Prayer 120812 (Shine Like Stars - Philippians 2)

Our Father God,

We come before you in thanks that you have revealed yourself to your people at many times and in various ways. We praise you for being the God of mysteries revealed, not just mysteries, and for revealing yourself to us through history, through miracles, through your gospel message, through your Son Jesus Christ, and also through each of us, and your people around the globe, as we all seek to live a life worthy and pleasing to you. Help us to be thirsty for your word, and hungry for your righteousness, that we might seek out your wisdom and act out your teaching in our lives.

As a church we are thankful for our building work, which continues to make progress. We thank you for the opportunities this new building is going to present, and the new face it will help our church present to the people of Waitara. In the meantime, we thank you for the use of this hall, inside which we have seen our numbers grow, and been able to be a witness to the community of our love for you in a different way. Help us to continue to prayerfully support the work of the church here in the school, and out in the community. We think of our partners in mission who are working in schools here, and in Asquith, and we pray for the work of scripture teachers and of HADCEA, that it will continue to reach children with knowledge about who you are, who Jesus is, and how they can relate to you. We pray for our supported missionaries in outback Australia and overseas, who help us to be linked with your larger mission and your greater church. We pray for their good work to continue in making Christ known, and upholding and supporting your people everywhere, and we pray you will meet their financial, emotional and physical health needs at this time. We would also pray for our church's leadership, staff and volunteers. We pray that their weekend away together at Mt Victoria was useful, beneficial, but also relaxing and refreshing and fun. Renew their spirits, Lord, as they continue to serve us and to serve you, and help us to better understand and appreciate their work each week.

Finally, Father, we thank you for the many opportunities you give us, as individuals and as a church community, to be a light for you in this world, in the places we live and the people our lives touch.  Help us to take up those opportunities, and to make the most of them for your sake and your glory, and also out of love for those around us, from amongst your people and the world around us. We now take a moment to bring to you those people we would seek to uphold in prayer, in their sickness, struggles and times of need. Bless these people we bring before you, Father, and bring them comfort and healing through the closeness of your spirit, and the actions of your people.

For all these things we pray by the authority of Jesus,

Amen

Pray 131013 Sacrifice

Heavenly father,

We call you worthy, and you truly are worth everything, since you have made everything, and we would have nothing without you. Often we are so full of praise for you, we just want to give everything to you, but you already own it all. Thankfully, Lord, you have given us the power to make things that we can give to you - we can give you our praise, we can give you our thanks for all that you have done for us. We can give you the glory that you so rightly deserve. You're worth it all, Lord, and we want to send back to you the blessings you have showered on us. We are so grateful for your love and mercy, thank you.

But sometimes, father, we can forget that you are God, and that you sit in such a place above us, being so worthy, and we can let other things become more immediately important in our lives. Sometimes things get urgent and just grab our attention, and so we try to deal with them immediately without first thinking of you, as we should in all things. Sometimes it has to do with our comfort and wellbeing, and we like being comfortable and secure, so we elevate those things and give them our time and effort and thoughts. Sometimes it is authority - we want to be in charge, we want to have power, and so instead of accepting that you are Lord, and seeking to serve you, we put ourselves in that spot, and try to run things our own way. We're sorry for that, Lord. We want to take this opportunity tonight to take anything we have put ahead of you, and lay it at your feet - use everything we have, and everything we are, to bring yourself more glory, and to fulfil your will of seeing every person brought into a loving relationship with yourself.

We pray now for those who are suffering because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These people really are putting you first, and are prepared to make some big sacrifices in their lives to ensure that you are glorified no matter what. Help them to be an encouragement and an example for us, and as we are blessed by the way they stand up under these trials and continue to glorify you, help us to stand with them by supporting them in prayer, and with the finances you've blessed us with, and by ensuring they have access to the word you have provided us in the Bible. *Pray for persecuted church in booklet thing.*

Closer to home, we bring to you, Lord God, those in our midst, and in our greater Christian family here at Waitara Anglican, who are suffering through loneliness, hardship, loss, sickness, stress and the general troubles of life. For them it can be easy to focus on these worries, and not on the unshakeable truth of your glory, and so we pray you will help them to remain in your strength throughout their troubled times, and help us all as Christian brothers and sisters to rally to their needs, and to be there for them even when we don't know we are. We take a few moments to pray silently for those that burden our hearts.

You give us everything, Lord, and we seek to devote it all to you. In your Son's precious name we pray, Amen.

Prayer 120311 Praise and Forgiveness

Our gracious heavenly father,

You are perfect, Lord. There is nothing we can point to in your nature, or your character, in your creation, in your interaction with people throughout history, or in your present dealings with us, that shows any hint of flaw, or weakness or failing in you. We are struck today by your loving forgiveness, your willingness to overlook our faults, to correct our failings, to reach out to us despite our imperfections, and to free us from the punishments we deserve for our rebellion against you. We love you for finding a way of matching perfect justice for all sin with perfect forgiveness and acceptance of the sinful. We thank you for working to bring us to you, for forging the path that leads us to you, and taking our hands and leading us along it every step of the way.

We praise you, our Father, for opening for us a way not only to be your servants, but to become heirs, children of yours, brothers and sisters alongside Jesus Christ. We thank you that we can inherit his glory, that right now here on earth we can call ourselves children of the living God, that we can know surely that when we confess our sins to you, they are forgiven, that whatever we come to you with, we will find you merciful and loving toward us. You tell us that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We are told that Christ lives in us, and that we dwell in Christ. And you assure us that even the Father makes his home in us. For the relationship you hold open to us, the divine embrace into which we can be a part of, the bond we can share with Father, Son and Spirit, we thank you.

Amen

Now, Father,

We come to you in supplication, to ask that the mercy you show to us might continue to be extended to us. We acknowledge that we are unable to approach your perfection, because we are sinful, greedy, selfish, lustful beings, and we cannot love you as you love us. We cannot always forgive as you forgave us. So we come before you and confess that we have sinned against you, that we fall short of your standard of perfection. We throw ourselves upon your mercy, knowing that you have promised to forgive us time and time again. You have paid the price for our sin, through the sacrifice of our king, Jesus Christ, and you have shown us through his resurrection that such sin holds no power over us any longer. Help us to be strong and self-controlled, give us the strength to repent and turn away from our sin, and to seek your glory.

Father, we ask that your forgiveness will extend out into the world, challenging people's selfishness and imperfection, and washing them clean of it. We ask that as you have forgiven us, so may we turn outwards from this fellowship, and share that forgiveness with others in our community. We pray that you might be powerful in convicting people of their fallen nature, revealing to them their powerlessness, and at the same time showing them your power to save them. Help us to accept those who the world turns away, to show mercy where others perhaps seek justice.

And Father, just as we ask for these eternal mercies, we know that your love extends even to watching over our temporal sufferings, and we would ask for your mercy in those things. For those who are sick and suffering, Lord please give them strength and comfort, to them and to their families. For those who are anxious about current troubles, give them your eternal peace. For those of us who might be hard-hearted and hard-headed towards your message of forgiveness finding ourselves and others, soften our hearts and our thoughts, and give us your spirit of mercy.

In all these things we look to our Saviour Jesus, who embodied them all in perfection, and we pray in his name,

Amen

Prayer 070713 (Being Good Psalms 34 1 John 1:1-10)

Our eternal father,

We come to you in praise for the good world that you have created, that we can live in and appreciate. Especially here in Australia, we are blessed with an abundance of wealth, a beautiful country, a high standard of living and so many ways to enjoy the bounties that this world can offer. We thank you for the continuing inventiveness and ingenuity of human progress, that makes our lives more comfortable, brings us better health, and lessens pain and suffering. We thank you for the many opportunities we have to do good things for others, and for those people we know who have done good by us, or who even currently are a blessing to us in doing good.

