Today's was an good sermon. Ruth 3. Boaz and Ruth on the threshing floor.
This is a story, it's not commandments, it's not dating advice. It's a story which can tell us about faith. Faith is Purposeful, Perilous, Personal, Promises, Productive, Pausing
What made it good?
The preacher gave the impression that they'd taken the passage seriously and developed their arguments from that passage.
The use of other scriptures was reasonable
The sermon had a structure that made the points easy to follow
The preacher leapt the gap between explanation and application with integrity
It made me think.
It made me want to love God more.
Psalm 77 - the changes we experience in our appreciation of God. These are often down to life's circumstances as our spirits are not immune to physical changes. We can feel we have lost God, but we never have.
We also had the Trinity as a sermon topic, with a discussion of St Athanasius and the development of Nicene theology.
Ours was about how the Trinitarian nature of God was gradually revealed in scripture, about how God is essentially dynamic and how this dynamism is present in and among us.
We also had the Trinity as a sermon topic, with a discussion of St Athanasius and the development of Nicene theology.
Ours was about how the Trinitarian nature of God was gradually revealed in scripture, about how God is essentially dynamic and how this dynamism is present in and among us.
I think it may depend on how they meant “dynamic”—He’s timeless and unchanging, of course, according to traditional Christian theology.
My wife doesn't much like the "dance" analogy as, at the end of the day, you still need distinct individuals to dance together. But I definitely like the idea of a dynamic inter-relationship within the Trinity, rather than three Persons "just sitting there" staticly.
I was fortunate to have a year's lectures by Steve Holmes, now at St Andrew's, at King's College London about 20 years ago. He drew very much upon the Trinitarian ideas of John Zizoulas, Miroslav Wolf and Colin Gunton. I can't pretend that I understood everything, but it was helpful!
We also had the Trinity as a sermon topic, with a discussion of St Athanasius and the development of Nicene theology.
Ours was about how the Trinitarian nature of God was gradually revealed in scripture, about how God is essentially dynamic and how this dynamism is present in and among us.
I think it may depend on how they meant “dynamic”—He’s timeless and unchanging, of course, according to traditional Christian theology.
Dynamic as in the loving relationship between the persons that spilled over into creation. Not dynamic as in changing or developing.
We also had the Trinity as a sermon topic, with a discussion of St Athanasius and the development of Nicene theology.
Ours was about how the Trinitarian nature of God was gradually revealed in scripture, about how God is essentially dynamic and how this dynamism is present in and among us.
I think it may depend on how they meant “dynamic”—He’s timeless and unchanging, of course, according to traditional Christian theology.
Dynamic as in the loving relationship between the persons that spilled over into creation. Not dynamic as in changing or developing.
That makes much more sense. Thank you for clarifying!
The parable of the sower Mark 4: 1-20
This is often preached with reference to evangelism, the different soil types being applied to others. We were asked to reflect upon the different soil types that our present in our own lives
The sabbath, and how "on the seventh day, God rested" really isn't about God putting His feet up and having a bit of a breather after a hard week's universe creation, but is about the work of God being complete. And how the sabbath is made for people to be present with God, rather than to take a break from their daily graft.
We need to have an authentic faith, holding in balance the fact that we are chosen by God with the fact that we have made a response. We know we are saved because there is change visible in our lives. Tell people when you see them changing.
I have to confess I wasn't sure what it was about, but I know my eyes rolled right into the back of my head when the preacher quoted Hitchens "exceptional claims require exceptional evidence" and then waved a Bible and said it was exceptional evidence.
I have to confess I wasn't sure what it was about, but I know my eyes rolled right into the back of my head when the preacher quoted Hitchens "exceptional claims require exceptional evidence" and then waved a Bible and said it was exceptional evidence.
Oy.
Our preacher departed from the lectionary and preached on Mark 3:13-19 (which actually doesn’t appear in the lectionary). Particular attention was paid to the words “to be with him.” “With,” it was said, is one of the most significant words in Scripture—Emmanuel/God-with-us, “I am with you always,” “and the Word was with God,” “watch and pray with me,” and various other examples. “With” reflects community—in the Trinity, in the church and society, between God and humanity. Jesus called others not to do things for him, or so that he could do things for them, but to be with him as partners, in relationship and community.
Possibly the most interesting sermon I have heard for some time. Preached without notes.
It began with an account of a very recent school assembly after D-Day where the question was posed
“ Could you kill someone?”
Answer No, but “What about in war?”……..
The preacher took us back to the first lesson. Adam and Eve: blame, responsibility, conditionality…..
