Kemsing with Woodlands

Many people today are not confident as to what they believe about the return of Jesus.

We can’t know everything about the future.

But if God tells us certain things about the future, then those are areas where we can be sure.

And Jesus was not silent about his own return.

This morning, we start a short series of 3 sermons looking at the future. Today, we think about the return of Jesus.

One of the most foolish things people say about Jesus is this: He was just a great moral teacher.

So many people would say that. They love his teaching. They think his ethics should be taught to everyone. His ideals of love and integrity should be a feature of public life. There’s nothing here for other religions or philosophies to disagree with. If only Jesus’ moral teaching was more widely heard, we’d be a happier society.

Everyone wants to know that their life is going in the right direction. Heading to the right destination.

I’m sure you’ve had the experience of sitting on a train at the platform in Victoria. First stop is Ashford International. And just as the doors close, someone comes up and asks you if this train stops at Brixton. Sheer horror. They’re on the wrong train. They’re going to the wrong place. And it’s too late to change.

I wonder if you remember the old children’s cartoons. Characters chasing each other, round and round a lamppost, knocking down the china, wacky races in their cars, Tom and Jerry. Ingenious and slapstick ways to trick or trip one of the other characters so that you get ahead, catch them in the neck of a bottle, or whatever it is.

Do you think Jesus is worth following?

If Jesus were to try and persuade you to follow him, how would he go about it? How would he say that it’s worth your while?

If you’re someone who’s still looking into Jesus’ claims, what would convince you to sign up? And if you’re already a Christian, we all go through phases when we wonder why we’re doing it. How do you counsel yourself to keep going?

So: How do you find praying?

Not a question many of us like to be asked. Prayer is a subject that makes us feel guilty. We don’t pray as much as we know we ought to. Or helpless. We don’t know where to start. Or both.

Jesus talks about prayer in the passage we’re looking at this morning.

But he doesn’t do it to make us feel guilty. He wants us to enjoy praying. He wants prayer to be something we all do. And to make that happen, Jesus focuses our attention on God. If we can start to grasp what God is like, that will transform the way we talk to him.

I’ve got some good news for you this morning.

In our lives we make lots of mistakes. The good news of Jesus is that God does not always treat us according to our mistakes. He does not always judge us. He does not always condemn us. He provides a way we can be forgiven, and a way we can be helped to become better people

I’ve got some bad news for you as well this morning. When other people make mistakes, we aren’t always as kind, as lenient, as merciful as helpful as God is. If only we were.

One thing many people today hate – is hypocrisy. When someone doesn’t live out their faith.

A few years back, I parked the car badly. I found a note on my windscreen that simply read: Do you call yourself a Christian? Well, I do. But it’s why a fish sticker is a bad idea – unless you’re a very courteous and careful driver. It gives other road users two reasons to dislike you. Not only are you a bad driver, you’re also a Christian and that makes you a hypocrite.

There’s nothing more wonderful than a Christian who lives what they believe.

Can you be sure where you stand with God? Can you know what will happen to you when you die? Can you be certain whether God will love and accept you, or not?

Many people today would say that this kind of certainty is the height of arrogance.

It’s presumptuous to be certain that God will accept you on the last day.

How dare the Christian claim that they can know that God approves of them.

Jesus said: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and forfeit their life?

That’s Mark chapter 8, verse 36.

It’s a good question. Our society is very good at helping us to add things to our life. Much less clear what life itself is all about.

Which makes Jesus’ question frighteningly relevant. What if someone did manage to gain everything there is to have? But what if they also missed out on life itself?

1 John chapter 5 is about how we can avoid making exactly that mistake.