Sermon Sunday 21st January: Hope for the New Year

Jer 17:5-14, Rom 8:18-39

People always start the new year with optimism – but it does not last long, and hope dissipates.  Every year we look for something better, every year we are disappointed!  Do you have hope for 2018?  Is there any reason for hope?  What reason do YOU have?  For the world, for you personally?

Decline is a NORMAL part of existence!  There is natural deterioration in all.  It is even a quantity in engineering – entropy, where a small increase is good. But it will increase!  This includes spiritual things, so these also deteriorate.  So hope is false, it is presumption … Unless God gives it!  He is the creator!

As Christians, we do have hope!  First because there is a resurrection (Acts 24:15).  Paul writes, “If for this life only …” (1 Cor 15:19).  We know that eventually things will be OK, but more than this, we have resurrection life NOW (cf Jn 6:40 etc)!  A foretaste only of what will come.

Secondly, we have hope!  Because God loves us (Rom 5:5).  This is because we know salvation.  So our hope comes out of suffering (Rom 5:3), both from His and our’s – what was experienced.  It is the Spirit who gives hope (Rom 5:4) - do you know the filling of God’s Spirit?

Having hope then affects us, because if we know we will meet God we must be pure (1 Jn 3:3), living a life worthy of our hope.  We shall be like Him (1 Jn 3:2).  Our life should reflect our hope.

Then we can GIVE hope to a generation that has lost it.  Hope gives a reason for our witness so be ready to explain your hope (1 Pet 3:15).  If we have hope, then we can be bold! (2 Cor 3:12).

This hope does not get lost, but abides (1 Cor 13:13, Heb 11:1), throughout 2018, and forever.  It stays as it is based on faith which gives eternal life.  It then results in a love which is also eternal.

Farewell to Harold and Irene Nicholls on Sunday 13 January 2018

The St Patrick’s Chapel congregation and friends said farewell to the much-loved couple of Harold and Irene on Sunday 13 January 2018 at Elangeni. The couple are moving to Howick to be closer to their family after 15 years of being been part of the social fabric of the village. They have contributed enormously to Hogsback and St Patrick’s.  At the chapel they have contributed as Chapel Warden, pianist, sidesmen, gardener and have supported in many other ways. At the Bring and Braai the Congregation gave them a painting of the chapel and Josef Steyn took these photos.

Sermon: Jesus is Lord

As always, David starts his sermon with a little ice breaker for daily living....



Reading for today:
Isiah 9:2-7,
John 1:1-18

A celebrity always attracts crowds - people flock to see royalty and presidents. And here we are at Christmas, with the greatest of all! And so few there! But how few today flock to him? Of course his situation was humble, a baby in the manger, but the angels announced the coming of "Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:11). We battle to realise his Lordship, but perhaps we should battle more with how the Lord could become a baby - of course easy for the Lord of all! The Lordship of Jesus is the essence of Christianity. The message of Christmas is EMMANUEL, so a Lord with us!

He is Lord, but that does not mean that he is second rank, less than a king. "Lord" was the title of the emperor, and the kings, such as Herod, of second rank. The name of God in the Old Testament was translated by the word Lord in the Greek, and our Bibles follow that. But do you treat Jesus as second rank? Jesus is Lord - but why do we believe that? It is because

He is God, He is creator, He is redeemer

Jesus is God. This is seen by many miracles, of healing, feeding etc (eg Lk 5:8), by his claim (eg Jn 8:58), especially by his resurrection. But then Jesus shows us what God is like, a God of love.

Is He YOUR God? In the full sense? So obey and worship Him alone

But there could be a god without power ....

Jesus is creator. See Jn 1:3, Col 1:16 etc, and the resurrection shows his power over the life that he made. Then Jesus shows us what His power is like, he is the God who limits Himself for us. More importantly, is He YOUR creator? Is he creating and guiding your life, or are you trying to run it yourself?

But there could be a creator who is not a saviour

Jesus is redeemer. The angels, spoke of the coming of a saviour (Lk 2:11). He came to die for our salvation. Then the resurrection is power over death. He gives new life and Jesus shows us what new life is like, repentance and obedience. Most importantly, is He YOUR redeemer? Do you belong to Him?

