Be Careful.

In Hebrews there are many sobering warnings...this is one of them...

..."we must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." (Hebrews 2:1)

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

A Sign Of Grace And Love.

God is indeed a God of grace and love.

We see in Lamentations 3:31,32...

"for men are not cast off by the LORD forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love."

That is a great thing to be reminded of.

We see an example of God's love and mercy in the account of the Hebrews escaping from Egypt in Exodus. God gave the Pharaoh chance after chance but he refused the grace and mercy of God.

It is great to know that God gives us all a chance.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

A Recipe For Ungodliness!

2 Timothy 2:16

"Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly."

What is godless chatter, any clues?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Wisdom Of Habakuk 2

How often have we leaned on this verse to remind us of the greatness of God in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakuk 3:17-18)

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Wisdom Of Habakuk 1

What do we have to look forward to?

Habakuk 3:14 tells us....

For the earth will be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Scripture Union Motto.

The Scripture Union Motto comes from Psalm 119 verse 105.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path"

Could you imagine going for a walk in the bush, at night, without a torch?

Of course not.

In the same way, can you imagine walking through life without God's Word?

And yet, many do not bother with the Word of God.

Many people who would call themselves believers do not bother with the Word of God.

I hope you are not one of those!

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

A Description Of Our Times.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Sermon Preached On 23rd October 2011 Matthew 22:34-46

In our Gospel lesson today, a Pharisee asked Jesus.

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

To appreciate the significance of that question, you need to know that there were 613 laws in the Hebrew law.

Of these, 365––were "thou shalt nots".

They told you what NOT to do.

248––were "thou shalts" –– things you were supposed to do.

Of course, the Ten Commandments boiled down the law quite a bit.

God had written those laws on tablets of stone because of their importance.

But which of those commandments was most important––"You shall not steal"––"You shall not commit adultery"––"You shall not murder."

Most of us would agree that "You shall not murder" is more important than "You shall not steal."

But which law was greatest?

That's what this Pharisee was asking Jesus to tell him.

To understand what this Pharisee was trying to do,

we need to remember what had just happened.

The Pharisees had already decided to arrest Jesus,

but they had to hold off because Jesus was popular with the crowds (21:46)––

so the Pharisees decided to embarrass Jesus in front of the crowds.

They had just asked Jesus a question about paying taxes,

a question almost guaranteed to get Jesus into trouble­­––

but Jesus handled it amazingly, embarrassing the Pharisees (22:15-22).

Then the Sadducees asked a question about the resurrection––

but Jesus turned that one on them too (22:23-33).

The Pharisees and the Sadducees didn't agree on much, but they did agree on one thing.

They agreed that they would have to stop Jesus.

So this Pharisee decided to give it another go.

He asked Jesus this question, "Which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

Matthew tells us that he asked the question to test Jesus.

The Pharisee's intent went far beyond normal "testing," however.

He wanted to expose Jesus publicly––

to show the crowd that Jesus wasn't really a prophet.

This question seems innocent enough.

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

Jesus answered,

"You shall LOVE the Lord your God

with all your HEART,

and with all your SOUL,

and with all your MIND" (v. 37).

The answer shouldn't have surprised the Pharisee.

This was the great commandment that Moses had given the Israelites as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Moses gave them this commandment,

and then told the Israelites to talk about it and to teach it to their children. He said:

"Bind (these words) as a sign on your hand,

fix them as an emblem on your forehead,

and write them on the doorposts of your house

and on your gates" (Deut. 6:8-9).

"You shall LOVE the Lord your God

with all your HEART,

and with all your SOUL,

and with all your MIND."

The Israelites called this commandment the Shema (sha-MAH),

they recited it twice a day as part of their prayers.

This commandment was part of their daily lives.

So Jesus said, "This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (vv. 38-39).

And then Jesus added, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (v. 40).

With these two commandments, Jesus did a marvelous job of giving this Pharisee––and us––the whole law in a nutshell.

"Love God. Love your neighbor." There it is––the Jewish Law––all 613 Jewish laws summarized in only five words. "Love God. Love your neighbor."

• If you love God, you will want to do whatever you can to please God.

• If you love God, you will want to learn as much as possible about God so that you can align your life with God's will.

• If you love God, you will, when in doubt, check the scriptures for guidance.

• If you love God, you will try to do what God wants you to do, whether that's convenient or not.

