Feeding Faith - Fellowship with Other Christians

Acts 2:42–47

The Fellowship of Believers

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

John 13:34–35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

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The church grows through committed believers being fired up by their love for Jesus

It was just after Pentecost, and the new Christian church was growing rapidly. On the day of Pentecost itself, some 3,000 new believers were added to their number. And the early church kept growing - every day new people were coming to a living faith in Jesus.

Now these new believers were from all sorts of backgrounds - most were Jews, visiting Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, but coming from all over the Mediterranean. And no doubt many returned to their home provinces and countries once Pentecost was over. But a core remained in Jerusalem. And they found themselves part of something new and vibrant - part of that fledgling church, as we saw in our reading from Acts. They gathered together, they learned together, they grew together.

Now you often hear people in our day declare 'You don't have to go to church to be a Christian'.  I often said it myself in the days before I found my own faith. Well, it sounds entirely reasonable, doesn't it? Surely faith is a private thing between me and God, and church is just an optional extra?

Well, of course it's absolutely true that you don't need to go to church to be a Christian. Any more than you don't need to go to matches to be a footballer, you don't need to join in an orchestra to be a violinist, you don't need to go to Scout meetings to be a boy scout. Yes, of course you don't need to do any of those things. But your growth and development in all those activities - and your enjoyment of them, and your flourishing in them - will be the poorer for not doing so.

Today we're continuing our sermon series on 'Feeding our Faith' - and today's topic is Christian Fellowship. We're talking Church. The early church clearly appreciated the need to stick together, so it will be instructive for us in our times to consider what exactly that means.

Because sometimes it seems that our modern-day understanding of church has changed a little since those early Pentecost times. Circumstances have changed, and society has changed - have we lost something of the spark of the early church in the process?

Years ago, when I was working as a junior doctor, I had a physiotherapist colleague who was part of the Jesus Army. You may have heard of them - they were a Christian church, based in a village a few miles from where we both worked at Northampton General Hospital. The Jesus Army tried to recreate what they understood to be the pattern of first century church living, based on the accounts in the Acts of the Apostles. Members pooled their resources and lived together in a big old manor house as one huge family community. I visited my colleague a few times there for meals and found them to be extremely welcoming and friendly.

But in time their leadership went off the rails, and the organisation folded under a cloud. There were abuses of power and an excessively rigid control over individual lives and finances. Frankly, it was all a bit too wacky. Which is a shame, as it started off so well.

So, what were they trying to emulate? And what can we learn from our readings about church here in our benefice? Two headings today: 1. A pattern for church and 2. the fruit of church

1. A pattern for church

Their life together as church was expressed in two things: Worship and Lifestyle

a. Worship

Acts 2v42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. v46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

The Apostles' teaching, sharing Holy Communion (breaking bread) and prayer were the backbone of their church life. And really that hasn't changed for our churches over the past two millennia. If you look at any church that is growing and thriving, those three items will still be at the centre of their church life. Churches that neglect any of those - dismissing good-quality biblical teaching, or neglecting to share Communion, or being lax in prayer - those will invariably be ailing churches. Fortunately, the CofE in its wisdom has these things built into its very structures. And we must be diligent, as church members, to participate in those three things.

Oliver and I are forever encouraging our congregations to get stuck into bible study together - and it's a joy to see our new group here in Icomb thriving. Our Lent Group looking at the Parables has been a source of great inspiration for us, accompanied by a lot of laughter in good company. We grow together as we nourish our faith through biblical teaching - which after all is what the Apostles left for us. Let's take our faith seriously and enjoy pushing our understanding as we grow together.

And it's been exciting to see how our new monthly Benefice Prayer Meeting has taken off - our numbers are never huge, but we usually gather 8-10 people each time we meet just for half an hour of concerted prayer. And we should be in no doubt that God will honour our prayers. Again, let's take our faith seriously and support that monthly meeting - let's be ready to see God act and indeed bless our churches if we are serious about our prayer life. And of course Holy Communion is central to our worship - and we can access this easily. At least one of our seven parishes offers a communion service each week so we can easily join in on a regular basis wherever we prefer to worship.

