Category Archives: Sermons

Imitating Christ: Philippians 2:5-8

It has topped The New York Times’s bestseller list. Sold over a million copies in a year. It has been called The Pilgrim’s Progress of our generation. It’s received rave reviews from Christian leaders. So what is it about William P Young’s The Shack that has captivated so many people? Without giving the plot away, the heart of the book is a series of extended conversations between a man called Mack and the three Persons of the Trinity, about why God allows suffering in his creation.

These conversations take place in a shack associated with a deeply traumatic family tragedy, the worst nightmare of any parent. Through these conversations, God reveals deep secrets about himself, about the nature of the universe, that slowly begin to heal Mack’s anger and pain. (See Paul Grimmond’s excellent article in the Briefing for a critique of the Shack)

Allowing for the fact that the book is fiction, you need to know that Young depicts God the Father “(addressed throughout the book as “Papa”) as a middle-aged, slightly overweight and extremely cheeky African American woman who loves to bake, Jesus as a man of Middle Eastern appearance in blue jeans, and the Holy Spirit as a slight woman of Asian appearance who is seen more clearly when you aren’t looking directly at her.” So what makes an imaginative but extended dialogue with the three persons of the Trinity so popular with non-Christians? At several key points in The Shack, God declares that love must involve no compulsion and therefore no expectations…

The message is reinforced when the Father declares, “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.” (p. 120). God says the Mack, “we are submitted to you… we want you to join us in our circle of relationship. I don’t want slaves to my will; I want brothers and sisters who will share life with me.” (p. 145-146). Put simply, the God of The Shack, while sometimes angry at people’s folly, is never angry with people. Sad yes, angry no. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that his anger will never lead to judgement. So we are relieved to hear the God of the Shack assuringly insist, “Evil and darkness… do not have any actual existence.” (p. 136).

In a beguiling way, The Shack speaks words about God and sin and judgement that will scratch itching ears, but this is still not enough to account for the book’s popularity. If there is one thing that Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code exposed was the deep seated suspicion that the Church down the ages has distorted and corrupted the real Jesus. And the failure of the Church is woven into the fabric of this story too. So Jesus insists, “who said anything about being a Christian?” (p. 182) “My life was not meant to be an example to copy. Being my follower is not trying to ‘be like Jesus’…” (p. 149).

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Grace and Peace: An Introduction to Philippians

“Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved.” That was Mark Twain. Here is another of his ditties on grief and joy.

“Grief can take care of itself, but to get full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” Mark Twain was a professional humorist. His lectures and writings have made people laugh all over the world. He had that rare gift of enabling people to forget their troubles, at least for a time. Yet Mark Twain was himself, in private a man whose life was broken by sorrow. When his daughter Jean died suddenly of an epileptic seizure, Twain, too distressed even to go to the funeral.

He said to a friend, “I have never greatly envied anyone but the dead. I always envy the dead.” Many of the people who have brought the most happiness to the world have been people who have suffered deeply. Isaiah the prophet described Jesus Christ as “A Man of sorrows acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Yet we know from the Gospels that Jesus possessed a deep and lasting joy. As He faced the cruel death of Calvary, Jesus said to His followers, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11). Hebrews tells us “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame.” (Hebrews 12:2). Indeed, Jesus explained that while his friends would grieve when he died, his resurrection would bring them lasting joy,

“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy…I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy… Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:20-22, 24).

So, one of the consequences of coming to know God as our loving Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, of having the assurance of sins forgiven, of eternal life, of the indwelling, empowering, equipping, baptising, filling of the Holy Spirit – is the joy, the joy of Jesus. After love, the second fruit of the Spirit. Joy. Yet it seems we don’t always take advantage of this privilege. We live under a cloud of discouragement, of disappointment, even of despair, dependant on our circumstances, on the newspaper headlines, on the weather, on other people, when we could and we should be experiencing deep seated joy of Jesus. What robs us of this joy?

