25th June 2017 – Don’t be God - Liam Parker

25^th June 2017 – Don’t be God

Preacher: Liam Parker

Scripture: Proverbs 3 v 5-8: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on you own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Liam described that he has two older brothers. He enjoyed being part of a band of brothers. The best thing was during celebrations: when they got presents, Liam said he also got the present as he could use their presents! When his middle brother got a Man Utd football, they played with it for a short time but his brother soon picked it up to clean it as it got slightly muddy. He was restricting the use of the football, even though that was what it was intended for.

During problems in our life we try and fix the problems. We try and control what happens to us and feel it is our responsibility to get rid of the trouble.

Liam reminds us ‘not be God’, even though we are representing Him, praying with Him and talking to Him etc. We are not Him. Don’t be God and don’t try and fix the things. He has to be in control.

Remember that God’s ways are higher than our ways….His thoughts are higher than our thoughts……

When God is working to a different time scale than ours, we need to recognise it. Gods timings are different to ours. His ways are higher than our ways.

When those difficult times come, we easily go back to our ways and we start to take control of our of lives.

Don’t be God in fighting our sin. (Sin =When we do something out side of the will of God.)

Sin will cost you more than you want to pay and will keep you longer than you want to be. Sin has a habit of spiralling out of control. Sin has a way of creeping around your whole life. It always come back to get you. It spreads and spirals throughout all our life.

1 John 3 describes sin as being ‘lawlessness’. It attacks all if you let it take over. It has no end. It will continue to grow and grow.

Our human temptation is that we feel we have to do something about it, we have to pray harder and we have to fight our own sin. However, we cannot fight sin. We are no match for the power of sin. Sin will always win.

Don’t fight by yourself. In Proverbs 3 it states, ‘Fear the Lord and shun evil’. To shun evil means to avoid or to ignore or reject. Don’t even get involved with it. Don’t fight it. Stand back from it. We need to have a healthy respect of God’s presence and therefore we ‘want’ to do as HE says. We should fear the Lord. What He says goes.

Jude describes Arch Angel Michael who stood and declared that the fight is not with him but with God. We need to do that. We need to give it to God. Just give your life to God and trust in Him. Fear God and turn away from evil and fleshly desires. Only with God can it occur.

In all your ways acknowledge Him.

Questions:

1) in proverbs it says “shun evil” share with the group how you can “shun evil” – such as not watching certain programs, not to go to certain places? -

2) Are there areas in your life where you need to give it to God – if you are able to- share with the group some of your struggles you are facing – be open and honest with your small group

3) we keep hearing the word

18th June 2017 - Ben Oliver - Being a Father

Ben Oliver

18th June 2017

Being a Father

New Dads gain a lot of new jobs:

·         nappy changing,

·         wrestling with multi-function travel buggies

·         bedtime stories

·         … and much more besides!

Dads – some day all this nappy changing will just be a memory, but you’ll never stop being a father. More - it may be that for you, being a father is something wider than caring just for your biological children, because all can be fathers in Christ:

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.  Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.  Therefore I urge you to imitate me.  For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

1 Cor 4:14-17

These words were written by the apostle Paul – a man who had a radical conversion to Christ, one that set him on a path to become a spiritual father to many.  Timothy was more that his apprentice; to Paul, he was a spiritual son.

That opportunity, to be a spiritual father, is open to us today.  But there’s a commitment you need to make to step up to that responsibility.  Its like walking out of hospital with a new baby, feeling very inadequate – but knowing “No-one else is going to step up, I need to do this”.

We undoubtedly had imperfect teachers (our own fathers), and we are undoubtedly underqualified – but God has asked to step up.  What does it take to be a great father?

Here are some ways.

Start by being God’s son

You can’t represent Him if you don’t know Him.  There’s gospel news here, good news – because anyone can do this, anytime!  Take the story of the prodigal son that Jesus once told.

The prodigal son – the younger son of a wealthy farmer – was a wastrel who had worked his way through his father’s money, reached rock bottom and started to dig.  Realising this, he made ready to go home and prepared a speech, to beg a place as a servant.  Reaching home, he starts to deliver his speech, but before he gets to the ‘servant’ offer, his father embraces him and throws a feast in his honour. 

