Showing posts with label Sunday Sermon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday Sermon. Show all posts
Monday, September 12, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
John The Baptist - Part 2
Part two on 'John The Baptist' - with this message looking primarily at his message ... be sure to check out part one also, John The Baptist, 'the man'.
This message was recorded in the mid 80's and continues to challenge the followers of Jesus to action 25 years on ...
Monday, March 7, 2011
John Smith - circa 1986 - John The Baptist Part 1
Here's some vintage audio to accompany the historical media clippings - nearly twenty five years on, the message is still as relevant as ever ....
Monday, November 1, 2010
'God Is Not Far From Any One Of Us' - John Smith on Acts 17
Recorded in Wales, UK, August 2010, God's Squad International President Explores the biblical text from Acts 17, when Paul arrives in Athens; John lays down a challenge to the church, a call to embrace the arts and a beacon of hope for those searching for God . . . .
Monday, October 4, 2010
Vintage Smithy tells it like it is . . .
A diverse audience of around 150 people gathered in the packed bar - bikers, musicians, artists, believers, seekers and cynics among them . . . . for a few moments the pool table, pinball machine and the bar fell silent . . . . John Smith reflects on two stories and opens up the 'old book' in a way that only he does, in a bar.
This recording was made back in 2002 in the public bar of a city centre pub in Swansea, South Wales, at a gathering hosted by Zac's Place.
More reflections from John are available on this podcast
This recording was made back in 2002 in the public bar of a city centre pub in Swansea, South Wales, at a gathering hosted by Zac's Place.
More reflections from John are available on this podcast
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Reflection from a life on the road ...
God's Squad International President, John Smith, reflects on Mark's Gospel Chapter 6 and the importance of a radically transformed life out on the road.
This excerpt was recorded in UK, August 2010, in a gathering of God's Squad members and guests from eight nations. When most people of his age are thinking of slowing down, John continues to stir the pot and encourage the church to action.
This excerpt was recorded in UK, August 2010, in a gathering of God's Squad members and guests from eight nations. When most people of his age are thinking of slowing down, John continues to stir the pot and encourage the church to action.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Good Friday Focus
The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.
He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn't true.
Isaiah 53:6-9 (The Message Translation of the Bible)
Written in the region of 700 years before Christ.
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.
He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn't true.
Isaiah 53:6-9 (The Message Translation of the Bible)
Written in the region of 700 years before Christ.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
How Does God Speak?
In the first of a three week series John Smith, International President of God's Squad explores this tough question. First preached at St Martins, Melbourne, Australia in January this year.
Click here to listen.
49 minutes (77meg MP3 file)
Click here to listen.
49 minutes (77meg MP3 file)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Wired To Love, Valentine's Day
"We celebrate love today. HUMAN LOVE We are wired to love. If you're not on a faith page don't be offended. I love you and Jesus has inspired love in my heart. Sadly multitudes who profess Jesus, hate their enemies and use their friends. They sing, preach, write great books about him, but they don't follow him as the lover of all, even enemies. Faith, hope, love..three essentials, BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE."
From John Smith's facebook page, 14/2/10
From John Smith's facebook page, 14/2/10
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Advent
Here's some comment regarding the period of advent that John Smith has recently reminded us of from Archbishop Oscar Romero who was killed by a shot to the heart on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass at a small chapel located in a hospital called "La Divina Providencia", one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.
..................................................................................................
"Advent should admonish us to discover in each brother or sister that we greet, in each friend whose hand we shake, in each beggar who asks for bread, in each worker who wants to use the right to join a union, in each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves, the face of Christ. Then it would not be possible to rob them, to cheat them, to deny them their rights. They are Christ, and whatever is done to them Christ will take as done to himself. This is what Advent is: Christ living among us.