The answer to this important question is found in Paul’s intensely personal letter to the Philippians. In just 104 verses Paul uses the personal pronoun no less than 100 times. Not because he is being boastful or having to defend his apostleship. No, he is writing to friends who have been loyal and generous and he cares passionately about their welfare in a hostile and increasingly menacing world.

With the prospect of a very challenging year ahead, when pundits are comparing this recession to the Great Depression of the 20s and 30s, there is good reason for studying Philippians together on Sunday mornings in the Spring.

Building Community to Defeat Extremism

Remember that phrase in the film Miss Congeniality when all the beauty contestants are asked what is the one most important thing our society needs? They all reply “world peace” and the crowd cheers ecstatically. What is your wish for Virginia Water in 2009? Sounds a little more specific than your hopes for the entire world doesn’t it?

Focussing on Virginia Water moves us from generalities to responsibilities, from what we hope others will do to what we can do. And sometimes it only takes one person’s initiative. I hope you too were inspired by PC Elaine Bryant’s initiative to get the first ever Virginia Water community Christmas trees up. I kept thinking two things – first, why hadn’t we done it before and second, see what a person with vision and determination can achieve in a few weeks to bring us together.

OK, we are only talking about two Christmas trees with lights for heaven’s sake but that is not the point. Judging by the hundreds of people who turned out on a cold wet evening, including families with small children and senior citizens, to sing carols, drink mulled wine and eat mince pies and ginger bread men, perhaps PC Bryant’s initiative struck a chord in a lot of us. We certainly had more police officers in Virginia Water than I have ever seen before.

So what is my hope for Virginia Water in 2009? To see you and everyone else in the community come to know Jesus as your friend and leader. That is my first hope and prayer. If you want to know more, come along any Sunday at 9:30, 11:00 or 6:30.

My second hope is to see us as a community grow closer together in the year ahead. With the recession beginning to bite harder and forecast to last at least a year, with the steady rise in radical political and religious extremism, anti-social behaviour and the threat of terrorism ever before us, the temptation in 2009 will be to retreat into our shells or begin to blame others for our woes.

Remember Oswald Mosley and his Black Shirts that fed off the back of the Great Depression? How do we avoid it ever happening again? If we are tempted to think it could never happen here, we need to think again. I was pleased to see that the Holocaust Research Centre of Royal Holloway University are collaborating with German educational institutions in a conference this month in Berlin on holocaust perpetrators. The conference will address how and why ‘normal’ people become genocide perpetrators.

With the leaking in November of the names, addresses and occupations of the 12,000 members of the British National Party (BNP), media attention, has focussed on the handful of police officers, teachers and soldiers so identified. While membership of the political party is entirely legal, certain occupations are banned from being members of the BNP.

I was encouraged by two aspects of the incident. First, membership of such parties is still perceived to be an embarrassment to the majority of people in Britain. Second, given legitimate concerns over evidence of institutional racism and anti-semitism I was relieved that so few Christian leaders were listed.

Ben Wilson, a spokesman for the Church of England, said in November. “The church’s General Synod passed a motion in 2004 stating that any political movement that seeks to divide our communities on the basis of ethnicity is an affront to the nature of God revealed in creation and scripture and is a grave danger to harmonious community relationships; consequently voting for and/or supporting a political party that offers racist policies is incompatible with Christian discipleship.”

So how do we combat religious and political extremism and build community here in Virginia Water? Here are three ideas:

1. Support the Virginia Water Community Association; the Royal British Legion; our three local schools PTA’s and governing bodies at Trumps Green, Christ Church and St Ann’s Heath; the Scouts, Cubs, Guides and Brownies; the Library; the Help the Aged charity shop; and further afield, White Lodge and St Peters Hospital. There’s also the lobby against the incinerator at Trumps Farm. I am sure you can think of others.

2. Volunteer to serve in the community. At Christ Church, we encourage every member to volunteer at least an hour a week in the church and community – with things like a monthly senior citizen’s lunch club and Scallywags and Cherubs toddler groups. If everyone in Virginia Water volunteered an hour a week to the community, it would be the equivalent of employing 18 people. Two hours each and it would be the equivalent of employing 36 people. A sign of a healthy community is how well it cares for the most vulnerable – whether in terms of gender, health, age or race. How do you think we are doing?

