This week Luke reminds us of a visit that Jesus made to the home of his friends Mary, Martha the sisters of Lazarus. Martha has generously invited Jesus and the gang around for tea and is hard at work feeding her visitors and proving to Jesus what a good hostess she can be.
If we’re honest we can all find a little bit of sympathy for Martha. It’s never fun to be the one left to do all the hard yakka while others sit around and enjoy themselves. Finally when she can stand it no more, Martha storms into the room and demands that Jesus point out this injustice to her sister. About time too, we might think, fairs fair after all! Imagine, then if you will, Martha’s surprise and even shock when Jesus does exactly the opposite and commends Mary for making the better choice. Like Martha, we too can completely miss the point, as we busily try to prove ourselves before God with all our right actions, good intentions and sound theology. Once again Jesus gently reminds us that his grace and love are freely given and can never be earned. Once again Jesus reminds us that far more blessing is to be found in sitting at his feet and listening than can ever be gained through our own efforts to impress. So then are you a Mary or a Martha? Will you spend your time worrying and busying yourself with things and details that in God’s greater scheme really don’t matter? Or will you choose the “better part” and make sure that you are never too busy to sit at Jesus’ feet and let your life be guided by the master. Till next time. Andrew Download this week's readings: Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52, Colossians 1:15-29, Luke 10:38-42 Download this week's pew sheet pdf Download this weeks sermon Ask any farmer about harvest time and they will tell you that one of the most important times of the year is Harvest time. A ripe harvest with no one to harvest it can end with disastrous results. Timing is everything if the farmer is to get the maximum profit from his crop.
It is with a sense of urgency that Jesus sends the seventy two out on their mission. There is it seems an abundant harvest of hearts waiting to be won for the kingdom but few who are willing to go and do the work. Jesus’ call extends beyond the select few disciples and demonstrates that his desire is that as many as possible should be equipped to spread the good news of God’s love. His instructions are clear. The seventy two are instructed to greet everyone in every place with God’s peace. If it is rejected they are not to delay by engaging in pointless arguments, but instead to take the Gospel to others who are open to receive it. A happy farmer is one who has had a bumper harvest.. For the returning missionaries and for Jesus the results of their efforts bring much rejoicing. Those who have been faithful and gone out in Christ’s name do not return disappointed at the results of their efforts. But there is still much work to be done and a huge harvest awaits for those who are faithful to Jesus call. Let us remember to pray for the harvest as we remain faithful to Jesus call for us to go. Matthew 28 Till next time. Andrew “What the heart loves, the will chooses, On first reading, Jesus response to those who are challenged to follow him in our gospel reading this morning, seems a little harsh. But Jesus is unapologetic. It’s no good putting off the decision to follow him until a rainy day. Jesus wants his followers to be willing to give their all to him. It’s no good being half hearted about it, for Jesus it’s all or nothing.
..In John 15:13 Jesus tells us that, “there is no greater love than to lay down ones life for a friend.” Jesus is on the way up to Jerusalem to do exactly that for all humanity and he wants us to be willing to love others in the same way. Because Jesus knows us so well, he knows that left to ourselves there will always be one more excuse. Because he loves us and wants the best for us, he wants us to know the fullness of life and the blessing that can only come from accepting his love for us. So the question remains, just how much do we love Jesus? Does he occupy first place on the throne of our heart or are their other things that we love more? Something to pray about I think. Till next time. Andrew This week's readings; 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 Psalm 77 Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Luke 9:51-62 DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S PEW SHEET PDF Freedom vs Fear. In our Gospel lesson this week, we find both of these factors in play. Jesus and the disciples have crossed Galilee in their boat and have put ashore in the country of the Gerasenes. As they set foot on the shore they come across a man who has been possessed by a whole legion of demons and whose life has been destroyed. On meeting Jesus, the demons are filled with fear and beg Jesus not to send them back to the abyss. Instead they ask Jesus to allow them to leave the man and enter into a nearby herd of pigs, who promptly run down the hillside and drown themselves in the lake. In the presence of the Holy One of God, evil flees and the man is set free. With the possible exception of the pigs and the pig herders, you might expect those who witnessed this extraordinary event to be filled with joy, but Luke tells us that exactly the opposite happens. Instead of rejoicing they are filled with fear and ask Jesus to leave them. Confronted with holiness, the ungodliness ruling their own lives causes them to be afraid. Rather than accept the One who could set them free from all of their fears, they choose to remain in darkness and are unable to face the light. For the one who has been set free, life has begun again and he begs to stay with Jesus for ever. But the light that Jesus gives is light that he wants us to share and he sends the reborn man on his way. ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ Luke 8:39. What will you choose to do with the freedom Jesus has won for you? Will your response be one of fear or will you hold it up for all to see? Till next time. Andrew This week's readings; 1 Kings 19:1-15 Psalm 42 Galatians 3:10-14, 23-29 Luke 8:26-39 DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S PEW SHEET Imagine what it would be like to have all your debts cancelled. In our Gospel reading this week Jesus asks one of the Pharisees to imagine exactly that. Jesus is a Guest at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. His fellow guests are shocked when Jesus allows a woman of dubious reputation to lavish extravagant attention on him as she washes his feet with her tears and her hair and then proceeds to massage them with fragrant ointment.
