Frafferz.com - Random Musing

Carol Service Reading 1 - A Saviour For Families in Crisis - Matthew 1:18-25

2012-12-21T23:05:00Z

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18–25

Joseph knew how babies were made - and when he found his fiance bulging with someone else’s child inside, it seemed like his dreams of a good marriage to Mary were over. He’d been betrayed. But being a good man, he didn’t lose it, slag her off on facebook or have a public screaming match - he decided the best thing to do was to quietly call off the wedding and let her sort this out properly.

And then, in the midst of the turmoil of a crumbling marriage, an angel appears in a dream, assures him that this is God’s plan. His suspicions are unfounded. His marriage has a future. His intention to divorce her was premature, even foolish, in hindsight. His temptation to distrust her almost screwed up everything.

So they marry. But it’s still a bit odd - they’re still a bit at arms length: young, married but not sleeping together.

Finally after months of waiting, when they’re in Bethlehem, a baby is born. And Joseph, who has stood by her through the gossip and the uncertainty and the pregnancy, steps up. Jesus becomes his son. As a father, he names his son. As a husband he protects and provides for his family. Jesus birth catapults them from being a couple at arms length to being a full blown family.

So, in a small way, Jesus brings together a family that was almost torn apart by mistrust and suspicion. Jesus comes bringing hope for all families - not to repair every failing relationship, although there is hope for that - but to welcome us into God’s family.

Jesus comes because God is a Father who steps up. He comes so that we can trust God again and know God as our Father. He comes to fix our brokenness, to take away our shame and to make us the family that God has always wanted us to be.

So, this Christmas, we celebrate the coming of the Son of God.

Divine Nitpick Meets Salvation Service Provider

2012-02-17T22:30:00Z

Dave Bish’s tweet reminded me of a conversation in the midst of the bible study prep at a recent camp leaders meeting.

At the meeting, for several of the participants, the goto gospel definition was: God’s standard is perfection, you’re not perfect, ergo you need Jesus. The fact that Jesus died for you shows you how good he is & you should repent and accept his offer of forgiveness. Queue emphasis on infinite perfection.

On twitter, an evangelistic video using this approach to explain the gospel failed to impress Dave’s friend’s 4 year old daughter, who, it seems, was taught Godwin’s Law at pre-school. And it didn’t impress Dave either.

I’m not about to call Christians who use the divine nitpick approach Nazis, but I’m definitely with the four year old on this one. She’s got a point. Why do so many of us favour a method of gospel presentation that is so cold, functional and qualitatively different from any preaching seen in scripture?

I’m guessing here, but perhaps:

It’s basically true.
Most of us are nervous when trying to explain the gospel and expect confrontation – so we go for the simplest formula we can find.
It’s a very familiar explanation – most of us have probably had it given to us at one time or other.
It’s very hard to pick holes in – so we feel “safe” that there are few areas for people to really push back.
We’ve seen it work in the past.

And yet I think there are strong reasons for revising our explanation:

The God You Don’t Want To Know

It portrays God as cold and distant to the extent that it undermines the climax of the gospel: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Rev 21:3.

If the primary characteristic of God is that he is a perfectionist, the response from earth to his coming is more likely to be “Cripes let’s hide – here comes the nitpick” than “Come Lord Jesus.”

We need to tell the good news about how good God really is. The God of perfect love and unapproachable light. The God whose beauty and grace take your breath away. The God we desperately want to know as well as we can possibly know anyone.

But Why Does The Actor Act?

The problem isn’t just that we do bad things – that’s just the symptom. The problem is that we are bad.

If I am born in a rebel stronghold in a time of rebellion, I am born a rebel. It’s not that I needed to go and burn the flag or poop on the king’s lawn myself – I was born into it whether I like it or not. I can sue for peace with the king, but I can’t treat my origin or the circumstances of my birth as if they are somehow neutral. They’re not – regardless of how many of the king’s laws I keep growing up, I keep them all in rebellion.

