JOHN 6   v22/70

Few passages of Scripture have confused people as the gospel reading. A sense has been put upon it which was never meant to be. The verses do not mean in a literal way, but mean more in a spiritual meaning.

Jesus had fed the five thousand by the Sea of Galilee, and to avoid facing the crowd that had gathered moved to Capernaum, where the crowd traced him. He knew they were following him for food he could give, no other cause.
He told them. ‘I am the bread of life, and whoever eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day.’ The very idea of eating flesh and drinking blood would be revolting.

The bread Jesus is giving, relates to his death on the Cross, and those who believe in him are made righteous before God. Jesus meant life to be more than mere existence, he was speaking of a new life in a relationship with God, which is only possible by accepting Jesus into your life as Savior; without him no one can enter into a relationship with God. He is the bread, in the sense that he nourishes us spiritually, and satisfies the longing of our souls. Those who accept him into their lives will not therefore hunger, because their spiritual longing to know God will be known.

This chapter gives us a vision of Jesus, whereby we can relate to him not just as someone we read about, but rather as someone we can turn to, and both he and God become a friend, as the hymn states, ‘what a friend we have in Jesus’. This invitation is extended to all people, but there is a stubborn resistance which refuses the offer, so that what the heart is really searching for is lost. This is where the Jews lost out, they could not believe that someone who came from an ordinary home could possibly be a messenger from God.

When Jesus said he was the bread of life, he was saying he was essential for life, so to refuse to accept his offer means to lose eternal life in heaven. He was the mind and voice of God, who lived a human life among us and offers help to all who seek him. He spoke the words, ‘come to me all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest’.

Jesus said he was the living bread, in that all who believe in him shall have their spiritual longing filled. He went on to say, unless we ate the flesh and drank the blood, there would be no life within them. To eat the flesh means to believe in him, and to drink his blood means to accept his death on the Cross where he shed his blood.

We are reminded when we take Holy Communion of the sacrifice made which the body and blood is representing. The Roman Catholic Church did at one time, I do not know if it still applies, believe when the bell was tolled, the bread broken and wine blessed became the body and blood of Christ. And in the High Church Anglo-Catholic wing, parts maintained that belief.

In Jewish thought, blood stood for life, and when a body bleeds life flows out of it, and to a Jew blood belongs to God, which is why Jews will not eat meat unless it is has been completely drained of blood. Jesus wants us to take his life into the very centre of our hearts and life.

Some people were thinking God did not choose them, and Jesus would turn them away, but he promises anyone who turns to him will never be turned away. Jesus said no one can come to him unless God sent him/her, which implies that no one has the moral and spiritual ability to come to Christ unless God the Father draws them, that is gives the desire and inclination to do so. All of us who have turned to Jesus and accepted him into our hearts and lives, were inspired to do so when God touched our hearts and gave us the choice of accepting or rejecting Jesus. All who truly believe in Jesus will be saved and have eternal life, and on the day of judgement will be raised up to the fulness of eternal life.

You may have a precious book, which you never got down to reading it, just having left it in a bookcase. Eventually you do read it, it thrills, entertains and inspires you, and you are left wondering why you turned away from it from the start.
But people are still finding Christianity is a problem and staying away from Church, and what increases their resistance, is the demand he makes on our lives; we are bound to accept him as the ultimate authority and accept moral standards of purity.

I had a lady in my Church who came infrequently, and I met her in the town one day and asked why I had not seen her at Church, she said, whenever I come to your Church I always feel you are getting at me. I told her that it was probably someone much higher than me speaking to her, as I prepare my sermons well before I preach them and never can rely on her presence.  How true is the saying, if you never upset anyone, you are not preaching well.

The reason the Church is falling apart is that fewer and fewer within are accepting those demands. God is not going to bless a Church which is acting and preaching contrary to that which he has laid down. We are making accommodation in our teaching and liturgy, for what is unequivocally rejected by God in his Word, (the Bible).