Jesus audience would have been non-plussed at this point.  They were expecting something else, perhaps to hear of the son’s punishment for the offence he had caused his family.  Their attitude is represented in the story by a judgemental older son who cannot bring himself to join in the celebration for the son who was lost and is now found. 

Jesus’ deeper point is that both these sons are lost – they both need the father’s forgiveness.  Jesus came to bring that forgiveness, achieved through his death on the cross. Today, God is saying to all of us ‘come home’ – and through Jesus we can.

A Father’s identity is bound up in who he is, not what he does

Ben once had a conversation with his daughter that went a bit like this:

“Dad. How come you know the answer to everything?”

“Because I’m the best!”

“No Dad, its God first, then superman, then you.”

We Dads tend to be performance-based – but if you’re defined by your successes, then you are defined by failures too.  “The Big Ego Trip” – a book by Christian psychologist Glynn Harrison - argues that this leads to a roller-coaster identity crisis and is a big cause of mental health issues for men. 

God does not work your value out that way.  You have value not because you’re a big deal, but because God is a big deal, and he’s chosen you. Your identity doesn’t depend on good exam results, or on the opinion others have of you, or any of the other ways we use to judge our worth by our performance.

Fathers’ coach, they don’t complain. 

Watching football from the side-lines, when your child’s team loses every game all season long, tends to provoke a response, as Ben know from first-hand experience!  When you respond, you have a choice of coaching or complaining.

·         If you complain, pointing out failure, it makes your child less likely to try again for fear of being criticised.

·         But if you coach, they know you’re with them, and it encourages them to get back into the game and improve.

The apostle Paul demonstrates this so well; he wrote 2 letters to Timothy, full of coaching tips for the situation Timothy was facing:

“Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well”

“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.”

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity”

Questions:

God desires every father to step up and be a coach in the lives of his child, biological or spiritual.  Where do you stand?

·         Are you a Timothy needing a father to mentor you?

·         Are you being stirred to be a father in God’s kingdom/ Read y to step up?

The film “Courageous” tells the story of how, when a tragedy strikes close to home, four police officers struggle with their faith and their roles as husbands and fathers, and together they make a decision that will change all of their lives.  Along the way it sets out a ‘code of conduct’ – things like:

·         Model how to talk with integrity

·         Teach others with respect

·         Call out behaviour where necessary

·         Realise that the job and hobbies have no eternal value, but the souls of your children do.

·         Determine where ever possible to mentor those in need; to guide, direct, and to break destructive habits

Will you stand up and take that challenge?

11th June 2017 - Stuart Bell - Building the House of the Lord

11^th June 2017

Stuart Bell

 

Building the house of the lord

Ephesians – church seen in different kinds of ways:

• As a Family

So we find church is a family – god is father – we are brothers and sisters

• As a body

Also you see church as a body – we are all part of body

• Husband & Wife

Also picture in Ephesians as husband and wife – bride of Christ

• As a temple

Also image of temple – of the holy spirit – living stones

Jews would see a temple as something to go to – if you wanted to meet with god – you would go to the temple – Solomon’s temple – Herods temple

Right back in Genesis there is a hint in Chapter 28 vs 13 that the Church is more than just a place to go there is a Heaven & Earth interaction – gate of heaven –

2 cornth 6 vs 16 – WE are temple of the holy spirit – when we gather together

• As an Army

Should be missional -taking territory – church as the army

What is the house of God meant to look like:

Mark Chap 11 Vs 15.

Jesus goes to the temple – but when he gets there – he’s not pleased, people of God in his day were very much like the people in Jeramiah prophesy – then he quotes Isaiah 56 – what the house of the IS meant to be.

