Tawa Baptist

Self Care – by Murray Lucas

Scripture: Mark 12:30-31

Sermon by Murray Lucas on Self Care

When asked, what is the greatest life commandment, Jesus said in the Gospel of Mark…

‘So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy’. And ‘Love others as well as you love yourself’. There is no other commandment that ranks with these.

There are three requests Jesus made that are contained in this commandment.  The first is Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is love others and the third is love yourself.  These three injunctions cannot be separated but each must be viewed in the light of the other two requests. For example, you cannot love God and others effectively if you do not love yourself.

In this message I will be focusing on the third request to love yourself. It is about self-care and this means to value myself as my heavenly Father values me. Self-care honours God through nurturing the body, mind and spirit with their limits and desires. As Will mentioned a fortnight ago it means being honest with yourself.

For some of us, myself included, loving ourselves seemed unbiblical. There is an acronym , JOY that went like this: Jesus first, others second and yourself last. There is some truth in this saying but it can easily be changed into a twisted theology about human worthlessness. 

Human beings are never worthless. To quote Adele Calhoun, God gave his dearest and only Son to love human beings, beings he treasures and adores. One of the greatest treasures we have next to Jesus is our own selves. We are gifts of God. His Spirit lives in us.  We are invited to receive the divine love that takes residence in our bodies. We are to take it in and let it form us into a place of prayer.

The Psalmist wrote “Thank-you High God – you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration – What a creation!” The apostle Paul wrote to the people of Corinth “You realize don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you”.

God’s love within us gives birth to more love: love of God, love of others and love of ourselves. Love is a quality of God that grows within us, enlarging our hearts and increasing our capacity. Self-love is not about self-centeredness. It is about caring for the body the Holy Spirit inhabits.

Paul reminds us in Romans 12 to present our bodies as an act of spiritual worship.

A Quaker writer Parker Palmer writes “Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.

The products of self-care are that we value ourselves as Jesus values us. We have a proper view of ourselves and are comfortable in our own skin. We live within limits without burnout and we practice self-awareness rather than self-absorption. We should have a deepening awareness of God’s love for us and ultimately have freedom from addictions that can destroy our health and relationships.

Having defined self-care and outlined some of the fruit of self-care I want to examine how we practice self-care.

There are some obvious practical practices such as exercising and eating sensibly. This responsible attention to health in living will be examined more fully in an inspiring example I will share later.

Another practice is encouraging rather than neglecting yourself. If we are to encourage ourselves it is important we understand the value of realistic, positive self-talk. Sadly, I have met a number of good people who unfairly judge themselves more harshly than others, talk negatively to themselves and set up a spiral of gloom that is difficult to escape from. As humans we all make mistakes but it is very helpful for yourself to recall at such times some of the ways you have brought joy to yourself, your family, God, and to others. This should be spoken or written in a spirit of gratitude. This could be scaffolded as a playlist that you can recall when you go through a season of self-doubt and disappointment. Also, when you come down hard on yourself, remember that you can begin again.

Listening is another important practice. Again as Will shared a fortnight ago from this pulpit we should listen to the Spirit, Listen to the other person and listen to ourselves . Prayer is listening God and if we keep working at it prayer can be positively transformational.

A prayer by Joyce Rupp sums it up well…

Prayer is not only about entering into a relationship with God.

It is also about being changed. Healthy prayer strengthens our bond

With the creator and also transforms us.

Each encounter with God provides the opportunity to grow spiritually.

Prayer makes a difference in our life because it nudges and persuades us

To develop Christlike qualities in our attitude and actions.

Through prayer we become more loving, compassionate and justice oriented human beings.

When this happens, we are altered in a positive way and the world we touch is also changed for the better.

To practice self-care we need to observe appropriate boundaries. This can be particularly challenging if you are a perfectionist. For me, a propensity to try and improve everything can keep me working far past safe and healthy limits. In my job I came to realise that I cannot do everything to my very best. I have to pick and choose what gets done best and what just gets done so I can rest. At times I have to say “Good enough is good enough”. There is nothing wrong with aspiring for excellence and doing my best.  But when the quest for excellence drives my body beyond its limits, I have left the realm of appropriate self-care and I am trying to prove something to someone even if it is me.

Another key practice for appropriate self-care is to be able to give and receive love. It is perhaps easier for people to give love but many of us often struggle to receive love.

I love the allegory of the two seas in Palestine. One is the Dead Sea and the other is the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee gives, receives, lives and flourishes. The Dead Sea however has no outlet. It keeps everything, shares nothing, it neither gives nor receives and it is dead. A question to reflect on: what sea best represents you and your life?

Discernment is another practice that allows us to respect and care for ourselves. Discernment opens us up to listen and recognize the voice and protection in our lives. The Message translation of Philippians 1:9-10 captures the relationship between love and discernment. “So this is my prayer that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. It is important to engage both your mind and heart to use reason and attend to your hearts when arriving at a decision.

To conclude I would like to share with you a story of a young man who showed self-care in an incredibly challenging situation. Since lock-down in 2020, I was made aware of a church minister who demonstrated self-care, love of others and love of God.

His name was the Reverend William Mompesson. In 1664 he was appointed Minister of the Anglican Church of Eyam a town in the Peak District of England close to Sheffield and Manchester.

One year later the Great Plague arrived at his village. Late in 1665 a flea-infested bundle of cloth arrived from London for the local tailor, Alexander Hadfield. Within a week the assistant, George Viccars, noticed the bundle was damp and opened it up and heated it by the fire. This activated the fleas and not long after he was dead and more began dying in his household soon after.

As the disease spread the villagers turned for their leadership to their rector, the Reverend Mompesson. In response Mompesson showed that, “Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift he had, the gift he was put on earth to offer others”.

He did three things. He realized he could not lead alone so he turned to an ejected Puritan minister, Thomas Stanley, who still had solid support in the town and in a show of unity these two men persuaded the entire town to adopt a number of self-care health precautions to slow the spread of the illness from May 1666.

In this aspect Mompesson showed real discernment as he realized that Stanley’s gifts and talents were complementary to his. They also took the brave step of isolating themselves from neighbouring towns and cities to stop the spread of the Plague.

These measures included the arrangement that families were to bury their own dead and relocating Church services outside to a natural amphitheatre allowing villagers to separate themselves, social distancing 17th century style, and so reducing the risk of infection.

Perhaps the best known decision was to quarantine the entire village to prevent further spread of the disease (love of others). Merchants from surrounding villages sent supplies that they would leave on marked rocks; the villagers then made holes there which they would fill with vinegar to disinfect the money left as payment. There were many, many further practical examples of self-care.

The plague ran its course over 14 months and one account states that it killed at least 260 villagers with about 480 surviving out of a population of 800.

What was remarkable was that the villager’s actions prevented the disease from moving into surrounding areas. Major neighbouring towns such as Sheffield were spared as a result of the self-care but selfless actions of the township of Eyam superbly led by Reverends Mompesson and Stanley. This is a great example of loving others as you love yourselves. If the villagers had neglected these self-care measures the disease would surely have spread to Sheffield and other neighbouring towns.

Let us all love God with our heart, strength, mind and soul. Let us all love others but also let us have a healthy respect for our self and love ourselves by having appropriate self-care. When you do come down hard on yourself remember that you can begin again. Confess your harsh self-treatment and ask God for grace to receive who you are. The Christian message is about new beginnings.

