This morning as we continued our series on the Kingdom of God, we looked at the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. This is a very challenging passage which reminds us of just how much God has done for us - but also at what life in the kingdom looks like.
If you missed this version of the story that we saw this morning you can watch it here.
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 February 2016
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Adultery, Murder and the Forgiveness of God
I guess there are lots of big questions that people ask about God, and if everyone who read this page was to post a question or two I'm sure we'd have an interesting and varied selection. But among those questions, 'Is there a god?', 'What's this god like?' and 'How do I make sure I'm on the right side of this god?' are questions that have challenged and shaped people and societies throughout history.
Left to our own devices our experience often shapes the way we think about god. This is true for those who have been brought up with an understanding of the God that we read about in the Bible. Because of the language of the Bible and the culture of the church our understanding of God and our relationship with God is often shaped by our relationship to key male characters - our father, a head master etc. These earthly relationships can then have a very positive or negative impact on the way we see God.
Am I acceptable to God? What about when I mess up? How far can I go before God will give up on me? Have I already gone too far? Surely God can't love me after all I have done?
Over the last two Sundays we have been looking at the story of King David and how he seriously messed up. He committed adultery with a woman called Bathsheba, abusing his position and authority as king - and then in an attempt to keep things quiet he had her husband Uriah murdered. The story is told in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. But God saw it all and did not like what he saw - and he sent the prophet Nathan to challenge David.
David's immediate response was to acknowledge his wrong doing and to confess his sin. Unlike king Saul before him he did not try to justify his actions or make excuses or deny it was him. And it was in the light of this experience that David wrote Psalm 51.
David messed up big time, but he also experienced the forgiveness of God. We can know that too.
David relied on God's love, mercy, and compassion - not on his own ability, worthiness or goodness. The Bible is full of statements about the character of God and the promises of God. Have a look at Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-9 and 1 John 1:9 as a starter.
David confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness. Jesus' death on the cross means that we can know our sin forgiven and a new start.
David's response to the love and mercy of God was a desire to live God's way - create in me a pure heart. Our motivation to do things God's way is not a sense of duty, it is not fear of punishment, it is love for all that God has done for us.
Left to our own devices our experience often shapes the way we think about god. This is true for those who have been brought up with an understanding of the God that we read about in the Bible. Because of the language of the Bible and the culture of the church our understanding of God and our relationship with God is often shaped by our relationship to key male characters - our father, a head master etc. These earthly relationships can then have a very positive or negative impact on the way we see God.
Am I acceptable to God? What about when I mess up? How far can I go before God will give up on me? Have I already gone too far? Surely God can't love me after all I have done?
Over the last two Sundays we have been looking at the story of King David and how he seriously messed up. He committed adultery with a woman called Bathsheba, abusing his position and authority as king - and then in an attempt to keep things quiet he had her husband Uriah murdered. The story is told in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. But God saw it all and did not like what he saw - and he sent the prophet Nathan to challenge David.
David's immediate response was to acknowledge his wrong doing and to confess his sin. Unlike king Saul before him he did not try to justify his actions or make excuses or deny it was him. And it was in the light of this experience that David wrote Psalm 51.
David messed up big time, but he also experienced the forgiveness of God. We can know that too.
David relied on God's love, mercy, and compassion - not on his own ability, worthiness or goodness. The Bible is full of statements about the character of God and the promises of God. Have a look at Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-9 and 1 John 1:9 as a starter.
David confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness. Jesus' death on the cross means that we can know our sin forgiven and a new start.
David's response to the love and mercy of God was a desire to live God's way - create in me a pure heart. Our motivation to do things God's way is not a sense of duty, it is not fear of punishment, it is love for all that God has done for us.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Unexpected Blessings
Yesterday we began a series looking at Jesus' teaching on what it means to be his disciple in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.
