Sydney Holiday Post #1

I did something a little out of the ordinary for a Saturday night – I went to church.

My brother leads the 5:30pm Saturday night service at Church by the Bridge (www.cbtb.org.au) in Kirribilli (for the South African readers, the name is no misnomer, this is literally right under the Harbour Bridge. It’s pretty freak’n awesome!)

The talk was on the Armour of God from Eph Ch 6 – I had visited this passage many times during ’08 and as I was sitting there smugly thinking, ‘I know this stuff’, I discovered something new.

“Take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God . . . “

I was made to consider for the first time why Paul calls it the sword of the SPIRIT. I would have called it the sword of GOD, or at least the sword of CHRIST. But the sword of the Spirit draws our attention to something altogether different.

God’s word is the way that the Spirit works in us to such an extent, that Paul can call the Word the Spirit’s sword. The Spirit illuminates it to us, He writes it on our hearts. He convicts us to the truth of it. As I was sitting there under the bridge, with the Word before me, the Spirit was rushing amongst us and within us doing a supernatural work.

Sometimes the evangelical circles I move in almost seem to deserve the criticism that we neglect the Spirit. (For the record, I don’t think we do, but I can see where the misunderstanding comes from.) But last night I realised that for God’s Spirit to wield God’s word is an intense spiritual activity from another realm, invisibly breaking into our own time and space. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that it is the very nature of God to reveal himself in this way, it would be down right spooky.

Not a bad thought for a Saturday night, me thinks.

(Epilogue: After church was done, Hayley, my brother and I hooked up with some old friends, got some pizza and red, and sat on the grass under the bridge watching the sun go down and the lights come up. I’m on holiday! But the CBTB people get to do this every week??!)

(Epilogue part 2: And for the South African readers, guess who we met at church on Saturday night? Kenny and Rose Lloyd (with little Jenna)! How cool is that?!)

Ahhhh . . . so busted.

Dilema - The Resolution

So there I was.

A homless guy on one side, an abused partner on the other.

And on the third side of this messed up triangle, the social worker saying, Don't tell!'

Scott in the middle.

So . . . . .

I told the guy that I had called the shelter and that they had no idea where she was.
I said sorry, I couldn't help him, and he left.

I had about 60 seconds of anxst as I walked from the office back outside to tell the guy the news. But I gotta be honest, I was pretty OK with my decision after that.

I emailed the situation to the rest of the pastoral staff (not because of the dilema, but so they would not get sucked in by this guy if he came back). But I did let slip that I felt a bit weird about the whole thing. One of my collegues emailed me this rely . . .

"Gal 5:14"

Short but sweet. It reads . . .

14The entire law is summed up in a single command:
"Love your neighbor as yourself "

(Craig, you stole my thunder!)

The spirit level of the law is love. Always as been. So that was a good word for a temporarily confused minsiter, don't you think?

Craig's comment that in fact the homless guy lied to me in order to (most probably) continue his evil ways also plays a big part methinks.

Besides, the reason the commandments are written in the negative form ("Do not murder") is so that we may embrace the bigness of the opposite. In other words, to obey the commandment, 'Do not murder' you must preserve and treasure life. That is what the Pharasees never understood, which is why Jesus nails them for turning the law into a burden for men's backs.

I hope in not honouring the word of a liar I have helped to preserve and treausre someone elses life.

I pray that I have used the law 'lawfully' and maybe given a women with a rough past a shot at a better future.

Scott

Dilema

At last, a post to get 'Zombie Attack' off the front page.

I had a dilema yesterday. I made a choice.
I am interested to know what you would have done if you were in my shoes.

A homeless man came to church yesterday and told me he had 'lost' his wife. She had left and he didn't know where was was. Could I ring the shelter that he thinks she might have gone to to check if she is there?

I say sure.

I make the call an as soon as I introduce myself and mentioned the ladies name, the social worker tells me that she knows this couple well.

But, they are not married.

He is a chronic abuser.

This social worker has been there to witness when he put his 'wife' into hospital. She tells me that the lady is staying with them but wants nothing more to do with him. (Which is a good thing). She is now sober and has the support of her family in getting back on track. She tells me not to let him know where she is.

Oh, did I mention that at the moment we are doing the 10 Commandments in bible study? Haven't reached #9 yet (do not bear false witness), but we are close.

