Mike's musings

Sermon time

So, we headed home, leaving at 0805, and got back around 1010, which is pretty good time for the journey. I'd noticed Sally's comment yesterday:

Hope the sermon goes well tomorrow- and that you all make it home in one piece...interestingly our gospel reading is John 18: 33-37, and I thought we were on almost the same page there! Ah well

So, I checked the Church Times paper edition which had arrived on Friday (but which I'd not looked at), and discovered that I'd looked the wrong version of the Church Time online. I read the gospel reading, and although it's stunning, I decided that I'd preach on my reaction to something that Sally blogged about on Thursday (the 23rd). It was from a set of posts by John Smulo, and Sally wonders whether one should call oneself a Jesus-follower, rather than a Christian.

I responded in a comment to her blog:

I've not read John's posts, but for now, I'm proud to be called a Christian. It started off as a term of abuse, and that's what it often is today, still. Also, for me, the centrality of Jesus' life was not his teaching, but the redemptive power of his death (and resurrection), which is what made him Christ: with just his teaching, we look at an ethical leader. That's not enough.

Must take some time to read John's latest: I'm sure I'm not doing the question justice!

The more I thought about it, the unhappier I got, and I preached a really impassioned sermon about how following Jesus is all very well: he was a good man, he said some fantastic, some difficult, some challenging, and some desparate things, that that's not enough.

But if that's all we say, then we're talking about a man. Jesus was more than that, and is more than that, and will always be more than that. He was God, come down to us, who lived, and died, and rose again as so much more than a man, and he earned the title Christ. I'm happy to take on the term of abuse, particularly on the Sunday entitled "Christ the King".

It was, as I mentioned above, an impassioned sermon, from the heart, and very real to me. I felt really affirmed by it, and by the rest of the service, which included some great hymns (including "Stand up, stand up for Jesus"). All for just 11 of us.

But as I processed out, one of the congregation handed me a note. "Wow! That really had the X factor." Sometimes, it all comes together. A sermon I'd not prepared, but which came from the heart, was appropriate for the Sunday, and touched somebody. Thank you, Lord.