Here in this early church was a group of Christians who met together in more than one venue - they gathered, as we read, in the Temple courts, to observe the daily worship that continued there. That was natural as they were mostly from Jewish backgrounds - many would have been used to attending Temple over the years so they continued to do the same. But they also broke bread in their homes - they had no church buildings at this point so simply used one another's homes for worship and teaching together. This was where their more specific Christian worship would proceed.

But then alongside their worship was their:

b. Lifestyle

Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

The Jesus Army followers took this to mean that they literally sold everything they had, pooled their resources, and all moved under one roof together. And maybe that's the truth of it. And there was a precedent in Jesus' day. The Qumran community, which generated the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, had already been established as a monastic community, although those followers were devout Jews waiting for the Messiah, rather than Christians. And their pattern was very similar to Acts 2:44 - selling their possessions, living together, devoting their life to worship and teaching.

But I don't think that was necessarily how the early church lived - they could have been together simply in the sense of being a close community who looked out for one another's needs. The community of Icomb lives together and is close-knit, but you're not all under one roof.

Equally the notion of selling possessions and having things in common could easily be in the sense of things being available for common use: not that there was necessarily a common purse. The early Christians may simply have been generous-hearted and prepared to be sacrificial in their giving as needs arose.

What we can say about this lifestyle, whether it was a semi-monastic community or just a bunch of supportive and close-knit Christians, was that they were committed. There was no nominalism here - which is the bane of the church of today - but rather these were people who literally put their money where their mouth was. And were committed to a radical lifestyle, alongside heartfelt and devoted worship.

2. And the fruit of that church?

a. miracles happened

Acts 2:43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

This was a vibrant community at the very dawn of the church. These were Pentecost people. God was establishing this church from scratch and so, perhaps not surprisingly, the Holy Spirit was very much at work there in miraculous signs and wonders.And it's true to say that wherever the church has been in particular need down the centuries since then, growth has similarly been accompanied by signs and wonders. The Anglican church in Baghdad, for instance, after the Iraq war, saw a stream of miraculous happenings in the face of terrorist attacks and persecutions.

On a less dramatic note, during my time in prison chaplaincy we saw frequent miracles - God was very much present in that raw and violent environment by his Spirit, working miracles in the lives of individual men as well as in the humdrum of our daily chaplaincy routines. When the church is growing, miracles happen, even today. But there was a second fruit:

b. joy

Acts 2:46-47 They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.

They were glad, and they praised God. Not only that, but the early church was also in favour with the surrounding community. Perhaps those outside could see how genuine and positive the early church members were - how caring they were to their fellow Christians. There was a real sense of life and joy in this early church. It flowed over in praise to God. And it flowed over, finally, in one more thing:

c. growth

Acts 2:47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Did people join because this church was so attractive, looking in from the outside? Or were they added because its members simply couldn't stop themselves from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so much was their joy in what they had discovered? Probably a bit of both. They very much lived up to that command of Jesus, to:

Matthew 28:19 go and make disciples of all nations

And the church grew. Every day.

So, there we are - we've seen the early church in its pattern and its fruit.

And in our days of often dwindling church congregations, I find this a very exciting model of church. For the church of our day, and the church of 1st Century Pentecost Palestine, are really not that dissimilar. We have a very similar pattern of church; and we can expect to see very similar fruit.

What was their secret? It was commitment - dedication to their faith. Radical wholeheartedness. They were fired up. What was it that fired up those early believers such that their church had so much impact? It was simply their love of the Lord Jesus; their gratitude for the salvation that he had won for them in his death on the cross. And, of course, empowered by the Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit to equip and lead and energize this fledgling church. They wanted to glorify him in their worship and in their lifestyle. They were committed to following and serving him. Nominalism just didn't feature in their life of faith. They were all out for Jesus. And their fresh faith was transformational - it literally changed their lives and the lives of those around them. How exciting was that.

And how exciting that it can still be so, even in our times. Can our love of the Lord Jesus - our faith - yours and mine - achieve the same in our villages, in our day?

Feeding Faith - Personal Prayer

Luke 11:5–13

Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’

“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jeremiah 31: 31-34

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrews 4:14–16

Jesus the Great High Priest

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

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Jesus encourages us to be bold in prayer

Today we're thinking about prayer. Lots of books have been written about prayer. If you search Amazon online with the title ‘How to pray’, it generates 7,000 hits. And here are the top 4 hits:

1. How to pray in Islam, a step-by-step guide

2. The Power to Pray: prayers and scriptures that work

3. Spiritual Warfare Prayers for Men: Prayers to Conquer Fear, Lead with Courage, and Stand Strong in Faith

4. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People

No doubt some of these books are helpful but isn’t it remarkable how such an apparently simple process - praying - has generated so much literature? Well today, we turn to the Master himself, Jesus, for our guidance.

