Our Communities - Churches and Networks (Romans 16.1-27 and Matthew 13.47-52)

Introduction

So we’re three quarters of the way through our series of talks about our vision as a church going forward; four talks on ‘praying always’, four on ‘serving together’, four on ‘sharing Jesus’ love’ and now the first of four on ‘our communities’.

What and where are the communities for which we pray always and in which we serve together to share the love of Jesus? Over the next few weeks, we’re going to think about the neighbourhoods where we live, the workplaces where we are employed, and the charitable sector where we volunteer. But first of all, today, I want to talk about the churches and networks with whom we partner.

One of the biggest mistakes local church leaders can make, and to my shame I used to be guilty of this, is to see neighbouring churches as competition. When a new church opens just down the road, it’s viewed as a threat. If a certain church in town is attracting new members there’s a bit of jealousy. Why them? Why not us?

But listen, who are we really competing with on a Sunday morning at All Saints’? It’s not the Baptist Tabernacle or TVCC or Trinity Methodist the next road down. It’s the Eaglescliffe golf club. It’s Teesside Retail Park. It’s the Sunday football league. It’s the car boot sale. It’s Steve Wright’s Love Songs on Radio 2.

Other local churches are companions, not competitors. We’ll never see revival if the church next door is a rival. That’s why I chose the parable of the net as our second reading. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a net that catches fish. Only a mesh of joined-up strings can be effective in catching a whole shoal of fish. One church is like just one piece of string, that you can catch one at a time with a hook on the end. But a network of churches, joined in unity and working together, can gather in loads.

Our Networks

At All Saints’ we are fully engaged in several networks of churches; this is one of the key communities of which we are part.

Let me run through the networks to which we belong. First of all, there are the 22 other Church of England parishes in our Stockton deanery; we are partners in mission with them. Of those, we have a particularly close relationship with Long Newton. I am vicar there too and we share many resources with them.

Within that group, of 22, there is a move towards half that number working much more closely as a team ministry. Our church council is considering proposals to that effect at the moment. It will still mean that I will lead All Saints’ and Saint Mary’s but there will be more scope for collaboration and blessing one another.

Then we are part of the New Wine network. New Wine is a fellowship of like-minded churches that want to see renewal and church growth. New Wine is there to help equip individuals and churches to be more effective in doing the things Jesus said to do like go out, make disciples, be prophetic, heal the sick and care for the needy. I accepted an invitation a couple of years ago to be New Wine’s network leader for Teesside.

There are over 30 churches in Teesside connected with New Wine. But it also links us with great churches in Sheffield, Leeds, York, Durham, Newcastle and elsewhere. New Wine organises training days, support groups for church leaders, and annual gatherings. There are plans for a North East/Yorkshire gathering for about 1,000 people next August near Thirsk.

In addition to that, we have a close working relationship with churches like The Vine, the Parish Church and others in downtown Stockton. We network with them amongst other things through our youth work so we host Refresh and the Doulos youth leadership programme and so on. A couple of dozen church leaders gather together once a month to pray for each other and for the borough.

I believe the Main family’s missionary calling to the Eden Project in Sunderland is another opportunity to bless other churches. I am hopeful we can send mission teams and practical resources up there as the Lord leads.

Psalm 133 says that when we work together in unity and when we lovingly support each other, rather than compete with or criticise each other, the Lord commands blessing upon us. In John 17 Jesus prayed for the unity of his followers, saying that this would help the world to believe in him.

Alan Farish wrote recently, "Already, over the last few years we have seen the spiritual atmosphere on Teesside change dramatically for the better. Church leaders are working together more than they used to and many churches are experiencing growth. The net is catching plenty of fish! Dozens of young people are spending a gap year of their lives serving Jesus Christ here. Several excellent Christian charities have been set up and are serving people wonderfully and the Borough Council’s attitude to the church has also improved immeasurably."

Our vision is to see all that increase yet more.

The church is people

And now to Romans 16. Some of you might be wondering what possible value there might be in reading that long list of sometimes unpronounceable names.

It mentions 29 different people by name (some of whom are rather difficult to pronounce) as well as churches that met in houses, members of households and unnamed “other brothers and sisters.”