Tawa Baptist

Salt & Pepper

Scripture: Mark 9:38-50

Video Link: https://youtu.be/UozKwTQBBWY

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The exorcist
  • Crime and punishment
  • Salty sayings
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Most dining tables have salt and pepper shakers on them. Salt and pepper add flavour and spice to the meal. The purpose of salt and pepper is to make the food taste better, but if you try eating salt and pepper on their own, you are in for a nasty surprise. 

Today we continue our series in the gospel of Mark, based on the lectionary readings. Last week we heard how Jesus defines greatness. The way up is down.

This week’s lectionary reading is a salt and pepper passage. By itself it tastes bitter and unpleasant. But mix a little salt and pepper in with Jesus’ goodness and grace, and it improves the quality of your relationships. From Mark 9, verse 38 we read…

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” 39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward. 42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with each other.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There’s an advert on TV which shows two toasters making toast. Each of the toasters is powered by electricity from different power companies. One of the power companies charges more for their electricity than the other company but, despite the difference in price, the toast comes out exactly the same.

There are any number of power companies, but electricity is electricity. It cooks toast the same, regardless of what power company you use. No power company has a monopoly on electricity.

In verse 38 of Mark 9, the disciple John reports how they saw someone driving out demons in the name of Jesus and told him to stop.

This is interesting. Earlier, in Mark chapter 9, the disciples had been unable to cast out a demon. Now we find someone who is not one of the twelve, but who believes in Jesus and is successful at performing exorcisms.

Why do the disciples think they have the right to instruct someone more competent than them? That’s like any one of us trying to tell Lydia Ko how to play golf.

Well, John told the unknown exorcist to stop because he was not one of them, he wasn’t in their club. The disciples think they are better than this unknown exorcist, even though the exorcist is more effective than they are.

Jesus had just been teaching his disciples about humility and service.

The unknown exorcist is serving the least and he is serving Jesus, but the disciples can’t see it. Jesus’ words haven’t sunk in yet. They don’t understand.  

You get the feeling John thinks he has done something good. Maybe he hopes to be commended by Jesus? Maybe he is wanting to climb the honour ladder and advance himself? But Jesus is not impressed.

In verse 39 Jesus corrects his disciples saying, ‘Do not stop him. For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.’  

To do something in Jesus’ name means to be a bona-fide representative of Jesus. And to be a bona-fide representative, you need to stand in right relationship with Jesus, you need to trust him. It’s more than simply adding Jesus’ name to the end of your prayer, as important as that is.

The unknown exorcist wasn’t using Jesus’ name like a magic spell.

The unknown exorcist stood in right relationship with Jesus. He trusted in Jesus and was able to cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

There are any number of power companies, but electricity is electricity.

It cooks toast the same, regardless of what power company you use.

No power company has a monopoly on electricity.

There are any number of Christians, but the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is free to work through any believer who stands in right relationship with Jesus. No disciple, no church, no denomination has a monopoly on overcoming evil by the power of the Spirit.  

If another Christian is doing good at school or at work, or if another church is doing good in the hood, then don’t knock them. Encourage them. We are on the same side.

In verse 41 Jesus goes on to say: Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

Don’t you love how Jesus keeps it real. Not many of us are going to perform miracles in this life. But any Christian believer can give a cup of water in Jesus’ name.

Any representative of Christ can show kindness. It’s like Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”     

The greatest power is love.

Crime and punishment:

I started this sermon talking about salt and pepper. Verses 42-50 contain the salt and pepper of the gospel in concentrated form. Taken by themselves these verses taste bitter and unpleasant. They were never meant to be read in isolation from the rest of the Bible. So, as you hear them, remember God’s love for you. Remember too, the grace of Jesus. From verse 42 we read…

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea…”

Jesus is talking about crime and punishment here.

Who are these little ones, that Jesus mentions?

In verse 37 Jesus took a small child in his arms and said, ‘whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me…’ So, these little ones might be young children generally. Don’t do anything to harm children or lead them into sin because God is just. He will hold you to account.  

However, these little ones might also be adults, like the unknown exorcist in verse 38, who believe in Jesus. Don’t do anything to cause a fellow believer to fall or lose faith because God is just. He will hold you to account.

The point here is that we have a responsibility to set a good example for others in the faith, especially those who are looking up to us. To trip up one who enjoys a close relationship with Jesus is a terrible crime and merits a terrible punishment.

I don’t often tell jokes in my sermons, partly because I’m not a funny person but also because many of you don’t share my sense of humour. That said, I’m going to take a risk and tell you a joke now…

A little girl was talking to a man on the train about whales. The man said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human being because even though whales are very large, their throats are very small.

The little girl said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. The man became visibly irritated saying again, in a stern voice, ‘It is physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human person’.

The little girl said, ‘When I get to heaven, I will ask Jonah’. 

The man retorted, ‘What if Jonah goes to hell?’ 

To which the girl replied, ‘Then you ask him’.

In verses 43-48, Jesus talks about hell and how to avoid going there.

43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Ditto that for your feet and your eyes.

In the first century, people were punished by having limbs lopped off.

The punishment for stealing was having your left hand cut off.

The punishment for a runaway slave was having one foot chopped off.

And sometimes people had an eye put out for various other crimes.

These sorts of punishments marked the offender for life, so everyone knew what they had done. And it made practical tasks a lot more difficult for the culprit themselves. 

That said, Jesus is not talking literally here. Jesus is not advocating self-harm. Jesus is speaking metaphorically. He is taking an image his listeners would be familiar with and using it to warn people not to go down the wrong path.

The hand is a metaphor for the sorts of things one might do that could lead them into sin. The foot is a metaphor for the sorts of places one might go that could lead them into sin. And the eye is a metaphor for the sorts of things one might look at that could lead them into sin.   

For example. If alcohol is a problem for you, then you need to be ruthless in cutting yourself off from alcohol. That doesn’t mean cutting off your hand so you can’t pick up a bottle.

That means not having any alcohol in the house. It means not going to the pub and not hanging out with friends who like to drink. And if there are lots of bottle stores between where you work and where you live, then it might mean taking an alternative route home to avoid temptation.

Now, I’m not picking on alcoholics here. You could substitute alcohol abuse for any other harmful behaviour, like gossip or sexual immorality or greed or pride or power or gambling or self-centredness or whatever. The point is to cut ourselves off from sin. Nip it in the bud.

That means we need to be thinking a few steps ahead. Where is this decision taking me? Where is this night out or this drink or this text message or this website or this friendship or this swipe right going to lead?  

Of course, we don’t always know where our first steps might take us. The thing about your hands and your feet and your eyes is that they are not inherently bad, they are useful and good in fact. Sometimes what seems innocent enough at first can be misleading. We need to be totally honest with ourselves.

Three times in three verses we come across the word hell. No one in the Bible talks about hell more than Jesus. The actual word translated as ‘hell’ is Gehenna, also known (in the Old Testament) as the Valley of Hinnom, that is, the Valley of Wailing. Gehenna is located on the south side of old Jerusalem.

Centuries before Mark wrote his gospel, the Israelites had sacrificed their children to pagan gods in the Valley of Hinnom. God hated this evil practice. After that, Gehenna became a rubbish dump, where maggots fed off animal carcasses and rubbish was always smouldering.

Given the stench and the filth and the continual burning, Gehenna became a metaphor for hell. Jesus was using an image his listeners were familiar with to describe what happens to the enemies of God in the afterlife. Jesus uses the term hell to describe the way God’s justice will deal with evil.

Those who are committed to doing evil are destroyed and thrown out like rubbish, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ Hell, therefore, is God’s righteous judgement on evil.

