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“Encouragers in a dangerous time”

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Texts : Acts 4.32-37; 9.26-31; 11.19-26 The only constant is change      Isn’t it nice when things are calm, predictable, comfortable, when there is no anxiety in our hearts, no unknown factors to worry about, no changes to deal with?   Sounds nice, right?   Of course, life is rarely like that – indeed, the life of most congregations is rarely like that.   Most of the time, life is chaotic – full of often unwanted or unexpected changes and various crises, and we often feel woefully ill-equipped to deal with the unrelenting stream of complicated situations that insist on coming our way.   And yet, even though this is what “normal” life is like, we often react as if things shouldn’t be this way.   When chaos erupts, we often respond with shock, fear, hostility and resentment.   We try desperately to hang on to what is familiar and comfortable, to what makes us feel secure and confident in who we are and in what we are doing – to what ...
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“The most radical revolution”, part 3/3

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  Text: Acts 10.1-8, 34-48 People like us       You gotta love Peter.   He’s such a relatable person.   Though it is often tempting to put biblical characters on a pedestal – and thus absolve ourselves of the need to try and imitate them – it remains the case that all the heroines/heroes of the Scriptures were very much human beings just like you and I.   They were all frail, conflicted, often unstable folks.   That’s why, I believe, we’ve been given their stories – to show us, not only that there are no excuses when it comes to following Jesus, but also to let us know that we – with all of our hang-ups – are in good company. Excuses      Luke’s story of Simon Peter begins in chapter 5 of his Gospel when Jesus calls Simon to abandon his fishing boat and follow him.   Simon responds, “Go away from me Lord!   I am a sinful man” (Lk. 5.8).   We can easily imagine Jesus thinking, “No kidding, tell me som...
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“The most radical revolution”, part 2/3

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  Text: Acts 1.1-11 Chosen      Isn’t it thrilling to be chosen for something?  Perhaps it was getting picked by a sports team, maybe it was being selected to act in a play, perhaps it was getting a job after successfully navigating a competitive hiring process, maybe it was getting proposed to (or receiving a positive answer to your proposal), perhaps it was being promoted to a position of greater responsibility or leadership.  Whatever it may have been, it’s almost always a rewarding experience to be selected to use one’s abilities to contribute to the success of a group, an organization…or a couple.      Being chosen is the fun part.  But what about what happens from that point on?  A lesson that the Bible teaches again and again is that those who are chosen by God are not usually chosen for their strengths, talents or the usual reasons why we get chosen for various things in life.  In the Bible, God chooses peop...
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“The most radical revolution”, part 1/3

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  Dangerous religion      Historian Tom Holland, with his 2019 book Dominion , has reminded us that we are the inheritors of the greatest ideological, social and religious revolution the world has ever seen.   As 21 st -century Christians, it may be difficult for us to believe that there was ever a time when the Church was a dangerous, subversive and outlawed movement of revolutionaries.   As a contemporary Anglican bishop has said, “Everywhere St. Paul went, there was a riot.   Everywhere I go, they serve tea”.   Whatever the Church in the Global North may now be, we probably wouldn’t use the words “dangerous” or “subversive” to describe it.   How can we be dangerous once again?   As Christians, should we even desire to be “dangerous”?   Dangerous to whom?   Make no mistake about it.   It is impossible to read the New Testament without noticing that this collection of radical books is concerned with the question of...
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