Paul told Timothy, preach the Word; by that to tell what the Bible states, without any amendments or personal opinions. Unfortunately, there are preachers who feel the Bible needs to be made more relevant to modern culture, but their feelings are not a consideration, it is to be stated as written.
We need to seriously consider, what it means to be a follower of Jesus; it means you accept Christ as Savior, and follow all Christ teaches and demands. I was once asked to explain what a man in Songs of Praise meant when he said, he had attended church for years but had just become a Christian. A Christian is someone more than just an attendee at Church; it is a man or woman who has offered their life to follow Jesus.

We see in this passage back-sliding. When Jesus explained what he meant by eating and drinking, from that time many went back and walked with him no more.

Do not accept Jesus as just a character in a book, but someone to whom we can turn to as the final authority in life. The invitation is given to all people, but there remains a stubborn something which refuses the offer. The human heart defies God, but when we accept him the heart finds what it has been searching for.

As we come to the last verses in this chapter, we read that ‘many of his followers said this is very hard for us to understand, how can anyone accept it. Such followers were not true and genuine believers, but were following him for what he could do for them, such as healing and multiplying food.

Jesus knew there were some who were unsettled, and knew they would never accept the doctrines he expounded. Paul warned some people in the Church would not either, and would turn to those who were ready to say the things wanted to be heard, and how that is manifest in to-day’s Church.
There is much to be learned from this passage. People place too much emphasis on ceremonial procedure, but Christianity makes the state of the heart the principal matter. Flesh and blood means the atonement of Jesus, and eating and drinking means faith. Faith in the atonement of Jesus is of absolute necessity to salvation, and we are united with our Savior.

We see the hardness of people’s heart. Even when the preacher was Jesus, who Peter describes, as ‘the Holy One of God’,( that is the One set apart for service to God) yet was not accepted by so many. When Jesus spoke kindly and clearly, not all listened.

The true grace of God is an everlasting possession, and true followers do not fall away. But there is also fake and unreal religion in the Church, which is why some people do leave. Like the ground spoken of in the parable of the Sower, the stone is hard and nothing can take root there. Many words and resolutions are made, but they have not had the grace of God.

If Jesus experienced so much, well might we do so, but do not be discouraged; do not let your faith be threatened, there have always been failures in the Church who fail and want to take others with them.

Casual Christianity is not enough to save our souls. Grace is needed to make a true believer, which will enable us to serve God in the most difficult times. Never rest until you have that grace properly established in the soul. The words of our Lord come to us when he states, ‘ask and it shall be given you’.
All Christians should by faithful and loyal to Jesus, and demonstrate this by not being hypocritical in their way of living, rather accepting and practising his commands.
Millions have been baptized, and such has been the mendacious meaningless procedure, that we have never seen them attending further. We live in an age of free thought and behavior, in which the sole aim is pursuit of self-pleasure. Those who deceive themselves they are heaven bound, because they consider they are so righteous on spurious grounds, will one day see their judgement overruled by divine judgement. Jesus said human effort accomplishes nothing,

When Jesus saw people walking away, he asked his Apostles were they going to leave him, and Peter who loved the Lord asked, ‘to whom shall we go?’ Peter knew Jesus was the only way to God.

Praise God for His Holy Gospel

 When the foundations are being destroyed, what shall the righteous do? (Psalm 11)

The reason I have chosen to speak on this verse is lest we forget or overlook the way our faith is being marginalised, restricted, and attempts being made to drive it out of public life. To remind you that traditional teaching and principles of Christianity are being stealthily abandoned that will threaten our way of life.
When this Psalm 11 was written, David was passing through a bad time, when all he believed in seemed to be falling apart. David faced total disorder all around and saw only corruption and disorder. Something similar one might say to what is happening here now.

We are facing exactly the same situation that David was facing. We are witnessing an all-out assault to remove the foundations on which this country was founded.

Christianity has been the faith of this country for over 1500 years and its influence has kept the country as a stable nation, offering moral and social guidelines. We now face a systematic attack on this faith by ideologues in political circles to remove Christianity from public life; people who betray and dislike the culture which nurtured them and are placing restriction on Christian expression. Those foundations are being destroyed, for in this age of religious tolerance and pluralism we are told that no one religion should be considered to be of more influence. In effect, other faiths are shown more consideration.