Verse 48 is a reference to the last verse in the book of Isaiah. It contains a message of judgment and hope. In Isaiah 66 we read…

23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all humankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. 

24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all humankind.”  

All this talk about hell is scary. It’s horrifying. Questions rise in our minds about what hell is like. What’s the temperature? Who will be there? Is it a place of conscious suffering? Or is it a place of annihilation? We simply don’t know the answers to those sorts of questions and we shouldn’t speculate.

What we can say is that God is good. He is just and merciful, gracious and true. God is love. The Lord of love is our judge and he will do what is right by each one.

The present reality is that this world is a war zone, spiritually speaking.

For the kingdom of God to be realised on earth, the kingdom of evil must be destroyed. Hell is the destruction of the kingdom of evil and that, ultimately, is good news for humanity.

In the same breath that Jesus talks about hell, he also talks about entering life and the kingdom of God. The point seems to be, participation in the kingdom of God is worth any sacrifice. It is better to be limited in what you do in this world, if that means enjoying eternal life.

Salty sayings:

Some of you may have played the word association game. With this game, you start with a word and then someone else says another word that is related in some way and you keep going like that until a word gets repeated or you can’t make an association.

For example, you might start with the word cow, then milk, cereal, breakfast, dinner, steak, salt, fire and so on. Now some of you may be thinking, I can see the connection between most of those words, but what’s the connection between salt and fire? Well, the thing that salt and fire have in common is they both purify things.  

In verses 49-50 of Mark 9, Jesus gives us three salty sayings. We don’t know whether Jesus said these sayings all on the same occasion or whether the gospel writer, Mark, simply collected the salty sayings of Jesus in one place to make them easier to recall.

What we do see here is a certain word association. Verse 48 talks about the fire that is not quenched and in verse 49 we get the saying, ‘everyone will be salted with fire’.

In the ancient world, salt was associated with purity because it came from the two most pure things known at the time. The sea and the sun. Likewise, fire was associated with purification because precious metals (like silver) were refined by fire.

Therefore, the phrase, everyone will be salted with fire, probably means everyone will be purified. This is not saying everyone will go through hell or purgatory. Being salted with fire is a metaphor for the process of purification we go through in this life.

Jesus’ second salty saying reads: Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

Salt is a preservative. Salt fights corruption. Unless the Christian resists corruption and evil, bad things will flourish unchecked in the world.

Followers of Jesus are to live a pure life, a life of moral integrity.  

But wait, there’s more. In the Law of Moses, grain offerings needed to be seasoned with salt before being burned. In Leviticus chapter 2, we read…

13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

As well as being a preservative and a purifying agent, salt is also a symbol of a covenant commitment with God. To lose one’s saltiness is to lose one’s commitment to God. Mark 9, verse 50, is a warning against apostacy. Jesus is saying, don’t turn back on your commitment to God. Keep the faith.

Jesus’ third salty saying goes like this: Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with each other.

Salt brings out the best in food. Salt makes things taste more like themselves.

For example, if you put salt on an egg, it makes the egg taste more like an egg. Without salt, the egg tastes a bit like rubber.

To have salt among yourselves, therefore, is to bring out the best in each other. To help those around us to be the best version of themselves. Having salt among yourselves is the opposite of tripping others up or causing them to fall.

William Barclay explains Jesus’ meaning well. Have within yourselves the purifying influence of the Spirit of Christ. Be purified from selfishness and self-seeking, from bitterness and anger and grudge-bearing. Then you will be able to live in peace with those around you.[1]

Last week, we heard how the disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest. This kind of thinking does not bring out the best in people. It brings out the worst. Jesus wants his disciples to preserve their relationships together and to bring out the best in each other. This requires a covenant of salt, a commitment to serving one another’s wellbeing. 

Conclusion:

Each of us (if we are honest with ourselves) is a mixture of good and evil.

We are not pure and we cannot purify ourselves. So where does that leave us?

Well, God does not want to send you to hell. The Lord does not want anyone to perish, he wants everyone to come to repentance and be saved. Your soul is precious to God. So precious in fact, that God sent his own dear Son, Jesus, to redeem your life.

We are made right with God through faith in Jesus. Learning to trust and obey Jesus is our purification process. Sometimes it hurts. We are made salty again as we submit to the work of God’s Spirit in our lives.

May the Lord guide us in the way of purity and peace. Amen.    

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How do Jesus’ words in Mark 9:38-50 make you feel? Why do you feel this way?
  3. Why does John tell the unknown exorcist to stop driving out demons? Why does Jesus correct John?
  4. What does it mean to do something in the name of Jesus?
  5. Discuss / reflect on Mark 9:42-48. How are we to interpret these verses? Who are “these little ones”? What is hell? What notes of hope do you see?
  6. Is there anything in your life that you need to cut off? (E.g. a habit, a pattern of thought, a relationship, etc.) How might you do this? 
  7. Discuss / reflect on the three salty sayings of Jesus in Mark 9:49-50. What is the connection between salt and fire? What does it mean to lose one’s saltiness? How might we bring out the best in one another and be at peace?      

[1] William Barclay, Commentary on Mark’s gospel, page 244. (My paraphrase of WB’s words.)

Tawa Baptist

Made to Last – by Neville

During a recent holiday in Britain, I visited a church built for a farming community in the 13th century. At the bottom of the old door was a much smaller door – a dog-door. This allowed shepherds to attend church, while their sheep dogs could come and go during a service.

What a lovely example of an ancient church that met the needs of its community.

I visited a number of places connected to the long history of Christianity in Britain. I saw examples of change, resilience and continuity, and I thought I’d tell you about some of these.

We’ll start in Cornwall, a county that contains the most westerly and most southerly points of mainland Britain.

People lived in Cornwall for thousands of years before the birth of Christ, and some of their stone structures survive to remind us of a pagan past. These include Neolithic tombs, Bronze Age standing stones and stone circles.

The Romans occupied much of Britain in the first four centuries AD, and then the Anglo-Saxons took over; Cornwall stayed remote and pagan. But in the 5th and 6th centuries, Christian missionaries arrived in Cornwall, mostly from Ireland.

The Irish missionaries brought Christianity with a very Celtic flavour, quite different to the Roman church later introduced in the east of Britain.

Celtic Christianity tended to focus on simplicity and God in community, rather than structured services and church hierarchy. The early missionaries modelled the Christian life by example – they brought the good news of Jesus, and gave credibility to their words through their deeds. Christianity didn’t always go down well of course, and many missionaries were killed.

With no central organisation as such, missionaries were able to do what seemed right for the place they ended up at. For many this meant fitting Christianity in beside existing beliefs.

To pagans, springs of water were special places, places of healing and links to a spiritual realm. Near the modern city of Penzance, one missionary set himself up beside a pagan spring. He taught, healed and baptised in the name of Jesus, and got a reputation as Saint Madron. Even after his death, pilgrims came to the spring for healing.

A chapel was built in the 12th century in memory of the saint. It’s ruined now, but I found fresh flowers on the altar that showed it hasn’t been forgotten. Ribbons tied in the trees by the spring, representing recent supplications, suggest that the pagan past still lingers, side by side with Christianity. Anyone today who tosses a coin into water and makes a wish is also echoing an ancient pagan practice.

There are dozens of such places throughout Cornwall. One, dedicated to St Ruan, still attracts pilgrims, and water from the spring is still used in a nearby church for baptisms.

These places reminded me of the way modern missionaries, like those from Arotahi we focused on last month, tend to work alongside non-Christians in their own situations.