• If you love God, your love will serve as a homing beacon that keeps you on course to do God's will.

When farmers plowed with horses and donkeys,

they prided themselves on plowing straight furrows.

Getting their furrows perfectly straight was a kind of art––

an art that would be on display for a full year.

If their furrows were crooked,

they would be there for a year, silently mocking the farmer's skill.

The question, then, was how to insure straight furrows.

The answer had to do with fixing one's eyes on a point in the distance––

a tree or a big rock.

If the farmer kept his eyes fixed on that point from one end of the furrow to the other,

the furrow behind him would be straight as an arrow.

If he twisted around to look at the furrow behind him,

the furrow would have a kink in it from that point forward.

"Love God!" That commandment serves as a fixed point on the horizon so that we steer our lives straight and true.

• We know that God doesn't want us to commit adultery,

so if we love God we will be faithful to our husband or wife.

Just imagine how much pain we will spare ourselves––and our spouse––and our children––especially our children––if we love God enough to remain true to our wedding vows.

• We know that God doesn't want us to steal,

so if we love God we will make a real effort not to take something that belongs to someone else.

That leads us into the second commandment, "Love your neighbor!"

Jesus said that this second commandment is as important as the first commandment, "Love God!"

In fact, John tells us that loving God leads naturally to loving our neighbor. He says,

"Those who say, 'I love God,'

and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars;

for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen,

cannot love God whom they have not seen" (1 John 4:20).

Then he goes on to say:

"The commandment that we have from him is this:

those who love God must love their brothers and sisters too"

(1 John 4:21).

The question, then, is how can we do that?

There are people who are very difficult to love––you know that too.

If we define love as warm and fuzzy feelings toward the other person,

then we will find it difficult to have warm and fuzzy feelings towards everyone.

But the New Testament was written in Greek, and the Greeks had several words that we translate "love."

• One of those words was "eros," which is romantic or sexual love.

• A second word was "philos," which we usually translate "brotherly love.

• The word that is used most often in the New Testament is "agape"

––and agape is the word that is used in our Gospel lesson.

Agape love is more a "doing" word than a "feeling" word.

Agape requires action––requires us to demonstrate our love in some practical fashion.

That is exactly what God has done for us,

He has demonstrated His love for us.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own (agape) love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us.”

The person who loves God will try to do what God wants him or her to do––

They will submit to Christ

and ask Him that His death might cover them

they will worship God

they will seek out ways to serve.

agape love requires some sort of practical expression.

Those who love their neighbor with agape love will do what they can to help their neighbor.

They will feed the hungry

n give drink to the thirsty

n welcome the stranger

n clothe the naked

n visit the sick and the person in prison (see Matthew 25:31-46).

Those are the kinds of things that we will do if we truly love our neighbor with agape love.

That might seem hard - and it is,

but it has its built in rewards.

There is a Christian writer called Philip Yancey.

He has some terrific books.

Writing has given him the opportunity to interview all sorts of people

he calls them “stars” and “servants”.

• By STARS, he means famous football players, movie actors, TV personalities, and the like.

• By SERVANTS, he means people like Dr. Paul Brand, who served as a physician to lepers in India

other missionaries who leave the comforts of home to serve God in remote parts of the world.

Yancy talks about the troubled lives that many of the stars lead––broken marriages, drugs, and the like.

Then he talks about the servants.

This is what he writes:

"I was prepared to honor and admire these servants,

to hold them up as inspiring examples.

I was not, however, prepared to envy them.

But as I now reflect on the two groups side by side, stars and servants,

the servants clearly emerge as the favored ones, the graced ones.

They work for low pay, long hours, and no applause,

'wasting' their talents and skills among the poor and uneducated.

But somehow in the process of losing their lives

they have found them."

Jesus says, "Love God. Love your neighbor."

If we do that, we will be doing God's will.

If we love God and neighbor, God will keep our lives on track.

If we love God and neighbor, God will bless us in ways that we can hardly imagine.

"Love God. Love your neighbor."

That is what God wants of us.

Advice From Proverbs.

"If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the LORD will reward you."

Does this passage ring any New Testament bells for you?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Boy Scout Stuff!

Have you ever lit a fire? I saw a DVD the other day of Bear Grills starting a fire with two sticks.

I am not sure how long it took him because the camera was obviously turned on, then off, then on again. But it was hard work - even for the very fit BG.