3. Support community based events in 2009. There will hopefully be the VWCA Carnival Capers, the open air Summer art exhibition, the school productions and Fayres, the Polo Championship, the Wentworth bonfire, the Remembrance Sunday wreath laying, and now the Christmas tree lighting. At Christ Church we have added annual events like Mothering Sunday, the Bank Holiday Rogation Walk around Virginia Water, a Summer Picnic in the Park and of course the Church festivals of Easter, Harvest and Christmas to help build community.

So, how about it? What is your hope for Virginia Water in 2009? What are you prepared to do to turn it into a reality? If you have other ideas on how to strengthen our community write a letter to the editor. May the Lord bless you and those you love throughout the year ahead.

Article published in the January edition of Connection, the community magazine of Virginia Water, and delivered at the 2008 Wentworth Christmas Carol Concert

Christmas: God’s Indescribable Gift

Hands up if you have already opened all your Christmas presents. Hands up if you haven’t opened your Christmas presents yet. Hands up if you have only opened some of your Christmas presents. Hands up if you don’t know if you have opened all your Christmas presents yet. In our family we have a tradition that although Father Christmas may leave some small edible gifts in the night by our beds while we are sleeping, we try really hard to restrain ourselves and open our larger gifts after lunch. But why do we give presents at Christmas? Is it because Nicholas gave gifts to a poor family? Is it because the wise men brought gifts to Jesus family? What were the gifts they brought? I like building traditions and so I’d like to suggest that as you share gifts today, or play with the ones you have already opened, you remember the most important gifts of all.

1. God’s Gift of Life

The Apostle Peter speaks of “The gracious gift of life” (1 Peter 3:7). We are alive today because God created us. If you have held a new born baby in your arms then you know what I mean.

2. God’s Gift of Food and Drink

“That everyone may eat and drink,and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13)

There are two very ancient prayers prayed by people of faith for centuries: “Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, who brings bread up from the earth. Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.” These two prayers, prayed during the festival of Passover are at the heart of our desire to thank God before we eat. None more so than today when we will probably eat one of the loveliest meals of the year.

If you don’t normally say grace before your meals, why don’t you start today? Thank God for the gift of food and drink.

3. God’s Ultimate Gift of His Son Jesus

Jesus describes himself in this way.

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)

Jesus’ name means Saviour. And that is what he is and that is what he has done. One sentence in the Bible sums up God’s ultimate gift.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

Jesus came at Christmas to that we might be forgiven. He came to make us good. He came that we might go to heaven, saved by his precious blood. So when you open your Christmas gifts today, remember the most important gift God has given you. Jesus.

Have you received God’s gift of Jesus? With Jesus, God has given you many other gifts also.

The Gift of a Relationship
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

The Gift of his Grace
“For it is by graceyou have been saved,through faithand this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works,so that no one can boast… the gift of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, 3:7)

The Gift of Eternal Life
^“For the wages of sin is death,but the gift of God is eternal lifeinChrist Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

The Gift of Righteousness

“how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in lifethrough the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

The Gift of the Holy Spirit
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

God has given us everything we need to serve him and become like him.

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual giftas you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” (1 Corinthians 1:7)

All of these gifts – a right relationship with God, sins forgiven, eternal life, righteousness, His Holy Spirit – all of these are ours in Christ Jesus.

This is why the Apostle Paul could say, “Thanks be to Godfor his indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15). Indescribable! This is what makes Christmas so special. This should make us want to give gifts and use our gifts to serve others, not just today but every day. As Peter insists:

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,faithfullyadministering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)

This is what will show we are thankful for God’s gifts this Christmas. When we thank God for the gift of life. When we thank God for the gift of food and rink. And above all when we thank God for the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are not sure about all this take a copy of the booklet, “The Real Christmas”. If you would like to find out more, you are invited to a special supper on Thursday 5^th February when we start our Christianity Explored course. But if you are sure and you want to receive God’s gift of Jesus today, there is no better day in the year. The day that we celebrate when Jesus was born the Son of God can be the day you celebrate when you were born again as a child of God. Pray this prayer with me now silently.