So I walk back outside and say to the guy . . .

[To be continued]

What would you have said?

What should I have said?

Scott

Are you ready for the Zombie attack?

I should really be working.

But somehow, I stumbled across this very funny book.

I haven't read it, only seen the review on Amazon. It's a zombie survival guide, but man, just the content page made me laugh - hard.

Not sure if that tells you anything about my state of mind right now, but here it is anyway:

Top 10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack

1. Organize before they rise!

2. They feel no fear, why should you?

3. Use your head: cut off theirs.

4. Blades don’t need reloading.

5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.

6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it.

7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike.

8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!

9. No place is safe, only safer.

10. The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on.

So if you're looking for a b'day present for me . . . .

The Jaundice Eye of David Marr

This is the second reflection from the Good Weekend article on the schism in the Anglican Church. For the intro, read the previous post.


2. David Marr writing on Anglicanism is like China speaking out on human rights


What I found most bizzare about the article is that it was the evangelical anglicans who were accused of schism, while the liberals get a free pass to rape and pilage the very foundations of what it is to be an anglican, and yet they are still regarded as mainstream.


There are many reasons for this of course. None the least of which is that the world will always side with the most corrupted washed out version of Christianity becuase it will never challenge and confront, but rather appease them by telling them that they are ok just as they are.



But you really have to wonder how qualified David Marr is to be writing as the religious correspondant for a major newspaper when he goes on to make comments like this . . .



He argues that Sydney is not classic anglican. Fair enough. He goes on to explain that it doesn't LOOK classicaly anglican in that you will often find no crosses or vestements etc. Up to now, I'm with him. But then he says that visiting anglicans will be shocked and puzzled by



'Sydney's demand that all beleivers be born again in Jesus Christ'.



Hello?! Has this man ever read the 39 articles? Does he know anything about church history, anything about the roots of anglicanism?



Personal bias aside, how does this man become a writer on a topic he clearly knows nothing about? Can someone please shut this man up?





More to come


Scott

The Jaundice Eye of David Marr

Ten days ago in the Good Weekend section of the Sydney Morning Herald, there was a feature article by David Marr on the split in the Anglican church. He billed it as Philip Jensen and co. (the radical renegades) vs. The Archbishop of Canterbury and co. (the true Anglicans).

The article was classic. Thinly veiled (or no veil) disgust at the Sydney Anglicans and a chronic one sided treatment of the issue. I was not surprised. But it did get me a little cranky.

In case you read, or want to read the article (whether you are a Christian or not), over the next few posts I'll give you a heads up as to what I reckon are things worth noting if you want to have any form of balance to your weekend reading.

1. It's not hard to spot the sub-text

David Marr doesn't mince his words as he seeks to paint his portrait of Jensen and the evangelical world.

Jensen is a 'frequent flyer in pursuit of schism'

GAFCOM (The Global Anglican Future Conference which will be attended by many of us dirty degenerate evangelicals) 'plans to collapse the church into a Balkans confusion'

And Liberty Ministries (who care for Christians struggling with homosexuality) is not an organisation or a program but 'an outfit'. Sounds shady enough for you?

At best he refers to evangelical Anglicans as orthodox or bible believing - but uses those words in inverted commers, as if to say, 'That's what you would have us call you, but just know behind your backs we all think you are a bunch of retards."

More to come . . . .

Scott

Fathers Day

I scored this year.

Firstly, I got 2 pairs of tracksuit pants. This may sound kind of an anticlimax, but it wasn't. Just to put you in the picture, my current pair if tracksuit pants were purchased . . . on my honeymoon . . .7 years ago. Apparently lots has happened in the tracksuit fashion world since then. And my standard at home winter uniform is still the trakkie pants and the flannie shirt. The more things change the more they stay the same.

But the other present was 'Dad's book'. It is a really nice journal type book which the kids can write messages to me, or add whatever they like about their dad when the mood takes them. Hayley got it started with what you see below.


After church this morning, we broke out the roast lunch - which Hayley masterfully created (even though she was sick - what a wifey!). It was superb. Jemma liked it too.

The self take doesn't do the meal justice, but to be honest, I was more interested in the food, that cpaturing the moment on camera.

Thanks Hayley for being a beautiful wife and mum.

