Pastoral Message (Page 76)

By Not Known people sometimes have a passive idea of what it is to be a Christian. Thus faith is seen as a static resting on Christ for salvation and then just plain resting. likewise, baptism can be seen as the end of a journey, rather than a mid-point on a journey that ends with our death. The bible shows us active followers of Jesus. Mary went on to follow her Son from…

By Not Known Anna wondered whether she could last the distance. Her seven year marriage seemed a lifetime ago and at 84 plus she knew that her days were numbered. Yet she waited with expectation. Every day she went to the temple and worshipped. Her eyes scanned the visitors … would this be the day when the redeemer came? (Lke 2:36-38) Someone else waited. Time was…

By Not Known Over the last few weeks we have met some Christian heroes of the second century: Polycarp, Felicitas and Justin. These all bore outward testimony to Jesus and were all martyred for his sake. Meanwhile the church grew in numbers and in its geographical spread. This was a church like any other in history: an imperfect company of imperfect saints. Problems soon…

By Not Known Christian heroism comes in many forms. Some are heroes in missions, evangelism or care of the needy. Others are heroes of the Christian mind. Justin (~ AD100-165) was born in Palestine of pagan parents. He pursued truth and meaning through Greek philosophy until his conversion to Christianity aged about 30. He writes: … I was delighted with the…

By Not Known One of the worst fears of many parents is to attend their own child’s funeral. But what if you watched your seven sons die before your eyes because you were Christians and also knew that you were next? Would we stay loyal to Christ? Felicitas was a wealthy Christian widow who lived in Rome. She was born in AD101, had seven sons. May people were…

By Not Known 2,000 years of Christian history have produced many heroic figures whose examples of dedication to Christ inspire and teach us. One such is Polycarp of Smyrna (Izmir in modern west Turkey). It seems he was born about AD69 and was a leading Bishop of the church in Roman Asia. In AD155 he was on the ‘most wanted’ list for the local authorities. The…

By Not Known Today is Reformation Sunday. We remember the gracious act of God to reform his church through people such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox. One feature of the Reformation was insistence on the rule of Scriptures. The church and its members were not to be swayed by tradition, pragmatism or their own ideas on what was right in faith, life, worship…

By Not Known We all know that a closed Bible is a useless thing. In the language of an old Anglican prayer, we should have our Bible open to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest its contents. It’s one thing to have the Bible open and be active learners, but what are the uses of this learning? As 2 Timothy 3:15 teaches, the first use of the Bible is to make us wise…

By Not Known Some people have a life-long and deep-seated fascination for the Bible. Whether as amateur sleuths or professional scholars, they love to spend time digging deeper and deeper into the background, language and meaning of the Bible. This is good, and we can all benefit when they share the fruits of their fascination. But is the Bible given just for our…

By Not Known The Christian Scriptures are central to our gathered worship, to all Christian ministries and to our private piety. Why put such an emphasis on this diverse collection of ancient writings? They are often difficult to understand and are far removed from our digital world in which we are post-everything but unsure what we stand for. Why privilege the Scriptures…