We're continuing in our series of how to Feed our Faith - and this week we find ourselves in Luke's Gospel. That chapter begins like this:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1)

It was a bit of a Jewish thing to seek wisdom from the Rabbis. They were esteemed and respected, and individual rabbis would have their disciples who followed them and looked to them for guidance.

And so too with Jesus' disciples. These men wanted to know how best to pray. And so Jesus teaches them the Lord's prayer - we didn't read that part because today we're going to be concentrating on the verses straight after that prayer, as Jesus continues in his teaching.

The Lord's Prayer itself is for another day, another sermon - maybe a series of sermons - all I plan to say about the Prayer itself today is that it's a radical prayer for a Jew because it assumes that God could be spoken to as a Father, with intimacy.

‘Abba, Father’. The Scribes & Pharisees hated that, for in their eyes God was remote and holy. And yet here's Jesus effectively calling him ‘Daddy’. And so John tells us:

For this reason, the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John: 5:18)

Jesus' teaching about prayer was fresh and radical. So as we follow in the footsteps of those first disciples, we also come before Jesus and ask, 'Lord, teach us to pray'.

I'm assuming we are familiar with the Lord's Prayer. But we're thinking for a few moments about what came next in Luke's narrative. How did Jesus follow up his prayer? What did he want the disciples to grasp that day? And what about us in our turn?

Well, we can sum up what Jesus taught in our Luke reading in one word: Boldness. He was teaching boldness in prayer - that our prayers be bold, genuine, true, wholehearted.

1. Boldness

Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. (Luke 11:5-8)

Jesus loves a parable. We're enjoying our Lent series on Parables at the moment - if you haven't come to one so far, why not join us - each evening is a standalone discussion on a famous parable. And we're really enjoying what we're learning.

And here's a parable that may or may not be familiar. A visitor arrives late at your house. It's midnight; maybe he got delayed on his journey or perhaps it was just more comfortable travelling when the heat of the day had died down. But he's arrived and Middle Eastern custom dictates that you must offer him a meal - but the cupboard is bare. No matter, Joe up the road is bound to have some bread so I'll go and knock him up and see what he'll let me have.

But it's midnight and Joe's been tucked up in bed for hours. It's a real imposition asking him to disturb his whole household to find some food - our bibles use the word 'boldness' in that request, but the Greek word is nearer to 'shamelessness'. Have you no shame, waking up this man's whole family at an unearthly hour demanding bread for your visitor?

But Joe obliges, not because he's our friend but simply because of the boldness - the brass-necked cheek of the man - disturbing the whole household at such a ridiculous hour.

So, what's the lesson? Well, it's one of those ‘if you… then how much more God’ parables. If this man gives in to the request for bread because of his friend's effrontery, then how much more will God answer our requests. It's about the request being bold, not lukewarm or tentative - the man didn't tap very lightly on his friend’s door and then whisper, 'Oh no he's already in bed I'll creep back down the garden path and close the gate really quietly so as not to wake him'.

No, he hammered on the door and woke the poor man and all his family and the dog and the animals. He was intent on getting an answer to his prayer.

It's about a bold, wholehearted request - a genuine request, from the heart. This is something I really need, even at this late hour, so I will ask loudly until I get an answer. It's about boldness. Secondly:

2. Certainty

Jesus continues:

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? (Luke 11:9-12)

In the light of this story about asking boldly, what will be the result? Simply that God will answer. He will not let us down. He will hear and respond.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

God will answer. He won't necessarily answer in the way we expect; for it's not always best for us that we actually get what we ask for. From time to time we'll simply ask for the wrong thing. But there will be no duplicity. Maybe God won't give us a fish every time we ask for one - but what he won't do is give a snake instead. His gifts, his answers are always good.

The point is that we are not praying into a vacuum - God will answer. And God's answer may be a clear No as much as a clear Yes. Both represent answered prayer - even if the answer is No.