Ben and Jem, you guys are tops - love you huuuuuuge!

Being a dad in this family is a blessing.

Scott

It's been a long . . . June

The wait is almost over

We are so there.

Come, Drink

I opened my email this morning to find this quote from the new Narnia movie. It was forwarded on by Frank Retief. It is definately worth sharing.

”Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.

“I’m dying of thirst”, said Jill.

“Then drink”, said the Lion.

“May I – could I – would you mind going away while I do?”, said Jill.

The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realised that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.

“Will you promise not to – do anything to me, if I do come?”, said Jill.

“I make no promise”, said the Lion.

Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.

“Do you eat girls?”, she said.

“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms”, said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.

“I daren’t come and drink”, said Jill.

“Then you will die of thirst”, said the Lion.

“Oh dear!”, said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”

“There is no other stream”, said the Lion.”

Seven

Yesterday Hayley and I were married for 7 years. Not a classic milestone, but every day is a celebration I reckon. We went out for a meal last night . . .

And left Ben home with Uncle Leights and Aunty Kitty.

Good times.

Evangelical Students Conference

On the weekend I gave 6 talks on the Sermon on the Mt at the Evangelical Student Conference. It covers 3 university campus and their student ministries. It was a great time which really opened my mind to some of the amazing work the staff workers are doing. It was also a real eye opener for me in terms of the people that I met. Culturally very diverse and as it was interdenominational that also gave it a really exciting edge!

The campsite was nestled in the hills out the back of Stellenbosch. It was pretty stunning.

Meet Paul. He is from the DRC. He has only been in SA about a year and was really encouraging about the talks. He made himself part of our 'classic memories' package because when he heard that Hayley had arrived on camp he went to find her. When he did he ran up whistling & shouting, 'Mrs Scott! Mrs Scott!' Then after his curiosity was satisfied he ran back to me, slapped me on the back and said, "your wife is VERY beautiful!!"

Good man that.

On the left is Fritz - Campus director at UCT. On my right is Kurd, a new apprentice working with Fritz. They are both lengends and both still undersupported. If you are looking to give - let me know and we can hook you up with them.

Just a little taste of the winelands that surrounded the campsite. It's a pretty nice time of the year out there.

Bread

Yup, we're baking our own bread!

Nice eh?

I'm also eating fruit for b'fast.

Wow. Crazy times.

Conclusion

This is the conclusion to the sermon that has been occupying the last few posts.

Easter has become a victim of the calendar.

It gets locked into the end of term school holidays and gets camouflaged by chocolate eggs and special church services. We know it’s important, but we resign ourselves to the fact that life moves on, and so Easter becomes a quiet suburban cul-de-sac rather than an on ramp to the freeway. In other words it becomes an annual ‘dead end’ rather than the starting point for an exciting journey.

Think about it this way:

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in ’69 many thought that the space race was all wrapped up.

But even though that was without a doubt the defining event in space exploration, it turned out to only be the end of the beginning.

The space race took its queue from 1969 and has expanded in ways that people could only imagine.

· There were 6 other manned moon landings by the USA

· In the 80’s the Star Wars program introduced missile shooting satellite and space station as the new strategy in warfare.

· In 2005 we had a successful probe landing on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn.

· And now we are racing into Space tourism with Richard Brandson’s ‘Virgin Galactic’ claiming that they will take passengers up for zero gravity pleasure cruises by 2010.

Jesus wants us to see Easter in the same way.
Easter is to Christians what the moon landing was to the space race.
Only the end of the beginning.
And so we are to take our queue from Easter and think of it not as an end in itself, but as the invitation to pick up where Jesus left off.

He is Risen, but not gone

This was part of a sermon from Matt 28. To catch up, read the last few posts.

And lastly, Easter will outlive the holidays because even though Jesus has risen, he is not gone.

When Jesus says, ‘Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ He is saying: Risen does not mean absent.

When the angel’s message to the women was that Jesus is not present in the tomb, but present in Galilee!

But these words of Jesus have even more bite to them if we read them together with the rest of the great commission.

Ever had a non Christian friend say to you, ‘If you can SHOW me Jesus, then I’ll think about taking him seriously.’ It’s something we find hard isn’t it?

But in what way is Jesus ‘here’ even though he is risen?

