Words for Worship

Ministry Today

Texts:

Romans 4.18-25

Genesis 15.1-8; 17-18

 

The BBC has much

that calls for

our admiration.

 

No least its ability

to produce programmes

to be shown

just after the evening news

that focuses on

the inconsequential,

the irrelevant

and the downright mind numbing.

 

This slot is currently occupied

by the lamentable one show.

 

But it has illustrious predecessors

such as Nationwide.

 

Now there was a show

that was interested

not in the heart of Britain

but the centre of Britain.

 

Indeed it regularly had

various characters

on the show

who tried by geometry,

hanging weights

or probably acupuncture

to work out

the exact central point

of these islands.

 

And it was somewhere

between Ambridge and Brigadoon

from what I remember.

 

Because in the end of the day,

knowing where

the centre of Britain is

is of little value to us –

but what is curial

is to know

what the fulcrum

of each of our lives is!

 

And as you are here

this morning,

I suspect

you have worked that out

for yourself.

 

For the absolute crux

of all our lives

must be Jesus Christ.  

 

Because surely

by coming to the lords table

each of us

is demonstrating

that God wants

only one thing of us.  

 

And it is we must daily

have faith in Jesus Christ,

we must hourly

believe in Jesus Christ

and we must constantly

trust in Jesus Christ.

 

 

Now I have to admit Paul’s letter

to the Roman church

is not an easy read.

 

This is probably not surprising

when we realise

this work

is the very pinnacle

of all Paul’s thinking

over a wide range

of issues important

to Christians.

 

And through it being central –

not just understanding

Paul’s mind

but on what

the early church was based –

this letter

has been the foundation

of many theologians’ manifestos

and it’s rightly called

the queen of the epistles.

 

Nevertheless, this document itself

has one imperishable centre.

 

Because, the key to the letter,

the core of the letter

and the powerhouse nucleus

of the letter

is that faith in Jesus Christ.

 

But to the newly converted people of Rome

who were devoid

of any understanding of Jesus

there was a problem.

 

For coming as they did

from a pagan

and multi-god environment,

they must have been asking

themselves –

what does it mean

to have faith in Christ?

 

So Paul had to go back

to first principles

and where better

to start

than with one

of the very first beneficiaries

of faith –

none other that Abraham himself.  

 

For God made three promises

to Abraham.

 

Firstly that no matter

where he went

and what he would do

in his life journey,

God would be with him.

 

And as we know,

Abraham believed God’s promise.

 

The second promise

that God made to Abraham

was that his descendents

would be numerous.

 

There would be millions of descendents,

like the sands of the sea

and the stars of the sky.

 

And Abraham believed God’s promise.

 

Finally, God promised him

a home

in a land rich in abundance.

 

And Abraham believed God’s promise.

 

Here then was a perfect illustration

of faith

and the fruits of faith.

 

And from it the Roman church

not only learned

what faith was

but they also learned

to have that faith themselves

and to put that faith

at the centre

of their lives and work.

 

Take that first promise

to be with them

and to bless them.

 

Now obviously the Roman church

was located

at the very hub of

the empires achievements.

 

 Take the coliseum for example –

it could seat 50,000,

it had a moveable roof

and it had a running water supply

to provide its artificial lake

for mock naval battles.

 

Yet that self same amphitheatre

saw daily killings

and other atrocities.

 

In other words, this power block

had material success

but no moral compass –

what you could grab

was near enough yours.

 

Moreover, there was

no real concept

of personal salvation

to the good life

here and now.

 

And the pagans

had a pretty grime idea

of life after death.

 

A bit like what many people

half-believe today.

 

 And so it was to people

living in this mix

of the grandiose and grubby

that Pauls message

of Christ Jesus spoke.

 

For amongst that vast city

a group of searchers after God

believed Jesus’ promise

that he would walk with them

and guide them

into the right course of action.  

 

They had faith that God

through the intercession of his son

would offer forgiveness

when they fell short.

 

Even more important,

that if they believed

that Christ could Houck them out

of the trap of death

then he would.

 

Nevertheless, the Roman church

was likely to have been

a small group.

