />
Once you get it…then your joyful response...will be to eagerly grasp hold of
the net…because you want <b>everyone</b> to
discover what you’ve discovered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or let’s say you suffer from the
second false belief…that fishing for people means you have to <b>convert</b> so they don’t go to hell by
getting them to <b>accept</b> a set of spiritual
<b>propositions</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But here we need to <b>remember</b> that Jesus is trying to
inaugurate the Kingdom of God on <b>earth</b>
…so life wouldn’t be a <b>living</b> hell. The
<b>remedy</b> for this false belief about
fishing for people is to learn that when <b>Jesus</b>
talks about hell, he’s not talking about a place in the middle of the earth
where people burn for eternity…and he certainly isn’t talking about <b>saving</b> people from what God’s going to
do to them…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baal
temple slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Capernaum there was a temple to
the Baal…a kind of religious night club where sexual acts were performed with
the priests and priestesses…the name of that nightclub was The Gates of
Hell…standing right outside their doors is when Jesus says…to Peter…upon you I
will build my church and the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gehenna
valley slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another time Jesus refers to <b>Gehenna…</b> a place outside ancient
Jerusalem one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rubbish burning
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the Hebrew Bible, the site was
initially where apostate Israelites and followers of various Ba'als and
Caananite gods, including Moloch, sacrificed their children by fire. A place
that was considered by the Jews to be cursed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if what keeps you from fishing
for people is a reluctance to talk to people about hell…you’re not alone…just
don’t <b>do</b> it… again find someone who understands
the grace of God and get them to help you understand that Jesus came for the
salvation of the whole world for God…not to save people <b>from</b> God. <br />
<br />
Once you get that…then your response…in joy and gratitude will be to grasp hold
of the net…because you’ll want everyone to discover what you’ve discovered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. The third thing that stops us
from fishing for people is the false belief that leads to fear of contamination
from extending love to the wrong kind of people…unclean people…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus and
the woman caught in adultery slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now this <b>contamination</b> we fear seems to take several forms. <b>Sometimes</b> we actually fear the people <b>themselves</b> …<br />
maybe they’ll hurt us or laugh at us…sometimes we fear <br />
<b>we’ll</b> be judged as unclean for <b>associating</b> with them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if we’re simply carrying the
good news of God’s love it’s much easier to go fishing…isn’t it. Hi I’m a
follower of Jesus…we can say…<br />
and I believe that he revealed God’s love for <b>everyone</b> <br />
calls us to a way to live that will bring about the salvation of the whole <b>world</b>…and from the Cross…spoke the
forgiveness needed to end the vicious cycle of retribution and revenge that
makes our world such a violent place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again if you suffer from fear of
contamination or judgment…find someone who can <b>teach</b> you to understand the grace of God…and the perfect love <br />
that casts <b>out</b> fear…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fishing slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the time they followed
Jesus…they got to watch how their <b>Master</b>…sought
to bring wellbeing and peace to individuals and communities… through his
presence with them. <br />
<br />
Jesus taught them and teaches us… that <b><u>we</u></b>
have the potential to <b>participate</b> in
bringing about the kingdom of God on earth…to join in the healing of the
nations and relationships and play our part in the changing of lives. Teaching
us to pull people… out of their deep darkness and up into the boat…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My prayer is that you will leave
behind anything that stop you from taking your place at the net…and join Jesus
in the fishing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let us sit in silence for a while
to hear what God is saying into our hearts.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-68085831169531875752014-01-19T11:28:00.002+13:002014-01-19T11:33:03.313+13:00Jesus as the centre of Christian life part 3: Holiness vs Mercy <div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uN1pkxkjg39L2Wyht1PLn5p9vNhXvCVLCe67QdaVvWQEkxD-apg4OgHEaGLaeALGldvbQxa9P5MAc8hopDl1SMhR8VTQKQe0dvSQx1NOb2aZajzc5LtfGoo7BP02_Gxi_PTyRRabSzJ_/s1600/Sacraficial+lamb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uN1pkxkjg39L2Wyht1PLn5p9vNhXvCVLCe67QdaVvWQEkxD-apg4OgHEaGLaeALGldvbQxa9P5MAc8hopDl1SMhR8VTQKQe0dvSQx1NOb2aZajzc5LtfGoo7BP02_Gxi_PTyRRabSzJ_/s1600/Sacraficial+lamb.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Epiphany 2 year A Sermon </b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3217213896850267538" name="jeremiah"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Isaiah
49:1-7 </span></a><span style="font-size: 10pt;">John 8: 12-20</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uN1pkxkjg39L2Wyht1PLn5p9vNhXvCVLCe67QdaVvWQEkxD-apg4OgHEaGLaeALGldvbQxa9P5MAc8hopDl1SMhR8VTQKQe0dvSQx1NOb2aZajzc5LtfGoo7BP02_Gxi_PTyRRabSzJ_/s1600/Sacraficial+lamb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span></a></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s no <b>coincidence…</b>Jesus
<b>delivers</b> this teaching<b>…</b> where he <b>does</b>…in the temple <b>courts</b>…near
the place where sacrifices were offered…</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><b>You</b> judge by <b>human</b> standards…Jesus says…I pass
judgment on no one. But if I <b><u>do</u></b>
judge…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my decisions are <b>true</b> because I’m
not <b>alone</b>. I stand with the Father who
<b>sent</b> me. In your own <b><u>Law</u></b> it’s <b>written … <br />
</b>the testimony of <b><u>two</u></b>
witnesses is true. <b><u>I</u></b>’m one
who testifies for <b>myself</b>; my <b>other</b> witness is the Father who <b>sent</b> me…….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So they <b>ask</b> him,
“Where’s your <b>father</b>?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<b>You</b> don’t know
me <b><u>or</u></b> my Father,” Jesus
replies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lamb slide with words </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>If</u></b> you knew me, you’d know my
Father also.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feet slide with words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Knowing the Jesus of the <b>Gospels</b> as the <b>focus</b> of Christian
life…is the <b>theme</b> of our sermon
series this month…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as we <b>begin</b> to celebrate the two
hundredth <b>anniversary</b>…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of the <b>Gospel </b>in Aotearoa New
Zealand. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 6.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Beginning two <b><u>weeks </u></b>ago…we
learned how <b>Jesus</b> read the Hebrew
Scriptures and how he taught his <b>followers...</b>
that the <b>key</b> to interpreting the
scriptures <b><u>and</u></b> the greatest <b>commandments</b> were these<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lord our God, the Lord is <b><u>one…</u></b> <b>Love</b> the
Lord your God with <b>all</b> your heart <b>all</b> your soul <b>all</b> your mind and <b>all</b>
your strength and ‘Love your <b>neighbour</b>
as yourself’ <span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baptism slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Last</b> week we
learned how Jesus understands his <b>relationship</b>
with God…is revealed in his favourite <b>name</b>
for God – Abba – Father. We <b>hear</b> at
Jesus baptism…the <b>echo</b> of Israel’s
ancient <b>commission to </b>be a light to
the<b> world…</b>as the voice from heaven <b>confirms</b> God’s beloved son…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">slide words</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve put my spirit upon him, I am YHWH, I’ve given <b>you</b> as a covenant to the people, a <b>light</b> to the nations, to <b>open</b>
the eyes that are blind, to bring <b>out</b>
the prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">blank baptism side<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we hear how in his hometown synagogue… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this Jesus of the <b><u>Gospels</u>…</b>proclaims
the day of the Lord </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">has<b> come…</b>This <b>Yeshua</b> of Nazareth…son of <b>Miriam</b>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is the <b>centre</b> of our faith today<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as we learn how Jesus <b>interprets</b> the Jewish text and <b>understands</b>
his relationship with God…we discover two contradictory <b>streams </b>in the Hebrew Scriptures… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>One</b> Jesus affirms…and one he <b>rejects</b>. <b>One</b> reveals a God of mercy …the other paints God as <b>vengeful</b> and violent…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s an example of this <b>internal</b> contradiction. In the
book of 2 <b>Kings</b>… a captain and a
company of fifty men are sent to <b>Elijah</b>…the
captain goes <b>up</b> to Elijah, who’s
sitting on top of a <b>hill</b>, and says, Man
of God, the <b>king</b> orders you to come <b>down</b>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fire slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Elijah answers, if I <b>am</b> a man of God, may <b>fire</b>
come down from heaven and consume you…<b><u>and</u></b>
your fifty men! Then the scripture says…fire <b>fell</b> from heaven and <b>consumed</b>
the captain and his men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span>In the Gospel of <b>Luke</b>…that’s precisely
the story </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the <b>disciples</b> have in mind…when
Jesus sends <b>messengers</b> ahead to a
Samaritan village to get things ready for him. </span><br />
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</span>when the <b>people</b> in the
village <b>refuse</b> to welcome Jesus …James
and <b>John</b> want to call down fire from
<b>heaven</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to <b>destroy</b> them? </span><br />
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</span><span style="color: red;">Feet slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the Jesus of the <b>Gospels…</b>turns
and <b>rebukes</b> them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By implication…that’s neither my way, <b><u>nor</u></b> my father’s.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>The story in Luke stands in <b>direct</b>
contradiction to the violence of God in one stream of Jewish scriptures – a
stream that created real <b>problems</b>
for Judaism. Because <b>all</b> rabbis had
to <b>wrestle</b> with these internal <b>contradictions…</b> including <b>Jesus</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The question for <b>us</b>
is the same as it was for <b>them</b>…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">not which <b><u>God</u></b> should we
follow…by Jesus day </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jews believed there <b>was</b> only one
God…the question is </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">which <b>texts</b> should we <b>endorse</b>…in light of God’s revelation in
Christ on the cross. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>And of course <b><u>we</u></b> now
have a third strand of scripture as well…the story of the transformative <b>power</b> of the resurrection. While the Cross reveals God’s mercy and forgiveness
in light of the <b>worst</b> humanity can
do…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the resurrection offers us…the <b>possibility</b>
of new <b>life</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tallit slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the very beginning the Bible is critical of the destructive
way <b>humans</b> behave. And in the risen
Christ… we’re offered a real way out…the transformation of humanity into the
true image of God. It’s not <b>God</b> who’s
changed </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it’s our <b>understanding</b> of God. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>And our understanding could change again… <b>today</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as we explore the third part of our series…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">how Jesus saw <b>holiness…</b> in light of his
Father’s <b>mercy</b>. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see Jesus knew there was a way of being religious… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that caused <b>destruction</b> wherever it was
practised – </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">because it <b>misinterprets</b> what it
means to be <b>holy</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>In <b>Jesus’</b> day the various
streams of <b>Judaism</b>…Pharisee,
Sadducee, Essene <b><u>and</u></b> Samaritan…
all held to some <b>kind</b> of holiness
code… by which they <b>determined</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">what <b>behaviour…</b> made people right<b> </b>before <b>God</b>…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and that whole<b> system</b> focused on Temple
<b>sacrifice</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 6.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><b>Long</b> before the <b>Romans</b> invaded…arguments over who
should hold <b>power</b> in the Temple…lead
to as <b>much</b> bloodshed </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in the Jewish<b> community</b>…as the
sacrificial system in the Temple…Who had the right to <b>officiate</b> at the <b>altar</b>…who
got to <b>preside</b> over sacrifice and <b>how…</b> was <b>never</b> settled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the outer courts of the <b>gentiles…</b>to the Holy of holies…the Temple <b>reinforced</b> different degrees of holiness…and this was reflected in
the Jewish <b>community</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some people achieved greater holiness than <b>others</b>.
And this <b>hierarchical</b> model of <b>holiness</b> was lived out by every single
Jewish group…except one – that of <b>Jesus</b>.</span><br />
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</span>In his teaching and his actions…Jesus <b>refuses</b> to recognize cultural and religious degrees of <b>holiness</b>. He <b>heals</b> on the <b>Sabbath</b>…<b>touches</b> the unclean…and <b>eats</b> with sinners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even today some churches <b>still</b> have some form of holiness code… in order to <b>belong</b>…members who break the <b>rules</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">risk getting kicked <b>out</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But actually…holiness codes are the religious equivalent of
the <b>secular</b> rule of law. Remember humans
were <b>religious…</b> before they were <b>secular</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>All</b> human culture
is founded in <b>religion</b>. Even in
secular cultures like New Zealand… the social effects of religion <b>remain </b>and are reflected in our<b> laws</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yes there’s a sense in which… it’s not <b>possible</b>
for human society to <b>exist</b> without
laws prohibitions and <b>commandments</b>. </span><br />
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</span><span style="color: red;">Temple slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But whether we like it or not…ancient holiness codes were
based on there being an innocent <b>victim…
</b>that was <b>sacrificed</b>. Because these
codes insisted on <b>redemption</b> through
ritual <b>killing</b>. If a human being
wasn’t sacrificed to make things right with God…then then an unblemished <b>calf</b> or <b>bull</b> or dove <b>would</b> be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span>So if Jesus is the centre of Christian <b>life…</b> then it’s important to understand how Jesus <b>interacts</b> with the holiness codes of <b>his</b> day… and how he viewed the sacrificial
system which supported it…where <b>something</b>
had to <b>die</b> for holiness to be
restored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus actually <b>confronted</b>
the holiness codes of the other Jewish parties…in <b>this</b>…the Jesus of the <b>Gospels</b>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">isn’t a meek and mild keeper of the status <b>quo</b>…nor
is he <b>overly</b> concerned with
religious and social <b>niceties…</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No</b>…Jesus is <b>determined</b> to speak the truth to power…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to be a <b>prophetic</b> voice who dares to
<b>say</b> and <b>do</b> things that are <b>counter</b>
to the prevailing holiness codes. And this gets him into <b>serious</b> trouble with the religious <b>authorities</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><b>Why</b>…because to them…there was
a <b>clear</b> distinction between what was
holy and what was profane, <b>unclean</b> or
<b>unholy</b>. In fact there were six degrees of holiness …all
the way to super ultra-extra holy. </span><br />
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</span>Different things you <b>did</b>…
people you had <b>contact</b> with and
certain religious <b>activities</b>…
produced varying <b>degrees</b> of
uncleanliness. And according to the holiness codes…there were various rituals
you could engage in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to become <b>clean</b> again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s why Jesus tells the Lepers…to <b>present</b>
themselves to the local <b>priest…</b> who’d
<b><u>offer</u></b> the sacrifices <b>Moses</b> commanded… for their cleansing. Jesus
mother Mary had to undergo a time of <b>purification</b>
after giving birth… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">following <b>that</b> she went to the
Temple to offer the appropriate sacrifices. </span><br />
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</span>For Mary and the Lepers downside of <b>uncleanliness</b>
was that it kept them from fully <b>participating</b>
in the social and religious life of the <b>community</b>
– </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but there was a way to get back <b>in</b>… ritual
<b>sacrifice</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the first century…the Pharisees concluded the priesthood <b><u>in</u></b> the Temple was so <b>corrupt</b>… <b>they</b> had no option but to be holy <b>outside</b> the temple… to ensure a holy remnant remained in the holy
land. [they believed in the written <b><u>and</u></b>
oral law]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Jesus day the Sadducees controlled the Temple.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They came mainly from <b>ruling</b>
families and only held to the written Torah. And because they were <b>wealthy</b>… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it was in <b>their</b> interest… to accommodate
the <b>Romans </b>with whom they did <b>business</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other groups sought holiness by living <b>separated</b> from other Jews in ghettos or in caves like Qumran –
where the scrolls were discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally there were the <b>Zealots</b>
who wanted to purge the Israel of all unholy foreign influence through violent
rebellion. <b>They</b> started the conflict
that ended with the <b>destruction</b> of
the Temple in 70 AD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Jesus had <b>run</b>
ins with every <b>one</b> of these <b>groups</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having taken the <b>mantle</b>
of Israel onto his <b>own </b>shoulders<b> </b>Jesus was as concerned as anyone…with
the future of his community <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and <b>clearly</b>
sought to bring about a time when only <b>God</b>
was sovereign…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But how Jesus went about <b>achieving</b> this…was <b>poles</b>
apart from those who <b>sought</b> the
solution through <b>ritual</b> holiness. And
this is the key point for today’s sermon…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you ever notice Jesus <b>never</b>
teaches… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Be <b>holy</b> as I am holy’ instead <b>Jesus</b> teaches… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">be <b>merciful</b>… as your father in <b>heaven</b> is merciful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mercy…</b> was for
Jesus…the way to <b>holiness</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ritual holiness demanding sacrifice…only reinforces
isolation and rejection and is based on killing…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 6.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><b>Mercy</b> brings reconciliation
and restoration to <b>community</b>.
Holiness through <b>sacrifice</b> depends
on degrees of <b>perfection </b>…<b>mercy</b> breaks through all <b>barriers</b> and recognizes God’ loves everyone
and seeks to <b>bless</b> them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Jesus Sermon on the Mount…it’s clear that to be <b>merciful</b> is to be blessed. As is loving
your <b>enemies</b> and praying for those
who <b>persecute</b> you. And in Jesus
parables… the one who shows mercy… is the one who fulfils the greatest
commandment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus gets into trouble his entire <b>ministry</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">because he shows extraordinary mercy to those who are labelled by the religious
<b>authorities</b>…as unclean and outside
the grace of God or punished by God with infirmities because of their sins. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it wasn’t enough for Jesus simply to redefine what
constitutes right behaviour in the kingdom of God kingdom he insisted on confronting the religious
authorities about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>And <b>they</b> thought… <b>some</b> of Jesus’ prophetic actions …<b><u>so</u></b> shocking and vile…it sealed
his fate…especially –when he <b>takes</b> his
challenge…right into the <b>heart</b> of
the Temple’s sacrificial <b>system</b>. For
Jesus…zeal for God’s house wasn’t to be symbolised by killing…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the people’s desire for holiness just <b><u>fed</u></b>
a system of greed and corruption. Clearing the Temple isn’t just about Jesus
getting mad… it is a great prophetic act… signalling the end has come for
Temple sacrifices…and that holiness comes from mercy and compassion…not the
blood of animals and humans <span style="font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course the prophets who tried to say this in the past </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">were killed on the altar of ritual holiness for their trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s no accident that twice in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus
quotes Hosea 6.6 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘I desire mercy not sacrifice’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And love your <b>enemies</b>…anyone
can love their friends…but it’ll <b>cost</b>
you something to love your <b>enemies</b>. <b>That’s</b> the kind of holiness God
desires.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feet slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some people being a Christian is little more than praying
the short salvation prayer acknowledging what some call the four spiritual
laws. For others it’s adhering to a particular set of <b>rules</b> or even a particular political <b>ideology</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For <b>others</b> being a
Christian is only about the sweet devotion of their internal religious
experience. Still <b>others</b> think it
means being nice <b>people…</b> tolerant
and generally warm and fuzzy around the edges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tallit slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But all these are <b>far</b>
from the way of life <b>Jesus</b> called
his <b>followers</b> to live. The goal of
discipleship isn’t holiness to make sure God will <b>love</b> us… Jesus showed in the Temple…the kingdom of God <b><u>isn’t</u></b> an economy of exchange…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God <b>already</b> loves us…and comes <b>toward</b> us in Jesus Christ…to show us
how to <b>live…</b> and if necessary…how to
<b>die…</b> for the salvation of the
world. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Epiphany 1 year A Sermon</b></div>
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</div>
<br />
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Six <b>centuries</b>
before the baptism of Jesus…..<o:p></o:p></div>
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A divine <b>commission</b>
for the nation of Israel <br />
is proclaimed by the prophet <b>Isaiah</b>…you
just <b>heard</b> it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u>Here</u></b> is my
servant, whom I uphold, my <b>chosen</b>,
in whom my soul delights; I’ve put my spirit <b>upon</b> him…<br />
I am the LORD, I have called <b>you</b> in
righteousness, <br />
I have taken <b>you</b> by the hand and
kept you; <br />
I have given <b>you</b> as a covenant to
the people, a <b>light</b> to the nations,
to <b>open</b> the eyes that are blind, to
bring <b>out</b> the prisoners from the
dungeon, and those who sit in darkness. [pause]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Six hundred years <b>later…</b>
Matthew’s Gospel <b>tells</b> us when Jesus
came up out of the <b>water</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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At that <b>moment…</b>
heaven was <b>opened</b>…<br />
and John saw the Spirit of <b>God…<br />
</b>descending like a dove and <b><u>alighting</u></b>
on him. And a voice from <b>heaven</b>
said, “<b><u>This</u></b> is my Son, whom I
love; with him I am well pleased.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Everyone <b>present</b> at
the Jordan…would recognise <br />
what is <b>spoken</b>…for the words bring
to<b> mind</b> the scroll of Isaiah…for
those with ears to <b>hear</b> and eyes to <b>see ….</b>…the mantle of Israel is <b><u>passing</u></b>… to <b>this</b> man coming out of the water…this <b>Jesus</b> from Nazareth <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The mantle of <b>Israel</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Something has <b>changed…</b>
something <b>new</b> is happening… <br />
in the past… <b><u>Israel</u></b> is commissioned…<b>anointed</b>…<br />
chosen in <b>righteousness</b>…now… this <b>Jesus…</b> <br />
will signify a <b>new</b> covenant to the
people…a light to the nations…this Jesus will <b>open</b> the eyes of the blind, <b>this</b>
Jesus will free the prisoners and those who sit in darkness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Jesus feet slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And soon this Jesus of the <b><u>Gospels</u>…<br />
</b>will <b>proclaim…</b> in his hometown <b>synagogue</b>…<br />
that the words of Isaiah are <b>fulfilled</b>…
in <b>him [pause]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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This Yeshua of <b>Nazareth</b>,
son of <b>Miriam</b>…<br />
is the <b>centre</b> of our faith today<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Slide words </span>and the focus of
our <b>sermon</b> series this month …as we
celebrate the two hundredth <b>anniversary</b>
…of the <b>Gospel…</b> in Aotearoa New
Zealand.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In the series which began last <b><u>week</u></b>…<br />
we’re looking at how Jesus <b><u>understood</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1. his <b>Bible</b> 2.
his relationship with <b>God</b> <br />
3. holiness vs <b>mercy…</b> and how he
understood <br />
4. the <b>meaning</b> of discipleship<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Last week in part <b>one</b>…<br />
we learned how <b>Jesus</b> read the Hebrew
Scriptures and how he <b>taught</b> his followers…the
key to <b>interpreting</b> the scriptures as
well as the greatest <b>commandments</b> were
these<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Lord our God, the Lord is <b><u>one</u></b> <br />
<b>Love</b> the Lord your God with <b>all</b> your heart<br />
<b>all</b> your soul <b>all</b> your mind and <b>all</b>
your strength <br />
and ‘Love your <b>neighbour</b> as yourself’
<b><u>[pause]</u></b><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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The <b>teaching</b> of Jesus…on
fairness, poverty, justice and <b>peace </b>for
the salvation of the<b> earth</b>…are
attracting a lot of <b>attention</b> at the
moment…. all over the <b>world… <br />
</b>in public statements <b>made<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Pope slide</span></b>…<br />
by <b>Francis…</b>the new Pope. He’s so <b>popular…</b>
<br />
that in the <b><u>US</u></b>… politicians from
<b>both</b> parties…<br />
are co-<b>opting</b> the Popes statements…to
court Catholic <b>voters</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But o<b>ne</b> Senator isn’t
quite so <b>cynical</b>…<b>he</b> told the media <br />
‘I don’t <b>talk</b> about the pope that <b>much</b>…He’s not <b>there</b> to promote Republicans or <b>Democrats</b>…He’s <b>there</b> <br />
simply to preach the Gospel of Jesus <b>Christ</b>…
<br />
and so the <b>chips</b> <b>fall</b> where they may<b> </b>when he <b>does</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Wood chopping slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Last <b>Sunday…</b>after
preaching the first <b>sermon</b> in this
series I’d have <b>loved</b> it…if <b>anyone</b> described what<b> </b>I<b>
said</b> like that …Diane’s just here to preach the Gospel of Jesus <b>Christ</b>…<br />
and let the chips fall where they may when she <b>does</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But three things happened this week…to teach me a <b>different</b> perspective…on <b><u>how</u> </b>I was preaching the Gospel
of Jesus Christ…<br />
<br />
First thing: <b>after</b> church my most
loving critic…otherwise known as my husband Reg…told me I’d sounded in <b>some</b> parts of the sermon like I was
taking my anger out on somebody…and at the same <b>time...</b> preaching about loving our enemies and <b>forgiveness</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Immediately</b> I saw
that my <b>passion</b> allowed my anger at
those who <b>dismiss</b> Jesus… to override
the <b>peaceful</b> nature of the Gospel
message. I think God was really trying to <b>tell</b>
me something…because two <b>other</b>
things happened <br />
to bring me up short about this.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The <b>next </b>as I<b> </b>read the words from <b>Isaiah…</b> for this week… <b>remember</b>?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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‘<b><u>my</u></b> servant says the Lord ‘won’t <b>shout</b> or raise his voice, <br />
in the street; a <b>bruised</b> reed he
will <b><u>not</u></b> break, and a <b>dimly</b> burning wick he <b>won’t</b> quench; <br />
he’ll <b>faithfully</b> bring forth
justice. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>Third</b> was
discovering what the <b>idiom</b> used by
that US Senator actually <b>means</b> ‘let
the chips falling where they may’ when talking about the Pope and the Gospel…<br />
<b>laugh</b> if you will…but <b><u>I’d</u></b> always thought it was about <b>poker</b> chips…but Reg told me it’s about
chopping wood …without <b>caring</b> who
might get <b>hurt</b> by flying <b>chips</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So if you thought I was angry at <b>you</b> last week I’m sorry. I realise that when I raise my <b>voice…</b> my energy and passion and yes my
anger…could be <b>bruising </b>if you
thought I was aiming at <b>you…</b>and
that’s<b> not </b>what God’s <b>servant </b>does<b>.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Jesus feet slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So to part <b>two </b>of
our series! What it’s all <b><u>about</u></b>…is
the centrality of <b><u>Jesus</u></b><u>…</u>
to our Christian life…<br />
the <b><u>Gospel</u></b> of Jesus can speak
for <b>itself</b>…<br />
and at the <b>heart</b> of it…is Jesus <b>relationship…</b>to the one who <b>sent</b> him…to <b>deliver</b> the good news…and the radically <b>different</b> way <b><u>Jesus</u></b>
taught about God<b>…</b>from the God who
was to be<b> feared… </b>in the Hebrew <b>Scriptures</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So what <b><u>is</u></b>
the character of the God revealed… <br />
in the life, death and <b>resurrection</b>
of Jesus? You and I probably take for <b>granted…</b>
two centuries of <b>Trinitarian</b> theology<b>…</b>One God Father Son and Holy Spirit and
we teach our <b>children…</b>songs about
how <b>powerful</b> God is…but in the re-<b>papering</b> and re-painting of Jesus over
time…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Cross slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We’ve some to <b>overlook</b>
the vulnerability of God<br />
dying on the <b>Cross</b>. <br />
And right <b>there…</b>is the key <b><u>point</u></b> for today’s message…<br />
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Just as the <b>Cross</b> of Christ is
the starting point for interpreting the <b><u>scriptures</u>…</b>it’s
<b>also</b> the starting <b>point</b> for understanding Jesus’
revelation of <b>God</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The whole Protestant <b>reformation…</b>
<br />
was ignited in <b><u>protest</u>…</b>against
the glorified all powerful Christ of the Roman Church. Protestantism is <b><u>about</u></b> protest. Speaking <b><u>out</u></b> against <b>any</b> attempt to describe <b>God…</b>
<br />
<b>other</b> than the God revealed in the
life of <b>Jesus</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If <b>Jesus</b> is
forgiving, can God be any <b>less</b> so.