We may trust God to answer in accordance with our good. And of course the Lord's Prayer itself encourages us to ask for our daily bread - our daily need for sustenance. Ask God for it, encourages Jesus. He will not give you a stone when you asked for bread. Just make your prayer wholehearted, bold, and expectant. And he will answer. Although sometimes it's only with hindsight that we understand God's method.

3. Generosity

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)

It's another ‘if … then how much more’ construct. If you earthly fathers, with all your limitations - yes indeed, your sin - can give good gifts, how much more will God? How much more will God what? … Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

It's fine talking about bread and fish and eggs and so forth, but what needs to underpin all these things? The Holy Spirit of God indwelling our hearts.  

The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift that God offers in response to our prayers - and he promises to give his Spirit freely. For it's through him that we really get to connect to God. It's through him that we get to know God as our personal Lord and Saviour. In the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD.

And it's the Holy Spirit who is the engine of our prayers:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. (Romans 8:26)

It's the Spirit who prompts and leads our prayers. And the more we are aware of his leading, the closer our prayers become to aligning with the will of God.

So, three lessons about prayer: Boldness, Certainty, Generosity. So what do these look like in practice? We need to overcome three pitfalls in prayer:

1. Hesitancy: I wonder if sometimes we are a bit hesitant, a bit tentative with prayer. We're a bit scared to ask in case we don't get what we hoped for. We're like the man going to his friend for bread but only knocking softly then creeping back down the garden path because 'he probably won't hear me'.

Jesus is saying, no, come and ask me... tell me what's on your mind. If it matters to you, then it matters to me.

When I conduct a wedding, we always have a rehearsal the evening before. We walk the service through and then I pray with the couple and their friends before we go. And I always pray that there will be some sunshine for the great day - at least for their photos. Is that a risky prayer? Maybe. But I can't tell you how often that prayer is answered in the affirmative. Let's not be hesitant in prayer. Let's be bold.

2. Vagueness: we often hedge our bets and pray something vague rather than something specific. Perhaps that's easier for God to answer.

When my mum was languishing in the John Radcliffe recently with a fractured pelvis, I prayed hard that she would be transferred to Moreton hospital to rehabilitate before she went home. Instead, she was moved to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre where she got specialist care before she was discharged. With hindsight, it was a better outcome. My very specific prayer was answered with a No. That's the danger with specific prayers.

On the other hand, a friend of mine once prayed for a new motorbike.... and his specific prayer was answered with a Yes. Lucky man. Let's be bold in praying specific prayers.

3. Persistence: Jesus tells parables elsewhere about being persistent in prayer. Persistence in prayer is surely all part of this boldness that Jesus encourages - we're not to be shy in telling God more than once what our concerns are.

I know of people who have prayed every day literally for years that a family member might come to faith - and eventually after decades that prayer is answered. Again, it's about how much something matters to us - if it's important, it's on our minds all the while, and I think God is pleased that we share that with him. Let us not give up or lose heart in prayer - persistence is part of boldness.

So: Boldness, Certainty, Generosity.

Prayer is, at the end of the day, about relationship: it's about sharing our concerns and our joys, our hopes and our fears with the God who loved us and gave himself for us. And Jesus himself encourages us to be bold as we do just that.

Feeding Faith - Personal Bible Study

Psalm 119:9–16

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, O Lord;
teach me your decrees.

With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.

I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.

I delight in your decrees;
will not neglect your word.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

Paul’s Charge to Timothy

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Luke 24:27, 32

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

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Delighting in the Word in which we meet Jesus

I imagine that there have probably been individuals over the years who have had a lasting influence on your life. I'm talking about those people who have encouraged you and inspired you – those special people who have played and perhaps continue to play an important part in who you have become as you have grown and matured. And for Christians, they will often be people who have impacted our faith in some way - brought us to faith, spurred on our faith, challenged our faith or stretched our faith.

There have been a small number of such people in my life – most notably two friends who were instrumental in establishing me in the faith way back when I was a young medical student. And when I look back at our friendship, I am struck by how much both of these two young men were motivated by their love of the Bible.

As a young man I had occasionally attended church but I never really got what the Bible was about.  It seemed a dry and slightly spooky book that we studied in RE at school but which had little relevance to my life. But all that changed when I got to know a fellow student called Bill, a quiet and reserved man who gave me a bible in modern language and suggested we might read one of the gospels together. It was a transformational experience and led to me finding a living faith of my own within a few weeks.

