The Centrepiece of Scripture…

On Sunday morning I had the amazing priviledge of being able to speak on the centrepiece of the whole of Scripture. The passage was John 19: 16-42 – the crucifixion, the death and the burial of Jesus.

It was our 8am communion service and below is the outline:

A terrible tragedy, or the plan of God? (vv16-27)

Jesus is made the centrepiece of a horrible torture and death, showing He was thought of as nothing more than a common criminal – what a thought, the Son of God was treated as a common criminal! We see God’s plan in two ways: 1. The sign above Jesus is in all three major languages – the sign fulfils divine purpose in proclaiming Jesus! 2. What the soldiers think of as just a nice garment is actually God fulfilling Psalm 22:18. He fulfils prophecy about Jesus! A terrible tragedy, or the plan of God?

A pathetic death, or an incredible victory? (vv28-37)

The greatest ever substitution takes place as Jesus dies for sinners. The same Man who offered the woman at the well living water now cries out that He is thirsty. This shows for the first time in eternity that Jesus is thirsty for the prescence of God. He is cut off from the Father for the sake of sinners, and He does this willingly. The cry of ‘It is Finished’ is a cry of victory – that Jesus has defeated Satan. It is truly finished for all who trust in Jesus. The roman soldier proves beyond doubt that Jesus was dead – JC Ryle comments: ‘Little indeed did that reckless Roman soldier dream that he was a mighty helper of our Holy religion, when he thrust his spear into our Lord’s side.’ A pathetic death, or an incredible victory?

The end of the King, or the sign of His reign? (vv38-42)

Jesus is buried in a new tomb. This again shows that He could be the only person missing from the tomb when it was discovered empty three days later. Jesus is also buried in a garden. Sin first entered the world through one man in a garden. Sin then is defeated by one man in a garden. Jesus reverses the curse of Eden and brings life for all who look to Him. This should lead us to praise! John Calvin once said ‘Every rememberance of God’s mercy should at once stir us up to glorify Him.’ We should do just that in light of the cross.

Jesus not Easter Eggs!

Lets get people talking about Jesus, the real meaning of Easter, and not the amount of Eggs they get! I received this e-mail this morning which looks well worth doing:

Dear Xander,

I just wanted to let you (and the readership of your blog) know about a campaign to get Delirious (writers of songs such as I could sing of your love forever and Majesty) to number 1 in the UK pop charts this Easter Sunday!

This is the perfect time of the year to make a positive impact through actions that are both cheap (Under £2 to download both versions of their single) and quick (can be done in under 5 minutes).

They have released a song called History Makers (live and studio versions)which is currently number 10 in midweek position but we have until Sunday to get it higher, and get people talking about God, at Easter…rather than the usual pop tat!

Info here; www.invadetheairwaves.org.uk

Song can be bought here;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/dmusic/ref=sv_dmusic_2

or here;

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTop?id=130&popId=1&genreId=34
All versions of the song count towards the final chart position, the more buys, the higher it gets!

Lets get downloading!

You think that I’m Strong? You’re wrong, You’re wrong!

I’m sure that for any of you who are Robbie Williams fans you will recognise the title for this blog are the lyrics to his song strong. Well I think that this could easily be the theme tune of Samson in the Bible – this therefore was the heading for the gobbit that I did at the South Downs Ministry Training Course on Judges 16.

Samson brings down the temple in Judges 16.

I divided the passage into four points:

Yahweh gives good gifts, so Praise Him (vv1-3)

We notice in the first verse alone that Samson, the judge of Israel, is in a foreign land and pursuing his lusts. As the Philistines are about to attack, Samson uses the strength God has given Him to escape their grasp. Great grace and mercy!

Yahweh is Good, so put nothing above Him (vv4-17)

Samson plays games with the gift that he has been blessed with. He tries to giveDelilah lots of different explanations (vv8, 11, 13). After lots of nagging by Delilah, Samson (for the second time in three chapters!) puts the value of his relationship above honouring the name of Yahweh. Samson believes that his strength is just in his hair, not recognising that his strength comes from Yahweh and not purely through some outward ritual, as though it were all superstition. How often do we trust in our own strength and not give praise to God who gives the strength?

Yahweh is our strength, so don’t deny it (vv18-21)

Samson still trusts his own strength to save him (v20) Narrator tells us his strength left him because the Lord left Him. Samson the strong is nothing without Yahweh. Do we notice in our lives we can do nothing without God? John 15:5 – I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. Are we sticking close to Jesus?

