Prayer: 2 Cor 8:1-15 Why Be Generous?

Heavenly Father,

You are a God of gifts. You love to give good things, and you are doing so constantly. You provide us with life, with existence, with a capacity for understanding ourselves, and relating to each other, and for loving you. We couldn't create ourselves, but you made us. We owe our very living to you, but that is not a debt you ask of us - it is a gift you give to us. You give us beauty, creativity, innovation and seemingly endless variety. Why are there a so many types of flowers and fruits and sand? Why are there so many colours and shapes and sounds? We feel so much wonder at seeing a sunset, or a beautiful painting or photograph, or when we hear a good piece of music, or eat a really good meal, and it's because you have given us that wonder as a gift, to bring us joy. We thank you for the everyday joys of life - for sunny days, that particularly good cup of coffee, or seeing someone we love smile - and we thank you for those special days of joy - graduations, new jobs, weddings, births, and all the things we have to celebrate.

We want to thank you today, not just because there are nice things and we get to experience them, but because you are a God of love and goodness who loves to make good things, and to give good things. These aren't gifts you only give your own people. Your sun shines on everyone, the righteous and the wicked, and you allow all people to have life and to experience what you have made. And you don't just reveal yourself to those who seek you out - you have signed your name on every creature, every natural vista, every work of art and every new invention, so that everyone gets to catch a glimpse of you through what you have made. You put all these things into our hands - a whole planet of resources, a whole kaleidoscope of talents, so we can be as giving to each other as you have been to us. We can experience the joy of giving gifts just like you give to us, and for that we thank you.

But we're not perfect, and we don't always succeed in giving gifts as freely and as richly as you give to us. We fall short of the example you have set for us. You don't discriminate in your giving, but we live in a system that is unfair and unjust. You are open and welcoming to all, but we shut ourselves off from some people, or refuse to give them help, or simply ignore them. When we were far from you, you didn't hold back - you gave your own son, Jesus, and paid the ultimate price of death and separation. You emptied yourself of everything on that cross for us, to give to your enemies the greatest gift of all - an eternity with you. It cost you so much, and yet you still sent him in overflowing love! But we still count our dollars and cents, and our minutes and seconds.

We pray, Lord and Father, that you will continue to give to us - not just in goods, not just in beauty and wonder and closeness to you, but we pray that you will keep giving us that same spirit of love and giving that you have towards us. Make us into your hands and feet, so that through us you might give to those who are in need, who struggle to make their rent or to put food on their tables; so that through us you might heal the sick, and bring comfort to those who are tired and distressed, so that through us you might open arms of welcome to those that our society marginalises, despises and rejects. Give to us your spirit of generosity, so that we might overflow in that same way your love overflows to us. Don't let us be pools of your blessing, but make us fountains that spill over to everyone, so that your great gifts might reach those who need them.

Do this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, Amen

Sermon: Enduring Persecution (1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:13)

Enduring Persecution

1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:13

What is persecution?

I used to work for Barnabas Fund, helping persecuted Christians. I was once lucky enough to attend a meeting of Christian leaders from persecuted churches to discuss their suffering and plans to help them through it. People whose churches had been bulldozed or burnt down, whose family members had been attacked, who faced government oppression, hefty fines, prison sentences and death threats, whose church members couldn't afford food because discrimination kept them unemployed - all because they were Christian. And what really struck me was that every time I talked with one of these leaders, they would tell me how much they were praying for Christians in Australia, because we are just a young church, and it is such a hard country. They wanted us, the Australian church, to be encouraged in our persecution.

Our persecution? What did they mean? You see, persecution is not just suffering. Suffering is part of the human condition. Everyone suffers.  Persecution is a type of suffering forced on people by others to unjustly punish them for who they are or what they believe. So the pain of a broken leg is suffering, but not persecution, unless someone broke your leg unjustly because of who you are or what you believe.  When ISIS sprays an N on your door marking your house as Nazarene so they know, "These are the Christians, these are the ones to attack," that is persecution.

