The Christian hope

2 Peter 1:12-21

If I gaze into the crystal ball and tell you that in ten years time you will receive £200million pounds, what would you say? Would you believe me? What would you want me to do to prove that it was true? If you did believe me, would it make any difference to your life now?

Peter, in our reading, wants to remind those of us who listen to him that there is something amazing that is going to happen in the future. Far more amazing than being told you will receive £200m in a few years time. The amazing thing is this: that one day, it may be in our life time, it may well not be - but it will still effect us; one day Jesus Christ - the Son of God - will return to this world in glory and in power.

We don't know what it will be like. It will not be the end of space and time, because they were created by God and are good, but it will be the end of space and time as we know it. It will not be the end of heaven and earth, because they were created by God and are good, but it will be the end of heaven and earth as we know it.

Later on in this letter, and especially in chapter 3, Peter gives us a glimpse of the day when it happens. He writes (3:13), "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells". It will be a place where things will be right. People will do the right things in the right way at the right time with the right people for the right reason. We will be right with each other, right with ourselves and right with God.

It is not about floating on clouds and playing harps. It won't be like that. I cannot think of anything more boring. Actually I can: an endless church service with endless sermon or endless singing. It won't be like that either! Boredom will be the last thing in this new heaven and earth. It will be a place of of laughter, of play, of work, of creativity and of responsibility, of new adventures; a place of constantly broadening horizons: there will always be more to know and to discover and to learn. There will be things to anticipate and to get excited about. There will be new things that make us nervous. There will be a myriad of new experiences, new adventures, new achievements, new places to go (I have no idea how we will travel) and new sensations. There will be music and football and dancing and rugby and beauty. There will be new people to meet - and each person we meet will be unique and totally free and fascinating and wonderful and they will bring to us something that makes us astonished at how we managed to live without them; and because we have eternity, we do not need to rush away - there will be time to be with people, to do things, to grow the old friendships. And to others, we will be the most amazing and unique and wonderful person that there could be. There will be this sense of intimacy, more profound that any current human experience, that we belong to others and that they belong to us, and that we belong to God and that he belongs to us. And as for the muck that is in us, the sin that wants to make us the centre of things and messes with and uses other people and things to satisfy our own desires; the sin that drags us down in guilt and despair and a sense of worthlessness - it will be gone. There will be no place for evil or mockery or abuse or violence. We will be set free to love and to live, as we were meant to love and to live. And we will grow older, but our bodies will not grow older as they grow older in this world - we will just grow stronger and wiser and bigger and freer. And there will be joy and there will be wonder and there will be praise that bubbles up from our deepest deepest being.

If your idea of heaven is clouds and harps or church services - then could I suggest two books that you could read. The first is called 'The Shack', by William Young; the second is 'The Last Battle', and in particular the last few chapters, by CS Lewis.

And right at the centre of this new heaven and new earth will be a person. This is the vision that we read in Revelation. It will be the person who made it all happen, without whom we would be excluded and who holds everything all together. This person will be like us, just like us - or perhaps it would be more correct to say that we will be like him, just like him. He will be very different from how he was when he lived on earth. 2000 years ago he had a body like us. But in this new heaven and earth, his body will be transfigured: he will be awesome and radiant.


Is it all pie in the sky? Is it all wishful thinking?

That is what many would tell us:

• It is what Karl Marx said, when he said that 'religion is the opium of the people' - a drug to keep them subservient
• It is what some of the teachers in the church to which Peter was writing were saying. They were the scoffers about whom Peter writes in ch 3:3-4: "Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

But Peter says there are two reasons why we can be convinced that this is not wishful thinking:

I'll take them in reverse order

1. Because it was what the prophets in the Old Testament spoke about.

They spoke about the day when the Lord would return. They spoke of the coming day when all that is evil would be judged and condemned, and when the Kingdom of God under the rule of the anointed one, would be established: Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:6-9; Ezekiel 47; Daniel 12; Joel 3; Amos 9. The list is endless.

And Peter says, These prophets were not the equivalent of our science fiction writers. They were not crystal ball gazers. The promises they stated were not the product of a wild imagination. They were speaking as God told them to speak:
Peter writes, v20-21 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

And he talks about this promise being like a small light that shines in the darkness (v19).

In our previous house in London we often had trouble with the pilot light on the boiler. You know what a pilot light is. It is that tiny light that is burning, so that when you turn up the power, the whole thing explodes into life. Our pilot light didn't work, so that when we turned up the power, nothing happened. The whole thing was dead.

Well, says Peter, the words of the prophet are the tiny flame in the boiler. If it is there, if those words have rooted themselves into us, then on the day when Jesus returns, they will flood our body with life.

The message of the prophets, says Peter, is completely reliable.

But the second reason, Peter says, this is not pie in the sky is

2. Because we saw the glory of Jesus (vv16-18)

"For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain."

I could say so much about this - but I'm not!

Peter is writing of the time when Jesus had just told his disciples that some them would not die until they had seen the Kingdom of God come with power.

A few days later Jesus takes Peter, James and John up the mountain and they see Jesus transformed, talking with Moses and Elijah. It was a glimpse of Jesus in his glory. It was a picture of Jesus, Lord of space and time. It was a glimpse of the new heaven and the new earth.

