Does the Bible apply to me?

So we kicked off the new series in Philippians on Sunday.

Was amazing to think that Paul was so full of joy, even though he was imprisoned for his faith.

Abraham Lincoln said, "people are generally as happy as they make up their mind to be".
I think this has some truth.

Certainly our response to situations makes such a difference, even if we can't change the circumstances.

Anyway, the bit of my sermon I wanted to comment on was about exegesis and hermeneutics.
Did you get what I was trying to say?

I was basically making the point that the Bible is always addressing a particular situation.
So even though it's God's divine Word, and does speak directly into our lives today -
We have to work hard to "correctly handle" the word (as Paul says in 2 Tim 2:15).

I used the example of receiving a phone bill through your door.
And you open it and it says you owe £300. And you panic thinking "Oh no, that's terrible news"
But then you breathe a sigh of relief as you realise it's actually addressed to your neighbour and was delivered to you by accident!
It's still true, and tells you something about the sender, and the recipient.
But as you understand the context it is addressing, then it helps you know how to understand it properly.

This is the same with the Bible.
Take the 7 churches in Revelation, for example.
Each of the messages was read by each of the 7 churches.
However, the church at Ephesus wasn't meant to read what Jesus says to the church at Smyrna, as it if was speaking to their situation.
The message to them was different, even though all of it was God's word, and all of it is useful for "teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16).

So our task in "correctly handling" the word of truth is to first find out what the message meant to the original readers (technically called 'exegesis') - and then to seek to interpret it for us ('hermeneutics').

So over to you...

- Is it ok to open a page of the Bible at random to see what God wants to say to you that day?
- Have you had experiences when this has happened to you?
- Is it ok to read a passage completely out of context, but for God to speak through it anyway?
- What does Paul mean when he tells Timothy to be a 'work man... who can correctly handle the word of truth?'
- What problems in church life, or in church history, can be put down to different ways of reading scripture (e.g. debates about women in ministry, homosexuality, sunday trading etc)

Have a great week!


You can listen again to all sermons at...
www.coshambaptist.org/sermons

Mission-focused Church - 1 Thessalonians

Brilliant to welcome John Risbridger with us on Sunday. His message can be listened to oniline
Audio of John R - here are his slides with a few notes...

Are we as a church like a BMW, left on the forecourt of a petrol station, constantly being filled up , but never being taken for a drive?

For the church to be the church it has to be a mission-focused church

“I will bless you…and you will be a blessing…all people on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:2-3)

The foundations of a mission-focused church (1-6) •

• Authentic spiritual life (2-3)
• Authentic spiritual power (4-5a)
• Authentic spiritual leadership (5b-6)

The impact of a mission focused church (7-10)

• The impact of gospel words (8)
• The impact of transformed lives   (9-10)

“I will bless you…and you will be a blessing…all people on earth will be blessed through you”  (Gen 12:2-3)

PRAYER SPACE!

We're really excited by this year's prayer space - especially our challenge of doing it 24/7!

Here's some info on what prayer spaces are, for those that have never experienced it, and what we will be doing for this year.......

Every year at Easter we hold a prayer space – this is about meeting with God in prayer in new ways. The two main components are:

CREATIVITY – using our whole bodies, senses, artistic abilities

INCLUSIVITY – the space allows access for all abilities/disabilities/ages to engage with God

Basically, part of our church will be transformed into a place where people can experience God in prayer – it’s designed to be a multi-sensory experience, with lots of aids for prayer and reflection but it's also possible to find a quiet corner if you prefer just sitting in God's presence.

THIS YEAR -24/7 PRAYER

We will be joining with other churches in a City wide initiative to pray 24/7 during Holy week.

