NT Sermons

Last time we began to think about the question: What happens to us after we die?

Many people are plain confused about what waits for us after death. And with confusion comes fear. The Bible doesn’t answer all our questions, but it does have a lot to say. It addresses the future of those who do not know the Lord Jesus. And it addresses the future of Christians who do know and love him. And 1 Corinthians 15 is one of the places where it does.

Most of us wonder at times, what happens to us when we die.

Often the answer is that we just don’t know.

So we make something up that would make us feel a bit better if it were true. Many a parent has told their children that granddad has just become one of the stars in the sky, and if you look up you can see him looking down on us. We know it isn’t true, but we just don’t know what else to say.

We all struggle to remember things at times. To remember, and not to forget.

It’s why we have Remembrance Day every year. In 1919, every community in Britain resolved that we would never forget what had just happened.

In fact, there are two ways to forget, to fail to remember.

Does God still speak today? That’s the question asked by our Bible reading.

If he doesn’t, we’re in the dark.

We’ve just baptised Andrew. He’s got to chart a path through life, and his parents have just signed up God to be his guide.

Well, our boys love mazes, and maybe Andrew’s brother and sister do too. If you’re a bit lost at Crystal Palace or Leeds Castle, you’d love to have a birds eye view. Someone who can look down and see the whole maze and tell you which way to turn. They could then shout down directions: “Left. Left. Right. Not that one – it’s a dead-end”.

Introduction: Christian Worship

What are we doing here this morning?

What happens when Christians come together, for what we call “church”.

It’s always good to have visitors with us. Maybe you go regularly to another church elsewhere. But if you don’t, I wonder what you think gets Christians to come here. As opposed to stay in bed. Play football. Go shopping.

I take it we all agree that love is important. If I told you that I’m going to try to convince you that love is important, you’d probably switch off. We know that already.

What’s not so obvious is what we mean by this. What is love? How is it important?

Nearly every world religion teaches that love is supreme. Whether it’s one of the 5 Sikh virtues. Whether it’s required by Allah to enter paradise. Or whether it’s the ancient religions with many gods – including Aphrodite, Cupid, Eros and Venus.

Churches can easily become competitive places. People jockeying to be noticed, treated by others as the significant ones.

Or you get a two-tier system. There are the keen members, the spiritual ones. And then there’s everybody else, who feel less part of things.

Competitive. Elitism. We get enough of those two attitudes in the wider world. We don’t need it here as well. And yet it so easily happens.

This morning, we continue our journey through 1 Corinthians. The second half of this letter tackles some issues in a letter they’d sent to the apostle Paul.

Just imagine the shock as 1 Corinthians chapter 11 was read out loud on Sunday morning in ancient Corinth. Verse 17: “In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.” “More harm than good”. In other words, the world would be a better place if you weren’t meeting together. Ouch.

What were they doing? They were holding services of Holy Communion, the biblical name for which is the Lord’s Supper.

How could Communion do more harm than good? Read on. Verse 20: “So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat.”

This text is a strange one to our ears. It’s like entering a period drama. Downton Abbey. Longer ago, maybe: Poldark. Troy, even.

It’s all about the need for women to have their heads covered, and for men not to do so.

What kind of head covering? All we can think of is posh hats at a wedding, or at Ascot. Or we think of some of the veils worn by women in Muslim countries, which have sparked debates in several western countries including our own.

But it’s not about that. So what are these head coverings?

Many people today think that it doesn’t really matter which religion someone chooses. It’s a lifestyle choice, a bit like choosing your diet or your car. It’s part of your culture. Either way, there’s no better or worse to religion. It’s just another way in which we’re different.

Certainly, the Bible tells us to love and respect every person. We don’t just care for those who share our beliefs. We’re one human family, made in the image of God. But that’s not the same as saying that there’s no better or worse, that religion doesn’t matter.