Most thought-provoking.
He referenced the second lesson, conflicts of interest for Jesus and the disciples.
Closing sentence:” You can’t put the apple back on the tree”.
That might be because there is no link. That reading is in the ‘Continuous’ OT lectionary which runs without regard to the Gospel or Epistle (neither of which are necessarily related to each other in Ordinary time).
The ‘Related’ OT reading would have been Ezekiel 17.22-24 about God planting a sprig which would grow into a mighty tree.
The gospel (Luke 14: 1-4) led to a sermon on the theme "blessed by hospitality". The gospels include many episodes of Jesus sharing in meals. These can be an ideal situation to have meaningful discussions and learn more about people. "Entertaining" is often about special occasions, special food, special wine - maybe to impress those people we want to be close to. True hospitality is about sharing what we have, and not just with people who we hope will reciprocate in the future.
"Nourished By Scripture" - God speaks to us in many ways and the Bible is one of them. It comes alive through the Holy Spirit; it is a manual for our lives and a love letter from God to us. We should read it, study it, meditate on it, memorise it and put what it says into practice.
(ETA - the question about putting it into practice when it comes to stoning one's disobedient children was not addressed.)
We've been working through Genesis, and this morning we were at chapter 38 - the story of Tamar. Which was a first for both the minister and congregation, as none of us had preached, or heard a sermon preached, on this story. Two main points. One was that Tamar was a strong woman who in a culture where women had no voice took matters into her own hands to stand up for her rights. Second was her place highlighted in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, and even someone with a hint of sexual scandal about their life has a place in the plan of God.
Talked about how the Kingdom of God is like a seed. Related how I saw this happening in the fields in the area. Then I talked about how the Kingdom of God can be like an invasive weed. Pointed out several weeds in the area we do not want to see in a garden. Focused on how the tumble weed spreads it seed, by rolling along scattering its seed. Concluded God calls us to be like the tumble weed.
That sparked a very interesting after service discussion about all shorts of weeds we find in the area.
Says something when people seem to want to discuss the theme after the benediction. Actually concluded the service with. "The service has ended, but like tumbling tumbleweeds."
That might be because there is no link. That reading is in the ‘Continuous’ OT lectionary which runs without regard to the Gospel or Epistle (neither of which are necessarily related to each other in Ordinary time).
The ‘Related’ OT reading would have been Ezekiel 17.22-24 about God planting a sprig which would grow into a mighty tree.
There’s no intentional link on the part of those who constructed the lectionary. But a link could certainly be made by a preacher.
The problem with the “Related” readings is that the connection is often tenuous to say the least. What can happen is the preacher spends far too long trying to explain the link rather than concentrating on the main message.
I have heard too many Anglican sermons in which the preacher has felt it necessary to tortuously weave all three passages into their sermon rather than concentrating on one and doing a much better job.
I have heard too many Anglican sermons in which the preacher has felt it necessary to tortuously weave all three passages into their sermon rather than concentrating on one and doing a much better job.
Yes. Fair comment. Though I this case it would, IMO, have been something of a stretch.
I don’t necessarily disagree. It’s not something I’d likely spend much time on. But I can pretty easily see a connection between the little mustard seed that has great potential and David, who was small but went up against Goliath and then began the lineage from which the Messiah would come. “Do not look on [Eliab’s] appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
But yes, I definitely agree that the sermon should focus on one reading from the lectionary. The others should only get a mention if it flows naturally.
Paul, Silas and Timothy had an authentic ministry in Thessalonica. They wrote this letter to strengthen and build up the church there. We should follow their example and build each other up.
Prayer. May we be inspired to pray; the Holy Spirit helps us. Prayer outlives the pray-er: some of us may be where we are today because of the prayers of grandparents.
A guest preacher from the charity Stand By Me talked about their work with children in Myanmar (Burma). The charity is one of our mission partners and we receive regular updates from them, but hearing from someone who knows the difficulties in that country first hand really brought the problems home.
We have to live to please God. Holiness is something that we need to actively grow into. It means rejecting sexual immorality (sex is something that God only wants to see within the marriage of a man and a woman - Sex is an idol to the world and marriage an idol to the Church). Holiness at work means using our bodies for God.
I forgot to unmute the mic after the hymn so those online missed out on me linking giving from our abundance in 2 Corinthians 8 with treating our vote in the upcoming election as a gift to be offered in the service of the Gospel (while giving a wide berth to any hint about who one might be inclined to vote for).
Reflecting on Jesus being rejected by his own town, the priest told us how awkward it is when he goes home and is expected to preach to all the people who remember what a naughty boy he was growing up.