My second great influence was Paul – a lively Geordie friend who went everywhere with a copy of the New Testament in his coat pocket.   When we were supposedly studying in the library I would often glance across and see that Paul was in fact reading his bible rather than his lecture notes. His pocket bible was constantly in use, and pretty dog-eared as a result. He was hooked on the scriptures.

What was it that made these two young men value the scriptures so highly? Were they just a bit weird? 

Well, as I explored my own developing faith I began to understand what these two friends saw in the scriptures. As I opened and read them, I found the words came alive. This was a book that moved me, inspired me, taught me, strengthened me. It was more than just words on a page.  Many times, passages that I was reading seemed to speak directly to situations I was facing.

And before long I too found I couldn't get enough of this book. And others have agreed with me. Decades later, working as a Prison Chaplain I met lifers who also could not get enough of the Bible. One man managed to reduce one of our chaplaincy bibles to rags in just a few weeks because he couldn't stop reading it; another told me he had literally sat up in his cell the whole night reading his bible because the words seemed so alive and so relevant to him.

So why is this book so compelling? Simply because it's a book like none other – as we heard in our NT reading from the Letter to Timothy:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  

All Scripture is God-breathed. You see, the Bible is where we hear the Word of God. It's in these written words that we meet the Living Word – we begin to understand who God is, what is our relationship with him, and what his call is on our lives, both now and for all eternity. These scriptures are the bedrock of our understanding.

Today we're continuing a short series of sermons on Feeding our Faith - what measures can we take to deepen and strengthen our faith. And today's topic is Personal Bible Study. And to explore that, our set passage is actually the psalm we read at the start of our service – Psalm 119. It's the longest psalm in the bible, extending to 176 verses, but today we just have seven to consider as you'll see on your sheet.

And in those seven verses the author explores the value of studying the scriptures. The psalm is more of a prayer than a piece of instruction – he is reflecting in prayer on the importance of scripture in his life. His own personal bible study. And as he does so, he uses no less than ten different verbs in relation to his understanding of the scriptures. But I want to consider just six of these, under two headings:

1. Taking in - Live, seek, meditate:

2. Giving out - Recount, rejoice, delight

Taking in - Live, seek, meditate

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119: 9-11)

We don't know who our psalmist is, but we can see that he's a young man who wears his heart on his sleeve. He's a real zealot for the faith – there are no half-measures here. His over-riding desire is to keep his way – his life – pure. He desires that sort of innocent purity that can stand before God without guilt or shame. He wants to be good, but in the best sense of the word. He wants to avoid moral taint. How will he do that?  How will he live well? By seeking God with all his heart; which means for him living according to God's will as revealed in the scriptures. 

His choice of Hebrew words behind our passage particularly has in mind the promises of God regarding his plans for his people. His intention is to 'hide the word in his heart' – to become familiar with it, to learn it, for it to be second-nature to him. And there's one particular way he'll achieve that:

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. (v15)

He'll ponder these scriptures, he'll think them through, he'll reflect on them and consider what they mean to him. 

Meditation doesn't always get a good press in Christian circles – we often associate it with Eastern mysticism, Buddhism and the like. But we need to recover the Christian practice of meditating on the scriptures – for the word itself comes from the Latin meaning devout preoccupation, private devotion, prayer. We need to recapture the notion of quietly reflecting on bible passages and allowing God to speak to us through them.

There was a time when children were encouraged to memorize bible passages. That seems old-fashioned now and all too much of an effort when we can simply dial them up on our smart phones. But that level of familiarity with the scriptures can be invaluable when we face challenges – as God prompts those stored passages to the forefront of our minds when we need them most to guide us through whatever besets us.

Understanding the scriptures is a life work for any Christian. I have been studying the scriptures now for just over 47 years but I feel like I am still scratching the surface. And yet some of what I have studied has stuck – I find it easier to apply scriptural principles to things in life, to see the world through the lens of God's will. It's easier to live, to seek, and to meditate on these words now than it was when I started – but still I am a novice.