“Lord Jesus, I recognise you as God’s greatest gift. Thank you for coming to earth to enable me to know God as my heavenly Father. Thank you for dying on the cross in my place so that I could be forgiven. I repent of my sin and all that has displeased you. Thank you for rising again so that I can have eternal life. Come into my life to be my Saviour and Lord, so that I can be born again. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to help me serve you and please you for the rest of my life. I ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.”

If you prayed the prayer for the first time, then tell someone today. May we all treasure the gifts God has given us in Christ Jesus. May God bless you and those you love this Christmas and for ever more.

Listen here

Recommended Bible Software

The Most important book in the world is the Bible. The most widely read book in the world is the Bible. The most highly prized book in the world is the Bible. The most suppressed book in the world is the Bible. And the most frequently downloaded book in countries that suppress religious freedom… is the Bible.

I probably use electronic versions of the Bible as much as my print version. As I travel a lot to teach and preach, having access to my Bibles, commentaries, encyclopedias and Bible dictionaries on my PDA and laptop is indispensable.

As a trustee of the International Bible Society-Send the Light (IBS-STL) Ministries Trust, its perhaps not surprising that I favour the New International Version (NIV) and Today’s New International Version (TNIV), but then again the NIV is the most widely read translation in English.

So what software would I recommend? The short answer is all of them for different reasons. Here is a list of the software I use regularly – in alphabetical order. True, there is some overlap between them and you will probably only want one or two (and the NET Bible and FreeBibleSoftware from the E4 Group is… free!). And I’m sure there are other excellent packages I do not personally own.

Laridian
Laridian provides a wide range of Bible translations, commentaries, encyclopaedias and dictionaries for the iPhone, Blackberry, iPod, Pocket PC, Palm devices and also Windows based personal computers. I use Laridian on a daily basis.

Libronix
Libronix used to be called Logos. I have had this software package for about as long as my PC Study Bible. I like its seamless library of resources.

The NET Bible
The NET Bible is an imaginative ‘open source’ project that provides high quality Bible study tools and resources within reach of the whole world without charge. You can access the NET Bible here.

PC Study Bible
The PC Study Bible was the first package I bought and I have found it enormously helpful over the years.

Pradis
Pradis is a simple to use but comprehensive Bible software package. I use it most frequently to cut and paste scripture into sermons.

QuickVerse
QuickVerse produce a wide range of software packages including for Palm Pilots and mobile phones. They even link to Google maps.

WordSearch
I have always liked Wordsearch because they include the Navigator’s Bible study questions – called Lessonmaker. This is a great tool if you are preparing Bible studies. You can buy it separately or as part of WordSearch.

Besides www.Bible.org and the E4 Group, I would also recommend www.Sermoncentral.com for free resources.

I commend these scripture resources that enable you to access the Word of God digitally for free or low cost. And if you want a print version in another language see here.

And since we are having this conversation, may I challenge you to contribute financially to the work of IBS-STL to enable people in other parts of the world receive a copy of the Scriptures in their own language for free?

See here for more information.

Super Hero’s Nativity

This morning we have been thinking about heros. Who is your favourite hero? Here’s one of mine. Can you guess his name? “This mighty-muscled, super-powered strongman can single-handedly rescue a little old lady’s cat from a tree while apprehending bank robbers – and along with Elastigirl, a super heroine with amazing stretchability, protect all the citizens of the great city Municiberg. Mr Incredible. I wonder who your favourite super-hero is? Can you guess the three most popular super-heros of all time? Superman is #3. He was created in 1938. Batman is #2. He was created in 1939. But the youngest of the three super-heros and currently the most popular is Spider-Man, created in 1962.

