6th Sunday of Easter Readings: Acts 10v44-end, Psalm 98; 1 John 5v1-6; John 15v9-17. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In the book of Acts, we hear that immediately after Peter had shared his testimony about Jesus with a crowd made up of Jews and gentiles, that the Spirit of God indwelt all who were listening. This left the Jews surprised because they did not expect God’s spirit to be poured out onto people who were not Jewish. Yet here they were - speaking in tongues and praising God. This inspired Peter to baptise the gentiles in the crowd – but before he did – he pointed out that the gentiles had been given the same spirit of God as those who were Jewish – and asked whether there were any objections to the gentiles being baptised. Then, as no objections were raised, Peter gave the instruction for the gentiles to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. As a Christian, I believe that this account shows us that God loves all people and that God has no favourites. I also believe that it reminds us, the people who are the Church in this generation, that it is our duty and responsibility to not only welcome all people that God sends to us, but also to share our witness testimony with and baptise them. For as John tells us in his letter, everyone who believes that Jesus is the son of God, the Christ who lived and died for us, the Messiah, is a child of God. John also tells us that: if we love God, we will keep God’s commands and God will give us the strength and ability to live as He calls us to live. For, as we heard in John’s gospel, Jesus tells us that he loves us the way he is loved by his father and invites us to make ourselves at home in his love. Jesus explains that we can live in his love if we follow his command to love others just as he loved us – which is by putting our lives on the line for one another. Jesus says that if we love others like this that we will grow and mature into the people that God meant us to be – the people God calls and chose for his plans and purposes. A people that we hear about in Psalm 98. A people who: sing to God. A people who shout God’s praises. A people who pay tribute to God. A people who know that God loves us so much that he rolled up his sleeves and took action to set things right between heaven and earth. I believe that God is calling us into his service, in many and varied forms. I believe that God is calling us because he made us, loves us and chose us. I believe that God has a plan that includes each one of us. A plan that God is working out in the world, so that all humankind can be offered the gift to be saved, so that when this life comes to its end, we can take up a place in heaven. Let us pray: Most merciful God, we give you thanks for your son Jesus who came to earth to deliver and save the world. Help us to be like him – the servants of others in the world for which he died. Open our eyes, hearts and minds, so we feel your calling. Send people to help us discern what you would have us do in your world. Help us to be the people you designed us to be – so we share the kind of love with the world that Jesus did. Amen Thank you for joining us.
5th Sunday of Easter Readings: Acts 8v26-end; Psalm 22v25-end; 1 John 4v7-end; John 15v1-8. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: The 22nd psalm speaks of a time when there will be a great gathering of people who will be worshipping, praising and giving thanks to God. The psalm tells us that this gathering will be drawn from the four corners of the earth. It will be a gathering made up of people who worship God and people seeking God. This gathering will include poor and destitute people, powerless and sinful people, as well as powerful people who have come to their senses. The psalmist says that this great gathering of people will be drawn together because of those people who pass on the good news from generation to generation, and the good news is that God always fulfils what God says he will do. I believe that this psalm tells us about our mission as Christians. This is that we must pass on the good news about God in every generation, in order that people will be drawn together to seek and worship God. I believe that this calling is really important because as we hear in the letter from St John, the God we worship is the God of love, the God who showed his love to us first so that we could learn how to love. For true love banishes the fear of death and the fear of judgement and it also prompts us to love God and other people. However, there is more to being God’s people than worshipping God and loving other people. For as Jesus tells us in the gospel of John, Jesus describes himself as the “True Vine” and his father as the farmer who takes care of the vines. Jesus says that because he is the true vine that we can be grafted into him as vine branches, branches that will bear fruit as we mature as Jesus’ disciples. Jesus also warns that his father will cut off, throw away and burn all of the branches that separate themselves from the true vine, as well as those that do not mature and bear fruit. I believe that this is a warning that in our mission as Christians we must grow and mature so that we bear the fruit that God has designed us to produce. Jesus also tells us that his father will help us to stay connected to Jesus, so we can mature and bear fruit, by pruning away everything that distracts us from being God’s people. For God is up to all sorts, in the mission to save and bring people back to himself. As we heard in the book of Acts, God will even do the most extraordinary of things, just as he did with Philip. First God sent an angel to tell the disciple Philip to take himself at midday to the desolate road that connects Jerusalem with Gaza. Philip did as he was asked and once on the road, he saw a man riding a chariot. The spirit of God then prompted Philip to speak to the man in the Chariot and as Philip drew near, he could hear that this man reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The words he was reading were about a lamb who was led to the slaughter, so Philip asked him whether he understood what he was reading. As the man had questions, he invited Philip into his chariot and Philip took the opportunity to answer the questions by preaching about Jesus. After this the man asked to be and was baptised and the spirit of God took Philip away. All so extraordinary, all so amazing, all so surprising – and yet all well within what God can and does do. So today, let us grow like branches so that we become all that God wants of us. Then let us dare to follow as prompted and guided by God. Let us pray: Most merciful God, we give you thanks for your son Jesus who came to earth to deliver and save the world. Help us to live like he did, so that we can be servants of others in the world for which he died. Teach us how to grow into the people you would have us be, so we pass on the good news to this and the next generation. Amen Thank you for joining us.