This is, in itself, a challenge. Paul had never been to this church and yet he knew all these people by name. It shows how interconnected and relational the early church was. How many of us could name even a dozen people in any church we had never visited? But all roads led to Rome. It was the centre and hub of the empire and people found their way there from all over. Paul knew them or knew about them and he remembered them.

John Stott was an absolute phenomenon for remembering names. He could, and often did, instantly remember the name of someone he had met at the door of All Souls Langham Place years beforehand and who hadn’t been back since. He used to say that the best way to remember names is to pray for them regularly.

So there’s a free bonus from the fanfold prayer list – it helps you remember peoples’ names.

Paul mentions a few things that I think are really revealing about the sort of people we should expect to find in the gathering of people that is the church.

Phoebe in v1-2 was a deacon which means ‘servant’ and she was set aside as a special kind of church leader. In 1 Timothy 3 it lists the qualities deacons should have; worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine and not pursuing dishonest gain. So Phoebe must have been trustworthy. That’s why she was probably the postwoman who delivered this letter to the Romans from where Paul wrote it in Corinth.

Paul says “[Phoebe] has been a benefactor of many people, including me.” So she was a woman of means but she used the wealth she had been blessed with to supply others’ needs. She was a generous woman.

Priscilla and Aquila in v3-4 were co-workers with Paul who laid their very lives on the line. Interestingly, Priscilla is always named first in this couple, quite contrary to conventions of the time, perhaps because she was high-born, I don’t know. But significantly, they are always named together. There is nothing that keeps a marriage happy and strong more than serving the Lord together. It gives an interest and depth to a marriage that nothing else can.

Andronicus and Junia in v7 suffered with Paul the glorious dishonour of imprisonment for Christ. That must have been an experience; you ended up singing at midnight when you shared a cell with Paul. They were Christians before Paul was, so very early on, possibly amongst the 500 who saw the risen Christ and who were therefore qualified to be known as apostles. Or maybe they were among the visitors from Rome who were converted on the Day of Pentecost.

Then what about Ampliatus (v8)? This was a very common slave’s name. It doesn’t actually say that he was a slave but scholars are pretty sure he must have been.

But isn’t it wonderful that Paul calls him “my dear friend in the Lord” rather than “so and so’s lackey”? And doesn’t it say something magnificent about the church that this man features in the same list as a lady of considerable means?

It’s a lovely sketch of a church in which there is no favouritism, no ranking, no class system, no cliques, no in-crowd and no outcasts.

Then what about Mary (v6), Tryphena and Tryphosa (their names mean Delicate and Dainty) and Persis (v12)? These were four women who Paul singled out for having worked hard, and in one case "very hard in the Lord".

Did you notice that only women are singled out here for working hard! I don’t know what that says about the men, but William Booth of the Salvation Army used to say, “My best men are women.” Certainly in my experience, women are far more likely to respond to a call to volunteer for something than men. Perhaps some of us men need to step up a bit more.

The women have important roles here too; we know Pricilla was a Bible teacher with her husband Aquila. We know Phoebe was a deacon, a recognised member of the church leadership team. Junia, as we’ve seen, is described as “outstanding among the apostles”.

But it’s what Paul says in v13 that warms my heart most. “Greet Rufus” he says, “chosen in the Lord, and also his mother, who has been a mother to me.”

What a blessing it is to know we have been chosen by God to belong to him like Rufus was. Do you know you’re chosen and belong to God? You should.

And how lovely it is to have spiritual fathers and mothers in the church. Rufus' mother was a mum to Paul. Isn't that special? This dynamic leader, this exceptional apostle, this energetic missionary, this brilliant scholar sometimes just needed someone to give him a hug and put the kettle on.

What do we love about our mothers? They’re for us. I could look like ‘Exhibit A’ from a circus freak show, maybe you think I do, but my mum will always think I’m the best looking boy on God’s green earth.

Our mothers went through the pain barrier to bring us into the world,

·         they spent years changing our nappies

·         they stayed up all night when we wouldn’t sleep

·         they calmed us down when we were frightened

·         they cried when we cried

·         they taught us right from wrong

·         they nourished us through life

·         they nursed us through every illness

·         they bandaged our grazed knees

·         they cheered us on when we were the last to be picked for the sports team

·         they believed in us when we doubted ourselves

·         they loved us whatever we did

·         they nurtured us and gave up on us

What a brilliant, varied, diverse, multi-coloured community of people the church is.