If <b>Jesus</b> heals the sick, does God do
any <b>less</b>? If <b>Jesus</b> battles the principalities and powers… that imprison humanity
body mind and spirit……..can <b>less</b> be
said of <b>God</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If Jesus and God are <b>one</b>…and
if to <b>know</b> Jesus is to know God…
John 8:19… then any <b>conception</b> of
God that doesn’t look like <b>Jesus…</b> is
an <b>idol</b>. <br />
For he <b><u>is</u></b> ‘The image of the
invisible God’<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red;">Jesus tallit slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>Last</b> week we
learned… not only is Jesus the lens through which view <b>Scripture</b>…and that he lived <b><u>out</u></b>
<br />
that interpretation…<b>Today</b> we learn
the God revealed in <b>Jesus</b> is a
loving God…whose judgment is <b>grace</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The first clue to this is that the Jesus of the good news calls
upon God… as his <b>Abba</b>. Jesus <b>favourite</b> designation for God… is Abba.
<br />
But before we assume we <b>know…</b> what
an Abba is, <br />
or create <b>analogies…</b> that compare
God to an <b>earthly</b> parent …we are
reminded in the Gospels that Jesus tells us…<br />
even our understanding of ‘<b>father’</b>
must change. <br />
As Jesus says in Luke 11<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Which of you Abbas if your son asks for a fish will give him
a snake instead or is he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion. If you then
though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more
will your Abba in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Jesus is saying…not only is God never malicious…but that
even at its best the love of <b>human</b>
parents…<br />
can’t be <b>compared…</b>to <b>God…</b>the giver of all <b>good</b> gifts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Most <b>importantly</b> in
the Gospel of Matthew…<br />
Jesus ties the giving of God…to the ‘Golden Rule’. <br />
To do unto others as we’d have them do unto us…<br />
this saying <b>reflects</b> a way of life…<b> oriented </b>to the God of forgiveness…<b>peace</b>…reconciliation and <b>healing</b>…<br />
this God revealed in Jesus<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When people persist in likening God to the way <b>earthly</b> parents behave…particularly when
parents abuse emotional and physical power…it’s very bruising for some people. Calling
on God as father <b><u>or</u></b> mother
can be difficult… if you think God’s like your difficult <b>parent</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What’s at <b>stake</b>
here…is our willingness to <b>recognise</b>
<br />
that God… as our <b>spiritual</b> parent…isn’t
<b><u>like</u></b> us. <br />
We may do our <b>best…</b> to love and
nurture our children <br />
or we may <b>not</b>…but the <b>point</b> is… <br />
God loves us so much <b>more</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Cross slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re starting point of for <b>understanding</b> God <br />
is the Cross of Christ…you will encounter the most challenging questions you’ll
ever <b>face</b> as a <b>Christian</b> ‘just what is God’s <b>relationship</b>
to Jesus as he’s <b>dying</b>?’<br />
<br />
Some Christians speak as though God is pouring out his <b>wrath</b> on Jesus…because <b>God’s</b>
placed our sins on him they believe the way God deals with sin…is to exercise <b>wrath</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the Psalm Jesus quotes from the cross… is both a cry of
dereliction <b><u>and</u></b> vindication…a
cry killers and kin <br />
at the foot of the cross… would have <b>memorised</b>
from <b>childhood</b>…Psalm <b>22</b>…is the cry of a victim of unjust <b>punishment</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Jesus choses to cry out Psalm 22…he reminds his <b>executioners…</b> that killing <b>him</b> is not the end of things <br />
its comfort though choked back by pain is clearly there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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For he has not despised or scorned<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the suffering of
the afflicted one;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
he has not hidden his face from him<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
but has listened
to his cry for help.<br />
<br />
For Jesus on the Cross…God isn’t some far off angry <b>deity…</b> it’s the <b>crowd</b>
who are angry….it’s the crowd demanding sacrifice…not God…in fact by not retaliating
the sacrificial religious system is <b>dismantled</b>.
<b><u>[pause]</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red;">blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We don’t need to fear that anything ever changed in Jesus’
relationship with his Abba. <br />
The voice from heaven speaking ‘You are my beloved <b>son…</b> at Jesus <b>baptism…</b>doesn't
<b>change</b>…one constant we <b>can</b> rely on…the <b>relationship </b>between the Son and the Father… never <b>changes</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the god we worship is <b>two</b> faced…if the God we worship… is in turn loving and violently <b>angry</b>…<br />
then the god we worship is a <b>pagan</b>
God…<br />
<br />
<b>pagan</b> gods were a blend of human
characteristics both good <b><u>and</u></b>
bad…but <b>Jesus</b> reveals God… <br />
without those tensions and contradictions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;">Slide Jesus knocking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I found this cartoon recently which illustrates the contradictions
Christians sometimes project onto God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjhTcdOeA5yx-2Pc-mGh_uHaeCxkxAZpd35b5wiDZYLzT6ey4TfiG6OceJM81-1eDWBQT3ibJe03Sq83dLjVbtKAshTR_4O5Rr3IBsoa2Vhaa8fL9rvvjdpeujz4G-wgLb00n_Ux5pX0G/s1600/Knock+knock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjhTcdOeA5yx-2Pc-mGh_uHaeCxkxAZpd35b5wiDZYLzT6ey4TfiG6OceJM81-1eDWBQT3ibJe03Sq83dLjVbtKAshTR_4O5Rr3IBsoa2Vhaa8fL9rvvjdpeujz4G-wgLb00n_Ux5pX0G/s1600/Knock+knock.jpg" /></a></div>
Knock knock<o:p></o:p><br />
Whose there?<br />
Jesus<br />
What do you want?<br />
To save you<br />
To save me from what?<br />
From what I'm going to do with you if you don't open the door!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red;">Jesus tallit<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Last</b> week we <b>learned…</b>if we don’t start with Jesus <br />
we will not end with him…if we don’t start with Jesus understanding of God…then
we can project <br />
anything we <b>like</b> onto God…but it won’t
be the God Jesus called Abba. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In all his teaching about God…Jesus creates a crisis of
faith for anyone listening who’s been taught about a vengeful god…they have a
choice…they can believe in that god or they can believe in the gracious
life-giving God whose kingdom <b>Jesus</b> proclaims.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have that same choice. Let us pray<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-82644712813367108752014-01-05T11:30:00.001+13:002014-01-05T11:35:04.599+13:00Jesus as the focus for Christian life Part 1 How Jesus read his Bible<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas 2 year A Sermon</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxKdjzbxl_PLH9N0FTAJNDshGIGVGert8zgrV5T5HxErgDCCOPhjq2MNLn0HX87A_k5K-dQaJxtyEK41dK8GJshKGhkPufu__woShOB_lZJsnTonsoZyzigBE3CHGbX3NsFuo5plFNZbM/s1600/Jesus+way+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxKdjzbxl_PLH9N0FTAJNDshGIGVGert8zgrV5T5HxErgDCCOPhjq2MNLn0HX87A_k5K-dQaJxtyEK41dK8GJshKGhkPufu__woShOB_lZJsnTonsoZyzigBE3CHGbX3NsFuo5plFNZbM/s320/Jesus+way+feet.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A wise man named Michael Hardin
wrote recently…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We must begin with Jesus, the full and final revelation of God …</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as the <u>early</u> Christians did…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">or we will not
end with Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This month were beginning a series… on Jesus as the focus of Christian life. We’ll be looking
at four things: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How Jesus understood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. his Bible <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. his relationship with God <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. holiness vs mercy and how he
understood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. the meaning of discipleship<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I warn you… there’s a high risk
of <u>re</u>-conversion </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if you take Jesus as seriously as this
series will suggest. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we must begin with him…or we will not end with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why is this important? Well…two
reasons…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">some highly spiritual people… would
like to negotiate Jesus right out of
Christianity. For them all divinity rests in a spiritual being
beyond the human dimension – maybe sustaining all creation… maybe quite apart from it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To these people…all the stuff that’s
written about Jesus in the Gospels is a little embarrassing…they say the
Gospels aren’t trustworthy…that
Jesus can’t be known…they say the
early church invented a lot of what
Jesus says… in the Gospels….</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but today we know… from insights gained
in the modern sciences of astronomy
and archaeology…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the Gospels are quite accurate
historically. [adlib re sermons?]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second way people want to
negotiate Jesus out of their faith is much more subtle…many who call
themselves Christian …somehow believe the whole entire Bible…has equal divine status
to Jesus. They hold what’s called a
‘<u>flat</u> view’ of scripture…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">where Jesus is displaced as the
interpretive centre of the Bible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I’m going to make the radical suggestion that...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if Jesus really <u>is</u> to be the focus
of our Christian <u>life</u>…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we must begin with him in everything we do and everything we say……. about the Bible…about God, and
what it means to be a disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth…whose
mother was Mariam…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the Jesus who came with a <u>defined</u>
mission and message. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Superstar
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We must begin with the Jesus of the gospels…because <u>that</u>
Jesus has been papered over and painted over so much… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that 2000 years later…it’s hard to recognise him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet in spite of any attempts to dispense
with Jesus…it’s clear </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that some <u>have</u> known him…and
modelled their lives…on his. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Feet slide<br />
</span>Another reason we need to make Jesus the central <u>focus</u> of Christian life… is that today…Christianity is
having an identity crises. Young
people especially… are revolting
against a church which fails to demonstrate
discipleship </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in any meaningful way relating to Jesus.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Communities are springing up around the world… seeking to follow
Jesus… in what they see as an authentic and radical way – it’s like they’re <u>seeing</u>
Jesus… in a new and vital and
refreshing way. The Jesus <u>they</u> talk about </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sounds like a real person… who lived
a real life.<span style="color: red;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While most of us accept Jesus’ Jewishness and know the earliest
Christians were almost all Jewish…but
we take for granted that the early
Roman Church chose to include… the
story of the Jewish people in what
we now call the Bible. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They did it to make two important points…one that they worshipped the same God
and…as the author of the letter </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to the Hebrews says…in our New Testament<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘In the past God spoke to our
ancestors through the prophets </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at many times and in diverse ways,
but in these last days </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God has spoken to us by his Son.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Notice the explicit contrast the writer makes…between the way God spoke in the
<u>past</u> and the way God has
spoken in Jesus? The Gospel of John… also
makes this distinction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the verses we heard today…John contrasts…the grace and truth
that have come through Jesus… with
the ‘instruction’… … that came
through Moses. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>In the same way…the apostle Paul contrasts </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the covenant revealed in the Old Testament with the <u>new</u> covenant inaugurated in Jesus. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Not one of these Christian writers assumes the Jewish scriptures put together in 70AD were
perfect…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">instead they maintain that in Jesus… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">something new has occurred. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something that demanded a <u>re-</u>evaluation…of
how they interpret the scriptures…
and how they view God.</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Road to
Emmaus<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just remember… how incognito…the risen Jesus walks along the road…doing Bible study with two Jewish men… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">first he asks them what they’re talking about….</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus of Nazareth,” they reply. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before
God and all the people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chief priests and our rulers
handed him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified him; but we hoped he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you ever noticed where the
resurrected Jesus starts! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He turns their attention to the problem of suffering and violence. He tells
them the violence done to an innocent victim…is the key for interpreting the scriptures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How foolish you are…Jesus says…and how slow to believe all the prophets have spoken!
Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer
these things and then enter his glory? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Text slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And beginning with Moses and all
the Prophets, Jesus explains </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus explains how to read and <u>interpret</u> the scriptures …which
they’d all memorised from childhood.
Jesus asks them a question about suffering…to help them understand </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the meaning of his suffering and
death. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But wait a minute…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: red;">blank slide</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">up to that moment… their
theology…their understanding of God …their assumptions
about God…would predict a violent vengeful response on God’s part…following the
death of God’s beloved Son. But the forgiveness
expressed by God in the <u>resurrected</u> Christ…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">collapses their previous ideas about God…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Violent retribution never happens…instead…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">peace… reconciliation…forgiveness and love are proclaimed! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feet slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we read in the book of Acts…by
virtue of their encounter with the risen Christ…the
earliest Christians insist in their preaching…that filled with the <u>fullness</u> of God…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Jesus</u> forgives our sin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if Jesus is the central focus
for our Christian life…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">his interpretation of scripture has
to provide the centre from which we begin all biblical interpretation. And in
particular…it’s a cruciform centre…for
I suggest to you that <u>all</u>
Biblical interpretation must begin from point of view of the Cross…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">where the violence done by humans…
to the innocent Jesus </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is met with forgiveness. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>The earliest Christian communities who wrote what we now have as our New Testament… didn’t preach about the infallibility
of Scripture…they preached Jesus…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>his</u> life death <u>his</u>
resurrection and ascension…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">were the beginning, the middle and the end
of all they thought and taught………..because…they…had… known him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus is central. And so in this new year of 2014…as we celebrate the 200<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the Gospel in this land…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the Jesus of the gospels must always
be our starting point. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why?...Because it’s a whole lot easier
to follow a generic god…with a small
g…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">onto which we can project whatever we want God to be like!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s much harder to follow Jesus…because then you have to take seriously…his
teaching about what it means </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to follow him. Because Christian
theology…Christian understanding and
talking about God…starts with a
particular person…Jesus of
Nazareth…not with the general.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A major flaw with a lot of God talk…is
it begins with abstract ideas… rather than the specific….final… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">authoritative revelation…of God’s
character in Jesus. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact I suggest you beware of anyone
today who urges you to think about
God in the abstract. The Bible certainly doesn’t!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Bible begins with a specific God…creator
of all that is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This specific God is revealed in how
God <u>acts</u>…most notably in the
act of incarnation…in the life,
death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if our starting point for
interpreting the bible is forgiveness from Cross rather than retaliation…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">how can we reconcile the violence of
God we read about in the Old Testament… with this <u>non</u>-violence of Jesus?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem arises… because
Christian’s often refer to both Jesus and the Bible as the word of God. What
can happen is that people think just as Jesus is sinless…so the whole Bible </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is free from human mistakes in understanding. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when we do this… we act as
though the words themselves are
sacred…rather than God of which they speak…the living God… who can breathe meaning through the words of scripture to
each one of us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To <u>equate</u> Jesus the Living Word…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with the Bible…the written word </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">means we’re likely to miss the
interpretative direction of the
apostolic church…who knew Jesus… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to see the entire written word as <u>equal</u>
to Jesus… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rather than in <u>relation</u> to him...seems
to me…to be idolatrous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus and
Pharisees slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fact is…struggles over
interpretation of Scripture go back way before Jesus. It’s well known the Jews debated amongst
themselves what might be the key commandments to keep – </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and the right way to interpret or fulfil the scriptures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this was happening when Mark
tells us when a teachers of the law heard them debating he was impressed with Jesus answer. And so he asks Jesus
‘Of all the commandments, which do you think is the <u>most</u> important?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Jesus says…the most
important is this…‘Hear, O Israel: <span style="color: red;">slide words</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart…all your soul…all your mind…all your
strength.’ The second is: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There <u>is</u> no commandment greater than
these.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You’re right says the man… more
important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. And here Jesus tells him </span><br />
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<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘<u>You</u><u>’re</u> not far from the kingdom of God.’ </span><br />
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<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus perspective on the scriptures
is profoundly important for us… beginning
with the confession that ‘God is <u>one’</u>…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God <u>isn’t</u> a mixture of yin
and yang, good and evil, terror and love.
God is consistent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe other gods are mixed up, but Jesus’
God…the one Jesus calls Abba…the One who made heaven and the earth… the one we’re
called to love…is… and always will be… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>one</u>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only <u>two</u>-faced gods needs to be feared. If Jesus is God’s wisdom incarnate… and Jesus says don’t be afraid…the greatest commandment is <u>not</u> to fear the Lord… </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but to <u>love</u> the Lord...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Jesus… love of God is more
than just keeping the Law </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">love trumps everything…including
sacrifice and an eye for an eye. For
Jesus…love of God is active… and
expressed in a radical new way…yes love
your neighbour…but love them even
when they’re your enemy…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for as Paul discovered… ‘perfect love… casts <u>out</u> fear’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earth
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At stake in Jesus’ debate
about the greatest commandment </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is how you and <u>I</u> are to
interpret the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament...at stake is how we live
out <br />
that interpretation in the world today.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see in this era of global awareness…our neighbour includes all seven plus billion people on the planet. Loving
God as Jesus defines it…means actively
making sure everyone is cared for…actively forgiving
those who sin against us… actively <u>making</u>
peace and reconciling with others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we begin our interpretation
from our own viewpoint and not from the cross…it’s easy to lose sight how distinctive Jesus’ perspective actually
<u>is</u>. And if the Jesus of the gospels
is to be your primary interpreter for understanding the bible…then how can any
behaviour that doesn’t look or sound like the Jesus of the Gospels…be Christian
behaviour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The writer of the fourth Gospel
puts it this way…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus said <span style="color: red;">Slide words</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘<u>I</u> am the Way the Truth and the Life’ [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The time has come for us to stop
relating to false and graven images … and begin relating to the Jesus of the Gospels. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we will know how to truly love God and our neighbour <u>and</u> all
those… with whom we need to be reconciled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bottom line is this…you and I live out
in our everyday relationships…what
we believe about God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We must begin with Jesus, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the full and final revelation of
God…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as the early Christians did…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">or we will not end with Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My thanks to Michael Hardin - author of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Jesus-Driven-Life-Reconnecting/dp/1450709451">The Jesus driven life</a> </i>for his inspiration for this sermon.</span></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-60936253891103733762013-12-22T15:49:00.000+13:002013-12-22T15:49:08.401+13:00Heavenly Bodies part 2<h1 style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Advent 4 year A Sermon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLxYbOL5fenH7Wpa8atTS_eq3PHvjnJ8Y4rKyFcnHyp8M5M-0tvwBb7pNTMuBaj3fvfW3D3VIwmkhqw-S_W8PcsOnwhp_Wr0rhNLHVvIz7ORmA91CLfVMDZJMx1CaCbdTvHFUZmUC6uvD/s1600/Jesus+Toddler+wise+men.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLxYbOL5fenH7Wpa8atTS_eq3PHvjnJ8Y4rKyFcnHyp8M5M-0tvwBb7pNTMuBaj3fvfW3D3VIwmkhqw-S_W8PcsOnwhp_Wr0rhNLHVvIz7ORmA91CLfVMDZJMx1CaCbdTvHFUZmUC6uvD/s320/Jesus+Toddler+wise+men.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How confident can we <u>be</u>… </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">when our
cynical </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">non-Christian </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">friends</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…dismiss </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus’</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> story as irrelevant </span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">
or a <b>myth</b>…or when people <b>claim</b> the Gospel record<b>…<br />
</b>in Matthew<b>, Mark, </b>Luke and <b>John…</b>has no historic <b>validity</b>?
<br />
Or when our highly <b>spiritual</b> new <b><u>age</u></b> friends… say well
that’s just <b>fine</b>, but it’s not the <b>only</b> story. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do we have <b>any</b> rational objective reason to believe other than our
personal experience of God?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, <b>last</b> week… we learned <span lang="EN-US">from the sciences of astronomy and <b>archaeology</b> that…it’s the <b>skeptics</b> view that’s often rooted
in ignorance…. and misinformation. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year my friend Professor Jeff <b>Tallon…</b>
<br />
was <span lang="EN-US">jointly awarded the inaugural Prime Minister's <b>Science</b> Prize… for <b>outstanding</b> achievement. A
strong Christian and a good speaker…Jeff <b>gave</b>
me permission,,, to present his <b><u>scientific</u></b>
understanding… of why we can have confidence in the Gospel <b>records</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Camels
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Last</b> week using Jeff’s scientific <b>evidence…</b>
we established Jesus would have been born… sometime in 2<b> <u>BC</u>… <br />
</b>and visited by the <b>wise</b> men …very
likely…18 months <b>later</b>…<br />
on December 25 the first day of Hanukka…the Jewish <b>holiday</b> when <b>gifts</b>
are given…<b>precisely</b> when we celebrate Christmas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
We <b>established</b> this working <b>backwards…</b>
from verifiable <b>events </b>at the time
of Jesus <b>death</b>…all recorded <b>independently </b>of the Gospel accounts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ancient
Hebrew slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week we’re
going to search…for the <b><u>exact</u></b> date of Jesus’ birth…and learn even
<b>more</b> about the Bethlehem <b>star</b>… <br />
this time working <b>forward</b>…from the <b>beginning</b> <br />
of a human <b>life</b>…not the <b>end</b>. <br />
<br />
We’re starting our search from the wonderful moment a real human life began …from
the conception of John the <b>Baptist</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can <b>follow</b> this if you want to…in the first
chapter of <b>Luke</b>. We <b>know</b> from Luke’s<b> Gospel</b> …that Jesus’ cousin was six <b>months</b> older…so John
would’ve been conceived between <br />
3 and <b><u>4</u></b> BC. Using information gathered by <b>Luke</b>…<br />
we can <b><u>now</u></b> verify the
probable <b>date…</b> of John’s conception …independently<b> </b>of the <b>gospels</b>. Luke tells us<span lang="EN-US">…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Priests
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span lang="EN-US">‘In
the time of Herod king of <b>Judea…</b> there was a <b>priest</b> named
Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly <b>division</b> of Abijah… <b><u>One</u></b> day when Zechariah's
division was on <b><u>duty</u></b> <br />
in the Temple…Luke tells us <br />
</span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red;">Angel slide</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…an angel of the <b>Lord</b> appeared to him. <br />
When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with <b>fear</b>. But the <b>angel</b> said to him: "Don’t be <b>afraid,</b> Zechariah; your <b>prayer</b>’s been heard. Your <b>wife</b>
Elizabeth <b>will</b> bear a son, and you are to name him John…And he’ll go on <b>before</b>
the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of <b>fathers</b>
to their children and the <b>disobedient</b> to the wisdom of the righteous to
make ready<b> </b>a <b>people…</b>prepared for
the <b>Lord</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hebrew
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We know from official
<b>Jewish</b> records of the time…that the
Division of <b>Abijah</b> was the <b>eighth</b> Division of priests…and in 4 BC
the eighth <b>Division</b> served from May 19 to June 16… After
their time of service <b>finished…</b>Luke <b>tells</b> us… <br />
Zechariah went <b>home</b>… and Elizabeth
conceived. <br />
<br />
Allowing for nine months of <b>pregnancy</b>…John would have been born around the 7th of March, 3 BC. <br />
and <b><u>Jesus</u></b> born…six months
later…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">around the <b><u>September the 7<sup>th</sup></u></b>…in
the year <b>3</b> BC. <br />
<u>I want you to r<b>emember</b></u> that date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now we <b>return</b> to the question we were asking <b>last</b> week <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…just exactly <b><u>what</u></b>
was… the star of <b>Bethlehem</b>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember the <b>Magi…</b>wise men from <b>Babylonia</b> in the East<b>…</b> remember
they were <b>astronomers</b> and astrologists. The way the stars and <b>planets</b> behaved<b> </b>had
<b>great</b> significance for them. <br />
<br />
When we look at the astro<b><u>logical</u></b>
evidence through <b>their</b> eyes …through the <b>eyes</b> of the <b>Magi</b>…here’s what we find. <br />
And from now I’m going to use Professor Jeff Tallon’s <b><u>own</u></b> slides … … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Jupiter
danced slide</span></b> <span style="color: red;">(with two clicks)</span><br />
Ancient Babylonian astro<b><u>logical</u></b>
records tells us <br />
that in 3 BC Jupiter ‘<b><u>danced’</u></b>…that means viewed from earth <br />
Jupiter appeared to go back and <b>forth</b>.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">[1]</span> Modern <b><u>astronomy</u></b> shows us… what <b>actually</b> happened <br />
is that Jupiter and Venus… the two brightest
<b>planets</b> …<br />
went into conjunction <b>twice</b>…once in August
<b><u>three</u></b> BC <br />
<span style="color: red;">[2]</span> and again in <b>June…</b> <b><u>two</u></b> BC. <br />
(in the slide – <b>Venus</b> is showing as a <b>crescent</b>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What would have made
these two events so <b>fascinating <br />
</b>to wise men looking for astro<b><u>logical</u>
</b>signs and portents…<br />
is that <b><u>between</u></b> those two dates
<br />
when Jupiter appears to <b>dance</b> … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">11
September Slide (with 4 clicks)</span></b>
<br />
<span style="color: red;">[1]</span> precisely on the <b><u>11th</u></b> of September<b>…</b>
3 BC…<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">[2]</span><b>Jupiter</b>…which
was known as the <b><u>King</u></b> planet…<br />
moved into conjunction with <span style="color: red;">[3]</span> <b>Regulus</b>…the King <b>star</b>…<br />
and <b><u>all</u></b> this occurred in the
constellation of <span style="color: red;">[4]</span> Leo…the Lion …to the <b>Hebrew </b>people…the constellation of <b>Judah</b>!!! <br />
<br />
Given <b>their</b> understanding of what
this <b>meant</b>…<br />
wise men from the <b>East…</b> would <b><u>easily</u></b> believe <br />
the stars they actually <b>saw</b> …were <b>predicting…</b> <br />
a king would be born to the nation of <b>Judah</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Virgo
Slide (7 clicks)</span></b><span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"> <br />
[1]</span> And<span style="color: red;"> </span>on
<b>exactly</b> the same night…September <b><u>11</u></b>… 3 BC… <br />
<b><span style="color: red;">[2]</span> </b>the<b> </b>planet<b> Venus</b> moved into the constellation of
Virgo …along <b>with</b> <span style="color: red;">[3]</span> Mercury <b><u>and</u></b> <span style="color: red;">[4]</span>
the sun. <br />
<br />
To the ancient Babylonian <b>Magi</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the <b><u>sun</u></b>
in the womb of Virgo (the virgin)…would have been a <b><u>powerful</u></b> image… foretelling of <b>immaculate</b> conception. <br />
<b><br />
<span style="color: red;">[5]</span> Today</b> from a computer generated image <br />
of the night sky on that very <b><u>date</u></b>…
<span style="color: red;">[6]</span> we can just make <b>out</b> <br />
the crescent moon… lying under the feet of Virgo. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Remember</u></b> this passage from our series on <b>Revelation</b>.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“A great and
wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant and<b><i> </i></b>cried
out in pain as she was about to give birth… She gave birth to a son, a male
child, who will rule all the nations.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this astrological <b><u>event</u></b> was well known to John of <b>Patmos </b>…it wouldn’t be <b>surprising
at all</b>…would it? <br />
because it really <b>occurred</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now just in case
your dubious about this…we now know from ancient Hebrew scrolls discovered at <b>Qumran</b> <br />
that astrology was practised by Jews and Babylonians <b>alike</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And archaeologist
have the 12 signs of the zodiac were <b>imprinted</b>
in a mosaicon the floor of the <b>Temple in
Jerusalem</b>…one <b>constellation…</b> for each tribe of <b>Israel</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
A virgin with the sun in her belly and the moon at her feet…what an amazing <b>way</b> for God to <b>communicate</b> <br />
with ancient peoples – according to <b>their</b>
science.<b><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Mary
slide</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact…some of the <b>earliest</b> presentations of Mary…show the
crescent moon…below her feet and the sun in her belly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Remember</b> our calculations…based on Luke and <b>independent</b>
Jewish records…calculations that place Jesus’ birth around September <b>seven</b>…3 <b>BC? <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if what John
describes in Revelation <b>is</b> a description <br />
of a famous <b><u>real</u></b> astrological
event…then instead of the <b>7th</b>…just maybe
the <b>eleventh</b> of September <b><u>was</u></b><br />
the exact date of Jesus <b>birth</b>. <br />
<br />
And what about the star of <b>Bethlehem</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lets read <b>Matthews</b> version of the story <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><br />
Change </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red;">Slide </span></b><i><span lang="EN-US"><br />
After</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during
the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked “where
is he who is born King of the Jews? <br />
We saw his star <i>in the east</i> and have come to worship him.”<b><span style="color: red;"> <br />
<br />
</span></b>After they’d listened to what Herod had to say, the Magi went on
their way and the star they’d seen <i>in the east</i> <br />
went ahead of them until <i>it stopped over the place</i> where the <i>child</i>
was. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On <b>coming</b> to the <i>house</i> they saw the
<b><i>child</i></b> with his mother Mary…and
they bowed down and worshipped him…<br />
and presented him with <i>gifts</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The star came to <b>rest</b>…over
Bethlehem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visit
slide (<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red;">[1]</span><span lang="EN-US"> And<span style="color: red;"> </span></span></b>here reproduced electronically according to
scientific method…we can <b>see</b> a faint
image of where <span style="color: red;">[2]</span> Jupiter <b>was</b> <br />
that very night. <br />
<br />
And my friends… this isn’t just <b>any</b>
view of the night sky. <br />
It’s the view from <b>Jerusalem…</b>where the Magi spoke to <br />
King Herod…<br />
<br />
Viewed from <b>Jerusalem</b>… <span style="color: red;">[3]</span> Jupiter is <b>due</b>
south and lies right over Bethlehem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the Magi paid
their visit to the child Jesus… <br />
we now know from the modern science of <b>astronomy</b>…<br />
the planet <b>Jupiter</b> reached the full
extent of its retrograde <b>motion</b>… and
came to <b>rest</b>…that means it appeared
to <b><u>stop</u></b>…<br />
<br />
right over Bethlehem… on the 25th of December in 2BC… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
But can you see …what’s just above the <b>horizon</b>?<br />
On the 25<sup>th</sup> of December in
the year 2 BC…the Southern Cross… has popped over the horizon for just a few <b>days</b>. <br />
<br />
what completely amazes me…is that <b>today</b>
<br />
you can no longer <b>see</b> the Southern
Cross from Jerusalem That’s because our solar system is <b>moving…</b> <br />
in our <b>galaxy</b> the Milky <b>Way</b>. <br />
<br />
But two thousand <b>years</b> ago… you
could <b>see</b> it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What strikes my
friend Professor Tallon is…not only does the Southern Cross pin-point…precisely
at the horizon…<br />
the town of <b>Bethlehem</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But also as <b>viewed</b>
from Jerusalem…is the figure of the <b>cross</b>.