And so Peter emphasizes: We did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power - we saw it. And he is clearly talking about the transfiguration as an anticipation of the second coming of Jesus.


Our Christian faith is not just based on words, but on events: events that happened in history. Events that were witnessed by people like Peter.

We can experience the truth of Christianity for ourselves as we walk with Jesus Christ. As we put our trust in him, so we discover that he can be trusted.

We can experience Jesus Christ, but we did not see him or hear him. That is why we are so dependent on the first followers of Jesus, on people like Peter, James and John. That is why they are apostles, in a unique sense. That is why we read the bible - to remind ourselves of what he said and did; to remind ourselves that even though we did not see him or hear him, there was a bunch of people who did. And they wrote it down.

So we have a great hope: a hope based on the prophets in the old testament, and on the words that are written for us in the new testament. It is a hope that is far greater than anything that could be given us in this world or by this world.

1. It means we can face death with a quiet confidence. Many Christians say that they don't like the idea of the process of dying, but they are at peace because they know that they will be with the Lord. Peter knew that he would die in a dreadful way (Jesus had told him that), but he is still able to write: "I know I will soon put aside this tent in which I live"

2. It also means that we can face life with a quiet confidence: that our faith is based on facts; that this world is not all that there is; that there is something much much more real and solid - and that the way to live now is about reminding ourselves that there is a judgement and an amazing future.

Baptism

Romans 6.1-11

The language of baptism is odd. We don't really have parallels.

It is not simply about joining a club: although when a person is baptised they become a member of the church

It is more than that.

Probably a better way of looking at it is in terms of citizenship ceremony.

We have some friends who came here as asylum seekers from Azerbaijan. Last year A and N went through a citizenship ceremony. They pledged allegiance to the queen, said they would follow the laws of this nation, and they became British citizens. As far as the law is concerned, they ceased to be Azerbaijani, and they became British.

I guess it is what would happen if there was such a thing as an adoption ceremony. The person adopted ceases to belong legally to one family, and they become members of another family. They are placed in a new set of relationships. They even take on a new name.

Baptism is like that - but it is in fact - bigger than both of those. The language that is used in the baptism service is not the language of leaving one to join the other; the language that is used is the language of being immersed into something.

The reason that fonts are so large is because in the past babies would have been dunked right into the water - and in many churches today adults, when they choose to be baptised, are immersed under the water

It is the language of death and resurrection.

And in baptism we are not just joining the church. It is quite literally the ceremony by which we die to ourselves and come alive to Jesus.

It is the ceremony in which we are literally immersed into Jesus Christ. Notice the language: we have been baptised 'into' Jesus.

And that means three things.

1. We are baptised into Jesus death

If we are 'in Jesus', then it means that as he died on the cross, we died with him.

Our old self dies in baptism

"For we know that our old self was crucified in him" (v6)

When we are baptised our old self - the self with its ego and pride and fear and self-centred hopes and ambitions, and its self-reliance - dies. It dies with Jesus

I look at Jesus on the cross and I say, 'There is Jesus dying for me'. But because I have been baptised, because I have been united into Jesus, I can also look at Jesus dying on the cross and say: 'There is my old self dying on the cross'.

Baptism is much more than saying: 'I am going to be a good person - be environmentally friendly - not abuse kids or vulnerable elderly people - give to charity'.

It is more than saying: 'I am going to be a good Christian - come to church regularly - read my bible - say my prayers - tell others about Jesus'.

Baptism is saying: 'I'm a dead person. Dead to me - to my efforts to be a good person or a good Christian - to my independence from God - to my self-appointed standards, to my self-reliance and to my self-interests'

In baptism our old self dies with Jesus.

2. We are baptised into freedom

Paul writes in v6: '... anyone who has died has been set free from sin'.

I remember several years ago, one of our children saying: 'Daddy, there are two mes: there is a me that wants to do right, and there is a me that does wrong. And they have a fight'.

Most of us know that experience. We wish to do right. We do not wish to take things out on our family or friends or colleagues; we don't wish to be knotted up by unforgiveness or jealousy or ambition. We do not wish to be prevented from doing what is right and true, because of the fear of what others will think of us. It is a particularly British paranoia. We do not wish to browse through those websites. We do not wish to be grumpy old or young men or women, constantly moaning and complaining. We don't wish to be caught up in gossip or consumerism.

The problem is that we are. We are, the bible puts it, 'slaves to sin'. And when we do it, we hate it and we hate ourselves.

Well, says Paul, 'remember that when you were baptised - as a baby or an adult - it doesn't matter - the body ruled by sin was done away with. It died with Christ. So you actually have been set free from the power and the condemnation of sin.

The problem is that the old me is like a headless chicken. It is very very dead - but it is still running around, pretending to be alive.

Paul says, 'Count yourselves dead to sin'. If we wish, deep in here, to follow Jesus, to do what is right by God, but we feel the pull of the old self-centred, self-reliant life, we need to say to ourselves: 'Malcolm, A, I, remember. The old you is dead. It has no power over me. It has no future. I do not need to give in.'

The baptised person has, in fact, been set free from slavery to sin.

3. We are baptised into a hope

If we are united to Jesus in his death - then says Paul - v5: 'we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his'

This hope is both future and present.

