Are we there yet? 1 Dec 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Are we there yet?
Advent Sunday can be the start of a confusing time. We know it has something to do with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But with at least two comings to deal with, it is easy to get disoriented.
And that is without taking into account a couple of other comings that are mentioned in the Bible.
Most of us don’t have that frustrated urgency of the children in the back seat of the car wondering whether they have reached their holiday destination before they have even got onto the main highway. Many of us have settled into the frame of mind of the endless serial that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.
A sort of Home and Away religion. So is Jesus returning? After so long?
Notes on Matthew 24.36-44 Advent Sunday 1 December 2013
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Notes on the Gospel readings from Matthew
Notes on Matthew 24.36-44 Advent Sunday 1 December 2013
One of the themes of Advent is the return of Christ. In the New Testament this is linked with the great Day of the Lord that the Old Testament looked forward to. This Day will be a day of judgement and a day of salvation.
But when will it happen? That has been a big question for long time. Jesus gives a very clear answer to the question. He says no one knows when it will be.
In this passage he tells us three important things:
1. No one knows when the great Judgement Day will be (24.36). So this means we should not try to calculate when it will be. And we should be very careful about listening to anyone who tells us that they know. Or anyone who tells us that they have worked out how to tell if it is getting near.
2. The Day will come as a surprise (24.36-41). People will not be ready for it. People will not be able to predict when it will happen. Jesus will come when we do not expect him (24.44).
3. Therefore we must be ready (24.42-44). We must keep watch. Be alert. Be ready. What does this mean? Jesus explains it in the next two passages. We should be doing what we are meant to be doing. We should be serving the Lord in the way he has called us to serve him. We should not be lazy or spending our time doing something else (24.45-51). We should remember the warning of Matthew 7.21-23. We should be praying and looking for him to come. The story of the ten girls warns us to be ready (25.1-13).
26. The faith that Obeys Romans 15.14 - 16.27
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Romans 2011-13
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The faith that Obeys Romans 15.14 - 16.27
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 24 November 2013
Bible Readings: Isaiah 66.19-24; Matthew 28.16-20
Two things about Paul and three things about the Romans that we should note
Christ the King? 24 Nov 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Christ the King?
When Jesus sends out his disciples on one of their practice runs, he gives thanks for what has happened on their mission. He prays to his Father, Lord of heaven and earth (Luke 10.21). After his resurrection, when he again sends out his disciples - this time for the real mission - he tells them that he has been given all authority in heaven and earth (Matt 28.18).
What will he do with that authority? He calls the nations to believe and obey him. He tells his disciples to go to the nations and make them disciples too. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you, he says.
Paul became a disciple a bit later. He too was sent to the nations. He understood that his task was to proclaim God’s great message. A message that concerned his Son, Jesus Christ the Lord (Rom 1.1). He was sent to bring about the obedience that results when people believe that Jesus is the Lord.
Paul thought that this was an important idea. He begins and ends his letter to the Christians at Rome with the same phrase, “the obedience of faith”.
Notes on Luke 23.33-43 November 24
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Notes on the Gospel readings from Luke
Notes on Luke 23.33-43 November 24
We have read a lot about the kingdom of God in Luke’s gospel. We have heard Peter declare that Jesus is the Christ, the King. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, the tension increased. So did the opposition to Jesus. Now, at last, Jesus, whom many thought was God’s king, is being executed.
Luke tells the story so that we understand that this is a story about the King. At least six times the story refers to the King or to the Messiah (which refers to the same person).
The rulers, the soldiers and one of the criminals all sneer at him. Even the charge against him, which is written above him, is a kind of mockery.
But one of the criminals thinks there is more to Jesus than what most people can see. He still holds out hope that Jesus will become a king. He wants Jesus to remember him. And Jesus makes a promise to him.
25. Accept one another Romans 14.1 - 15.13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Romans 2011-13
{podcast id=276}
Accept one another Romans 14.1 - 15.13
What kind of issues are not to trouble the fellowship, How the believers are to act toward one another, and Why they should act that way.
A resurrection people 17 Nov 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
A resurrection people
“A resurrection people” was one of the phrases we heard last week from the Archbishop. The text he gave the young people being confirmed was Luke 20.38, “He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
This week we have a similar idea, one which many of us can recall from the Prayer Book funeral service. “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom 14.8). It reminds me of the text given at my Confirmation from Philippians 1.21 “For to me, to live is Christ …”.
I think they left out the next part of the verse when I was confirmed “… and to die is gain.” Perhaps dying was not thought a great motivator for a bunch of 14 year olds.
But dying has different meanings.
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