Yahweh is our Saviour, so trust Him (vv22-31)

Amidst the huge pagan celebration of praise to Dagon for ‘delivering’ Samson no doubt the name of Yahweh would have been mocked and dishonoured. In v28 Samson finally recognises his strength is from God and not himself, he prays! In his death and weakest state he kills more Philistines than his whole time as Israel’s judge. In Jesus’ weakest state He crushed the enemy of God – Satan. God shows HIS power in weakness that He may be revered and praised!

The Great need for Biblical Exposition

ex·po·si·tion

1. A systematic interpretation or explanation of a specific topic

2. A statement or rhetorical discourse intended to give information about or an explanation of difficult material.

As you can see from the definitions above exposition is a hard and grinding task but one that I believe to be essential for Church life in every generation.

This weekend just past I was in Bristol with a few mates and it was encouraging when we attended Grace Church Bristol to hear the Pastor say that he was committed to expository preaching. I believe this needs to be true of all Pastors and Preachers, I am learning myself the values of exposition but also what a hard task it is.

Exposition is a task which requires a lot of work. As our first definition states its ‘a systematic interpretation or explanation of a specific topic.’ This means that you have to put in the hard yards so as to be 100% clear about the meaning of a text, the meaning of that text for the people of the day and its relevance to us now. This is by no means easy but it is needed for both individual and Church growth. I believe that Churches need to preach through books of the bible, week by week, with thorough exposition.

It seems that there are so many events within the Church Calender that seem to convince Pastors to deviate from their normal preaching programme. Although it can be a really good thing if you do a thematic sermon for the day or time of year I do believe that you miss out on so much if you keep dipping in and out of the book you are going through.

John Calvin was a man committed to expository preaching and here is what John Piper, another committed to exposition, comments on him:

Calvin’s preaching was of one kind from beginning to end: he preached steadily through book after book of the bible. He never wavered from this approach to preaching for almost twenty-five years of ministry in St. Peter’s church of Geneva – with the exception of a few high festivals and special occasions. On Sunday he took always the New Testament, except for a few Psalms on Sunday afternoons. During the week… it was always the Old Testament. The records show fewer than half a dozen exceptions for the sake of the Christian year. He almost entirely ignored Christmas and Easter in the selection of his texts.

I think this is very refreshing to hear. Its my conviction that the best way to preach is to go through a book of the bible and preach it week by week, this helps the Preacher and the congregation to understand better the big idea of the book. It also helps to be able to test what they hear one week against what they heard the previous week on the preceding passage or the following week on the following passage.

Of course this isn’t to say that there is never a time to do ‘Hot Potato’ sessions and evangelistic sermons; of course they do serve a very valuable purpose within the life of a Church. My concern, rather , is that some have lost the passion to exposit the word of God and I hope that more and more Pastors and Preachers rediscover the joy and value of biblical exposition.

A Word on Suffering

I think one of the responsibilities of a blogger is to share the wisdom of others on certain issues, especially something as big as suffering. I like to put thoughts of the day on here by Dr Billy Graham and here is another great one:

Suffering teaches us patience. These words were found penned on the wall of a prison cell in Europe: ”I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I dont feel it. I believe in God even when He is silent.”

The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:18

This is my Story – Fanny Crosby

I dont know about you but I love hearing stories about Christians from days gone by who have overcome adversity and rejoiced in Jesus all the more!

My cousin Paul sent me this artice he had done and I thought it was well worth posting!

Frances Jane “Fanny” Crosby (1820-1915) was an American hymn writer and poetess, who wrote over 8,000 hymns during her life.

At the age of just six weeks she had an infection in her eyes. The family doctor was away and another doctor was called for. He recommended hot mustard poultices for her eyes, which destroyed her sight. He left town when he heard the news, and it transpired later that he was not a qualified doctor!

At the age of 14, Fanny went to the Institution for the Blind in New York remaining there for 23 years, 8 as a pupil and 15 as a teacher.

During a revival meeting in a Methodist Church, she trusted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour. She had been concerned about her spiritual condition for some time and that evening the hymn “Alas! And did my Saviour bleed, and did my Sovereign die? was sung. When the line ”Here, Lord, I give myself away” was reached, she said, “My very soul was flooded with celestial light. I sprang to my feet shouting hallelujah! and then for the first time I realised I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other.”

One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, “I think it is a great pity that the Lord did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you.” She replied quickly, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?” “Why?” asked the surprised preacher. “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour!”

No wonder she was moved to write the following words:

Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Saviour am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.