We think, Lord, of those many people who have sought to devote themselves to good things; to making life better for people; to alleviating the harshness that can also come with life; those who devote their lives to seeing justice done; those who would seek to protect the environment from degradation and destruction; those who strive for peace, and who stand up for others; those who seek to discover truth, and to share it with the world. There are so many different ways people seek to do good, and for all the ways that they might impact our lives, or the lives of others, we give you thanks, knowing that you are the ultimate source of all good things.

But Lord, we know that even though we might strive to do good, we do not always seek it for the right reasons. Sometimes we seek our own glory, sometimes we just seek our own good and our own pleasure. Sometimes the good things we want distract us from focusing on things of ultimate and eternal importance, from our relationship with you. Whatever good things we might have, or whatever good we seek to do, Lord, help us to ensure that we are doing it for you and for your glory. Help us to always give thanks to you, both for the good we have, the good we do, and the good others might do for us. May the glory always be yours.

Amen

Prayer 040813 (Life in Christ Ephesians 2:1-22)

God our Father,

We come before you this evening from many different paths, and with so many different weights and pressures bearing on our lives, threatening to strip our focus away from you to all the urgencies, both little and large, that so easily run our everyday lives. We come before you to lay them all at your feet, so that we might realise again the awesome presence of God that fills each one of us. You are a wondrous God of amazing love and compassion, with a giving spirit that outshines whatever this world might seek to take away from us. We can see your provision to us in the possessions we have, in the church you have built for us, in the comfort and closeness of friends and family, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, whom you sent to be God amongst us, to die for us, and to save us from our sin, from ourselves, and from just punishment.  You are a God of amazing grace, and we seek to remember that this evening.

And we need that grace, Lord, for so often we can be too easily distracted from your glory, too often we can be unfaithful to your will or us in how we live, and we can even doubt your love, care and power. But you have forgiven us, and remind us that though we might be faithless, you remain ever faithful. We thank you that our salvation is assured to us, and cannot be taken away by things as simple as our doubts or worries.  Even if we stumble, even if we don't feel like worshipping you, even if we do what we want instead of what you want, you always hold out forgiveness through turning back to you, and you assure us that you have dealt with all of our sin in complete finality. We are saved, now and forever, and we thank you for that unchanging truth, Lord.

We would ask that you keep that truth near to us, help us to hold it close to our hearts and firm in our minds. Let your Holy Spirit work in us to make us more and more aware of that truth, more and more conscious of your reality, divinity, and authority over us. Help us to see even in our darkest moments that your grace is sufficient for us, even when those dark moments stretch out, even when the pain doesn't go away when we want it to. We pray for all of those close to us, and even for ourselves, who are suffering from pain, anguish, doubt or fear, as well as all those who are pushing forward to serve you sacrificially, and we take these few silent moments to hand over their burdens to you.

Father, we ask that you would fix our minds on your eternal truths, your limitless grace to us, and the inevitable coming of Christ. We thank you for doing immeasurably more than we could have ever asked, and we do so through the authority of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Mothers Day Prayers 2013

Almighty God, Lord of Hosts,

You are a god of total overarching power. At the beginning of time, you spoke and all things were made. Anywhere we look in creation and we see power - the thunder and lightning of a big storm, the shudder of an earthquake, the eruption of a volcano, the immense power of the oceans, the unthinkable gravity of a black hole - all these things point us towards your even greater power that made them all. Whenever we see people in positions of power making decisions that affect our lives, that change the world, that control vast sums of money, we can look above them and see you as the Lord over all their authority, holding them to account. Whenever we hear of wars, of the strength of our weapons, the size of armies or the threat of bombs and attacks, we know that you are God over all those things, and that even our mightiest warlords have no power that compares to yours. It is a power that you make clear, that you tell us of, and that you invite us to call to our aid by reaching out to you when we are in need.

And yet so often, Lord, we will refuse to do that, trusting in our own strength, or calling upon the power that we see in politicians, or drugs, or education, or money, to give us what we need and what we want. We try and cut you out of our lives, and seek to control all these things for ourselves. But all we end up with is being mastered by our greed, by our lack of wisdom, and by the selfishness of ourselves and others. Forgive us, great God, for turning our backs on you, and not putting you in your rightful place as God over all things, and for not asking you for help in all areas of our lives.

We thank you, though, that your doors are never closed to us, your ears always hear what we have to say, and you always give us answers to our prayers. Whether it be a mighty, thunderous answer to our prayer, or a gentle, subtle response that we might fail to notice if we're not paying attention, or whether it is simply the knowledge that your grace is sufficient for us, and we need nothing more than you, we thank you for each and every answer to our prayers. Remind us of all the good things that you provide to us, and all the strength and comfort you provide us in dark and difficult times, that we might always remember your love for us, and call out to you again and again in our need.

We do that now, Lord, and call out to you with the needs of our congregation. We bring before you the sick, the sorrowful, the struggling, as well as those you provide to them for comfort, strength and assistance. And we think of those close to us who may be in need, and ask that you will provide for them in your grace and mercy all that they need and more. We bring these requests to you now in a short moment of silence.

Finally, Lord, we think today of mothers: we pray for our own mothers, thanking you for the love and care they have bestowed upon us; we pray for those mothers in our church, for the important role they play in raising their children in a godly way; we pray for the health of expectant mothers; and we pray for those who cannot be mothers, or whose relationship with their mothers has not been what it ought to have been. We thank you, God, that you are there for us even when no one else might be. We remember Isaiah 49:15, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" Thank you that we can call on you, and you will always remember us.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Good Friday prayers 2011

Heavenly Father,

Today we come together to remember your Son, the Lord Jesus, whom we call Messiah, or Christ.  In the past, people have come with sacrifices to give to you, both to bring you glory, and as an offering to redress their failings before you. The blood of many animals was spilt in an effort to cover over our rebellion, as humans made in your image, but unwilling and unable to meet your standard of perfection. We remember today as the day when, in your mercy, _you_ made a sacrifice for _us_.  You sent your son to earth, God in the form of a man, perfect in every way, perfect in the way we never can be on our own. You sent your perfect son, knowing that he would die, knowing that we humans would kill him.  You sent your son to sacrifice his perfect life, as a sacrifice for us, once for all, a sacrifice that never needs to be repeated.

We come together today to bring you glory for your grace to us, in sending Jesus to die in our place.  We committed the wrongs, but Jesus paid the punishment. we come together to thank you for that gift, which now allows us to come to you without fear of punishment, but instead to come as sons and daughters adopted into your heavenly family.  Thank you, our father, for loving us, and for wanting us to be in your family with you in heaven forever. May you be glorified for your kindness to us, and may we respond to you with love, acceptance and obedience.

We thank you that we are given hope, knowing that Jesus did not remain in the grave, but you raised him to life on the third day, showing us that you have power over death, and that we need not fear it now.  We thank you that you have taken the sting out of death, that we can be assured that we, as your people, will rise to be with you, just as Jesus did. Help us to live the way you want us to live, and to be prepared to give all that we have to you, just as you gave the life of your son for us. By his authority we pray all this,

Amen

Prayer Christmas 2011

Prayer of thanksgiving and praise

Our heavenly Father,

As Christmas is almost well and truly upon us, we find ourselves reminded of so many things that we can be thankful for.  We are thankful for this school premises, where we are allowed not only to meet together on Sundays, but were able to have our carols service, open to the community. We pray that many were touched by the words of carols, the words of the Christmas story from the gospels, and the words of Bruce, and also thank you that much enjoyment was had by those who attended. We thank you that we will be able to have Christmas services here in the morning, which will also likely be attended by people who might not otherwise find their way to church. We pray those services will be a blessing on those who attend. Christmas is a time where many of us are surrounded by our families, and we thank you for those families that many will spend some of their Christmas with. We pray that there will be liberal amounts of joy and gladness, and conservative amounts of drinking and argument.

