Author Archives: Stephen Sizer

Do we worship the same God?

hands-worshipWheaton College is probably the best known Evangelical college in the USA. And last month, Larycia Hawkins who taught political science at Wheaton, became their best known professor.  She had pledged to wear a hijab during Advent in support of her Muslim neighbours.  But she was suspended after she wrote on Facebook, “I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.”  “This statement is unbelievable,” tweeted Baptist blogger Denny Burk, professor of biblical studies at Boyce College in Louisville. “Really jaw-dropping.” Many others criticized Larycia. “A holy kiss to you who disavow the idea that Muslims & Christians worship the same God: I love you. Peace & respect,” Hawkins tweeted in response to her critics. She linked to her Facebook response, where she stated:

“Whether or not you find this position, one held for centuries by countless Christians (church fathers, saints, and regular Christian folk like me), to be valid, I trust that we can peacefully disagree on theological points and affirm others like the Triune God , the virgin birth and the Resurrection. Let there be unity in our diversity of views about all of the above.”

Wheaton have instituted dismissal proceedings against Larycia. Other Wheaton faculty have defended her.

Do we Worship the Same God? from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

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The Sum of all Fears

JesusCalmingStorm150dpiThe American Colony in East Jerusalem is probably my favourite hotel in the world even though I have yet to spend a night there. Built in the mid-19th Century, it has thick walls, cool stone floors and discrete, hospitable staff, who ensure it remains an oasis of calm and tranquility.

It began life as an orphanage. Horatio Spafford was a successful businessman in Chicago in the late 1860s, heavily invested in real estate along the shores of Lake Michigan. The disastrous Chicago fire of 1871 wiped out his assets.  He helped rebuild the city and assisted many left homeless. In 1873 he arranged to take his family to Europe. Friends of D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey, they planned to attend their evangelistic meetings in England, then take a vacation.  At the last minute, urgent business kept him home, so he sent his wife and four daughters ahead on the S.S. Ville du Havre, planning to soon follow.  The night of November 22, 1873, the Ville du Havre, was struck by an iron sailing vessel, the Lochearn. The ship sank in 12 minutes. Of 273 people on board, only 47 survived. Mrs. Spafford was rescued, clinging to a piece of the wreckage. Their four daughters did not survive.

When she reached Cardiff, she cabled home, “Saved alone, what shall I do?” Grief-stricken, Horatio immediately started to Europe to join his wife.  En route, the captain pointed out the place where he believed the Ville du Havre had gone down. Returning to his cabin, Horatio wrote in his diary, “It is well; the will of God be done.”

Today we return to our teaching series based on Mark’s Gospel. With the help of Mark Galli, we are discovering “Jesus, Mean and Wild”. John Ortberg says, “Mark writes of a Jesus that is unleashed, untamed, undomesticated, and unpredictable. I want to know this Jesus, though he scares me a little.” Please open your Bibles and turn with me to Mark 4:35-41. I’ve entitled this, “The sum of all fears”. First the context: Continue reading →

Speeding Christ’s Return

jesusreturningAccording to a survey conducted last year, and reported in the Daily Telegraph, “Britain is one of the least religious countries in the world, with two thirds of the population describing themselves as atheist or “not religious”, a new survey has disclosed. Only 30 per cent of Britons interviewed by pollsters as part of a world-wide project said they would describe themselves as religious, regardless of whether they attended a place of worship. It compared with 53 per cent who said they were “not religious” and 13 per cent who said they were a “convinced atheist”. The remainder were “don’t knows”.[i]

It is ironic because Christians in the first century were branded as atheists by the Roman authorities because they did not believe in the gods. So Christians often lost their jobs, had their property confiscated, were imprisoned and martyred as well. They held on to the belief that the Lord Jesus would return soon, but as the decades wore on, some began to doubt.

The Apostle Peter wrote his second epistle in part to answer those doubts and encourage believers to remain faithful in the face of persecution. He does so by affirming three things about God:

  1. God’s Word is True
  2. God’s Work is Consistent
  3. God’s Will is Merciful

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Where Can I Find True Love?

First Corinthians chapter 13 is probably the most widely known description of love in the English language. Yet, ironically, the word ‘love’ is also probably the most devalued word in any language. That is why this definition is so important, for here we see authentic true love described.  Although popular at weddings, it is our Maker’s instructions for all relationships whether we are single or married, whether we are 14 or 94.  I believe God has something to say to each one of us today.

