Reconciliation

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

John 21:15-19






(N.B. I don't know if the picture is copyrighted, nor whether it should be displayed publicly on a blog - if any know any more, or know that it definitely should not be displayed, do let me know and I'll remove it immediately.)

Thoughts Through A Sermon

The following are notes I made whilst listening to a sermon at church this morning. The church and the speaker shall remain nameless. They are literally as I wrote them in church, so excuse the 'note' form they come in. As such, they are also unfinished thoughts.

Let me know what you think about the issues raised.

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That was the week that was: A reflection on the weeks news.

26 July 2009

Begins by pointing out the various inconsistencies that are in what we expect from the government, i.e. they can't always spend money - they must also make cuts if they are to spend money.

"What would Jesus do?" is not useful to us speaker says... because Jesus didn't have to deal with the issues. BUT: is this a correct analysis? Did not Jesus give us enough teaching that we could therefore make proper decisions about issues we face today?

ESSENTIALLY SPEAKER IS TALKING ABOUT ISSUES SURROUNDING HERMENEUTICS.

Speaker seems to be switching between "what we believe" and "what the Bible says" a bit to frequently and easily - blurring the distinctions.

The speaker is essentially asking what parts of the Bible are "true" and which are not; how much of the Law do we keep and how much do we get rid of?

He seems to be focussing specifically on homosexuality and the potential of a church leader being homosexual (i.e. the next church leader being a homosexual...).

He uses the Levitical Laws to prove that we don't obey all of the Bible - but he neglects other parts of the Bible... like Paul's mention of homosexuality in Romans - there is no raising of the questions that the Romans passage must raise.

How do we deal with the way Jesus used the Law? How can we follow this? Should we? What is our hermeneutic?

"We can't live by a rule book; we have to live by a story." By doing this do we leave ourselves open to too much misinterpretation? Does it matter if we do? Surely we must remember that even stories have their unpleasant and difficult parts?

Easter in Aldis - Day Two.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden form the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"?  Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint of grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

From Isaiah 40.

Think.

Some thoughts for you to muse upon. Maybe they will stimulate you to think. Maybe you will just reject them.

Everybody's theology is wrong somewhere.

We are all conditioned by our situation and our context.

Unless we meet the true God in Jesus Christ, then we're still waiting for an agent from God to do just that...reveal him.

Rob Bell has some potentially dangerous ideas. Those who preach prosperity are not preaching the gospel, and perhaps it is time to return to the tradition of fuelling fires with their books rather than fire wood. Rob Bell is not necessarily prosperity, but he certainly has interesting theological ideas.

I've mastered making cheese sauce, and cooking for lots of people is satisfying.

The new Athlete album is worth a listen.

Reading the Bible is a good idea. In fact, it's lifechanging.

Faith seeking understanding.

Read the Bible.