But there were three other verbs:

Giving out - Recount, rejoice, delight

With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. (vv13-14)

Rejoicing is not perhaps a natural word to associate with the scriptures. Especially when you read some of the harder, bleaker books of the Old Testament. But here is a young man who not only rejoices in what he reads, he wants to recount it – to tell it to those around him.

My friend Paul would love to do just that – he would come up to me in the library and show me a verse in his pocket New Testament and tell me how brilliant it was – some truth about Jesus that had got him excited. That sort of enthusiasm is infectious. And the psalmist also delights in what he reads v16 - I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Perhaps the delight is a kind of inward glow at what he's reading; and the rejoicing and the recounting is a more outward expression. Have you ever felt that kind of delight and rejoicing when you have read the bible? We have a collection of home groups now across the Benefice and I'm glad to say we often do delight and rejoice in what we read – as we discuss and ponder, our passages draw us closer to God and we marvel at his purposes for our lives and our church. And that delight inspires us to study more – v16 - I will not neglect your word. 

There's no doubt the psalmist loves to immerse himself in the scriptures. He's pursuing personal piety – a way of living a pure life, pleasing to God, and living faithfully for him. But what, then, is our overall goal with this sort of personal bible study? Is it simply to learn commands and precepts, rules & regulations?

Our psalmist was clearly a pious young man.   But the kind of piety we see in here is true piety: a love of God not desiccated by study but refreshed, informed and nourished by it. And that works for one reason: because the scriptures reveal the character of God.  

As we said at the start, it's this written word that leads us to the Living Word – God in Jesus Christ.   For the scriptures reveal the salvation story of God – his rescue plan for a wayward human race and a tainted universe. And the culmination of the scriptures is the Lord Jesus Christ - he is the focal point of all that we find in our bibles, both Old Testament and New Testament, even in those puzzling and difficult passages.

And that's why these scriptures are alive to us, why they excite us, delight us, make us want to rejoice and recount what we read. That's why they make us want to live and seek and meditate on the words we read. For it's here that we meet the Lord Jesus; it's here where we our see own frailty and understand our rebellion against the God who gave himself for us. It's here that we find that God so loved the world that he gave his only son to die in our place on a cross for the penalty that should have been ours.

And here's the point: In the scriptures we don't study rules and regulations, but we meet Jesus, the person whom we need more than any other.

But we need to close. We meet Jesus in these precious, life-giving scriptures. So how shall we best approach bible study for ourselves? I want to suggest four simple rules:

1. Get a bible in a language you can readily understand. There are some who insist that the only 'proper' bible is the King James Version; but it was translated from the original Hebrew and Greek scriptures in 1611, and consequently it can be a struggle to understand in the Jacobean English of that time. It's beautiful language, but not always the most accessible if you're looking for strength and guidance as you explore your faith and its impact on your life. So if you love KJV, get a modern translation to read alongside.

2. Read little and often. A daily dip into the scriptures may sometimes seem sterile but over time – maybe 47 years or so - things will begin to link up for you!

3. Find help with what to study – there are many bible study guides available online or in print. Or join a home group where you can be encouraged by others as you dig and delve into the scriptures together.

4. And above all, meditate on these words, as our psalmist taught us – pray over them, ask God to help you to understand, and help you to see what they mean in your life.

And you too, I promise, will soon delight in God's words.

Feeding Faith - Listening to Sermons

Romans 10:14–17

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Luke 10:38–42

At the Home of Martha and Mary

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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As a vicar, people sometimes say to me, “I wish I had your faith.” And that’s a really nice sentiment. But behind it sits an assumption that the faith I apparently have is something that one can only wish for — like several houses in Barbados, or a couple of Ferraris in the garage, or whatever it is.

I can imagine somebody saying to their personal trainer, “I wish I was as fit as you are.” What does the personal trainer say back to that? “You can be. That’s why I’m here — to help you be exactly that.” And so also, as a vicar, I feel like saying that to people who say to me, “I wish I had your faith.” You can have a high level of strong faith.

Faith is a lot like a muscle. If you feed it right, if you work it out, it will get stronger. And if you don’t, it won’t. That’s why we’re beginning a new series of five sermons during Lent called Feeding Your Faith. The first subject today is feeding your faith through listening to sermons. It’s funny to preach a sermon about sermons, but that’s what I’m doing this morning.

The principle is this: faith grows where Christ is heard.

