Author Archives: Stephen Sizer

Church Membership 2: To be Faithful in Private Prayer

pregariaA Short Guide to the Privileges of Church Membership
To be Regular in Private Prayer

Two weeks ago, I woke from a brief Sunday afternoon powernap to find a black spot on my arm. I thought it was a piece of mud, but it would not come off. When I looked closely I realised it had legs and was moving. Alone in the house and unable to remove the tick sucking my blood, I did what any man would do, I drove to St Peter’s A&E. I kept watching it closely to see if it was burrowing its way into my arm. I imagined it disappearing into my bloodstream, like in the film Alien … Sitting for two hours in casualty did not improve my peace of mind. The nurse who saw me admitted having removed several from herself in the past, but only managed to pull the body off leaving the head inside my arm. She called a doctor who, with the aid of a magnifying glass and scalpel, performed micro surgery, removed the head, cleaned the wound and prescribed a heavy dose of antibiotics. Back home, an internet search for the symptoms of Lyme Disease did not improve my well being. Apparently these little creatures feed off foxes, deer, dogs and humans and the disease they carry can attack your brain, heart and other vital organs.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

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Church Membership 1: To Follow the Example of Christ

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My name is Sonia. I am quite religious. I think there are many ways to God. I think it is very intolerant to insist your religion is right. Although I don’t go to church I regard myself as a good Christian. I give to charity and do my bit for society. It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.

My name is Percy. I am a Christian. I believe in God but I think faith is a personal matter. I do have a Bible and if I had more time, I’d probably read it. I go to church occasionally but find it a little boring and irrelevant. I prefer to dialogue with friends online about religious issues. I think you should live out your faith in what you do.

My name is Delia. I am an Anglican. I have been baptised and confirmed and was brought up to go to Church on Sundays. I find meaning and comfort in the liturgy, the choir and the church calendar. Taking communion is important to me. If I ever have a question, I can always ask my priest. My faith provides me with security in a changing world.

My name is Sebastian. I believe in Jesus Christ. I prayed to receive him when I was a student at university. I pray every day and read my Bible occasionally. I get to Church maybe once a month but I have a busy weekend schedule. There’s golf, the family to see and the shopping. Most people at work know that I am a Christian.

My name is Freddie. Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. Church? I wouldn’t be anywhere else on Sundays. It’s my family. I can’t wait to be with them. We share our lives together, the joys and sorrows. Mid week we have a Bible study group. We support and pray for one another other. They give me the strength to share my faith and work. By God’s grace, he has used me to lead others to Jesus Christ.

Membership 1: To Follow the Example of Christ from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

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The Passion of Jesus the Messiah

DX239_18A3_9Frans van der Lugt, a 75 year old Jesuit priest, was a well-known figure in the Old City of Homs, respected by many for his solidarity with residents of the rebel-held area under a government siege for nearly two years. He refused to leave insisting that Syria was his home and he wanted to be with its citizens in their time of need. “If you stay, you stay for the struggle” he told the Independent in February. Last Sunday he was abducted and then murdered in his monastery garden. Another clergyman Ziad Hilal, described Frans as “a ray of joy and hope to all those trapped in the Old City.”

If you want to know someone’s heart, observe their final journey. The scale of the devastation in Syria is apocalyptic. The UN estimates there are 9 million refugees. If you want to help, see Embrace the Middle East, Tearfund or World Vision. I was in Tehran this week to publicize a Peace Pilgrimage to Syria taking medical supplies. I hope to welcome one or more of the participants on their way home next Sunday. If you want to know someone’s heart, observe their final journey.  In the verses before us today we learn three things about Jesus’ final journey.

The Passion of Jesus the Messiah from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

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In Jesus Christ I am Secure

UNDecHumanRights_(C)Optical-Illusion_FlickrOn January 6th 1941, the American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the US Congress on the state of the war in Europe. Much of what he said that day has been long forgotten. But at the close of his address, he said something memorable, that he looked forward “to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.” He named them: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. He died in 1945, just three weeks before the Nazi’s surrendered on April 12th 1945.  He never lived to enjoy the peace he had laboured to secure. Yet Roosevelt was a man of vision and he dreamed of what the world could be, indeed should be, even in its darkest hour. We remember his vision because 60 years ago on 10th December 1948, just three years after the allies had defeated Nazism and peace declared, those four freedoms became incorporated into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Universally, people aspire to and endorse these four freedoms, even though, as we see in places like China, Iran and Zimbabwe, for example, they have not been realised for all on earth. Yet without them people give up hope.

