The Mystery of Grace

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Isaiah 60:1-6 and Ephesians 3:1-12

We speak about grace on a regular basis, often in everyday conversation… I for one, know that it is one thing I truly hope for, for all people. It is the deepest longing and desire of my heart that all peoples would come to know and experience God’s grace. It is something I speak about often, something I pray for daily, yet there is one question which seems to come up all the time… What is grace? I am sure that we all look at grace in many different ways, defining grace as something specific depending on our own interpretations of scripture, on how it has been defined by others for us or possibly, depending on our own personal experiences. Some of the definitions I have come across include: 

·         Grace is the unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification – Ephesians 2:6, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves. It is a gift of God.” or 1 Peter 5:10, “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 

·         Grace is the equivalent of mercy or pardon from ones sins – Ephesians 1:7-8, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.”

"He would know... that she is a sinner"

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Luke 7:36-50

This is of course the second Sunday in advent. It is such an amazing time of the year, a time for family, a time for friends, a time to celebrate. With Christmas around the corner, I’m sure the preparations are well underway. Focusing on the family traditions, putting up the Christmas tree, getting all the Christmas shopping done, wondering about and planning the meal for Christmas day… What a wonderful time right. And in the midst of all the joy and the celebration, the one thing that is so often overlooked in today’s society, one person that we think about but not as we should, is the person of Jesus. Jesus, who should be the central focus during, at the very least, this time of the year, is sometimes nothing more than a periphery character, someone we glance at over there, while we focus on what is going on here. 

And this is somewhat true of what Luke records in this passage. There are three characters he mentions, there is Simon the Pharisee, the unnamed woman and then there is Jesus at the very centre of this moment. Luke, in recording this incredibly beautiful passage, makes a very important comparison or distinction between these two people, Simon the Pharisee and the unnamed sinful woman. One being self-righteous, seeking to analyse and understand the person of Jesus in the most logical way possible, but cannot see Him for who he truly is nor what He has truly come to achieve, the other, humble, seeking simply to worship Him, to glorify Him, to be in His presence.

The Dangers of the Idle

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

When we think of the idea or the concept of being “idle”, as Paul warns against, what is the first thought that comes to mind? For many of us, simply put, it is a sense of laziness, one’s ability to sit and do nothing for an extended period of time, to put off work, to shun and shy away from one’s responsibilities, to procrastinate not for the sake of making an informed decision, but simply because “we don’t feel like doing it”.

 How often do we encounter problems or get into situations where we look at what’s going on and we say, “Well, someone else will deal with that, I’m too tired, or I don’t have the time to do this, or I simply don’t have the energy.” I know that I am guilty of this. For example, I have noticed that there are times where the street lights in my road are not working. Instead of me picking up the phone and calling the relevant people to report the issue, I often think to myself, well someone else will probably report the problem so why should I bother. We become so dependent on other people, leaving it up to them because we don’t feel like doing it, or we feel like it’s not our problem. And this is not simply a present reality problem, a problem that we only face within our day to day routines. We at times take this to the extreme, even within our Christianity and our faith. Does this sound familiar, “Well God is sovereign over all things, He is in control, therefore, I am going to sit back and let Him deal with it. He will bring me exactly what I need, exactly when I need it and I don’t have to do a single thing”?

Be still and know that I am God

Preacher: Gordon Hay

Verses: Psalm 46:10 (NIV) and Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

Psalm 46:10 New International Version (NIV)

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

 Matthew 11:28-30 The Message (MSG)

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

 How many times have you been driving around looking for an address you have never visited and found yourself turning down the radio? I find myself doing this quite often, even with my GPS giving me turn-by-turn directions. Why do we do this? We are not looking for our destination with our ears. Or are we?

 In 2002 I contracted cerebral malaria. I spent some seven nights in hospital. The effect of the malaria and the medication caused my mind to travel to strange places, sometimes I was conscious, and sometimes unconscious, but experiencing hallucinations that were so real that I struggled to recognise reality. I would hear Sue’s footsteps coming down the passage. I knew what her footsteps sounded like. The door would open, she would pull up a chair and start talking. But when I opened my eyes to answer - there was no one in the room.

Repentance and Worship

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Joel 2:12-17

Joel 1:1-3, “The word of the Lord came to Joel, son of Pethuel. Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.” And what was that word? What were they supposed to hear, to listen to? What were they supposed to tell? Well, quite simply, and based on the very first chapter of this prophetic book, a catastrophe, unlike anything that generation had seen, was coming, it was impending doom, absolute destruction that could not be avoided. There was a warning sent from the Lord to His people, telling them that there would be an invasion of locusts, not simply a naturally occurring phenomenon, but rather an invasion sent by the Lord Himself, and once this invasion was over… there would be nothing left except their own grief, their own sorrow… their joy would be exchanged for mourning. This was the Lord’s divine and just punishment for a nation, His very own people, called by His own name, because of their unfaithfulness toward Him and their failure in upholding His Law.