Persecution is Good News

Persecution is not unique to Christians. But Christians have a unique attitude to persecution: it is part of the good news of Christianity. I'll repeat that, because it's a bit of a strange statement: persecution is part of the good news of Christianity. Jesus talks about persecution a lot. We heard an example of that in our second reading (Matt 24:4-13). Not only does Jesus promise persecution, but he links it to blessing and salvation! And the apostles said very similar things in their letters: Suffering because you are a Christian is suffering alongside Christ (1 Peter 2:21). Persecution makes us more like Jesus (Philippians 3:10). We share in his sufferings, that we might also share in his glory (Romans 8:17). Persecution spreads the gospel (Colossians 1:24). Do we want to be more like Jesus? Do we want to share in his glory? Do we want the gospel to spread? Then persecution is part of the good news.

On the flight over to that conference of Christian leaders, I recall sitting on the tarmac in Sinagpore for a long time. The plane was hot and uncomfortable. Finally, over the intercom comes, "This is your captain speaking. Sorry for the delay, and for the broken air-conditioning. We've been having some engine trouble. Unfortunately, the engineers couldn't fix the aircon. But the good news is they did fix the engine, so we are now going to take off." I remember some of the passengers did not think this was good news - if the engineers couldn't fix the aircon, who was to say they properly fixed the engine? The reason passengers didn't think it was good news was because they didn't have faith in the engineers. But it was fine, and we made it safely.

Persecution is a terrible thing - it is a time of painful trial and suffering. But it is also promised to us in the gospel, by Jesus and the apostles. So it is good news - but to see that we must have faith God, the engineer of our persecution.

Since persecution is part of the gospel, it should be no surprise that Paul tells the Thessalonians all about persecution. We read in chapter 1 verse 6 that the Thessalonians "welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering". Paul didn't hide the fact that persecution follows the gospel for those who accept it. They were well warned that suffering followed faith. They made an informed decision.

In chapter 3 verse 4 we read not only that Paul told them, but it was something he repeated to them again and again!  "In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know." Persecution wasn't an optional extra. It wasn't something that happens to other people. This was a fledgling church he had taught for only three or four weeks. But persecution was on the list of first things you get taught as a fledgling church, as a new Christian. It's part of the gospel message. It was something Paul was modelling to the Thessalonians. Those persecuted church leaders I met see us as a young church - a mere 200 years old, where some of their churches are almost 2000 years old. They see themselves as modelling persecution for us.

The Danger of Persecution

And we need to preach persecution as part of the gospel too! We need to model persecution and our response to persecution to new Christians, and to young Christians. And we need to do it not only because it lets people make an informed decision, but because persecution is dangerous to Christians. You might think, "Well, it's dangerous to some Christians, but not to me, not to my family or my church."

It's easy to think that persecution doesn't really happen in Australia. Maybe we think that if it's not affecting our physical wellbeing - our job, our income, our health - that it's not the real deal. We're not dying, we're not being tortured, so we're not in real danger. But that's a mistake, and here's why - because the most dangerous thing about persecution is not the physical impact it has on our lives, but the spiritual impact. I don't want to downplay the physical suffering of Christians who are persecuted in that way - it is a terrible, scary, painful thing. But our persecuted brothers and sisters, the ones who are so concerned about Australia, know that the biggest danger of persecution is it can tempt people to give up on God.

Remember the parable of the sower: "Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But because they have no root, they last only a short while. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." This is the number one danger of persecution - that we might become so discouraged that we are tempted to give up on our faith, fall away from God, and go back to our old way of life. That's what kept Paul awake at night thinking about the Thessalonians; they might become discouraged in their faith because of persecution. In chapter 3 verse 5 he says, "I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain." Paul sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage them in their faith, so that they wouldn't be unsettled by these trials.

Persecution starts at home

When you look at the spiritual danger persecution holds, you start to look at the trials we face for our faith here in Australia a little differently. One fact about persecution is that often it comes from those close to you. And the closer they are to you, the more painful it can be. That was the situation the Thessalonians faced: in Chapter 2 verse 14 Paul said, "You suffered from your own people." It was not primarily outsiders, but their fellow Thessalonians who persecuted them. It was the same for Paul - he always preached to the Jews in a city first, and they came and fought against him in Thessalonica, and chased him to Berea.

