John Chapter 1 gives an account of Jesus calling Phillip to follow him. Soon Philip came to Nathaniel and explained that they had found Jesus who is the person whom they had been seeking for ages. Jesus is the one written about in the law and the prophets, He is the Messiah and the King who is to reign forever. Nathaniel's response was negative. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" What does this say about common opinion of the place Nazareth? What does this say about Nathaniel? If I were to ask, "Could anything good come out of Frankley, Rubery or B45?" It is almost like implying the place is a dump and the people rubbish. Ouch! This reminds me of when I first started teaching at a secondary school just out of the area. Pupils occasionally asked me where I lived. I would answer "Rubery". There was only one association they had, hence came the next question."Oh, do you live at the mental hospital?" I would coldly answer back in a matter of fact type of way, "that's right, its ward 312 which is on the third floor if you want to visit" The cognitive dissonance I had created here ensured that no further questions ensued. Frankley, Rubery B45 is a beautiful place on the edge of outstanding countryside and the natives, of which I remain one of, are generally straight and decent people. I remember years ago as I was dropping a friend off after church in Frankley, my car broke down. A kind man came out of his house, made me a cup of coffee and loaned me his telephone to get help. A more apt question would have been can any good come out of human flesh? The answer is clearly yes, even though we are born with sinful natures. We can sympathise with Nathaniel, we've all been there and done that and asked if we are any good? Our focus should be on the fact God is good. Jesus, the divine Son of God is good and by His grace and mercy, He can change us to become more like Him. God has chosen to call, to equip and to use whoever He will. God uses even you or me, imperfect as we are. This is precisely what He does. He will equip those who are available with spiritual gifts. He equips the soul with a love for Him, for His righteousness and a love for others irrespective of whether or not we agree with them, choose to like them or even if we judge them to the point of asking, what good can come out of them? Nathaniel asked, “Where did you come to know me?” Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Phillip called you." This was a revelation moment for Nathaniel. Only God Himself could have known that. Yes, this Jesus is the promised Messiah. Our other reading recounts God calling Samuel and how Samuel kept going to the prophet Eli, as it seemed he had written off the idea that God Himself might want to talk directly to him. Eli realised it was God and so prepared Samuel for this. I have said this to myself many times, "Don't write yourself off. Stop highlighting failures and believing you are no good". This places the focus in the wrong place. All that matters is that God is good. All He requires is for us to acknowledge the truth, learn to see things as He does, submit ourselves to Him and be willing to go His way. He will provide all we need as we journey to fulfil His purpose in our world. Should we desire miracles as Jesus did? Of course! God will work miracles through us as we avail ourselves to him. He gives us His righteousness (as our own is of no worth) and He gives us His love. The world will see how real our love is. They will know that we are Christians....... by our love. Eternal Lord, our beginning and our end: bring us with the whole creation to your glory, hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The baptism of Jesus was a light bulb moment for John and possibly for Jesus himself. When we become Christians, Jesus identifies with us in our humanity and enables us to identify with him in his divinity. It reminds us of truths which will encourage us in these dark times. We need to repent, the heavens have been rent open and God has come down to us and dwells with us, God loves us and we are his children and he baptises us with his Holy Spirit. Both Jesus and John the Baptist preached repentance. We repent of our sins to receive forgiveness and to make room for Jesus in our lives, so his love and Holy Spirit can fill us. When we reflect his light and holiness within our lives we attract others to him and nurture loving communities that are not selfish and proud. Repentance is contrary to our society which has rejected the boundaries put on them in previous generations and where those who admit they have failed are often seen as weak. Jesus humbled himself by being baptised in the River Jordan by John and calls us to be humble. When we are being self righteous prigs we lose our humanity and pretend we are better than we are. Baptism is a symbol of cleansing, of leaving the sin behind and enjoying a new start. It is about dying to the old and rising to the new. Paul said, “You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We are cleansed, healed and made whole through Jesus and joined to him in baptism. Powerful though John’s baptism of repentance was the ministry of Jesus and the baptism he has brought is more powerful. John pointed to one more powerful than him. John’s preaching caused people to do something about cleaning up their lives and putting things right. The baptism that Jesus brings enables us to live Christ like lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t do away with John’s baptism. He was baptized by John and affirmed what he was doing. Although he knew no sin, he identified with us sinners in our suffering and death. When Jesus came out of the water God the Father revealed his son to the world. The heavens were torn apart. Torn is a strangely violent word to describe such a happy occasion. It describes that moment on Good Friday when the curtain of the temple was torn in two at the moment Jesus died on the cross. It's the answer to Isaiah’s prayer, "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down," (Isaiah 63:19). In Jesus, God has torn open the heavens and come down. God cannot stand the separation between what happens in heaven and what happens on earth any longer any longer. We are able to experience something of the glory and power of heaven as we share in God’s kingdom now. Baptism symbolises dying and rising. In baptism, Jesus submitted himself to dying for us so we might share in his death and resurrection. We need to see God working amongst us at this time. Vaccines against COVID 19 have been developed unusually quickly. Maybe they are a sign of God moving among us. