Nine years ago today our eldest daughter was born - but her birth was anything but straightforward. Those of you who knew us at the time will probably remember those first few weeks as you waited for daily email updates and prayed and prayed.
There have been very few times in my life when I have felt the presence and peace of God as I did in those first few days. God is faithful and we can trust him.
For those of you who didn't know us nine years ago, and those of you who want to see some of the pictures again, here's my wife's blog post from earlier today...click here
Saturday 14 June 2014
Thursday 5 June 2014
A Trap
Last time we looked at whether we can read John 7:53-8:11 with any confidence that it is the reliable Word of God. My answer to that question is - 'yes we can'.
There are a variety of reasons as to why the story of the woman caught in adultery might struggle to find a home in the early church - and grace might be one of those reasons. In a young church that is trying to find its way within the Roman empire - that is trying to teach what it means to be a Christian in a world that is largely pagan - that is trying to promote a godly understanding of sex and right relationships - this story may not have been appreciated as helping much.
The early church would have shied away from public stonings, but there were plenty of other ways of making a public spectacle of those caught in certain sins - as a deterrent to others. But thanks to Jesus, this woman seems to get away with it - scot free.
This is not a passage that teaches that unless we are sinless we should not respond to sin when we encounter it in the church. But these men were not interested in the woman, there was no sense of wanting to see her restored - they were only interested in trapping Jesus - and whatever happened to her - well, so be it.
What we take from this story will depend on whose shoes we fill. Are we amongst those who judge - but whose own hearts and motives are not right before God? Those who want to punish but not to restore or forgive.
Or do we stand with the woman, knowing that we have nothing to say in defence of our sin, knowing what the law says, but who nevertheless hear Jesus say, 'then neither do I condemn you - go and leave your life of sin'.
As Paul says in Romans 8:1, 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'.
We don't deserve it. We can't earn it. It's grace. It's a gift.
To listen to this sermon click here. To download the home group notes click here
There are a variety of reasons as to why the story of the woman caught in adultery might struggle to find a home in the early church - and grace might be one of those reasons. In a young church that is trying to find its way within the Roman empire - that is trying to teach what it means to be a Christian in a world that is largely pagan - that is trying to promote a godly understanding of sex and right relationships - this story may not have been appreciated as helping much.
The early church would have shied away from public stonings, but there were plenty of other ways of making a public spectacle of those caught in certain sins - as a deterrent to others. But thanks to Jesus, this woman seems to get away with it - scot free.
This is not a passage that teaches that unless we are sinless we should not respond to sin when we encounter it in the church. But these men were not interested in the woman, there was no sense of wanting to see her restored - they were only interested in trapping Jesus - and whatever happened to her - well, so be it.
What we take from this story will depend on whose shoes we fill. Are we amongst those who judge - but whose own hearts and motives are not right before God? Those who want to punish but not to restore or forgive.
Or do we stand with the woman, knowing that we have nothing to say in defence of our sin, knowing what the law says, but who nevertheless hear Jesus say, 'then neither do I condemn you - go and leave your life of sin'.
As Paul says in Romans 8:1, 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'.
We don't deserve it. We can't earn it. It's grace. It's a gift.
To listen to this sermon click here. To download the home group notes click here
Wednesday 4 June 2014
To read or not to read...
Depending on the version and edition of the Bible that you read you may find that when you come to John 8 the text is slightly different to the rest of your Bible.
In my NIV - my paper and electronic versions - the text is in italics and there is this bracketed introduction which points out that John 7:53-8:11 does not appear in the earliest manuscripts - and in some of these manuscripts the passage appears in different places in John or even in Luke. In the earliest copies of John's gospel that we have the text that we know as 7:52 is followed by 8:12.
[It is now widely believed that this passage became fixed in its current location in Greek manuscripts from around the 4th century.]
In his commentary on this passage Gary Burge states that the first question an interpreter must answer when considering these verses is whether to preach or teach from them at all.
What are we to make of all this, and should we be concerned about the reliability of what we believe is the Word of God?
It is true that we do not have access to the original copy of any of the gospels. But what we do have is many very early copies. Personally I find it encouraging that the team of people responsible for the publication of my NIV Bible are not trying to cover up or hide the issues related with these few verses. They make it very clear and obvious - and therefore highlight the fact that similar issues do not apply with the majority of the rest of the text.