I’d have missed the track to St Madron’s chapel if it wasn’t for a stone marker cross erected in the 12th century, at the same time as the chapel. There are more wayside crosses like this in Cornwall than anywhere else in England.

The story of the Boskenna Cross, near Land’s End, is a wonderful example of Christian continuity and survival. Originally erected in the 12th century on a tall pillar, this cross (like many others) was smashed in the 1500s. This was the time of the Reformation, when Protestants separated from the Catholic church, and saw it as their duty to destroy graven images in churches all over Britain. The head of the Boskenna cross was rediscovered in a ditch in 1869, and re-erected using an old stone farm roller for the pillar. Despite being hit by motor vehicles, a few times, this cross still marks an easy-to-miss road to the local church.

Not all missionaries set up by springs. Some established themselves at other popular gathering places. They erected a simple living hut, often with a stone cross to mark the spot. However, the mid-7th century saw a turning point in English Christianity, when it was decided that the church of Rome would replace Celtic practices. In Cornwall this resulted in the building of churches, a hierarchy of priests and a restricted access to God. In the Celtic church, all money had been used for the poor. In the church that took over, the pope ordered that of all money donated, a quarter went to the bishops, a quarter to the clergy, a quarter to hospitality and a quarter to the poor. No wonder that the old ways were not easily abandoned, and many of the old stone crosses survived next to the new churches.

We’re going to leap forward now, missing out centuries of ups and downs in British Christianity, to land in the 18th century. At this time, many Christians weren’t happy with the state of the established church, and were drifting away.

Over 27 years in the late 1700s, John Wesley and his brother Charles, founders of Methodism, often visited Cornwall. They encouraged people to get out of their churches and take individual responsibility for being Christ in their communities. Because of the numbers of people attending meetings, the Wesleys gave most of their sermons outside.

A favourite site, where they preached many times, was an amphitheatre called Gwennap Pit. It was formed by previous mining activity, but was ideal for the crowds of thousands the Wesleys attracted. In 1806, locals remodelled the Pit as a memorial to the Wesleys, which is what you can see at the site now. The Pit has been used for a service at least once a year from 1807 to the present, except during recent Covid lockdowns. That’s continuity.

I know some of you remember the Billy Graham rallies in New Zealand in 1959 and 1969, so you can perhaps identify with the atmosphere in the Pit.

As well as jumping in time again, we’re going to jump location too – to London.

Back in 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed about a quarter of the city – including 87 churches and St Paul’s Cathedral. The churches were an important part of the rebuild, and architect Sir Christopher Wren and colleagues rebuilt most of them and added new ones, all within about 15 years. St Paul’s Cathedral took a bit longer!

This does suggest amazing resilience of the churches, but there was another side to the story. More than 70,000 people were made homeless by the fire, and were housed in tented camps set up in city parks. Even after the churches had been rebuilt, many people were still homeless and living in squalid conditions. Providing churches for spiritual comfort and worship before housing the homeless – you might disagree with that idea.

St Martin’s, Ludgate, just down the road from St Paul’s, is one of the few Wren churches that escaped the bombing of World War Two. Nicky and I went there to witness my brother and his wife renew their marriage vows. The meal afterwards was held in the home of the Archdeacon of London. The reason I mention this is that, in what is now the kitchen, is a plaque commemorating the fact that the Church Missionary Society, started in 1799, held its committee meetings there until 1812. William Wilberforce was a committee member. And as many of you will know, it was the CMS who sent two missionaries to New Zealand in 1814, accompanied by Samuel Marsden, the Society’s chaplain in New South Wales.

I couldn’t help thinking that Christianity in Britain has been on a long journey from its early missionary days, to sending out its own missionaries around the world. And now New Zealand sends out its own missionaries. This reminded me that some of God’s plans are very long term, and they have relied on many generations of people who have loved and trusted Him.

You’ve sat through a lot of history this morning, so it’s only fair to bring you up to date.

One London church, St James, Piccadilly, was badly damaged by bombs in 1940, but was rebuilt by 1954. The church stands between two busy central London streets, with a door opening on to each. At lunchtime people use the church as a way to get between the streets in search of food. Some might see this as a bit cheeky, but the church encourages it – in fact, the church has now become a destination, as well as a thoroughfare. Lunchtime concerts encourage people to linger. We found lunch in a courtyard full of food stalls, and had a drink in the Redemption Roasters café, staffed by ex-prisoners. There was also a quiet place offering counselling. On the spiritual side, services range from Sunday traditional to those during the week that suit people who like to worship through music, dance or quiet.

This seems to be a church that is a vibrant part of its community, responding to practical needs. It is one of many, and it left me with a real sense of optimism.

That was shaken a couple of weeks ago, when I read a short piece from an English newspaper, published in our own Post. This is how it started:

“England’s established church is in deep trouble. An investigation by The Telegraph has revealed that almost 300 Anglican parishes have disappeared in the last five years. In less than 30 years the Church of England has lost more than half its regular worshippers. Attendance now stands at barely over 500,000.”

Here in New Zealand, over the last 20 years the national census has recorded a large drop in people recorded as Christian.

But we’ve just seen that, over a long time span, Christianity and individual churches experience ups and downs, large and small. Some churches survive, others don’t. So what makes a church resilient in troubling times?

The Bible gives us some clues.

Acts 9:31 tells us that, despite persecution and hardship, in its very early days “The church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. Through the help of the Holy Spirit it was strengthened and grew in numbers, as it lived in reverence for the Lord.”

In James 1:2-3 we read “My brothers, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.”

So resilience depends on faith – trust in God and obedience to him.

I think Tawa Baptist has the signs of being a resilient church, and I don’t just mean the earthquake strengthening.

It is resilient because of prayer. Not just praying for ourselves and others, but praying as a way of trying to discern God’s wishes for the church.

It is resilient because it invests in the future of its young people.

It is resilient because its people use their spiritual gifts, and learned skills, for the good of the church and its community.

It is resilient because of the Bible-based teaching it receives, and because it puts into action what Jesus taught.

Basically, resilience comes about when we love God, but love people as well. That’s what Jesus made it clear we must do.

At the start of the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, Luke tells us that when the crowds followed Jesus “He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.” (Luke 9:11). He told the people the truth, then showed them the truth by meeting their needs.

Luke also tells us (in Luke 9:2) that Jesus gathered the 12 disciples together, “Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” He instructed them to tell the truth, then show the truth by serving.

Love God, but love people too. Those early missionaries in Cornwall did just that – they told people about the good news of Jesus, but they also healed and helped those in need. It’s what John Wesley preached – love God, but take responsibility for helping those in need. It’s what many modern churches do, each in their own way.

I know that Peanuts cartoons don’t have the same authority as the Bible, but I think there’s a lesson for us in this one. You really need to see the cartoon, but this description should give you the idea:

Frame 1: Snoopy is sitting outside in the snow, shivering. In the distance, Linus says to Charlie Brown “Snoopy looks kind of cold, doesn’t he?”

Frame 2: Charlie Brown replies “I’ll say he does. Maybe we’d better go over and comfort him.”

Frame 3: The two boys go up to Snoopy. “Be of good cheer, Snoopy” says one, “Yes, be of good cheer” says the other.

Frame 4: The boys walk away, and Snoopy is left shivering in the snow.

What would you have done? (apart from not talking to a dog and expecting it to understand!)

I happened to be in Britain much of the time I was thinking of the theme of Christian resilience and continuity, so I’ve used examples from there. I encourage you to think about examples from countries you are more familiar with, including New Zealand.

Questions:

What are some examples of churches in the Tawa area providing for the needs of their communities?

