"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." That is Peter's confession as Jesus asks if they want to desert him too. They are words that we read easily, know readily, and yet wrestle with often.
In the context of the passage Jesus turns to the twelve and asks them if they want to leave too because the crowds have reacted with hostility. At the start of ch6 there are well over 5,000 but by the time Jesus asks the twelve there are only the twelve left. Many other disciples have left Jesus along with the crowd. Why? Because they find his words offensive. Peter's confession comes in that context, when everyone else gives up following Jesus Peter and the others continue to follow Jesus because they believe Jesus alone has the words of eternal life, he alone satisfies, he alone gives life meaning, he alone reconnects us with life as we were made to live it - knowing God and enjoying him as our Father.
That has to be our conviction too if we are to follow Jesus and live life listening to his words. Jesus' words clash with out societies words and claims often. The question as we are faced with these two competing claims is which do we believe brings eternal life? As we read the Bible and it clashes with societies morals and norms we face that same question which do I believe brings eternal life?
As those who follow Jesus, who've seen who he is, who know and believe that he is the Holy One of God who gave himself for us because of love we will choose his words. That choice in one sense is often not easy, though it seems like it should be as I write this post, but that has to be our deep settled, deeply held conviction. Jesus words alone bring eternal life.
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 July 2015
Friday, 17 October 2014
Choosing our words carefully
In a digital age it has become more and more important to choose our words carefully but increasingly more difficult to do so. Social media is designed to illicit a quick response rather than a slow, considered, wise response. I wonder if it's also having an affect on how much time we give to considering our words when off social media.
When I write a sermon for Sunday there are usual 5 stages I go through when I am carefully sifting, editing, weighing and changing words before I preach. But when using social media there is just the one, or when I'm being more sensible, two as I write it, let it sit for a morning or afternoon and then come back to it. I wonder how much this is creeping into the way we do other things.
A couple of things have triggered off this train of thought and my concerns. One has been brewing for years the other is a more recent thing.
We need to be careful with the words we use full stop - just read Proverbs or James and you will see why. But we need to be especially careful when we are talking about churches and church planting. For example I have known of two occasions in different parts of the country when I have heard someone talk about the need to plant a church in a city/town because there is 'no bible teaching church there'. When in each case I have known of 1 or 2 faithful Christ centred, bible teaching churches in that city/town. Such claims worry me on two levels, firstly they just aren't true and secondly they can cause immense damage to the gospel.
I've been on the receiving end of some of this when I've heard third hand from people who have jobs in Doncaster but live in Sheffield that when they were moving they were advised not to live in Doncaster because there "are no bible teaching churches there." Now that is a blatant lie, there are bible teaching churches, a number of them. Some are medium size, some are small, some are traditional, some are less so, some are middle class, some are working class. But there are Bible teaching, Christ centred, disciple calling churches in Doncaster. Such comments discourage much needed potential workers from moving to an area of gospel need and they discourage existing Bible teaching churches, congregations and ministers.
So I can imagine how much more devastating it must be to hear of a church planted in your city/town because there is "no Bible teaching church". I can't help wondering if using phrases like that owes more to our societies methods of marketing, PR, and spin to create a need or appetite or simple gather support rather than true gospel heartedness, honesty and unity. Be careful with your words.
But we also need to be careful with the words we use to talk about other churches on social media. I wonder if we ought to either be positive or be quiet. If we can't recommend a church then don't but do not slander it or demean it. Don't be quick to cry 'heresy' or accuse a church of 'losing the gospel' because I don't think the New Testament is. There are New Testament letters that are firm on the need to root out false teaching and we need to do that, wolves are dangerous and must not be allowed to destroy churches. But there are other churches - Galatia, Corinth - that I can't help thinking critics today would quickly decry as 'heretical' on twitter but with which the Apostles persevere because they see the gospel at work there. We ought not to spread slander against churches on social media, by all means heartily recommend a church but don't denigrate another.
There are a couple of things that feed into this, sometimes we confuse tribalism with being gospel-centred or bible teaching. A church simply being different doesn't make it unsound. Consumerism also feeds into this - just because we don't like a church (it's worship style, it's community involvement, it's chairs, it's not using the KJV or ESV or NIV) doesn't make it not bible teaching. We'd do better to be honest and say I'm really picky and didn't like________ (a separate issue for another post) rather than say there are no good churches.
All that just to say we (I as much as anyone) need to be careful in the words I use to speak about other churches both in person and especially on social media. To weigh them before we speak them or type them.
When I write a sermon for Sunday there are usual 5 stages I go through when I am carefully sifting, editing, weighing and changing words before I preach. But when using social media there is just the one, or when I'm being more sensible, two as I write it, let it sit for a morning or afternoon and then come back to it. I wonder how much this is creeping into the way we do other things.
A couple of things have triggered off this train of thought and my concerns. One has been brewing for years the other is a more recent thing.
We need to be careful with the words we use full stop - just read Proverbs or James and you will see why. But we need to be especially careful when we are talking about churches and church planting. For example I have known of two occasions in different parts of the country when I have heard someone talk about the need to plant a church in a city/town because there is 'no bible teaching church there'. When in each case I have known of 1 or 2 faithful Christ centred, bible teaching churches in that city/town. Such claims worry me on two levels, firstly they just aren't true and secondly they can cause immense damage to the gospel.