In an email Jeff wrote me…that to him this means… ‘The cross and the cradle were
inseparable.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And ‘For <b><u>all</u></b> these things to be true’…says
this respected physicist ‘the guiding signs to the <b>Christ…</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">would have been laid
down in the motion <br />
of the planets and the stars…from the beginning of creation!!’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crucifixion
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I leave you with this…<br />
<br />
Some 500 years before Jesus’ birth <br />
the book of Daniel tells foretells that the Messiah will come to Jerusalem and
be “cut off”. The writer is <b>very</b> specific. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide with words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daniel 9:24-26<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your
people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to
atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision
and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> “Know and understand this: From the time the
word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem… until the Anointed One, the
ruler, <b>comes</b>…there will be seven
‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ … After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed
One will be put to death and will have nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The people of the ruler who is to come…
will destroy the city and the sanctuary….<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: red;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">From the time of the command to rebuild
Jerusalem</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Advent%20and%20Christmas/Advent%20and%20Christmas%20Year%20A/Advent%202013/Advent%204%20year%20A%2013%20Sermon%20Astronomy%202.rtf#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><sup><span lang="EN-US"> </span></sup><span lang="EN-US">to the coming
of the Messiah… there were to be 69 sabbatical years. <br />
That period ended</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Advent%20and%20Christmas/Advent%20and%20Christmas%20Year%20A/Advent%202013/Advent%204%20year%20A%2013%20Sermon%20Astronomy%202.rtf#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> to the <b>day</b>…on the 30th of March 33 AD, the day we
established <b>last</b> week…by the modern
science of <b>astronomy</b>…as the <b>actual</b> date of Jesus crucifixion. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nativity slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So on Christmas
morning…whether you’re a true believer or a skeptic…you’d have to agree that
some awesome conclusions seem unavoidable. <br />
<br />
And if you are yet to believe in God… I hope you will be left this morning wondering…
<br />
just who <b>is</b> this man, Jesus...so compelling in his authority <b><u>and</u></b> his humanity <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who is this man…in
whom our understanding of God <br />
and physical history seem to converge. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just possibly… he
<b>is</b> the Word become flesh, <br />
Lord of the cosmos, the hope of all humankind, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God becoming
human… in time and space.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Advent%20and%20Christmas/Advent%20and%20Christmas%20Year%20A/Advent%202013/Advent%204%20year%20A%2013%20Sermon%20Astronomy%202.rtf#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> Artaxerxes to Nehemiah on 1 Nisan (4 March)
444 BC (see Neh 2:1). </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-right: 7.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Advent%20and%20Christmas/Advent%20and%20Christmas%20Year%20A/Advent%202013/Advent%204%20year%20A%2013%20Sermon%20Astronomy%202.rtf#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> Count forward 483 (i.e. 69x7) years of 360
days (see Rev. 11:3).</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-24931963010655201922013-12-15T11:49:00.000+13:002013-12-15T11:55:36.424+13:00When heavenly bodies come in handy<h1 style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Advent 3 year A Sermon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmX4f2FmTJB0U2bnemiJAmFTZY1Z_GB2r-Slz3E5SzALvRWa10XRGeZqbVgOJD9qHZWUppNZgbNG4LfNqKlU_2cIimX8OBsvM-XvMe8eQIJaAHFkfaiPpJGyWB4U4afHhI9fEU6x8hMafT/s1600/Universe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmX4f2FmTJB0U2bnemiJAmFTZY1Z_GB2r-Slz3E5SzALvRWa10XRGeZqbVgOJD9qHZWUppNZgbNG4LfNqKlU_2cIimX8OBsvM-XvMe8eQIJaAHFkfaiPpJGyWB4U4afHhI9fEU6x8hMafT/s320/Universe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">O that you
would tear open the heavens and come down, </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">so the mountains would quake at your presence—</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Come
down…come O come Emmanuel… come down…</span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">and be with us</span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We begin
today with Isaiah’s mind bending <b>vision...</b><br />
…the <b>tearing</b> of the very <b>fabric</b> of reality… as we <b>think</b> we
know it……….</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the breaking in of <b>God </b>to time and<b> space</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At <b>this</b>
time of year we celebrate the
coming of God’s future <b>toward</b> us…God’s self-<b>revelation</b>… in birth of Jesus…<br />
The season of <b>Advent</b>…is all <b>about</b>
what’s <b>coming</b>…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU">And we
listen once again to Isaiah’s powerful plea… <br />
that God, ‘would tear open the heavens and come down…<br />
for the faithful are waiting…’ </span><span lang="EN-US">Reflecting his trust in God’s</span><span lang="EN-AU"> faithfulness and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU">in God’s freedom <br />
to act outside the limitations of time and space… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus baptism slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And our Christian
faith stands <b><u>fast</u></b>…doesn’t it…<br />
on the conviction God <b><u>did</u></b> act in time and space…<br />
in the <b>conception</b> and <b>birth</b>…and in the life and teaching of <b>Jesus</b>…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the very <b>Word of God…capital W…<br />
</b><b>chose</b> to be <b>subject</b> to frailty<b> and</b> death…<br />
in solidarity with all creation…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? Not only to
<b>show</b> us how much we’re <b>loved</b>…<br />
but how to <b>live…</b>for the well<b>-being</b> of all Creation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And our faith
stands <b>fast</b> on the assurance that
Jesus’ death was not the end </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of the story…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <b>resurrection…</b>the
appearing of Jesus to many <b><u>following</u></b>
the crucifixion…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">signals the <b>advent</b> of
<b>our</b> future…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we can
always view the future in hope… God’s <b>coming
</b>…God’s breaking in…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to time and <b>space</b>…<br />
is the fundamental revelation of
the <b>Gospels</b>… [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU">But </span><span lang="EN-AU">when our cynical
non-Christian friends… dismiss Jesus’ story as irrelevant for</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU"> today or a myth…how can we be<b> </b>confident in the Gospel <b><u>record</u>…</b>in
Matthew<b>, </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU"><b>Mark, </b>Luke and <b>John…</b>How do we <b>know</b> these writings have any historic </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU"><b>validity</b>…written as they were</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU"> almost
two thousand <b>years</b> ago… <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU">Well, I’m here
to tell you <b>today...</b> we have much to
<b>learn</b> from the Gospel <b>record</b>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU">That these ancient <b>biographies …</b>simply
can’t <b><u>be</u></b> discarded in such an ignorant way. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the next two Sunday’s I’m going to explain <b><u>why</u></b> we can rationally <b>trust…</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in the <b>historicity</b> of these ancient texts. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus birth slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <b>orthodox</b>
Christian view…is that the birth of <b>Jesus…</b> <br />
is the very<b> </b>hinge of history…the before and the after… the
division of our <b>calendar…</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">into BC and
AD. <br />
<br />
And within this lies a profound <b>claim</b>.
But, <b>can</b> it actually be substantiated? </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Certainly the <b>secular</b> world doesn’t think so. Even in
the church some have <b>abandoned</b> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the
idea </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that God became </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">human</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">… and walked among
us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet… there are <b>many</b>…even learned <b>scientists</b>…<br />
who believe there’s enough <b>evidence…</b>
<br />
to allow us to put a <b>lot</b> of faith in the Gospel record. Faith to see us right<b> though</b> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Advent and beyond…into
2014…<br />
as we celebrate the 200<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the Gospel <br />
in Aotearoa New Zealand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tallon slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A friend of mine, Professor Jeff Tallon of
Victoria University was awarded the </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rutherford medal for his work in <b>physics</b>… and this year jointly awarded
the </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">inaugural Prime Minister's Science Prize for outstanding achievement in
science.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This companion of the New Zealand </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">order of merit took over the pulpit
in our church on day…to offer his own <b>scientific</b>
understanding of the truth of the Gospels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeff expresses great sadness over media coverage
given to <b>skeptics</b> when Christians
are about the celebrate the birth of Jesus …particularly people who claim Christmas </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was founded on a pagan <b>feast</b>…and that there were <b>no</b>
Magi, <br />
that there was <b>no</b> slaughter of infants…and Jesus never born Bethlehem. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">It <b>disturbs</b>
him the <b>public</b> is constantly told…stories
of Jesus birth are historically</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"> inconsistent <b>fables</b>…just <b>myths…</b> <br />
that developed among early
believers… years<b> after</b> the events happened.
<br />
</span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-US">As a <b>scientist…</b>Jeff’s sadness comes from a
very <b>real</b> conviction that everything <b>he’s</b> studied…of the events around Jesus <b>birth</b>… confirms an underlying <b><u>objective</u></b> reality…<br />
and <b>fills</b> him the deepest <b>sense </b>of the sacred and Divine. <br />
</span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-US">In <b>fact</b>…what Jeff and <b>other</b>
scientist have <b>discovered</b> … <br />
is that the <b><u>skeptics</u></b> view…is the one rooted in ignorance and <b>mis</b>-information. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>That’s</b> a strong claim
isn’t it? <br />
</span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-US">But I find Professor
Tallon’s <b>evidence…</b> not only fascinating
but <b>reassuring…</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">that we we must <b>always</b> approach the <b>Gospel</b> stories<b> </b>with an <b>open</b>
mind…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">because <b>our</b> understanding… </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">can
only <b>ever</b> be… partial and <b>incomplete</b>. <br />
</span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-US">Today <b>technological</b> advances can help <b>resolve</b> apparent difficulties… </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">so even the most <b>hardened</b> skeptics <br />
have to wonder…just who <b><u>was</u></b> the
child Jesus, <br />
born at Bethlehem in Judea?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today with Jeff’s <b>permission…</b>I’m going to present what we <b>now</b> know from
historic </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">research and the science of astronomy …wonderful information… to share
with your</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> skeptical </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and cynical friends… and even to strengthen your own faith.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First… all that Pagan <b>Feast</b> stuff…is <b>rubbish.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Modern astronomy slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Why</span></b><span lang="EN-US">? Because today through the science
of <b>astronomy</b>…<br />
we can actually <b>reproduce…</b> where the
stars and <b>constellations</b> were…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">at any
given time in <b>history</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US">electronically</span></b><span lang="EN-US">…<br />
<br />
When scientist’s like Jeffrey Tallon search for the most likely contender for
the <b>Bethlehem</b> star…they actually <b><u>do</u></b> find a star… that ‘stood over
<b>Bethlehem’</b>… when viewed </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>from</b> Jerusalem looking south… <b>just</b> as Matthew’s gospel <b>tells</b> it. <br />
<br />
A star… <b>astronomers</b> say…that reached
its <b>zenith </b>and the full extent of
its</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"> retrograde motion…<b>precisely</b> on
the 25<sup>th</sup> <br />
of December. And what’s even <b>more</b>
exciting is… <br />
in <b><u>that</u></b> very year…the Jewish
feast of <b>Hanukkah <br />
also</b> fell on twenty five December. So, the actual <b><u>date</u></b> <br />
we celebrate <b>Christmas</b> has nothing to
<b>do</b> with a pagan <b>feast</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dessert slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s <b>more</b>
likely to be… the day the Magi arrived… <br />
having crossed the vast desert to the east…to visit the new Jewish King the
stars had predicted…and they found Jesus …not in the <b>stable</b> where he was born…but just </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as the Gospel of <b><u>Matthew</u></b> describes…at the family <b>home</b>…fifteen <b>months</b> or so </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>after</b> Jesus’
birth …<br />
when Jesus was a toddler…a <b>child</b>…as
Matthew says.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So when we approach Jesus birth as an <b>historical</b> event…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">when we overcome our <b>concern</b>…about the so-called mythology<b>
surrounding </b>it…<br />
we discover the world has a lot to learn… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Another </span></b><span lang="EN-US">uninformed criticism… of the historic
<b>reliability</b> of the <b>Gospels</b>…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">is that Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John didn’t try to keep the <b>eyewitness</b>
stories </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">of Jesus’ life in the order they <b>happened</b>…Chronological <b>consistency</b> has always</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"> been an important <b>criteria</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"> for determining the <b>reliability</b>
of scripture. <br />
<br />
But if the Gospel accounts <b><u>are</u></b>
consistent <br />
with independent <b>scientific</b> observation <br />
of what occurred…we can be more <b>confident</b>
in the gospel record…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">and strengthen our faith as well. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because they <b><u>followed</u></b> the movement of the stars…<br />
the <b>Magi</b> were <b>obviously</b> astronomers and astrologists… … and it was <b><u>their</u></b> science…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that led them to
an encounter with Jesus…and <b>our</b>
science of <b>astronomy</b> points to the</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> visit of the Magi… exactly when we celebrate Christmas. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Crucifixion slide<br />
</span>And Professor Tallon adds…there’s <b>another</b>
fascinating way to check the </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">accuracy of the biblical <b>record</b>…<br />
and that’s to work <b><u>backwards</u></b> to the date of Jesus’ birth<b>…</b><br />
from Jesus <b>crucifixion</b>. <br />
<br />
We can <b><u>do</u></b> this…by putting
three events <b>together</b> <br />
recorded <b>independently</b> of the Gospel
witness… <br />
by Roman and Jewish <b>historians</b> living
in the first <b>century.</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
The <b>first</b> event is <b>Pilate’s</b> Procuratorship of Judea… <br />
between 26 and 36 AD. We know John began <b>baptizing</b>
<b>during</b> Pilate’s time in office…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">so that narrows the <b>beginning</b> of Jesus’ ministry down to 29 or <b><u>30</u></b> AD. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we know the <b>trial</b> of Jesus had to be
<b>after</b> <b><u>31</u></b> AD… <br />
because <b>that’s</b> when Pilate <b>executed</b> <br />
his anti-Semitic mentor<b>, Sejanus,</b> to
appease the <b>Jews</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we know Jesus <b><u>death</u>…</b> had to be before <b><u>34</u></b>
AD <br />
because that’s the <b>latest</b>
possible date for <b>Paul’s</b> conversion.
<br />
<br />
How do we <b>know</b> this about <b><u>Paul’s</u></b>
conversion? <br />
Well, the book of <b>Acts</b> tells us… after
18 months in Corinth, Paul was</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> indicted under Gallio, Proconsul of Achaia. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An existing archeological <b>inscription…</b>says <b>Gallio</b>
was proconsul <b><u>only</u></b> between January </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and August 52 AD. So, Paul <b>had</b> to leave for Corinth no later than
50AD. And Paul’s letter </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to the Galatians tells us…this was seventeen<b> years</b> after his <b>conversion</b>…and that brings </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">us right back
to…<br />
<b>wait</b> for it…late 33 or early 34 AD…a
year <b>after</b> Jesus’ trial. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">So all these <b>independent</b> events… help us
verify the time of Jesus’ <b>trial…</b> </span><span lang="EN-AU">and all
those </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-AU">events recorded in Roman and Jewish records… can be found in <b><u>Luke’s</u></b>
gospel too…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moon slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally we return to our <b>modern</b> science
of astronomy <br />
to <b>settle</b> the date with <b>certainty</b>. <br />
Celestial <b>bodies…sometimes</b> come in very
<b>handy</b>. <br />
<br />
Did you <b>know</b> the Jewish Passover <b>always</b>
occurs <br />
on the full moon <b>closest</b> to the spring <b>equinox</b>? And since Jesus was <b>crucified…</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on the day the Passover meal
<b>began…</b> we <b>know</b> there will have been… </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a full <b>moon</b> rising. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Josephus</b>…the 1<sup>st</sup> century <b>Jewish</b> historian…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">recorded that Jesus was <b>crucified </b>on fourteen <b>Nisan</b>
<br />
in the Hebrew <b>calendar</b>. <br />
<b>John’s</b> gospel tells us it was a <b>Friday. </b><br />
And <b>we</b> know 14 Nisan <b>only</b>
fell on a <b>Friday</b>… <br />
in the year <b><u>33</u></b> AD. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professor Tallon’s <b>final</b> blow to the skeptics… <br />
relates to <b>Peter’s</b> speech at
Pentecost only seven weeks <b>after</b> the
Resurrection… </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recalling the crucifixion…<br />
Peter quotes the prophet <b>Joel</b>…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moon slide with words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘The sun shall be turned to darkness and the
moon into blood before</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the day of the Lord comes.’ [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the evening Jesus was <b>crucified</b>…<br />
to <b>begin</b> the Passover meal…the head
of every Jewish <b>household</b>…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> would
have looked toward the rising <b>moon</b>. And what they saw that day on 14
Nisan…<br />
what the <b>science</b> of astronomy <b>tells</b>
us they <b>saw</b><br />
<br />
was the <b>moon</b>…rising in <b>eclipse</b>…<br />
lying fully in the Earth’s shadow… and blood <b>red…</b> <br />
for half an hour. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank moon slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier at mid<b>-day</b>…for around three <b>hours</b>…<br />
the sun… was <b>darkened</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Joel’s prophetic <b>vision…</b>was given <b>substance</b> <br />
on the very <b>day</b> of Jesus’
crucifixion…14 Nisan<br />
in the Hebrew calendar…<b>our</b> April 3<sup>rd</sup>…33
AD. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US">So… </span></b><span lang="EN-US">we’ve established a reasonable and rational
<b>time frame </b>for Jesus’ public</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>ministry</b> and execution…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Working <b>backwards</b>
from this…we can look again <br />
at the accuracy of gospel stories of Jesus <b>birth</b>
… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take for example… <b>Matthew’s</b> record of Herod’s slaughter of infants…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to prevent a
threat to his <b>throne</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well… Josephus records… that right before Herod
died …<br />
he had two <b>Rabbi’s</b> burned alive… and
<b><u>on</u></b> ‘that same night … there
was </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">an <b>eclipse</b> of the <b>moon’</b>. <br />
<br />
Today we know on the 9<sup>th</sup> of <b>January</b>
1 BC <br />
the moon <b><u>was</u></b> in total
eclipse…and eighteen days later Herod <b>died</b>…</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">poised to perpetrate <b>another</b> massacre… of infants <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Josephus</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> compares it to the slaughter in <b>Bethlehem. </b>Herod’s<b> motive…</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">so ‘there would be <b>weeping</b>
in Israel<b> </b>when he <b>died</b>’ <br />
</span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-US">Only a month <b>before</b> Herod died…the Magi had said
good-by to him from</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">his palace in Jerusalem…<br />
where he’d pointed them toward Bethlehem…under the star that had</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">reached the
zenith of its retrograde motion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">just as Matthew’s gospel says, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And remember <b>that</b> day was the beginning of <b>Hanukkah</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the Jewish holiday when <b>gifts</b> are always <b>exchanged</b>.
[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week we’ll explore just what the night sky
<b>looked</b> like that year as the </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magi traveled to meet the new born king of the Jews… they read about…in the stars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tallon slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professor Tallon is always keen reminds us that
in the <b>end</b> <br />
we come to God through <b>faith</b>…not <b>logic</b>. <br />
And I heard his voice break as he came to the end of his talk saying</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in <b>faith</b> before this <b>Jesus</b>…<br />
I surrender <b>all</b> my intellectual pride <br />
and bow the knees of my heart and my mind <br />
to him in worship…’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let us do the same as we approach the table of
our Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-13820162565701381812013-12-08T11:37:00.000+13:002013-12-08T11:37:32.446+13:00Where is your allegiance?<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Advent 2 year A
Sermon Isaiah 11:1-11 and Mark 1</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvkeWQ1sQMG7Wb6GsoBCioxCtkdd4j4vV5sIHFdnHfyakEi4qau54w8RvKzUe9lxl__LjGJB8fP-H5GvgHuI_GtimFOqjaPVxvLeH_mfkPFycMYgZKEXBVBmegmH-FX8muLCzMwfXk7rd/s1600/The+Gospel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvkeWQ1sQMG7Wb6GsoBCioxCtkdd4j4vV5sIHFdnHfyakEi4qau54w8RvKzUe9lxl__LjGJB8fP-H5GvgHuI_GtimFOqjaPVxvLeH_mfkPFycMYgZKEXBVBmegmH-FX8muLCzMwfXk7rd/s320/The+Gospel.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each year on the second Sunday of Advent…as we prepare the
way for celebrating the birth of Jesus…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we remember his <b>baptism…</b>
which <b>culminates</b> <br />
with nothing less… than the endorsement of <b>God</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my son…the Beloved. <br />
<span style="font-size: 4.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>It’s a sentence…from Psalm 2:7… <br />
which everyone listening would <b>know</b>…<br />
gives <b>approval</b> to a liberating king…
<br />
in the line of David. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in <b>Mark’s</b>
gospel…affirms God’s <b>blessing</b> <br />
for the coming <b>reign </b>of Jesus the <b>Christ</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if <b>we’re</b> in doubt<b>…</b> about what God <b>ordained</b> kings are <b>like</b>…1<sup>st</sup>
century <b>Jews</b> … were certainly in <b><u>no</u></b> doubt.<br />
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>The Psalms… which they’d all memorised as children… give <b>this</b> mandate to a Davidic king: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Endow the king with <b>your</b>
justice, O God,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the royal son with
<b>your</b> righteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May he judge your people in righteousness,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> your <b>afflicted</b> ones with justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May the mountains bring prosperity to the <b>people</b>,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the hills… the <b>fruit</b> of righteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May he defend the <b>afflicted</b>
among the people<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and <b>save</b> the children of the needy; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>only</u></b> justice
and fairness… practised by God’s anointed king… will ensure the permanence of
the house of David. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the gospeller Mark <b>introduces</b>
his story of Jesus reign<b>…</b> with a <b>powerful</b> poetic quote from the prophet Isaiah…expressing
a deep <b>longing</b> for the well-being of
all <b>creation</b>…<br />
to come when the true king <b>finally</b>
rules in wisdom... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prepare the way of the Lord…make his paths straight…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What <b>meaning</b> does
God breathe into this passage for <b>you? </b>…for us…here at the ends of the
earth…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prepare the way of the Lord…make his paths straight …make
straight his paths in the wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If God is speaking to <b><u>us</u></b>
through this passage…<br />
how are we <b><u>doing</u></b>? In preparing
the <b>way</b>? [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We <b><u>claim</u></b> allegiance
to the baby Jesus… <br />
n the <b>carols</b> we sing…as Christmas <b>approaches</b>…<br />
but do we <b>live</b> like we really mean
it? <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every December we prepare to <b>celebrate</b> and tell the <b>story</b>
of the birth of our <b>Lord</b> …but how <b>well…</b> <br />
do we prepare the ground for the good <b><u>news</u></b>
he brings <br />
for <b><u>all</u></b> the earth! [pause] <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see how we <b>prepare</b>
for Jesus in how we live our<b><u> lives<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…is a powerful <b>clue…</b>to
where our <b>allegiance</b> really lies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">al·le·giance <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. the loyalty of a citizen to his or her government or of a
subject to his or her sovereign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, or the
like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Antonyms <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. treason. 2. treachery.
[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We don’t much <b>like</b>
absolutes today…<b><u>do</u></b> we…<br />
but I believe in <b>one</b> absolute…at <b>least</b> for those <br />
who would call themselves <b>Christian</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Allegiance</b> to Jesus…and by that I
mean… <br />
exclusive and total dedication to the <b>way</b>
of life he models for us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the first disciples to us sitting here today…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">allegiance to <b><u>Jesus</u>…</b>
changes <b>everything</b>…<br />
it changes the way the <b>apostolic</b>
church relates to <b>Caesar</b> as King and
Lord of the <b>Empire</b>. <br />
<br />
It changes the <b>relationship</b> to money
and possessions as Jesus’ <b>followers</b>
learn to share everything in <b>common</b>.
<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And allegiance to <b>Jesus</b>…
changes the way they relate to each other…the concepts of <b>hierarchy</b> and special <b>entitlement…</b>
are <b>deconstructed </b>by the early
Christians<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To live the Christian life in <b>community</b>… there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male or
female, … we are all <b><u>one</u></b> in
Christ Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To <b>pledge</b>
allegiance to Jesus…means being a <b>prophetic</b>
community… called by Christ to <b>imitate</b>
him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to <b>reject</b>
violence… and stand up to the powerful… <br />
by speaking the <b>truth</b>… and taking
the <b>consequences</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A community that is <b>subversive</b>
of Empire… <br />
not <b>subservient</b>. Or so it’s supposed to be… [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But sadly after the third century things <b>changed</b> as the church grew in power…the
good news Jesus proclaimed for <b>all</b>
people…was relegated to the dusty shelves labelled… politically impractical. Oh
sure a few fled to the desserts and monasteries to keep the flam alive, but <br />
<br />
From the 3<sup>rd</sup> to the 15<sup>th</sup> <b>century</b>…when the church had <b>all</b>
the power… and became an Empire in its own <b><u>right</u></b>...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the message of <b>Jesus’</b>
Gospel<b>…</b> was all but <b>forgotten</b>. <br />
<br />
And only those who could <b>read</b> would
know it first <b>hand</b> <br />
and then only those who could read Latin or <b>Greek</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But thankfully <b>God</b>
can work for good in any rotten human situation… and in the 16<sup>th</sup>
century the <b>gospel</b> was translated
into the language of the common people along with the rest of the Bible…<br />
<br />
suddenly the <b>Church</b> could no longer <b>control</b> spread of the good news…that Jesus
came to bring this message…the Word of God incarnate…<br />
we are all equally loved by God …we’re to share the great resources of God’s
good creation…<br />
<br />
to do that …we’re to live <b>simply</b>…break
<b>down</b> the barriers that <b>divide</b>, <b>empower</b> women and slaves…<br />
be gracious to foreigners… love your <b>enemy…</b>make<b> peace…<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the prophets had tried in their way to speak this truth to
power…but they’d were rejected<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This gospel…this message…was as subversive of the <b><u>church</u></b>… as was of Empires…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and during the reign of Henry the <b>eighth</b>…<br />
<b>suddenly</b> Christians were reforming <b>everything</b>…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a copy of the English Bible was distributed to every parish church
in <b>England</b>. And the gospel <b>contained</b> in this Bible… was <b>subversive</b>…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">people started <b>doubting</b>
whether King Henry <br />
was God’s appointed and divinely ordained <b>ruler</b>…as
he claimed <b>after</b> all.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>common</b> people began
to demand a fair <b>share</b> of the national
wealth…<br />
many of the gentry were <b>terrified</b> of
this …and guess what <b>happened</b>? [pause]<br />
<br />
In 1543…the powers that <b><u>be</u></b>… actually
made it <b>illegal</b> for women and common
folk…to read the <b>Bible</b>! <br />
<br />
So subversive was its gospel <b>message</b>…only
<b>gentlemen</b> and <b>clergy…</b> would be allowed to <b>read</b>
it…it sounds ridiculous but it’s <b>true</b>!
