Past Preaching Programme

During this year’s focus on biblical literacy we are encouraging all of the members of Christ Church to read the Bible more. This includes trying to get to know better those parts of the Bible that we are weaker on. In order to model this our clergy – Stephen, Helen and Carolyn, plus our lay reader in training, Katy Loffman, have each selected a book of the Bible that they don’t know particularly well – Joshua, 1 Peter, Jude and Zechariah. In each of these talks they will share something of the approach that they have taken in trying to get their chosen book better and what they have then received through getting to grips with their gaps in the Bible. These talks will also be used at 8.00 am Communion during March.

It was Martin Luther, the hero of the sixteenth century reformation, who described the letter of James as ‘a right strawy epistle’. Luther’s concern was that with its emphasis upon the need for ‘deeds’, ‘James’ was in danger of undermining the gospel truth that we are saved by grace through faith alone. An extremely practical book, James is rather about the necessity of our faith in Jesus Christ bringing about genuine change in our lives. Be prepared for a strong degree of challenge as we consider the ways that James is saying that our lives need to change if our Christian faith is to be something meaningful.

One of the values of the Bible is its realism about life and relationships. This particularly includes relationships within the family and the strains and tensions these often involve. The first part of this series will look at a number of examples of family relationships from the Old Testament and what we can learn from them before we then think about what Jesus taught about the family and the role of the Christian family in God’s purposes for the world.

At six30 @ ccnm during February we will think about four key aspects of what Jesus came to bring us – forgiveness, love, peace and purpose. Reflecting upon their significance for us, we will also consider how we can then we part of passing these blessings onto others as well.

Sometimes our tendency to harmonise the four gospels can result in their very distinctive portrayals of Jesus being rather lost. In this series we will therefore look in turn at Mark, Matthew, Luke and John and the key things that they intend us to understand about Jesus.

One of our aims for 2011 will be for every adult member of Christ Church to read through Mark’s Gospel. Mark is the shortest and punchiest of the four Gospels and by focusing on its very first chapter, this series will aim to facilitate our own reading of its exciting story.

Many Christians possess rather a lot of guilt in regard to the Bible feeling that it should be playing a greater role in their lives. Very often, however, the diversity of material within the Bible and its tricky parts can also make us rather unsure of the best approach to take to reading much of it. The sermons in this series will seek to help here seeking to demonstrate practical ways in which we can get the most out of different types of material found within the Bible.

For 2011 the Christ Church Motto Verse will be 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which speaks of the usefulness and power of the Bible. During the 11.00 service during January we will seek unpack the various things that this passage and its surrounding context say about the Bible and reflect upon the practical ways in which we can use it more effectively to sustain us in our Christian lives.

In the 9.30 service during January we will aim to build up or knowledge of the contents of the Bible by looking at its overall story and then some of its major sections – the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Epistles. The purpose behind these sermons will be to provide members of the 9.30 congregation with an overall framework within which to locate the different parts of the Bible and a greater appreciation of the role that each of its different sections have in its overall story.

Near the end of Luke’s Gospel Jesus explains to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus ‘…what was said in the Scriptures concerning himself’. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus also declares that he came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil them. Rather than this referring to the fulfilment of a few isolated prophecies, what Jesus meant by these sayings was that, with his coming, the whole of the Old Testament story was reaching its climax. Many Christians rather struggle with how to interpret and respond to the Old Testament and in the run up to Christmas we will therefore look at how the entire Old Testament – the Law, the History Books, the Wisdom Books and the Prophets - was all fulfilled in his coming.

The Christ Church Motto Verse for 2010 (1 Peter 3:14-15) has focused us upon the need to resist fearing those things that others around us fear but, in our hearts ‘set apart Christ as Lord’. Many of the most destructive decisions that we take in life are somehow linked to our fears. This means that identifying these fears and then responding to them in the light of our faith in Jesus Christ is often one of the most important spiritual issues that we face.