How do you feel about the future of Christianity in New Zealand?

What does it mean to say a church is resilient?

What does it mean to say an individual person is spiritually resilient?

Reread the list of things that may contribute to Tawa Baptist being a resilient church. What other factors are there?

How do you respond to the following statement?

‘People have different spiritual gifts – some are good at telling about Jesus, others are better at helping those in need.’

Do you think that previously pagan/non-Christian places can still have a role in modern Christian life? Why do you think that?

After a disaster like the Great Fire of London, or an earthquake in NZ say, how could you justify building churches before housing the homeless?

Tawa Baptist

Hope feeds faith

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 15:51-58

Video Link: https://youtu.be/4Iw4j_DrU6Q

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The hope of resurrection
  • The work of faith
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Bishop Bill Frey once said: “Hope is hearing the music of the future; faith is dancing to it today.”

I like that. Hope is the capacity to imagine a good future. If you know, by faith, that something good is waiting for you in the future, it gives you positive energy in the present. The name for that positive energy is ‘joy’.

Today we conclude our series in 1st Corinthians 15, where Paul writes about the necessity and certainty of resurrection for the Christian faith. In these verses Paul summarises some of the main points of chapter 15 and he draws a connection between the future hope of resurrection and what that means for Christian faith in the present.  From 1st Corinthians 15, verses 51-58, we read…   

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”  56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Today’s message is about two things: The hope of resurrection and the work of faith. Bishop Frey used the imagery of music and dancing to describe the dynamic relationship between hope and faith. ‘Hope is hearing the music of the future; faith is dancing to it today.’

We might also use the metaphor of food. Hope feeds faith. Hope is not a quick sugar rush. True hope doesn’t pick you up and then dump you. Real hope is nutritious food for the soul, giving sustained energy over time.

The future hope of resurrection feeds our faith in the present, so we can go the distance in doing the work God has prepared for us as we hold to Christ.   

The hope of resurrection:

Does anyone here watch Bear Grylls? He has a TV programme where he takes celebrities on an adventure in the wild. It usually involves doing something risky and eating something disgusting.

In pretty much all the shows I’ve watched, Bear makes a fire to get warm and to cook whatever he happened to find on the trail. But each time he demonstrates a different technique for getting the fire going.

In one episode he said he was going to start a fire using his own pee. It was a mystery to me how he would transform urine into fire. I’m pretty sure pee isn’t flammable, although I’ve never put that to the test.

Long story short, Bear did not pour his urine onto the kindling. Rather he peed into a clear plastic bag and then held the bag of urine up to the sun, refracting the light through his pee, just like you would concentrate light through a magnifying glass. This was enough to ignite some dry grass which he then fed with sticks and logs to get the fire going properly.

From pee to fire. Such a clever transformation. So obvious and simple in hindsight.

From verse 51 Paul reveals the mystery of resurrection. Namely that those who belong to Christ, whether they are sleeping in death or still living when Jesus returns in glory, will be transformed in the blink of an eye.

We might read that and think, how? That seems as unlikely as using pee to start a fire. But for God it is easy. In hindsight, post resurrection, I expect it will be obvious to us all.   

As we heard last week, the transformation of resurrection happens to our bodies. The Christian hope of resurrection does not imagine a disembodied soul in the next life. The Christian hope of resurrection includes a transformed body, one that is suited to our new existence in the kingdom of heaven.

Just as a seed is transformed into a plant and a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly, so too our earthly bodies will be transformed into heavenly bodies, only much quicker. The change is from a body that wears out and dies to a body that doesn’t wear out or die. That is the hope of resurrection for all who belong to Christ.

In 1977 the rock band Queen released a song called We are the champions. It is a victory song, intentionally written for crowd participation. Even now (nearly 50 years later) We are the champions is instantly recognizable and easily sung at sports stadiums around the world.

In verses 54 & 55 Paul offers his own victory song, where he writes: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?

Paul is referring to Isaiah 25 here, where the prophet says…

7 On this mountain the Lord will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

It’s like Paul is saying: through Jesus’ resurrection, we are the champions. Through Jesus’ resurrection, we are on the winning side. Through Jesus’ resurrection, we have the victory over sin and death.

Of course, while it is true that in and through Christ we are the champions, it also needs to be acknowledged that we live in the now but not yet. Yes, Jesus has won the victory over sin and death on the cross. But we haven’t yet fully realized that victory. We still await the final victory when Jesus returns in glory. We are (in a very real sense) on the way to victory.   

In verse 56 Paul explains his metaphor saying: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

If you think of a scorpion, it is the sting of the scorpion that causes death. Sin is like a scorpion’s sting. Sin leads to death. But if you cut off the tail of a scorpion it cannot sting you, it is essentially harmless. Likewise, if you get rid of sin, then death loses its power and cannot harm you.

Paul also makes a connection between sin and the Law of Moses. Ironically, it is the law which gives sin its power. Romans 7 sheds some light on what Paul means here…

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 

Even though the Law is good, it cannot save us. It can only show us our guilt and accuse us. The thought of having our faults revealed and being judged tends to fill us with fear and dread.

Returning to 1st Corinthians 15: To keep it simple, with the return of Jesus, death is destroyed and sin can no longer touch us. Through Jesus, we have victory over death. Knowing that, one day, God will destroy death in all its many forms gives us something good to look forward to; it gives us hope and that hope feeds our faith, it helps us to obey God in the present.

This hope of transformation through resurrection is not a long shot. It is not like the hope of maybe winning Lotto one day. For those who belong to Jesus, the hope of resurrection is a sure thing because it doesn’t depend on luck or our own ability or goodness.

Our hope of resurrection depends on what Jesus has already accomplished through his own death and resurrection.

One thing we notice as we read these closing verses from 1st Corinthians 15 is that Paul doesn’t play the fear card. Paul keeps it positive. Paul doesn’t threaten his readers with hellfire and brimstone. He doesn’t say, turn or burn. Paul uses the carrot and not the stick.

Some of us may have become Christians out of fear, because we wanted to avoid the pain and torment of hell (as our uninformed minds imagine it). God is gracious and he will still accept you on the basis of wanting to avoid hell but really a relationship which is based on fear is not ideal.

It’s not what God wants. God is love and he would prefer that our relationship with him be based on faith, hope and love, not fear.  

Hope feeds faith like a river waters the land or like bread nourishes the body.  And our faith needs to be fed and watered if we are to find the strength to do the work God has prepared for us. And what is that work? Our work is to believe in the one God has sent, to believe in Jesus.

The work of faith:

Recently I came across a short story by JRR Tolkien (of Lord of the Rings fame). The story is called ‘Leaf by Niggle’.

Niggle is an artist who lives in a society that does not value art. This does not stop Niggle from painting though. He loves beauty and painting for its own sake. Niggle is a perfectionist and spends many hours over the details.

He has a vision of a great tree with a forest and mountains in the background. But Niggle is better at painting leaves than he is at painting trees. He is always reaching to capture his grand vision of the tree but never quite getting there. Part of the problem is that Niggle has many mundane chores that prevent him from devoting his time fully to his master piece.

To make matters worse, Niggle has a kind heart and is not able to turn away from his neighbour in need. His neighbour, Parish, is lame and Parish’s wife is sick. When Parish’s roof starts leaking Niggle is imposed upon to help. In the process Niggle catches a chill and dies before he can finish his painting.

