Peter’s Stresses

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Bulletin: April 15, 2012
The Second Sunday of Easter

Scriptures: Acts 3:1-21, Psalm 133, Luke 24:36b-46

Songs:

Rev. Mark McKim

The Great Fifty Days

Many people think that Easter is just one day. But how could only one day be sufficient to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead! It couldn’t! So for the church, Easter is an entire season of fifty days, called “The Great Fifty Days” which runs from Easter until Pentecost. During this time readings from the Old Testament are set aside and instead we hear readings from the Book of Acts, which is the story of the early church, as the first Christians worked out what it meant to live as followers of the risen Jesus. During this time we continue to sing lots of our favourite Easter hymns, celebrating the resurrection.

In Acts we see the first Christians working out what it meant to live as followers of the risen Jesus.

This week’s reading from the Book of Acts tells the story of a remarkable healing. Peter and John are going to the temple to pray. As they pass through one of the gates they encounter a lame man. In those days there were no such things as social assistance of disability pensions, so he was a beggar, hoping for some spare change. Instead, Peter says to him: “Silver and gold I have none, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” And the man walks. Needless to say this causes quite a commotion and a crowd gathers around Peter and John. Peter doesn’t miss the opportunity. He begins to explain who this Jesus is. And the points which Peter stresses that day are a pretty good summary of what Christianity is all about.

The Taken Away Jesus

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Audio of Yuting’s baptism , text of her presentation

Bulletin: April 8, 2012
Palm Sunday

Scriptures: Isaiah 25:6-9, Psalm 118:1-2, 15-17, 21-24, John 20:1-28

Songs:

Rev. Mark McKim

On the notice board outside a city church was this announcement: “They have taken away my Lord”. The words of the grief stricken Mary Magdalene, so upset she mistook Jesus himself for the cemetery grounds keeper. Undoubtedly the words were intended as the sermon title. But the words express very well the situation for most people in Canadian society.

For many people, Jesus has disappeared pretty much entirely from their lives, and they have no idea where to find him.

Christianity claims that Jesus was much more than a figure from a dry, dusty book of history. It claims that Jesus is the central figure of all human history, that he was none other than God, personally entering into the messiness of human life and actually becoming one of us, a fellow human being. We are convinced that God didn’t stand outside the problems, difficulties, confusion and suffering of human life. In Jesus, God actually became a human being, experiencing the same things we do – even death. But – and it’s a big but – he didn’t stay dead. Instead, we believe that 72 hours after his execution, he returned to life – resurrection!

If this is true, it is the most important thing in all history, it changes everything, and it demands the attention of every single one of us. If false, then Christianity is nothing but an enormous zero, a nothing. There is no nice “middle ground” which allows one to speak vaguely of the moral teachings of Jesus or to regard him as some kind of teacher of ethics or philosophy. There is a choice to be made – and an important one.

Easter Sunday is the day when hundreds of millions of people around the world celebrate the ressurection of Jesus. They are convinced that he did, in fact, rise from death. Perhaps there is something to this after all? And perhaps then, you should have a serious look at the evidence? Because if Jesus really did rise from death, it changes absolutely everything. Which is precisely what we have discovered here at First Baptist Church. Come, think, explore, experience, ask questions and journey with us.

A King, But Not by Bribery

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Bulletin: April 1, 2012
Palm Sunday

Scriptures: Zechariah 9:9, Psalm 118:25-29, Luke 19:26-44

Songs:

Rev. Mark McKim

Already in a state of hypertension, both religiously and politically, Jerusalem was ready to explode. It was Passover, about the year 30. Tens of thousands of pilgrims were pouring into the city, already jam packed, to celebrate the great festival. Nationalists were hoping for a revolution. The collaborators, including many of the religious officials, were playing their game with Rome, trying their best to protect the status quo – and their own interests. And the occupying Roman authorities were keeping a close eye on the whole situation.

And then it happened – a huge crowd, a disturbance.

The mysterious teacher from Galilee riding into the city on a donkey, deliberately fulfilling an ancient prediction that a Great King would come into the city in just this way. The crowd went wild, greeting him, shouting, cutting palm branches from the trees and placing them in the road in front of him as he rode. This triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is what we now call Palm Sunday.

