SERMON for 6 and
13 January 2019
Psalm 9 v 1
You may have
noticed that in recent years, Beverley has given us posters, cards and book
marks with theme verses on them.
This year the
theme verse is Psalm 9 v 1
“I will give
thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all
your wonderful deeds.”
The three words I
want to concentrate on today are “I will tell”.
The first word “I”
– who does that refer to? Does it mean
just the writer of this Psalm? Does it
mean just the people who have been ordained, like our Bishops Donald and John
or Beverley? Or does it mean people like
you and me? I would suggest that all of
us, who know and love the Lord, have a responsibility to tell others of the
Good News.
“I will” suggests
a definite intention to do something.
In the NIV bible Jesus
said “If you love me you will obey what I command”.
Why should we love
Jesus? Do we know the Good News of what
Jesus did for us?
Listen and I will
tell you.
Humankind was designed
to have a relationship with God, our heavenly Father.
Humankind found it
very easy to disobey God and become sinful.
God is holy and this meant that humankind was separated from God because
of sinful ways. The rift started and as
time went on the chasm that separated God from humankind became huge.
Then God decided
that this could not continue and, as it says in the bible “For God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not
perish but may have eternal life.”
We know the
story. Jesus died on a cross, he
stretched his arms wide and became the bridge across the chasm which enabled
humankind to repent, to say sorry, to turn back to their heavenly Father and be
reconciled to Him.
What should our
response be when we hear, understand and believe what Jesus did for us?
I would suggest
that we express our thanks by showing him that we love him, and we make a definite
intention to obey his commands.
Our last word –
“Tell”. Jesus commands us to “Go,
tell….” The great commission in Matthew 28.
We know to whom we
have to tell this Good News, don’t we? Yes, anyone
and everyone who will listen. It
can be a very scary and challenging thing to do.
About 35 years
ago, I can remember doing a course on how to tell others about Jesus. There was a video in which we were shown how
not to do it.
The video showed a man who had decided to tell his
next door neighbour about Jesus. So
when the wife of his neighbour opened the door, he asked to speak to her
husband. She, being a busy lady, told
the man that her husband was in the loft and pointed to the stairs. The man started up the loft hatch steps and
as he popped his head up through the loft hatch he shouted “Have you been
washed in the blood of the Lamb?” Now
the husband was so shocked at this that, turning round to see who had asked
this weird question, he lost his footing and fell in between the loft joists
and landed in the bedroom below.
Needless to say the neighbour made a hasty retreat, mumbling profuse
apologies to the wife.
So if that is how not
to speak about Jesus, what do we say and how do we do it? Well, we can learn and soon we will have the
opportunity to do just that.
This year’s Benefice
Lent Course will be about Telling Others about Jesus. Beverley and others will, in the coming
weeks, be telling you more about the Benefice Lent Course. There will be two opportunities to learn this
most important command that Jesus asks of us.
During Lent on Monday evenings at Quinton Village Hall and on Thursday
afternoons as part of the Bible Study Home Group.
So, how and who do
we tell about Jesus?
We don’t have to
make an appointment or carry bibles about with us.
If we are open and
make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit to tell of this Good News, the Holy
Spirit gives us opportunities to speak to people about what we know.
I want to finish
by telling you about a young man.
The story of
James
As I prayed,
coming towards me I noticed a young man who seemed very distressed and was
weeping. I stopped in front of him and
as he looked up I asked him what was troubling him and if there was anything I
could do to help.
The young man told
me his wife had just had a baby girl but both his wife and his baby daughter
were very unwell and he was extremely worried for them. I laid my hand on his forearm and asked if I
could pray for him. He hesitantly said
yes, and so I prayed for this little family, for peace and hope and
healing. When I stopped I asked what his
name was and he said “James”. I invited
James to come to our Sunday morning service assuring him I would be there to
welcome him. We parted and I continued
to pray for James and hoping he would turn up at Church.
Sunday came and to
my relief, James walked through the Church door. I went over to welcome him and invited him to
sit with me. He quietly sobbed
throughout the service and slipped out before the end. But he continued to come to church and I and
the whole church family prayed for him and his family and gently witnessed to
him about the love of God.
Time moved on and
James brought his daughter and later on his baby son to join our Church
family. He began to say the
intercessions during our Sunday services.
He became a PCC member and continued to grow in faith, serving the Lord
in many ways.
Time has moved on
a bit further and now this young man is Chief Inspector with Northamptonshire
Police. What is James doing with his
faith now?
Beverly knows,
perhaps she will tell us some time.
“I will tell….”
My challenge to
you today and for the weeks to come is:
Let the “I” be
you. The Benefice Lent Course will be
your opportunity to learn how.
Let the “will” be
a promise of your definite intention.
Let the “tell” be
the start of your witness to others of what Jesus has done for you.
AMEN
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