But sadly, we can’t work with all who might call themselves Christians. The Bible warns us here in v17-20 that some want only to cause schism and chaos by bringing in divisive ideas contrary to sound teaching. They want to put obstacles in people’s way. “Keep away from them” it says. There are alas times when we have to say that we can’t work alongside certain groups.

If a church leader in our area was denying the resurrection, or agitating for same-sex marriage in church, or aggressively pushing the so-called prosperity gospel I’d be saying, “We can’t work together with that church, this is just going to divide us.” But I’m glad to say that’s not the case.

Some of these names (Sosipater, Nereus, Apelles and the rest) are of people we know nothing about. Apart from this one thing; their names are written in two books – the Book of Romans here and the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The Book of Life is mentioned 8 times in the Bible and it contains millions of names; it’s a vast directory of those who belong to Jesus. It’s the guest list of Heaven. Your name is either in that book – or it’s not. You’re either on the guest list of eternal life or you’re not.

If your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you’ll know deep down that it is. You’ll have that assurance in your heart. If you’re really not sure if your name’s there or not, it probably isn’t. If you want to investigate this further, can I recommend that you sign up for the Alpha Course? Alpha is a brilliant, non-threatening, easy-going way to explore Christian faith. It is estimated that over 27 million people worldwide have completed an Alpha course.

It has had good reviews in The Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Independent on Sunday and Time magazine.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says, “Alpha is… accessible, it’s easy, and it’s user-friendly. It’s extraordinary.”

And if that doesn’t persuade you then listen to this from Bear Grylls; “Alpha was the best thing I ever did. It helped answer some huge questions and to find a simple, empowering faith in my life.” If it’s the best thing Bear Grylls has ever done it has got to be pretty exciting hasn’t it?

Ending

So, as I close, what is it you feel God might be saying to you?

·         Do you need to reconsider the way you view other churches – and embrace them as companions, not fear them as competitors?

·         Are you going to bite the bullet and sign up for Alpha?

·         Should you by now be a spiritual mum or dad to a younger believer?

·         Is there someone you could take under your wing and nurture in faith?

·         Do you need to step up this coming academic year and be counted among those who work hard in the Lord?

·         Or maybe God has been saying something else to you

Let’s pray…

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 23rd August 2015

Sharing Jesus' Love: Telling Others (Acts 22.1-21 and Luke 10.1-12)

Introduction

The comedian Milton Jones once said this; “Christianity is like a Cornish pasty. There’s something in it, but sometimes it’s difficult to find out exactly what it is.”

He’s right. There’s definitely something in Christianity. It is the world’s biggest movement. So why is it difficult to find out exactly what’s in it? Maybe it’s because so few are really good at articulating it.

Here’s a challenge for you. If you had to distil down the core message of Christianity in just five words, not theological words, not technical words, but ordinary, everyday words that any non-churchgoing person would easily understand, which five words would you chose? Five words.

Here are the five I would choose; firstly, where does it all start? The Bible says “God is love.” It says that there’s faith, hope and love, but the greatest is love.” And how does it basically sum up what happened when God sent his Son? It says in John 3.16 “For God…” what? “so loved the world.” So maybe the first word would have to be “love.”

The second word - for me - would be “sin.” But that’s too theological. I want a word to express the reality we all know that something has gone wrong, that the world is fallen.

Some guy stabbed to death a kindly and elderly driver over a minor road accident last week. There’s ISIS, there’s Boko Haram, there’s human trafficking, there’s child abuse. All over the world bad stuff is happening.

And even in my own heart, when I do something that I know brings bad results 100 times, why do I do it again? I knowingly broke the speed limit on the way home from New Wine on Friday because I thought I would get away with it. There is sin in the world, and it has something of a grip on all of us. When we think about it we know it’s true. I think my second word would be “guilt.”

My third word would want to convey the fact that Jesus has done something decisive about that guilt. But obviously I can’t say “the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross, by which the free gift of salvation is received through faith.” It’s too long. It’s too obscure for people who have no experience of church and no knowledge of the Bible. Even the word “grace” is Christianese so I can’t use it. If I had to sum this up in one nontechnical word, I might go for “rescue.”

