Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Hebrews 11:29-12:2 We need each other We also need men and women of faith from the past. 1.   They are our inspiration They are described here as a ‘host of witnesses’ (12.1) I am not a runner. Run and fun are not two words that I put together. I think people who run for fun are crazy. And I am astonished to discover that there are even people who claim to enjoy running marathons. But I am told that when you do run a marathon, you are usually dead at about the 25 mile mark. But something strange then happen. For the last mile or so, as the crowds increase, and as you hear them urge you on, you come alive again. It is what gets you over the finish line. Well, the men and women who are described here in Hebrews 11 are our crowd. They are cheering us, urging us on as we get toward the finishing line of the Christian life. And they know what it is all about, because they already have run and completed the race. If you go into one of the Kremlin chu...

Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16 This is a great chapter.  It is a hymn to all the men and women of faith in the Old Testament, and an encouragement to faith. But not just faith in itself Yes, the chapter does begin with a general definition of faith: ‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’. We all live by faith, even atheists – whether that is sitting down on a chair or agreeing to meet someone for coffee. But faith in itself is not enough. There is the song: ‘any dream will do’. Actually, it won’t! Some dreams are disastrous. And in the same way, there is the assumption that what is important is that you have faith: and ‘any faith will do’. But faith can be in good things and bad things, in true things or false things. The story is told of a young man who was climbing a skyscraper. He sees something that looks solid and has to let go of his hold in order to reach and grasp it. But he falls to his death. And they fo...

Colossians 3:1-11 Think differently. Think as a new person Live differently. Live as a new person. That is what Paul is saying here. You are, as a Christian, a new person. Last week we were looking at the idea that when we put our faith in Christ, and when we are baptised, we do not only come into a relationship with Jesus, but we are placed in Christ It is like going to Sheremetova airport.   You put your trust in the plane – that it can fly – and you walk into the plane. You are now in the plane. When the plane is on the ground, you are on the ground. When the plane is in the air, you amazingly are in the air. Beneath you and the ground there is nothing – just 35000 feet! And when we put our trust in Jesus we are in him. Where Jesus is, we are. That means that when Christ died on the cross, we died with him. That is why we are told in v3, ‘for you have died’. And last week we saw that when I was baptised, the old Malcolm, who wants to live for ...