[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But things have changed haven’t they… the gospel of Jesus
has been carried to the end of the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And <b>today</b> as we
prepare to celebrate Jesus’ <b>birth</b> <br />
beside our beautiful lake…you and I can read the gospel in complete freedom…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You and I can let the <b>light</b>
of the gospel <b>shine</b> <br />
on the way we live our <b>lives</b> …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You and I can <b>open</b>
our lives to its <b>scrutiny</b>…<br />
you and I can allow the Gospel of Jesus Christ <br />
to <b>critique</b> our lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We can…but <b><u>do</u></b>
we subject ourselves to Jesus gospel <br />
in allegiance to him? Are we comfortable to publically <b>claim</b> allegiance to Jesus when in our community resources are <b>not</b> shared and many fail to earn a
living wage…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As people who claim total allegiance to Jesus and the good
news he preached…<br />
do <b><u>we</u></b> demand our prophetic right…<b> <br />
to </b>speak the truth to governments and councils<b>…<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to allow the<b> gospel
of Jesus </b>to critique… <br />
how wealth is distributed, creation is abused and justice denied?<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or have we all but forgotten the gospel Jesus proclaimed
…and all along claiming allegiance to him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we have forgotten…if there is a mismatch between what we
say and what we do…then where can we even begin to prepare the way for Jesus
reign and for God’s will to be done on earth? [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well…we can <b>begin</b>
by asking ourselves Gospel <b>questions</b>
…<br />
<br />
Is <b>anyone</b> excluded from God’s love?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What does mercy look like when it’s practised?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is fair, what is kind, what is just? <br />
What would a church <b>committed</b> to the
Gospel <b>look</b> like, what would a <b>nation</b> look like…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">what would the <b>world</b>
look like…in light of the good news brought by the one whose birth we prepare <br />
to celebrate this Christmas?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 2014, we will celebrate the 200<sup>th</sup> anniversary
of the Gospel’s arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand…<br />
the Good News…that God loves everyone…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">high born and low born, chiefs and slaves, infants and
ancients, farm owners shepherds and shearers…<br />
we are <b>all</b> God’s children…<br />
and that <b>changes</b> our everything and our
relationship to <b>every single creature</b>
God has created!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But don’t take <b><u>my</u></b>
word for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I challenge you…right <b>now</b>…to
<b>read</b> your Gospels over the summer…<b>read</b> the good news…Matthew Mark Luke
and John…and <b>let</b> the gospel shine a
light on <b>your</b> life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hear</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> how John </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">warns</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> his
listeners…their sense of </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">entitlement</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> as God’s
special people counts for </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">nothing </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">… because
a new </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">beginning</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> has come
into the world in Jesus. <br />
</span><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Matthew…</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> hear
that what actually </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">counts…<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">is the “good </span><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit</span></u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">” of a sustainable
society. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h3>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that doesn’t
produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: #5c1101; font-size: 7.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understand how <b>Luke</b>
the gentile story teller…<br />
reminds us how any other <b>claim</b> is
phony <br />
and can only end badly. <br />
Read how Jesus <b>doesn’t</b> simply say believe
in me…but <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">take up your cross and <b>follow</b>
me’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if our allegiance is to Jesus Christ…<br />
the one who reveals God’s will for us… <br />
the one whose coming we <b>prepare</b> for
this Christmas…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if our allegiance to Jesus is <b>total</b>…<br />
if our surrender to his way absolute…<br />
then <b>everything</b> about the way we
live and even some of the things we <b>believe</b>…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">must be open to change… by him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prepare the way for the Lord…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">make straight paths for him <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now as Lucy sings let us bring our Christmas cards w ith our
prayers and our longings for God’s will to be done on earth <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to decorate our Christmas tree together. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-13491840182427227602013-11-17T11:39:00.000+13:002013-11-17T11:39:02.304+13:00What do we really need?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b>Pentecost 27 year C Sermon 13 </b></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuA1Q5jFDlIhpWN4cgNaFyzjai5ZVryDpyHMQ3Fdud_J3nIXXTaIDtciQX1X6Am89QdiWhWp0JuJa4t6cBeWItR0Y5Oc54px_LndQeID-AB3daFwxUGCp76vpRp2tgUs5GiUB5SgpCAlko/s1600/Child+at+checkout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuA1Q5jFDlIhpWN4cgNaFyzjai5ZVryDpyHMQ3Fdud_J3nIXXTaIDtciQX1X6Am89QdiWhWp0JuJa4t6cBeWItR0Y5Oc54px_LndQeID-AB3daFwxUGCp76vpRp2tgUs5GiUB5SgpCAlko/s320/Child+at+checkout.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Title
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When Jesus teaches the disciples
how to <b>pray</b>… <br />
he identifies God as <b>our</b> loving <b>father</b>…<br />
who <b>cares</b> about our basic <b>needs</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And most of us who claim to follow
Christ…<br />
would agree that <b>everyone</b> deserves
to have their basic needs met… simply because they’re a child of God…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But we wouldn’t <b><u>necessarily</u></b> agree <br />
what those basic needs are…and sometimes in our <b>consumer</b> culture…it’s hard to tell the <b>difference</b> between our <b>wants</b>
and our <b>needs</b>…isn’t it?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Sale slide</span><br />
Especially when we’re constantly <b>bombarded</b>…
<br />
with attractive… delicious… <b>possibilities</b>
for purchase and acquisition…on television and in <b>magazines</b> <br />
and on the <b>internet</b>.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Child
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Without some <b>guidelines</b>… we are likely to become <b>confused</b> about the <b>difference</b>
between our wants and our <b>needs</b>. Like
little children at the checkout in New World…who think a lolly is essential to
their very <b>survival</b>. [pause]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Writing
slide with text<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Now I want you write down three to
five <b>things</b>… that <b><u>you</u></b> think …<b>are</b> basic human needs….<b>Again</b>
I’m not going to ask you to share these with anyone <b>else</b>. <br />
Your list is for your eyes only.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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They write. I wait. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Writing
slide without text<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I guess <b>one</b> way to tell the difference between needs and <b>wants </b>… is whether we would die <b><u>without</u></b> something. <br />
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I’ll give you an example…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Some people think <b>sex</b>… is a basic human need… <br />
yet I can assure you that no one in the history of the world …has ever <b>died…</b> from not having sex. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Jesus
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I wonder how the list you just <b>wrote…</b> <br />
compares with the needs <b>identified</b>
in the Lord’s <b>prayer </b>…<br />
<br />
when we pray for God’s will to be done in our own lives…<br />
just what <b><u>is</u></b> God’s will…what does
<b><u>God</u></b> think…are our basic needs
As our <b>creator</b>… you’d imagine our
creator would <b><u>know</u></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If Jesus<b> <u>is</u></b> the one who reveals God’s will to us…<o:p></o:p></div>
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We learn three things from the prayer
he teaches us to <b>pray</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Three things about our most basic needs
<br />
from God’s perspective<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>1. </b>daily bread…daily <b>sustenance</b>
and <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>2.</b> forgiveness and deliverance from evil. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>And <u>3</u></b> ….<br />
we learn in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray <br />
that the way God meets<b> <u>our</u></b>
needs…<br />
is <b>directly</b> related to the way <b><u>we…</u></b> <br />
are to meet the needs of <b>others</b>. <br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>As Jesus <b>followers…</b> we’re to
meet the needs of others… <br />
for bread and forgiveness…in a <b>way</b>…that
reflects God’s generosity and <b>mercy…</b>
toward <b><u>us</u></b>. <br />
<br />
<b><u>Feed</u></b> the five thousand…<b>forgive</b> the crucifiers…<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s what it <b>means</b> to be a disciple…a follower…of
Jesus<o:p></o:p></div>
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Does Jesus include a loophole in
the prayer for any of us?<br />
<br />
So why do we <b>behave</b> as though he
does?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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None of us denies our need for
food…but many of us deny our need to be forgiving…as we are forgiven.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Jesus
slide <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A couple of <b>weeks</b> ago I preached on the benefits of <b>gratitude</b> …for our emotional… physical… and spiritual health. <br />
And <b>remember…</b>not<b> </b>only<b> </b>is the <b><u>feeling</u></b> of gratitude <br />
good for you ….but expressing it is even <b>better</b>
for you. <br />
Some of you may have tried this out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Well <b>today</b> I’m telling you… <br />
human beings not only need to feel <b>gratitude</b>…<br />
but as it says in the Lord’s <b>prayer</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
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we <b><u>need</u></b> to forgive…and be forgiven.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Why… because God knows that
unforgiveness is lethal…<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we refuse to forgive it’s like drinking a bottle of poison
and expecting the <b>other</b> person to
die…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Have you ever known anyone who was
so consumed with bitterness and resentment … <br />
it ate away their entire enjoyment of life…<br />
well that’s what I’m talking about. God <b>knows</b>
that <b><u>un</u></b>-forgiveness <b>destroys</b> the one who refuses to <b>forgive</b>…<br />
whether an individual or a <b><u>nation</u></b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Forgiveness doesn’t mean you have
to <b>forget</b> what happened…or minimise
it…or say it was ok…<br />
in fact forgiveness is <b>not</b> an
emotion…<br />
<b>forgiveness…</b> is a <b>decision</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Like deciding to cut through a
heavy chain… <br />
between you and the person you need to forgive…<br />
releasing them from what they owe you…That’s why in some <b>translations</b> of the Lord’s prayer… sin is translated as <b>debt</b>!!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Of course <b><u>God</u></b> is the main one… <br />
from whom <b><u>we</u></b> need forgiveness
…<br />
and our gracious God has shown us on the cross…<br />
just how much we are forgiven and how much it cost.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We can’t <b>control</b> whether another person forgives us …sometimes we just have to
live with the <br />
uncomfortable consequences of our actions or <br />
their stubbornness. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But God has wiped our debt on the
Cross <br />
and asks us to do the same for others…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So why do we pray this prayer week
after week and continue to behave as though it doesn’t really apply to how we
live?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Word slide</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Feed and forgive and deliver
people from evil as you have been fed and forgiven and delivered! What do you
think <br />
do <b>justice</b> love <b>mercy</b> and walk humbly with your God <b>means</b>?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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How dare we pray give us this day
our daily bread and then refuse to share what we have… so everyone can have
enough…in our community and in our nation and in our world. And do we <b>demand</b> our politicians do the <b><u>same</u></b>?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Remember what we’ve learned… <br />
feeding and forgiving are actually <b>essential…</b>
<br />
for our <b><u>own</u></b> wellbeing…not
just the wellbeing of others…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Hand slide
with words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So now some time to answer the
other two questions on the inside of our bulletin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Who do I need to feed as I have
been fed?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Who do I need to forgive as I have
been forgiven?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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[Wait while they write]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Jesus in
tallit slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Do we really think God’s kingdom
can come…<br />
and God’s will be done on <b>earth</b>… <br />
if his children refuse to be as generous and forgiving <br />
of their brothers and sisters… <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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as is their father in heaven? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-9125459499774900382013-11-03T13:53:00.000+13:002013-11-03T13:58:23.509+13:00Another Godly experiment Luke 21:5-19<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQtg7tqXrDRupa4AWZIDHc5a7oHsodSM3xcCJy6Q7srSch-yYpk4_I7lZ6WBm0wSc3n5V2bdHY4yeVEaIpONyOTTpLeXv2hpGdQGoKOM-vu354B9eyMyGWayBagWBz277kyhSIl906pUV/s1600/Girl+behind+fence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQtg7tqXrDRupa4AWZIDHc5a7oHsodSM3xcCJy6Q7srSch-yYpk4_I7lZ6WBm0wSc3n5V2bdHY4yeVEaIpONyOTTpLeXv2hpGdQGoKOM-vu354B9eyMyGWayBagWBz277kyhSIl906pUV/s320/Girl+behind+fence.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Pentecost 25 year C Sermon </b></div>
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Jesus <b>disciples…</b> were in <b>awe…</b>
of the grandeur and riches of the Temple. But Jesus <b>warns</b> them… <br />
As for this magnificent <b>Temple</b> you
see here…the time will come when not one <b>stone</b>
will be left on <b>another</b>; <br />
every <b>one</b> of them will be thrown <b>down</b>…<br />
<br />
and <b>before</b> all this…they’ll seize
you and persecute you…<br />
all on account of <b>my name</b>. And you
will bear <b>testimony</b> to me but make
up your <b>minds…</b>not to prepare your
defense in <b>advance</b><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Text slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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for <b><u>I’ll</u></b> give you words… and <b>wisdom…</b> <br />
none of your opponents can <b>withstand</b>
or <b>contradict</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This magnificent Temple will <b>fall</b>…and you’ll face great <b>trials </b>…but don’t be <b>anxious</b> about this… <br />
because you’ll <b>know</b> what to do… I
will have <b><u>told</u></b> you.[pause]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On Jesus’ last journey… he doesn’t
fudge the future …<br />
there’s serious <b>trouble</b> ahead for
his followers…<br />
but I’ll give you what you need so you don’t have to worry. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Yeah <b>right</b> some of them would have mumbled.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Blank
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Together <b>last</b> week… we did a Godly experiment in the relationship between <b>gratitude</b> and wellbeing. <b>Today</b> we’re going to do <b>another</b> Godly experiment…<b><u>this</u></b> one… <br />
aimed at reducing <b>our</b> worry and
anxiety…just as <b>Jesus</b> tried to help
his disciples with <b>theirs</b>…<br />
there in the shadow of Herod’s <b>Temple</b>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Writing
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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On the inside cover of your order
of service today you will find this question: How anxious do <b>you</b> get about <br />
what others think about you or how that might hurt you?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Now <b>answer</b> this by circling a number
from 1-5… where 1 is <b>very</b> anxious…
and 5 is… <br />
I don’t care <b>what</b> people might think
of me or <b><u>do</u></b> to me. <br />
OK now think about the question and circle a number…this is private to you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
[pause while they write]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now normally worry and <b>anxiety</b>…are generated by <b>fear</b> …aren’t they…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Fence
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And <b>these</b> emotions aren’t <b><u>bad</u></b>
in themselves…<br />
because fear <b>can</b> be <b>helpful</b> when it keeps us out of danger…
it’s wired <b>into</b> us by our creator for
our <b>survival</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
It’s healthy to fear a growling <b>dog</b> when you see one and <br />
stay <b>away</b> from it…it’s <b>healthy</b> to fear what <b>happens</b> when you drink poison…this
keeps you from <b>drinking</b> poison…<br />
it’s a good idea to fear what happens if you step on a <b><u>bee</u></b> barefoot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
But sometimes our fears become <b>irrational</b> don’t they… <br />
like when we <b>imagine</b> consequences…
much <b>worse</b> <br />
than the reality ever <b>could</b> be…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
If this child were paralysed with
fear…<br />
when she sees a bee on a flower on the <b><u>other</u></b>
side of the fence … we’d probably try to help her <b>understand…</b> <br />
why her fear is <b>irrational…</b> wouldn’t
we.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: yellow; color: red; mso-highlight: yellow;">Word slide</span><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
So fear <b>can</b> be helpful and fear can be irrational and <b>unhelpful</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 6.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pause<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
When we experience traumatic
events in <b>childhood</b> <br />
we can <b>continue</b> to respond with fear…
when <br />
<b>similar</b> circumstances arise later <b><u>on</u></b> in life…<br />
even if we <b><u>aren’t</u></b> a
vulnerable <b>child</b> any more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Bus slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
When I was 13…I was bullied on the
school bus on the way home...two or three primary schools had come together in
our new intermediate school…and one girl from my old school decided she didn’t
like me any more and hoped no one else would too. .<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Petition
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
She created a petition which
listed all my faults including the fact that I’d said God was my friend…and got
some of the kids I thought were my friends to sign it. And it got delivered on
the bus on the way home…needless to say I was crushed… but my mother…rang her
mother…the event had long term implications because the bullying didn’t stop…I
changed classes…etc etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Well…once in television while I
was producing fair go and once in the national office of the PCANZ and once
during my ministry here..very similar circumstances occurred…only I was an
adult wasn’t I?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Writing
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Now I’ve had some practise with
this…and by the time I came to Wanaka I’d <b><u>long</u></b>
learned …<br />
that to overcome an irrational <b><u>fear</u></b>
reaction… <br />
I have to stand back from what’s happened and see the <b>difference …</b> between what happened then… and what’s happening today.
Sometimes I write this down…or even draw pictures of it so I can see the <b>difference</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>Drawing</b> it shows me <b>clearly…</b> how <b>old</b> I am now… <br />
and what I <b>know</b> about myself today…<br />
and how much better I can take <b>care</b>
of myself <b>today</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
The same kind of irrational fears
can happen to us when we’re <b>spiritually</b>
immature…and we can <b><u>be</u></b>
spiritually immature<br />
at 13 or 80…if our <b>faith</b> is new…for
example… <br />
and hasn’t yet been <b>tested</b> by doubt
and temptation and learning. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
When we’re <b>spiritually</b> immature… our <b>faith</b>
<br />
needs to be strengthened by experience with <b>God</b>…<br />
you might say we need to grow <b><u>up</u></b>
in our faith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Recently I’ve been wrestling with…
how to help a man from outside our church…who’s new to the faith …Wanaka’s a
small community and people do come to me for support like this<br />
<br />
Well this man is <b>wracked</b> by the
anxiety his <b>workmates</b> are gossiping
about him and putting him <b>down</b>
behind his back. <br />
He’s constantly turning this <b><u>over</u></b>
in his mind…worrying about how he might respond to them…whether he should even turn
up at work Obsessing out <b>loud</b> over
what to <b>say</b> to them… and what might
be <b>wrong</b> with him because it <b>bothers</b> him so much. <br />
<br />
And yes <b>some</b> of this man’s workmates
<b>are</b> downright <b>mean</b>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
So this man comes to me for spiritual
support. <br />
His <b>understanding</b> of what it means
to be a follower of <b>Jesus</b> …<br />
is very <b>new</b>… but his desire to grow
closer to God is very sincere. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Now during my quiet time with God
recently…there I was<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
asking to be open to God’s
guidance…hoping to discover some way to <b>help</b>
this man lay <b>down</b> his anxiety… at
Jesus feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Suddenly I was reminded of how
this same sometimes irrational and obsessive anxiety used to be a problem in my
own life…and at this point God <b>prompted</b>
me to ask myself<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Jesus
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
How did Jesus teach you to respond
when other people were having a go at you Diane…or behaving badly around you? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
What came to mind…were the fifth
and sixth chapters of the book of Matthew cam immediately to mind…beginning with Jesus’ sermon on the
mount…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Text slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are the poor in spirit,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are those who mourn,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for they will be comforted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are the meek,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for they will inherit the earth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for they will be filled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are the merciful,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for they will be shown mercy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are the pure in heart,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for they will see God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are the peacemakers,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for they will be called children of God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of righteousness,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Blessed are you when people insult
you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same
way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Blank
Jesus slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And then it came to me…and I’d
never seen it this way before…as a following of Jesus…I already <b><u>know</u></b> what my response will be
when I’m faced with hatred or ridicule or harsh criticism…<br />
I don’t have to <b>plot</b> and <b>plan</b> my reaction to other people <br />
and I don’t have to be afraid of what their judgment might mean for me…<br />
<br />
<b>because</b> I’ve decided to be a
follower of <b>Jesus’</b> way…<br />
I already <b>know</b> what I will do…or at
least <br />
what I’ll do my best… with God’s help… to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
I will be gracious as God is
gracious. I will be merciful as God is merciful…I will forgive as God has
forgiven me… I will love my enemies…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Or at least I will try with the
help of God…and I already know it’s not going to be <b><u>easy</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Even when someone is threatening
my very <b>survival</b>…my <b>job</b> …my <b>income</b>… <br />
<br />
if I am committed to following <b>Jesus…</b>
first and foremost…<br />
no one can threaten my <b>identity</b> or
my self-<b>esteem</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Even though they threaten my body
and my <b>life</b>…<br />
they can’t destroy the life of Christ in me…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And this is what I felt guided to
say to the man I was trying to help.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Jesus tree
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
So listen <b>again…</b> to Jesus words to his <b>disciples</b>
<br />
that day in the shadow of the Temple… when they are anxious and afraid of the terrible
persecution to come…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Text slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
So make up your minds <b><u>not</u></b> to prepare your defence in
advance; for <b><u>I </u></b>will give you
words and a <b><u>wisdom</u></b> that none
of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Text slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
By your <b>endurance…</b> you will gain <b>life</b>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Blank
Jesus tree slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
There’s a sense in which Jesus is
trying to help his disciples <b><u>mature</u></b>
as his followers. They don’t <b>have</b> to
plan their defence because they already <b>know</b>
from his <b>teaching</b> how to respond. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
What they don’t know is that the
Holy Spirit will come to testify to Jesus in them as well. [pause]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
How shall they <b>live….</b> in the face of all that <b>threatens</b> them…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
They shall live as <b>peacemakers</b>…<br />
they shall live as the children of <b>God</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
So the <b>next</b> time you feel anxious about what other people are thinking or
how other people might hurt you…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
I want you to <b>remember…</b> that Jesus has already <b>revealed</b> <br />
what your <b>response</b> is to be. <br />
You don’t <b>have</b> to be <b>anxious</b> about that any <b>more</b>. Yes it might hurt…but you already
know what to do. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And remember Jesus words<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
All this…just gives <b>you</b> an opportunity to <b>testify</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
into the circumstances of your own
life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -14.2pt; margin-right: .5pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-10238447774477627082013-11-03T11:35:00.001+13:002013-11-03T13:54:23.768+13:00Experiment in Gratitude October 27, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAMpboa0ie8t749pMVF1B0OrGQSzptEmNadGIYPBYqsF5A1RT-YIsvZizTfjSGUKVLUEiAPaY51YmwQLJzqiBX7EevgQfOxBp4baMil5v7m6rYH2yntBpmn_UlNDqKdXRr9xKHS-CoE6f/s1600/hand+writing.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAMpboa0ie8t749pMVF1B0OrGQSzptEmNadGIYPBYqsF5A1RT-YIsvZizTfjSGUKVLUEiAPaY51YmwQLJzqiBX7EevgQfOxBp4baMil5v7m6rYH2yntBpmn_UlNDqKdXRr9xKHS-CoE6f/s1600/hand+writing.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b>Pentecost 24 year C Sermon </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Everybody got their order of
service <br />
and something to write with…raise your hand if you didn’t. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Ok before the service started I
got you to circle how happy you felt at that time…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
As a congregation we’ve done some
very hard work over the past 23 weeks on the book of Revelation. So we need a
little break…<b>Last</b> week Tom’s
wonderful testimony<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Today we’re going to do a Godly
experiment <br />
in which everyone can participate…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Here’ how we’re going to start… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Assignment
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
I want you to take five minutes to
write a paragraph about someone who had an incredibly positive impact on your
life. You won’t have to talk about it or share it with anyone…<br />
<br />
I just want you to write. I’m going to
do the same.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><i>They write for five minutes<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Now have a look at some other
people <br />
did the same experiment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><i>Look at film<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;">All the people reported some increase in happiness
after that exercise. But those who expressed their gratitude outloud on the
phone reported a bigger increase in happiness and the person who came in
feeling the least happy reported four times more happiness after the
experiment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: red;">Blank writing slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Scientists have found that exercises like
this…that stir<b> </b>up<b> </b></span></span><b><span style="background: white;">feelings</span></b><span style="background: white;"> <span style="color: #222222;">of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>gratitude<b>…</b></span><span style="color: #222222;"> actually <span style="background: white;">elevate<span class="apple-converted-space"> the human hormone </span></span></span><b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">serotonin –<br />
<br />
</span></b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">that’s
the hormone which is released into the blood <b><u>naturally</u></b> to help us
deal with every day stress without falling <b>apart</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Some people have more and some less
serotonin – and when serotonin production gets really low- people can get
clinically depressed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br />
Well isn’t it interesting that the feeling of gratitude seems to trigger the <b>release</b>
of serotonin… sometimes even enough to</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> reduce <b>physical</b> pain.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><br />
Interesting isn’t it - because gratitude by its very <b>nature</b> distracts us from the negative stuff that’s going on</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Now we <b><u>all</u></b> know that sometimes people…<br />
even the people we love the <b>most…</b>
let us down…<br />
<br />
When this happens we don’t feel grateful to <b>them</b> at all<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
We don’t feel grateful to them for
<b>anything</b>…in fact we feel irritated
and frustrated and <b>disappointed</b> with
them…<br />
Just as psalm 118 says we can’t rely on humans all the time…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
So where can we find some
gratitude to help restore us a little<br />
<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Ask</span><br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s right… there’s <b>always</b> one… to whom we can give thanks
at any time…and for so very much…but that’s really only possible if we have
faith isn’t it…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Listen <b>again</b> to the place of
thanksgiving in our gospel story for today…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">10 Leppers slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus
travelled along the <b>border</b> between
Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a <b>village</b>, Jesus encountered ten men with leprosy… <br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Because they were considered unclean and Jesus was a rabbi they stood at
a distance and shouted <b>out</b> to him <br />
“Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>When Jesus <b>saw</b> them, he said,
“Go, show yourselves to the <b>priests</b>.”
And as they walked away they were cleansed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
But one man, when he <b>saw</b> he was healed,
came <b>back </b>to Jesus. <br />
<br />
And praising God in a loud voice… he <b>threw</b>
himself at Jesus’ feet and <b>thanked</b>
him—and <b>this</b> man was a Samaritan –
by <b>definition</b> an unclean foreigner.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Jesus
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And Jesus <b>asked</b> him, “Weren’t all ten of you cleansed? Where are the other
nine? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Text slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Has no one returned to give thanks
to God except this foreigner? Then he said to him, “Rise and go; <br />
your <b>faith</b> has made you well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Your <b>faith</b> has made you <b>well</b>…<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Now it strikes me…that here Jesus is expressing two really important
Christian spiritual principles…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Text slide
with underlining<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b>One</b> – there’s a <b>connection</b>
between giving <b>thanks</b>…and <b>faith</b>…And <b><u>Two</u></b> – <br />
there’s a <b>connection</b> between giving
thanks… and wellness. Your faith has made you <b>well</b>!!! <br />
<br />
Notice Jesus didn’t say your faith has made you <b>clean</b> – or healed your terrible skin disease…which is why he sent
the healed men back to the <b>priests</b>…for
the ritual of washing to enter the temple again…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Leper’s
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Before <b>they</b> walk away…Jesus doesn’t say <b>anything</b> to the <b>other</b>
nine about faith…just <br />
show yourselves to the priests [pause]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Jesus slide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>You see…God</b>…the source of all life and goodness …and in this story…Jesus<b> </b>the <b>Word</b> of God… revealed in the <b>flesh</b><br />
already know there’s a link between gratitude and wellbeing … the link scientists<b> </b>in the 21<sup>st</sup> <b>century</b> are studying today. <br />
<br />
<b>God…</b> who created the physics and
chemistry of our <b>brains</b> and hormones…and
our life-saving responses to danger and injustice like fear and anger…well…God knows
every <b>piece</b> of the human puzzle.
Especially our vulnerability to emotional and physical illness – we are <b>not</b> built to last here in this lifetime….