 

And despite believing

in the good news of Christ

as saviour,

they must have felt

that their new sense

of personal morality

and salvation

would not attract others.

 

After all, power, possessions

and easy living

have always had

an almost over powering attraction.

 

But then they believed

God’s second promise

to Abraham –

that they would have countless descendents.  

 

And through that belief

they did flourish and prevail.

 

For, after all,

we are here some 2000 years later

as their living legacy of faith.  

 

But the Roman church

was also most probably

pretty impoverished

and lacking in influence.

 

So they must have despaired

not just at surviving

but altering

their monolithic culture’s of feet of clay.

 

Yet they also

believed God’s third promise

to Abraham.

 

As a result, they would be

the new conquerors of the earth.

 

Indeed, as a direct outcome

of their trust in God,

the hugely exploitative,

violent and amoral Roman Empire

evolved into the Christian Church.

 

The very body of Jesus

which continues to be

the cornerstone

of all decency, peace

and hope we enjoy

here and now.

 

Moreover, it continues to be

the foundation,

mortal and building bricks

of the future’s

better Promised Land.

 

Yet if we believe that God

did not just make his promises

to Abraham.

 

If we believe that Paul

was not just writing

to the peculiar circumstances

of the Romans.

 

Then we are left asking –

what promises does God make to us

today?

 

What does having faith

in Christ

mean at the moment?

 

And what does it mean

to put those promises

and that faith

at the centre of our being?

 

 

Well, God promises again

that he will be with us

in all circumstances.

 

 For just as God’s Divine Presence

was with Abraham,

so God’s Presence continues with us

in the Spirit of Christ.

 

Christ’s Spirit is therefore

ever with us, in us,

around us,

at our side

to give us strength for living a

nd power for dying.

 

Needless to say,

there is nothing

we have done to deserve

this gift of his Presence.

 

This gift is from pure grace.

 

This gift is pure

and unmerited forgiveness.

 

This gift is pure

and unearned eternal life.

 

God’s second promise

also speaks volumes to us

today.

 

For active Christians

are now only a small group

in the west

at least.

 

This can be dispiriting.

 

However, we are promised

that if we have faith

then others will come

and join us –

others will take

the torch

of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ

from us

and carry into the future.

 

 And there

it will be the path of all

who will continue to search

after personal morality,

spiritual fulfilment

and the gift of immortality.

 

Yet it is God’s third promise

to Abraham

that resonates  with us

as we go back

into the world.

 

For, just as

the Roman church found,

God guarantees

that our own actions

will not be impotent.

 

In fact, if we truly belief

in God’s promises

through Jesus Christ

then we to will turn

our megalithic culture round

and towards

the more abundant land.

 

For who can doubt that

with teenage pregnancy

on the rise

and abortions running

at 200,000 a year

that our society

is far from what

we would hope for.

 

With the elderly

having difficulty making ends meet,

we know that our society

is not what we would wish for.

 

And when those

who are contributing

to our country

cannot stay here

when those

who would wish us ill

must by law –

then society is certainly not

what it must be.

 

Now of course

we are group

without much influence.

 

But that should not daunt us.

 

For in the American political drama series

west wing,

the President of the United states

says to one of his brightest  aids –

never be afraid

of being part of a small group

 trying to change the world.

 

Then he asks –

you know why.

 

And the aid wisely replies

because Mr President –

they are the only ones

who ever have.

 

So as we approach

the lords table

let us resolve afresh

to take onboard

Paul’s central message

to the Roman Christians.

 

Let us work again

at keeping faith

in Jesus

as the centre of everything

we think and say and do.

 

Let us relish that faith

for its promises of blessing,

forgiveness and eternal life.

 

Let us rely on that faith

to promise us

that we are the seeds

for future believers

who will be grateful to us.

 

And let us trust in Christ

when he promises

that with his assistance,

we will change the world

and make it

an abundant

and wholesome homeland

for all its peoples.

 

For that is the land

that flows

not with the milk and honey

of human achievement

but from the bread and wine

of divine generosity.

 

 Amen.

 

Offering

 

HYMN………

 

 

 

Dear Romans