Jesus starts with a list of the kinds of people who will find favour with God. I guess if we were asked to write this kind of list we might agree with many of the Old Testament writers - God blesses those who don't mix with sinners, who trust God, who listen to God, who are obedient to God, who are blameless...who go to church, who pray, who ask, who do the right things and who don't do the wrong things...
But the surprise is that Jesus starts with 'blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 5:3). People who are poor in spirit are at the end of their own strength, they have questions and doubts and very few if any answers, they've messed up, they feel far from God, they feel worthless, they are the losers of this world.
They are people like the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14 who does not even want to look to heaven, instead he beats his breast and says, 'God, have mercy on me a sinner.'
The problem is that all to often we feel that those who are blessed and those who will be blessed are those who are more like the Pharisee in Luke 18, who can say, 'I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get'.
At the beginning of this sermon Jesus reminds us that the invitation to be a part of the kingdom of heaven is for those who have come to the end of their own resources - and who put themselves totally into the hands of God. It is not for those who want to try and earn their way in. And so as Jesus goes on to describe what discipleship looks like we must make sure that we don't turn these commands into a moral badge of honour - as if when we do these things God will owe us anything. Instead, as we accept the love and forgiveness of God who welcomes us in our brokenness, we respond in love by doing the things that please God.
No wonder Jesus' message was good news to the prostitutes, tax collectors and 'sinners' of Jesus' day.
To listen to this message click here.
Jesus starts with a list of the kinds of people who will find favour with God. I guess if we were asked to write this kind of list we might agree with many of the Old Testament writers - God blesses those who don't mix with sinners, who trust God, who listen to God, who are obedient to God, who are blameless...who go to church, who pray, who ask, who do the right things and who don't do the wrong things...
But the surprise is that Jesus starts with 'blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 5:3). People who are poor in spirit are at the end of their own strength, they have questions and doubts and very few if any answers, they've messed up, they feel far from God, they feel worthless, they are the losers of this world.
They are people like the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14 who does not even want to look to heaven, instead he beats his breast and says, 'God, have mercy on me a sinner.'
The problem is that all to often we feel that those who are blessed and those who will be blessed are those who are more like the Pharisee in Luke 18, who can say, 'I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get'.
At the beginning of this sermon Jesus reminds us that the invitation to be a part of the kingdom of heaven is for those who have come to the end of their own resources - and who put themselves totally into the hands of God. It is not for those who want to try and earn their way in. And so as Jesus goes on to describe what discipleship looks like we must make sure that we don't turn these commands into a moral badge of honour - as if when we do these things God will owe us anything. Instead, as we accept the love and forgiveness of God who welcomes us in our brokenness, we respond in love by doing the things that please God.
No wonder Jesus' message was good news to the prostitutes, tax collectors and 'sinners' of Jesus' day.
To listen to this message click here.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Seven Pounds
The 2008 film Seven Pounds, with Will Smith as the lead character Ben Thomas, is a film that opens up many themes that will be familiar to disciples of Jesus. And I want to talk about some of them here - but can't think of a way to do it without spoiling the film for anyone who hasn't seen it! So if you've not seen the film, I recommend it [unless you are one of those medical people who is unable to switch off critical analysis when watching a film - because if that is you then there are so many holes for you to fall through that you won't enjoy this at all]. Anyway - if you've not seen it, watch the trailer below, then go and rent the film on DVD, and then come back - because the text following the trailer below contains SPOILERS - i.e. it will give everything away. You have been warned.
The story in this film is not told chronologically, and to be honest it took me most of the film to actually work out what was going on - but don't let that put you off, it doesn't spoil the film - you know something is going on, you just can't quite work out what!
[Further warning - what follows gives the plot away - stop reading and go and watch the film and come back later!]
The story revolves around the central character Ben Thomas. Ben was responsible for a traffic accident in which seven people, including his wife, were killed (he was reading an email while driving). Unable to forgive himself for what he has done Ben sees the only solution for redemption as giving new life to seven other people - total strangers.
