We believe this? 1 Corinthians 15
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Easter
{podcast id=101}
We believe this? 1 Corinthians 15
Sermon preached on Easter Day 2013 at Christ the King Willetton.
If Jesus has died for our sins and been raised again what does this tell us about death, life in heaven, resurrection bodies, how salvation works, and how we should be living now.
6. Anyone may enter Mark 15.38
- Written by: Dale
- Category: The Cross: Gracious Power of the Cross
{podcast id=108}
Anyone may enter Mark 15.38
Sermon preached on Good Friday at Christ the King Willetton
Bible Readings: Isaiah 52.13 - 53.12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10.11-25; Mark 14 & 15.
The curtain of the temple is torn in two as Jesus dies. Now anyone can enter God's presence on the back of Jesus, because of his death, ... who wants to?
Why did Jesus die? Good Friday 13
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Why did Jesus die?
The simple answer is, “Because of death.” But why should there be death in the first place? How come, if God created everything good, he made humans who died? He didn’t. He made them so they could live with him forever.
But something went wrong with the humans he made. To tell the truth, the humans went wrong. They had a difference of opinion with God as to who was the boss – who got to say how things should be. They tried to have a kind of coup, a takeover, a rebellion, you could say. The only trouble is they weren’t capable of running the world like God. Certainly not capable of living like God – you know, always just, fair, good, loving, caring ...
Needless to say God was not too happy about this attempted coup – not that it made any difference to him acting as God. But it did make a difference to the humans acting as humans. Now they had god-sized swelled heads. And they continued to act as though he wasn’t really God.
5. The Cross glorifies the Lamb Revelation 5
- Written by: Dale
- Category: The Cross: Gracious Power of the Cross
{podcast id=113}
The Cross glorifies the Lamb Revelation 5
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 24 March 2013
What the Lion-Lamb has done by his death and what we should do about it
Do you really want to be forgiven? 24 Mar 13
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Do you really want to be forgiven?
Last week I attended a seminar about some of the Psalms that ask God to avenge the enemies of the Psalmist. Many of the Psalms seems foreign to a Christian since they express feelings and attitudes that we have been taught (rightly or wrongly) not to have.
One aspect of the problem concerns whether one can forgive the unrepentant. The speaker quoted a Japanese proverb that says, “Forgiving the unrepentant is like drawing pictures on water.” Many of us will know the truth of this if we have lived or worked with a person who has chronically harmed us and who has been unwilling to acknowledge or repent of their wrong. Our forgiveness is meaningless to them.
Repent might not be the word we would have used in all of those circumstances, but it is probably the right one.
Eating bread 17 Mar 13
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Eating bread
“This bread is the bread of affliction that our ancestors experienced in Egypt.” The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread combined to remind faithful Israelites of the suffering and subsequent salvation of God’s people at the Exodus.
A later celebration of the Passover had Jesus providing new words. “This bread is my body.” His body of affliction. Representing the affliction that was ahead of him, rather than behind him. “Take it, and eat it,” was his command.
It is one thing to eat bread that reminds you of troubles in the past. It is another to eat bread that tells you of your friend’s approaching afflictions. It is a much deeper thing to eat knowing that you are joining yourself with your friend in his afflictions. That his troubles are your troubles. That you will share his afflictions because he has shared yours.
Set free to serve 10 Mar 13
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Set free to serve
Burn-out is a common experience in some long-term missionaries. The reasons for it are fairly obvious. The cure is sometimes less obvious. Burn-out affects Christians at home as well. Not only burn-out caused by work but also burn-out caused by church work.
There are other casualties in the church, not just the burnt-out. Many of us suffer the present effects of a variety of difficult experiences which happened in the past. It may be the distant past or it could be the recent past. Some of these are things we brought upon ourselves. Many are the results of other people’s actions, lack of action, words, expectations, domination, or manipulation.
All of them have made an impact on us. Most of us have coped. But the coping can add to the difficulty. Our coping method may have been the best we could do at the time, but often it continues as an ongoing pattern of life. And results in a way of life that is not really helpful any more.