A foundation of this country was a morality based upon the word of God, but since we have rejected the word of God, one person’s concept of what is right and wrong depends on what they wish to be. When such a situation exists, there is no consensus for determining what is right or wrong other than what is decided upon by a majority, or by those who wield the most political power.

The bedrock foundation of any society is a strong family, but our families are being destroyed because the Biblical concepts of children being raised by one biological father and mother, are no longer followed. On the whim of a Prime Minister obsessed with personal popularity, the traditional and biblical definition of marriage has been destroyed, and been replaced by a definition which is totally offensive to the biblical concept of a family.

Those who believe they cannot in religious conscience accept this legal change have even been denied the right to do so.

Religious assemblies (in State Schools) have been largely abolished; in some education establishments the Bible is seen as hate literature.

no longer is the Cross respected and permitted to be freely worn in public places as a symbol of faith, yet other faiths can wear and display what they will.

A street preacher was answering (in private) a question a lady asked him; he was heard by a man listening in who reported him to the police, the preacher was arrested.

When such foundations are destroyed, it becomes hard for many people, and they fall apart. They feel the world has come to an end. They fall into deep despair and depression. What then do the followers of Jesus Christ do?

This is a very important question, because Christians are the only people who have the answer. In our politically correct society, it appears the power of evil is so great that people are afraid, even in danger, if they voice criticism; the righteous are not expected to speak, and if they do they are accused of some kind of phobia or bigotry.

Just because the world is crumbling and the social order is deteriorating, that does not absolve us of our responsibility to do all that we can to right the wrongs, to stand for the standards men and women fought and died for, and rebuild the foundations.

 Nevertheless, we must continue to teach and spread the word of God in a world that is hostile to it. We must live in such a way as to show others how right it is to live according to God’s word. Even if the judicial system becomes corrupt, and we have seen that Christians have little chance when it comes to claiming the right to express our beliefs, we have a responsibility to try to live according to the law of God. The world may follow the devil, but we still have the responsibility to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.

The Church is the only answer to this secular assault. The Lord stated he would build the Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. At times it seems as though some within the Church are saying and we will pull it down. The Lord still controls and works through it.

The Church is a wonderful organisation which has many members around the world, without distinction between rich/poor, young/old, race, colour or sex. Never minimize the power of the Church, it may be in decline in Britain and the West, but in Africa, South America and the East, it is immensely strong because they have not been dismantling the Bible. We can draw inspiration from them.

The Church however needs to get its act in order; to wake up and speak up and to do so with one voice. The faith and belief of the Church are built on two essential doctrines; salvation by grace through faith, and the full authority of Scripture. They may not be important to some, but they are fundamental to real Christians.
We are saved by the grace of God when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all for us on the Cross, we owe everything to Him. He is the only means of salvation; no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

The religious fashion now is multi-faith. Whilst all peoples must have the right to follow their own religion, we cannot join in worship with those who deny the uniqueness of Christ, and His being the Son of God.

God chose 40 men to write His Word ,all except one being Jews of different occupations and with different personalities which God used and inspired to communicate His thoughts and commands. It is a divinely inspired Word and members of the Church should stop taking it apart to fit in with modern ideas and morality.

Such were the themes to Charles and John Wesley. Listen to the words of John Wesley. ‘I want to know one thing, the way to heaven, how to land on that happy shore. God has condescended to teach the way, He was written it down I a book. Give me that book at any price give me that book’. I fear both Wesley’s would find a lot of preaching these days not to their liking.

Many Churches do not have Bible available for people to follow the readings, or sermon. In one Church I visited to take the service there wasn’t even a Bible to read the Lessons. All Christians need to read regularly so as to be able to discern false teaching.

You will never hear a Muslim saying the Koran must be re-interpreted to please society, or that it is in any part in error. When people turn away from what is written they lose their spiritual moorings and just drift ashore into the secular wilderness.

All Christians should be concerned at the way events are going. If Christianity is pushed out, the spiritual vacuum is likely to be filled with something far worse. The Bible states that Jesus is the only way to God, the only means of salvation because of His death on the Cross. We should not be fearful of saying this, otherwise people will not fully appreciate what we are here for, and to make this proclamation is the only reason for our existence; we must stand and say boldly, and not be afraid to do so even if it upsets some false teachers. Sadly, there are too many within the Church more anxious to promote their own ambitions and desires than to promote the gospel.