To do this he steals his brother's identity as an agent working for the IRS and searches out seven people in need of something that will totally transform their lives. For one person this is his house - allowing her to escape an abusive relationship, for the others it is some kind of medical transplant - kidneys, bone marrow, eyes, heart ... As the film unfolds it becomes clear that these people are going to be helped, but only following Ben's death - which will occur at the hands or tentacles of Ben's pet box jellyfish - the medically minded among you may have picked up a few flaws in the plan over the last few sentences - but let them go and enjoy!
This film opens up a number of themes for us. I'll mention a few, and leave you to comment...
1) Forgiveness - the issue for Ben was that he was unable to forgive himself for what he had done, and unable to forgive himself it would be impossible to believe that God could forgive. Are there things in our lives that we see as being beyond the forgiveness of God?
2) Redemption - In order to put things right Ben believes he has to do something. The wonder of Jesus' teaching (and the stumbling block for so many of us) is that there is nothing that we can do - except rely totally on Jesus' death for us.
3) Grace - Each of the people in the film were left wondering 'why me?' They were previously unknown to Ben, yet he chose them. God's love is a gift to us. His forgiveness - gift. Peace - gift. It is all a gift, it is all undeserved. That's grace. And as Ben writes to one of the people he helped, 'If you're wondering 'why me?' - just stop'. That's a question we will never be able to answer - other than to wonder at the love of God.
There is a lot more I could write, but I need to go and get some lunch!
The story in this film is not told chronologically, and to be honest it took me most of the film to actually work out what was going on - but don't let that put you off, it doesn't spoil the film - you know something is going on, you just can't quite work out what!
[Further warning - what follows gives the plot away - stop reading and go and watch the film and come back later!]
The story revolves around the central character Ben Thomas. Ben was responsible for a traffic accident in which seven people, including his wife, were killed (he was reading an email while driving). Unable to forgive himself for what he has done Ben sees the only solution for redemption as giving new life to seven other people - total strangers.
To do this he steals his brother's identity as an agent working for the IRS and searches out seven people in need of something that will totally transform their lives. For one person this is his house - allowing her to escape an abusive relationship, for the others it is some kind of medical transplant - kidneys, bone marrow, eyes, heart ... As the film unfolds it becomes clear that these people are going to be helped, but only following Ben's death - which will occur at the hands or tentacles of Ben's pet box jellyfish - the medically minded among you may have picked up a few flaws in the plan over the last few sentences - but let them go and enjoy!
This film opens up a number of themes for us. I'll mention a few, and leave you to comment...
1) Forgiveness - the issue for Ben was that he was unable to forgive himself for what he had done, and unable to forgive himself it would be impossible to believe that God could forgive. Are there things in our lives that we see as being beyond the forgiveness of God?
2) Redemption - In order to put things right Ben believes he has to do something. The wonder of Jesus' teaching (and the stumbling block for so many of us) is that there is nothing that we can do - except rely totally on Jesus' death for us.
3) Grace - Each of the people in the film were left wondering 'why me?' They were previously unknown to Ben, yet he chose them. God's love is a gift to us. His forgiveness - gift. Peace - gift. It is all a gift, it is all undeserved. That's grace. And as Ben writes to one of the people he helped, 'If you're wondering 'why me?' - just stop'. That's a question we will never be able to answer - other than to wonder at the love of God.
There is a lot more I could write, but I need to go and get some lunch!
Monday, 30 March 2009
The Shack
There are some topics/themes/subjects that are best dealt with through stories - because we need to be involved at the level of our emotions and feelings. Looking at academic arguments carefully laid out in essays, or even picking verses from the Bible, doesn't help us find answers to our deepest questions, because somewhere along the line the theory has to meet the experience - and the answers begin to come out of the wreckage of that collision!Questions such as 'why does God allow suffering?', 'how can I forgive ...?', 'where is God in my pain?' can be relatively easy to answer in the classroom of a Bible college (especially if you have a background in philosophy as well as theology), but how do those answers prepare us to come face to face with the reality in our own lives and in the lives of those we love?