Why are we so attracted to heros? Why do many people seem to prefer fictional super-heros who save the world from evil? And why do we seem to need new heros like Mr Incredible to replace those who have faded in popularity? Does a society where evil and injustice is unknown seem like a dream? Can we really imagine a place where crying, and pain, and death and mourning will ever cease? Is hope to be packed away, like the super-heroes in the movies, along with the Christmas tree and decorations on the 12^th night? No, because the long promised hope that became human that first Christmas is more powerful and long lasting than all our super-heros combined.
What have we learnt about Jesus this morning? What makes a real H-E-R-0?

Help the helpless
Engage and defeat the forces of evil
Rescue lost sinners
Order back into God’s universe

Jesus came to:

Rescue God’s world from evil
Redeem God’s children for heaven
Restore God’s rule for ever

The Angels – remind us we have a saving hero
The Shepherds – remind us we have a suffering hero
The Kings – remind us we serve a sovereign hero

And, like the angels, shepherds and kings, the Bible tells us that we who follow Jesus Christ have a purpose driven mission, a calling and destiny more awesome and more captivating than even that of Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl.

Our powers may not be as spectacular but we have been given the Holy Spirit of God who is transforming us into God’s children. That makes us – through the power of God – more than equal to any task, more than conquerors, to use St Paul’s words.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:36-38)

As long as there are hungry ones, lonely ones, poor ones, as long as there are sick people or imprisoned people, abused or marginalised people we have work to do. As long as evil reigns we have a mission to fulfil. As long as injustice exists we have a Gospel to proclaim. As long as people remain captive to sin, we have a Saviour’s love to share. We are not called to “save the day” or overcome the world – Christ has already done it. We are not even called to bring in the new heaven and the new earth – for that is His role, but we are called to join the family business.

We are to use the talents and gifts God has given us to show a sceptical world that Jesus is the ultimate hero worth following and that through Jesus, God is building his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

And if you are not sure of God’s will for your life, if you need more information about Jesus in order to decide whether to serve him, then talk to one of our staff team after the service. Pick up one of the booklets on the meaning of Christmas from the table, and join us for our next Christianity Explored course starting Thursday 5th February.

Join us next week and every Sunday in 2009 to find out more about the incredible, supernatural life God wants to live in and through you. God’s will to create and redeem will not be stopped. Hope will not be suppressed. Justice will prevail. Peace will come. If we live in this way there may be ridicule, there will certainly be hardship and possibly even imprisonment – but, like the Incredibles, when at last we lay down our lives we will know we have fulfilled our mission and will be ready to serve our hero in eternity to the glory of God in the highest. Lets pray.

Listen to this talk here

Christmas Message

Although they were excluded from the invitation list at the Annapolis Middle East Conference last year, everyone from the Royal Family and the Prime Minister down, and even the US President and people the world over, will soon be celebrating the visit of an Iranian delegation to Palestine. This Christmas, we will remember how a group of Iranians visited Palestine carrying funding for an opposition figure the authorities wanted dead. Then the Iranians evaded the authorities, ignoring the correct exit procedures and fled the country. Of course, the Queen, Prime Minister and President have not been celebrating contemporary Iranian involvement, but the historic visit of a past Iranian delegation – the Magi (the ‘Wise Men’ or ‘Kings’) who came to Bethlehem bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for Jesus. So without Iran and Iranian involvement, we would not have exchanged gifts on Christmas Day.

Bethlehem is a very special place, especially in the weeks leading to Christmas. Heading south about five miles out of Jerusalem just off the main road to Egypt lies Bethlehem. It’s quite a small town that has sprawled like the tentacles of an octopus along the rocky ridges of the Judean Hills. The Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in the world lies at the centre of the town square looking more like a fortress than a place of worship. Given the tensions that have plagued this over-promised land for centuries, it has indeed served as both. The Emperor Hadrian, in AD135, built a grove over the site dedicated to the pagan god Adonis, with the intention of stopping Christians from worshipping there. It had the opposite effect as it marked the site until in AD315 the Emperor Constantine’s mother Helena, on the conversion of her son, directed that the pagan shrine be demolished and a basilica be erected over the original cave.