Fourthly, I’d need to make the point that some people embrace what God has done for us in Christ, but that others push it to one side and try to clean up their own lives through self-effort, and still others actually reject God. We have to decide how we’re going to respond to what God has done for us. So, because I can’t use words like “repent” or “baptism” or “conversion” I think my fourth word would be “choice.” Everyone is faced with a choice. You accept God’s free gift of salvation by faith or you don’t. Your call. Everybody here falls into one of those two camps today.

And fifthly, I’d want to say that it does not end there. The choice to respond positively to God makes changes in my life. There are real consequences. God becomes real to me, joy fills my soul, my priorities begin to change, and my character is renewed. So maybe my fifth word would be “change.” But there can be good change or bad change. So I think I’d go for “restored.” When something is restored it is improved from a previously spoiled state.

Christianity is like a Cornish pasty. There’s something in it, and here’s what it is in five everyday words. Maybe you’d choose five slightly different ones. That’s fine. But whatever words you pick, this is something anyone can learn in a few minutes and be able to explain over a coffee.

Because, let me be clear, if our vision is to share Jesus’ love in our communities, part of that is being able to articulate it with words. Last week we saw that sharing Jesus’ love involves being a welcoming community for outsiders. In two weeks’ time we’ll explore what it is to have a caring heart. But sharing Jesus’ love is not just being nice to people. We communicate it also with our words.

Saint Francis of Assisi is famously reported to have said, “Preach the gospel; if necessary use words.” I know what it’s saying, that our actions should compel people to see God’s love at work – and Jesus sort of made the same point when he said, “Live such good lives that people will see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.”

But Jesus also said, “Follow me.” He said, “Come to me you who are burdened.” He said, “Neither do I condemn you, leave your life of sin.” He taught his followers to say to people, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Peter, John, James, Paul, and the women at the tomb all went around using words to tell others who Jesus was and what they had seen.

Let me remind you how supremely useful and supernaturally empowered, words can be.

Psalm 119:130 says that words can actually give light. They can give insight to people who don’t yet understand.

Proverbs 16:24 says that gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Isn’t that a beautiful image?

Deuteronomy 32:2 says words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

Interesting, isn’t it, that God allows such power to inhabit our words - for good and for ill? Aren’t these the types of words you want to speak and be known for?

If your closest friends or the family members who live under your roof, or your work colleagues, or your next door neighbours were asked anonymously about your speech, would they say that in the course of normal, everyday life, you speak words of encouragement and grace?

Are the words you speak life-giving and gracious?

I think there are two areas where effective words could hugely affect the way people see you and me as Christians:

1. Talking about God

The first area is how we talk about God; how we explain to people who he is and what he does.

That’s the theme of our second reading today. Jesus sends out 72 members of his new movement into the local towns and villages. He gives them fair warning and says in v3, basically, that people will rip them apart. “I am sending you out like lambs among wolves” he says.

No one is shouting “halleluiah” I notice.  Listen, it never has been easy, convenient, comfortable or safe to talk to people about Jesus. For your eternal encouragement and edification, Jesus promised that if you ever pluck up the courage to speak to others about God there’s a good chance you will come away feeling like you have had a good mauling.

But that’s not all. He also says, in v5-9, that some people will be receptive. Your good and peaceful intentions will be acknowledged by some. Make time to share with people who are open.

In that culture there would be an obligation of hospitality. If a stranger came to the door you had to serve them a meal and offer them lodgings. “Eat what is set before you” Jesus says. It’s not like that here but the equivalent might be “If ever people give you the time of day or offer you a cup of coffee, go with it, be sociable and take an interest in their lives. “Heal the sick” he says “and tell them “the kingdom of God has come near.”

That’s a command from Jesus you’ll notice. “Heal the sick.” By the way, if you’re not confident on that bit about healing the sick in Jesus’ name, we have a training day coming up in October – that would be a good opportunity to learn. John and Anne Coles have lots of experience and we can learn from them. There are fliers available in the Centre foyer. If you want to learn to pray for healing effectively, I’d encourage you to sign up.

Then in v10-12 Jesus says “Don’t waste your time arguing with people who aren’t interested.” Move on.