After Niggle dies, the precious canvas on which he painted his tree is used to cover the roof of his neighbour’s house and is all but ruined, except for a small corner which has a perfectly painted leaf on it. The ‘Leaf by Niggle’ is put in a museum but after a while the museum burns down and Niggle’s painted leaf is destroyed.  Niggle is soon forgotten by the people of this world.

In the afterlife, Niggle hears two voices. The voice of Justice and the voice of Mercy. Justice and Mercy are debating with each other about what should become of Niggle. The severe voice of Justice talks about how Niggle wasted his life and was always distracted, never accomplishing much. He never finished his painting of the tree.

But Mercy, a strong but gentle voice, points out that Niggle was kind hearted and helped his neighbour in need. What’s more, Niggle did not paint for fame or money. He painted for the love of art and beauty. Mercy and Justice agree to send Niggle to a kinder place for ‘a little gentle treatment’.      

When Niggle arrives in the heavenly country he finds the tree in his vision, the tree he had been trying to paint all his earthly life. Except now the tree is alive, it is not just a painting. And behind it is the forest and the mountains he had imagined on earth.

Parish joins Niggle in the afterlife and together they work to make this good place even better. The place is named “Niggle’s Parish” and becomes a garden of healing for people as they make their transition into eternity.

Most of us can identify with Niggle. We all have a dream or a vision of what we hope to accomplish in this life but none of us seem to be able to fulfill our aspirations. The demands and interruptions of this world get in the way, as do the limits of our skill and capacity. This life becomes marked by frustration, bitterness and gall until we find ourselves asking, what is the point? 

I like Tolkien’s story though, because it is hopeful. It reminds us this life is not all there is. It imagines a future in which our efforts in this life are not wasted but put to good use in the next life.

Said another way, our purest aspirations in work will come to complete fruition in God’s future. In paradise, the work you do will be useful, bringing you (and others) joy and satisfaction. You will not be frustrated by a lack of time or ability, for you will perform with all the skill you can imagine. [1]

Some might hear Tolkien’s story of Niggle and think: ‘Phew, the pressure is off. I can cruise through this life and it doesn’t matter too much because it will all be sorted in the next life.’  Well, that’s not the point of the story. Nor is that what Paul is saying in 1st Corinthians 15.

In verse 58, Paul writes…

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.  

Some in the church in Corinth were saying there is no resurrection of the dead. Paul counters this by encouraging the Corinthians to stand firm in their belief in the resurrection. Let nothing move you; let nothing shift your hope in the resurrection, because those who hold to their faith in the risen Jesus will realise the deeper meaning and purpose of their life.

The hope of resurrection is not supposed to make us complacent or apathetic. The hope of resurrection is supposed to inspire and energize our work of faith in this world. What we do in this life matters for eternity because it is not just our bodies which are transformed and resurrected. The fruits of our labours in the Lord are also transformed and resurrected.   

Whatever you do in love and faith in this life, bears abundant fruit in eternity. In fact, we could think of the faith and love we share in this life as an investment paying dividends in heaven.

As Jesus says in Matthew 6…

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  

Where is the treasure of your hope? What vision of the future captivates your heart?

Conclusion:

Given that hope feeds faith, how then do we get a seat at the restaurant of hope?  By holding fast to our belief in the resurrection of Jesus and taking time to feed our mind and soul on what we know of resurrection life from the Bible.

Over the past few weeks we have done just that…

In the resurrection those who abide in Christ will be given new supernatural bodies. Bodies that do not get sick or wear out or fail. Bodies that are well suited to eternity. Let the hope of a resurrected and transformed body feed your faith and your soul.

In the resurrection those who abide in Christ will receive a share in God’s kingdom. We will enjoy a paradise in which God’s will is always done perfectly. A place of joy and peace and abundance. No more poverty. No more grief. No more homelessness or war. Plenty of good things to go around for everyone.

Let the hope of heaven coming to earth motivate you to love your neighbour and care for the environment.


In the resurrection those who abide in Christ will experience the redemption of their life’s work. Your purest aspirations in work will come to complete fruition in God’s future. The work you do will become useful and satisfying. Your true calling will not be frustrated by a lack of time or ability.

Let the hope of having your life’s work fulfilled and made fruitful sustain your labour in the Lord now. 

In the resurrection those who abide in Christ will be reunited with loved ones who are also in Christ. Parents who have lost children too soon will see them again. Orphans deprived of their parents’ time & love will be cared for. You who are widows and widowers will meet your husbands and wives once more.  

Let the hope of restored and properly functioning relationships inspire you to be kinder, more patient, more honest, more gracious and more forgiving with those near to you today.


But the greatest hope, the most nourishing hope, of resurrection is the indescribable joy of intimacy with God. The ravages of loneliness in this world will pass like a bad dream. In the resurrection we will be so close to God, so immersed in his love, that we will know instinctively what the Lord wants and be willing and able to do it.

Let the hope of intimacy with God fill you with wonder so that your soul overflows with whole hearted worship and praise. 

“Hope is hearing the music of the future; faith is dancing to it today.”

May the music of heaven give you the rhythm and joy you need to dance through this life. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Discuss / reflect on Bishop Frey’s quote: “Hope is hearing the music of the future; faith is dancing to it today.” What does this mean? What does this say about the relationship between hope and faith? 
  • What does Paul mean when he says, ‘the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is death’? 
  • Why does Paul focus on the hope of resurrection (rather than the fear of hell)? What is your relationship with God based on? Does anything need to change?
  • How do you feel hearing Tolkien’s story about Niggle? In what ways does the story ‘Leaf by Niggle’ relate to 1st Corinthians 15:58?
  • What does it mean to share faith and love in this life? How might we do this?
  • Where is the treasure of your hope? What vision of the future captivates your heart? How does the hope of resurrection influence your faith in the present?  

[1] Timothy Keller, ‘Every Good Endeavour’, page 96.

Tawa Baptist

Moses & Joshua

Scriptures: Exodus 17:8-13; 33:11; 24:13; 32:17;

Numbers 11:25-29; 13:1-14:10; 27:18-20

 

Title: Moses & Joshua

 

Structure:

  • Introduction – Intergenerational relationships
  • Symbiotic relationship
  • Mentoring relationship

o   Showing and telling

o   Inviting reflection

o   Providing a catalyst

o   Investing authority

  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

On the wall here we have a picture of a pair of oxen or bullocks

–         In the old days when they wanted to train a young ox to pull a load they would yoke it with an older well-trained ox

–         The younger ox would learn what to do and how to follow directions by walking alongside the older ox [1]

–         In a way the older ox was a mentor to the younger beast

 

Today we begin a new sermon series on intergenerational relationships in the Bible

–         An intergenerational relationship is exactly what it sounds like – a relationship between two people from different generations, someone older and someone younger

–         We find a number of intergenerational relationships in the Bible

–         For example: Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth

–         The aging priest Eli and the young prophet Samuel

–         King Saul and King David

–         As well as the apostle Paul and his protégé Timothy

 

Our focus this morning though is on the relationship between Moses and Joshua

–         No disrespect to Joshua and Moses but in some ways Joshua is like the younger ox learning from Moses, the older more experienced ox, while the Lord God is the one giving the directions, leading them both

 

Symbiotic relationship:

Please turn with me to Exodus 17 – page 78 near the front of your pew Bibles

–         Joshua was Moses’ personal assistant – his aide

–         Joshua was probably about 50 to 60 years younger than Moses

–         We don’t know exactly how they met, but it seems they had chemistry – a special kind of rapport

–         We first hear about Joshua and Moses working together in the wilderness, following the Israelites’ escape from Egypt

–         From Exodus 17, verses 8-13, we read…

 

[Read Exodus 17:8-13]

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

A healthy intergenerational relationship is mutually symbiotic – or mutually beneficial, in other words

–         Symbiosis comes from a Greek word meaning “living together”

–         From a scientific point of view a symbiotic relationship is ‘the living together of unlike organisms’  [2]

 

An example of a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship, in nature, is that of the sea anemone and a clown fish (from ‘Finding Nemo’ fame)

 

The clownfish supports the life of the sea anemone by feeding on small invertebrates that otherwise have potential to harm the anemone,

–         What’s more the fecal matter (or the poos) from the clownfish provide nutrients (or dinner) to the sea anemone.