And sin is like that. We’re all rebels, born in rebellion. Adam is the rebel leader whose rebellion we’re all part of. We’re not born in a neutral state and inexorably drawn into the rebellion – we’re born there. Unless we deliberately and consciously turn our backs on the rebellion and ask the king to restore us as citizens of his kingdom, we remain his enemies.

Or to put it another way, the issue on judgement day won’t be the paperclip you stole from work, it’ll be whether you reject the rule of the king.

Dusty Feet

We worship a God who is not ashamed to show his face on earth. He doesn’t swoop in, presidential style, with secret service and red carpets and bullet proof podiums. He comes as baby, lives a working class life and dies as a criminal. God gets dirty.

And yet I think we gloss over the incarnation too quickly, or write it off for its functional value in the cosmic courtroom, “he lived the perfect life in our place.” (Which is true, but there’s a lot more to Jesus living a full human life than that).

What kind of God is willing to sweat? To cry? To be persistently contradicted and frustrated by fishermen who think they know better than he does what he ought to do? To travel his creation at walking pace, even when his friend is dying?

The incarnation makes God too close, too tangible, too here to be some impersonal provider of salvation.

Talking At Cross Purposes

The presentation of the cross is, quite rightly, seen as something done by God and for God’s sake. But it is too easy to make it sound like a legal fiction – particularly when the cross is just presented as an emotionally charged, but otherwise neat solution to an otherwise tricky conundrum.

It may be partly because we tend to say things like “he paid the penalty of our sins” which conjures up a very different image to: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Isaiah 53 emphasises “he bore the sin of many” – not just the punishment for that sin.

This was not the consolidation of all my sin into one divine fixed-rate repayment – this was Jesus embracing me, sin and all, identifying with me so closely and so personally that my sin could become his and his righteousness mine. It’s the deeply personal transaction that makes the apostles talk not about Christians, but about those who are “in Christ” and those for whom Christ is in them.

And so Jesus gives himself for me, but I die with him. And I’m raised with him. And if I’m “in Christ,” the resurrection is so much more than the demonstration that Jesus is who he says he is: far from being the proof-of-concept for my resurrection, it’s the resurrection. I am raised with Christ, not just raised like Christ. My resurrection body is the fruit of my union with him, not a parallel implementation.

It’s all radically personal. Saying the cross is about Jesus paying for our sins is like saying sex is about two people exchanging body fluids: it’s technically true, but it misses the point.

The Eurgh Factor

There’s more to complain about, but I think my basic concern is something like this:

We risk treating salvation like a jigsaw – and we look at the picture in order to understand how the pieces fit together. But in the reductionist, perfectionist version there’s little opportunity to stop and gaze at the picture. We see what the gospel is, but without really seeing. We see what God has done, but not who he is or, at any meaningful level, his heart.

Last word

Dave Bish’s advice was two-fold: focus on what God is really like, as Mike Reeves does in this book and preach Christ.

Esther - relevance and resonance

2010-12-13T18:30:00Z

Heard a couple of sermons from Esther recently. God's doing his stuff all over the shop - moving players and set pieces: it's abundantly clear that although Ahasuerus has the throne, Haman has access to the King's ear, Esther has access to the King's heart and Mordecai has access to Esther, God is calling the shots.

But is there more than sex, scheming and sovereignty? Is Esther a book about Jesus? Or is it just about how God provided for his people in order that one Jesus might be able to come, as the seed of Abraham, and save?

According to the preacher, Esther is primarily about understanding the purposes of God in human history and seeing the interplay of divine sovereignty and human responsibility working without any seeming conflict.

Which is true. (And it seems that divine sovereignty and human responsibility actually work better together in the courtroom that many people think they will from the classroom).

But it's not the whole truth: because the gospel echoes throughout Esther.

Who is it that wins the favour of the King, but then shares the benefit of their relationship with their people? Esther - but she points the way to Jesus who says that the Father will love us because we love Jesus (John 14:21).

Who is it that triumphs against all odds and sees the enemy slain with his own gallows? Esther - but she points the way to the one who "through death" destroyed "the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil." (Heb 2:14)

Who lays down their life on behalf of their people in order to spare them from the judgment of the King? Esther - but she points the way to the one who doesn't merely risk his life, but lays it down for his people (John 15:13-14).