In celebrating Christmas, many Christians do exactly the opposite of what the earliest Christians did. By celebrating Christmas, they succeeded in bringing Christ into the pagan feast of the sun. Today’s Christians’ neo-paganism is managing to paganize Christmas. Jesus was not born on December 25 exactly. The Christian liturgy chose that date in order to give a Christian meaning to the Roman feast of the unvanquished sun. The pagans of the Roman Empire celebrated the sun’s rebirth during the longest night of the year. That midnight was considered as the starting point of the sun’s march, which then began to overcome the darkness. It was easy for the Christians to substitute Jesus Christ for the sun and to make the birth of Christ, Sun of Justice, coincide liturgically with the pagan celebration of the birth of the sun. The centuries that followed have proved the church’s genius, for bit by bit the meaning of Christmas pushed into oblivion the jovial pagan celebration and filled the entire world with the joy of the Redeemer’s birth. Today even unbelievers sense that something divine entered history during that night without compare. We all feel that the child born that night is a child of our family, and that the brightness of God’s glory that the angels carol makes of that night the loveliest day, when God himself offers us his peace and invites us to be men and women of good will.
What a shame that all of that Christian inspiration with which our liturgy christened a pagan festival has been betrayed by many Christians, who today surrender that spiritual conquest to paganism. To make the values of commerce and of worldly gaiety prevail over the gospel meaning of Christmas is nothing short of a cowardly surrender on the part of Christians. A return to the spirituality of a genuine Christmas will be a noble gesture of solidarity with Christianity’s spiritual victories in the world. A celebration of Christ’s birth with a sense of adoration, love, and gratitude toward the God who loved us even to the folly of giving us his own Son, will be to arrange our life so that the peace that only God can give may brighten it like a sun."
- Archbishop Oscar Romero
Romero was killed by a shot to the heart on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass at a small chapel located in a hospital called "La Divina Providencia", one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.
..................................................................................................
"Advent should admonish us to discover in each brother or sister that we greet, in each friend whose hand we shake, in each beggar who asks for bread, in each worker who wants to use the right to join a union, in each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves, the face of Christ. Then it would not be possible to rob them, to cheat them, to deny them their rights. They are Christ, and whatever is done to them Christ will take as done to himself. This is what Advent is: Christ living among us.
In celebrating Christmas, many Christians do exactly the opposite of what the earliest Christians did. By celebrating Christmas, they succeeded in bringing Christ into the pagan feast of the sun. Today’s Christians’ neo-paganism is managing to paganize Christmas. Jesus was not born on December 25 exactly. The Christian liturgy chose that date in order to give a Christian meaning to the Roman feast of the unvanquished sun. The pagans of the Roman Empire celebrated the sun’s rebirth during the longest night of the year. That midnight was considered as the starting point of the sun’s march, which then began to overcome the darkness. It was easy for the Christians to substitute Jesus Christ for the sun and to make the birth of Christ, Sun of Justice, coincide liturgically with the pagan celebration of the birth of the sun. The centuries that followed have proved the church’s genius, for bit by bit the meaning of Christmas pushed into oblivion the jovial pagan celebration and filled the entire world with the joy of the Redeemer’s birth. Today even unbelievers sense that something divine entered history during that night without compare. We all feel that the child born that night is a child of our family, and that the brightness of God’s glory that the angels carol makes of that night the loveliest day, when God himself offers us his peace and invites us to be men and women of good will.
What a shame that all of that Christian inspiration with which our liturgy christened a pagan festival has been betrayed by many Christians, who today surrender that spiritual conquest to paganism. To make the values of commerce and of worldly gaiety prevail over the gospel meaning of Christmas is nothing short of a cowardly surrender on the part of Christians. A return to the spirituality of a genuine Christmas will be a noble gesture of solidarity with Christianity’s spiritual victories in the world. A celebration of Christ’s birth with a sense of adoration, love, and gratitude toward the God who loved us even to the folly of giving us his own Son, will be to arrange our life so that the peace that only God can give may brighten it like a sun."
- Archbishop Oscar Romero
Romero was killed by a shot to the heart on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass at a small chapel located in a hospital called "La Divina Providencia", one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Is It Worth It?
The main roads are clear of snow, but it’s freezing cold and I’ve got 200 miles to ride home. With the temperature down to -7 degrees, I’m keeping the speed down to about 50 mph and even then that’s adding another, or rather taking another five degrees off with wind chill. I’m just about the only vehicle on the road for mile after mile and it gives me plenty of time to keep pondering, ‘is this really worth it’!