The muttering behind Jesus’ back is hard to miss. ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.’ Luke 7:39 Jesus is quick to counter their jibes with a question. ‘A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answers him, ‘I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.’ ‘You have judged rightly.’ Jesus says to him. With that he turns to the woman and declares to her that her many sins are forgiven. Once again Jesus has turned the world upside down. In contrast to the religious pride and pomposity of his host Jesus applauds the honesty and humility of he woman. A woman who understands that only Jesus in his infinite love and mercy can set her free from all that is wrong in her life. This the exact opposite of the pride of their host who is so impressed with his own piety that he even dares to look down his nose at Jesus. The contrast between his rudeness and the woman’s gratitude couldn't be greater. Like the woman, we too have been forgiven much. How will you respond? Till next time. Andrew This week's readings; 1 Kings 21:1-10, 15-21a, Psalm 5:1-7, Galatians 2:15-21, Luke 7:36-8:3 Download this week's Sermon Download this week's pew sheet pdf A great prophet has arisen among us. God has visited his people! Luke 7:16 Continuing on his journey Jesus comes to a town called Nain which lies about 4 miles from Tabor and 25 southwest of Capernaum. As he approaches the gate of the town, and with a large crowd following him, Jesus comes across a funeral procession.
A widow is about to bury her only son. Her grief is intense for not only has she lost her only son but also her only livelihood and source of security. But in just a moment everything is about to change. Filled with compassion Jesus demonstrates the power of God’s love and her son is raised back to life. The miracle is unexpected, unrequested and comes not as a result of the woman’s faith but as a demonstration of the power of God’s love. The miracle points those watching to the fact that in Jesus, God has come amongst them and that his love changes everything. The raising of the widows son is not the only miracle that day, for Jesus has also opened the eyes of the crowd and helped them to see. And what do they see? They see that God’s love and compassion are for everyone and not just a privileged few. They see that God is not distant and uncaring and that he is actively at work, in and among us, to bring his love and healing to a broken world. They see that Jesus has the power to change everything. They see a glimpse of what heaven will be like when suffering and death will be no more. and they see the one who, ultimately through his own death and resurrection, will conquer sin so that we too might be raised with him and receive the gift of eternal life. Till next time. Andrew This week's readings; 1 Kings 17:8-24, Psalm 146, Galatians 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-17 DOWN LOAD THIS WEEK'S SERMON DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S PEW SHEET PDF The thing that I love about our reading from Luke 7:1-10 this week is that we get to see something that we don’t usually see in the Gospel’s. Jesus is surprised! Jesus is amazed and surprised, because having worked hard to teach the importance of faith to the people of God, he discovers the greatest example of faith he has ever come across through an encounter with a Roman Centurion. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews describes faith this way; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 So confident is our centurion that Jesus can heal his servant that he knows that Jesus doesn’t even need to come to his house for the servant to be made well. ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ Luke 7:9 ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ Luke 7:9
Of course the enemy of faith and the opposite of faith is fear. “What if God doesn’t answer my prayer?” And so fear stops us praying and faith is never even given a chance. The reason Jesus marvels at the Centurion’s faith is because it is exactly the kind fear denying faith he calls each of us to. Corrie Ten Boom puts it this way, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God!” Of course the best way to grow in faith is to put it into practice as we entrust ourselves to God in prayer. Martin Luther King JR. said that “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” It’s not dependent upon our knowledge or understanding but by having confidence in Jesus promise that he always hears us whenever we turn to him in prayer. Phillip Yancey writes, “I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” So let’s give faith a chance and dare to believe, just like the Centurion did, that when we turn to Jesus and pray according to his will he really does hear and answer our prayers. Till next time. Andrew DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S PEW SHEET PDF ,Trinity Sunday is that day each year when preachers are supposed to tie themselves in knots as they try to explain the workings of the Trinity. To do this they talk of three leaf clovers, cherry pies, hard boiled eggs and ice - water - steam illustrations the list goes on and on. So I hope you’ll be pleased to discover that it is not my intention to try and do more of the same.