God uses unlikely vessels.
Comments
This is a story, it's not commandments, it's not dating advice. It's a story which can tell us about faith. Faith is Purposeful, Perilous, Personal, Promises, Productive, Pausing
What made it good?
The preacher gave the impression that they'd taken the passage seriously and developed their arguments from that passage.
The use of other scriptures was reasonable
The sermon had a structure that made the points easy to follow
The preacher leapt the gap between explanation and application with integrity
It made me think.
It made me want to love God more.
We also had the Trinity as a sermon topic, with a discussion of St Athanasius and the development of Nicene theology.
Ours was about how the Trinitarian nature of God was gradually revealed in scripture, about how God is essentially dynamic and how this dynamism is present in and among us.
I think it may depend on how they meant “dynamic”—He’s timeless and unchanging, of course, according to traditional Christian theology.
Ah, not what I was fretting about then…
I was fortunate to have a year's lectures by Steve Holmes, now at St Andrew's, at King's College London about 20 years ago. He drew very much upon the Trinitarian ideas of John Zizoulas, Miroslav Wolf and Colin Gunton. I can't pretend that I understood everything, but it was helpful!
Dynamic as in the loving relationship between the persons that spilled over into creation. Not dynamic as in changing or developing.
That makes much more sense. Thank you for clarifying!
This is often preached with reference to evangelism, the different soil types being applied to others. We were asked to reflect upon the different soil types that our present in our own lives
Having said that, it was one of those lovely days when the lectionary spoke for itself (doesn’t always happen)
We need to have an authentic faith, holding in balance the fact that we are chosen by God with the fact that we have made a response. We know we are saved because there is change visible in our lives. Tell people when you see them changing.
Our preacher departed from the lectionary and preached on Mark 3:13-19 (which actually doesn’t appear in the lectionary). Particular attention was paid to the words “to be with him.” “With,” it was said, is one of the most significant words in Scripture—Emmanuel/God-with-us, “I am with you always,” “and the Word was with God,” “watch and pray with me,” and various other examples. “With” reflects community—in the Trinity, in the church and society, between God and humanity. Jesus called others not to do things for him, or so that he could do things for them, but to be with him as partners, in relationship and community.
Much better than my attempt to describe it.
Yes, it was disjointed
It began with an account of a very recent school assembly after D-Day where the question was posed
“ Could you kill someone?”
Answer No, but “What about in war?”……..
The preacher took us back to the first lesson. Adam and Eve: blame, responsibility, conditionality…..
Most thought-provoking.
He referenced the second lesson, conflicts of interest for Jesus and the disciples.
Closing sentence:” You can’t put the apple back on the tree”.
The ‘Related’ OT reading would have been Ezekiel 17.22-24 about God planting a sprig which would grow into a mighty tree.
(ETA - the question about putting it into practice when it comes to stoning one's disobedient children was not addressed.)
Talked about how the Kingdom of God is like a seed. Related how I saw this happening in the fields in the area. Then I talked about how the Kingdom of God can be like an invasive weed. Pointed out several weeds in the area we do not want to see in a garden. Focused on how the tumble weed spreads it seed, by rolling along scattering its seed. Concluded God calls us to be like the tumble weed.
That sparked a very interesting after service discussion about all shorts of weeds we find in the area.
Says something when people seem to want to discuss the theme after the benediction. Actually concluded the service with. "The service has ended, but like tumbling tumbleweeds."
I'm in this post and I don't like it.
But yes, I definitely agree that the sermon should focus on one reading from the lectionary. The others should only get a mention if it flows naturally.
Paul, Silas and Timothy had an authentic ministry in Thessalonica. They wrote this letter to strengthen and build up the church there. We should follow their example and build each other up.
I mean you're right but I've probably been guilty of doing that!
The phrasing derives from one of the options when reporting on Facebook: "I'm in this photo and I don't like it".
Authentic bonds of fellowship require genuine love, genuine concern, genuine joy and committed prayer. And please join a Housegroup. Please.
We have to live to please God. Holiness is something that we need to actively grow into. It means rejecting sexual immorality (sex is something that God only wants to see within the marriage of a man and a woman - Sex is an idol to the world and marriage an idol to the Church). Holiness at work means using our bodies for God.
A barely heard last sentence was ‘I wonder how each of us will be recognised and remembered?’
Four points from the preacher
* Don't stay in the dark
* Keep your ears open
* The Kingdom of God may not look exciting
* But it is growing into something gigantic
God uses unlikely vessels.