Esther does provide a fantastic, gutsy example to follow - but, were we part of the story, we'd be numbered amongst the helpless hordes who sit under threat of execution with no hope of saving themselves. And, if rather than just trying to highlight its relevance, we listen for it's gospel resonance, the book of Esther won't just point us to a great example: it'll point us to a great Saviour.

Celestial Commentary – Scene 5 – Chief Priests & Scribes [5/5]

2010-06-20T08:00:00Z

<dl>

Angel 1

Ok – here's the one thing I don't understand...

Angel 2

(Mockingly) The one thing?

Angel 1

Oi – I'm being serious! Chief priests. Scribes – you know the top notch theologians.

Angel 2

I wouldn't exactly call them top-notch? We've seen stuff they haven't even begun to dream of...!

Angel 1

Yes – but they know their scriptures. You remember how the wise men turned up? They had all answers to their questions. But they couldn't even be bothered to go the 4½ miles to see the messiah? To see the one that the Almighty promised would come to save them?

Angel 2

(Thoughtfully) Once again, you have a point. (Pauses) It was the most significant event since … well ... since the world was created.

Angel 1

What makes someone so indifferent to what the Almighty is doing?

Angel 2

Beats me – I mean, we've seen bucket loads of this kind of indifference – but still I'm never ready for it.

Angel 1

It's like they just think it's a puzzle or a story. Or for the fanatics.

Angel 2

They spend their days look so “righteous” and respectable. But their hearts are colder than something … something that's really, really cold.

Angel 1

It's like they ignore the treasure that the Almighty offers because they're too busy chasing the wind. They play with the wrapping paper, and throw out the present.

Angel 2

Humans. (Unimpressed) Huh.

Angel 1

Hey – careful how you say that – the Almighty's pretty fond of them, you know...

</dl>

Celestial Commentary – Scene 4 – Herod [4/5]

2010-06-19T08:00:00Z

<dl>

Angel 1

There's that evil scheming black-hearted villain?! He's the reason I put in my application to become an angel of wrath and destruction!

Angel 2

He's a slimebag, if ever there was one...!

Angel 1

Power hungry.

Angel 2

Backstabbing.

Angel 1

Greedy.

Angel 2

Lying.

Angel 1

Murdering.

Angel 2

Stealing.

Angel 1

You remember his line... you know the “that I too may go and worship him” thing? I actually wanted to vomit. Grrr. How does he sleep at night?

Angel 2

I think he just wants control. His biggest fear is a rival King. He knows he's the most hated man in the country – did you know that he's actually left instructions that the day he dies, a whole bunch of popular guys, you know Rabbis and so-on, will be executed.

Angel 1

Why? That makes no sense?

Angel 2

Apparently he wants to make sure that there'll be people mourning when he's dead.

Angel 1

Filthy rotten scumbag.

Angel 2

Yeah – but he's not the only one. He's driven by his fear and his need to be in control. His position just gives him more opportunity to do evil...

Herod

(Laughs)

</dl>

Celestial Commentary – Scene 3 – Wise men [3/5]

2010-06-18T16:22:00Z

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:1-12

<dl>

Angel 2

Check out that lean, mean, blinged-up beast of a camel?! I tell you – if I ever have to go for a mission on earth disguised as a human, I totally want one of those!

Angel 1

And doubtless, if you are, you won't get one.

Angel 2

Your pessimism won't stop me from asking!

Angel 1

Strange, don't you think? The difference between these guys and the shepherds? They were uneducated, underprivileged and unwanted. But these guys look like they've got it made?! How many servants have they brought with them?

Angel 2

1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … wait – did that guy move? Where was I? 4.

Angel 1

(Interrupts) That was a rhetorical question?! I was saying they've got loads of of servants. Did you notice how they waltzed into Herod's palace without even an invitation? Who turns up like that?

Angel 2

(Sarcastically) Uh... the Magi?