In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul writes to Timothy and encourages him to "fan into flame the gift of God".

Is that easy? No! It might take us many years and a lot of spiritual perspiration. Is it necessary? Yes, because God has given us "a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (v.7)

TFTD: We have been "saved and called to a holy life" (v.9)

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Words Of Advice From God.

1 Timothy 6

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

What Some People Do!

Anyone who has been a Christian for any length of time will know that it is hard.

Jesus knew, when He talked about the road of obedience being narrow, while the road leading to destruction being wide.

I am up to 1 Timothy in my readings and today I see that Paul is reminding Timothy of the fact that it is very easy to get off track.

And so we read....

"Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan." (1 Timothy 5:15)

I wonder if they know that is what they are doing OR, because Satan is the father of all liars, and can make a lie sound like the truth....that they are actually completely deceived.

TFTD: Let it not be us.

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Protection For Us.

In 1 Timothy 4:1 we read this....

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."

Paul then, throughout that Chapter gives Timothy some very valuable advice on how to protect our faith.

Verse 7 "train yourself to be Godly"

Verse 13 "devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, and to preaching and to teaching."

Verse 15 "Be diligent.....watch your life and doctrine closely...persevere...."

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

God's Desire For Humanity.

We find that in 1 Timothy 2:4...

"God our Saviour.....wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

That seems clear enough, doesn't it?

Have a great day,

Peter Clark.

Sermon Preached on 16th October 2011 Matthew 22:15-33

In our Gospel lesson today, the Pharisees set a trap for Jesus, but he neatly dodges it, embarrassing the men who were trying to trap him.

To understand what was going on, it helps to look back a day or two.

Jesus had come into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the roar of the crowds shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! (21:9).

When anyone asked what was going on, the people said,

"This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee" (21:11).

Keep in mind that Jerusalem was the home of the temple––

the priests ran the temple––

and the scribes and Pharisees made the rules.

These religious professionals were used to people deferring to them––

asking them for their opinion ––

giving them the best seats at banquets––

showing them respect.

It offended these religious professionals greatly when Jesus came in from Galilee from the sticks––

and people turned their attention to him

There was a lot of jealousy.

On his triumphal entry into Jerusalem,

He had received the reception of a returning monarch

who had been successful in war

Then Jesus had gone to the temple,

where he drove out the moneychangers and the people who were selling animals.

What a slap in the face to the priests, who were charged with the affairs of the temple!

Who was this young upstart, anyway!

By what authority did he do such a thing? (21:23).

So the religious professionals began to plot ways of bringing Jesus down a notch or two.

They wanted to arrest him––

after all, he was guilty of disturbing the peace––

but they were afraid of the crowds,

who regarded Jesus as a prophet.

Jesus was massively popular.

But there's more than one way to skin a cat––

and there was more than one way to bring Jesus down.

These religious professionals decided to start by undermining Jesus' authority.

They would ask him questions––

clever questions––

questions that Jesus could not answer without getting himself in heaps of trouble.

If Jesus answered one way,

he would get himself in trouble with the Romans.

If he answered the other way,

he would get himself in trouble with the crowds.

Our Gospel lesson today is the first of four attempts by the Pharisees to trip up Jesus.

In this first attempt, they were a bit cowardly––

but very, very clever.

The Pharisees were smart, and it shows here.

In the previous chapter they had tried before to stop Jesus (see 21:23-27),

and were publicly humiliated for their efforts––

so this time they decided to send in their disciples––

young men who served as apprentices to the Pharisees.

Someday these young men would be Pharisees themselves––

and powerful––but right now they were just eager young men.

But the Pharisees didn't send these young men against Jesus without careful preparation.

They crafted a question that was almost guaranteed to bring Jesus down

But first they would butter up Jesus with praise:

"Teacher, we know that you are sincere,

and teach the way of God in accordance with truth,

and show deference to no one;

for you do not regard people with partiality" (v. 16).

That should soften Jesus up.

That should get him to lower his guard.

After all, we all love to hear things like that.

Then they asked:

"Tell us, then, what you think.

Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" (v. 17)

Good question - the answer is either yes or no

"Yes, it is legal to pay taxes to Caesar" or

"No, it is not legal."

It is a trick question.

If Jesus says, "Yes, it's legal to pay taxes to Caesar," he will put offside the crowds who have been supporting him.

They hate this tax.

The amount is substantial––about one day's wage.