It is future because it is about what happens after death. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so we will be raised from the dead on the last day.

We live in hope. Death is not the end. It is not just the hope of meeting again after death; it is the hope that what is good and right and true in this world is not destroyed or lost by death. It is the hope that in the end love and life win.

But this is also a present hope

My guess is that many of us here have been baptised but we are living as if we have not been baptised, as if we have not been immersed in Jesus' death, as if we are not dead to sin, as if we have no hope.

We're like the bag lady of Kensington, who had lived on the streets for many years. She used to get hungry and people bought her food. But when she died they discovered that she was worth millions of pounds. A few years earlier a distant relative had left her the money: but she was so used to life on the streets she couldn't handle it, so she remained on the streets. She went on living her old life.

We've been given so much in our baptism. We have been offered forgiveness, freedom, a hope, new life, eternal life. The problem is that we have chosen not to live it.

My prayer for I and for A is that they will grow up knowing what they have received and living it. That will in many ways depend on you the parents and godparents. It is as you live the life that they will see what it is all about.

And my prayer for each of us is that we will live our baptism

Maybe today is the opportunity for us to renew again our baptism commitment. For some, it will be a personal thing. For others it may need something formal. That is why we have confirmation or the reaffirmation of our baptism vows. We publicly say, "This was said by me or for me at my baptism. Now I am going to say it and live it."

The great thing about our baptism is that we can begin to live it now or we can begin again to live it now - whenever now is. I pray that for A and for I, and for some of us who are a little older, today will be the now that matters.

"To us, for you"

Ephesians 3:1-13

We've been looking through Ephesians. It is one of Paul's most important letters because it brings us nearer to the heart of the man than probably any other letter.

In chapter 1, he blesses God for the blessings that have been given us in Jesus: chosen, redemption, forgiveness, a destiny and an inheritance, and the Holy Spirit. He prays for the Ephesian Christians that they might know this destiny and inheritance and power available to them.

In chapter 2 he declares that we were dead, but that God made us alive in Jesus. We are saved by grace through faith. And he reminds the non-Jews: 'you were without hope and without God'. But Jesus Christ came, and in his body he took into himself Jew and non-Jew, and he created a new humanity, a new family - built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. And through him, we both have access to God.

It is all very reassuring for me. Paul is a pastor with two congregations: Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. They are different. They meet in different places. They use a different language. They worship in different ways. They are also dismissive of each other. In fact, in their heart of hearts they are not really sure that the other congregation is really Christian. The Jewish Christians are not really sure that the Gentile Christians are 'proper' Christians because they have not been circumcised and because they do not keep the law. The Gentile Christians are not really sure that the Jewish Christians are Christians because they are a legalistic, exclusivist bunch. And Paul - he is in the middle. He longs to see them come together, not for his sake, but because it is only when they come together that God's plan for earth and heaven will come to fulfilment.

v10 is fascinating: "so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places". It could mean through the preaching of the church, but I think it means that the being of the body of Christ, the church itself - including Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free, old and new, traditional and modern, st peter st mary - is the ultimate expression of the wisdom of God.


And here in Chapter 3, Paul gets very personal. He is in prison. And he is writing to non-Jews, the Gentile believers - and he is saying to them: this stuff that I've been writing to you - this stuff about God creating a new humanity in Jesus, that it is for Jew and Gentile - that is why I am in prison. The Jews didn't like it. They rioted, they tried to lynch me - and because of that I am here.

But he goes on: I had to do it.

1. God revealed this to me (v3), and to the apostles and prophets (v5). It had to be by revelation because this is a new thing that God is doing.

He describes it as a mystery (v3), the mystery of Christ (v4), the mystery hidden for ages (v9). It is a mystery because it has been hidden. It is a mystery because it is not obvious. It is a mystery because we do not know how it works

But the mystery is this - and this is just one way that Paul summarises it - that the "Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise", through faith in the good news about Jesus Christ.


2. God called me to be a servant of this mystery.
I'm nobody - but for some reason known only to God - he called me to go to non Jews and to share with them the 'boundless riches of Christ' , and to make known to everyone (Jew and Gentile) the plan of God - to unite all things, all people, Jew and Gentile under Jesus.

And Paul finishes this section repeating what he has said earlier: through Jesus we all have access to God.


And Paul concludes in verse 13: "Don't get down because I am suffering - in prison. The reason I am suffering is because of God's calling to me. And that calling of God is your -Gentile - glory."


I long for men and women to be captured by the vision of this mystery.
To understand it with our minds, and to also understand it with our inner eyes.

1. It is the basis for authentic unity.

People try to build the house of unity on many foundations: civil rights and constitutions, law, education, technology, a political system - monarchy or democracy, tolerance, 'faith'. We don't need to knock them: the goal of what they are trying to achieve is profoundly right.

Our disagreement is in the way that unity is going to be achieved. The conviction of Paul is that true unity, which also preserves variety, is found when people respond to the good news of Jesus Christ and put their faith in him.

Of course, as the church we do not have the greatest of track records when we come to talk about unity. I am quite pleased that the early church was in just as big a mess as us.

