Pastor’s Pen
A Stronger Relationship with Jesus
Dear Friends,
I was chatting on homework issues with a parent at school pick up on day and we agreed that it can be a traumatic and sometimes stressful event in the afternoon or evening for students and parents alike. The right atmosphere in the room, and approach from the parent can make all the difference. Is there calming music? Is it fun rather than tedious or difficult?
Most students are hungry when they get off the school bus, so we try to remember to have a snack ready. Then, it’s down to business. The other day, I was helping one child with his arithmetic problems. And to make it fun, we counted pieces of Lego. Sometimes, we’ll use pennies or grapes or chocolate buttons. We soon get tired, and things end up in tears.
Sometimes, I’ll refer to a passage when I’m preaching and suggest that you can read around it or some other text as homework. However, if this is another thing added to your busy schedule, it might be difficult to manage. Perhaps, it could be regarded as interesting or even essential for our faith to get to know Jesus better. Ultimately, that is our goal. Helping each other towards a stronger relationship with the Lord Jesus, so that we might be more effective disciples and faithful church members is our aim.
If you like quizzes, perhaps we could organize a bible quiz night, or a bible treasure hunt. There are many ways to work together on the path of discipleship.
I am keen to begin a new bible study group and will be gathering anyone interested. Friday October 4th at 1.00pm, bring your bag lunch and your love for God’s living Word to our gathering in the in the church library. Call, text or email me if you have any questions or ideas for how we can make it interesting for you.
Pastor Cliff
Love is Kind
Dear Friends,
In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 13:4-13) we find a description of Christian love.
“ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
When described in this way, we are treated to a practical example of love in action, otherwise, we are in danger of sentimentalizing the subject until it loses it potential to be a powerful influence in our lives and in the world.
Love can also empower us to ask for help for those who need it most. Our gospel reading on Sunday, (Mark 7:24-37) tells the story of a mother who pleads to Jesus for healing for her daughter. And when the mother returned home, the girl was healed.
The power of mothers and fathers to fight for their children is one of the most powerful forces in nature. So, I am surprised when the pleas of the parents of Sandy Hook victims or from any school shooting tragedy are ignored by the powers at large. Just this week in Georgia, another shooting atrocity has happened in a school, killing two students and two staff. It is not enough to ask for thoughts and prayers, or to blame the situation on mental health. Lethal weapons, especially AR15 assault rifles and other automatic weapons should be restricted and hard to acquire unless we work in law enforcement. They are not necessary for personal protection or hunting. This seems like common sense to most people.
So, when a mother or father comes on our screens again, asking for an effective response to gun atrocities, perhaps we should take them more seriously with the kind of love that is tired of being patient with thoughts and prayers and instead will get things done.
Pastor Cliff
Condition of the Heart
Dear Friends,
The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 51:10-11,
“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.”
King David was well aware of his transgressions and sinfulness and realized that such a spiritual condition would not allow him the ability to commune with God.
And so, we also ask God for a clean heart to help us align our spirits with Him. Jesus, Himself teaches us in Matthew 5:23-24 about the disease in our hearts that is caused by animosity between our brothers and sisters interfering with our relationship to God.
“23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
Jesus urges us all to tend to those relationships both within the church and any community or work environment that might create a conflict in our hearts.
In our worship this week, our focus reminds us that the condition in our hearts is more important than the observance of religious tradition.
Pastor Cliff
The Hard Sayings of Jesus
Dear Friends,
One of the most useful books in any preacher’s library is The Hard Sayings of Jesus by F. F. Bruce. And this week, we probably have one of the hardest teaching moments in Jesus earthly ministry in John 6:56-69.
When they heard what Jesus had said about consuming His body and blood, and that He was the bread sent form heaven. This was their reaction,
“60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?””
John is not just writing of the twelve but the larger group of disciples. And what they were saying was not that it was hard to understand, but hard to accept. Sadly, many of them began to drift away because they were fair-weather followers. For them, when the going got tough, they wilted, wandered off and returned home.
Jesus had spoken about this response to His teaching in the Parable of the Sower and these behaviors were described in those whose hearts were like the shallow soil when it got hot, and the soil where weeds crowded out the good seed. It is a sad fact that in humanity, there will always be some who wilt under pressure.
Many of you will be familiar with tales from the military or sporting arenas. When the weather is fair, the real character of you and your team-mates is not tested. There’s a saying in the army, “If it’s not raining, it’s not training”. But the true test is when the conditions are tough, that is when you know the caliber of the person next to you.
Away back in my youth, I was just starting out in rugby and I remember my mother agreeing with my aunt and Granny that it would be good for me because it would be character building, and sure enough it was! The same would be true in the rowing squad. For, whether you are locked in the middle of a rugby scrum or have your feet strapped in a boat on the water, there is no way out except to grit your teeth and do your utmost to win for the team.
Jesus knew that not all who followed Him would last the course.
67“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
But their response remained faithful, because they knew that He offered the most important thing, not easy answers or soft options but that He was the real deal. For them, there was no going back, no turning back and no easy way out.
“Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.””
Let us all pray that we never become fair-weather Christians who fall away when we hear the inconvenient truth from God.
Pastor Cliff