The most painful persecution tends to come from your own people.  A person in Australia might face rejection, ridicule, even some anger from family and friends. After all, in their eyes you're joining a group linked in the media with child abuse, or standing against same sex marriage. Many people think science has disproved the existence of God, and think believing in God makes you stupid. People who become Christians when the rest of their family hold other views are in for a rough ride. Even if they don't mean to, sometimes non-Christian family will just say hurtful things. I remember my brother once bought a bumper sticker that said, "Jesus loves you - everyone else thinks you're a" <word not appropriate for church>. And he showed it to me with pride, thinking it was a great laugh, not even realising that he was laughing at me. Of course when I pointed that out, he told me, "Aren't Christians allowed to have a sense of humour?"

And that hurts. And our automatic reaction as living things is to shy away from things that hurt. Adam Goodes is an Aboriginal AFL player who has recently taken indefinite leave from the game he loves because people keep booing him. It's not violence, it's not torture. It's booing. This is a big, manly, muscular footy player! This is the power of persecution - it makes people give up! The constant barrage of anti-Christian sentiment we face could cause anyone to feel bad, to question their faith, to ask "What if I'm wrong?", to say, "This is too hard."

Fighting Discouragement with Faith

Persecution's biggest danger is that a Christian gets discouraged, and tempted to just give up. That's why Paul's number one concern for the Thessalonian church was to send Timothy to, "to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials." The weapon God gives us to fight discouragement of our faith is encouragement in our faith. And that encouragement comes from one another. We need to carry one another's burdens, as fellow Christians. Discouragement is a burden that we must share together, without judgement, because this persecution is a promised part of the gospel, and is a serious danger. Satan will try to stop us, because encouragement works to strengthen people's faith. Paul says in Chapter 2 verse 18, "For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way."

How do we encourage one another in faith? Often our first port of call is to tell people,  "Read the Bible more, learn more about God, understand your beliefs more deeply." Those are all good things. But that is just one part of encouragement in faith. There's an idea that education can cure all the ills of the world. It's not a Christian idea. It's a modern idea, a secular idea. And it's convincing because learning is good! And learning about God is probably the best learning of all. But learning is just a part of growth. Faith is bigger than knowledge. The gospel is a pretty neat little message. It can be recorded into a small pamphlet. Little kids can grasp it. In Chapter 3 verse 8,Paul considered the Thessalonians to be standing firm in the Lord: not because of their great knowledge - they didn't even know what happens to Christians when they die - but because they were strong in their faith in God and in Jesus Christ.

When I was on that plane with the broken engine, I didn't trust the engineers to fix it because I know anything about engines. I trusted them because they are engineers! Handing one of my fellow passengers the schematics of an aircraft engine may not calm their nerves - seeing how complicated it is might make them feel worse! But assuring them, "Hey, those guys are professionals. They know what they're doing," that's encouraging their faith in the engineers.

Strong Faith is a Strong Encouragement

And that's what we are called to do for those who are struggling with persecution - to encourage their faith in God. The biggest encouragement to a believer who is struggling with the discouragement of persecution is to share the strength of your own faith. A strong faith is a visible faith. Paul says to the Thessalonians in chapter 1 verse 3, "We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith." A life of faith produces work. If we want to encourage Christians who are facing persecution, who are disheartened and hard pressed, we need to be living lives of faith, with works produced by faith. That is why Paul sent Timothy to the Thessalonians: chapter 3 verse 2, because Timothy "is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ."  Timothy's life of work produced by faith will buoy up and encourage the Thessalonians.

If you want to be an encouragement to those who are suffering for bearing the name of Christ, then you need to be strong in your faith. Your trust in God needs to be visible in how you live your life. Living by faith is not saying, "I trust God to help my suffering brothers and sisters in Christ, so I don't need to do anything myself." Living by faith is saying, "I trust God to give me everything I need, so I can give my time, energy and money to helping my brothers and sisters who are in need."

Persecution is good news because it also strengthens our faith. It turns out that the Thessalonians are so strong in their faith in Jesus that when Timothy brings back a positive report of how the young church is doing in the face of trials and persecution, Paul writes to them in chapter 3 verse 7, "in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith." Paul actually gets encouraged in the midst of his persecution by the Thessalonians and their faith! And in the same way, as we seek to encourage those who are facing persecution, we too will be encouraged by their faith in enduring persecution.