It is all very well saying that in Jesus we find our unity, when we all disagree as to what it means in practice. But on this Ephesians is very helpful: the unity of the church is built upon the revelation to, and the foundation of, the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. Whatever else, our faith has to be true to the biblical revelation about Jesus. One of the answers to disunity in the church is clearer teaching.

2. It is the basis for self-sacrificial mission

There are four key words at the beginning of our passage: 'to me, for you'. (v2)
This revelation was made known 'to me, for you'

The thought is echoed twice
"I Paul a prisoner .. for you Gentiles" (v1)
"this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles .." (v8)

We need men and women of courage who have been captured by the message that all people can become fellow heirs with the people of God, members of the same body and sharers in the divine promise - through faith in Jesus Christ.

The reason that God reveals and that God calls is for the sake of other people. God never blesses a person in isolation from others. He blesses a person for the sake of others.

The reason that God has given us glimpses of understanding is not so that we can live a comfortable life in a little Christian ghetto blessing each other. It is so that we, at the right time and in the right way, 'with gentleness and respect' share with others the awesome mystery that in Jesus Christ there is access to God, forgiveness and new life, eternal life, for whoever comes to him. Even if it means we end up in prison accused of treachery.

This mystery has been given to us, not for us - but for others.

Doubly Mine

A story of Jo and his boat (based on Ephesians 2:1-10)


Young Jo loved making things and he was very good with his hands. He decided to make a sailing boat. He searched for the right piece of wood. He spent hours shaping and crafting it. He smoothed it down, painted it and polished it. He found a stick that would do for the mast, and spent hours getting it just right. He stitched some material into sails.




When he had finished he held in his arms a work of art. He was so proud of what he had made. He was so proud of his boat. He calls her 'My Jewel'


He takes his boat down to the local park, where there is a lake. He puts My Jewel on the water. She sails beautifully, just as she was made to sail.


But then a gust of wind catches her and blows her towards the other side. Jo runs round the lake, but just as he arrives, two older boys snatch My Jewel from the water and run off laughing.

Jo tries running after them, but it is no good. He returns home broken hearted.


About a month later, Jo is walking past the local junk shop. He looks in the window. There, among the broken tennis rackets and cars and old tools, he sees a boat - his boat. My Jewel is battered: her paint is scratched, her sail is torn, and she has a price tag, £30.

Jo walks into the shop. "That's my boat", he said, "I made it. But some boys stole it." The shopkeeper is having none of it. "I don't care who made it. I paid good money for that boat. You can have it for £30 and not a penny less".

Jo didn't have £30. He had £12.37. He asks his mum for some money, but she things are tight. There isn't anybody else, so Jo has to work to earn his £30.


Jo cleans the neighbours cars; he cuts their grass; he cleans their windows. And everyday he walks past Junkies, gazes at My Jewel and says, 'I made you. You're mine'.


It cost him a great deal. When his friends wished to meet up in town to go to the cinema, Jo had to say, "No". When he was offered a ticket to the match to see his beloved team, he said "No": someone had offered him a job cleaning their garden that afternoon. Every penny was saved.




Finally, the great day comes. Jo has his £30. After school, he runs into town and, out of breath, he goes into the shop. He puts the money down on the counter. He says to the shopkeeper, "You wanted £30. Here is £30. I've paid the price. The boat is mine." The shopkeeper takes the money and gives him the boat.




Jo walks out of Junkies holding My Jewel tightly in his arms. And as he walks home, he looks at her and he says, "You're mine and you're mine. You're twice mine. You're doubly mine. I made you and I bought you."



But this is not the end of the story. Indeed it is really only the beginning. My Jewel was not made to be thrown in a junk shop. She was not made to lie in a cupboard. She was made to sail. So although Jo has great plans for what he intends to do with her, just for now he does some emergency repairs and then he takes her to the lake. And Jo says to My Jewel, "I made you to sail. Now sail. But sail for me".

Giving to God (2)

LUKE 12:13-21

I begin with a reassurance: today is the last Sunday that we are talking explicitly about giving.

Our passage this week begins with a dispute about money, about a bequest.

But what is surprising is that Jesus refuses to take sides with the man who appeals to him, and in fact challenges him.

One of the things that I quickly learnt about my job is that sometimes people will come to me in my official role to ask me to support them in their dispute with another person. After a few disastrous sorties, I realised that you cannot do that.

And when we come to Jesus to enlist his support in a dispute, he will often challenge us to look further and to look deeper: to ask ourselves what is really going on.

And he does that here. He challenges the man to look at his motives. And he tells him the story of a fool.


The man in Jesus' story was a fool because he thought that life was about stuff.

Jesus says in verse 14, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”

The man in the story was not a fool because he was rich or because he had had a windfall. He was a fool because he had not realised what life is all about. He thought that life was about having stuff and getting stuff. He thought in terms of £’s and possessions.

Jesus in the next few verses says, ‘Life is more than food’ (v23). Life is about the Kingdom of God (v31). It is about living in the presence of God, under the rule of God, in the strength of God. It is about loving, serving and giving (v33). To gain your life you need to give it away.

And we are fools when we make money our God.

It is a spiritual principal that we become like our gods. If we worship the god of money, we become like money: cold, hard and calculating.