"Can these Dry Bones Live?"

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Ezekiel’s message comes to the nation of Israel at a time of great confusion, political complexity and unrest. That is because at this time, Israel had already been taken into exile by the Babylonians and have been there for a significant amount of time. His prophecy was aimed at a people, a community, who were forcibly removed from their home, but more than simply addressing the issues of their physical hardships, those issues that affect their current physical reality, Ezekiel’s prophecy deals with a people, a community, who have broken faith with their God. And of course Ezekiel makes the reason for the exile clear. It is because of the faithlessness of the people towards God and their continued failure to live as God’s renewed humanity. Over and over again Israel has been warned about the coming judgement of God, they have been called to worship Him and no other god, they have been constantly called to repentance and they have not responded nor have they heeded God’s warning to them through the prophets… and now, more or less 5 years into the Babylonian exile, Israel is facing the consequences of their unfaithfulness.

The Real Transformer

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Jeremiah 24:1-10

The year was 2007. In my humble opinion, it was the year that one of the greatest movie franchises came to life for me. With the release of the first movie in the franchise, I was so excited to see characters of my childhood cartoon days come to life in a relatable, albeit, a farfetched and highly exaggerated movie. Of course it must be said that the movie I am talking about is somewhat of an action movie but at the same time, it has humour, a bit of romance and a whole lot of nerdy and geeky aspects. The entirety of this particular franchise revolves around the concept of alien robots that come to earth, robots that have the ability to transform from their almost “human-like” states into cars, or trucks, motorbikes, jets and even helicopters. And even then, they are not limited to a particular form, they can change into any mode of transport they so desire. For me of course, if I had that ability, I for one would become a Redbull F1 car, but that’s just personal preference. But as all good action movies should have, there are two factions within this alien race, there are the good guys and there are the bad guys. The age of the transformers was upon us, and after 12 years, 6 movies, countless man-hours of preparation, screenwriting and scripting, hours of recording and re-recording, editing, and of course the watching of some of the most amazing battle scenes and quirky moments, it became clear from the very beginning that the good guys were always going to win.

Who is my neighbour?

Preacher: Gordon Hay

Verses: Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 10:25-37 and Matthew 25:35-40

The main point this morning: Your love for God and your love for other people cannot be separated.

Three aspects:

1.    Who is your neighbour?

2.    What does the Bible say?

3.    What is our challenge?

…oooOooo…

You are the one to show mercy.

“Here am I. Send me!”[1]

When I studied law I learnt of a case about a snail in a bottle of ginger beer. Mr Stevens the manufacturer was sued after a Mrs Donoghue of Paisley who drank the ginger beer became ill. It became known as the “Paisley snail” case.[2] The case was heard in 1932 and decided in favour of Mrs Donoghue by the House of Lords holding that the manufacturer owed a duty of care to her. They held this because they felt that it was reasonably foreseeable, that the failure to ensure the product’s safety could lead to harm to consumers.  

What interested me was the reasoning of Lord Atkin in deciding which group of persons might have a claim.

[1] Isaiah 6: 1-8

[2] Paisley Snail. Paisley was also the site of an incident that gave rise to a major legal precedent. In a Paisley cafe in 1928, a woman allegedly found a dead snail in a bottle of ginger beer, and became ill. She sued the manufacturer for negligence. At the time a manufacturer was considered liable only if there was a contract in place with the harmed party. However, after Donoghue v Stevenson wound through the courts, a precedent was established that manufacturers (and other "neighbours" or fellow citizens) owe a duty not to do foreseeable harm to others by negligence, regardless of contractual obligations, which paved the way for modern tort law. The case is often called the "Paisley snail."

Malachi Then and Now - God's Unchanging Love v. Preparing for the Great Day

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Malachi 2:17-3:5

Malachi doesn’t pull his punches.  He tells the people of his day, “You have wearied the Lord with your words”.  Their warped concept of justice sees them accuse God of inconsistency at best, deceit at worst.  Because they doubt the love of God, the Israelites resort to keeping up religious appearances, devoid of reality, simply going through the motions.  They place God in the dock and ironically blame him for their present state of despair and futility.  They refuse to accept responsibility and simply desire to save face, not unlike the role players involved in the explosion at Chernobyl nuclear power station in northern Ukraine in April 1986.  It was the height of the cold war and the Soviets were determined to preserve their perceived scientific superiority over the West.  However, cutting costs and high-handed authority led to the disaster that affected multiple thousands of innocent people.  The recent docu-drama ‘Chernobyl’ depicts a brave Russian nuclear scientist hold the state accountable with his chilling words “Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth.  Sooner or later that debt is paid”. 

