Holy Spirit 19 May 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Holy Spirit
What do we need to know about the Holy Spirit? That he is God, I suppose, is the first thing. That Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God. That the Spirit of God has been part of the Bible story from the beginning, is another thing.
We Christians can get the impression that the Holy Spirit is a Christian possession who only turned up on the day of Pentecost. Nonsense of course. The difference after Pentecost is that now God has poured out his Spirit on all of his people, not just some, like the prophets.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come as a replacement for himself. The Spirit would stay with the disciples, and not leave them like Jesus was about to do. He would come to continue the work of Jesus (actually it was the work of the Father). That meant continuing to teach them, and continuing to work through their deeds, and speak through their words.
And now?
God's Church
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Other Sermons
{podcast id=144}
God's Church
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on Sunday 5 May 2013
Bible Readings: Deuteronomy 5.22-27; Psalm 11; Hebrews 12.18-28; Matthew 16.13-20
The story of how God gathers a great crowd around himself. How he did it in Moses' day, how Christ has done it, and how we now are part of two gatherings, in heaven and on earth.
Seriously! 12 May 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Seriously!
How does Christ build his church? He uses the church to build the church. The people, that is. All of them.
He builds it in two ways. In the first place, by adding to it those whom he is saving. He saves and adds by means of his powerful gospel, which he entrusts to every believer. To every believer, that is, to whom he has already given his Spirit. Because, of course, it is the Spirit who works in the disciples to tell the message.
This building by addition happens by his plan, according to his schedule – as long as his workers are ready and willing to do their bit. Qualified workers? The other day I helped lay some concrete, working alongside a Trades Assistant. He was much better at it of course. I asked him whether he wanted to study and become a tradesman. No, he was happy being an assistant. But he was a very good assistant. And even totally unskilled me didn’t tip the barrow over in the wrong place.
I think the qualification that is needed is that the workers work.
Seriously? 5 May 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Seriously?
“We are the body of Christ.” Each week we make this claim. Does Christ agree? Well, it was his idea we think. At least his apostles taught as much.
But body in what sense? Are we his body from the neck down, with him as the head, and each of us different parts of the body (arms, legs etc)? Are we the body he owns, cares for, loves? Are we the body which is indwelt by Christ so that we are a kind of expression of Christ himself?
All of these ideas find support in the New Testament. And they all describe something strange and difficult. They all make “we” statements. “We” statements are very difficult to say. Difficult to mean, at least. They imply that what is important is the group. They give priority to the body over against the individual.
The difficulty lies in the fact that we live in a society that gives priority to the individual.
Sex and Marriage
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Other Sermons
{podcast id=145}
Sex and Marriage
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on Sunday 28 April 2013
Bible Readings: Genesis 1.26-31; 1 Corinthians 6.12-20
Sex as the means of joining or uniting two people. Sex outside of marriage.
Sex and love 28 April 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Sex and love.
Do they go together? Is sex about love? Or is it about desire? Or something else? Is sex the natural expression of love? If you love someone should you have sex with them?
It is possible that sex is about something else altogether.
One what? 28 April 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
One what?
What makes a marriage a marriage? Is it love? In our Anglican Marriage Service, the couple are not asked whether they love each other. Rather they are asked will they love each other. Their marriage proceeds on the basis of a vow and promise they make to each other.
What sustains the marriage is that each of them remains faithful to their word. It is their faithfulness to their promise that keeps them faithful to each other. Their promise is that they will faithfully love each other no matter what.
Could they be married privately, so that only they knew what they had promised?
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