Tom Wright says, "Those who worship money increasingly define themselves in terms of it, and increasingly treat other people as creditors, debtors, partners or customers rather than as human beings.” I would add that if those of us in the church, or those in the charitable sector, make money our God, we end up simply treating people as potential donors or benefactors rather than as human beings.

So Jesus warns the man: don’t make money your God. Money is not what it is all about.

And the man in Jesus’ story forgot that. He thought that wealth, stuff could bring him happiness and security. But it didn’t. He forgot that he had to die. He forgot that he would have to stand before God to give an account of his life. He forgot he couldn’t take it with him.

The man in the story was a fool because he thought that life was about me – me – me

V21 tells us, ‘He stored up things for himself’

There is a problem when we live like that: getting things, keeping things for ourself.

There is a problem for us personally.
Could I invite you to hold out your hand. Imagine that you are holding the most beautiful jewel. Admire it. Show it to your neighbour. Now look at the jewel in their hands. It looks bigger and better than yours. Watch out. They want it. So close your hands and hold onto it tight. Really tight. Don’t let go.

Now could I ask you to let go, and to give them the jewel that is in your hand.
Do you not see. We were not made to hold on to something so tightly. It literally knots us up. We were made to wonder, and we were made to give.

There is a problem for society.
One of the school assemblies that I sometimes do begins with me asking who wants a £2 coin. Of course all the children respond. So I put it down on the ground and say, ‘If (and I stress the word, ‘If’) I said whoever gets it can have it’ what would happen?

We have so much, especially here in the West. And yet we want more, we want newer, we want better. We fight with others for resources. It is reflected in our attitude to Eastern European migrants. When they first came over we said, ‘Oh no. They’re here to get our benefits. They’re here to take our stuff from us’. Now that they are leaving, we say, ‘Oh no. Who will do all the lousy jobs?’

Yes, we give away, but only when we don’t want the thing for ourselves. We give away our loose change; we give away something when we have got better. We take our unwanted clothes or stuff to the charity shop. We send our unwanted and out of date computers and medical equipment to developing countries. And we think we are doing good.

We try to store up things for ourselves, and we are fools.

The man in the story was a fool because he was not rich towards God (v21)

He’d had a windfall. A good harvest. It could have been a bequest, or free shares, or a bonus. But he forgot God

He didn’t recognise any obligation toward other people or toward God.

As a Jew he was called to tithe: to give away one tenth of his crop. It was a recognition that everything comes from God and ultimately belongs to God.

It is God who has given us everything: this creation, planet and life. It is God who has given us our particular start in life, our birth in this land at this time, with our skills and opportunities. We did nothing that influenced when we were born where we were born.

We like this man in the story, even when there are financial difficulties, have so many blessings.

For the Jew, tithing was a legal requirement. It was part of the law. If you obeyed the law, if you gave a tithe, you would be saved.

For the Christian, who knows that we are saved by faith in Christ, tithing is not a law. We do not need to tithe to be saved. But if we have been saved, if the Spirit of God is at work in us, then the spirit of tithing will be in us. We will recognise that everything that we have comes from God and belongs to God; and we will tithe, or at least be seeking to work towards that target, and once we've reached it, we won't stop.

I am drawing to a close.

Jesus challenged this man who came to him to reassess what was the most important thing in his life. He urged him not to be eaten up by money, or the desire for money. He challenged him to be not someone who got, but someone who gave.

I am not asking anyone to put an extra pound in the collection plate today. I am asking each of us to review seriously what we give, so that we can give generously in a planned way. Some people use envelopes. The person to speak to is Robin. Many people use standing orders. There are standing orders at the back of the church.

I am asking us to review our giving in the light of what we have seen these last three weeks.

1. We must not be fools – people who, in our wealth, think that wealth buys happiness and security, and so forget God.

2. Giving is an expression of our love. And as Paul makes it clear in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, as we give we are enriched. Not necessarily with financial blessings (someone once said, "If you tithe I can guarantee you one thing. You will be ten percent poorer"), but with ‘a harvest of righteousness’.

3. Our giving to the church and to the work of Christian mission is the thermometer of what God means to us (not the amount, but what it cost you to give what you did give).

A wealthy man came to a minister and said, “I wish to make a donation to the church of £50. Is that enough?” No doubt he wished for the minister to commend him. But this minister was very wise, and very courageous. He simply said: “Yes of course it is enough, if you think that £50 for you is a true reflection of your commitment to, your dependence on and your love for God”.

May I invite you to think of what you give, and to reflect: Is it a true reflection of my commitment to, my dependence on and my love for God? Is it a true reflection of what Father God and Jesus Christ mean to me?

Giving to God

1 Chronicles 29:1-20

Over the next few weeks we will talk, giving.

Why?

1. We haven’t spoken about giving seriously for three years: and giving is part of Christian discipleship – true when times are easy or hard
2. We face significant financial challenges as a parish. On the negative side, this year St Peter’s has a deficit budget of about £10k, and St Mary’s of £16k. Unless our income across the parish increases by about 60%, then come September 2010 we may find ourselves with one paid clergy and some office assistance. On the positive side, if we can increase our giving to the general fund by 60%, then we could be in a position to employ a second paid member of the clergy or a business manager for SM and a parish community link worker, and maybe even a young person for a year.
Today, we are looking at 1 Chronicles 29:1-20.