The swirling mass of presents and food that will surround many of us also reminds us of your bounty, and we praise you for being a generous God, who provides us with an abundance. Help us to put that abundance to good use, not only in celebrating the birth of your Son and our Saviour, but also in providing hospitality to others, and using gift giving and charitable donation to build relationships with those around us, and to give to those who sorely need it.

We thank you most of all, Lord, for the reminder that you were prepared to take on a human form, be born into this world as one of us, and walk among us, sharing yourself with us, revealing yourself to us, and ultimately dying for us. As we learn about the earthly family history of Jesus today, help us to reflect on how close you have been to humanity over thousands of years, many generations, constantly abiding by your promises, and keeping your people under your wings of love and protection.

So it is in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Our gracious Father,

In the same way that Christmas reminds us of so many blessings, it also provides for us a stark contrast between those of us who have, and the many around us who do not have. We pray for those who are far from family, who miss their parents, siblings, and children, and who will not get to see them this Christmas time. We think of soldiers, police, doctors, overseas workers, missionaries, and others. Be with them, and provide for them hospitality and camaraderie. For those estranged from their families, we pray you will provide open doors that they need not be alone this Christmas. For those in hospital over Christmas, we pray you will touch them with healing and comfort.

We pray for the Christmas hampers that were contributed to by people in our church. We pray that they will be helpful to all who receive them, that the toys will be a joy to the children who receive them, and the food a blessing and lifting of a burden in what can be a difficult time for many. We pray for all who are stressed, depressed or anxious at Christmas time. Please bring them your eternal peace, and guard their hearts and their minds in Christ Jesus.

We pray for the many who will be travelling on packed roads to their holiday destinations, or to visit family. Please keep the road tolls low, and separate drunk drivers from their vehicles over these holidays. Out of all the great and abundant blessing you give us, Lord, help us to remember the many who are not so blessed, and to share with them in whatever way you give us. Help us to be hospitable, giving, and loving to all those around us, and those that you bring into our orbits in this Christmas period. We pray for people like Bruce and Emily, and other ministers of the faith, who do not get Christmas Day off. Give them strength to serve you in churches across the world, and give them a day off some other time.

By the authority of Jesus, we pray these things, Amen.

Prayer 190114 (Luke 7:18-23,36-50 King of the Broken)

Gracious Father,

You, oh Lord, are perfect in every aspect - perfect in power, perfect in love, perfect in holiness. There is no hint of wrongness, no speck of darkness in your shining light.  Your ways are true and just - as we look back into our history, the history of God's people, we see again and again your perfect faithfulness, your promises made and fulfilled.

You are perfect in holiness, Father, and though we cannot look upon your face, you sent your son, Jesus Christ, as the exact representation of you in every way - but as a man, that humans could gaze upon him, hear his words, follow his footsteps - see, hear and follow God made flesh among us. You revealed to us through Jesus your perfect plan to deal with sin once and for all, and you paid the price for our sin with his perfect, sinless blood upon the cross. Even the sacrifice you made for us was perfect.

Lord, we do not live in a perfect world. Instead, we are surrounded by brokenness.  We know many who are struck with sickness, recovering from grief, feeling the bite of loneliness or financial constraint. And we pray for them, Lord, because we love them as you love them - we pray for their healing, we pray for comfort, we pray for you to be real and tangible in their lives - we pray that you will give them joy and hope in the midst of sadness and pain.

But there are so many we don't know, Lord, so many who are out of our sight, and yet we know that they suffer just as much from the brokenness that surrounds us. Bushfires continue to threaten people's homes and lives in our own country - record snow falls and freezing temperatures do the same across the world. We pray for an outpouring of love and generosity to those who suffer in the wake of natural disasters, that your people might show them consolation and charity in the face of the loss of life and property.

Drunken violence continues to erupt on our streets, causing harm and death both to those who drink and those they attack. Violence also continues to be hidden behind closed doors in our homes, as thousands of women are subject to abuse. Sickness, poverty and uncertainty face many asylum seekers across the world who flee from danger, persecution and hardship. Give us hearts of compassion for those who are not our friends, whom we do not know, but who you do know and you do love. Help us to fight for them not because we know them, but because we know you. And help us to give our support and encouragement to our leaders, who have to struggle with difficult decisions about all these things.

Give us hearts that wish to see this broken world made new, made as perfect as you are perfect. Help us do what we can to bring that vision of newness into the lives we can touch. And never let us lose sight of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his perfect example, and his call to us to be perfect, just as you are perfect.

By his authority we pray, Amen.

Prayers 090314 (Luke 10:1-24 King of the Workers)

Heavenly Father,

You are the Lord of the Harvest. You have a desire to see all the world told about your son, about your offer of repentance, of the place you have in heaven for each of us. We thank you for your great love, which moved you to send your son to us, whose words called to us, and whose life was given for us. It is a gift we could never repay, and never have to - for you have given freely, that we might be able to come into your family and live with you forever. So we can call you father, and we thank you.

And as you have a love for all people, you call us to reach out to all people with your message of sin, forgiveness, redemption and acceptance. And we pray that you will send more and more people out into the world to spread your message. We pray for our leaders here in this church - Bruce, Emily, the wardens and parish councillors - who work not only to bring your love to those in this community, but to lead and shape our church into one that is focused on the world around us, and on fulfilling your will in spreading the word. As the AGM approaches, we pray that you will raise up new and continuing people to fill these roles, that there will be nominations for every role, and that the leadership of our church will continue to be strong and focused on your service.

We pray for the leaders of the ministries here in this church, who give up so much of their time to keep open new avenues between our church and the outside world. We would ask that you give them strength, courage and joy as they serve you in these areas, and provide more helpers and leaders in every single ministry, to allow them to grow and do their work better. We think in particular of Play Time, W.A.Y., Fusion, C4K and for the Family Festival - please provide more volunteers for these important ministries to ensure they can work to full effectiveness.

We pray for those who work for you outside these church walls - we ask especially for scripture teachers and school chaplains such as those involved with HADCEA in placing Christians in the schools in Asquith and Waitara. There are so many kids who have never heard the gospel before, and we ask that you will send people into these rich harvest fields to spread your word.

We pray for those who work throughout Australia to make your glory known. We think of the work of Bush Church Aid, bringing practical support and love to those in rural and regional Australia. Help us to faithfully support such ministries, to allow your word to continue to reach people in need, combined with loving, practical aid.

We pray for those who have crossed the world to serve you in other places.  We pray for Marshall and Julie Scott and their family working in Taiwan, and pray that you will raise up local leaders in the areas where they work to support and minister to the foundling churches there. We pray for Pete and Jo Ong in Malawi as they continue to learn the local language, and become involved in youth, children's and young women's ministries in that very needy country. Surely their arrival there was an answer to prayer for more workers, and we thank you for that.