In the eighth century when the Persians invaded Palestine, the Church of the Nativity was the only church to be left standing, simply because they found a painting hanging inside depicting the three wise men whom they took to be Persians. As any pilgrim will discover, Bethlehem is an ordinary place, smelly, dusty, dirty, noisy, and this says something about the identification of God with us in our ordinary situations. The scene of Jesus lying in a stone feeding trough with Mary and Joseph huddled at the back of a cave surrounded by animals sheltering from the cold is not hard to imagine when you visit the barren hills of Beit Sahour which literally means ‘the shepherds fields’, on the outskirts of Bethlehem.

Shepherds were considered the lowest of the low in those days, indeed they would virtually have been viewed as criminals. Many of the shepherds today are Bedouins, roaming the hills of Judea, living a nomadic life unchanged by thousands of years, alienated from modern civilised Israeli society, a law unto themselves. Yet it was to such as these that the birth of the Son of God is first announced. News of the “Saviour” and the possibility of “peace” is proclaimed to them, and it is they who carry this news to Mary and Joseph and to all who will listen.

Malcolm Muggeridge once speculated what the situation would be if Jesus were born today. He said rather provocatively, “He would have been born a Palestinian.” By this he meant that because there is no room for them even in their own country. They are forgotten, hounded from country to country – a curiously similar fate to the other children of Abraham, the Jews. For the Palestinians there is no room at the inn, even in their own society. The irony is that if Mary and Joseph were making the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem this year they would never make it. The town of Bethlehem is entirely surrounded by a wall eight meters high with watch towers every few hundred metres.

Despite the military occupation, the home demolitions and confiscation of much of the shepherds fields for illegal settlements, Bethlehem has a message of hope for all who are forgotten, where ever they may be – God does not forget, God knows, God sees and God will act with justice and mercy. He will not leave us alone. The message of the angels was “Emmanuel” – God with us.

Although many to whom he came rejected him, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)

May you know the assurance of being born again this Christmas. The Son of God was born so that you might be born a child of God. In Jesus Christ, we find a life that overcomes death, a love that conquers hate, the truth that prevails over falsehood, and light, light that ever shines in the world’s darkness. May the light of Christ shine upon you and those you love, this Christmas and for evermore.

An article written for the December edition of Connection, the community magazine of Virginia Water, based on a sermon from last Christmas

Wentworth Golf Club Christmas Concert

They say there are four phases in life. In the first phase you believe in Father Christmas. In the second phase you don’t believe in Father Christmas. In the third phase you are Father Christmas. In the final phase you just look like Father Christmas. Well, if you were the real Father Christmas and you happened to visit a few hundred thousand carol services on a re-Christmas dry run this week, I suspect you would observe a common theme in many of the sermons.

It’s a theme picked up in one of my all time favourite films Miss Congeniality. It’s about an FBI agent, played by Sandra Bullock, who must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group of terrorists from bombing the event. Each of the contestants is asked the same final question “what is the one most important thing our society needs?” They all reply “world peace” and the crowd cheers ecstatically. But when Sandra Bullock the undercover FBI agent is asked, she replies, “That would be… harsher punishment for parole violators.” And then after a long embarrassing silence, she adds, “and world peace!” and then the crowd cheers ecstatically.

Well what is the one most important thing our society needs? “World Peace” is a no brainer. The question is how to achieve it? Many are looking to the new President in the USA to deliver. Perhaps that is why Barak Obama said recently that contrary to rumors, he was not born in a stable. I’d like to suggest we need to lower our sights if not our expectations and think local instead of global.

So let me ask you what is the one most important thing Virginia Water needs in 2009? Sounds a little more specific doesn’t it? For the new ‘West Course’ you are going to have to wait till 2010. Focussing on Virginia Water, moves us from generalities to responsibilities, from what we expect others to do, to what we can achieve. And sometimes it only takes one person’s initiative. I was inspired by PC Elaine Bryant’s initiative to get the first ever Virginia Water community Christmas trees up. I kept thinking two things – first, why hadn’t we done it before? And second, see what one person with vision and determination can achieve in a few weeks to bring us together.