<br />
<br />
And God knows that one of the missing <b>pieces</b>
in the human puzzle… <b><u>can</u></b> be gratitude…
<o:p></o:p></div>
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And very <b>often…</b> we need to be <b>reminded</b>
to feel it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Twenty nine <b>times…</b> in the scriptures of the old and new testaments … we’re <b>exhorted </b>to give thanks to God….<br />
<b>Often</b> with these words.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Text slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Give thanks to God… for God is
good, <br />
God’s love endures forever…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Paul tells the <b>earliest</b> followers of Jesus in
Thessalonians<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Text slide
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
give thanks in <b>all</b> circumstances. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-right: .5pt;">
for this is God’s <b>will</b>
for you in Christ Jesus.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Blank
Jesus slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
But
think about this for a minute…<br />
atheists…people who simply don’t believe there <b><u>is</u></b> a God… Well, they’ve got no God to be grateful to…<br />
<br />
and if all the <b>people</b> in their lives
let them down…<br />
how are they going to tap into that wonderful source of life and healing that
gratitude brings? <br />
<br />
When people let them <b>down</b>…they come
to an emotional dead <b>end</b>… when
they’re feeling rock <b>bottom</b> <br />
and can’t even look out at the lake and the <b>mountains</b> <br />
and say thank you… God for making this beautiful place …thank you God…I’m <b>alive</b>…Thank you God…<br />
I can see and hear and touch… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
But we can tap into… the spring of
wellbeing that comes expressing gratitude through <b>faith</b>. <br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>As Paul writes to Philippians <br />
<span style="color: red;">Text slide</span><br />
The Lord is <b>near</b>. Don’t be anxious
about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, <b><u>with</u></b> thanksgiving …present your
requests to God. <br />
And when you do that…Paul says…<br />
<span style="color: red;">Text slide</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
the peace of God which passes all
understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-8162938139460093012013-09-01T11:24:00.002+12:002013-09-01T11:24:09.411+12:00 Revelation Chapter 15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentecost 15 year C Sermon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Title slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I've been <b>gone</b>…
…… in case you missed a couple of Sunday’s in the mysterious and disturbing saga
of John’s vision which we call the book of Revelation…<br />
I’ll remind you how… back in chapter 12…you met<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dragon slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the <b>Dragon</b>…the <b>embodiment…<br />
</b>of all evil and <b>rebellion</b>
against <b>God</b>…<br />
and we remember how the dragon was enraged <br />
at being kicked out of <b><u>heaven</u></b>…<br />
<b>wraps</b> itself around the <b>earth</b> <br />
pursuing the mysterious woman …crowned with <b>stars</b>…<br />
who carries her new born child… <br />
<br />
With relief we hear the woman goes <b>underground
…</b> <br />
and into <b>hiding</b>… protected by the
earth itself…<br />
for God’s good <b><u>creation</u></b>… refuses
to <b>collude</b> with the Dragon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We remember that in John’s strong <b>symbolism<a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%2015%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%2015-16.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></b>…<br />
the woman <b>Israel…</b>goes to <b>ground…</b><br />
but not before her <b>children..</b> are <b>born</b>…the new <b>faithful</b>… <br />
who will continue… to carry out God’s saving purposes on <b>earth</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now woman’s <b>offspring</b>…are
the Dragon’s <b>target…</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We remember how the dragon wields <b>authority…<br />
</b>over earthly <b>kingdoms</b> <br />
and to maintain its <b>hold</b> on power…<br />
how the dragon raises up two <b>monsters</b>
<br />
one from the sea and one from the <b>earth</b>…<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: red;">coin slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the first and most terrible monster…is symbolic of Rome… <br />
the <b>second </b>represents the toadying sycophantic
religious and civil <b>authorities…</b> who
collude with Rome…<br />
from one end of the empire to the other…demanding that <b>everyone</b> bow down in worship to <b>Caesar</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As twenty first century Christians
looking <b><u>on</u></b>…<br />
we’ve <b>learned</b> we’re not merely <b>spectators</b>… <br />
we are <b>participants…even today in this
conflict…<br />
</b>as the Dragon operates behind the <b>scenes</b>
manipulating the powers and principalities it creates…time and time again …to wreak
destruction on God’s good creation. <br />
<br />
Along with his first century <b>readers</b>…John
wants <b><u>us</u></b> to understand …just how
evil <b>operates</b>...and how it must be <b>named</b> <br />
and <b>exposed by Jesus witnesses</b>…in
order to be <b>defeated </b>…<br />
<br />
John wants us to know that <b><u>suffering</u></b>
<br />
in the service of God’s <b><u>purposes</u></b>
<br />
doesn’t mean God’s gone to <b>sleep…</b> but
our <b>suffering</b> is actually<b>…</b> <br />
an important part of our prophetic <b>witness</b>…<br />
of speaking the truth to power<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Dragon slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ve learned that victory in the
divine dimension has already been achieved…yet the Dragon’s continues its
destructive work on earth…angry at its limited power…<br />
the dragon resorts to lies and accusations and seduction... <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Roman arena slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today its lackeys are <b><u>still</u></b> saying…. justice and peace
…compassion and mercy… are an <b>illusion</b>…an
impossible dream… that Jesus Christ was a deluded and idealistic figure in
history past with no impact on the present...<br />
<br />
And the dragon’s puppet <b>monsters…</b>
continue to invite us…<br />
to <b>self</b>-worship over love of
neighbour…to consumption over <b>sharing</b>…to
necessary <b>war…</b> over a just peace…and
to hate our enemies rather than love them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet to give us <b>hope</b>…John’s vision <b>assures</b> us… <br />
<span style="color: red;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘the ones who keep God’s <b>commands</b> and the testimony of Jesus’…
will…. in the end prevail...<br />
<br />
because the faithful martyrs who follow the <b>Lamb</b>…<br />
well they know they’re already <b>saved…</b>
<br />
by his blood and his self-<b><u>giving</u></b>…
unto death…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And their faithful <b>witness</b> brings them to do the same…<br />
<b><u>why </u></b>…because mysteriously and
paradoxically…what Jesus achieves on the cross…actually wins the victory over
evil… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we’ve known from the beginning
of John’s <b>vision</b> that we’re all in
this battle…whether we choose to be <b>faithful</b>
or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Caesar
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We saw how worshipping or <b><u>not</u></b> worshipping Caesar… <br />
became the test… for <b>acceptability</b> in the Roman. Empire<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without the mark of the beast…people
could neither buy nor sell… capitulate to the Dragon’s system… or starve…or <b>worse</b> <br />
<br />
Today the great lie is still <b>told</b> to
ordinary vulnerable people…wealth and status and acceptability depends on your
cooperation with the system …<br />
<br />
and Christians still have to choose … between the Lamb of God and the <b>inequality</b>, injustice and environmental
destruction …created by global economic and political powers… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the lie we’re <b>told</b>… is that equality and justice <br />
threatens is a threat to our way of life and the poor are not our neighbour…<br />
just bring your sacrifices to <b>Caesar…<br />
</b>and everything will be ok <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…except of course your integrity
as a follower of Jesus… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Bench slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for the <b>dragons</b> promise of <b>instant</b>
personal satisfaction…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">actually<b> destroys</b> our sense of Christ and the <b>love</b> for <br />
one another… to which we are called.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes…the dragon creates a world of parody
and lies… <br />
a fake world…a sham system from top to bottom…<br />
a world where truth and lies are hard to tell apart…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
and this is where we stand…as Christians…<br />
<br />
do we collude with the Dragon… or prophesy to the truth that God’s victory in <b><u>Christ</u></b>… is about the <b>real</b> world…<br />
about the <b>entirety</b> of God’s <b>good</b> creation. <br />
<br />
And by telling us his vision…John wants us to know that the closer we are to
God… and to his <b>Lamb</b>…the more <b>clarity</b> we’ll get and the more truth we
must tell. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And over the past weeks we’ve
learned the dragon…<br />
aka Satan… does its <b>best</b> work by distracting
us from the truth …keeping things <b>out</b>
of our minds altogether…<br />
don’t <b>watch</b> that doco on the gap
between rich and poor…<br />
keep playing that video game …<br />
keep running on <b>Caesars</b> treadmill
and you just won’t <b><u>need</u></b> to
worry about peace and justice and fairness and compassion …and mercy and
forgiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And where distraction <b><u>fails</u></b>… the dragon tempts us <br />
to believe and pass <b><u>on</u></b> its lies…to
rewrite history to fit the sham …to twist the facts…distort reality…<br />
and play down the reality of evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But invoking the great <b>prophets…</b> Daniel, Isaiah and <b>Jeremiah</b> …John warns his readers…that following
the <b><u>Lamb</u></b> means <b><u>rejecting</u></b> the lie… now and
forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To first century Christians and to
us…be strong… hang in there …John’s vision encourages us to keep the faith…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for the new Babylon is doomed to topple…<br />
crushed under the weight of its own <b>excesses</b>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And John is anxious and eager… to
prevent any of Jesus’ followers being sucked down into that dark whirlpool of
wrath. <br />
<br />
<b>Our</b> part is to be patient, obedient
and faithful… knowing that in Christ…death itself has been defeated…we do not
need to be afraid… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And to inspire us again we have meet
the great multitude who kept themselves pure for the battle…where they may
suffer and die. And we know they’re only the beginning…the first fruits …not
the sum total of believers…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 144000 in John’s vision last
week…are the great advance sign of the even greater harvest to come…and we
begin to understand how the <b>faithful</b>
people of God… who testify and witness to the truth of Jesus and his teaching…<br />
and they are themselves… the <b>harvest</b>…<br />
the vintage of the Lord…<br />
and their blood becomes a river…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their persecutions and martyrdom
Jesus way of defeating human wickedness. [Pause]<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Angels and
bowls slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today in chapter 15…John’s vision
shifts yet again…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I saw in heaven another great and
marvellous sign: seven angels with the seven <b><u>last</u></b> plagues…last, because with them God’s wrath is
completed. <br />
<br />
and standing <b>beside</b> the sea, those
who were victorious over the beast and its image… and over the number of its
name held harps given them by God…<br />
and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Great and marvellous are your
deeds,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Lord God Almighty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just and true are your ways,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
King of the nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 Who will not fear you, Lord,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
and bring glory to your name?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For you <b>alone</b> are holy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All nations will come<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
and worship before you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for your righteous acts have been
revealed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For John…as for <b>all</b> the early Christian…one great act
of judgment above all other has already occurred… already compelling people …from
<b>many</b> nations…. <br />
to worship Israel’s God…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Condemned as a false Messiah and
executed on a cross…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God had raised Jesus from the dead…<br />
<br />
and in this unthinkable righteous act…God <b>reversed</b>
the verdict of the human court …and demonstrates that Jesus was <br />
the Messiah… after all…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in heart of the heavenly
throne room…John sees <br />
the ‘tabernacle of witness’…open… not to let Moses <br />
or anyone <b><u>else</u></b> in…but to let the
angels carrying the seven <b><u>last</u></b>
plagues out… plagues intended not for Egypt…<br />
but for the new Babylon <br />
and the world that’s fallen under her spell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here as with the Tabernacle in
Exodus…and Isaiah’s vision in the Temple…and Solomon’s dedication of the
temple…<br />
the presence of God is shrouded in smoke… <br />
making it impossible for anyone to do <b>anything…</b>
<br />
but wait in solemn awestruck <b>silence</b>…for
God to act.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we wait…the new song has been
sung…<br />
deliverance has occurred…and John’s vision is homing in <br />
on the greatest showdown of them all…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes…the dragon and its monsters have
drawn <b>many</b> into their destructive
ways…<br />
<br />
but now it’s time… for destroyers to be destroyed –<br />
with the seven last plagues <br />
and the cataclysmic judgements which follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can see why Jesus command to
share his body and his blood remains central for us today…<br />
and why approach with humility and contrite hearts…<br />
<br />
For this is his table…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And amidst all the temptations and
trials of <b>our</b> lives…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus invites us…not to be
spectators…but prophetic participants…in him…and in every act of sacrifice…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">which bring about God’s kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%2015%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%2015-16.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Again my thanks to NT Wright</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-84056846153828548462013-08-04T11:10:00.001+12:002013-08-04T11:10:53.061+12:00Revelation Chapter 11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZNooG0nBoVU8LrRMbScdt76CTcb3F-_yHsI-96jawB0E1ylaiBdFBe6hruIDTKORl4ywfZhcmFOkcFeS7sYlVBSGcX6VI9pj7Q_m4CRvm0CvNzNePm40CR6LCEASVr5gfHN9nEoF_vZw/s1600/Two+witnesses.jpg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZNooG0nBoVU8LrRMbScdt76CTcb3F-_yHsI-96jawB0E1ylaiBdFBe6hruIDTKORl4ywfZhcmFOkcFeS7sYlVBSGcX6VI9pj7Q_m4CRvm0CvNzNePm40CR6LCEASVr5gfHN9nEoF_vZw/s320/Two+witnesses.jpg.png" width="320" /></span></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentecost 11 year C Sermon <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Chapter 9 the <b>angel…</b> with the key to the <b>abyss</b>… <br />
exposes the <b>monsters</b> that eat away
at <b><u>love</u></b> in the world…… <br />
destroy our <b>lives</b>…… <b><u>and</u></b> God’s good creation. <br />
<br />
<b>Hopefully</b> we’re now <b>seriously</b> ready to <b>repent </b>of our own <b>complicity</b>…in
the anti-creation <b>harm…</b> these <b>powers</b> and principalities have <b>caused</b>. And <b>we’ve</b> learned <br />
that <b><u>any</u></b> suggestion God would
<b>collude </b>with the monsters from the
Abyss... is <b>contrary</b> to the word of
God. <br />
<br />
In fact God seeks the <b>restoration</b> of
creation not its <b>obliteration</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week in chapter ten...after
<b><u>John</u></b> is handed the <b><u>bite</u></b>-sized scroll of God’s
purposes… and commissioned as <b>prophet…</b>
<br />
we asked<b> ourselves</b>…as <b>individuals…</b>and as the Body of <b>Christ</b><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are we simply <b>spectators</b> in this divine process…<br />
or do <b><u>we</u></b> have a role to play…a
<b>prophetic</b> role…<br />
of speaking the <b>truth</b> to power… in <b><u>our</u></b> time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as we <b>brace</b> for the sound of the <b><u>seventh</u></b>
trumpet… <br />
are we about to <b>witness</b> the final
climactic <b>wave</b> in the book of
Revelation… well we <b><u>could</u></b> be except
for what [Ask] <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s right….but the second
half of the book is still to come…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I am certain we <b>couldn’t</b> possibly understand part two<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">until the first eleven <b>chapters</b> had done their <b><u>work</u></b> in us…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter
11 slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So…<b><u>onward</u></b>…on our adventure in the book of Revelation <u><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></u>now there are some strong <b>contenders</b>…for
the most puzzling <b>chapter</b> of the
most puzzling <b>book</b> ever written…but chapter
eleven of the Book of Revelation is right up there in ten top ten.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At <b>one</b> level it’s clear what it’s <b><u>about</u></b>.
<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John…is told to measure the <b>temple</b>…then two <b>witnesses</b> emerge doing great and strange deeds… before they’re <b>killed</b> …<br />
and lie unburied in the city square… then raised to new life <br />
<br />
But <b><u>unlike</u></b> the surrounding verses…instead
of <b>epic</b> scenes of <br />
lion headed horses breathing <b>fire</b>,
and flesh-eating locusts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We seem to have a <b>strange</b> short <b><u>story</u></b>… <br />
about the work… and fate of two specific <b>individuals</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I’ll tell you for free…
that biblical scholars have argued about what this chapter means for <b>two thousand years</b>… <br />
of course I’m inclined to agree with my favourite one…and Tom Wright warns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: red;">measuring slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">so <b>first</b> …we need to understand John’s measuring of the <b>temple</b>…has nothing to <b><u>do</u></b> with the temple in <b>Jerusalem</b>…<br />
it was long destroyed when Revelation was written. Nor is it about the heavenly
<b>throne</b> room at the beginning of the <b>book</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The measuring <b>John</b> does…is a symbolic action...<br />
an acted <b><u>out</u></b> prophesy… like Jeremiah
and Ezekiel and Zechariah <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>you see by the time of <b>John’s</b> vision…Jesus’ followers saw <b><u>themselves</u></b> as the true Temple…the
Body of Christ…<br />
not a <b>building</b> at all …but a <b>people</b> <br />
in whom God <b>lives</b> by the Holy Spirit.
<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>So <b>John</b> is commanded…to mark
out the <b><u>new</u></b> temple a bit like
the seals on the foreheads of God’s people in chapter 7 …<br />
so they can be protected from <b>ultimate</b>
harm. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we’re told<b> </b>the outer <b>court</b> of this new temple… <br />
is still <b>vulnerable</b>…and that pagan <b>nations</b> <br />
will <b>trample</b> it… for three and a
half years…<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">slide words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and here we have a <b>highly</b> symbolic number…that appears
again and again…three and a half…is half of the number seven which represents
completeness…here it’s broken <b>down</b>
into 42 months or one thousand six hundred twenty days… [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: red;">blank slide</span><br />
Just as Ezekiel measured <b><u>his</u></b>
visionary temple where God would dwell… <b><u>John</u></b>
marks out the<b> new</b> human temple …<br />
thereby signalling God’s solemn <b>intention…</b>
<br />
to honour and bless Jesus <b>followers…</b>with
his <b>presence</b>.<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>But <b>God’s </b>people were <b><u>never</u></b> to be passive <b>observers</b> <br />
of this process…<b>throughout</b> the book
of Revelation…<br />
their call…our call is… <b><u>always</u></b>
to bear faithful <b>witness</b> <br />
to Jesus instead of <b><u>compromise</u></b>…<br />
<b>even</b> if it means<b>…</b> suffering…as Jesus did.<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: red;">the two witnesses slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the short <b>story</b>…
<br />
while the vulnerable outer court of the temple is trampled by those who refuse
to <b>accept</b> God’s sovereign love… <br />
God appoints two <b>prophets</b> to be his witnesses
…<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: red;">blank slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They put on the sackcloth of<b> mourning </b>in protest <br />
at the <b>evil…</b>the world is <b>bringing</b> on itself… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>And the <b>signs</b> of their truth
telling…are drought…rivers of blood and world-wide disease… and the story
warns…don’t try to <b>harm</b> them…for what
comes out of their <b>mouths</b>… their <b>prophesies</b>…<br />
will <b>burn</b> you like fire if you do. <b><u>[pause]</u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>And when God’s witnesses<b> </b>have
<b><u>had</u></b> their say…<br />
when the prophets have <b><u>finished</u></b>
their testimony…<br />
the beast from the Abyss will attack and kill them…<br />
and leave their bodies in Jerusalem’s public square <br />
where they will lie <b>dead</b>…while the
unrepentant of the earth <br />
gloat over their bodies and give each other <b>presents</b>… <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact the unrepentant are so <b>happy</b> the prophets have been silenced…the
celebration goes on… for another <br />
three and a half <b>days</b> again a <b>warning</b> to us of unfinished business<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Now</u></b> notice how the story <b>curiously</b> changes to <b><u>past</u></b>
tense…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But after the three and a half days
the breath of life from God <b>entered</b>
them, and they <b>stood</b> on their feet,
and terror struck those who <b>saw</b>
them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying “Come up here.” And they
went up in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their suffering and <b>death</b>…was <b>not</b> the end <b><u>after</u></b>
all…<br />
and the display of God’s <b><u>power</u></b>
over death…<br />
over the very <b>worst…</b> the beast could
<b>do</b>… <br />
strikes terror once <b><u>more</u> </b>in
the hearts of those who <br />
will… not… repent… of their works of their hands. <b><u>[pause]</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Certainly the first century church
can <b>relate</b> to <b>this</b> story...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their families and friends <b><u>have</u></b> met death… at the hands of
the beast from the abyss…not too thinly <b>veiled</b>
as the might of the Roman Empire… <br />
<br />
they <b>remember</b> how the two prophets Moses
and Elijah <br />
spoke the truth to powers in <b>their</b>
day…they <b>recognise </b>from scripture<b>…</b> the <b>symbols</b> of the <b>olive</b>
trees and <b>lampstands</b>… shining their
light in witness before the God<br />
<br />
John doesn’t <b>mean</b> Moses and Elijah will
<b><u>literally</u></b> return to earth to
carry out the vision…<b>Revelation</b> just
isn’t that kind of <b>book</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What John <b><u>is</u></b> saying however is...<br />
in the tradition of two great prophetic witnesses… <br />
the church is called to speak the truth to power and perform powerful symbolic
actions…that bring dismay to the unrepentant<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>And what John is saying is that the <b>culmination</b>
of their witness will be their martyred death at the hands of the monster who
comes up from the Abyss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And shining <b>hope</b> into the hearts of the persecuted
and suffering what John <b><u>is</u></b>
saying is that the powers principalities don’t get the last word…when the church
is acting out its prophetic witness… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God will vindicate them.<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Now just in case you’re wondering…in our exploration <br />
of the first eleven chapters of the Book of <b><u>Revelation</u></b>…<br />
we haven’t even <b>met</b> the <b><u>beast</u></b> from the Abyss …nor <b>visited</b> ‘the great city nicknamed Sodom
and Egypt…where the lord was crucified.’ But we <b>will</b>…you can bet on it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
For <b>now…</b>along with the early church…
we’re <b>learning</b> something important…something
we need to hear. <b><u>[pause]</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The God <b>given…</b> and protected <b>calling…</b>to
bear <br />
faithful prophetic <b>witness</b>…….. does not
<b>mean</b>…<br />
we… will be <b>spared…</b> from suffering
and death…<br />
<br />
it <b>means…</b> like Jesus whom we worship
and <b><u>follow</u></b>…<br />
our suffering and death… will be the <b>ultimate</b>
prophetic sign …which brings the <b>world…</b>
to glorify <b>God</b>…<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does this work exactly?<br />
<br />
Well…for three and a half cosmic days… half of time… <br />
the world will celebrate a <b>victory…</b>over
the prophetic church.<br />
But <b>then</b>…God will <b>act</b> in a new and surprising way…<br />
<b>Ezekiel’s</b> vision of the rising of
dry <b>bones</b> will become <b><u>reality</u></b>. and while their enemies
wave the prophets <b><u>good</u></b>-by… <br />
<b>Daniels</b> vision of God’s martyred people
coming on a cloud comes to pass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as the prophets enemies
looked on at this new <b><u>thing</u></b> God
is doing…the earth quakes…a <b>tenth</b> of
the city falls and seven thousand <b>more</b>
are killed. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John’s message is clear…the
martyr-<b>witness</b> of the church…<br />
will ultimately <b>succeed…</b> where every
plague has failed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>This</u></b> is how the nations will come to glorify their creator. <br />
<b><u>This</u></b> is how ‘the kingdom of
this world’ <br />
will become the kingdom of ‘our Lord and his Messiah’. <br />
<br />
God’s kingdom will come through faithful prophetic witness <br />
and symbolic action…and yes… suffering… <br />
but it will come… it will come…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So….this most puzzling <b>passage</b>… in this most puzzling <b>book</b> turns out to be one of the most
important and central <b>things</b> <br />
John of Patmos…is trying to say to the churches…<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Scroll slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lamb has opened the seals
on the scroll…terrifying things are exposed as he does…<b>six</b> trumpets have sounded…<br />
more terrors are made <b>visible</b>. The <b><u>bite</u></b> sized scroll of God’s
purposes is handed to John…to prophesy exactly how the Kingdom of God will
become a <b>reality</b> on earth… as in
heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But unlike Sodom and Gomorrah …where
not even ten righteous people could be found…in the telling of salvation
history …everyone left repents and turns to God… <br />
and God’s kingdom is complete… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And suddenly out of the smoke
and fire of earlier chapters…<br />
a vision is emerging…of the ultimate mercy of God…<br />
<b><u>yes</u></b> grieving and angry… over
the rebellion and corruption <br />
of the world… but rescuing and restoring<br />
and achieving this <b>purpose</b>… through
the faithful death <br />
of the Lamb… and his <b>prophetic</b>
followers. <b><u>[pause]</u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Trumpet slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The way stands <b>clear</b> for the sounding of the seventh
trumpet…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when it does…a chorus of
voices from heaven sing <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
slide words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The kingdom of the world has
become the kingdom of YWHW and his Messiah and he will reign for ever and ever.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
God is scooping up the entire <b>world</b> and
claiming it back [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>And isn’t it <b>fascinating</b>…this
climatic and <b>decisive</b> moment <br />
in salvation <b>history…</b> comes…not at
the <b><u>end</u></b> of the book…<br />
but right here in the <b>middle</b>…when
God’s kingdom is fully established on earth<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><b><span style="color: red;">blank
slide</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">H<b>istory</b> proves the <b>point</b>.
The time of the churches greatest <b>expansion</b>…
was the first three <b>centuries</b>… <br />
as the Roman Empire did its best… through torture and death…<br />
to stamp the movement out…to silence the message that God’s love reigns…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And sadly…for seventeen hundred
years after that…<br />
the church was <b>unable</b> to fulfil its
prophetic calling…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of speaking the truth to power…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">why…because the church <b>became</b> the power didn’t it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today…that is no longer true …<br />
<br />
we God’s people…have little power…<br />
but we can be prophets and speak the truth…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with the courage of our
forebears…<br />
prepared to take the consequences and trusting the victory of God.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[pause]<br />
And as chapter eleven comes to a close… once again<br />
like a Shakespearian play…the sound effects <b><u>off</u></b> stage…<br />
signal the end of the first Act…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And there came flashes of
lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as the earth trembles at the
power of heavenly revelation. <br />
<br />
God has taken up his power and begun to reign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -6.55pt;">
<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-10577158363186332952013-07-28T11:33:00.002+12:002013-07-28T11:33:53.893+12:00Revelation Chapter 10<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_X-nW4h_dFx0JnCdT9bglVVW80smsGf323yfLq5CkjtMd3ht4PN_onGfH3TCrHgg2p1SnhiIZVaHFaC5-dy9RhdP950Ur86UAhsv-IOxm5UCk-bpb2ouI8Gh8PsXH79_45nMHwPa6IXT/s1600/Black+Hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_X-nW4h_dFx0JnCdT9bglVVW80smsGf323yfLq5CkjtMd3ht4PN_onGfH3TCrHgg2p1SnhiIZVaHFaC5-dy9RhdP950Ur86UAhsv-IOxm5UCk-bpb2ouI8Gh8PsXH79_45nMHwPa6IXT/s320/Black+Hole.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Pentecost 10 year C Sermon </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
In <b>last</b> week’s episode…<br />Chapter <b>nine</b>
of the book of <b>Revelation</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
we’ve had <b>just</b> about as much <b>horror</b>
as we can take…wouldn’t you <b>say</b>?<br />
<br />
And if we have any sense at <b>all</b>…
we’re now in <b>despair</b> <br />
and ready to <b>repent</b> of our complacency…and
<b>complicity</b>…<br />
with the anti-creation <b>powers</b> and principalities
<br />
emerging from the <b>Abyss</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
The <b>angel</b> with the key to the abyss… <br />
has now <b><u>exposed</u></b> the monsters that
eat away at <b><u>love</u></b> in the world
…the ones that <b>destroy</b> us… and God’s
good earth. <br />
And maybe even our family…and community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
But it’s important we <b><u>remember</u>…</b>John’s vision is <b><u>given</u></b>… <br />
<b><u>one</u></b>…to bring <b>comfort…</b>to first century followers of <b>Jesus</b>… suffering oppression persecution
and <b>death</b> at the hands of the Roman and
Parthian <b>Empires. <br />
<br />
</b>And two…for evil to be <b>defeated</b> it
must be <b>named</b> for what it <b><u>is</u></b> …cast <b><u>out</u> </b>of the Abyss<b>…</b>
and exposed to the <b>light</b>…<br />
and when it is…through the smoke and <b>fire</b>…<br />
spewing from the <b>Abyss</b>…emerge our
worst <b>nightmares</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Locust
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Horrible<b> creatures…</b>with power so <b>destructive</b>
<br />
people <b><u>long</u></b> for death…<b> </b>as a <b>release </b>from the torment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Though <b><u>created</u></b> good and
<b><u>loved</u></b> by God…we see <b>clearly …</b> <br />
that the world <b><u>now</u></b> harbours…<b>deeply</b> anti-creation <b>forces</b>...<br />
Whether collective or <b>personal</b>…the <b>abyss</b> contains… <b>everything</b> opposed<b> </b>to God’s
loving <b>purposes</b> <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Black hole<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Like a black hole in <b>space</b>… the abyss hides <b>everything</b> that is anti-<b>creation…</b>anti<b> mercy</b>…anti <b>justice</b> and
anti-<b>peace</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And sadly…most of the <b>time</b>… until the <b>monsters</b> are exposed…<br />
we don’t even know they’re <b>there</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;">And to make matters <b>worse</b>…
in chapter nine we discover… <br />
just as in ancient <b>Egypt</b>…<br />
instead of repenting of our <b>collusion</b>
with these <b>monsters</b>… <br />
people just harden their <b>hearts</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><u><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">So…</span></u></b><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> in <b>last</b>
week’s episode… what <b><u>happens</u></b>……..<br />
even <b><u>more</u></b> monsters…are disgorged
from the <b>abyss</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Horses
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Horses with <b>lion’s</b> heads… and tails like <b>snakes…</b>
<br />
spewing <b>smoke</b> and fire and sulphur …
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
their <b><u>riders</u></b> in heavy <b>armour</b>…<br />
and what harm do <b>they</b> bring in John’s
<b><u>vision</u></b>?[pause]<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">drought
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
…the <b>death…</b> of a third of <b>humanity</b>
… <b><u>[pause then slowly]</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And the <b>most</b> alarming and depressing thing <b><u>is</u></b>…<br />
<br />
those who<b> </b>survive…<b><u>still</u> </b>won’t<b> repent</b> of the work of <b><u>their</u></b>
hands. They <b>continue</b> to worship <b>idols</b> of gold and silver…<br />
continue to <b>objectify</b> others for
their own sexual <b>gratification</b>… and take
for themselves what rightfully belongs to others… [pause]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white;">So at the end of Chapter 9 last week… we saw
once more…<br />
the <b>enigma</b> of evil…… how God <b>brings </b>it out in the <b>open <br />
</b>to <b>deal</b> with it. <br />
<br />
And we are left <b>breathless</b>…and exhausted…<br />
and <b>hopefully…</b> repentant<b> </b>of our <b>complicity</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Chapter 10
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And <b>suddenly…</b>in a blaze of light… as Chapter 10 begins…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
as we wait anxiously for the
seventh trumpet to sound…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br />
<b>suddenly</b> comes…. a moment of <b>respite</b>… [pause… then softly]<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">hand slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
John <b>sees</b>… in the divine <b>dimension</b>…
<br />
an <b>angel</b> bursting through the <b>gloom</b> clothed in a <b>cloud</b>…<br />
rainbow round his<b> head</b>…face <b>shining</b> like the sun…<b>legs…</b> <br />
like pillars of <b>fire</b>…holding a
little <b>scroll</b>. <br />
<br />
And we <b>remember</b> the rainbow over the
<b>throne </b>in Chapter four<br />
and the pillars of <b>fire </b>that guided
God’s <b>people</b> in the <b>wilderness</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Everything in the vision…a symbol
and a <b>sign</b> of God’s presence<br />
and God’s <b>purposes</b> for the earth… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
This is no <b>ordinary</b> angel…<b>this</b> one
stands one fiery leg on the <b>sea</b> and
one on land and raises his right hand to heaven. And in a voice like a lion’s
roar…this angel swears by the one who lives for ever and ever…the one who
created heavens and earth and sea all
that’s in them, <br />
<br />
And <b>this</b> angel proclaims…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
‘There will be no more delay!’ <br />
For in the days the <b><u>seventh</u></b>
angel will sound his trumpet… <br />
the mystery of God will be <b>accomplished</b>…<br />
just as God told his servants the prophets.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And a voice from the divine
dimension speaks <b>directly</b> to John…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Slide
words </span><br />
‘Go…take the scroll that lies open in the angel’s hand.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Well I guess you do as your <b>told</b> under these circumstances wouldn’t
<b><u>you</u></b>…and what does the angel
instruct John<br />
to <b><u>do</u></b> with the scroll? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
[ask and wait…..]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Eat it
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Eat it…that’s right<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And then what…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Digest it
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Digest it…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Huh?...<br />
<br />
Well that’s not really so <b>surprising</b>…<br />
when we remember the ancient Hebrew people <br />
regarded the word of <b>God</b>… as the
bread of life…and why we refer to Jesus as the Word of God…capital W.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And the angel warns… ‘It will turn
your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">blank slide</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
again John <b>does</b> as he is told…and the Angel promised is true… this little
scroll of God’s <b>purposes</b>…God’s very <b>word…</b> <br />
does taste as sweet as <b>honey</b>…<br />
but it can <b><u>not</u></b> be kept down…it’s
got to come out…it’s got to be shared…
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And John consistent with this
symbolism…John is instructed to prophesy again…concerning many peoples,
nations, languages and kings. To tell the <b>truth…</b>
to power…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Remember what we <b>heard</b> just before…<br />
<br />
when the seventh angel’s <b><u>about</u></b>
to sound his trumpet …the mystery of God will be accomplished…<br />
just as God announced to his servants… the <b>prophets</b>.
