Lent Preaching Program at York Street

Sunday Mornings 10:15AM in Lent:

PASSION.

(Lent Series on Mark 10-16):

• Passion - Joel 2:12-17 (Feb 21: Lent 1)
• Passion's CHALLENGE - Mark 10:17-34 (Feb 28: Lent 2)
• Passion's LEADER - Mark 12:1-44 (Mar 7: Lent 3)
• Passion's WARNING - Mark 13:1-37 (Mar 14: Lent 4)
• Passion's PATH - Mark 14:1-72 (Mar 21: Lent 5)
• Passion's PROBLEM - Mark 11:1-25 (Mar 28: Palm Sunday)
• Passion's SUFFERING - Mark 15:1-39 (April 2: Good Friday)
• Passion's HOPE - Mark 16:1-8 (Apr 4: Easter Sunday)

Sunday Evenings 6PM in Lent:
ORTHODOXY, ORTHOPRAXIS, ORTHOKARDIA.

(Lent Series on 1 Peter 4:7-11)

• Learning to PRAY - 1 Peter 4:7 (Feb 21: Lent 1)
• Learning to LOVE - 1 Peter 4:8 (Feb 28: Lent 2)
• Learning to offer HOSPITALITY - 1 Peter 4:9 (Mar 7: Lent 3)
• Learning to use GIFTS - 1 Peter 4:10 (Mar 14: Lent 4)
• Learning to SPEAK - 1 Peter 4:11a (Mar 21: Lent 5)
• Learning to SERVE - 1 Peter 4:11b (Mar 28: Palm Sunday)
• Opening to the City of Sydney (Apr 4: Easter Sunday)

For your prayers.

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Pic on Flickr by patchworkgandolf.

Sermon Audio (Lent 4): The Power of a Moral Inventory

From this morning:

• Sermon Audio for today's sermon can be downloaded>> HERE.
• Bible texts used can be read>> HERE.
• Sermon Text can be downloaded as a PDF>> HERE.

Here is the introduction:

My Text today is Luke 15V17. Jesus story of two Prodigal brothers. One of them (the younger) took all his inheritance, and blew it on a fantasy, and landed in a pigsty. And found that he was given a (kind of) gift there: Time to think. V17:

When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

Isn’t that a great phrase? 'When he came to his senses...' In other translations, it says: 'When he came to himself...' Now, what an interesting possibility? That you can be you, but not yourself for a time. You can be yourself, and yet come to yourself. It’s an idiom that we understand and use in modern English. We would say, 'wake up to yourself', or he’s 'out of his mind'.

But in order for the Son to get out of the Pigsty of his choices. He had to 'come to himself'. That was the only way home.

This sermon: Three things to do with yourself. So you can find God. Especially as we invite you to communion this morning.

Three things to do:

• Come to yourself.
• Be tough on yourself.
• Take yourself to your Father

Sermon can be downloaded HERE.
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Pic on Flickr by foreby.

A Sneak Peak at the Sermon Today

My text is Luke 15:17 >>

When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

And here is a sneak peak:

The truth is: We are all bent inwards to self. Martin Luther, as well as St Augustine, Karl Barth and others used a Latin Phrase to describe sin in the human life:

Incurvatus in se

Which means: The Curvature of the Soul.

Like the nautilus shell, we are each turned or curved inward on oneself. No matter who far we travel, left to our own devices, we always curve towards self. And selfishness.

There is a Winnie the Pooh Story where Pooh and Rabbit are walking in the Hundred Ache Wood. Trying to find their way out. But no matter which way they go, they always come back to the same spot. Like A.A. Milne’s classic: No matter how much we travel in life, we always come back to the same spot: Ourselves.

Incurvatus in se

Is there a way out? Is there a way forward? Is there a way for the younger brother to get out of the Pigsty?

Isaiah 1:18 >>

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;

Yes there is.