King David wanted to build a temple for God. However God had told him that he was not to do it, but that his son would. So David does all he can so that when Solomon comes to the throne, the building can start. He starts to build up the treasure chest. He gives of his own personal resources for the building of the temple, and he asks the people to do the same.

And there are three lessons about giving I’d like to draw from this passage


1. DAVID RECOGNISES THAT THIS WORK IS FOR GOD

He was building a temple, in which worship would be offered.

He was not building a palace or a barracks or an administrative centre or a soup kitchen or a university or a circus.

From a political point of view, it would have made much more sense for David to invest his money in those things.

But David chose to give his money to something that was completely God centred.

I don’t think that we have ever been able to say as clearly as we can today that when we give to the church we give because we believe that God matters

In the past, people could give to the church because it was the church which offered entertainment, music, community, pastoral care, counselling, historic continuity and the only real means of channelling money to people in need.

Today, that is not true.
If you wish to give for pastoral care or counselling, you can give to Macmillan nurses, hospital visitors Alzheimer’s carers group etc.
If you wish to give for community, you can give to one of the countless community groups.
If you wish to give to preserve historic buildings, the key stake holder these days is English Heritage. If St Mary’s ceased to be a place of worship, it would not crumble. It is of too great a historic significance. It would be taken over as a community resource.
If you wish to listen to great music, you can give to some of the many choirs here in Bury

Today, there is only one reason for giving to the work of the church: and that is because God matters to you.

Every £ that is put in the collection plate, or that is paid through standing order, is an act of rebellion.

You are saying: ‘Society does not think that God is important. I disagree. In fact, I am giving to the church because I believe that God matters; because I believe that the worship of God matters; the message that God has given to us in his Son Jesus, matters; and because the community of the people of God matters’.

I often say of my job that if God does not exist then I really am wasting my life: I could do far more for people and earn quite a bit more, by becoming a politician or social worker or teacher or whatever. And if God does not exist then money given to the church is wasted money. It would have been far better to give it to other good causes.

I was reading on the Telegraph website, comments on an article which stated that bishops earn less than experienced teachers, and vicars earn less than newly qualified teachers.

Someone had written: “One would hope that teachers are paid better than clergymen. Teachers prepare children to be productive adults and clergymen do, um, what is they do? OH! Obey some non-existent sky-god”

I am not asking you to give to the church because we look after a historic building, or provide pastoral care and a good community organisation. We do, but other people also do that.

I am asking you to give to the church because you believe that God matters, because you believe at the very centre of this universe, of this world, of history and of society is God.

And for that reason, the money that we give to the church is very special.
We say, and I echo David’s words in verse 1, “The task is great because this organisation, this body of people called the church, is not here for people but for the Lord God.”


2. DAVID ASKS THE PEOPLE TO FIRST CONSECRATE THEMSELVES TO GOD (V5)

It makes sense. If giving to the building of a temple in the Old Testament is quite simply because of God; giving in the New Testament to the work of the church, the people of God, is also because of God.

And so we will only give significantly to the church if we have committed ourselves to God.

It is a biblical principal.

1. We consecrate ourselves, ‘offer’ ourselves to God.

In 1 Corinthians 8:5, Paul writes of the Macedonian Christians, “Having given themselves first of all to the Lord, they gave themselves by the will of God also to us”

The person who consecrates him or herself to God recognises that they owe everything they are and everything that they have to God. They recognise that all their possessions come from God and belong to God.

David’s prayer in vv10-19 is the prayer of a man who has bowed before God.

“Yours is the Kingdom” (v11)
“Wealth and Honour come from you” (v12)

A young politician went to see Lloyd George to ask for high office. He said, “I am a self-made man”. Lloyd George replied, “Young man, you have just relieved the Almighty of an awesome responsibility”

David could have been like that. He could have claimed: “I am self-made. I was a shepherd, but I took my chances. I showed courage. I was single minded. I worked hard. I made wise decisions. I surrounded myself with good advisors. And now look at my kingdom and my wealth”.

David did not make that mistake.

“Who am I” he says (in verse 14), “and who are my people that we should be able to give so generously as this? We are foreigners and strangers on earth. Our days are like a shadow”

When we consecrate ourselves to God, we recognise that everything we are and everything we have: gifts, personality, contacts, opportunities come from him. And we give ourselves back to him.

2. We consecrate our money and the stuff that it gets us, to God.

It is hard to surrender our money and stuff to God.
We live in a society which tells us the more we have, the more we are; the better we have, the better we are.

Please don’t get me wrong: Wealth is not wrong in itself, and we thank God when he blesses people materially. Jesus was supported in his ministry by some wealthy women.

The problem comes when we think that this [hold up money] is mine. The problem comes when we have not surrendered it to God.

Having offered ourselves to God, we need to offer our money to God. We say with David, “It all comes from you and it all belongs to you. Help me to be thankful, but also help me to use it as you would use it, for your purposes”.

When that happens, there are two practical consequences:

1. We regularly, weekly, monthly, yearly, put aside a sum of money for God, for the work of the church. The biblical principal is a tithe, a tenth of what we get. It was an Old Testament principal that was endorsed by Jesus. For instance, look at Luke 11:42.