The Lord calls on each one of us to be steadfast in the faith, to remain true to His teaching and promises to Him; this applies to every Christian. Nowhere in the Bible do we find a particular standard for some Christians and a different one for others. Some may find the negative influences around us make it hard to live consistently for the Lord, but we are called to be steadfast and contend for the faith. Christianity is not just a philosophy you hear on Sundays, it has to be lived out daily. I fear some members have not just given up; they have given in and are following society’s ways rather than God’s. Society has developed a standard of morality which we cannot share.

Charles Wesley once stated that the manner of living as well as attending Church was important. I held a service in honour of this great man and the research I made caused me to realise how far the Church (in general) has moved from the ideals of Methodism, which once had such a profound effect on the spiritual health of the nation.

If there was ever a day when Cristians need to know what they believe it is now. Unless we are sure as to what we believe and why we must live that way, we will not be able to defeat the spreads of secularism and the cultural trends which challenge our faith and the foundations on which this nation was built.

The great Methodist preacher of the last century, W E Sangster once said, ‘ preaching is in the darkness, the world doesn’t believe in it’ and this is more true now than when it was first said. The Church itself does not value preaching, it is not seen as important although it can be a source of learning. How can we get the gospel out if it is not taught?

When a new bishop was introduced recently, he stated his priority would be to tackle poverty, which is an amazing statement but so typical of to-day’s Church thinking, where bishops are acting like unelected politicians. Priority of all clergy should be Church growth.

Christians have often found themselves in those places where there is much hostility but they have not given up. They continue to struggle, to fight, to overcome in the name of Christ, and are still doing so bravely against immense provocation in non- Christian lands where they find their Churches burned down, their homes attacked and themselves persecuted, beaten and even murdered.

I have witnessed the commitment of Christians in places of Africa, and it has to be recognized, they do not individually have Bibles and depend on the Pastor to have one. They do not have the technologies to the extent of the Western Churches. but in many places the men and women are devoted to the teaching they receive. 

As I have stated earlier, men and women from the United Kingdom and the United States of America im particular, people with talented lives capable of earning high salaries, went out across the world to proclaim the Gospel in the most neglected lands living basically telling others about Jesus Christ. Other  people in the Western countries gave up occupations to preach in Churches.  Such commitments should be now supported not by fanciful ideas or unscary theological discussions, but by solid Bible based stories in simple language.

God will respond as He did in Acts 2, causing the Church to grow with His blessing.

 

Give thanks to God for His Glorious Gospel

 

 J O H N  4 v 1 - 45

Jesus was travelling to Galilee and was taking the shortest route, which meant passing through Samaria. This way was usually not taken by Jews, as Jews and Samaritans were not fond of each other, meaning the Jews faced defilement if attacked.

Jesus and His Apostles stopped in the village of Sychar to rest as He was tired, which revealed the human side of Him. Some people in John's day were denying that Jesus was truly human. He only "seemed" to be human, they said. Others were denying that Jesus was "divine". John makes it clear that Jesus was truly man and divine- God come in the flesh. He grew tired; he wept; and he was thirsty, as we are.

The Apostles left Jesus to go and find food, so He sat near a well which Jacob had given to His son, known as Jacob’s well. Women would go in the morning and evening to draw water, but one immoral woman went at noon when it was really hot. She did so to avoid meeting other women. Jesus took the initiative and spoke to her, and asked her to get Him a drink of water. He ignored culture and tradition.

The woman was astonished at her, a Samaritan woman, at being asked by a Jew. Jesus told her if she knew who He was, He would have given her living water. The woman was puzzled as Jesus had no means of drawing or being given water. She would have had in mind living water as being spring fresh water, whereas Jesus was meaning the gift of the Holy Spirit, which would give eternal life.
The conversation went on to talk of her husband, and her stating that she had no husband. She was startled when Jesus pointed out the man she was living was not her husband, and she had had five husbands before. She was obviously worried about the sinful state Jesus reminded her of.

Jesus was indicating that people living together, was not marriage. A marriage requires some form of official sanction and public ceremony, in which man and woman commit to the obligation of marriage  .Sexual relationships outside marriage were then considered wrong.