In A.A Milne’s story, Winnie the Pooh has a suggestion: A counter-intuitive one. He notes: Every time we try to find our way out, we find this spot. We always do the same thing, and get the same result. So he suggests:Let’s try to search for this spot, and maybe we’ll find our way out. Something Rabbit roundly rejects.

The Younger Brother had likely done the same thing for a season. Lived for himself.

Incurvatus in se

And this behaviour led to the Pigsty: a place where he not himself, but a shadow of himself. A failure. A new and counter intuitive action had to take place. He couldn’t just think the same way.

What does Jesus say?

When he came to himself, he said: I will go back to my father.

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This morning:

• 8:30 for Traditional BCP Holy Communion.
• 10:00AM City Church (The Lord's Supper)

See our website for details.

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Pic on Flickr by Mark Coggins.

Sermon Audio (Lent 3): The Limits of Regret

Listen to Sunday's Sermon online: "The Limits of Regret". Click HERE.

Main texts are: Luke 15:13-16, 2 Corinthians 7:8-13, Joel 2:12-17

Our text for this sermon starts in Luke 15:14:

After (the Younger Son) had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

What would you call this? It is a tragedy. It is a tragedy in anyone’s language. He had taken a chunk of his Father’s Estate, considering him dead. He has taken a piece of his Father’s heart, and he gambled it on a fantasy. Poverty is always a tragedy. But self-imposed poverty perhaps more so.

The fantasy came crashing down in the perfect storm of irresponsibility and circumstance.

He had spent everything (That’s irresponsible) and then there was a sever famine (That’s circumstance). That sounds like a description of our current economic crisis, don’t you think?

This story is particularly a tragedy in a Jewish culture: He hired himself out to a ‘citizen of that country’. In other words, a Gentile. That is tragic for a Jew. And that Gentile made him work with pigs. This probably makes that Gentile an anti-Semite. Very Tragic for a Jew.

Every Jew listening to this story would have been wincing. And judging.

Next verse: V17

"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

What is happening here? It is a sea of regrets. Like Job who sat in the ashes of suffering, this son sat in the pigsty of regrets. It is a strange place to live in a pigsty. And stranger still how hard it is to get out of one.

Today, I want to ask the question: What are the Limits of Regret? And then a further question: What are the possibilities afforded by regret?

First, what are the Limits of Regret? There are at least three limits I can think of:

• A. Regret alone can be faked.
• B. Regret alone can be self indulgent.
• C. Regret alone can lead to your death.

Listen HERE.

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Pic on Flickr by jpwbee.

Sermon Review on 'The Lure of Distance'

Click HERE for Mark Barry's review and thoughts on the Second Lent Sermon called 'The Lure of Distance'. It's a sermon about why we run. It touches on why we travel.

Also, not quite a review, but my friend Craig makes a comment HERE.

Thanks Gents.

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Sermon Audio (Lent 2): The Lure of Distance

The second sermon during Lent, on the Parable of the Prodigal Son is about the 'Lure of Distance'.

You can listen or download the sermon by clicking HERE.

My Text is V13 of Luke 15:

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

What’s happening here?

It’s a Middle Eastern tragedy. That’s what’s happening.

It’s about a younger son, who left home, shaming his father. He walked out taking all the money he could from his father. He traded his relationship with his Father for cash, and his cash for pleasure.

And – presumably – he went looking for the life he wanted. So the story is also about a search. A desire for a better life in a distant country. A yearning; an experience; a thrill; a fantasy.

Now, my question for today is simply this: What is the Lure for the Younger Son? What is the Lure of Distance? Why do many of us want freedom from responsibility & work? And even some relationships?

The text gives us no motivation. He asked, and he left. V12.

• Maybe he was done with the hard work.
• Maybe he was tried of waiting.
• Maybe he wanted to impress his mates.
• Or spread his proverbial wings.
• Maybe he didn’t like his Dad anymore.
• Or was tired of his sanctimonious brother.

