Minister's Desk 2nd October

As we discover in our worship services today, our God is a God who seeks us out and desires a close and personal relationship with each and every one of us.  Since the time of creation, through the stories of the Old Testament and to the coming of Jesus Christ and beyond, God has sought to draw all of humanity into a relationship with him.  The bible makes it very clear that God loves us so much that he took the initiative, at great cost to himself, to rescue us and draw us back to himself. 

In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) we find the father waiting for the son to return.  When he sees his son in the distance the father runs out to meet him.  Some people have called this the parable of the waiting father, rather than the prodigal son.  Among the many things this parable teaches, it shows us very clearly the forgiving and welcoming heart of God.

Growing disciples are people who meditate on and study the character of God, and who eagerly seek to understand what he is like and how he acts.  They do this so they can be formed and transformed in the way they act in this world.  In worship today we talk about the passion God has for drawing people into a relationship with him, and the call that we have to do the same.  But there is also another dimension to the all inclusive love of God.  This is expressed in our open willingness to welcome and include new people into the fellowship of our church community.  Whether these new people are new Christians or people looking for a new spiritual home, God loves and welcomes them into community and calls us to do the same.

There are many specific passages that speak of the hospitality that we should offer to guests.  These include Leviticus 19:33-34 (“When foreigners reside among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”), Hebrews 13:2 (“do not forget to show hospitality to strangers....”) Titus 1:6 -9 (“An elder must be .... hospitable”).

As people who have been warmly welcomed by God into his family and into his church, we each have a responsibility to be hospitable to those who come as guests to this church.  Some may come for a period as guests of family and friends, others may be searching for a spiritual home and move on recognising that we do not meet their needs, others may choose to stay and put down long term roots.  Whatever their choice is, it is up to each one of us to act in a hospitable way. 

We cannot leave it only up to those who are on roster nor can we avoid it by saying to ourselves “I’m no good talking to strangers”.  The character of God, into which we are being transformed, is that of welcome and inclusion of the stranger.  In the power of the Holy Spirit, each individual can extend hospitality to our guests.

Ministers Desk 25 September 2011

The fourth aspect of our proposed purpose (Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage) is that of engage.  Here we say that we will have at least one intentional relationship in which we can share faith in the belief that God will lead that person to claim their own personal relationship with him. 

Following Jesus as his disciples means learning from him and doing what he did for us.  Jesus was the one who reached out and drew us into a relationship with God.  It is the very nature of God to desire a close and intimate relationship with us.  In both the Old and New Testament we hear God speaking and acting with a desire and intention that his people no longer be estranged from him.  In the book of Acts we read of the early church as it took the message of Jesus and shared it with many people.  Whilst we may find it uncomfortable we cannot ignore the fact that this same ministry of evangelism is ours today. 

Our preferred method of evangelism is through intentional relationships, where we share faith with our friends and family.  After all, if these are the people that we love and care for the most, don’t we want them to have the very best in life, including a relationship with Jesus Christ?  Relationship evangelism involves deepening relationships with others for the sake of the relationship, not to see them as a project.  In effect we say that we will befriend and love the other, even if they were to say, “no I don’t want and never will want to be a follower of Jesus.”  This is the way Jesus loves us, this is the way of grace.  This way honours and respects the other person. 

Along with having at least one intentional relationship we also need to be cultivating a wide range of acquaintances and practicing a lifestyle of goodness toward others.  This includes being willing to chat with complete strangers, being pleasant and warm to people who serve us, being interested in the lives and sharing conversations with people that we come across infrequently.  We cultivate these encounters, because through them we may find the one intentional relationship that God has for us.

The impact of the purpose on our congregation will be to raise the value of evangelism within our congregation.  We will provide resources and training to help people share their faith, such as the Just walk across the room study we did last year.  We will create groups to which people can invite their pre-Christian friends.  We will pray for each other as we share faith and we will pray for those to whom we are reaching out. 

Yet for us to do these, we need to first have a faith that is growing and of which we are passionate.  When we are being ever more excited by our faith, we will be more willing to share our faith.  Evangelism starts with the work of the Spirit in us, and then flows through us as we participate with God in his work of drawing people into him.