This is a book that begins to tackle some of these questions - but it does so in a way that won't leave you with answers in your head that you could put in an essay, but in a way that could potentially change your life.
I am aware that I do not want to give too much away - as it will spoil your enjoyment when you come to read the book, as I hope you will. So as far as outline I will give you no more than is written on the back cover. This book is about a father, Mack, whose youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted during a family holiday and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, and still struggling to come to terms with what happened, Mack receives a note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.
Against his better judgement he arrives at the shack and walks back into his nightmare. What he finds there will change his world forever. And as you read about Mack's experience and what he found there in the Shack it may change your world forever too.
I found this a fascinating work of fiction, that raises questions, answers others, and has the potential to radically alter the way we think about God and ourselves. From a quick read on different Internet sites it is clearly a book that polarises opinion - from 'this book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good' to 'Heresy'.
I know there are some pastors who have told their congregations not to read this book and it won't take long to find online reviews that pull it to pieces, making the case that it undermines the Bible etc.
But
I want to encourage you to read it, to enjoy it, to cry and be moved by it, to wrestle with the questions it raises, to disagree with some bits if you want, to skip over bits that blow your mind if you want, to read it again, to talk about it with your housegroup, to leave a comment below... and you never know - maybe you'll be a different person as a result.Let me know what you think.
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Hard things to accept
There are somethings that we find really hard to believe. There a God, it will be sunny this summer, Exeter City may get promotion again this year... But one of the hardest things many people find hard to believe is that God loves me as I am, and there is nothing that I can do that will make Him love me less.
This Sunday, we meet a woman (Luke 7:36-50), who met Jesus and accepted that everything in her past could be dealt with, and that God's love and forgiveness was for her. But where do we fit in this story? Do we identify with the Pharisee and because of our good deeds and self denial think that we're actually ok, and in no need of God's forgiveness? Do we identify with this un-named woman and joyfully accept God's love and forgiveness?
Or do we look on at this woman, and wish that that could be us, but when push comes to shove we do not believe that God can love and forgive us, because what we've done is just too bad. The good news is that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less. There is nothing that we can ever do that alters the fact that God loved us so much that Jesus died for us so that we can know God's forgiveness. Rather than doubt God's love, let's embrace it and be totally overwhelmed by it - like the woman in this story.
Click here to listen to this message.
This Sunday, we meet a woman (Luke 7:36-50), who met Jesus and accepted that everything in her past could be dealt with, and that God's love and forgiveness was for her. But where do we fit in this story? Do we identify with the Pharisee and because of our good deeds and self denial think that we're actually ok, and in no need of God's forgiveness? Do we identify with this un-named woman and joyfully accept God's love and forgiveness?
Or do we look on at this woman, and wish that that could be us, but when push comes to shove we do not believe that God can love and forgive us, because what we've done is just too bad. The good news is that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less. There is nothing that we can ever do that alters the fact that God loved us so much that Jesus died for us so that we can know God's forgiveness. Rather than doubt God's love, let's embrace it and be totally overwhelmed by it - like the woman in this story.
Click here to listen to this message.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Happy Anniversary
Today we celebrated our church's 74th anniversary - remembering God's faithfulness and thanking Him for all that He has done. And as we remember the past we have confidence to go into the future, because God will continue to prove Himself faithful. But what are the challenges for the coming years?
We continue our series in Luke, looking at 6:37-49, with the challenge to be those who don't judge or condemn others, but to be those who are generous givers and forgivers. This follows close on the heals of the call to love our enemies, to treat others as we wish to be treated and to be merciful. The motivation to live this way has to stem from the knowledge that this is the way that God has already treated us - He loved us when we were His enemies ...
So what might this mean for us in the coming year?