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove on Jesus as the Spirit descended on the early church at Pentecost. Whilst John baptised in water, Jesus baptises us, (fully immerses us) in the Holy Spirit. The Ephesian disciples of John illustrate this difference. They had been baptised by John but had never heard of the Holy Spirit or of how they could be united with Jesus. When they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. If we ask Jesus to baptise us with the Holy Spirit he will. He enables and empowers us to live the life of Christ in our generation and bring love and healing to a broken world. The Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus, with Christians throughout the world and the community of heaven, uniting us in one community. Jesus hears the voice of His heavenly Father, encouraging him. “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Wrapped in these words of acceptance are the blessings of identity, worth, and unwavering regard. We need to hear those words from the Father. He says them to us when we are baptized and throughout our lives as we live in Christ. Our Heavenly Father tells us we are his children, we belong to him, we are loved, and we make him happy. Isn’t that amazing! To become Christians we need to decide to follow Christ and turn from our sins to receive forgiveness. We need baptism in water with its symbolism of cleansing, dying, and healing. We need Jesus to baptise us with the Holy Spirit to assure us that we are his children and pour his love into our lives. Jesus identified with us in our humanity, through baptism. The Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus and enables us to share his love in these dark times. When we feel discouraged and powerless lets remind ourselves of our baptism. God has come down to us and dwells with us, God loves us and we are his children. He baptises us with his Holy Spirit when we ask him enabling us to continue his work on earth. Heavenly Father, at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son: may we recognize him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
The baptism of Jesus was a light bulb moment for John and possibly for Jesus himself. When we become Christians, Jesus identifies with us in our humanity and enables us to identify with him in his divinity. It reminds us of truths which will encourage us in these dark times. We need to repent, the heavens have been rent open and God has come down to us and dwells with us, God loves us and we are his children and he baptises us with his Holy Spirit. Both Jesus and John the Baptist preached repentance. We repent of our sins to receive forgiveness and to make room for Jesus in our lives, so his love and Holy Spirit can fill us. When we reflect his light and holiness within our lives we attract others to him and nurture loving communities that are not selfish and proud. Repentance is contrary to our society which has rejected the boundaries put on them in previous generations and where those who admit they have failed are often seen as weak. Jesus humbled himself by being baptised in the River Jordan by John and calls us to be humble. When we are being self righteous prigs we lose our humanity and pretend we are better than we are. Baptism is a symbol of cleansing, of leaving the sin behind and enjoying a new start. It is about dying to the old and rising to the new. Paul said, “You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We are cleansed, healed and made whole through Jesus and joined to him in baptism. Powerful though John’s baptism of repentance was the ministry of Jesus and the baptism he has brought is more powerful. John pointed to one more powerful than him. John’s preaching caused people to do something about cleaning up their lives and putting things right. The baptism that Jesus brings enables us to live Christ like lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t do away with John’s baptism. He was baptized by John and affirmed what he was doing. Although he knew no sin, he identified with us sinners in our suffering and death. When Jesus came out of the water God the Father revealed his son to the world. The heavens were torn apart. Torn is a strangely violent word to describe such a happy occasion. It describes that moment on Good Friday when the curtain of the temple was torn in two at the moment Jesus died on the cross. It's the answer to Isaiah’s prayer, "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down," (Isaiah 63:19). In Jesus, God has torn open the heavens and come down. God cannot stand the separation between what happens in heaven and what happens on earth any longer any longer. We are able to experience something of the glory and power of heaven as we share in God’s kingdom now. Baptism symbolises dying and rising. In baptism, Jesus submitted himself to dying for us so we might share in his death and resurrection. We need to see God working amongst us at this time. Vaccines against COVID 19 have been developed unusually quickly. Maybe they are a sign of God moving among us. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove on Jesus as the Spirit descended on the early church at Pentecost. Whilst John baptised in water, Jesus baptises us, (fully immerses us) in the Holy Spirit. The Ephesian disciples of John illustrate this difference. They had been baptised by John but had never heard of the Holy Spirit or of how they could be united with Jesus. When they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. If we ask Jesus to baptise us with the Holy Spirit he will. He enables and empowers us to live the life of Christ in our generation and bring love and healing to a broken world. The Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus, with Christians throughout the world and the community of heaven, uniting us in one community. Jesus hears the voice of His heavenly Father, encouraging him. “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Wrapped in these words of acceptance are the blessings of identity, worth, and unwavering regard. We need to hear those words from the Father. He says them to us when we are baptized and throughout our lives as we live in Christ. Our Heavenly Father tells us we are his children, we belong to him, we are loved, and we make him happy. Isn’t that amazing! To become Christians we need to decide to follow Christ and turn from our sins to receive forgiveness. We need baptism in water with its symbolism of cleansing, dying, and healing. We need Jesus to baptise us with the Holy Spirit to assure us that we are his children and pour his love into our lives. Jesus identified with us in our humanity, through baptism. The Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus and enables us to share his love in these dark times. When we feel discouraged and powerless lets remind ourselves of our baptism. God has come down to us and dwells with us, God loves us and we are his children. He baptises us with his Holy Spirit when we ask him enabling us to continue his work on earth. Heavenly Father, at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son: may we recognize him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
Services on Thursday at 7.00 pm will continue on zoom. Please phone Jane on 07748693408 if you would like to join us. Sermons will be posted on our “A Church Near You” site and on our facebook page