OK, we are only talking about two medium sized Christmas trees with lights for heaven’s sake but that is not the point. Judging by the hundreds of people who turned out on a cold, wet evening, families with small children and senior citizens, to sing carols, drink mulled wine and eat mince pies and ginger bread men, perhaps PC Bryant’s initiative struck a chord in a lot of us. We certainly had more police officers in Virginia Water than I have ever seen before.

So what is your hope for Virginia Water in 2009? I’ll tell you mine. To see each one of you come to know Jesus as your friend and leader. One of his titles is The Prince of Peace. He alone can reconcile us to God and bestow his peace upon us to cope with the storms of life. You are very welcome to our Christmas services to find out more. My second hope is to see our community grow closer together in 2009. With the recession beginning to bite harder and forecast to last at least a year, with the steady rise in radical political and religious extremism and the threat of terrorism ever before us, the temptation in 2009 will be to retreat into our shells (or behind our electric gates) and begin to blame others for our woes. Remember Oswald Mosley and his Black Shirts who fed off the back of the Great Depression? How do we avoid it ever happening again?

Here are three ideas for building up our community:

1. Participate in community based events in 2009. The VWCA Carnival Capers, the open air Summer art exhibition, the local school fayres, the Wentworth bonfire, the Remembrance Sunday wreath laying, and now the local Christmas tree lighting. At Christ Church we have added annual events like Mothering Sunday, the May Bank Holiday Rogation Walk around Virginia Water, a Summer Picnic in the Park and of course the Church festivals of Easter, Harvest and Christmas.

2. Support the local voluntary organisations. The Virginia Water Community Association for example; the Royal British Legion; our three local schools at Trumps Green, Christ Church and St Ann’s Heath; the Scouts, Cubs, Guides and Brownies; the Library; and our one local charity shop – Help the Aged – I’ve got one of their gold club cards.

3. Volunteer to serve in the community. At Christ Church, we encourage every member to volunteer at least an hour a week in the church and community – to help us host a monthly senior citizen’s lunch and Scallywags and Cherubs parent and toddler groups, for example. If everyone in Virginia Water volunteered one hour a week to the community, it would be the equivalent of employing 18 people full time. Two hours each and it would be the equivalent of employing 36 people. Imagine what we could achieve. A sign of a healthy community is how well it cares for the most vulnerable – irrespective of health, age, race or religion.

These are some of the practical ways we can build up our community and neutralise the influence of the isms – cynicism, isolationism, radicalism and extremism. So, how about it? What is your hope for Virginia Water in 2009? What are we prepared to do to turn our hopes for world peace into a local reality?

At the beginning I said there are four phases in life. The first – ‘believing’ is not enough. We can’t revert to childhood. The second – ‘not believing’ won’t help much either. So which is it to be? Resign ourselves to looking more and more like Father Christmas or spend the rest of our lives becoming like him?

Jesus said “Give and it will be given you, pressed down, shaken together, running over. With the measure you give it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38) May the Lord bless you and those you love this Christmas.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: Jesus, Klaatu and Osama Bin Laden

Jesus, Klaatu and Osama Bin Laden
“Once upon a time, a supernatural being, who so loved the world, took on our DNA and became one of us. He walked among us, taught us, cared for us, walked on water, brought one of us back from the dead, and ascended into the heavens. You know the story well. And his name was Klaatu. Klaatu? Well, yes. He is the central figure in the box office hit this Christmas in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still. Its a remake of the 1951 classic, which was one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. Klaatu is an alien who has come to earth in an attempt to save the planet—ostensibly from itself (on the brink of war in the 1951 original, and rolling toward environmental catastrophe in 2008). A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. Klaatu himself already has a negative opinion of humans, and in the end the aliens decide to intervene pre-emptively—without any warning—and wipe out human civilization so that all the other species on our planet can survive. If you have seen the film or just the trailers, then you know that swarms of microscopic beings—insects, robots, or both—are sent forth to bring about the apocalypse, shredding everything from giant sports stadiums to moving vehicles.[1]

Peter T. Chattaway observes, “One of the fascinating things about the original film is that Klaatu was such an obvious Christ-figure—he went by the name Carpenter when he mingled among regular people, he died and came back to life, and he professed a belief in the “Almighty Spirit.”