Christians in Syria, in a town called Kobane that was recently taken by ISIS, sent out this message, "Don’t worry about us, even if they were to cut our heads off ten times we would still say that Jesus is Lord!" They send that message out to the church, to us, because they assume our biggest fear is that they might be tempted to fall away, and they want to encourage us that they are standing firm with Jesus. They face death, and they want to encourage us!

Do you want to grow in your faith? Then come alongside those who are persecuted. Not only will you encourage their faith, but as they endure, so too will your faith be encouraged. When our response to persecution is to put God first, it can't help but be an encouragement to others, because our faith is clearly shown!

Persecution is not just a danger Christians face in foreign lands. It is a part of the gospel. All Christians face discouragement and temptation to fall away wherever their lives rub up against the outside world. We need to understand that and equip new and young Christians with that knowledge. It is only by faith that we can stand firm and encourage others to stand firm. We need to live lives of faith, not just for ourselves, but for young Christians, new Christians, and those facing harsh trials. By standing with them in faith, we encourage them, and are likewise encouraged.

Prayer: Receive the Word (1 Thess 1:1-10)

Heavenly Father,

It is so amazing that you give us your word, written down for us, so that we can turn to it at any time and hear from you. You have revealed yourself to us.  You show us your power, your holiness, and your love that you have revealed through history. You have revealed more to us about ourselves than even we know. You have shown us how we are made in your image, how we fall short, and how you seek to draw us back to you. You have revealed your will to us.  You have given us guidance and wisdom, steering us away from evil and beckoning us towards good.  You have revealed the mystery of your son, Jesus Christ, who came as a human to save humanity from sin. You have revealed that your Holy Spirit lives within us, and counsels us in truth.  You even give us glimpses into the future of heaven, into your great glory, where you call us to be with you forever. We thank you that you have opened our hearts to your message, and you have brought us into your family. Thank you for awakening in us a faith that produces work, that calls us into reliance on you at every step. Help us to constantly come back to you and to your word, and continually convict us of its truth, and our need to obey it.

Father, we thank you for revealing so much to us! We thank you for those who have worked so hard over generations to make sure that your word in the Bible comes to us in a language we can understand; who have sought to write and teach and preach to us about what it means; and who challenge us to read it, accept it, and live by it. We ask that you will bless Bible translators, that you will bless the lecturers and students at Moore College and other Bible colleges that uphold your word, and that you will bless Marty as he seeks to bring to us challenges from your word tonight. 

We pray also for the work of the Bible Society, and other missionary endeavours that seek to translate the Bible into the heart language of every human community, and to put your word into the hands of everyone who wants it. Please be with the thousands of translators, scholars, typesetters, computer programmers, financial controllers, printers, distributors and donors who make accessibility to the Bible a reality for so many people around the world.

And we pray for all of those in our own community and country who are starved of your good news message, not because it's inaccessible, but because they are blind and deaf to your words. Please continue to open people's eyes and ears, so that they might see and understand what you have to say to them. And open their hearts and minds, so that they might receive the truth of your words to them. We pray for the hard work of people involved in scripture classes - for those in our church, those from HADCEA, and those involved in university ministries like Karen Sowden and others with EU, AFES and IFES. We pray for school chaplains,  prison chaplains, sports chaplains, army chaplains, hospital chaplains - wherever someone is seeking to share your word with people in need, Lord, we pray that you will be there to pour out your blessings on them, and on those who hear and receive your word.

And we pray that we likewise might share your word with those around us - our families, our friends, our workmates, whoever we come into contact with. Place your word in our hearts, encourage us to read it as part of our daily lives, and fill our hearts and our minds with your wonderful message of salvation for the world. Never take your word of truth from our mouths, for we have put our hope in your promises.

And it is through Jesus Christ, who is the Word from the beginning,  that we pray. Amen.

Sermon: Church History in 15 minutes (youth)

Five ages, Five struggles, Five lessons (intro 206 +178 conclusion = 384)
The Early Church Fathers (70-312):  The Age of Heresy and Correction (246)
The Catholic Church (312-1517):  The Age of Power and Unity (289)
The Reformation (1517-1648):  The Age of Pluralism and Revitalisation (389)
The Enlightenment (1648-1914):  The Age of Reason and Mission (283)
Globalisation (1914-2015):  The Age of Persecution and ? (324)

I’ve been asked to come and speak tonight about church history, and I think that’s fantastic, because history is really important, for lots of reasons.  Tonight I’m just focusing on two.  Most importantly, history informs our identity.  Church history tells us who we are as the Church, the worldwide people of God.  So you’ll notice that throughout this talk, I will refer to ‘we’ and ‘us’ – meaning you, me, and the church of the past.  We share a common identity.