Finally Lord, we pray for each and every member of our church. You have placed us all into our own harvest field, with a specific circle of friends, family, workmates, fellow students, neighbours and others. Help us to serve you in every field you have put us in, so that by our words and by our lives people will see you, know you, and be drawn to you. Help us to care for and love each other as the family of God, especially for those of us who are sick, suffering, or in need of comfort and help, so that others might look on and know that we are true disciples of Jesus Christ.

For these things we pray,
Amen

Prayer 270414 (Luke 24:36-53, Acts 1:4-11 - King of Triumph)

Confession

Acts 3:19 "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." By confessing our sins to God, not only do we acknowledge our weakness, but we place our trust in God's power to cleanse us of our sin through Christ Jesus.

And now we know that our guilt is taken away, and our sin is atoned for.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

We thank you that we live in an amazing part of history - we live not just in the shadow of the cross and the forgiveness of our sins, but we live in the light of Jesus' rising from the dead, in the time of victory over sin, and in the age of the Holy Spirit.  We thank you that you have poured out your spirit on us, and that you choose to dwell within us, empowering us to do your will no matter where we go or what we do. We thank you for including us not just into your kingdom, but into your plan for the world. We ask that you would use us as faithful servants as you seek to reach the world with the saving message of Christ's coming, death and resurrection.

We thank you that you are glorified by the raising of your son, that you have proven your power over our greatest enemies, sin and death, and we can live assured of that by knowledge of Christ living both in us, and sitting at your right hand. May you be praised for your love and mercy, now and forever more.

And yet, though we live in the world's last age, and in the light of the resurrection, there is still suffering in this world. There are wars and rumours of wars, there are earthquakes, famines and pestilences. There are events in the world that make us fear. People across the world are put in prisons and dragged before tribunals to be persecuted because they call themselves Christian. But all these things we were told to expect by Jesus, and we know that they will not last forever. Still, we pray for those who suffer because of their faith, or because of sickness, or hardship or trouble. We now take a moment to silently commit them to you now.  We pray that you will fill them with your spirit, and that you will be their comfort - for we know that suffering with you is better than having all luxury without you.

Finally Lord, we pray for those who serve our country in the armed forces, and for their families. They make many sacrifices - they constantly train to be ready, and they risk their lives and their safety, their families are constantly moved around and must wait for their loved ones to return home - all to protect people's freedom. Part of that freedom is the freedom to worship and serve you in safety. And so we remember our miliary personnel and their families, and we ask you to bless them and encourage them, to keep them safe and bring them home in one piece.

Amen

Prayer 150614 (Jonah 2 - Great Things)

Our Heavenly Father,

We come together this evening to praise you for all the wondrous things you have done among us during this week. You are a God who provides, the creator God who has made all things.  You continue to oversee all that you have made, and you have concern for each and every one of us as your special creation, made in your image, and made for relationship with you. Each day you have provided us with so many things that we can thank you for. Many of us have jobs, or other sources of income that provide us with our daily needs. We thank you for being the Lord of all our provision, and giving to us all that we have to live on. You give us our health, that we can continue each day able to act and live and be involved in our society. You surround us with loving family, friends and brothers and sisters in faith, with whom we can share our blessings and our burdens in life. Through Jesus Christ, you have cleared a path for us to be with you, so that we can relate to you, pray to you, live for you, love you, have you live within us, and you give us a hope for an eternal future with you in heaven that starts right now.

Despite all that you give us though, this is still a broken world, and we see both in our own lives, and in the world around us, the suffering, pain and loss that continues to manifest itself. We think of those who are unemployed, or without adequate support for living. We pray for those who face hunger due to poverty and famine, such as in Sudan, or because of harsh regimes such as in North Korea. We pray for governments to show mercy and kindness to the homeless, the unemployed and the aged, rather than punishing them. We pray for those who are afflicted with ill health, and ask you for their healing and relief.  We pray for those who have lost members of family, or friends, those who do not have families, those who are lonely, and those who do not have the support of a loving Christian community.   We pray for refugees who are forced to leave their home and travel to a foreign land, often leaving family, friends and community behind. We pray for those suffering the stigma of mental illness or criminal history or social awkwardness. Give all of these comfort in your closeness, and provide to them with friends, with loved ones, with communities that embrace them with the love of God shown through Jesus Christ. 

Finally, Lord, we pray for all those who live without a sure hope, those who live without being able to rest in your love, those who feel unable to call you Father, unable to pray for you, and unable to see an assured future in heaven. You have given all of us so much, so generously - help your people, help all of us, to be fearless in sharing your message of love and forgiveness, of hope and closeness with the creator and sustainer of the world. Plant your seed of faith in the hearts of all around us, we pray, and soften their hearts that they might come to know and love you, as you love them.

All these things we pray, sure in the knowledge that you care for us and will provide in your wisdom.  So we ask by the authority of Jesus.

Amen

Prayer 060714 (John 1 - Incarnation)

Heavenly Father,

Before the universe was made, or anything in it, you existed in three persons - Father, Son and Spirit - in perfect relationship. We are told that you created all things through this relationship - all things were created through your Son, and for him. We are told that it was by your word all things were created, and we know that the word was made flesh in Jesus Christ. Through creation you made us, breathing your spirit into us, making us in your image. We are created to relate to you, and to relate to each other. We thank you for the wonderful relationships that we are able to have - in families, in marriage, in friendship, in our communal faith, and with you as our God. You give us prayer, and ask us to pray, so that we might communicate our thoughts to you. And you give us your message in the Bible, so that we can read your will and understand your ways. We thank you that you are so eager to talk to us, and pray you might grow our desire to talk with you.

We spend a few moments now, silently bringing before you all of the joys, sorrows, requests and difficulties that we are facing, both as individuals, and as a Christian church community.

We pray for those who are sick, that you will give them strength to face these illnesses, and we pray that you will alleviate sickness and bring health. We pray for those who grieve, and ask for your comfort to surround them, and for you to fill their hearts with faith in you. For all those who suffer, face obstacles and difficulties in their lives, or even just face doubt, give them a sure knowledge that you are ultimately in control, that you will not allow injustice or pain or suffering to win the day.

You sent your son to live amongst us, to be a human like us, to suffer in mortal flesh like us, and then to die like one of us. You died in our place, so that we might live for you, and for that we are truly thankful. Then you raised your son back to life, showing us your amazing power, proving to us that you defeat even death and sin for our sake. You have given us your Spirit, to guide us in our Christian lives, and to empower us to live for you. We thank you that you are never far from us. Help us to live by the Spirit, and to listen to its voice in our lives, and to be transformed by its renewing of our minds as we live each day for you. And you have promised to return, and to let us live with you forever, and to transform us to be the perfect people you want us to be, free from sin, and holy, like you are holy. We cling to that promise, and we joyfully look forward to the day when you will bring us home to you in heaven.

Finally, you have made us your representatives on this earth, to speak to all people and tell them the good news about you. Help us to be faithful to that responsibility, and to live lives of holiness and joy, and to speak your truth without fear, always having faith in you. Fill us with your love for others, that we can share it with everyone around us.

In the name of Jesus and by his authority we pray,

Amen

Prayer 240814 (James 4 - Doing Faith)

Heavenly Father,

We have just acknowledged that we can fall short of your will for our lives. We can be greedy, and selfish.  We can fight and be jealous, even with other members of our church family. We try to feed our own wants, instead of coming to you with our needs. We think we can run our lives, but we can't.

And we thank you that even while we are still sinners, you send Jesus Christ to die for us, to pay for our rebellion, and put us back in your good books. You have given us the greatest and most costly gift ever - your own son, for our eternal lives. Why is it we then expect you to be stingy with anything else?