Being a multicultural congregation we recognise that we can easily offend each other- without even realising it, because different things have different meanings in different cultures. But we choose not to be offended, we choose to always think the best of each other, to forgive again and again.
In our community we look for ways in which we can love and serve - not to stand at a distance and wag our fingers at all the things we see that are wrong, but rather to embrace all that we see as right and to celebrate and promote those things. And we recognise that that may mean working alongside those of a different faith to us. Yet we choose to embrace these opportunities to love and serve.
We continue our series in Luke, looking at 6:37-49, with the challenge to be those who don't judge or condemn others, but to be those who are generous givers and forgivers. This follows close on the heals of the call to love our enemies, to treat others as we wish to be treated and to be merciful. The motivation to live this way has to stem from the knowledge that this is the way that God has already treated us - He loved us when we were His enemies ...
So what might this mean for us in the coming year?
Being a multicultural congregation we recognise that we can easily offend each other- without even realising it, because different things have different meanings in different cultures. But we choose not to be offended, we choose to always think the best of each other, to forgive again and again.
In our community we look for ways in which we can love and serve - not to stand at a distance and wag our fingers at all the things we see that are wrong, but rather to embrace all that we see as right and to celebrate and promote those things. And we recognise that that may mean working alongside those of a different faith to us. Yet we choose to embrace these opportunities to love and serve.
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Guess who's coming to dinner
In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables - the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son - in response to the mutterings of the religious leaders, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them'. These are the men who were supposed to be leading the people to God, and yet it is the tax collectors and sinners who are behaving like good disciples - by gathering and listening to Jesus. And so Jesus tells them three parables to try and communicate God's love for those who are 'lost' - those who are on the outside of the kingdom.
God loves those who are on the outside and wants nothing more than for them to be drawn to the inside. And so Jesus spent time with and welcomed those who were traditionally thought to be so far out that there was no hope of them ever getting in! He even went as far as to openly eat with them - threatening ritual impurity and even jeopardising his own position as one of those understood to be 'in'. Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost (Luke 19:10).
But for those who see themselves on the inside it can be hard to accept that outsiders have become insiders. The free gift of God's love, His mercy (not treating us as we deserve to be treated) and His grace (treating us as we don't deserve to be treated) are available to all who repent - but sometimes we add all kinds of other requirements. Whilst there may be a party in heaven when one sinner repents, that 'sinner' can be met with suspicion and a cold shoulder. Acceptance can be slow in coming and even then it is only after all kinds of other things have had to change first - so that the outsider now looks and sounds and behaves like an insider!
The younger son had done some bad stuff and let his whole family down in a big way. Yet his father still loved him and was ready to forgive and welcome him back as a true son. When we 'come to our senses' we recognise just how much God loves us and how much He has forgiven us. And part of our response, part of our worship, should be an overflow of the loving welcome God gave us. And so we become those who welcome others and eat with them.
The older brother was also his father's son. And yet he never really lived that way. Did he ever ask his father for a goat? For surely the father that said 'yes' to the younger boys request would not have denied his older boy a goat roast. Sometimes we lose sight of the love of God and the joy goes out of our relationship with Him. We do what we do out of a sense of duty, somehow earning God's favour, trying to repay our debt... Yet God wants us to love Him. We obey Him because we love Him, not because we're scared of Him. And because we love God, and know that God loves us, we're able to love and welcome and eat with others - both those on the inside and those on the outside.
The tragedy for the self-appointed insiders in this story is that by the end they find themselves with the elder brother on the outside, while the party goes on inside.
How would the church be different if we made seeking the lost a priority and were serious about welcoming the outsider?
Click here to listen to this message from Pastor Keith. 24 February 2008. Camrose Baptist Church.
God loves those who are on the outside and wants nothing more than for them to be drawn to the inside. And so Jesus spent time with and welcomed those who were traditionally thought to be so far out that there was no hope of them ever getting in! He even went as far as to openly eat with them - threatening ritual impurity and even jeopardising his own position as one of those understood to be 'in'. Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost (Luke 19:10).