The mountain where they were was Mount Gerizim, a sacred place where Samaritans had built a Temple, but Jesus was saying neither there nor Jerusalem, which Samaritans despised, be necessary for worship as people could worship wherever they were.

But Jesus also stated the fact that the Jewish nation had a special place in God’s plan and salvation, which was from Jews, for all of the Old Testament was from Jewish people, and Jesus Himself came from Jews.

The woman decided Jesus was a prophet, but referred to her people worshipping on the mountain, and not as Jews in Jerusalem. Jesus told her salvation came from the Jews, and in future worship will be true to God from wherever one is, and will be in spirit and truth.

God has a wonderful kind of existence that is not confined to one place, and having created the world, has dominion over all.
This story offers a lesson in evangelicalism as good as anywhere else in the Bible; the teacher is the Lord Himself. He and His Apostles had reached a part of their journey across the country at the hottest part of the day, and He was tired. Left alone whilst the Apostles sought food, He approached the Samaritan woman, a double act in offending tradition and culture, and seeks a favour.
This is often a wise approach, for a lot of people feel someone needs them, and are ready to make friends. This gives Jesus the opportunity of speaking further, in which He reveals who He is. The principal purpose of Jesus is to preach the gospel, that above all else, for that is what God sent Him to do.

He the Savior of the world, yet is prepared to speak with a woman of immoral character, who is also from a people at great enmity with Jews, something a Rabbi would never even consider thinking of doing. But, the woman went out, and told people who she had met, and how well He had spoken to her, and many of the people turned to follow Jesus. You may never know how much good comes from telling an ordinary man, or more so a woman, about your faith and/or Church.

I met a lady, an ordinary wife and mother, and invited her to attend Church, which she did. She had I found, a captivating personality, and soon other mothers came with children. Unfortunately her husband, who worked away from home on a North Sea oil rig, found out she was attending Church, and gave an ultimatum, Church or him, so because of fear of losing her children we lost her. This was not in my experience an unusual case.

Many men consider religion is a woman’s subject and selfishly object to their wives and children to attend. Just notice in your Church, women occupy more seats, revealing a more intelligent mind.

 I cannot understand why it happens, as Muslim men are more intent on attending their places of worship than the women. It has to accepted, the |Muslim faith has a more moral base strongly practised than, we  do. You never hear Muslim clergy challenging their Holy Book, nor let it be abused.

The Church of today is more interested in getting non-believing parents to have their children baptised and confirmed.  As I do not believe in very young children being baptized based on the belief of parents, who never attend Church nor keep the promise to bring the child up in he Church. There has to be a confession of faith

And repentance of sin for a Bible baptism

Jesus did not prioritise, he made it clear He was here to preach the gospel, and when the Church does the same, we may see the Church growing rather than falling apart as it is doing. Baptizm does not need to be neglected, but in the mind of Jesus, preaching  and was more important and necessary.

 Contrary to what Church leaders may think, the majority of people in the country do have moral beliefs, and it is offensive to them to hear leaders of the Church calling for traditional marriage to be abandoned, and they are not able to understand any purpose in coming; even clergy who still believe in Scripture are leaving, and brilliant men are amongst them. Women Ministers appear to be either more liberal .

We lose valuable opportunities in holding Summer and Christmas Fairs, in which we have a collection of stalls offering goods, but we don’t post, or vocally encourage details of the Church services, We have Church magazines with details of what has been happening, which pleases members, but I cannot understand how or why we don’t include a bible teaching page, and urge people to attend. In other words, have an external outlook as well.

Politicians make sure we know how wonderful their Party is, and all it will do (mostly overstated)This must be successful or they wouldn’t bother.  Let it be taken from this reading the lesson Jesus showed us, of speaking for our Church and faith; may the leaders be moral like Jesus; and members make known the services are for all, who will be welcome.

 

Give thanks to God for His Holy Gospel.   Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Matthew 16. V18

I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross. 

’,When Jesus used the word ‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in worship.  The Church has a special place in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within that plan.

The Church which Jesus promised to build, is the company of all faithful people.  This first Church set a form of worship that fully embraced the Christian faith,  The people met regularly, praised God in words of hymns ,and  prayers.