Are you serious about his lordship? In the fourth century there was a big movement, like modern Jehovah's Witnesses, that said that Jesus was divine, but not absolute lord. A man rose up called Athanasius, who knew that only full God could save. If Jesus is not fully God there is no salvation. He was prepared to suffer for his Lord, and so for us - are we?

The wise men came to Jesus to worship (Matt 2:11), they recognised the LORD. What of us? And let us be serious, not just using the word without meaning (Lk 7:46)!

Sermon by Prof David T Williams

St Patrick’s Chapel Newsletter December 2017

We can't believe that it is already Christmas!! There are three special items of news this Christmas:

• Rev Margaret Fourie is back to take the Christmas services – Sunday 24th at 10am; Christmas Day 25th Holy Communion at 8am and Christmas Family Service at 10am and Sunday 31 December 2017 at 10am. We welcome you back, Margaret, and look forward to your services.
  
• Christmas Services will kick off on Christmas Eve 24 December 2017 at 5:30 at St Patrick’s with a Carol/Crib Service. We especially welcome our young ones (and young at heart), so please bring your children along. The service will capture the Christmas story in song with the children assembling the crib. Gwyneth Lloyd will sing special items. The Service will be led by Norma Fivaz and Ann Webster.
  
• For those early risers (the ones that want to open their presents asap, Christmas Day  (25 December 2017), we will start Christmas day with an early morning communion service at 8am at St Patrick’st St Patrick’s. The Christmas Family Service will be lead by Rev Margaret Fourie at 10am. We were hoping to hold the Christmas Family Service in the Arboretum but Forestry is not able to open the roadway yet. Let’s hope that by next Christmas we are able to return to the forest for our service. If there is any change, check back on this blog for updates. 

Thank you from Callie Evans Home for the elderly

Sermon: 3 December - Leon Van Niekerk

This Sunday we were very blessed indeed to have our Afrikaans minister, Leon Van Niekerk, visiting us from East London.



The songs Leon chose really put us in the Christmas spirit and brought home the joyous wonder of our baby Jesus to us. Norma and Santie also blessed us in playing Welkom, o stille nag van vrede...

Help me

 Reading: Ps 121

Where do you like to holiday? I like the mountains, but I need help there! They are hard work!  So the mountains make me think of the need for help.

Perhaps the most common prayer is for help; it is frequent in the Bible.  And help is promised (eg Ps 121:8).  The psalm promises three times that God will watch over us (NIV).  The older RSV translation uses the word "keep", which is both a better translation and more comforting than just watching.  The psalm says that God preserves, and protects, and then says "        From now and for evermore", again a better translation than the NIV.

So for help we go to GOD, so lift up eyes to the hills! They are not the source of help, but often speak of God. He is our Ebenezer (rock of help) (cf Matt 7:24f).  It is not surprising that God is often associated with mountains (cf 1 Ki 20:23,28).  Many significant things happened on mountains, eg Ararat, Sinai, Zion, Bryn Calfaria (Welsh for hill of Calvary. Look to God, look away from troubles.  Psalm 121 is "A song of ascents", sung by pilgrims on the way to worship in Jerusalem.

After all, He MADE the hills (Ps 121:2)!  He is able and reliable, there is no sleeping with him!

But if we want God's help, we first acknowledge the need!  The problem is that we are loath to, liking independence - asking for help offends our pride!  This is the root of sin. But we need God's help, both for salvation now and for evermore - we cannot save or help ourselves - why are we stubborn?

Our faith recognises the priority of grace, that salvation is not earned, but is a gift.  But then we work to develop God's salvation in us (Phil 1:23).  Part of this is that we help others by God's strength in us. Helping is working together (Phil 2:13). Love one another as He loved us.

So God sends helpers! Eve was created as Adam's helper (Gen 2:18), the Holy Spirit is aparaklete (called alongside).  Through him we are helped and God shows us what to do.

Then, amazingly, while we pray "Help me!", God requests OUR help!   He gives us the privilege of service.  If being helped offends our pride, here is something to be proud of. We are his workers in the world.  At his inaugural in 1961, President Kennedy appealed, "Do not ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country". So do not ask what God can do for you but what you can do for God!