Breaking the sacred and secular divide

Preacher: Gordon Hay

Verses: Isaiah 6:1-8 and Romans 12:1-2

When growing up I had the idea that my life in church, and my life outside of church, were two different worlds.

Going to church with my parents, I realised quickly that it was a time to be neatly dressed and to be on one’s best behaviour. It was a time when people seemed rather serious. It was clearly very special, but different to the everyday life that we lived on the other days of the week. I understood this to some extent. On Sundays we were in church to worship our mighty God. This required proper behaviour. There was after all, plenty of time to relax during the other six days of the week.

Looking back, I perhaps had the idea that it was only on Sundays that we worshiped God, prayed, sang hymns and practised our faith life.

It seemed to be okay to relax during the week and to play around, and do things with my friends that might not be appropriate for Sunday.

The Generation Game

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Psalm 119:89-96

This is such an incredible Psalm to read. It is of course the longest of all the Psalms, described as “a devotional on the Word of God.” It is so gripping and so beautiful seeing how this Psalm highlights and should causes us to think about 4 things: the word of God should become the word of life, humbly acknowledging the sinful ways of hearts, to know the pain as well as the fruits of God’s corrective discipline, and that there will be suffering at the hands of those who disregard the word of God. And what we will look at this morning is but a small portion of this amazing devotional.

Pentecost Sunday - The Holy Spirit for Today

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Acts 2:1-13

“Wherever one looks in the church today, there is an evident need for a deeper work of the Holy Spirit.”  Those prophetic words written some forty years ago by John Stott are even more pressing today.  The church in the West is tolerated but hardly embraced by a society which is pluralist and permissive.  The church in the majority world is growing rapidly but, more often than not, it is marred by shallow teaching and factions not to mention the cult of personality and the so-called ‘health and wealth’ gospel which by-passes the cross and flatters only to deceive.

Malachi Then and Now - God's Unchanging Love iii. Mouthpiece for God

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Malachi 2:1-9

“The eye is the window of the soul” is a familiar saying.  However, Malachi addressing the priests of his day argues that the mouth is the window of the soul.  Jesus echoes this sentiment, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matt 12:34).  Malachi took the priests to task for failing to fulfil their primary calling, viz. faithful teaching of God’s Word. 

 The novelist John Updike, no friend of the gospel, in his novel Run Rabbit describes a young minister Rev Eccles, “With his white collar he forges God’s name in every sentence he speaks...  He steals belief from the children he is supposed to be teaching.  He commits fraud with every schooled cadence of the liturgy.”  John Updike may well have taken his words straight from Malachi 2400 years ago.  Malachi sounds strident and harsh to our modern ears.  We prefer a kinder, gentler faith.  But extreme times require extreme measures.  The priests looked the part.  They wore the right vestments.  They recited prayers.  But they were lifeless.  Platitudes devoid of passion.  They bent the truth and corrupted their ministry.

Malachi Then and Now - God's Unchanging Love ii. A Call to be Real

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Malachi 1:6-14

Malachi holds the priests responsible for the spiritual malaise of Israel.  Well might he add, in a contemporary context ‘as the pulpit, so the pew’.  Three means of revelation saw the priests responsible for Worship, the prophet for the Word from God, and the sage for Wisdom.  Worship, Word and Wisdom maintained the religious ethos of Israel, and all three areas, particularly worship were in a parlous state with devastating consequences for the nation as a whole.

 Integral to Israel’s worship was the sacrificial system both mandatory (the sin and trespass offering) and voluntary (the grain, drink and peace offering).  The sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed forward to the perfect and final sacrifice of Christ.  As such they had to be unblemished and perfect.  However, the priests colluded with the people in presenting second-rate sacrifices, an insult to God which defiled worship.

Malachi Then and Now - God's Unchanging Love i. A Call to Respond to God's Love

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Malachi 1:1-5

Cynicism is devastating.  The default mode of despair and disillusioned people, it robs one of enthusiasm, commitment and energy.  This was the situation confronting Malachi.  Circumstances, opposition and adversity had all but destroyed Israel’s assurance of God’s presence and provision.  Their homeland had been devastated by the Babylonian invasion, the temple destroyed and most of the population had been exiled.  And now through Persian intervention, the people were beginning to return.  The temple had been rebuilt under Haggai but the city walls remained a ruin.  Even more galling, their neighbour Edom, descendants of Esau, had escaped unscathed.  They had prospered whilst Israel suffered.  The fact that Esau had cheated Jacob of their father Isaac’s blessing added insult to injury.