–         The clownfish receives the benefit of being protected from predators by the anemone’s stinging cells, to which the clownfish is immune.

–         The clownfish also emits a high pitched sound that deters butterfly fish, which would otherwise eat the anemone [3]

 

The anemone and the clown fish are unlike organisms but they support each other in a mutually symbiotic relationship

–         We need each other and we need each other to be different

 

At their best intergenerational relationships are mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships

–         We see this mutual symbiosis in Moses’ and Joshua’s relationship

 

In Exodus 17 (which we just read) the young Joshua goes into battle against the Amalekites to protect Israel at a place called Rephidim

–         Rephidim means support [4]

–         Moses, who is most likely in his 80’s at this stage, is not physically fit enough for hand to hand combat – he relies on Joshua for that

–         But Joshua and the Israelites are the under dogs in this fight

–         Israel has just spent the last few hundred years in slavery – the people are vulnerable and relatively weak

–         They need God’s help and God lends them a hand through Moses & Joshua working together

 

Moses supports Joshua and his soldiers by raising his hands in the air

–         We are not sure how this helps – but it does

–         As long as Moses’ hands stay up Israel gets the advantage – but as soon as Moses’ hands droop, the Amalekites start winning

–         In the end Joshua wins, not by his own strength but by the hand of God and Moses supporting him

 

Why did God do it this way?

–         Why not just zap the Amalekites with lightning from heaven or have the ground swallow them up, or drown them like he did the Egyptians?

–         Well, perhaps God is teaching Israel to work together symbiotically

 

Moses needed Joshua and Joshua needed Moses and they both needed God

–         By working together as they did Moses & Joshua are a living parable to Israel of how God wants the people to function as a nation

 

So that’s the first thing about Moses’ & Joshua’s intergenerational relationship – it was symbiotic or mutually beneficial, not just to each other but also to the wider community

 

Mentoring relationship:

The second thing we observe is that Moses became a mentor to Joshua

–         Now not every intergenerational relationship is necessarily a mentoring relationship but they can often develop that way

 

A mentor is a wise and trusted advisor who guides a protégé and helps them to develop their potential

–         Mentoring is more than simply teaching a particular skill set

–         Mentoring is about developing the whole person

–         Moses does at least four things in his mentoring of Joshua

 

Moses mentors Joshua…

–         By showing and telling

–         By inviting reflection

–         By providing a catalyst for change

–         And, eventually, by investing his authority in Joshua

 

Let me give you some examples from the books of Exodus and Numbers to illustrate how Moses does these things. Firstly, showing and telling…

 

Telling is when the mentor gives the protégé instructions to follow

–         (Whether the protégé follows those instructions or not is the telling part)

–         And showing is when the mentor demonstrates to the protégé by his own example

 

In Numbers 11, verse 28, we read that Joshua had been Moses’ aide (his personal assistant) since his youth

–         This means that Joshua was sort of like Moses’ first lieutenant

–         In this role, as Moses’ aide, Joshua did what Moses told him to do – just as a lower ranking officer would follow the orders of a general

–         Some religious orders require their priests & nuns to take a vow of obedience

–         Obedience is not a very popular word or discipline these days but learning to follow instructions is essential for any man or woman of God

–         That Joshua was willing to obey Moses was very telling – it demonstrates that he is capable of following God’s instructions

 

Joshua’s role as Moses’ assistant also meant he went everywhere with Moses

–         So when Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and receive the 10 commandments Joshua went with him, not all the way but far enough [5]

–         Likewise when Moses met with God in the tent of the Lord’s presence  Joshua was close at hand [6]

–         Wherever Moses went Joshua followed and so Joshua was continually exposed to Moses’ example in leadership

 

More than just showing Joshua what leaders do (the tasks of leadership), Moses was, by his presence, actually showing Joshua how to be a leader

–         Character is more caught than taught

–         We tend to become like the people we hang out with

–         As adults we need to be careful in the example we model for the young among us

–         Our children will learn more from what we show them, through our actions, than they will through what we tell them with our words

 

After nearly 40 years living and working with Moses, Joshua had perhaps one of the longest apprenticeships in history

–         But by the end of it he had a pretty good handle on what was involved in obeying God & leading the nation

–         Not only that but he had developed, and imbibed from Moses, some vital character qualities like patience and faithfulness and integrity

 

As well as showing and telling, Moses also helps Joshua to think for himself by inviting him to reflect on his experience

–         A good mentor doesn’t always spell out the answer for their protégé

–         Sometimes it may be necessary to explain things but often it is better to teach people to figure things out for themselves and let them draw their own conclusions

 

Turn with me to Numbers chapter 11, verse 25 – page 142 in your pew Bibles

–         This little story is relevant for the season of Pentecost that we are in

–         Incidentally though it also shows Moses inviting Joshua to reflect on his experience – from Numbers 11, verse 25 we read…

 

[Read Numbers 11:25-29]

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

You may remember me telling you the story of when I went to Cubs as a boy and attempted my ‘Duty to God’ badge

–         Most badges were supervised by the Cub leaders but the ‘Duty to God’ badge had to be supervised by a minister

–         There was a chaplain at my school so I approached him and asked if he would supervise me – to which he replied…

–         “You can never do your duty to God”

–         I was 10

 

The Chaplain wasn’t telling me off but nor was he willing to explain what he meant – he was inviting me to reflect on what I was doing

–         It seems I’m still reflecting on it some 36 year later

 

Joshua was loyal to Moses and was worried I suppose that the elders prophesying in the camp might undermine Moses’ authority

–         But Moses doesn’t feel threatened

–         He doesn’t reprimand Joshua for his outburst, nor does he seek to explain the meaning of God sharing his Spirit

–         Instead Moses sees a teachable moment here and invites Joshua to reflect on the experience, and his response to it, by saying…

–         “…I wish that the Lord would give his Spirit to all his people…”

 

I’ll leave it with you to figure out what that could mean

 

The third thing Moses does in mentoring Joshua is he provides a catalyst for the young man

–         A catalyst is something which causes or precipitates a change in the protégé’s identity and thinking

 

Some catalysts can be quite pleasant – like when you get married, your identity and consequently your thinking changes

–         Other catalysts can feel less pleasant

–         Just as hot water is a catalyst for drawing out the flavour in a tea bag

–         So too when we find ourselves in hot water over something – this becomes a catalyst drawing out what is inside of us

 

Moses does two things to precipitate a change in Joshua’s identity and thinking:

 

Firstly, in Numbers 13 verse 16, he changes his protégé’s name (and by implication his identity) from Hoshea to Joshua

–         This name change is a relatively pleasant / feel good catalyst

–         Hoshea means salvation while Joshua means The Lord saves  [7]

–         I wonder if Moses is making the point here that it is not Joshua who will save the people – it is the Lord God who saves

–         This change in thinking would lift a huge weight off Joshua and would remind everyone (including Joshua) to put their trust in the Lord

 

Incidentally, the Greek form of the name Joshua is the same as that of the name Jesus – so Joshua points to Jesus, the ultimate successor to Moses

 

The second thing Moses does to precipitate change in Joshua is send him to the Promised Land with the other 11 spies to scout things out

–         By doing this Moses is putting Joshua into a new and unfamiliar situation

–         How will Joshua respond in a foreign culture?