Whatever the circumstances, there are times when we inevitably ask this very logical question in rather unforgiving circumstances. Being a member of God’s Squad gives us no immunity to that for sure. It could be somewhat rather uncomfortable riding conditions or a plethora of other reasons; ridicule, misunderstandings, communication breakdowns, being taken for granted or even wondering if we are actually fulfilling the function we say we do.
I recall one particular conversation, back at the bar, after a funeral. It had been a hectic day and naturally there were many raw emotions - we had had a prominent role, and a deep responsibility entrusted to us, in leading our friends through their grief as they said good bye to a much loved brother. I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, the kind that’s had a few beers, but there was a warmth in both the embrace and the words that followed; “I don’t believe the same as you; but we really need you guys around at these times”.
The sentiment of these words I have heard many many times over the past twenty years and it’s these stories I recall when I ask, ‘is this really worth it’? I love Eugene Peterson’s translation of Jesus words in Matthew 5, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’, in The Message as; "You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”
The way of Christ continues to offer no immunity to struggle and questions, but it also continues to be the road of making ‘beauty out of ugly things’ as U2 sing in ‘Grace’. I let my fingers thaw out enough to refuel the bike, and press on as the sun begins to rise.
Whatever the circumstances, there are times when we inevitably ask this very logical question in rather unforgiving circumstances. Being a member of God’s Squad gives us no immunity to that for sure. It could be somewhat rather uncomfortable riding conditions or a plethora of other reasons; ridicule, misunderstandings, communication breakdowns, being taken for granted or even wondering if we are actually fulfilling the function we say we do.
I recall one particular conversation, back at the bar, after a funeral. It had been a hectic day and naturally there were many raw emotions - we had had a prominent role, and a deep responsibility entrusted to us, in leading our friends through their grief as they said good bye to a much loved brother. I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, the kind that’s had a few beers, but there was a warmth in both the embrace and the words that followed; “I don’t believe the same as you; but we really need you guys around at these times”.
The sentiment of these words I have heard many many times over the past twenty years and it’s these stories I recall when I ask, ‘is this really worth it’? I love Eugene Peterson’s translation of Jesus words in Matthew 5, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’, in The Message as; "You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”
The way of Christ continues to offer no immunity to struggle and questions, but it also continues to be the road of making ‘beauty out of ugly things’ as U2 sing in ‘Grace’. I let my fingers thaw out enough to refuel the bike, and press on as the sun begins to rise.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Jesus!
This blog is a summary of the Bible study last Friday night. The study was inspired by my recent reading from two books. Primarily, Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch's book reJesus but also Dan Kimball’s book They Like Jesus but Not The Church.
The movement that birthed God’s Squad claimed to have Jesus at its centre (the Jesus Movement or Jesus Revolution) but we sought to ask the questions what ongoing role does Jesus the Messiah have in the self understanding and role of God’s Squad? And a second question can a rediscovery of the Biblical Jesus renew the lives of God’s Squad people and its mission? I am not sure how far we got but I hope those who come after me will develop these questions.
We did a little exercise that a theologian, called Harvey Cox, once did, with a group of 600 Christian healers and counselors. He asked this group, after reading the story of the healing of the Roman Centurion’s slave, which character in the story they identified with? Very few chose Jesus, yet they claimed to be his representatives. Few of our little group also identified with Jesus. While we might be wary of claiming to be like Jesus, is not our task to become like him, to be little Jesus’? Our very name, as Christians, identifies us, as his followers. Should we not know what the Jesus of the Bible was on about? It’s fine to where a bracelet with WWJD on it but that assumes you know what Jesus would do.
If, as current choruses and hymns constantly allude too that it's all about Jesus, which Jesus are they talking about? Is it the meek and mild Jesus as is portrayed at Christmas? Or is it the Jesus, that is used to affirm racist policies such as those of Apartheid South Africa or those of the Ku Klux Klan or indeed of the Nazi regime? Or is it just the Jesus of the prosperity movement within the Christian Church? Does it matter, which Jesus, we pray to, or indeed, does it matter if our prayers are focused in somewhat a fantasy of Jesus? As exampled by the character Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights played by Will Ferrell (recently in Australia), in a typically over the top way, asks Jesus to use his baby Jesus powers to heal his friends leg while others challenge this Ricky insists he like baby Jesus best. Perhaps the Jesus’ of the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition might suit our political or military agendas?