We do have evidence of these verses elsewhere in John or Luke (as already seen), as well as evidence that this story was well known within the church from a very early date. [For example, it is believed that Papias refers to this story (approx. AD 125).]
My conclusions from what I have read in preparation for preaching on this passage - and yes I did decide to preach from it - is that whilst this story may not have been written by John, and it may not have been a part of John's original gospel, it is an account of an event that actually took place within the life of Jesus.
I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. God did not dictate what to write to its authors, but God inspired them. This inspiration was also given to those who were responsible for collecting the books together and deciding what was in and what was out - and the will of God was not negated even when the motives for taking decisions were maybe more political or power hungry than 'spiritual'.
For whatever reason God wanted these verses included here. And these verses have the power to transform us.
Next time we'll look at what the verses actually say and see what God may be saying to us today.
In my NIV - my paper and electronic versions - the text is in italics and there is this bracketed introduction which points out that John 7:53-8:11 does not appear in the earliest manuscripts - and in some of these manuscripts the passage appears in different places in John or even in Luke. In the earliest copies of John's gospel that we have the text that we know as 7:52 is followed by 8:12.
[It is now widely believed that this passage became fixed in its current location in Greek manuscripts from around the 4th century.]
In his commentary on this passage Gary Burge states that the first question an interpreter must answer when considering these verses is whether to preach or teach from them at all.
What are we to make of all this, and should we be concerned about the reliability of what we believe is the Word of God?
We do have evidence of these verses elsewhere in John or Luke (as already seen), as well as evidence that this story was well known within the church from a very early date. [For example, it is believed that Papias refers to this story (approx. AD 125).]
My conclusions from what I have read in preparation for preaching on this passage - and yes I did decide to preach from it - is that whilst this story may not have been written by John, and it may not have been a part of John's original gospel, it is an account of an event that actually took place within the life of Jesus.
I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. God did not dictate what to write to its authors, but God inspired them. This inspiration was also given to those who were responsible for collecting the books together and deciding what was in and what was out - and the will of God was not negated even when the motives for taking decisions were maybe more political or power hungry than 'spiritual'.
For whatever reason God wanted these verses included here. And these verses have the power to transform us.
Next time we'll look at what the verses actually say and see what God may be saying to us today.
Tuesday 3 June 2014
When the going gets tough
I'm a little bit behind in keeping up to date with our Sunday mornings, so here's the beginnings of an attempt to catch up.
At the end of John 6 Jesus has been saying things that many of his followers are finding difficult - not necessarily difficult to understand, but difficult to put into practice or accept. As a result many of them leave and no longer follow Jesus.
Jesus is offering them life - but they want to settle for something a little easier.
How do we respond when we are challenged by Jesus' teaching? Do we take the bits we like and ignore some of the harder challenges that require sacrifice?
Jim Elliot was killed, aged just 28, in 1956 as he was seeking to take the gospel into the jungles of South America.
One of his most well known quotes is, 'He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose'.
Those followers of Jesus who walked away that day took the easier option but they gave up the promise of eternal life.
Peter knew that only Jesus had the words of eternal life and therefore he was prepared to follow Jesus whatever the cost - although he still continued to make mistakes along the way.
When the going gets tough - what do we do?
At the end of John 6 Jesus has been saying things that many of his followers are finding difficult - not necessarily difficult to understand, but difficult to put into practice or accept. As a result many of them leave and no longer follow Jesus.
Jesus is offering them life - but they want to settle for something a little easier.
How do we respond when we are challenged by Jesus' teaching? Do we take the bits we like and ignore some of the harder challenges that require sacrifice?
Jim Elliot was killed, aged just 28, in 1956 as he was seeking to take the gospel into the jungles of South America.
One of his most well known quotes is, 'He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose'.Those followers of Jesus who walked away that day took the easier option but they gave up the promise of eternal life.
Peter knew that only Jesus had the words of eternal life and therefore he was prepared to follow Jesus whatever the cost - although he still continued to make mistakes along the way.
When the going gets tough - what do we do?
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