<b><u>[pause]</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
The <b><u>word</u></b> of God is ingested…but cannot be kept <b>inside</b>…<br />
it’s <b>intended</b> for <b>everyone</b>…<br />
some <b>action</b> must follow it’s eating…the
truth <b>must</b> be told and acted <b><u>out</u></b>…<br />
[pause…softely]<br />
<br />
and <b>somehow…</b>the very speaking and
acting <b>out</b> <br />
of the truth of God’s <b>purposes</b>…by a
human <b>being</b>…<br />
helps bring about… their <b>completion</b>.
[pause]<br />
<br />
Now the very <b>idea</b> of speaking words
which create a <b>new</b> <b>reality…</b>is an <b>ancient</b> one…<b>classically</b>
expressed by the Hebrew prophets. Not <b>only</b>
are they given <b>visions</b>…<br />
<b>revelations</b> of things to come. But <b>somehow</b>… <br />
their very <b>speaking…</b>actually <b>generates…</b> a new <b>reality</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
God <b>spoke</b> and it came to be…God <b>commanded</b>…and
it stood firm. By the <b>Word</b> of the
Lord… the heavens were made<br />
and all their <b>hosts…</b> by the <b>breath</b> of his mouth… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And when God <b><u>puts</u></b> words into the mouths of prophets <br />
the same <b>thing</b> happens. A prophet
doesn’t <b>just</b> describe <br />
what’s <b>going</b> to happen…like a
newsreader in <b>reverse</b>…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
but in the very <b>speaking</b> of God’s word…<br />
a prophet helps bring it to <b>pass</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Now<b> this</b> kind of puts John… in the hot seat doesn’t it? <br />
It’s no <b>wonder</b> prophets… often try to
<b>hide</b> from their <b>calling</b>…<br />
But something <b>new </b>is going to <b>happen</b><br />
and <b>John’s</b> words… are going to play
a part in it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Seals
slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
The Lamb of God has <b>broken</b> the seals…that prevent God’s
purposes from being completed<br />
<b><u>now</u></b> the little human sized scroll
can be <b>read…</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
This is the <b>reason…</b>John was invited<b> </b>into
the heavenly <b>throne</b> room. And <b>this…my friends…</b>is the logic of divine
prophesy…<br />
<b><u>God’s</u></b> words are to become <b>John’s</b> words…<br />
so they may <b>become</b> reality. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Hand slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Like the prophet <b>Daniel</b>…given a vision of God’s
sovereignty <br />
to warn and to comfort the <b>exiles</b> <br />
under Babylonian and <b><u>Persian</u></b>
rule…<b>John</b> is assigned the prophetic
task… of speaking the truth to power…and like <b>Daniel</b> it’s revealed to John… how God’s kingdom is <b>everlasting</b> <br />
and sovereign over <b>all</b> rulers…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And like the prophet <b>Ezekiel</b>…John is given God’s prophetic word
to eat…and to digest…but its <b>truth</b>
must be acted on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
Like <b>Daniel</b>…John’s <b>vision</b> is
born… out of <b>tribulation</b> and <b>uncertainty</b>…as God prepares and encourages
His <b>people</b> <br />
for the future. <b>[pause then lightly]</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And for you and me…it’s good to be
<b>reminded</b>…<br />
that as for every <b><u>gift</u></b> of
God…the scroll is sweet as <b>honey</b> to
the taste…though it’s message <b>may</b> be
bitter…<br />
particularly in relation to monsters from our own abyss. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
‘<b>Eating</b> the scroll’ is a <b>vivid</b>
metaphor…<br />
for prophets of <b>any</b> age…called to
speak the <b>truth</b> to power…<br />
we can only speak God’s word of truth as it becomes part of our own lives…in
our families…in our church and community and in our nation…<br />
<br />
As our <b>own</b> demons are brought to
light and cast out...<br />
we may find our stomach does ache…<br />
but we have been <b>nourished</b> all the
same. [pause]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
In the first century as for <b><u>now</u></b>…<br />
it seems God desires to <b>act</b> in the
world… <br />
in <b>some</b> part at least…through God’s
own <b>people</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And all this takes <b>place</b>… as we wait with baited <b>breath</b>… <br />
for the seventh trumpet to <b>sound</b>…<br />
<br />
Yes says the angel…it’s coming…soon…and when it comes ‘God’s mystery’ will be
complete. …<br />
‘time will have run out’ for all who presume on God’s patience. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
In a cosmic sense beyond the
dimensions of time and space… <br />
the sequence of the seven <b>trumpets…</b> <br />
stands well <b>outside</b> the other sequences
of seven…<br />
the <b>letters</b> to the seven churches,
the seven <b>seals</b> and the seven <b>bowls </b>of God’s wrath.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And lest we lose heart…it could
hardly be made <b>clearer</b> in John’s
vision</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
that the message the angel brings comes from the one who has made all
things <b>good</b>…<br />
<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>so <b><u>any</u></b> suggestion…God
would <b>collude</b> with the forces of
destruction… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
emerging from the Abyss... by declaring <b><u>creation</u></b> a piece of rubbish</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
to be <b>thrown</b> away and replaced …is ruled <b>out</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
No…when <b><u>God’s</u></b> mystery is complete…<br />
it will be the <b>fulfilment</b> of
creation…not its <b>abolition</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
And as we come to the end of
Chapter ten…<br />
once <b>more</b> we brace ourselves for the
seventh trumpet… <br />
But before it <b>sounds</b> we must <b>ask</b> ourselves…two questions this week…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
as
did Jesus’ frightened followers in the first century…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
As individuals and as the body of
Christ…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
are we simply <b>spectators</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
or do we have a <b>role</b> to play… a prophetic role…<br />
of speaking the truth to power.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<o:p>As always...my thanks to NT Wright for his commentary <i>Revelation for Everyone</i>, Knox Westminster 2011</o:p></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-21566806031413114882013-07-21T11:43:00.000+12:002013-07-21T11:44:02.313+12:00Revelation Chapter 9<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMOIISZKptNiK2gUfcrRPez0HuV4_Addq5ZNc461uBsjLWD7AN1VNuREh-M9MGiZGLyzOO0NGZwpC1Od8ElBfqRGXHUmy_NHExZqsWUwEqSzJtRZAVa6G8IrAXlZglaazYtV9g_fAty-W/s1600/Trayvon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMOIISZKptNiK2gUfcrRPez0HuV4_Addq5ZNc461uBsjLWD7AN1VNuREh-M9MGiZGLyzOO0NGZwpC1Od8ElBfqRGXHUmy_NHExZqsWUwEqSzJtRZAVa6G8IrAXlZglaazYtV9g_fAty-W/s320/Trayvon.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentecost 9 year C Sermon </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fifth <b>angel…</b> sounds his trumpet…<br />
and John of <b>Patmos</b> sees a star…fallen
from the <b>sky</b> <br />
with the <b><u>key</u></b> to the shaft of
the <b>Abyss</b>. <br />
<br />
And when he <b><u>unlocks</u></b> the Abyss…<b>smoke</b> rises <br />
as from a giant <b>furnace</b>… <b>darkening</b> the sun and the <b>sky</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you notice this very week in <b>2013</b>… how the fifth angel …<br />the one with
a key to the abyss…opened it again…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">exposing yet another veiled and
evil <b>power</b>…<br />
when a terrible <b>monster</b>…<br />
was spewed out of the <b>abyss…</b> <br />
writhing and <b><u>screaming</u></b> into
the purifying light <br />
where everyone on earth could see… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 2013 angel… paid for it with
his <b>life</b>… <b><u>[pause]</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Street
march slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <b>first</b> turn of the key<b> to</b>
the shaft of the <b>abyss</b> was <b>this </b>…<br />
a man named <b>George</b>…whose ability to
make good <b>decisions</b> was <b>crippled</b> by fear…<br />
<br />
well…George…shot and killed a beautiful <b>boy…</b>
<br />
named Trayvon <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">riot slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <b>second</b> turn of the key…<br />
the one that actually <b>opened</b> the Abyss…<br />
was when a jury acquitted the <b>shooter </b>…
<br />
because the boy’s <b>hoodie… </b>and<b> colour …</b> <br />
would have scared <b>them</b> <b><u>too</u></b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trayvon
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The boy who died… was part of the
youth group <br />
of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Florida…not far from where my
mother lives…<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was a <b>volunteer</b> of over six hundred <b>hours</b>
of <b><br />
service </b>to his community. At <b>college</b>
he was an honours student with an A <b>average</b>…
<br />
about to go to uni on a <b>scholarship</b>…<br />
he was friend and a beloved <b>son</b>…
[opening the Abyss]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opening the Abyss… this angel paid
for it with his life…<br />
and his killer…though <b>acquitted</b>…and
free <br />
will <b>pay</b> for it… for the rest of <b><u>his</u></b> life…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both of them…victims of the <b>monster</b>...which emerged from the Abyss…one
of the many powers and <b>principalities</b>
normally hidden <b><u>deep</u></b> in the
abyss of the human <b>heart</b>…<br />
and now unleashed across a <b>continent</b>
<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What <b><u>is</u></b> the<b><u> </u></b>monster…this
<b>evil…</b> do you <b>suppose</b>…<br />
how would <b><u>you</u></b> name it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[ask]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
title slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the Revelation of John of <b>Patmos</b>…<br />
a vision is <b>given</b> <br />
to bring <b>comfort</b> to those suffering
oppression and persecution and death… at the hands of the Roman and Parthian <b>Empires </b><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and today in Chapter <b><u>nine</u></b> we’re reminded once again… <br />
that for evil to be <b>defeated</b>…it must
be <b>named</b> for what it <b><u>is</u></b> …cast <b>out </b>of the Abyss<b>…</b> and
exposed to the light…<br />
<br />
and in John’s <b>vision</b>…when the
monster emerges through the smoke of the Abyss…it’s our worst <b>nightmare</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Horrible<b> creatures…</b> <br />
with the power to torment human beings so <b><u>terribly
</u></b>… <br />
they longed for <b>death…</b> as a <b>release</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
John <b>knows</b> we’re created in the
image of God… <br />
to <b><u>reflect</u></b> our wise and
loving <b>creator</b>…<br />
and that <b>somehow</b>… in our desire to <b>play</b> God …<br />
our hearts are full of <b>rebellion</b> <br />
and now he sees…it’s is true at a cosmic level…as well. <br />
<br />
Though created <b><u>good</u></b>…<b> </b>and <b>loved</b> by God…<br />
the world <b>now</b> harbours such
anti-creation <b>destructiveness</b>...<br />
that in order to be <b>dealt</b> with…sooner
or later…<br />
it must be allowed to come out in the <b><u>open</u></b>…<br />
to show its true <b>colours</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Black hole<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <b><u>Abyss</u></b>…<br />
like a black <b><u>hole</u></b> in modern
astrophysics …<br />
is a place of anti-<b>creation</b>, anti-<b>matter</b>…<br />
<b>destruction</b> and chaos. And our collective and personal <b>abyss</b>… contains everything <b>opposed to God…</b> <br />
to love and compassion and mercy and justice and peace…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And most of the time we don’t even
know it’s there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Didn’t Jesus <b>teach</b> us… that all <b>kinds</b>
of wickedness…<br />
come <b>smoking</b> from the depths of the
human <b>heart</b>… <br />
<b>…</b> to the surprise and <b>horror</b>… of those who would be ritually
and religiously <b>pure?</b><br />
<br />
<br />
didn’t he <b>tell</b> us in the book of
Mark…<br />
it’s what comes <b><u>out</u></b> of us that
defiles us. <br />
when he said For it’s out of a person’s <b>heart</b>…
<br />
that evil thoughts and actions come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these
evils come from inside and defile a person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so in John’s <b>vision</b>…out
of the <b>abyss</b> <br />
these <b>torturing</b> <b>creatures</b> are <b>released</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Locust slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s the stuff of horror <b>films</b>.
<br />
<br />
We can only assume John’s revelation was given to <b>produce</b> in his readers and in us…our worst <b>nightmares</b>. <br />
And John lavishes more <b>detail…</b>on the
<b>super</b>-locusts in Chapter nine…than
any other <b>creature</b> in his vision.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And many modern <b>readers</b>…struck
by the almost <br />
<b>mechanical</b> appearance of these
locust-like <b>creatures</b>…<br />
<b>see</b> in them… a modern military <b>machine</b>. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helicopter slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like a helicopter…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">And this is so <b>typical</b>…of
trying to <b><u>tie</u></b> down John’s symbolism
<br />
and <b>domesticate</b> it. <br />
<br />
Remember what we learned last week… <br />
three things to help <b>keep</b>…our heads
and our faith strong… <br />
as we read this part of <b>revelation</b> <br />
<b>one</b>… </span>the seriousness of sin… <br />
<b>two</b>… never mistake symbolism for
reality…<br />
and <b>three</b>… remember the<b> purpose </b>of the plagues of Egypt …when God
calls for <b>repentance</b>… <br />
from those who <b>oppress</b> and exploit <br />
God’s people in<b> slavery</b> <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: red;">Locust slide</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But now in <b>John’s</b>
vision…the locusts are torturing and eating human beings … heavily <b>armoured</b>…striking under strict <b>limitations</b>… <br />
not to harm the <b>earth’s</b> vegetation…
as they normally <b>would</b> …nor those
with God’s seal…just every one else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Hebrew…the name of the locust king means <br />
place of destruction… and in Greek…the destroyer…<br />
<br />
But there is no <b>death</b> for those who
are <b>attacked</b>…<br />
that would be too <b>easy</b>… it seems
only <b>suffering</b>… <br />
will bring about the rock <b>bottom</b> of <b>repentance</b> <br />
that God <b>requires</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here in chapter 9 of Revelation…just as in Egypt…<br />
instead of <b>repenting</b>… the people
harden their <b>hearts</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And more <b>monsters</b>…
are <b>disgorged</b> from the abyss.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Horses
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Horses with <b><u>lion’s</u></b> heads… spewing smoke and fire and sulphur with tails
like <b>snakes</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with <b>riders</b> in heavy armour… [pause]<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">drought
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a <b>third</b> of humanity dies at <b>their</b>
hand… <b><u>[pause]</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And still the <b>rest</b>….will <b><u>not</u></b> repent
<br />
of the work of <b><u>their</u></b> hands; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They continue to worship demons… and
idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that can’t see or hear or
walk. Nor do they repent of their killing…<br />
their magic arts, their sexual objectification of others…<br />
nor taking what doesn’t <b>belong</b> to
them… [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white;">And once more the <b>inscrutability</b> of evil <br />
and how God exposes and deals with it… <br />
leaves us breathless… and perhaps dismayed… [pause]<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
in chapter eight…we already <b>learned</b><br />
not to <b>down</b>-play… the seriousness of
sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">Nor
make the same <b>mistake</b> as those in <b>John’s</b> vision… <br />
who <b>refuse</b> to <b>repent…</b> [pause]<br />
</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: red;">Seven seals</span><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like
the <b>first</b> Christian’s…we <b>too</b> have seen terrible <br />
things in our <b>day</b>…<b>monsters</b> designed to <b>kill</b>... <br />
and destroy and strike <b>terror</b> in the
human heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My
favourite Biblical Scholar Tom <b>Wright</b>
suggests <br />
‘perhaps such machines <b><u>do</u></b>
come from the bottomless pit under the direction of Apolyon the destroyer’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
the <b>first</b> century and <b>today</b>…<br />
one way the powers and principalities <b>opposed</b>
to God <b><u>operate</u></b>… is to play on
people’s <b>fears</b>…<br />
their king is the father of lies…<br />
Christian’s are not deaf to their whispers…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white;">They <b>work</b>
to stimulate jealously and envy…hatred and suspicion… to <b>arouse</b> in us a constant sense of threat…<br />
…they <b>encourage</b> us… to see others <br />
who are made in the image of God… as our <b>enemy…</b>.
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white;">some of you <b>experienced</b> this…in the first world war <br />
with the holocaust…and the demonization of the Jews…others of us who grew up
during the <b>cold</b> war…heard our
leaders demonise the Russians and the communists…we saw in the war in Iraq…in
such a way that a burka causes us to
pass to the other side of the road. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">We
see it right down through the idolatries of <b>history</b>…<br />
<b>Whenever</b> people worship power over compassion,
<br />
war over peace, <br />
and greed over economic and environmental justice. [pause]<br />
</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>You <b>know</b> my friends…it seems
we only <b>repent</b> of the things we <b>don’t</b> worship. And in <b>John’s</b> vision… <br />
what the <b>unrepentant</b> worship…only
brings them torment <br />
…in the end.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Revelation slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">If
the book of Revelation teaches us anything…<br />
for evil to be <b>conquered</b>…whether
it’s our own petty <b>jealousy</b> or the <b>ravaging</b> of creation by <b>greed</b>… <br />
sin must be exposed for what it is…<br />
so God’s will to be done on earth.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
terrible though these monsters are…<br />
throughout John’s vision…we see the power of the abyss <br />
is <b>limited</b>…The lion and the lamb
remain <b>sovereign</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two questions for us this week…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are <b>we</b> willing through prayer and surrender…<br />
to allow God into our own abyss…<br />
to expose our idolatries and our self-deceptions and repent of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And are we willing as Jesus
followers… <br />
to name and expose…those unjust and bloodthirsty <br />
anti-creation…powers and principalities <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that hold our world in bondage?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-10401876349785083742013-07-14T11:21:00.000+12:002013-07-14T11:21:23.255+12:00Revelation Chapter 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentecost 8 year C Sermon </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cast your mind back two weeks…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Remember</b> how in John’s vision…six of the seven <b>seals</b>… on the scroll of God’s <b>purposes</b>…
<br />
are opened by the Lamb of <b>God</b>…the
only one <b>worthy</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember how Jesus’ <i>breaks</i> the seals… not only exposing the
evil powers and principalities of <b>this</b>
world…but the things which prevent you and <b><u>me</u></b>…
from fulfilling God’s purposes in our own <b>lives</b>
…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And remember how the earth is <b>momentarily</b> protected <br />
as angels hold back the four <b>winds</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And how… before the <b><u>seventh</u></b> seal is opened… <br />
a voice from the throne declares…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t harm the land or the sea or
the trees… <br />
until we put a <b><u>seal</u></b> on the
foreheads of the servants of our God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Perhaps</b> a violent wind will scorch the earth, <br />
stir up the sea and uproot the trees…but <b><u>more</u></b>
likely<b>…</b> <br />
a great <b>shaking</b> will pass through
the world of human <b>affairs</b>… <br />
as powers and principalities are exposed for the evil they do…<br />
by the Lamb of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at the end of the first <b>century</b>…God’s suffering <b>people</b> <br />
need to be reassured … yes there will be suffering…<br />
but John’s vision reveals God’s <b>people…</b>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">will come <b>through</b> this time of <b>tribulation…</b>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And remember how <b><u>suddenly</u></b>…as heaven and earth
await the <b>opening</b> of the seventh seal…the
seal of the <b><u>living</u></b> <b>God</b>…<br />
John sees <b>before</b> him… in the divine
dimension…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a great <b>multitude</b> no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and
language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…wearing white robes…holding
palm branches how the great multitude of those who had been martyred in the
name of Christ …crying out in a loud voice:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Slide words</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Praise and glory and wisdom and
thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Revelation
8 slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And <b><u>now</u></b>…as chapter 8 begins…<br />
as the Lamb <b>opens</b> the seventh seal… [pause]<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">White
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">there is silence [pause then quietly]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The constant ceaseless praise… of
the four living creatures<br />
dies away. The song of the elders, the angels…<br />
and the multitude without number falls quiet… <br />
<br />
This…is the moment we’ve all be waiting for. And we hardly dare to breathe. The
praises of heaven must pause <br />
for a while…<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
so the prayers of humanity may be heard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everything in heaven goes <b>silent…</b> <br />
so the prayers of the <b>earth</b> may be
heard. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along with the early <b>Christians</b>… at the end of the first
century … hiding in <b>terror</b>…enduring
terrible <b>persecution</b> for their
allegiance to <b>Christ</b> over Caesar and
his <b>empire</b>…<br />
<br />
in the silence <b><u>we</u></b> are granted
<b>…</b> a glimpse into God’s heavenly dimension…not
distant and uncaring…but listening…<br />
and compassionately engaged…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead of our little bedraggled house
church in <b>Ephesus</b>…<br />
beaten to a pulp by vicious <b>mobs</b> or
tortured and killed in the arenas of an oppressive <b>regime</b>…We can see in John’s vision thousands upon thousands celebrating
their deliverance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as the lamb opens the seventh
seal…the seal of the living God…there is silence…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something huge…something powerful is
about to <b>happen…</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but before it <b>does…</b> before the angel’s trumpets <br />
can <b>sound the alarm</b>… something else has
to happen…<br />
heaven and earth must intersect in a <b><u>new</u></b>
<b><u>way</u></b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Angel with
censer slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>So another</b> angel with a golden <b>censer</b>…comes
to stand at the altar before the <b>throne</b>…and
together with swirling smoke of incense… the prayers of God’s people <b><u>rise</u></b> up before <b>God</b>. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every <b><u>one</u></b> of our senses…is engaged in the silence… <br />
the prayers and the incense <b>rise</b>… <br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>One way or <b>another</b>…the
prayers of God’s people…not least those already martyred…are coming before
God’s throne. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their prayers have been heard…and
what is God’s answer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are echoes here of what Paul
wrote to the Romans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the same way, the Spirit <b>helps</b> us in our weakness. We don’t know
what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through
wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of
God.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the prayers of God’s people rise
like incense <br />
from the golden censer…and the immediate answer is <b><u>given</u></b>… the same way. [pause]<br />
<br />
Filling the censer with fire from the <b><u>altar</u></b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earth
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the angel <b>hurls</b> it onto the earth…the silence is broken…<br />
and there is thunder and lightning… and the earth <b>quakes</b>. <br />
Every <b>section</b> of John’s vision rumbles
like <b><u>this</u></b>… when it ends. And we
will hear this fearful noise <b>again</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until evil has been <b>judged</b>, <b>condemned</b> and radically <b>uprooted</b>
from the earth…the only word the earth can hear from <b><u>heaven</u></b> <br />
is a cosmic storm of judgment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As long as earth remains the haunt
of evil…<br />
God’s answer to it must be fire.<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Jesus himself declares he’d come ‘to throw fire upon the earth’ and here
in John’s vision…the angel with the Golden censer continues the mysterious work
of the lamb. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At now in seven angels appear… <br />
and their trumpets sound the alarm…Be prepared…something terrible is about to
unfold. <br />
<br />
A sequence of God’s judgments… are about to be set in motion <br />
necessary for evil to be conquered and God’s glorious new world to <b>emerge</b> …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…a sequence of judgments <b><u>not</u></b> mechanically grinding
forever into the future… <b>unrelated</b>
to human action. But in partnership with praying and faithful humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here we discover…that prayer …even
the most <b>anguished</b>… <br />
even from those who don’t understanding for one <b>second</b> <br />
what’s happening…human <b>prayer</b> is a
vital element in our mysterious cooperation with the purposes of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sun moon
and earth slide <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ok now you can strap yourselves
into your seats my friends <br />
…you have been <b>warned</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first angel sounded his
trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down
on the earth. <br />
A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and
all the green grass was burned up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8 The second angel sounded his
trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the
sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in
the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10 The third angel sounded his
trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third
of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.