Or, in what sense do people ‘meet’ Jesus as we go to all the nations?
In Ch 28: There are 3 ways;

· They will meet Jesus’ authority as the Easter story is retold. ALL authority has been given to me. My death and resurrection testify to that.

· Matthew also says that they WILL meet Jesus’ flesh and blood here on earth. People like you and me whom have already responded to Jesus’ call to follow him. Is it true to say that when people meet you, they get to meet Jesus? It can be if we decide to let Easter prepare us for life after the holidays.

· And it’s also fair to say that people will meet Jesus through his words as we teach them and commend others to obey.

The way that Easter out lives the holidays is through the fact that even though Jesus is physically in heaven right now, he is still active in this world as we seek to make disciples.

Get Working

This is part of a Easter Sermon. First, read the passage and the last 2 posts below.



Jesus also reveals in Matt 28, that for Easter to outlive the holidays we must see that while His work is finished, Easter means that our work has just begun.

It might sound a bit funny to put it this way but after 33 years on earth, Jesus left a lot of loose ends. A lot of unfinished business.

He secured salvation for the whole world but he never left his backyard.
He left that responsibility for you and for me.

There is an emphasis in how Matthew wrote these words. The main verb, is ‘make disciples’. The other verbs in the sentence, the words ‘go’, ‘baptize’ and ‘teach’ are all servants to the imperative ‘make disciples’.



Let’s start with baptize.

On one level I think it is ok to take this at face value, to be baptized is a great and biblical symbol of new birth.
However, it is quite likely that Jesus is using the word ‘baptism’ as shorthand here to say that making disciples is about bringing people to repentance.

Do you remember John the Baptist at the start of the gospel account?


We are told that John came with a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John was not concerned so much with the water, he wanted people to turn from their sin so they could turn to follow Jesus. Baptism was the symbol of repentance, of doing a complete 180 so that you would stop worshipping yourself and start worshipping God.

Our work is not finished until we call all nations to repentance.

Another element Jesus mentions in ‘disciple making’ is to teach them to obey everything Jesus had taught his first disciples.


Making disciples is not just about conversion. It’s about growing them in obedience to the words of Christ. Jesus it seems, is not as worried about quantity as he is about quality. If we want to be serious about making disciples of all nations, and making disciples of ourselves, then we will feed off the words of Jesus, not just for knowledge, but primarily for obedience.

Our work is not finished until we teach all nations to live in obedience to Jesus.

And then of course is that little word ‘go’.


Because the scope of Jesus command is so wide – all nations – it’s not surprising that we will have to go if we are to apply Easter as Jesus commands us to. So whether you go to China or go to your university, going is unavoidable is you want to make disciples for Christ. It won’t happen by osmosis – we as individuals and we as a church will have to get off our backsides and ‘go’ for it.

Our work is not finished until we go.



Last point to come

Jesus is for everyone

This Read the passage and the intro below.

The first way that Easter outlives the holidays, is becuase Easter makes Jesus avalible for everyone.

It’s hard for us to imagine, but before the first Easter, Jesus and his gospel were not accessible to many people at all. Not because they didn’t have email and cell phones to spread the message, but because Jesus and his gospel was really only for Jewish people. If you were a gentile (a non Jew) then Jesus and what he had to offer was more or less out of reach. The coming of the kingdom of God was an announcement and invitation, first and foremost for Israel.

And yet the most famous words Jesus spoke after His Easter work had been completed were:

‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, so go and make disciples of all nations.’ ALL NATIONS

It is Easter that makes Christianity an international, multiracial and multicultural religion.
Easter is the reason you don’t have to become a Jew in order to become a Christian.

Easter bursts the bubble of the Jewish priority during Jesus' 33 earthly years.

More to come

Scott

Easter is over

Here is the first of a few post from a sermon I gave last Sunday.

To get started, read Matthew Ch 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Easter is all over.

And after you have recovered from the chocolate high, and after the public holidays have faded, if you are anything like me, you sit back and you ask yourself, is that it? Easter all done for another year?

Well, as far as Matthew is concerned, the Easter story doesn’t end with the resurrection. The conclusion, or as I’m going to suggestion, the application of Easter is what we read in Matt 28:16-20.