  1. The Motive in True Love is Giving

“And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:3)

Do you see how important love is? The gifts mentioned – of prophecy, knowledge, faith, giving, are valuable or worthless depending on one thing: Motivation – to serve or be served? To give or receive? Our motivation in loving is to give. Continue reading →

The Dark Side of Christmas

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Congratulations. You have made it to the other side of Christmas. All of the anticipation, the parties, the shopping, the preparations, the cooking and the hassle are over. We’ve opened the presents, we’ve eaten the turkey and bade farewell to the relatives. What are we left with?  I’ve called this the “Dark side of Christmas” because it’s the part of the Christmas story we don’t usually cover, at least not when the children are present. It’s a story of dictators, state terrorism, ethnic cleansing, homelessness, refugees.

Where did we go wrong? Francis of Assisi in the 13th Century was the first to create the iconic image of Christmas: the live Nativity Scene. St Francis loved animals, and for an outdoor midnight Mass in the mountain town of Greccio, Italy, he enhanced the Christmas scene, described in the Gospel of Luke by adding an ox and a donkey. Do you have a Nativity set at home? Besides having some extra-biblical animals added by St Francis, you very likely have some people mentioned in the Bible who are missing. An entrepreneurial Italian firm advertises some additional figures to complete your Nativity set.

The Dark Side of Christmas from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

They are of course the Roman soldiers with drawn swords. Imagine how different the school Christmas Nativity would be if after Mary and Joseph had left the stage with baby Jesus, on came Roman soldiers who attacked the shepherds and the inn keeper? Unlikely to catch on is it? If our Christmas nativity scene is incomplete, it also tends to be sanitized as well. Our Christmas cards and even the lyrics of our carols perpetuate an idyllic scene. The stable is warm and cozy. The hay is clean. The animals are domesticated. There are no loud noises or strong smells. But our nativity scene is not just incomplete and sanitized it has been swept of scandal also. The primary reason Jesus was born in a stable was not because the inns were full. Offering hospitality, even to strangers, is the norm in the Middle East. Remember Joseph’s relatives and extended family lived in Bethlehem. Why didn’t his own family take them in? Its obvious isn’t it? Jesus was most likely born in a stable because Joseph and his pregnant girlfriend were shunned. They were an embarrassment.

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Making the Most of Christmas Time

fourstagesoflifeThey say there are four stages in life. In the first stage you believe in Father Christmas. In the second stage you don’t believe in Father Christmas. In the third stage you are Father Christmas. In the final stage you just look like Father Christmas. Doesn’t time fly? It’s Christmas Eve again. Another year. Hard to believe the year went so quickly.  Have you noticed how the pace of life seems to accelerate the older you get? Why does time seem to speed up? There is apparently a scientific explanation for this perplexing phenomena. But with most scientific theories there are several explanations.

  1. Proportional Time: The most common explanation is that time is perceived as a proportion of time we have lived. To a five-year-old, a year is a long time because it is 20% of their entire existence. To a 62 year-year-old like me, one year is less than 2% of your life. Proportional time.
  2. Complex Time: Another theory is that as we get older, life gets busier and we have more things to do.

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Jesus at the Christmas Movies

disney-characters-header-imageIt has become a popular tradition at Christ Church, Virginia Water, for the sermon at the Christmas Carol Service to feature one of the films being shown in cinemas in December. Here are some from previous years:

Jesus and Star Wars: The Force Awakens  (2015)
The Gospel According to Paddington Bear  (2014)
Frozen: A Story to Melt Your Heart  (2013)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey  (2012)
Arthur Christmas Meets Jesus  (2011)
A Lion in the Manger  (2010)
The Purpose of Christmas  (2009)
The Day the Earth Stood Still  (2008)
His Dark Materials  (2007)
Always Winter Never Christmas  (2005)
The Incredibles  (2004)
The Return of the King  (2003)

How to have a Relatively Stress Free Christmas

stress-free-vacationSomeone once said, “Christmas is a time when children tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their children pay for it.” Three phrases probably best sum up Christmas – ‘Peace on Earth”, “Good will to all” and “batteries not included”.

This was originally going to be about “How to have a Stress Free Christmas”. Then I realised there is no way we can experience an entirely stress free Christmas. Its impossible. Without some stress, it would be a very floppy Christmas. Stress is like cholesterol. Not all cholesterol is bad for you. There is good and bad cholesterol. We must choose more of one and less of the other. In the same way there is good stress and bad stress. What is good stress? Stress is like inner biofeedback. Its purpose is not to harm you but help you focus or concentrate, to flee or fight, for limited periods of time. Stress is to the mind what blood pressure is to the body. We all generate waste as a bi-product of living but we don’t always dispose of it properly. Without balance in life  – work, rest, play, sleep, solitude, fellowship, the waste levels pile up and take over and we lose control in destructive ways. If you think about it, stress, whether its caused by worry, anxiety, fear or anger does not exist independently of ourselves. It simply does not exist in the physical world. It is internal. That is because stress is not about what happens to us. Stress is our response to what happens to us. We therefore choose our stress levels. And the holiday season of Christmas provides a wonderful opportunity to learn to handle stress constructively.

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