And so we ask you now, Lord - make us your people, fully and completely. Help us take that first step towards you, knowing that you will close the distance and embrace us. Give us pure minds, and clean hearts, seeking your righteousness. Help us to tame our tongues, and to use our words for your good, pleasing and perfect will. Help us to serve you with our deeds, so that all might know our faith is alive and true.

We ask you, Lord, to step into the lives of those who are suffering. We think of our brothers and sisters in Iraq, in Syria, in Palestine, in Nigeria, in Sudan, in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia,  Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Bhutan, China, and so many other places, who are suffering for no other reason than that they love you and will not give up on you. Step into their lives, and bring them comfort and joy in the midst of their trials. Allow them to show mercy in their hearts to their accusers and their persecutors. And show your own mercy, by transforming the hearts of your enemies to make them your friends and your children.

We thank you for the faith of Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who you have healed from Ebola. You are an amazing God! We thank you for the work of Samaritan's Purse, and other godly organisations that are seeking to serve the needs of those sick and dying, in order to show your love to them. Please work through your people to bring healing and hope to West Africa.

We pray for those in our midst who suffer through sickness, poverty, stress and pain. We take a moment to pray for them silently now. We pray that we will be encouraged more deeply in our faith as we see you answering our prayers for those around us and those far from us.

And we pray that through these things we ask, you will be glorified. Grant us these things, for we ask by the authority of Jesus Christ and for his glory, Amen.

Prayer 070914 (Daniel 1)

Heavenly Father,

You created the whole world and everything and everyone in it. You are the father of the world, and we are your children through Christ. Yet you tell us that not everyone shows you the love you deserve, and the spirit of humanity is  against you, not giving you the glory you demand. We only need to open our eyes and look around to see that's the case. We live in a world racked by war, famine, poverty and suffering of all kinds, brought about by human desire, and our sinful inclination to seek what we want, and not what you want. We see sickness and struggles all around us, and we take a moment now to silently pray for those we know who are struck with these difficulties in their lives.  Give us open doors and open arms to welcome, comfort and love those in our communities who are suffering.

We pray for your people, persecuted for standing by their faith in you. We pray for Iraqi Christians pushed from their homes and their homelands, threatened with death, and then executed when they stand up for you. Give them strength, supply their needs, and be their comfort and their hope. We pray for Christians in Iran who are charged with enmity against Allah, which is punishable by death. We pray that you will let them know your peace, and that these charges will be dropped, and they will be set free. We pray for those Christians living in areas of India, Nigeria, and Uganda, where violent attacks have continued against your church, and many have been injured, terrorised, and even killed. Be with those who mourn the loss of loved ones, and bring justice to these suffering saints by overturning the powers that are set against them, and set against you.

Here in Australia, we find ourselves in the midst of the same human spirit that works against you. We pray for our nation, and for the distrust of your church, sometimes with good reason. We pray that those who have been harmed by members of the church will be comforted, and that you will show them love and compassion, and help them not to lose touch with you. We pray you will turn the tide against the rising swell of anti-god and anti-Christian sentiment that seems to pour out from our media, our scientists, our academics and our politics. We pray that your people will stand against the hatred and fear that drives our immigration and refugee policy, and that you will shift public opinion towards love and compassion, so that our politicians will have no choice but to pursue policies clothed in you righteousness and goodness. 

We pray for our own church and the many churches of Christ in Australia. Help us all to act with love and openness. Do not let us give in to the desire to grumble against each other. Instead, help us to persevere together as we are surrounded by a non-Christian world. Don't let us fall into the trap of petty divisions, or judging others based on their sexuality, their theology, or their practices. Instead, let streams of living water flow from us into this world, blessing us, and then through us blessing the world around us. Give us faith to know that through Jesus Christ, you will work to convict people of their sin, and draw them to you and to your church. Let us welcome them with open arms when you do.

It is in Jesus' name and by his authority we ask all these things, knowing that you will powerfully work out your plan. Amen.

Prayer 05/10/14 (Romans 7-8 Freedom)

Heavenly Father,

You are the Lord of all knowledge and wisdom. You know all there is to know, and you can see back into the past to the very starting point of creation, and all the way to the end of time, and past that into the eternity beyond. There is nothing you do not know, For you there are no surprises.

You are the God of all humanity. You have made us in your image, and given us dominion over the earth. You have given us the ability to make choices, to make decisions and act on them, and you allow our decisions to impact on the world around us, on our own lives, and on the lives of others. You do not force us to act a certain way, but you allow us to do wonderful and terrible things.

Father, we want to apologise. You have graciously given us freedom to think and to choose. And so often, we choose to do the wrong thing. You have given us freedom to choose you, but we choose ourselves. We're sinful and selfish, and you know it. And we suffer because of our sin, and then we cry out to you for help. Heavenly Father, we are sorry for our sin, and we repent of it. And we know that you are just, and gracious, and will forgive us. Tomorrow we might do the same thing again, but we thank you that you will forgive us again, and again, seventy times seven times. We thank you that because of Jesus dying on the cross in our place, you will never stop forgiving us, for as long as we sin.

And you have given us your Holy Spirit, God in us, to sanctify us as we live our life trying to live for you. Transform us by your spirit, and make yourself shine out from us to those who surround us. Help us to be your hands and your feet in this world.

Father, we crave freedom, but so many of us are trapped. Some are trapped by sins we feel we can't shake off - we ask that you would defeat that sin, or help us to endure it, that we might serve you in our weakness and your strength. Some of us are enslaved by sickness - we pray for those among us who are suffering from illness, and the fear and worry it can create. Give all those who are sick energy, renew them by your spirit, and give them freedom from their illnesses, Lord. We pray for those who are stuck in ruts of busyness or comfort - pry us from those stuck points, and free us to serve you dynamically. And we pray for those around the world who are physically imprisoned because of your name, both in prisons by governments, and in their homes by their families. Give them courage, and give them freedom from their chains.

We thank you that you have promised to free us all from the shackles of this world, and to lead us into a glorious eternity where we will be free from suffering, free from sickness, free from hunger, free from pain, and free from sin forever. We pray let your kingdom will come, and soon. Amen

Human value: intrinsic or instrumental?

So, I got into a discussion with a friend on Facebook (don't worry, he's one of those people who can actually talk on the internet without being a jerk) who posted an article about humans colonising Mars as a sort of race survival imperative.

My initial question to him was about why consciousness was worth saving, as well as why humans were worth saving if they were only going to blow themselves up anyway.

His argument to the second one was solid: so long as you do not view the value of perserving something as a dichotomy against its tendency to destroy itself, then self-destructive tendencies are simply a further argument for not putting all your eggs in one basket.

His position on the first, about the nature of the value of consciousness, was founded mostly, at his very gracious admission, on moral intuition. He then asked if there could be 'value' without 'evaluators'.

I stated my position to be that consciousness is not intrinsically valuable, but derives its value from existing within humanity, and that humanity derives its value from God. And to clear up a possible next step argument, asking about whether God is intrinsically valuable is a bit of a furphy, because when it comes to God, who is infinite, questions of things like value end up changing form to becoming definitional, because God isn't valuable, God is Value.

His excellent question in response to this was whether the Judeo-Christian idea of human value implies an intrinsic value in humanity, or rather simply posits an instrumental value on humanity insofar as they keep the faith or follow the law. He then posed a quandary, suggesting that this would be difficult to reconcile with God killing first born sons in Exodus 12, or making threats of terrible punishments on people who did not follow his law in Deuteronomy 28. He didn't like the idea that humanity was some sort of fungible worship device that could be supplanted by something else, so long as something was worshipping - though he could not think of anyone who had gone down that road (and neither can I, but there is nothing new under the sun).