4th Sunday of Easter Readings: Acts 4v5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3v16-end; John 10v11-18. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In the 23rd psalm, we hear that the Lord is our shepherd. A good shepherd who leads the sheep to food and water. A good shepherd who stays with the sheep at times of danger. A good shepherd who loves, serves and blesses the sheep. A good shepherd who seeks and searches for the sheep in order to bring them back home to God. This is a psalm that tells us all we need to know about God, for God is a shepherd who wants to help, guide and save us – his sheep. In the gospel of John, we hear Jesus describe himself as the “Good Shepherd”. A shepherd who puts the sheep before himself, a shepherd who knows his sheep, a shepherd who will do whatever it takes to keep his sheep safe. For, the good shepherd is someone who loves the sheep, someone who wants to take good care of the sheep, someone who will put themselves in danger in order to defend and protect the sheep. This reading tells us that being a good shepherd is important because the sheep will only trust good shepherds and when they trust those who are shepherding them, they will follow them wherever they go. Understanding what it means to be a good shepherd is vital for the church in this day and age because Jesus told his disciples that there are many who need to be gathered up and joined together as one huge flock. Gathering up everyone that God is calling into one flock is something that can be done, probably through a miracle, because as we hear in Acts, Jesus is the chief cornerstone - the one in whose name everyone can be saved. But, to play our part in this gathering, we must be good shepherds. For as Jesus warned in the gospel of John, the sheep do not trust bad shepherds because they know that bad shepherds do not care what happens to them and that bad shepherds will not do what is needed to protect them. For bad shepherds do not love them and are only there to take what they want for themselves. However, being a good shepherd is well within our reach, for as we hear in the letter of John, it is a calling to live like Jesus, who loved and sacrificed his life for us. A calling that John’s letter tells us is one in which we must stop being self-critical so that we can begin to live boldly before God. A bold people who are do what pleases God, by believing in Jesus and keeping God’s command to love other people. I believe that this is our calling. A calling to be good shepherds. Good shepherds working for God. Good shepherds who care for others and serve them diligently and faithfully, just like Jesus did for us. Let us pray: Most merciful God, we give you thanks for your son Jesus who suffered on the cross to deliver and save the world. Help us to live like he did, so that we can be servants of others in the world for which he died. Teach us how to be Good Shepherds in this generation, teach us how to love and care for others and help us to gather your people into your one true sheepfold. Amen Thank you for joining us.
3rd Sunday of Easter Readings: Acts 3v12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3v1-7; Luke 24v36b-48. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In Luke we hear about an appearance of the risen Jesus to his disciples. This took place in Jerusalem, after the two disciples who had met with Jesus earlier on the road to Emmaus had returned and were telling the others about it. As the disciples shared this and other accounts of meeting with Jesus, Jesus appeared amongst them saying “Peace be with you”. Jesus also asked them why they were afraid and doubting that he was there amongst them? Jesus went on to show them his hands and his feet and to ask for food, that he ate in their presence. After this Jesus explained the law of Moses, the psalms and the books of the prophets to them, so that they would be able to make sense of all that had occurred. Jesus told them that it was all planned and prophesied in advance - his suffering, his death and his rising again. All of this so that repentance and forgiveness of sins could be proclaimed in Jesus’ name to all nations by all of the disciples who were his witnesses. In Acts, in a time after Jesus ascended into heaven, we hear Peter telling the crowds that he had been able to perform the miracle of making a man able to walk because of God. For the God who raised and glorified Jesus had lent his power to Peter, in the name of Jesus. The same Jesus who had been turned against and crucified by those who should have known better. The same Jesus who was the Messiah, the one foretold by the prophets. After telling them all of this, Peter invited the crowd to ask forgiveness for their sins, turn back to God and have their sins wiped away, because of Jesus. In the letter of John, we hear that God loves us so much that not only can we be called his children but also, one day, see him as he really is. John reminds us that because of this we have hope and must purify ourselves by turning away from sinful living and doing what is right. The Psalm is an ancient prayer, asking God for rescue from shame as well as to put gladness in their hearts and shine the light of God upon them. It is a prayer that closes with confidence to sleep restfully because the Lord will keep them safe. The reading from Luke tell us that God has everything in hand, all the good and the bad things in life. The reading from Acts tells us that God has power to do miracles and wants us to turn back to him for forgiveness of our sins. The letter from John tells us that God’s love for us far outweighs our sinfulness and that all God hopes is that we will turn back by trying to avoid sin and actively do what is right. The psalm is a prayer that God has answered, is answering and will always answer, for all God wants is to rescue us, fill us with joy and make us bright with godly light. This is why the message of the Church is good news. For none of us deserve God’s love, it is offered to us freely and is ours for the taking – subject only to returning into a covenanted life of keeping God in mind, trying to avoid sinning, actively living in line with God’s instructions and repenting each time we fail. I believe that this is a great, glorious and undeserved gift – a gift we should grasp with surprise and delight. A gift we should tell others about – so they can have it too. Let us pray: Most merciful God, we give you thanks for your son Jesus who suffered on the cross to deliver and save the world. Help us to live like he did, so that we can be servants of others in the world for which he died. Teach us how to share the message of Good News that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the entire world is able to rejoice in the power of all he accomplished for us. Amen Thank you for joining us.