But these people also hate the Romans––and they hate paying taxes to Rome.

Then there is another problem.

They have to pay this tax with a denarius coin,

and the denarius coin has a picture of Caesar on it––

and that violates one of the Ten Commandments––

the commandment against graven images.

So if Jesus says, "Yes, it is legal to pay taxes to Caesar,"

the people will quickly turn against him because of this graven image on the coins.

Once Jesus has lost the support of the people,

then the Pharisees can arrest him and bring things under control.

But if Jesus says, "No, it is not legal to pay taxes to Caesar," that's even better.

Then the Romans will arrest Jesus for sedition and crucify him.

Problem solved!

So it doesn't matter whether Jesus says Yes or No, he'll be in big trouble with someone.

But Jesus understood what they were trying to do, so he said:

"Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?

Show me the coin used for the tax."

So they handed him a coin.

Jesus looked at the coin and asked, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"

Jesus says, "Whose image is this?"

And they answered, "Caesar's"

So Jesus said:

"Give back therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,

and (give) to God the things that are God's" (v. 21).

Listen to that again. "Give back therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's."

The words "give back" are important.

The coin had been minted at Caesar's command.

It had been minted in Caesar's mint.

It had been minted in Caesar's image.

It was Caesar's coin, so it was all right to give it back to Caesar.

But then Jesus said, "But give back to God the things that are God's."

What is it that belongs to God?

Well, I guess that everything belongs to God.

The Pharisees and the disciples of those Pharisees belonged to God.

The people in the crowd belonged to God.

We belong to God––because just as that coin was made in Caesar's image,

so also we are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27).

So even as Jesus was giving these disciples of the Pharisees permission to give the coin back to Caesar,

he was also calling them to give themselves to God––

to give all that they were and all that they had to God.

He was saying, "Give this little thing––this unimportant thing––this coin––to Caesar,

but give this big thing––your life––to God."

He was challenging them to a level of devotion they had not yet considered.

And Jesus does the same for us.

He tells us to pay our taxes and to obey our laws.

He tells us to respect other people––even to love them––even when they are neither respectable nor lovely.

He tells us that we are earthly creatures living in an earthly realm.

BUT––and this is important––BUT Jesus reminds us that we are not JUST earthly creatures,

but that we are heavenly creatures as well––

created in the image of God––

sons and daughters of God––

intended to live in the kingdom of God.

For the moment, we are in the uncomfortable position of having one foot in the kingdom of this world and the other foot in the kingdom of God.

That's why we feel so torn now and then.

We feel the pull of earth's gravity––of the world's temptations––

and at the same time we feel a Godly pull in a heavenly direction.

Don't you sometimes feel torn between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God?

Even the great Apostle Paul felt this tension. He said,

"I do not understand my own actions.

For I do not do what I want,

but I do the very thing I hate….

Wretched man that I am!

Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

(Romans 7:15, 24).

But then he concludes by saying that he has found the answer––and the answer is Jesus.

He says, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25)––because Jesus had delivered Paul from his sins.

Jesus has delivered us from our sins as well.

If we will do what Jesus told those Pharisees to do––

if we will give to God the things that belong to God––

if we will dedicate ourselves to God's service––

then he will help us to steer safely through this world's maze of potholes.

So live in this unholy world as a man or woman or child who has given yourself to God.

Live in this unholy world as a point of light.

Live in this unholy world in such a way as to bring to it - a bit of holiness.

Live in this unholy world in such a way that you "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (5:16). Amen.

Could I put a PS (a post script) at the end of this sermon.

I know that many of you (probably nearly all of you) have been Christian believers for many, many years,

But I also believe that “church” is a mixture of people,

And so there are people that come who are still exploring faith,

That is more than OK – that is good – excellent in fact.

If there are any of those here,

Then I have to present you with the opportunity to cross over – into belief.

That can happen simply by us praying a prayer something like this:

“Lord, I want to be a follower of yours, a child of yours. I know that Jesus was sent into this world to die on the cross for the sins of all who come to Him. Please forgive me and give me new life.”

If you pray in words something like that,

You have crossed over into belief/eternity,

And from then on you can know for sure and certain that you have salvation.

And so this morning, I want to pray that prayer and give anyone the opportunity to come to God.

Pray.

If you have done that this morning,

Speak to me – send me an email – write me a letter

And I will be able to help you some more.