History also records our responses.  Church history keeps track of the problems we have faced in the past, how we responded to them, and what the results were.  Not only can we learn from our mistakes, but we can learn from our successes.

Now, church history is huge.  We’re looking at 1,900 years or so – more than both the Old and New Testaments together.  And we’re doing it in 15 minutes.  Of which I have about 12 minutes left.

So let’s get into it!  I’m dividing church history into five different periods, which highlight five different struggles the church has faced, and five different successes we accomplished.  This will help to highlight how the church’s history informs our identity, and how it records our responses.

The first period of church history is all about the early church fathers.  These are the people that learned directly from Jesus’ apostles and then taught others.  By this time, we as a church had realised that Jesus was not coming back straightaway, and so we had to figure out a few things.  One was how to survive – this was a time of great persecution, especially from the Roman government.  Christianity was made illegal and Christians were systematically persecuted if they made their views public.

But not only were we under attack physically, we were under attack mentally as well!  Intellectuals attacked Christianity as stupid. False teachers were trying to fit Christianity into their  beliefs or philosophies.  The big struggle of this age was heresy – false teaching.  Many foundational Christian truths come from the early church fathers, like the trinity, and the inspiration of the New Testament as scripture.  And they weren’t decided in quiet, considered reflections on God’s word, but whilst trying to combat heresies that were rising up against the church!  So the lesson we can learn from this age is correction.  We have a huge body of Christian teaching that stretches all the way back to this time period – like the Apostle’s Creed – that teaches us the true way of Jesus.  We need to stick to it, and speak against those who undermine it.

Then in 312, something amazing happened.  The emperor, Constantine was his name, was converted to Christianity.  Not only did he become a Christian, but he changed the whole Roman Empire to being Christian, made Christianity the state religion, and made Sunday a holy day.  This period I call the Catholic Church period, and it is the longest one – it goes for about 1,200 years!  The popes, the crusades, the monasteries, the cathedrals – all of that happened in this era.  The church grew and grew, and even when the Roman Empire fell, it became the religion of the whole of Europe.  We owned more land than any kingdom.  We had more gold than any emperor.  We controlled schools, universities, libraries, law courts and even armies.  Awesome, right?

Well, the old saying goes “power corrupts”.  And that’s the struggle in this period: power.  The more we got involved in running countries, the more we slowly got infected by corruption.  Instead of glorifying God, we wanted to keep hold of our power, and we changed our beliefs to do it.  The church got greedy.  We were trying to usher in God’s kingdom on earth – we should be trusting God to usher in a new heaven and a new earth.

But during this time, the church was in unity.  That’s what catholic means – universal.  It was the one church.  Early on in this period, we sat down as a church and worked out what the way forward was in this new era of church and state together.  And the reason we could accomplish so many enormous things – good and bad – was because we were a global, united church.  We should remember what we can achieve when we all work together for God’s glory.

Slowly but surely, as power began to corrupt the church, cracks started forming in its unity.  In 1054 the Pope excommunicated the Eastern Orthodox Church – the first major division of the church in our history.  But this was as much a division on political and cultural lines as it was religious lines, so it had little impact on either side’s churches.  So our next period starts in 1517, when a guy called Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 problems with the church up on a door in Germany.  That’s a lot of problems!  He wanted to see the church reform, so we call this the Reformation. Luther wasn’t the only person railing against the Catholic Church during this time.  Because they were all protesting against the Catholic Church, we call them Protestants.  They didn’t agree on everything, but they did all agree the Catholic Church had it wrong.

And so wars started.  The terrible Thirty Years’ War involved basically all of Europe.  I can’t tell you how many people died, but for example, Germany lost 50% of its male population during that time.  And it all started because Catholics and Protestants felt that there should only be one church, and they were it.  While the newly created America wasn’t involved in the European wars, they were having the same struggles with religious freedom.