Angel 1

These guys are loaded, ridiculously well connected and yet they trudge miles through the desert until to visit a baby whose parents couldn't even afford a crib to put him in?

Angel 2

You put it like that... but that “baby whose parents couldn't even afford a crib” is the Almighty, the one who made the universe. And you, for that matter?!

Angel 1

Yes – and I mean Him no disrespect, but to see a guy with that much wealth, that much power go so far to worship the Almighty... I'm not sure I've ever seen that from a human before.

Angel 2

(pauses) You may have a point there. You may have a point.

</dl>

Celestial Commentary – Scene 2 – Shepherds [2/5]

2010-06-17T08:20:00Z

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:8-20

Angel 1

Oh look - there's Nathaniel. Poor guy. Heart of solid gold. (pauses and then says with sadness) He was never the same after his wife left him. Why do these humans look down so much on shepherds?

Angel 2

Beats me. They're looking after the lambs to be sacrificed next passover, and yet sometimes it seems like only lepers get treated worse.

Angel 1

Sometimes I just want to go and give Old Nat a hug!

Angel 2

(Laughs) Wouldn't try that if I were you! Did you see how freaked out they were when you appeared to give them the good news about the birth of Jesus? The shepherd boy – you know – Simeon – I swear he actually wet himself! You try hugging Nathaniel and you're liable to give him a full blown heart-attack!

Angel 1

I didn't say I would! Just that I sometimes want to!

Angel 2

Anyway – you can't tell me you didn't see him smile as he went down to Bethlehem....!

Angel 1

Yeah - I hadn't seen him smile like that since he became a Dad!

Angel 2

He hasn't really stopped since... the news that the messiah was born has done him a power of good. It's the first piece of good news he's had in decades.

Angel 1

Who'd have thought it? I was expecting them to be excited and go see Mary & Joseph – but the way they hit the town afterwards? I never saw that coming!
They were telling everyone... people who'd snubbed them the day before, old friends and acquaintances they'd lost touch with.... well, anyone and everyone they met?!

Celestial Commentary – Scene 1 – Mary & Joseph [1/5]

2010-06-16T16:00:00Z

This is from a sketch I wrote for use at church, which, in the end, was never used. It may be freely reproduced or performed etc.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-24

<dl>

Angel 1

What a cute couple...! Do you see how excited they are?

Angel 2

Huh! It was a different story a few months ago.

Angel 1

(Annoyed) When will you let that go? Joseph didn't know what was going on then? He was only trying to do the right thing?!

Angel 2

Ok – point taken. He's been great about it ever since his “dream.” You're right – he is genuinely excited! Do you think he'll be this excited when he has a child of his own?

Angel 1

It's rare – isn't it? We've spent so many thousands of years watching these humans... but it's so rare, so special, to see someone so excited by what the Almighty is doing?

Angel 2

It's beautiful – they've not just got that new parent aura – they've got that inner glow that comes from being happy to be part of the Almighty's plans. I haven't seen that in so long... it reminds me of King David in his better days. Nice to see it again in his descendants.

Angel 1

I do wonder how long it'll last though – they've already had snide rumours to deal with – and in a small town like Nazareth that stuff's not going to disappear any time soon. It's not going to be easy.

Angel 2

Don't despair too soon – you remember what that guy said, you know that Nehemiah guy, “the joy of the Lord is my strength”? I reckon if they keep their eyes fixed on Him they might just make it.

</dl>

When I hear the words "We need more women here..."

2010-05-14T20:10:00Z

how wrong is it that what I hear is: "Geoff - what you do is less useful and valuable simply because you're a guy."?

Just wondering.

Mustard Seed Soul Band comes to PBC

2010-02-22T17:49:00Z

The Mustard Seed Soul Band will be performing at Paulsgrove Baptist Church this Saturday.

Tickets are still available at £5 each - either book online at www.mustardseedsongs.org.uk or phone 023 9232 5944 during office hours. (Tickets will be available for purchase on the door, but at the higher price of £6).