There must have been a lot of disappointed people that day though. Instead of seizing the moment to lead a revolution and drive out the hated Romans, Jesus refused the attempt of the crowds to make him their king then and there. Why? It was a golden opportunity! That’s the question for this Sunday – and the answer tells us something of enormous importance about Jesus, and just what sort of King he intended to be.

Web Quiz:

Have fun doing Mark’s quiz on the Christ’s entry to Jerusalem as King.

Scoring:

  • 9-10 Excellent!
  • 7-8 Good
  • 5-6 Fair
  • 3-4 Poor
  • 0-2 Maybe we ought to bring back that Latvian custom (just kidding!).

The Heart of Christ

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Bulletin: March 25, 2012
The Fifth Sunday of Lent

Scriptures: Jeremiah 3:12-18, Psalm 51, Hebrews 8:8-12, John 14.1-4

Songs:

Rev. Mark McKim

How do we get to the heart of the Lenten season? Maybe by contemplating the heart of the message of Jesus? And what was that?

One way Jesus put it was this: In order to be fully human, I need to love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind. Devotion to God was the essence of what Jesus taught, loving, trusting obedience to God in all of life. Another word for that is faith.

The problem is, we don’t do that. We don’t love God that way, with our whole hearts. Instead our hearts are focused on other things. We are trapped.

That is what the heart of Lent – and Easter – is all about. Jesus provided the solution. By his life, death and resurrection, Jesus made it possible for us to be changed, and to begin to love God with our whole hearts. “Let not,” he said “your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me.”

The Word “Heart” in the Bible

The word “heart” is used in a number of different ways in the Bible. Whenever you see the word “heart” it is important to determine how it is being used – that’s usually clear from the context of the surrounding verses. Here are some of the major usages:

  1. The Seat of Emotions. All the different emotions a person could experience were attributed to the heart. A heart could be glad (Proverbs 27:11, Acts 14:17), sad (Nehemiah 2:2), courageous (2 Samuel 17:10), fearful (Isaiah 34:5), envious (Proverbs 23:17) or moved by hated (Leviticus 19:17) or love (Deuteronomy 13:3). A heart, even the heart of Jesus could also be “troubled” (John 12:27).
  2. The Seat of the Intellect. In our society we usually speak of the brain as the source of our intellect. But often biblical authors preferred to use the symbol of “the heart.” So, for example, one meditates on the deep things of life in the heart (Psalm 4:4, Luke 2:19)
  3. The seat of the will and moral/ethical life. Biblical writers often referred to “the heart” as the place where a person’s will was located. Moral or immoral choices thus were said to be a matter of, or come from the heart. A heart could turn away from God (1 Kings 11:2) or seek after God (2 Chronicles 12:14).
  4. Point of Contact with God. The word “heart” is also used in the Bible to mean the inmost, deepest part of a person. So the word of God is said to dwell in the heart (Deuteronomy 30:14) and faith starts in the heart (Romans 10.9, 10).

Holy Communion

We will be celebrating Holy Communion this Sunday. Please read  “How to Prepare for Holy Communion”.

The Ears of Christ

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Bulletin: March 18, 2012
The Fourth Sunday of Lent

Scriptures: 2 Samuel 22:2-7; Psalm 86; Mark 7:31-37

Songs:

Rev. Mark McKim

The ears of Jesus heard the cries, sighs and questions of the people he met. “Why me?” “Why is this happening?” Over and over he heard the cries for help. “If you can do anything, have pity on us” cried a father whose son suffered from convulsions. “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me” shouted a blind man by the side of the road. “Lord, save me!” screamed peter, as he began to sink in the water. Wherever he went, the ears of Jesus heard desperate pleas for help.

The Bible says that God always hears our prayers.

But what about those occasions when it seems as if God isn’t listening at all? when there seems no answer to a desperate prayer? And anyway, is there any point to prayer? If God is all good and all powerful, won’t he do what is right and good anyway? So why bother asking?

In today’s gospel reading Jesus heard the pleases of a deaf man who could hardly speak straight. In exploring this account, we will be seeking answers to just these questions. Come – and listen.

Quiz – Can You Hear It?

The Bible has a lot to say about “ears.” How many of the following biblical quotations (quiz to come) can you match to their source?

Scoring:
0-2 What did you say? I can’t hear you!
3-4 You may need a hearing aid.
5-6 Good quality hearing
7-8 Superb Hearing
9-10 OK, Superman, you’re cheating with your super keen hearing abilities!

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