While I believe that Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus and I will not speculate on a persons salvation because of their theology or doctrine I do believe it matters a great deal both as to how others see Jesus and the effect of our discipleship as to which Jesus we are following.
We then asked the question how we picture Jesus and looked at a few pictures of Jesus. The Jesus of the renaissance painters, or the dark Jesus of Pasolini in The Gospel According to Saint Matthew or pictures of Jesus as a revolutionary or as a normal Jewish man of the times may have looked (According to a BBC computer) or perhaps even more radically as bearded woman or a black man. Indeed a picture of the crucified Jesus with Happy Birthday Jesus under it created quit a stir in the early days of our movement from which God’s Squad developed from. While such pictures can never be complete they also speak of the struggle to understand the Jesus who was human and yet fully divine and perhaps more recently the import of his teaching vision and life. Certainly an oft used phrase of our movement “where you stand determines what you see” is appropriate here. It seems to me rather than allowing the Bible to speak of who Jesus is that many of these pictures impose world views onto Jesus.
So too the Bible once again to discover Jesus.
We then looked briefly at the transfiguration story in Mark. In this story, Peter, James and John given the ultimate spiritual experience on the mountain, where not only is Jesus made exceedingly bright but Elijah and Moses appear as well. And what is Peter, James and John’s response? They seek to build tents to contain what God has done. A spiritual experience, such as this cannot be contained and is beyond in our limited understanding. Indeed such an experience must translate to real discipleship at the street level. When they come down the mountain top experience to everyday life, mission success does not just happen. There are disciplines (fasting and prayer in this case) needed to be developed and nurtured so this experience of God can be translated for others. This X-Files experience, as the Rev. Dave Fuller coined it blows them away. Such is the experience of God for us as Christian bikers how do we not even get blown away, or seek to control this experience for our own purposes? How do we not take this Aslan (The Lion god-figure in C S Lewis’ The Narnia Chronicles) for granted and lose this wild sense of Otherness that is constantly beckoning us on towards the Upside Down Kingdom. How do we fit in with Jesus’ agenda rather than our own?
It is only after we discover the vision and mission of Jesus and what it meant then that we can put our experience of Jesus today in context. If you like a paradigm or lens through which we can view things and decide then how shall we live. Indeed our own history cannot be ignored and we looked a few examples of the difference the presence of God made in our ministry. We are also encouraged to read On the Side of the Angels and so understand God’s Squad and John Smith’s story.
Our mission (how we practice what we believe in the world) is informed by our Christology (our understanding of Jesus the Christ). If we leave such Christological questions just to the experts then we are indeed likely to be following some other Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible. Of course once discovered it might overwhelm us but God has sent us a helper, the Holy Spirit to help us. It is only as we, individually and as a club takes seriously the gospels of Jesus and indeed the whole of God’s word and seeks to live those things discovered out that its mission becomes authentic. In but a brief way we sought to do that on Friday night, this was the mountain top and what followed was much prayer as we then went to a clubhouse to be his representatives, to be little Jesus’ to the biker world.
From Marc Billing, International Exec, GSCMC
The movement that birthed God’s Squad claimed to have Jesus at its centre (the Jesus Movement or Jesus Revolution) but we sought to ask the questions what ongoing role does Jesus the Messiah have in the self understanding and role of God’s Squad? And a second question can a rediscovery of the Biblical Jesus renew the lives of God’s Squad people and its mission? I am not sure how far we got but I hope those who come after me will develop these questions.
We did a little exercise that a theologian, called Harvey Cox, once did, with a group of 600 Christian healers and counselors. He asked this group, after reading the story of the healing of the Roman Centurion’s slave, which character in the story they identified with? Very few chose Jesus, yet they claimed to be his representatives. Few of our little group also identified with Jesus. While we might be wary of claiming to be like Jesus, is not our task to become like him, to be little Jesus’? Our very name, as Christians, identifies us, as his followers. Should we not know what the Jesus of the Bible was on about? It’s fine to where a bracelet with WWJD on it but that assumes you know what Jesus would do.