I argue in this message that their are at least 2 attractive things about distance:

1. The son thinks it’s a better life in the distant country.
(This is a question of Pleasure.)

2. He thinks he will discover himself in the distant country.
(This is a question of Identity.)

Listen HERE.

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Sermon Audio (Lent 1): The Joy of the Father

Here is the Sermon from Last Sunday. The first in the Lent series on the Prodigal Sons.

Download or listen: HERE.
Scripture Text to read first is HERE.
Google Document of text of sermon is HERE (if you just want to read it).

*Warning: The tape is very old, I think. So the quality is not good. We bought new tapes this week. But its OK.*

But here is a start:

God is Grace. He is more than that, but he is not less than that. God has grace woven into the fabric of his being. And Jesus is the exact image of the invisible God, so it is no surprise that Jesus has grace woven into the fabric of his being.

Look at Luke 15:1:

Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Look at the main verbs in those two verses:

• Gathering.
• Muttering.
• Welcoming.

Who is doing what?

• The (so called) Sinners are gathering.
• The Religious types are muttering.
• And Jesus is welcoming (and even eating with them.)

Right there in those verbs is the heart of the Christian message.

Three questions to unlock the text: (All about motivation).

• What is the motivation of the sinners to gather? V1
• What is the motivation of the religious leaders to mutter? V2
• What is the motivation of Jesus to welcome? V3-12

Download or listen: HERE.

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Lent on York: 6 Weeks of Lunchtime Exploration

(This post is an invitation. Send it to whomever you think may need it.)

This Thursday at Lunchtime, we begin a simple and yet hopefully profound 6 week exploration into a story Jesus told: The Parable of The Prodigal Son. It is a story that is good for Lent, for it speaks about regrets, repentance, recovery and restoration. Only 6 weeks.

• Just 6 weeks during Lent.
• 6 Thursdays before Easter.
• No more than 6 weeks.
• No less than 6 weeks.

We dig for insight into these two verses in Luke's Gospel, describing the bold and awkward activity of Jesus:

Now the tax collectors and 'sinners' were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Notice the verbs. The sinners Gathered, the Pharisees Muttered and Jesus Welcomed. Right there in those verbs lies the heart of the Christian message. But their application is far reaching. My intention is to make these meetings informative, interactive, and exploratory.

So here are the first two weeks:

>> This Thursday March 5 (1:10-1:45PM)
The Joy of the Father (Luke 15:1-12)
We explore the link between a joyful God and a joyful human being. Many of us know what it is to carry a small and restrictive heart. We know our capacity for fear and judgmentalism. This meeting explores how the Joy of God could enlarge your capacity for joy, speak to your fears, and save you from a judgmental spirit. For Christ's sake.

>> Thursday March 12 (1:10-1:45PM)
The Lure of Distance (Luke 15:13-14)
We explore why the human heart seeks (at times) to run. Many of us travel great distances (physically and emotionally) to avoid responsibility, God and relationships. We will explore why the Lure of Distance is a mirage, and how to return to the life God desires for you. For Christ's sake.

Then keep these dates in mind:

• Thursday March 19 (1:10-1:45PM) - The Limits of Regret
• Thursday March 26 (1:10-1:45PM) - The Power of a Moral Inventory
• Thursday April 2 (1:10-1:45PM) - The Freedom in Confession
• Thursday April 9 (1:10-1:45PM) - The Barriers to Joy

To invite people, please create link to your Blog, or just send them the URL of this post, or use the 'email this' link at the bottom of this post (that little envelope.)

Should be fun. But better still, it will free the heart to live and love like Jesus did.

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Pic on Flickr by atomicity.

Hello Fiona from Scotland...