–         Will this new experience draw out faith or fear?

 

Ironically Joshua doesn’t find himself in hot water until he returns to the Israelite camp in the wilderness

–         Ten of the Israeli spies give a bad report, spreading fear among the people

–         Only Caleb and Joshua respond in faith by essentially saying, “with the Lord on our side, we’ve got this”

–         Despite being under tremendous pressure Joshua & Caleb provide an unpopular minority report and the people are ready to stone them

–         But God intervenes

–         Joshua’s character proves true to his name: the Lord saves

 

You know, when a butterfly emerges from its cocoon it doesn’t just slip out easily – the butterfly has to struggle to get out

–         But the struggle is necessary to get the fluid pumping into its wings – without the struggle the butterfly wouldn’t fly

–         It wouldn’t have been easy for Moses to see Joshua in hot water with the people – but it was necessary for Joshua to go through this struggle

–         The whole experience acted as a catalyst to precipitate a deep change in Joshua – it strengthened his resolve and showed everyone what Joshua was made of

 

One of the things we notice about the butterfly’s struggle to emerge from the cocoon is that it happens in stages, not all at once

–         So in providing a catalyst, little steps are usually best

–         For example, if you are a leader in Sunday school you could develop the potential of your helper by providing the catalyst of extra responsibility

–         Don’t throw them in the deep end by making them prepare the whole lesson – rather start by asking them to organise one game or one craft activity, then gradually give them more responsibility as they are able

–         A bit of extra responsibility might feel like a struggle for them at first but they will grow into it – step by step

 

Providing a catalyst for change requires wisdom from the mentor

–         Knowing when to step in and help and when to hang back and let our children and our protégés fend for themselves – it’s not easy

 

Okay – so far we’ve seen how Moses mentored Joshua by showing & telling, by inviting reflection and by providing a catalyst

 

Now let’s consider how Moses invests his authority in Joshua

–         Investing authority is about the mentor letting go (when the time is right) and passing the baton of responsibility to the protégé

–         It’s about handing over the keys for good

 

If power is the ability to do something then authority is the license or the permission to do it

–         You may know how to drive a car but without a license you don’t have the authority to drive

–         You may be a very capable administrator but without winning an election you don’t have the authority to make decisions in public office

–         You may be able to climb through the window of a house but without a deed of ownership or a rental agreement you have no right to be there

 

Towards the end of Israel’s long sojourn in the wilderness God tells Moses he is going to die and Moses responds, not by thinking of himself, but by thinking of what is best for the nation. [8]

–         Moses knows that the people need good leadership – he doesn’t want them to be left alone like sheep without a shepherd

–         So the question is: who will become the new shepherd of Israel?

–         Who will guide and protect the fledgling nation?

 

To his credit Moses doesn’t assume anything

–         He doesn’t assume one of his sons will succeed him as leader of Israel

–         Nor does he assume that because he has been mentoring Joshua all these years that Joshua will automatically succeed him

–         Instead Moses asks God to appoint his replacement and God chooses Joshua because Joshua is capable

–         After all those years of mentoring, Moses had given Joshua the ability to lead the nation

–         But by asking God to choose his successor, Moses was giving Joshua the authority to lead – and it was a rock solid authority for no one can argue with God’s decision

 

Moses formally transfers his authority by publicly laying his hands on Joshua’s head and proclaiming Joshua as the new leader of Israel

 

Moses’ and Joshua’s mutually symbiotic relationship has come full circle

–         Joshua needed Moses to prepare him for leading Israel and Moses needed Joshua to pick up the mantle of leadership for the sake of the nation

 

Joshua went on to be a wise & courageous leader during a time of great change

–         He transitioned the nation into the Promised Land – no easy task

–         The surprising thing is that, as far as we know, Joshua didn’t mentor anyone else after him

–         And if the book of Judges is anything to go by the nation suffered for it

 

Conclusion:

Here at Tawa Baptist we are blessed with a diversity of ages – all the generations are represented

–         Not all churches are as lucky as we are in this respect

–         We want to encourage people to grow healthy relationships together – not just with people of the same age but also with people of a different generation – we need each other and we need each other to be different

 

To help people deepen their relationships we sometimes run lunches after church – like the Count Me In lunches we are having today

–         I encourage you to attend one of these lunches and get to know someone in a different age bracket to you

–         You don’t need to force the conversation but if you find a natural chemistry with someone older or younger than yourself then look for opportunities to develop the friendship

–         You might not end up in a full on mentoring relationship like Moses & Joshua but your life will probably be richer for it

 

Let me leave you with two questions…

–         Who is your Moses?

–         Who is your Joshua?

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/18-jun-2017-moses-joshua

[1] http://www.draftanimalpower.org/forums/topic/young-and-old/

[2] Heinrich Anton de Bary, 1879.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis

[4] Refer George Knight’s commentary on Exodus, ‘Theology as Narration’, page 122.

[5] Refer Exodus 24:13 and 32:17

[6] Refer Exodus 33:11

[7] Refer the footnote in the NIV Study Bible

[8] Refer Numbers 27:15-20

Tawa Baptist

Cyber Parenting

Cyber Parenting – Raising your kids in an online world by James & Simone Boswell

This is one of the most profound Christian parenting books I have had the pleasure of reading. While the focus is on Cyber Parenting, the biblical worldview of parenting is reaffirmed, strengthen and applied in a practical way to protect and guide our children through not only the technological changes  happening in our world today but also through the demands the secular world makes on the family as a whole.  It reassures parents who feel that they grew up in a different era, that God’s word and rules still apply across the ages.

The authors don’t hold back and give an honest account of the dangers faced by kids and adults in the online environment, be it cyber bullying or sending, receiving and viewing inappropriate content. Protecting your online security is essential and dire consequences can result from being uninformed. For instance, if a site requesting your personal information does not begin with https, the S being key, your personal information on that site is not securely stored and identity theft a risk. Also,  innocently informing friends that you are at a local hotspot or agreeing to allow an app to have access to your location, could mean that your movements are tracked, which in some cases has resulted in cyber bullies ganging up on victims in the physical world or criminals preying on children as they are able to find out their physical locations. Another lesson learned is to be careful when sharing content on line and posting information and pictures, while inappropriate and misinformed actions can be “deleted” so to speak, a record of it never really disappears from the online environment, such is the uptake of information! An innocent mistake could have consequences for their future professional lives and reputations ruined as a result.

Yet the authors reassure us that while dangers exist God has given us the tools to cope as parents and in fact, cyber parenting can become a wonderful tool to train our kids in the way of the Lord. As parents, we protect them by modeling good online behaviour, by being informed and putting measures in place to minimize online threats. While, at the same time, we provide biblical lessons on interactions with others, appropriate online behaviour, protecting your reputation and being a great example of a child of God. Then gradually as they mature and prove themselves, we allow them more freedom to make their own decisions. The key is relationship, whether that means joining in online games as a family,  ” friending” them on Facebook or talking about the issues from a non confrontational standpoint. As the online world tends to marginalize families, it’s all about taking back family time!  I strongly encourage you to read this book, it will be of profound benefit to your family as a whole. God Bless

 

By Laurie Coetsee