For the Christian, the tithe is a guideline. For many of us the tithe should be the beginning of what we give, particularly as our income grows. For a person on an annual income of £12000, £1200 a year is significant. For people on £50000 a year, £5000 a year is not quite so significant. We still have £45000 left.

Please don’t be legalistic about this. It doesn’t matter if at the moment we can’t afford to tithe, although I would hope we can make it our target. It doesn’t matter how we calculate our tithe. The important thing is that we have surrendered our money to God, and that we do put aside a significant sum of money regularly for the work of the people of God – the church.

2. Our relationship with God controls all our spending.

Again, there are no laws here. It is about obedience to him, and doing what seems to be sensible, right and loving.

Before, we might have said to ourselves: “I like that painting. I can afford it, so I will buy it.”
Now, we might say, “I like that painting. I can afford it. But actually I have three paintings already. It costs £600 and I think it is right to give £300 away instead.”

So David urges the people to first consecrate themselves to God, and then to think about their giving

3. DAVID AND THE PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED BECAUSE THE LEADERS SET AN EXAMPLE

Verse 9: We have numerous examples of the giving of others to inspire and challenge us

John Laing, founder of the building company, was well known for his generosity. When he died, he left a will of £340

Bishop of Stepney – told us that he would be giving 20%; I guess you could call that twithing:

Ever since university, both Alison and myself have tithed. I guess it is a habit we have got into. We’ve budgeted for it. It is not a strict tithe because it does not include other benefits that we receive, such as free housing. Each month, we give a sum of money to the church through standing order, plus a further sum to some friends working with Wycliffe bible translators in Senegal.

Yes, it has been tight, especially when because of children and the work we have chosen that Alison will not earn. There have been times when we haven’t been able to afford something, although very rare. But it has also meant that we have been so aware of the faithfulness of God. When we have really needed something we have been able to afford it. And I trust that our children are not going to be scarred for life.

And there are many people here who give sacrificially. In 2007 at SP, £22000 was donated by 20 people/families. It means that 20 people are giving over £1000 pa each to the church.

It isn’t just about generosity in terms of financial giving. So many Christian leaders are willing to work for a tiny salary in comparison to what ‘the world’ is offering. I was talking with a minister who is willing to work full time for £13k. At the moment, it is the only income she and her family have. Many people offer their services unpaid – whether in an official role or simply as a volunteer.

So I would ask you to follow the example of those who lead, and to use it as a benchmark for our own giving.

So three reasons for giving
1. It is about God
2. It is about first giving ourselves and all we have to God
3. Be encouraged by your leaders

It is part of my own experience, and I have heard it repeated over and over again, that when we dedicate ourselves and particularly our money to God, and when we start tithing, we are taking God seriously. We’ve actually shown that we mean business with God. And we discover that when we take God seriously, God begins to take us seriously.

Parish AGM talk 2008

1 Peter 2:4-12

This is the year that we celebrate 150 years of worship and witness at St Peter’s.

So far we have had the new year’s eve party, the service of dedication, and the LIFE exhibition. There are still many events to look forward to: the flower festival, Clive Paine’s talk on the history of St Peter’s, the history booklet, the Andy Flannagan concert, the actual anniversary weekend and the pantomime.

But as part of those celebrations, and recognising the planting of St Peter’s was part of the mission of St Mary’s all those years ago, this is also a year that we are focussing on mission.

Mission is the atmosphere of the church. It is our purpose and our life blood. And whether mission is happening through people sharing the good news with visitors to our churches or the Hyndman centre or with friends and colleagues, or whether it is happening through people in our groups reaching out to others, or whether it happens in the big set pieces when we proclaim Christ – my hope is that this year we will drink deep of the call to ‘Go and make disciples’.

Our reading from 1 Peter is very much about this: We have been chosen ‘to declare the praises of God who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light’ (v9b).

And we do that when we sing God’s praises, when we declare to one another how good God is and when we speak to others of our wonderful God.

And evangelism can be and should be so natural. I hope that those who have done the Lost for Words course have discovered that. And our verse for the year, which comes from 1 Peter 3:15 makes that so clear. [1 Peter 3:15]
We’re just telling people

• why as a community when 19 people have died in the past year we do not despair;
• why when we have so many people suffering with particularly vicious forms of cancer we do not give up;
• why when others are anxious about credit crunches or seeking to get more money we’re talking about increasing giving;
• why when others are hung up with either denying the existence of sin or trying to cope with the guilt they are told they shouldn’t have – we have nothing to hide, nothing to prove: because we know that God knows us and still has forgiven us;

why when people despair about the state of the world today, we know that God is still in control.

And it is nothing to do with us. It has everything to do with our awesome God.

And it is this God who

1. has brought us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

It doesn’t mean we have all the answers. It simply means that we are living in a new light.

I quoted Eugene Peterson this morning who said, “The Christian life is going to God. In going to God, Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water, shop in the same stores, read the same newspapers, are citizens under the same government, pay the same prices for groceries and gasoline, fear the same dangers, are subject to the same pressures, get the same distresses, are buried in the same ground.
The difference is that each step we walk, each breath we breathe, we know we are preserved by God, we know we are accompanied by God, we know we are ruled by God.”