If, as current choruses and hymns constantly allude too that it's all about Jesus, which Jesus are they talking about? Is it the meek and mild Jesus as is portrayed at Christmas? Or is it the Jesus, that is used to affirm racist policies such as those of Apartheid South Africa or those of the Ku Klux Klan or indeed of the Nazi regime? Or is it just the Jesus of the prosperity movement within the Christian Church? Does it matter, which Jesus, we pray to, or indeed, does it matter if our prayers are focused in somewhat a fantasy of Jesus? As exampled by the character Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights played by Will Ferrell (recently in Australia), in a typically over the top way, asks Jesus to use his baby Jesus powers to heal his friends leg while others challenge this Ricky insists he like baby Jesus best. Perhaps the Jesus’ of the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition might suit our political or military agendas?
While I believe that Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus and I will not speculate on a persons salvation because of their theology or doctrine I do believe it matters a great deal both as to how others see Jesus and the effect of our discipleship as to which Jesus we are following.
We then asked the question how we picture Jesus and looked at a few pictures of Jesus. The Jesus of the renaissance painters, or the dark Jesus of Pasolini in The Gospel According to Saint Matthew or pictures of Jesus as a revolutionary or as a normal Jewish man of the times may have looked (According to a BBC computer) or perhaps even more radically as bearded woman or a black man. Indeed a picture of the crucified Jesus with Happy Birthday Jesus under it created quit a stir in the early days of our movement from which God’s Squad developed from. While such pictures can never be complete they also speak of the struggle to understand the Jesus who was human and yet fully divine and perhaps more recently the import of his teaching vision and life. Certainly an oft used phrase of our movement “where you stand determines what you see” is appropriate here. It seems to me rather than allowing the Bible to speak of who Jesus is that many of these pictures impose world views onto Jesus.
So too the Bible once again to discover Jesus.
We then looked briefly at the transfiguration story in Mark. In this story, Peter, James and John given the ultimate spiritual experience on the mountain, where not only is Jesus made exceedingly bright but Elijah and Moses appear as well. And what is Peter, James and John’s response? They seek to build tents to contain what God has done. A spiritual experience, such as this cannot be contained and is beyond in our limited understanding. Indeed such an experience must translate to real discipleship at the street level. When they come down the mountain top experience to everyday life, mission success does not just happen. There are disciplines (fasting and prayer in this case) needed to be developed and nurtured so this experience of God can be translated for others. This X-Files experience, as the Rev. Dave Fuller coined it blows them away. Such is the experience of God for us as Christian bikers how do we not even get blown away, or seek to control this experience for our own purposes? How do we not take this Aslan (The Lion god-figure in C S Lewis’ The Narnia Chronicles) for granted and lose this wild sense of Otherness that is constantly beckoning us on towards the Upside Down Kingdom. How do we fit in with Jesus’ agenda rather than our own?
It is only after we discover the vision and mission of Jesus and what it meant then that we can put our experience of Jesus today in context. If you like a paradigm or lens through which we can view things and decide then how shall we live. Indeed our own history cannot be ignored and we looked a few examples of the difference the presence of God made in our ministry. We are also encouraged to read On the Side of the Angels and so understand God’s Squad and John Smith’s story.
Our mission (how we practice what we believe in the world) is informed by our Christology (our understanding of Jesus the Christ). If we leave such Christological questions just to the experts then we are indeed likely to be following some other Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible. Of course once discovered it might overwhelm us but God has sent us a helper, the Holy Spirit to help us. It is only as we, individually and as a club takes seriously the gospels of Jesus and indeed the whole of God’s word and seeks to live those things discovered out that its mission becomes authentic. In but a brief way we sought to do that on Friday night, this was the mountain top and what followed was much prayer as we then went to a clubhouse to be his representatives, to be little Jesus’ to the biker world.
From Marc Billing, International Exec, GSCMC
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Power and Poverty
In the bible there are more than 300 verses regarding the poor and though i am not a fan of taking verses without chapters, without books and without context for the sake of this exercise (and so I don’t need to type out the whole bible right here, right now) i will jump on one of these verses...
In the Old Testament - Jer. 22:3 - it says ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place’...