This was a fascinating thought process, and so although I gave a summary answer on Facebook, I thought I'd do my working out here, for posterity.

My summary answer was:

The Judeo-Christian culture complex of human value is not dichotomic but compatibilistic, and establishes both an intrinsic value to humanity (though being made in the image of God) and instrumental value to humanity (by being instruments of God's glory and grace).
In terms of reconciling this view with God's punishment or threats of punishment against people by killing them, God as Justice and God as Mercy are both more valuable than whatever value human life has. However, humanity does not end at death, because there are post-death eternal consequences to be considered - and a positive eternal consequence is available to humans despite a failure to keep faith/law.

 I think there are two kinds of value involved here. The Judeo-Christian culture complex of  human value derives from humans being made in the image of God. All humans are valuable, regardless of their faith, because they are made in God's image. Insofar as humans are humans, they have this value, and so it is intrinsic to being human.

However, God is a person, who acts with reasons. Two of the reasons given for creating humanity are that glory is given to God (by the act of creating, not necessarily by the humans giving glory through worship), and it expresses God's grace (both insofar as existence is better than non-existence, and also offering the hope of eternal life with God). Insofar as God acted in creating humans with a reason that is beyond humans (because the acts are part of God's nature), there is a level of instrumental value there.

I don't think those two things are dichotomic. Humanity's existence is a means to several ends, but humans also have value because they are made in God's image, and God is Value. So there is no need for a concern about humans being fungible instruments of worship (angels also worship God, but are not made in God's image).

In terms of situations where God kills or punishes people, there are two important points. First of all, God's punishment of people for failure to keep faith/law is not due to a lowering of their instrumental value due to their ability to worship. It is because God is Justice, and the expression of God as justice is more valuable than human value.

Secondly, death is not the end point for humanity: there is an eternity afterwards. Because God is Grace, the expression of God as grace in allowing humans a positive eternal future despite their failure to keep faith/law is also more valuable than human value. So to think of death itself as some sort of termination of human value ignores that human existence does not end at death.

My rant in reaction to some article about some Christian musician called Vicki Beeching who turns out to be gay

This all starts from me having read this article. I have no idea who this person Vicki Beeching is (some Christian musician). I don't agree with her theological opinion about same-sex marriage either.

But the idea that Christians would stop singing her songs, and stop letting her come to their churches and events based on a theological opinion seems very wrong. I don't know how many of this woman's songs were pro-gay marriage. I'm guessing none though. If they had been, I reckon people would have noticed and stopped singing them earlier. Given it's Christian music, it's probably all about Jesus' love and hallelujah and the cross. They might even be good. I believe in miracles.

I'll clarify at this point. This isn't about this singer person doing sinful acts. It can't be, because if it was we couldn't sing anything written by humans. We couldn't listen to any sermons either. The Bible would be useless. So I'm assuming it's about her theological position on those acts. It's not that she sins, it's that she's not repentant. She has a theological position saying "this is not sin". So what's happening here is people are taking someone's considered theological position, and not just disagreeing with it, but saying, "If you hold a theological position I don't agree with, I can't sing your songs or let you into my church to lead music."

To forever intertwine someone's creations with their theology, and not to use the products of their labours because of it, is an untenable position. I'll make three long-winded points.

First of all, it states that an idea, concept, or creative piece is somehow tainted and unclean by that person's beliefs. I hope you don't drive a car that was made in Japan, or designed in Australia, because you'd be pretty lucky if the entire designing and manufacturing process was performed by Christians. Don't eat food either - unless you grow it yourself, I guess. If you have questions about your own theological opinions, you might just have to starve.

But okay, it's not about just any old product. It's about a creative product. So don't read the newspaper. Don't listen to non-Christian music. Don't watch TV.

Wait wait, let's be reasonable here. It's about creative products used in church. Okay. Don't use photographs in your sermon's Powerpoint slides unless you know that the creative mind behind them not only was Christian, but had the exact same theological beliefs as you. Don't use toilet paper with a fancy artistic print on it in the church loos. I look forward to your arguments about why artistic toilet paper in a church bathroom does not fall under the same category as Christian music sung in church.

I don't know about you, but my theological perspective on the question of gay marriage (or many other topics) does not pervade everything I do. I'm not a creative person like a song writer. But I've written plenty of essays in my time, plenty of sermons, plenty of public prayers, plenty of public speeches, and plenty of roleplaying games. Hell, I've even written bad poetry. Most of them no doubt have reflected my theological opinion. But not my entire theological opinion. The dragons in my D&D games don't ask you your sexual preference and marital status before they attack (not yet). My sermon on the need for a life of faith in God from James 5 had nothing to do with gay marriage. My written submissions on the multiple publication rule of defamation are not about gay marriage.

To treat those things as if they were unclean because of my beliefs is akin to not eating meat sacrificed to idols. The meat is fine. Paul says so. 1 Corinthians 8. You don't have to eat it, but recognise you're in the weak spiritual position if you don't. I should point out at this juncture that if you start saying to me, "You can't do that in front of me, it makes me struggle, and Paul says you can't!" then fine, I won't. What I will do instead is sit you down and teach you that you are wrong until you grow stronger in your faith and will eat this bacon. Because you shouldn't trumpet your weak faith around like it's a good thing to be weak in your faith. That's stupid.

No, I'm not saying you're in a weak position of faith if you disagree with gay marriage, or you're not gay yourself. I'm saying if you can't use toilet paper in church without first knowing that a Christian who disagrees with gay marriage designed the seahorses on it, you're in trouble. This is the logical conclusion of the argument.

Second of all, if we are going to stop letting people preach, or sing, or lead, or pray, or basically get up the front and do stuff because they have a different theological opinion to us, then we might as well pack up church and go home.

Following this logic, I guarantee if we started running a fine-tooth comb over the theological opinion of every single musician and preacher and leader and pray-er in our churches, I reckon we could make it so that none of them could talk or sing or lead or pray, because we would find something that we didn't agree with.

I've never hired a full-time church leadership staffer like a minister, but I'm guessing we probably don't pore over their past theology papers from Bible college. We don't ask for a history of their sermons and read through them all. It's not as if we're seeking to appoint the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. We're just hiring the person who is going to set the gauge of theological opinion in our church for the next X years.

For singers, unless they write a song called "I think abortion is a legitimate avenue for women in certain situations" (sounds like a country song), they're probably in the clear. Until they open their mouths on it, we're in the dark.

I can guarantee that I hold theological differences of opinion with the leaders of every single church I've preached in. I've pointed them out more than once to many of them. I've never been asked to stop my preaching ministry based on my theological opinion about women preaching, abortion, eschatology, Dungeons & Dragons, inerrancy and infallability, miracles, Bible translation, predestination, sin, assurance, social justice, or other things. However, I have been asked not to preach on those specific subjects before due to my theology. They usually just asked me to preach the next week, or in a month's time, when the verses I could 'misuse' were passed. Give me some nice, safe passage in a gospel or something.

And that's fine by me. You don't want women to preach in your church? Then we disagree. But I'm preaching on Galatians 1 not Galatians 3, so we're probably in the clear. Those church leaders - some of them were really, really conservative church leaders too, I might add - separated my theological opinion on one topic from my overall faith as a Christian, and my ability to preach, and asked me to preach on something we agreed on. Their house, their rules. That's fine. Usually I'd be good. Sometimes I'd stir.