This is going to be less of a “how to listen to sermons” and more a “why to do so”. Why is listening to sermons so important for feeding our faith?

First of all, let’s consider our reading from the book of Romans. St Paul says, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” We cannot see God in this world, so the primary way we get to know him is through hearing.

Paul is speaking about how saving faith begins, but the same principle applies to how such faith grows. That principle is that faith comes from hearing. Faith grows where Christ is heard.

Notice what Paul says needs to be heard: the message, the word about Christ. This is, of course, the gospel message, which Paul sums up in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: “What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Notice that the death and resurrection of Jesus are grounded in the Scriptures, in the word of God. You may notice — I hope — that preachers like me always try to reference in every sermon this gospel message: that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures. That’s because we are convinced that Paul is right here. A Christian’s faith is powered up by hearing the message about Christ.

I’ve already said that faith is a bit like a muscle. Of course, faith is a gift. It’s not a result of our direct effort; we’re given it by God. But if you really want to bulk up the muscle you already have, you have to eat protein. Protein is what feeds muscles. You can’t build them without it.

In the same way, you can’t build up and strengthen the gift of faith that God has given you without hearing the message about Jesus Christ. And note that this is not a kind of generic message about God in general. If you feed your faith wholly on generic religion, you won’t build that faith muscle. It would be like trying to grow bodily muscles using only carbohydrates. We need to be hearing about Jesus Christ and him crucified. We have to be hearing about the cross. Faith grows where Christ is heard, not just where religion is going on.

I was always told growing up — and you probably heard this as well — “Starve a fever, feed a cold.” Have you heard that old maxim? But when a doctor hears this, they may gently sigh and say, “That sounds good, but actually there’s no solid evidence that you should eat less with a fever or eat more with a cold.” When you’re ill, the real advice is simply: eat if you feel able, stay hydrated, listen to your body.

In the same way, I often hear people saying, “Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words.” And I gently sigh and say, “That sounds good, but neither Paul nor Jesus would wholly agree with it.” Acts of love are, of course, important. But listening to the word about Jesus is much more important.

Our reading from Luke’s Gospel shows us that. It’s a well-known story. Jesus goes to visit Martha and Mary. We hear that Mary is sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he says. But Martha is distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

So Martha comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me.” And how does Jesus reply? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — indeed, only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”

The one thing that is needed is relationship with Jesus. And, as Paul said, this comes from hearing about him.

Martha was busy with good things, but Mary was busy with something better: the beloved voice of Jesus. Jesus does not rebuke Martha for her service per se. He’s not saying, “Don’t ever do anything useful.” What he rebukes is anxious distraction. Listening is foundational, and service must flow from it — but not replace it.

So I wonder whether you feel more like a Martha or a Mary. Do you find yourself busy with lots of things? Do you sometimes find it hard to stop and hear the message about Jesus?

I’ve heard a number of people say to me, “I would come to church, but I just don’t have the time.” Well, clearly that’s not you, because you’re sitting here in church. You’ve made the time to come along this morning. But do we have time to be Christians outside of a Sunday? Do we have time to listen to sermons not on a Sunday?

That’s an idea. Graeme expends a decent amount of time uploading the sermons we preach to the website. And I know I myself need to get better at listening to them when someone else preaches.

None of us has to listen to sermons. But as we’ve seen, the Bible is clear: faith grows where Christ is heard. I’m sure we all know that a more confident Christianity is needed now more than ever. Confident faith comes from hearing the message about Jesus Christ.

There are so many good sermons out there these days, so many books of excellent sermons. We don’t need, of course, to be constantly listening to them. But my challenge for all of us this week is to listen to one sermon that isn’t this one. Two if you’re feeling particularly keen.

One caveat: there is a lot of junk out there — like junk food. A lot of sermons might sound insightful. But remember, without the word of the Bible and the message of the gospel of the cross, they just won’t feed your faith. They’ll be carbohydrates, not protein.

Ultimately, faith doesn’t grow because sermons are impressive. Faith grows because Christ is beautiful. When his death and resurrection are held before us again and again, the Spirit quietly strengthens our trust in him.

So this Lent, don’t just do more religious things. Feed your faith. Sit at Jesus’ feet. Listen to his voice. And trust that, as you do, what Jesus promised will be true for you as well: it will not be taken away from you.