Now we were talking the other morning about powerlessness in the context of Squad. And we were suggesting that our call to fight for justice, to stand with those in pain and to show love is wider than just to the patch members of the scene... there are nameless and faceless people who are at the edges of every club we walk into. The guys that are not cool enough, don’t look quite right, are difficult - or strange. and these guys aren't just hanging around club houses - they are also in our midst.
Over the past week in Australia we have seen the boat of a group of Asylum seekers explode in flames with people dead, drowned and burnt. We have seen the worst of humanity in people smugglers making money and an opportunistic opposition party trying to score political points at the expense of desperate people... and in the medicos and others - some of the best as they go about healing people because they are people.
Politics aside,we are also seeing humanity at its most naked as we observe our brothers and sisters from another shore cry out to be seen and accepted.
Having the smallest glimpse of what it must be like to be truly powerless - and listening to God’s words about our response to the poor has challenged me again about how to respond to those who are powerless. I am again challenged on how my position of privilege can be used for justice and peace. In the case of those fleeing to our borders. I am commanded to listen to the asylum seeker - to ask questions - to understand why, that for most asylum seekers, even being in detention is better than where they have fled from... And personally i do believe that ultimately to say yes to safe harbour, is Gods call to us.
.My wife tells a story. In africa you greet one another with the words. Sawo bono. ‘I see you’ and the response means ‘i have been seen’.
Back to squad... for most blokes seeking acceptance, being associated with a club will always be infinitely better than where they have come from even if they are never accepted fully and get their colours.. What we wear on our backs is incredibly powerful and marks us as men of privilege.
We belong. we have been seen and we have been accepted.
So ... as we look around us, who are the ones amongst us who are seeking refuge? What does it mean for us as individuals and as a system to ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor’.
Cheers
Micro - GSCMC - Melbourne
In the Old Testament - Jer. 22:3 - it says ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place’...
Now we were talking the other morning about powerlessness in the context of Squad. And we were suggesting that our call to fight for justice, to stand with those in pain and to show love is wider than just to the patch members of the scene... there are nameless and faceless people who are at the edges of every club we walk into. The guys that are not cool enough, don’t look quite right, are difficult - or strange. and these guys aren't just hanging around club houses - they are also in our midst.
Over the past week in Australia we have seen the boat of a group of Asylum seekers explode in flames with people dead, drowned and burnt. We have seen the worst of humanity in people smugglers making money and an opportunistic opposition party trying to score political points at the expense of desperate people... and in the medicos and others - some of the best as they go about healing people because they are people.
Politics aside,we are also seeing humanity at its most naked as we observe our brothers and sisters from another shore cry out to be seen and accepted.
Having the smallest glimpse of what it must be like to be truly powerless - and listening to God’s words about our response to the poor has challenged me again about how to respond to those who are powerless. I am again challenged on how my position of privilege can be used for justice and peace. In the case of those fleeing to our borders. I am commanded to listen to the asylum seeker - to ask questions - to understand why, that for most asylum seekers, even being in detention is better than where they have fled from... And personally i do believe that ultimately to say yes to safe harbour, is Gods call to us.
.My wife tells a story. In africa you greet one another with the words. Sawo bono. ‘I see you’ and the response means ‘i have been seen’.
Back to squad... for most blokes seeking acceptance, being associated with a club will always be infinitely better than where they have come from even if they are never accepted fully and get their colours.. What we wear on our backs is incredibly powerful and marks us as men of privilege.
We belong. we have been seen and we have been accepted.
So ... as we look around us, who are the ones amongst us who are seeking refuge? What does it mean for us as individuals and as a system to ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor’.
Cheers
Micro - GSCMC - Melbourne
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Hero to Villain?
Today is, what in the Church Calendar, is called 'Palm Sunday' - celebrated a week before Easter. Traditionally it's the day when we reflect on Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem amid the welcoming enthusiasm of the crowds that had caught on to news of Lazarus' raising among many other things.
This scenario and the following Easter week is full of contrasts - betrayal and trust, love and hate, denial and faith, justice and coercion, mercy and brutality. I can't help thinking of the bizarre turnaround from the outpouring of emotion of the 'Palm Sunday' moment, to the same crowd calling for Jesus' execution one week later. Sure they wanted a deliverer, but Jesus didn't fit the mould for their kind of warrior saviour. The crowd wavered in it's support and opinion over these days, but the message and actions of Christ remained constant as indeed it still does - amid our often wavering still.