The struggle we as a church faced during the period of reformation was that of pluralism – people had different views about God, how churches should run, parts of Scripture.  We thought that to be Christian, we must all be the same – we thought unity required uniformity.  The Thirty Years War ended with no winner.  All sides realised they couldn’t defeat the others, and so in the end they had to make peace.  They had to learn to live with each other, and in 1648 they signed the Peace of Westphalia.

Thankfully, this focus on the Bible and people’s personal faith started a period of great revitalisation in Christian spirituality.  This time of division actually caused both Catholics and Protestants to really think about what it means to be Christian, the importance of Jesus and salvation, and made people really come to grips with what they believed.  We too can put our focus on the Bible, and on the key elements of Jesus and salvation, and be revitalised in our faith, instead of distracted by petty divisions.

While the ink was still drying on the Peace of Westphalia, there was another revolution taking place – an intellectual revolution.  It is called the Enlightenment, and represents the movement of thinking away from God, faith and sinfulness, and towards reason, science and human goodness.  People were sick of religious wars and people being burned at the stake for witchcraft.  This is the era of Isaac Newton describing the world as a machine whose intricate workings we could understand by way of reason and experimentation.

When people realised that the physical world could be explained by use of reason, they assumed that the spiritual world – that of angels, demons, miracles and life after death – simply mustn’t exist, because it can’t be explained by reason, only by God’s revelation in the Bible.  The logic of that assumption is actually pretty weak, but it was, and still remains, hugely powerful!  This is the struggle of reason.  We as a church struggled with reason, because for over a thousand years everyone had simply done what we told them.  Now when we gave the answer, “The Bible tells us so,” it wasn’t good enough anymore.

But as the church began to really reflect on why God, Jesus, the resurrection and eternity are so important, we realised that God is not just important to us, but to the whole world.  And we regained our passion for world mission.  The 1700s and 1800s saw the rise of huge missionary endeavours, reaching from Africa to India to China and everywhere in between.  The stories of brave missionary families travelling to far‑flung places with their belongings packed in coffins, knowing they would probably die – they come from this period in our history.  Likewise, if we reflect on why God and Jesus and resurrection and eternity are so important, God will awaken in us the realisation of how important his gospel is to all people, not just to us.

Then came the Great War, the First World War in 1914, with machine guns, and tanks, and mustard gas, and aeroplanes.  Then came the Second World War, with submarines, and battleships, the Holocaust and the nuclear bomb.  The promises of Enlightenment were looking shaky.  Science, reason and human goodness were not delivering the universal happiness we had been promised.  That’s the period we now live in.  I call it the age of globalisation.  For the first time, we are realising that what happens in one part of the world can have global effects.  Pollution in America affects sea levels in Polynesia.  Ebola in West Africa could mean Ebola in Australia. ISIS in Iraq means the deaths of thousands in Nigeria.  This is true inside the church too – a prayer meeting in California in 1906 where people started speaking in tongues started the Pentecostal movement, which now has 280 million followers worldwide, and saw charismatic gifts awakened in people from both Catholic and Protestant churches.

What’s the struggle for our church in this period in which we live?  Living in Australia, you might think it is secularism, or decline in numbers, or struggling to remain relevant.  But actually, the struggle for us, for the church, in the age of globalisation is persecution.  The last 100 years has seen more of us suffer and die for our faith than in all the 1900 years previous.  A hundred years ago this year Turkey systematically killed 1.5 million Armenian Christians.  Communist Russia killed perhaps 20 million Christians by the 1970s.  Conservative estimates think about 8 to 10,000 of us have been killed for our faith every year since 2000.  And that’s just killings.  The numbers for rape, torture, arrests, fines, church and house burnings, confiscation of bibles, beatings and exclusions from family are uncountably huge.

What’s the lesson we can learn from our current time in church history?  I don’t know.  At the moment it’s hard to see the church’s response clearly.  But one thing I can guarantee:  in every period of our history, the big lesson to be learned has always revolved around coming to grips with what we really believe.  Every time, in every age, the church has turned to God, seeking his will in the face of their situation, and God has given guidance, and the church has moved forward.  Every single time.  There is no reason for us to believe that it will be any different, even in the face of violent persecution.

That is the big lesson church history teaches us.  We can look back and see what shapes us as Christians, and we can look back and see how God has guided us to where we are today.  And that should lead us to continue seeking God’s will to guide us in our struggles, whatever they are now, and whatever they might be in the future.