In Jesus Christ I am Secure from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

This evening I want us to consider four of our throne rights as children of God. The rights the Lord Jesus Christ has won for you because he has defeated the source of evil in our universe, and brought peace between God and humanity. Luther called Romans  “the clearest Gospel of all”. “If a person understands it”, wrote Calvin, “he has a sure road opened for him to the understanding of the whole Scripture.” John Chrysostom had the Book of Romans read aloud to him once a week. You and I could do a lot worse than that. If Romans is like the Himalayas of the Bible, chapter 8 is the Everest, the highest peak of all. You will not appreciate the view attained from Romans 8, unless you have walked along the path of Romans 1-7, and discovered there that apart from Jesus Christ, you are a lost and helpless sinner. Just as there would have been no Declaration of Human Rights without VE Day, so there would be no comfort, no Romans 8 without the victory of the cross and the realisation of the futility of all other paths to God. Because of the victory Christ has won, described in Romans 1-7, we are able to celebrate and appropriate our “Declaration of Throne Rights”, found in Romans 8.

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Christians Zionists at War with Syria

syria1Why has Israel been the subject of more UN Resolutions than any other country in the world? And why has the USA vetoed virtually every single one of them? Why is Israel allowed to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons while other Middle East countries denied access to peaceful nuclear technology? Why such a close relationship between Israel and the United States of America? What is the fascination with Israel among Evangelical Christians in America?

There is a simple explanation. At least one in four American Christians surveyed recently by Christianity Today magazine said that they believe it is their biblical responsibility to support the nation of Israel. This view is known as Christian Zionism.

The Pew Research Center put the figure at 63 per cent among white evangelicals. Christian Zionism is therefore pervasive within American evangelical, charismatic and independent denominations including the Assemblies of God, Pentecostals and Southern Baptists, as well as many of the independent mega-churches and among television evangelists.

Christian Zionism is much less prevalent within the historic denominations (Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian), which show a greater respect for the work of the United Nations, support human rights, the rule of international law, empathize with the Palestinians and cooperate with the indigenous Middle East churches.

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Imagine Life on Earth from a Heavenly Perspective

On 25th May 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech before a joint session of Congress entitled, “Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs,”. Facing growing tension with Russia, JFK insisted the United States should set as a goal the “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth” by the end of the decade. Kennedy urged the U.S. to work diligently to lead the achievements of space travel because “in many ways [it] may hold the key to our future on earth.”

As the 1960s wore on scientists struggled with the enormity and complexity of delivering on that promise. But someone suggested they imagine they had already achieved their goal, and were standing on the moon looking back at earth. Then ask ‘how did we do it?’ And work backward instead of forward to achieve their goal. On 21st July 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon.

Our aim is not the moon but heaven. How are we going to get there? One of the Bible passages that has driven me in my ministry for 35 years is Ephesians 4:11-16. But yesterday for the first time the Lord  challenged me to imagine we had already attained that goal and change the tense from future to past.

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so… the body of Christ has been built up. We have all reached unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and we have become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. Now we are no longer infants… instead, speaking the truth in love, we have in all things grown up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, has grown and built itself up in love, as each part did its work.” (Ephesians 4:11-16).

What difference does the tense make to the passage? Everything. You know, when we get to heaven it will be past tense. So what does being mature look like? Feel like? That simple change from future aspiration to past achievement changes everything. Instead of seeing our 2020 Vision and Five Year Plan as aspirational, let us meditate on what it will be like, God willing, to have achieved the goals God has for us. Then lets look back from the vantage point of heaven with a renewed determination to help one another become what we already are in Christ.

As we look back and give thanks for what the Lord has achieved among us last year, I can look forward to the exciting adventures God has in store for the year ahead and above all, look up to my Lord and Saviour who equips us with everything we need to do his will.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Our ultimate vision is, that “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature.” (Ephesians 4:13)

 In 2014, my prayer for you is that you will indeed become mature, serving one another willingly, joyfully and wholeheartedly, investing all the gifts and talents God has entrusted to you, to build up his church in and beyond Virginia Water, to his praise and glory.

Let us never forget, the Church is the only hope for the world. This Easter I invite you to renew your commitment to Jesus Christ and to his church family here and be part of this exciting adventure in the coming year. May the Lord bless you and those you love.