A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that
had become bitter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12 The fourth angel sounded his
trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of
the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without
light, and also a third of the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">13 As I watched, I heard an eagle
that was flying in mid-air call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the
inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by
the other three angels!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[pause] <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know there’s a church out
there somewhere with a sign out the front…that reads…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sign slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many people want to serve God…<br />
but only in an advisory capacity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now this is one of those <b>moments</b> in the book of Revelation …when
<b>some</b> of us at least…<br />
would like to give God some firm advice… ‘don’t do it God! How does all this
destruction gel with what we know of you?’<br />
We’ve been <b>reassured…</b> it’s your
creation…you made it and made it good and you love it and you love us…we <b>know</b> that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: red;">Sun moon and earth slide <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So how then can you <b>allow</b> such an apparently meaningless
destruction of the universe …a third of the earth…the trees…the sea and its
creatures…the rivers…even the sun and the moon and the <b><u>stars</u></b>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well my favourite biblical scholar
Tom Wright… <br />
ffers us three points… that might just help us… <br />
with our very <b><u>real</u></b> confusion and
our very <b>important</b> questions?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>First</b> point: As a wise old writer put it…you haven’t yet considered
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide words Point 1. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the seriousness of sin’. <br />
<br />
However great the evidence to the <b>contrary…</b>
<br />
don’t some of us still cling to the modern myth… <br />
that evil will be wiped out through education and enlightenment<br />
leaving only a few mopping up operations in the world… <br />
preferably far <b><u>far</u></b> away from where
we live…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The very <b>idea</b> of God having to do anything powerful and destructive to
address the problem… <br />
is regarded as <b>way</b> too drastic…<br />
<br />
but none of the early Christians and certainly not Jesus…<br />
would have colluded with such a glossing <b>over</b>
<br />
of the seriousness of human sin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reveal
point 2<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Point 2</b> as <b>always</b> in the
Book of Revelation…<br />
we should never mistake symbolism for reality. <br />
<br />
The stylised way John describes the <b>effects</b>
of the seven <b>trumpet</b> blasts… <b>ought</b> to remind us…<br />
what Johns <b>first</b> readers <b>certainly</b> knew<b> </b>…<br />
<br />
John isn’t <b>actually</b> talking about a
third of the earth the seas. But he <b><u>is
</u></b>talking about God’s drastic action to purify the <b>world.</b><br />
<span style="font-size: 6.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>what do you do to a dangerously diseased tree in your garden…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[wait for response]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s right…you cut it back…you
remove the deadly cancer <br />
so the rest of the tree may be saved…only major surgery will do.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The necessary <b>work</b> of radically upsetting evil human systems by which millions
are enslaved and degraded <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Third point: As we read about these
plagues [and more to come] something stirs in our ancient collective memory…isn’t
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[check for response]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reveal third point<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s right they intentionally
remind us of the plagues God sends in Egypt after four hundred years of slavery
for God’s people. Plagues sent as a warning to the Pharaoh <br />
of the power of Israel’s God…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And how do the plagues in Egypt <b>end</b>… <br />
Israel is saved from death by the blood of the lamb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Already revealed in Johns vision… <br />
the Lamb of God is the <b>true</b> <b>Passover</b> lamb…<br />
John’s vision has a history etched deep in the psyche of Jesus’ suffering <b>first</b> century followers…<br />
<span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Just as the nation of <b>Egypt</b> was
hit with plagues… to warn and to liberate …so the whole <b>world</b> will be <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe these three points can <b>help</b> us keep our heads…<br />
and our faith…as we navigate the most difficult passages <br />
in the book of Revelation. As we take
seriously this divine warning…meant not just for Pharoah or for Caesar’s empire
but for all nations…including ours. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And eventually… if we have the
courage and strength to read on…we <b>will</b>
hear in chapter 15… the rescued people of God singing the song of Moses and the
song of the lamb. [pause]<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But for the <b>moment</b> in John’s vision… <br />
following the prayers of God’s suffering people… <br />
fire is cast upon the earth… The process of catastrophic events begins…as a warning
to those who dwell on earth…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From beginning to end…the stunning
sweep of John’s vision proclaims the re-establishment of the rule of heaven on
earth… <br />
a radical change of <b>regime</b>…is
coming…and those who profit from the <b>present</b>
one… need very dire warnings indeed <br />
if they are to realise… in what jeopardy they have put the earth and it’s
creatures.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many live on earth… as though
there <b>is</b> no heavenly dimension<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In light of John’s vision…I’d call
that fool hardy…God has always called for confession and repentance…<br />
Next week we’ll see if we can find any.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-22634354906265930032013-06-30T13:09:00.000+12:002013-06-30T13:11:16.782+12:00Revelation Chapter 7<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentecost 6 year C Sermon</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wsXZn9uRCUk2SADD8rCNZtFRuxynLc7NnJeA40OHj1nOJDye_pC-I-a-omgrzIIZG5kU0Q1k4KrUdtiftNOk1CpAg3Uhq754USCVMsc9EYCcEPoFwUGlG-7M9OScHg-5WYvil7T1pLK3/s720/Revelation+explained.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wsXZn9uRCUk2SADD8rCNZtFRuxynLc7NnJeA40OHj1nOJDye_pC-I-a-omgrzIIZG5kU0Q1k4KrUdtiftNOk1CpAg3Uhq754USCVMsc9EYCcEPoFwUGlG-7M9OScHg-5WYvil7T1pLK3/s400/Revelation+explained.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you ever laughed till you
cried?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know nothing brings on the
jokes among ministers <br />
like the book of Revelation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A friend of mine who’s just been
appointed head of the school of theology at Laidlaw College…it used to be call
the Bible College of New Zealand…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Graph
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sent me this graph about preaching
on Revelation <br />
when I told him we were doing a series on it.<br />
I laughed out loud when I saw it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[Speak to the graph]<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember it took me eleven <b>years</b> in ministry to have the courage
to tackle the book of Revelation… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ancient
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because this is what it looked
like to <b>me</b>! The book is
misunderstood… and abused… and <b>used</b> by
non-believers <br />
as an instrument of ridicule of the Christian <b>faith</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Worse it’s been used to deceive
the world…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Modern
graph<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">instead of the truth about our God
of love and grace revealed in Jesus Christ…Irresponsible teachers have used Revelation
to promote a theology of fear…telling people they must live their lives to
avoid God’s <b>punishment</b>…in that fiery
rubbish dump outside Jerusalem… they called hell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seven
seals slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we now know John is given his
vision… <br />
as a message of <b>hope</b> for suffering
humanity…particularly those who continue to suffer…the lies and violence and
greed and injustice present in our world… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ve heard how… toward the end of
the first century <br />
things were worse than ever for those who continued <br />
to insist on the cosmic authority of <b>God</b>…<br />
over the divine claims of Caesar…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those who didn’t flee… were cut
down in the <br />
fall of Jerusalem, later persecuted for <b>sport…</b>
in the arenas of Rome…taxed into starvation for the upkeep Caesar’s armies <br />
<br />
The result was famine and financial <b>hardship</b>
for ordinary people, leading to disease, further suffering and death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And <b><u>if</u></b> you were into signs and <b>portents…<br />
</b>of the end of the world… you’d be utterly convinced by the great cloud of <b>ash…</b> sweeping across the sea <br />
turning the sun red…after the eruption of Mt <b>Vesuvius</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope was desperately needed to
keep the new <b>covenant</b> movement… of
Jesus followers… from giving up…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heavenly
throne room slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so we find John on Patmos…transported
a <b>vision</b> <br />
into God’s dimension… outside time and space as we know it…and given a <b>message</b> for all creation…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do not <b>despair</b>…the purposes of God have been accomplished and <b>are</b> being accomplished… <br />
by the Lamb of God…<br />
who alone is worthy…to open the <b>scroll</b>
of God’s purposes <br />
to reveal God’s perfect design for all creation, <br />
including you and me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scroll
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But <b>first</b> as we heard last week in Barbara’s <br />
excellent sermon on Chapter 6…the seals that prevent God’s purposes being
accomplished… must be <b>broken</b> <br />
and what they conceal …exposed to the <b>light</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And only the Lamb of God can <b>break</b> them…only the <b>lamb</b> can break the power of evil that
prevents God’s purposes from being <b>realised</b>. <br />
<br />
And we <b>learned</b> … far from ‘<b>unleashing’</b> evil into the world Jesus
cosmic <b>role</b>… is to name it for what
it <b><u>is</u></b>…<br />
expose it to the light…and <b>consume</b>
its power through love. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A divine work…that transcends time
and space …<br />
accomplished in a dimension we can not <b><u>see</u></b>…
<br />
except by its <b>fruit </b>…a <b>divine…</b> on-going and eternal dimension …that
<b>intersects</b> our reality in every age…in
the life and death and victory of Jesus…as evil is brought into the light…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And whether cosmic or <b>personal</b> …this salvation …<br />
this restoration to wholeness… is <b>accomplished</b>
<br />
when we let Jesus open our eyes to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ve learned this message of hope
is for everyone…and as Barbara reminded us <b>last</b>
week…we have a choice…we can work <b>with</b>
Jesus to expose the powers and principalities at work against God’s purposes in
the world… and in our own self-deceiving lives…or we can remain part of the problem…
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when we allow Jesus to shine
his light on the <b>darkness…on</b> the
scroll of God’s purposes for our lives …our humanity is unfurled…into a
beautiful reality…<br />
knowing the evils of this world may hurt our <b>bodies</b>, <br />
but can never ever touch that part of us which is In Christ… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Revelation
Chapter 7 slide</span><br />
Ok drum roll into Chapter seven…<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We now have a clear <b>view</b> of the evil hidden by the <b>seals</b><br />
that keep God’s purposes from being fully accomplished …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lies, the violence the greed
and death…persecution and catastrophic cosmic events… <br />
<br />
So far the Lamb of God has opened <b>six</b>
of the seven seals …you can just <b>imagine</b>
the little clusters of fearful Christians huddled in the <b>dark…</b> listening by firelight…<br />
as John’s vision is read out to them…waiting for a seventh possibly more <b>terrifying…</b> obstacle to God’s purposes…<br />
to be revealed. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But <b>before</b> the seventh seal is <b><u>opened</u></b>
by the Lamb …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">listen to this…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Angels
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>After</b> this…John says… I saw four angels standing at the four
corners of the earth, holding back the four winds… <br />
and <b>another</b> angel coming from the <b>east</b> holding… [pause]<br />
the <b>seal</b> of the living <b>God</b>. <br />
<br />
This angel called <b>out</b> to the other
four that had power to harm the earth: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t harm the land or the sea or
the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps a violent wind <b>will</b> scorch the earth, stir up the sea
and uproot the trees…<br />
but more <b>likely</b> a great <b>shaking</b> will pass through the world of
human <b>affairs…</b> as powers and
principalities are <b>exposed</b> for what
they <b>are…</b> by the Lamb of God. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And God’s people need to be <b>reassured</b> … <br />
they’ll come through this time of tribulation safely…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Multitude
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And after the <b>Angels</b> and the four <b>winds</b>
and the <b>fifth</b> Angel with the seal of
the living <b>God</b> which has <b>yet</b> to be opened <br />
by the <b>Lamb</b>………John sees before him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a great multitude that no one
could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm
branches and they cried out in a loud voice:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salvation belongs to our <b>God…</b> who sits on the throne,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and to the <b>Lamb</b>. [pause]<br />
<br />
Now John uses the rich symbolism of Israel’s identity <br />
to mark out those who through the Messiah…<br />
belong to God’s renewed and rescued <b>people</b>…<br />
no matter what their ancestry…Twelve thousand times twelve<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Blank slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">yes…a multitude of God’s people
may <b><u>not</u></b> escape suffering …neither
did the lamb of God. But they <b>will</b> come
through <br />
to <b>safety</b> on the other side…<br />
<br />
just as <b>Jesus…</b> passed though death <br />
to the immortal physical life of the resurrection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One small thing here… remains a
mystery to me… <br />
and to most biblical scholars…why does John list twelve tribes adding Manasseh
and dropping the tribe of Dan. <br />
Let me know when you figure it out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">before the seventh seal is <b>opened…</b> God’s good creation is being <b>protected…</b>by a fierce and purifying <b>wind</b>… God won’t allow the rising tide
of evil… to jeopardise the ultimate rescue of his children… <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The message in the vision is <b>clear</b>…the events that surround them may
be terrifying… but they may rest assured…<br />
God has them in his <b>care</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Word slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And all the angels and elders and
four living creatures around the throne fell down and worshiped God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And John heard them saying:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Change Word
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amen!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Praise and glory<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and wisdom and thanks and honour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and power and strength<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">be to our God for ever and ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amen!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then John and the Elder play
that little game again where the Elder asks John to interpret who the multitude
are<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and John says back to him ‘You
know’…and the elder replies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are the ones who survived
the great tribulation; they washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb. That’s why they serve God day and night for the one who sits on
the throne shelters them with his presence…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The communities to whom John will relate
his vision <br />
are about to face a nightmare… and they must be ready for it. What John is
given… is a vision of the utter truth… <br />
against which their suffering must be <b>measured</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the ultimate reality that they
must cling to with dear life…<br />
the reality that the creator <b>God</b> and
the lamb <br />
have already won the victory…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This means those who follow the
lamb are ultimately rescued from harm and free to worship and praise in the
presence of the living God. And in John’s <b>vision</b>…they
can’t contain their enthusiasm and their delight and their gratitude to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salvation belongs to our <b>God</b>.<br />
<br />
Here the word salvation literally <b>means</b>…rescue.
<br />
the realisation that everything good and noble and powerful and wise… comes
from God…the one God from whom all blessings flow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who is this multitude…the Elder
answers…they’re the ones who’ve come through the great suffering. <br />
<br />
Their clothes are white… not because <b>they’re</b>
perfect, or lived lives of holiness and purity…but because the lamb…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the sacrificial Passover-like
death… of Jesus himself…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">has rescued them from slavery… to
sin…<br />
enabling them to <b>stand…</b> in the
presence of the living God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No need to wait…no need for a
lengthy post-mortem clean up period …all that is required has been done. <br />
<br />
Not only are they <b>welcome</b> in God’s
presence…but God’s presence will shelter them…<b>literally…</b> <br />
this word means God will pitch his tent over them…<br />
as God did the Israelites in the wilderness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And right here in his glorious
vision… John <b>glimpses</b> the future of
the new Jerusalem itself. Time collapses… present and future <b>overlap</b> and <b>interlock</b> …and <b>already</b>
the blessings of the final community of God… are being experienced by those
about to suffer…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in a wonderful role <b>reversal</b>…<br />
the lamb becomes a shepherd…assuming the royal role <br />
of John ten…the <b>good</b> shepherd…the
divine shepherd of the 23<sup>rd</sup> psalm…who leads his people to springs of
living water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the Elder reveals…<br />
‘Never again will they hunger<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
never again will they thirst.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sun will not beat down on
them,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
nor any scorching heat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the Lamb at the centre of the
throne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
will be their shepherd<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he will lead them to springs of
living water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is an intimacy to this
promise that rules out every crazy fearful prediction of the end of the world. A
tender compassion that banishes all attempts to create God in our own image… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes God is angry with all those
who deface and defile the beauty and goodness of creation…yes God is angry with
those who make the lives of their fellow creatures miserable and wretched…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but God’s judgment on this… is to
overcome evil with love. And again we have a choice…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will we put our faith in the God
of salvation and hope <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">or will we follow the gods of
destruction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
For our God… revealed ultimately by Jesus on the cross…<br />
is no faceless heavenly bureaucrat with a big book <br />
nor a violent celestial bully…<br />
<br />
our God is the one whose heart full of the goodness and mercy…that follows us
all the days of our lives…whose most characteristic gesture… is to come down in
<b>person…</b> <br />
and wipe away every tear… from every eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-27512309755920694392013-06-23T14:39:00.004+12:002013-06-23T14:39:47.504+12:00Revelation 8 Chapter 6<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Woah…!! Hold your horses</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;">!! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s1600/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s320/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Pentecost 5 year C Sermon<br />by Barbara Lee<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What’s
happened after all the wonder, glory, worship & jubilation of ch5??!! ……..Last
week we had this awe-some build up; we have high expectations;…………. what will
be revealed in those scrolls? – <i>surely NOW</i>, everything would be OK – <b><i>but
no</i></b> ! – He who is deemed ‘worthy’ to break the seals <i>apparently </i>releases all sorts of evil in
the world; <b>what can this mean</b>? In our revelation study series, we now embark
on the so-called ‘times of tribulation’ in Rev 6-20’<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How do <b>you</b> understand these
passages?</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> A description of a future which we fear, when
mankind rushes into horrendously calamitous times with a rather worrying consequences?
When a vengeful God’s patience finally runs out? <b>I
don’t think so!</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Look at this image</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">… <b>is it a real photo</b>? Yes
& No! ……Yes, in that <i>all the elements</i> were really there, and….
No,… in that they were not captured quite how the eye usually see them and -
the image has been digitally rearranged to portray a different message – one
which <i>I saw in my mind’s eye</i>, <b>but not literally</b> through the cameras
viewfinder<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, back to
Rev 6……….what elements of reality are there?
And how are they rearranged to portray a message? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…let us consider <b>the context</b>
of the time when John had these visions.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To recap a little from Diane’s earlier sermons - we believe that John wrote Revelation
sometime <i>towards the end of the 1<sup>st</sup>
C</i> – long after Jesus death &
resurrection. Many had thought that
Jesus 2<sup>nd</sup> coming would occur
within their life-times – but no – <i>things
were as bad, if not worse than ever… .and still there was no sign<o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a tendency whenever things are ‘bad’ to find marked
similarities between apocalyptic (meaning ‘to disclose’ or uncover) literature
and one’s own situation. The hearers of
John’s revelation, would have identified strongly with the symbolism in
this chapter….. much of which had echoes
from OT prophesies…... <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <b>AD 75, Mount Vesuvius</b>
erupted and totally buried <b>Pompeii and Herculaneum</b> – although
these cities were in Italy, not in the area of the ‘seven churches’, doubtless the enormity of the eruption would
have impressed the, then known world, and been a salient <i>reminder of power of ‘cosmic forces’</i>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At about the same time, ‘<b>The
Jewish War’</b> was published, This was a history of the first Roman-Jewish war,
written by <b>Josephus,</b> a Romano-
Jewish historian . Josephus himself was born in Jerusalem of royal descent and initially
fought as the head of the Jewish forces in Galilee, before eventually
surrendering. He was kept as a hostage
& interpreter by Vespasian and in due course was given his freedom and
Roman citizenship. Josephus would
probably therefore have been thought of
as a traitor and perhaps <i>may be the
thought behind the ‘white horseman’. (though
there are lots of other theories)<o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In AD 80, the Coliseum</b> was completed ; A show
case of Roman power and also became a
place of Jewish Christian torture &
executions for public spectacle.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5 yrs later, in AD 85, Emperor Domitian</b> enforced the collection of a punitive tax from the Jews. The
cost of staples, eg <i>barley which the poor
people ate</i>, shot up in price, whilst
the rich could still afford their luxuries.
It possibly also was a time of
drought; Olive trees & grape vines had deeper roots & therefore could
survive more easily. Either way, the
effect was famine & financial hardship for the ordinary people, leading to disease,
further suffering and death. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, it is not hard to see where these images come from, but I do
not wish to go further down the path of speculation on the interpretation of specific
ills today; rather now think about the
meaning of the ‘scroll’ and the ‘seals’<span style="color: red;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 1<sup>st</sup> C, documents
were held together with strings which were sealed by (in those days) probably
clay. Commonly, seven seals were used
for important docs. …... So what is so important about <b><i>this </i></b>document? It was
written by God!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the very beginning, <b>God’s creative purposes have come through
The Word</b>… <i>In the beginning was the <b>Word</b>…</i>…and the Word was with God
& the word was God….(jn1) <b><i>God
spoke</i></b><i> and it was so</i>………(Gen1) <b><i>Jesus</i></b><i> commanded the waves…. The spirits…… and they obeyed him…</i>. <b>Words….. the power of the spoken word = The
way God acts!</b> <i><u>But the words on the scroll are not yet read … not yet spoken……</u></i>.
Some of God’s purposes are not yet complete…. <i><u>Or are they??</u></i> ….. Evil
is not yet defeated… <i><u>or is it</u></i>?....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus cried from the cross - <b>“It is finished</b>” …. He has dealt with
sin once and for all, <i><u>so how come
John’s readers (including us) still experience evil & suffering?<o:p></o:p></u></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Time is not eternal</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">; we live in the dimension of time; our
problem is <i>we can only think in a
sequential</i> fashion (1<sup>st</sup> this has to happen, then that,
etc…) …. <b>But God <i>created time</i>, so he
is outside it</b>. God’s perfect design <b><i>for
all of his creation</i></b>, including us, is written on that scroll; <i>our names</i> – the <b><u>real </u>‘us’</b> (in the sense of that extra dimension that we cannot yet understand
– think back to the Zebra shadow story)……what God <b><i>calls</i></b> us; the Name he
gives us….., is written in there! <b><u>It
has to be read out loud to become</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- but</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<b>– it is sealed</b>… it <i>cannot be read until the seals are broken</i>;
God’s full intention cannot be spoken (read) into being until the powers <i>that prevent it being so</i> are brought to light, <i><u>shown up for what they really</u></i><u> are</u>….and … are broken –
<b><u>ONLY Jesus, the Lamb can do that</u></b>;
only <b><i>he</i></b>
can break the power of evil that prevents God’s full purposes from being realised. So in breaking the seals, Jesus is not
‘unleashing’ evil into the world – <b>he is
merely showing up the evil for what it is.</b>
Exposing evil is necessary before its power can be broken – <i>whilst
it is hidden, evil still holds an illusion of power.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what did this revelation mean for
John and his hearers?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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o:title=""/>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe that all of the imagery described in Revelation were different
ways of seeing another reality, of recognising the enormity of the truly cosmic
struggle that God through Jesus goes
through for us, rather than prophecies
of a series of events which have to happen , one after the other, before Jesus
second coming. In a sense - God’s creation…, Jesus death and victory….. <i>and</i> his second coming - <i>are <b><u>all - </u></b> <u>always happening NOW</u>! </i>Because of our limitations of time
& space, we cannot truly grasp how this works.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…. And how do those ripples of
understanding touch us? what does this
mean for us in our time-based world<b>? Because of Jesus’ “It is finished</b>!” We know that He <i>has </i>broken
the power of evil in our lives – He has broken those seals, <i>our eyes can be opened</i>…. <b>To a new reality</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Although we live in a fallen world, we do have a choice:
we can refuse to allow Jesus to break
the seals that bind us – that hold us captive….that prevent God calling our
real name from that scroll. We can try to hide
- and - have the, “I’m alright,
jack” attitude….’ we can refuse to face up to the wrong in our lives, but then our scroll
remains unread …the ultimate tragedy….. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or –<i>we can ask
Jesus to break those seals</i>, to <b>show
us the evil</b> in our very selves, and <i>allow Him , the Lion-Lamb… His victory!</i>…..the
scroll of God’s purposes for our lives can start to be unfurled…be read and become
beautiful reality……<b>Jesus is the Word .</b> If our names are called……, if we are in
Christ,….. written into that scroll, the
evils of this world may hurt our bodies, but they can never, …<b>ever </b>touch the <b>real you</b> – the one in the 5<sup>th</sup> dimension….the one hidden
in this mystery…. the YOU in Christ in that Scroll! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is <b>your</b>
choice?..... </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-28771871906934652532013-06-17T17:24:00.002+12:002013-06-17T17:24:37.825+12:00Sermon Revelation 7 Chapter 5<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s1600/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s320/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentecost 4 year C </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Worthy is the <b>Lamb</b>. [pause]<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in John’s <b>vision…<br />
</b>ten <b>thousand…</b> times ten <b>thousand…</b> angels <b>sing</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>You</b>’re worthy to <b>take</b>
the scroll… and open its <b>seals</b>,<br />
because you were <b>slain</b> and with <b><u>your</u></b> blood…<br />
you purchased for <b>God</b> people
from <b><u>every</u></b> language tribe and
<b>nation</b>. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Who</b> is worthy… to break open the seven seals …<br />
the seven <b>prophesies</b>? <br />
<b><u>Who</u></b> is worthy to reveal God’s
purposes to the <b>world</b>?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Only <b>one</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">only the <b>Lamb</b>…only the Lamb of <b>God</b>…[pause]<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In our series on the book of
Revelation…we begin <b>today</b> with the
answer to my final <b>question…<br />
</b>how <b><u>can</u></b> we know… <b>anything</b> about God at <b>all</b>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Answer</b>? <b>Only</b> through
God’s self-revelation to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God <b>breathed</b> revelation…through vision and scripture and prophesy…revelation
confirmed by the mission and traditions of the church… and <b>one</b> more… <br />
through personal <b>encounter…</b> with the
<b><u>one</u></b> <br />
who was and <b>is</b>… the ultimate and <b>complete</b> revelation <br />
of God… and of God’s purposes…Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this week as I reflected
on the <b>scripture</b> for this morning…<b><u>I</u></b> had a revelation…<br />
<br />
I’ve tried to find <b>images…</b> to help
you imagine <br />
what I saw in my mind’s <b>eye</b>….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reg and I were sharing our time of
devotions after breakfast…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cross slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suddenly… something we read or
prayed… <br />
triggered in me an image of Christ on the Cross…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus was <b>speaking</b> his final words…Father forgive them for they don’t know
what they’re doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunburst slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then wham…<br />
<br />
I had a burst of <b>adrenalin …</b>as I <b>realised</b> <br />
that very <b>moment…</b> in the history of
the universe <br />
was <b><u>the</u></b> moment… <br />
<br />
when God’s purposes were <b>revealed</b>…
once and for all by the <b>lamb</b> of God.
A revelation of <b>God</b>… <br />
and God’s judgement…which can <b>never</b> ever
be undone. <br />
God’s <b>judgment</b>…is <b>forgiveness</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Worthy is the <b>Lamb…of…God</b>…<br />
to reveal the <b>purposes</b> of God…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vision
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But <b>today</b> in our series on the book of <b>Revelation</b>… we’re still looking through <b>John’s</b> eyes…not mine <br />
We’re looking at <b>John’s</b> vision…of
the throne room of God…the creator of the universe…given him in exile on the
Island of Patmos…a vision given for him to share…a vision of hope for early
Christian…about to face pain and persecution<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
And we learned last week… <br />
that God’s divine <b>dimension…</b>revealed
this way to <b>John </b>is <b>not</b> a vision of where we go when we
die…<br />
nor merely a beautiful <b>hallucination…<br />
</b>to bring us to our knees in <b><u>awe</u></b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This</b> vision is <b>going</b>
somewhere…<br />
there’s a <b>project</b> underway. There’s <b>work</b> to be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <b>particular…</b> the work of rescuing <b>creation</b> <br />
from the deadly <b>dangers…</b>that have
taken <b>root</b> within it. There’s work
to be done… to over throw the forces <br />
that are out to <b>destroy…</b> the very
handiwork of <b>God</b>. <br />
<br />
It will be a <b>terrible</b> task and God’s
<b>people</b> may well <b>shrink</b> from it…because <b><u>we</u></b>
know we’ve made it <b>worse</b> <br />
by being part of the <b>problem</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like our world…John’s is full of <b>movements</b> and systems and philosophies and <b>religions…</b> <br />
that ignore and <b>abuse</b> creation…God’s
beautiful <b>good</b> creation…dismissing
creation and creatures as irrelevant to the so called <b>spiritual</b> life…<br />
some even <b>denigrate</b> creation…as a
nasty, dark <br />
and dangerous <b>place</b>…full of evil and
death. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As <b><u>well</u>…</b> the world is full of people who worship the world…instead
of worshipping its <b>Creator. </b>People
who worship <b>money…</b> or sex …or power
and war…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favourite biblical scholar Tom <b><u>Wright</u></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%204%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%207%20chapter%205.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<br />
believes the book of Revelation sets out the delicate but decisive balance of
these idolatrous systems. But proclaims for everyone with eyes to see and ears
to hear that all <b><u>creation</u></b>
worships God…<br />
for God <b>alone…</b> is worthy of all
praise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here in John’s <b>vision</b>…<br />
God holds the scroll of God’s purposes…like an architect about to renovate a building<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and John <b>hears</b> a strong angel’s voice announcing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does <b>anyone</b> deserve to open the scroll…or undo its <b>seals</b> <br />
Is there <b>anybody</b> out there…who
hasn’t contributed to the <b>problem…</b>
under which creation <b>groans</b>. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John <b>knows</b> the answer…John bursts into <b>tears <br />
and tells us</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘And nobody in heaven and on earth
or under the earth could open the scroll or look at it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God’s <b>creation</b> is <b>good…God’s
purposes for creation are good</b>. And from the book of Genesis… <br />
we read God’s stewardship of creation… is to be carried out by human creatures…
<br />
<br />
God puts together a <b>covenant</b> people<b> </b>to <b>tell</b> the world about this…but instead we wanted to <b><u>play</u></b> God…<br />
Now human creatures are part of the <b>problem</b>…<br />
and <b><u>no</u></b> one can be found who is
worthy to open the scroll of God’s purposes…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s as though all of human <b>history…</b> is caught up John’s vision and
John is shattered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we find…already God’s <b>promise</b> to wipe away every <b>tear…</b> has begun…<br />
one Elder in John’s vision comforts him…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t cry…Look the lion of Judah,
the Root of David has won the victory! <b>He</b>
can open the scroll with its seven seals. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And instead of a <b>lion</b>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John sees…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a lamb…the Lamb of God. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Messiah. Only he can open the <b>scroll</b>…<br />
and he’s already <b>won</b> the victory.