In our Gospel reading from John this week Jesus promises us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. And the truth is that our God is three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A truth that the scriptures themselves point us to. In the Great Commission, we read, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus emphasized one baptism into one name - Father, Son, and Spirit. Paul in his letters also makes clear reference to God as three in one. In 2 Corinthians 13:14 he prays, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Trinity Sunday reminds us of the faith that we affirm every Sunday when we say the Creed. That we believe in one amazing God who comes to us in three persons - Father Son and Holy Spirit. Till next time. Andrew Download this week's sermon Readings: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, Psalm 8, Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15 Download this week's Pew Sheet Today we celebrate the birth of the church as God poured out his spirit and breathed life into his church. The Holy Spirit is the helper, comforter or advocate that Jesus told the disciples about in John 14 when he promised he would never leave them alone. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16-17 In the original Greek of the New Testament the word is paracletos. The word has been translated Advocate, Counselor, Comforter, and Intercessor, but each of those expresses only one facet of parakletos. The original readers of this Gospel would have heard the full richness of its various meanings.
As I did my usual google search for an image to paste onto this page I was surprised to discover that Paraclete is now a brand name used for the kind of full protective military armour used by modern soldiers in combat. At first I was a little shocked but the more I thought about it the more I concluded that this was indeed another great image for the Holy Spirit. Because not only does the presence of the Holy Spirit give us life, it also full protects, shields and equips us for all that the world throws up at us as believers. Today as we celebrate Pentecost remember Jesus promise that he would never leave us on our own and that the presence of his Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts means that he is always with us to strengthen and guide us as we go out in his name. Till next time. Andrew Download this week's sermon THIS WEEK'S READINGS: Acts 2:1-21, PSALM 104:26-36, Romans 8:14-17, John 14:8-17, (25-27) DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S PEW SHEET Not everyone will like me for what I am about to suggest but here goes anyway. Our reading this morning from John 17 contains a prayer that I think is the real Lord's Prayer! The prayer that begins, “Our Father,” isn't really the Lord's Prayer, but should be called “Our prayer” or even “the disciples prayer” because it is a prayer that Jesus gave us to pray. I think that the real Lord's Prayer is Jesus' prayer in John 17. In this prayer, as he prepares for his death, Jesus prays for us as he shows his strongest love and deepest longing. It’s an awesome prayer because instead of praying for himself or praying for courage or an easy death, he prays for his disciples and he prays for us. He prays that we may be one. “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” Jesus’ prayer is a prayer for unity, that we might become one with each other and with God. It is a prayer that we be bound together with God. Jesus is laying the foundation of his church and who he calls us to be. If we are one with God, everything will be as it should be. If we are one with God, nothing can shake our faith. And when we are one in God’s love we share his glory as he is truly glorified in all the earth. Till next time. Andrew This weeks readings: Acts 16:16-34, Psalm 97, Revelation 22:12-21, John 17:20-26 Download our latest pew sheet Download this week's sermon |
Rev. Andrew SmithVicar of Light in the Hills |