Prayer 14/06/15 Your Will Be Done

Heavenly Father,

We know that you have a plan.  You know what tomorrow holds, what this year holds, what this decade holds, what this century holds, and what eternity holds.  We can't know for certain what the weather will be like next week, but we know for sure that you have a plan for all time.  Thank you for being in control, and caring so much about the future of your world that you not only desire for it to be a certain way, but you have a plan to make it that way.

You don't keep your plan hidden from us either.  We thank you that we can open the Bible and read your words to us through the Prophets, through the Apostles, and through Christ himself, telling us and explaining to us your plan for the world.  You made this world, and you made us in it, and you called it very good.  Even when we broke away from you in sin, you promised Adam and Eve that you would bring their children back into your fold.  After the Flood, you promised Noah that you would never again destroy the whole world by flooding.  You promised Abraham that you would make his people numerous, and that his name would be a blessing to all people.  You promised your people Israel that you would be their God, and that you would love them, protect them, and discipline them.  You never failed them, even when they failed you.  You promised them a messiah who would come and bring with him your kingdom.

And Father, you keep to your plan.  You sent your son Jesus to seek and save the lost.  He died on a cross to bring us back into relationship with you, overcoming the power of sin.  You raised him from the dead to prove it.  You spread your good news throughout the world, so that billions could hear it, and respond to it, and become your children.  You promise to be with us, and you have given us your Spirit, who lives in us and transforms us.  
We can look around this world, and see so many things that bring us heartbreak and sadness.  Death and oppression at the hands of bloodthirsty militants and power-hungry dictators. Sickness and suffering from lack of healthcare, lack of food and clean water, lack of sanitation, and diseases we simply can't cure.  Misery and sadness from lives spent trying to grasp a phantom promise of success and fulfillment through wealth, hard work and security.  Our world is broken by sin, our society is broken by sin, our lives are broken by sin.  In these situations, it can be hard for us to think that your plan is unfolding.  When we see suffering, it can be hard for us to think that it might be part of your plan.  But give us faith, Father, to know your will, and to see it in the world that surrounds us.

Lord God, you have given us a part in your plan.  You give us good works to do. We thank you for opportunities like HAWK, the trivia night, and the newcomers lunch, where we can serve you and take part in your plan. You call us to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed, to minister to the sick, to mourn with the mourning, and to preach your truth and your plan and point out the lies that the world tells us that separate people from you.  Give us big hearts, so we can care for this world and its people with the love that you give us. We pray for those who are sick, who are suffering, who are oppressed, who are mourning: for those in our congregation, for those in your global church, and for those outside your family. We ask that even in their suffering and difficulties, your plan will unfold. We pray that you will guide us to work to further your plan, by sharing what you give us - your love, your blessings, your wealth and your closeness - with those in need. 

Your plan is to bring us through the end of this world, and into your eternal kingdom, where we can be with you and Christ and the Spirit forever. We look forward to that day. We can't wait to see you face to face, to see your perfect plan complete, and to celebrate with you. We pray that in expectation of that great day. In Jesus' name and by his authority we pray, amen.

Prayer 31/05/15 - Hallowed be your name

Our father in heaven,

You are God on high, set above us in the heavens, Lord in power and in grace over all of your creation. You are infinite in strength and wisdom, in love and justice. You never sin, you never do wrong.  You are pure and perfect in every way. We honour you for being holy.

You do not hide away on your heavenly throne. You don't separate yourself from us, in fear of being contaminated by our sin. Instead, you come down to us, and you purify us. As Jesus Christ, you walked with us, taught us, mourned and laughed with us, and gave your life for us. You don't turn your back on us, but instead you sanctify us by taking the punishment of our crimes against you upon yourself, even though you are completely innocent of all wrong. Then you raised Christ from the dead, showing that you are not bound by death. We honour you for being holy.

You are close to us, dwelling within us by your Holy Spirit. You transform us into your likeness, so that each and every day we can be more like you. You uphold the humble, you exalt the lowly. You cleanse us of our sinful ways, and give us a new life. You call us your children, and bring us into your family. You heal the sick, you feed the hungry, you minister to the broken, you bring life to the dead. Nothing bad sticks to you; everything good comes from you. You have done everything well. We honour you for being holy.