Risen Indeed!

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Luke 24:1-12

In the days before television, a radio programme ‘Consider Your Verdict’ fascinated me.  The listener was required to evaluate evidence presented and whether one’s verdict coincided with that of the court.  It made for entertaining ‘theatre of the mind’.  The evidence for the resurrection transcends the realm of entertainment.  It demands a verdict.  “The message of Easter is either the supreme fact in history or else a gigantic hoax” argues Prof J.N.D Anderson.  It is literally a matter of life and death not just a comforting story.  The Apostle Paul put it this way: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God.” (1 Cor 15:14,15)

Hebrews for Today: The Majestic Jesus - xi. Christ our Sanctuary

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Hebrews 9:1-28

The writer of the Hebrews depicts Jesus resplendent in majestic glory.  He attempts to describe the indescribable.  No visual image will suffice.  This presents a creative challenge for us today.  One social critic has described our contemporary world as having shifted from the Age of Exposition in which the written world prevailed to the Age of Entertainment in which image trumps words.  Lines have been blurred.  Confusion parades as creativity.  Comprehensive descriptions of reality are regarded as suspect.  Our postmodern world has come of age in which a multiplicity of ‘truths’ (small t) have replaced ‘Truth’ (capital T) reminiscent of Pontius Pilate who asked ‘What is truth’ and did not wait for an answer.

 That notwithstanding, Hebrews is quite content to describe Jesus as God’s final word. (Heb 1:1,2).  Various metaphors are used – Jesus as high priest, an anchor for the soul, the guarantor of a new covenant, culminating in Jesus as our Sanctuary, the one who offers forgiveness and a clear conscience.  “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God” (v14).

Hebrews for Today: The Majestic Jesus - x. The Matchless Christ

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Hebrews 8:1-11

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Recently the State President exhorted us to view South Africa, with all its present challenges and opportunities from the perspective of a glass half full rather than a glass half empty.  He offered the country hope based upon a social contract between government and people.  The writer of Hebrews, in contrast, offers hope not by way of a social contract, but a covenant based upon the promise of God.  In light of this perhaps we need to ask ourselves what hope is not.  Hope is not based on the ‘power of positive thinking’ as Norman Vincent Peale advocated.  Hope is not a pious Pollyanna wishing things would get better.  Hope according to Hebrews is choosing to believe and trust when everything around me and within me suggests that it is foolish to do so.  Hope is not simply human aspiration, rather taking hold of the presence and power of God in the midst of human frailty. 

Hebrews for Today: The Majestic Jesus - ix. The Sufficiency of Christ

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: Hebrews 7:11-28

We live in an age when language is used quite loosely.  Words like great, wonderful, brilliant, awesome abound.  The problem is when we use superlatives to describe the routine and ordinary, language like currency loses its value.  This was the issue faced by the writer of the Easter hymn “O sacred head how wounded”.  He asks, “What language shall I borrow to praise you dearest Friend?”  it is a remarkable question, which deserves close attention and which the writer of Hebrews attempts to answer in the passage before us. 

Jesus is indeed unique, one of a kind, the God-man.  He sets the Christian faith apart from any other religion.  He is the one who seeks, searches and saves.  And having done that, he is the one who prays continually for us.  The writer of Hebrews is quite justified to use superlative language to describe Jesus who “truly meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart, exalted above the heavens” (v26).

Identity Formation

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Romans 6:1-14

Most people have never thought about the fact that from a very young age, some suggest as early as 3-4 years old, we start developing an “identity”.  Identity is described as being a combination of different and distinct parts of a person, be it genetics, culture, language, gender, family, etc. coming together to form who we are at this very moment. And yet, we need to realise that our identities are always evolving. This is because identity is shaped, established and influenced by any number of different things within this life. For example, part of my identity is found in my nationality as a South African.  Part of my identity is found in the fact that I am the second born in my family.  Part of my identity is found in that fact that I am English speaking. Part of my identity is founded upon the way in which people have affected my life and in the way in which I have affected theirs, whether in a positive or a negative way.  Of course, this list could continue for the next few hours and I don’t think anyone wants to sit here until 1:30.  But the point is this, no single person is the same in terms of identity as they were say 10 years ago, and no single person is exempt from these changes whether we know they are happening to us or not.  It’s often only over an extended period of time that we even realise that we have changed.