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Looking at GOD
After the Ascension, what? What is Jesus doing now in heaven? Worship: See and Be Seen! What has your Christian faith cost you? SERMON NOTEBOOK: “Location, Location, Location” - Bethlehem How did the Bible come to us? Do good Good idea
After the Ascension, what? What is Jesus doing now in heaven? The New Testament tells us that Jesus ascended into heaven, and now intercedes for us at his Father’s right hand. Have you ever wondered what this means?
Some have mistakenly thought that our Lord is somehow constantly‘re-offering’ the sacrifice of his death before the Father in heaven, and in so doing is ‘pleading’ on our behalf. But the New Testament is clear in its insistence that Christ’s death was historically once and for all achieved.
Hebrews 7:25,27 tells us “…he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them….he has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily…. Since he did this once for all when he offered up himself….”
Instead, Jesus is now in heaven to ‘represent us before the Father’ (1 John 2:1). He is there to escort you into the Father’s presence every time you turn to God in prayer. That is why Christian prayer always ends with ‘In Jesus Christ’s Name’. He is our only way through.
Worship: See and Be Seen! What type of corporate worshipper are you?
Do you arrive at church early to get a good seat, worried in case someone else sits there? And when you praise God, listen to the readings and sermon, and pray, do you thank God that you are not like those other people who for example cannot control their children or who talk whilst people are receiving communion?
Or are you the person who comes in hurriedly, head down, and sits at the back or sides, not wanting to catch anyone’s eye? - who focuses intently on all that goes on, then leaves right at the end so you do not have to face anyone?
Most Christians are probably somewhere in between in their approach to worship.
Some Christians profess all the good works that they do and how much they contribute to church and charity; in other words saying, ‘Look what a good Christian I am!’ They focus on the rituals of worship and comment when something is not done ‘quite right’ and then self-righteously criticise others as they leave. They wear an outward badge of virtue, like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable in Luke chapter 18.
Yet many people come to worship searching for something. They feel unworthy to receive any blessing and long for something to take away their low self-esteem, guilt, sadness or fear. They find comfort in the unity of corporate worship, even without understanding the rituals. These too are the people, like the tax collector in the parable, whom Jesus came to save.
And somehow this experience of one hour a week of being together at the feet of Jesus has to set the pattern for all the other hours we spend. An experience of blessing as well as forgiveness; an experience to share, a way of life to live.
What has your Christian faith cost you? In John’s Gospel and the Book of the Revelation, Jesus is often spoken of as the Lamb of God. John the Baptist hailed Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29).
In Revelation 5 he is described as the Lamb standing before the throne and the elders (v.6). Then John adds something very significant; ‘as though it had been slain.’ Before the throne of Almighty God in heaven stands, not a Lion, but a Lamb; a Lamb still bearing the scars of suffering and death. In these six words John reminds us of the cost of our salvation. The Lamb was slain for the sins of the world. This is victory through sacrifice. Now exalted to the eternal throne, Jesus, the Lamb of God, still bears the scars of sacrifice.
In the Bible we read of scars that symbolise spiritual victory. When Jacob wrestled with the Angel of God by the brook Jabbok, his encounter with God brought spiritual healing. ‘Your name will be no more Jacob but Israel’ (Gen. 32:28). The old ‘Jacob’ had become the new ‘Israel.’ But the cost was a permanent scar as his hip joint was dislocated. The next morning he ‘limped’ as he passed Penuel (v.31). For the rest of his life the scar would remind him of the event that made him ‘Israel,’ meaning ‘prince with God.’
In the New Testament Paul spoke of what it cost him to follow Jesus Christ. ‘I bear on my body the scars of Jesus’ (Gal. 6:17). Like his Lord, who carried his scars to heaven, Paul’s scars bore witness to his faithful ministry.
What about us? Do we have any scars? Has it cost us anything to be loyal to Jesus? Are there marks on our lives to indicate that our discipleship has been costly? In warfare the scars received in battle are proudly shown as badges of loyalty.
When King Henry V of England addressed his soldiers at Agincourt on the eve of St Crispin’s Day, October 24, 1415, he knew his army was heavily outnumbered. For that momentous occasion Shakespeare put on Henry’s lips arguably the greatest speech he ever penned. Every man who fights for Henry will be his brother. And the victory of the field of Agincourt will never be forgotten in England.
He that shall live this day and see old age Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours And say, ‘Tomorrow is St Crispin.’ Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars And say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’
‘Strip his sleeve and show his scars.’ But there’s another conflict and the faithful followers of Jesus can expect to have scars. Amy Wilson Carmichael (1867-1951), intrepid Christian missionary in India, wrote about these scars in some very unforgettable and haunting lines.
Hast thou no scar? No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand? I hear thee sung as mighty in the land I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star. Hast thou no scar Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent, Leaned me against the tree to die, and rent By ravening beasts that Compassed me, I swooned; Hast thou no wound? No wound, no scar? Yet, as the Master shall the servant be. And, pierced are the feet that follow me. But thine are whole; can he have followed far Who has no wound or scar?