Ministers Desk 18th September 2011

After a break to talk about stewardship I want to return to talking about our proposed purpose of Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.  Please continue to pray and reflect on this, as we seek God’s plan for our future.

The third aspect of the purpose is that we are led by the Holy Spirit to live out (embody) our faith through service that stretches us and challenges us to use our spiritual gifts.  This aspect of our purpose reminds us that service is a key component of being a disciple.  In John 13 Jesus washes his disciples’ feet on the night before his crucifixion.  There is much more involved in this than a simple one off action.  It points forward to the self giving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  At the end of this time Jesus says to his disciples, “now that I, you Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”  It is an invitation for us to enter into similar sacrificial acts of self giving service to God for others. 

Our proposed purpose envisages us each experiencing growth in our faith by having at least one area of service that stretches us and beyond ourselves and allows us to participate in the saving work of Jesus Christ as we make his kingdom known.

I am aware that many people in this congregation have found for themselves many areas of service in which they embody their faith.  They serve in leadership positions of the church and of groups in the church, in worship, through caring for others, being involved in outreach activities, and meeting the needs of people through Community Helping Hand.  We also embody our faith through serving where God calls away from the church.  Many people find that their service is given through their children’s school, in community groups and in giving themselves in other ways for the sake of others.  The key here is not what we do for the church, but the obedience we show to God’s call to serve.

We grow as disciples of Christ through service as we respond to God’s call to do that which we are incapable of doing on our own.  These can be known as God only experiences, where we only fulfil God’s plans through the power of God’s Spirit within us.  I think that it is a great loss to the church and for ourselves when we only do that which we think we are capable of.  It is a loss because when we only do that which we can do, we miss out on experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us.  On the contrary I have known, and I know others who have grow significantly in faith as they have done what is impossible for them, and seen the Holy Spirit make in possible. 

Embodying our faith in service does not mean that we all give the same time and energy.  I have previously said that we serve where God calls us, no more and no less.  This recognises that differences including age, health, work and family responsibilities will affect what we are able to do.  Jesus calls all of us to service, yet what that looks like is different for each one of us.

Minister's Desk 11 September 2011

Today is the last day of the season where we focus specifically on stewardship.  However, if we were to think we stop considering our financial response to God until next year, then I will have failed to do my job.  Stewardship is not about me convincing you to give more of your money to the church.  As I’ve sought to encourage us, stewardship is about our growing relationship with God, and considering what it is that has a greater hold on us than God. 

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)

“So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36)

In these passages Jesus promises his followers freedom.  The type of freedom that he is talking about is freedom that is both spiritual and tangible.  Jesus brings us freedom from sin and its effects.  When we fail to trust God completely, we sin, when we put more faith in anything other than God, we sin, when we live lives that are not worshipful and honouring of God, we sin.  Jesus brings us transformation by the Holy Spirit where we are led to ways of living that are in keeping with the life that Jesus calls from us.  It is a freedom that moves us away from anxiety and doubt and allows us to experience peace and confidence in Christ.

The grace of our God is that he makes heavy demands on us, but at the same time graces us with his strength, his presence, his love and his constant assurance that we will never face anything more than he is capable of supporting us in.  It is also the graciousness of God that warns us of ways of living that are not honouring of him, and which draws us back to faithful obedience.  Grace is much more than just forgiveness of sin, it is the invitation and the ability to live the life of freedom that Jesus offers to us.

So as we wrap up our stewardship season for this year, please remember that this is an all of life issue that we need to constantly keep under review.  In the busyness and complexity of our lives, we can overlook something as essential to our lives as this.  We need to be continually asking and assessing the claim that our money and possessions have on us, and through prayer, study and reflection seeking from God if there is anything that is holding us from completely surrendering to him. 

As we do this we will grow as disciples and will find the joy and pleasure of being part of God’s plan for our lives.  We can experience the threefold blessing of God in our lives, as we grow closer to God; in the church, as it is equipped to do the mission of God; and God himself is blessed as we exalt him with the praise of our money and self.

Please continue to see stewardship as a whole of life matter that is much more than our money.