But for those who see themselves on the inside it can be hard to accept that outsiders have become insiders. The free gift of God's love, His mercy (not treating us as we deserve to be treated) and His grace (treating us as we don't deserve to be treated) are available to all who repent - but sometimes we add all kinds of other requirements. Whilst there may be a party in heaven when one sinner repents, that 'sinner' can be met with suspicion and a cold shoulder. Acceptance can be slow in coming and even then it is only after all kinds of other things have had to change first - so that the outsider now looks and sounds and behaves like an insider!
The younger son had done some bad stuff and let his whole family down in a big way. Yet his father still loved him and was ready to forgive and welcome him back as a true son. When we 'come to our senses' we recognise just how much God loves us and how much He has forgiven us. And part of our response, part of our worship, should be an overflow of the loving welcome God gave us. And so we become those who welcome others and eat with them.
The older brother was also his father's son. And yet he never really lived that way. Did he ever ask his father for a goat? For surely the father that said 'yes' to the younger boys request would not have denied his older boy a goat roast. Sometimes we lose sight of the love of God and the joy goes out of our relationship with Him. We do what we do out of a sense of duty, somehow earning God's favour, trying to repay our debt... Yet God wants us to love Him. We obey Him because we love Him, not because we're scared of Him. And because we love God, and know that God loves us, we're able to love and welcome and eat with others - both those on the inside and those on the outside.
The tragedy for the self-appointed insiders in this story is that by the end they find themselves with the elder brother on the outside, while the party goes on inside.
How would the church be different if we made seeking the lost a priority and were serious about welcoming the outsider?
Click here to listen to this message from Pastor Keith. 24 February 2008. Camrose Baptist Church.
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
How many times should I forgive?
Forgiveness is not always easy. The greater the hurt and sense of injustice, the larger the crime, the more difficult it is to forgive. The more we are required to forgive the same person, who then does the same thing again and again and again... it becomes harder to forgive.
Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 18:21-35 about two men. The first man owed a debt to the king of about £1.5 billion. How he managed to get in this situation is not important. What is important is that he could not repay the debt and yet the slate was wiped clean - he was forgiven.
The second man owed the first man a few thousand pounds (quite a lot if you have nothing, but not much in the context of 1.5 billion). Having just had his debt cancelled the first man came across the second man and demanded his money, and even though the second man pleaded for time, no mercy was shown, and the second man was thrown in prison.
When the king heard about this he was furious and had the first man thrown into prison until his debt could be paid.
A parable is a story with a point. So what's the point? We have been forgiven so much by God. And in the light of the way we have been treated by God we should show forgiveness to others. In Matthew 6:14-15 we see that Jesus teaches that our forgiveness from God is dependent on our having forgiven others.
It is important to note that this is not the same thing as letting someone get away with things over and over again. For within the context of Matthew 18 it is clear that sin needs to be dealt with (18:15-20).
Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 18:21-35 about two men. The first man owed a debt to the king of about £1.5 billion. How he managed to get in this situation is not important. What is important is that he could not repay the debt and yet the slate was wiped clean - he was forgiven.
The second man owed the first man a few thousand pounds (quite a lot if you have nothing, but not much in the context of 1.5 billion). Having just had his debt cancelled the first man came across the second man and demanded his money, and even though the second man pleaded for time, no mercy was shown, and the second man was thrown in prison.
When the king heard about this he was furious and had the first man thrown into prison until his debt could be paid.
A parable is a story with a point. So what's the point? We have been forgiven so much by God. And in the light of the way we have been treated by God we should show forgiveness to others. In Matthew 6:14-15 we see that Jesus teaches that our forgiveness from God is dependent on our having forgiven others.
It is important to note that this is not the same thing as letting someone get away with things over and over again. For within the context of Matthew 18 it is clear that sin needs to be dealt with (18:15-20).
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