QRBC - Sunday Talks

 Today we live in a world where people are constantly seeking power, as well as exercising power, in all kinds of different ways. Power is not only aligned with the ability to exercise some measure of control, sometimes a lot of control, but it so often is tied into financial and material benefit. The most powerful are often the richest. The least powerful are mostly the poor. In Jesus we clearly see God’s signpost of true and life-enhancing power. 

If the signpost to true freedom isn’t broken, then it has undoubtedly been turned around and many today are heading in the wrong direction. So many of us find, in our desire for greater personal and corporate freedom, that we are ending up more captive and bound than ever. It wasn’t long before the settled people of Israel began to follow the wrong signposts. In a land where they could flourish as human beings in relationship with God, they looked around and saw alternative routes. Ones that they assumed would lead them into greater freedom and personal fulfilment. They incorporated all kinds of foreign gods and idols into their religious life. They formed alliances with other nations, hoping that would bring political freedom. They reject the Kingship of God, looking instead for Kings of their own choosing only to bring repression and exploitation. 

Humans are drawn to beauty -  sunset/rise - mountains - sea - rainbow. Humans are made in the image of God who makes things beautiful. we are made in the image of God who makes things beautiful. we are made to be creative - when we see beauty, we want to capture it, respond to it, share it - Paint, photo, music, poems....

We are looking at seven big themes, signposts, common to all cultures and ages; but they are broken. They should point to something good but often we find things are not what they should be. Our pursuit of them may leave us feeling disatisified. The signposts fail to point to where we know, deep down, they should.Today's 'Broken Signpost' is Spirituality.

We are currently working through a series entitled 'Broken Signposts', inspired by the book, written by Tom Wright. This week, we explore Love & Relationships.I want to think about why the signpost is broken and how we might map out a path to navigate both the obstacles and joy that love and relationships might bring us.

This week, we start a new 7-part series, called 'Broken Signposts.'Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at seven features/realities of human existance that most cultures and societies recognise and value. Realities that are indispensable to making sense of our world:Justice, Relationships, Spirituality, Beauty, Freedom, Truth & Power.Yet, these seven 'signposts' can cause no end of frustration; we know their importance and strive to attain them. Yet we often fall short...

People who have never attended church argue that the church is irrelevant. People that have a bad experience at a church, swear to never return. Those who attend often lack confidence in it as a place they would want to invite people too. It’s a fair question to ask – what is the point/the purpose of the church? Why should we gather with others when we watch at home? What compelled Jesus to so love the church that He gave Himself for it and will one day return to purify it as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27). Regardless of what you and I might think clearly the church is very precious to Jesus and He sees the point of it and has set its purpose. 

The second session in our theme asking "What is Church?"This week, we focus on 'Belonging' - what does it mean to 'belong' to a church?We are a very diverse people, with different views on many things: politics, sexuality, refugees, interpretation of scripture, doctrinal beliefs, COVID precausions, vaccine poassports... the list goes on.Yet, here we all are, together. Amazing that such a diverse group can gather and find unity together. In Romans 12, Paul says "In Christ, though many, we form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

"The church is the single, multi-ethnic family promised by the creator God to Abraham. It was brought into being through Israel's Messiah, Jesus; it was energized by God's Spirit; and it was called to bring the transformative news of God's rescuing justice to the whole creation."        N.T WrightEach of us are created, saved and called to serve. If we trust Jesus, then we are a part of His body - called to be His hands and feet in the broken world around us.

 Paul has been praying for the Christians in Ephesus and he concludes his prayer with a doxology. If the first part of this doxology took us where no other doxology has then, as it reaches its climax here, we are taken even further. The first part made the link between the Christ – the anointed and promised One – and Jesus. The second introduces the church, which exists to bring glory to God through its life and witness to Christ Jesus – something Paul sees as essential for every generation. The link between Christ and the Church is again an interesting one – the Church isn’t Christ, but it is the body of Christ and bears witness in this world to Jesus. Paul calls on the church to bring glory to God through expressing its relationship with Jesus in ways that people can see. In other words, those who have not yet discovered how amazing Jesus is and all He offers to them through His cross and resurrection need to see the difference in a way that enables them to taste the difference that God offers to them “Taste and see that God is good”. 

Throughout the Bible – both Old Testament and New – at various points we come across doxologies. In the simplest sense, they are short pieces of liturgy or formulas in praise of God. After all that Paul has been praying for the Christians in Ephesus, he concludes his prayer with a doxology. It follows a well-established pattern found in the OT. 1 Chronicles 29:11    Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 

How do you know you are loved by somebody?In the letter to the Ephesisans, Paul longs for them to know this love which surpasses knowledge. How can we know something if it surpasses knowledge?The love we have for our children or parents can be beyond our ability to express or explain and, yet, we know we are loved or that we love.The measurement of God's love is beyond our understanding but we can still know, deep within our hearts, that we are loved by Him.

 Paul is not randomly bringing to us a series of unrelated words and images. Each one is chosen carefully and, like stepping stones, help us to move towards the place Paul prays that we would find ourselves. I kneel - I pray - says Paul.Being rooted leads to establishment, establishment to power and power to grasping, or a fuller understanding. The term ‘grasps’ is not used anywhere else in the New Testament and implies an intellectual understanding. Which might all sound very academic – like a student grasping an important concept being taught by the Professor. Of course, we all grasp different things in different ways. It might be how an engine works; a computer; a painting; plumbing; working with fabric and so on. When we get it, we know it.

We take power for granted. Our lives are full of switches, sockets, cables, buttons and sensors that all turn power on and off as we need it. If the power fails, we are thrown - life grinds to a halt.How do you  feel, as a follower of Jesus, powerful or weak?How do we view our church at this time?Perhaps, at the moment, it feels like someone has knocked the big red button and the power has gone...In Ephesians 3, Paul is praying that the followers would understand that the ultimate power is God's but that it is available to us.

Plants, given the right conditions, undergo a natural pattern of growth. Over time, it begins to root itself in the soil. Going deeper and deeper until it becomes established. There is a link between rooting and establishing;  no roots no establishing. With deep roots the plant becomes established and flourishes. We see only what is happening above the surface and not below.No wonder Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus – they were going to need lots of it – as they sought to become rooted and established in the love of God and the shared love with those around them. 

The Old Testament tells us the story of first King of Israel: Saul. Who, from the moment Samuel the Prophet saw him, appeared head and shoulders above his contemporaries. Not just physically but spiritually too. Saul spoke prophetically and people wondered at their amazing king who they described as being among the Prophets. What became clear, over time, was that the one who had appeared unshakable began to rock from side to side when the inevitable storms of leadership hit. Saul was all too easily seduced by the need to remain popular with the people and, eventually, he became paranoid and unstable.How the mighty have fallen, in the midst of battle. When the storms come, even the mighty fall if their roots are not deep enough. If our roots are not set deep in the love of Jesus and love for one another, then we too might well join the long list of those who have fallen and have needed to be re-established. 

Leviticus 23, outlines the pattern and purpose of Sukkot – the feast of Booths. The festival was to be a time of celebration and appreciation of all that God had done for His people, since He had called them out of Egypt and slavery and brought them into the Promised land. Instead of celebrating the gathering in of the harvest at home each family was instructed to go out and build a temporary shelter – a booth – and live in it for seven days...