The full horror and delicate beauty of the Easter week, is not contained in a sanitized pic and mix Saviour, to make us feel good for five minutes to suit our wants; but in the stark reality of a sacrificial ragamuffin saviour, bringing hope to a weary and wounded world. How we see the Christ of Easter and how we see the people around him at that time, will have a huge bearing on how we may, or may not choose to follow Him. Me, I'll hang on to the hope that while everything around Christ was shifting, he stayed true to what needed to be done and for that I am eternally grateful.
Sean
....................................................................................................
The Palm Sunday story is contained in Chapter 12 of John's Gospel which can be found here
This scenario and the following Easter week is full of contrasts - betrayal and trust, love and hate, denial and faith, justice and coercion, mercy and brutality. I can't help thinking of the bizarre turnaround from the outpouring of emotion of the 'Palm Sunday' moment, to the same crowd calling for Jesus' execution one week later. Sure they wanted a deliverer, but Jesus didn't fit the mould for their kind of warrior saviour. The crowd wavered in it's support and opinion over these days, but the message and actions of Christ remained constant as indeed it still does - amid our often wavering still.
The full horror and delicate beauty of the Easter week, is not contained in a sanitized pic and mix Saviour, to make us feel good for five minutes to suit our wants; but in the stark reality of a sacrificial ragamuffin saviour, bringing hope to a weary and wounded world. How we see the Christ of Easter and how we see the people around him at that time, will have a huge bearing on how we may, or may not choose to follow Him. Me, I'll hang on to the hope that while everything around Christ was shifting, he stayed true to what needed to be done and for that I am eternally grateful.
Sean
....................................................................................................
The Palm Sunday story is contained in Chapter 12 of John's Gospel which can be found here
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Marshalls Message
The recent bush fires have been a major distraction from all our everyday lives. The media have done their job well in keeping us informed and updated on the latest images of the carnage and all of the relevant statistics pertaining to the loss of lives and properties within the affected communities. We have also heard the stories of courage, sacrifice and generosity. We have watched as a nation once again found its national spirit and responded with one heart and one mind in trying to meet the needs of those who have “lost the lot”. The “Aussie” spirit has won through and we can be proud of how we have responded to the crises and our achievements in it.
Realistically we know that it will take years for everything to be returned to normal for many of the survivors. The rebuilding of the homes and townships is the easy part; however the emotional and psychological trauma caused by these devastating fires may well take years for some to get over and for those who lost loved ones, they may never completely recover.
We the church have a very real role in helping in the recovery of our fellow Aussie’s in the midst of the rebuilding of their devastated lives. Wherever there is human pain and brokenness Christ is in the midst of it, seeking to bring comfort and healing to the broken hearted. Our role is as all are doing and helping out with practical support wherever we can, and beyond that we are to pray and draw on our faith in God for love, strength, and wisdom We have all witnessed the very best in human nature as fellow Australian’s have banded together to support one another, their actions could be called godly, all that is good within the human being responding to the suffering of others in need, God in us. If Christ were here now how might he have acted in the midst of this National Disaster? I think very little differently than the way we have all acted towards it ourselves. The role of the Church is to help others see the one in whose image and likeness we are all created, we are God’s media and not only are we to celebrate with the rest of Aussie the overcoming of adversity through a great united spirit, but our responsibility is to help others to unite with the Creators Spirit and understand the living word and the good news within.
Shalom
Marshall, GSCMC, Melbourne
Realistically we know that it will take years for everything to be returned to normal for many of the survivors. The rebuilding of the homes and townships is the easy part; however the emotional and psychological trauma caused by these devastating fires may well take years for some to get over and for those who lost loved ones, they may never completely recover.
We the church have a very real role in helping in the recovery of our fellow Aussie’s in the midst of the rebuilding of their devastated lives. Wherever there is human pain and brokenness Christ is in the midst of it, seeking to bring comfort and healing to the broken hearted. Our role is as all are doing and helping out with practical support wherever we can, and beyond that we are to pray and draw on our faith in God for love, strength, and wisdom We have all witnessed the very best in human nature as fellow Australian’s have banded together to support one another, their actions could be called godly, all that is good within the human being responding to the suffering of others in need, God in us. If Christ were here now how might he have acted in the midst of this National Disaster? I think very little differently than the way we have all acted towards it ourselves. The role of the Church is to help others see the one in whose image and likeness we are all created, we are God’s media and not only are we to celebrate with the rest of Aussie the overcoming of adversity through a great united spirit, but our responsibility is to help others to unite with the Creators Spirit and understand the living word and the good news within.
