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The secret symbol of hope found in the catacombs.

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Hebrews 6:13-20 When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and multiply you.’ And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek. One of the very early Christian symbols that...
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The hope of glory

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Romans 8:18-25 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. "I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us". ...
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Welcoming Christ in his vulnerable people

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Matthew 10:40-42 Jesus said, ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’ We continue our reading through Matthew 10 Jesus has sent out the 12 disciples, and has given them authority to preach the kingdom, to cure ‘every disease and sickness’ And last week we learnt that as they spend time with Jesus so they will grow into the likeness of Jesus. And today we come to the end of the mission instructions to his followers. Listen to this talk here Three things I would like to draw attention to: 1. Identity Jesus identified himself with his sent followers. ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and...
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Hope for the harassed. A word for our times.

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Matthew 9:35-10:8 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’ Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the follo...
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Why the Trinity Changes Everything

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Matthew 28:16-20 There is something odd in these verses Jesus has all authority. He commands the disciples to go to all nations. And he says that he will always be with them. He is, using the old words, omni-potent and omni-present. And so you would expect him to say, ‘baptise them in my name’.  A link to the audio of the talk can be found here That would make sense. When you are baptised into someone’s name, you become part of them and they become part of you. Your lives are intertwined. Their glory becomes the glory in which you share. Their destiny is your destiny. You become their person, and they become your person. And if you hear echoes of marriage here, then you are thinking in the right way. In 1 Corinthians 10:2, Paul speaks of how the ancient Israelites were baptised into Moses. As they received Moses authority, as they followed him through the waters of the Red Sea, they were baptised into Moses: they became part of him, and he became part of them. And Paul also ...
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A spark becoming a flame. Learning to love Jesus

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John 14:15-21 Why? Why do you come to church? Why do you seek to keep the commandments: say the 10 commandments (or at least some of them!): no stealing, murder, adultery, lying or coveting? Jesus intensifies that to no hating, lusting, swearing – or perhaps more positively forgiving, exercising self discipline, speaking words of integrity. Why do you give? Why do you try to forgive? Why do you want to try and love other people even those you don't like or who don't like you? Why might you try to say some prayers, or the Lord's prayer, when you are on your own? The audio of this talk can be found here Because it is a habit, or what we have been taught we should do, or it is familiar or comfortable, or because it is useful in life? I suggest that somewhere within us, whatever other reasons we do those things for, we do them – rather than other things - because there is a spark of love for God in us. Jesus says, ‘If you love me you will keep my commandments’ (v15). ‘They wh...
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Praying Psalm 23 on your hand.

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John 10.1-10 , Psalm 23 Forgive a very basic sermon today, but I hope one that will live with you. I’ve brought along a visual aid. My hand. Your hand. Listen to an audio of this talk here The thumb. Look at your hand. Just for a moment. Now try to imagine it without your thumb. It still works but not very well. The thumb is an amazing organ. It is the digit that each of the other fingers – the pointing finger, the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger – relate to. Without the oppositional structure of the thumb, they can work together, grasp and hold but they cannot really do anything precise. The thumb in my illustration stands for the Lord Jesus, my shepherd. He is the one closest to me. He is the one who has come to us, who calls us – you and me – by name. “He calls his own sheep by name .. the sheep follow him because they know his voice” We think of him in the garden after his resurrection. Mary is distraught. The body of Jesus has disappeared. She sees what she th...
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