I wrote some Lent Bible Studies a few years back. You can download them by Clicking HERE. They are just Bible Studies on Mark 10-16. A person I don't know called Fiona from Scotland sent me this email yesterday:

Dear Justin,

Just letting you know as requested that I downloaded your Bible Studies and Daily Readings for Lent on Mark from the internet. I really wanted to do a committed focus on Christ this year between Lent and Easter but much of the stuff I found on the web was quite Catholic in style (I love Catholics, though!) and I didn't understand the liturgies, etc. Your study is so good. I've only done one night so far with a friend but it really released the power of the Holy Spirit to us and we were hugely blessed. I have forwarded the material to a few other friends, too.

I live in Scotland with my husband and family.

We hope it will encourage you to know that you are blessing and helping the body of Christ to know more of Him worldwide! We send you every blessing in Christ Jesus for a precious and blessed Easter time.

Kindest regards,
Fiona

Good to be of service!

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Pic on Flickr by igd.

Lent on York (A Series based in the Prodigal Son)

I'm not one for Church Calendars in particular. They've always seemed a little too religious and Church-y. And perhaps too Roman Catholic. And hollow. And in any case, I'm Gen-X.

But the more I think about it, the more I realise how evangelical and 'old school' (in the good sense) the calendar is. And perhaps even good for mission in a post-Christian age. We were freed from constraints (like the calendar) by the a baby-boomers. But maybe then, we where then left without roots and routines as a part of our lives.

The way I figure it, we celebrate Christmas which gives us a heightened opportunity to declare the wonder of the Incarnation. And we celebrate Easter, which gives us a heightened opportunity to declare Christ risen.

So why not remember Advent (before Christmas), which allows us to declare that Christ will come again? And why not Lent (before Easter), which gives us a sustained opportunity to rail against sin, and also reflect soberly on the ailments of the human heart. These are two things that evangelicals like me are big on: the second coming, and the reality of sin.

It just has to be real and authentic and from the Scriptures. That's all.

Lent is the season that is 40 Days from Ash Wednesday (last week). It concludes on Easter Sunday, where we declare that the answer to human sin is in the Resurrected Jesus.

With that in mind, I present here to you the LENT PREACHING SERIES at St Philips York St. I will preach a relevant sermon based in the Parable of the Prodigal Son on each of the following topics (Sundays at 8:30AM Holy Communion; and 10AM City Church), and we will interactively explore these issues at the Lunchtime Conferences we will host at 1:10PM on Thursdays. All at 3 York St.

It is a series about God, Honesty and Life, based on the Prodigal Son.

Sunday 1 March (Lent 1)
The Joy of the Father (Luke 15:1-12)
(With an exploration on Thursday 5 March at 1:10PM.)

Sunday 8 March (Lent 2)
The Lure of Distance (Luke 15:13-14)
(With an exploration on Thursday March 12 at 1:10PM.)

Sunday 15 March (Lent 3)
The Limits of Regret (Luke 15:14-17)
(With an exploration on Thursday March 19 at 1:10PM.)

Sunday 22 March (Lent 4) - Holy Communion at 10AM
The Power of a Moral Inventory (Luke 15:17-18)
(With an exploration on Thursday March 26 at 1:10PM.)

Sunday 29 March (Lent 5)
The Freedom in Confession (Luke 15:18-23)
(With an exploration on Thursday April 2 at 1:10PM.)

Sunday 5 April (Palm Sunday)
The Barriers to Joy (Luke 15:25-31)
(With an exploration on Thursday April 9 at 1:10PM.)

12 April Easter Sunday
The End of Decay (John 20:24-29)
(With an exploration on Thursday April 16 at 1:10PM.)

In case you were wondering, I haven't read Dr Tim Keller's The Prodigal God. But I am planning to buy it tomorrow. And if it is as good as I suspect it will be, then we will make it available for our people to buy, read, and give to their friends during Lent.

In the meantime, here is a sobering prayer to pray through Lent:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Not bad, right?

Bring your friends if you live or work close the city. And I'll see if we can get the MP3s working properly.

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