Being religious is a very dangerous way to be.
That’s good news for some. From time to time I get talking to someone who tells me that they enjoy coming to our services even though they’re not very religious. If that’s you, then this is good news. Being religious can be a real stumbling block. A hurdle. And it’s a hurdle you don’t have this morning.
Anxiety is a growing problem in modern Britain. In 2013, 8.2 million people were diagnosed with some sort of serious anxiety problem. In any given week in England, 4.4% of the population experiences anxiety that is serious enough to seek professional help.
How does a person ever become a Christian?
That’s a question you might be asking if you’re here this morning, but you wouldn’t yet call yourself a Christian. You’re interested in the person of Jesus. He’s starting to make sense. But somehow, you’re not convinced. How do things come together enough so that you can take that first step of faith? How do you reach the point where you’re ready to sign up?
There’s no doubting it. Having young children is exhausting. Most parents of young children have a fairly long wish list; but rest is fairly high up the list for most of us.
The Bible reading we had comes from Matthew chapter 11. If you’ve got the Bible open, just glance to the end of the chapter, the climax the chapter is heading to. Verse 28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I defy any new parent to say to me that that is not immensely appealing.
Last Thursday was election day. Here in Kent we only elected the Police Commissioner, but other parts of the country saw local councils and mayors elected.
There are many problems in our country. Always have been. Unemployment. A creaking health service. Education policies. Environmental issues. We’re always on the lookout for someone who can step in and solve our problems. Preferably fix my problems.
If you’ve been with us the past couple of weeks, you’ll know that we’ve been thinking about the theme of persecution.
With a slightly heavy heart, we return to that subject today. I say with a heavy heart, because it’s a risky subject to talk about. If we talk about the possibility that we will be persecuted, there is a danger it generates one of three reactions within us, none of which are welcome. Those are fear, anxiety, and coldness. We might become afraid, we might get worried, or we might lose some of our enthusiasm for the person of Jesus.
Persecution is a reality in the Christian church. We wish it wasn’t, but it is. It’s been so since the time of Christ, and there hasn’t been a century since when his followers have not been persecuted.
As Christians, we are sometimes very reluctant to share our faith with the others.
There are all kinds of reasons for this. Some of them are internal. Maybe we lack confidence. Or maybe it’s inclination we need. Or if it’s not that, maybe we worry how we will be received. What if we share something that is very precious to us, only to find out their friends don’t want to know? Or maybe it’s external. Perhaps we tried to share our faith in the past, and had a bad experience. Perhaps we worry that life might get more difficult for us if we don’t just keep our faith to ourselves.
If you look at the world around us, there is lots that’s not right. There’s a great deal of unhappiness in the world. A great deal of aggression. And in increasing amount of anxiety.
It’s easy to feel sorry for Joseph. He finds the girl of his dreams. They get engaged to be married. And then he discovers she’s pregnant.
What is Joseph to do? Most people would react in one of two ways. Some would simply forgive. Everyone makes mistakes, and this is Mary’s. Let draw a line on under it. We won’t speak of this again. For others, that would be too hard. They could never forgive unfaithfulness like this. The wedding’s off, and if Mary is humiliated in the process it’s no more than she deserved.