[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Worthy is
the lamb slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now comes what Tom Wright calls…<br />
one of the most decisive <b>moments</b> in
all of <b>scripture</b> Did you notice…what
John has <b>heard</b> is the announcement
of the lion…<br />
what he sees is a lamb. <br />
<br />
The lion…a symbol of <b>ultimate</b> power…
<br />
the lamb…a symbol of gentleness and vulnerability sacrificed and yielding in <b>weakness</b>… to death… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From this moment <b><u>on</u></b>…<br />
John…and we as his careful <b>readers</b>…<br />
are invited to understand…that the victory won by the lion is <b>accomplished</b> through the sacrifice of
the lamb <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
and in no other <b>way</b>. <br />
<br />
But we’re <b>also</b> to understand… <br />
that what’s <b>accomplished</b> by the lamb’s
sacrifice… <br />
isn’t <b>merely</b> the wiping away of sin
for a <b><u>few</u></b> people <br />
here and there…the lamb’s sacrifice is lions victory…<br />
God’s victory over <b><u>all</u></b> the
forces of corruption and <b>death</b>, <br />
over <b>everything…</b>that would <b>destroy…</b> God’s <b>good</b> Creation. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lion and the lamb accomplish
it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet down through the <b>centuries…</b>history shows us<b> <br />
</b>plenty of <b>lion-</b>like Christians. Believing
yes Jesus <b>died</b> for us …but <b>now </b>God’s will…. is to be done in the <b>lion</b>-like way through brute force and
violence… <br />
to make the world come into line… to <b>enforce</b>
God’s will. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No replies John…<b>think</b> of the lion by all means…<br />
but <b>gaze</b> at the lamb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the same way… there’ve been
plenty of <b>lamb</b>-like Christians…who
say… <b>yes</b> Jesus may have been the lion of Judah…but that’s a <b>political</b> idea which we should <b>reject…</b> because salvation is about
having our sins wiped away… so we can escape this evil world and go off to
heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No replies John…<b>gaze</b> at the lamb…<br />
but remember it’s the <b>lion’s</b> victory…
he’s won.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And he is <b>holy…</b> and he is worthy… <br />
and he alone has the right to take the scroll and open it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To reveal God’s purposes to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let us sing of this as we approach
the table to which the lion and the lamb have invited us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%204%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%207%20chapter%205.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Once again my gratitude to NT
Wright and his book Revelation for Everyone, Knox Westminster, 2011</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-58904608450464842032013-06-09T11:15:00.000+12:002013-06-09T11:17:10.975+12:00Sermon Revelation 6 chapter 4<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pentecost 3 year C </span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s1600/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s320/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we’ve heard the last two <b>weeks…</b>in the book of <b>Revelation</b> …the letters to the seven
churches of <b>Asia</b>…are <b>powerful</b> and <b>thought</b> provoking….for the people of God…in any age… <br />
<br />
And John’s<b>…</b>dazzling vision… of <b><u>Jesus</u></b> <br />
at the beginning of the book… is enough to make you and <b><u>I</u></b> <br />
fall down in <b>awe</b> and <b>worship</b>… <br />of the risen <b>Christ</b> <br />
just as <b>John</b> fell down. <br />
<br />
But powerful as these visions are…they’re just a warm up…<br />
just <b>preparation</b> for chapter <b>four</b>…where the story really starts. For
it’s <b>here </b>in John’s vision<b>…<br />
</b>as he<b> </b>stands<b> </b>in the<b> </b>heavenly<b> throne </b>room<b>…<br />
</b>it’s<b>
here </b>he’s given<b> </b>the ‘<b>revelation’</b> <br />
that gives <b>this</b> book its <b>name</b>. <br />
<br />
<b>Everything</b> we read from this point <b><u>on</u></b>…is <b>that</b> vision <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now <b>remember…</b> visions from God aren’t at <b><u>all</u></b>
unusual <br />
for those who spend time in long periods of silence listening in the presence
of God. A few weeks <b>back</b> I showed
you <b>my</b> journal… of what I feel God is
showing <b>me</b> at those times ...images
which <b>inspire</b> me and <b>strengthen</b> me <br />
in my life and my <b>ministry</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So…Revelation Chapter 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every <b>line</b> in the short opening <b>passage</b>…<br />
gives us an image…<b>rich</b> in detail…<br />
of the place John is <b>taken…</b> in his
vision…<br />
and what it all <b>means</b>.<br />
<br />
My favourite Biblical <b>Scholar…</b> Tom
Wright<a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%203%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%206%20chapter%204.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>…<br />
thinks its worth <b>savouring</b> this
passage <b>slowly</b>…<br />
phrase by phrase. So read the first line with me outloud…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After this I <b>looked</b>, and there before me was a door <br />
standing open in heaven. <br />
<br />
Now when <b><u>you</u></b> read these words…
what image comes to your mind? Talk with your neighbour…[Ask…]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
A night sky…with a tiny little <b>door…</b>
shining like a distant star…far far away? I think that’s the kind of image we
often have…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But remember what we already <b>know</b>…<br />
biblical <b>scholars</b> remind us…<br />
that in the mind of God’s <b>people</b> in
the first century… <br />
Jews <b>and</b> Christian’s...heaven and
earth aren’t <b>separated…</b> <br />
by a great expanse of <b>outer</b> space …<br />
<br />
and <b>particularly</b> for those who
follow <b><u>Jesus</u></b>…<br />
<b>God’s</b> sphere …God’s <b>dimension…</b> is close beside us…<br />
right here …remember Jesus said the Kingdom of God is at <b><u>hand</u></b> …<b>intersecting</b>
ordinary <b>reality</b>. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">door slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So for John, it’s not so much a
door opening… <br />
high up in the sky far <b>away</b>…it’s
more like a <b>portal…<br />
</b>opening up right in <b>front</b> of
him…<br />
<br />
where the only thing he could see <b>before</b>
<br />
was the sand and the sea and the hills of <b>Patmos</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suddenly</b> there’s an <b>opening</b>
<br />
that leads into a different <b>dimension</b>.
[pause]<br />
<br />
And then we hear an <b>invitation</b>…<br />
to <b>come</b> up and take a look <b>around</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This voice like a <b>trumpet</b>…the one John heard at the very <b>beginning</b> of his vision…this voice speaks
<b>again</b>.<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Come up <b>here</b> and I’ll show you… <br />
what must take place <b>after</b> these
things.<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After what <b>things?</b> The terrible <b>events</b>
the seven churches have just been <b>warned</b>
about…in the past two chapters…<br />
persecution and <b>suffering</b> that’s about
to happen to <b>them</b>…<br />
<br />
For <b>centuries</b> people have <b>distorted</b> and misunderstood and made <b>money…</b> out of what’s happening here in
John’s <b>vision</b>.<br />
In fact… <b>fortunes</b> have been made…writing
<b>ridiculous</b> <br />
and bizarre <b>novels…</b> about the
rapture <br />
playing on people’s <b>fears… </b>of a
wrathful<b> God</b>…<br />
<br />
but <b>John’s</b> vision isn’t anything to <b><u>do</u></b> with God’s people being
snatched away to heaven in a <b>rapture</b>…
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throne
room slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is about a <b>prophet</b>…having a vision of being taken
into God’s <b>throne</b> room…so he can see
behind the <b>scenes</b>…<br />
so he can <b>understand</b>…how everything<b> </b>he sees and <b>hears</b>…<br />
fits together…how it all makes <b>sense…</b>
<br />
<br />
So <b>after</b> the invitation to come up
and take a look <b>around…</b> and John says<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At <b>once</b> I was in the Spirit…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and there before me was a throne …and
the one who sat <b><u>there</u></b> had the
appearance of jasper and ruby. <br />
A rainbow… that shone like an <b>emerald</b>…
encircled the throne. And surrounding the throne…were twenty-four elders on <b><u>their</u></b> thrones… dressed in <b>white</b>…with crowns of <b>gold</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we <b>know</b> the vision of a <b>throne</b>
room given to John… <br />
isn’t a vision of the <b>final</b> stage<b> </b>in God’s <b>purposes</b> for <b>creation</b> and
it’s <b>not</b> about the final heavenly <b>resting</b> place <br />
for God’s people…<br />
<br />
it’s about the <b>admission</b> of this <b>one</b> man…John of <b>Patmos</b>…<br />
into <b><u>God’s</u></b> sphere…by way of a
vision to which he can <b>relate</b> …a
vision of royal courts and counsellors <br />
and trials soon to engulf <b>his</b> world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But there is a <b>rainbow</b>…did you notice… in verse <b>three</b> …<b>reminding</b> John…and <b><u>us</u></b>…of
God’s visible promise of <b>mercy </b>in
the ancient story of the<b> flood…<br />
</b>a promise that God will never <b>again</b>
destroy the earth…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So for those with eyes to <b><u>see</u></b>…<br />
as John seeks the presence of <b>God…</b>
he’s is confronted <br />
with a <b>vision… </b>of awesome <b>beauty</b>…and <b>mercy</b> combined…<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What John experiences in <b><u>this</u></b> chapter and the <b>next</b>… <br />
is <b>intended</b>… to help <b><u>us</u></b> understand <br />
what’s happening in the <b>rest</b> of the
book…[breath] <br />
<br />
You see the book of <b>Revelation…</b> is <b>structured</b> around <br />
sequences of <b>sevens</b>… knowing this <b>helps</b> us understand <br />
the scene in the throne room <b>too</b>. <br />
We’ve already <b>had</b> seven letters to
the <b>churches</b>…<br />
<b>next week</b> we’ll be introduced<b> </b>to the famous series… <br />
of seven prophesies… known as the seven <b>seals</b>…<br />
seals which must be <b>opened</b>…if the <b>scroll</b> of God’s purposes<b>…</b> is to be… <b><u>unrolled</u></b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and <b>then</b> we’ll hear of the seven <b>trumpets</b>…<br />
and the seven <b>bowls</b> of God’s wrath…[pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John is <b>summoned</b> into the <b>throne</b>
room… <br />
where he’s <b>privileged</b> to stand<b> </b>in God’s <b>council</b> chamber <br />
allowed to overhear what’s going <b><u>on</u></b>…so
<b>he</b> can report it to the persecuted
and suffering churches in <b>his</b>
time…and to <b>us</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And John’s vision is completely <b>consistent…<br />
</b>with the visions of the <b>prophets</b>
of ancient Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Like the vision of Micaiah ben <b>Imlah </b>in
first <b>Kings</b>…<br />
John sees God <b>himself… </b>sitting on a
throne <br />
surrounded by his heavenly hosts…discussing their <b>plans</b>.<br />
<br />
And John’s vision <b>also</b> reminds us…of
when the prophet <b>Ezekiel’</b>s given a vision
of God’s <b>throne </b>as a <b>chariot <br />
</b>with fiery wheels. <span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in John’s vision… in God’s <b>council </b>are twenty four Elders…possibly
representing the twelve tribes of <b>Israel…</b>
<br />
and the twelve apostles of the early church…<br />
an <b>image</b> of the embodied <b>perfection</b> of the people of God sharing
in God’s reign over the <b>universe</b>. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their white <b>robes</b>… a potent <b>symbol</b>…of
purity and <b>victory</b>… and their <b>crowns</b>…a signs of the royal priesthood <br />
we heard about in chapter <b>one</b>. <br />
<span style="font-size: 4.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>But <b>this</b> isn’t a scene of
blissful <b>calm</b>…<br />
for John sees lightning and <b>fire</b> <br />
and hears the rumble of a sound like thunder…<br />
and this happens every <b>time</b><br />
God’s <b>purposes<br />
</b>are being disclosed in the book of <b>Revelation</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now we come to the final
mysterious detail in this part of John’s vision <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slide
words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">before the throne is what looked
like a sea of glass, <br />
clear as crystal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This artist has shown it like a
giant <b>bowl</b> <br />
like the one called the <b>sea</b> in
Solomon’s Temple. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is it… and why is <b>this</b> deeply mysterious image <b>here</b>? <br />
<br />
Well throughout the <b>ages</b>…biblical
scholars have <b>struggled</b> to explain
it… but always recalled Solomon’s Temple. <br />
But throughout the book of <b>Revelation</b>…the
<b>sea…</b> <br />
appears to shift and <b>change</b> its
appearance… as in a <b>dream</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes it’s like the red sea
through which <br />
the children of God pass to safety…from their enemy and from slavery … <b>another</b> time the great Beast emerges
from the sea watch over by a Dragon. And <b>intriguingly</b>…given
these images of imminent evil… <b>John</b> sees
that in the New Jerusalem <br />
there is ‘no <b>longer</b> sea’<br />
<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span>Maybe surrounded and enclosed within the <b>throne</b> room…we see a powerful symbolic presentation…that within
creation as it currently is…evil is present <b>and</b> dangerous …but contained within and by God’s sovereign <b>purposes</b>…and eventually <b>drained…</b> completely… of its power in
the New Jerusalem where there is no sea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But in addition to all this other
dimensional imagery…<br />
<b>John’s</b> readers at the end of the
first <b>century</b>…<br />
facing persecution and <b>suffering…</b> <br />
in the fearsome arenas of Rome…<br />
these early <b>Christians</b> would see far
<b>more</b> <br />
than echoes of ancient prophetic <b>visions</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They’d be <b>instantly</b> reminded of a very <b>different</b>
royal court one that ruled the world <b>they</b>
knew… <br />
and they’d be reminded of the power struggle <b><u>Jesus</u></b> refers to between the kingdom of <b>God</b> against the ruler of <b>this</b>
world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And perhaps John is invited to see
that all royal and religious courts in their world are simply cheap imitation
copies… <br />
of the power of the God…who really and <b>truly</b>
rules in heaven and on earth…in love and mercy and forgiveness… <br />
And John is instructed to share this vision with those about to face the trials
ahead…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blank
alpha and omega slide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is priceless treasure…this
book…allowing us to share in a vision given to one of God’s servants…with all
it’s alarming and terrifying imagery…it’s a vision given to bring hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our challenge is what is the
spirit saying to the church today…not only though our cherishing of
scripture…but in how God breathes meaning through it into our own lives…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you prepared to sit with it
and ask …God what are you saying to me…what do you want to show me…what do you
want to reveal to our church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see the only way we know about
God is from God’s own self-revelation…that is the only way…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only question for us is… are
we willing to savour God’s word to us and consent open ourselves to what God
may want to show us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br clear="all" />
</span><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%203%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%206%20chapter%204.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> NT Wright, Revelation for
Everyone, Westminster John Knox, 2011.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3217213896850267538.post-13673836651529024942013-06-02T14:05:00.000+12:002013-06-02T14:05:03.852+12:00Dead, lukewarm and complacent<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pentecost 2 Year C Sermon Revelation Part 5 Chapter 3</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s1600/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sCTqX0h-qXxYNvHScP5J2shqh4D0REnZc3T2tM0vmtUrWp1N3SVYgWoq8Hh6Gzl1p_s8SncSwOcg54o2Lbe1Ddz-d7FuJTz74ocUO5Qdv6StAbx-jKhleW2SJI3bjDaVJnYYniKWAx9n/s320/Alpha+and+Omega.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Sardis you’re <b>dead</b>. Wake <b>up</b>!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
Philadelphia <b>beware…</b>the synagogue of Satan <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Laodicea you’re so <b>lukewarm...</b>I’m about to spit you <b><u>out</u>.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Your so <b>complacent</b> about your <b>wealth</b>… you’re <b>blind…</b> <br />
to how pitiful you really are…and how <b>exposed.</b>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Hard <b>words</b>. And three <b>more </b>of the<b> </b>seven prophetic
<b><u>messages</u></b> <br />
to the churches of Asia Minor in the book of Revelation…<br />
like <b>emails…</b>copied to everyone in
the <b>world</b> in every <b>time</b> …so <b><u>we</u></b> can hear what the <b>Spirit</b>
is saying to the <b>churches</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So we can wonder… as
a church… are <b><u>we</u></b> <br />
more like <b>Sardis</b> or <b>Philadelphia</b>, or <b>Laodicea</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Sardis you’re <b>dead</b>. Wake <b>up</b>!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
Philadelphia beware… the synagogue of Satan </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Laodicea… you’re so <b>lukewarm...</b>I’m about to spit you <b><u>out</u>.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Are we like any of
these? What do you think…could any of these words of warning be for us? Are we
more like Sardis or Philadelphia, or Laodicea or completely different? Just take
a minute to think about it... [pause]<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Revelation
Part 5 – Chapter 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In our sermon series
on the book of <b>Revelation</b> <br />
we discover one of the <b>clearest </b>sharpest
<b>visions</b>…<br />
of God’s ultimate <b>purpose</b>...<br />
<span style="color: red;">blank slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">not just to <b><u>save</u></b> the world… through the life
death and resurrection of <b>Jesus</b>…but
to put his <b>followers</b> to work… <br />
in the <b>service</b> of his kingdom…<br />
to <b>overthrow</b> the powerful forces of <b>evil…<br />
</b>present in the idolatrous and unjust systems of the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And <b>today</b> we find in Chapter 3 of the book
of <b>Revelation</b>…<br />
harsh words <b>indeed…</b>to the churches…<br />
at what they have <b>become</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Don’t you think we <b><u>owe</u></b> it to ourselves… <br />
to get our heads and <b>hearts </b>around
this message… <br />
to <b>learn</b> from the words of the risen
Christ…<br />
so <b><u>our</u></b> witness…to God’s
purposes is <b>courageous</b> and <b>faithful so <u>we</u> </b>might speak the truth…<b> <br />
</b>to the powers and principalities of <b><u>our</u></b>
world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fortunately John lets us listen <b><u>in</u></b> <br />
to what the spirit is saying to the seven churches in Asia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">First what the heck is going <b><u>on</u></b> in Sardis? <br />
<br />
Well…you see they had a history of complacency…<br />
six hundred years <b>earlier…</b>Sardis believed she was invulnerable that no enemy
could reach her…sitting high as she was…<br />
on her cliff top<br />
<br />
But Sardis was <b>wrong</b>…her lack of <b>vigilance</b> <br />
allowed the Persians to conquer her by stealth. She was humiliated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Centuries later in John’s <b>vision…<br />
</b>Jesus is telling the <b>Christian</b> community in Sardis…<br />
they need to learn the lesson all <b>over</b> again … <br />
<br />
<b>sure</b> they have a reputation for being a lively <b>church</b>…<br />
a <b>vibrant</b>… going <b>concern</b>…a <b>fellowship</b> where things are <b>happening</b>…But
they’ve gone to sleep on their reputation <br />
and need to wake <b><u>up</u></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fortunately for the church in <b>Sardis…</b> it’s not too late…<br />
but they do need to take <b>action</b> in two areas…</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
first Jesus says<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Slide words first reveal<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve found your
deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. <br />
<br />
You’ve lost <b>momentum</b>…<br />
your faithfulness needs to be all or nothing! <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It simply won’t do
to bumble on looking busy<br />
but achieving little. Reputation isn’t <b>enough</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The <b>second</b> charge uses the metaphor of
dirty laundry…yes there may be some who haven’t soiled their clothes…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">to the rest Jesus
says<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Slide
words second reveal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Clean up your act! Or you’ll slip away from me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Their</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> reputation for being alive is no longer deserved…and
if this unsatisfactory state of affairs <b>continues</b>…<br />
then Jesus…who holds the <b>life</b> of the churches…will come…<br />
and just like the Persian <b>invasion</b>…<br />
they won’t know what’s <b>happening…</b> till it’s too late. <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">but there <b><u>is</u></b> a
promise…those who wake <b><u>up</u></b>…clean up their act …and finish the work
they’ve begun…<b>will</b> share in Jesus’ victory over all those <b>things</b>
that drag human <b>life</b> down into the dirt… <br />
even death <b>itself</b>…. <br />
And <b><u>most</u></b> wonderfully…there is the promise… <br />
that Jesus <b>himself</b> will acknowledge them by name<br />
before his father. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ok that’s Sardis… what about <b>Philadelphia</b>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Well…fifty years earlier… the city of Philadelphia was flatten by an
earthquake. Their beautiful ancient architecture…<br />
their magnificent <b>pillared</b> structures… toppled and collapsed …huge
marble Temples cracked and buckled <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Imagine the impact John’s vision on the Christians living <b>there</b> hear
the promise of the risen Christ…I’m coming soon. <br />
Hold <b><u>on</u></b> … <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I’ll make those who <b><u>are</u></b> victorious into a pillar <br />
in the temple of <b>my</b> God. <br />
<br />
Never again will they <b>leave</b> it. And on them…I’ll <b>write</b> the name
of my God and the name of the <b>city</b> of my God…<br />
the <b><u>new</u></b> Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven <br />
<b>from</b> my God; and I’ll write <b><u>my</u></b> new name on them too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A Temple… made of living human <b>beings</b>…with Jesus as the
foundation…a Temple where the living God makes his home. <br />
Hold on…don’t give up…with Jesus <b>backing</b> they’ll have all they need. Hang
in there… in times of persecution keep the faith …keep Jesus <b>word</b>…never
deny his <b>name</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
<b>Yes</b> Jesus has the key… that will open and unlock every door <br />
but they have to have the courage to go <b>through</b> the door…<br />
to grasp the opportunity while they can<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But in John’s vision…the risen Christ warns the church at Philadelphia…
there’s something in the way…<br />
the <b>established</b> synagogues are using their <b>status</b> <br />
to block the advance of the <b>message</b> of Israel’s Messiah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A Jewish community with several <b>thousand </b>members<b> </b><br />
and magnificent <b>buildings…</b>is pitting it’s power <br />
against the young <b>church…</b> <br />
of maybe two or three dozen at the <b>most</b>…<br />
<br />
a tiny <b>movement</b> who are holding <b><u>on</u></b>…to the highly <b>improbable</b>
<br />
and extremely <b>risky</b> claim…that the God of Israel <br />
had raised Jesus from the dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">That incredible <b>imbalance…</b> helps us understand <br />
what is now being said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Slide words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I’ll make those in the synagogue of Satan – who claim to be Jews though
they’re not, but are liars —I’ll make them come and fall down at your feet… and
acknowledge that I have loved you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This isn’t an <b><u>anti</u></b>-Jewish proclamation…but an <b>inner</b>-Jewish
conflict going on…about which group can legitimately claim to be carrying the
light…and here in John’s vision…the risen Christ is clear…those who follow <b>him</b>
are the true Jews. Those who deny him forfeit their right to that noble name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Remember the ancient <b>prophesies</b> foretold a time <br />
when foreign <b>nations</b> would come… <br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">and </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">bow before
the people of Israel <br />
acknowledging the one true God was <b>with</b> them…<br />
<br />
now it’s going to be the other way around. <br />
The followers of Jesus will go through the open door…<br />
<b>they’ll</b> be pillars in the new temple <br />
<b><u>they</u></b> will carry the new name –the triple name of God – <br />
Father Son and Holy Spirit…<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">they</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> will carry the
name of the <b>new</b> Jerusalem <br />
and the new name of Jesus <b>himself</b>… as King and Lord.<br />
<b>They</b> are to be the Temple… and the city where heaven and earth are forever
joined. What is the spirit saying to the church at Philadelphia…keep holding
on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Now for Laodicea…what’s <b>that</b> all about? <br />
Well an <b>earthquake</b> did major damage to Laodicea as <b>well</b>…<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">but they didn’t need <b>Rome’s</b>
help… thank you very much….<br />
you see <b>they</b> were the banking centre of the whole <b>region</b>…<br />
and what’s more they boasted a fine <b>medical</b> school <br />
specialising in <b>ophthalmology</b>…the healing of the <b><u>eyes</u></b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">People came from far and away to <b>train</b> there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As <b>well…</b> Laodicea was famous for a particular breed of black sheep…
whose wool was especially fine. And <b>from</b> this <b>wool</b> <br />
<b>highly</b> sought after …fashionable <b>garments </b>were<b> </b>made.
Laodicea seemed to have it all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But one thing the city <b>didn’t</b> have was good water. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Pipes slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">in fact they had to <b>pipe</b> their water in… over six or seven K… from
hot springs high in the hills. But by the time the water arrived in Laodicea…
it wasn’t hot any <b>more</b>…it was lukewarm and what’s worse… the
concentrated chemicals in it…<br />
made you sick if you drank it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">They also tried piping in clear
<b>icy</b> water from mountain streams but that didn’t help <b>either</b>…the <b>climate</b>
was so hot by the time <br />
it arrived in Laodicea…<b>that</b> water was lukewarm <b>too</b>.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 1.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So you see…hot</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> water that cools <b>down</b> …and cold water that heats up…lukewarm…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">So the church in Laodicea <b>knows</b> what the risen Christ is talking
about when he tells them…with a mixture of sorrow and anger… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Side words<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">You’re</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> neither cold <b><u>nor</u></b> hot. I <b><u>wish</u></b>
you were either cold or hot! So <b>because</b> you’re lukewarm…<b>I’m</b> going
to spew you <br />
out of my <b>mouth</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">My favourite Biblical Scholar Tom Wright<a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%202%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%20Part%205.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
says… spew isn’t too strong a <b>word</b> here. The <b>sense</b> is Jesus is <b>disgusted</b>
<br />
at the taste of Laodicean Christianity…it makes him <b>sick</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Blank slide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And the local colour <b>continues</b> in full strength…<br />
you were rich…you say you’ve done well, you don’t need anything! Apparently the
smug…well off <b>attitude</b> of the town <br />
has rubbed <b>off</b> on the Christians. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They need to take
off those designer clothes and get back into their baptismal robes of pure white…they
need to make a commitment to the life Jesus has called them to. [pause]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">You know there’s a
story that St Theresa of Avila once complained to God about her suffering. And God
apparently replied…this is how I treat my friend. <br />
And right back <b>Theresa</b> said…then you
<b>shouldn’t</b> be surprised you have so <b>few</b> of them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And there’s a hint
of the same humour in verse <b>nineteen</b>
of Jesus message to Laodicea. <br />
<span style="color: red;">slide words<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Those I love I
rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I <b><u>will</u></b> come in and eat with them, and they with me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus <b>won’t</b> punish them to destroy them, but
to bring them to their <b>senses</b>. The
one church that’s in real <b>trouble…</b> <br />
draws from Jesus the most intimate and loving promise. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">blank slide</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps there’s a
lesson in this for all of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus is the AMEN
to the one who stays true…<br />
And at an unexpected hour the master will return home… <br />
knock on the door of his own house…and the one inside who stayed awake…who
remained faithful… will open the door. <br />
<br />
And when it’s all be said and done…Jesus will enter and break bread with
them…the bread of life…will give himself to <b>them</b>…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And when it’s all
been said and done <br />
those who share in that meal around that table…will share his strange sovereign
rule over the world…<br />
<br />
the rule to which he came… not by force of arms…but by the power of suffering
love…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Let anyone with ears
to hear… listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. And now let us reflect
in silence as we listen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
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<div id="edn1">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Diane%20GW/Documents/Diane's%20Documents/Parish%20Ministry/Worship/Pentecost/Pentecost%20year%20C/Pentecost%202%20year%20C%20Sermon%20Revelation%20Part%205.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Once
again I acknowledge the work of NT Wrights book <i>Revelation for Everyone</i> Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
Diane Gilliam-Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15592970275247977551noreply@blogger.com