We can't expect every preacher, singer, song-writer, or whatever to be perfect. They're not Jesus. But Jesus does live within them. And that's where an attitude of not letting them exercise their spiritual gifts in your church becomes pretty darn dangerous.

The argument might be made that this Vicki person has a different attitude to sin, and so that's not just a theological opinion, it's at the heart of the gospel (or something). You might notice 'sin' is in my list above. Ask me about my opinion of Christians breaking copyright laws some time. Then never let me preach in your church again.

Also under this second point, it should be clear that people's theology changes. Especially for those of us who actually think about theology. If I hold a position that you don't agree with, but then change my mind, does that mean that everything I've done before I agreed with you is wrong, but everything afterwards is okay? What if I change my mind, but change it back again, like John Stott and annihilationism? Does that mean everything John Stott said, did and wrote during his crazy years as an annihilationist is invalid? If he gave an evangelistic sermon on the gospel from John 3:16, didn't mention annihilation at all, did he suddenly forget the rest of the gospel and so that talk is out-of-bounds? When exactly do we measure Vicki Whatshername's songs as being unsingable? Is it from when she publicly declared she was gay? Is it when she spoke out for same sex marriage? Is it when she first felt in her heart that it's okay?

Thirdly and finally, I think we all know the real reason why people stopped singing this person's songs, why she's not allowed at Christian festivals, and why they're writing her hateful letters. It's got nothing to do with theology. There are plenty of other theological disputes and differences of opinion that we can stomach. It's because the church hates gay people. Okay, hate's a strong word. Let's use "fears" instead. That lets us use the term "homophobic".

I've never been particularly fond of the term myself, because I've always been like, "I'm not afraid of gay people. I just don't agree with their theology." I'm not afraid of people who aren't gay but think that homosexuality isn't a sin either - again, we have a theological disagreement. But apparently lots of people really are afraid of them. So afraid, that they can't even let someone with a different theological perspective about homosexuality sing a song that's not about being gay. That's not cool. It's not showing love. It's being afraid.

In fairness, it's probably not just about homosexuality. It's about sex generally. The western church sucks with dealing with sex. A minister cheats on his wife and loses his job, regardless of whether he's repentant or not. I don't know what happens if a minister's wife cheats on him - does he lose his job then too? Does she get kicked out of the church?  Even if they decide not to get divorced, and to work it out? I'll bet even if the church didn't kick them out, they'd leave because it would be so damn uncomfortable. But if the minister was greedy, and kept stealing Tim Tams from the church fridge, they'd probably just get away with it. Or if they hoarded their wealth and kicked their dog when they got angry. Some sins we're okay with. Others we put our fingers into little crosses and we scream, "Get behind me Satan!"

Conclusion: I have no problem with people who believe that homosexuality is not a sin coming to church. I have no problem with the Christian ones singing songs, or with me singing the songs they wrote (apart from the problems I have with singing most Christian songs, being that they are pants). I would listen to them preach too. If I were in church leadership, I might ask them not to preach on homosexuality, because "our church holds to a different interpretation". But if they've got the gift of preaching, I'd let them preach on other stuff.

But if, as Christians, we have to separate ourselves from people who hold different theological opinions which, at their root, stem from arguments that share a lot of similarity with other opinions we do believe; if we have to quarantine everything they've ever done as if it's infectious, and never touch it again; if we have to prevent those people from utilising their gifts and being involved in big congregations of Christian people at festivals; then I think we all need to be a lot more open and honest about what we believe on a whole number of important issues.

Let me lay it all out for you here. Here's my list of things I believe that you probably don't agree with, and which should probably ban me from ever being involved in your church again. It's not complete, but it's a start:

* I think women should preach and be involved in leadership positions in church.
* I don't think breaching copyright is always wrong.
* I think women are allowed to get abortions sometimes.
* I think the state is allowed to make laws that are not in line with Christian moral principles.
* I don't particularly care about the environment.
* I take a pretty Barthian view of scriptural inerrancy.
* My views on eschatology are complicated. I'm not strictly premillenial and I'm not dispensational either, but I believe in a rapture type thing.
* I'm not a TULIP Calvinist.
* I think it's okay for Christians to play Dungeons & Dragons.
* I think it's okay to hit children to discipline them.
* I think there will be animals in heaven. I don't think individual animals will be there.
* I think swearing is okay sometimes.
* I think God is ultimately responsible for all sin and suffering.
* I think God is above logic.
* I prefer some models of church governance over others.
* I think people can stop being Christians.
* I don't think every Christian married couple should have children.
* I have some pretty interesting views regarding the age of consent and what constitutes a 'child' generally.
* I think it's okay to pray for bad things to happen to bad people.
* I think capitalism, on the whole, is wrong and Christians shouldn't support it.
* I'm kind of fond of lots of stuff about Catholicism.
* I don't like the KJV.

I could go on, but I need to hit publish eventually. My points, in summary (bet you're wishing I put these at the top):

1) Creative works are not sinfully tainted by someone's theological opinion.
2) Barring people from church involvement that has nothing to do with their theological opinion due to their theological opinion is unreasonable.
3) The church seems to be too afraid of homosexuality, and sex in general.

Oh, and just to take on one or two straw men arguments that might arise:

* I'm not saying anyone should be allowed to preach in church, and that theological opinion doesn't matter at all. I still wouldn't let a Hindu get up in church and preach every Sunday. I'm saying that Christianity is bigger than the sum of its parts, and we all have theological differences, and excluding people who call themselves Christian and who affirm statements of faith because they interpret a passage of Scripture differently (that doesn't involve saying Christ never died or he wasn't God or wasn't human or that there's no heaven or no resurrection) is a touch much.

Sermon: James 5: "Life of Faith"

James 5 : Live a Life of Faith

Introduction

Earlier this year a social media straw poll was done by over 400 people, asking them, "Do you agree that when Christians use the word 'faith' they mean 'believing something even though it is not supported by evidence?'" 74% of non-Christians agreed that's what Christians mean. But of the Christians who did the poll, 91% disagreed, saying that this is not what faith means.

Today, when we look at the "life of faith" James talks about, I want to be clear - we're not talking about believing in something without evidence. We're talking about a life of confidence or trust in God. So when I say 'faith' today, that's what I mean.

The last chapter of James confronts us with the central message he has been pushing all along.  In James chapter 2 are those powerful words, "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." We must not only have faith, we must actively live a life of faith. We must do actions that make our faith in God alive.

Previously in James he has focused on the actions, the deeds of the life of faith. In chapter five, the big focus is on the faith that makes it a life of faith. Today we see how James wants us to realise this active life of faith in three important ways: 1) Don't hoard and die, but instead persevere and live; 2) don't promise and lie, but instead ask and receive; and 3) don't fail alone, but serve together.

1. Don't Hoard and Die

Here's how the chapter starts. 'Look out, rich people, he says, your days are numbered! Your wealth is evidence against you! Living your life of luxury and self-indulgence - you're being fattened up like pigs for the slaughter!' And we all look at each other and sweat a little, we laugh nervously and we say, "Oh, well, I'm not rich. I'm middle class. I'm on a fixed income. I'm comfortable. I'm average. Other people are richer than me."

There's an easy test to see if this judgment applies to you.  Verse 3: "You have hoarded your wealth in the last days." It's not just 'you have money in your bank account'.  Hoarding isn't saving. It's stockpiling, it's depriving others of some so you can have all. It's collecting up more than you need. Put simply, it's greed. It's when your refusal to share hurts someone else. If you put your luggage on a train seat so you don't need to sit next to other passengers, you are hoarding seats! If you have a large country that is rich and comfortable to live in, and you turn away boats full of needy people, that's hoarding wealth.