Against this background it is helpful to note how many times fear is mentioned within the Christmas stories. Within these stories Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds are all told by angels not to be afraid. We also hear of Herod’s murderous response to the news of “one born king of the Jews” being driven by him and all Jerusalem being “disturbed”. As we approach Christmas in our morning services at Christ Church, we will therefore use these familiar stories to reflect upon how news of the coming of Jesus Christ relates to and addresses the deepest fears that we possess.

The Christ Church Motto Verse for 2010 (1 Peter 3:14-15) has focused us upon the need to resist fearing those things that others around us fear but, in our hearts ‘set apart Christ as Lord’. Many of the most destructive decisions that we take in life are somehow linked to our fears. This means that identifying these fears and then responding to them in the light of our faith in Jesus Christ is often one of the most important spiritual issues that we face.

Against this background it is helpful to note how many times fear is mentioned within the Christmas stories. Within these stories Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds are all told by angels not to be afraid. We also hear of Herod’s murderous response to the news of “one born king of the Jews” being driven by him and all Jerusalem being “disturbed”. As we approach Christmas in our morning services at Christ Church, we will therefore use these familiar stories to reflect upon how news of the coming of Jesus Christ relates to and addresses the deepest fears that we possess.

The tough questions at six30 @ ccnm in October will centre on how Christians can be seen by the world. Very frequently Christians are seen as boring and sad, ‘holier than thou’ hypocrites, weak and emotionally dependent and intolerant bigots. Asking tough questions about why these images have arisen, we then seek the answers to these questions.

The approach at 11.00 is usually to start with the Bible and see where it leads us. Sometimes, however, is good to do it the other way around, approaching the Bible with our questions. During October we will do this asking how Christians should respond to the following issues: assisted suicide, religions other than Christianity, women’s authority in the church and homosexuality.

At six30 @ ccnm during September we will reflect on some of the distinctive features of an authentic church. six30 @ ccnm has now been in existence for nearly three years with the time now right to reflect upon its vision so that it can grow and develop further. During this series, we will therefore seek to be both ‘visionary’ and practical looking for ways in which we and the service need to develop if six30 @ ccnm is going to reflect God’s will for it.

The New Testament uses several pictures or models of the church each of which shed light on a different aspect of its nature and importance. During September at 8.00, 9.30 and 11.00 we will look at four of those models and what they have to teach us about what the wider church and Christ Church, New Malden should be. The themes connected to each picture will be:

• The People of God:  The Church being united, particularly across the barriers that normally divide people

• The Body of Christ:  The Church using its different gifts and talents to bring Jesus to the world

• The Family of God:  The Church forming a radical, caring community

• A Holy Temple:  The Church being distinctive in the way it lives and a people in whom God is found

The New Testament uses several pictures or models of the church each of which shed light on a different aspect of its nature and importance. During September at 8.00, 9.30 and 11.00 we will look at four of those models and what they have to teach us about what the wider church and Christ Church, New Malden should be. The themes connected to each picture will be:

• The People of God:  The Church being united, particularly across the barriers that normally divide people

• The Body of Christ:  The Church using its different gifts and talents to bring Jesus to the world

• The Family of God:  The Church forming a radical, caring community

• A Holy Temple:  The Church being distinctive in the way it lives and a people in whom God is found

Having asked a number of questions about ‘The Kingdom of God’ in July, the 11.00 service during August will then focus upon a number of parables that Jesus told about its coming. Much of the focus of these parables was upon Jesus warning his hearers of the dangers of not being able to recognise the coming of the Kingdom of God in their midst and in this series we will consider where the challenge of this for us might lie.

Over the last few years, we have used the month of August to have different members of Christ Church talk about ‘Why I am a Christian’. These have turned out to be some of the most popular and helpful talks that we have had during the year, with plenty of downloads recorded on the Christ Church website. Different members of our congregation tell us some of the story of their lives and the key factors that have led them to become and continue as Christians.

Much of Jesus’ teaching focused on encouraging his hearers to recognise the coming of the Kingdom of God and ‘get on board’. During this series we will therefore look at a number of examples of the Kingdom coming. Seeking to unpack why and how this is the case, we will then consider where the challenge of the Kingdom for us might lie, both personally as a church.