Shalom
Marshall, GSCMC, Melbourne
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday Sermon - TAR SURFING FOR BEGINNERS
Considering the thump on the head I took I can remember a particularly damp February evening very well. As an eighteen year old and riding what was and still is the only brand new bike I have ever owned I was about to experience 'that moment' all motorcycle riders experience at some point - the "sorry mate I didn't see you" scenario. To be honest I could have had lighthouse lamp bolted to my head and it would not have made any difference whatsoever, because this particular motorist simply wasn't looking where they were going and proceeded straight through a junction and hit me head on.
Having realized the impending impact I managed to adjust my line a little to try and lessen the impact, but at the end of the day that haunting crunching noise of metal against metal and then the eery rushing of silence as I flew through the air was inevitable - taking the car windscreen out with my legs before bouncing over the roof and thwack; that almighty bang on the head as I hit the tarmac and it's lights out for a short period and coming around to a blur of faces and realization that bits of you were hurting and you're too afraid to look too closely at the mess.
That February evening some 25 years ago could have been a great excuse to have given up on any two wheeled ambitions. But such was my enthusiasm, as soon as I was fit and was able to replace the bike, I took to the road once more, a little wiser naturally. If I had decided to give up on bikes at that point I know I would have lost out. In the subsequent 25 years I've ridden in the region of 300,000 miles in numerous countries and had the honor and privilege of sharing the road and enjoying genuine brotherhood and friendship with some of the best people walking this planet, not least of all whilst wearing my colours of God's Squad for the past fourteen years.
In much the same way as many of us don't let these minor mishaps along the way ruin our dreams and way of life I hope the same can also apply in other areas of our life. In the course of life on the road, I have met many people who whilst they admire our stance as a club have to admit that previous experiences of church or it's representatives or other issues have meant the God question gets shelved. Amid the images, archives and comment, at the heart of this blog is a desire to encourage our mates not to give up the search on the 'God question'. One accident, one arrest, one beating doesn't prevent us pursuing the lifestyle we choose; don't let one bad experience in the search of faith in God put you off either. Never give up looking, the search id worth it, warts and all.
Cheers and God be with you and those you love.
Sean, GSCMC
Having realized the impending impact I managed to adjust my line a little to try and lessen the impact, but at the end of the day that haunting crunching noise of metal against metal and then the eery rushing of silence as I flew through the air was inevitable - taking the car windscreen out with my legs before bouncing over the roof and thwack; that almighty bang on the head as I hit the tarmac and it's lights out for a short period and coming around to a blur of faces and realization that bits of you were hurting and you're too afraid to look too closely at the mess.
That February evening some 25 years ago could have been a great excuse to have given up on any two wheeled ambitions. But such was my enthusiasm, as soon as I was fit and was able to replace the bike, I took to the road once more, a little wiser naturally. If I had decided to give up on bikes at that point I know I would have lost out. In the subsequent 25 years I've ridden in the region of 300,000 miles in numerous countries and had the honor and privilege of sharing the road and enjoying genuine brotherhood and friendship with some of the best people walking this planet, not least of all whilst wearing my colours of God's Squad for the past fourteen years.
In much the same way as many of us don't let these minor mishaps along the way ruin our dreams and way of life I hope the same can also apply in other areas of our life. In the course of life on the road, I have met many people who whilst they admire our stance as a club have to admit that previous experiences of church or it's representatives or other issues have meant the God question gets shelved. Amid the images, archives and comment, at the heart of this blog is a desire to encourage our mates not to give up the search on the 'God question'. One accident, one arrest, one beating doesn't prevent us pursuing the lifestyle we choose; don't let one bad experience in the search of faith in God put you off either. Never give up looking, the search id worth it, warts and all.
Cheers and God be with you and those you love.
Sean, GSCMC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)