You came to serve, and you want us to serve. You call us to stand up for the oppressed and the marginalised, to be there for the sick and the sorrowful, to call for justice against the greedy and the wicked, to show grace to the lost and the foolish, to love each other as family. And so we pray now for all of these people: we pray for Rohingya Muslim refugees, fleeing persecution, trapped on boats with nowhere to go, because no-one wants them. But you want them, Father. We pray that you will give them a home. We pray for those suffering from sicknesses that cannot be easily seen: depression, anxiety, attention deficit, post-traumatic stress. We ask you to give them hope and clarity, and give understanding, patience and acceptance to our society, as we seek to be there for them. We pray that you will bring justice to those around the world causing death and destruction; bring justice to those who oppress the poor and the weak, who accept bribes and make shady backroom deals in the name of financial gain. We ask you to please work in the hearts of those who are far from you, who deny you and work against you, so that they might admit their wrong, repent and turn from it, and come to you for forgiveness. And we pray for those who we call brother and sister in Jesus Christ who are sick, who are weak, who are tired, who are struggling, who need help. Please give them strength and comfort, and use us as your hands and feet to minister to their needs. We honour you for being holy. Help us to be holy, because you are holy.

By the authority and power of Jesus we pray these things, Amen

Prayer 3/05/15 1 Peter 3:8-22 "Suffering As Christians"

Heavenly Father,

You are of inestimable worth. How can we even begin to put a value on the one who creates and owns everything? How can we put a value on our own lives, and the lives of all people, who only live by the breath you have breathed into our lungs? What price can we put on our eternal future, that you have secured for us by the blood of your son, Jesus Christ? We are absolutely blown away by your infinite worth, and even though we can only begin to comprehend it, we understand enough to know that you are amazing.

Nothing else can stand as even remotely of the same worth as our lives, our salvation, and our relationship with you. And yet you give us so much more! We have amazing wealth, we live in a rich country, and we are blessed with a whole bunch of material stuff. We have rooves and cars and electronic gizmos, we have abundant food and money left over to spend on entertainment and charity. We have loving family relationships, strong friendships and a wonderful congregation of like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ. And we have a stable and safe country, far from danger, far from threats, and full of freedom, where we can worship you in public, learn about you at state funded Bible colleges, build churches that advertise your son's glory, and teach about you in schools. Help us to be thankful for all that you give us, because we have a lot of opportunity.

And you have commanded us that as we have opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. And so we pray now for our brothers and sisters who live in places where these opportunities do not exist, and where instead they suffer from all sorts of persecution and injustice. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria who have lost their homes, their families and their churches as their communities have been decimated by ISIS. We pray for our Christian family in Central Asia, where Christians are regularly imprisoned and fined huge amounts for handing out gospel tracts, having prayer meetings in their homes, or owning a Bible. We pray for your people across Africa who face death at the hands of Al-Qeda, Al-Shabbab and Boko Haram. We pay for Christians in Nepal,  whose churches and homes have been destroyed, and will be difficult to rebuild, and who may not receive aid from their government because they are Christian. We pray for Christians in North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Myanmar who face tragically unjust punishments for bearing your name. Give all of your people courage and strength in the face of these trials. Assure them on the amazing value there is in sharing in the sufferings of Christ in such ways. Let them know our support, in prayer, in finance, and in public advocacy. And help us to be encouraged by their strong stance for you, and to receive the same courage when we face shame from family, friends and workmates who find our talking about Jesus embarrassing or uncomfortable.

And so we also pray for those closer to home who are suffering in your name. Despite the many blessings you have given us, there is still a lot of pain in our midst. We pray for those who face rejection from their families because of their stance of believing in God. Give them a strong sense of the many brothers and sisters you have given them in Christ. We pray for those whose suffering is silent, and invisible to us, who hide their pain. We pray for those who suffer doubt about you, or aren't sure about their relationship with you, or are plagued with regrets and worries about their lives, and for others. Give us caring hearts and gentle spirits, so that they might inherit the blessing of closeness and comfort from you. Please free us all from fear and apprehension when it comes to suffering for you - help us to be willing and generous in giving all that you have given us to those who you have provided to us to pass on to those who are in need.

For all these things, for opportunities provided and blessings given, we are truly thankful. In Jesus name, Amen.