Ponder this moment from WWII:

By 1942 General

Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps had the run of Egypt. But by October, Montgomery with an army double the size of Rommel’s, were ready to take it back. Thus began the famed Battle of El Alamein. After 2 weeks of fighting Montgomery had won the battle, 30,000 German troops had surrendered, and the awesome Rommel was made to look mortal. It was the first major victory by British Commonwealth forces over the German Army. Along with Hitler’s defeat at Stalingrad, the battle of Alamein was a turning point in WWII.

Here is what Winston Churchill had to say:

"The Germans have received back again that measure of fire and steel which they have so often meted out to others. Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Matthew wants us to see that Easter is not the beginning of the end,

but just the end of the beginning.

And so I want us to read Ch 28:16-20 as:

‘How Easter will outlive the holidays’

More to come.

Scott

PS: Thanks Richardt for the quote!

12

I have just seen a great movie, a movie that got to me.

But you'll be surprised what it was.

'Cheaper by the dozen'

Yup, the Steve Martin flick where he and his wife have 12 kids. (And it's got a great character which Ashton Kutcher does to perfection). It's a comedy, heart warming great movie. I was surprised. (I love Steve Martin, but I was expecting a Disney puke fest)

Here is why you should watch this movie and what it did for me.

1. It torpedoed the myth that if I work harder (longer hours, more stress) to provide more for my family, they will be better off. I find it hard to beleive that people still buy into this, but I have recently discovered that they do, big time. This was a refreshingly Christian message to get from a mainstream movie.

2. It encouraged me to not feel intimated by others when it comes to family. If you're on a good wicket, thank God for it and live it to the max. Don't listen to the detractors who try to lure you back to their highway of mediocrity.

But perhaps most importantly . . .

3. It reminded me of the joy of selflessness. Of giving up yourself for others. In a family of 12, that was the road they had chosen. And I know it is just a silly movie, but man, it had me at 'hello'. I was sold again on the message I first recieved from the scriptures (and my own parents) that to give yourself fully to others is the only way to get true freedom from self. As Jesus says, if you want it all, you gotta give it all away.

Make no mistake, it is a risk to do this. It is completely counter intuative. To others it will make no sense. Maybe not even to yourself, but it is truly a beautiful thing.

After the movie ended, Hayley and I re committed ourselves to selfless living. We had to do that becuase we are not very good at it. But we are learning, and we are now a little more hungry for it, and 'Cheaper by the Dozen' was a great inspiration.

Not bad for a Steve Martin flick eh?
Make sure you watch it soon.

Scott

Resurection Sunday

Here is gist of the sermon I gave last night - Resurrection Sunday

First, read Matthew Ch 28:1-10

Harry Houdini made a pact with his wife that the first one of them to die would try and communicate to the other from beyond the grave. They even had a secret 10 word code to make sure it was the real deal. Houdini died first and for 10 years his wife, Bess, tried in vain to contact him. She eentually put out the candle she had left burning by his photo since he had died and said, 'Ten years is long enough to wait for any man'.

The fact that death is a one way street is a biter pill to swallow.

Butin Matth 28, the resurrection story is also given an interpretation for us so that death' suden end, doesn't have to be the end.

*** Matthew wants us to see that the power of death is snatched away as God exercises his power to bring life. ***

The earthquake is the give away.

In the bible, earthquakes are the sign that God has arrived with his powerful presense. Check Mt Sinai (Ex 9) or Paul and Silas in prison (Acts). It's the same in Matt 28.

But in case you missed the sign, God sends his messenger (the angel) to interpret he sign for us.
He announces that God's power has been put to work to raise Jesus from the dead.

So far so good. But so what?

Well, the two groups at the tomb that morning give us a choice. You can be like the guards or like the women.

The guards came face to face with life, an they trembeled like dead men.

The women came to mourn a dead man, and they left rejoicing with life.

For the guards it was lose lose. The had to one day face death - like all of us - but also were mere spectators when life came to town.

For the women it was win win. Not only did they recieve Jeuss back in the flesh, but also recieved the hope of eternal life themselves.

Furthermore, their response should be ours.
They worshipped Jesus
And they went and told others.

Your homework:
Read Colossians Ch 3:1-10 and answer this question:
What is the resurrection application for us in our Christian lives this week?

(This was the homework I gave the congregation last night. They had to email me their thoughts)

Let me know!

Scott