In the remake, the religious parallels are more subdued: Klaatu raises someone else from the dead, after killing him, but never dies himself; he never goes by the name Carpenter; and he talks of how “the universe” transforms people when they die. In the original film, Klaatu represented a certain ideal, a vision of what we humans could become, and our survival depended on becoming more like him. In the remake, on the other hand, our survival depends on bringing the alien down to our level and making him more like us. That may or may not have theological significance, but it does say something about how our culture has changed over the last five decades.”[2]

Kenneth Chan writes, “The verdict? The human race is destructive. The sentence? The human race will be terminated. “If the earth dies, humans die. If humans die, the earth lives,” Klaatu says in one scene. Although some will see a green agenda in the remake, the message goes deeper than that. It’s not just about our destructiveness toward the Earth, but toward one another. Is the human race without hope? This is what Klaatu believes after receiving his colleagues’ report. I won’t spoil it by giving more of the plot away.[3]

The movie does help us understand why a Holy God could and one day will cleanse this world of evil.[4] Klaatu is not a type of Jesus Christ. He is fallible and fallen. But he is representative of those who believe it is their destiny to use violence to bring about God’s judgement. Can you think of anyone who believes they have a divine mandate to purify this world of evil and destroy all infidels? The man President George Bush refers to as “the evil one”. The one the newspapers call the “CEO of Terror Incorporated.” The mastermind behind the worst terrorist attacks in recent history – monstrous crimes of premeditated mass murder – Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam in 1998, New York and Washington in 2001, Madrid 2004, London 2005, Algiers 2007, probably Mumbai 2008.

If Bin Laden represents the most wanted man in the world what would Jesus say to him tonight? If we could listen in on a one to one between Jesus and Osama bin Laden this Christmas, what would Jesus say?

World Peace : Isaiah 9:1-7

If you were the real Father Christmas and you happened to visit a few hundred thousand churches today on a pre-Christmas dry run, I suspect you would find a common theme running through many sermons preached this morning.

Marc Lawrence and Katie Ford wrote one of my all time favourite films Miss Congeniality. It’s about an FBI agent, played by Sandra Bullock, who must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group of terrorists from bombing the event. It has some classic lines – like when Stan Fields asks Miss Rhode Island, “please describe your idea of a perfect date”. She replies, “That’s a tough one. I would have to say April 25th. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket”. Or when Miss New Jersey is asked why it is called “The Garden State”? Gracie Hart replies, “Because “Oil and Petrochemical Refinery State” wouldn’t fit on a license plate?” Each of the contestants is asked the same final question “what is the one most important thing our society needs?” They all reply “world peace” and the crowd cheers ecstatically. But when Sandra Bullock the undercover FBI agent is asked she replies, “That would be… harsher punishment for parole violators.” And then after a long pause, she adds, “And world peace!” and the crowd cheers ecstatically. What does this world need most?

“World Peace” will be a common, predictable message we will hear on the TV and radio, in charity adverts and from pulpits over the next couple of weeks. The question is – how to achieve it? I believe the UN Declaration of Human Rights to be the finest and most important document devised by mankind. But human words will not bring about peace on earth. I support the humanitarian work of the United Nations wholeheartedly, but the UN will never achieve world peace through passing resolutions and by intervening with peace keeping forces.

This week the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Church leaders in the UK called for military intervention to stop the killing in the Congo. I support that call, and similar initiatives in Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Palestine, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Somalia and Columbia, and a hundred other places in our world where people are hurting one another, but the UN cannot resolve the underlining causes. That is because hunger, ignorance, poverty and disease are the symptoms not the causes.

Only one person can bring world peace and one day he will. Jesus Christ. Among his people, among those who recognise him, who own him, who submit to him, he serve him, we can experience a foretaste of that peace he will most surely bring one day soon. Please turn with me to Isaiah 9:1-7 and let us meet him, let us learn from his names and learn of his purposes for us, for our families, for our world and for the future.