2. has made us a people: “A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God” (v9)

They are all references to people together. God did not make us to be little individuals in a me-centred universe. He made us to be a people. God’s purpose for creation is the church, the people of God.

Jesus prays that we might be one, just as he is in the Father and the Father is in him.
It doesn’t mean that we have to always meet together and learn together. We are different. We come from different backgrounds, have different interests, different musical preferences, different likes and dislikes.

The fact that we have different congregations that appeal to different people is OK. It is actually what has always happened, but maybe we haven’t been so honest about it.

But it is only OK – so long as we recognise that our particular congregation is provisional and periphery. It is not what is at the centre of it all, and one day it will be blown away.

The one who unites us is the cornerstone, the Living Stone, Jesus Christ. He is the one on whom we build. He is the one who chose us to be his people; he is the one who made us a royal priesthood [combining both the royal role and the priestly role of the Old Testament]; he is the one to whom we belong.

That is why, even though we worship at different places in different times, we need to support each other, to encourage each other, to build each other up.

There are two areas that I wish to focus on how this can be worked out.

1. finance. At my second AGM I compared the giving of St Peter’s and St Mary’s. A number of our older and wiser members warned me that that was not wise. They are right. If we are to financially live the idea of being a royal priesthood and a holy nation, if we are to financially live supporting and building each other up, then we need to see our giving as being to the Church as a whole – not just to part of it: the congregation or the parish or the diocese. Yes, as a parish we do need to see giving increase 60% by 2010 if we are to have two clergy posts – but if our giving does increase by that amount then it means that we can also help to support the wider church.

2. prayer. I do wish to commend to you the parish prayer meeting. It is the opportunity to come together, once a month, to pray for each other, and to pray for the particular mission focus for that month. And I would encourage parish office holders, if you are not doing anything on that Wednesday evening, to join us as we pray. Don’t worry if you think that it will not be your ‘style’. We simply meet, have some input and then pray together.


Of course there are many things that are best done on a congregational level, on a parish level and on a regional level. For instance, pastoral care is best done on a congregational level. But there are many things that we can do as a parish that we cannot do at the congregational level: I think of youth work, and I still have an ambition for central teaching and learning courses. So, for instance, later in the year, John Pearce will be doing a session on ‘Growing older and serving God’. And there are things that we can do at a regional level that we cannot do at a parish level: memorial service, BCY, Sporting 87. And I do commend the work of Bury Churches together.
One of the real blessings of living in a time when church numbers are falling but commitment is rising is that we do begin to realise just how much we need each other.

We live in a time that is not more me-centred than any other time. Each age is in rebellion against God. But it is certainly more openly me-centred.

We need to be particularly careful that as we have different congregations we do not simply sell out to the me-centred world that we live in.

The way that we do that is by focussing again on the living stone, the one on whom Mary and Peter built their lives; the one for whom St Mary was built and St Peter was built. He is the one who makes us brothers and sisters in the family of God, fellow citizens in the nation of God and co-workers in the business of God.

3. has showed us mercy (v10b)

The reason that God chose us was not because we were able, clever or good. Far from it: he chose us because we were and are nobodies, weak, foolish and sinful. He chose us because he longed to lavish his mercy on us.

God pours his mercy on us – lavishly, abundantly.

It is because of this mercy that we can serve him, ‘offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (v5b)

It is because of his mercy to us that we can show mercy to others [v12].

That is done by many people in many different ways.
But as a parish I long to see us operating a parish ministry of service.

That is why I would love to see the Hyndman Centre developed to be a place that
enables us as a parish to have a ministry of service.

The key is not so much the building, but a person who has the time to enthuse, equip and support members of our parish community in acts of mercy. Having said that, it seems to me to be critical that we develop the Hyndman Centre – so that as a parish we can support groups in showing works of mercy and we can also provide those initiatives ourselves. I have in mind sessions for people with learning disabilities; and for those caring for them; a development of the lunch and chat ministry and groups for parents and babes and toddlers; a drop in for homeless people; a meeting space for older people – where they can play carpet bowls or do keep fit or simply get together; space for young people – where they can hang out but also be encouraged by men and women working with them. One of the most urgent needs today is for young people to be able hang around with positive older role models.


I don’t even begin to know how this will happen. We need to find at least £600k for the building. People ask me if this will be supported by people at St Mary’s. I don’t know. I do know that this sort of work can never really happen in St Mary’s and that an annex is out of the question, and I also know that if it is to happen, the project has to be supported and owned by people at St Mary’s as well as St Peter’s – and I also know from my experience in my previous parish - that if together we get behind this, if we offer this sort of ministry, then it will result in the growth of our congregations, in the showing of mercy, and in praise given to God.

On Saturday May 10th, from 10 to 12:30 we will be having a session in the Hyndman Centre looking at how we have got to where we are, looking at plans and seeing how we can and whether we should take things further – and I invite you to join us.


We have an amazing God.

He chooses to take slave peoples, nobodies, people unaware of mercy, people who are lost – and he delights to make us his people, his royal priesthood
He lavishes on us his love and his mercy.

My prayer is that we might have the courage to declare – in our worship services, in our conversations and in our works – the praises of our wonderful God who calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light.