It does not belong to any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in faith.  It is a Church with one body, one heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ

Over the years. Men formed groups of Christians and formed several denominations, disputing over Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians.  It does matter where we have worshipped, if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.   It is however, still true, that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not administer Communion to non-Catholic people. the Apostle Peter preached the first sermon to Jews and Gentiles, after which 3,000 people asked Peter what they should do.  He told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy spirit.  They did so and devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, which is the foundation of the New Testament.

Acts 2, we find the early Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon that teaching.  God blessed that Church and added to their number.

When Jesus stated the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not destroy the people of Christ.  In the two thousand years since His birth, time and days have been calculated on that day; nations have fought against each other, Monarchs and Emperors have come and gone, but Jesus is the same Savior who lived only to die on a Cross, in order to forgive the sins of all who accept that His death was for their forgiveness, Those who accept that Jesus died and was raised from death, will receive salvation. Those who do not make this confession, will, despite false teaching, will not live in heaven.  

The mystical body of Christ shall never perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will be cast away. Having delegated first to Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.

From the first days the Church has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church,  and we can rely on the fact that he does not retreat om his word.

 It is generally considered, that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel, but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian who values and loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending   I accept that numbers are not the be all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship offered is as worthy as it ought to be.  In many cases I do not think it is.

When we pass through Easter and Christmas, in those times especially at Christmas, services of carols, a large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than normally.  But the same thing happens at Easter and  Remembrance day,  also reveal that a large number of people are still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious alternative.

If, when you decide to go out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food well prepared, so will enter.  If you find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.

Cast your mind back to 1954 when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena.  Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks. Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1st March to 29 May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken to cities beyond London.

People who would never have thought of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did not stay.  They faced Morning Matins, with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had attended.   However, the most important part is that between the coming and leaving.  Services, should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type.  I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish Communion is not my idea of the right place. 

I don’t think it is generally recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves the heart.  In every Crusade, from Sankey and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades, the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement the inspirational preaching.

If the music is tuneful and well played people like to sing.

The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.

The sermon has been relegated in importance, where once it was a central feature.  Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to tell the good news about Jesus Christ.  How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the Church fails to tell?  This is our business first and foremost.  The pulpit is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to respond cannot justify its reason for being there

.  Ministers are to be messengers from God, bringing God message to congregations. Sermons often lack teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless.  One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.  This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear him. 

In the Church of England we have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks, and we are still losing members..   At one time every village and neighbourhood, had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations were strong enough to maintain them.  This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system going.  To do so we have Vicars fleeing from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any good, or a local preacher  who however well- intentioned, often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own hobby horse, not the Bible.

It would be far more sensible and realistic to prune the number of Churches.  We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship.  People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers, the Church could be in a like position.            The Bible states attending Church is not optional.  Some people may not be able to attend  for reasons of health or age, but every Sunday services are published on television, especially those from Churches in the United States of America who transmit to the United Kingdom, but also, elsewhere.

 The Bible assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church, where they live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity, cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers, He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered  Jesus is amongst us just as  when He was present with His Apostles. 

A problem has arisen of late; the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture, and approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.

I cannot tell you what the Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you live.  Any true Bible based Christian, must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin Luther, the great protestant revivalist, .’ If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen’.

The Bible uses several terms to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender.  This family extends right across the world, so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers. 

Of course, the Church does not exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological and procedural problems quickly and quietly.  For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood for.  Then the Conservative party followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public.  So indicating clearly, that people have no respect for anybody, which cannot state positively what it believes in and stands for. 

It has to be faced there are men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church. How much better it would be

if we followed the example of  the Anglican Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain, based on the same foundations as of our American friends.

In the meantime, each Church should strive to be true to its calling with vows honored, and work independently of the national scene.  I firmly believe that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.       May more individual Churches turn back to firm Bible teaching, and put forward nothing which is contrary to the teaching and commands of our Lord.

Martin Luther stated, ‘the truest  treasure of the church is the most holy Gospel of the glory and grace of God.                                           

 

Give thanks to God for His glorious Gospel            ‘