This series will be asking a series of questions on the Kingdom of God. After considering what the ‘The Kingdom of God’ actually means we will then consider why Jesus used parables to speak about the Kingdom and then how the healings, exorcisms and meals of Jesus were connected to it. St Paul does mention the Kingdom of God but not nearly as often as Jesus and in the last sermon of this series we will consider why this might have been the case.

Most of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God was through telling stories called parables. The nature of these stories suggests that Jesus saw the pictures created by these parables as the most appropriate way of conveying the truths about the Kingdom of God. But he also taught this way because such parables required his hearers to engage with faith if they were to recognise the new world coming into the old that these stories spoke of. Looking four parables grouped together in Chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel, this series will encourage us to consider what these parables of the kingdom have to say to our lives both as individuals and as a church.

Following up from the previous series, this one will take four characters from the Old Testament – Moses, Nehemiah, Gideon and Esther and consider what we learn from their stories about God and how we are called to respond to him.

Asking searching questions is often the key to us really growing in our understanding of why our Christian faith contains the things that it does. In this series we will therefore reflect upon ‘why on earth’ we need the Old Testament, the Sacraments, to use our Gifts and Talents, the Holy Spirit and to understand God as Trinity. The title of the series is deliberate since in many ways it will be an extended exposition of ‘Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’.

The world is full of many great things for us to enjoy such as parties, friendships, music, sport, food and drink and sex. The church, however, can often appear to possess only a neutral or negative message in relation to these things, which is one of the reasons so many teenagers and young people struggle with Christianity’s relevance. The answer is a much stronger theology of creation which recognises the original goodness of all that God has made. Thinking through God’s intention in creating the good things of the world can hopefully lead to us handling these things as well as possible and then receiving more of his blessings through them.

Awareness of the existence of evil within the world has sometimes made Christians less clear than we should be about the essential goodness of God’s creation. One of the reasons why the New Testament emphasises Jesus’ role in creation (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), however, is because a strong theology of creation is needed if we are to really understand and apply the salvation which Jesus came to bring us. During this series we will therefore look at the creation stories in Genesis 1 and think through God’s intentions in giving us such a wonderful world.

Having delved back on our past at the six30 service during March, we will use April and the season of Easter to look towards our future. Reflecting on the new life that we can receive through Jesus Christ, we will examine a number of areas within our lives and consider how God might be calling us to be renewed there.

Many of us will already realise that the significance of Easter goes beyond the chance to eat chocolate eggs (possibly after forty days of avoiding such things!). However we can still be tempted to see the significance of Easter purely in terms of securing our personal destiny which can then lead to a rather individualised understanding of both ‘the Gospel’ and our Christian life. Seeking to avoid this danger (and conscious of the looming General Election), we will therefore reflect at both the 9.30 and 11.00 services upon the significance of Easter for both our personal destiny and that of the world. Integral to this will be consideration of the radical implications of this for both our private and public lives, as individuals and also as God’s people.

Many of us will already realise that the significance of Easter goes beyond the chance to eat chocolate eggs (possibly after forty days of avoiding such things!). However we can still be tempted to see the significance of Easter purely in terms of securing our personal destiny which can then lead to a rather individualised understanding of both ‘the Gospel’ and our Christian life. Seeking to avoid this danger (and conscious of the looming General Election), we will therefore reflect at both the 9.30 and 11.00 services upon the significance of Easter for both our personal destiny and that of the world. Integral to this will be consideration of the radical implications of this for both our private and public lives, as individuals and also as God’s people.

All of us have ‘baggage’ from our past that affects the way in which we live in the present and particularly the problems that we have. Very often these issues are so well hidden that even good friends at church are largely unaware of their existence. The danger then becomes that these problems are then masked by our ‘worship’ rather than dealt with. This series will therefore aim to help members of the six30 service revisit some of these experiences with the aim of allowing the love of Jesus minister to their consequences and open the way to receiving his new life within them.