Two prophesies

Jerimiah chapter 7:

As he locks at the people of God – they are coming to the temple but their lives do not align with what people of God should be like:

 

 

 

 

 

• Change your ways and deal with each other justly
• Den of robbers to you that I have been watching
• People drifted from the faith again

Jesus then Quotes from Isaiah 56

• House of prayer

Jerimiah filled with people thinking they are safe in the temple – but Jesus says misfits are welcome – a house of prayer

what does it mean to be building the house of prayer? 

does it mean building should be open more for prayer

Jesus taught them a patterned prayer and Stuart went on to look at the Lords Prayer and used it to describe the shape of a church:

7 things from the lord prayer that gives us an opening to :

1. A place of unity (psalm 133 – how good and how pleasant)
2. A place where God is honoured and worshiped
3. A place where Gods will is done and his kingdom comes
4. A place where daily needs are met
5. A place where love and forgiveness flows
6. A place of safety & protection
7. A place of glorious destiny

Exhibit these wonderful aspects of what a house of the lord looks like – Great images of what we are

QUESTIONS:

Look at these 7 things listed above – are we reflecting these things:

1. In our Church?
2. In our Homes?
3. In our lives?

Be honest with each other and pray that God will help you in areas

4th June 2017 - Diversity - Simon Benham

Simon Benham

4th June 2017

Diversity

We started with a colour-blindness test on-screen, and a range of answers; some passed, some failed! But the real question is, “Is God colour-blind?”

We know God is a diverse God in His own character (Gen 1:26 “Let us make mankind in our image …”), and in the way he created us (Gen 1:27 “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”).

Diversity was present through gender, then later in nations; and today we would recognise diversity in many other ways; skin colour, culture, personality, age, education, and wealth amongst others.

Today is Pentecost, and the story of Pentecost is in many ways a statement on diversity:

“‘In the last days, God says,

    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

    your young men will see visions,

    your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

    and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18)

We see that God pours outs his gifts on all, and loves all; grace is available for all. 

Yet God is also sensitive to the differences between us. Looking just a few verses earlier, we have:

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:4-11)

God could have enabled each person present to hear the message in one common language, but instead He chose that each should hear in their own language. God aims for unity, but not uniformity, and so we too should celebrate the diversity amongst us.

At the end of the Bible there is another great statement on diversity:

 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10)

Every nation, every tribe – together in their diversity.

 <Sarah Harvey and Sola joined Simon at the front in a question and answer session>

Q1. What stops you celebrating diversity?

Sarah  I was uncomfortable when I was first at Kerith – I didn’t know who I was, and didn’t want to step out of my ‘safe box’, because I was afraid of what others would think.  It took time to learn that Kerith just wanted me to be myself.

Sola – you’d think it would be colour, clothes, or background – but I agree with Sarah – it’s mostly ‘me’.  Learn to accept your own uniqueness, don’t measure against others.

Q2. How do we make the most of this?

Sarah – We can see all the differences in the crowd of Acts 2 – and the result was that 3000 were added to the church that day. More diversity makes us more effective as a people; in evangelising, and in community – a richer ministry.

Sola – 1 Cor 14:10 speaks of “many languages, none without meaning”.  From that I understand that our differences mean that people can be drawn to us because no matter who comes to Kerith, there will be common experiences they share with someone, which helps connections to be made.

Q3. What do you think we should do more of?

Sola – As we’ve just said, we need you [looking at the congregation]. The world is looking for what we have in the church, it just needs each one of us to show up as ‘us’ – in Christ.

Sarah – Identity a powerful part of diversity – you can’t show up if you don’t know what to show up as.

Q4. What encouragement can you give to those here?

Simon – Just show up as you are, without masks.  It may be hard in the mass of Sunday congregation, but small groups offer that chance to be ‘you’ and to accepted as yourself.

Sola – I would encourage us to look for connections beyond colour, beyond rich and poor, beyond ‘people like us’.  In one of his books Bill Hybels encourages us to ‘walk across the room’.

Rather than questions, todays preach leaves us with a challenge – quite simply, to put Bill Hybel’s encouragement into practice. 

Over the week, find opportunities to “walk across the room” and speak to a stranger within the Kerith community – and when you speak, discover a few things you have in common, and make time to pray for each other.