It’s very important to not get bogged down in never-ending, attritional arguments that go round in circles.

The apostle Paul said “Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” Elsewhere he says, “Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are useless and a waste of time.”

Ask God to use you to touch the lives of those you know. Most will not even have thought much about God or what place he should have in their lives. God loves them just as much as He loves you, and Christ died for them just as much as He died for you.

2. Talking about Us

If the first way we share Jesus’ love with others is by talking about how wonderful God is, and how fantastic the gospel is, the second way is just to share our personal experience of him… in other words, to simply explain the main thing he’s done in our lives.

What is your story with God? And what can you do to tell it well? How can you tell it so well that your listener walks away saying, “Now that is interesting!”

What would you say if someone you know came up to you today and said this: “You know, Fred (assuming your name is Fred), we’ve been friends for a long time. And you’ve been really good not to force your religion on me, even though you probably think my life would change for the better if I’d give it a chance. Well, anyway… well, I was thinking about maybe trying out church … Basically, I’m that desperate. So I just wonder if you could sort of explain to me why this whole God thing is so important to you.”

That is what we call, in sophisticated theological terms, a wide-open door. It is usually accompanied by a lump forming in the throat, a tightening of the shoulders, sweaty palms and a thumping heart.

In Acts 22, the Apostle Paul, in giving his defence for a charge against him in court, tells the story of how he came to faith. In the form we have it, it consists of 475 words. That’s less than five minutes. Paul doesn’t once lose the plot. There’s no waffling, no blind alleys, no tangents, no digressions… It’s succinct, to the point and it’s riveting.

As for the actual content, notice it’s very simple. He talks about what his life was like before he was a Christian (v1-5). Then he explains how he came to be a believer in Jesus (v6-16). And then he talks about what has happened in his life since (v17-21).

We had a go at writing our testimonies about five years ago when we did the “Just Walk Across the Room” course. One member of the 10.30am congregation e-mailed me and said “This has been such a good exercise to do; it's moved me from being something of an avoider… to being more confident and ready to share the life-saving and heart-transforming power of Jesus.”

I’d like to encourage you over this summer to write out in less than 500 words the story of your faith journey. It is such a powerful way of sharing Jesus’ love with other people.

And ask God to give you wisdom to say the right thing at the right time, and to use your story to point others to the good news of Christ.

Ending

As I draw towards a conclusion, let me tell you about Alpha. In two months’ time we’re going to be running another Alpha Course here.

In case you don’t know what Alpha is, it’s a series of 11 interactive sessions to discuss the Christian faith. It’s done in an informal and friendly, pressure-free environment. Each evening starts at 7pm with dinner and then there’s a talk on a given topic like ‘Who is Jesus?’ and ‘Why and how do I pray?’ Finally, each talk is followed by discussion in small groups.

At Alpha no question is out of bounds. You can ask anything you want.  But you don’t have to do or say anything. You are free to discuss as much or as little as you wish. Alpha doesn’t assume any background knowledge of or belief in Christianity at all and absolutely everyone is welcome. No pressure, no follow up if you don’t want to take it further and no charge.

If you’re saying to yourself, “I just don’t feel confident sharing about God with people because I don’t think I’d be able to answer their questions,” well, perhaps you would feel able to invite them to Alpha instead? I would like to encourage you to pray for one person who might be interested in Alpha and then invite them along.

Or if you’re saying to yourself, “I don’t know if I really can give a testimony about how I came to be a Christian. To be honest, some of it is all still quite hazy for me. There’s no ‘before’ and ‘after’ so to speak. And there’s something I’ve always wanted to know about but feel silly asking about…” Well, Alpha is absolutely made for you. I think you’d love it. Why don’t you take a leaflet and sign up?

Or if you’re saying to yourself, “Those five simple words at the beginning. God actually loves me. I’ve done things I know aren’t right and I have this sense of guilt inside. But I’ve never made the choice to accept God’s free offer of rescue. And so I have no experience of spiritual restoration.” If that is you, why don’t you make that choice today?

At New Wine last week, someone described it like having a bath on the inside and feeling brand new.

Maybe you felt something stirring within you when I was talking about that earlier. If so, please come and speak with Brian or myself after the service and we will pray with you and encourage you.

Let’s stand to pray…