By the Rev Dr Herbert McGonigle, Senior Lecturer in Historical Theology & Church History, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester.
SERMON NOTEBOOK: “Location, Location, Location” - Bethlehem: Ruth 1: 1-22 The story of Ruth’s meeting with Boaz is one of the most memorable stories in the whole Bible. Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi fled famine in Moab only to arrive in Bethlehem ‘as the barley harvest was beginning’ (22). Here was the place, time and means by which God fulfilled his purpose for all their lives.
Two women discovered God’s purpose Naomi was a Jewess who had gone to Moab in search of food and ended up staying. On her return to Israel, her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth insisted on going with her. In these difficult circumstances, despite the Lord appearing to be against them (13), they were both prepared to walk by faith not sight. Do you relate to the experience of these women?
Naomi discovered God’s presence Naomi’s experience left her sad and bitter (13, 20), so she returned feeling empty and afflicted. Yet this was not the end of the story! In describing God as Almighty’ (lit: El Shaddai), she recognised that he is the One who promises to protect us with his presence in all circumstances. As somebody has said, he is the God ‘who is at his best when we are at our worst’. In what ways have we been aware of God’s presence in difficult times?
Ruth discovered God’s people Although not a Jew herself, Ruth was drawn to Naomi’s faith, God and people (16), and so she insisted on returning to Israel with Naomi. As a result of being part of God’s people, Ruth discovered for herself God’s purpose and destiny for her life. How has belonging to the church helped us to discover more of God’s purposes for us?
In response, why not read the rest of Ruth and see how God used Ruth’s circumstances to bring her and Boaz together.
How did the Bible come to us? Have you ever wondered what were the languages that the Bible was written in? And what was the process by which it took its present form?
Broadly, it was Hebrew for the Old Testament, and Greek for the New Testament. As far as the Old Testament was concerned, ‘Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit’ (2 Peter 1:21). As for the New Testament, the testimony of Christ’s apostles was that theirs were ‘words taught by the Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 2:13). Here were books, then, inspired by the Spirit of God.
The Bible is a LIBRARY of sixty-six books, written over a period of 1,500 years, by a wide diversity of inspired writers.
We owe so much to the faithful translators. The first outstanding translation of the Old Testament was the Samaritan (400BC); this Hebrew version was followed (in 270BC) by a translation into Greek, carried out by some seventy Greek-speaking Jews at Alexandria (hence its name The Septuagint).
It is The Septuagint which, for the most part, gets to be quoted in the New Testament. Prominent among its many manuscripts are two in the British Museum (Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Sinaiticus), and one in the Vatican in Rome (Codex Vaticanus). As far as the New Testament is concerned, there are also numerous manuscripts.
A mighty translation of the whole Bible (based on the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament) came into being in the fifth century AD, under the hand of Jerome. Intended as a version that all Europe could read in Latin – the common language – this became known as the Vulgate version. It helped to mould the culture of Europe over the next thousand years.
Many have been the scholars who worked on Bible translation. Among them was Baeda (The Venerable Bede, 673 -735), born in Durham, whose last dying work was the translation of John’s Gospel. And even King Alfred the Great was recognised for his work with the Psalms. Through his influence the Bible was to become the basis of English law.
None of this work was without opposition. After the Norman conquest of England, learning received a setback, and the Latin Bible became largely unintelligible. None was braver than John Wycliffe (1329 – 1384), who defied the then corrupt Roman church hierarchy – by producing a new translation of the Vulgate into English, so paving the way for the great Reformation a hundred years later.
The Bible in its modern form owes more to the work of the English reformer and scholar William Tyndale (1494 – 1536) than anyone. Translating afresh from the original languages of Hebrew and Greek, and helped by the invention of the printing press, thousands of newly-translated Bibles were published – in the face of relentless persecution – until Tyndale was finally tracked down at Vilvorde, near Brussels, strangled and burnt at the stake. Out of his work came the Authorised Version of 1611 (the King James Version) that shaped the English language for three centuries to come.
So be grateful for your own copy of the Bible. It came to you through the toil of many scholars down more than 24 centuries, and through the blood of many martyrs.
From The Top 100 Questions by Richard Bewes (Christian Focus)
Do good, be blessed When we do good, even when others are doing wrong – God will bless us. That does not mean God will always bless us in material ways, although at times this is the case. But God will always bless you spiritually for your faithfulness.
If you have committed your life to God, let your life reflect his love for those around you. “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) By your daily actions and your daily words to friends, colleagues and family, you can be a witness to those you meet every day, and God will honour your witness for him.
Good idea! Have you ever been just sitting there, and all of a sudden you feel like doing something really nice for someone else? That could well be God, prompting you through the Holy Spirit.
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