OT Sermons

Many people today feel very vulnerable. You don't know if you can trust the past. You don't know if you can trust the future. The past—and maybe many people—have made promises to you in the past and have broken them. Politicians promise that if we elect them, they will fix things, and yet all the problems that we labour under—whether it's housing or inflation or whatever—there's always something. Your employer promises you a promotion or job security, but then they let you down. Your landlord promises you that you can stay where you are, and then they serve notice that you have to leave.

We have all, I suspect, come across bad leadership. Bad leadership in the world, where, for example, corrupt politicians seek to serve their own interests at the expense of the citizens they are supposed to be taking care of. Two countries have had elections in recent weeks. Both sets of elections are very significant for both the country concerned and the wider region. One is Turkey and the other is Nigeria, and one of the midweek life groups that I lead has been particularly praying each week over these matters for Nigeria, and for what flowed out of the recent presidential elections.

Do you ever find yourself listening in to somebody else's conversation? It could happen for a number of different reasons. It could simply be that you or they are being indiscreet. You're just being nosy or rude. You're on a train, and somebody else in the carriage is having a fascinating conversation about what they did on their night out last night, and it's just too interesting not to listen in.

If there is bad news, it is better to know it than to be in the dark. Some of you work in the medical profession, and there are a number of thankless tasks that fall to you as doctors and nurses and healthcare professionals. You don't need me to tell you that, at times, your job is tough. One of the tasks that must be the most difficult is bringing the news to somebody that an illness they thought was mild is actually far more serious than they first thought. But you know that you need to find a way to share that news with them. You can't go, "They're not ready to hear this.

How do you subdue somebody who is extremely strong? That's a question that cuts in two directions. So, on the one hand, we have arrayed against us some really mighty forces — things like suffering and death, sickness, the atrocities of war, and our own sin and selfishness that is the cause of all those things. How would we subdue those mighty things that would harm and hurt us?

A great deal gets said these days about leadership. It is not hard to find a load of books about how to be a good leader—whether that's a good leader in politics, a good leader in education, a good leader in business. There is a huge publishing industry in what makes a good leader, what kind of people should we appoint to positions of leadership, what characteristics are shown in good leadership, and what is an abuse of leadership.

Well, we've called this series in the book of Judges Hope in Dark Times. We often find ourselves in dark places in life. I mean, the obvious one at the moment is Covid, which has caused all kinds of chaos, anxiety, stress and difficulty—and in some cases, serious illness and even death.

We’ve reached today the end of the book of the prophet Malachi, written about the year 400 b.c., two and a half thousand years ago. You will remember that the Malachi prophesied in the city of Jerusalem that had been rebuilt after the people had returned from their exile to Babylon. The temple and the city walls were rebuilt, but then nothing much had happened for over a hundred years, and the people were beginning to doubt that God really loved them. So their response to God was becoming increasingly half-hearted.

Let me begin by asking you a question. What do you think being a Christian is like? On balance, when you weigh up the pros and cons, is it in your advantage to be a Christian? Is it a good thing or is it overall a bad thing to do?

I've heard it said that when someone becomes a Christian, the last part of them to be converted is frequently their wallet. That was just as true in ancient Israel as it is today.