THEME

This year, the space will be themed for reflection and prayer in WORSHIP, HEALING, MISSION. We are looking to link these three areas with the ‘tree’ imagery contained in the Bible – so the worship room will encourage participants to think about getting their roots down into God’s soil. In the Healing section we will think about how trees are a place for shelter, and God’s love and power shelters us – we will also tie in the imagery that Jesus died on a tree for us. Finally, the Mission room will look to engage people in thinking how they can bear fruit and plant seeds for change where God has placed them.

WHEN?

Mon 25 March 9am to Easter Sunday 6am!

VOLUNTEER

We need lots of help staffing the space - people who will commit to praying in the space and people on duty at reception - please consider getting involved we need all the help we can get! See previous post on what it involves and contact Sam Twine to book in: samantha.twine88@gmail.com . She can also be contacted by phone (weekdays - outside of 8am-5pm): 07719 644 456

To see previous prayer spaces have a look at:

Drawings from Nicki during the Crossing Over Series Part 2

Drawings from Nicki during the Crossing Over Series Part 1

Blessing Jar

It is still not too late to begin a blessing jar! Get a jar - fill it with records of how you or your loved ones have been blessed... at end of year - open it and be oh so thankful!

Crossing the line

Last Sunday whilst speaking on Joshua 7, I thought more about what it means to transgress, or to 'cross the line'.

Within the service I thought about the idea that the line for many of us is like a cliff edge, that we really don't want to fall over. But thankfully as we travel down the road there is usually a barrier to stop us falling, and that barrier is usually a few feet from the drop.

With the comfort and knowledge of the barrier it is tempting to travel as close to the barrier as possible. But the problem with this practice is that just one stumble across the barrier and down we go... how much better would it be to seek to travel in the middle of the road... giving ourselves a barrier before the barrier. This means that if I wobble or stumble, I am still safely well away from actually falling or crossing the line or transgressing.

Let's take an example. Having an affair would be the transgression. Jesus suggests that desiring an affair is also over the line. So that is the cliff face. The barrier might be choosing to spend long periods of time on my own with members of the opposite sex. But the sensible place to travel might be further away from this barrier... perhaps, not spending any social time on my own with a member of the opposite sex...

But what about when we have to spend time with someone. For example, one friend, was travelling to a conference, 2 hours away, with a younger, attractive, female colleague. He was now cycling much closer to the barrier than he would have liked to. But, in his wisdom, he told a friend of this situation he would be in before it happened. In making himself accountable to someone else, his friend effectively made the barrier much higher whilst he was travelling close to it.

Jesus often went to the houses or attractive (and provocative women) but we never read that the disciples were surprised that he was there. They might have been shocked, but they knew where he was, he was always open with them, he made sure the barrier was high. When did the disciples not know where Jesus was? When did Jesus allow the barrier to go low? When he went off to pray and spend time with his Father!

But what about if we are not cycling, or under our own power and we are travelling with someone else? Another friend was telling me about this situation this week. He described how whilst watching an 'innocent' programme, the victims of the murderer were all attractive young women and the programme showed pictures of these women when alive. My friend felt he was being taken closer to the barrier, and this was not his choice. He did have a choice though. He could keep watching and allow the programme and his mind to wander wherever the programme makers wanted to take him, or he could get out of the car! This is what he did, he got up and turned off the TV. He made a choice to get back into the middle of the road. When Potiphar's wife tried to drive Joseph close to the barrier (and hopefully way past the barrier!), he got out of the car - he ran away... and didn't stop running until he was well and truly back in the safety of the middle of the road.

Do you have friends who you can be accountable to? Those who will build the barrier when necessary, those who will cycle down the hill with you, encouraging and supporting each other to walk in the middle of the road. I have been meeting with a few friends to chat and pray each Wednesday morning for a few years - but now it is time to step it up a mark... please be my fellow middle road travelers. Allow me to build up the barriers for you, as you do the same for me.

Please don't read this wrong! Middle road living is not boring, it is the place where the most risky and bold things can be attempted for God...For why do I want to cross the line? Or even get close to crossing the line?