Salvation and the county Jail

2010-02-20T09:00:00Z

Read Acts 16:25-40

The jailer's conversion is as sudden as it is unexpected: and yet the result is the same. His heart, now open to the gospel, leads him immediately to be concerned for Paul and his companions (he washes their wounds) and immediately gets baptised. Not only do all his household follow suit, but they rejoice with him at the good news that is now theirs.

Paul experienced the joy of seeing his jailer become his brother because he was ready to praise God and preach the gospel (singing songs while shackled?! Inmate preaching to a prison governor?!).

Are there places you go, or situations you find yourself in where you don't feel as though the gospel is relevant? Or people that you're hesitant to share the gospel with because you don't know how they'll react?

Consider how you would have reacted, had you been in Paul's situation: beaten unjustly, chained in the most secure cell in the prison – and all of it an illegal violation of your rights as a citizen! Maybe your vision of God is too small? Maybe your expectations of God are too low?

Ask God to fill you with the confidence and boldness to trust Him in every place and with everyone.

A dangerous deliverance

2010-02-19T09:00:00Z

Read Acts 16:16-24

The slave girl is at the bottom of the pile. She is enslaved by men who use her for profit, enslaved by an evil spirit who enables her to know things that she shouldn't be able to know. And the spirit in her is not happy – because followers of Jesus have just turned up in their city. Paul takes his time before intervening – it's not safe to mess with people's profit margins. Not then, not now. (Like missionary William Carey, who went to preach the gospel in India and was unable to preach it in the parts of India controlled by Britain at the time because they feared that it might cause trouble and adversely affect the economy).

The bible says that Christ came to bring us freedom – but we would be wise to remember that this world profits from people being enslaved. Liberating people often threatens existing financial interests and results in serious opposition.

From slander to murder, we should not be surprised by the opposition that the liberating truth of the gospel brings.

God opened her heart

2010-02-18T09:00:00Z

Read Acts 16:11-15

Lydia has all the hallmarks of a seeker: she was already interested in spiritual things, she had some knowledge of God, was a worshipper of God, presumably had (at least) some knowledge of the bible and was looking for more. But the bible does not say “she opened her heart” - rather it declares that “God opened” it.

If Lydia can't make it on her own, who can? The answer is no-one. No-one will ever become a Christian without the intervention of God. We simply don't have the power to open people's hearts – only God does.

Think of the non-Christians you know: how often do you pray for them? After all – prayer is how we call on God to act and to save.

But what means does God use to open her heart? He could have used a vision, or a dream or writing in the sky. But it didn't: God chose the moment that Paul was sharing the gospel with her. Having prayed – and trusting God to come through – get ready to be bold, step out in faith. Because God's top choice for opening people's hearts to the gospel is the point in time that someone is telling them about Jesus.

When God changes your plans

2010-02-17T09:00:00Z

Read Acts 16:6-10

The plan was to go with Barnabas, but he's gone to Cyprus. The plan was to encourage existing churches, but he's being called to an unreached city. The plan was to cover familiar ground, but he's travelling to a new continent. God just changed the plan.

How do you imagine Paul felt – leaving the security of having a guy like Barnabas around to encourage him and back him up – out on a mission that is no longer viable?
How differently do you think he felt when he looked back with the benefit of hindsight?

Thank God that he is in control. And that he loves you more than you love yourself – and chooses what is better for you than you would choose yourself.

Building tomorrow's church

2010-02-16T09:00:00Z

Read Acts 16:1-5

Paul started off as Barnabas's protégé and learns from him. As soon as he gets the opportunity, he calls Timothy to join his group and starts to mentor him.

If you've followed Jesus for any period of time, there will be people who can benefit from your help, encouragement and experience. Jesus discipled and trained men to succeed him in ministry. As did the apostles after them. As Paul encouraged Timothy himself to do in 2 Timothy 2:2.

The church should continue to grow. If you want you ministry to have an impact, you need to invest time in training and encouraging and discipling other Christians. All Christians should be both disciples (following Jesus) and discipling (making followers of Jesus) – Matthew 28:18-20.

Pray for the younger members of the church and those who have not been Christians for so long. And ask God for opportunities to get alongside them to help them grow and mature in their faith.