I've been on the receiving end of some of this when I've heard third hand from people who have jobs in Doncaster but live in Sheffield that when they were moving they were advised not to live in Doncaster because there "are no bible teaching churches there." Now that is a blatant lie, there are bible teaching churches, a number of them. Some are medium size, some are small, some are traditional, some are less so, some are middle class, some are working class. But there are Bible teaching, Christ centred, disciple calling churches in Doncaster. Such comments discourage much needed potential workers from moving to an area of gospel need and they discourage existing Bible teaching churches, congregations and ministers.
So I can imagine how much more devastating it must be to hear of a church planted in your city/town because there is "no Bible teaching church". I can't help wondering if using phrases like that owes more to our societies methods of marketing, PR, and spin to create a need or appetite or simple gather support rather than true gospel heartedness, honesty and unity. Be careful with your words.
But we also need to be careful with the words we use to talk about other churches on social media. I wonder if we ought to either be positive or be quiet. If we can't recommend a church then don't but do not slander it or demean it. Don't be quick to cry 'heresy' or accuse a church of 'losing the gospel' because I don't think the New Testament is. There are New Testament letters that are firm on the need to root out false teaching and we need to do that, wolves are dangerous and must not be allowed to destroy churches. But there are other churches - Galatia, Corinth - that I can't help thinking critics today would quickly decry as 'heretical' on twitter but with which the Apostles persevere because they see the gospel at work there. We ought not to spread slander against churches on social media, by all means heartily recommend a church but don't denigrate another.
There are a couple of things that feed into this, sometimes we confuse tribalism with being gospel-centred or bible teaching. A church simply being different doesn't make it unsound. Consumerism also feeds into this - just because we don't like a church (it's worship style, it's community involvement, it's chairs, it's not using the KJV or ESV or NIV) doesn't make it not bible teaching. We'd do better to be honest and say I'm really picky and didn't like________ (a separate issue for another post) rather than say there are no good churches.
All that just to say we (I as much as anyone) need to be careful in the words I use to speak about other churches both in person and especially on social media. To weigh them before we speak them or type them.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
What's in a word? Blessing or Giving
I've been thinking about giving over the last couple of days and wondering if it is a word that helps or hinders us in our approach to possessions, money and loving others. We talk about joyful giving, grudging giving, being made to give, having to giving, regular giving and so on. It is used both negatively and postively. Yet it is the language we use in church to talk about our giving back to God some of what he has given us as a token of our love, and we give lip service to using the rest of what we have been given by God for his glory.
But I wonder if we would be better changing the word we use to blessing. After all blessing seems a more biblical word to describe the lavish provision God gives his people and the world. God is a God who blesses. So should should we talk about blessing others? Just thinking about the ideas behind it and blessing automatically (for me anyway) conjures up images of lavishness and generosity. There is nothing stingy or left overs-ish about blessing. Just imagine if we thought of blessing our church with our direct debit or giving, what would that change about how you gave and what you gave. As churches how would it change our approach and the amount we gave to support others ministries if we looked to bless them rather than give to them? What about in our provision for the poor and marginalised if we looked to bless them rather than give?
Blessing rules out tokenism, it rules out a grudging miserliness, it automatically calls us to be lavish.
But I wonder if we would be better changing the word we use to blessing. After all blessing seems a more biblical word to describe the lavish provision God gives his people and the world. God is a God who blesses. So should should we talk about blessing others? Just thinking about the ideas behind it and blessing automatically (for me anyway) conjures up images of lavishness and generosity. There is nothing stingy or left overs-ish about blessing. Just imagine if we thought of blessing our church with our direct debit or giving, what would that change about how you gave and what you gave. As churches how would it change our approach and the amount we gave to support others ministries if we looked to bless them rather than give to them? What about in our provision for the poor and marginalised if we looked to bless them rather than give?
Blessing rules out tokenism, it rules out a grudging miserliness, it automatically calls us to be lavish.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
A Fatal Failure
I've been thinking about sin. Not the blindingly obvious sin that we all find it easy to see and mourn in ourselves but the subtle less noticeable but incredibly destructive sins we sometimes ignore, or don't view as serious.
How often does the Bible warn us about our tongues or lips? The answer is lots, again and again we are warned about the need to control our speech. Be it Job 27; Psalm 12, 34, 120, 140, Proverbs 12 or 17, or Peter or James in their letters. And yet how often we fail to listen to the warnings.
Too often we want to defend ourselves or justify ourselves and so we speak out to the harm of others and as we do our words reveal the state of our hearts. That we do not take sin and holiness seriously.
James 3:9-12 "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
How we would stand out from friends neighbours colleagues if we tamed our tongue. If we learned to bite it instead of engaging in gossip, or slander, or cursing, or self justification. The gospel calls us to bring our tongue under control and to be holy and blameless in all we say.
How often does the Bible warn us about our tongues or lips? The answer is lots, again and again we are warned about the need to control our speech. Be it Job 27; Psalm 12, 34, 120, 140, Proverbs 12 or 17, or Peter or James in their letters. And yet how often we fail to listen to the warnings.
Too often we want to defend ourselves or justify ourselves and so we speak out to the harm of others and as we do our words reveal the state of our hearts. That we do not take sin and holiness seriously.
James 3:9-12 "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
How we would stand out from friends neighbours colleagues if we tamed our tongue. If we learned to bite it instead of engaging in gossip, or slander, or cursing, or self justification. The gospel calls us to bring our tongue under control and to be holy and blameless in all we say.
Monday, 18 August 2008
A bit of fun
Just back from holiday and thought I'd have a bit of fun with wordle. It is a website where you can input your text and it creates an image like this one showing which are the key ideas and most commonly used words in any given text. This is from a few sundays ago looking at Rev 21:1-7.
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