Hoarding is always bad. What's worse is hoarding in the last days. Jesus is coming back, and all you care about is making sure you're comfortable. People suffer so you can live that life of luxury. We should look at our iPads made in Chinese sweatshops, our jeans made in Bangladesh factories, our coffee and our chocolate picked by child slave labourers in Ivory Coast and Colombia, and we should feel uncomfortable. James says their blood is on our hands! We'll be judged for that! In view of the fact that Jesus is coming back any time now, we can't afford to be focused on making ourselves comfortable, and especially not at the expense of others - that is not the life of faith!

1. Instead, Persevere and Live

What is the life of faith? It's persevering, relying on God to meet your needs, not relying on yourself to gratify your desires. God calls us on a difficult path - a path of trusting him to give us what we need, trusting he will take care of us, especially when we are suffering. That might sound lazy to some, who think that relying on God means you don't do anything. That couldn't be more wrong! The important verse here is verse 7, "See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop."

Everyone knows farmers are not lazy. But they have absolutely no control over whether their seeds will grow up and their plants will flower and their flowers will fruit. That is what persevering in faith is like.  Relying on God means choosing to rely on God, actively realising that what happens to us in our lives is out of our hands, and trusting, verse 11, "The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." It doesn't come naturally to trust God's compassion and mercy. You have to choose to do that.

But hoarding - hoarding is easy! You listen to rich people, and they make it sound like it's so hard. But deciding to hoard what you have is the easiest thing in the world, because you don't even have to try. You will hoard stuff naturally - it's human nature. Putting your faith in God to look after you, trusting that he will turn what you are suffering into something that bears good fruit - that is hard.

2. Don't Promise and Lie

Next we move on to verse 12, "Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else." "Above all," James says - this is clearly highly important. It's almost a repeat of the language used by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, where he said, "All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." 'Anything beyond this comes from the evil one' - this is important stuff!

Why is so important?  When we read these passages about oaths, we tend to think we're talking just about making promises with each other. So it's about keeping your word, and being so trustworthy that you don't need to swear on anything that you'll do something. And that's important - we Christians should be trustworthy in our dealings. But the reason this is 'above all', the reason that such oaths 'come from the evil one' is that these passages include making oaths to God! You know what I mean, "Oh God, I really want this job, and if you give it to me, I swear that I'll donate 10% of my income to the church." Or, "Oh Lord, my friend is really sick, but if you make him well, I swear I'll be a better person and pray every day."

This is just plain wrong. We shouldn't talk like that at all, but we certainly can't talk like that to God. We can't say to God, "If you do something for me, I'll do something for you." Why not? Because that isn't the life of faith! First of all, God owns everything anyway, and that includes all of our love, devotion and actions. We should be doing everything for him because we love him and he deserves it. 

Secondly, we just aren't trustworthy! God can keep his promises, but us, we can't! Jesus says "Don't swear by your head, for you can't make even one hair white or black." We are making promises to God, and then breaking them. Essentially, we are lying to God when we make these deals to him.

Thirdly, saying this stuff makes out like God needs us to do things for him. This is God we're talking about. He doesn't need your giving or your prayer. Those are already for our benefit, not his. It's like saying, "If you buy me dinner, then later I'll let you buy me dessert as well."

Such bargaining with God is exactly the opposite of the life of faith - it shows that we don't really think God is already doing everything that is best for us. We think we need to make deals with him to get what we think is best! That's not what the life of faith looks like.

2. Instead, Ask and Receive

What does the life of faith look like? It is absolutely encapsulated by a life of prayer. Prayer is the very essence of the life of faith that James is so keen for us to live. He says, Are you happy? Praise God for it! Are you in trouble? Pray for help. Are you sick? Pray for healing. Are you sinful? Pray for forgiveness. A life of prayer reflects a life of trusting God.

You can't read this passage without remembering what James said in chapter 1 verses 6 and 7, "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." Or chapter 4 verses 2 and 3, "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Actively living this life of faith in prayer is hard! It is hard to get out there and pray, and trust God to look after us. I have a friend who has gone through some really tough times, who has led a fairly dark life, who had trouble with his family growing up, has problems in his marriage and with his own kids, and he suffers from depressive mental illness.  How hard is it for him to look to God and say, "I trust you, that all these problems in my life are for a reason"? It's really hard! It is hard to convince ourselves that God actually knows better than us when we are feeling pain, or sickness, or loneliness or loss, because those things are bad. 

But we have to stick to our guns and remember it's true - God does know best. And the way we can remember that is by looking at our Bible, looking at God's track record through history, where he reveals just how faithful to his promises and his people he really is. James gives the example of Elijah for that reason. He tells us that

We also have to understand that not every answer will be the one we hope for. When we pray for sick people, some will get better. Some won't. But in both ways, God will be glorified. In Acts chapter 12, when Peter was in prison, sentenced to death, the church was praying for him, and he was released by an angel. Miraculous, glory to God, right! But then what happened: did Peter live to a ripe old age free from suffering after that? No. He was arrested, sentenced to death, and then executed - crucified upside down, history tells us. So what happened, did the church stop praying? Not at all. I'll bet they were praying just as hard. But God's plan is to be glorified, and this time he was glorified by Peter's death and martyrdom. And so the church's prayers were answered - because the prayer always is "Your will be done."

3. Don't Fail Alone

James finishes off his letter with an exhortation for us to remember: "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins." The truth is, we are all imperfect people. Even though we know the truth, sometimes we stray from it. Whether it's because of sadness in our life that we blame on God, or misunderstanding the truth, or sinful desire that we pursue knowing God doesn't want it for us... it's all too easy for us to find ourselves suddenly adrift from God.

And if it were just up to us, we might stay adrift forever - because of guilt or shame or anger or even just not realising. When we treat faith like a personal and private matter, that's the danger - we can slip away from God and not even realise until we are well and truly far from him. There is quite possibly nothing more difficult than living the Christian life alone.

Which is why God tells us not to. Look at what James has said earlier: in verse 14, don't just pray to get well from sickness, go to your church leaders and ask them to pray. Verse 16, Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, it says. Don't grumble against each other, verse 9 says, but persevere together. The life of faith is not meant to be lived alone.

The Christian life is like cleaning out roof gutters. Yes, you can do it alone, but not only is it harder, it's also more dangerous. Not only is no-one there to stop your ladder from wobbling, but if it really does fall away, you're left clinging to the gutter with no support, and no-one is around to grab the ladder and put it back up under you. You're in some serious trouble.

3. Instead, Serve Together

That's why it's so important to come to church, to join Bible studies, to be involved in ministry, to marry a Christian believer, to be accountable to a prayer partner - these aren't just good things for spiritual growth, they are vital to the Christian life of faith!  It's dangerous to your life of faith to live it alone! Yes, we're all sinful, none of us are perfect. We acknowledge that when we confess our sins together. That's us admitting to God, but also to each other, "We're not perfect." But as Ecclesiastes says, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." We can be there for each other - God will help us through the prayers of others, even when we're not prepared to pray for ourselves. With God, we can accomplish things for God that don't even seem possible.

The life of faith is not easy. Hoarding is easy. Making promises you can't keep is easy. The life of faith means persevering through the hard times, trusting God is full of compassion and mercy, and has everything under control. The life of faith means praying to God, and having confidence that he hears your prayers, and answers them with the absolutely best possible answer and timing. And the life of faith means not going it alone - it means helping each other get close to God, understand God, and serve God better, as part of his church. God's message in James is not just that we need to be active - it's that we need to live an active life of faith.