A Word In Time. Sermons And Addresses.

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What is a positive recurring theme in the letter is the reminder to recall the words they first received of the holy prophets, the apostles and Jesus himself; an exhortation to keep the faith in the face of adversity and not to be distracted from it. Maybe you are familiar with CS Lewis’ series of books known as The C hronicles of Narnia. The first in the series is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the final volume is The Last Battle. At the end of this final book in the series, the lion, Aslan, reveals that the stories have been a dream, he calls the people to know that the conflict, the pain, and the trauma of battle is over. Aslan declares that the dream is ended – this is the morning. Vineyards and workers hired for the day were common features of first-century life in Galilee; the town square or 'marketplace' was where those looking for work would hang out hopefully. As with fruit-growing today, extra casual workers were needed at harvest time, and it was normal for fit people to work for 12 hours from shortly after sunrise until sunset. The urgency of getting the grapes harvested at the optimal time would account for the landowner himself going to the marketplace rather than sending one of his full-time workers, and he would do it several times during the day to secure as many person-hours of work as possible. There is no reason to suppose those employed late in the day had been lazy; they may for example have been harvesting their own small fields and then had time left over. In ‘normal times’ this is Covenant Sunday, when Methodists say to God "I am no longer my own but yours" as part of the Covenant Prayer. This sits alongside John’s language of becoming "children of God". How can we live as children of God in the world of 2022?

I try to thank my staff weekly as recognising and encouraging them is part of caring for them. I know what it's like to have no encouragement at all; it leaves you questioning whether you are doing a good job and doubting whether what you are doing is right – making you feel no one cares. It’s an awful place to be, one in which you feel undervalued and unappreciated. Jesus gradually opens the eyes of his followers to a greater understanding of truth about his mission and purpose. Those of us who know how the story unfolds will realise that even the Crucifixion is not a final statement, but leads into a new chapter that emerges from the Resurrection and the unleashing of the Spirit of God in the world. Bearing in mind that Christians speak of God as being loving, gracious and generous, what are your images or ideas about any possible future judgement? Then he said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’ (v. 23) Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (v. 11)We may be tempted to follow a lifestyle that does not make demands of us or require the same level of discipline that Jesus expects. Remind yourself today about the Methodist Way of Life and why it is so helpful as a daily guide to living. The second part of the dialogue centres on Jesus’ knowledge that the woman has had five husbands and is now living with a man who is not her husband ( vs 17-18). Commentators differ over the interpretation of this text, but most argue that ancient readers would consider the woman a sinner. In light of this knowledge, the woman recognises Jesus as a prophet and so asks about the right place to worship; is it Jerusalem or ‘this mountain’ (Mount Gerizim) ( vs19 -20)? Jesus explains that while ‘salvation is from the Jews’, a time is coming when God will invite people to worship ‘in Spirit and in truth’ ( vs 21-23). Worship, in other words, will not be confined to particular places, but the Father will seek people from all places to worship him. The woman notes that the Messiah will proclaim the truth when he comes, and Jesus tells her that the Messiah is himself ( v. 26). To Ponder:

This is a passage of scripture that upsets our assumptions about what God is like. It has a radical effect on our understanding of what God expects from us. Those who confess Jesus as Lord should not be looking for status or power. They should not be acting from selfish ambition or conceit. Rather, they should be considering others before themselves, having the same mind that was in Christ. Today we return to the feeding of the multitude and the discussion about it, which forms the remainder of the chapter and the remainder of our week’s studies. Key concepts today are the origin and the qualities of the bread of heaven. So Mary bursts into song. And what a song – Christian people have been singing the Magnificat (Mary's hymn of praise) ever since! Mary recognised that God had turned her world, indeed the whole world, upside-down and she rejoiced in that. What can we learn about the Lord’s purpose for the world from reading about the relationship between the brothers? How might it speak to us today? Chapter five follows the calling of the disciples and the journey of healing Jesus had taken through Galilee. This had drawn crowds from all of the surrounding regions to hear him and is the beginning of his teaching ministry.Perhaps part of the problem in westernised Christianity is that angels are pictured to be more like the medieval artistic portraits of the heavenly beings of seraphim and cherubim. These are often portrayed as being cute baby-like creatures with wings. The Old Testament scriptures, however, describe angels as having an adult human form and sometimes being hundreds of feet tall. In the New Testament angels have specific roles; for example, some are messenger angels as in the narrative about Jesus' birth and some are warrior angels fighting against Satan or guarding Satan’s escape from the Abyss as found in the book of Revelation. Angels also had a role in protecting the apostle Peter: see Acts 12:1-19a. The text raises many questions in my mind, because of this. How could one man set himself against all those living around him, and build a craft which is so alien to the land where it is being constructed. We might wonder how he was able to access all the materials he needed to build the ark. Where did he source all the food and how did he collect the animals together? Nevertheless, he presented himself as ready as he had been told. We read that “Noah did all that was commanded from him.” ( v. 22)